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Grouse and their hunting
CHAPTER III.
Grouse's Nest-Partridge Nest- Grouse-shooting-Marten Cat-Witch:
Death of-Stags-Snaring Grouse-Black Game: Battles of-Hybrid
Bird-Ptarmigan-shooting-Mist on the Mountain-Stag-Unsuccessful
Stalking-Death of Eagle.
I found the nest of a grouse with eight eggs, or rather eggshells, within two hundred yards of a small farm-house on a part
of my shooting-ground, where there is a mere strip of heather
surrounded by cultivated fields, and on a spot particularly infested by colley-dogs, as well as by herd-boys, et id genus omne.
But the poor bird, although so surrounded by enemies, had
managed to hatch and lead away her brood in safety. I saw
them frequently afterwards, and they all came to maturity.
How many survived the shooting-season I do not know, but the
covey numbered eight birds far on in October. If the parent
bird had selected her nesting-place for beauty of prospect, she
could not have pitched upon a lovelier spot. The nest was on a
little mound where I always stop, when walking in that direction,
to admire the extensive and varied view-the Bay of Find horn
and the sand-hills, the Moray Firth, with the entrance to the
Cromarty Bay, and the bold rocky headlands, backed by the
mountains of Ross-shire. Sutherland, Caithness, Inverness, and
Ross-shire are all seen from this spot; whilst the rich plains
of Moray, dotted with timber, and intersected by the winding
stream of the Findhorn, with the woods of Altyre, Darnaway,
and Brodie, form a nearer picture.
It is a curious fact, but one which I have often observed, that
dogs frequently pass close to the nest of grouse, partridge, or
other game, without scenting the hen bird as she sits on her eggs.
I knew this year of a partridge's nest which was placed close to
a narrow footpath near my house ; and although not only my
people, but all my dogs, were constantly passing within a foot
and a half of the bird, they never found her out, and she hatched
her brood in safety.
Grouse generally make their nest in a high tuft of heather.
The eggs are peculiarly beautiful and game-like, of a rich brown
colour, spotted closely with black. Although in some peculiarly
early seasons, the young birds are full grown by the 12th of
August, in general five birds out of six which are killed on that
day are only half come to their strength and beauty. The 20th
of the month would be a much better day on which to commence
their legal persecution. In October there is not a more beautiful
bird in our island ; and in January a cock grouse is one of the
most superb fellows in the world, as he struts about fearlessly
with his mate, his bright red comb erected above his eyes, and
his rich dark-brown plumage shining in the sun. Unluckily,
they are more easily killed at this time of the year than at any
other ; and I have been assured that a ready market is found for
them not only in January, but to the end of February, though
in fine seasons they begin to nest very early in March. Hardy
must the grouse be, and prolific beyond calculation, to supply
the numbers that are yearly killed, legally and illegally. Vermin,
however, are their worst enemies ; and where the ground is kept
clear of all their winged and four-footed destroyers, no shooting
seems to reduce their numbers.
I cannot say that my taste leads me to rejoice in the slaughter
of a large bag of grouse in one day. I have no ambition to see
my name in the county newspapers as having bagged my seventy
brace of grouse, in a certain number of hours, on such and such
a hill. I have much more satisfaction in killing a moderate
quantity of birds, in a wild and varied range of hill, with my
single brace of dogs, and wandering in any direction that fancy
leads me, than in having my day's beat laid out for me, witn
relays of dogs and keepers, and all the means of killing the grouse
on easy walking ground, where they are so numerous that one
has only to load and fire. In the latter case, I generally find
myself straying off in pursuit of some teal or snipe, to the neglect
of the grouse, and the disgust of the keeper, who may think his
dignity compromised by attending a sportsman who returns with
less than fifty brace. Nothing is so easy to shoot as a grouse,
when they are tolerably tame; and with a little chcice of his
shots, a very moderate marksman ought to kill nearly every bird
that he shoots at early in the season, when the birds sit close,
fly slowly, and are easily found. At the end of the season, when
the coveys are scattered far and wide, and the grouse rise and fly
wildly, it requires quick shooting and good walking to make up
a handsome bag ; but how much better worth killing are the birds
at this time of year than in August. If my reader will wade
through some leaves of an old notebook, I will describe the
kind of shooting that, in my opinion, renders the sporting in the
Highlands far preferable to any other that Great Britain can afford.
October 20th.-Determined to shoot across to Malcolm's
shealing, at the head of the river, twelve miles distant; to sleep
there ; and kill some ptarmigan the next day.
For the first mile of our walk we passed through the old fir
woods, where the sun seldom penetrates. In the different grassy
glades we saw several roe, but none within shot. A fir-cone
falling to the ground made me look up, and I saw a marten cat
running like a squirrel from branch to branch. The moment
the little animal saw that my eye was on him he stopped short,
and curling himself up in the fork of a branch, peered down on
me. Pretty as he was, I fired at him. He sprung from his
hiding-place, and fell half way down, but catching at a branch,
clung to it for a minute, holding on with his fore-paws. I was
just going to fire at him again, when he lost his hold, and came
down on my dogs' heads, who soon dispatched him, wounded as
he was. One of the dogs had learned by some means to be an
excellent vermin-killer, though steady and staunch at game. As
we were just leaving the wood a woodcock rose, which I killed.
Our way took us up the rushy course of a burn. Both dogs
came to a dead point near the stream, and then drew for at least
a quarter of a mile, and just as my patience began to be exhausted,
a brace of magnificent old blackcocks rose, but out of shot. One
of them came back right over our heads at a good height, making
for the wood. As he flew quick down the wind, I aimed nearly
a yard ahead of him as he came towards me, and down he fell,
fifty yards behind me, with a force that seemed enough to break
every bone in his body. Another and another blackcock fell to
my gun before we had left the burn, and also a hare, who got up
in the broken ground near the water. Our next cast took us up
a slope of hill, where we found a wild covey of grouse. Right
and left at them the moment they rose, and killed a brace ; the
rest went over the hill. Another covey on the same ground
gave me three shots. From the top of the hill we saw a dreary
expanse of flat ground, with Loch A-na-caillach in the centre
of it, a bleak cold-looking piece of water, with several small
grey pools near it. Donald told me a long story of the origin
of its name, pointing out a large cairn of stones at one end of it.
The story was, that some few years ago-" Not so long either,
Sir (said Donald) ; for Rory Beg, the auld smuggler, that died
last year, has often told me, that he minded the whole thing
weel"-there lived down below the woods an old woman, by habit
and repute a witch, and one possessed of more than mortal power,
which she used in a most malicious manner, spreading sickness
and death among man and beast. The minister of the place, who
came, however, but once a month to do duty in a building called
a chapel, was the only person who, by dint of prayer and Bible,
could annoy or resist her. He at last made her so uncomfortable
by attacking her with holy water and other spiritual weapons,
that she suddenly left the place, and no one knew where she
went to. It soon became evident, however, that her abode was
not far off, as cattle and people were still taken ill in the same
unaccountable manner as before. At last, an idle fellow, who
was out poaching deer near Loch A-na-caillach late one evening,
saw her start through the air from the cairn of stones towards
the inhabited part of the country. This put people on the lookout, and she was constantly seen passing to and fro on her unholy
errands during the fine moonlight nights. Many a time was she
shot at as she flew past, but without success. At last a potvaliant and unbelieving old fellow, who had long been a Serjeant
in some Highland regiment, determined to free his neighbours
from the witch ; and having loaded his gun with a double charge
of gunpowder, put in, instead of shot, a crooked sixpence and
some silver buttons, which he had made booty of somewhere or
other in war time. He then, in the most foolhardy manner, laid
himself down on the hill, just where we were then standing when
Donald told me the story, and, by the light of the moon, watched
the witch leave her habitation in the cairn of stones. As soon as
.she was gone, he went to the very place which she had just left,
and there lay down in ambush to await her return. " 'Deed
did he, Sir; for auld Duncan was a mad-like deevil of a fellow,
and was feared of nothing." Long he waited, and many a pull
he took at his bottle of smuggled whisky, in order to keep out
the cold of a September night. At last, when the first grey of
the morning began to appear, " Duncan hears a sough, and a
wild uncanny kind of skirl over his head, and he sees the witch
hersel, just coming like a muckle bird right towards him,-
'deed, Sir, but he wished himsel at hame ; and his finger was
so stiff with cold and fear that he could na scarce pull the trigger.
At last, and long, he did put out (Anglice, shoot off) just as she
was hovering over his head, and going to light down on the
cairn." Well, to cut the story short, the next morning Duncan
was found lying on the cairn in a deep slumber, half sleep and
half swoon, with his gun burst, his collar-bone nearly broken,
and a fine large heron shot through and through lying beside him,
which heron, as every one felt assured, was the caillach herself.
" She has na done much harm since yon (concluded Donald) ;
but her ghaist is still to the fore, and the loch side is no canny
after the gloaming. But, Lord guide us, Sir, what's that ?" and
a large long-legged hind rose from some hollow close to the
loch, and having stood for a minute with her long ears standing
erect, and her gaze turned intently on us, she trotted slowly off,
soon disappearing amongst the broken ground. But where are
the dogs all this time ? There they are, both standing, and
evidently at different packs of grouse. I killed three of these
birds, taking a right and left shot at one dog's point, and then
going to the other.
Off went Old Shot now, according to his usual habit, straight
to a rushy pool. I had him from a friend in Ireland, and
being used to snipe-shooting, he preferred it to everything else.
The cunning old fellow chose not to hear my call, but made for
his favourite spot. He immediately stood, and now for the first
time seemed to think of his master, as he looked back over his
shoulder at me, as much as to say, u Make haste down to me,
here is some game." And sure enough up got a snipe, which
I killed. The report of my gun putting up a pair of mallards,
one of which I winged a long way off, " Hie away, Shot," and
Shot, who was licensed to take such liberties, splashed in with
great glee, and after being lost to sight for some minutes amongst
the high rushes, came back with the mallard in his mouth. " A
bad lesson for Carlo that, Master Shot," but he knows better than
to follow your example. We now went up the opposite slope
leaving Loch A-na-caillach behind us, and killing some grouse,
and a mountain hare, with no white about her as yet. We next
came to a long stony ridge, with small patches of high heather.
A pair of ravens rising from the rocks, soared croaking over us
for some time. A pair or two of old grouse were all we killed
here. But the view from the summit was splendidly wild as we
looked over a long range of grey rocks, beyond which lay a wide
and extensive lake, with several small islands in it. The opposite shore of the lake was fringed with birch-trees, and in the
distance were a line of lofty mountains whose sharp peaks were
covered with snow. Human habitation or evidence of the
presence of man was there not, and no sound broke the silence
of the solitude excepting the croak of the ravens and the
occasional w'histle of a plover. " Yon is a fine corrie for
deer," said Donald, making me start, as he broke my reverie,
and pointing out a fine amphitheatre of rocks just below us.
Not being on the lookout for deer, however, I did not pay
much attention to what he said, but allowed the dogs to range
on where they liked. Left to themselves, and not finding
much game, they hunted wide, and we had been walking in
silence for some time, when on coming round a small rise
between us and the dogs, I saw two fine stags standing, who,
intent on watching the dogs, did not see us. After standing
motionless for a minute, the deer walked deliberately towards us,
not observing us until they were within forty yards ; they then
suddenly halted, stared at us, snorted, and then went off at a
trot, but soon breaking into a gallop, fled rapidly away, but were
in sight for a long distance. Shot stood watching the clecr for
some time, but at last seeing that we took no steps against them,
looked at me, and then went on hunting. We killed several
more grouse and a brace of teal. Towards the afternoon we
struck off to the shepherd's house. In the fringe of a birch that
sheltered it, we killed a blackcock and hen, and at last got to the
end of our walk with fifteen brace of grouse, five black game,
one mallard, a snipe, a woodcock, two teal, and two hares ; and
right glad was I to ease my shoulder of that portion of the game
which I carried to help Donald, who would at any time have
preferred assisting me to stalk a red deer than to kill and carry
grouse. Although my day's sport did not amount to any great
number, the variety of game, and the beautiful and wild scenery
I had passed through, made me enjoy it more than if I had been
shooting in the best and easiest muir in Scotland, and killing
fifty or sixty brace of birds.
In preserving and increasing a stock of grouse, the first thing
is to kill the vermin of every kind, and none more carefully than
the grey crows, as these keen-sighted birds destroy an immense
number of eggs. The grouse should also be well watched in the
neighbourhood of any small farms or corn-fields that may be on
the ground, as incredible numbers are caught in horsehair snares
on the sheaves of corn. A system of netting grouse has been
practised by some of the poachers lately, and when the birds are
not wild they catch great numbers in this manner ; and as in nine
cases out of ten the shepherds are in the habit of assisting and
harbouring the poachers, as well as allowing their dogs to destroy
as many eggs and young birds as they like, these men require
as much watching as possible. I have generally found it entirely
useless to believe a word that they tell me respecting the
encroachments of poachers, even if they do not poach themselves. With a clever sheep-dog and a stick I would engage
to kill three parts of every covey of young grouse which I found
in July and the first part of August; and, in fact, the shepherds
generally do kill great numbers in this noiseless and destructive
manner. As the black game for the most part breed in plantations, where sheep and shepherds have no business to be found,
they are less likely to be killed in this way. But the young ones,
till nearly full grown, lie so close, that it is quite easy to catch
half the brood.
When able to run, the old hen leads them to the vicinity of
some wet and mossy place in or near the woodlands, where the
seeds of the coarse grass and of other plants, and the insects that
abound near the water, afford the young birds plenty of food.
The hen takes great care of her young, fluttering near any in
truder as if lame, and having led him to some distance from the
brood takes flight, and making a circuit returns to them. The
cock bird sometimes keeps with the brood, but takes good care
of himself, and running off leaves them to their fate. Wild and
wary as the blackcock usually is, he sometimes waits till you
almost tread on him, and then flutters away, giving as easy a
shot to the sportsman as a turkey would do. At other times,
being fond of basking in the sun, he lies all day enjoying its
rays in some open place where it is difficult to approach him
without being seen.
In snowy weather the black game perch very much on the
fir-trees, as if to avoid chilling their feet on the colder ground:
in wet weather they do the same.
During the spring, and also in the autumn, about the time
the first hoar-frosts are felt, I have often watched the blackcocks
in the early morning, when they collect on some rock or height,
and strut and crow with their curious note not unlike that of a
wood-pigeon. On these occasions they often have most desperate
battles. I have seen five or six blackcocks all fighting at once,
and so intent and eager were they, that I approached within a
few yards before they rose. Usually there seems to be a master-bird in these assemblages, who takes up his position on the most
elevated spot, crowing and strutting round and round with
spread-out tail like a turkey-cock, and his wings trailing on the
ground. The hens remain quietly near him, whilst the smaller
or younger male birds keep at a respectful distance, neither
daring to crow, except in a subdued kind of voice, or to approach the hens. If they attempt the latter, the master-bird
dashes at the intruder, and often a short melee ensues, several
others joining in it, but they soon return to their former respectful distance. I have also seen an old blackcock crowing
on a birch-tree with a dozen hens below it, and the younger
cocks looking on in fear and admiration. It is at these times
that numbers fall to the share of the poacher, who knows that
the birds resort to the same spot every morning.
Strong as the blackcock is, he is often killed by the peregrine
falcon and the hen-harrier. When pursued by these birds, I
have known the blackcock so frightened as to allow himself to
be taken by the hand. I once caught one myself who had been
driven by a falcon into the garden, where he took refuge under
a gooseberry bush and remained quiet till I picked him up. I
kept him for a day or two, and then, as he did not get reconciled to his prison, I turned him loose to try his fortune again
in the woods. Like some other wary birds, the blackcock, when
flushed at a distance, if you happen to be in his line of flight,
will pass over your head without turning off, as long as you remain motionless. In some places, apparently well adapted for
these birds, they will never increase, although left undisturbed
and protected, some cause or other preventing their breeding.
Where they take well to a place, they increase very rapidly, and,
from their habit of taking long flights, soon find out the cornfields, and are very destructive, more so, probably, than, any
other kind of winged game. A bold bird by nature, the black-cock, when in confinement, is easily tamed, and soon becomes
familiar and attached to his master. In the woods instances are
known of the blackcock breeding with the pheasant. I saw
a hybrid of this kind at a bird-stuffer's in Newcastle : it had
been killed near Alnwick Castle. The bird was of a beautiful
bronzed-brown colour, and partaking in a remarkable degree of
the characteristics of both pheasant and black game. I have
heard also of a bird being killed which was supposed to be bred
between grouse and black game, but I was by no means satisfied
that it was anything but a peculiarly dark-coloured grouse.
The difference of colour in grouse is very great, and on different
ranges of hills is quite conspicuous. On some ranges the birds
have a good deal of white on their breasts, on others they
are nearly black: they also vary very much in size. Our
other species of grouse, the ptarmigan, as every sportsman
knows, is found only on the highest ranges of the Highlands.
Living above all vegetation, this bird finds its scanty food
amongst the loose stones and rocks that cover the summits of
Ben Nevis and some other mountains. It is difficult to ascertain
indeed what food the ptarmigan can find in sufficient quantities
on the barren heights where they are found. Being visited by
the sportsman but rarely, these birds are seldom at all shy or
wild, but, if the day is fine, will come out from among the scattered stones, uttering their peculiar croaking cry, and running
in flocks near the intruder on their lonely domain, offer, even to
the worst shot, an easy chance of filling his bag. When the
weather is windy and rainy, the ptarmigan are frequently shy
and wild; and when disturbed, instead of running about like
tame chickens, they fly rapidly off to some distance, either round
some shoulder of the mountain, or by crossing some precipitous
and rocky ravine get quite out of reach. The shooting these
birds should only be attempted on fine, calm days. The labour
of reaching the ground they inhabit is great, and it often requires a firm foot and steady head to keep the sportsman out of
danger after he has got to the rocky and stony summit of the
mountain. In deerstalking I have sometimes come amongst
large flocks of ptarmigan, who have run croaking close to me,
apparently conscious that my pursuit of nobler game would prevent my firing at them. Once, on one of the highest mountains
of Scotland, a cold, wet mist suddenly came on. 'We heard the
ptarmigan near us in all directions, but could see nothing at a
greater distance than five or six yards. We were obliged to sit
down and wait for the mist to clear away, as we found ourselves
gradually getting entangled amongst loose rocks, which frequently, on the slightest touch, rolled away from under our feet,
and we heard them dashing and bounding down the steep sides
of the mountain, sometimes appearing, from the noise they
made, to be dislodging and driving before them large quantities
of debris ; others seemed to bound in long leaps down the precipices, till we lost the sound far below us in the depths of the
corries. Not knowing our way in the least, we agreed to come
to a halt for a short time, in hopes of some alteration in the
weather. Presently a change came over the appearance of the
mist, which settled in large fleecy masses below us, leaving us as
it were on an island in the midst of a snow-white sea, the blue
sky and bright sun above us without a cloud. As a light air
sprung up, the mist detached itself in loose masses, and by degrees drifted off the mountain side, affording us again a full view
of all around us. The magnificence of the scenery, looking
down from some of these mountain heights into the depths of
the rugged and steep ravines below, is often more splendid and
awfully beautiful than pen or pencil can describe ; and the effect
is often greatly increased by the contrast between some peaceful
and sparkling stream and green valley seen afar off, and the
rugged and barren foreground of rock and ravine, where no
living thing can find a resting-place save the eagle or raven.
I remember a particular incident of that day's ptarmigan-shooting; which, though it stopped our sport for some hours,
I would not on any account have missed seeing. Most of the
mist had cleared away, excepting a few cloud-like drifts, which
were passing along the steep sides of the mountain. These, as
one by one they gradually came into the influence of the currents
of air, were whirled and tossed about, and then disappeared ;
lost to sight in the clear noonday atmosphere, as if evaporated
by wind and sun.
One of these light clouds, which we were watching, was
suddenly caught in an eddy of wind, and, after being twisted into
strange fantastic shapes, was lifted up from the face of the mountain like a curtain, leaving in its place a magnificent stag, of a
size of body and stretch of antler rarely seen ; he was not above
three hundred yards from us, and standing in full relief between
us and the sky. After gazing around him, and looking like the
spirit of the mountain, he walked slowly on towards a ridge
which connected two shoulders of the mountain together. Frequently he stopped, and scratched with his hoof at some lichen-covered spot, feeding slowly (quite unconscious of danger)
on the moss which he separated from the stones. I drew my
shot, and put bullets into both barrels, and we followed him
cautiously, creeping through the winding hollows of the rocks,
sometimes advancing towards the stag, and at other times obliged
suddenly to throw ourselves flat on the face of the stony mountain, to avoid his piercing gaze, as he turned frequently round to
see that no enemy was following in his track.
He came at one time to a ridge from which he had a clear
view of a long stretch of the valley beneath. Here he halted to
look down either in search of his comrades or to see that all was
safe in that direction. I could see the tops of his horns as they
remained perfectly motionless for several minutes on the horizon.
We immediately made on for the place, crawling like worms
over the stones, regardless of bruises and cuts. We were within
about eighty yards of the points of his horns; the rest of the
animal was invisible, being concealed by a mass of stone behind
which he was standing. I looked over my shoulder at Donald,
who answered my look with a most significant kind of silent
chuckle ; and, pointing at his knife, as if to say that we should
soon require its services, he signed to me to move a little to the
right hand, to get the animal free of the rock, whi¾h prevented
my shooting at him. I rolled myself quietly a little to one side,
and then silently cocking both barrels, rose carefully and slowly
to one knee. I had already got his head and neck within my
view, and in another instant would have had his shoulder. My
finger was already on the trigger, and I was rising gradually an
inch or two higher. The next moment he would have been
mine, when, without apparent cause, he suddenly moved, disappearing from our sight in an instant behind the rocks. I should
have risen upright, and probably should have got a shot; but
Donald's hand was laid on my head without ceremony, holding
me down. He whispered, " The muckle brute has na felt us ; we
shall see him again in a moment." We waited for a few minutes,
almost afraid to breathe, when Donald, with a movement of impatience, muttered, " 'Deed, Sir, but I'm no understanding it,"-
and whispered to me to go on to look over the ridge, which I
did, expecting to see the stag feeding, or lying close below
it. When I did look over, however, I saw the noble animal
at a considerable distance, picking his way down the slope
to join some half-dozen hinds who were feeding below him,
and who occasionally raised their heads to take a good look
at their approaching lord and master. " The Deil tak the brute,"
was all that Donald said, as he took a long and far-sounding
pinch of snuff, his invariable consolation and resource in times
of difficulty or disappointment. When the stag had joined the
hinds, and some ceremonies of recognition had been gone through,
they all went quietly and steadily away, till we lost sight of
them over the shoulder of the next hill. " They'll no stop till
they get to Alt-na-cahr," said Donald, naming a winding rushy
burn at some distance off; ' Alt-na-eahr * meaning the ' Burn of
many turns,' as far as my knowledge of Gaelic goes. And there
we were constrained to leave them and continue our ptarmigan-shooting, which we did with but little success and less spirit. Soon
afterwards a magnificent eagle suddenly rose almost at our feet, as
we came to the edge of a precipice, on a shelf of which, near the
summit, he had been resting. Bang went one barrel at him, at a
distance of twenty yards. The small shot struck him severely,
and, dropping his legs, he rose into the air, darting upwards nearly
perpendicularly, a perfect cloud of feathers coming out of him.
lie then came wheeling in a stupified manner back over our
heads. We both of us fired together at him, and down he fell
with one wing broken, and hit all over with our small shot. He
struggled hard to keep up with the other wing, but could not do
so, and came heavily to the ground within a yard of the edge of
the precipice. He fell over on his back at first, and then rising
up on his feet, looked round with an air of reproachful defiance.
The blood was dropping slowly out of his beak, when Donald
foolishly ran to secure him, instead of leaving him to die where he
was ; in consequence of his doing so, the eagle fluttered back a
few steps, still, however, keeping his face to the foe. But, coming
to the edge of the precipice, he fell backwards over it, and we saw
him tumbling and struggling downwards, as he strove to cling to
the projections of the rock-but in vain, as he came to no stop till
he reached the bottom, where we beheld him, after regaining his
feet for a short time, sink gradually to the ground. It was impossible for us to reach the place where he lay dead without
going so far round that the daylight would have failed us. I
must own, notwithstanding the reputed destructiveness of the
eagle, that I looked with great regret at the dead body of the
noble bird, and wished that I had not killed him, the more
especially as I was obliged to leave him to rot uselessly in that
inaccessible place.
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