a position that I could either get past or scare them mildly out of the way.
A dose and very wet crawl of about two hundred yards through peat and slime
brought me unexpectedly to another arm of Loch Portin, and by keeping close
to the water I crept along to a point which I thought must be beyond the sheep
and exactly opposite and about one hundred yards from the Seals. By chance
I happened to turn round at this moment and found myself face to face with
a fairly large Seal not twenty-five yards away, which was regarding my ungraceful
movements with extreme interest.
‘ I could clearly see the sandy bottom not six feet below him, but did not like
to shoot because I wanted to have a good look at the Seals in front, and this
I knew I should certainly spoil if I fired my rifle off in the backwater.
A moment later I almost wished that I had taken the certainty, for, on creeping
up the bank to take a peep at the Seal rock, I suddenly found myself face to
face with an old Highland ewe. We tried to stare each other out of countenance,
but it was of no use, there was a loud hiss and a rush of many feet and
I raised myself just sufficiently to see a mass of Seals, nearly all asleep, on the
rock about eighty yards off. There was just a chance that the tame wild animals
might not have taken the hint from the wild tame ones— some Highland sheep
are almost as kittle as deer— so sinking out of sight I remained still for five
minutes before I again looked up.
‘ The rock on which the Seals lay was a conical one, well raised out of the
water, and affording resting places on three sides, all of which were visible from
the land. Here were congregated more Seals than I have ever seen in one
group before. I counted them over twice and made out sixty-two, which is
quite an unusual number, even in this home of the Seals.1
‘ They were nearly all fast asleep with dry coats, except one old beast,
which, lying on the very top of the equilateral triangle, kept raising itself up
alternately back and front to watch for approaching danger. I remained some
ten minutes watching the Seals with my telescope, and looking them all over,
till I could select the one in the best coat. They had all changed into the
winter pelage by this time, and presented every variety of the dark and light
spotted types, but there seemed to be no very big Seals among them, which led
me to presume that they were an assemblage of adult females and immatures.
1 On aslring Rone Morrison, who had constantly been here hunting Seals, what was the greatest number he had ever seen
together, he said eighty-two, one May day on this same rock. I have since seen many more Seals at one time, but not all
piled together as they were on this occasion.
At last I selected the watch Seal, who seemed as good as any, and fired at her
head when she raised it to take a look round.
‘ Few animals make much of a commotion when a rifle is let off near them,
yet sixty-one Seals falling from a rock and splashing in terror in a silent sea
is a sight to be remembered, and one which no word-picture can adequately
describe. For a moment the Seal at which I had fired lay on the top of the
rock, then, after some spasmodic twitching, it turned over and reached an inclined
plane, down which it rapidly rolled into the sea. After the sound of the shot
had died away the sea became dotted with black Seal heads at about two
hundred yards distance, but most of these presently disappeared, except a few
inquisitive youngsters, who came back close to the rock to see what had
frightened them.
‘ I waited for about five minutes out of sight, and was about to signal Rorie
to come on, when I observed two large Seals coming along the coast in my
direction. Presently one suddenly appeared in the shallow channel about sixty
yards away and immediately opposite my position, and as he offered an easy
chance he lay over to the shot at once, and the second Seal coming up without
having heard the shot shared a similar fate, but sank immediately. He was,
however, afterwards recovered by Rorie.’
My readers will, perhaps, have had enough of the shooting by this time, so
in conclusion I will only say that after the most successful day that Rorie could
remember we returned to Rodel with five fine Seals, all in good coat.