8
WHITE-TAILED EAGLE.
h ilh a gnu from which the charges had In-cii extracted) was nf hut little eon sequence, and shortly after atoned
for. Far more serious results, however, are likely to occur should a gun of this description containing
cartridges lie handled by sonic inexperienced sportsman wdio believe-- the weapon to he what he would term
" e m p t y . " The gun of the future ought, in my opinion, to possess indicator! that show plainly whether or not
the barrels contain cartridges.
" On arriving at a spring within a quarter of a mile or our destination we halted for n few minutes, and,
with the help of the glasses, made a thorough examination of the nest, which was now in view, placed in the
face of a steep and overhanging clitr. It was evident that the female was absent; but the male was at length
liaoovered, at the distance of nearly a mile, perched on a detached rock out on the open moor. As he sat with
his bead drawn hack and facing the full blaze of the sun, which was now getting low, it appeared as if he had
not yet observed u*. After carefully scanning the intervening space with the glasses, we came to the conclusion
that, if I could manage to reach a long broken ridge of rock that ran in the direction of the slab on which he
bad taken up his position, I should probably lie able to obtain a shot. The track I was forced to follow was
I'nr steeper than I bad anticipated; owing to the dry weather the turf was slippery a* glass, aud I had the
greatest difficulty ¡11 getting foothold. At hist I reached the summit, and I now discovered that our
suppositions were correct, as if able to keep myself low enough to gain the shelter of the ridge, the travelling
would be comparatively easy. The a i r was oppressively hot, and the heat in the gully up which I had climbed
bad been almost unbearable. Jusi as I had advanced about halfway over the eighty or one hundred yards of
open moorland that separated me from the ridge, aud which I was forced t o cross hi seqicntine fashion, crawling
Hal on the ground, and shoving the gun in front or me, I encountered a delightfully cool and plensant breeze.
The sudden chill, however, put a stop to my advance, as it brought on such a fit of sneezing that I was
compelled t o b u r y my bead in t h e moss lor several minutes for fear of disturbing the bird. While working the
gun along through the rough grass aud among the tangled heather-stalks, I discovered that, owing to the
absence of hammers, I could make my way with far greater freedom than with the old-fashioned weapons. At
last I was able to proceed ; aud once well under tlie shelter of the ridge I was no longer obliged to adopt such
an uncomfortable mode of progression. On shirting again after a short rest, I was not long in reaching t he
marks I had taken as the nearest spot from which I should have to shoot. Here I was delayed a few minutes
in order to thoroughly examine the muzzle and barrels of the gun; and while preparing to look over my
attention was nttraeted by a harsh sen-am high in t h e nir above me, and on rising suddenly u p I discovered
the bird just disappearing from sight over the brow of the hill, having probably only spread his wings a second
or two before, when the alarm-note of the female gave him warning. As both Eagles wen- now on t h e watch
and evidently disturbed, it was useless to wait; so I made my way slowly back towards the spot where wc had
halted. Slightly altering my course 1 avoided the steep gully up which I had scrambled, aud returned by a
longer hut easier track, rejoining the men a short distance from the nest. After remainingsome time surveying
all approaches and places for concealment, we retreated a few hundred yards to a grassy hollow, from which,
under the shelter of some stunted bushes a n d moss-grown stones, we could obtain a view of t h e whole range- or
cliff's in which the nest was placed, and at the same time refresh ourselves with hmeh. With the exception of
a wee nip taken at a well near the foot of t h e hill, neither bit nor sup had passed our lips for over eight houisi,
aud rest and food were most acceptable. While repacking the baskets after satisfying our hunger, I first
noticed that the gradually increasing gloom was not entirely caused by the disappearance of the sun behind
t h e hills, a n d a distant roll of thunder shortly after warned us that a tempest was approaching. One or the
men, who, while I was absent iu pursuit of the male, had been ns near to the nest as he was able to crawl,
stated that he had plainly heard the young birds c a l l i n g ; if this was t h e ease, I was of opinion that 1 should
be sun- of a shot by wailing for the return of the female. Before many minutes had elapsed the western sky
was entirely overcast with dense black clouds, anil the loudness of the peala of thunder indicated that the
WHITE-TAILED EAGLE.
storm was rapidly drawing nearer. While I was still undecided whether it would not be wiser to heat a retreat
and make for some place of shelter for the night, we caught sight of the female Eagle Hying along the face of
the elifis, and, after a single turn in front of the nest, she disappeared under the shadow of the overhanging
rocks. I was well aware that it was Impossible to reach the Lodge or even the nearest sliealing before the
storm would break, as eight or ten miles of rough travelling lay before us, to say nothing of a burn, which,
although crossed almost dry-footed in the morning, would, if the storm passed over its upper waters, lie coming
down in spate and quite impassable. Under these circumstances I thought 1 might as well endeavour to get
a shot if possible before the darkness closed ia. Wo had previously discovered a rough tract that rau down
the face of the clhTs a short distance to the east of the nest, aud by following this to the bottom we should he
enabled to gain a footing among some large stones about twenty yards below the ledge on which the eyrie was
placed. Leaving the rest 11C the men and the baggage where we bad lunched, Sandy (the head fiircster) nnd
myself started at once fur this spot, making the best or our way over the broken ground. A few drops of rain
were commencing to fall as wc reached the steepest part of the track ; here the rocks and stones were piled one
above another iu most fantastic disorder, aud, being forced to crawl with the greatest caution, it took us several
minutes to get over t h e last few yards. Just before we reached the bottom of the pass the null ftiry of the
storm burst over us. It was now utterly impossible to advance farther with any hopes of success ; the rain fell
in blinding torrents, the lightning flashed incessantly, and the peals of thunder echoing back from hill to hill
appeared like one continued roll. For a few minutes we attempted to shelter ourselves beneath an overhanging
crag of rock ; then a sudden shift or wind carried the squalls of rain from an opposite quarter, and we retreated
a short distance up the pass to a spot we had examined on our visit iu the earlier part of the day. A terrier
which had followed one of the keepers led to the discovery : Ins persistent barking and hunting among the
slabs of stone induced his master to follow ; and at last he came upon a number of small caves, formed by tin;
cracks and crevices of the fallen rocks. Some of the larger openings extended a considerable distance underground,
all appearing to communicate n il li anol her below the surface ; aud from the excitement shown by the
dog, it was evident that this subterranean retreat was either a fox-cairn * or the den or a badger. Creeping
on hands and knees 1 made my way cautiously into one of the larger caverns, while Bandy betook himself to
another, a few yards further up the pass. Ouce past the entrance, which was somewhat contracted, the space
was by no means conliued; aud snugly ensconced on a bundle of dry grass and heather, which we had
previously collected iu case 1 had to wait for the birds, I felt decidedly thankful at having reached so secure a
shelter. The storm, which had lulled for a few minutes, again broke out with increased violence, fiash after
llasb lighting up the inmost recesses of my hiding-place. As the lightning appeared to play about the bright
barrels of the gun, I imagined that such an efficient conductor would be safest at a distance; so crawling
outside I withdrew the cartridges, and placed it under cover of the first stone I came to, aud again retired
towards my den. Just as I was returning a blaze of light, which illumined the whole scene for several seconds,
revealed the familiar features of Sandy peering from an opening among the rocks. The forester is as line a
looking Highlander as one would meet in a day's march; lint he certainly presented a most spectral an 1
uncanny appearance under the influence of the nickering gleams and tho grim and rugged surroundings.
Then retreating to the furthest corner of my quarters I spread out the rough litter, aud making myself as
comfortable as circumstances permitted, 1 prepared to wait till the storm cleared off. Itcfore long I became
aware of a dull oppressive sensation in the atmosphere coupled with a faint unpleasant smell; hut whether it
was caused by dampness aud the mildew collected on the stones, or was merely a slight reminiscence of the
usual tenants of the establishment, I was unable to determine. Tired with the long day's work and lulled by
the distant rumble of tho thunder, I soon fell asleep, and it was not till some hours after daybreak that I woke
• A " ciitn" u.-mdly sijruiliua a hna\> of .tongs : it ia also fii-.ju. nil) I In nuiiu' pun liy ko-jiij and k.e -i.i. in li.,- I] ^IiUbJb to die mill.