killed pre}'. I Iben mminled the hill-pony lhat earricd the panniers, and rode rapidly homewards,
despatching on my arrival a supply of IIII• Mil 111 to enable the watchers to reniaiu throughout the night
on the spot. At daybreak the following morning, M the men had not returned, I again started for the
bill and learned that a fins had lieeu seen at dusk: a drifting squall of sleet passing over at the time, the
dim Iiulit had probably interfered with the aim, and the charge fired appeared tu have taken little effect.
A thick coating of snow to the depth of several inches had fallen during the night, and the shelters put
up as well as the wraps provided had proved most acceptable to those on the watch. As it was quite
possible that the cubs might be deserted owing to the alarm given, we determined to dig them out ot
once; after setting the men to work. I proceeded with a couple of terriers to make a cast round the
lower part of the hill, in order to uscoriain if by chance any fatal injury had been inflicted by the shot. At
length, after nearly nn hour's search, I came upon a kne old dog-fox lying dead and stiff in a dry
gully alniut half a mile from the cairn. On returning up hill ¡1 was evident from the excitement shown
by a couple of the dogs that had been left, and their reluctance to advance any distance into the den,
thai the vixen had succeeded in escaping OIIS.TVUI ion during the darkness and had made her wav into
the earth. Alter several hours' labour the family, with the exception nf the vixen, whom 1 was forced
to shoot, and one cub torn by the terriers, were safely secured in hampers and brought down to the
lodge. On carefully examining the contents of their larder, we discovered the remains of four hen Grouse
and two Greyhens all freak; the fragments that were left also gave evidence that over a score of blue
hares as well as a few rabbits bad been lately brought in and partially consumed. On putting the
terriers into another cairn, half a mile further along the ridge of the hill, they draggiil out two more
Grouse partly eaten, and in all probability the cubs had only lately been removed from this den; the
dogs exhibiting little excitement while exploring the innermost recesses, we did not waste time to dig
down and investigate the amount of prey collected. The whole of the birds discovered having proved
to be hens engaged in sitting, ample proof is afforded of the numbers of broods of Grouse that must be
destroyed to supply the requirements of a single litter of cubs. Though condemned by some who have
claims to be considered authorities on the subject, I can bring no charges based on personal observation
against the badger, whose numbers have greatly diminished uf late years. As my knowledge concerning
the habits of ihese animals was mooting!J limited, I made inquiries of Donald IfcKerchar, the head
keeper at Inner wick in Glcnlyon, and he furnished the following information:—" With regard to badgers
destroying Grouse, I cannot say that I have ever seen them doing harm ; they feed for the most part
on dead sbeep or other carrion found decomposing on the hills; I believe, however, that liny uill occasionally
take eggs. Nothing in the shape uf food is to be seen about their detm", whatever they carry
to their young is first swallowed and afterwards disgorged. They are also very fond of wild honey:
when Bring with my father near the head of the glen, I have often seen where they had lieen engaged
in digging out the comb; by some means or other they were enabled to kill the bees, which were to 1«
seen lying dead round about the place." WQd cats are now so scarce, banished, in fact, in almost every
district to the deer-forests or the remotest ranges of the bills, that the injury they- indict on the interests
of the Grouse-shooters must lie exceedingly small. The domestic pussy, when weary uf basking before the
fire In the shealing or shooting-lodge, rarely strays to any distance up the hill-side unless to take up its
quarters in a rabbit-warren. As far as I was able to ascertain in the Highlands, we seldom suffered
from the depredations of these marauders, unless a few young rabbits were carried off; a good lookout,
however, had to bo kept that the door of the larder was in perfect order, or an entrance would
be ell'ectcd and any game hanging within reach turn down and carried off. Ruts also are seldom met
• IJ.I I M, li,,; ,.„ , >:.,r -1 ,.. ocv.iH.,11, not do I** oswrt Uut it u in.uiibl) ths cue, luring out) iiuuiocd iLroeorfour ot Iticdcui
or cairn, to BhLli Laager* rf.ortid in the llifihlonili.
BED GROUSE. 7
with at any distance from the stacks about the farms or the outbuildings round the shouting-lodges.
•With reference to these peats, the ltiiicrwick keeper wrote to me as follows:—" I do not remember to
have ever seen rats on our Grouse-moors; they do not go so high. Last spring we found a dead rat
in a fox-cairn high up on one of our hills; but that is no proof It was obtained on the moors, as it is
must probable the fux came down and captured his prey about some of the steadings." I ascertained Impersonal
observations in England that martens will carry off the young of game birds. In the Highlands
their range appear* limited to the beech- and pine-woods, and I have seldom seen their tracks at any
distunce from the timber when snow was on the ground. Several trapped by gamekeepers and foresters
have been examined; hut all, I believe, wero captured in the plantations, where there could have been
little chance that Grouse had suffered from their predatory habits. Htoats and weasels, considering their
size, are the must merciless and bloodthirsty little wretches it is possible to imagine; none who have
watched their performances while in pursuit of prey rati doubt thai they exercise a peculiar fascination
over their victims. I have repeatedly come across ben Grouse lying dead on the moors, evidently dragged
from their nests and killed by these destructive creatures, the wounds on their necks and the marks of
the blood that had been sucked plainly indicating the cause of death. After satisfying their appetite in
the first instance, it is obvious lhat they return at times and in - inie manner convey the dead carcasses
to their dens, the immense quantities of belles collected in the cairns to which they resort affording
conclusive evidence as to their misdeeds. Some years back, while crossing the hills to the north of tin-
Lynn in Berthshir<', the keepers [minted out a large cavity among some blocks of stuno to which stoat- bad
frequently retorted. Although the men stated that during the past season the place had been deserted,
owing tu the destruction of its former occupants, I felt inclined to make an investigation of the old
quarters. As both picks and spade- were ou the ponies (we were on a truppini.--cs.pl liiti m at tin* lime),
it took but a few minutes to excavate sufficiently to allow the removal of the largest slab of rock behind
which the animals bad made their nay. The stone proved of considerable weight, hut at last gave way
before the efforts of half a dosen sturdy Highlanders. The fall of earth from above that accompanied its
displacement unfortunately obliterated all signs of the markings; the remains, however, of the bones of
birds (many evidently ladonging to Grouse, lmth old and youm:], as well as those of rabbit-, lhat wero
dug out would probably have filled a bushel measure. I now and then came across smaller collections
in the cairns or rabbi I-burrows on the sleep bill-sides, but never met with an opportunity for examining
one of their breeding-place- in England.
In addition to the other dangers lo which they are exposed, Grouse suffer considerably, iu many
districts, from the effects of striking while on Might against iron fences and the lines of telegraph-wires
strclehed across the moors. While exploring the upper ranges of the Crossfell in Cumlicrland, early in
June I noticed several clots of blood and feathers adhering to a wire fence, of about three feet in
height, that funned the boundary between some sheep-farms. Though not a bird was to be seen, it is
probable that the shepherds by keeping a sharp look-out secured u, constant supply. At various pumts
when' the Highland railway runs through ihe desolate region lying between the Straths of Tay and Spey,
I obtained evidence that numbers of Grouse were killed by the telegraph-wires; and again further north,
in Sutherland, there was little difficulty iu ascertaining the heavy losses sustained by this species from
the sume causes.
Hie enormous bags of Grouse recorded during the last few years appear to have stirred up the
animosity of certain writer-; and many of thcul have indulged in unlimited abuse of those whose names
beaded the lists. The most venomous attack on a sportsman lhat has come under my uutice is,
however, coulaiued in IFNOGillivray's 'British Birds,' vol. i. p. 1S3, and is so quaintly hitter that I offer
no apology for quoting a portion:—"The disversiuu which 'grouse-shooting' affords is well known, few