2 BRENT GOOSE.
the win". Iiad dropped and the sea fallen, a long swell still rolled slowly in. from the west. Suddenly a black
line of fowl was sighted through the haze a short distance to the south of our course, and under the
impression, at the lirst gkince, that the birds were Scoters*, the bead of the boat was turned in order
to inspect, their ranks +. It was not till we were within twenty yards that a single head was raised and the
species ascertained. After paddling a yard or two, the whole body got on wing; so slow, how"ever, were their
movements, that ample time was given to make use effectively of each of the four barrels of two heavy
10-bores. Considering the weather to which they had been lately exposed, it was somewhat strange that the
six birds secured were in fairly good condition—in fact above the average weight.
A green weed or grass, Zoatcra marina (slimy in texture and almost transparent), that flourishes only on
the saltwater mud-banks, is the principal food of this species; small quantities of other marine vegetation
are also consumed. Although a few Brent Geese have come under my observation on the broads of the
eastern counties and on other pieces of inland water, I am of opinion that it is seldom, unless wounded,
these birds quit salt water. According to the accounts of several of the gunners in the neighbourhood of
Trickling, a large body of over one hundred of these Geese settled on the broad under the shelter of one of
the hills during a heavy snow-storm some ten or a dozen years ago. One of the men worked his punt
within range; but owing to the effects of the snow, it was impossible to discharge the gun, and in the end
the birds escaped unmolested. In Fevcnsoy Level, during severe winters, when large (locks had been noticed
in the Channel, I have known one or two taken in traps set for Snipe or Teal iu the open drains or grips—
indicating that a few at least occasionally resorted to the marshes in that district in quest of food.
Numberless pages have been written by various authors describing the means and appliances by
which the cunning of this wily species is supposed to he successfully bullied; the times and seasons most
favourable for the prosecution of this somewhat uncertain pastime have also been fully given. More
anxious, as a rule, to gain an bwhjht into the manners and customs of fowl than to cause unnecessnry slaughter,
I am unable to moid any shots worthy of notice that have fallen to my share. Large numbers of lirents
have frequently been killed at one discharge, from forty to fifty, and even more, being occasionally picked
up. The heaviest hag (well authenticated) that has come to my knowledge was obtained about the lirths on
the eastern coasts of Ross and Cromarty, sonic years ago, before big guns had become so plentiful, eighteen
hundred Geese having been secured by a sportsman shooting in a double-handed punt in the space of six weeks.
Geese, I learned from an old punt-gunner, were the sole objects of this fowler's ambition ; on one occasion,
baling stopped at least thirty or forty Dun-birds accidentally in the dark, my informant declared that, on
discovering the error, this eccentric individual allowed not a fowl to he recovered, leaving the result of the
shot to the mercy of the tide.
in addition to the larger firths on the north-east coast of the Highlands, there were a few small muddy
harbours and estuaries to which Geese made their way when driven from nioro attractive feeding-grounds.
The Little Ferry near Golspie, owing to the absence of local gunners, usually afforded a safe restingplace
to parties numbering from fifty to one hundred birds, and here I occasionally met with lirst-ratc sport.
"While dropping down the Dornoch Firth with the ebb-tide in a small single punt early one foggy morning,
in the autumn of 1869, to ascertain if any Geese were harbouring near the bar, I passed several fishing-craft
from Hani' and Buckie, making for the Tain Sands to procure cargoes of mussels J. Fulling up alongside
* The (ioe-e li.iii]n-ri<-<l In be riL'lit ocir a hank often resorted to at a fecdiiwr-Rrouro] l>y TJ-JIII ' '»111111 m and Velvet Scoters.
t It U seldom in taia part of Ihe Channel, BO eiposod to south-went hrecioa, that a gunning-punt can b* launched, wilh hopes of aucccsa. For
shooting- ami coUeeliNfr-jiurpusos I usually went afloat in n liu.il of aljoul tixlft-n feet in hm-tli, 011 ill [or -ailinir or rowing fairly »e!l when ]iull<-.l
by a. couple of sltirdy onwui'ii. To deaden all »ound I he oars «111 muffled by «heep-»kin. and Ihe li;.'hl-] mi riled rnifl eliding <|iiii-tlj llinin_'h Hi,'
natcr, Divers, (ireuc, tin.I IIMI foul wore olteu ii|i]iro.iclicd wilhin range.
t Mussels used to Is' fiirmiil 011 the Tain shore of the Porno, !> I'mli. l.irt'c bed- or •• i-iaqis " liming In-™ hi id ilmvn. Tliere Ha-, 111 those days,
a grcul d'Tuulid fur Ijnit fur I he luii^r-line I1.1dd.111, iMu-rj . and number-, ol hualn from I he ej-t onasl en I IT'd the firth for cargoes.
B R E N T GOOSE.
of a boat thai had already taken the ground, I inquired of one of the hands who was watching the punt if
tliev had noticed many Geese near the entrance to the lirth. There was little in the way of fowl, I was
told, to tempt one so far, but about the sand-banks there were numbers of tine seals. The curiosity or the
whole of the crew appeared lo be aroused by my reply that fowl alone were the objects of which 1 was in MMlllll.
and two or three more turned out lo view the stranger. " Bn, 111011, but one's a grand beastie," added another;
" he's woorth a pooud." "An' ye pay for yer ain poother an hail?"* was the next query from a solemnlooking
old Highlander in a fantastic blue bonnet. On my staling that such was the case, they till turned in
again, the last remarking, as he disappeared, "Eh, hnl ye're nae puir mon." The canny Highlanders could
scarcely believe it possible thai the " beastie woorth a pooud " would not be preferred to a few Geese.
After a residence of a year or two on the coasts of the northern and eastern firths, I learned that seals
were held in great i-stimalion by the natives ou account of the oil, which they firmly believed to possess
miraculous powers for curing all manner of diseases. In order to satisfy- a few poor old bodies who
had expressed n wish for a small quantity or this healing, strengthening, and tight-giving remedy, I shot
several seals (in those days by no means difficult to obtain), and cutting up the blubber into chunks, extracted
the oil by boiling. The quality of the oil given away was reported to be far superior to any previously obtained
in the neighbourhood, and the news spread far and w ide. Very shortly empty bottles arrived, frequently from
a distance, accompanied, in many instances, by a half-crown, with a humble request that the bottle might be
filled. After a time a roaring trade might have been carried on, when the natives ascertained that the full
bottle together with the half-crown were invariably returned.