COLQIIHOUN'S HIGHLAND WANDERINGS. * MR. COLQIIHOUN is one of the increasing
class of naturalist sportsmen, who combine an ardent love and nice observation of nature with sur- passing skill in the death-dealing art ; though it is probable that the en- joyment of air and scenery, the excitement of an ever-varying pursuit, and the study of instinctive (if we must not call it reasoning) intelligence, are a more stimulating cause of these men's love of sport than a semi- barbarian delight in slaughter. Active themselves, hardened by expo- sure, and, especially if Highland sportsmen, braced by exertion, they have somewhat of a goodnatured contempt for the common run of amateurs, and look with no very favourable eye on improvements in agriculture, which by reclaiming the waste interfere with sport or banish the farce naturee altogether. Many of this class are no longer obnoxious to the charge of illiterateness, brought against the foxhunter or fowler of the old school. They handle the pen as cleverly as many litterateurs who sneer at sportsmen ; while their matter is from its freshness and math superior to that of authors who make a book out of other books or mere • Rocks and Rivers; or Highland Wanderings over Craig and corm, "Flood and Fell." By John Colquhoun, Esq., Author of "The Moor and the Look." Published
by Murray.
brains. Their manner too has a racy heartiness about it, which if occa- ionally coarse or in doubtful taste is at least their own. Of this school Mr. Colquhonn is one of the fint. He has better taste than " Nimrod," or the Anglo-American who writes under the pseudo- nyme of " Frauk Forester ' ; and if he has less of writing knack, he has fewer of the writer's tricks. Of the various amateurs we remember, he is facile prineeps, from the solidity of his matter and the native power of his style. lie has the prejudices of his craft and his Highland home; but they are the genuine feelings of his mind, not a taste simulated to spin a paragraph or point a period. As a sportsman he strikes us as of the first class, owing to the variety of his pursuits. Nothing comes amiss to him. In deer-stalking or roebuck-shooting be is at home ; all that haunt the " moor and the loch," with the river in addition, whether of grouse or other game, fish or water-fowl, are within his dominion. If he does not seem to be much of a huntsman, (and he may be one for aught we know,) it is doubtless a "matter of geography "; but to make amends for that deficiency, be can bring down the eagle from his eyrie, and follow the sea-birds to their lofty home, though he cannot vie in their pursuit with the regular sea-fowler. Au inkling of their risks may be gained from our author's visit to the Bass Rock.
"If the look up was astounding the look down was appalling. I certainly felt little inclined to covet the esteemed post of cliffman ; which office, the old sailor told me with no small pride, his father had held for thirty years. He had suc- ceeded him for a few years; but gave it up as he was too weak to throw the young solands clear of the rock into the sea beneath. To do this effectually, re- quires a very powerful arm. Many years ago, an aspiring blacksmith, trusting to his ponderous strength, offered to descend the Bass Bock. The ropes were adjusted, and he was lowered over the first shelf. As soon as he caught sight of the blue sea, and abyss between, he went raving mad, and would not move. The people in the boat below perceived his state, and made signs to let him down; which was done by main force. It took several men to hold him in the boat ; but in about a month he regained his faculties. He is now an old man; but to this day has never spoken slightingly of a cliffinan's duties, or volunteered his un- solicited services.
"About sixty years ago, when Canty Bay was much infested by smugglers, there lived below Tantallan a family of the name of Kelly. They were men of great resolution and herculean strength. The old tar said he had seen one of them take a pipe of smuggled wine upon his knee and drink out of the 'hung- hole.' He was not at all pleased to see me smile at the relation of this feat. The grandson of this family had the reputation of being the best cliffman that ever descended the Bass. Upon one occasion he vras searching above and one of his uncles in the boat below ; a very small pebble was dislodged near the top, and struck the uncle upon his thick sea hat ; it cut through the hat, stuck into his skull, and before they could row ashore, he had nearly bled to death. The geese are sometimes maimed in the same way.
"Adams, the renter of the Bass, is very dexterous in the management of the ropes above; which considerably lessens the risk of descent."
Rocks and Rivtrs, or Highland Wanderings, is a series of papers descriptive of excursions made by the author during the last eight or nine years in the regions indicated, or an exposition illustrated by in- stances of particular sports to be pursued there. It is Mr. Colquhoun's practice to excursionize, as Gibbon read for his Decline and Fall, with "the pen always in the hand." Thus, of every sporting tour be has a record, "loosely thrown together just as they occurred," he says ; but the close observation of many things, especially of the habits of animals, argue little of looseness, but on the contrary of care. The book before us consists of a selection from these papers, nearly twenty in number, and of a greater variety than their titles could indicate; "A Plea for the Wastes "containing half a dozen topics at least, that turn up in the course of a spring excursion to shoot a golden eagle on its nest and in- dulge in a little trout-fishing. With a few exceptions, the chapters relate to Highland fishing, shooting, natural history or scenery ; and involve narrative of adventure' directions for sportsmen, information for those who are pleased with the study of natural history, and de- scriptions of external nature and its occupants in those wild districts,— such as this early morning in the Highlands. "Day was just breaking when I crossed the river Tulle, on my way to Peter Robertson's cottage. He was standing before his door, consoling himself for his early start by a pipe of very strong tobacco. The morning was all we could wish, calm, grey, and mild. As we passed the banks of the loch, roe-deer were quietly Cropping the greensward which sloped to the water's edge, and now and then a fine buck would raise his bead and look listlessly over his shoulder, as if wonder- ing what business we had to be so soon astir. The black-cock, surrounded by his hens, was croouing his antics on the tops of the knolls, and was answered by the red-cock with many a cheery but eccentric call from the more distant heights. A male hen-harrier was flitting stealthily above the heather, seeking his break- fast where it would be easily found, with small chance of human company at his morning meal. Now and then an Alpine hare would canter lazily away, or raise herself upon her hind-legs to listen, moving about her inquisitive ears.
"For some miles we walked along the road which intersects the lower end of the forest, when Peter suddenly turned into its gloomy depths. Small flocks of deer now crossed us frequently, and sometimes a large herd would saunter past at a slow walk. Occasionally we saw their profiles on the crests of the mountains, or at feed, dotted along some distant correi, in appearance no bigger than roes."
"Pleasure in the way you like it" is a maxim applicable to many Sports, since none but the initiated perceive in what the attraction con- sists. There is not the absolute discomfort of water-fowl shooting by night in this practice of deer-stalking, but a stranger would scarcely pro- nounce it the first of sports.
" When stalking a herd, or between deer, down hill, the best way is to slide Upon the back with your feet foremost. This can be done by leaning upon the elbows, and using the heels of the shoes to draw on the body. The knees will thus be prevented from rising too high. Should you attempt to crawl down head foremost, the back will often be two feet higher than the head, and the stalker never be aware of it. In sliding down the hill, both stalker and sports:nau must have their eye upon the deer; and if they raise their heads, must keep the exact position they were in when the deer looked up. It is very bad generalship either with deer or wild fowl, to clap down quickly, as they at once see this man- ceu, vre. Instead of doing so, remain steady as a rock, until the deer begin to had again or look in a different direction. Should they suspect you, and thus render it necessary to move out of sight, withdraw yourself inch by inch, so as to Prevent their seeing the least motion. In stalking up bill, you must crawl some- times upon hand and knee, occasionally flat upon your face when the deer come more prominently into view. As they always look down hill, greater caution is required than when stalking from above. Should two good stalkers be noticed by deer, one ought always to remain where they were first perceived; the other ad- vancing alone. If the deer are in sight and not far off, a knowing forester often restrains the eagerness of the novice, by telling him to coont the grass as they go along'; that is, to count each deer as they raise their heads for a moment when feeding up. This, by insuring a very slow advance, doubles the chances of their escaping the notice of the deer, and keeps the young stalker more cooL" One of the exceptional articles (if it can be called such) is "Lennie Burn,"—though rather devoted to a species of pond or well, formed in one of the stream's old courses : and a very remarkable example it is of the interest attaching to a simple description of nature; for the main por ion of the paper is nothing more than an account of certain fish int- prisoned in the little pond, and their habits. "The Hill Poacher" forma another exceptional chapter; and is a vigorous though not complimentary sketch of the various races of the genus, English, Lowland, and High- land ; the preference being nationally assigned to the latter,—though some of them seem a queer set. This is one of them. "Very unlike Gregor More was — Strange to say, he had once been a 'placed minister of the Kirk,' (answering to a beneficed clergyman;) and, al- though he often returned late on the Saturday night after being all the week poaching the deer, his sermons were both clever and popular. 1 met him once when traversing a wild range of hills, and was impressed both with his general information and the courtesy of his address. He had much to say, and said it well; yet, notwithstanding the blandness of his manners, you could not help feel- ing that interest or passion were the mainsprings of all his actions; as for prin- ciple, that he would inwardly sneer at the very name. He was an athletic hand- some man; but his expression, though bold and confident, was selfish and wily. The following anecdotes illustrative of his character are capital specimens of the man.
"He had shot a deer in a very out-of-the-way recess among the hills. While comfortably seated upon his quarry, enjoying a pinch of snuff in all the luxury of success, an intrusive face, followed by a gun, poked over the adjoining dike. Le:.ve that deer, or I'll blow your barns aboot your lugs.' — had neglected to reload his rifle ; so, without a moment's hesitation, he shouldered it and paced slowly up the glen. As soon as he got a knoll between him and the unceremo- nious stranger, he loaded as quickly as possible, took a long circuit, and came down behind the identical treacherous dike. Quickly showing the same startling apparition of a face and rifle, he commanded his rival instantly to take himself oft, but to leave his gun. The man was in the act of gralloching' the deer, and at once saw there was nothing for it but to obey. — kept his gun for some time, and often said, had he asked for a bit of the deer as a favour, he would have been ivelsome to a side of the venison, as the other WAS all he needed; and, in- deed, the stranger's assistance in conveying it was of far more consequence at that time than half of the deer.
"The next adventure of this worthy licentiate is a melancholy one. He and a friend, equally partial to a bit of fat venison, had agreed upon a night expe- dition for the purpose of stealing a deer. They were rather at a loss for a driver; so, partly by threats and partly by persuasion, they almost forced a young shep- herd to accompany them. Their gnus were loaded with 'swan post,' to make sure work ; and they were each placed under the ridge of the hill, to command the sky line, and thus have the deer between them and the light. The shepherd ap- peared on the ridge, and, extending both his arms above his head, as a signal that the deer were coming below, was mistaken by — for a stag's head and horns, and shot dead upon the spot. Quickly perceiving his mistake, he rushed up, and, carrying the dead man upon his shoulders, he pitched him over the adjoining pre- cipice, and made his companion take an oath that he would never divulge the se- cret. The Highlanders are a quick-witted people, however; and it was whispered that there was a little round hole in the shepherd's bonnet, which corresponded with another in his forehead, that was never made by a dash against the rocks. Some time after, the quondam minister's friend let out in his cups the above particu- lars. But few care to deny that the pnir lad's' death was occasioned by a false step over the ravine, and the night wind still howls round his lonely cairn at the foot of the rocks."
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