28o Trmisactions of the [Sess. 



wards me ; then instinctively it put itself in an attitude of defence, 

 and stood at bay. I made a slight advance, waving my fishing- 

 rod in front of me, but instead of running away the brute seemed 

 rather inclined to advance, and I expected the next moment to 

 have a fight for life. If it did charge, I felt the mounted fishing- 

 rod would be next to useless as a weapon of defence ; and as the 

 antlers of the deer were free of velvet, I knew the consequences 

 might be rather serious for me. To run was out of the question, 

 so I stood my ground and kept waving the fishing-rod in front of 

 me. Gradually this had the desired effect, for the Stag moved 

 slowly oif to the left a few yards, stopped, had another look at me, 

 then leisurely scrambled up the rugged ascent a short distance, 

 and turned round once more. Something about my appearance 

 seemed to make him decide not to prolong our meeting, and to my 

 intense relief he made a sudden dash over the crest of the hill, and 

 was out of sight. I followed, and presently caught sight of him 

 rushing down the glen with several Hinds in his company. After 

 this I had no unpleasant rencontres with the Deer, but saw num- 

 bers of them every day during my excursions. 



Pennant, who visited Rum in July 1769, mentions that the Stags 

 are sometimes attacked by Eagles and killed. He says : " These 

 animals [the Red Deer] once abounded here, but they are now re- 

 duced to eighty by the Eagles, who not only kill the Fawns but 

 the old Deer, seizing them between the horns and terrifying them 

 till they fall down some precipice and become their prey." ^ One 

 would almost doubt the accuracy of such a statement were it un- 

 supported, even though Pennant is such a trustworthy authority ; 

 but the following notice of an attack upon a Stag by an Eagle 

 which appeared in the 'Scotsman' newspaper for 11th December 

 1884, seems to my mind to give the best possible reason for credit- 

 ing Pennant's statement. A Strathglass correspondent says : — 



" A few days ago a singular struggle was witnessed on the lower portion of 

 Corrie-Mor, at a short distance above Glassburn House, between a large and 

 powerful Eagle and a finely antlered Stag. The king of birds was watched 

 for some time as he hovered about on high above a herd of Deer, which ap- 

 peared to possess particular attractions for him. The noble bird was slowly 

 descending as he majestically sailed round in his aerial circles, and by degrees 

 getting nearer to his coveted quarry. At last reaching the striking distance, 

 he suddenly came to a halt in mid air, and, poising himself on outspread 

 wings, he seemed for a few seconds perfectly motionless. Then, like a 

 bullet from a rifle, he swooped down, and in an instant his powerful talons 

 were firmlj' fixed in the back of a fine large Stag. The monarch of the glen 

 plunged about in the wildest possible manner, evidently in great terror and 

 pain, the Eagle holding on grimly, belabouring the Stag's sides all the while 

 with heavy blows from its wings, and, when opportunity offered, making 



^ ' A General Collection of Voyages and Travels.' By Thomas Pennant, 

 Esq. London: 1772. Vol. iii., p. 313. 



