Wild Geese i75 



road of the island, running through from south to north. On the 

 eastern side of the road the ground rises suddenly to heather- 

 covered hills of variable but considerable height (200 to 1,000 feet 

 and more). This is what I call " the never-never land." These hills 

 are the mountain fastnesses of the two grey species, and to them they 

 retire whenever their nerves are shattered b}- attacks from the west. 

 Here thev were quite unapproachable, but the better feeding on the 

 low ground generally caused their return sooner or later, and almost 

 always before dusk, for their evening meal. 



"Between the main road and the sea, there were two quite distinct 

 grounds, separated from each other by a long and almost continuous 

 chain of fresh-water lochs (in fact they icere continuous during my 

 stav owing to the heavy rainfall and consequent floods). The 

 eastern portion consisted of low, broken ground, small hills and 

 miniature valle3-s, with a great deal of naked rock out-cropping. 

 The hills were mostly covered with coarse grasses of various kinds, 

 and a certain amount of dwarf stunted heather. The valleys were 

 wet, rush-grown swamps, with, generally, a liberal growth of flags 

 in the wettest parts ; better stalking ground for Geese, on the whole, 

 than one usually meets with. On the west side of the lochs the 

 character of the ground changed entirelv. It consisted of large, 

 open plains and low hills formed entirely by sand-drifts, serving as 

 a barrier to the sea. The plains were covered with a thin crop of poor 

 grass, plentifuUv interspersed with moss, while the sage-green bent 

 grass clothed the hills. A stretch of country such as one might see 

 in many spots on the east coast of England ; Brancaster, for instance, 

 in Norfolk, or the Bentlings between Sizewell and Dunwich in Suffolk. 

 These sand-dunes, or bentlings, as I should call them, are named the 

 " Macher," by the Gaelic-speaking natives. 



Until the frost drove them out of it, the Barnacle-Geese were 

 entirely confined to the " Macher," hardly ever extending their 

 ground on to the wet bog, and never, under any circumstances, 

 however much harried the}' might be, taking to the detestable 

 " never-never " land. These wide, flat, open plains afforded 

 absolutely no cover for stalking, unless the Geese happened to pitch 

 close by, or feed up to some of the bent-covered hills bordering the 

 sea. Otherwise they were unstalkable, and the only possibility 

 of getting on terms was to shift or drive them over the concealed 

 guns. 



The " Macher," then, was the home of the Barnacle ; the low- 

 moor and wet bog the home, when undisturbed, and the feeding- 

 ground, in any circumstances, of the White-fronts and Grey -lags ; 

 but here a further sub-division could be made. There are four farms 

 on this ground : Askernish, Milton, Bornish, and Ormaclett. Round 

 each farm a part of the bog had been brought under cultivation. 

 The cultivated land was specially attractive to the Grey-lag, while 

 the White-front generally' preferred the wettest bogs intervening 

 between the farms. 



