CHEVIOT 121 



me he has found as many as nine wasps' nests dug" out 

 by them during - a single summer. 



Another notable tenant of the crags of Cheviot is the 

 wild-goat. Little herds of these have, from time imme- 

 morial, rambled over the hills of the Border, and still 

 lead a life of absolute wildness. Some of the old " Billies " 

 carry quite imposing heads. One such, the leader of a 

 band of seven, at times frequented a shooting I then 

 had, and eventually afforded me a thoroughly exciting 

 stalk which culminated in the wild rock-gorge of Skirl- 

 naked. There are bigger rocks in Bezzil, steeper screes 

 in Henhole ; yet Cheviot boasts few more picturesque 

 spots than Skirlnaked, with its abrupt crags, its tumbling 

 fosses, and silvery icicles. My Cheviot wild-goat's head 

 measures 25 inches from tip to tip of horns, and now 

 hangs on my walls — the hairiest by far of all the hundred 

 head of big game collected thereon from three continents. 



It may be asked why animals yielding no return in 

 fleece or flesh, are granted free pasturage on the hills. 

 The answer given by the shepherds is unanimous — 

 "The goats earn their livelihood by killing the adders." 

 Whether this be so or not, there is some corrobora- 

 tion in the native name of the grandest of all the wild 

 goats — the Markhoor of the Himalayas' — that word 

 signifying "snake-eater." These Cheviot goats, more- 

 over, graze largely among precipitous rocks, great parts 

 of which are inaccessible to sheep. 1 



We have a dozen miles to tramp home, and the 

 shadows lengthen. The steep slopes grow all orange 

 and gold with the bright-leaved bilberry, aglow in the 



1 In North Tyne also are goats ; but there they mostly belong to the 

 shepherds, who keep them for their own use. These goats are not so wild 

 as those of Cheviot. 



