82 FuKTS IN ESKDALEMUll!. 



they were used solely as a means of communication between the 

 foi'ts. I have all my life noticed parts of these trenches, here 

 and there, when out on the hills with my gun, but paid little heed 

 to them, further than that they had evidently something to do with 

 the forts, and that they made splendid shelter when stalking' an 

 old blackcock. 



The few trenches I had before traced out encouraged me to 

 go on, and becoming enthusiastic over my discovery, I set to 

 work with a will all through the summer of 1896, and I was very 

 nmch astonished at the result. Owing- to my intimate acquaint- 

 ance with the ground, I was able to lay down on the Ordnance 

 Maps, in red ink, the result of each day's woi'k as accurately as 

 possible, without an actual survey. On running a wheelometer 

 over the lines a:^ laid down, I found they extended to the 

 astonishing length of about 13 miles, and that considerably within 

 an area of 2700 acres. Of the 20 forts in Eskdalemuir, eight are 

 situated on my own lands of Castle O'er and Crurie. Two of 

 these are rather outlying from the others, and I have failed to 

 connect them with the remaining six, whose connection with each 

 other is complete. At whatever part of the ground one enters a 

 trench and walks along it, either to the right or left, he will find 

 his way into one of the five minor, or into the main forfc. as he 

 chooses. They are all of the same type as the earthworks defend- 

 ing the forts, but are not so deep, and in many places, e.^., when 

 running through peat mosses or bog-ground, they are entirely 

 filled up. These breaks are one of the difficulties in tracing 

 them, but during the coui'se of my work I noticed that where 

 the trench had run, the vegetation along its line was of a different 

 kind, or at least appeared of a different colour, from the other 

 parts of the moss or bog. In bog-ground a growth of rushes 

 very frequently reveals the line of the trench. In such places a 

 sheep's footpath is almost invariably a good guide, as a searcher 

 will discover that the sheep have found out, and have chosen for 

 their road the hard top of one or other of the mounds. By fol- 

 lowing these indications across the soft ground, the trench will 

 again be foinid at the other side, stretching away along the 

 harder ground beyond. Another difficulty in tracing them is 

 where they run along the steep side of a lea brae, or where loose 

 stones abound ; the continual spurring of sheep's feet on the upper 

 side of the trench has rumbled down earth and stones into it, and 



