122 BRITISH DOGS 



of Glenmoriston, for Captain Basil Hall, who described his dogs 

 in 1848, and who therefore saw them, probably, a year or so before, 

 mentions that Mr. Grant had kept the breed thirty years, which 

 would take us back to about 1815 or so. I have never seen 

 Captain Basil Hall referred to in relation to the Deerhound, though 

 his account is highly interesting. He states that the first dog Glen- 

 moriston had was sent him by Captain Macdonald, of Moray in 

 the Braes of Lochaber. Having heard of a pure and beautiful 

 bitch, celebrated for her great courage and lasting power, then the 

 property of Mr. Mackenzie, of Applecross, Glenmoriston suggested 

 to him that one of them should keep up the breed. Mr. Mackenzie 

 declined, and the bitch became domiciled at Invermoriston, from 

 which period then about forty years ago the breed had remained 

 uncontaminated in those parts. Captain Hall then remarks that 

 he had since learnt that Glenmoriston had relinquished the breed 

 to Mr. E. Ellis, of Glengarry. 



The breed of McNeil of Colonsay, described in Scrope's work 

 in 1839, would be the next one of which we have any account. His 

 dogs have been already described. 



It may here be mentioned that Captain Hall states that he had 

 two Glenmoriston dogs, and one from another source, and that he 

 gave one to a friend in Ireland. It was, perhaps, some of the 

 descendants of this latter dog that Captain Graham's friend mistook 

 for Wolfdogs in the early part of the ' Forties ' of this century. 

 At all events, we see that Deerhounds had been sent to Ireland. 



General Hugh Ross and Colonel David Ross had also a fine 

 kennel in Glenmoidart some years ago, the remains of which, 

 including Oscar, winner of first prize Birmingham in 1865 and 1866, 

 passed into the hands of their relative Major Robertson, who, 

 unfortunately, lost the stud records. I have no very distinct 

 recollection of Oscar, but he has been described to me by the 

 breeder of Morni whose sire Oscar was as a dog not over large, 

 but with grand hindquarters and thorough Deerhound character. 

 Colonel Campbell, of Monzie, was also noted for his kennel of 

 Deerhounds some thirty years or more ago. I never saw but one 

 actually bred by Monzie an elegant yellow dog, called Rob, 

 exhibited by Mrs. Cameron Campbell, at Birmingham, in 1870, 

 good sized, and with plenty of character. Monzie's Gruamach, the 

 sire of Lochiel's Torunn (afterwards belonging to Mr. Musters) and 

 Pirate, is perhaps the best known of this strain. He was, doubtless, 

 a very fine dog, and I may perhaps be permitted to mention, 

 without being charged with egotism, that I was informed by a 

 gentleman who has kept Deerhounds for work for nearly thirty 

 years, and who was well acquainted with Monzie's dogs, and bred 

 from them, that Gruamach and Morni were the two finest Deerhounds 

 he had ever seen. The same gentleman informed me horresco 



