RED DEER. 299 



along the eminences, hem them in so that they 

 must pass along the narrow gap in front of the 

 Hers in wait. Now bursts on the view a band of 

 old Stags, hastening along with light bounds ; in 

 their rear is a promiscuous assemblage of Deer of 

 all ages ; they sweep through the pass ; shot after 

 shot is fired ; some have fallen, and many have 

 fled ; but the sport is only for the noble ; and we, 

 who are more dependent upon our own exertions, 

 may content ourselves with meaner game. In the 

 Deer-forest of the Duke of Atholl, I have seen more 

 than five hundred individuals in one herd ; and in 

 that of the Earl of Fife in Braemar, at least two 

 hundred. In many of the wilder districts of the 

 middle and northern divisions of Scotland, the spe- 

 cies is still not uncommon, as well as in a few of 

 the larger islands, especially Skye, Lewis* and Har- 

 ris, in the latter of which, having permission from 

 the proprietor, I many years ago shot two. Wild 

 and vigilant as the Red Deer is, I have yet crawled 

 to within ten paces of one, and in those parts 

 where there are neither woods nor thickets, this is 

 the only way in which they can be obtained. When 

 you have fired from your concealment, the herd 

 immediately start off, gathering into a close body 

 as they proceed, and at the distance of from two to 

 five hundred paces, invariably turn and stand for a 

 few seconds, to discover whence the noise has come. 

 It is chiefly in the morning and evening that they 

 feed, and during a great part of the day they repose 

 among the heath. In summer the males keep apart 



