224 DEER-STALKING. 



before me, with the exception of a pair of ravens who passed 

 at no great height above me, uttering their harsh croaks of 

 ill omen as they winged their way in a direct course, to feast 

 probably on the remains of some dead sheep or deer. 



My attention was suddenly roused, however, by hearing a 

 couple of shots in quick succession, the sound coming from 

 the direction in which I expected Donald. As the reports 

 did not appear to be at any great distance, I rose with the 

 intention of going to meet him ; though I could not under- 

 stand what he was shooting at, it being quite against both 

 his and my ideas of propriety that he should hunt the very 

 ground over which I intended to beat homewards. On 

 second thoughts, I fancied that he had lired off his gun to 

 warn me of his approach ; but, just as I was passing these 

 things over in my head, I saw a stag of good size come in 

 view from the direction in which I had heard the shots. 

 Down I dropped instantly behind a rock, as the deer was 

 coming straight towards me. As he approached, I saw that 

 the poor beast was hard hit. One of his forelegs was broken, 

 and swinging about in a miserable manner, and he had also 

 one of his horns broken off a few inches above his head ; 

 altogether he seemed in a most pitiable state. Before he 

 came within two hundred yards of me he turned off, and I 

 watched him as he scrambled along on three legs painfully 

 and slowly, stopping frequently to look back, or to smell at 

 the blood that was trickling down his sides. I could plainly 

 see that he was also struck somewhere about the middle of 

 his body, as well as on the horn and leg, and was now bleed- 

 ing fast. It then occurred to me that Donald had fallen in 

 with a lame stag, and had thought it best to do what he 

 could towards killing him with my gun. Bullets he always 

 took with him by my orders. The stag continued his 

 painful march, and I would have given much to have 

 been within reach to put an end to the poor brute's misery. 

 He twice lay down on a grassy spot amongst the rocks, 

 having first looked anxiously and fearfully round him ; but 

 seemingly the attitude of lying was more painful to him than 

 moving slowly on. I remembered then a theory of Donald's,, 

 that a deer never lies down when shot through the liver, but 

 continues moving, or at any rate standing, till he dies. How 

 far this opinion was correct I never had a good opportunity 

 of proving. The deer before me, having found that lying 

 down gave him no relief, continued moving, but still slowly 



