294 TOUR IN SUTHERL AN DSHIRE. 



and within half a mile of it. The river had to be crossed, 

 and it was impossible to find the stepping-stones: but no 

 time was to be lost, as a fresh drift began to appear to wind- 

 ward ; so in we went, and dashed through the stream, which 

 was not much above knee-deep, excepting in certain spots, 

 which we contrived to avoid. The poor dog was most un- 

 willing at first to rise from his resting-place, but followed us 

 well when once up. 



We soon made our way to the house, and got there just as 

 another storm came on, which lasted till after dark, and 

 through which, in our tired state, we never could have made 

 our way. Donald and the shepherd's family were in a state 

 of great anxiety about us, knowing that there would have 

 been no possible means of affording us assistance, had we 

 been bewildered or wearied out upon the mountain. The 

 shepherd himself was fairly knocked up, and could scarcely 

 be prevailed upon to take either food or drink, or even to 

 put off his frozen clothes, before flinging himself on his bed. 

 For my own part I soon became as comfortable as possible, 

 and slept as soundly and dreamlessly as such exercise only 

 can make one do. I must candidly confess, however, that I 

 made an inward vow against ptarmigan shooting again upon 

 snow-covered mountains. 



No person who has not been out in a snow-storm on lofty 

 and exposed ground can form an idea of its force, and the 

 difficulty there is in ploughing through the drifts and deep 

 places ; I certainly had no conception of what it was until 

 that day. A change of weather came on during the night, 

 and by noon the next day all was again bright and clear, and 

 we reached home with little difficulty. The wind and drift 

 had been much less severe near the house, and the tops of 

 the trees were still covered with masses of snow, which the 

 wind had not been powerful enough to dislodge. 



Before the ice and snow break up on the higher grounds 

 of the river, there is generally plenty of wild-fowl shooting 

 about the open pools near the sea. At the commencement 

 of snow the birds are usually tame enough to make the sport 

 good, and with the assistance of my retriever I often bring 

 home a heavy bagful of ducks, &c. ; but without a retriever, 

 and a good one too, wild-duck shooting is utterly useless 

 anywhere. 



In wild-fowl shooting more than in any other kind of 

 sporting, a perfect knowledge of the ground and of the 



