WILD SPORTS OF THE HIGHLANDS 



In dragging this lake we were obliged to restrict our- 

 selves to the two sandy bays, as the rest of the bottom was 

 covered with old tree-roots and broken sticks, which tore 

 our nets, and prevented our using them. 



In the quiet summer evenings it was interesting to see 

 my crew of five Highlanders, as, singing a Gaelic song, 

 they rowed the boat in a large semicircle round one of the 

 bays, letting out the net as they went, one end of the rope 

 being held by a man on the shore at the point from which 

 they started. When they got to the other side of the bay, 

 they landed, with the exception of one man, who remained 

 in the boat to right the net if it got fixed in roots or stones. 

 The rest hauled in the net gradually, bringing the two ends 

 together. As it came in, a fine trout or pike now and then 

 would be seen making a dart round the enclosed space 

 within the net, or dashing at the net itself, dragging for a 

 moment half the corks under water. The head man of the 

 crew, a little peppery Highlander, invariably got into a 

 state of the most savage excitement, which increased as 

 the net approached the shore; and if any stoppage occurred 

 from its being caught by a root or stick, he actually danced 

 with excitement, hallooing and swearing in Gaelic at the 

 net, the men, and the fish. When all went on smoothly and 

 well, he acted the part of fugleman with no little dignity, 

 perched in the bow of the boat, and keeping the men in 

 proper place and time as they dragged in the net. We 

 generally caught a great number of trout and pike, some 

 of very large size. By the time we had killed all the fish, 

 and arranged them in rows to admire their beauty and size, 

 the little captain (as the other men called him) subsided 



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