CHAPTER FIVE ON POACHERS 



"'Deed, your honour, what could a puir woman do against 

 four or five wild Hieland lads with guns in their hands?" 

 In fact, the shepherds have a natural fellow-feeling with 

 the poachers, and, both from policy and inclination, give 

 them any assistance they want, or leave their wives and 

 children to do so; and many a side of red deer or bag of 

 grouse they get for this breach of promise to their masters. 

 In the winter season a poacher calls on the shepherd, and 

 says, "Sandy, lad, if you look up the glen there, you'll see 

 a small cairn of stones newly put up; just travel twenty 

 paces east from that, and you'll find a bit venison to your- 

 sel'" — some unlucky deer having fallen to the gun of one 

 of the poaching fraternity. This sort of argument, as well 

 as the fear of "getting a bad name," is too strong for the 

 honesty of most of the shepherds, who are erroneously 

 supposed to watch the game, and to keep off trespassers. 

 The keepers themselves in the Highlands, as long as the 

 poachers do not interfere too much with their master's 

 sport, so as to make it imperative on them to interfere, are 

 rather anxious to avoid a collision with these "Hieland 

 lads." For, although they never ill-use the keepers in the 

 savage manner that English poachers so frequently do, I 

 have known instances of keepers, who (although they were 

 too smart gentlemen to carry their master's game) have 

 been taken prisoners by poachers on the hill, and obliged 

 to accompany them over their master's ground, and carry 

 the game killed on it all day. They have then either been 

 sent home, or, if troublesome, the poachers have tied them 

 hand and foot, and left them on some marked spot of the 

 muir, sending a boy or shepherd to release them some 

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