WILD SPORTS OF THE HIGHLANDS 



he made out of the fishing just below him, the water on the 

 upper part not being so good. He therefore commenced 

 building a fort on the island, and falling^ in with his neig^h- 

 bour, asked him in an off-hand way to give him, merely, he 

 said, for the convenience of his workmen, a right of fishing 

 the whole river until his building was completed, salmon 

 in those days being used as a means of feeding the numer- 

 ous retainers and servants who lived upon and followed 

 every laird and chieftain. Indeed, but a few years back it 

 was often made a stipulation by servants on being hired 

 by a Highland master that they should not be fed on sal- 

 mon above a certain number of days in the week. But to 

 continue my story. The permission was granted; and, to 

 save all dispute about the matter, even a legal written doc- 

 ument was given over to the wily laird, granting him ex- 

 clusive right of fishing and netting the river, "until his 

 house was finished. "The building was immediately stopped, 

 and the right of fishing still belongs to the proprietor of 

 the little islet, who will probably never finish his building, 

 as doing so would put an end to his valuable rights on the 

 river. So runs the tale, which does more credit to the acute- 

 ness than to the honesty of the inventor of the ruse. The 

 jumping of the salmon up a fall is a curious and beautiful 

 sight, and the height they leap, and the perseverance which 

 they show in returning again and again to the charge, after 

 making vain efforts to surmount the fall, are quite wonder- 

 ful. Often on a summer evening, when the river is full of 

 fish, all eager to make their way up, have I watched them 

 for hours together, as they sprang in rapid succession, look- 

 ing like pieces of silver as they dashed up the falls with 



84 



