WILD SPORTS OF THE HIGHLANDS 



regularly beaten tracks. I was rather amused at an old wo- 

 man living at Sluie, on the Findhorn, who, complaining of 

 the hardness of the present times, when "a puir body could 

 n'a get a drop smuggled whisky, or shot a rae without his 

 lordship's sportsman finding it out," added to her list of 

 grievances that even the otters were nearly all gone, "puir 

 beasties." "Well, but what good could the otters do you?" 

 I asked her. ' ' Good, your honour ? why scarcely a morn came 

 but they left a bonny grilse on the scarp down yonder, and 

 the vennison was none the waur of the bit the puir beasts 

 eat themselves." The people herecallevery eatable animal, 

 fish, flesh, or fowl, venison, or as they pronounce it, "venni- 

 son." For instance they tell you that the snipes are "good 

 vennison," or that the trout are not good "vennison "in the 

 winter. 



It seems that a few years ago, before the otters had been 

 somuchdestroyed,thepeople on particular partsofthe river 

 were never at a loss for salmon, as the otters always take 

 them ashore, and generally to the same bank or rock, and 

 when the fish are plenty, they only eat a small piece out of 

 the shoulder of each, leaving the rest. The cottagers, aware 

 of this, were in the habitof looking every morning for these 

 remains. 



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