WILD SPORTS OF THE HIGHLANDS 



nibble the furze into regular cushions and ottomans, on 

 which they sit and look out in the fine summer evenings, 

 without fear or dread of the sharpness of the thorns, which 

 in this arid district appear to me sharper and more pene- 

 trating than anywhere else. 



Westwards,towards Nairn, the sandhills are interrupted 

 by an extent of broken hillocks, covered with the deepest 

 heather that I ever met with, which conceals innumerable 

 pits and holes, many of the latter not above a foot in dia- 

 meter, three or four feet deep, and so completely concealed 

 by the growth of moss and heather as to form the most 

 perfect traps for the unwary passer-by. I never could find 

 out what these holes were originally made for, as they evid- 

 ently are not the work of nature. A large part of the ground 

 is here well wooded; the trees do not, however, appear 

 likely ever to come to a large size, well as they flourish 

 when young. This district of wood and heath is here and 

 there intersected by nearly impassable swamps, the abode 

 of mallards and teal, and occasionally of geese. In the 

 wooded parts are plenty of roe, who feed about the swamps, 

 and in the warm weather lie like hares on the hillocks, 

 covered with long heath, and under the stunted fir-trees in 

 the midst of the wet places. Throughout the whole tract of 

 this wild ground there are great numbers of foxes, who live 

 undisturbed, and grow to a very great size; feeding during 

 the season on young roe, wild ducks, and black game; and 

 when these fail, they make great havoc amongst the game, 

 poultry, and rabbits in the adjoining country. I have fre- 

 quently started and shot a fox here out of the rough heath- 

 er, when I have been looking for wild ducks, or passing 



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