I A Gossip 071 a Sutherland Hill-side 249 



' How ? ' 



"Deed, sir, there was a great fox-hunting at 

 Lairg, and Chisholm, who lived at Rogart, brought 

 over a dog to run against the Guns of Lairg ; they 

 were all Guns in those days. Weel, they found a 

 fox up by Loch Craigie, and ran him down to 

 Lairg ; and a gran' run they had o't. Weel, there 

 was no bridge over the Shin in those days, nor for 

 many a day after ; 'deed, I remember when the folks 

 did not cross the water of Shin for months together. 

 So the fox swam the lower end of the loch where 

 the grilse lie whiles, and where we saw the moudi- 

 warp swim across, and one of the Guns' dogs and 

 Chisholm's after him, and they forgathered with 

 him on the far side and pit him down, and then, as 

 they werena weel acquainted, they girned at each 

 other and fell a-fighting over him, and when Chis- 

 holm and the Guns had waded and swum across, 

 there was a rare tussle between them. Now whether, 

 in the hurry of pairting the dogs, one of the Guns 

 gave him a blow by chance, or whether from vexa- 

 tion it was given on purpose, I cannot well say, but 

 out came Chisholm's skean-dhu, and three or four 

 of them were lying on the heather in as many 

 blows. When Chisholm saw the red bluid bubbline 

 over the plaids, he jaloused it was time to be off, 

 and he ran up the side of the loch and slipped in, 

 and swam to the little island at the head of the 

 lower loch, and then made as if he were going to 

 swim off to the other side, where the birches are 



