REMINISCENCES OF THE LEWS. 81 



little indeed to shoot on the western parts ; and 

 towards Dalbeg and Sharbost one might travel 

 miles without seeing a grouse, though there 

 were woodcocks and snipes and plover. The 

 first thing to do was to make out some abode 

 from whence one could get at the larger portion 

 of the ground, which from Soval was entirely 

 impossible. How curious it is that in Scotland 

 the lodge is always placed as far from the 

 centre of the ground as possible ! 



At that time there was i^o inn, as there now 

 is, at Garrynahine ; therefore I was constrained 

 to build myself a bothy, kennel, and stable on 

 the top of Diensten Hill, about seven miles 

 from Soval, whence I could get at the heart of 

 the shooting, and which was about three miles 

 and a half from the best river ; and in this said 

 bothy I located a keeper. In the neighbour- 

 hood of Diensten, too, were to be found the 

 few deer that were then on the ground ; for at 

 that time the only part of the Lews that was 

 forested was Kenraisort, and there were deer 

 going over parts of the Soval ground at par- 

 ticular seasons, passing from south to north, 

 and vice versa; and the stags obtained were 

 good. I therefore never killed the hinds, but 

 let them increase, in hopes of attracting the 

 travelUng stags, which succeeded very well till 



G 



