84 REMINISCENCES OF THE LEWS. 



not thint there ever was more beautiful hunt- 

 ing country formed for the different varieties 

 of winged vermin and other enemies to grouse, 

 that abounded ; and, but for the great number 

 of peat bogs and peat mosses, which were a 

 great protection, I think birds never could 

 have held their ground. In my opinion, High- 

 landers — certainly Hebrideans — are not the 

 best trappers in the world ; they have not 

 system enough for the work, and are not early 

 trained up to it. I once remarked to a 

 Hebridean keeper the number of hawks I had 

 seen on such and such ground, and recom- 

 mended attention to it, when he silenced me 

 by saying that " hawks did not pay for shoe- 

 leather." An eagle is worth money to stuff; 

 an otter's skin fetches a good price, and this 

 accounts much for the keenness after them. 

 There is also one thing to be said about 

 trapping in those parts. There are no trees 

 on which to set traps, and wood is a scarce 

 article. They can then only be set on cairns 

 or piles of either stones or peats, which attract 

 the attention of the natives to a certainty, 

 and the traps stand a very poor chance. But 

 somehow we managed, at their breeding time, 

 by degrees to get rid of a great many hawks, 

 ravens, and crows. I decidedly objected to 



