REMINISCENCES OF THE LEWS. 85 



the destruction of eagles ; for who does not 

 like, even at the cost of several grouse, to see 

 an eagle soar ? Besides, I don't believe they 

 do such a great deal of harm ; I will back the 

 gulls against them any day. Against those birds 

 I declared war to the knife. There was a beau- 

 tiful freshwater loch, Trialaval by name, in the 

 centre of the shooting, shaped something like 

 a star, with numerous bays and outlets, or 

 rather inlets, for burns. It was some three or 

 four miles long, but how many round I never 

 could make out, for it was almost impossible to 

 get round it, unless one knew the particular 

 fords to cross the different streams that ran 

 into it. On this loch were several islands, on 

 which nested every species of gull that can 

 possibly be imagined. It was really an extra- 

 ordinary sight to go up there at the time the 

 young gulls were coming out, and watch them 

 taking their first lessons in the air and on the 

 water, and getting ready for their migration to 

 the sea, some three or four miles off. 



Well, I settled the whole community by 

 year after year systematically destroying their 

 eggs, till, as Paddy said, " I made them lave 

 that " so completely that they disappeared ; 

 and I know that as they became scarcer the 

 grouse increased considerably. 



