138 WOODLAND, MOOR, AND STREAM 



one too, but not from any protective point of view so 

 far as the deer forests are concerned, but because they 

 have been in demand as ornaments to decorate the 

 halls of sportsmen, or such as were ambitious of being 

 considered sportsmen. Forty years ago they were, 

 comparatively speaking, unmolested. In 1832, how- 

 ever, Maxwell's ' Wild Sports of the West ' appeared, 

 followed in 1 844 by that author's ' Sports and Adven- 

 tures. 1 In the same year Charles St. John's 'Wild 

 Sports and Natural History of the Highlands ' came 

 out, and after that 'The Moor and the Loch,' by John 

 Colquhoun. These works all contain truthful and 

 graphic descriptions of the wild creatures in their 

 native haunts amidst the grand scenery of Scotland 

 and Ireland. More particularly to Scotland was the 

 interest directed, and deer forests rose in value to 

 figures never before looked for. Things were done 

 also in the way of moving whole families with their 

 sheep and wild Highland cattle, in order that these 

 forests might be left in possession of the red deer and 

 the golden eagle, which would sound strange if told now. 

 Any sportsman who had killed a red deer, stag 

 with royal antlers, a golden eagle, seal and salmon, 

 was entitled to the full honours of the hunter's badge. 

 The first-named two gave him the privilege of ranking 

 among the first order of sportsmen. 



