414 THE SALMON RIVERS OF SCOTLAND 



Like the Cree, this river rises from two head streams ; one 

 the Black Water of Dee, which rises from Loch Dee, near Loch 

 Trool, and receives water from a still higher source in the 

 Cooran Lane, which descends a steep glen in the Rhinns of 

 Kells, the other is the Water of Ken. Now the Water of Ken 

 has a surprisingly long course, and a great number of small 

 burns go to its making. Two sources are, however, sufficiently 

 distinct from all others, viz. the burns at the head of the Water 

 of Deugh, rising from the south side of Wedder Hill, close to 

 the Ayrshire border, and not far from the source of the Nith, 

 the other across a range of hills to the eastward rises within a 

 quarter of a mile of the point where the shires of Kirkcudbright, 

 Ayr, and Dumfries meet, and where the Scaur Water, a 

 tributary of the Nith, rises. This latter series of burns really 

 forms the Water of Ken, but the Water of Deugh has a longer 

 course. The water-way from the source of the Deugh to the 

 mouth of the Dee at Kirkcudbright is 46 miles. The Deugh 

 joins the Ken about 7 miles north of New Galloway, and before 

 the junction is made the stream plunges over a fall which 

 completely shuts off salmon from those upper waters, when a 

 couple of miles south of New Galloway the river flows into 

 Loch Ken, the commencement of a long stretch of still water 

 which winds, with occasional intervening runs, for well-nigh 

 8 miles, and forms a well-marked feature in the Dee district. 

 Loch Ken itself is 4 miles long, and presents views of very 

 great beauty. The railway crosses the sluggish stream which 

 flows from it before it again expands into the wide diverticula 

 of the so-called river. Kenmure Castle, the ancient seat of 

 the Gordons of Kenmure and Lochinvar, who are of the same 

 stock as the Gordons of the north, stands at the upper end of 

 the loch. 



Just below where the railway crosses, at Parton Station, the 

 Ken joins the Dee. The junction is only 150 feet above sea- 

 level, and there are 14 miles to the estuary at St. Mary's Isle, 

 so it will be readily understood that the gradient is easy. The 

 slack loch-like water between Parton and Cross Michael is a 

 stronghold of pike, which reminds me that Loch Ken is reported 

 to have yielded the largest pike on record. A systematic war 

 should be waged against these wretched fish when they spawn 

 amongst the weeds in spring, and all the little boys in the neigh- 



