324 THE FOWLER IN IRELAND. 



animals in Achill. Their origin is lost in obscurity, 

 but doubtless they were, originally, wanderers from 

 the villages. They are snow white, with long droop- 

 ing coats, soft as silk, and the head of an old male 

 is very handsome. They never leave the cliffs, 

 except in the time of deep snow, when they visit 

 the neighbouring heather. They are shy in the 

 extreme, and I have seen them dotted about the 

 precipices where I thought no living creature, not 

 even a chamois, could venture. They are very hard 

 to get within shot of, even with a long-range rifle ; 

 and, if shot, the chances are they could never be 

 recovered, by reason of their inaccessible position. 

 They browse on the small sweet patches of grass 

 intersecting the rocks. 



THE Fox is so numerous and so well known 

 in Ireland as scarcely to deserve special mention, 

 but I may refer to it here for the purpose of refuting 

 a popular fallacy regarding the mode in which this 

 animal carries off its booty when killed. I have, 

 at different times, seen a Fox running off with a 

 Duck, just taken from her nest ; and, contrary to 

 the prevailing idea, he does not throw his prize over 

 his shoulder as he trots along, but carries his head 

 and neck high, while the bird he has taken dangles 

 against his chest. A Fox was seen by a friend of 

 mine to bear away even a Goose in this fashion. 

 We all know the well-known picture of a Fox 

 cantering at break of day from a farmyard with 

 a Duck slung across his neck and back- a position 

 he could not possibly keep it in. I have already 

 alluded (p. 69) to the damage a Fox will do in a 

 decoy if left to his own devices. However much 



