124 DEER 



Siubhail sliabh luu'n cirich teas Travel hill ere heat arise, 



Bheir mi, etc., I'll sin^ me, etc., 



'N aire dhuit bho ghniomh nan con Be on i^uard from deeds of dogs, 



Bheir mi, etc. riTsing me, etc. 



Ma theid thu air beanntaibh arda If to mountains high you go 



*N aire dhuit bho Chlann-nan-cearda, Be on guard from tinker race, 



Clann-nan-cearda 's an cuid chon The tinker race witli all their dogs. 



Da chu dheug air lodhain aca. Twelve dogs have they upon leash, 



'S a chu fliein air lainih gach fear. And every man a dog in hand. 



Ma theid thu a'n gleannaibh iosal If to the lowly glens thou goest, 



'Nairedhuit|bhoChlann-na-fritheadh, Be on guard from Forest sons, 



Clann-na-fritheadh 's an cuid chon The sons of Forest with all their dogs. 



Da chu dheug, etc. (as before). Twelve dogs, etc. 



'Nuair theid thu a'n gleanntaibh When to the deepest glens thou goest 



domhain Be on guard from the Smith-sons, 



'N aire dhuit bho Chlann-a-Ghobhainn, The Smith-sons and all their dogs ; 

 Clann-a-Ghobhainn 's an cuid chon Twelve dogs, etc. 



Da chu dheug, etc. (as before). 



It is said that there are fourteen versions of the above known. 



The subject of deer-hunting is of too vast proportions to do 

 more than touch on. A pass in Glen-Lochay bears the name 

 "Comhsheilg" or '^Hunt-together/' it being the place where, 

 after the "Timchioll" or circle, a mode of deer-hunting was 

 carried out, the deer were driven to bay, while the "hiding" 

 hillocks were called loUaircean or lollaraicean. Another place 

 was called " Pollbuiridh," which simply means " rutting " place 

 or hollow. Harold, Earl of Caithness and Count of Orkney, was 

 said to be so passionately fond of hunting the deer, and of all 

 rural sports, that he was called " Morair na sithionn," lord of the 

 hunt or venison. 



As may be concluded, songs in regard to deer and deer-hunting 

 are numerous, and we only mention Duncan Ban Maclntyre's 

 poems as among the first. The following are a few selections. 

 The first being far-famed and familiar as a milking-song, it is 

 called "Crodh Chailein" or "Colin's cows." Among many notices 

 and descriptions of this song, it has been described as a " wonderful 

 strain of pastoral melancholy, redolent of the heathery brae and 

 breezy moorland, breathing a sweet tender spirit of the past, 

 and instilling upon the mind a pleasing enchantment." Its sweet 

 melody has been heard in many a shealing, and has lulled to sleep 

 many a fretful Highland child. The melody is said to belong to 

 Lochaber, and the well-known " Lochaber no more" is just an 

 elaboration of this air, to which Shaw composed several hymns. 

 A modern and able Celtic scholar and critic, M. Macfarlane, says 

 this song must be very old, and that there are stories told to 

 account for its origin, which are all alike untrue as they cannot 

 be all true, and that there are variants both of the words and the 

 music. This is not singular. It may be worth noting here that 

 the song gave its name to an erstwhile distinguished literary club 

 in Edinburgh. This club met at a tavern in the Anchor Close, 



