DEFENSIVE TOWERS OF THE RED DEER. 33 



n new-married couple, the Douglasses, of M , and was 



pronounced by far the finest that could by possibility have 

 been seen in Teviotdale since Chevy Chase, I did not 

 venture on the carving, being warned both by your hints, 

 and the example of old Robert Sinclair, who used to say 

 that he had thirty friends during a fortnight's residence at 

 ILuTowgate, and lost them all in the carving of one haunch 

 of venison; so I put Lockhart on the duty, and as the 

 haunch was too large to require strict economy, he hacked 

 and hewed it well enough." 



Stags, although they have frequent and ferocious combats 

 amongst their own species during the rutting season, have 

 been seldom known to attack men in any other way than 

 in self-defence. No instance of the sort ever occurred to 

 me, nor to Mr. John Crerar, who shot sixty years in the 

 forest of Atholl. Once indeed he incurred a sort of rebuff, 

 by his own imprudence ; being a very powerful man, he 

 got behind a stag, which was at bay in Glenmore, and, 

 being also a judicious person, thought it advisable to take 

 hold of his hind leg, and endeavour to throw him over; 

 but when about to do so, the animal saluted him with both 

 his hind legs, and with such effect, that one of his hoofs 

 broke his watch, and the other struck him in the mouth, 

 knocked out one of his teeth, and sent him sprawling on 

 his back to the edge of the water. The only instance I 

 ever heard of in that forest, of an offensive assault on man, 

 was recounted to me by the late Duke of Atholl. His 

 Grace had wounded a hart, and one of the deer-hounds 

 flew at him and seized hold of his ear; when the duke 

 came up, the hart sprang forward with his head down (the 

 dog still hanging to his ear), and was rushing to the attack ; 



D 



