1 86 WILD SPORTS OF THE WEST. 



either undulated into hillocks, or intersected by rivulets, 

 whose broken banks were thickly covered with luxurious 

 heath. It was a beat on which a grouse-shooter would 

 risk a kingdom, it realised our expectations, and we 

 found game abundantly. 



Hunting for grouse during the basking hour of the day is 

 rigidly prohibited by all gentlemen who compile sporting 

 directories ; and yet every shooter knows that at these 

 proscribed hours himself is commonly on the moors. 

 Morning and evening, when the birds are on foot in 

 search of food, is undoubtedly preferable to the duller 

 portion of the day, when they are accustomed to indulge 

 in a siesta. But generally some considerable distance 

 must be travelled before the sportsman can reach his 

 beat from his quarters. The morning is consumed on 

 horseback or in the shooting-cart ; the same road must 

 be again accomplished before night ; and hence, the 

 middle of the day is, of necessity, the portion devoted 

 to the pursuit of game. 



To find the birds, when, satisfied with food, they leave 

 the moor to bask in some favourite haunt, requires 

 both patience and experience ; and here the mountain- 

 bred sportsman proves his superiority over the less- 

 practised shooter. The packs then lie closely, and 

 occupy a small surface on some sunny brow or sheltered 

 hollow. The best-nosed dogs will pass within a few 

 yards, and not acknowledge them ; and patient hunting, 

 with every advantage of the wind, must be employed 

 to find grouse at this dull hour. 



But if close and judicious hunting be necessary, the 

 places to be beaten are comparatively few, and the 

 sportsman's eye readily detects the spot where the pack 

 is sure to be discovered. He leaves the open feeding- 



