THE ORCHY 351 



inilk. She caine with a bottle full and a can of milk with a 

 tumbler. Instead of a tumbler he requested a bowl, and poured the 

 half of the whisky in, along with half the milk. He drank the 

 mixture at a draught, and whilst his kind hostess was looking on 

 with amazement, he poured the remainder of the whisky and milk 

 into the bowl, and drank that also. He then proceeded homeward, 

 performing a journey of not less than seventy miles." He truly was 

 a man of immense strength and capacity. 



The river Orchy flows from the south-east side of Loch Tulla. 

 Its course is at first broken and stony, presently rocky, and often 

 deeply cut, finally the river becomes quieter and of fine fishing 

 character ; a typical example of mountain valley erosion. From the 

 salmon fisher's point of view there is a lot of most interesting water 

 in the Orchy. 



Seven miles above Dalmally and nine below Loch Tulla the Falls 

 of the Orchy occur. There are really three separate falls on the 

 river, of which the lowest, already referred to, is the most serious. 

 When the river is in good running order I estimate this lowest fall 

 as about 16 feet in height. In low water conditions the obstruction 

 is somewhat higher, since the rock is cut into a deep and narrow 

 cleft just below the main plunge, where during floods the water, 

 being confined, rises somewhat in height. The rocks of the Orchy 

 bed dip across from left to right, and slant slightly down-stream. 

 All the falls show somewhat of the same formation. The rocky 

 barrier has broken away towards the left bank, and here the main 

 flow occurs. Towards the right bank the rocks still stand at a high 

 level, and are likely now to remain so. At the main falls are many 

 sculptured hollows and pot holes. With the trees fringing the 

 river bank and the setting of great hills on either side, the scene is 

 extremely picturesque, but to the salmon the place is an ugly one. 

 A channel has been blasted out of the rock close to the right bank 

 to form a pass, and up this I fancy practically all the fish go, for 

 only in very exceptional conditions of water can the side cliffs of 

 the main fall be at all passable to leaping fish. The pass is, how- 

 ever, very steep and rough, and could be easily improved. Only in 

 fairly high conditions of water is this pass negotiable. In low water 

 it is dry. Not till summer will any fish attempt this obstruction. 



The second fall as one ascends is not nearly so high, but, never- 

 theless, it is a distinct difficulty to fish. It is situated about 400 

 yards above the first fall, and is an abrupt descent at its lowest of 

 about six feet. 



