148 SALMONIA. 



One was above 30 Ibs., but it broke me by the 

 derangement of my reel. I landed seven or 

 eight, one above 20 Ibs., which gave me 

 great play in the rapids above the bridge. I 

 returned to the same spot in 1813, the year 

 after : the river was in excellent order, and it 

 was the same time of the year, but just after 

 a flood, I caught nothing; the fish had all 

 run up the river ; the pools, where I had such 

 sport the year before, were empty. I have 

 fished there since, with a like result, but 

 this was before the 12th of August, the close 

 day. In the Sutherland and Caithness rivers, 

 many salmon, I have no doubt, may still be 

 caught. The Brora, Sutherland, in 1813 and 

 1814, was an admirable river: I have often 

 rode from the mansion of the princely and 

 hospitable lord and lady of that county, after 

 breakfast, and returned at two or three o'clock, 

 having taken from three to eight salmon 

 several times eight. There were five pools 

 below the wears of the Brora, which always 

 contained fish ; and at the top of one pool, 

 which from its size was almost inexhaustible, 

 I have taken three or four salmon the same 



