14 WILD SPORTS OF THE HIGHLANDS. L CHAP. i. 



trout, is one made as follows : Body yellow floss silk, with land- 

 rail wing, and a turn or two of red heckle near the head. In 

 most waters this fly succeeds. In some of the small black look- 

 ing lakes, far up in the solitudes of the mountains, where no 

 person is ever seen, unless a shepherd may chance now and then 

 to stray in their direction, or the deer-stalker stops to examine 

 the soft ground near the water edge for the tracks of deer in 

 these lonely pools the trout seem often as unconscious of danger as 

 birds are said to be on a newly discovered island ; and they will rise 

 greedily at the rudest imitation of a fly fastened to a common piece 

 of twine, five or six trout rising at once, and striving who should 

 be caught first. The fish in some of these lakes which are situ- 

 ated at a great height, are excessively numerous, but generally 

 black and small. I have seen little black pools of this kind 

 actually crowded with small trout. 



The otter takes to the waters far up in the hills during the sum- 

 mer time, where she may rear her young in the midst of abun- 

 dance and in solitary security. Making her lair on some small 

 island or point of land covered with coarse grass or rushes, she 

 lives in plenty and peace, till her young having grown strong, 

 and the frosts of winter having commenced, the family remove, 

 like their betters, to the sea-side, passing over hill and valley in 

 a straight line, to some remembered rocks and caves, where the 

 dam has wintered before. 



Round the small hill-lake, too, are seen the tracks of the fox 

 and wild cat. Their nightly maraudings seem to lead them always 

 in the direction of water. During the heats of August, when at a 

 loss for grouse, I have always found it a good plan to hunt round 

 any lake that may be at hand as the old birds lead their young 

 daily to the water's edge to drink, and to pick up the small 

 angular stones, numbers of which are invariably found in the 

 stomach of the grouse, being probably necessary to grind down 

 their dry and hard food. The hen-harrier and falcon too, seem 

 to hunt in these places, knowing that if grouse fail them, they 

 are sure to find either a duck or snipe, or perhaps a large flock 

 of plovers huddled together on the pebbles which edge the water. 

 In fact, the mountain lake seems to be always a kind of rendez- 

 vous for all wild animals ; and I doubt if any grouse-shooter or 



