CHAP, v.] PTARMINGAN WHITE HARES. 53 



be found feeding near at hand, and make use of it to carry home 

 the deer. This done, he turned the horse's head home, and let 

 it loose, and as all Highland ponies have the bump of locality 

 strongly developed, it was sure to find its way home. I have 

 known one of these old poachers coolly ride his pony up the 

 mountain from which he intended to take a deer, turn it loose, 

 and proceed on his excursion. The pony, as cunning and accus- 

 tomed to the work as his master, would graze quietly near the 

 spot where he was left, till his services were required to take 

 home the booty at night. The old man never went to the hill 

 till he had made sure of the whereabouts of the forester, by 

 which means he always escaped detection. 



The principal object of pursuit of the Highland poacher, next 

 to grouse and deer, are ptarmigan, as these birds always bring a 

 high price, and by making choice of good weather and knowing 

 where to find the birds, a man can generally make up a bag that 

 repays him for his day's labour, as well as for his powder and 

 shot. Being sportsmen by nature, as well as poachers, they 

 enjoy the wild variety of a day's ptarmigan-shooting as much as 

 the more legal shooter does. In winter, when a fresh fall of 

 snow has taken place, a good load of white hares is easily 

 obtained, as this animal is found in very great numbers on some 

 mountains, since the destruction of vermin on so large a scale 

 has taken place. What with the sale of these different kinds of 

 game, and a tolerable sum made by breaking dogs, a number of 

 young men in the Highlands make a very good income during 

 the shooting-season, which enables them to live in idleness the 

 rest of the year, and often affords them the means of emigrating 

 to America, where they settle quietly down and become exten- 

 sive and steady farmers. 



