124 WILD SPORTS OF THE HIGHLANDS. [CHAP. xv. 



men here, I sent rifle-balls through three of the herons, each of 

 whom afforded me a goodly supply of feathers. 



Looking with my glass to the opposite coast of the firth, I 

 could distinctly see the long range of sandhills between Nairn 

 and the Bay of Findhorn, and could distinguish many familiar 

 points and nooks. "While resting here, too, a large seal appeared 

 not above a hundred and fifty yards out at sea, watching us with 

 great attention, but would not come within sure range of my rifle. 

 As we returned homewards, the pigeons were in great numbers 

 flying in to the caves to feed their young. A pair of peregrine 

 falcons also passed along, on their way to a rock where they breed, 

 farther eastwards than we had been. 



We saw too a flock of goats winding along the most inac- 

 cessible-looking parts of the cliff; and now and then the old 

 patriarchal-looking leader would stop to peer at us as we passed 

 below him, and wiien he saw that we had no hostile intention 

 towards his flock, he led them on again, stopping here and there 

 to nibble at the scanty herbage that was to be found in the clefts 

 of the rocks. In one place where we landed, my dog started an 

 old goat and a pair of kids, who dashed immediately at what 

 appeared to be a perpendicular face of rock, but on which they 

 contrived to keep their footing in a way that quite puzzled me. 

 The old goat at one time alighted on a point of the rock where 

 she had to stand with her four feet on a spot not bigger than my 

 hand, where she stood for a minute or two seemingly quite at a 

 loss which way to go, till her eye caught some (to me invisible) 

 projections of the stone, up which she bounded, looking anxiously 

 at her young, who, however, seemed quite capable of following 

 her footsteps wherever she chose to lead them. We caught sight 

 also of a badger, as he scuffled along a shelf of rock and hurried 

 into his hole. 



As the evening advanced, the cormorants kept coming in to 

 their roosting-places in great numbers, and I shot several of 

 them. We saw a good many seals as we approached the stake- 

 nets near the ferry, but did not get any shots at them ; and at 

 one place two otters were playing about in the water near the 

 rocks, but they also took good care to disappear before we came 

 within reach of them ; and as I wished to get back to Cromarty 

 before it was late, I would not stop to wait for their reappear- 



