THE HILL POACHER. 349 



difficult of detection ; but, with efficient keepers, the snarer 

 is, perhaps, the most easily secured of all poachers. 



A curious snaring story was told me by a gamekeeper 

 in Morayshire. He and his son perceived evident marks 

 of snares for rabbits on the open sand-downs, but all their 

 ingenuity could not detect the culprit. He watched at 

 night, and all proper times, but there was no appearance 

 of any one coming near the place. At last, one of them 

 saw a woman apparently doing some farm-work in broad 

 day. His suspicions were not much roused until he took 

 out his telescope, and, not being able to find out what she 

 was at, determined to ascertain. After a little manoeuvring, 

 they surprised her in the very fact. She had several snares 

 set, which she always took care to do in the middle of the 

 day, taking them up in the evening. No one ever sus- 

 pected her, and the keeper declared they were the neatest 

 snares he had ever seen. Some years ago I caught two 

 equally absurd poachers. Returning home from shooting 

 one evening, my dog was caught in a snare. I imme- 

 diately fixed one of the rabbits I had shot in the dog's 

 predicament, and set a watch. No one came near the snare 

 until next day, when two little fellows, about ten years old, 

 made their appearance, and, as soon as they had pounced 

 on the rabbit, were pounded themselves. 



Every Highland district is infested by its own set of 

 poachers, more or less, according to circumstances. There 

 is a family likeness in most of these biped vermin, which 

 is easily accounted for by the manner in which they spend 

 their life. For the most part they have an active walk, a 



