12 THE MOOR AND THE LOCH. 



celebrated among the clan as having been the scene of an 

 interview between the chief and Eob Koy, which ended in 

 their being on the best terms ever after. The funeral of the 

 old man, sublime in its very simplicity, was truly character- 

 istic of himself. The little fleet of boats all abreast, keeping 

 solemn time with their oars, on their way to the churchyard 

 of the picturesque village of Xuss, where, surrounded by the 

 mountains he so often climbed, quietly reposes this faithful 

 servant of the chiefs of Colquhoun." 



But the character of my old friend has beguiled me into 

 too long a digression. I must now return to the rifle. 



Every man before firing at deer must be thoroughly ac- 

 quainted with his own piece a point even more important 

 with a rifle than a shot-gun. Under eighty yards it will 

 most likely shoot a little high ; and if the wind is at all 

 strong, it will alter the direction of the ball fully a foot at a 

 hundred yards, for which allowance must be made. The best 

 place to hit a deer, unless he is lying down, and so close as to 

 tempt one to try the head, is just behind the shoulder. If 

 struck fair, he will most likely bound forward ten or twenty 

 yards, and then drop. One that I shot ran fifty yards before 

 it fell, although the lower part of the heart was touched. 

 When this occurs, you may be sure it will never rise again. 

 If, on the contrary, it falls instantaneously, unless shot 

 through the head, neck, or spine, it may very possibly spring 

 up on a sudden, and perhaps escape altogether. If struck 

 too 'far back, a deer may sometimes run for half a day, and 

 the wound has even been known to heal up, but is more 

 likely to prove fatal the next day. When a deer is dis- 

 covered lying down, in such a situation that he might dip out 

 of sight the moment he rises, and only his horns are visible, 

 the sportsman should advance with extreme caution until the 

 deer hears him, when he will most likely slowly raise and 

 turn his head before springing up. Now is the time to shoot 

 him between the eye and the ear. 



