To Mountain Tarn 



general testimony of their absence. If cats there 

 were, then, at the distance of a quarter of a 

 century, we should expect, not half a dozen, but 

 legions. Each estate must have enough to re- 

 stock the Highlands. 



Some of these men had a record of thirty years' 

 service. Others had gone from one place to 

 another, and knew the Highlands well. The 

 crosses, which they were unlikely to be able to 

 tell from the true wildlings, had passed before 

 they came into office. No doubt domestic cats 

 were shot and trapped. Of these the keepers 

 said nothing ; no tale could be made out of them. 



Ousted from the central range, the cat retreated 

 north and west to the ruder scenes of Ross and 

 Sutherlandshire, where preservation was less 

 strict. It was found there at a later date. . ,.I 

 tried to follow it up, if by any means I could come 

 on fresh spoor. The pursuit was belated. The 

 footprints were blotted out, the scent cold. It 

 was long since it passed that way. Like every 

 one else I was interested in Charles St. John, 

 alike for the charm of his personality and his 

 delightful narrative. Of all naturalists he is 

 perhaps the most attractive. The scarcity of 

 birds on the way to Scourie he attributed to the 

 number of wild cats, some of them, probably, 

 crosses. 



For years no wild cat had been there. At 

 Tongue on the rocks were many wild cats. 



35 



