ROE DEER. 151 



their young, I here transcribe an occurrence that has 

 been obligingly sent me by my eminent friend, Sir David 

 Brewster. 



" Near Belleville, in Inverness-shire, there is a finely 

 wooded range of rocks, containing Borlam's * Cave ; the 

 haunt of the last Highland cateran, who was proprietor of 

 Belleville. In cutting a path to this cave, one of the party 

 of Highland labourers, whom I took with me for that pur- 

 pose, asked me if I had seen the spaning (weaning) tree of 

 the roe deer, and pointed out one close by us, which, but for 

 this notification, would have fallen under the axe. This 

 tree was a small birch one, that stood nearly in the middle 

 of a regular oval ring, formed and trodden down with the 

 feet of the roe deer, who run round and round the tree, 

 followed by their young, in order to amuse them at the 

 time when they are weaned. My informant assured me 

 that he had seen the deer engaged in this sport, and I have 

 myself seen and shown to others the footmarks of the old 

 and young deer in different parts of the ring round the 

 birch tree ; at one end of the ring there was a small oval, 

 giving the whole the appearance of the figure GO . 



These beautiful animals, however, who for the most part 

 lead such a tranquil and domestic life, are animated with 

 fury like the red deer during the season of rutting. In the 

 summer of 1820, two roebucks were discovered in a deep 

 hollow, one above the other, most firmly united in the 

 following singular manner : The horns of the uppermost 

 one were twisted in the skin behind the shoulders of the 

 one beneath, and those of the latter were twisted in a 

 similar manner in the shoulders of the buck above him. 

 Both were found dead in this dreadful position. 



There are seven lakes in the forest Loch Tilt, Loch 

 Mark, Loch Garry, Loch Hone, Loch Dhu, Loch Maligan, 

 and Loch Loch ; the last abounds in char, and on its banks 

 stands Cumyn's Cairn. 



* Tradition says, that, whilst this ruthless villain was in the act of bury- 

 ing a man whom he had robbed and murdered, he was discovered by a 

 clansman, who rebuked him. Afraid of legal retribution, he struck the 

 intruder down with his spade, jammed him at once into the earth, and 

 buried both bodies in the same grave. 



