50 NATURAL HISTORY OF THE RED DEER 



the use of such a thing in such an apparently useless 

 place for one ; this is all that is left of what once was 

 a deer-trap. The deer were driven up the hill be- 

 tween the two dykes, which are very wide apart at the 

 entrance, and then gradually contracted, ending in a 

 regular cul de sac \ and there being no escape, unless 

 it were over a precipice, the unfortunate animals were 

 then slaughtered. Mr. Houston tells us that there is a 

 very similar trap in the Dunrobin Forest on the rocky 

 hill south of Cor Eshach ; nor, do we believe, are 

 these the only two in the country.' ('A Fauna of 

 Sutherland and Caithness,' p. 88.) 



The ancient manner of preparing the venison was 

 the same in Ireland and Western Scotland. The 

 poem of Fingal, attributed to Ossian, alludes to the 

 disposal of the carcases of hunted deer. ' It was on 

 Cromla's shaggy side that Dorglas placed the deer ; 

 the early fortune of the chace, before the heroes 

 left the hill. A hundred youths collect the heath ; 

 ten heroes blow the fire ; three hundred chuse 

 the polish'd stones. The feast is smoaking wide.' 

 James Macpherson explains that the feast was pro- 

 vided for in the following way : 'A pit lined with 

 smooth stones was made ; and near it stood a heap of 

 smooth flat stones of the flint kind. The stones as 

 well as the pit were properly heated with heath. Then 



