44 IVILD SPORTS OF THE HIGHLANDS chap. 



it is by no means difficult to deceive, taking any bait readily, 

 and not seeming to be as cautious in avoiding danger as many 

 other kinds of vermin. Inhabiting the most lonely and in- 

 accessible ranges of rock and mountain, the wild cat is seldom 

 seen during the daytime ; at night (like its domestic relative) 

 it prowls far and wide, walking with the same deliberate step, 

 making the same regular and even track, and hunting its game 

 in the same tiger-like manner ; and yet the difference between 

 the two animals is perfectly clear, and visible to the commonest 

 observer. 



The wild cat has a shorter and more bushy tail, stands 

 higher on her legs in proportion to her size, and has a 

 rounder and coarser look about the head. The strength and 

 ferocity of the wild cat when hemmed in or hard pressed are 

 perfectly astonishing. The body when skinned presents quite 

 a mass of sinew and cartilage. 



I have occasionally, though rarely, fallen in with these 

 animals in the forests and mountains of this country ; once, 

 when grouse -shooting, I came suddenly, in a rough and 

 rocky part of the ground, upon a family of two old ones 

 and three half-grown young ones. In the hanging birch- 

 woods that border some of the Highland streams and lochs, 

 the wild cat is still not uncommon, and I have heard their 

 wild and unearthly cry echo far in the quiet night as they 

 answer and call to each other. I do not know a more harsh 

 and unpleasant cry than that of the wild cat, or one more 

 likely to be the origin of superstitious fears in the mind of an 

 ignorant Highlander. 



These animals have great skill in finding their prey, 

 and the damage they do to the game must be very great, 

 owing to the quantity of food which they require. When 

 caught in a trap, they fly without hesitation at any person who 

 approaches them, not waiting to be assailed. I have heard 

 many stories of their attacking and severely wounding a man, 

 when their escape has been cut off. Indeed, a wild cat once 

 flew at me in the most determined manner. I was fishing at a 

 river in Sutherland, and in passing from one pool to another 

 had to climb over some rock and broken kind of ground. In 

 doing so, I sank through some rotten heather and moss up to 

 my knees, almost upon a wild cat, who was concealed under 



