174 'WILD SPORTS OF THE HIGHLANDS chap. 



bird appeared rather puzzled by my appearance, and my grey 

 clothes not making much show in the rushy ground and withered 

 herbage which I was lying in, she contented herself with giving 

 some private signal to the rest, which brought them all at a 

 quick run up to her side, where they stood looking about them, 

 undecided whether to fly or not. I was about two hundred 

 yards from the birds ; we remained in this manner for, I dare- 

 say, five minutes, the birds appearing on the point of taking 

 wing during the whole time : suddenly I heard a shout beyond 

 the birds, and they instantly rose in confusion and flew directly 

 towards me. As soon as they were over my head I stood up : 

 the effect of my sudden appearance was to make them break 

 their line and fly straight away from me in all directions, thus 

 giving me what I wanted, shots at them when flying away from 

 me, in which case they are easy to kill. My cartridges told 

 with good effect, and I killed a brace, one dropping perfectly 

 dead and the other extending her wings and gradually sinking, 

 till she fell on the top of a furze-bush three or four hundred 

 yards off, where I found her lying quite dead. It appeared 

 that Simon, seeing that the birds had observed me, ran round 

 them, and then setting up a shout, had luckily driven them 

 nolentes volentes over my head. They were the white-fronted 

 goose, with pure white spots on their foreheads. About three 

 weeks after this time, at the end of March, large flights of grey 

 geese appear here, feeding on the fresh-sown oats, barley, and 

 peas during the day, and passing the night on the sands of the 

 bay, whither they always repair soon aft^r sunset. 



I had passed a great part of several days in endeavouring 

 to get at these wary birds, and had occasionally killed a stray 

 one or two, but some ill luck or error on my part (Simon would 

 never admit that his own tactics were wrong) had always pre- 

 vented my getting a good shot at the flocks. As for Simon, he 

 protested that "his heart was quite broken with the beasts." 

 One morning, however, I got up at daylight and went to the 

 shore ; a heavy mist was rolling over the bay, and I could see 

 nothing, but heard the wild and continued cry of hundreds of 

 geese answering each other, and apparently consulting as to 

 what direction they should seek their morning's repast in. 

 Presently I knew from their altered cry that the birds were on 

 wing, and were coming directly towards where I was : I sat 



