78 THE SALMON RIVERS OF SCOTLAND 



river cross-lined by ghillies, they being paid fourpence a lb. for clean 

 fish and keeping all kelts for themselves ! 



Then in 1852 a genius appeared on the scene in the person of the 

 late John Dunbar, to whom Sir Tollemache Sinclair gave a long lease 

 of the river, and later on also built him Braall Castle for the use of 

 his angling customers. Dunbar was a favourite with all classes, a 

 keen sportsman, well up in natural history, and a straightforward, 

 honourable man ; he could likewise enjoy a joke, and even make one 

 at his own expense, as the following will show. Having one day to 

 go to Thurso to appeal against a tax which he thought he should not 

 have been charged with, the anglers at Braall teased him by offering 

 to make small bets that he would not be successful : accepting them 

 all, he returned in the evening in high spirits, and met his tormentors, 

 exclaiming, " Well, gentlemen, I won my case fuUeasy, for they forgot 

 to pit me on my o-ath ! " 



In those early days of the Thurso the log-book was not kept with 

 quite the same neatness as it is now, but even at that date one reads 

 of the doings of such well-known anglers as the late Lord Lovat, Sir 

 Francis Sykes, Sir John Blois, Sir W. Gordon Gumming, and Messrs. 

 A. F. Thistlethwayte, Corrance, Daubuz, Wilson, James Lament, 

 Francis Francis, Edmonds, Davidson, and Colonel PriauLx. 



Up till 1855 the Thm'so flies were dark, somber-looking lures, 

 but in this year Mr. Meiklam introduced the bright patterns with 

 great success, he getting with the new lure fifty-six fish in one week, 

 in which were days of nineteen and thirteen, and from that time 

 on bright flies became generally used. 



About this date also appeared on the Thurso, Messrs. Frank Enys, 

 Carew, S. Blair, Banbury, Sir Richard Musgrave of Edenhall, 

 Colonel Rocke, Major Traherne, and Captain Warriner. From 1862 

 the log-book is very well kept, and there appear the names of Sir 

 Sanford Graham, Admiral Erskine, Captain H. P. Holford, and 

 Messrs. Coates, Cunliffe, S. Barker, Adams, and the Rev. — 

 Meyrick. 



The Sunday get-up of the clerical gentleman afforded many a 

 laugh to the Braal Castle anglers : a bright-coloured flannel shirt, 

 a threadbare black swallow-tail dress coat, with a low-cut black vest, 

 old and very short light-coloured trousers, red cotton socks, and 

 slippers of green velvet ! None the less, the parson was a " nailer " 

 with his rod., and had likewise the wisdom to send Captain Holford 

 to represent him at the kirk. One experience, however, was enough 

 for the Captain, who returned to relate how the Precentor, no matter 

 whether sitting do\vn or leading the hymns, kept up an incessant, 

 noisy, and profuse expectoration, only varied at intervals by taking 

 huge pinches of snuff and then blowing his nose with his fingers. 



In 1872, Colonel John Hargi-eaves and his son, Messrs. J. S. 

 Virtue, Frank Hardcastle, John Wormald, Sir Henry Boynton, James 

 Wason, and Lord Kilcoursie are in evidence, followed, in 1877, by 

 Herbert Greg, R. D. Walker, A. C. Maitland, and G. Ashley Dodd. 



It would perhaps be monotonous to give the take of fish for every 



