cHapP. v.] PTARMINGAN—WHITE HARES. 53 
be found feeding near at hand, and make use of it to carry home 
the deer. This done, he turned the horse’s head home, and let 
it loose, and as all Highland ponies have the bump of locality 
strongly developed, it was sure to find its way home. I have 
known one of these old poachers coolly ride his pony up the 
mountain from which he intended to take a deer, turn it loose, 
and proceed on his excursion. The pony, as cunning and accus- 
tomed to the work as his master, would graze quietly near the 
spot where he was left, till his services were required to take 
home the booty at night. The old man never went to the hill 
till he had made sure of the whereabouts of the forester, by 
which means he always escaped detection. 
The principal object of pursuit of the Highland poacher, next 
to grouse and deer, are ptarmigan, as these birds always bring a 
high price, and by making choice of good weather and knowing 
where to find the birds, a man can generally make up a bag that 
repays him for his day’s labour, as well as for his powder and 
shot. Being sportsmen by nature, as well as poachers, they 
enjoy the wild variety of a day’s ptarmigan-shooting as much as 
the more legal shooter does. In winter, when a fresh fall of 
snow has taken place, a good load of white hares is easily 
obtained, as this animal is found in very great numbers on some 
mountains, since the destruction of vermin on so large a scale 
has taken place. What with the sale of these different kinds of 
game, and a tolerable sum made by breaking dogs, a number of 
young men in the Highlands make a very good income during 
the shooting-season, which enables them to live in idleness the 
rest of the year, and often affords them the means of emigrating 
to America, where they settle quietly down and become exten- 
sive and steady farmers. 
