162 WILD SPORTS OF THE HIGHLANDS. _ [emap. xx. 
which in this arid district appear to me sharper and more pene- 
trating than anywhere else. 
Westwards, towards Nairn, the sandhills are interrupted by 
an extent of broken hillocks, covered with the deepest heather 
that I ever met with, which conceals innumerable pits and holes, 
many of the latter not above a foot in diameter, three or four feet 
deep, and so completely concealed by the growth of moss and 
heather as to form the most perfect traps for the unwary passer- 
by. Inever could find out what these holes were originally made 
for, as they evidently are not the work of nature. A large part 
of the ground is here well wooded; the trees do not, however, 
appear likely ever to come to a large size, well as they flourish 
when young. This district of wood and heath is here and there in-. 
tersected by nearly impassable swamps, the abode of mallards and 
teal, and occasionally of geese. In the wooded parts are plenty of. 
roe, who feed about the swamps, and in the warm weather lie like 
hares on the hillocks, covered with long heath, and under the 
stunted fir-trees in the midst of the wet places. Throughout the 
whole tract of this wild ground there are great numbers of foxes, 
who live undisturbed, and grow to a very great size; feeding 
during the season on young roe, wild ducks, and black game ; 
and when these fail, they make great havoc amongst the game, 
poultry, and rabbits in the adjoining country. I have frequently 
started and shot a fox here out of the rough heather, when I have 
been looking for wild ducks, or passing through the place on my 
way to the sea-shore. Farther westward, the sandhills are 
bounded by a large extent of marsh and water, terminating at 
last in an extensive lake, dreary and cold-looking ; the resort of 
wild fowl of every kind, from the swan to the teal; but said to 
contain no fish excepting eels. 
T never yet could get a good account of the origin of these sand- 
hills; I say origin, because they are evidently of a more recent 
formation than any of the surrounding land. In several places, 
where the sand is blown off, you see the remains of cultivated 
ground, the land below the sand being laid out in regular furrows 
and ridges, made by the plough ; and, from their regularity and 
evenness, one would suppose that agriculture must have been well 
advanced when these lands were in cultivation. Did the covering 
that now conceals these fields consist wholly of sand, one would 
