THE GUN AT HOME AND ABROAD 
The practice of killing deer by driving them to concealed riflemen 
prevailed in Scotland until 1745, in which year Pennant describes it as 
the usual method of killing them. Deer -stalking, as understood to-day, 
is quite a recent innovation, for the guardian of the grandfather of the 
present Lord Lovat informed his charge that he hoped he would not so far 
derogate from his position as to think of going into the forest to shoot 
deer for himself, as such a practice was neither dignified or customary. 
The first record we have of the pursuit of deer by stalking is when Cluny 
Macpherson, chief of Clanchattan, engaged in deer-stalking with “ Mr 
MacDonald of Tulloch, in 1745.” Next we have notice that at the Black 
Mount one Angus MacDonald, in 1777, ‘‘after stalking for five hours, got 
within shot.” After this references to the new sport are frequent, and the 
use of large deerhounds to follow and bay the stag if it was missed, be- 
came a necessary adjunct of the chase. 
J. G. MILLAIS. 
THE HABITS OF DEER 
Those who love the forest and its creatures And a perennial interest in 
the habits of deer. It is, perhaps, the greatest feature of our enjoyment in 
Scottish hills that the red deer there are not necessarily woodland animals, 
and that they can exist and even thrive in open situations, where we are 
at all times able to watch them. Some there are who depute all their 
responsibilities to the professional stalker, but they miss the best of the 
fun in the same way that there are men who do not care to shoot unless 
the bag is likely to be five or six hundred pheasants, and could not in any 
circumstances find a snipe, or a duck, on their own estates if left to their 
own devices. To thoroughly enjoy deer -stalking one must oneself be 
fairly conversant with the habits of deer, and able to meet stratagem with 
stratagem. When an intelligent animal has been regularly pursued at 
certain seasons for centuries it will develop certain powers of observation 
and precaution that are delightful to us to study, because without the 
employment of intellect on our part we cannot outwit the beast. The 
higher, therefore, the cunning exercised by the quarry the more we esteem 
it, and to the true sportsman a victory through swiftness, or brains, on the 
part of our adversary is more enjoyable than our own triumph over a 
somewhat dull-witted animal. 
It behoves us, therefore, to study deer and all their interesting ways. 
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