THE RED DEER 
Two years afterwards her “ leddieship ” killed this same stag, and it 
then carried a head of thirty -seven inches and no fewer than seventeen 
points. 
My second experience of a “ great stag ** was even more exasperating 
than the first. For some years prior to 1891 there had been rumours in 
the Beauly Valley of a marvellous stag which spei\t its summers about 
the banks of the river between Beaufort, Eskadale and Erchless. One 
day in late July, 1890, 1 was calling on my old friend. Miss Dove, at Aileen 
Aigas, and not finding her at home, I took a stroll round the little island 
so picturesquely situated in the midst of the rocky river, and famous 
for its romantic memories of the brothers Sobieski Stuart. The north 
side of the island was “ beaten up ” with the workings and beds of a very 
large stag, which was said to be the monarch himself. During the first 
week in August Mr Heath, then tenant of Eskadale, kindly allowed me 
to go to his ground and stalk a roebuck, and it was whilst creeping down 
through the big wood that I first set eyes on “ the best head ” in Scotland. 
Superlatives are at all times dangerous to use, but both before and since, 
with the possible exception of the Aberfeldy royal, whose measurements 
though not weight, are superior, I have yet to see a finer example of a 
purely wild Scottish stag. For strength the tops are more like those of 
an Austrian stag, whilst the pearling and roughness are quite unequalled 
in a modern Scottish stag. I saw something move in the wood below, and 
crept down towards it. The something evolved itself into three hinds 
standing in a small opening some eighty yards away. They moved for- 
ward, and their place was at once taken by the “ big stag.” He just stood 
sideways for half a minute, and I feel sure I could have killed him. On 
August 11, 1891, we again met almost in the same spot. This time I was 
in front of Donald Ross, and we were slowly creeping down hill in the 
dawn, when we saw a small birch violently agitated about forty yards 
away. We had hardly dropped to the earth when out walked the 
” Eskadale stag” looking bigger than ever. He was not more than 
forty yards away, standing broadside on, and I put the white foresight 
just behind his shoulder, where I wished to hit him — and then put it 
down again. 
It was a fearful moment of temptation, but I knew Mr Heath was most 
anxious to kill this stag himself, so with a great effort, I resisted it. There 
is no doubt that if you wish to secure big heads you must have no con- 
science, and although my poaching instincts are more highly developed 
115 
