THE HAVEN. 
human eyes, — but who ever heard of a raven cowering, or 
manifesting by sign or token that he was the least afraid ? 
He will return yonr looks steadfastly and defiantly, and at last 
it is your head that is turned away, while the raven gives a 
croak of contempt. 
He comes to us from his native wilds with an evil reputa- 
tion. They most abound in dreary mountainous districts, and 
on the north coast of Scotland may be seen in great numbers. 
During M‘Grillivray’s sojourn in the Hebrides he had abundant 
opportunity for observing the habits of the raven. He says, 
that when the bird discovers a dead sheep or other animal it 
alights on some eminence, looks round, and croaks. It then 
advances nearer, eyes its prey with attention, leaps upon it, 
and examines it in a half crouching attitude. If matters 
are found as it wishes, it croaks aloud, and picks out an eye 
or nibbles a bit of the tongue if it happens to be protruding. 
One by one other ravens make their appearance, and very 
speedily the dead animal, if it happen to be no larger than a 
sheep, is picked clean. 
“ Should a horse or cow die in these islands,” says the same 
authority, “ as in my younger days was very frequently the case 
in the beginning of summer, after a severe winter or spring, or 
should a grampus or other large cetaceous animal be cast on 
the shore, the ravens speedily assemble, and remain in the 
neighbourhood till they have devoured it. A large herd of 
grampuses having been driven by the inhabitants of Pabbay 
on to the sand-beach of that island, which is one of those in 
the Sound of Harris, an amazing number of ravens soon 
collected from all quarters, and continued for several weeks 
to feast upon their carcases. By the time this supply of food 
was exhausted, autumn was approaching, and the inhabit- 
ants became alarmed, lest, prolonging their stay, the ravens 
should attack their barley, which was their main depend- 
ence.” Various schemes were tried in vain, till at length one 
was devised by a certain Finlay Morison, which produced the 
desired effect. It was customary with the ravens to retire at 
night to a low cliff on the east side of the island, so “ Finlay 
and a few chosen companions, intimately acquainted with the 
principal fissures and projections of the rock, made their way 
at midnight to the roosts of the ravens, caught a considerable 
number of them, and carried them off alive. They then plucked 
off all their feathers, excepting those of the wings and tail, and 
in the morning, when their companions were leaving their place 
