12,4 British Deer and their Horns 
their lives were mostly spent in the great woods, from which they only emerged occasionally 
to spoil some crofter’s crop, or wander in search of hinds. There cannot have been any 
great stock of deer, excepting in a few forests like Mar and Athole, and they could move 
from one side of Scotland to the other if they chose. 
Just here and there in Highland houses one comes across a genuine head of one of 
these Highland monarchs. Sir Arthur Grant of Monymusk has a beautiful head of one of 
these wood stags, killed on that estate in 1795 by Captain Johnstone Grant (figured p. 121). 
There is a fine head in Glenmoriston (see p. 121), killed by Colonel Grant of Moy, near 
the house in 1850 (figured), for photographs of which I am indebted to Mr. Alex. Dennistoun 
and J. Grant of Glenmoriston. 1 The Marquis of Huntly also kindly sends me the photograph 
and measurements of a forest stag’s head with 15 points killed by Charles, tenth Marquis of 
Huntly, in Glen Tanar, 1858, as well as that of a Royal recently shot by himself in the same 
forest (figured p. 120). Certainly the two best heads of this period that I have seen are two 
examples hanging in the library at Gordon Castle. They are quite perfect in every way, 
and it is not too much to say that they are in no way inferior to the very best dug-up Irish 
heads (recent), besides being somewhat longer. The first of these magnificent heads, a 17- 
1 There is another beautiful 15-pointer in Glenmoriston House, killed on the estate about the same period. It is but little 
inferior to the one figured, and has a wider span. 
