Highland Sport

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Preface

The first visit I ever paid to the Highlands was to Ederline House on Loch Awe, in the spring of 1857. Since those days I have rarely missed passing spring and autumn in the North, while to this day there remains with me the almost passionate fondness inspired by that early visit for the beauties and sports of the hills, lochs and rivers of the bonnie country.

This book contains then a selection from a series of episodes which have presented themselves to me since making my first appearance north of the Tweed. Only the most interesting incidents have been chosen for narration, and the greater part of them have happened in places where I formed one of the party, while only a few have come to my

PREFACE.

knowledge by hearsay, or by my being on the spot shortly afterwards.

It is almost needless to state that in **A Month at Strathmaacoe *' and '*Two Months on Speyside," the events of many years in many places have been crowded into a short period.

With regard to the names I have used, they are nearly all imaginary ones, but as it is difficult to avoid hitting on any to which there never have been claimants, I beg to assure all those in the possession of any such patronymics as have been used that nothing herein is in any way intended to apply to them

The chapter on ** Salmon" is an expression of my own views, arranged together with those of many others better able to form opinions on the subjects discussed. Certain it is that great numbers of people other than mere anglers hold the idea that "something" should be done to ensure more profitable netting and better angling results than the past three years have shown.

PREFACE. xi

Twenty-five years ago I believe I was one of the first to raise the cry of a close time for trout in Scotland, and since then I have never ceased ** pegging away" at the idea, until at last, thanks to Lord Lamington s recent Bill, the trout close time has become a reality across the Border, while the mere fact that what I advocated so long ago is now the law of the land inspires me to suggest other fish problems which I feel convinced are likely to prove equally as correct. Therefore I write in the hopes of, sooner or later, seeing the ancient Salmon Fisheries Act of 1861 overhauled and revised. I say ancient because in these goahead days a lapse of more than thirty years will make nearly any Act of Parliament appear old, for although there was another Act of 1868, followed by the Fishery Board for Scotland Act in 1882, neither one nor the other seriously altered the main ^points of the 1861 Act.

During these thirty years the sea and river nets have been largely increased in their numbers, while

PREFACE.

vast improvements have been made in the methods of working them ; likewise, for every salmon angler of a quarter of a century ago there are now at least a dozen, and these three facts alone demand the attention of our fishery legislators.

Having said thus much, I will bring this preface to a close, and trust the perusal of these pages may afford some of my readers a tithe of the pleasure I have found in putting them together, for thereby have been revived reminiscences of many happy bygone days and kindly recollections of dear old comrades. Alas! that so many of the best and the truest should sleep without breathing, so to their cherished memories and the days of auld lang syne I dedicate these pages.

A. GRIMBLE.

Union Club,

Brighton.

October, 1894.

LIST OF CONTENTS.

PAGE

Preface ix

Chapter I. — Murdoch Campbell's Revenge i II. — The Monnielack Shootings . 19

III. — Two Months on Speyside . 45

IV. — A Month at Strathmaacoe . 72

V. — Salmon 167

VI. — Some Remarks on the Foregoing Chapters • . . . 240

A 2

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

PACE

Rabbit Isle 6

The Twelfth 28

Gaffing the Forty-Pounder 70

Eagle and Grouse 80

A One-Gun Grouse Drive 112

Death of the Thirteen-Pointer .... 130

** CrUACHAN " AND THE TeN-PoINTER . . . 1 46

Long Odds on the Blackcock . . . . 158

The Birth-Place of the Fifty-four- Pounder 169

A West Coast Scene 252

Highland Sport.

CHAPTER I.

MURDOCH Campbell's revenge.

One Easter, some twenty years ago, I received an invitation from my old friend Murdoch Campbell to come to him for a month at Marathon House, situated on the wild west coast of Scotland, somewhere between Crinan and Strome Ferry.

From youth up I had been devoted to rod and gun, and hence, in those days, my attention had been somewhat ardently turned to pigeon shooting, an amusement which was then far more fashionable and less business-like than it is now.

In the period to which this story belongs the licence to kill game expired on the last day of the

HIGHLAND SPORT.

shooting season ; the ten-shilling gun licence was also in existence, and a report had been spread abroad that the excise officers contemplated a raid on the members of the Gun Club and Hurlingham, with the object of fining all those who were not provided with the necessary authority to use a gun, while certain it is that had they done so they would have made a rich haul. Thus some of us had already taken out game licences for that year, for it made us safe, and it was but parting with three pounds a few months before the usual time. Therefore, when Easter arrived, I started for Marathon Cottage in possession of a game licence, which, as the sequel will show, was of more service to me in the West Highlands than at the Gun Club grounds in West London.

In those days there was no railroad either to Oban or Strome Ferry, so making my way by the night express to Greenock, the remainder of the journey was done by steamer, and the following evening found me safely at my destination.

Marathon Cottage was a comfortable stone-built building, situated about a hundred feet above the sea, and about a hundred yards from the shore. It had been built for himself by the happy possessor of the Murdoch estate, for the big house on the property, which was placed in a hole near a swamp, was rarely occupied by the owner, and more often than not was let with most of the shooting to a gentleman from Manchester.

Murdoch Campbell was a fine specimen of a black Highlander — standing six foot in his stockings, he was still in his thirties, was forty-four inches round the chest, and possessed arms and legs of prodigious strength. Moreover he was as lean as a deerhound and nearly as active ; crisp, curling, jet-black hair entirely covered his head, while from under a white forehead and thick, black eyebrows shone a pair of the brightest dark-grey eyes. The rest of his face was tanned and weather-beaten, while both his high cheekbones were cherry red. A large black moustache with a beard trimmed to a point, all

B 2

HIGHLAND SPORT.

combined to make him a remarkable and striking-looking personage.

Born of an ancient race of chieftains who, as long as there was fighting to be done, had ever been in the thick of it, and not always on the winning side, the more recent of these warriors had in 1 7 15 and in ** forty-five" so impoverished the estate that at the time of this story Murdoch had been reluctantly compelled to let the greater part of his shootings. Adored by his people, no kinderhearted man breathed than my friend, and, devoted to sport of all kinds, he was ever a most cheery, pleasant companion.

His cottage he had christened Marathon, because he had learnt in his school-days, with much trouble, from Xenophon that ** Marathon looked on the sea and the hills looked on Marathon;" and he openly avowed that that passage and sundry swishings were all the recollections of the distinguished Athenian warrior and sportsman that now dwelt in his memory.

From the cottage windows could be seen a wide expanse of sea dotted with islands of various sizes, which picturesque combination of land and water supplied us with scenes of beauty and realms of sport; sometimes it was the seal or the otter that claimed our attention, at others the fish, while once we even joined in a whale hunt which ended in nothing. We tried for an early salmon in the river hard by, and many a tramp was made, rod in hand, across the moor to distant hill lochs, while for a wonder the weather had served us so well, that for a whole week no rain had marred our enjoyment.

Then one morning a shepherd brought a note from the factor of the adjoining property to ask us if we would like to go and thin down the rabbits on Innis Coinean — which is the Gaelic for Rabbit Isle — which lay some five miles off Marathon Bay, and was one of the most exposed of the group. The letter concluded by saying, "Please don't spare the bunnies ; they were not properly shot down in the winter, so if you do not care to go, I must send over and trap them, or there won't be a blade of grass left on the island." As we decided to go, Murdoch turned to me and said, ** Should you mind if I asked the exciseman from Laggan to come with us ? He's not a bad sort of fellow, a capital shot, and handy too in a boat."

Of course I assented, so a letter was at once despatched to the official in question, asking him to meet us at the Marathon boat-house the day but one following. At the appointed hour our friend duly arrived at the trysting-place ; our three selves, Murdoch's head man, and two under-keepers with their ferrets, made up the party. The day was fine and the sea so smooth that we soon pulled over the five miles of water between us and the sandy beach of Innis Coinean, which, unlike all the other islands adjacent, was totally devoid of rock, and was but some three hundred acres of sand-land, most of it standing but a little above sea-level, while its whole surface was covered with sweet, thick-growing grass, and hither in summer sheep were brought by boats to graze. To the humble bunnie it was little short of a paradise ; for there were no four-footed vermin on the island, while the feeding was splendid, with the easiest of burrowing, and what more could the mind of the most epicurean rabbit wish for?

As soon as we had landed and made all secure, each of us, accompanied by a man, went off in different directions, having previously agreed to rendezvous at the boat for luncheon. Sport was good and the firing rapid. The lion's share fell to my lot, so thus, twenty minutes before lunchtime, my man had more bunnies to carry than he could manage, and, unloading my gun, I took part of the burden, as we made for the boat.

On the way we fell in with the exciseman, who in reply to our cry of, "Well! what sport.'*" answered, " Oh, very good indeed, and well worth the ten-shilling gun-licence I took out yesterday!" I laughed at his business-like response, and told

HIGHLAND SPORT.

him under what circumstances I already had taken out, not only a gun, but a game licence.

A short half-hour was all Murdoch allowed us for refreshment ; then we started shooting again, and when the sun began to set we counted into the boat nearly three hundred bunnies, and, large as the total seemed, it was yet clear that it would take other visits to effectually thin them down.

Some few days after this trip we returned from a seal hunt earlier than usual, having been driven off the sea by a heavy storm. As we were both cold and wet through, I made straight for my bedroom, where I knew there would be a good fire with a hot tub ; but Murdoch, with a Scotchman's contempt of a wet jacket, and in spite of wise counsel from me, turned into the dining-room to look at the contents of the post-bag.

Just as I was undressed I heard the front door bell ring, which was a very rare occurrence at Marathon Cottage, and usually betokened a telegram or a call from the **meenister" or the doctor.

Shortly afterwards I heard Murdochs hasty tread on the stairs, his approach being heralded by various Gaelic utterances which it needed no Gaelic scholar to interpret as curses loud and deep.

My room door was banged open by my host, and in the lightest of garments I stood awaiting an explanation, for clearly Murdoch was most angrily excited ; the veins on his white forehead were swollen and stood out quite blue, the dark-grey eyes flashed, while his left hand held at arm's length a blue paper, which he threatened with the right fist as he strode towards me. In reply to my " What on earth's the matter, Murdoch 'i " there burst from him a torrent of imprecations : " Brute — cur — mean rascally scoundrel — I'll break every bone in his body ! '* and how long this would have continued I know not, but creating a diversion by snatching the blue paper out of his hand, I soon saw that it was a summons to appear before the Laggan magistrates on a charge of using a gun

c lo HIGHLAND SPORT.

without a licence, while the information had been laid by our late friend and guest the rabbit- shooting exciseman !

I could not help laughing, which made Murdoch the more furious, and not until I had followed up my mirth by saying, *'Well, I never did hear of a dirtier trick than that ! " did he at all regain his wonted equanimity. At this period of our discussion I was warned by a freezing sensation that, as far as I was concerned, it would be wiser to continue it when I was better clad and Murdoch in a righter mind. So asking him to take pity on me, and remember his own wet clothes as well, I persuaded him to go to his room with a promfse that we would devote the evening to forming plans of vengeance. I was soon meditating on the matter, from the seat of a cosy arm-chair pulled up to the peat fire of the dining-room, the while from the upper stories descended through the floor a rumbling as of distant thunder, which was the safety-valve of Murdochs rage

MURDOCH CAMPBELL'S REVENGE. ii relieving itself in furious mutterings against the treacherous exciseman.

All that evening we thrashed out various plots for vengeance on the traitor. At first Murdoch vowed that he would take no notice of the summons, but would next day seek out the informer and flog him. I pointed out that he would only put himself in the wrong by setting the law at defiance, while, as Mr. Exciseman stood but just over five feet, and weighed some three stone less than his would-be punisher, there would also be but little credit to be gained by taking the law into his own hands. As we each sat smoking by the side of the good peat fire, each cudgelled his brains for a means of crying quits with our friend, and bit by bit we hatched a plot; it was almost a forlorn hope, but the best we could devise.

It **came off," however. Silly vanity on one side with good acting on our parts did the trick. It was as follows, then, that we set to work. On the day fixed for hearing the summons we drove into

c 2

Laggan, Murdoch taking with him many old game licences to show that he had never hitherto failed to fulfil his duty in this respect. The case was heard, and lasted but a short time; the exciseman swore to the facts '* most reluctantly, and actuated solely by a feeling of duty," so he said, while the magistrates expressed their regret to Murdoch that the law left them no option but to impose a small fine, which was at once paid, and the case ended.

Making our way through the people to Mr. Exciseman, who watched our approach somewhat anxiously, we both neared him with smiling faces and outstretched hands, while as soon as Murdoch was close enough he patted him on the back and complimented him on the part he had played.

" You are just a brave man, and have but done your duty by the laws of the land, not permitting private friendship to stand in the way." So said Murdoch, while I followed suit to the same purpose.

Our friend seemed highly delighted at the turn things had taken, so when Murdoch proposed an adjournment to the hotel with an invitation to our man to partake of lunch, the offer was promptly accepted, and in a whiskey and soda Murdoch pledged his guest. '* Here's to your speedy preferment, Mr. Exciseman. Such zeal for the service as you have shown will not, Tm sure, be allowed to go unrewarded when the facts of the case reach head-quarters."

The wretched man flushed with pleasure at this toast, as he replied, "That's right good hearing, Mr. Campbell, and I'm glad you bear me no ill-will."

*' Pooh ! " said Murdoch, " the whole thing comes to a fine not worth the mentioning, and the having to take out a game licence at once instead of in August. Now what say you to another day at the rabbits on Innis Coinean to-morrow?"

To our astonishment and delight the invitation was accepted, and early the next day our friend appeared

U HIGHLAND SPORT.

once more at Marathon Lodge. We were soon afloat, with our exciseman at the bow oar, while behind him was deposited the luncheon-basket neatly covered with a white cloth, from beneath which stretched the necks of several black bottles, for the small solitary spring on Innis Coinean yielded but a scant supply of very bad water, while in times of drought its locality was only to be discovered by the extra length and greenness of the grass around it. On the top of the lunch-basket the boat's painter was neatly coiled.

The sea was like a millpond, and as we came close to the island's sandy shore, Murdoch cried to Mr. Exciseman, ** As you are sitting forward, just take the lunch-basket in one hand with the painter in the other and jump ashore and fasten us to the big stone with the ring in it,*' and as our keel grounded on the sand our man did as he was asked. As he stooped to secure the rope to the ring, we shoved off again, while the boat end of the painter, purposely untied beforehand

MURDOCH CAMPBELL'S REVENGE.

flopped into the water as had been intended, and ere the trapped one turned round we were already clear of the shore, and the position was not realised by him until Murdoch called out, *' Now good-bye, false friend and treacherous guest; you are paid out in your own coin, so may a day or two in solitude and fasting take some of the misplaced zeal out of you."

In vain the wretched exciseman begged us to return. Off we pulled, and began to trail for saithe round the island. This we did for fear that any passing fishing boat should rescue our captive, for we knew that as long as our own boat was rowing about near by these fisher-folk would never bother themselves because one of our friends was perambulating up and down on Innis Coinean and frantically waving a handkerchief. The lunch-basket our prisoner had taken ashore with him was but outside show, for the snowy cloth hid nothing more enticing or sustaining than a loaf, together with three bottles of a strongly-aperient mineral water.

Towards sunset it began to blow, and dark clouds were rolling up from the west as we pulled home in the dusk, while as we drew our arm-chairs to the fire after dinner, a gale was roaring and the rain was falling in heavy splashes against our windows.

" Hurrah ! '* cried Murdoch ; **that is good hearing ! What a soaking that rascal will get ! We are already more than half quits with him, aren't we ? "

It rained and blew so hard that I could not help pitying the wretched exciseman, although the mere mention of such feelings made Murdoch furious.

The next morning, after breakfast, slinging our spy-glasses over our shoulders, we started to walk to the end of a promontory from which Innis Coinean was but a couple of miles, and from there we soon made out our victim pacing about, and at times waving a handkerchief.

'* Hurrah ! he's there still," said Murdoch. *' He shall have another two da)rs of it, and then, if no one has taken him off, we will send and fetch him."

MURDOCH CAMPBELVS REVENGE. 17

To this I replied, " Look here, Murdoch, we don't want to kill the poor devil, and I think he's had quite enough of it, for, recollect, he's not a very tough customer, or one that is used to face rough weather. So I vote we walk down to the fishing cottages below to send off a boat as if by pure chance, while we go home and pack his gun and cartridges off to Laggan."

Loth, indeed, was my host to consent, but I got my way eventually, and descending the hill to a few small cottages, we arrived only to find women folk at home. On explaining our errand, two of them with much laughter volunteered to fetch off our victim ; so • advising them to bargain for the payment of a good ransom, we shoved their boat to sea, and they pulled to the rescue quite as strongly and as well as any two men would have done. We then retired to the hill-top, from which vantage, with only our caps above the sky-line, we eventually witnessed through our glasses the landing of our exciseman, and a more miserable-looking

D creature could not be imagined. The story soon got wind, and as the exciseman's excess of zeal had made him very unpopular in the small sea town in which he was stationed, he was quickly dubbed ** Laird of Inn is Coinean," while incessant was the chaff directed at him about this adventure, and the "whiskey" with the other luxuries that helped him through his sojourn. At length he could stand it no longer, so making application to headquarters to be moved, our zealous friend was appointed to another district, where it is to be hoped that, profiting by our lesson, he learnt to temper zeal with discretion.

Chapter II

now I TOOK A SHARE IN THE MONNIELACK SHOOTINGS, AND WHAT CAME OF IT.

*' Wanted, a gun, to complete a party of four, on an extensive moor in the north ; probable bag, six to seven hundred brace, with some roe deer, blackgame, partridges, and snipe ; game equally divided. Terms, ;i^25o for the month, which will include everything. — Address, Colonel S. L., The Shooters Club, London, S.W."

Such was the advertisement that caught my eyes one day early in the month of August, 1889. Now I, Thomas Gae Green, had passed the ten previous years not wholly unprofitably in India, but the time thus spent had carried me out of touch of all my

D 2 old shooting friends, and but few of them knew I had come back "for good" to merrie England.

The ** twelfth'* was close at hand, so as I longed to breathe the Highland air again, and to see if I could still face the hill as of old, thus this advertisement caught me just in the frame of mind to make an experiment which I had hitherto vowed nothing should ever induce me to try. It read like a genuine affair, while the terms were certainly not exorbitant if the statements were correct, so, before an hour had passed, I was waiting in the reception-room of "The Shooters,'* and, very promptly, a tall, smart-looking man of about fifty, with a red face, red whiskers, red moustache with slightly waxed tips, and a pair of bright blue eyes, introduced himself to me as Colonel Softword Lovewell. His mellow voice, his soldierly bearing, with his charming manners at once prepossessed me in his favour. The name of the shooting and the rent actually paid were given me. Photographs of the house, with lists of game killed in previous seasons.

were also produced, while everything appeared satisfactory and above board.

There were two other little details I desired to know, and while hesitating how to put my questions as to whether the Colonel was a bachelor, and who the two other guns might be, he divined my thoughts and told me he was married, but that his wife was an invalid, taking no part in the management of the Monnielack establishment, as she lived almost entirely upstairs in her own suite of rooms. ** So, my dear sir," said he, ** you see it is practically a bachelor party, and you can smoke where you like and dress as you please. Mind, sir, I am no petticoat hater — by Jove ! no — quite the reverse ; but, to my mind, one lady is rather a bore, shut up with a party of four men in a shooting box."

Having expressed my entire concurrence in these sentiments, I asked, ** And what about the other two guns ? "

** Well," answered the Colonel, ** they were both strangers until introduced to me by mutual friends.

Captain Smallgore Spiller lives in Cornwall, Mr. Auldjoe in Northumberland, and hence our arrangements have been made by letter; but they are both bachelors, while from all I can hear they are quite nice fellows."

All this sounded very pleasant, so I settled forthwith to arrive at Monnielack on the tenth of the month. A few days later I met an old friend and told him of my arrangement, when, much to my comfort, he remarked, ** Oh ! I know Lovewell, and you will find him quite a good sort. He was always a poor man, though, and married a widow some ten years his senior with a couple of thousand a year. She fancies herself an invalid, but I hear she is a dear old thing, for she lets Lovewell do pretty much as he pleases."

Then I came across people who knew both Spiller and Auldjoe. The report on the latter was that he was a queer old chap, with a hatred of the sound of a big big D., and a general detestation of modern methods, but withal quite a gentleman.

The report as to Spiller was not quite so satisfactory — a Militia Captain, rather bumptious, a little too fond of lifting his elbow, and a cheaply earned reputation as a sportsman, seemed to be the verdict. With this little knowledge of the party I was about to join, Monnielack Lodge duly received me on the tenth of August. My hopes were more than realized, the house was large and comfortable, the dogs looked workmanlike, the head-keeper, Donal Macdonal, was a pleasant civil-spoken man, while his daughter Bessie was just one of the very prettiest Highland lassies I ever saw, and I noticed that the Colonel was fully of the same opinion, for leaving me to talk grouse with Donal, he went off with the lassie to inspect the poultry yard.

The next day I elected to make a trouting expedition, and on returning was duly presented to Mr. Auldjoe, a tall, spare man of about sixty, with a very long clean-shaven red face covered with red pimples, while his looks and movements much resembled those of a fishing heron, but perhaps his tight-fitting suit of black pepper-and-salt clothes, with the stiff old-fashioned white stock, contributed to this effect.

Captain Spiller was to arrive in time for dinner, but as he was late, after giving him fair law, we sat down without him, and had hardly done so before the wheels of his conveyance were heard outside, and in a few minutes the Captain entered, when with a bow to us and a shake of the Colonels hand he rattled out a torrent of speech more rapidly and jerkily spoken than anything I had ever heard before.