The Sun.
London, England, 1859-08-25 00:00:00

POACHING IN SCOTLAND.

Two poaching cases, at the instance of the Duke
of Richmond, have just been tried at Keith, which
occupied the Court from 11 in the forenoon till 11
at night, there being no fewer than 10 witnesses
examined, five of them being gamekeepers. Wm.
Laing, Esq , Keith, and John Grant, Esq., factor
for Drummuir, presided. One of the cases was for
trespassing on the Duke's grounds in the parish of
Enzie. This was rather an exciting affair, border-
ing on the romantic. There were three parties in
the field, but only one identified and proceeded
against. To the other two we may apply the
couplet—

" There was racing and chasing on Cannobie lea,
But the lost bride of Netherby nta'er did they see."

The witnesses in the case were four keepers and
;hree crofters in Oldmore. At an early hour on
Saturday, the 13th, two of the keepers were out, and
heard firing and saw the smoke from a couple of guns
on the Duke's grounds about the Braes of Enzie
They soon discovered three sportsmen in the dis-
tance, with two guns, the third carrying something
like a bag in his hand. They gave chase through
bush and brake, moor and moss, o'er brook and burn,
nothing impeding progress. The pursuit and search
lasted from 4 in the morning till the afternoon, the
route traversed being from the Braes of Enzie to
the Burn of Oldmore, on the Earl of Fife's grounds.
The three fugitives, who were accompanied by a
brown setter dog, were lost sight of about the
burn, only one of them, the panel, again turning up.
The Duke's keepers, early on the field, had given up
the chase for the time, and were succeeded by two of
Mr. Tayler of Rothiemay's keepers and fresh relays
of the Oldmore crofters. During the chase, one of
the fugitives was seen to stoop occasionally, as if
unloosing his shoe ties, and at one time to drop
something. At: an after hour of the day, a pair of
hunting boots were found at the spot. Panel was
seen by the crofters running along barefooted, amy
also recrossing. a moss he had formerly traversed, as
if in search of something, and again coursing along
towards the burn with a carpet bag in his hand,
was seen pulling heather in a brae by the burnside,
and soon after the carpet bag was got there, in
which were found three grouse, a snaring net, and
a pair of stockings. Ultimately Mr. Tayler'a
keepers came upon panel by the burnside, with the
brown dog seen in the morning, in his company.
The case does not appear very clear, as panel was
not certainly identified as one of the three pursued
in the morning, nor were the boots or carpet bag
proven to be his, but the evidence was such as the
Bench considered sufficient to convict him. He was
found guilty, and fined one pound, with ten pounds
five shillings of expenses, The other case was
against a shepherd in Glenlivat, who was charged
with killing grouse, accompanied by two colley
dogs, in the glen or moors of Chyma, about the
head or source of the Livet Water, and where the
shepherd pastured his sheep. The evidence of
Shaw, the keeper, who had been watching accused,
went to prove that the dogs hunted for the game,
acting as trained setters, waiting and looking
round for the keeper's approach. In one instance
the dogs were seen to raise a covey, and panel to
strike them down with a stick, and place the birds
in an inside coat pocket. In another case the dogs
killed the birds, when one of them was picked up
by accused, but which, on the keeper's approach,
was thrown away. Shaw, the keeper, saw at least
the head of one chucky hanging out of the coat
pocket, and at once charged the shepherd with the
crime, and intimated that he would report the case.
The accused pleaded for a compromise, saying " Bet-
ter would it have been for him to have been sleep-
ing all day, though the flock had gone down the
Black Water." The case was clear, and the offence
restricted to one bird. Fine—Xs, and the same
sum for expenses.—Banffshire Journal.