The Sun.
London, England, 1861-09-24 00:00:00

THE MOORS AND FORESTS.

We continue our notes from the moors and forests. The
following is a return of the sport at Strathbran for the last
three days, 9th, 11th, and 13th. The sportsmen were Mr.
Dalgety and Captain Milner :—Grouse, 118 ; hares, 22;
snipe, 2; total, 142. The grouse seem to be getting more
plentiful as the season advances; but the birds are very
wild owing to the wet weather. They have not yet, how-
ever, commenced to pack. Capt. Milner last week killed
two fine trout in the river, one 51b and the other nearly 71b.
weight. At Gairloch Lord St. John and party have had
good sport up to this time, considering the very unfavour-
able weather that has prevailed since the 12th August.
The grouse are healthy and strong, and have bred much
better on these moors this season than for the last three
years. The following is a return of the game killed at
Strathmore Forest Lodge, county of Caithness (moors of
Glutt and Ramsdale), from 20th August to 11th September
inclusive :—By, Mr. Hunt, W.S., 238 grouse, 23 hares, 4
ducks, and 1 blackcock. By Mr. T. E. 0. Horne-7 stags,
2 hinds. The weather was very wet and stormy. On
several days the party was not out at all. Grouse were
plentiful, healthy, and :trong on the wing. Deer in good
condition ; heads clean very early. At Kinlochewe moors,
on the 10th inst., Mr. J. F. Bassett, and the Hon. Major
Gage killed 18} brace of grouse. At Strontian,on the after-
noon of the 7th, Capt. Riddell killed 8 brace of grouse and
two couple of snipes ; and on the afternoon of the 11th
Si brace of grouse and two brace of blackgame. Birds
numerous] and strong, but wild, owing to the long-
continued wet weather. Mr. Somes has had fair sport at
Glensheiro (Langan). On Saturday week he bagged 31
brace grouse; on Monday, 14 brace, a couple of hares, and
a brace of snipe ; on Tuesday, 121 brace grouse, 3 hares,
and a couple of rabbits. Mr. Somes has also had some
sport in the forest. His last stag was brought down on the
12th, and had eight points. At Braeroy the weather has
been quite fearful—eternal, never-ceasing heavy rain—so
that anything like regular shooting was out of the ques-
tion. Considering the weather the sport has been good. A
few days Mr. Hogg, in 41 hours, and over one brace of
dogs, bagged 211 brace grouse and 6 hares ; and he can
always secure 10 or 12 brace any morning or evening when
the weather admits of going out. In Gairloch Forest the
Hon. St. Andrew St. John has killed to his own rifle, up
to the 9th September, 3 stags, 1 hind ; and on the 11th, 2
stags, one of these very fat, with a royal head, the other in
good condition, with a head of six points. Mr. R. Orlebar
stalked in the same forest, on the 10th inst., and killed a
fine stag with a head of 10 points. On Tuesday, Sept. 10,
Earl Cowper killed two good sf-ags, right and left, one with
a royal head and the other having nine tines, weighing
respectively 16 stone 11b. and 14 stone lib. On Thursday,
Sept. 12, Mr. Clare Vyner killed a beautiful stag weighing
18 stone 11b., having a very large head, carrying 13
tines, of the following dimensions :—Breadth across the
brow 33 inches, length of brow antlers 111 inches,
length of top antlers 14± inches, length of whole
antlers 35; inches. On the same day the Hon. H.
Cowper killed a very fine stag, weighing 18 stone 81b.,
and having a very good head of 10 tines. In Kinloch-ewe
forest, on the Gth inst., Mr. J. F. Basset killed a stag ; and
on the sth Captain Campion killed a stag with a royal
head, and Captain Basset a roebuck. At Strontian, on
Aug. 30, Lord R. Grosvenor stalked and killed a roe-deer.
Lord Loigh also shot a good stag on the 6th. Captain
Riddell and a friend killed 3 roebuck on the sth of Septem-
ber. In the forest of Ceanacroc, Glenmoriston, Lord
Dacre has shot 28 stags. On Friday last Mr. Edward Ross
shot 4 stags at Glendibidale, which makes 25 stags and 2
hinds shot by him at the same place this season. In the
Reay and Stack forests the Earl of Dudley and friends have
shot 18 stags; and at Monar Mr. W. White and friends
have shot i 5 stags. The following incident of a day in the
forest is recounted by our Duthill correspondent :—One
day last week, while the Earl of Stamford and Warrington
and party were out stalking in the Rothiemurchus forest,
a number of labourers, presently employed in executing
certain improvements about the handsome shooting-lodge
recently erected in Clenmore, were ordered by his lordship
to join for the purpose of driving the deer in the direction
of the shooting party. Winile thus engaged, one of the
men, John Grant, labourer, Deshar, observed a large stag
coming at the top of his speed in a straight line to where
he stood. Seeing if the deer was to follow the course he
was on certain destruction was inevitable, he made a hasty
preparation for defending himself from the fury of the
maddened animal, and happening to have a stout branch of
a fir tree in his hand, just as the stag was near upon him
he took aim and gave the animal a desperate blow on the
brow, which brought him to his knees ; essaying to rise,
John repeated the dose, and in a few minutes the royal stag
breathed his last. It was a splendid animal, having a head
with nine tines. One of the gentlemen handsomely re-
warded the courageous Highlander for his intrepid daring
in laying the antlered monarch of the forest with such a
novel weapon prostrate at his feet.—lnverness Courier.