CASTLETON TO LOCHNAGAR-12 miles.

There is a carriage drive five miles of the way; the rest must be walked, or ponies may be taken to the very top. The journey occupies about eight hours. A guide is necessary. Pony, 5s. ; guide, 5s.

The usual way is to go by the north side of the Cluny water, up Glen Callater, turning off to the left at the keeper's house at Loch Callater by a very steep path. After this the path is successively over steep ridges or deep valleys. And as it is often scarcely perceptible for miles, and also very steep and stony, it is by no means advisable to undertake the journey unless the weather be clear and favourable. There is no house of refreshment on the way. A small lake at the base of a steep crag not far from Lochnagar may be mistaken for it; it is necessary, therefore, to bear in mind that Lochnagar is not seen until the very summit is reached. The summit has two cairns upon it, the one natural, the other artificial, 3789 feet in height.

Lochnagar is a black lake of small dimensions, which sleeps, as it were, at the foot of a wide corrie or cleft in the summit of the mountain, consisting of a very lofty range of precipitous rocks. These rocks run sheer down to the edge of the water, and rise above the spectator, often piled stone above stone in the most regular manner. Beyond the lake the ground slopes upwards, covered with whitish stones, of most barren appearance. Beyond that again, mountains rise above mountains, and here and there pleasant glimpses are obtained of wooded and well cultivated parts of country. The effect of the crags, loch, and surrounding scenery is very imposing, and somewhat resembles parts of the wonderful scenery of Saxon Switzerland in Germany.

At one time it was usual to vary the return route by proceeding through the deer-forest of Balloch-bowie, by the Falls of Garrawalt, Invercauld Bridge, and Braemar Castle, or by the drive on the face of the Craig Cluny. This road is shorter than the other, not so steep, and much more pleasant, but it was lately closed.

The red-deer or stag is found nowhere in greater numbers or in better condition than in the uncultivated mountainous

districts of Braemar.

He is a much more noble animal in appearance than the calf-like fallow deer, and his height, when erect, is seven or eight feet from the ground to the tip of his horns. The greater part of his body is a dark redbrown colour.

The skill of the deer-stalker, in pursuit of red deer, is not only dependent on a good use of the rifle, but is shewn in his ability to find and approach his game-to do which successfully requires the most unwearied perseverance. Many of the Scottish forests, wherein the stalking of deer in their wild state is practised, are of immense extent. In these vast solitudes-if the longevity assigned to deer by tradition be true-the Highlanders stalks the identical harts which, a century ago, bore the scars of the weapons of his ancestors.

In the rutting season-which commences in September— the harts become fierce and bold, and it is said they will even attack men; but accidents from them are very rare, though certain it is they are held in dread at this season. They fight furiously with each other, and bellow like bulls till the mountains echo again. They are at this season covered with earth from rolling in their soiling pools-soft peat mossand by their dark appearance it is known when they are no longer fit to be killed.

Red-deer usually move up wind; their acute sense of smell thus giving them notice of danger. It is by taking advantage of the wind that the deer-stalker's success in a great measure depends. In a mountainous country they can be driven in any required direction by skilful foresters. On wide plains red-deer are inaccessible.

The deer-stalker's dogs, which are always held in leash until a wounded animal is detached from the herd, should, so far as practicable, combine the nose of the blood-hound with the speed of the grey-hound, and run mutė.

The deer-stalker has recourse to a thousand manoeuvres to approach a herd or solitary stag. The animals are usually descried at a long distance, either by the naked eye, or by the aid of a telescope, and the mode of approaching them entirely depends upon the situation in which they are discovered. Should it seem impracticable to steal upon them while at rest, the stalkers, armed with rifles, wait in the defiles

through which the deer are expected to pass, whilst the attendants make a circuitous movement to get beyond the deer and drive them in the direction required. The deerstalker, besides being an excellent shot, should have good judgment of ground, and a hardy frame, combined with the patience and power to undergo extreme fatigue and privation. Although the red-deer has not

"The dreadful plunge of the concealed tiger,"

nor charges like the maimed lion, or elephant, or buffalo at bay, he possesses qualities which render his death as difficult to achieve as that of any of these quadrupeds; since to the gracefulness of an antelope, he unites the agility of a chamoisthe eye of a lynx-the nose of a vulture—the ear of a hare -the vigilance of a bustard-and the cunning of a fox-he can swim like a sea fowl-in speed he will outstrip the racehorse-and in the height and length of his leap none but himself can be his parallel! The anxiety attending this sport must be as intense as the pursuit is laborious. After climbing for hours the mountain-side, with the torrent thundering down the granite crags above him, and fearful chasms yawning beneath him, the stalker, with his glass, at length descries in some remote valley, a herd too distant for the naked eye. He now descends into the tremendous glen beneath, fords the stream, wades the morass, and by a circuitous route threads the most intricate ravines, to avoid giving the deer the wind. Having arrived near the brow of the hill, on the other side of which he believes them to be, he approaches on hands and knees, or rather vermicularly, and his attendant, with a spare rifle, does the same. moment of painful suspense ensues. He may be within shot of the herd, or they may be many miles distant, for he has not had a glimpse of them since he first discovered them an hour ago. His videttes on the distant hills have hitherto telegraphed no signal of his proximity to deer; but now a white handkerchief is raised, the meaning of which cannot be mistaken. With redoubled caution he crawls breathlessly along, till the antlers appear; another moment and he has a view of the herd;-they are within distance. He selects a hart with well tipt, wide spreading horns. Still on the ground,

A

CASTLETON TO BLAIR ATHOLL.

359

His

and resting his rifle on the heather, he takes a cool aim. victim-shot through the heart-leaps in the air and dies. The rest of the herd bound away; a ball from another barrel follows-the "smack" is distinctly heard—and the glass tells that another noble hart must fall, for the herd have paused, and the hinds are licking his wound. They again seek safety in flight, but their companion cannot keep pace with them. He has changed his course; the dogs are slipped and put upon the scent, and are out of sight in a moment. The stalker follows; he again climbs a considerable way up the heights; he applies the telescope, but nothing of life can he behold, except his few followers on the knolls around him. With his ear to the ground he listens, and amidst the roar of innumerable torrents faintly hears the dogs baying the quarry, but sees them not; he moves on from hill to hill towards the sound, and eventually another shot makes the hart his own. The deer are then bled and gralloched, and partially covered with peat; the horns are left upright, and a handkerchief is tied to them to mark the spot, that the hillmen may find them at the close of the day. The interest of all this is enhanced by the majestic scenery of an immense, trackless, treeless forest-to which domesticated life is a stranger-where mountain, corrie, cairn, and glen, thrown promiscuously together, present the grandest of savage landscapes, and as the field of wild adventure, cast into shade what Mr. Scrope not unaptly designates "the tame and hedge-bound country of the South!"

CASTLETON TO BLAIR-ATHOLL, BY GLEN TILT-30 miles.

The approach to Blair by Glen Tilt is best made from this side. A guide with a pony can be engaged for the whole distance for 25s. The river Tarf has to be forded, but in ordinary summer weather it is not more than fourteen inches deep. This route is described in connection with Blair-Atholl, page 267. The distance from Braemar to Blair is thirty miles, and takes twelve hours' good walking. There is a gig road from Braemar to Glen Dee, 12 miles, and a carriage road from the Duke of Atholl's shooting-lodge to Blair, of eight

miles, so that the walking distance may be reduced to ten miles by arranging with the innkeepers for ponies or convey

ances.

The tourist entering Glen Tilt from this side will be struck by the bleak and gloomy desert, which presents an aspect of the most forlorn and hopeless sterility. The great feature in the scene is the huge Ben-y-gloe, which presides over the great forest of Atholl. It has several pinnacles, the highest of which is called Cairn-an-gour (3724 feet).