CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 'I HAVE had the happiness of being a deer-stalker for more than half a century.' These were the words used by the late Horatio Ross, the most famous gentleman athlete and allround sportsman whom the present century has produced. The occasion was his examination by the Select Committee of the House of Commons on the Game Laws (1872-73), of which I was myself a member, our chairman being the late Mr. Ward Hunt. The reply made by Mr. Ross to the opening question of our chairman sounds simple, and to an ordinary reader of the Blue Book would no doubt be passed over as nothing more than the usual perfunctory reply to a series of questions addressed to persons who give evidence before a select committee. To those who were present and in sympathy with the veteran sportsman, there was something more than mere words. This happened twenty-five years ago, and F the scene is as fresh in my memory as if it had occurred last year. The kindling eye, the beam of happiness with which his face glowed as if during those few seconds while he was speaking there passed before his mental vision many an episode of forestlife, of sporting adventure in strath and glen, in the wild and varied scenery to be found in the districts from Reay in the north-west to Invermark in the south-east, where he had been in the habit of enjoying his favourite pursuit- confirmed me at all events in the opinion, which I have always held, that deerstalking is the king of wild sports. As this estimation of deer-stalking may not be shared by sportsmen generally, a comparison between its merits and those of other sports pursued in this country may serve to justify the opinion which I have expressed, and may perhaps prove interesting to the reader. Without attempting anything like a classification of the various kinds of sport which are to be found in the British Isles, it will be admitted that four stand out pre-eminent. These are deer-stalking, grouseshooting, salmon-fishing, and fox-hunting. Each of these has its respective advocates, who will enthusiastically proclaim the superiority of their favourite amusement. I have myself at various times enjoyed them all, and do still when I get the chance, though I do not claim to be a 'professor' in any one of them. To arrive at a fair conclusion on their respective merits, it would appear advisable to enumerate certain tests by which to try each of them separately, and then see which gives the best general result. Take as the first test the degree of pleasure derived from success. Judged solely from this point of view, grouse-shooting is nowhere. Given good weather (of which more hereafter), your keeper will generally tell you what the bag is likely to be; and the capabilities of your party as to shooting being also. known, it follows that the result is pretty well ascertained beforehand, and the pleasure of a successful shoot can hardly be as great as if it were uncertain or unexpected. In salmon-fishing and fox-hunting there is always more or less luck and uncertainty, and this enhances the satisfaction derived from a 'real good day.' In salmon-fishing success, of course, depends on the number of fish you kill and on their weight. Thus the pleasure of a good day is not momentary like the killing of a fine stag, but is spread as it were over the whole day, recurring each time that a fish is landed. I doubt whether the aggregate amount of pleasure derived from capturing ten or a dozen |