Sir Hugh Fraser

Amid the High Hills Sir Hugh Fraser

The fascination of deer-stalking is largely due to the romance of the hill-the hill as it is known only to those who love it and understand something of its hidden mysteries. The long day, all too quickly ended, with the silent but sympathetic stalker-alone with Nature in its most inspiring and elevating form-the ever-changing beauty of sky and hill-the joy of watching deer when they have no suspicion that they are being watched-the opportunities of seeing rare birds and finding rare plants-all these things apart from the difficulty and interest-and the greater the difficulty the greater the interest-of trying to outwit-in other words trying to get within shot of the particular stag one is after-go to make up the attractions of what some of us think is the very best of true sport. I well remember a famous statesman, who had himself owned one of the best deer forests in the Highlands, saying to me that the greatest attraction of stalking is that it takes one to places where otherwise one would never go, and enables one to see the most wonderful things which otherwise one would never see. Further, there is probably no form of sport where less pain and suffering are inflicted, assuming that any one who stalks will take the trouble to know his rifle well, and will not take a long or risky shot. The shot itself after all plays only a small part in the pleasure of a day's stalking. I have friends, first-class rifle shots, who delight in stalking, and who, when they have arrived within shot of the stag they have stalked, will sometimes not shoot at him at all. This would not always be easily accomplished by those who have strongly implanted within them the instincts of the hunter, or perhaps I should say the primitive man.