Season 1887.
Circumstances prevented my family going down (my boys were scattered in professional pursuits), so I determined to let Dalnawillan for August and September, and shoot at Rumsdale as a bachelor, and with two other men.
The weather turned out very disappointing and unsettled—daily storm showers; so consequently the results on both moors did not come up to my expectations.
In Rumsdale (why, I don't know) the weather was worse than in any other part of Caithness.
Only one day was I out without being interfered with by rainstorms.
In Dalnawillan the weather was rather better, and in Strathmore heavy and dull, but not much amiss.
In October, I went down to Dalnawillan with two other guns. There bad weather again followed us, but we managed to make 177 brace.
| Bag. | Dalnawillan. | Rumsdale. |
|---|---|---|
| Grouse | 1223 brace. | 561 brace. |
| Sundries | —— | 24 " |
This season was the culminating season of that cycle, and we ought to have had better bags, but wet weather makes the birds wild and skittish. I had expected 1200 brace on Dalnawillan, and 800 on Rumsdale, as a minimum; the birds were there to do it.
