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THE true wild cat is
gradually becoming extirpated, owing to the increasing preservation of
game; and though difficult to hold in a trap, in consequence of its great
strength and agility, he is by no means difficult to deceive, taking any
bait readily, and not seeming to be as cautious in avoiding danger as many
other kinds of vermin. Inhabiting the most lonely and inaccessible ranges
of rock and mountain, the wild cat is seldom seen during the day time; at
night (like its domestic relative) he prowls far and wide, walking with
the same deliberate step, making the same regular and even track, and
hunting its game in the same tiger-like manner; and yet the difference
between the two animals is perfectly clear, and visible to the commonest
observer. The wild cat has a shorter and more bushy tail, stands higher on
her legs in proportion. to her size, and has a rounder and coarser look
about the head. The strength and ferocity of the wild cat when hemmed in
or hard pressed are perfectly astonishing. The body when skinned presents
quite a mass of sinew and cartilage. I have occasionally, though rarely,
fallen in with these animals in the forests and mountains of this country; once, when grouse-shooting, I came suddenly, in a rough and rocky part
of the ground, upon a family of two old ones and three half-grown young
ones. In the hanging birch-woods that border some of the Highland streams
and lochs, the wild cat is still not uncommon, and I have heard their wild
and unearthly cry echo far in the quiet night as they answer and call to
each other. I do not know a more harsh and unpleasant cry than that of the
wild cat, or one more likely to be the origin of superstitious fears in
the mind of an ignorant Highlander. These animals have great skill in
finding their prey, and the damage they do to the game must be very great,
owing to the quantity of food which they require. When caught in a trap,
they fly without hesitation at any person who approaches them, not waiting
to be assailed. I have heard many stories of their attacking and severely
wounding a man, when their escape has been cut off. Indeed, a wild cat
once flew at me, in the most determined manner. I was fishing at a river
in Sutherlandshire, and in passing from one pool to another had to climb
over some rock and broken kind of ground. In doing so, I sank through some
rotten heather and moss up to my knees, almost upon a wild cat, who was
concealed under it. I was quite as much startled as the animal herself
could be, when I saw the wild-looking beast so unexpectedly rush out from
between my feet, with every hair on her body standing on end, making her
look twice as large as she really was. I had three small Skye terriers
with me, who immediately gave chase, and pursued her till she took refuge
in a corner of the rocks, where, perched in a kind of recess out of reach
of her enemies, she stood with her hair bristled out, and spitting and
growling like a common cat. Having no weapon with me, I laid down my rod,
cut a good-sized stick, and proceeded to dislodge her. As soon as I was
within six or seven feet of the place, she sprang straight at my face over
the dogs' heads. Had I not struck her in mid air as she leaped at me, I
should probably have got some severe wound. As it was, she fell with her
back half-broken amongst the dogs, who, with my assistance, despatched
her. I never saw an animal fight so desperately, or one which was so
difficult to kill. If a tame cat has nine lives, a wild cat must have a
dozen. Sometimes one of these animals takes up its residence at no great
distance from a house, and entering the hen-houses and outbuildings,
carries off fowls or even lambs in the most audacious manner. Like other
vermin, the wild cat haunts the shores of the lakes and rivers, and it is
therefore easy to know where to lay a trap for them. Having caught and
killed one of the colony, the rest of them are sure to be taken if the
body of their slain relative is left in some place not far from their
usual hunting-ground, and surrounded with traps, as every wild cat who
passes within a considerable distance of the place will to a certainty
come to it. The same plan may be adopted successfully in trapping foxes,
who also are sure to visit the dead body of any other fox which they scent
during their nightly walk. There is no animal more destructive than a
common house-cat, when she takes to hunting in the woods. In this case
they should always be destroyed, as when once they have learned to prefer
hares and rabbits to rats and mice, they are sure to hunt the larger
animals only. I believe, however, that by cropping their ears close to the
head, cats may be kept from hunting, as they cannot bear the dew or rain
to enter these sensitive organs. Tame cats who have once taken to the
woods soon get shy and wild, and then produce their young in rabbit-holes,
decayed trees, and other quiet places; thus laying the foundation of a
half-wild race. It is worthy of notice, that whatever colour the parents
of these semi-wild cats may have been, those bred out of them are almost
invariably of the beautiful brindled grey colour, as the wild cats. A
shepherd, whose cat had come to an untimely end — by trap or gun, I forget
which—in lamenting her death to me, said it was a great pity so valuable
an animal should be killed, as she brought him every day in the year
either a grouse, a young hare, or some other head of game. Another man
told me that his cat brought to the house during the whole winter a
woodcock or a snipe almost every night, showing a propensity for hunting
in the swamps and wet places near which the cottage was situated, and
where these birds were in the habit of feeding during the night. A
favourite cat of my own once took to bringing home rabbits and hares, but
never winged game. Though constantly caught in traps, she could never be
cured of her hunting propensities. When caught in an iron trap, instead of
springing about and struggling, and by this means breaking or injuring her
legs, she used to sit quietly down and wait to be let out. There is a cat
at the farm now, who is caught at least twice a week, but from adopting
the same plan of waiting quietly and patiently to be liberated, she seldom
gets her foot much hurt.
The animal that requires
the greatest care in trapping is the fox. If the trap is too smooth, he
slips his foot out; if too sharp, he cuts off his foot, and escapes,
leaving it behind him. I consider the best manner of having fox-traps made
is to get them without teeth, but with about three spikes of an inch in
length on each side of the trap; these entering the animal's leg without
cutting it, hold him firmly and securely. The surest way, however, of
destroying foxes (I am speaking of course of foxes of the Highlands, where
no hounds are kept) is by poison. But then the rabbit or bait in which the
poison is laid should not be touched by the hand, so suspicious is this
animal of the slightest taint of man. The most artistic way is to catch a
rabbit or crow in a trap, and having killed it with a stick, a small slit
should be cut in the head, without, however, touching the animal with the
hand; into this hole three or four grains of the poison called Strychnia
should be dropped. So powerful is this poison, that a fox having eaten the
above quantity seldom goes thirty yards before he dies. Strychnia is the
concentrated part of Nux vomica. Though frequently much adulterated, it
can generally be obtained of sufficient strength from any respectable
druggist. The Strychnia is, I believe, mixed with a little alkali, to
prevent its power being destroyed by exposure to the air. In poisoning
crows with it, a very small quantity is sufficient, and it should be put
into a slit in the skin or the eye of a dead animal. Before a carrion crow
has taken three or four pecks at the poisoned carrion he falls backwards
perfectly dead. Weazels, stoats, and all vermin are destroyed by it with
equal ease. The drug having no smell, these animals are not shy of eating
a dead rabbit or bird on which it has been placed. Foxes and large vermin
always commence at the head of their prey, while for smaller vermin and
birds a hole should be cut in the skin to receive the poison, as they
generally begin their operations whenever they see an opening, where the
flesh is exposed to view. It is needless to give a warning against using
this powerful drug rashly, as no man in his senses would place it anywhere
but in the most secure situations. It is worth remembering, that foxes,
carrion crows, and many other destructive animals, will eat a dead rat,
whereas no dog will do so. By poisoning the dead bodies of this animal,
therefore, no risk is run of destroying your dogs. An equally good way of
applying Strychnia is in the body of a wild duck or a wood-pigeon. Many a
fox, whose worldly experience nearly ensures him safety from trap or gin,
will fall a victim to this poison; for so small a quantity' is necessary,
and so scentless is it, that a sufficient dose is swallowed before the
animal discovers its presence in anything which he is eating. From the
extreme rapidity with which it acts, destroying life almost
instantaneously, it is perhaps as merciful a way of putting an end to
noxious and troublesome animals as can be devised, and no method can be
more certain. I have always been of opinion that nine keepers out of ten
who carry guns are but of little use in destroying vermin. The grand
desideratum in preserving game is, that the animals should be left in
perfect quiet. A man walking about with a gun in his hand, shooting at
magpies and crows, does nearly as much mischief to the preserves as if he
shot at the game itself.
A quiet intelligent trapper
does more good in killing vermin than a dozen men with guns. The former
sees a pair of crows, or a stoat; if he is well skilled in his
profession, the creatures are dead by the next day, having been caught
without noise and without disturbing a single head of those animals which
are required to be kept in peace and quiet. The shooting keeper, in making
his way through woods and coverts to get shots at vermin, often fails in
killing it, but is sure to disturb and molest the game, driving it here
and there, and exposing it to the view and attacks of hawks and poachers.
I have always a far better opinion of the usefulness of a keeper when I
see him with a number of traps on his shoulder, than when he carries his
gun always with him. It is no bad amusement occasionally to accompany an
intelligent and experienced trapper on his rounds, and see his plans to
deceive and entice the fox and the otter, the hawk, or the raven.
In catching all these
animals, the spot to be selected for trapping should not be near their
abodes or nests, but in that part of the outskirts of the covers where
they wander during the night-time in pursuit of prey. Almost every kind of
vermin hunts in the open country and fields, wherever they may lie
concealed during the day : for knowing that rabbits, hares, and the other
animals which form their principal food, resort to the pastures, the
corn-fields, or the waterside to feed during the night, to these same
places do their hungry enemies follow them. Hawks and crows too, who feed
in the day-time, are perfectly aware that they have a better chance of
seeing and catching their prey in the open country than in the woods and
covers. Besides which, a hungry fox or hawk, hunting for game, is less on
his guard than when prowling quietly and cautiously through the woods.
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