134:
In his accounts, St John does not describe the antlers other than to comment on first seeing the hart: "What a stretch of antler!" St John’s descendants reported that the Muckle Hart was a very heavy stag weighing 30 stone (420 lb; 190 kg). Years after the stalk, Lionel
Edwards and Harold
117:
Saturday breaks fresh and sunny. St John spies the stag and stalks him but can only take a frontal shot which nevertheless appears to kill the hart. St John lays down his rifle and approaches the prone stag with his knife. When he grabs an antler to bleed the animal it springs up and throws him to
46:
Charles St John was an aristocratic
Englishman with a lifelong interest in natural history who settled in Scotland as a young man, initially at Rosehall in Sutherland in about 1833. He spent the rest of his life fishing, shooting and observing wildlife. On 1 October 1833 he killed a large red deer
151:
In the 21st century, St John's account has been taken as an exemplar of the romanticised 19th-century combat between the hardy
English stalker alone in the wild Scottish Highlands and the massive, noble, native Scottish antlered red deer stag. It is an example of the often embellished accounts of
147:
The Muckle Hart became legendary and was influential in the development of
Scottish red deer stalking. The Muckle Hart has been described as "the most famous Scottish head which has ever been killed, probably the most famous head ever killed, at any rate to the English speaking world." St John's
38:, he described the continuous hunt of the stag for six days and five nights, culminating in its dramatic demise on 1 October 1833. St John's account of the stalk was widely republished, and the deer has been described as "the most famous red stag to be recorded in the annals of British sport".
303:
Much of the article, ostensibly a review of
William Scrope's Days and Nights of Salmon Fishing in the Tweed (London, 1843), is taken up by an account of the stalking of the 'Muckle Hart of Benmore,' which Innes drew from notes by the sportsman-naturalist, Charles St.
135:
Frank
Wallace examined the mounted antlers of the Muckle Hart, which they described as "a well shaped head with thick horn, and very good brow points 13 inches long". Their photograph of the mounted head appears in their 1927 book
81:(in Scottish dialect, a shepherd's hut used during summer grazing), and the next morning they spy the stag but, when they attempt to stalk him, he winds them. They return to the shieling.
194:
Watkins, M.G. (2004) 'St John, Charles George
William (1809–1856)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press; online edn, accessed 11 May 2020.
602:
622:
582:
535:
449:
402:
50:
St John’s account of his pursuit of the Muckle Hart was first published in 1845, incorporated into a book review written by his friend
409:
The romance of deerstalking was spread by such writers as
Charles St John who in 1833 stalked the celebrated muckle hart of Benmore...
70:
of a hart of extraordinary size which he guesses must be the "muckle hart of
Benmore" notorious for its "wonderful size and cunning".
647:
58:, in which he described his encounter with the Muckle Hart in more detail. The story was re-published and anthologized widely.
392:
152:
deer-stalking in "florid prose" characteristic of the era; Hayden
Lorimer describes St John's account as "scarcely credible".
126:
while St John finds he has to pare a bullet with his knife to fit it into the rifle before he can shoot the hart in the head.
31:
360:
Hart-Davis, Duff (1978) Monarchs of the Glen—a History of Deer-Stalking in the Scottish Highlands. London: Jonathan Cape.
171:
Muckle is a Scottish dialect word meaning much or large, hart is an archaic word for a mature male red deer or stag and
88:
which had been killing his sheep. They resume the hunt but see no sign of the stag and sleep in a "niche in the rocks".
627:
607:
587:
354:
Camp, Raymond R. (1961) Hunting Trails: A Sportsman’s Treasury. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc. pp. 483–491.
642:
617:
612:
91:
On Thursday, they see a footprint but dark falls amid heavy rain. In the darkness they hear a fiddle and wade a
592:
250:
348:
99:(basic shelter) occupied by illicit whisky distillers, where they spend the night and Donald becomes drunk.
421:
318:
St John, Charles (1847) ‘The Muckle Hart of Benmore’, Sydney Chronicle (New South Wales), 19 October 1847.
222:
597:
172:
254:
637:
632:
435:
338:
569:
Whitehead, G. Kenneth (1993) The Whitehead Encyclopedia of Deer. Shrewsbury, UK: Swan Hill Press.
502:
494:
294:
84:
On the Wednesday, St John helps Malcolm by hiding in a hole beside a dead sheep and shooting two
67:
102:
On Friday, St John resumes the hunt alone but becomes lost in the mist. He shoots and eats two
73:
The next day, St John sets off with his trusty servant, Donald, and Bran the dog. They shoot a
531:
486:
445:
398:
286:
467:"Guns, game and the grandee: the cultural politics of deerstalking in the Scottish Highlands"
478:
437:
The Mighty Scot: Nation, Gender, and the Nineteenth-Century Mystique of Scottish Masculinity
74:
357:
McManus, Peter (2002) One Man’s Scotland. Burton-on-Trent, UK: MEP Publishing, pp. 131–139.
394:
Balnagown: Ancestral Home of the Clan Ross : a Scottish Castle Through Five Centuries
107:
92:
148:
account of the stalk has been described as a "classic for all time" among deer-stalkers.
351:) (1994) The Shooting Man’s Bedside Book. Cambridge, UK: White Lion Books, pp. 138–148.
119:
326:
319:
576:
527:
506:
27:
155:
St John’s account of the stalk of the Muckle Hart has been retold by many authors.
85:
521:
51:
482:
122:
over the stag’s head and stabs him with his knife. The stag stands at bay in a
441:
490:
290:
111:
66:
On a Sunday, Malcolm, the shepherd, reports to St John that he has seen the
78:
23:
498:
298:
466:
274:
224:
Short Sketches of the Wild Sports and Natural History of the Highlands
36:
Short Sketches of the Wild Sports and Natural History of the Highlands
103:
77:
but see no sign of the stag. They stay the night with Malcolm at his
96:
54:. St John later wrote an account of the pursuit in the 1846 book
123:
56:
The Wild Sports and Natural History of the Scottish Highlands
343:. London: Thomas Nelson and Sons, Limited. pp. 55–70.
275:"Some Notes on the Highland Setting of Clough's "Bothie""
118:
the ground. Cornered against a bank, St John throws his
523:
Hunting & Stalking Deer in Britain Through the Ages
221:
St John, Charles (1846). "The Muckle Hart of Benmore".
320:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/31753883
251:"Days and Nights of Salmon Fishing in the Tweed..."
30:(hunted) by the 19th-century naturalist and hunter
554:Edwards, Lionel; Wallace, Harold Frank (1927).
175:is a mountain in Sutherland, northern Scotland.
378:
237:
8:
227:. London: John Murray. pp. 203–213.
187:
164:
47:stag named the Muckle Hart of Benmore.
7:
374:
372:
370:
368:
216:
214:
212:
210:
208:
206:
204:
202:
200:
95:(small river) waist deep to enter a
61:
391:Von der Schulenberg, Fritz (1997).
520:Whitehead, George Kenneth (1980).
42:Background and publication history
14:
424:. Blackwood: London and Edinburgh
603:Hunting and shooting in Scotland
623:Scottish non-fiction literature
583:Individual animals in Scotland
333:(dedicated to the Muckle Hart)
62:St John's account of the stalk
32:Charles William George St John
1:
556:Hunting and Stalking the Deer
422:The Wild Red Deer of Scotland
331:. London: A&C Black, Ltd.
325:Chalmers, Patrick R. (1931).
262:(153): 69–103. December 1845.
137:Hunting and Stalking the Deer
434:Martin, Maureen M. (2009).
664:
483:10.1177/096746080000700402
379:Edwards & Wallace 1927
238:Edwards & Wallace 1927
465:Lorimer, Hayden (2000).
397:. Brompton. p. 78.
22:was the name given to a
648:Individual wild animals
349:Denys Watkins-Pitchford
273:Rutland, R. B. (1976).
328:Mine Eyes To The Hills
20:Muckle Hart of Benmore
420:Cameron, A.G. (1923)
337:Buchan, John (1921).
340:Great Hours in Sport
255:The Quarterly Review
558:. London: Longmans.
143:Legacy and analysis
628:Outdoor literature
608:History of hunting
588:1833 animal deaths
315:See, for example:
537:978-0-7134-2083-8
451:978-0-7914-7730-4
404:978-1-900055-07-9
655:
643:1846 in Scotland
618:1845 in Scotland
613:1833 in Scotland
559:
542:
541:
517:
511:
510:
462:
456:
455:
431:
425:
418:
412:
411:
388:
382:
376:
363:
344:
332:
313:
307:
306:
279:Victorian Poetry
270:
264:
263:
247:
241:
235:
229:
228:
218:
195:
192:
176:
169:
663:
662:
658:
657:
656:
654:
653:
652:
593:Individual deer
573:
572:
566:
564:Further reading
553:
550:
545:
538:
519:
518:
514:
464:
463:
459:
452:
433:
432:
428:
419:
415:
405:
390:
389:
385:
377:
366:
336:
324:
314:
310:
272:
271:
267:
249:
248:
244:
236:
232:
220:
219:
198:
193:
189:
185:
180:
179:
170:
166:
161:
145:
132:
64:
44:
12:
11:
5:
661:
659:
651:
650:
645:
640:
635:
630:
625:
620:
615:
610:
605:
600:
595:
590:
585:
575:
574:
571:
570:
565:
562:
561:
560:
549:
546:
544:
543:
536:
512:
457:
450:
444:. p. 75.
426:
413:
403:
383:
381:, p. 105.
364:
362:
361:
358:
355:
352:
345:
334:
322:
308:
285:(2): 125–133.
265:
242:
230:
196:
186:
184:
181:
178:
177:
163:
162:
160:
157:
144:
141:
131:
128:
63:
60:
43:
40:
34:. In his book
26:stag that was
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
660:
649:
646:
644:
641:
639:
636:
634:
631:
629:
626:
624:
621:
619:
616:
614:
611:
609:
606:
604:
601:
599:
596:
594:
591:
589:
586:
584:
581:
580:
578:
568:
567:
563:
557:
552:
551:
547:
539:
533:
529:
528:B.T. Batsford
525:
524:
516:
513:
508:
504:
500:
496:
492:
488:
484:
480:
476:
472:
468:
461:
458:
453:
447:
443:
439:
438:
430:
427:
423:
417:
414:
410:
406:
400:
396:
395:
387:
384:
380:
375:
373:
371:
369:
365:
359:
356:
353:
350:
346:
342:
341:
335:
330:
329:
323:
321:
317:
316:
312:
309:
305:
300:
296:
292:
288:
284:
280:
276:
269:
266:
261:
257:
256:
252:
246:
243:
239:
234:
231:
226:
225:
217:
215:
213:
211:
209:
207:
205:
203:
201:
197:
191:
188:
182:
174:
168:
165:
158:
156:
153:
149:
142:
140:
138:
129:
127:
125:
121:
115:
113:
109:
105:
100:
98:
94:
89:
87:
86:golden eagles
82:
80:
76:
71:
69:
59:
57:
53:
48:
41:
39:
37:
33:
29:
25:
21:
16:
598:Deer hunting
555:
522:
515:
474:
470:
460:
436:
429:
416:
408:
393:
386:
339:
327:
311:
302:
282:
278:
268:
259:
253:
245:
240:, p. vi
233:
223:
190:
167:
154:
150:
146:
136:
133:
116:
101:
90:
83:
72:
65:
55:
49:
45:
35:
19:
17:
15:
548:Works cited
52:Cosmo Innes
638:1846 works
633:1845 works
577:Categories
477:(4): 417.
442:SUNY Press
183:References
130:The trophy
507:143864212
491:0967-4608
291:0042-5206
499:44252163
299:40002379
108:bivouacs
79:shieling
24:red deer
471:Ecumene
173:Benmore
112:heather
110:in the
75:wildcat
28:stalked
534:
505:
497:
489:
448:
401:
297:
289:
104:grouse
503:S2CID
495:JSTOR
304:John.
295:JSTOR
159:Notes
120:plaid
97:bothy
68:track
532:ISBN
487:ISSN
446:ISBN
399:ISBN
347:BB (
287:ISSN
124:loch
106:and
93:burn
18:The
479:doi
579::
530:.
526:.
501:.
493:.
485:.
473:.
469:.
440:.
407:.
367:^
301:.
293:.
283:14
281:.
277:.
260:77
258:.
199:^
139:.
114:.
540:.
509:.
481::
475:7
454:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.