St. Kilda past and present

Preface

. ONE of the earliest writers on St Kilda concludes his account with an apology for what some of his readers might regard as prolixity, and justifies his narra tive by asserting that " the St Kildans may be ranked among the greatest curiosities of the moral world." Concurring in that opinion, the author has long turned his attention to the vital and social statistics of the remote islanders ; and the large amount of public interest in their lonely rock which has been aroused by the recent appearance of numerous letters and articles in the columns of the Scottish press has induced him to compile the present volume. Upwards of twelve years ago, he prepared a lecture on St Kilda, which he delivered in various parts of the country ; and since that time, he has collected a number of additional facts bearing upon its history and circumstances, and has, moreover, visited the island VI

PREFACE.

. during the past summer. In referring to the rare appearance of strangers on its distant shores towards the beginning of the present century, Dr Macculloch says that every avatar of that nature was well remembered, and that he who had no other means of reaching the temple of fame had only to find his way to St Kilda, in order to be recorded in its archives. Even in these later days of rapid locomotion and increased intercourse, the visitors to the island are comparatively few and far between ; and for one that has landed on its rocky coast, probably tens of thousands have accomplished the hack neyed " Swiss round," or even penetrated the wilds of Norway. With the exception of the incidental notices of Mac culloch, Wilson, and one or two later writers, nearly all the accounts of St Kilda were published before the end of last century ; and hitherto no work has appeared which embraces anything like a detailed description of the island and its primitive inhabitants.

Besides a careful perusal of all the known literature on the subject — most of which is comparatively scarce — the author has ex amined the various official documents relative to St Kilda in the custody of the Registrar-General, and has been favoured with a number of notes and verbal state ments by several friends who have visited the island during the last twenty years, of whom he must specially

PREFACE.

. VII mention Captain F. W. L. Thomas, R.N., formerly engaged on the Admiralty survey. He has also been furnished by Mrs M'Vean of Killin, a native of St Kilda, with an interesting series of Reminiscences. For some of his most attractive illustrations, the author is indebted to the sketch-books of Mr Alexander Carlyle Bell (kindly lent to him by Lord Young) and of the Rev. Eric J. Findlater of Lochearnhead ; while the groups of women and children are from photographs taken by Captain Thomas in 1860. St Bennet's, Edinburgh, \_\th December 1S77. I'AGE CONTENTS.

Chapter I

The Hebrides, or Western Isles. Census of 1871 — Definition of "island" — Number and locality of inhabited and uninhabited islands — Excess of female population — The Northmen — Hebrides or Western Islands — Fivefold division — Area — The " Long Island " — Its physical characteristics — Mountains and lakes — Scenery and climate — Special beauties of the Outer Hebrides — Scotland and Switzerland — Influence of the ocean; — Maritime nations — The "conversation of the sea" — Characteristics of the Western Islanders — Solemnity of the Outer Hebrideans — Their weak points and ultimate doom, 1

Chapter II

Published Accounts of St Kilda. Martin's ' Voyage ' — His ' Description of the Western Islands ' — Dr Johnson's opinion of the author — Buchan's 'Description of St Kilda' — Anonymous volume published in 1751 — Macaulay's account of the island — Questioned authorship — J. Lane Buchanan's 'Travels in the Western Hebrides' — Lord Brougham's notice of St Kilda-— Macculloch's two works on the 'Highlands and Western Islands of Scotland' — His character as an author — Maclean's ' Sketches of St Kilda ' — Wilson's 'Voyage round the Coasts of Scotland and the Isles' — Article on St Kilda in 'Edinburgh Encyclopædia' — Journals of Rev. John M'Donald — Notices of the island by Muir, Morgan, Angus Smith, Lady Baillie, Sands, and Macdiarmid, . X CONTENTS. ri 4

Chapter III

Early History and Ownership. Ancient name, Hirt or Hirta — So called in the " Lord of the Isles " — Mallet's " Amyntor and Theodora" — Notices of Hirta by Fordun, Boethius, Buchanan, Camden, Dean Monro, etc. — Origin of present name of the island — Its colonisation — Relative tradition — Charter by John, Lord of the Isles, in fourteenth century — Subsequent grants — Macleod charter-chest — St Kilda possessed by the Macleods for several centuries — Origin of that family — Comparative strength of the clan in 1863 — Macleods and Macdonalds — Transference of St Kilda in 1804 and 1871 — Boswell's contemplated purchase in 1771, . . . .

Chapter IV

Local Incidents since the beginning of the Seventeenth Century. Raid of Coll Macgillespick in 1615— Relative letter of Sir Roderick Macleod to Lord Binning — Coil's second visit to St Kilda in 1641 — Wreck of French and Spaniards in 1686 — Earthquake in Borrera— Egg robbery of 1695 — Roderick the Impostor — His expulsion in 1697 — Smallpox epidemic of 1724 — Story of Lady Grange (1734-42)— Her abode and manner of life in St Kilda — Long gap in the annals of the island — Visit of the " Laird of Islay," c. 1827 — Wreck of the " Charlotte" of Hull in 1839 — Mrs M'Vean's ' Reminiscences' — Sensation caused by first steamboat — Recent visits of Government vessels, private yachts, etc. — Loss of the St Kilda boat "Dargavel" in 1863 — Supposed survival of one of the crew till 1875— Wreck of the "Janet Cowan" of Greenock in 1864— Mr Sands's two sojourns on the island, in 1875 and 1876-77— Wreck of the Austrian ship "Peti Dubrovacki" in January 1877— Letter from the captain, and gift to the islanders by the Austrian Government, ....

Chapter V

Natural Features of the Island. Mallets description of St Kilda— Its shape and extent— Cliffs and caves— Principal hills — Conagher— Fantastic outlines of the CONTENTS. XI 68 89 group— Circuit of the island bywater — The Dune — Levinish — Soa and adjoining "stacks" — Borrera and its satellites — Vanish ing view of the group — Tendency to underestimate the height of cliffs — Preconceived notions of St Kilda — Grandeur of the at mospheric effects — Glen Mor — East or " Dickson's " Bay— West or " Macleod's" Bay — Argonautics of St Kilda — Anchorage and landing — Voyage of the "Dunara Castle" — St Kilda in a storm — Verdurous appearance of the island — Springs and wells — ■ Geological formation, ......

Chapter VI

Physical Characteristics of the Inhabitants — Their Dress, Food, and Houses. Good physique of both sexes — Preponderance of fair complexions — Strength and healthiness of population generally — Stature of the men — Costume ofthe islanders in 1841 and subsequently — Their ancient garb — "Fashion" in St Kilda — Shawl vice hearth-rug — Modern Sunday dress — Absence of ornament — Diet of the natives in 1697 — The fulmar their favourite food — Fishing capabilities of St Kilda — Detailed accounts of St Kilda fare — Succession of sea-birds — Love of tobacco and sweets — Ancient dwellings — Houses erected about 1837 — Their peculiar construction — Wooden locks and keys — Non-projecting roofs — Wall-beds — Scarcity of fuel — Domestic usages of the islanders — Present houses and furniture — Effects of storm of 1860 — Manse, church, store, and factor's house — Miss Macleod of Macleod,

Chapter VII

Climate, Crops, and Live Stock. Beneficial effect of Gulf Stream — Autumn and winter gales — Weather prognostics — Mildness of the climate — Fertility of the soil — Mode of tillage — Barley and other crops — Implements of husbandry — Indigenous plants — Land not so productive as formerly — Good quality of the pasture — Pyramids or cleits — Character of the sheep — Their present number — Owner's rate of charges — System of insurance — Existing arrangements objectionable — Cattle, horses, dogs, etc. — Rental at different periods — Rents paid in kind (feathers, oil, cloth, etc.) — Good understand- CONTENTS. nS 142 ing between landlord and tenants — Recent equitable agreement — Exports and imports — Periodical visits of the factor — Customs connected with the steward of former days — Procedure of the tacksman in 1799, .......

Chapter VIII

Population of St Kilda — Surnames, Occupations, etc First official enumeration in 1851 — Population of the island at previous periods — Its capacity in respectto inhabitants — Fair Isle and Foula — Surnames and Christian names of St Kilda — Occupations of the islanders — Cragsmen or fowlers — Spinning and weaving — Industry of both sexes — Their varied employments — Quern or hand-mill — Neglect of fishing — Description and number of boats — Proposed landing-place — Conjugal condition of the inhabitants — Disproportion of the sexes — Ages of the islanders in 1871 — Betty Scott's son and daughter,

Chapter IX

Sea-birds and Cragsmen. St Kilda a land of feathers — Harmony of the sea-birds — Island of Handa — "Clouds" of birds at St Kilda — Cries of the sea-fowl — Thomson and Mallet on their transmigrations — Land-birds of St Kilda — Sea-bird Act of 1869 — Classification of St Kilda sea-fowl — Birds specified by Martin — Regularity of arrival and departure — Garefowl or great auk — Martin and Macaulay's descriptions — Now believed to be extinct — Present value of specimens — Professor Newton's hope — Solan goose or gannet — Favourite haunt at St Kilda — Barren birds — Description of the solan— Origin of the name — Principal food — Nests, and thievish propensities — Length of flight — Young birds or gougs — Mode of capture — Fulmar -petrel — Size and appearance — The longest resident in the island — An article of food — Feathers and oil — Voracity of the fulmar — Fulmar-fowling — Estimation of the bird in St Kilda — The other side of the picture — Puffin or sea-parrot — Its abundance on the west coast — Description and mode of catching — Colour of shell — Young birds fed on sand-eels — Fowling in St CONTENTS.

XIII 159 :os Kilda — Sir Robert Moray's notice — Ropes of the cragsmen — Horse-hair gins — Feats of the fowlers — Wilson's and Morgan's accounts — Performance witnessed by "Dunara Castle" party — Exploits of the cragsmen on the islets and stacks — Female bird catchers — Egg consumption by the islanders — Anecdotes of cragsmen, ........

Chapter X

Diseases of the Islanders. Analysis of death registers of St Kilda, 1830-76 — Causes of death and ages of deceased — Infantile mortality — Eight-day sickness (trismus jiascentium) — Symptoms of the malady — Number of fatal cases — Comparative mortality of the Westmann islands — Five-nights' sickness of Barvas and Uig (Lewis) — Juvenile deaths from tetanus in Scotland — Cause of the disease — Insanitary condition of the cottages — Dr Collins's experience in Dublin — Mortality attributed to foul air — Introduction of ventilation and beneficial results — Opinions of Dr A. Mitchell and Mr Morgan — Mr Corfield's statement, and reply by proprietor of St Kilda — Admiral Otter's explanation — Effect of sea-bird food on mother's milk — General conclusions — Boat -cough or strangers' cold — Recent instances of its occurrence — Principal symptoms — Different opinions regarding its cause — Scepticism of Johnson and Macculloch — Mr Morgan's testimony — Analogous ailment at Ega and Tristan d'Acunha — Notice of the Tristan group of islands — Dysentery and its cause — Immunity of St Kilda from certain diseases — Smallpox and vaccination — Rheumatism and other ailments of the islanders — Alleged occurrence of dyspepsia — Love of medicine — Rarity of violent deaths — High death-rate — Female longevity — Effect of fowling on the health of the males,

Chapter XI

Education, Morals, and Religion. Illiterate character of the St Kildans in 1758— Ignorance ofthe women at a later period — Their mode of washing— Corrupt dialect of Gaelic— Limited powers of caligraphy— An opportunity for the Harris school board— The minister's library — The "curse" of CONTENTS. XIV ■4 Gaelic — Drunkenness unknown — Purity of morals — Rarity of illegitimate births — St Kilda a reproduction ofthe "golden age" — Happiness of the islanders — Testimony of Mallet and Collins — Former disregard of money — Injudicious visitors to the island — Increasing thirst for gold — Hospitality to strangers — Recent instances of the virtue — Ignorance of the outside world — Visits of natives to Skye and Glasgow — Story of the Scalpa lighthouse — Taish or second-sight — Religious experiences of the islanders — Introduction of Christianity — Coll Ketoch and Roderick the Im postor — Devotional character of the St Kildans — Ancient chapels — Rev. Alexander Buchan's mission in 1705 — His useful services — Macleod's " mortification " — Macaulay's estimate of the island ers—Succession of ministers between 1730 and 1844 — Rev. Dr Macdonald's four visits to the island — His experiences of the inhabitants — Valuable ministrations of the Rev. Neil M'Kenzie — St Kilda a Free Church preserve since 1844— Mr Sands's high character of the present minister — Sabbatarianism of the St Kildans — A recent example — Gradual spread of sounder views on the mainland — A Highland Pharisee, ....

Chapter XII

Music, Customs, and Antiquities. Poetical genius of the islanders — Their love of music — Subjects of their odes — Dr Johnson's views — Macculloch's experiences — Highland music — Dancing now unknown — The " St Kilda Wedding" — A mother's "Lament" — St Kilda maid's song— Air in ' Scots Musical Museum' — Secular music superseded by psalms and hymns — The piper at a discount — The " sinfu' little fiddle" — Christ Church crucifix — St Kilda festivals — Annual "cavalcade" — St Brendan and St Columba — St Michael's cake — The Gruagach stone— Field of spells— The " unknown god " — Sacred fountains — A nae lid ox "shinty" — Swimming no longer practised — Games and amusements interdicted— St Kilda Mod— Modern "Parliament" — Fire-penny and pot-penny — Early marriages in former times — Relative procedure — The " Lover's Stone " — Modern marriage ceremonies — Maids and bachelors—" The lads know best" — Marriages since 1830 — Consanguineous unions — Fertility of the women— Former baptismal and burial customs — CONTENTS.

XV 74 etc. 311 Present practice — Necropolis of St Kilda — The last sennachie of the island — Hirta traditions — "Burning" by Dugan and Ferchar — Wreck of a king's son — The fairy hillock — St Kilda Mac donalds — The Amazon's dwelling — Its construction and age — Extinct churches — Underground abodes — "Stone of knowledge" — Fort on the Dune — House of Stallir in Borrera,

Chapter XIII

The Future of St Kilda — Recent Newspaper Correspondence, The "Western question" — Three courses of procedure — Dr Johnson's views on emigration — Special circumstances of St Kilda — Reasons against removal of the islanders — Theoretical philanthropists — Motives for agitation — A former "improvement scheme" — The champion of St Kilda — His charges against the proprietor — Macleod's dignified reply — Additional accusations — A "divine call" and "strange instrument" — Confidence ofthe islanders in their lord — Miss Macleod's practical benevolence — The " famine " sensation — Facts v. Assertions — Old cry of " Highland oppression" — Bright side of the shield — Testimony of Buchan and Pennant — Decay of feudalism — Insinuations of the Sassenach — Suggested reforms at St Kilda — Lighthouse and telegraphic communication — Observatory and signal station — Establishments for dipsomaniacs and refractory wives — Postal service — Necessity of a landing-place — Application to the Admiralty — Supply of boats, nets, and lines — Instruction in practical seamanship — Possible return of the "swallows" — Educational improvements — The "Gaelic nuisance" — Importation of fuel — Kelsall fund of 1859 — Danger of indiscriminate charity — St Kilda beyond the pale of pauperism — Introduction of free trade — Commissioners of Northern Lights — Proposed smack between Harris and Hirta — Imports and exports— Dr Angus Smith's reasonable views — Money and wealth confounded — Mr W. M. Wilson's contributions to the ' Ayr Observer' — Favourable opinions of Captain Macdonald, etc., relative to St Kilda — Corroborative testimony of " Dunara Castle " passengers— Macleod's " good name" — Gonzalo's insular republic a parallel of St Kilda, ILLUSTRATIONS.

Plate To face page: I. Geographical Position of St Kilda — from the Admiralty Chart, ....... 16 II. Maps of the Island — from the works of Martin, Macculloch, and Wilson, ...... 70 III. General View of St Kilda and Adjacent Islands — from a Sketch by Alexander Carlyle Bell, Esq., C.E., . 74 IV. East Bay, with Conagher— from a Sketch by the late Sir Thomas Dick-Lauder,'Bart., . . . .80 V. Levinish, Borrera, and the Dune — from Sketches by the Rev. Eric J. Findlater and Mr Carlyle Bell, . . 84 VI. Man of St Kilda — adapted from a Sketch by Mr Carlyle Bell, ........ 92 VII. Group of St Kilda Women — from a Photograph by Capt. F. W. L. Thomas, R.N., ..... 96 VIII. St Kilda Children — from a Photograph by Capt. Thomas, 104 IX. Old Cottages of St Kilda — from a Sketch taken in the year 1838, ....... 108 X. Great Auk — from Audubon's ' Birds of America,' . . 172 XL Fulmar-Petrel — from a specimen in the possession of the Author, ....... 182 XII.

St Kilda Cragsman— from a Sketch by Mr Carlyle Bell, . 198 Woodcut of Lymphad — from monument at Rodel, Harris, with flags bearing the armorial ensigns of Macleod of Macleod, ..... opposite Title-page. S T KILDA

Chapter I. The Hebrides, Or Western Isles

A S distinguished from the mainland, which is itself y •*• but the northern extremity of an extensive island, the Islands of Scotland, territorially, constitute a pretty considerable portion of that kingdom. In point of population, however, they are comparatively insignifi cant. At the census of 1871, their inhabitants amounted to only 161,909 persons — 74,332 males and 87,577 females — being a decrease of about 3000 since the previous census of 186 1. At the same period, the pro portion of the population on the mainland was upwards of 95 per cent, while the insular population was under 5 per cent. At the census of 1851, the returns relative to the islands were believed to be somewhat imperfect ; and accordingly, both in 1861 and 1871, an effort was A INHABITED AND UNINHABITED made to get the omissions supplied.

A circular was issued by the Registrar-General to the registrar of every parish or district to which islands were known to be attached, with the view of ascertaining their names, and whether or not they were inhabited. A complete list was thus obtained of all the islands, other than bare rocks, which were either inhabited by man or capable of afford ing pasturage to cattle or sheep, — the word island having been defined to be " any piece of solid land, surrounded by water, which affords sufficient vegetation to support one or more sheep, or which is inhabited by man." All mere rocks which are the resort of wild-fowl were accordingly excluded, and the following proved to be the result in 1 86 1 : — Inhabited islands, ..... 1861 Uninhabited 602 Total, 788 Some of the uninhabited islands are of great extent, and furnish pasturage to from three to four hundred sheep.

Others, again, are so small as not to be more -than sufficient for the sustenance of a single sheep, which is removed, when fattened, to make way for a leaner member of the flock. No fewer than 749 of these 788 islands belong to the six counties of Shetland, Orkney, Sutherland, Ross and Cromarty, Inverness, and Argyll; while the remaining 39 pertain to the counties of Caithness, Bute, Forfar, 1 In 1871 the inhabited islands amounted to 190. ISLANDS OF SCOTLAND. 3 Perth, Clackmannan, Fife, Haddington, Edinburgh, Lin lithgow, Renfrew, Ayr, and Kirkcudbright. Three os these counties — viz., Shetland, Orkney, and Bute — are entirely made up of separate islands. Two of the smaller islands belonging to the county of Bute, " With verdant link Close the fair entrance to the Clyde," •* and constitute the parish of Cumbraes, a former minister of which had so exalted a notion of the importance of his little territory, that, after first invoking God's blessing on his own people, he was in the habit of devoutly remem bering, in his prayers, " the ad/azccent islands of Great Britain and Ireland !

" The most populous of the inhabited islands is Lewis, of which the greater part is in the county of Ross — the remaining portion (Harris) pertaining to Inverness-shire. At the last census its inhabitants amounted to 25,947 — 12,372 males, and 13,575 females. The least populous islands, at the same date, were Bound-Skerries, in Shet land, inhabited by two males ; and Cramond, in the county of Edinburgh, of which a male and a female constituted the entire population. At the census of 185 1, it would appear that the island of Inchcolm, in the Firth of Forth, was tenanted by a solitary man, and Little-Papa, in Shet land, by a solitary woman ! The male inhabitants of these islands are exposed to no little danger, in consequence of their only road or 1 " Lord ofthe Isles," v. 13. PROPORTION OF THE SEXES. highway being across the channels which separate island from island, or from the mainland, through most of which fierce currents flow.

The deaths from drowning are, accordingly, very numerous, and help to make the propor tion of the sexes even more unequal than on the mainland, where the "lords of creation" are in a decided minority.1 In 1871, the proportion of females on the mainland was 109.19 to every hundred males; while in the islands the proportion was as high as 117.82. This striking difference is, to a great extent, accounted for by the fact of an exceptionally large proportion of the in sular males being engaged in the whale, seal, and other fishings, or connected with the merchant shipping — such avocations necessarily implying long and frequent absence from their homes. In the earliest period of our written history, these islands were peopled by the Celtic race. A large number of them, however, bear names given by the Northmen, by whom they were seized, partly for the purposes of commerce, but principally as naval stations, from which they could make inroads on the mainland.

In their ships, or " sea-horses," they braved the dangers of the deep, and succeeded in effecting permanent settle ments in various parts of the kingdom — the Jutes and Saxons on the south coast of England, the Danes on 1 There is a line of cottages in Stornoway called " The Widows' Row," from the circumstance of all the occupants having lost their husbands in a single storm. CELT AND NORSEMAN. 5 the east coast and in the Lowlands of Scotland, and the Norwegians in Shetland and Orkney, from which they extended their power over the Hebrides. The Western Islands, however, were gradually recovered by the main land population ; but the Northmen held their ground in Caithness, Orkney, and Shetland, where their language has latterly given way to English — Gaelic being spoken in the Western Isles.

The impress of the Northmen, however, is still very perceptible. In the words of the lamented author of ' A Summer in Skye : ' " Old Norwegian castles, perched on the bold headlands, yet moulder in hearing of the surge. . . . Hill and dale wear ancient names that sigh to the Norway pine. The inhabitant of Mull or Skye perusing the ' Burnt Njal' is struck most of all by the names of localities — because they are almost identical with the names of localities in his own neighbourhood. . . . The Norseman found the Hebrides convenient stepping - stones, or resting places, on his way to the richer southern lands. Doubtless, in course of time, he looked on the daughter of the Celt, and saw that she was fair, and a mixed race was the result of alliances. To this day in the islands the Norse element is distinctly visible — not only in old castles and the names of places, but in the faces and entire mental build of the people. . . .

The Hebrideans are a mixed race ; in them the Norseman and the Celt are combined, and here and there is a dash of Spanish blood which makes brown the cheek and darkens the eye. . . . INDICATIONS OF RACE. The Islesman is a Highlander of the Highlanders; modern life took longer in reaching him ; and his weeping climate, his misty wreaths and vapours, and the silence of his moory environments, naturally continued to act upon and to shape his character." It is necessary, however, to speak with considerable caution on the subject of race, as supposed to be indicated by complexion or physique. Broadly stated, the Celt may be described as being generally characterised by black hair and a dark complexion, and the Norseman by the opposite attributes. But we must bear in mind that Tacitus and other early writers refer to the rutilæ comœ of the Caledonians ; and we all know that both Bane and Roy — indicating white and red — are very common epithets among the Highlanders proper; a red-haired, blue-eyed Celt being by no means rare.

Complicated alliances necessarily affect and modify their results ; and not unfrequently a remote influence is strikingly displayed many generations after it first began to operate. Not a few remarkable examples of this have occurred in our historic families ; and doubtless the same effects would be observed among the humbler classes, if their pedigrees could be established. The Hebrides, or Western Islands, consist of an elon gated group flanking nearly the whole west coast of Scot land. Anciently called Hebrides, Æbudæ, etc., they at one time comprehended the various islands and islets in the Firth of Clyde, the isle of Rathlin off the north-east THE WESTERN ISLES. 7 corner of Ireland, and even the Island of Man on the Cumberland coast. The modern Hebrides, however, only include the islands and islets extending from 550 35' to 5S0 3s N. lat., and lying westward of the peninsula of Cantyre on the south, and of the mainland of Scotland in the middle and on the north.

They may be classified under five divisions : — ist, The Islay and Jura group. ) 2d, The Mull group. .- Inner Hebrides. 3d, The Skye group. ) 4th, The Long Island group. ) n „ , . , Z.u tu c J --i 1 ( 0uter Hebrides. 5th, The St Kilda group. J The estimated area of the Hebrides, measured on the plane, is about 3000 square miles,1 or 1,920,000 imperial acres, thus constituting nearly a tenth part of Scotland. When Dr Walker published his ' Economical History of the Hebrides' in 18 12, the arable land in the Western Isles was estimated at only i-8oth part of the uncultivated ground ; but the proportion is, no doubt, now considerably larger. In addition to the St Kilda group, the Outer Hebri des (or the " Long Island "), include Lewis, Harris, North and South Uist, Benbecula and Barra, and are inhabited by an interesting race of people, who still exhibit the purest vestiges of Celtic manners and customs.

With regard to the physical characteristics of these islands, while Harris and Barra are entirely mountainous — the 1 Equal to about 3600 square miles, if measured over the undulations of their superficies. THE OUTER HEBRIDES. former consisting of two extensive ranges — in Lewis there are four principal groups of mountains, of which one is a ramification of one of the Harris ranges. North Uist presents two ranges of inferior elevation, while South Uist chiefly consists of one extended group. The loftiest of these mountains are Hecla, or Eachcla, in South Uist, and Clisheim in Harris, of which the latter was recently ascertained to be 2430 feet in height, many of the Lewis mountains being only a little inferior. Speaking generally, the Outer Hebrides are greatly indented by lochs and creeks.1 Beaches and sands are of comparatively rare occurrence ; and although on the eastern coasts there are several excellent harbours, very few are to be found on the west, except in Lewis.

One of the most charac teristic features of the Outer Hebrides is the large num ber of lakes, more particularly in North Uist, and in the lower parts of South Uist, Benbecula, and Lewis. In the eastern portion of North Uist, it is said to be difficult to determine whether land or water predominates ; and Macculloch, speaking of Benbecula, says — " The sea is here all islands, and the land all lakes." Some of these lakes are of considerable extent, the largest being Loch Langavat, in Lewis, which is upwards of ten miles in length, and singularly tortuous. The leading characteristics of the scenery are rugged- 1 Although covering only 10 square miles, Lochmaddy in North Uist has a coast-line which, measuring the various islands, creeks, and bays, has been estimated to ramify over no less than 300 miles.