APPENDIX.

"I do not think I ever came upon a scene which more surprised me, and I scarcely know where or how to begin my description of it."By the side of a burn which flowed through a little grassy glen ... we saw two small round hive-like hillocks, not much higher than a man, joined together, and covered with grass and weeds. Out of the top of one of them a column of smoke slowly rose, and at its base there was a hole about three feet high and two feet wide, which seemed to lead into the interior of the hillock—its hollowness, and the possibility of its having a human creature within it being thus suggested. There was no one, however, actually within thebo'h, the three girls, when we came in sight, being seated on a knoll by the burn-side, but it was really in the inside of these two green hillocks that they slept, and cooked their food, and carried on their work, and—dwelt, in short."[58]

"I do not think I ever came upon a scene which more surprised me, and I scarcely know where or how to begin my description of it.

"By the side of a burn which flowed through a little grassy glen ... we saw two small round hive-like hillocks, not much higher than a man, joined together, and covered with grass and weeds. Out of the top of one of them a column of smoke slowly rose, and at its base there was a hole about three feet high and two feet wide, which seemed to lead into the interior of the hillock—its hollowness, and the possibility of its having a human creature within it being thus suggested. There was no one, however, actually within thebo'h, the three girls, when we came in sight, being seated on a knoll by the burn-side, but it was really in the inside of these two green hillocks that they slept, and cooked their food, and carried on their work, and—dwelt, in short."[58]

These two "green hillocks," and other structures of the same nature, are shown in the accompanying diagrams[59](Plates I.-XVI.), which explain their formation better than any writtendescription. It is enough here to state that they are built of rough stone, without any mortar. "Though the stone walls are very thick," says my authority (p. 62), "they are covered on the outside with turf, which soon becomes grassy like the land round about, and thus secures perfect wind and water tightness." Sometimes they occur in groups, as those shown in Plate III.; of which scene Captain Thomas justly remarks that "at first sight it may be taken for a picture of a Hottentot village rather than a hamlet in the British Isles."[60]Here there is little or no grassy covering outside, however; and consequently none of the hillock-like effect. But this is very well shown in Plates VI. and VIII. Of the "agglomeration of beehives" pictured in the latter, Sir Arthur Mitchell observes:—"It has several entrances, and would accommodate many families, who might be spoken of as living in one mound, rather than under one roof" (op. cit.pp. 64-5). Of another such dwelling, now ruined, he says that it could have accommodated "from forty to fifty people."

This last, however (Plates XI. and XII.), represents another variety of earth-house, the chambered mound or beehive, with an underground gallery leading to it. Of this kind two examples are here shown. And in Plates I. and XIII. will be seen specimens of wholly subterranean structures. It is difficult, and indeed hardly necessary, to distinguish between one variety and another of what is practically the same kind of building; but to this last class the term "earth-house" is most frequently accorded in Scotland. In the broader dialect it is "yird-house" or "eirde-house," which at once recalls the form "jord-hus" in the saga which tells of Leif's adventure underground in Ireland. The termweemis also applied to these places in Scotland. This is merely a quickened pronunciation of the Gaelicuam(oruamh), a cave; and it reminds one that, both in Gaelic and in English, the word "cave" is by no means restricted to anaturalcavity. Indeed, one of the two artificial structures under consideration is known asUamh Sgalabhad, "thecaveof Sgalabhad." Another old Gaelic name for thoseunderground galleries is "tungortunga";[61]while another name, by which they are known in Lewis istigh fo thalaimh,[62]or "house beneath the ground."

"Martin, in his description of the Western Islands, printed in 1703, when their use would appear to have been still remembered, speaks of them [these underground structures] as 'little stone-houses, built under ground, called earth-houses, which served to hide a few people and their goods in time of war.'"[63]Dean Monro writes, "There is sundry coves and holes in the earth, coverit with hedder above, quhilk fosters many rebellis in the country of the North head of Ywst" [North Uist].[64]"From O'Flaherty's description of West Connaught, written in 1684, it appears," observes Captain Thomas,[65]butreferring more strictly to the beehive-house, "that this style of dwelling had already become archaic." For, although that writer mentions certain "cloghans" as being still inhabited, holding forty men in some cases, yet he says they were "so ancient that nobody knows how long ago any of them were made." Of the underground galleries another writer says: "It has been doubted if these houses were ever really used as places of abode.... But as to this there can be no real doubt. The substances found in many of them have been the accumulateddébrisof food used by man.... Ornaments of bronze have been found in a few of them, and beads of streaked glass. In some cases the articles found would indicate that the occupation of these houses had come down to comparatively recent times."[66]

In conclusion, these remarks of Captain Thomas, who made so thorough a study of the subject, may be quoted:—

"The Pict's house on the Holm of Papay [Orkney] would have held, besides the chiefs at each end, all the families in [the island of] Papay Westray when it was built. Maes howe[67]was for three families—grandees, no doubt; but the numbers it was intended to hold in thebedsmay be learned by comparing them with the Amazon's House, St. Kilda."[68]"I consider the relation between theboths[beehive houses] and the Picts' houses of the Orkneys (and elsewhere) to be evident—the same method of forming the arch, the low and narrow doors and passages, the enormous thickness of the walls, when compared with the interior accommodation—exist in both. When abothis covered with green turf it becomes a chambered tumulus, and when buried by drifting sand it is a subterranean Pict's house.... I regard the comparatively large Picts' houses of the Orkneys as the pastoral residence of the Pictish lord, fitted to contain his numerous family and dependents. Such an one exists on the Holm of Papa Westray, which, according to the Highland method of stowage, would certainly contain a whole clan. When writing the description of it, I had not made acquaintance with a people who would close the door to keep in the smoke, or that nested in holes in a wall like sand-martins...."But thebothof the Long Island is only the lodging of the common man or 'Tuathanach,' and is consequently of small dimensions, and not remarkable for comfort. If the modern Highland proprietor or large farmer should ever be induced to lead a pastoral life, and adopt a Pictish architecture in his residence, we might again see a tumulus of twenty feet in height, with its long low passage leading into a large hall with beehive cells on both sides."[69]

"I consider the relation between theboths[beehive houses] and the Picts' houses of the Orkneys (and elsewhere) to be evident—the same method of forming the arch, the low and narrow doors and passages, the enormous thickness of the walls, when compared with the interior accommodation—exist in both. When abothis covered with green turf it becomes a chambered tumulus, and when buried by drifting sand it is a subterranean Pict's house.... I regard the comparatively large Picts' houses of the Orkneys as the pastoral residence of the Pictish lord, fitted to contain his numerous family and dependents. Such an one exists on the Holm of Papa Westray, which, according to the Highland method of stowage, would certainly contain a whole clan. When writing the description of it, I had not made acquaintance with a people who would close the door to keep in the smoke, or that nested in holes in a wall like sand-martins....

"But thebothof the Long Island is only the lodging of the common man or 'Tuathanach,' and is consequently of small dimensions, and not remarkable for comfort. If the modern Highland proprietor or large farmer should ever be induced to lead a pastoral life, and adopt a Pictish architecture in his residence, we might again see a tumulus of twenty feet in height, with its long low passage leading into a large hall with beehive cells on both sides."[69]

But the point of all this is that these dwellings, whether above ground or below, are known asPicts' Houses, Fairy Halls, Elf Hillocks, "the hidden places ofFians and Fairies." Thus, the three titles which I have shown to be associated in other ways are all given to the alleged builders and occupiers of those very archaic and peculiar structures.

It is true that, in their most modern form, some of those dwellings are still inhabited for months at a time. And their inhabitants are neither Fians, Fairies nor Picts. But it is among those people that stories of Fians and Fairies are most rife, and many claim an actual descent from them. And although they are certainly not pigmies, yet they live in a district in which thesmalltype of this heterogeneous nation of ours is still quite discernible; and that part of the island of Lewis (Uig), which has longest retained those places as dwellings, is inhabited by a caste whom other Hebrideans describe as small, and regard as different from themselves.[70]Dr. Beddoe states that the tallest people in the United Kingdomare to be found in a certain village in Galloway, where a six-foot man is perfectly common, and many are above that height. It is quite certain that such men could not "nest like sand-martins" in the holes in the wall described by Captain Thomas. And, in proportion as such Galloway men are to the modern Hebridean mound-dwellers, so are these to the much more archaic race with whom the oldest structures are associated. For a study of the dimensions of these will show that they could not have been conceived, and would not have been built or inhabited by any but a race of actual dwarfs; as tradition says they were.

[18]"La légende des Pygmées et les nains de l'Afrique equatoriale":Rev. Hist.t. 47, I. (Sept.-Oct. 1891), pp. 1-64.

[19]For some of these references see Dr. Hibbert's "Description of the Shetland Islands," Edinburgh, 1822, pp. 444-451. See also Mrs. J.E. Saxby's "Folk-Lore from Unst, Shetland" (inLeisure Hourof 1880); Mr. W.G. Black's "Heligoland", 1888, chap. iv.; and "The Fians," London, 1891, pp. 2-3.

[20]Gwynn the son of Nudd: for whom see Lady C. Guest's "Mabinogion," pp. 223, 263-5, and 501-2.

[21]"The War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill," edited by J.H. Todd, D.D., London, 1867, pp. 114-115.

[22]I. cc. 4-6 (this reference and the passage is quoted from Du Chaillu's "Viking Age," vol. ii. p. 516).

[23]"Fianaibh ag Sithcuiraibh"

[24]"Dan an Fhir Shicair"; Leabhar na Feinne, pp. 94-95.

[25]Folk-Lore Journal, vol. vi. 1888, pp. 173-178.

[26]The Fians, 1891, p. 64.

[27]Ibid.p. 33.

[28]The Fians, p. 172. The Fairy Hill referred to is "a hillock, in which there is to be seen a small hollow called the armoury" (p. 174).

[29]Ibid.pp. 12-13, 166, &c.

[30]Ibid.pp. 3-4. Glenorchy is said to have teemed with Fenian traditions about the early part of this century (Proceedingsof Soc. of Antiq. of Scotland, vol. vii. pp. 237-240).

[31]See myTestimony of Tradition, London, 1890, pp. 146-8; and Pennant's "Second Tour in Scotland" (Pinkerton'sVoyages,London, 1809, vol. iii. p. 368).

[32]Proceedingsof Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, vol. vii. p. 294,note.

[33]See, for example, an article on "Scottish Customs and Folk lore," inThe Glasgow Heraldof August 1, 1891.

[34]The Fians, pp. 78-80.

[35]Scottish Celtic Review, 1885, pp. 184-90:The Fians, pp. 175-184.

[36]The Heimskringla: Dr. Rasmus B. Anderson's 2nd ed. (1889) of Mr. Samuel Laing's translation from Snorre Sturlason: chap. lxxxiii.,Of Little Fin.

[37]Leabhar na Feinne, p. 34.[Subsequent Note.—To be very accurate, one ought to say that, in the pedigree referred to, Fin's grandfather (Trenmor) is stated to have married a Finland woman.]

[37]Leabhar na Feinne, p. 34.

[Subsequent Note.—To be very accurate, one ought to say that, in the pedigree referred to, Fin's grandfather (Trenmor) is stated to have married a Finland woman.]

[38]Mr. W.G. Black'sHeligoland, 1888, chap. iv.

[39]With this Fin of Frisian tradition may be compared Fin, a North-Frisian chief of the fifth century, mentioned inBeowulfandThe Gleeman's Tale, and whose death is recorded inThe Fight at Finnsburk.[Subsequent Note.—A suitable companion to the dwarf Fin of Frisian tradition is mentioned in Harald Hardradi's Saga:—"Tuta, a Frisian, was with King Harald; he was sent to him for show, for he was short and stout, in every respect shaped like a dwarf."—Quoted by Mr. Du Chaillu at p. 357 of vol. ii. of "The Viking Age."]

[39]With this Fin of Frisian tradition may be compared Fin, a North-Frisian chief of the fifth century, mentioned inBeowulfandThe Gleeman's Tale, and whose death is recorded inThe Fight at Finnsburk.

[Subsequent Note.—A suitable companion to the dwarf Fin of Frisian tradition is mentioned in Harald Hardradi's Saga:—"Tuta, a Frisian, was with King Harald; he was sent to him for show, for he was short and stout, in every respect shaped like a dwarf."—Quoted by Mr. Du Chaillu at p. 357 of vol. ii. of "The Viking Age."]

[40]In this connection it is worth noting that Sir Walter Scott, in referring to the aboriginal or servile clans in 1745, whom he describes as "half naked,stinted in growth, and miserable in aspect," includes among them the McCouls, Fin's alleged descendants, who "were a sort of Gibeonites, or hereditary servants to the Stewarts of Appin." (Waverley, ch. xliv.)

[41]For example, the late Rev. J.G. Campbell, Tiree, says of "the Great Tuairisgeul" that he was "a giant of the kind calledSamhanaich—that is, one who lived in a cave by the sea-shore, the strongest and coarsest of any" (Scottish Celtic Review, p. 62). That this term was one of contempt, given by Gaelic-speaking people to those "giants" (and apparently based upon their malodorous characteristics), will be seen from Mr. Campbell's further observation (op. cit.pp. 140-141):—"It is a common expression to say of any strong offensive smell,mharbhadh e na Samhanaich, it would kill the giants who dwell in caves by the sea.Samkis a strong oppressive smell." McAlpine definesSamkas a "bad smell arising from a sick person, or a dirty hot place"; and he further gives the definition "a savage" (quoting Mackenzie). The wordSamhanachitself is defined by McAlpine as "a savage," and he cites the Islay saying:—"chuireadh tu cagal air na samhanaich," "you would frighten the very savages." From these definitions it will be seen that a word translated "giant" by one is rendered "savage" by another (though neither of these terms expresses the literal meaning). Mr. J.G. Campbell also practically regards it as signifying "cave-dweller," or perhaps a certain special caste of cave-dwellers. With this may be compared McAlpine's "uamh,n.f., a cave, den;n.m., a chief of savages, terrible fellow ... 'cha'n'eil ann ach uamh dhuine,' 'he is only a savage of a fellow.'" Islay has also another word to denote a Hebridean savage. This isciuthach, "pr.kewach, described in the Long Island as naked wild men living in caves" (J.F. Campbell, Tales, iii. 55,n.). One of these "kewachs" figures in the story of Diarmaid and Grainne, and one version says that he "came in from the western ocean in a coracle with two oars (curachan)" (The Fians, p. 54). (His name assumes various shapes—e.g., Ciofach Mac a Ghoill, Ciuthach Mac an Doill, Ceudach Mac Righ nan Collach.) These three terms—samhanach, uamh dhuine, andciuthach—all seem to indicate one and the same race of people. And these are probably the people referred to by Pennant when he says, speaking of the civilised races of the Hebrides in the beginning of the seventeenth century:—"Each chieftain had his armour-bearer, who preceded his master in time of war, and, by my author's (Timothy Pont's MS., Advocates' Library, Edinburgh) account in time of peace; for they went armed even to church, in the manner the North Americans do at present [1772] in the frontier settlement, and for the same reason, the dread of savages." (Pinkerton'sVoyages, vol. iii. p. 322.)

[42]Hibbert's "Description of the Shetland Islands," Edinburgh, 1822, pp. 444-451. With regard to the "Dwarfie Stone" of Hoy, the following references may be given:—"Jo. Ben," 1529, at p. 449 of Barry's "History of the Orkney Islands," 2nd ed., London, 1808; and other writers subsequent to 1529. These speak of this stone as the abode of a "giant." Sir Walter Scott (The Pirate, Note P.) and many others invariably say "a dwarf."Note also J.F. Campbell (W.H. Tales, p. xcix): "The Highland giants were not so big, but that their conquerors wore their clothes." Also the dwarf in Ramsay's "Evergreen" who says that he was engendered "of giants' kind."

Note also J.F. Campbell (W.H. Tales, p. xcix): "The Highland giants were not so big, but that their conquerors wore their clothes." Also the dwarf in Ramsay's "Evergreen" who says that he was engendered "of giants' kind."

[43]Dean of Lismore's Book, p. lxxvi.;Celt. Scot., vol. i. p. 131; vol. iii. chap. iii.; &c.

[44]Celt. Scot.iii. 106-7.

[45]In this tale, the phonetic spellingben-ceshows the unusual aspirated formbean-shithe. She is elsewhere spoken of as the Lady of Innse Uaine, and her son is the hero of the taleGille nan Cochla-Craicinn.

[46]According to a clergyman of the seventeenth century, the Hebrides and a part of the Western Highlands constituted "the country of the Fians," (Testimony of Tradition, p. 45.)

[47]Miss Dempster: "The Folk-Lore of Sutherlandshire," Folk-Lore Journal, vol. vi. 1888, p. 174.

[48]Proc. of the Soc. of Antiq. of Scot., vol. vii. p. 294.

[49]Proc. Soc. Antiq. Scot., vol. vii. pp. 165 and 192.

[50]"They are plainly no other than the Peihts, Picts, or Piks ... the Scandinavian writers generally call the Piks Peti, or Pets: one of them uses the term Petia, instead of Pictland (Saxo-Gram.); and, besides, the frith that divides Orkney from Caithness is usually denominated Petland Fiord in the Icelandic Sagas or histories." (Barry'sOrkney, p. 115.)

[51]Proc. of the Soc. of Antiq. of Scot., vol. iii. p. 141: also vol. vii. p. 191. This quotation is made by the late Captain Thomas, R.N., a sound archæologist; but I have to add that in the document of 1443, as given in Barry'sOrkney(2nd ed., London, 1808, pp. 401-419), while I find the statement as to the two native races, I find nothing about the stature or habits of the Picts. Captain Thomas twice quotes his statement, and as at one place he refers, not to the Bishop of 1443, but (vol. iii. p. 141) to "the Earl of Orkney's chaplain, writing about 1460," it is possible he had two manuscripts of the fifteenth century in view.[Supplementary Note.—The Bishop's words are as follows:—"Istas insulas primitus Peti et Pape inhabitabant. Horum alteri scilicet Peti parvo superantes pigmeos statura in structuris urbium vespere et mane mira operantes, meredie vero cunctis viribus prorsus destituti in subterraneis domunculis pre timore latuerunt."—From his treatiseDe Orcadibus Insulis, reprinted in the "Bannatyne Miscellany," 1855, p. 33.]

[Supplementary Note.—The Bishop's words are as follows:—

"Istas insulas primitus Peti et Pape inhabitabant. Horum alteri scilicet Peti parvo superantes pigmeos statura in structuris urbium vespere et mane mira operantes, meredie vero cunctis viribus prorsus destituti in subterraneis domunculis pre timore latuerunt."—From his treatiseDe Orcadibus Insulis, reprinted in the "Bannatyne Miscellany," 1855, p. 33.]

[52]Testimony of Tradition, pp. 58-60, 65, 67-74, 79-80.

[53]Pennant's Second Tour in Scotland; Pinkerton'sVoyages, London, 1809, p. 368.

[54]Linguæ Romanæ, Dictionarium, Luculentum Novum.

[55]Du Chaillu:Land of the Midnight Sun, vol. ii. pp. 421-2. This also is one of the articles of belief in Shetland, with regard to thetrows, as the trolls are there called.

[56]Proc. of Soc. of Antiq. of Scot. (First Series), vol. iii. pp. 127-144; vol. vii. pp. 153-195.

[57]The Past in the Present, Edinburgh, 1880, pp. 58-72.

[58]The Past in the Present, p. 59.

[59]Reproduced by permission of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.

[60]Proc. Soc. Antiq. Scot., vol. iii. p. 137.

[61]Proc. Soc. Antiq. Scot., vol. vii. p. 168n.This appears to me to be a phonetic spelling of thediongnamentioned in the passage relating to the plunderings of the Danes in the ninth century.

[62]Ibid.p. 171. On the same page, the formUgh talamkantis given.

[63]Chambers's Encyclopædia, new ed., s.v. Earth-house.

[64]Quoted inProc. Soc. Antiq. Scot., vii. 172. The reference is "Ag. Rep. Heb. p. 782."

[65]Op. cit.vol. iii. p. 140.

[66]John Stuart, LL.D.,Proc. Soc. Antiq. Scot., viii. pp. 23et seq.

[67]Plates XIV.-XVI. Compare also Plates XVII.-XIX.

[68]Op. cit., vii. 191.

[69]Op. cit., iii. 133.

[70]Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, vol. iii. (First Series), p. 129. The district of Barvas is specially referred to by Captain Thomas.

Most of the illustrations here given are reproductions of some of the plates accompanying Captain Thomas's papers in theProceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. In explanation of their details the following extracts may be made.

Captain Thomas thus describes his descent into and exploration of this earth-house:—"An irregular hole was pointed out by the little lassie before alluded to, and some of my party quickly disappeared below ground. As they did not immediately return, I thought it was time to follow, and squeezing through the ruinated entrance (a), I entered the usual kind of gallery, which descended into the ground at a sharp angle. At the bottom, on the right-hand side, was the usual guard-cell (b); the sides of dry-stone masonry, but the end was the face of a rockin situ. Proceeding on, the roof rose and the gallery widened to what was the main chamber (c), which was 7 feet high under the apex of the dome, and 4 feet broad. Upon the west side of this chamber, and about 2 feet from the ground, is a recess, about 2 feet square and 4 feet long. At the further end, and in the same right line,the gallery (d) became low (2½ feet) and narrow (2 feet). Again the roof rose, and the gallery widened till stopt, in face, by a large transported rock (f); to the right of the rock a rectangular chamber (e), 2 feet broad, extended 4 feet, and ended against rockin situ. Round, and beyond the rock (f), the wall of the left side of the gallery was built, but the passage was so narrow (g) that I contented myself by looking through it. This incomprehensible narrowness is a feature in the buildings of this period. Some of Captain Otter's officers pushed through into the small chamber (h); beyond this the gallery was ruinated and impassable; the total length explored was 45 feet."[71]

[71]Proc. Soc. Antiq. Scot., vol. vii. (First Series), pp. 167-8.

Fig. 8.Captain Thomas selects this as "the most modern, and at the same time the last, in all probability, that will be constructed in this manner"—viz., "roofed by the horizontal or cyclopean arch,i.e., by a system of overlapping stones." "The woman who was living in it [about 1869] told us it was built for his shieling by Dr. Macaulay's grandfather, who was tacksman [leaseholder] of Linshader ... and I conclude that it was made about ninety years back."[72]

Fig. 9.Sir Arthur Mitchell says of this compound "bee-hive" house:—"The greatest height of the living room—in its centre, that is—was scarcely 6 feet. In no part of the dairy was it possible to stand erect. The door of communication between the two rooms was so small that we could getthrough it only by creeping. The great thickness of the walls, 6 to 8 feet, gave this door, or passage of communication, the look of a tunnel, and made the creeping through it very real. The creeping was only a little less real in getting through the equally tunnel-like, though somewhat wider and loftier passage, which led from the open air into the first or dwelling room."[73]

[72]Op. cit., p. 161.

[73]The Past in the Present, p. 60.

PLATE III.PLATE III.BEE-HIVE HOUSES, FIDIGIDH IOCHDRACH, UIG, LEWIS, HEBRIDES. Inhabited 1859.

See p.47,ante.

PLATE IV.PLATE IV.BEEHIVE-HOUSES (BOTHAN) MEABHAG, FOREST OF HARRIS.

At the date of Captain Thomas's visit (1861) a man was still living who had been born in one or other of these dwellings.

PLATE V.PLATE V.GROUND PLAN OF RUINEDBOTHAT BAILE FHLODAIDH, ON THE NORTH SIDE OF THE ISLAND OF BENBECULA.a. "scarcely 18 in. wide."

PLATE VI.PLATE VI.SECTIONAL VIEW AND GROUND PLAN OF MOUND DWELLING, CALLEDBOTH STACSEAL, SITUATED MIDWAY BETWEEN STORNOWAY AND CARLOWAY, LEWIS, HEBRIDES.

"A hole (e), called the Farlos, is left in the apex of the roof for the escape of the smoke, and is closed with a turf or flat stone as requisite."

Height of Dome, 7 feet.

a, b. Doorways.c. Fireplace.d. Row of stones for seats.e. Centre. (Distance from e to end of cells, 7 feet.)f, g, h. Cells or bed-places.f is "2 feet wide and 15 inches high at the inner end; is 5 feet long and 3 feet high at the mouth. The opposite cell (g) is of the same dimensions. The third cell (h) is 4 feet wide at the mouth, 5 feet long, decreasing to 2½ feet wide at the head, where it is 16 inches high."

The above is given by Captain Thomas as an example of such dwellings "having oven-like bed-places around the internal area. This interesting summer house illustrates the most antique form of dormitory; but in the winter houses the floor of the bedroom was raised three or four feet above the ground." (Compare the side cells in Maes-How, Orkney.)

With reference to thefarlos, or smoke-hole (otherwise "sky-light"), which, in this instance, is at a height of 7 feet fromthe floor of the dwelling, Captain Thomas remarks:—"A man, on standing upright, can often put his head out of the hole and look around" (op. cit., vol. iii., p. 130n.). This suggests the following story, told by Mr. J.F. Campbell (West Highland Tales, vol. ii., pp. 39-40):

"There was a woman in Baile Thangusdail, and she was out seeking a couple of calves; and the night and lateness caught her, and there came rain and tempest, and she was seeking shelter. She went to a knoll with the couple of calves, and she was striking the tether-peg into it. The knoll opened. She heard a gleegashing (gliogadaich) as if a pot-hook were clashing beside a pot. She took wonder, and she stopped striking the tether-peg. A woman put out her head and all above her middle, and she said, 'What business hast thou to be troubling this tulman [mound] in which I make my dwelling?' 'I am taking care of this couple of calves, and I am but weak. Where shall I go with them?' 'Thou shalt go with them to that breast down yonder. Thou wilt see a tuft of grass. If thy couple of calves eat that tuft of grass, thou wilt not be a day without a milk cow as long as thou art alive, because thou hast taken my counsel.'"As she said, she never was without a milk cow after that, and she was alive fourscore and fifteen years after the night that was there."

"As she said, she never was without a milk cow after that, and she was alive fourscore and fifteen years after the night that was there."

PLATE VII.PLATE VII.GROUND PLAN OFBOTHAN GEARRAIDH NA H'AIRDE MOIRE, UIG LEWIS, HEBRIDES.

a. Dwelling apartments.b. Fosgarlan or Porch.c. Cuiltean or Milk cupboards.d. Stonebench or Bedplace.AB. Line of Section.CD. View as represented as restored.

PLATE VIII.PLATE VIII.SECTION AND ELEVATION OFBOTHAN GEARRAIDH NA H'AIRDE MOIRE, UIG, LEWIS, HEBRIDES, AND VIEW OF SAME IF RESTORED.

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