THE HEBRIDES.

Hokitika Guardian, 16 December 1925, Page 4

THE HEBRIDES.

There is no wihler region in (treat Britain than the one described by Mr Alisdair Alpin MacGregor in "Behold the Hebrides." On the iron-bound coasts of the lonely group the Atlantic surge breaks ceaselessly. Inland there are desolate moors and morasses and towering peaks. In the straits or sounds which separate the islands treacherous currents and vortices make navigation dangerous. We know nhal the worthy Dr Johnson thought of the Hebrides. Such conditions breed a sturdy race. Tn the old

days (which, indeed, were not so remote) the Hebrideans were daring and resourceful pirates. In the most inaccessible site that could be found close to the shore the chiefs built their strongholds, whence they issued lorth on their forays. Some of these were quite impregnable. Kisimul Castle, on the Isle of Hart a. for instance, is .surrounded by n stone wall two stories in height and touching the sea. The rock upon which it stands is covered

at high tide. An innocent traveller who wished to visit the castle in the eighteenth century was denied admission because it was thought that lie might be a spy from foreign parts. Nowadays the principal industries are fishing, fowling and sheep-raising, the wool being woven into the famous Harris tweed, fragrant with peat. Stornoway, the largest and indeed the only town in the Hebrides—it has a population of less than 4000—is the rendezvous <«f the fishing flee*, and in tire season its harbour is quite a busy place. Agriculture is but little practised. Of the 000 islands of any size that ((institute the Hebrides about fourth-fifths are uninhabited, and the amount of arable land is very small. Frequently, moreover, the harvest fails 1 altogether. The clans that inhabit the | group are the MacDonalds, the eheif of whom bears the proud title of ” Cord I of the Isles.” the .MacLeods and the .Mac Neils. A writer at the beginning of the eighteenth century assures u« that the Mac Neil who occupied Kisimul Castle in liana when he visited it was tire thirty-fourth lineal chieftain, i The Macdonalds of Lewis and the MacLeods of She. constantly intermarried, yet they were always at variance. Hence the local saying that they wore “aye putting rings on each other’s fingers and dirks into each other’s heart s.” Dmivegan Castle, away in the west of the “.Misty Isle,” was the seat of the MacLeods, and here the famous .MacCi'iirmoiis, the hereditary pipers ,to the .MacLeods, had their equally famous school for pipers. I’npils came to it from all parts of Scotland to be taught the art, and if their proficiency was sufficient they were awarded certificates of merit-. The .Macdonalds also had a hereditary line of distinguished pipers, the MacArtliurs, who conducted a similar academy, but their teaching was never considered to be of quite the same class as that of the AfacCrimii’oiik. Kvontnally, in consequence of a dispute with their chief, the MacCrimmons closed their school. The Sassenach mav he inclined to add: “ And a

good thing too!” Th» Hebrideans still use Gaelic among themselves. Sydneysiders will recollect that during the war the (llama, which had been taken over by the Admiralty, and equipped as ail armed merchantman, visited Sydney. Her crew had been recruited largely from the Hebrides, and. probably for the first time in history, (laclic was spoken in Sydney streets. Mr .MacGregor has written a grahpic account of a most interesting place and jieople.