Mr. Macgillivray's Account of the Outer Hehrides. 163 



4. The Gray Rat, — Mus decumanus, Gmbl. ; in Gaelic An 

 Rodan, is abundant in most of the islands, its habits being the 

 same as in other parts of the country. This animal swims %vith 

 ease, and has settled in many islets at a great distance from the 

 larger islands, where it feeds principally upon shell-fish and crus- 



5. The Domestic Mouse, — Mus Musctilus,-^in Gaelic An Liich, 

 is also common enough in the huts, and in winter betakes itself to 

 the corn yards, where it often does much damage. The rat can 

 subsist in independence, but the mouse never occurs at a distance 

 from houses. 



6. The Hare, — Lepus timidus, — An Gearr, has been naturalized 

 in the neighbourhood of Stornoway and in Barvas, in the district 

 of Lewis, and in one of the Barray islands ; but it does not appear 

 that it ever occurred indigenously in any part of the range. 



T. The Rabbit, — Lepus Cuniculus, Jjn^ti.-^An Coineanach, has 

 also been naturalized in Barray and Vatersay. 



These are all the mammifera which find subsistence exclusively 

 on land. I have now to mention those which, residing on shore, 

 procure their food from the waters : and these belong exclusively 

 to the order Carnivora. 



8. The Common Otter, ---Lutra vulgaris, — in Gaelic Atn Balgar, 

 is of frequent occurrence in many parts. It resides among blocks, 

 and in the fissures of rocks along the coast ; seldom frequenting 

 the lakes or streams of the interior, and preying upon marine fishes. 

 Some persons who are particularly addicted to the hunting of this 

 animal, kill considerable numbers of it, and dispose of the skins to 

 others who are in the habit of making a voyage annually to Green- 

 ock and Glasgow for merchandize. 



9. The Common Seal, — Phoca vitulina, Jjiu's.-^An Ron, is ex- 

 tremely abundant in many parts, frequenting the sounds, which 

 are full of islets and rocks, on which they are often seen resting. 

 Some of the small islands, which are situated at a great distance 

 from the others, are remarkable for the prodigious numbers of seals 

 by which they are frequented. The Rock of Gasker, twelve miles 

 from Harris, in the Atlantic, is a celebrated place of resort for 

 these animals. Great numbers are killed upon it annually, upwards 

 of a hundred and twenty having been destroyed in one day. In 

 the end of autumn, or beginning of winter, a boat goes from the 

 Island of Tarnsay to this rock. The seals are then found on shore, 

 in the middle of the island ; and the men, armed with sticks, ar- 

 range themselves in a narrow passage, after which they shout to 

 frighten the seals. The latter, in their haste to escape, come tumb- 

 ling and flonndering in a confused mass, the largest individuals 

 taking the lead. To these the men are obliged to allow a free pas- 

 sage. Then commences the application of the bludgeons, and by 

 the time the last seals have got through the perilous pass, the 

 ground has been heaped with the dying and the (kad. Individuals 

 of immense size are said frequently to present themselves. Of the 



