i62 JOTTINGS ABOUT BIRDS. 



are portioned out anew, the Saxon Mod or Council 

 assembling for the purpose, so that no vested 

 interests accrue in cliffs that are more prolific in 

 bird produce than others. The adjacent islands of 

 Doon, Soay, Borreay, and the several " stacks " are 

 common property, and are hunted at intervals by 

 a party despatched in one of the boats for the 

 purpose, the produce of the expedition being 

 shared equally. The widows and orphans are not 

 forgotten, and are supported by a voluntary toll 

 from their more fortunate neighbours, having also 

 an equal share in the cliffs and so on. The St. 

 Kildans are adepts at catching birds ; small wonder, 

 when we bear in mind that the chief sustenance of 

 these people is the myriads of sea-fowl that 

 frequent the islands. But as for the men's feats 

 amongst the rocks as climbers, about which I had 

 heard so much, I saw nothing extraordinary. The 

 climbers at Flamborough are every bit as daring. 

 In fact, hi2;h as the cliffs at St. Kilda are, they 

 are comparatively easy to climb, being for the most 

 part broken up into ledges and grassy downs, few 

 of them falling sheer down to the sea. Even the 

 mighty cliff of Connacher (1200 feet high, and 

 perhaps the finest precipice in the British Islands) 

 does not fall sheer for that distance, but much of 



