128 WITH NATURE AND A CAMERA. 



.su])po,sed to be the dead body of the poor 

 child, but were surprised to find that she was still 

 alive. Pier head had entered a large Putfin burrow, 

 and the force of the blow l)cen expended upon 

 her shoulders. This undoubtedly saved her, and 

 although she hung a whole week between life and 

 death in an unconscious condition, she ultimately 

 made a complete recovery, and was a fine buxom 

 lassie at the time of our visit. 



Seton has a note to the effect that the Eider 

 Duck is only seen occasionally at St. Kilda. I 

 cannot understand this, for I saw several pairs 

 nearly every morning in Village Bay, and had a 

 clutch of eggs offered to me for sale. 



If a stray Heron happens to alight upon St. 

 Kilda the natives firndy believe that they are being- 

 visited by a witch from Stornaway. 



It is said the Cuckoo is rarely to be seen 

 in Hirta, and then only upon such extraordinary 

 occasions as the death of MacLeod, his steward, or 

 the arrival of some notable stranger upon the 

 island. This venerable superstition is more than 

 two centuries old, and is still believed in as firndy 

 as ever. In fact, its truth is said to have been 

 verified only a year or two back, when a bird 

 visited the island as a presage of the late pro- 

 prietor's death. 



Bees are never seen at St. Kilda, and V yqvj 

 much doubt whether sucli insects would find susten- 

 ance if tlicy ever found their way thither. 



On the evening of the 2'3rd of -Jinu^ w(^ packed 

 up our things and held a kind of farewell meeting, 

 at which we distributed our spare tea, coffee, 

 cheese, butter, and otlier artickvs amongst the 

 people, as we expected the steauKn- wliich was to 

 take us away on the morrow to be in tlie l)ay 



