COMMON GUILLEMOT. 715 



We will in imagination accompany a party of " dimmers " 

 on a fine morning, and, having arrived " at cliff," find all in 

 readiness for the descent. The " dimmer " dons what are 

 locally called the " breeches," an arrangement consisting of 

 two broad loops of flat rope with a belt attached, which 

 is securely buckled around his waist, and to the front of 

 the belt is fastened the " body " or " waist " rope. His 

 hat is thickly padded to protect his head from falling stones, 

 and on the arm which uses the guide-rope he wears a leather 

 sheave, termed a " hand-leather " ; his boots have toe-plates 

 with edges turned down like a horse's shoe to enable him to 

 walk on the slippery ledges ; over each shoulder is slung a 

 stout canvas bag ; and a long stick, with a hook fixed at 

 one end, for the purpose of raking eggs out of crevices and 

 crarmies, completes his outfit. A hand, or guide rope is 

 made fast to an iron stake driven firmly into the ground, 

 and the slack is thrown over the cliff. One of the men, the 

 " lowerer," then sits on the edge of the cliff, with his feet 

 planted in two holes purposely made to prevent his slipping ; 

 he wears a leather belt, or saddle, round which the waist 

 rope is passed and held with both hands resting on his thighs ; 

 both men gather bunches of grass in order to protect their 

 hands from being blistered or scored by the ropes when 

 running freely, and to enable them to secure a better grip 

 when hauling. The " dimmer " now takes the guide-rope 

 in his right hand, and in the other an iron stake having a 

 running pulley at the top ; walking backward he fixes the 

 stake on the extreme edge (or, when the cliff is much broken, 

 two pulleys are used), and lays the waist rope over the wheel ; 

 this prevents it chafing on the sharp rock edges ; the lowerer 

 then slacks away, and the adventurous " dimmer " swiftly 

 descends on the face of the cliff, by a succession of backward 

 jumps, keeping his feet to the rock and inclining his body 

 outward. He sometimes in this manner descends a hundred 

 feet without stopping. On arriving at a ledge where eggs 

 are visible he rapidly transfers them to the bags he carries, 

 then kicks himself free from the ledge, throwing his weight 

 on the rope, and so is lowered to other places, where he repeats 



