IN THE HIGHLANDS 87 



Neither the men nor the women had any politeness in 

 outward manner. I did not notice any of them bow 

 or curtsey at any time, but they are kind and gentle 

 in speech and obliging and friendly in actions. Yet 

 this does not prevent them from being keen for money 

 and still more for tobacco. They would part with any 

 of the commodities of the island for half their value if 

 paid in tobacco. 



" Their houses are built rather in a crescent form 

 about one hundred yards above the shore at the head 

 of the bay, and extend for nearly a quarter of a mile 

 I counted twenty-five dwelling-places besides the little 

 barns or outbuildings. The byre is on the left-hand 

 side as you enter, and above it is the only aperture for 

 letting out smoke, which, in fact, they wish to keep in 

 as much as possible for the sake of the soot, which they 

 use to enrich the land for the barley and the potatoes in 

 the spring. I was told that they never clean out their 

 byres at all till they take away the manure in April, 

 and previous to that time it is almost impossible to get 

 in and out of the door. I visited the island too late in 

 the season to see this bad arrangement, and was sur- 

 prised at the cleanly appearance of the walls and roofs 

 of the houses, and the nice dry walk which went all along 

 the sides of the houses. The walls of the houses are 

 built just as they are in Harris — that is, double, being 

 very thick and the middle filled with earth. The roof 

 extends only to the inner wall, and you can walk round 

 the top of the wall quite easily. The form of the roof is 

 oval, like a big bee-hive. They are made with wood 

 covered with turf and then thatched with straw above, 



