The Land of Tiree 



Which means: 



" South wind, heat and produce; 

 North wind, cold and tempest; 

 West wind, fish and milk; 

 East wind, fruit on trees." 



When on Tiree I have often tested the Gaelic saying 

 that "When the wind is lost, you may look for it again 

 in the south" " 'N uair a bhios a ghaoth air chall iarr a deas 

 i," and have found it almost always correct. Often after 

 a fierce storm from the north the winter's dawn breaks 

 without a breath of wind. The surface of th sea is like 

 glass, yet the sky shows a dull leaden look which portends 

 nothing good in it. Towards midday, or maybe earlier, a 

 puff of air comes away from the south. Within half an hour 

 a fresh breeze is blowing, and before the afternoon is old 

 a whole gale of southerly wind is sweeping up from Islay 

 and the north Irish coast, sending in seas which thunder 

 on the white sands, and causing the herring drifters to seek 

 what shelter they can find. For this reason it is held that the 

 first day of the south wind, and the third day of the north 

 wind, is the best time for crossing the dangerous and tide- 

 swept Sound of Gunna which divides Tiree from the neigh- 

 bouring island of Coll. But to cross safely one must reach the 

 ferry early even on the first day of the south wind, and I have 

 before now had a wild crossing through arriving at the ferry 

 too late in the day. The tide flows so swiftly here that the 

 wind raises a heavy sea almost at once, and although the 

 ferryman knows every rock and tide rip intimately, it is 

 impossible for a small boat to cross in a storm. But in the 

 summer months the south wind can blow softly and steadily, 

 though at times it may bring with it rains and mist from 

 the sea. Indeed, to the Gael the south wind is sometimes 

 spoken of as "the Gateway of Soft Weather," a poetical 

 expression which has in it a great truth. 



No channel that I know of is so frequented by the solan 

 165 



