CHAP. iv. CAITHNESS SCANDINA VI AN. 27 



Cape Gris Nez (Gray Nose) near Calais. It usually in- 

 dicates a headland which the Scandinavians have named, 

 or near which they have settled. 



Caithness seems to have been almost entirely Scan- 

 dinavian. The creeks or bays in which the Norsemen 

 anchored, or where they ran their boats ashore, are 

 called by Norwegian names, from Wick, the greatest 

 fishing station in the world, to Freswick, Sleswick, 

 D Warwick, and such like inlets. 



The Gaels seem to have been pushed inland towards 

 the hilly country of Sutherland, while the Scandinavians 

 occupied the low-lying ground along the coast. Almost 

 every farm steading is called by a Scandinavian name. 

 Hence Scrabster, Lybster, Seister, Thurster, Ulbster, and 

 such like the word ster being from " saetr," the Scandi- 

 navian word for farm. Dahls, or dales, penetrate the 

 country to the southward, though the Celtic word Strath 

 is still preserved. Hence Strath Halladale and Strath 

 Helmsdale in Sutherlandshire. North of that region, 

 the rivers are called forss or water. Worsaae derives 

 the name of Thurso from Thor the pagan god, and aa a 

 river. Hence Thorsa, or Thor's river. 



The people also resemble their progenitors. The fair 

 hair, blue eyes, and tall figures of the Scandinavians are 

 still preserved throughout the county, in contradis- 

 tinction to the small size, the dark hair, the swarthy 

 skin, and the black or steely-blue eyes of the Celts, to 

 the south and west of Scotland. 



All the firths, or inlets of the sea, are known by Norse 

 names. The Pentland Firth, which runs between the 



