16 WITH NATURE AND A CAMERA. 



ferns of the most delicate green tint I have ever 

 seen. As I was anxious to possess some of these 

 undamaged, I wriggled my way inside and secured 

 a few, which are now growing in my little Hert- 

 fordshire garden. 



The dwelling is something in the form of a 

 huge drain, some thirty or forty feet in length, 

 four feet in height, and three in width, with a 

 passage of somewhat similar capacity, but only 

 about nine cr ten feet in length, running at right 

 angles to it on the left hand side, and about half 

 way from the entrance. This is, I believe, supposed 

 to have formed the bedchamber of the people who 

 inhabited the rude house, the entrance to which 

 commands an excellent view of Village Bay. This 

 last fact was, no doubt, of great importance, in 

 order that the people might have early knowledge 

 of the approach of enemies. Neither had the 

 owners of this underground mansion been un- 

 mindful of the benefits of some sort of sanitary 

 arrangement, for we found a drain beneath the 

 floor, made, no doubt, to carry off the slops from 

 their crude earthenware bowls. We also came 

 across a lot of limpet shells and bones of sheep 

 and birds of various kinds. 



Many theories have been advanced as to the 

 origin of the inhabitants of this lonely rock, and 

 a curious tradition exists as to its acquisition by 

 members of the outside world. The inhabitants of 

 Harris and Uist agreed to make it the prize for a 

 boat race, and accordingly set out to row across 

 the intervening waste ot waters. So equally matched 

 were the crews in regard to pluck and endurance 

 that they arrived at St. Kilda almost at the same 

 moment. The Uist men, however, led by a few 

 strokes, and hopes of winning ran high amongst 



