404 A Walk from 



them wearing the features of their Norse lineage, as 

 light-haired and crisp-whiskered as the sailors of 

 Harold the Fair-haired a thousand years ago. They 

 come from all the coasts of Scotland, from Orkney, 

 Shetland, the Hebrides and Lewes islands, and down 

 out of the heart of the Highlands. It is a hard and 

 daring industry they follow, and hundreds of graves 

 on the shore and thousands at the bottom of the sea 

 have been made with no names on them, as the long 

 record of the hazards they run in the perilous occu- 

 pation. But they keep their ranks full from year to 

 year, pushing out new boats marked with higher 

 numbers. 



The harbor has been dangerous and difficult of 

 access, but of late a great effort has been made to 

 render it more safe and commodious. The Scotch 

 fisheries now yield from 250,000 to 300,000 barrels of 

 herrings annually, employing about 15,000 men ; and 

 Wick stands first among all the fishing ports of the 

 kingdom. It is a thriving town, well supplied with 

 churches, schools, hotels, banks and printing-offices. 

 Several new buildings are now being erected which 

 will rank high in architecture and add new features 

 of elegance to the place. The population is a vigorous, 

 intelligent, highly moral and well-read community, as 

 I could not fail to notice on attending service on the 



