TRAVELLERS' ACCOUNTS. 509 



following year, a wife was found for him. Martin mentions 

 that fourteen years previously, a plague of rats had eaten 

 up all the corn of the Rona people, and a few months 

 afterwards, their bull was stolen by some sailors. Before 

 the annual supplies from Lewis arrived, the poor islanders 

 had all died, and the minister of Barvas sent a new colony 

 with supplies. 



The list of Lewis churches given by Martin is very 

 complete, no less than twenty-five being named. The 

 parishes were two in number, Barvas and Ui, both being 

 parsonages with resident ministers. The festivals observed 

 throughout the year were Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, 

 and Michaelmas. At Michaelmas, it was customary to 

 form a cavalcade, and horse-racing, indulged in by both 

 sexes, took place on the sands. All the inhabitants of 

 Lewis were Protestants, except one Roman Catholic 

 family. 



Stornoway is described as follows : " There is a village 

 called Storn-Bay at the head of the bay of that name. 

 It consists of about sixty families. There are some houses 

 of entertainment in it, as also a church, and a school in 

 which Latin and English are taught." 



The accounts of the other principal islands of the Outer 

 Hebrides are less circumstantial, but are nevertheless full 

 of interest. A description is given of Harris, which in- 

 cludes such widely divergent subjects as its fauna, its 

 brochs, and its superstitions, to which may be added a 

 learned dissertation on tides. The Harris people observed 

 the same festivals as their neighbours in Lewis, and 

 indulged in similar equestrian performances at Martinmas. 

 I All the inhabitants were Protestants. The pertinents of 

 Harris are also described. 



The methods of agriculture in North Uist receive some 

 ! attention, special reference being made to the use of a 

 i small plough drawn by one or two horses. The function 

 of this plough was to prepare the soil for the ordinary 

 i plough, which was drawn by four horses. The manure 

 | employed was seaweed, and the ashes of burnt ware were 



M M 



