TRAVELLERS' ACCOUNTS. 511 



lost through bad seasons ; and he took old and incapaci- 

 tated tenants into his own family. And yet, we are told 

 that when he or his steward was in the island, the natives 

 never went fishing, being afraid of having their rents 

 raised. The steward of the lesser islands had perquisites 

 of all produce, fish, &c. In Macneill's castle (Kisimul), 

 a relic of ancient times survived in the person of the cock- 

 man, or sentinel. The anniversary of the patron saint of 

 the island was celebrated on the 2/th September of each 

 year, and in the church (Kilbar), a wooden image of the 

 saint, covered with a linen shirt, stood on the altar. 

 There were no doctors in the island, and the only 

 medicine used by the natives was " a sort of stone " with 

 which they rubbed their breasts ; this, they said, kept 

 them in good health. The Barra people were famed for 

 their hospitality. When any strangers landed from the 

 other islands of the Outer Hebrides, they were bound willy- 

 nilly to take refreshment, the " ocedn-meal " being the 

 appropriate title given to the repast. An ancient custom 

 provided that only one person could lodge with a family, 

 and this custom was followed even in the case of a 

 married couple. Widowers and widows alike in Barra 

 were accustomed to apply to Macneill for suitable partners 

 to share their joys and their sorrows, and the chief was 

 nothing loth to act in the capacity of match-maker. No 

 time was wasted in such preliminaries as courtship : the 

 partners were found, and the wedding ceremony was forth- 

 with performed, Macneill providing a bottle of " strong 

 waters " as his contribution to the festivities ; a system 

 of Arcadian simplicity which apparently worked well in 

 practice. All the Barra people were Roman Catholics, 

 with the exception of one Murdoch Macneill. It is of 

 interest to find that tobacco was grown in Barra, some time 

 prior to Martin's visit ; but its success seems to have been 

 doubtful, otherwise its cultivation would hardly have been 

 discontinued. 



Travellers in the Long Island were scarce during the 

 first half of the eighteenth century; or, at any rate, they 



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