592 HISTORY OF THE OUTER HEBRIDES. 



vv ch fewell is a stronge kind of peat as good as anie wood or coale for fier. 

 On the lake sides and about the skoits of the He there are divers peices of 

 arrable land w cb are manured by the inhabitants, and yealdeth an increase 

 of above 50 for one of barley and oates as for anie other graine they have 

 none. 



As for the inhabitants theire languadge is a kind of bade Irish. They are 



Itogeather in custome, manners and livinge like vnto the Highlanders, w ch 



the English call Redshanks, but are nowe much more obedient both vnto the 



lawes of the Kingdome and to the Lord of the Land to whome they owe great 



duetyes. 



In theire religion they are very ignorant and have been given to the 

 idolatrous worshipp of divers Sts. as doth appeare by theire Chappells w ch are 

 yett to bee scene, but they are nowe most espetially devoted to one of theire 

 Sts. called St. Mallonuy whose Chappell is seated in the north part of the He, 

 whome they have in great veneration to this daie and keepe the Chappell in 

 good repaire. This St. was for cure of all theire wounds and soares and 

 therefore those that were not able to come vnto the Chappell in person they 

 were wont to cutt out the proporcSn of Iheire lame armes or leggs in wood 

 w th the forme of theire sores and wounds thereof and send them to the St. 

 where I have seen them lyinge vpon the Altar in the Chappell. Within the 

 Chappell there is a Sanctum Sanctorum w oh is soe holy in theire estimation 

 that not anie of their weomen are sufferred to enter therein. Anie woman 

 w th child dareth not to enter within the doores of the Chappell, but there are 

 certaine places without where they goe to theire devotions. They had two 

 genall meetings in the yeare at this Chappell, the one at Candlemas, and the 

 other at Alhollautide where theire custome was to eat and drincke vntill they 

 were druncke. And then after much dancinge and dalliance togeather they 

 entred the chappell at night with lights in their hands where they continued 

 till next morninge in theire devotions. The last tyme of theire meetinge was 

 at Candlemas last. They were prevented of theire Idolatrous worpp by a gent, 

 whoe is a Minister in the Isle, who albeit the place was farr from his aboade 

 and out of his Cure, hee mett them at theire Assembly in the Chappell where 

 he begann first to reason w th them, then to admonish them and afterwards to 

 threaten them both with God His Judgm ts and the Lawes of the Realme, in 

 somuch as divers of the better sort of them promised to forsake that' wonted 

 Idolatry of theires. Aboute a mile distant from this Chappell lyeth the 

 Pygmeys Island w ch is a round high hill contening about one acre of land. 

 This He is ioyned to the Leweis by a narrowe necke of land, w ch is in length 

 about halfe the distance of a paire of Butts, wherein there is the walls of a 

 Chappell to bee scene w ch is but 8 foote in length and 6 foote in breadth, the 

 ground whereof hath bene often tymes digged vpp espetially by the Irish w ch 

 come thither of purpose to gett the bones of those little people w ch they say 

 were buryed there. At my beinge vpon the He I made search in the earth and 

 found some of those bones, w ch are soe little that my beleife is scarce bigg 

 enough to thinke them to bee the bones humane flesh, [sic.] 



This Hand of the Leweis is deuided into twoe parts and accompted as 

 two Hands, the northermost part w ch is the greater part thereof is called the 

 Leweis, and belongeth to the Earle of Seafort. The other part to the 

 southward is called the Harris and belongeth to John Mac-Cloud or rather 

 Mac-Leogus of whome they are deriued. 



Theis 2 Lapps are bounded partly with twoe salt-water Loughes and partly 

 by a Forrest w ch reacheth from the one of theis Loughes vnto the other in w cl> 

 there are great stoare of deere. 



The Leweis is deuided into 4 parrishes, in each of w cb parrishes there are 

 some 20 townes w ch townes are some halfe a scoare cottages built togeather 

 neare some peice of arrable land where they make theire aboade in winter, for 

 the most part of the comon people in the sorrier they remaine on the hills to 

 graze theire Cattle. 



The nomber of the inhabitants of the Island wilbee about some fowcr 

 thouzand persons, a great part whereof were brought out of the Continente by 



