Mr. Atkinson's Notice of St. Kilda. 217 



miles long, from north-west to south-east, and two or two and a half wide. 

 Soa, which lies 200 yards to the west of it, is nearly triangular, and about 

 a mile across ; and Borera, five miles to the north-east, rather larger. 

 Martin, who published an excellent history of these islands more than 

 a century ago, calls St. Kilda 1450 feet high ; but McCulloch, who 

 I should think measured it more accurately, makes it 1380. The high- 

 est precipices are on the north side, where they descend unbroken to 

 the sea from the very summit of Conachar, the loftiest hill in the island, 

 presenting to the eye the finest precipice in Great Britain. Soa is 

 not nearly so lofty, or so precipitous ; but Borera is of about the same 

 height, and more inaccessible, containing on its north side, which like 

 St. Kilda is the steepest, some most stupendous and extraordinary 

 scenes. 



Of these islands, the largest alone possesses an abundant supply of 

 water, the others only having a single bad spring each ; but on St. 

 Kilda it is most abundant and of excellent quality, each spring being 

 celebrated for some particular virtue it is imagined to possess, and 

 named accordingly. 



We were much struck with the good looks of the inhabitants as they 

 turned out, men, women, and children, to receive us. They are of rather 

 short stature, but present neat compact specimens of the human form, 

 set off by lively intelligent countenances, adorned almost always with 

 beautifully white teeth. Their number is a little more than a hundred, 

 and has remained nearly unchanged for centuries ; the lack of increase 

 being generally attributed to want of surgical aid for their women in child- 

 bed. I did not hear that longevity is common among them, but from the 

 hale countenances we saw, and the temperance of their habits, I should 

 think it must be so. The dress worn on the island is much the same 

 as that of fishermen at our remote fishing villages, coarse bluejacket and 

 trousers, and sometimes with, though frequently without, shoes and stock- 

 ings. These latter, however, are often worn with a soling of sea fowl 

 feathers compactly sewed to them, and must be very safe to traverse the 

 slippery precipices in. Hats or caps they seldom wear. The women 

 wear a gown of the same blue woollen material of which the men's 



