of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



281 



shortly before joining the sea. There is a netting station near the mouth 

 of the Barvas. The lower part of the bed of the river is not well suited 

 for spawning purposes. But about a mile above the bridge, close to the 

 inn, its character changes, and there are many beds of beautiful gravel, 

 and some nice-looking pools. The Barvas has a course of about 8 miles, 

 and rises in a loch of the same name. It does not seem to be a produc- 

 tive river, as the best year for which 1 have the returns, shews a catch of 

 only 30 salmon. 



An old writer in the Western Islands, mentions a curious custom in 

 connection with the salmon fishing in the Barvas River : — 



The natives, he says, in the village of Barvas, retain an ancient custom of send- 

 ing a man very early to cross Barvas River, every first day of May, to prevent 

 any females crossing it first ; for that they say would hinder the salmon from 

 coming into the river all the year round : they pretend to have learned this 

 from a foreign sailor who was shipwrecked upon the coast some time ago. 

 This observation they maintain to be true from experience. 



This superstition, however, seems to have died out, as I heard nothing 

 of it at Barvas or elsewhere in the Lews. 



Uig, 



The remote and wild district of Uig contains several streams and lochs 

 frequented by sea-trout and salmon. One of the lochs — Loch Suainabhal 

 — is the largest expanse of fresh water in the Lews, next to Loch Langavat. 

 In one year (1875), these waters yielded 391 salmon and 1003 sea-trout. 

 But, during that year, most of the fish were taken by the net. In 1882, 

 22 salmon and 429 sea-trout were captured by the rod. Some of the 

 streams and lochs also which are attached to the Aline Shootings, close to 

 the Harris border, contain salmon and sea-trout. Out of 8 years for 

 which I have the returns, I find that the best was 1876, when 11 salmon 

 and 412 sea-trout were taken. 



List of Fish caught in the Lews. 



The table on the next page, for which I am indebted to Mr Mackay, 

 Chamberlain'of the Lews, gives a 'List of salmon, sea-trout, and brown trout 

 ' killed on the different shootings in the Lews, from 1871 to 1884 inclusive.' 



From Stornoway to Tarhert. 



It is 36 miles from Stornoway to Tarbert in Harris; and in* bad 

 ■»yeather, such as that which I experienced, a more dreary drive for 

 two-thirds of the way can scarcely be imagined. You pass over a flat 

 or undulating expanse of brown treeless moorland, dotted over with 

 dismal lochs, and traversed here and there by leaden-coloured streams 

 flowing towards the stormy Minch. All is grim, and grey, and monoton- 

 ous. When you come near the hills of the Park and the mountains of 

 Harris, however, the aspect of the scenery somewhat improves ; and as 

 you approach Tarbert by the road which scales the steep shoulders of 

 Cleisham, the highest mountain in the Long Island, it becomes decidedly 

 grand and picturesque. 



It was near the end of June when I drove across Cleisham ; yet, not 

 far from the highest point of the road, I encountered a violent hail-storm 

 which lasted for nearly half-an-hour. 



HAKRIS. 



The parish of Harris, belonging to the county of Inverness, compre- 

 hends the southern part of the Lews and many adjacent islands and islets, 



T 



