The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1861-08-05

Thine, s,r,ps,r. I, iiiss las, and he.yiss loss"
A st.rtfiug Piotsrs.
In tn, report Of the Luuacy Commissioners
for Sc jlsnd, we fad a melancholy picture OF
the social condition OF the croftsr and squattar
population Of the Lewis. "rhs typic al LswLs
house" says the report, 'is not simply long
unbrokeu range L; rather consists Of q ma
jor block, Of forty or titty feet, with . small
porch like wing ct one sud Ia front, and .
lsrgor protection or attachment towards the
other end b,hind, which last serves As a barn.
Accssi 70 all 10 gained by one door. By this
you enter the 90 cAllei porch, aui on one
hand you very frequently fnd the qusrn, .
regular axturs and thing for daily use. As
you Psss ffon the porch TO the major beck,
you first sncou ltsr the byre; and Ia summer,
after the planting Of the crops, you here de-
sc'nd stsp. In ea'ly spri ng however, In.
stead of descending you bave TO ascend, for
the Dung OF the cate, watch, excsp, in fns
| wsathsr, never leave the houss In winter, 10
allowed TO accumulate, and there Ia only
dishicts where horses arc used, when spriug
comes, the end Of the house is oftsn partially
knocked down. 90 that the little horse and his
| pauniers may enter 10 be loaded on tho spot.
The pett-resk with which the houses are al
ways hlled. snd tho SCOT, both acting as anti
septica combine to lessen the injui iou, effects
which might be expected 10 result from living
on the edfs Of q dupgdill. or othr heap OF dc.
composiug animal aud vegetable matter. But
fer this psatrcek the stencil would be insuffer-
sbls, and nohabit could make IL bearabla- IL
this part OF the hou'e be entered Ia winter,
when the cows are tied up and III. nstured from
restraint II is often neither easy nor safe to
pick ones way among thsm TO the other end,
especially % IL must be done at all smsons
and at all hours In an obscurity which, to
one coming frsm the open afr, amou nts 10
darkness. At the other end OF the central
OF major range, the human animals live,
nor "a their portion cut of from that oo-
ps.tsoes N . partition. The SEPARATION
y nothing more than the oulbstons OF q
foot pavement on country roadsids, lias OF
rough stones 10 muk Il of. Ia fact, Il is In.
landed and thought dssisabls. that the 90 10
should actually .ss the ar'. to y ehssrsd As
hnsmsnt. AZ eonvenisnt point. about the
csntrs Of the part now reached, Ia the hrs, aud
from the rough, undrssssd, so,t-bsgrimsd raf-
ters above. rops or bit Of chain falls on which
the pot Is suspended. On one side Of the irs
place, supported on two pales Of turf or on two
men Of the household. Often there is no plank
nothing, In fact, but bench Of sods. Be-
hind this Is the stock OF peats, brought In fer
| immediate uss. On the other aide thsrs is q
| rouEh thrssleeged stool for the wife. Ths
children and dogs crouch by the fresIds In
the warm ashes. On the womaus side. with
It's back 10 the ca;tls, there 10 occ NsionAlly Q
rads dressing or shelving, to hold such plates
or DO Wis As may be posssss.d; and beside Il, the
one or two pots Of the household Il id their
place. whsn out Of U.S. do not RENE nbsr
ever 10 have seen q tabe. A chair Of any kind
10 q most unusual object. The teapot, tea kst-
| tie, and timed iron vesIels Of all kinds. are
equally rare. The supply Of modern crock my,
even OF the cosrssst description, Is conf aed 10
| few plates ana ba. ins Aud In the u irish Of
BArvas and part OF Dig IL scarcely amonnts TO
this. 1hsrs they uss native pottery, which
is 30 rude and coirse, snd primitive In Its
shape. that IL might sasiy be mistaken tor
those cin.raty urns whess age has al most ceased
to be rsek mad In centuries. At tho further
and Of the apartment, n IL may be 40 called
stand the beds These are simply four rough
| upright posts, connected by narfos strstchsrs
| with a wooden bottom, and hnsd with loose
straw, which is too valuable TO be abundant or
often changed. The two uprights, which are
farihest nom the wal oftsu reach tho
raftsrs, ard are attached TO them. Upon
these there 10 a sort OF roof constructed,
| and covered with divOta The nee ,ssity OF this
roof within q roof will be short sem, when
| | describe the cJnstfuclion OF the housss, aud
show how far from water tight the outsr roofs
10. All seXss and ssss sleep t0xsthsr In tn sss
beds, which are often the only ones possessed.
II tbs fs nily be large however, there arc ono
or more similar beds constructed in the bGro,
| IN WHICH tuo CnoSt, cputhlnlnR Ino Ouhl W
! clothes and other vAluablts, 10 also KEEP. Ihe
walls are not more ,hAn Fix feet in height, and
the door eau only DO entered by so ping. On
the top OF the wall, round tho root there Ia
often n footpaih, on which children, sheep,
fosls, and eogs may be constantly sssn. la
one casa tho public fo)tpath II ndghbour-
ing township or crofteH, led me over the end
OF ne Of these houses; provision being made for
getting up and down by stones or steps pro.
| j,euog II m the wall. The IaftsTs consist Of
uudrsss,d, crooked brsr ch, Of trees bound
togtthsr with ro3's Of straw. This thAtch is
Ot straw loosely put on, aSd he'd do vn by
heather rcpss weighted st the end With stousF.
| This tbRtch is removed every year, for
the sake of the hoot, which Is regard
| ed A valuable and stimulating
manure. In order to increase the deposit OF
this, there 10 no smoke hole and further,
with the Same object, the straw 70 hsao ped thick.
iy on At the top, % that the roof d % ni-cir-
eular 10 Its outline. The insids Of the house,
thsTsiots, is constant clsud Of psatTesk,
cannot tolerate. The object Of the roofis not
simply TO protect from ram and cold, but 10
| accumulate SCOT, and Il Il consequently never
| completely watsr tight. After heavy rain ths
water comes through an l blacksnA Svuyihne
on which II falls, biiBging with IL the glistsn-
Ing pitcby psndic,s OF i0ot which usually
ffinss the rAfterA. 10 sphuR, when the thAtch
| IL Tsu owed, half ofths popSlation may BE- said
TO bs ShsltsrlssA and ifit happen TO be- q rainy
season. thsir condition must be very missfa-
ble. Tbsro Is no window. The absence st
this Il nearly universal Sueh light ss gains
admission is by the door or through one OF two
small holes In the caves Of the 70 ( at tho top
Of the wall or through ehiDks from deficiencies