Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-05-30

beings. The above description win not "a nave
said. appear attractive to the Lowlander: but
the crofter with his breezy hillside, his sweet
scented heather, MS springs OF pure, delicious
above all, his independence, would scorn to ex-
change his lot for that Of the laborer hndtiled
into the slums Of the larger towns. He knows
what it is to work in Glasgow and Edinburgh,
moor and humble bothy to the Sitting atnios-
phere, If more substantially rooted dwellings, OF
the Gallowgate or 'tGOosedubs"
So much for the crofter's Immediate surround
ings. As to his holdings, explained in INV last
letter that they average in rent from "a to f12
Highlands they run from one to four acres of
arabic land, of the most inferior descrintion
with in most cases share Of hill pasture held in
common by the township each crofter having
te OF gra1ag oa to his rent from
sheep. On the smaller holdings 1t is of course
impossible that family could live They GER
tainly could pay no rent, were it not that the
male members during the summer months hire
themselves to the owners OF fishing-boats on the
club together and so possess their own boats
and these men are comparatively wealthy. The
size Of the holdings and the extent of CRAVINGS
attached to them is thus. the question upon
of the class hang. Where the holdings are small
a larger proportion Of the annual fishing earn
ings has to 20 to pay the rent, and there can be
no doubt that those whose average rental ia
under "a annually have hard struggle to make
both ends meet.
The daily round of a cottars life is something
after the following: In winter time, when most
OF the men are generally at home, they employ
themselves in gathering the sea-weed which is
abundantly cast upon the western shores. It ia
stacked in heaps and allowed to rot, when 1t be-
comes good manure. In spring the land has to
be turned over labOrious process, for the fields
In nearly every instance are too uneven and
rocky for blowing. so hand digging with a pecu-
liar implement called the cas-chrom. or crooked
wooden spade, has to be resOrted to. The
women assist In this rude species of cultivation.
as also in the sowing and narrowing of the
ground The next duty is to cut and stack the
peat for the ensuing winters fuel, to hoe the
patches of potatoes, and to make things tidy
generally. Then has the time arrived for the
annual migration to the east coast FISHING. which
lasts generally six weeks But, before return
Ing home, most OF the men hire themselves for
another month to the sheep farmers at smear
Ing. wool clipping, and other work. If the sea-
son Is a good one, the savings accumulated dur
ing the time they are exiled from home and
family will amount sometimes to EGO but the
average is probably about G12 with which the
crOfter faithfully returns He is careful and
thrifty. and is seldom allured into wasting his
hard-wOn money on drink or dissipation. Many
of the younger men join the Ross-sliire and In
serve. but the ranks of these are generally full,
and there are seldom vacancies. Others go to
fish on the coast of Ireland to increase there the
sums already amassed. but the majority return
home in the autumn. The money earned in
fishing is expended in paying the rent and in
liquidating whatever debts may have been in
Cured by their families to the neighboring
shop-keebers during the previous winter. In
autumn the crops-when there are any-are
reaped. new clothes are bought. and stores laid
In for the coming winter, when the same round
begins again. Oatmeal, potatoes and fish, with
an occasional Sheep or cow killed as a Joint
stock transaction among three or four of the
neighboring families. form the food; and when
there is enough of it strong. hardy handsome
race manages to exist on the ungrateful soil.
However inferior, and perhaps ragged. may be
the clothes in which the crofter performs his
daily labor, he possesses decent Sunday suit.
which in responsibility OF appearance is far above
anything of which the average Londoner or
English farm laborer can boast. And the women.
too, each own a carefully preserved tartan
plaid and blue gown of stout homespun for
wear at kirk or when they visit the neghboring
villages. And in the long winter evenings the
neghbors will assemble in each others cabins.
when the elders among them and those versed
with thrilling tales of the days gone by; how
Red Donald this or Black Ronald that performed
such and such prodigy Of valor In fighting
such and such a CLAN Ghost stories and others
fayoring of witchcraft and such like uncanny
arts are lntently listened to, and to these the
screaming gales and bOisterous weather of a
western winter perhaps form fitting accompani-
ments. Occasionally the sad account of the
Highland evctions Of fifty years ago will be re-
lated by some patriarch who was an eyewitness,
who suffered, mayhap. and who will refer to
former neighboring townships the traces of
which are not yet obterated, and to the people
he knew In his youth, who have long disap-
peared out Of ken across the mysterious At
lantic. In this way do they preserve the ira
dition of the days when they held the soil under
something like tribal tenure: No doubt in the
wntry wastes Of Canada the same stories are
told. and the Hebridean exiles there are. as
Campbell says, taught to regard the old country
with love that scorns the lapse of time. and
ties that stretch beyond the deep"
In the manner described above when a croft
Is OF proper size, its tenant can hope to make
fairly comfortable living. Land in the north
Is calculated to produce generally three times
the rent. Thus croft rented at f10 ought to
give return to IT'S occupant Of about eco, and,
adding to that the ELS or so earned in other
pursuits, the total of f35 is sufficient for fam
lily, reared after the fashion l have attempted
to depict, to live on; but, as has been shown in
former letter, the vast majority of crOfts, say
IN skye, are under the &10 rental, and hence
the grievances which are now cropping up.
Not only have the landlords throughout the
Highlands been gradually restricting the graz
Ing rights-the most valuable portion of q
crOft-and IN not few instances raising the
rents, but the crOfts themselves have been d.
minlshng in size consequent on the evil of sub
division; the result, in short, of an Increasing
population, and an increasing demand for the
moors for sporting purposes. AS one of the
Braes crofters told me- 1--WE are getting too
crowded." and the fact Is that if it were not
that railways and steamers have rendered the
labor market easier of access, and by cheapened
transit enhanced the profits of fishing, the
crofter difficulty would have come to the front
years ago.
A few details descriptive of the visit F paid
yesterday to the disaffected district of Braes
may prove interesting. As we drove from Por-
tree along the road leading to the crofts, our
guide, himself crofter, pointed out to us
on the neighboring hillsides the evidences of
former cultivation, where numerous crofts once
supported hardy population, now sent over
the seas to make room for sheep. There was
bitter ring In the tone in which he remarked
that the memory OF that clearance would never
die out. He knew well and was proud of the
fact, that between 1850 and 1910, that critical
period in the history Of Great Britain, the island
OF Skye alone sent to the wars 10000 fighting
men, 600 commanding officers, 4S colonies and
81 generals "And what do they tell us nowl"
he asked. ''that we are no good here; that we
are cumbrances to the ground, and that we
had better 90 to America Vnf even with its