Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-11-29
ST. kIlDA.
A Community in Which the Most, Primitive
Manner. still Prevail.

| ut " NHlNH Vic
ants of st. klda were recently com
! PEELED to communicate with the main
land. sending the news of their needy
.cond ton in little boat cut from a
block of wood. has brought out many
descript ons of the island. Hirt, As the
natives call it. may be regarded as the
Ultima Thule of the Hebrides. Though
part of North Britain. it is only in
very clear weather. and then from a
considerable height. that it can be
sighted ike dim cloud in the waste
of waters beyond. Sailors sometimes
notice it in formle>s outline on the
horizon. But its coast bears bad
reputation. and the cautious helm>man
gives It's >kcrres and wav"-la>hed cliffs
as wide = berth "a he conveniently can.
When the skipper out Of h reckoning
hears through the fog boom Of break
ers. and high above the roar of its
waves the dl>cOriant scream OF sea
fowl. he instantly >hecrS from local
tv so dangerous. For, romantic though
St kilda NAV be for fair weather mar
liners. the Captain who is not deslrous
Of having an uncomfortable interview
with Mr.. Rotherv prefers to leave his
curiosity unSratitied.
Once ashore, at the only landing
place. the visitor has difficulty in real.
i8ng the fact that he is still within the
limits of the realm. The people are
courteous. and though they possess the
usual Celtic characteristics they are
unlike the Highlanders whom he
has left in Uist or Eigg, or
Harris or skye: and even to one
fam liar with Gaelic their dialect
presents certain pathological d ilicult es.
The ISLAND. which is barely seven miles
in circumference. is surrounded BY
beetling cliffs. attaining in some places
a height of twelve hundred feet, and
the moderately level ground tit for
growing patch or two of oats or po-
tatoes. or capable of atlording grazing
for few sheep. is extremely scanty.
The huts. some nineteen in number.
are almost prehistoric in structure. the
locks being made of wood and fastened
with a wooden key. though so honest
are the people that even this precaution
of civilization is unnecessary. The
population does not number more than
seventy or eighty and has been gradu-
ally decreasing since 1897, when il
amounted to one hundred and eighty.
The law is represented by .cate-
chi>t." who combines in his person the
functions of Minister, schoolmaster and
magistrate. and who. though an ad-
mjrable person according to his lights.
rather purItanical in his ideas of what
is good for his subjects. When Mr..
Sands lived under his jurisdiction. the
three greatest men in the world.
were. in the opinion OF the
St. Kildans, Prince Bismarck. Mr..
Gladstone and DR.. Begg. though it
ought to be remarked that il was only
the ecclesiastical side of their char
acter that found favor in the
eyes of the islanders. The inhab-
itants were at one time addicted
to playing the jewsharp and to dancing.
and used to greet the coming of the
seafowls with strange song. calling
to mind the verses with which the
Rhodan Greeks welcomed the return
ing swallow. All such carnal pleas
.ures are now eschewed. To walk on
SUNDAY is sin; to speak above their
breath an ofiense against the canon
law; and. as the worthy minister is. or
was, the only man in possession of a
watch. or capable of speak ng English.
no one ventures to dispute his dicta
Formerly. the islanders used to dress
in sheepskins and wear shoes made of
the heads and neckS of Solan geese.
NOWADAYS they weave cloth out Of the
wool of their dwarf sheep. and manu-
facture "rullions' or moccasins out of
their hides.
Fishing and fowling are almost their
sole occupations. Men and women
cl NIB the cliffs like goats in search of
the eggs of the sea fowls. on which they
subsist during the winter. and even the
dogs are trained to capture the puffins
and gannets. The women work harder
than the men. undertaking most of the
labor VIII ch horses perform elsewhS-e;
but the men make all the clothes, not
only for themselves, but for the other
sex also. Children are hard to
rear. and the entire popula-
ton is necessarily intermarried
through and, through. There are
and only six surnames in the whole
island an adjective being usually
added for the better definition of the
person addressed Thus. for example.
there is Callum Beag little Malcolm).
or Donnell Og (YoIng Donald). Quar-
rels are unknown. in SO small COM
munity everybody being mortally
afraid of offending his neighbors; and
the direction of public affairs is dis
cuSsed by sort of island parliament.
which meets every morning in front of
dams will become extinct. A few have
emigrated. though on the voyage to
Australia they could only be kept in
perfect health by an occasional meal OF
the rank eggs and dried putiins they
carried with them. They are, more
over. greatly attached to the island.
and are anxious TO return to it if day
or two absent in Scotland. The
owner of this lonely spot is gentle
man who, by one of those curious con-
trasts in which civilization delights.
was, until recently. Secretary of the
Science and Art Department. Per-
knows?-amid the perusal
OF the dreary minutes of my lords"
and the calculation of payment by re-
suits he NAV. have sometimes heard
the waves dashing on distant Dunye-
gan or the scream of the sea news a.
they circled around his far off lordship
of ST. kilda-L0Riop Standard