Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-11-26
ST. KllOA.
4 Community In which the Most PrimitiSs
Manners StiIl Prevail.

A Com munIty in which the Most Prin,fsivs
Manners StiII Prevail.
The methods by which the inhabit-
ants of 81. kilda were recently COM
PEELED TO communicate with the main
land. sending the news of their needy
condition in a little boat cut from "A
block of wood. has brought out many
descriptions of the island Hirt. a. the
natives call it. may be regarded As the
Ultima Thule of the HebrideS. Though
q part of North Britain. il Is only IN
very clear weather. and then from a
considerable height, that it can bo
sighted like a dim cloud in the waste
of waters beyond. Sailors sometimes
notice it in formleSs outline on the
horizon. But its coast bears bad
reputation. and the cautious heimsman
gives its skerries and wave-lashed ellis
as wide berth as he conveniently can.
When the skipper out of h : reckoning
hears through the fog a boom of break
ers, and high above the roar of It's
waves the discordant scream of sea
fowl. he instantly sheers from local
itv so dangerous. For. romantic though
ST. Kilda may be for fair weather mar
liners. the Captain who is not deslroui
of having an uncomfortable interview
with Mr.. Rothery prefers to leave his
curiosity ungratiiied.
Once ashore, at the only landing
place, the visitor has difficulty in real.
il ng the fact that he is still within the
limits of the realm. The people arc
courteous. and though they possess the
usual Celtic characteristics they ara
unlike the Highlanders whom he
has left in Uist or Eigg. or
Harris or Skye; and even to one
familiar with Gaelic their dialect
presents certain pathological d ilicultes
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 fit for
growing a 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 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 s'nce 1927, when II
amounted to one hundred and eighty.
The law is represented by cate
chi>t." who combines in his person the
fuucto ons of min 'ster. SchoOlmaster and
magistrate. and who. though an ad
mirable person according to his lights.
rather puritanicat 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 DIR. Begg. though il
ought to be remarked that i was only
the ecclesiastical side Of their char
acter that found favor in the
ewes of the islanders. The inhab-
itants were at one time addicted
tC 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
Rhodian Greeks welcomed the return
ing swallow. All such carnai pleas
ures are now eschewed. To walk on
Sunday is a 5 n: TO speak above their
breath an otienSe against the canon
law; and. as the worthy minister is, or
was. the only man in possession of
watch. or capable OF speak NJ English.
no one ventures to dispute his dcta.
Formerly. the islanders used to dress
in sheepSkins and wear shoes made of
the heads and neck> of Soian geese.
Nowadays they weave cloth out of the
,wool Of their dwarf sheep, and manu-
fracture "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 puifins
and gannets. The women work harder
than the men. undertaking most of the
labor which horses perform elsewhere;
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
nearly twice as many women as men.
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 Uittle Malcolm),
or Donnell Og (ioung Donald). Quar-
rels are unknown, in so small q COM
munity everybody being mortally
afraid of offending his neighbors; and
the direction of public affairs is dis
cussed by a sort of island parliament,
which meets every morning in front of
the cottages. BY and by the st. Kill
dams will become extinct. A few have
emigrated. though on the voyage to
Australia they could only be kept in
perfect health bv an occasional meal of
the rank eggs and dried pufiinsA they
carried with them. They are. more
over. greatly attached to the island.
and are anxious to return to il if day
or two absent in ''Scotlan The
owner. of this lonely spot is a 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-
haps-who 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 rs
they circled around his far-off lordship
of St. kilda-L0ndon Standard.
STRANGE EXPERIENCE.
College Professors Story Of a Snoring
Cadaver and the Explanation of the Phe-
nomenon.
IL have been for the past fifteen
years engaged at my present business,
t,1l e :,