The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1916-07-13
ORKNEY ISLANDS.
Near Where Kitchener and Staff
Were Drowned.

Were Drowned.
The Orkney Islands, the naval base
of Great Britains grand fleet operat-
ing in the North sea, and off whose
shores Earl Kitchener and his staff
are reported to have met death, are
described in the following war geo.
graphic bulletin of the National Geo.
graphic society, issued from its
Washington headquarters:
''These islands, ninety in number,
of which only thirty are inhabited,
are separated from the mainland of
Scotland by the Pentland Firth, from
six and half to eight miles wide.
They were selected as England's s
North sea naval base not only on ac-
count of their proximity to the field
of operations, but on account of their
semi-isolation and the advantages of
the superb harbor of Stromness, in
the largest island of the group. Pom
ona, which has an area of two hun
dred square miles.
s"The aggregate area of the Orkney
archipelago is little more than five
times as large as the District of Co.
lumbia, and the population is in the
neighborhood of 10000, more than
half the people living on Pomona.
Kirkwall, the capital, has a popula-
tion of 1000.
''While the original inhabitants of
the islands were Picots, whose round
towers and chambered mounds are
among the interesting ruins of this
region, the Morse pirates secured a
foothold here during the early GEN.
turies of the Christian era, and car
ried on their depredations against all
navigators of the North sea. In the
last quarter of the ninth century
Harold Haarfagr (Fair Hair) put an
end to the rule of the pirates, and
added both the Orkneys and the Shet-
land islands to Norway's domain. In
1853 the Orkneys came under the
sway of Scotland crown, Christian T.,
Of Denmark, giving them a security
for his daughters dowry when she
became the bride of James III. AS
the dowry was never paid the islands
have remained a part of Scotland's s
domain ever since.
'@The Orkneys, which are the Or
cades of classic literature, furnished
the setting for many of the episodes
in Sir Walter SCOTS novel, The Pi-
rate the Cleveland of that romance
being John Cow, the notorious free
booter born in stromness and cap
tured off the islands in 1925. An
other literary association of the Ork-
neys and one of special interest to
Americans centres in Shapinshay, the
birthplace of William Irving, father
Of Washington Irving. The islands
were the assembling place in 1850 for
the final disastrous expedition of
Montrose, acclaimed by many author
tiles the greatest English military
leader of his day, Cromwell alone ex-
cepted.
Although in the same latitude as
Northern Labrador, the Orkney group
enjoys comparatively mild climate,
owing to the warm waters of the
gulf stream. There is little snow in
winter and the summers are most
pleasant, beginning the middle of
June. Barley, oats, potatoes and tur-
nips are the principal crops. The
raising of cattle and sheep and horses
of a larger breed than the famous
Shetland ponies is a profitable occu-
patton. Herring fisheries afford a
livelihood for many of the inhabi-
tants, while small percentage of the
people devote their energies to hunt
ing wild birds and gathering their
eggs. The picturesqueness of the
rocky coasts and the beauty of the
long twilight evenings attract con-
siderable number of tourists to the
islands during the summer. On the
longest day of the year the sun rises
at a. M, and sets after in the
evening, while on the shortest day it
is visible for scarcely six hours