The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1916-06-20
HISTORY OF ORKNEY ISLES
Archipelago Near Which Kitchener
Met His End


Met His End
The Orkney islands, the naval base
of Great Britains grand fleet operating
in the North sea, and off whose shores
Earl Kitchener and his staff are report.
ed to have met death, are described in
the following war geography bulletin
of the National Geographic society, is.
sued from its Washington, D. c., head
quarters.
No other territory in the British en-
pire has more tragic significance to
Enslishmen to-day than the Orkney |
islands, off whose shores the most dis
tinguished victim of the world war,
Earl Kitchener, lost his life when the
cruiser Hampshire was sunk by a tor
pedo or a mine.
"These islands, 80 in number, of
which only 80 are inhabited, are sepa
rated from the mainland of Scotland
by the Pentland Firth from six and
half to eight miles wide. They were
selected as England's North sea naval
base not only on account
of their proximity to the
field Of operations, but on ac-
count of their semi-isolation and the
advantages of the superb harbor of
Sromness, in the largest island of the
group, Pomona, which has an area Of
200 square miles
THE aggregate area Of the Orkney
archipelago is little more than five
| times as large as the District of Column
bia and the population is in the neigh
| borhood OF 5000, more than half the
people living on Pomona. Kirkwall,
the capital, has a population OF 1000.
while the original inhabitants of the
islands we're Picts, whose round towers
and chambered mounds are among the
interesting ruins of this region, the
Morse pirates secured foothod here
iduring the early centuries of the Christ
ian era, and carried on their depreda
tions against all navigators of the
North. In the last quarter Of the ninth
century Harold Haarfagr CFair Hair)
put an end to the rule of the pirates,
and added both the Orkneys and the
Shetland islands to Norway's domain.
In 1868 the Orkneys came under the
sway of the Scottish crown, Christian
l. of Denmark giving them as security
for his daughters dowIy when she be
came the bride OF James ILL., As the
dCwry was never paid the islands have
remained a part of Scotland s domain
ever since
The Orkneys. which are the Orcades
OF classic literature, furnished the set
: ting for many Of the episodes in Sir
Walter SCOTS novel "The Pirate" the
Cleveland of that romance being John
= Cow, the notorious freebooter in Strom
ness and captured off the islands in
1925. Another literary association OF
| the 0rkncys and one Of especial inter
est to Americans centers in Shapin
shay. the birthplace of William Irving
father of Washington irgihs me
islands were the assembling place II
= 1860 for the final disastrous expedition
: OF Montrose, acclaimed by many auth
u critics the greatest English military
. leader Of his day, Crowmwell alone ex
cepted
y Although in the same latitude a.
" northern Labrador the Orkney groul
D., enjoys a comparatively mild climate
D.. owing to the warm waters of the Gul
y. stream There is little snow I'm winte
and the summers are most pleasant
. beginning the middle OF June Barley
oats, potatoes and turnips arc the prin
>, cipal crops. The raising of cattle ant
" lSheep and horses of a larger breed thai
: the famous Shetland ponies is profit
- able occupation. Herring fisheries al
ford a livelihood for many OF the inhat
itants, while a small percentage of tn
people devote their energies to huntin
wild birds and gathering their eggs
The picturesqueness OF the rock
coasts and the beauty of the long tw
o light evenings attract considerabl
4 number Of tourists to the island durin
Il he summer. On the longest day of tn
n year the sun rises at 800 a. m. an
h sets after nine in the evening while o
,r the shortest day il is visible for scarce
d, ly six hours"