On our return to the hotel I reflected that we had come a long way, spent a lot of money, were within a walk of what we wanted, could do absolutely no harm in getting it, and resolved to resort to strategy in order to procure what we desired. I accordingly communicated my scheme

to m}^ brother, and we arranged with a very intelligent fellow avIio knew the ground almost as well as the palm of his hand, to be ready to go out with us at two o'clock the following mornino". o We did not go to bed that night, although we retired to our room, and just after 1 a.m. we stole forth from the hotel, boots in hand, so as not to disturb the slumbers of our fellow sojourners by any undue clatter in the stone flagged hall. Our guide joined us at the very tick of the appointed hour, and together we trudged for three or four miles in the still strong morning air across a piece of country thickly clothed with heather, long coarse grass and rushes, and profusely dotted with innumerable small lochs and bogs. By-and-by we came upon a Red-Throated Diver sitting upon her nest, which was situated on a wee island of peat standing right in the centre of a little tarn. I detected the bird through my binoculars and watched her sli}) quietly awa}' upon our approach. The tarn was far too deep to wade, but my brother would have swum across to the island had we had a rope on which we could have sent his camera across to him as we have since done under similar circumstances. Whilst examining the shores of another small island in a large loch with my field-glasses, 1 had the good fortune to see a KShelduck leave her nesting habit practised by these birds burrow—a in the very early hours of the moniiiig.

We foTuid the water lying between the shore of the loch and the island com])aratively shallow, so waded over to examine the Hhelduck's nestinii-

HEBRIDEAN PEAT DIGGERS.

hole. Xo sooner liacl we readied our goal than there was a tremendous fluttering commotion amongst the hip-deep heather clothing the island, and a cou})le of Wild Geese splashed into the loch and paddled away out to a safe distance. We found three of their young ones about a week old, and after a deal of trouble succeeded in making a photograph of them.

We saw several pairs of liichardson's Skuas and Ecd-Throated Divers, and succeeded in finding and photographing a nest and e^^^ belonging to the latter species, l)ut the former defied our best efforts. Between four and five o'clock our guide's courage suddenly evaporated as he remembered that there had come to reign over that particular beat a king arrayed in velveteen who knew not Joseph. This was rather awkward, so we sat down to breakfast and a little reflection on the side of a rough turnpike. A teetotaler is a real vara avis in those parts, and my brother and I came off rather badly at times in regard to li(|uids. This may be judged from the fact that one of the serving girls at the hotel did not even know what lemonade was, and there was not a drop in the place. Our "peculiarity" was a luck}' thing for our guide, from his point of view, because it made him heir to three shares of "mountain dew'' packed away carefully by our thoughtful landlady.

When we had finished breakfast, I said to the man, " Now, T don't want to get you into any trouble at all, so just sit where you arc whilst if you seemy brother and 1 hunt for nests; and anybody coming, give us a warning A'liistle, and we'll retreat." He assented, and we proceeded to

hunt for the nest of a Richardson's Skua. Presently he arose from his seat upon the side of the turnpike, and came running towards us at a rare pace. I was curious to know what was the matter, and s])eedily discovered that the liquor had warmed his heart to such an extent that he was bubbling over with Dutch courage, and quite ready to defy a whole regiment of gamekeepers.

We were back in the hotel by six o'clock

CROFTERS HUT, OUTER HEBRIDES.

with pictures of the nest, eggs, or young of four additional species to our collection; and our guide's fortune was greater than that of the Yorkshireman who met a friend and gladdened him with the information, ''Ay, lad, l)ut I had a grand day on't. I were drunk by ten o'clock i' t' mornin'."

In the afternoon, whilst out for a stroll on an inhabited part of the island, we came upon two old men cutting peats. We got into conversation with them, and I volunteered to take a hand with the spade. The one who was using it good-naturedly complied with my request, and it was quite ludicrous to see the pair of them stand agape with astonishment at the skill with which a mere English tourist could handle the tool.

320

WITH NATURE AND A CAMERA.

We succeeded in inducing them to allow us to take a photograph of them at work.

During the winter-time the Atlantic Ocean casts ashore on this island some very useful flotsam and jetsam, which is highly appreciated by these poor crofters, whose lives may not inaptly be described as prolonged periods of monotonous hunger and ease. Last winter the harvest of the sea was a scanty one, and the Elders of the Free Kirk, thinking that they had not been enjoying a fair share of good things from the bountiful deep, offered up some heartfelt prayers that they "would pe plessed wis a wreck, put no man's lives to pe drowned."

We were anxious to visit the Shiant Islands, a famous group of sea-bird breeding rocks situated in the North Minch, not far from Tarbert Harris; and as our time was very limited we tried to secure a boat and crew to take us off at night, in order that we might make some photographic studies in the early hours of the morning, and then lie by and let the mail boat for the South pick us up at sea. We experienced great difficulty in finding out anybody who could give us such information as would help us in getting a crew together, owing to the fact that nearly all the male members of the population were away at sea, fishing. We were at length directed to a man who was engaged in digging peats between two huge lumps of rock away up a steep hillside. I explained to him what we wanted, and said that I was prepared to pay for night-work double the amount usually charged by a crew for taking visitors off to the islands during the daytime. He listened with the intent curiosity of a man to whom learning something of other folks' business is a real pleasure, but when I asked him what he thought the charge

would be, he somewhat astonished me by the following curious answer: "I ken weel what I would do it for mysel', but I'm no going to tell ye."

AYe had met many a cautious Scot before, but a frank avowal of our business invariably secured his l)est advice and kindly assistance. This man's caution, however, was unconquerable, so we left him and went into a crofter's hut not far away, and watched a woman weaving Harris tweed. The room was chock-full of smoke, and we came out of it with smarting eyes and the aroma of peat reek strong upon our garments. In returning to the hotel we met a man and his wife leaving Tarbert Harris. The latter had a bonnet on, which, for downright warmth of colour, would have shamed a Hyde Park geranium bed in Julv, and her husband, a little squat man with dark twinkling eyes, was carrying her boots, tied by the laces round his neck and dangling on his broad breast like tokens of distinction.

We hunted for half a day after birds' nests amongst the dreary waste of grey rocks on either hand of Tarbert Harris, but found far more empty whiskv bottles than birds' e^^o-s.

When we got back to Oban we hired a boatman to take us out to some small rocky islands in the Firth of Lome. The day turned out to be dead calm, with not a ripple on the sea and an almost tropical sun blazing overhead. We helped Donald to pull his great lumbering sailing craft, which was three times too large and heavy for the weather and the occasion, out to the islands, and when we landed on the one he judged best for our purpose we certainly found it rich in bird-life. After we had clambered all over the 25lace and photograj^hed several nests, we sat down to lunch, half dead with

thirst and fatigue. To our unutterable dismay, the packer of our luncheon basket had forgotten to put us up a drop of anything to drink.

"What! naething to drink?" says Donald.

"Not a drop," says I. Poor fellow! it was only by a tremendous effort he survived the calamity. "Is there any water on the island?" I iiupiired. " Oo ay, I ken a place where maybe there'll be a wee drap, I'm thinking; but watter's watter, after a', sir," he added sadly and significantly. " drap " under a huge crag, warm, We found the brown in colour, and of peaty aroma. It had plenty of birds' feathers in it, showing that it was a place where they came to bathe; however, I tried it. The endeavour was vain; it simply would not go down. My brother declined altogether to try it, but not so Donald; he went down on his knees, and for a while there was a sound as of many waters rushing through a confined space. When he arose, he wiped his mouth with the l)ack of his great l^rown hand, and, looking at us with considerable disdain, remarked—" Ah weel, I say the mon who canna driidv that is no dry."

Late one evening in June, 1895, we found ourselves at Girvan, on the Ayrshire coast, and directly opposite Ailsa (A-aig, to which we were anxious to pay a flying visit, and get away South by a train leaving Girvan about twelve o'clock the following day. We discovered that the " awesome rock " was rented by two brothers, curiously enough named Girvan, one of wlioiu lived on it, and the other in the town; the former showing visitors over the rock, and the latter conveying them forth and back in a small steamboat. 1 hunted this worthy man out, and told him that we waiiUMl lo niu over

J//..s'.l (Jh-.im. 323

to tlio ( h'iuii- very cnirly in tlic moniiiig'. With a little ii'iish of that kind of natural amiability one meets with in men anxious to do business pleasantly, he ofave himself awav, and said " I'll just take ye ower at anny time ye like, sir."

My reply staggered him visibly.

"You are the sort of man for my money. We'll start at two o'clock in the morning," I exclaimed. " Oh, that's varry 'arly! " he ejaculated. " I canna mak' steam much before that 'oor, even if I sit up the neet." I was anxious to maintain the advantage I had gained by his unguarded offer, so pointed out that he would get back in such good time as to enable him to sleep all the afternoon. He finally assented, and, setting to work, got up steam by the appointed hour, and we crept out of the harbour and away across the nine or ten miles of choppy sea dividing us from the great weird pillar of rock standing high, gaunt, and grey out of the ocean.

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