LEWIS, an island (in the Atlantic Ocean), partly in
the county of Inverness, but chiefly in that of Ross
and Cromarty; containing, with adjacent islands,
21,466 inhabitants, of whom 4429 are in the county of
Inverness. This island, which forms part of the series
called Long Island, and is the largest of the Hebrides,
or Western Isles, is separated from the main land of
Ross and Cromarty by the channel of the Minch, and is
about eighty-two miles in length, and from eleven to
twelve miles in average breadth. It contains the parishes
of Barvas, Lochs, Stornoway, and Uig in the
north, and the parish of Harris in the south, the last
being in the county of Inverness; and the whole comprises
an area of nearly 700,000 acres. The surface is
deeply indented with bays and inlets from the sea. Of
these the principal are, Seaforth on the east and Loch
Reasort on the west, which respectively bound the parish
of Harris on the north-east and north-west; and
East and West Tarbert, which, by still deeper indentations,
almost divide that parish into two detached portions.
The island is generally hilly, though the Harris
district is more mountainous than the rest of Lewis,
from which it is separated by a chain of very considerable
height; towards the coast are some tracts of fertile
land, but the aspect of the interior is for the most part
frightfully dreary and barren. Numerous small streams,
issuing from inland lakes, flow through the lower grounds
into the sea. Several of them abound with trout and
salmon; and the numerous lochs that indent the shores
afford lucrative fisheries for herrings, and for white-fish
of all kinds. The eastern portion of the isle is in general
appropriated to the grazing of sheep and black-cattle,
of which considerable numbers are reared; in the
western district are some small tracts of arable land,
the soil of which is among the most fertile of the Hebrides.
The system of agriculture, though .>-lowly improving,
is still in a very backward state; and the cottages
are built of bog with stone facings inside and out,
and roofed with thatch: timber of every kind is extremely
scarce. In some parts of the island the coast is low and
sandy, and in others abruptly steep and rocky; the bay
of Stornoway affords convenient and safe anchorage,
well sheltered from all winds, and there are numerous
other harbt)urs. The principal inhabited islands off the
coast are Bernera, Pabbay, Scarp, Tarrinsay, Anabich,
Ensay, Hermitray, Killigray, and Scalpa. At the Buffs
of Lewis, or northern headland, is a colony of Danish
origin, which has preserved its ancient character without
the slightest assimilation to that of the other inhabitants,
with whom they scarcely hold any intercourse,
though speaking the Gaelic language in all its purity;
they are engaged in the fisheries off the coast. There
are some remains of forts, Druidical circles, cairns,
upright stones, and other monuments of antiquity. See
the articles on the various parishes and islands.