SCALPAY, an island, in the parish of Harris, district
of Lewis, county of Inverness; containing 31
inhabitants. This is a nearly circular island, lying at
the entrance to East Loch Tarbert, and separated from
the main land of Harris by the narrow strait of Scalpay
sound. Its dimensions are not easily ascertained, owing
to its parts being scarcely coherent, from a singular intervention
of lakes and of arms of the sea jutting through
it in various directions; the extreme points of east and
west may, however, be computed as about three miles
distant from each other. The surface is low, and covered
for the most part with heath. On the eastern extremity
is a lighthouse, erected in 1788; and near the western
extremity are two of the best harbours in the Hebrides,
much resorted to by foreign shipping. The island is
called by mariners the Isle of Glass.