UIG, a parish, in the county of Ross-and-Cromarty;
containing, with the islands of Great and Little
Bernera, Pabbay, and Vuiavore, 3316 inhabitants. This
place seems to have derived its name, signifying in the
Gaelic language " a solitary spot ", from its situation on
the western coast of the island of Lewis, at a remote
distance from the parishes of Stornoway and Lochs,
from which it is separated by a tract of swampy moorland
nearly twelve miles in length. With the exception
of occasional incursions of the Danes, and hostilities
between the rival clans of the Macaulays and the
Morrisons, who were continually at war, the place does
not appear to have been distinguished by any events of
importance. The parish is bounded on the north and
west by the Atlantic Ocean, and, including the firth of
Loch Roag, which penetrates several miles into the interior,
is about twenty-four miles in length and ten
miles in average breadth; comprising not much less than
124,000 acres. Scarcely 300 acres are arable and in
cultivation; about ISOO are meadow and pasture, and
the large remainder moorland, moss, and waste. Hills
of moderate elevation prevail throughout nearly the
whole of the interior; but towards the shore the ground
is pretty level. The hills are marked by extensive
tracts of moorland, and numerous fresh-water lochs;
and the lowlands are watered by several rivulets, of
which the Grimsta and Cean loch flow into Loch Roag,
the Resort falls into the bay of that name, and the Red
River joins the bay of Uig. Of the lakes, the only one
of any considerable size is Loch Langavat, on the southwestern
boundary of the parish, which is more than
nine miles in length and nearly two miles in extreme
breadth: the largest of the others does not exceed two
miles in length and one mde in breadth. They all abound
with trout of small size, and salmon are found in moderate
quantity in the rivers. There are several perennial
springs of excellent water: but they are generally small,
and afford only a scanty supply.
The COAST, including its windings, is about forty
miles in extent, and is indented with many firths and
bays. Loch Roag, on the north-west, intersects the parish
for twelve miles to the south-east; its entrance is
about eight miles in breadth, and is divided by islands,
which also aboinui throughout its whole length, the
most considerable being the greater island of Bernera.
This firth, in which an extensive herring-fishery was
formerly carried on, contains several roadsteads of sufficient
capacity for the safe anchorage of the whole
British navy. Loch Resort, on the western coast, penetrates
nearly eight miles into the land, between the
districts of Lewis and Harris; it is a little more than
two miles in breadth at the entrance, from which it
gradually diminishes to a point. The bay of Ui'^, also
on the western coast, is likewise about two miles in
breadth at the entrance, which is exposed to all the fury
of the Atlantic Ocean. It is protected on the north by
the promontory of Gallan Head, and on the south by a
headland of inferior height, constituting the western extremity
of the island of Lewis. It penetrates into the
land for three miles and a half, preserving a mean
breadth of about one mile, and branches out into several
well sheltered creeks. Since the failure of the herringfishery
at Loch Roag, the inhabitants have been engaged
in fisheries of cod and ling, which are found in abundance
off the coast, and in taking which about eighty open
boats and one decked-vessel are employed; the fish are
cured in drying-houses on the shore, and about thirty
tons are annually prepared for the London market.
Shell-fish of every kind are also abundant on the shores
of Loch Roag, and the oysters and lobsters taken here
are of very superior quality: vessels from England frequently
stay here for several months to fish for lobsters,
of which not less than 100,000 are on an average sent to
London annually. Of the numerous islands within the
parish, the Flannan islands, seven in number, are about
thirty miles distant from the main land; they are supposed
to have been an abode of the Druids, and contain
many interesting relics. Of the others, four are inhabited,
and the remainder afford good pasturage for cattle
and sheep. The larger islands, Bernera and others, are
described under their respective heads.
Along the coast the soil is generally light and sandy;
in the interior, partly clay, but chiefly mossy; and,
with the advantage of sea-weed as manure, every where
capable of being rendered tolerably fertile. The crops
are oats and barley, with a few potatoes, which have
been gradually growing more into use as an article of
food; but the quantity of land under cultivation is far
from being sufficient to supply the wants of the inhabitants,
and the system of husbandry is still in a very
unimproved state. On the moorlands is tolerably good
pasture for black-cattle and sheep, upon the rearing of
which the people place their chief reliance, and to the
improvement of which, within the last few years, they
have paid a considerable degree of attention. The
cattle, sheep, and horses are mostly of the small Highland
breeds, which from time immemorial have been
reared in the parish; and large numbers are sent to
Stornoway, for the supply of the .southern markets.
Recently, however, sheep of the Cheviot and blackfaced
breeds have been introduced, and they appear to
thrive well. There are no villages of any importance;
but in various parts are rural hamlets, or clusters of
houses, containing each from forty to fifty families, employed
in agricultural and pastoral pursuits. Kelp is
manufactured to a considerable extent, and about 225
tons are annually sent to market; the people also weave
woollen and other cloths for their own use. There is a
post-office at Stornoway, the only market-town in the
island of Lewis; but little facility of communication is
enjoyed, from the want of roads, which tends greatly to
impede the improvement of the district. The annual
value of real i)roperty in the parish is £2542.
For ECCLKsiASTiCAL purposes this place is within the
limits of the presbytery of Lewis and synod of Glenelg.
The minister's stipend is £158. 6. 7.> of which one-third
is paid from the exchequer; with a manse, and a glebe
valued at £* per ainuim: the patronage is in the Crown.
Uig church, situated nearly in the centre of the ])arish,
is a neat plain structure, erected in the year 1829, and
containing 1000 sittings. A catechist is supported by
the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge, and
the members of the Free Church have a place of worship.
The parochial school is attended by about fifty
children; the master has a salary of £28, with a house,
half an acre of land, and the fees. Two schools are
maintained by the society just named, three by the
Edinburgh Gaelic School Society, and one by the education
committee of the General Assembly: commodious
schoolrooms, with dwelling-houses for the teachers, were
built at Valtos and Calanish by Mr. and Mrs. Stewart
Mc Kenzie. At Calanish, on the eastern shore of Loch
Roag, are the remains of a Druidical temple in nearly
entire preservation, consisting of a circle of thirteen upright
stones, each six feet in height, and in an undressed
state as taken from the quarry. The stones are placed
at a distance of six yards from each other, and inclose
an area almost thirty yards in diameter, in the centre
of which is an upright stone of very large dimensions,
thirteen feet in height. Leading towards the entrance
of the circle is an avenue of two parallel ranges of six
upright stones, each six feet high; and on the east and
west of the circle are single ranges of three similar
stones, and on the south a range of two. At Carloway
are the remains of a Danish fort, one of the most
entire in the country; the circular inclosure is surrounded
by two concentric walls of stone, about thirty
feet in height, of great thickness at the base, but gradually
tapering towards the summit. At Melista are the
remains of a nunnery; near which a peasant, while
digging in the sand, in 1840, found a great number of
pieces of bone or ivory, beautifully carved in various devices,
and evidently intended as figures for the game of
chess.