EIGG, an island, in the parish of Small-Isles,
and county of Inverness; containing 546 inhabitants.
This highly interesting island is one of a cluster of isles
which constitute the parish; it is about three miles and
a half in length and two and a half in breadth, and lies
ten miles westward of Arisaig on the main land. The
whole shore is rocky, with the exception of Lagg bay, on
the west side; the surface is uneven, and diversified by
hills covered with heath, which in some places is mixed
with coarse grass. The low grounds are tolerably productive
where there is a sufficiency of soil, and about a
third part of the island is arable and pasture land, the
rest being moor and moss, applied to the rearing of cattle,
which is the chief occupation of the inhabitants. The
highest elevation is towards the south, where a singularlyformed
hill, called the Scuir of Eigg, terminates in a
lofty peak, said to be 1340 feet in height, and surrounded
by perpendicular precipices. Through the middle of the
island runs a hollow, called in Gaehc Eagg; and hence
is derived its name: on the south-eastern side are several
caves. There are various Danish forts; and a barrow
here is said to be the burial-place of Donnan, the tutelary
saint of the island.