GIGHA-AND-CARA, a parish, in the district of Cantyre,
county of Argyll, 21^ miles (S. by W.) from
Tarbert; containing 550 inhabitants. Some persons
derive the name of the former of these two districts
from the compound Gaelic term Eilean-Dhia, signifying
" God's island"; others are of opinion that it may be
traced to the word geodha, " a creek", applied on account
of the numerous inlets and bays here. The word Cara
is supposed to signify " a monastery". The parish consists
of two islands, situated in the Atlantic Ocean, between
the southern portion of the island of Islay and
the peninsula of Cantyre, and separated from the latter
by a channel three miles and a half across, in which the
current is often extremely strong, especially at new and
full moons. The)' are both but little elevated above the
sea: the highest point in Gigha, called Creag-bhan, or
" the white rock", rises only to an elevation of 400 feet;
and Cara, situated a mile and a half south of the former
island, has in this respect the same general appearance.
Gigha measures in length from north to south almost
seven miles, and is two miles and a half in extreme
breadth; Cara is nearly a mile in length, and half a mile
in breadth, and the two isles comprise together about
4000 acres, of which half are arable, ten acres under plantation,
and the remainder pasture and waste.
The coast of Gigha is computed at twenty-five miles
in extent, being very circuitous in consequence of the
great number of its creeks. On the west side it is bold
and rocky, and contains near the middle a cave called
the Great Cave, and another named the Pigeons' Cave
from the many wild-pigeons frequenting it. Though
rugged, however, along the larger part of the western
line, there are at the two extremities, and on the eastern
side, several bays well adapted for bathing, and containing
a fine white sand, formerly exported in large
quantities to Dumbarton for the manufacture of glass.
In about the centre of the eastern coast is the bay of
Ardminish, ornamented at its head by the church and
manse, and resorted to by vessels that take away produce,
or bring to the island coal, lime, and other commodities.
A little northward of this is the bay of Drimyeon,
a spacious and secure retreat; and firm anchorage
is also usually found in all the other bays in the
island, especially in that of Tarbert, within a mile of its
north-eastern extremity. Between Gigha and Cara is
the small uninhabited islet of Gigulum; and between
this and Gigha is a sound affording good anchorage for
large shipping. This sound is much used by government
cutters, and by vessels trading with the northern
Highlands, as well as by vessels from England and Ireland,
which visit this and the adjacent parish of Killean
for the purchase of seed- potatoes. The princi pal entrance
to the sound is from the east; the western entrance is
much more dangerous, there being many rocks in it.
The most prominent headland in the parish, called Ardminish
point, is on the north side of the bay of that
name. At the south-west end of Gigha is Sloc-an-leim,
or " the springing pit ", a subterraneous passage 133 feet
long, into which the sea rushes with considerable fury.
The shore of the island of Cara is rocky and steep, except
towards the north-east; and at its southern extremity
is a precipitous rock, 117 feet high, called the Mull
of Cara, thronged by sea- fowl, and the resort of hawks.
Around this coast also, and that of the other islands,
mackerel, sea-perch, lythe, rock-cod, and many other
fish are found; and cod, ling, and large haddocks may
be obtained on the banks, two or three miles distant.
Some rocky portions of the surface of Gigha are covered
with various species of lichen, of which parmelia, stictaramalina,
and lecanora are much esteemed as valuable
dyes; and the juniper is abundant and prolific upon the
eastern coast. INIany tracts are covered with stunted
heath; but the surface is in different places pleasingly
diversified with knolls and hillocks, profusely ornamented
w ith the wild or musk rose. On the coast are found the
ulva-latissima, used as a pickle, and the different kinds
of Carigean moss.
The SOIL consists of loam, in some parts containing
an admixture of sand, clay, and moss; it is tolerably fertile,
and produces good crops of bear, oats, potatoes,
and turnips. The land is particularly adapted to the
growth of the last, but in consequence of the demand
for seed-potatoes, especially for Ireland, more attention
is paid to the cultivation of these than of turnip crops.
The lands in the parish are held by two famihes, one
having ff parts, and the other -/y parts. Of these properties,
the larger is undergoing rapid improvement: good
houses, and fences or dykes, have of late been constructed;
much is being done in the way of draining,
and it is upon this property that a suitable rotation of
crops is best followed. On the other property there are
fewer signs of progress visible. In the parish is a corn
mill, to which a new road was lately formed at a cost of
£250; the mill itself has heen repaired, and among
other improvements that have been found of general
advantage is the draining of the Mill-dam loch, affording
an opportunity to the people to obtain from it turf for
fuel. A few sheep are reared, and many from other
places are wintered here; about 1000 hogs, also, are
annually brought at the close of autumn from Jura and
other contiguous parts, to be tended at the rate of 2s. 6d.
each for five months. The strata of the parish comprise
mica-slate, felspar-slate, quartz, and hornblende, with
chlorite- slate, crossed in many places at right angles by
basaltic dykes; and boulders of hornblende are frequently
to be seen both on and a little below the surface,
measuring two and three feet in diameter. Traces of
copper are observable in Gigha, and of iron-ore at the
south end of Cara. The plantations, which are but few,
consist of oak, ash, larch, plane, Scotch fir, and pineaster,
the latter being less affected by the sea air and storms
than any of the other kinds. The annual value of real
property in Gigha and Cara is £2091.
The population exhibit more of the maritime than of
the agricultural character; the young men generally
become sailors, and a large proportion of the rest are
engaged in fishing for cod and ling for several months,
beginning about Candlemas. Upwards of twenty boats,
carrying four men each, are engaged in this pursuit;
the fishermen proceed to the banks already referred to,
north-west and south-west of the parish, and usually
take as many fish as enable them, after plentifully supplying
their own families, to dispose of about fifty tons.
When cured, the fish are sold at Glasgow, Greenock, and
Campbelltown, at from £10 to £14 per ton. Besides the
fishing-boats, and twenty boats of smaller size, a vessel
of thirty tons and another of fourteen are employed in
carrying agricultural produce to market; they convey
annually, on the average, 800 tons of potatoes, 400
quarters of bear, and 1,50 quarters of oats, besides blackcattle,
horses, sheep, and pigs, and a considerable portion
of dairy produce. Coal, lime, and other articles are
imported; and vessels of large burthen visit the parish
from Ireland, England, and the Clyde, for potatoes, and
sometimes for cod and ling. A steam-boat, running
between Loch Tarbert and Islay, passes Gigha three
times a week in summer, and once a week in winter.
There is also a ferry from each of the properties to Tayinloan,
a hamlet on the mainland, where is the receivinghouse
for letters. Gigha is rather in advance of the
Hebrides in general, in point of cultivation of the land,
and intelligence of the inhabitants: its advantages for
improvement are very considerable at present, and are
likely to continue so. Ecclesiastically the parish is
in the presbytery of Cantyre, synod of Argyll, and the
patronage belongs to the Duke of Argyll: the minister's
stipend is £266, with a manse, and a glebe valued at £10
per annum. The church was built about the year 1780,
and is in tolerable repair. The parochial school affords
instruction in English and Gaelic, with all the usual
branches; Latin is also taught: the master has a salary of
£25. 13., and about £14 fees. In 1844 a good parochial
school-house and master's house were built. At the
distance of a mile from the present church may be seen
the walls of the former edifice, with a stone font, standing
in the midst of the burying-ground. About the
centre of Gigha is Dun-Chifie, formerly, as is traditionally
reported, a strong fortification occupied by Keefie, the
King of Lochlin's son, who is said to have been killed
here by Diarmid, one of the heroes of Fingal.