STRATH, or STRATH-SWORDALE, a parish, in
the Isle of Skye, county of Inverness, 25 miles (S. S.
E.) from Portree; containing, with the village of Kyleakin,
and the Isles of Scalpa and Pabay, 3150 inhabitants,
of whom 231 are in the village. This place derives
its name of Swordale, probably of Scandinavian origin,
from a farm nearly in the centre of the parish. The
lands in the district appear to have been the property
of the family of Mackinuon in the fourteenth century,
and to have continued in their possession till about the
middle of the eighteenth century, when they were purchased
by the ancestor of the present Lord Macdonald,
who, with the exception of the lands of Strathaird, since
bought by Mr. Macalister, is the sole proprietor of
Strath. In 1/46, Prince Charles Stuart, the Young Pretender,
remained for some time in concealment in one
of the caves of Strathaird, after his retreat from the
battle of Culloden, and was eventually conveyed to Arisaig,
on the main land of Inverness-shire, accompanied
by the chief of Mackinnon, who saw him safely embarked
for France. The parish is bounded on the east
by an arm of the sea, which separates it from the main
land. It is nearly twenty-six miles in extreme length
and about six miles in breadth, comprising 70,700 acres,
of which 2100 are arable, 400 woodland and plantations,
and the remainder meadow, pasture, and waste. Towards
the centre of the parish the surface is tolerably
level, but in all other parts hilly and mountainous. In
the western portion the hills are of almost every variety
of form and elevation, some clothed with rich verdure
and others covered with heath, thus presenting a singular
combination of picturesque beauty and rugged
grandeur. In the northern district the hills rise to a
mountainous height, and are chiefly of conical form,
terminating in lofty peaks, and constituting a succession
of naked and barren rocks of dreary aspect. There are
numerous inland lakes, but none of very great extent;
most of them abound with trout of good quality, and in
some of the lakes salmon are occasionally obtained.
Here are no large rivers; but many copious springs are
to be found, affording an ample supply of excellent water,
and also some sprmgs the water of which is strongly
impregnated with iron.
The COAST is bold and rocky, in some parts precipitous,
and is indented with several bays having safe anchorage
for vessels of any burthen. Of these bays the
principal are Broadford bay and the sound of Scalpa, on
the north; Lock Eynart, on the north-west; and Loch
Slapan, on the south; in all of which arc good harbours.
The fish taken otf the coast are cod, haddock,
whiting, ling, lythe, skate, coal-fish, sand-eels, congereels,
thornback, flounders, soles, grey and red gournard,
mullet, and cuttle-fish. In the sound of Scalpa is an
extensive bed of oysters of small size, but of very superior
flavour. Shell-fish of various other kinds, consisting
of lobsters, crabs, cockles, mussels, limpets, razorfi>
h, and whelks, are also found on the shores; all of
which are taken in abundance, forming a good supply
of food for the poor during the summer months. Tiie
herring-fishery, once very extensive, gave employment
to sixty or seventy vessels, chiefly from Greenock and
Rothesay; and though it has much diminished, it is
always carried on during the season, and the number of
vessels engaged in it is still very considerable. Scalpa
and Pabay, islands in the parish, are described under
their respective heads: the small island of Longa, which
is also within its limits, and situated east of Scalpa, is
about a mile and a half in circumference, uninhabited,
and affording only pasturage for a few sheep.
In this parish the soil is various; in some parts clay,
in others a rich black loam, but much the greater portion
of the laud is mossy. The chief crops are oats and
potatoes: wheat has been tried on some farms, but without
success; turnips have been also introduced, and
found to answer well, especially since the use of bone-dust
and guano for manure. Husbandry has been rapidly
improving, and is now in a satisfactory state. Considerable
tracts of waste land have been reclaimed, and
brought into profitable cultivation; and the facility of
obtaining lime, marl, shell-sand, and sea-weed, for manure,
affords great encouragement for further advance.
Various improvements have been recently effected under
the judicious management of Mr. Mackinnon of Corry,
factor for Lord Macdonald. The hills and moorlands
are appropriated as pasturage for sheep and cattle, numbers
of which are reared. The sheep are principally of
the Cheviot breed, with a few of the black-faced; and
to the improvement of both kinds the greatest attention
is paid. The cattle are of the Highland breed, and of
extraordinary symmetry and beauty on the principal
farms, the late Mr. Mackinnon of Corry, and the late
Mr. Macdonald of Scalpa, having bestowed much care
and expense in selecting their breeding-stock: even the
cattle of the smaller tenants are superior to those bred
in many other parts of the country. Deer, black-game,
and grouse abound in the parish. The plantations,
which consist of the usual varieties of firs, interspersed
with other trees, are generally in a thriving state; and
there are some remains of ancient wood, the trunks of
fir-trees of considerable size being found embedded in
the moss in different parts of the parish: ash, birch,
and hazel appear to be indigenous to the soil. Apples,
pears, cherries, gooseberries, and currants thrive well.
The rocks comprise trap, sienite, limestone, and sandstone:
there are also indications of coal on some of the
lands, but no mines of any kind have been opened.
The annual value of real property in the parish is £3026.
There are no gentlemen's seats; but many of the houses
of the principal tenants are substantial buildings, and
some of them elegant. The village of Kyleakin is separately
described. There is also a small village at Broadford,
on the bay of that name: it has an inn, two shops
for the sale of various wares, a smithy, and a corn-mill;
and a post-office is established, which has three deliveries
in the week. Fairs for black-cattle, sheep, and horses
are held annually, at Broadford, about the end of May
and July, and the middle of September. Facility of
communication is maintained by parliamentary roads,
thirty miles of which pass through the parish; by statute
roads which intersect it in various directions, and
are kept in good repair; and by steam-boats to Glasgow,
which ply weekly during the summer, and every alternate
week during the winter. There is a ferry to the mainland.
For ECCLESIASTICAL purposcs this place is within the
limits of the presbytery of Skye and synod of Glenelg.
The minister's stipend is £2/1. 2. 6., with an allowance
of £60 in lieu of a manse, and a glebe valued at
£'20 per annum; patron, the Crown. The old church,
a very ancient structure, being greatly dilapidated, and
not safe, a church has been lately erected in the village
of Broadford; it is a substantial and neat structure
containing 600 sittings. There is also a missionary station
for Scottish Baptists in the parish. The parochial
school affords instruction to about 130 children; the
master has a salary of £30, with a house, an allowance
of £2. '2. in lieu of garden, and the fees, averaging £10.
Two schools are supported by the General Assembly's
education committee, and the Gaelic Society, respectively;
the master of the former receives a salary of
£2.5, with fees averaging £5, and the master of the latter
a salary of £'20, without any fees. There are remains
of places of worship erected by the Culdees, who lived
in religious seclusion in many of the islands of the Hebrides;
of these, one, at Ashig, is supposed to have
been dedicated to St. Asaph, and near another, at Kilbride,
is a rude obelisk of granite. On the western
border of the parish are the ruins of seven Danish forts,
forming a chain of stations for the communication of
intelligence by fires lighted on the approach of an enemys
and at the eastern border of the parish are numerous
tumuli, on opening which were found stone coffins rudely
formed, containing urns in which were ashes, and human
bones partly burnt, with some small copper coins. Near
the village of Broadford is a barrow, in which has been
discovered an arched vault, of stone without cement, and
about six or seven feet in height: in this vault were
found, a poli-shed stone of a dark green colour, four
inches in length and two inches and a half in breadth,
perforated with holes in the angles; and a buckle of
rude workmanship. Great numbers of ancient coins
have been dug up at various times, but so defaced as to
be altogether illegible; and on the glebe was lately found
a coin of Henry VHI., in a state of high preservation.