A Day in the North Harris Hills

Here is Alexander Carmichael enjoying what must have been a rather short and maybe wintry day out in the hills of North Harris with John MacLeod of Tolmachan, Miabhag nam Beann.

North Harris

Stron Ard North Harris Friday 18^th Nov 1881

John Macleod son of Finlay Macleod Gamekeeper Tolmachan Miabhag nam Beann with me. He knows the name of every place all over North Harris.

   Cave under projecting rock. Wall built across projecting rock at mouth of cave. Cave looking down Gleann Miabhaig and over to Lews moors and mountains. Just under Stron Ard the wall is built to join the projecting rock on the top.

   Another cave about 100 yards S.W. of this with all running under projecting rock. The wall of this cave is ?sided in ruins.

   At Stron an Sguirt see a pair of eagles hovering over a small drove of ‘[?dus-grithich] agus daimh[’]. At foot of rock there are numbers of /ptarmigans/tarmachain running among the moraghan – moraghan beinne – shingle moraghan beinne – mountain shingle to distinguish this shingle from moraghan mara sea shingles. The ptarmigans are called gealag bheinn – mountain grilse mountain whiteling – from white winter snow plumage. The bird has a peculiar plaintive hoarse call or cry as if trying to expel something from its throat. I heard ‘tarmachain’ about half a mile about away from me. They rose in three flocks of 15, 25, and 35. They were in a transition state between their summer and winter plumage. The birds rose on the wing each flock following the other and went downhill and out of sight upon a lower level saw a small flock of six gorcocks red grouse moving about and then a baidne ghobhar – a flock of goats scrambling among the rocks and precipices and mountain screes.

   Down in Loch Sguirt saw salmon leaping high up in the air and then falling down in the water with a splash – sometimes the splash made a great noise probably when the fish came down upon his side upon the surface of the water.

   Sometimes the otter is seen chasing the salmon – an interesting sight. The salmon more likely the grilse – gealag mhara – sea-white trout, banag mhara sea-white trout flies through the water now and then rising in the air and coming down with a splash. All in vain however. The dobhar donn – brown otter gains upon the grilse and makes a meal of it.

   If there be a stone standing in the lake or in the river the otter goes to it with his prize and eats the fish sitting or standing upon the stone. While eating the fish the otter closes his eyes and sees nothing and hears nothing. This is the time to have a shot at the otter if within reach.

D’uair ’s e ’n ron is cu ’s an ruaig

Cha teid gearr a chuain as. / gearr=grilse

When the otter [actually seal!] is the hound in the chase

The hare of the ocean cannot escape.

Ullabhall is full of the ‘gealag bheinne’, while Loch Ullabhall is full of ‘gealag mhara’.

   There are no tormachain on Stron an Scuirt, Tormachan probably from torm, toirm, murmur.

Reference: CW217 fos.109–11

Image: Gleann Mhiabhaig agus Sròn Sgùirt – image by Tom Richardson at geograph.org.uk

Breac anns an Tobar

St Andrew's Well, Isle of Lismore, Argyllshire

 

A bricein in Tob (Tobar) D (Domhnull) nan

Ord 140 yrs (years) old. A strange

lad took it out Then put it

back & Stop ad cuir cann (ceann)

on. The trout died.

This is quite an unusual entry in Carmichael’s notebooks dated 27 September 1883 and collected from John Livingstone 'Muillear Mòr', Portnacroish, Appin aged 73 years. The mention of trout in wells is not very common although it does get a mention in Seán Ó Suilleabháin’s A Handbook of Irish Folklore: is a trout or other fish supposed to inhabit the well permanently? Is it considered unlucky to meddle with this fish?

With a bit of research it was discovered that a trout or even an eel living in a well was a good omen, especially if they appeared at the time of pilgrimage. If the fish was removed there were often consequences. Here is a story related to Sunday’s Well, Walshestown, Co. Cork:

The story is to the effect that a local woman carried home water from the well to boil potatoes, but unfortunately the eel had been drawn out at the same time. To her amazement the water remained cold after hours of boiling until her husband found out what had happened and returned the eel and water to the well. But this did not appease the offended spirit, who caused the well to dry up; and it has remained dry to the present day. (Cordner, 30)

On further research to the Scottish Studies Archive a handful of references to trout in wells were discovered in the MacLagan Manuscripts and the oral recordings:

           

            From Mrs McLean, Kintra, Islay.

Tobar a’bhric, is the name of a well on Lic. Which is now a part of the Estate of Ballinaby, in Islay. It is said to have got this name because it has never yet been seen without a trout in it. Long ago offerings used to be made to it and old people treated it with much respect, under the belief that it possessed healing properties.

            From William Forbes, Camuserney, Perthshire (oral recording summary)

Wells: this well, only wishing well he knows of. Called tobar taimh in Gaelic. Quite a number of wells in the area, but he does not know their names. There was a village well until recently. The women cleaned it out each year. 1 trout always kept in it, which they fed. Trout quite a pet. When it died, no fish for many years, then replaced.

From Stephen Bichan, Rendall, Orkney (oral recording summary)

Fish in wells: has heard of eels in wells in North Isles, not in Deerness; but there is a saying that a girl expecting a love-child has "a trout in the well".

A well in Kilbride is mentioned by Martin Martin in his A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland :

           

I saw a little Well in Kilbride in the South of Skie, with one Trout only in it; the Natives are very tender of it, and tho they often chance to catch it in their wooden Pales, they are very careful to preserve it from being destroy’d; it has been seen there for many Years: there is a Rivulet not far distant from the Well, to which it hath probably had access thro some narrow Passage.

He also refers to Skye and the well of Lough-Siant well and the surrounding area:

There is a  little fresh-water Lake within ten Yards of the said Well; it abounds with Trouts, but neither the natives nor Strangers will ever presume to destroy any of them, such is the Esteem they have for the Water.

References

CW120/188 f.52

MacLagan Manuscripts, Volume 25, pps 5319-5320

Oral Recordings 1964 17 a6 and 1967 115 A11

Cordner, W. S., ‘The Cult of the Holy Well’, Ulster Journal of Archaeology, 9 (1946), 24-36.

Martin, Martin A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland (Glasgow : T.D. Morison, 1884), 141.

Ó Súilleabháin, Sean A Handbook of Irish Folklore (Detroit: Singing Tree Press, 1970), 279.

Images

St Andrew's Well, Isle of Lismore, Argyllshire, taken by Ciorstag, August 2009.