St Columba's Loch, in Skye, and Its Ancient Canoes. 651
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ST COLUMBA'S LOCH, IN SKYE, AND ITS ANCIENT CANOES. 651 IV. ST COLUMBA'S LOCH, IN SKYE, AND ITS ANCIENT CANOES. BY "WILLIAM JOLLY, ESQ., H.M. INSPECTOR OF SCHOOLS, INVERNESS. The parish of Kilmuir, in the north end of Skye, is much less known to the tourist, the man of science, and the archaeologist than it ought to be. picturesque th d an g e Ui Quirain f e onlo e sweeth y Th e pointgba ar t s visited, thoug morw fe eha leisurely fee fino d t do Flort theiy a wa r Mac- donald's grave in the old churchyard near the sea. To the scenery-seeker and the geologist this forgotten extremity of Trotternish is peculiarly rich ohjectn i beautf so interest.d yan 1 Her e historiaeth tracy scenee nema th s of ancient deeds done by the early Celts, the ravages of the Vikings, the feuds of the clans, the wild tales connected with the seats of the Macdonalds t Monkstada Duntulmd an t d othean , r places visie f th Jame;o o t t . V s the Western Isles, when he called at Duntulm and gave his name to Portree, the King's Port, and similar numerous old stories connected with this districte spoth sentimen f te o wher.n se y Herma e e ma t eth Prince Charlie landed from Uist with Flora Macdonald, the old mansion of Monkstadt wher e herointh e e beguile e Hanoveriath d n captaid an n gave the prince time to go to Kingshurgh, where he slept; and he may s she ha a brightedo wh e visi rgrave on romancth t f eo ed rounsa e th d fortune thaf o s t most hapless prince,archaeologise th o T 2 antiquariand tan , Kilmuir is also rich and interesting and full of valuable remains. It contains numerous example anciene th f so t " dun hilsr "O l f fortso x si , which receive names in the parish3; of cairns, some of which are large and chambered f circleo ; f standing-stoneo s t a various s parts f gravo ; e mounds and hut circles; of fine old ruins, such as the picturesque pile of Duntulm, occupying the site of a more ancient " dun "; of tills or chapels at different places ; of Highland huts, still largely primitive in their style ; e sceneth f ancieno s t custom superstitionsd san Locs a , h Sianta,e th r o 4 Holy Loch; othed an 6 r interesting remain primitivf so e days. 1 As I have elsewhere tried to show, in a paper on "the Glacier of Loch Sneisdale," read befor Edinburge eth h Geological Society this winter. 2 See Statistical Account of Inverness-shire, parish of Kilmuir, p. 255, &c. 3 Ibid p. 266. 4Siunta=sancta, or holy. 5 Ibid. p. 265. 2 55 .PROCEEDING SOCIETYE TH F SO , JUN , 1876..E12 . It is to one centre of archaeological interest in this parish that I would now dra e attentiowth thef no . Society—the Lonht Columba.S f o LoCH-CHOLUIM-ClLLB OE COLUMBA's LoCH. A. few miles beyond Uig, in the hollow between the high road and the old mansion of Monkstadt, the anoient seat of the Macdonalds of the ancienn a f o Isles d t lakebe ,drained w liee no ,sth , called LocU-Choluim- Cllle Columba'sor 1 Loch. It was 2doubt no , , named aftegreathe r t apostl lonaf eo populao s ,Highlandse th n ri , after who mano ms y places have been gratefully called. It would appear to have originally been a loch of about a mile long and an eighth of a mile broad, the reclaimed portio whicf n o cover w hno s somstil a acres 0 t le 23 A earlie. r periot di seae likelth ,f froo y formem m oy ar rwhic ba da a shor t ht liei sbu t dis- tance, and above which it is very little elevated, so little indeed that the want of elevation formed the chief difficulty in draining it. This an- cient sea connection is suggested and proved by a well-marked sea-beach existin coase runnind th an n t go g roun have y loce lochth dTh hma e . formed a sea bay in comparatively modern times, for the designation loch applies i bot o dgulft a fres d hse san h water lochs ove Highlandse th r d an ; the same name of Columba's Loch was applied, as already noted, to this lake and to Portree Bay. The loch would seem to have long existed as little better than a marsh, whose flatness and shallowness, as well as fine alluvial soil, suggested the wisdo f m drainint o i speak d an t •se gi enterpris th muc r e th fo h f o e Macdonald Islese th f , so tha undertakinn a t e timd th greao an s egr fo t the district should have been .seriously undertake earl. nas 171s ya 5n I ! that year of the first Stuart rising, the draining of the loch was begun afterwards wa t i t offn e swateru bu ;d som s th abandone an f wa ro e d on accoun e politicath f o t l disturbance e time th n 176I f .o s3 operations were renewed, and the loch was drained, but from neglect the water again returned. In 1824, after five years' hard labour and much expense, the 1I finname th d e variously spelled Loch-Choluim-Cille (which e Rev r Macth , M . - grogo correce th rs i tell te form)sm , Loch-Chalum-Cille, Loch-Colum-Cille. It is remarkable that Portree Harbour bore the same ancient name, Loch- 2 Choluim-Cille. ST COLUMBA'S LOCH, IN SKYE, AND ITS ANCIENT CANOES. 553 drainage was finally and successfully completed,1 the water being carried greaa y b t a canase r ditche o l th o ,t still preserved, three-fourth mila f so e formloce w th h no f so aflad length.n be i t e plainTh 2 , with great depth of alluvium, which is partly cultivated but is mostly covered with grass use d pastorar an dfo l purposes centre th n whicf i e,o h stand certain islands with ancient remains easw f accesyno o , invitind san g investigation. ANCIENT CANOES FOUN THN DI E LOCH. Canoe discovered in 1763.—In 1763, the year when the second and temporarily successful attemp t drainaga t s made wa en ancien a , t boat was dug out of the bed of the loch. This boat is thus described in the Statistical Accoun Parishe th f o ofteto s , n already referrewhicd an , hdto e bes th n thesi tf o ee extensivon s i d valuablan e e s volumeswa t I . written by the Eev. Alex. Macgregor of the West Church, Inverness, once parish ministe f tho e f Kilmuir n o rforme so d ran , minister. "Whe lake nth f Choluim-Cill eo s drained ewa r abou o e yean th i ,t r 1763, there was an oaken boat discovered deeply imbedded in the botto lakee t woulI th f .m o d seem, fro s situationmit beed , ha than t i t there for many ages. The boat, although not large in size, is said to have been much stronger morfa d e an firmlr y buil f moderto thay an nn date. The iron rings which were fastened in the ends of it were of almost incredible thickness, so much so that they were converted into socket instrumentr sfo se paris useth tillinr n dhi fo ground.e gth " 3 Thinking thawore th t d " built thin "i s accoun beed ha tn used inad- vertently or in a vague general sense, as applied to an ancient submerged canoe, I •e wrot Eev r th Macgregor M o .et , mentionin y doubtm gd an , asking additional information, if such could be had. I found my sur- mise correct I receive d an , letteda r containing additiona interestind an l g details, part transcribwhicf w so no hI e :— " INVERNESS, 15th April 1876. " I find, on consulting my manuscript scroll of the Statistical Account of Kilmuir, Skye righe , ar youn thai u t yo tr boae opinioth to t foun s na d 1 See Statistical Account, pp. 246, 247. 2 Ibid. p. 279. ; thes7 3 26 Ibide . werp .e iroth en e socketHighlanth r fo s d cas-c7iroms,r o "crooked spades." Seep. 555. 554 . PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY. JUNE 12, 1876. in Loch-Choluim-Cille. -I may state tliat the writers of that Account were restricte abouo dt t forty printee pageth f so d matter thinT . k .that about seventy pages of mine were granted ; yet, if they had published the whole t i woul, d have exceede a hundred d pages. Consequentlyy m , manuscrip greatls wa t y abridged, almost under every head. "1 find that I derived the account of the said boat from an old man, residing near the manse, named John Macdcnald, who died ten<or twelve years ago, upwards of ninety years of age. He was possessed of a won- derfu d mosan l t correct memory coule H datd .d f ever an e o giv y yeda feud and battle, I believe, in which the Highlanders were ever engaged, and I was greatly indebted to that old man for many things in my Statis- tical Account I will.