Blair Collection > Celtic monthly > Volume 7, 1899

THE CELTIC MONTHLY.
63
i*av
and dispirited, with no heart left to
battle against such circumstances.
Existence in such hovels must be
almost unendurable to the strong
and health}', but what must it be in
the times of sickness ? The medical
otKcer of this district states officially
that much fever jjrevails here, dis-
tinctly due to under feeding. He
says, two families often live in the
same house, and that he has attended
eight )jcrsons in one room all ill with
fever, and seven or eight other per-
sons were obliged to sleep in the
same room."t
The foregoing picture, which alas'
is too true, does not, however, depict
the prevailing state of matters in
the Hebrides generally, but taking
the most advanced townships in any
part of the Highlands or Islands of Scotland in
this enlightened age, we iind the sanitation of
those dwellings in a state that should certainly
claim the immediate attention of the Board of
Supervision, and rather than allow a recurrence
of so deplorable and so demoralising a thing as to
allow sixteen per.sons to occupy one room — eight
of whom were down with fever — the Govern-
ment should step in and compel the owners to
supply adecjuate accommodation and healthy
sanitary arrangements, failing which State aid
should be granted, and thus remove from our
land one of the foulest stains that ever disgraced
the annals of a civilized country.
Before leaving the question of dwellings I
will make a short extract from the report of
Sir John MacNeill, who specially surveyed the
Northern districts of Scotland for the Govern-
ment in 1 850. Sir John says : — " The crofters'
houses, erected by themselves, are of stone and
earth or clay. The only materials they pur-
chase are the doors, and in most cases the
rafters of the roof, on which are laid thin turf
covered with thatch. The crofters' furniture
consists of some rude bedsteads, a table, some
stools, chests, and a few cooking utensils. At
t Dr. Ogilvy Grant, Medical Officer of Health for
the County of Inverness, has some very interesting
statistics in his report for 1807. He finds that the
average length of life is seven years shorter in the
Islands than on the Mainland. Dr. Grant attri-
butes the recent serious epidemic of typhus fever
in Skye to the unsanitary state of the townships
and contaminated water supply. It is, however,
gratifying to learn that the District Councils are
steadily forming special water supply districts, and
that trained nurses are being stationed all over the
district. But until the existing wretched dwellings
are substituted by cottages built on modem sanitary
principles, these ever-recurring epidemics ean never
hope to be stamped out.
A HIGHLAND CASTLE.
one end of the house, often entering by the same
door, is the byre for his cattle, at the other the
barn for his crop. His fuel is the peat he cuts
in the neighbouring moss, of which an allotted
portion is often attached to each croft. His
capital consists of his cattle, his sheep, and
periiaps one or more horses or ponies ; of his
crop that is to feed him till next harvest,
provide seed and winter provender for his
animals ; of his furniture, his implements, the
rafters of his house, and generally a boat or a
share of a boat, nets or other fishing gear, with
some barrels of salt herrings, or bundles of dried
cod or ling for winter use."
Notwithstanding all this, sanitary improve-
ments in the Highlands have made remarkable
progress during the present century, particularly
so, in towns and villages. But although in
many cases rural districts have advanced
considerably, still, as I have already shewn,
much yet requires to be done. I presume the
reader is fully acquainted with the lovely town
of Inverness with its charming surroundings, its
commanding views of miles of characteristic
Highland landscape, with the winding silvery
Ness and its wooded islands and picturesque
bridges ; all presenting an air of attractiveness,
which fills the beholder with ecstacy and delight.
Yet what do you think of the report of the
Provost of Inverness made to the Home
Secretary from the Poor Law Commissioners
" On an enquiry into the sanitary condition of
the labouring population of Great Britain."
July, 1842,1 the worthy Provost says: —
" Inverness is a nice town, situated in a most
beautiful country and with every facility for
cleanliness and comfort. The people are,
i We need hardly add that the sanitary condition of
Inverness has greatly improved since 1 843. — Ed,