Gazetteer of Scotland

OB A
or by secret dispatches to command-
ing officers abroad. There is no
doubt, that the loss and delays to the
nation from these circumstances,
might be in some degree remedied by
having a royal dock and arsenal on
the W. coast of Scotland, where small
squadrons and transports with troops
could be secretly fitted out, and
from whence th^y might sail at any
time of the year, and with every
wind that blows. By these mean3 a
fleet with troops might reach the
West Indies or America before an
enemy could have the smallest intelli-
gence of the design, which would um
doubtcdly give our fleets and armies
3 decided advantage. Oban is un-
questionably the best place for such a
dock. From its situation, it has a
speedy communication with Glasgow
by the Clyde, from whence stores,
&c. might ke easily conveyed through
the Crinan canal. Loch Linnhe is na-
vigable to Fort William ; and from
thence there is a good military road
to Fort Augustus as well as to Fort
George, where a considerable body
of troops always is, or might be kept,
3S these forts are capable of lodging,
en an emergency, 6000 men, These
might be conveyed from Fort William
to Oban by water ; or, should the
wind be unfavourable, they might ea-
sily march by land, the roads being
sufficiently good." There is a regu-
lar ferry from Oban to Kerrera island,
and from thence to Auchnacraig, in
the island of Mull. In 1792, the vil-
lage contained 586* inhabitants, In
the immediate vicinity of the village
are immense rocks of breccia or pud-
dingstone. These rocks, which are
very curious, are composed of diffe-
rent sorts of rounded pebbles, from
the size of a hen's egg to that of a
man's head. Some of the pebbles are
quartoze ; others porphyricj^granitic,
schistous, and calcareous, and are ce-
mented together by a compact black-
coloured lava. Though there are o-
ther specimens of lava and basaltes,
as well as other volcanic minerals in
the neighbourhood of the bay, highly
deserving of the attention of the mi-
neralogist, these puddingstone rocks
are undoubtedly the most curious.
Some of them are excavated to a great
depth, particularly one about half a
mile S. of the village.
OGH
OCHIL HILLS ; a range of lofty
mountains, which begins in the parish
of Dumblane inPerthshire,and stretch
for many miles in an eastern direction
into Fife. The whole ridge is of a
beautiful green, and affords excellent
pasture for sheep. Through the whole
extent they present a pleasing picture
Of rural scenery and of pastoral life ;
swelling hills, verdant to their sum-
mits, covered with flocks of sheep
or herds of cattle ; rivulets stealing
through the defiles, or falling in hoarse
murmurs from precipitous cliffs ; with
villages, hamlets, and farm-houses,
sometimes skirted, and sometimes in-
closed in woods. The highest hill is
Bencloch or Bencleugh, which rises to
the height of 2420 feet above the level
of the sea. These hills abound in mi-
nerals, and in several places have the
appearance of an ig-neous origin ; in
many parts quantities of fragments of
lava have tumbled down their sides,
amongst which are found beautiful a-
gates, rock crystals, and other pre-
cious stones. These hills likewise con-
tain various metals, and seem in par-
ticular to be rich in silver ; but suffi-
cient attention has not yet been paid
to their mineralogy. In those parts
of the ridge which lie in the parishes
of Alva, Logie, Dollar, and Tillicoul-
try, veins of copper - and lead have
been wrought to a considerable ex-
tent : the copper ore in particular is
very rich, and generally found inclo-
sed in a matrix of sulphate of barytes
or cawk. About the year 1715, Sir
John Erskine of Atva, with the assis-
tance of some miners from Leadhills,
discovered a very rich vein of silver :
it made its appearance in small threads,
which, being followed, led to a rich
mass of ore ; some of it was so rich,
that 14 ounces of ore yielded 12 oun-
ces of silver. A sum not greater than
50l, Sterling had been expended when
this discovery was made ; and, during
the space of thirteen or fourteen
weeks, ore was produced to the value
of 40001. pe r week ; and, it is said that
Sir John drew from 40,oool. to 50,oool,
besides what was purloined by the
workmen. When this mass was ex-.
hausted, the silver ore began to disap-
pear, and lead and other minerals,
were discovered, on which all farther
search was given up. Cobalt'has like*
wise been found in different parts, &