Topographical dictionary of Scotland > Volume 2

LISM
LI S M
sudden flexure to the west, constituting a fine expansive
bay ; it then winds, with considerable irregularity, round
towards the north of the district, and assumes a pretty
uniform appearance at Loch Leven. To the south of
the village of Appin, the indentations and harbours are
very numerous. At the mouth of Loch Creran is safe
anchorage for small craft ; westward is the well-shel-
tered bay of Airds, where shoals of herrings are some-
times taken ; and a few miles to the north is the sound
of Shuna, formed by the island of that name and the
main land of Appin, and affording ample security for
shipping in the most stormy weather. The bay of Cuil,
already referred to, is bounded by a semicircular line
measuring a mile between its extremities, and has a fine
sandy beach : large draughts of herrings that visit the
bay are often brought to shore. To the north of this
is the bay of Kentailen, a small creek well defended by
the adjacent heights, which are crowned with wood.
The Lismore coast, twenty-four miles in extent, is also
bold, and the water deep even at the shore, except
towards the north-east, where the island is low and
sandy. At the northern extremity of the isle, on the
west coast, is Port-Ramsa, a spacious harbour with good
anchorage, protected by several small islands ; and a
little to the south-west of this is Loch Oscar, or Oscar's
bay, so called, it is said, from the circumstance of a
party of Fingalians, who came hither to enjoy the plea-
sures of the chase, having anchored their vessel in the
bay. The landing-place is still called Portnamurlach,
or Port-na-mor-laoch, " the landing-place of the great
heroes ;" and in the vicinity is an eminence, whence the
female part of the company beheld the sport, and which
is yet designated Druim-nam-Ban-Fionn, or " the ridge
of the Fingalian ladies." The bay affords a secure
retreat for large vessels, protected by several islands,
among which the chief is Elein-Loch-Oscair, or " island
of Oscar's bay ;" but it is of dangerous entrance on the
north. Several smaller harbours, comprehending prin-
cipally Salen, Killchiaran, and Achnacroish, are only fit
for boats. The navigation in some parts is highly ha-
zardous, especially at the rock of Carraig, between the
southern end of Lismore and the island of Mull : here,
also, is a most violent current ; but a lighthouse erected
about 1833, on the little island of Musdale, has proved
of great service in preventing accidents. The Kinger-
loch district embraces a coast sixteen miles in length,
which is sandy, often bold and rocky, and contains a
harbour called Gerloch, or Loch Chorey, the most spa-
cious in the whole parish, being a mile long and half a
mile broad ; it has good anchorage for vessels at all
seasons. Most kinds of the fish common to the county
are caught off this parish, including cod, ling, haddock,
whiting, lythe, mackerel, and flounders, with consider-
able quantities of salmon and herrings ; they are all
taken mostly for domestic use, except the salmon, many
of which are sent to the south. Oysters are found in
Loch Creran, and the usual sorts of shell-fish on every
part of the coast.
The most lofty elevations in the interior of the
parish are the mountains of Glencoe, celebrated by
Ossian, and in the neighbourhood of which the country
is wild in the extreme, and uninhabited, consisting prin-
cipally of hill, moss, moor, and glen. These sublime and
commanding masses, piled in immense bodies one upon
another, reach in some places 3000 feet above the level
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of the sea, and are accessible only among their lower
portions, where tolerable pasture is afforded for
sheep. The summits, the resort of eagles, have never
been explored by any human being. The heights
rise almost perpendicularly, and with surpassing gran-
deur, on each side of the glen, the deep narrow gorge
and solitary recesses of which are seldom warmed
by the rays even of the summer's sun. The hills
of Ballichulish, a beautiful range covered nearly to
their summits with rich verdure, attain an elevation of
about "2000 feet above the sea, and, by a few scattered
trees still remaining, exhibit relics, and mark out the
western boundary, of the ancient Caledonian forest.
The Kingerloch coast is marked by hills of less height,
but much more abrupt and rocky, and broken by many
ravines opening into pleasing valleys, and by some caves
of inferior extent. Several recesses, also, of this de-
scription occur on the Lismore coast. The chief rivers
are the Coe and Creran : the former traverses Glencoe,
and joins Loch Leven at Invercoe ; and the latter, hav-
ing passed through Glencreran, and received the Ure
and other tributaries, empties itself into Loch Creran at
its head. Kingerloch contains the smaller stream of
Coinich ; and there are also those of Duror, Laroch, and
Leven in the parish, all of which produce salmon and
good trout. Lismore abounds in springs of beautiful
water, which find excellent reservoirs in the numerous
fissures and caverns penetrating the great bed of lime-
stone rock whereof the island consists. There are also
several lochs in Lismore, of moderate dimensions ; some
contain fine trout, and one is stocked with eels.
The climate of the parish is exceedingly moist, the
sleet and rain that fall here being considerable ; but the
mildness of its temperature, together with the genial
nature of the soil in some parts, especially in Lismore,
which is considered to a great extent a grain country,
favours the operations of husbandry ; and the crops,
though not large, are in general excellent. Appin, com-
prehending the districts of Airds, Strath of Appin,
Duror, Glencreran, and Glencoe, is almost entirely a
pastoral district ; but there are some flat grounds adja-
cent to the sea-shore, on which the soil is generally light
and gravelly, producing good crops of potatoes, barley,
and oats. The farms and houses here, which have a
very interesting and picturesque appearance, are, how-
ever, soon succeeded by grazing tracts, stretching far
into the more hilly country, where the soil is frequently
clayey and mossy. The sheep are mostly the native
black-faced ; but the Cheviots have been lately intro-
duced, some of which are crossed with Leicesters. A
large number are always in pasture, the average being
about 25,000 ; and, like the cattle, which are chiefly
the Highland breed, they are of very good quality.
Many fine horses are kept, and Lismore is celebrated
for its beautiful grey and dappled breed of that animal.
Several improvements have been introduced on the
estates of the chief proprietors within these few years,
embracing principally draining, inclosing, and the re-
claiming of waste lands ; and the rotation system of
crops is practised to a limited extent. The arable land
in Appin and Kingerloch is always let with large uncul-
tivated tracts, at one given rate per acre ; in Lismore,
some farms, to which there is no hill pasture, pay
about £1. 10. per acre. The rateable annual value of
the parish is £15, "08.