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The Story Of Island Roan
- Published 24 February 2008
- Scotland History
CHAPTER SIX
One fine morning in early June, in the year 1871, while fishing a few miles north of the island, the crew of one of one of the fishing boats were observed to be struggling with something unusually heavy in the water. Several of the other boats, after hauling in their nets, closed in to find out what was going on. It was discovered that the crew were struggling to get on board a large cask which had all the appearance of being extremely heavy. In the event they were compelled to let the cask go. Another boat then closed in, making the same effort as the first, but of no avail. The crew also had to abandon the cask. Several other boats in turn had a try and also failed. It must be remembered that in those days fishing boats were small and only half-decked.
Accordingly, their tackle was light and not strong enough to hoist inboard out of the sea an 80 gallon cask, as this one proved to be. The island boat, the Duke, being new at the time as well as being much larger than most of the others, now closed in, and after a supreme effort was able to hoist the cask on board. The crew were certain the contents were spirits of some kind. The younger members of the crew suggested that the cask ought to be tapped right away in order to find out what in fact the contents were, but the skipper and older members decided against the idea, as it might lead to trouble with the authorities.
There was no doubt in their minds that the other boats would report the matter on their arrival at Scrabster. When the Duke arrived at the island the cask was again lowered into the sea and then towed to the beach and rolled above high water mark. Two days later, on arrival at Scrabster, they reported their find to the customs and excise authorities, who in turn asked them to bring it along to Scrabster. As they had had a considerable amount of work in salvaging the cask, and fearing that their reward would be small, they decided to have nothing more to do with it, and said so to the authorities.
Ten days later the customs men arrived at the island with a small trading smack which they had obtained on hire to take possession of the cask. On their examination, however, the cask, which originally contained 80 gallons of proof rum, was found to be practically empty. They found the cask standing on its end on the beach, in the position in which it was supposed to have been left from the time it was taken there. On further examination they discovered that the cask had a leak on the end on which it stood on the shingle.
On the island at this time of year there were no adult males left, except for one old man and a few young boys, none of them capable of performing an ingenious operation on a cask of this description in order to rid it of its contents. The authorities were baffled. It could not be proved that the contents of the cask were actually stolen. Evidence showed a leakage, and there they had to stop. They took the empty cask with them.. The crew who had salvaged the rum, after giving careful consideration to the matter, had come to the conclusion that it was a most galling affair for them to have put so much time and energy into salvaging this valuable find from the sea and then to be deprived of their rights to it. And so they planned accordingly. On their next call at Scrabster, they set about looking for small two to five gallon drums, sufficient to hold the whole contents of the cask, but they had to act discreetly. After purchase they filled the cans with water, pretending it was paraffin or oil for use on the boat. They also purchased suitable tools.
Fully equipped, they proceeded to the island, approacing it at dead of night. The utmost discretion had to be used and the operation carried out as secretly as possible, even from their own families on the island. So in the dead of night they landed and proceeded to empty the contents of the cask into the tins they carried with them. First, they removed one of the hoops - about an inch out of place, then, with a half-inch bit and brace, a hole was bored in each side of the cask. Then the cask was relieved of its contents within half an hour, with the exception of a gallon or two left to cover up the camouflage. The operation over, two small oak plugs were inserted in the holes and carefully rubbed over so that it was difficult to make out that such a thing ever took place. and the hoop was returned to its place. Then with a thin bladed knife an insertion was made in the end of the cask for the purpose of creating a leak. The cask was then put standing on its end with what was left of the rum slowly leaking out on to the shingle. An extra drop poured from a tin added to the make-believe that the leak was very considerable. Then they took the loot to a small cave a short distance away and carefully hid it. Then they set sail again to the fishing grounds. The secret was kept on the island for a very long time, and only the older people knew what took place. The rum was used with discretion, and it lasted for a long time.
It was not until the beginning of the present century that visitors in any number were coming to Island Roan, and it did not matter who they were or where they came from, they always seemed to enjoy their excursions, and many of them came back again and again. To us children they were a source of great pleasure. We would show them every spot of interest in the island, and almost always by the time they left we would be the richer by two or three shillings each. Occasionallly we would have our own bit of fun at their expense, too. This was what we used to do.
The old folk on the island took great pride in their patches of corn, hay, tatties and turnips, and woe betide any of us seen going through these prized crops. Those old folk were not very expert at the English language, and they would far rather disappear from view altogether than hold their ground and talk to visitors. We boys were aware of this, and our aim was, if they happened to be working anywhere on the croft, at the time, to guide the visitors on to them in a way they could not escape. In some cases we would direct the innocent people straight through the corn. This, of course, was a most disastrous thing to do, and the owners would be furious. But when the visiors reached them they would be utterly confused between modesty and anger so that they could not speak. This was just what we would be waiting for, and great would be the laughs we would have over it all. However, this game came to an end one day, when a visitor did a bit of detective work. He told the old folk what he thought, and that ended the trespassing part of our game.
The rocks around Island Roan are covered by the sea when the tide is in, and on them grows in summer a profusion of short seaweed called dulse. It is extremely palatable, and no doubt it has very high medicinal qualities. The sheep are extremely fond of it and they could be seen waiting patiently for the tide to go out. They were closely watched when the tide was coming in, as they could easily get drowned by staying on the rocks too long. Scores of them were lost in this way. As boys we used to select bunches of this seaweed in different colours, wash it carefully, and give it to visitors to the island.
The island people, especially the older ones, were very superstitious. For example, if a person left the house and had forgotten something, he or she would far rather do without than turn back for it. Then, again, finding a copper coin on the ground was a bad omen. There were various other petty superstitions which are hardly worth recording, but which the islanders believed to have a lot of significance.
Taking the cattle to the mainland in summer had to be discontinued as there were not enough young women left in summer to tend them. The women had to go away to the herring curing stations,where they were employed all summer. Consequently, the cattle had to be kept on the island. This caused a lot of extra work as well, as they had to be herded all the time for fear of their going over the cliffs and getting killed. This job we youngsters often had to do. We found it could be very monotonous work, and we would take it in spells. One would stay to watch the cattle while the rest would go climbing the cliffs searching for eggs. Occasionally, one of the old women would come along to see if the cattle were actually being looked after, and on being caught neglecting our work we would be severly punished, as not only were we endangering the cattle but ourselves as well. In this way we gave the old people a lot of worry and trouble. I shall now tell about a small incident that took place in the autumn of 1918.
To the northwest of the island, and attached to it, there is another small island called the low island. Its surface is all green and it was always used for sheep. It could carry 40 eild sheep all the year round. On this particular occasion the owners went to see if their flock were alright. On walking over the ground they discovered what at first looked like black patches on the grass. On further investigation, however, the patches proved to be blood. The owners of the sheep at once knew that all was not well with the flock, so they rounded them up and counted them. Seven of the sheep were missing. It was quite obvious from the blood marks that the sheep had been shot and taken away, but by who they were not to know for a few years afterwards.
At the time, the raid on the sheep was put down to the work of the crew of a U-boat and left at that. A few years later, however, an article appeared in an English newspaper in connection with the affair.
It was sent to the paper by the commander of a U.S.A. submarine, who went on to explain how, while on passage round the North of Scotland bound for home, he ran short of fresh meat. While passing close to the island on a moonlit night and seeing the sheep, he and his crew decided to land and kill some of them, which they did. He offered to pay full compensation to the owners on receipt of an application from them. But they never bothered about it any more.
One fine morning in early June, in the year 1871, while fishing a few miles north of the island, the crew of one of one of the fishing boats were observed to be struggling with something unusually heavy in the water. Several of the other boats, after hauling in their nets, closed in to find out what was going on. It was discovered that the crew were struggling to get on board a large cask which had all the appearance of being extremely heavy. In the event they were compelled to let the cask go. Another boat then closed in, making the same effort as the first, but of no avail. The crew also had to abandon the cask. Several other boats in turn had a try and also failed. It must be remembered that in those days fishing boats were small and only half-decked.
Accordingly, their tackle was light and not strong enough to hoist inboard out of the sea an 80 gallon cask, as this one proved to be. The island boat, the Duke, being new at the time as well as being much larger than most of the others, now closed in, and after a supreme effort was able to hoist the cask on board. The crew were certain the contents were spirits of some kind. The younger members of the crew suggested that the cask ought to be tapped right away in order to find out what in fact the contents were, but the skipper and older members decided against the idea, as it might lead to trouble with the authorities.
There was no doubt in their minds that the other boats would report the matter on their arrival at Scrabster. When the Duke arrived at the island the cask was again lowered into the sea and then towed to the beach and rolled above high water mark. Two days later, on arrival at Scrabster, they reported their find to the customs and excise authorities, who in turn asked them to bring it along to Scrabster. As they had had a considerable amount of work in salvaging the cask, and fearing that their reward would be small, they decided to have nothing more to do with it, and said so to the authorities.
Ten days later the customs men arrived at the island with a small trading smack which they had obtained on hire to take possession of the cask. On their examination, however, the cask, which originally contained 80 gallons of proof rum, was found to be practically empty. They found the cask standing on its end on the beach, in the position in which it was supposed to have been left from the time it was taken there. On further examination they discovered that the cask had a leak on the end on which it stood on the shingle.
On the island at this time of year there were no adult males left, except for one old man and a few young boys, none of them capable of performing an ingenious operation on a cask of this description in order to rid it of its contents. The authorities were baffled. It could not be proved that the contents of the cask were actually stolen. Evidence showed a leakage, and there they had to stop. They took the empty cask with them.. The crew who had salvaged the rum, after giving careful consideration to the matter, had come to the conclusion that it was a most galling affair for them to have put so much time and energy into salvaging this valuable find from the sea and then to be deprived of their rights to it. And so they planned accordingly. On their next call at Scrabster, they set about looking for small two to five gallon drums, sufficient to hold the whole contents of the cask, but they had to act discreetly. After purchase they filled the cans with water, pretending it was paraffin or oil for use on the boat. They also purchased suitable tools.
Fully equipped, they proceeded to the island, approacing it at dead of night. The utmost discretion had to be used and the operation carried out as secretly as possible, even from their own families on the island. So in the dead of night they landed and proceeded to empty the contents of the cask into the tins they carried with them. First, they removed one of the hoops - about an inch out of place, then, with a half-inch bit and brace, a hole was bored in each side of the cask. Then the cask was relieved of its contents within half an hour, with the exception of a gallon or two left to cover up the camouflage. The operation over, two small oak plugs were inserted in the holes and carefully rubbed over so that it was difficult to make out that such a thing ever took place. and the hoop was returned to its place. Then with a thin bladed knife an insertion was made in the end of the cask for the purpose of creating a leak. The cask was then put standing on its end with what was left of the rum slowly leaking out on to the shingle. An extra drop poured from a tin added to the make-believe that the leak was very considerable. Then they took the loot to a small cave a short distance away and carefully hid it. Then they set sail again to the fishing grounds. The secret was kept on the island for a very long time, and only the older people knew what took place. The rum was used with discretion, and it lasted for a long time.
It was not until the beginning of the present century that visitors in any number were coming to Island Roan, and it did not matter who they were or where they came from, they always seemed to enjoy their excursions, and many of them came back again and again. To us children they were a source of great pleasure. We would show them every spot of interest in the island, and almost always by the time they left we would be the richer by two or three shillings each. Occasionallly we would have our own bit of fun at their expense, too. This was what we used to do.
The old folk on the island took great pride in their patches of corn, hay, tatties and turnips, and woe betide any of us seen going through these prized crops. Those old folk were not very expert at the English language, and they would far rather disappear from view altogether than hold their ground and talk to visitors. We boys were aware of this, and our aim was, if they happened to be working anywhere on the croft, at the time, to guide the visitors on to them in a way they could not escape. In some cases we would direct the innocent people straight through the corn. This, of course, was a most disastrous thing to do, and the owners would be furious. But when the visiors reached them they would be utterly confused between modesty and anger so that they could not speak. This was just what we would be waiting for, and great would be the laughs we would have over it all. However, this game came to an end one day, when a visitor did a bit of detective work. He told the old folk what he thought, and that ended the trespassing part of our game.
The rocks around Island Roan are covered by the sea when the tide is in, and on them grows in summer a profusion of short seaweed called dulse. It is extremely palatable, and no doubt it has very high medicinal qualities. The sheep are extremely fond of it and they could be seen waiting patiently for the tide to go out. They were closely watched when the tide was coming in, as they could easily get drowned by staying on the rocks too long. Scores of them were lost in this way. As boys we used to select bunches of this seaweed in different colours, wash it carefully, and give it to visitors to the island.
The island people, especially the older ones, were very superstitious. For example, if a person left the house and had forgotten something, he or she would far rather do without than turn back for it. Then, again, finding a copper coin on the ground was a bad omen. There were various other petty superstitions which are hardly worth recording, but which the islanders believed to have a lot of significance.
Taking the cattle to the mainland in summer had to be discontinued as there were not enough young women left in summer to tend them. The women had to go away to the herring curing stations,where they were employed all summer. Consequently, the cattle had to be kept on the island. This caused a lot of extra work as well, as they had to be herded all the time for fear of their going over the cliffs and getting killed. This job we youngsters often had to do. We found it could be very monotonous work, and we would take it in spells. One would stay to watch the cattle while the rest would go climbing the cliffs searching for eggs. Occasionally, one of the old women would come along to see if the cattle were actually being looked after, and on being caught neglecting our work we would be severly punished, as not only were we endangering the cattle but ourselves as well. In this way we gave the old people a lot of worry and trouble. I shall now tell about a small incident that took place in the autumn of 1918.
To the northwest of the island, and attached to it, there is another small island called the low island. Its surface is all green and it was always used for sheep. It could carry 40 eild sheep all the year round. On this particular occasion the owners went to see if their flock were alright. On walking over the ground they discovered what at first looked like black patches on the grass. On further investigation, however, the patches proved to be blood. The owners of the sheep at once knew that all was not well with the flock, so they rounded them up and counted them. Seven of the sheep were missing. It was quite obvious from the blood marks that the sheep had been shot and taken away, but by who they were not to know for a few years afterwards.
At the time, the raid on the sheep was put down to the work of the crew of a U-boat and left at that. A few years later, however, an article appeared in an English newspaper in connection with the affair.
It was sent to the paper by the commander of a U.S.A. submarine, who went on to explain how, while on passage round the North of Scotland bound for home, he ran short of fresh meat. While passing close to the island on a moonlit night and seeing the sheep, he and his crew decided to land and kill some of them, which they did. He offered to pay full compensation to the owners on receipt of an application from them. But they never bothered about it any more.
