A Swiss Visitor to Coll During the Napoleonic Wars.

from: VOYAGE EN ECOSSE ET AUX ISLES HEBRIDES 1807
by: Professor L.A. NECKAR-DE-SAUSSURE of Geneva.

Crossing to Coll:
August 30th. After much hesitation, we decided at last to put to sea, and although the wind was dead against us, we went on board our ship. Since it was blowing from the north, we had no choice which way to go! Coll was the only island we could possibly reach in a day.

Thanks to the force of the wind, we were going at a speed of about seven miles an hour. The violent agitation of the sea made art imposing sight. Standing on the deck, I watched with continuous wonder those enormous waves rising like mountains, with long, deep, valleys between. Our ship. which was light, at one moment was rushed to the top of the waves and gave us a sight of the Ocean in the distance, and then at another, falling as if into a great hole, left us between two walls of water where we couldn't even see the horizon. The spectacle was rendered more exciting by the wondergful green colour of the waves, the whiteness of the spray and the perfect blue of the clear cloudless sky cbove!

Coming near to Coll. I surveyed the low rocks which give such a rugged appearance to the whole eastern coast of this island. These rocks are all about the same height, which gives a monotonous appearance. Indeed, the whole island hardly seems to rise much above the sea and you cannot see anything like a mountain above that rocky coastline.

Arrival at Brakaka:
We cast anchor in the little bay of Brakaka. This bay, which is in the southeast of the island, faces east: the rocks surrounding it are very low and so it is exposed to winds from all directions and, being full of reefs as well, it is not a safe haven for boats seeking shelter from storms.

Leaving our ship at anchor in the middle of the bay, we took a little rowing boat to get ashore on the rocks and made our way to Mr. Mclean' s house.

The Lord of Coll's dwelling is a very elegant modem house built by Col. Maclean's father. It is a little distance from the head of the bay, looking down to the shore, where you can see the ruins of the old castle of Coll, the residence of the Maclean family before the new house was built. The rooms are not large, but they are big enough and tastefully though simply furnished. There is a good library. a very valuable possession for a family who must often pass the whole year in a place quite unprovided with the resources of society. The area round the house is far from cheerful: the ground is rocky and sterile, the countryside is completely without trees, and beside is a sea more often stormy than not; all around one can see nothing but flat ground and low, shapeless, rocks.

September 1st. We made our way towards the south-west, intending to go right round the southern portion of Coll. The remarkable thing about this part of Coll is the quantity of sand which covers everything. In some places, flat expanses of sand, in others, numbers of- very high dunes covered the whole surface of the ground. I very nearly got lost in the middle of these sand-hills. which all looked the same, because I lost sight of my guide while looking for minerals.

After wondering about for some time more or less at random in these dreary, empty, places. I managed to rejoin my fellow-explorers. We followed sandy beaches and rocks which rose straight out of the sea. The giant waves from the sea that was never still covered the shores with white, sparkling, foam. When we had walked all round the narrow tongue of land which forms the southern point of the island, we made our way bac, to the house, passing the monument which Col. Maclean had put up to protect the tombs of his ancestors, and to serve in furture as a burial place for his family. This very simple gothic building stands beside the sea, with striking effect in a situation so wild and empty.

The north of the island is marshy, and covered with heather: the south is sandy. The sand is found, as I have said, both in flat uncultivated stretches, or in groups of small hills partly covered by marram grass and other sand-loving plants. These long sharp grasses give some respite to the eyes from the tiring white glare of the sands. They have, however, a greater value: their fine roots stabilise the sand. Those dunes on which these plants are not found are liable to be lifted up and moved by the winds. The people told me that during the tremendous storms that convulse the elements in autumn and winter, these mountains of sand are lifted up by hurricanes and form thick clouds covering the island from one side to the other.

The surface of the ground changes all the time. In spring you find that quite often large sand-dunes have risen where last summer there was nothing but level ground: or a place once occupied by groups of hills has become a level beach. During these frightening times men and beasts flee from the unequal struggle with the elements. This part of the island becomes completely unusable: the distant observer sees nothing but chaos and desolation. A vast mass of debris. the remains of rock ground to fragments by the Ocean which deploys against Coll its full force, would have soon covered the whole island, had not kindly nature put there those seemingly puny grasses, which by the interweaving of their fibrous roots hold down the light and mobile grains. Mr. Maclean of Coll. realising how important it is to let these plants spread has forbidden the people of the island to pull them up. Before this prohibition, it was the local custom to use them for ropemaking.

The south part of the island has, then, a dry and sterile aspect: nothing but sandy deserts! However, it is equally true that the sandy constitution of the soil gives, in many respects, great benefits. It keeps the ground dry, despite the extraordinarily wet climate. Also, I observed that of all the islands I had visited so far, Coll was the least humid. The ground was not saturated with water, and as a consequence, the roads there are better, and communications are easier, than anywhere else in the -Hebrides.

Although the ground is not generally very fertile, in several places it is covered by fine fields and rich pastue. Mr. Maclean has a large stretch of ground to the west of his house which provides hay of an excellent quality. I watched the haymaking, that country labour which is always a lively sight, all the more so in the Hebrides where it is comparatively rare.

Some distance from the house of Coll is a big kitchen garden, sheltered from the winds by high walls. Fruit trees do well there, both espaliers and standard, giving plenty of first class fruit. There is a small hot-house with some vines and peach trees. By means of this artificial climate they get grapes and peaches fit for the most discerning palate. Near the garden is a small clump of bushes in which the crows build their nests. Although these shrubs barely exceed six or seven feet in height, as they are the only trees in the island, the birds are obliged to make do with them!

Moors and uncultivated ground are not very extensive on this island, and so not many sheep are kept. Quite rightly, they prefer to use the fertile pastures for raising larger animals. The Coll breed of cattle is very fine, and the breed of horses is small but well built. Kelpburning is done less than the size of the island might suggest. The reason for this is the great part of the coast which is taken up by sandy beaches, on which this seaweed doens't grow.

Agriculture and fishing are the main occupations of the inhabitants, who it is thought, number over a thousand. On all our walks we were impressed by their welcome. In dress and habits they are no different from the other people of the Hebrides. Gaelic is spoken on Coll more than English, and there, are many people who do not understand the latter.

Here is something which happened in my presence which demonstrates how the people of Coll keep religiously the customs of past generations. When anyone enters the house of a country person, and asks for a drink of milk, the master and mistress of the house first take a sip from the bowl, and only then present it to the visitor. This is a way of showing that the drink has nothing harmful in it. Such precautions must have been very necessary in the days when armed clans made endless and cruel wars on one another, and a highlander going into a strange cottage did not know whether he was in friendly or hostile country.

Mr. Maclean is not the only landowner on Coll. The Duke of Argyle owns a third of it, at the north end. Most of the people are retainers of the Macleans or the Campbells. The island is divided into two parishes, which have each their own Church and School.

The sea here is seldom calm. The tides and currents keep the water in constant motion. Even when the air is perfectly still, the huge waves break over the rocks and cover them with foam. But when the wind starts to blow, then you can see great moving mountains of water one after the other smashing themselves on the off shore reefs with unparalleled fury and all the din of a thunder-storm, shooting great clouds of snow-white froth into the air to an incredible height.

Coll is a good place to observe the famous Gulf Stream, the powerful current which first sweeps along the coasts of America, then crosses the Atlantic, and finally comes up against the western shores of northern Europe. Every winter seeds of foreign plants, and pieces of wood from America. are washed ashore in this way by the current. I was shown in Mr. Maclean' s house the complete trunk of a mahogany tree which had been brought ashore in this way by the current. I was also shown a lovely turtle shell, and two or three coconuts which the sea had delivered, and which had been kept as curious.

There are many wild animals on the island. Hares and rabbits are the biggest quadrupeds. In addition to Turnstones, Oystercatchers and Sandpipers, you can see also Cormorants as well as Gannets which come from their nesting places on St. Kilda to fish here, at least forty leagues from their home! Curlews. Lapwings and Skuas nest in the wet ground in the north of the island.

September 8th. The captain of the 'Lily' came early in the morning to warn us to be ready, as it seemed that the wind was going to change. We went on board, but we did not set sail until 10 o'clock. and that in a very gentle north-west wind. It was a lovely day, As soon as we left the bay, a superb tableau opened out before us. To the north we saw the islands of Rum and Eigg, towards which we were making our course. To the east was the isle of Mull with its high mountains, as well as the little group of the Treshnish Islands, amongst which we recognised without any trouble the Dutchman's Cap.

The wind was getting less and less, and it took some hours before we could pass the northern point of Coll, taking a leisurely look at the group of dangerous rocks which rise to the north of this point. and go by the name "Cairns of Coll"