house, and to watch what bird was the first to be attracted by it; for, as there are no trees, the thatch of the house is a substitute for many purposes, to the birds among others. The next calf that was born was to be called after the bird. A hooded grey crow came, and the first calf was therefore called feannag=hoodie crow, and the name being retained by all its descendants the murrain ceased.
It is not right to lose the buarach, i.e. the horse-hair tie which goes about the cows' feet at milking-time, because anyone getting it could get torradh of your cattle. One notices the care with which, after milking, these ties are carried home and hung up in a certain spot.
Once or twice a year a drover from the mainland comes to the islands to buy cattle. He used always to stay with a certain farmer, from whose daughter, Effie McI., the story comes. He was accustomed to abundant fare, but one year no cheese was forthcoming. "It is not," said his hostess, "that we have not plenty of cows, but for some reason we can make no cheese." Early next morning the drover rose and looked out. On coming in, he asked for three or four bunches of "bent" grass (i.e. the long grass that grows on the shore), and made as many buarachs, and asked the women to put them on the cows, three times round each, and then to let the herd go where they would. This was done, and the cows rushed off wildly and never stopped till they reached a certain crofter's house, when they climbed on the roof and began to tear at the thatch, to the great astonishment of its owner. "They are wanting what belongs to them," said the drover in explanation; and when the woman of the house came out with an armful of cheeses, the cows surrounded her and drove her among them back to the byre from which they had come. This happened a second and a third time, till all the torradh that had been filched was restored, when the cows settled down quietly once more, and their mistress had once more abundance of cheese.
