​LEWIS-WITH-HARRIS, the most northerly island of theOuter Hebrides, Scotland. It is sometimes called the LongIsland and is 24 m. from the nearest point of the mainland,from which it is separated by the strait called The Minch. Itis 60 m. long and has an extreme breadth of 30 m., its averagebreadth being 15 m. It is divided into two portions by a lineroughly drawn between Loch Resort on the west and LochSeaforth on the east, of which the larger or more northerly portion,known as Lewis (pron.Lews), belongs to the county of Ross andCromarty and the lesser, known as Harris, to Inverness-shire.The area of the whole island is 492,800 acres, or 770 sq. m., ofwhich 368,000 acres belong to Lewis. In 1891 the populationof Lewis was 27,045, of Harris 3681; in 1901 the populationof Lewis was 28,357, of Harris 3803, or 32,160 for the island,of whom 17,175 were females, 11,209 spoke Gaelic only, and17,685 both Gaelic and English. There is communication withcertain ports of the Western Highlands by steamer via Stornowayevery week—oftener during the tourist and special seasons—thesteamers frequently calling at Loch Erisort, Loch Sealg,Ardvourlie, Tarbert, Ardvey, Rodel and The Obe. The coast isindented to a remarkable degree, the principal sea-lochs inHarris being East and West Loch Tarbert; and in Lewis, LochSeaforth, Loch Erisort and Broad Bay (or Loch a Tuath) on theeast coast and Loch Roag and Loch Resort on the west. Themainland is dotted with innumerable fresh-water lakes. Theisland is composed of gneiss rocks, excepting a patch of granitenear Carloway, small bands of intrusive basalt at Gress and inEye Peninsula and some Torridonian sandstone at Stornoway,Tong, Vatskir and Carloway. Most of Harris is mountainous,there being more than thirty peaks above 1000 ft. high. Lewisis comparatively flat, save in the south-east, where Ben Morereaches 1874 ft., and in the south-west, where Mealasbhal (1885)is the highest point; but in this division there are only elevenpeaks exceeding 1000 ft. in height. The rivers are small andunimportant. The principal capes are the Butt of Lewis, inthe extreme north, where the cliffs are nearly 150 ft. high andcrowned with a lighthouse, the light of which is visible for 19 m.;Tolsta Head, Tiumpan Head and Cabag Head, on the east;Renish Point, in the extreme south; and, on the west, Toe Headand Gallon Head. The following inhabited islands in theInverness-shire division belong to the parish of Harris: off theS.W. coast, Bernera (pop. 524), Ensay, Killigray and Pabbay;off the W. coast, Scarp (160), Soay and Tarrensay (72); off theE. coast, Scalpa (587) and Scotasay. Belonging to the countyof Ross and Cromarty are Great Bernera (580) to the W. of Lewis,in the parish of Uig, and the Shiant Isles, about 21 m. S. ofStornoway, in the parish of Lochs, so named from the numberof its sea lochs and fresh-water lakes. The south-eastern baseof Broad Bay is furnished by the peninsula of Eye, attached tothe main mass by so slender a neck as seemingly to be on thepoint of becoming itself an island. Much of the surface of bothLewis and Harris is composed of peat and swamp; there arescanty fragments of an ancient forest. The rainfall for the yearaverages 41.7 in., autumn and winter being very wet. Owingto the influence of the Gulf Stream, however, the temperatureis fairly high, averaging for the year 46.6° F., for January 39.5° F.and for August 56.5° F.

The economic conditions of the island correspond with itsphysical conditions. The amount of cultivable land is smalland poor. Sir James Matheson (1796–1878), who purchasedthe island in 1844, is said to have spent nearly £350,000 inreclamation and improvements. Barley and potatoes are thechief crops. A large number of black cattle are reared and somesheep-farming is carried on in Harris. Kelp-making, onceimportant, has been extinct for many years. Harris has obtainedgreat reputation for tweeds. The cloth has an aroma of heatherand peat, and is made in the dwellings of the cotters, who usedyes of long-established excellence. The fisheries are theprincipal mainstay of the people. In spite of the very considerablereductions in rent effected by the Crofters’ Commission(appointed in 1886) and the sums expended by government,most of the crofters still live in poor huts amid dismal surroundings.The island affords good sporting facilities. Many of thestreams abound with salmon and trout; otters and seals areplentiful, and deer and hares common; while bird life includesgrouse, ptarmigan, woodcock, snipe, heron, widgeon, teal, eiderduck, swan and varieties of geese and gulls. There are manyantiquarian remains, including duns, megaliths, ruined towersand chapels and the like. AtRodel, in the extreme south ofHarris, is a church, all that is left of an Augustinian monastery.The foundation is Norman and the superstructure Early English.On the towers are curious carved figures and in the interiorseveral tombs of the Macleods, the most remarkable being thatof Alastair (Alexander), son of William Macleod of Dunvegan,dated 1528. The monument, a full-length recumbent effigyof a knight in armour, lies at the base of a tablet in the shapeof an arch divided into compartments, in which are carved inbas-relief, besides the armorial bearings of the deceased and arendering of Dunvegan castle, several symbolical scenes, one ofwhich exhibits Satan weighing in the balance the good and evildeeds of Alastair Macleod, the good obviously preponderating.Stornoway, the chief town (pop. 3852) is treated under a separateheading. AtCallernish, 13 m. due W. of Stornoway, areseveral stone circles, one of which is probably the most perfectexample of so-called “Druidical” structures in the British Isles.In this specimen the stones are huge, moss-covered, undressedblocks of gneiss. Twelve of such monoliths constitute thecircle, in the centre of which stands a pillar 17 ft. high. Fromthe circle there runs northwards an avenue of stones, comprisingon the right-hand side nine blocks and on the left-hand ten.There also branch off from the circle, on the east and west, asingle line of four stones and, on the south, a single line of fivestones. From the extreme point of the south file to the farther ​end of the avenue on the north is a distance of 127 yds. and thewidth from tip to tip of the east and west arms is 41 yds. Viewedfrom the north end of the avenue, the design is that of a cross.The most important fishery centre on the west coast is Carloway,where there is the best example of a broch, or fort, in the Hebrides.Rory, the blind harper who translated the Psalms into Gaelic,was born in the village. Tarbert, at the head of East LochTarbert, is a neat, clean village, in communication by mail-carwith Stornoway. At Coll, a few miles N. by E. of Stornoway,is a mussel cave; and at Gress, 2 m. or so beyond in the samedirection, there is a famous seals’ cave, adorned with fine stalactites.Port of Ness, where there is a harbour, is the headquartersof the ling fishery. Loch Seaforth gave the title ofearl to a branch of the Mackenzies, but in 1716 the 5th earl wasattainted for Jacobitism and the title forfeited. In 1797Francis Humberston Mackenzie (1754–1815), chief of the ClanMackenzie, was created Lord Seaforth and Baron Mackenzieof Kintail, and made colonel of the 2nd battalion of the NorthBritish Militia, afterwards the 3rd battalion of the SeaforthHighlanders. The 2nd battalion of the Seaforth Highlanderswas formerly the Ross-shire Buffs, which was raised in 1771.