The New International Encyclopædia/Lewis-With-Harris

2002018The New International Encyclopædia — Lewis-With-Harris

LEWIS-WITH-HARRIS. A Scottish island, the northernmost of the outer Hebrides (q.v.), 30 miles northwest of Ross-shire, from which it is separated by the Minch (Map: Scotland, B 1). Area, 770 square miles. Population, in 1891, 30,700; in 1901, 34,224. The coasts are wild and rugged: the chief indentations are Broad Bay, and Lochs Erisort, Seaforth, Resort, and Roag. The surface is for a considerable portion swampy and covered with peat. Barley and potatoes are the principal crops raised. The inhabitants are of Celtic extraction, with the exception of a colony in the north, who, although they speak the Gaelic language, are of Scandinavian descent. Relics of antiquity and remains of ancient forests abound. Stornoway (q.v.), on the east coast, is the capital town.