By the Rev. Mr William McKenzie, and the Rev. Mr Hugh Ross
Food, Fuel, Diseases, etc.:
The principal food of the people, in general, is potatoes, of which they now raise great quantities. Along with these they have butter, cheese, milk, and fish; and such of them as are richer have sometimes mutton and beef. They are well provided for in fuel, the mosses which cover a great part of the parish, furnishing them with peats; and, in the winter nights, the moss fir, when dried and cut into stakes, affords a strong, though not a clear light, and serves them instead of candles. The most prevalent distempers are rheumatisms, fluxes, consumptions, and fevers of the nervous and intermittent kinds, all which may be attributed to the moistness of the air, the damp situation of the houses in general, and their low and confined structure. The smallpox used to make terrible havock, till about 5 years ago, a gentle woman, by introducing inoculations, was the means of preserving many lives. She inoculated 99 with her own hand, and paid such attention, during the progress of the malady, that except one, they all recovered.
Mode of conducting Burials:
Burials are conducted in this parish with very great decorum. None, even of the common people, attend without a particular invitation. After some entertainment, (for at the burial of the poorest here, there is a refreshment given, consisting generally of whisquy - beath, or some foreign liquor, butter and cheese, with oat bread), the friends of the deceased, and neighbours of the village, who come to witness the interment, are drawn up in rank and file, by an old serjeant, or some veteran who has been in the army, and who attends to maintain order, and give, as they term it here, the word of relief: Upon his crying relief! The 4 under the bier prepare to leave their stations, and make room for other 4, that instantly succeed. This progression is observed, at the interval of every 5 minutes, till the whole attendants come in regularly; and if the distance requires it, there is a second, a third, or a fourth round of such evolutions gone through. When the persons present are not inflamed with liquor, which is now seldom the case, there is a profound silence generally observed, from the time the corpse has been taken up, till the interment is over.
Church and Heritor:
The Church of Tongue was first built in the year 1680. It was almost entirely rebuilt in the year 1731, and repaired in the year 1778. The Manse was built in the year 1787. Lord Reay claims the patronage of this parish. He is the only heritor in it. The value of the living, including the glebe, is about 54l.
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