Seabirds provided the majority of the diet for the islanders of St Kilda and nearly all other activities were suspended during the fowling season. Fulmar and gannets were eaten fresh in season or cured and both were harvested before they could fly from the nests. Puffins were also eaten.
St Kildans were generally sturdy, strong and nimble, making them particularly suited to climbing. They climbed in bare-feet or coarse socks, preferring to descend on a rope rather than ascend from below. The climbing rope was a prized possession, often handed down from father to son as an heirloom. Early ropes, made of plaited horsehair, were about 50 metres long and could be used for 50 years. They were tested by four men pulling on the rope which had one end tied around a boulder. No rope could be used without passing this test and being approved by the island's parliament. Eventually, horsehair was superseded by Manilla hemp.
The fulmar is similar in size to the herring gull. The plumage is a dull white with grey wings and back. The bill is pale yellow. The female lays one egg per season, in mid-May, and the young birds were harvested in August. The parliament decided which areas of the cliffs were to be cleared, and the hunting season lasted about three weeks.
The number of fulmars caught began to increase in the mid-19th century, and by 1910, 9600 were caught, compared to just 600 gannets. In a report on the island in 1875, it was noted that 566 gallons of fulmar oil, 2103 lbs of black feathers and 1675 of grey feathers were collected that year. The oil was used to fuel lamps in winter. Sadly it was also used to annoint the umbilical cord of newly born babies in the belief that it had antiseptic powers. In fact it led to very high infant mortality due to tetanus. A district nurse sent to the island stopped the practice and deaths from tetanus ceased.
Click to enlarge the image, read the text then answer the following questions.
Questions
- Look at the photo. How high above the sea would you say the men were?
- How did the St. Kildans climb?
- When was the fulmar harvesting done and how long did it take?
- What was a most prized possession on the island?
- How were ropes tested?
- Draw a bar graph to show the products got from the fulmars.
- What was the oil used for and what extremely toxic bacteria did it carry?