The peat-fire flame : folk-tales and traditions of the Highlands & Islands

tHE PEAT-FIRE FLAME
the moment the feolagan walks over its back, and that the
only proved antidote is to catch the particular feolagan and
cause him to walk over the sheep's back again, in the
opposite direction. I am assured by a friend in Lewis^ that,
until fairly recent times, a feolagan, when captured, was
preserved in a jar containing salt, some grains of which
were sprinkled on the back of a sheep believed to have been
incapacitated by this elusive creature. If a sheep recovered
after the sprinkling of such salt, it was regarded as a sure
indication
malady.
that a feolagan had been responsible for its
Highland folk-tales in which mice play a part are scarce
but those with which we are familiar prove that mice were
looked upon as creatures of evil omen. The grass-mouse,
or lesser shrew, was suspected of having the power of
paralysing livestock. It is not so long since it was
customary in the Outer Hebrides to capture a shrew, and
carry it sunwise round the loins of a cow or sheep, or even
of a horse, that was ailing, or that had suddenly developed
lameness. This was done in the belief that an animal would
recover from any disease brought on by a shrew that, of its
own accord, had passed over part of its body.
Many years ago, when the late Alexander Carmichael, to
whom I have made many references in these pages, was
collecting runes and other material in Uist, he and an old
woman happend to notice a shrew making for a house.
Instantly the woman grasped Carmichael's hand, and,
pointing to the shrew in great anxiety, exclaimed in the
Gaelic " : Jesus, Son of Mary, be with us ! This one is
"
seeking someone !
Carmichael records that, a few days later, the old woman
lost her husband.
The King Otter.
According to Highland tradition, the skin of the king
otter has certain occult powers, and is said to be worth as
many guinea-pieces as it would take to cover it. As a rule,
the king otter is seen at the head of a group of no fewer
1 See Searching the Hebrides ivith a Camera, pp. 155 et seq.
132
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