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Rudha-na-Buitean
Although
this headland lies directly across the narrows from
my Grandfather's house, getting to it involved a long
walk round the head of the bay or a trip across the
narrows in a boat. As children we were not encouraged
to do either. I cannot recall ever being there as a
youngster. If Rudha Glas was a magical place for us
children to visit, and it really was, then Rudha-na-Buitean
was a place to avoid at all costs. There was a small
bay there and when the tide went out it left an 'Ob
lathaich', which we were told would swallow us up if
we ventured near. I doubt if that would have kept us
away if it had been easier to get to. What really made
it an eerie place for me was my mother's story of the
three graves which were to be found there, each one
marked with an upright stone. The graves were said to
be those of three sailors whose bodies had been cast
up on the shore in the vicinity of Bagh-ceann-na-muice,
in the dim and distant days before the Island was crofted.
Who they were or when or where they lost their lives
is not known to me.
 Some
years ago I went to Rudha-na-Buitean specially to look
for these stones. I found three upright natural stones
in an area of even ground not far from the Ob lathaich.
These had obviously been put there by the hand of man
and could well be grave markers. I took relevant measurements
at the time but they have since been mislaid. I survived
the trip without being gobbled up by the lathaich! The
real stones of Rudha Glas are, of course, those used
to build the houses in which the people lived, but that
is another story.
Article
by Angus Morrison, Blairgowrie (ex-Burnside, Laggandoin).
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