WHETHER the Shetland Islands were the Ultima Thule of the Romans or whether that term was really applied to Iceland, as many believe, is immaterial to most people living in the " adjacent islands" of Great Britain and Ireland; it is a far enough cry to the Shetlands to make them comparatively little known to those not engaged in the fishing trade. The exact position of these islands is a matter of doubt to many who ought to be better informed, chiefly from a custom of map-makers of not placing the Shetland and Orkney Islands in maps of Great Britain in their proper position, but putting them in a little square to themselves at one of the top corners of the map for the purpose of economising space, or mystifying the children in the schools, who probably have a vague idea that they are somewhere between the north of Scotland and the North Pole.

Many people seem to think that they are inhabited by Highlanders speaking Gaelic, and are, in fact, part of Scotland.

Nothing insults a Shetlander or Orcadian, as the inhabitants of Orkney are called, more than to call him a Scotchman; in fact, their regard for Scotland is something akin to an Irishman's love for England.

Others only know Shetland as the place where the ponies come from.

The Shetlands are situated between latitude 59° 51' and 60° 52' north and between the meridians of 0° 42' and 1° 50' west longitude, and consist of about a hundred islands, twenty-nine of which are inhabited. Fair Isle, which lies twenty-three miles southwestward and Foula thirteen miles westward are included in the group.

The principal island is called Mainland and is about fifty miles long and twenty in breadth in the broadest part. Lerwick being the chief town (each syllable in this name is pronounced as if two different words, Ler-wick), but by far the most important fishing-station is at Balta Sound in the island Unst, the most northerly of the group; in fact, so important has this place become that probably the congregation of fishingboats to be seen there at certain times is greater than at any other fishingstation in the world. The other islands of any considerable size are Yell, Fetlar, Bressay and Whalsay.

The Shetlanders, both men and women, are a very fine race, showing in a marked degree their Norse descent. The men are expert boatmen and the women are hardly ever to be seen without knitting-needles in their hands, making the justly celebrated Shetland shawls.

The Norse language was generally spoken until about the year 1700; since then, however, as a language it has quite died out. This appears somewhat inexplicable considering the remoteness and isolation of their home. Norse words are however still used for the parts of boats and their management.

Sumburgh Head, the most southerly point of Mainland, is known to many people by name, as there is a meteorological station there, and the weather at Sumburgh Head is chronicled in the daily reports of the Meteorological Society. Fitfull Head is also familiar to those who have read Sir Walter Scott's " Pirate." There are no trees in Shetland and many parts of the islands have an extremely desolate appearance. A glance at the chart shows what a vast number of indentations and bays there are, which not only give the coast an extremely picturesque appearance, but also afford protection to the fishingboats and vessels trading in the neighbourhood.

These indentations are variously called goes (a rocky creek or opening), voes (long, narrow bays or firths) or wicks (open bays). The tides, which have only a range of about seven feet, are extremely strong, attaining a velocity in some places of from seven to nine knots. These races are known as Rosts.

The climate is by no means so bad as might be thought considering the high latitude; in fact, it is remarkably equable, though somewhat cold. The winter is never very severe nor the summer very warm, the mean annual temperature over a period of forty years being 45 • 38°, varying from a mean monthly temperature of 39-1° in February and March, the coldest months, to a mean monthly temperature of 53 • 3° in August.

The rainfall varies from 37 to 51 inches, giving a mean for twenty-five years of 36 • 75. (These figures are taken from the " North Sea Pilot," Part I.) The Shetland Islands have had an unenviable notoriety for wrecks. A Shetland gentleman has at enormous pains collected the details from documents and other sources of all the known wrecks which have taken place since the tenth century, including a description of the loss of Harald, King of Man, about 1171, when his ship foundered in Sumburgh Best (an account of this is given in the Orkneyinga Saga), and accounts of many other wrecks of great interest. With such a record for wrecks it might be thought strange that there are no Life-boats in these islands. From time to time officers of the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFEBOAT INSTITUTION have visited Shetland with the object of inquiring into the subject and ascertaining whether the loss of life by wrecks would justify that Institution in placing stations in any of the islands.

In 1866 the late Admiral J. R. Ward went to Shetland and visited Sandsair Bay, twelve miles south of Lerwick, where it was thought desirable a Life- | boat might be placed. He saw Mr.

Bruce of Sumburgh, who was much interested in the project and went with him to Sandwick which is connected with Sandsair by a good road about a mile long, so that if a Life-boat were placed either at Sandwick or Sandsair she could be transported from one place to the other as necessity occasioned and would be under the eye and management of Mr. Bruce, the principal landowner.

However it was ascertained that no lives had been lost from shipwreck for many years, with the exception of one case a few months previous to Admiral Ward's visit, when a vessel struck an outlying rock and went to pieces too quickly to have allowed time for any boat to have rescued the crew.

The fishermen, of whom there are plenty in the neighbourhood of Sandwick, from time to timo had rendered valuable assistance to vessels in distress; but, on the whole, Admiral Ward did not think a Life-boat was urgently needed, though it might possibly be of use in going to the aid of vessels when first seen standing into danger and piloting them into safety.

In 1883 the Shetland Islands were again visited by an officer of the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION, Commander Georges Carter, R.N., who first vent to Lerwick and collected all the information he could from those likely to have trustworthy knowledge of the wrecks and loss of life. Among others, he saw the Collector of Customs, the Sheriff, some of the principal fish-curers, and the Officer of the Coastguard. All were unanimous in their opinion that a Life-boat would be practically useless in Shetland, as when wrecks occur the vessels are in pieces immediately after striking. Commander Carter then visited Sandsair and Whalsay, but failed to see any place where it would be desirable to place a Life-boat. The general opinion expressed then (1883) was that Shetland was not a place for a Life-boat, but what was required was more lights.

When there is any question of the necessity for placing a Life-boat station, the locality is generally not slow in bringing its claims before the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION ; but it is not the policy of the Institution to wait to be asked if it is thought that any particular place should be provided with a Life-boat. Consequently the casualties to shipping are carefully watched, and on any indication that a Life-boat station might be required, one of the Institution's officers visits the neighbourhood and reports. Since 1883, although there have been numerous shipping casualties in the islands of Shetland, an investigation showed that they were of a description not to warrant the establishment of a Life-boat station at any particular spot. In July, this year, the attention of the Institution was attracted by the report of a plucky rescue of the crew of a fishing boat, called the Puritan, by an Anstruther steam drifter, called the Vanguard III., the master of which vessel being the Assistant Coxswain of the Anstruther Life-boat.

The Puritan went ashore close to Greenholm, a small island near the north end of Bressay. Partly on account of this wreck and partly because no officer of the Institution had visited Shetland since 1883, the question of the necessity or otherwise for providing Life-boat stations in the Shetland Islands has again been carefully gone into by two of the Institution officers.

From a return provided by the Board of Trade, it appears that in the last ten years there have been no less than 139 casualties, most of them, however, being of very trifling importance. These casualties are distributed over the islands in such a manner as to make it difficult to say that one place has more call for Lifeboat protection than another, and on analysing the return it is found that out of the 139 only seven were attended by loss of life. In 1897 a small steam fishing-boat was lost on Foula Island, and all her crew of eight hands drowned before any assistance could have been rendered. On the 16th February, 1900, Shetland was visited by a gale, which, so far as the wind was concerned, was not so serious ; but it was attended by an abnormally heavy sea, known in the islands now by the name of " the seaquake " of February, 1900. In this gale a Norwegian barque called the Nor was totally wrecked on a bar or sunken rock in Nesting Bay. It is doubtful whether anything was seen of this vessel; but it is certain that if she was seen no help could have been rendered. On the next day another Norwegian barque, named the Hedeveg, was wrecked on Daey Island, a little north of Fetlar ; two of her crew were drowned, and the remaining nine were rescued by a shore boat. In this case it is possible a Life-boat might have been able to effect the rescue sooner than the shore boat.

In January, 1902, the steam trawler Jupiter, of Hull, struck a rock near Rumble Holm, on the S.E. side of Whalsay, and went to pieces instantly, all her crew of nine being drowned.

The wreck took place at night, and nothing was known of it until the next day. In June, 1902, a vessel called the King Harald, making for Scalloway, was wrecked in Hamna Voe, Burra Island. Five of her crew managed to get on the rocks and two were drowned, either before she struck or in the attempt to get ashore. In March, 1903, a Norwegian steamer, called the Louisa, struck the north of Havra Island. Ten of her crew were saved in their own boat, and four drowned, it is believed, before information of the wreck had been received. The last case of loss of life was on the occasion of the wreck of the Dione, a Swedish schooner which had got out of her course and went ashore at Dales Voe, a dangerous, rocky place on the extreme west of Mainland. Four of her orew were drowned and three rescued by ropes under great difficulties. This was not a Life-boat case, and since this casualty a rocket apparatus has been provided for the neighbourhood.

Such are the recent serious casualties, at only one of which possibly a Lifeboat might hare been of use. Previous to those quoted, it would appear that the only two cases calling for special attention took place in 1871 and in 1882, prior to Commander Carter's visit, and both in the vicinity of Whalsay. It cannot, therefore, be said that there is enough cause to justify the Life-boat Institution in placing a station in Shetland.

On the recent visit of the Institution's officers, Lerwick, Scalloway, Sandwick, j and Whalsay were visited, and much interesting information obtained about other places, especially Balta Sound.

But no desire was expressed or opinion given in favour of a Life-boat station, ! although those chiefly interviewed were j specially interested in shipping and ; fishing.

j Since 1866, and even since 1883, the i causes which have reduced the number of wrecks have come into play in Shetland as much or more than they have done in other places, namely, the better lighting of the coast, the increase of steam vessels and consequent diminution of the small coasters, and the introduction of more powerful fishingboats.

The Shetlanders have given up their picturesque Norse boats called "sixernes" (Norse sexoeringr, or six- ! oarer)—a boat about eighteen feet on I the keel and carrying a square lug— ! and taken to larger boats. They used | to take their " sixernes" thirty and even forty miles from the coast, running considerable risk, but in effect making I them perhaps second to none in boat 1 management. Very few of these boats are now in existence. They have played their part, and helped to form the characters of the fine, hardy race of Shetlanders who live in these remote islands, so far from the throng of crowded cities and the noise of railways and motor omnibuses; where they have such long winters with very little daylight and the nights often made beautiful with the glorious aurora borealis ; and where for a short period in summer they live in almost perpetual day..