02/09/2026
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Wednesday 3rd September, 1856
INDUSTRY OF THE HIGHLANDERS
‘A correspondent of the Times writes to that paper in refutation of the charges of "laziness" sometimes brought against Highlanders:- "Upwards of 5000 Highland men and women are at present living at Wick in the prosecution of the herring fishery.
They come from Sutherland, Ross, and
the Western Isles about the middle of July, and remain till the first or second week in September. The men are chiefly hired on board the fishing boats, and for their season's services they are rewarded with from L.5 to L.9 for wages, with lodgings and board.
In return for this they go to sea every fishing night, row the boats to the fishing ground, cast out and haul nets, bring the boats back to land, deliver the herrings by measurement to the fish curers, and go through the general drudgery of the fishing. It is really surprising what labour these men will undergo, what fatigue they will endure, their patient plodding, and persevering industry, and their general conduct through the season. The women are engaged in curing the fish and preparing them for the market, for which they are paid at the rate of 5d to 6d per barrel; and they, too, go through an astonishing amount of labour and fatigue.’
National Trust for Scotland
