Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 10.djvu/324

310 Lochaber, Inverness-shire. On both sides of the steep, narrow glen through which the Roy runs, there are three perfectly horizontal and parallel roads, directly opposite on each side, those on one side corresponding exactly in elevation to those on the other. They are respectively 1,150, 1,070, and 860 feet above the sea, and are formed as shelves in the yielding drift which covers the sides of the mountains. They usually slope somewhat from the hill, and vary in width from one to twenty yards. The two highest stop abruptly at different points near the mouth of Glen Roy, although no barrier now remains to show any reason for it. At some points the grass on the shelves differs from that which is above and below, and, as the roads lie in the midst of heather-covered hills, the absence of the dark shrub from them adds greatly to their conspicuousness.

The terraces were originally supposed to have been made for the heroes whose deeds have been sung by Ossian. A less romantic view was that "they were designed for the chase, and were made after the spots were cleared in lines from wood, in order to tempt the animals into the open paths after they were roused, in order that they might come within the reach of the bowmen who might conceal themselves in the woods above and below." In 1816 Playfair believed them to be aqueducts for artificial irrigation. In 1817 Dr. MacCulloch discussed the probability of there having been lakes embosomed in Glen Roy at one time, and supposed that these roads were the margins of the lakes. It remained, however, for Sir Thomas Dick-Lander to bring forward the facts of the subject, and place them in a scientific light. Adjacent to Glen Roy is Glen Gluoy, along the sides of which there is a single terrace or road, having the same elevation on each side of the valley, and similar in all respects to the roads of Glen Roy. Wishing to see whether these two sides would be united at the head of the glen, and in what manner, he followed them into the mountains. As the valley gradually rose, he observed the shelves approaching each other more nearly; and finally, at the head of Glen Gluoy, he discovered a water-shed of exactly the same elevation as the road which swept around the glen. This height was found to be 1,170 feet, or 20 feet higher than the upper road of Glen Roy. From this watershed he passed through a lateral branch-valley to Glen Roy, descended to the highest road, and followed it up the glen as he had pursued the previous road. In the same manner he came upon a water-shed looking into Glen Spey, and of precisely the same elevation as the road. After this he dropped down to the lowest shelf, and followed it to the mouth of the glen. It did not end here, however, but doubled around the hills, and ran along the sides of the mountains which flank Glen Spean. Continuing eastward, he observed the Spean Valley gradually approaching the road until the two were on a level, when, as in the other cases, he discovered a water-shed.

From these facts, convinced that water alone could have produced