In the 1900’s, Alisdair MacKinnon from Bousd was famous for his stories about Na Sàmhanaich (the Silent People).
Not to be confused with ‘Na h-uruisgean’ (the Uruisks) creatures who frequented streams and waterfalls, the silent people were hairy, big boned with coarse features. They skulked in caves on the shore, running in fear from the slightest sound, terrified by the echo.
One story was about the last three of their kind, living in a cave on the south side of Coll. There they were squatting one evening, eating their food as quietly as possible when the youngest one boldly said, ‘I heard a cow lowing today!’ His companions put their fingers in their ears, squinting in horror at this outburst. Over a year later, the second one appeared to be under great stress one night and suddenly cried out: ‘What was that you were saying the other day about a cow lowing?'
There was a stunned silence and more than a year passed again when the oldest one cast a baleful look around and announced, ‘If you don’t stop chattering about lowing cows, I’ll have to get a cave for myself where I can live in peace!’ Another story was about one who was older than Methuselah and had never uttered one complete sentence in his life. Propping himself against the wall of the cave, he feebly said, ‘Excuse me children, I am going’ and breathed his last. That was the type of traditional stories told on Coll.
More information on visiting the area can be found here.