The traditional stories refer to the footprints of the faery
dog being found on Luskentyre Beach and these footprints are not easily
mistaken for normal dog prints as they are far bigger than those that the
largest of true dogs could leave behind in the wet sand. When the author of all
things Hebridean-related, Alasdair Alpin MacGregor, was travelling around the
Western Isles in the 1930s researching his book he eventually found himself on
the sands at Luskentyre. Recalling the traditional tales of the sightings of
the faery dog he proceeded to try and track down a witness and as luck would
have it his path soon crossed that of a young man who was herding some cows.
Being the investigative bloke that he was Alasdair asked the young man if he
had ever heard tales of the faery dog that was said to leave its prints up on
the beach. Much to his surprise the young man confirmed that not only had he
heard of the tale of the faery dog but that he himself had come across a set of
the large canine prints on that lonely beach. He went on to tell Alasdair that
while he had never seen anything other than the paw prints he did know of a
number of people on Harris whose encounters with the animal had not just been
restricted to paw prints but who had both heard and on some occasions actually
seen the faery dog. The young cowherd would proceed to show his companion
the site where he had come across the footprints in the damp sand and as
Alasdair would record in the The ghost
book:
‘This is the bit where myself saw the Cu-Sith’s footprints’
he now told me and in a whisper, lest seal or seabird should overhear. We were
very much alone at the time; and I could not but feel my informant was letting
me into a secret not to be divulged. Perhaps, he was warning me, lest one tarried
too late by this haunted shore land.'
Perhaps the young man suspected the beach itself had a
sentient presence of its own, perhaps recalling the fate of the greedy man and
his boat-load of gold or perhaps he was just recalling the threat the faery dog
held, and as the old tales of this beach confirmed it wasn’t only the third
bark of the Cu sith that you had to fear for it was told that those who stepped
into the tread of those large otherworldly paw prints and followed their course
would be driven to madness. So if you do happen to come across a set of
mysterious paw prints on the beach think twice before stepping in them and if
you choose to, don’t say you haven’t been warned.
You can listen to this show on the following link morton through midnight it is 1 hour 30 minutes into the show.
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