From the extent of the foul ground round the Skerryvore, and the absence of good harbours in the neighbourhood, it was foreseen at the outset that the operation of landing about 6000 tons of materials on the Rock could not be accomplished by means of sailing vessels with that degree of certainty or regularity which was desirable, in order to obtain the full benefit of the short working season which the climate of the Western Hebrides affords; and the necessity for providing a steam tender was, therefore, generally admitted. It has already been stated, that, in order to avoid the expense attending the building of a vessel for this purpose, application was made at the principal ports of the kingdom, with the view of purchasing a suitable vessel; but, although twenty-four vessels of nearly the required dimensions were offered for sale, not one of them was considered fit for such a service, the great majority being light craft, such as are generally used in river and port navigation. It was therefore found necessary to build a steamer; for which purpose, specifications and drawings were prepared, and after receiving various tenders from respectable parties, a contract was entered into with Messrs Menzies and Sons, shipbuilders, and Messrs J. B. Maxton and Co., engineers, both of Leith, for building a steamer of 150 tons, with two engines of 30 horse power each. The use of a steamer, at the very outset of the works, would doubtless have proved of the greatest service in the erection of the barrack on the Rock, and would have materially lightened our cares and toils; but I am not sure that I should have acquired so thorough an acquaintance with the difficulties and dangers of the Skerryvore, or that I should have been so well prepared for all the obstacles that presented themselves in the after parts of the work, had the first season’s operations been conducted under those advantages which are always derived from the use of steam-power. As it was, we had much to bear from the smallness of the Lighthouse Tender, named the _Pharos_, a vessel of 36 tons, new register, which was all the regular shipping attendance we possessed during this first season; and the inconvenience arising from her heavy pitching, was, to landsmen, by no means the least evil to be endured. But the frequent loss of opportunities, of which we might easily have availed ourselves, if we had possessed the command of steam-power, and the danger and difficulty of managing a sailing vessel in the foul ground near the Rock, and between it and Tyree, were, perhaps, even more felt by the seamen than by the landsmen; and if the experience of a single year’s work can form any ground for an estimate of the length of time required for building the Skerryvore Lighthouse, with a sailing vessel, I should say, we must still (even in 1845) have been engaged in the masonry part of the work, which was finished on the 25th July 1842. ~Employment and Wages of Workmen.~