The Hand of MacLeod

Long ago the MacLeods of Harris and the MacDonalds of Uist, both desirous of owning St Kilda, decided that a curach from Harris and a curach from Uist should race each other across the intervening fifty miles of sea,
and that the crew of the boat arriving first should have the right to claim Hirta. The long race was a close one, and the boats approached Hirta with the MacDonalds leading by a few yards. When it seemed certain that the
MacLeods would be defeated, their leader, Colla MacLeod, chopped off his left hand at the wrist and hurled it ashore over the heads of the rival crew.

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