before their visit to Ronas Hill. Mr Cheyne's brother John Cheyne of Tangwick, the local laird, had the previous year hosted Dunn at his residence, sparing Dunn from spending a night in Stenness, Eshaness, in what Dunn described as "[a hut] hung inside and out with fish; the smell of some, in a state of putrefaction, being by no means an agreeable accompaniment". This was despite the fact Dunn described himself as being "well habituated to the living as well as dead nuisances infesting a Shetland hut." Dunn upon returning to Shetland several years later, was accused by John Cheyne of "thinning [the skua population] more than any other person", Dunn however claimed:...in this [John Cheyne] was certainly mistaken, as I did not take so many as to injure the breed; these gulls were however so scarce when I last visited the islands, that I had great difficulty in obtaining permission to visit the places where they breed, the landlord assigning as a reason for his refusal that the birds had almost become extinct, but allowed me, as a great favour, to shoot a single pair.Dunn's explanation for the decline in the skua population was that "several parties from the South travelled through Shetland, principally for amusement, and having fowling-pieces with them, destroyed indiscriminately every bird that came within their reach", as well as mentioning "a great number were also shot by the officers of a cutter which was stationed in Rona's Voe for two or three months." Return of the whaleship Diana In 1866, the whaleship Diana of Hull set out on a voyage in search of whales and seals, and became trapped in ice for many months in the Davis Strait between Greenland and Canada. The crew's supplies were not sufficient to last them the extended time, meaning many of the crew became gradually more ill with scurvy and fatigue. The ship did eventually break free of the ice on 17 March 1867 and after what was termed "a race with death" in the publication of the ship's surgeon's diaries, Diana made its first landfall following the ordeal in Ronas Voe. On 2 April 1867 at 11am, the remaining crew who were able enough to work the ship limped it into Ronas Voe. As they entered, eight corpses lay on the deck, and only two of the crew were able to make their way above deck to call