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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


\ 


The   Coimty   Histories   of  Scotlmtd 


COUNTY    OF     INVERNESS 


A    HISTORY 


OF    THE 


County  of  Inverness 


(MAINLAND) 


BY 


J.   CAMERON    LEES,   LL.D,  F.S.A.  Scot. 

AUTHOR    OF 
'the   abbey   of    paisley,'    '  ST   GILES",    EDINBURGH,'    ETC. 


WILLIAM     BLACKWOOD     AND     SONS 

EDINBURGH     AND    LONDON 

M  D  C  C  C  X  C  V  I  I 


All  Ris-/its  reserved 


[\ 


DA 


THIS    VOLUME    IS    DEDICATED 
TO 

MRS     ELLICE     OF     Invergarry, 

WHO,    WITH    HER    LATE    HUSBAND, 

EDWARD     ELLICE,     Esq.,     M.P., 

HAS    EVER    MANIFESTED    A    DEEP    INTEREST    IN    ALL 

THAT    PERTAINS   TO   THE    PROSPERITY 

OF    INVERNESS-SHIRE, 


736168 


PREFACE. 


The  object  of  the  writer  has  been  to  view  the  history 
of  Inverness-shire  from  the  standpoint  of  the  general 
history  of  Scotland,  to  bring  into  prominence  the  vari- 
ous particulars  in  which  the  former  has  been  affected 
by  the  latter,  and  so  to  trace  the  story  of  the  county 
from  the  earliest  time  to  the  present  day. 

In  following  out  this  design,  no  great  stress  has  been 
laid  upon  isolated  incidents  which  have  only  a  local 
interest.  The  story  of  the  various  districts  of  the 
county  has  been  told,  and  well  told,  by  different  writers, 
to  whom  reference  is  made  in  these  pages.  Few 
counties  of  Scotland  have  had  more  done  for  them 
than  has  been  done  for  Inverness  in  the  gathering 
together  of  the  traditions  and  historic  associations  of 
particular  localities.  The  history  of  the  clans  belong- 
ing to  the  county,  their  genealogies  and  feuds,  have 
also  been  fully  narrated,  especially  in  the  popular  and 
well-known  books  of  Mr  Alexander  Mackenzie.  These 
are  only  referred  to  in  what  follows  when  deemed 
necessary  to  illustrate  the  general  trend  of  things,  and 
the  evolution  of  present  social  conditions  from  a  some- 
what misty  and  chaotic  past. 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

Considerable  attention  has  been  given  to  biographical 
details,  and  to  the  productions  of  the  Inverness-shire 
bards.  These,  it  is  hoped,  may  not  only  be  interesting 
in  themselves,  but  may  also  bring  into  prominence  the 
men  b)'  whom  in  great  measure  the  destinies  of  the 
county  have  been  shaped  and  the  character  of  its 
people  formed. 

The  history  of  the  islands  belonging  to  Inverness-shire 
falls  to  be  dealt  with  in  another  volume  of  the  series 
of  County  Histories  of  which  this  book  forms  part. 
These  islands  are  but  slightly  connected  historically 
with  the  mainland.  From  the  days  when  they  formed 
part  of  the  Norwegian  kingdom,  and  afterwards  of 
the  Lordship  of  the  Isles,  they  have  associations  and 
interests  which  are  peculiarly  their  own,  and  which 
deserve  special  treatment. 

Generous  assistance  has  been  given  to  the  writer 
by  many  Inverness-shire  men  who  have  taken  a  kindly 
interest  in  his  work.  He  wishes  specially  to  mention 
the  Rev.  Dr  Forsyth,  Abernethy ;  Mr  Kenneth 
M'Donald,  the  Town  Clerk  of  Inverness  ;  Mr  Alex- 
ander Macpherson,  Kingussie ;  Mr  George  Malcolm, 
Invergarry ;  and  Mr  William  Mackay,  author  of  the 
'  History  of  Glenmoriston  and  Glenurquhart,'  Inverness. 
To  the  last  in  various  ways  he  has  been  much  indebted, 
especially  in  the  compilation  of  the  appended  Biblio- 
graphical list.  His  best  thanks  are  also  due  to  J.  R. 
Finlay,  Esq.  of  Aberlour,  for  kindly  revising  the  proofs 
of  his  work. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   I. 

PAGE 

The  early  annals  of  Inveniess-shire — The  four  kingdoms — Inverness- 
shire  within  that  of  the  Picts — The  Cruilhne  of  the  North — Origin 
of  the  kingdom  of  Moray  —  Its  disturbed  career — The  battle- 
ground between  the  Norsemen  and  the  Scots — Finally  incor- 
porated with  Scotland  under  Malcolm  Caenmore — The  religion  of 
the  northern  Picts — Its  character  and  worship — Relics  of  the  old 
heathenism  still  existing— The  coming  of  Christianity  to  Inver- 
ness-shire— St  Columba  at  the  Pictish  Court  of  King  Brude— The 
work  of  the  Saint  in  Inverness-shire — His  preaching  and  miracles 
— The  churches  of  the  brethren  of  lona  throughout  the  county — 
Surviving  memorials  of  primitive  Inverness-shire  .         .         .  i 

CHAPTER   II. 

Inverness-shire  feudalised  under  King  David,  his  grandson  Malcolm, 
William  the  Lion,  and  Alexander  II. — The  coming  to  the  North 
of  Norman  and  Saxon  colonists — Their  character  and  the  nature 
of  the  feudal  polity  —  Inverness-shire  portioned  out  among  the 
strangers — Three  great  feudal  institutions  planted  in  the  county — 
The  Castle,  the  Burgh,  and  the  Church — Castle-building  in  each 
district  of  Inverness-shire — Supremacy  of  the  baron — The  position 
of  the  natives — The  burgh  of  Inverness  founded — Its  privileges 
guaranteed  by  royal  charter  —  Its  early  progress  —  Change  in 
Church  polity — The  bishopric  of  Moray  founded — Establishment 
of  the  conventual  system — The  Priory  of  Beauly — The  division 
of  the  county  into  parishes — The  despotic  power  of  the  feudal 
lords — Extent  of  Inverness-shire  in  those  early  days     ...        14 


X  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   III. 

Inverness-shire  during  the  Scottish  War  of  Independence — Edward 
I.  of  England  in  the  North — The  castle  of  Urquhart  a  stronghold 
of  the  patriotic  party — Randolpli,  Earl  of  Moray — His  vigorous 
nile — David  II.  at  Inverness — Great  social  changes  in  the  county 
— Establishment  of  the  clan  system  —  The  Erasers,  Grants, 
Chisholms,  Camerons,  and  others  become  heads  of  clans — The 
clan  system  in  the  main  a  development  of  the  Norman  polity — The 
first  notice  in  history  of  the  clans  connected  with  Inverness-shire 
— Feud  between  the  Clan  Chattan  and  the  Clan  Cameron — Battle 
of  Invernahavon — Conflict  on  the  Inch  of  Perth  .... 


CHAPTER   IV. 


25 


Annals  of  Inverness-shire  now  fall  into  two  divisions — Tlie  king 
against  the  clans  and  the  clans  against  each  other^ — Efforts  of  the 
Crown  to  bring  the  chiefs  into  subjection — Two  centuries  of  dis- 
order— Rebellions  of  the  Eords  of  the  Isles — Of  Donald  in  141 1 — 
His  defeat  at  Harlaw — Visit  to  Inverness  of  James  I. — Executes 
justice  on  the  rebels — Inverness  burnt  by  the  Island  Chief — His 
defeat  in  Lochaber  and  submission  at  Holyrood — The  rising  of 
Donald  Balloch— The  rebellion  of  John  of  the  Isles  in  145 1,  and 
of  his  nephew  in  1491 — The  lordship  of  the  Isles  forfeited — Other 
uprisings  of  the  northern  clans — Policy  of  the  Government  to 
strengthen  the  authority  of  the  Crown  in  the  North — The  Earl 
of  Huntly  appointed  Lieutenant-General  of  the  Highlands — His 
difficulties  in  maintaining  order  —  John  of  Moidart  and  the 
"Battle  of  the  Shirts" — The  black  tailor  of  the  axe — Gradual 
evolution  of  order — Royal  visits  to  the  North — Of  James  II.,  III., 
IV.,  v.,  and  of  Mary  of  Guise — Maiy  Queen  of  Scots  at  Inver- 
ness— The  burgh  of  Inverness  in  those  troubled  times — Holds  its 
own  against  "clanned  men"  and  grows  in  wealth  and  prosperity      35 

CHAPTER   V. 

The  Refomiation  in  Scotland — Slow  progress  of  Protestantism  in 
Inverness-shire — Conformity  to  the  "new  opinions "  more  ap- 
parent than  real  —  Deputation  of  the  Kirk  at  Inverness  —  Offer 
of  the  Mackintosh  to  "plant"  ministers — Position  of  the  Roman 
clergy  in  Inverness-shire  before  the  Reformation  —  Ministers 
gradually  settled  throughout  the  county — The  new  minister  of 
Kilmallie  and  his  doctrine— Troubles  of  the  minister  of  Abertarff 
— The  Reformation  in  the  burgh — Dissolution  of  the  monasteries 
and  destination  of  their  property — Hardships  suffered  by  the  old 


CONTENTS.  Xi 

clergy — Their  zeal  in  troubled  times — Character  of  the  Roman 
Catholics  of  Inverness-shire — Iluntly  remains  Catholic — A  period 
of  terrible  feuds — The  vigorous  rule  of  James  VI. — The  king's 
writ  made  to  run  freely  in  the  North — The  fighting  chiefs  brought 
before  the  Privy  Council — Their  sons  ordered  to  be  educated 
— The  gradual  cessation  of  clan  feuds — A  new  epoch  begins  in 
Inverness-shire  .  ........       50 


CHAPTER   VI. 

Highland  seers  prophesy  troublous  times  in  1644 — Their  prognosti- 
cations fulfilled — Montrose  breaks  with  the  Covenant  and  joins 
the  king — The  fiery  cross  speeds  throughout  Inverness  -  shire — 
Colkitto  appears  in  the  county — Alarm  of  the  burghers  of  Inver- 
ness— Campaign  of  Montrose  in  the  North — His  game  of  "hide- 
and-seek  "  round  the  Grampians — Inverness-shire  clans  join  his 
standard — His  descent  upon  Argyle — -Camps  at  Kilchumin — His 
march  to  Inverlochy — The  battle  of  Inverlochy — His  retreat  to 
Inverness-shire  after  Philiphaugh — Lays  siege  to  the  town — Dis- 
bands his  army — Two  other  attempts  to  retrieve  the  royal  fortunes 
— The  last  effort  of  Montrose — His  appearance  as  a  prisoner  at 
Inverness — Influence  of  Montrose  on  the  Highlanders — Inspires 
them  with  loyalty  to  the  Stewarts        ......       64 


CHAPTER   VII. 

Cromwell  in  the  North — His  conquest  of  Inverness-shire — Builds  a 
citadel  at  Inverness  —  Description  of  the  fortress — Churches 
razed  to  build  it — A  vessel  of  war  placed  on  Loch  Ness — The 
Chief  of  Glengarry  plots  insurrection  —  The  rising  of  1653 
under  Glencairn  —  Wonderful  march  through  the  county  of 
General  Monk — Final  defeat  of  Glencairn — Ewen  Cameron  of 
Lochiel  refuses  to  make  terms  with  the  English — The  "  Ulysses 
of  the  Highlands"— His  character,  and  struggles  with  Crom- 
well's soldiers— Makes  peace  with  IMonk — Accompanies  him  to 
London  at  the  Restoration  of  Charles  II. — Restoration  of  the 
king  received  with  joy  in  the  North — The  citadel  of  Inverness 
demolished — Influence  of  Cromwell's  soldiers  on  the  people — 
On  their  departure  the  county  becomes  turbulent — The  Keppoch 
murder  and  the  punishment  of  the  murderers — "The  Well  of  the 
Seven  Heads  " — The  Mackintoshes  invade  Lochaber — The  old 
feud  between  them  and  the  Camerons  closed — The  last  of  the 
clan  battles  of  Inverness-shire — The  fight  at  Mulroy — "Mac- 
donald  took  the  Brae  on  them  " — The  county  assumes  its  present 
geographical  area         .........       76 


xii  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

Inverness-shire  during  the  wars  of  Viscount  Dundee — "Great  John 
of  the  Battles" — Takes  up  arms  in  favour  of  James  VII. — Comes 
to  Inverness — Finds  the  town  besieged  by  Keppoch — "Col  of 
the  Cows" — His  interview  with  that  freebooter — Appoints  a 
general  muster  of  the  clans — His  march  through  Inverness-shire 
to  Dalmacomer — Gathering  of  the  clans — Striking  pictures  of  the 
chiefs  in  the  "  Grcemiad  " — Glengarry,  Keppoch,  Lochiel — The 
campaign  in  Badenoch  against  General  Mackay — Dundee  at 
Moy  in  Lochaber — The  battle  of  Killiecrankie  and  death  of 
Dundee — The  ineffectual  struggle  of  the  chiefs  on  the  side  of  the 
king — The  Haughs  of  Cromdale — Mackay  erects  Fort  William 
— The  chiefs  submit  to  Government — Keppoch  and  Glengarry 
narrowly  escape  the  fate  of  Glencoe — The  county  again  peaceful 
— Death  of  Lochiel 91 


CHAPTER   IX. 

Inverness-shire  again  disturbed — Death  of  Queen  Anne  —  Procla- 
mation of  King  George  at  Inverness — The  chiefs  promise  to 
support  the  king,  but  take  part  in  the  rising  of  the  Earl  of 
Mar — "Old  Borlum  " — Failure  of  the  rising  in  1715 — Punish- 
ment of  the  chiefs  who  took  part — General  Wade  receives  sub- 
missions to  the  Government — Humble  letters  addressed  to  him — 
Clemency  of  the  Government  —  Measures  adopted  by  Wade — 
Building  of  barracks — Disarming  of  the  clans — Embodiment  of 
companies  of  loyal  Highlanders  —  Erection  of  Fort  Augustus — 
Construction  of  roads  throughout  the  country — Feats  of  engineer- 
ing—  Weakness  of  General  Wade's  pohcy  —  Establishment  of 
"Watches" — Macdonald  of  Barisdale — Inverness-shire  quiet,  but 
ready  for  insurrection  .         .         .         .         .         .  .112 


CHAPTER   X. 

Social  state  of  Inverness-shire  before  the  destruction  of  the  feudal 
system — Sources  of  information — Reports  of  Lovat  and  of  General 
Wade— Burt's  letters— The  town  of  Inverness— Its  buildings  and 
condition — Descriptions  of  Mackey  and  Burt — Fort  William — 
The  chiefs,  the  tacksmen,  and  the  common  people — Their  mode 
of  life — Houses,  customs,  amusements,  and  position  generally — 
Customs  and  manners  of  the  period  illustrated  by  life  of  Lord 
Lovat — The  leading  man  in  the  county        .         .         ■         •         •      '35 


CONTENTS.  xiii 


CHAPTER   XI. 

The  county  preparing  for  a  rising — Emissaries  from  France  at  work — 
Prince  Charles  Stewart  lands  in  Moidart — The  die  cast — Heroism 
of  young  JMacdonald  of  Kinloch  Moidart — Description  of  the 
Prince  by  one  who  was  present — Lochiel  prevailed  to  join  the 
enterprise — The  first  bloodshed  in  the  new  rising — The  standard 
raised  in  Glenfinnan — General  Cope  marches  northward — Makes 
for  Inverness — Prince  Charles  crosses  Corryarrick  and  camps  at 
Dalwhinnie — The  clansmen  who  were  with  him — The  cunning 
policy  of  Lovat — The  Highland  army  moves  to  the  south — Their 
return  to  Inverness  -  shire  —  The  "Affair  of  Moy"  —  Loudon 
abandons  Inverness — The  Highland  army  destroys  Fort  George 
— The  Duke  of  Cumberland  arrives  at  Nairn — Prince  Charles 
camps  on  Culloden  Moor — Failure  of  the  projected  attack  on  the 
Hanoverian  camp — The  battle  of  Culloden — The  Macdonalds 
stand  on  their  dignity  and  refuse  to  fight — The  last  charge — 
Bravery  of  the  Highlanders — ^John  Mor  M'Gillvray— Escape  of 
Lochiel — The  savage  treatment  of  the  wounded  and  prisoners — 
The  Duke  of  Cumberland  moves  to  Inverness — Failure  of  the 
Highlanders  to  retrieve  their  position— The  meetings  at  Ruthven 
and  Muirlagan  —  Inverness  -  shire  abandoned  to  the  enemy  — 
"Mourning,  lamentation,  and  woe"  .....      164 


CHAPTER    XII. 

Charles  Edward  Stewart  after  Culloden  —  Arrives  at  Gortuleg — 
Meets  witli  Lovat — Reaches  Invergarry — Starts  for  the  west — 
At  Glen  Pean,  Meoble,  and  Loch  Morar — Crosses  the  mountains 
to  Glenboisdale — Resolves  to  proceed  to  the  Islands — Sets  sail 
from  Borradale  with  Donald  Macleod  —  Returns  after  many 
adventures  and  escapes  to  the  mainland — At  Little  Mallack — 
Reaches  Borradale  for  the  third  time — Passes  through  a  cordon 
of  soldiers  —  Stays  with  the  seven  outlaws  of  Glenmoriston — 
Moves  again  westward — Welcomed  by  friends  in  Locharkaig — 
Makes  for  Badenoch — Joins  Lochiel  at  Mellanuir — In  a  shieling 
on  Ben  Alder — The  cage  and  its  inmates — Hears  of  the  arrival 
of  two  French  vessels  in  Loch-na-Nuagh — Travels  to  Borradale 
and  embarks  for  France — Atrocities  perpetrated  on  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Inverness-shire  by  the  Hanoverians — Sickening  details 
—  Rebel-hunting — Races  at  Fort  Augustus — Fate  of  the  Inver- 
ness-shire chiefs  —  Escape  of  Cluny  and  young  Clanranald — 
Colonel  Macdonald  of  Barrisdale — The  apprehension  of  Lovat 
— Taken  to  London — His  trial  and  execution — Dr  Cameron  the 
last  victim  of  the  '45— Acts  of  Parliament  passed  after  the  in- 


xiv  CONTENTS. 

surrection— The  Act  of  clemency — The  Act  for  disarming  the 
Highlanders  and  abolishing  their  dress  —  The  Act  abolishing 
heritable  jurisdictions — Its  important  results— The  romance  of 
the  county  ends — A  new  order  of  things  begins        .         .         .     185 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

Travellers  in  Inverness-shire  after  the  '45 — Visit  of  General  James 
Wolfe  in  1751 — His  description  of  the  town  and  people — Goes  to 
Culloden  and  Fort  George  —  Attends  an  assembly  —  CuUoden 
commemorated  at  Inverness  —  Reports  of  Hanoverian  officers 
quartered  in  the  county — A  captured  priest — Endeavours  of  the 
people  to  evade  the  Act  preventing  the  Highland  dress — Visit  of 
Bishop  Pococke  in  1760 — His  interest  in  antiquities — Describes 
Fort  William — Reaches  Fort  Augustus  by  Loch  Lochy — Comes 
to  Inverness  and  Culloden — His  description  of  Beauly  Priory  and 
of  the  Aird  —  Visit  of  Pennant  in  1769 — His  disparagement  of 
Prince  Charles — His  praise  of  Inverness — Restoration  of  the 
Lovat  estates — Administration  of  forfeited  property  in  the  county 
— A  fair  at  Inverness — Loch  Ness  affected  by  an  earthquake — 
Lochaber  described — Break  up  of  the  clan  system — Visit  of  Dr 
Samuel  Johnson  and  Boswell  in  1773 — At  Fort  George — Spends 
a  Sunday  in  Inverness — The  Episcopal  chapel — Rides  by  Glen- 
moriston  to  Glenelg — His  views  on  emigration  and  disappeai'ance 
of  the  tacksmen — General  character  of  his  observations — Visit  of 
Colonel  Thornton  in  1784 — Settles  down  as  a  sportsman  in  Bade- 
noch  —  His  interest  in  the  people  and  scenery — Restoration  of 
Cluny  Macpherson  to  his  estates — A  Badenoch  feast — Dying  out 
of  Jacobite  feeling — "George  III.,  and  long  may  he  reign!" 
drank  everywhere — What  may  be  learned  from  the  accounts  of 
these  travellers — They  show  an  extraordinary  change  to  have 
taken  place         ..........     205 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

The  sullen  discontent  of  the  people  after  Culloden — Broken  by  a 
call  to  arms — The  people  enlist  largely  in  the  army — Highland 
regiments  before  '45  —  Lord  Chatham  orders  regiments  to  be 
raised  on  an  extensive  scale — His  celebrated  speech  in  praise  of 
Highland  soldiers — Inverness-shire  a  productive  recruiting-ground 
— The  Hon.  Simon  Eraser  raises  a  regiment  in  1757  —  Many 
gentlemen  of  the  county  join — The  Fraser  Highlanders  and  their 
career — Regiment  raised  in  1759  under  the  influence  of  the  House 
of  Gordon  —  Macdonald's  Highlanders  raised  in  1778  —  The 
Gordon  Highlanders  raised  in  1794 — The  various  fencible  regi- 


CONTENTS.  XV 

ments— Tlie  79th  raised  by  Cameron  of  Erracht — Sketch  of  liis 
history  and  that  of  the  Cameron  I  [ighlanders — Effect  on  Inver- 
ness-shire of  this  great  opening  up  of  miUtary  service — Every  man 
proud  to  be  a  soldier  —  Inverness-shire  men  who  have  distin- 
guished themselves  in  the  army  :  Sir  Colqulioun  Grant  and  his 
services^John  Cameron  of  Fassiefern — His  gallant  career — Killed 
at  Quatre  Bras  and  buried  in  Lochaber — Sir  John  Cameron  of 
Culchenna — Sir  Alexander  Cameron  of  Inverailort — Sir  James 
Macdonnell  of  Glengarry — Sir  Herbert  Macpherson — Two  great 
non-combatants  :  Sir  James  MacGregor,  M.D. — John  Cameron, 
war  correspondent — Men  like  these  maintain  the  martial  spirit 
of  their  ancestors — This  spirit  generally  dead  throughout  the 
county — Few  Inverness  men  join  the  army        ....     229 


CHAPTER    XV. 

Changes  in  the  county  and  among  its  people — Rents  of  the  tacks- 
men raised — Large  numbers  leave  Inverness-shire  for  the  Colonies 
— Progress  of  the  process  of  depopulation  —  The  strong  tide  of 
emigration  to  America — Government  induced  to  try  to  stop  it — 
Send  Mr  Telford,  engineer,  to  report  on  the  best  measures  to  be 
taken — His  recommendations — Strongly  advises  giving  the  people 
work  in  the  construction  of  roads  and  a  canal — Construction  of 
roads  and  making  of  the  Caledonian  Canal  begun  in  1804 — The 
different  lines  of  roads  described,  and  their  cost — -The  excavating 
of  the  canal — Difficulty  of  the  work — Impediments  surmounted — - 
Opening  of  the  new  waterway — Its  cost — The  beneficial  results 
to  Inverness-shire  of  these  undertakings — Increase  in  the  value  of 
property — The  town  of  Inverness  makes  a  new  start — A  great 
record  of  improvement — The  great  wool  fair  established — Emi- 
gration not  stopped  by  the  Government  works — Period  of  sheep- 
farming  begins — Landlords  begin  to  evict — Difference  between 
the  earlier  and  later  emigrations — The  Glengarry  evictions — The 
country  swept  liare  of  the  inhabitants — A  tragic  story  at  best        .     247 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

Agricultural  progress  of  the  county — Highland  farming  in  the  olden 
time — The  monks  of  Beauly  and  their  civilising  influence — The 
pear-tree  in  their  garden — The  peasant  a  soldier,  not  an  agricul- 
turist—  Considerable  improvement  in  the  beginning  of  the  present 
century  —  Comprehensive  survey  of  the  county  by  Dr  James 
Robertson  for  the  Board  of  Agriculture — His  report  to  be  de- 
pended on— Discusses  the  possibility  of  cultivating  the  moors — 
Certain  moorlands  specified  by  him — His  estimate  of  the  pro- 


XVI  CONTENTS. 

prietors — The  land-tenures  existing  —  The  houses  of  the  pro- 
prietors and  farmers — The  methods  of  farming — Runrig — Outfield 
and  infield — Four  classes  of  farmers — The  moral  character  of  the 
people — The  rents  payable  by  tenants — The  relief  of  the  poor  and 
absence  of  poor-rates — The  implements  of  husbandry — The  crops 
cultivated — Planting  of  trees — Sheep  -  breeding — The  kelp  in- 
dustry— The  villages — Conclusions  to  be  drawn  from  Dr  Robert- 
son's report — His  report  contrasted  with  that  of  Mr  Macdonald 
in  1S72 — General  progress  and  increase  in  rental — Increase  in  the 
number  of  good  steadings — Character  of  the  leases  given — Im- 
provement in  agricultural  implements — Extension  of  plantations 
— Failure  of  kelp  —  Establishment  of  poor-rates  —  The  crops 
principally  cultivated — Increase  of  deer  forests— Present  value  of 
property. 

Progress  in  the  education  of  the  people — Education  in  the 
olden  time — Immense  improvement  caused  by  the  Education  Act 
of  1872  —  New  buildings  and  Government  grants  —  Secondary 
education  —  Great  progress  of  enlightenment  in  modern  times 
— The  morality  of  the  people  shown  by  the  returns  of  the 
Registrar-General — Their  attention  to  religious  duties         .         .     263 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

Distinguished  men  of  Inverness-shire  in  civil  life — Not  so  many  as 
in  other  counties,  owing  to  the  long  years  of  turbulence  through 
which  our  county  passed  —  Duncan  Forbes  of  CuUoden  —  His 
family  and  early  education — ^Joins  the  Scottish  bar — Made  Sheriff 
of  Mid-Lothian — Marries — Takes  the  side  of  the  Government  in 
the  rising  in  171 5 — Pleads  warmly  the  cause  of  those  forfeited — 
Returned  to  Parliament  for  the  Inverness  Burghs — His  literary 
works — Appointed  President  of  the  Court  of  Session — His  great 
influence  in  behalf  of  the  Government  in  1745 — His  efforts  un- 
rewarded by  the  authorities — His  death — Charles  Grant,  a  states- 
man and  philanthropist — His  Ijirth  and  early  years — Goes  to 
India — His  career  there — The  character  of  his  policy — Becomes 
a  Director  of  the  East  India  Company — His  services  in  its  behalf 
— His  association  with  Wilberforce — His  endeavours  to  proinote 
the  welfare  of  the  Plighlands — His  death — His  distinguished  sons 
— The  Right  Hon.  Sir  James  Mackintosh — His  Ijirtli  and  educa- 
tion—  Becomes  a  doctor  of  medicine  —  Afterwards  joins  the 
English  bar — His  defence  of  the  French  Revolution — Becomes 
Recorder  of  Bombay — Returns  home  after  a  period  of  service- — 
Enters  Parliament— Made  a  Privy  Councillor,  also  a  Professor  of 
Law  and  Lord  Rector  of  Glasgow  University — His  literary  and 
philosophical  celebrity — His  death — James  Macpherson,  born  at 
Ruthven  —  Studies    for    the   ministry  —  Publishes    fragments    of 


CONTENTS.  xvii 

ancient  poetry — Makes  a  journey  of  literary  research  in  the  High- 
lands— Publishes  '  Ossian  ' — The  great  controversy  that  ensued — 
Made  Governor  of  Pensacola — -Appointed  agent  for  the  Nabob  of 
Arcot — Settles  in  Badenoch — Dies  there,  and  is  buried  in  West- 
minster Abbey — Other  distinguished  men — Their  lives  and  labours 
sketched  —  Grant  of  Corrymony  —  Fraser  of  Reelick  —  John  F. 
M'Lennan — The  literary  spirit  of  Inverness — Robert  Carruthers 
and  the  '  Inverness  Courier ' — Modern  literary  men  of  the  county 
— The  great  lawyers  produced  by  it — Its  theological  poverty — 
Distinguished  Catholic  divines     .......     283 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

Inverness-shire  rich  in  one  species  of  literature  :  has  produced  many 
bards— Ancient  poems — "The  Desire  of  the  Aged  Bard  " — "The 
Owl  " — Ian  Lorn,  the  Keppoch  bard — Sketch  of  his  life — Speci- 
mens of  his  poetry — "The  Day  of  Inverlochy  " — His  panegyric 
on  Sir  James  Macdonald — His  "  Lament  for  Glengarry" — The 
bard  of  the  Clanranald,  Alexander  Macdonald — His  history — 
The  character  of  his  poetry — Translations  of  some  of  his  poems — 
"The  Sugar  Brook"— "The  Song  of  the  Highland  Clans"— 
'•Morag  Beautiful "—"  In  Praise  of  the  Kilt  "—"The  War-ship 
of  Clanranald  " — Julian  Macdonald — Her  elegy  on  Glengarry — 
Black  John  of  Clanranald — His  poem  on  "  The  Highland  Clans" 
— ^Macpherson  of  Strathmashie — John  Roy  Stewart — His  life  and 
poems — Blind  Alan,  bard  of  Glengarry — Character  of  his  efforts 
—His  "  Song  on  Drinking  " — Ewan  M'Lachlan — His  genius,  life, 
and  early  death — Specimens  of  his  poetry — "The  Melody  of 
Love" — Many  other  bards  besides  these  mentioned— Estimate  of 
the  Inverness-shire  bards  and  their  power  of  song         .         .         .     304 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

Inverness-shire  of  the  present  day — The  four  divisions  of  its  history 
—Few  remnants  left  of  the  olden  time — The  old  castles— The 
present  chiefs  —  Disappearance  of  the  Macdonald  families  of 
Keppoch,  Clanranald,  and  Glengarry — "The  last  of  the  chiefs" 
—Increase  in  the  number  of  proprietors  and  of  districts  given  up 
to  sport — Two  illustrations  of  the  change  in  Inverness  and  the 
wealth  poured  into  it  by  sportsmen — Glengarry  and  Glenquoich — 
Money  spent  in  improvements— Rates  and  taxes  paid  by  sporting 
tenants — Railway  reaches  Inverness-shire — Highland  and  West 
Highland  lines — Lines  projected — Growth  and  prosperity  of  the 
towns — Inverness  never  so  worthy  of  being  called  "The  capital 
of  the  Highlands  " — Fort  William — The  Ben  Nevis  Observatory 
— Kingussie — A  great  health  resort — Fort  Augustus  the  site  of 


XVlll  CONTENTS. 

a  Benedictine  monastery — Small  increase  in  manufactures — The 
aluminium  works  in  Stratherrick — Fears  of  the  beauty  of  Foyers 
being  destroyed — The  beauty  of  Inverness-shire  its  great  inheri- 
tance— The  height  of  its  mountains  and  character  of  its  scenery — 
Its  climate  —  The  rainfall  at  some  of  its  principal  recording 
stations — Its  geological  formation — The  county  interesting  to  the 
geologist — The  uplands  of  Inverness-shire — The  process  by  which 
the  valleys  were  formed — The  great  glen  a  fracture — The  scoop- 
ing out  of  its  lakes — The  vast  results  of  glacial  action  everywhere 
apparent — Especially  in  Glen  Spean  and  Glen  Roy — The  parallel 
roads  of  the  latter — The  various  theories  regarding  them — The 
theory  of  Agassiz  doubtless  the  correct  one. 

The  population  of  the  county  in  1881  and  1891 — Conclusion — 
Floreat  Invernessia  !  ........     334 


LIST  OF  BOOKS    RELATING  TO  OR   PUBLISHED   IN   INVERNESS-SHIRE      355 

LIST  OF   MAPS   OF    INVERNESS 367 

INDEX 369 


LIST    OF    MAPS. 


SCOTIA  PROVINCL-E  MEDITERRANE.E  INTER  ^ 
TAUM     FLUMEN     ET      VARARIS    .^STUA- 
RIUM:  Sunt  autem  Braid-Allaban,  Atholia, 
Marria  superior,  Badenocha,  Strath -Spea,    . 

LOCHABRIA,  CUM  ChERSONESO  QUI  EI  AD  OCCASUM 
PR^TENDITUR,     CUM     SINGULIS      EARUNDEM     PAR- 

TIBUS.     Opera  Ko.  Gordonii  a  Straloch 

From  Blacu's  Great  Alias,  165.^. 


In  pocket  at  begin- 
ning 0/ volume. 


INVERNESS 


(  ht  pocket  at  end 
y        of  volume. 


From  the  Ordnattcc  Surrey. 


INVERNESS. 


CHAPTER    I. 


THE  EARLY  ANNALS  OF  LWERNESS -SHIRE  —  THE  FOUR  KINGDOMS  —  IN- 
VERNESS-SHIRE WITHIN  THAT  OF  THE  PICTS — THE  CRUITHNE  OF  THE 
NORTH— ORIGIN  OF  THE  KINGDOM  OF  MORAY — ITS  DISTURBED  CAREER 
—THE  BATTLE-GROUND  BETWEEN  THE  NORSEMEN  AND  THE  SCOTS— 
FINALLY  INCORPORATED  WITH  SCOTLAND  UNDER  MALCOLM  CAENMORE 
— THE  RELIGION  OF  THE  NORTHERN  PICTS  —  ITS  CHARACTER  AND 
WORSHIP  —  RELICS  OF  THE  OLD  HEATHENISM  STILL  EXISTING — THE 
COMING  OF  CHRISTIANITY  TO  INVERNESS-SHIRE — ST  COLUMBA  AT  THE 
PICTISH  COURT  OF  KING  BRUDE — THE  WORK  OF  THE  SAINT  IN  INVER- 
NESS-SHIRE— HIS  PREACHING  AND  MIRACLES — THE  CHURCHES  OF  THE 
BRETHREN  OF  lONA  THROUGHOUT  THE  COUNTY  —  SURVIVING  MEMO- 
RIALS OF   PRIMITIVE   INVERNESS-SHIRE. 


When  the  light  of  history  first  breaks  upon  Inverness-shire 
we  find  the  country  now  called  Scotland  divided  into  four 
kingdoms.  To  the  south  of  the  line  of  the  Forth  and  Clyde 
lay  the  kingdom  of  the  Britons  of  Strathclyde,  and  that  of 
the  Saxons  of  Northumbria ;  to  the  north  of  that  line,  those 
of  the  Scots  and  the  Picts,  separated  from  each  other  by  the 
mountain-chain  called  by  the  old  writers  Dorsum  Britannise, 
or  Drumalban,  the  range  of  hills  which  now  divides  the 
counties  of  Argyle  and  Perth.  What  is  now  Inverness-shire 
lay  wholly  within  the  kingdom  of  the  Picts.  These  were  the 
ancient  Caledonians,   the   fierce   people    of  whom    we    have 

A 


2  THE   NORTHERN   PICTS. 

descriptions  from  the  Roman  historians,  —  men  of  red  hair 
and  long  Hmbs,  who  had  no  walled  cities,  and  nothing 
deserving  the  name  of  a  town ;  who  lived  by  pasturage  and 
the  chase ;  who  painted  their  bodies  with  pictures  of  wild 
animals  ;  and  who  could  stand  for  days  immersed  in  the  waters 
of  their  marshes.  Their  language  was  that  now  known  as  the 
Gaelic ;  and  their  capital,  or  the  seat  of  their  king,  at  the 
commencement  of  the  Christian  era,  was  at  the  mouth  of 
the  river  Ness,  possibly  on  the  ^ite  now  occupied  by  the 
capital  of  the  Highlands. 

The  Picts  were  divided  into  two  sections — the  northern 
and  the  southern  Picts.  The  former,  called  by  the  Irish 
annalists  the  Cruithne  Tuath  or  Cruithne  of  the  North,  lay 
to  the  north,  and  the  latter  to  the  south,  of  the  range  of 
mountains  called  the  Month,  which  now  bears  the  name  of 
the  Grampians.  In  the  northern  portion,  at  least,  the 
Romans  effected  no  settlement.  The  geographer  Ptolemy, 
in  the  second  century,  speaks  of  the  Varar  ^stuarium  or 
Beauly  Firth  in  describing  the  coast,  and  preserves  for  us 
the  ancient  name  of  the  people,  Caledonii,  who  inhabited  the 
districts  of  Badenoch,  Stratherrick,  Glengarry,  Glenmoriston, 
Glenurquhart,  the  Aird,  Strathnairn,  Strathdearn,  and  Athole. 
These  Caledonians  were  undoubtedly  Celts,  ancestors  of  the 
same  people  who  now  inhabit  the  Scottish  Highlands, 

The  connection  between  the  northern  and  the  southern 
Picts  was  at  no  time,  probably,  of  a  very  intimate  character. 
The  men  of  the  Highlands  and  those  of  the  Lowlands,  though 
nominally  under  the  same  sovereign,  had  in  many  respects 
but  little  in  common.  They  were  separated  geographically  by 
a  wild  mountain-chain.  Their  customs  were  different,  and  so 
for  a  time  was  their  religion  ;  and  when  in  843  Kenneth  Mac- 
alpine,  a  Scot,  obtained  the  kingship  over  the  southern  Picts, 
those   north  of  the  Grampians  took   up   a  separate  position. 


THE   PROVINCE   OF   MORAY.  3 

They  formed  themselves  into  a  confederacy  of  their  own,  and 
asserted  their  independence.  The  new  province  that  emerged 
from  the  severance  of  the  north  from  the  south  was  called  the 
province  of  Moray,  and  comprehended  most,  if  not  all,  of 
what  is  now  Inverness-shire.  It  was  far  more  extensive  than 
that  which  afterwards  bore  the  same  name,  and  stretched 
from  the  river  Spey  on  the  one  side,  and  from  Loch  Lochy 
on  the  other,  to  Caithness.  This  territory  was  governed  by  a 
sovereign,  sometimes  called  a  Maormor,  a  title  peculiar  to  the 
Gaelic  people,  and  sometimes  Ri  ]Moreb  or  King  of  Moray. 

This  kingdom  had  a  troubled  existence.  It  was  placed 
between  two  fires.  To  the  north  were  the  Norsemen,  who, 
obtaining  foothold  in  Orkney,  had  extended  themselves  over 
what  are  now  the  counties  of  Caithness  and  Sutherland.  To 
the  south  was  the  growing  kingdom  of  Scotland,  ever  ambitious 
of  extending  its  territory.  Between  the  descendants  of  the 
vikings  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  southern  kingdom  the  men 
of  Moray  had  but  little  peace.  The  Ri  Moreb  had  from  time 
to  time  to  enter  into  an  alliance  with  the  one  power  to  protect 
himself  against  the  other.  More  than  once  the  Norwegians 
entirely  conquered  Moray.  A  mighty  Norse  warrior,  Thor- 
stein  the  Red,  ruled  over  the  province  for  a  year.  In  the 
closing  years  of  the  ninth  century,  Sigurd,  Earl  of  Orkney, 
followed  in  his  train  and  overran  the  country,  though  his 
sovereignty  did  not  last  very  long.  The  Scottish  monarchy 
also  made  inroads  from  the  south  upon  Moray,  and  King 
Malcolm,  son  of  Donald,  King  of  Alban,  endeavoured  to 
annex,  but  with  small  success,  the  northern  province.  He 
slew  Cellach,  its  maormor,  but  the  province  retained  its  in- 
dependence. 

The  men  of  Moray  were  of  a  stubborn  and  indomitable 
character,  and  they  fought  both  their  northern  and  their 
southern  foes  with  desperation.     They  were  a  fighting  race, 


4  MACBETH. 

and  when  not  attacked  by  their  neighbours  they  made  forays 
upon  them.  In  1020  Finlaec  or  Findlay,  maormor  of  Moray, 
entered  Caithness  with  a  large  army  and  challenged  the  Norse 
earl,  Sigurd,  to  meet  him  in  battle.  The  Norwegian,  aided  by 
the  men  of  Orkney,  accepted  the  challenge,  and  the  maormor 
was  defeated.  Sigurd,  pursuing  his  victorious  way  southward, 
overran  the  provinces  north  of  the  Spey,  and  Moray  became 
again,  and  remained,  it  is  supposed,  for  two  years,  a  Norwegian 
province.  On  the  death  of  Sigurd  it  again  resumed  its  inde- 
pendence. In  the  end  the  brave  little  province  fell  into  the 
hands,  not  of  its  northern,  but  of  its  southern,  neighbour. 

How  this  was  brought  about,  and  how  Moray  became  in- 
corporated with  Scotland,  may  here  be  briefly  told.  It  is  not 
necessary  to  give  details  which  do  not  immediately  concern 
our  narrative.  In  1003  the  King  of  Scotland,  King  Malcolm, 
died,  leaving  two  grandsons,  Duncan,  and  Thorfin  Earl  of 
Caithness.  Between  the  two  the  contest  for  the  throne  was 
long  and  fiercely  waged.  The  maormor  of  Moray  at  the  time 
was  Macbeth,  a  name  made  famous  by  the  great  dramatist ; 
and  from  the  position  of  his  territor}',  lying  between  the  com- 
batants, his  alliance  was  naturally  regarded  as  of  the  utmost 
importance  by  both  claimants.  At  first  he  sided  with  King 
Duncan,  and  his  territory  suffered  in  consequence.  Thorfin 
and  his  Norsemen  were  victorious,  and  Moray  was  desolated 
with  fire  and  sword.  King  Duncan  then  collected  an  army 
and  hurried  north,  and  a  battle  ensued  at  Burghead,  in  which 
the  Norsemen  were  again  the  victors.  They  drove  the  fugitive 
Scots  before  them,  and  conquered  the  country  all  the  way  to 
Fife.  At  this  stage  King  Duncan  was  deserted  by  the  maor- 
mor of  Moray,  who  attached  himself  to  Thorfin.  He  felt  that 
his  interests  lay  rather  with  his  victorious  northern  neighbour 
than  with  the  Scots. 

The  traditional  story  of  his  murdering  King  Duncan  is  well 


MALCOLM   CAENMORE.  5 

known,  and,  as  Sir  Walter  Scott  says,  has  been  adopted  by 
Hollinshed,  dignified  by  the  classical  Latinity  of  Buchanan, 
and  dramatised  by  Shakespeare.  It  is  with  a  sigh  of  regret 
that  the  historian  has  to  regard  the  picturesque  tale  as  utterly 
mythical ;  to  remember  that  no  such  persons  as  Banquo  and 
Fleance  ever  existed,  and  that  the  famous  scene  in  the  castle 
of  Inverness  never  took  place.  All  we  do  know  is,  that  King 
Duncan  was  slain  in  some  conflict  with  Macbeth  at  a  place 
called  Bothgowan  near  Elgin.  The  name  Bothgowan  means 
a  smith's  house,  where  perhaps  Duncan  sought  shelter  when 
the  battle  went  against  him,  and  where  he  met  his  fate  by  the 
sword  of  his  former  ally. 

Thorfin,  the  Norwegian,  and  Macbeth  divided  between 
them  the  conquered  territory.  Thorfin  ruled  the  North, 
including  the  province  of  Moray,  which  thus  again  became 
Norwegian.  Macbeth  became  king  of  the  southern  dis- 
trict beyond  the  Grampians,  which  had  Scone  as  its  capital, 
where  he  ruled  as  King  of  Scotland  for  seventeen  years. 
At  the  end  of  that  period  he  was  dethroned.  Malcolm 
Caenmore,  son  of  the  murdered  Duncan,  advanced  against 
him  from  the  south,  drove  him  across  the  Month,  and  slew 
him  at  Lumphanan  in  Mar.  In  the  year  in  which  Macbeth 
met  his  fate,  his  ally  Thorfin  died,  and  Moray  became  again 
a  kingdom.  Malcolm  was,  however,  very  desirous  to  reduce 
it  to  his  authority,  and  invaded  it  in  1078.  He  conquered 
the  hereditary  ruler  Maelsnectan,  who  escaped  with  his  life, 
and  who  died  seven  years  after  in  a  fortress  of  Lochaber  in 
which  he  had  taken  refuge.  Moray  thus  became  a  part  of 
Scotland,  though  the  power  of  the  kings  over  the  wild 
northern  territory  was  for  many  years  more  nominal  than 
real,  maormors  holding  sway  there  oftener  than  once. 

It  is  pleasant  to  turn  from  this  troublous  story  of  incessant 
warfare,   which   preceded   the   absorption   of  Inverness  -  shire 


6  THE   DRUIDS. 

into  Scotland  —  a  story  which  historians  have  disentangled 
from  the  accounts  of  Irish  annalists,  Saxon  chronicles,  and 
Norwegian  sagas  —  to  tell  of  the  coming  of  Christianity  to 
our  county,  and  of  its  peaceful  triumphs. 

The  religion  of  the  northern  Picts  at  the  advent  of  Chris- 
tianity was  entirely  pagan,  and  was  apparently  the  same  in 
kind  as  that  followed  by  their  neighbours  the  Scots.  Holding 
a  high  place  among  both  Scots  and  Picts  was  a  class  of  men 
called  Druids.  They  are  frequently  mentioned  in  the  lives 
of  Columba  and  Patrick,  and  in  the  ancient  Celtic  manuscripts 
which  have  come  down  to  us  from  Irish  sources.  They 
dwelt  at  the  residence  of  the  kings,  and  exercised  great  powers 
in  national  affairs  ;  but  beyond  that  we  know  little  about  them. 
There  are  no  grounds  for  asserting  that  they  formed  a  sacer- 
dotal order.  They  appear  to  have  been  magicians,  sooth- 
sayers, and  enchanters — workers  of  spells  and  charms — their 
influence  with  the  people  being  founded  on  the  belief  that  by 
their  necromancy  they  could  aid  those  who  sought  their  as- 
sistance, or  injure  those  opposed  to  them.  A  favourite  method 
of  divination  among  them  was  by  sneezing,  or  by  the  song  of 
a  bird  perched  upon  a  tree.  In  an  old  poem  attributed  to 
St  Columba,  these  and  similar  practices  are  referred  to  and 
abjured.     The  poet  thus  sings  : — 

"  Our  fate  depends  not  on  sneezing, 
Nor  on  a  bird  perched  on  a  twig, 
Nor  on  the  root  of  a  knotted  tree, 
Nor  on  the  noise  of  clapping  hands  : 
Better  is  He  in  whom  we  trust, 
The  Father,  the  One,  and  the  Son." 

And  in  another  verse  of  the  same  poem  he  says — 

"  I  adore  not  the  noise  of  birds, 
Nor  sneezing,  nor  lots  in  this  world. 
Nor  a  son,  nor  chance,  nor  woman  ; 
My  Druid  is  Christ,  the  Son  of  God." 


BELIEF   IN    DEMONS.  7 

In  another  poem,  in  the  form  of  a  prayer,  he  alludes  to  the 
magical  gift  of  his  adversaries.  He  recognises  their  power 
over  the  elements  of  nature,  and  exclaims — 

"  My  Druid — may  lie  Ije  on  my  side  ! — 
Is  the  Son  of  (xod  and  truth  with  purity." 

What  is  called  Druidism,  so  far  as  known  to  the  Celts,  was 
a  system  of  necromancy,  like  that  which  has  ever  been  insep- 
arably connected  with  heathenism, — a  belief  in  men  who  can 
awaken  storms,  and  bring  down  rain,  and  bewitch  fields.  If 
the  Druids  were  in  any  sense  the  ministers  of  a  religion,  it  was 
of  a  debased  and  grovelling  kind,  a  species  of  fetichism,  an 
adoration  of  natural  objects  and  of  the  powers  of  the  external 
world,  the  rocks,  the  winds,  the  thunder.  Among  the  pagan 
Scots,  and  probably  among  their  neighbours,  pillar-stones  were 
objects  of  worship,  and  were  either  overthrown  or  were  con- 
secrated with  the  sign  of  the  cross  by  the  Christian  teachers. 
The  Picts  seem  also  to  have  believed  in  what  were  called  the 
Sidhe — spirits  who  were  supposed  to  haunt  nature  and  to 
dwell  underground. 

St  Columba  seems  to  have  had  full  belief  in  the  existence 
of  these  demons,  which  were  supposed  to  have  their  dwelling- 
places  in  fountains  and  green  hillocks.  He  delighted  in  exor- 
cising them.  "While  the  blessed  man  was  stopping,"  says  his 
biographer,  "  in  the  province  of  the  Picts,  he  heard  that  there 
was  a  fountain  famous  among  the  heathen  people,  which  foolish 
men,  having  their  reason  blinded  by  the  devil,  worshipped  as  a 
god.  For  those  who  drank  of  the  fountain,  or  who  purposely 
washed  their  hands  or  feet  in  it,  were  allowed  by  God  to  be 
struck  by  demoniacal  art,  and  went  home  either  leprous  or 
purblind,  or  at  least  suffering  from  weakness,  or  some  kind 
of  infirmity. 

"  By  all  these  things  the  pagans  were  seduced,  and  they  paid 
divine  honours  to  this  fountain.      Having  ascertained  this,  the 


8  SURVIVALS   OF   PAGANISM. 

saint  one  day  went  up  to  the  fountain  fearlessly ;  and  on  seeing 
this,  the  Druids,  whom  he  had  often  sent  away  vanquished  and 
confounded,  were  greatly  rejoiced,  thinking  that,  like  others, 
he  would  suffer  from  the  touch  of  that  baneful  water.  The 
saint  then  blessed  the  fountain,  and  from  that  day  the  demons 
departed  from  the  water ;  and  not  only  was  it  not  allowed  to 
injure  any  one,  but  even  many  diseases  among  the  people 
were  cured  by  this  same  fountain  after  it  had  been  blessed  and 
washed  in  by  the  saint." 

From  such  notices  as  these  in  the  lives  of  the  saint  we 
may  form  some  idea  of  what  was  the  early  religion  of  Inver- 
ness -  shire.  Many  traces  of  this  paganism  survive  at  the 
present  day.  In  the  belief  in  charms,  in  fairies,  in  witchcraft, 
in  the  power  of  the  evil  eye,  w-hich  still  lingers  in  many  of  our 
Highland  glens,  we  have  relics  of  the  old  Celtic  heathenism 
still  existing  in  the  midst  of  our  present  civilisation.  Such 
superstitions  were  treated  very  gently  by  the  early  Christian 
teachers,  and  perhaps  on  that  account  have  survived.  Foun- 
tains were  blessed  and  became  holy  wells.  Demonology  was 
recognised,  and  exorcism  practised.  The  advice  given  by 
one  of  the  Popes  to  British  missionaries  was,  that  they  should 
disturb  pagan  practices  as  little  as  was  necessary.  You  cannot, 
he  argues,  cut  off  everything  at  once  from  rude  natures.  He 
who  would  climb  an  ascent  must  climb  step  by  step,  and  not 
by  leaps  and  bounds.  On  this  principle  the  early  teachers  of 
Christianity  in  the  Highlands  seem  to  have  acted,  and  hence 
the  existence  in  our  own  time  of  traces  of  that  paganism 
against  which  they  contended. 

The  greatest  of  the  Christian  teachers  who  came  to  our 
northern  county  was  St  Columba,  the  greatest  also  among 
Celtic  saints.  It  is  quite  possible  that  he  was  not  the  first 
pioneer  of  Christianity  in  Inverness-shire.  The  mountains 
that  divided  Moray  from  Christian  peoples  were  not  impass- 


ST   COLUMBA.  9 

able  by  Christian  teachers,  and  one  of  these,  Merchard,  from 
beyond  the  Month,  is  known  to  have  settled  in  Glenurquhart. 
He  may  have  been  one  among  others  like  him.  But  in  that 
early  time  St  Columba  is  the  outstanding  figure  in  a  light 
almost  modern  in  its  clearness.  In  the  year  565  he  made  a 
pilgrimage,  accompanied  by  two  companions,  Congal  of 
Bangor  and  Kanneach  of  Achaboe,  to  the  Court  of  the  King 
of  the  Picts.  His  biographer  Adamnan  tells  in  graphic  lan- 
guage of  his  interview  with  King  Brude  at  his  palace.  The 
precise  spot  where  this  was  situated  we  do  not  know.  All 
that  we  can  learn  from  the  narrative  is,  that  it  was  situated  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  river  Ness.  Some  have  placed  its 
site  on  Craigphatrick,  others  at  Torbean,  others  at  the  place 
where  the  river  Ness  issues  from  the  loch  bearing  its  name, 
others  where  the  castle  of  Inverness  once  stood.  The  last 
may  perhaps  be  the  most  likely  supposition ;  but  the  subject 
is  only  one  for  conjecture,  regarding  which  we  have  no  specific 
evidence. 

When  the  saint  arrived  at  the  palace  of  the  king  he  was 
refused  admittance.  "  The  king,  elated  by  the  pride  of 
royalty,  acted  haughtily,  and  would  not  open  his  gates  to  the 
blessed  man.  ^^'hen  the  man  of  God  observed  this,  he 
approached  the  folding-doors  with  his  companions,  and  having 
first  formed  upon  them  the  sign  of  the  cross  of  our  Lord,  he 
then  knocked  at  and  laid  his  hand  upon  the  gate,  which 
instantly  flew  open  of  its  own  accord,  the  bolts  having  been 
drawn  back  with  great  force.  The  saint  and  his  companions 
then  passed  through  the  gate  thus  speedily  opened,  and  when 
the  king  heard  what  had  occurred,  he  and  his  councillors 
were  filled  with  alarm ;  and  immediately  setting  out  from  the 
palace,  he  advanced  with  due  respect  to  meet  the  blessed 
man,  whom  he  addressed  in  the  most  conciliatory  and  respect- 
ful language,  and  ever  after  from  that  day,  as  long  as  he  lived, 


10  CONVERSION    OF   KING   BRUDE. 

the  king  held  this  holy  and  revered  man  in  very  great  honour, 
as  was  due."  The  result  of  the  saint's  meeting  and  inter- 
course with  Brude  was  that  the  king  was  baptised,  and  prob- 
ably owing  to  his  power  over  his  subjects  the  work  of 
Columba  in  preaching  the  Gospel  among  them  was  greatly 
facilitated. 

In  Adamnan's  life  of  Columba  we  have  many  notices  of  the 
saint's  work  beyond  the  dorsal  range  of  Britain,  and  many  of 
his  miracles  are  recounted  as  taking  place  in  Inverness-shire. 
These  accounts  are  too  numerous  to  give  at  length.  They  are 
all  of  the  same  marvellous  character.  Sometimes  in  his  travels 
he  traversed  the  great  glen  of  Scotland  which  leads  to  Loch 
Ness,  probably  striking  the  glen  through  the  pass  which 
terminates  at  Laggan,  between  Loch  Oich  and  Loch  Lochy ; 
sometimes  he  followed  the  track  which  leads  from  Lochaber 
into  Badenoch  and  the  valley  of  the  Spey ;  but  wherever  he 
went  marvels  attended  his  footsteps.  When  chanting  the 
evening  hymns  near  the  fortress  of  King  Brude,  he  and  his 
companions  were  molested  by  some  Druids.  The  saint  then 
sang  the  44th  Psalm,  his  voice  like  pealing  thunder  striking 
king  and  people  with  terror  and  amazement.  When  some  of 
his  companions  had  taken  five  fish  in  the  river  Sale  (Shell  in 
Moidart),  they  were  commanded  by  the  saint  to  try  again,  and 
were  promised  a  large  fish.  They  obeyed  the  saint's  com- 
mand, and  hauled  out  with  their  net  a  salmon  of  astonishing 
size. 

In  Lochaber  the  saint  blessed  the  heifers  of  a  poor  man 
who  had  entertained  him  hospitably,  and  from  that  day  the 
five  heifers  increased  to  150  cows.  In  the  same  country  he 
blessed  a  stake  which  killed  wild  beasts,  but  which  could  not 
harm  men  or  cattle  ;  and  the  happy  peasant  who  possessed  it 
was  plentifully  supplied  with  animals  which  were  impaled 
thereon,  until  at  the  evil  instigation  of  his  wife  he  cut  the  stick 


THE   MIRACLES   OF   ST   COLUMBA.  II 

in  pieces  and  burned  it  in  the  fire.  When  travelling  by  the 
bank  of  the  river  Ness  he  saw  people  burying  a  man  who  while 
swimming  had  been  seized  by  some  monster.  He  directed 
one  of  his  companions  to  swim  across  the  river  and  bring 
over  a  coble  from  the  other  side.  The  monster  darted  after 
him  with  a  terrific  roar ;  but,  at  the  command  of  the  saint,  he 
stayed  his  pursuit,  and  retired  to  the  depths  where  he  dwelt. 
Broichan,  the  Druid  of  King  Brude,  held  in  captivity  a  Scotic 
slave,  and  refused  to  set  her  free.  The  saint  prophesied  the 
Druid's  death ;  but  when  appealed  to  in  his  illness,  and  being 
assured  he  had  freed  the  slave,  he  restored  him  to  health  by 
causing  him  to  drink  water  on  which  there  floated  a  white 
pebble,  which  Columba  had  picked  up  in  the  channel  of  the 
river  Ness.  On  Loch  Ness,  "  the  long  lake  of  the  river 
Nessa,"  he  sailed  in  his  boat  rapidly  against  the  adverse 
wind  which  the  Druid  Broichan  had  raised.  AVhile  walking 
by  Loch  Ness,  he  was  suddenly  inspired  by  the  Holy  Ghost 
to  go  and  baptise  a  heathen  for  whose  soul  angels  were 
waiting.  He  came  to  Glenurquhart,  and  there  found  an 
aged  man  named  Emchat,  who,  on  hearing  the  Word  of 
God  preached  by  the  saint,  believed  and  was  baptised,  and, 
accompanied  by  angels,  passed  to  the  Lord.  The  saint 
and  his  brethren  seem  to  have  penetrated  every  corner  of 
Inverness-shire. 

What  was  the  monastery  which  formed  the  base  of  their 
missionary  operations,  and  to  which  they  could  retire  for  rest 
and  refreshment,  we  do  not  know.  Probably  for  the  northern 
part  of  the  county  it  was  the  Columban  Monastery  of  Birnie  in 
Moray,  and  for  the  West  the  parent  house  of  lona ;  or  some 
cell  among  the  Scots  might  suffice.  The  churches  of  the 
brethren  of  lona  are  to  be  found  everywhere  throughout  the 
county.  We  have  churches  of  Columba  at  Petty,  Kingussie, 
and  Glenmoriston  ;  of  Tolargain  at  Kintarlity,  in  the  Aird  ;  of 


12  PREHISTORIC    REMAINS. 

Drostan  in  Glenurquhart ;  of  Baithen  and  Curadon  in  Strath- 
glass  ;  of  Adamnan  in  Urquhart,  and  at  Inch-on-Spey ;  of 
Cainneach  on  Loch  Laggan  ;  of  Donnan  in  Glengarry ;  and 
of  Finnan  at  the  head  of  Loch  Lochy,  and  in  the  island  on 
Loch  Sheil  which  bears  his  name.  Only  twenty  years  ago  the 
bell  of  St  Merchad  was  taken  away  from  Glenurquhart. 
That  of  Adamnan  still  remains  at  Inch,  a  purely  Celtic  bell, 
which  is  said  to  have  the  peculiarity  possessed  by  bells  of 
the  same  type,  of  finding  its  way  back  to  the  place  where  it 
was  originally  deposited.  A  similar  bell,  that  of  St  Finnan, 
may  still  be  seen  on  his  island  on  Loch   Shiel  in    Moidart. 

What  form  of  Church  order  was  followed  by  these  early 
missionaries  of  the  Cross,  or  what  were  their  special  theo- 
logical doctrines,  we  are  not  called  on  here  to  inquire.  We 
leave  such  matters  to  be  fought  over  by  rival  ecclesiastics. 
We  content  ourselves  with  the  certainty  that  they  were  good 
Christian  men  ;  and  the  evidence  of  Adamnan  is  sufficient,  if 
we  had  no  more,  that  the  foundation  of  Columba's  preaching, 
and  his  great  instrument  in  the  conversion  of  the  heathen, 
was  the  Word  of  God. 

Of  the  early  times  in  the  history  of  Inverness-shire  of  which 
this  chapter  tells,  and  of  times  that  are  probably  prehistoric, 
we  have  some  material  memorials  remaining.  Stone  axes  and 
other  instruments  of  the  same  kind  have  been  discovered 
in  considerable  numbers.  Swords  have  been  dug  up  in  peat- 
mosses. Brooches  and  other  ornaments  have  been  found, 
beautiful  specimens  of  art,  like  the  brooch  found  at  Croy,  the 
gold  armlet  at  Cromdale,  and  the  massive  silver  chain  at 
Craigphatrick  —  the  last  worthy  to  have  adorned  the  King 
of  the  Picts  himself.  What  are  called  "  Druidical  circles," 
though  we  believe  they  have  no  right  to  the  name,  abound 
throughout  Inverness-shire.  They  cluster  thickly  in  the  valley 
of  the  Ness  and  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Highland  capital. 


STONE  CIRCLES.  1 3 

Few  parishes  in  the  county  are  without  a  specimen  of  these 
astonishing  feats  of  ancient  engineering. 

Whether  these  circles  are  to  be  regarded  as  places  of  burial, 
as  temples  of  worship,  as  the  meeting-places  of  clans,  or  as 
memorials  of  departed  heroes,  are  questions  rather  for  the 
antiquary  than  for  the  historian.  Archaeologists  are  divided 
in  opinion  on  the  point,  and  we  are  not  called  upon  to  inter- 
fere in  the  controversy.  There  are  artificial  islands — lake- 
dwellings,  as  we  may  call  them — in  most  of  the  Inverness-shire 
lakes,  of  the  type  of  which  those  in  Loch  Lundy  in  Glengarry, 
on  Loch  Beauly,  and  on  the  Loch  of  the  Clans  are  specimens. 
There  are  distributed  throughout  the  county  many  of  the 
curious  massive  circular  towers  called  "  brochs,"  of  which 
those  in  Glenelg  on  the  western  coast  are  outstanding 
specimens — fortresses  into  which  the  inhabitants  could  retire 
for  security,  and  which  are  justly  regarded  by  competent 
authorities  as  part  of  that  wonderful  Celtic  civilisation  which 
reached  so  high  a  point  of  development  in  the  centuries 
before  the  eleventh.  There  are  also  what  are  called  vitrified 
forts,  like  that  of  Craigphatrick,  of  Dundardghill  in  Glen  Nevis, 
at  Achterawe  in  Glengarry,  and  those  at  Arisaig  in  the  West, 
showing  the  scorified  appearance  which  is  the  result  of  the 
action  of  fire  upon  masses  of  loose  stone.  Of  the  real 
character  of  such  forts  little  is  known.  These  and  other 
works  of  a  similar  nature  are  memorials  of  the  far-distant 
past,  of  a  brave  and  warlike  race  far  from  destitute  of  civilising 
elements,  and  of  the  centuries  before  Inverness-shire  became 
an  integral  part  of  the  kingdom  of  Scotland. 


14 


CHAPTER    II. 


INVERNESS-SHIRE  FEUDALISED  UNDER  KING  DAVID,  HIS  GRANDSON  MALCOLM, 
WILLIAM  THE  LION,  AND  ALEXANDER  II. —THE  COMING  TO  THE  NORTH 
OF  NORMAN  AND  SAXON  COLONISTS  —  THEIR  CHARACTER  AND  THE 
NATURE  OF  THE  FEUDAL  POLITY  —  INVERNESS-SHIRE  PORTIONED  OUT 
AMONG  THE  STRANGERS  —  THREE  GREAT  FEUDAL  INSTITUTIONS 
PLANTED  IN  THE  COUNTY  —  THE  CASTLE,  THE  BURGH,  AND  THE 
CHURCH — CASTLE-BUILDING  IN  EACH  DISTRICT  OF  INVERNESS-SHIRE — 
SUPREMACY  OF  THE  BARON — THE  POSITION  OF  THE  NATIVES — THE 
BURGH  OF  INVERNESS  FOUNDED  —  ITS  PRIVILEGES  GUARANTEED  BY 
ROYAL  CHARTER — ITS  EARLY  PROGRESS — CHANGE  IN  CHURCH  POLITY 
—  THE  BISHOPRIC  OF  MORAY  FOUNDED— ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  CON- 
VENTUAL SYSTEM — THE  PRIORY  OF  BEAULY — THE  DIVISION  OF  THE 
COUNTY  INTO  PARISHES — THE  DESPOTIC  POWER  OF  THE  FEUDAL  LORDS 
— EXTENT   OF   INVERNESS-SHIRE    IN    THOSE    EARLY   DAYS. 


We  have  to  tell  in  this  chapter  of  the  working  of  new  social 
forces,  which,  like  the  blows  of  hammer  upon  hot  iron, 
welded  Inverness-shire  into  compact  and  indissoluble  union 
with  Southern  Scotland.  Armies  from  north  and  south  had 
conquered  Moray,  but  again  and  again  the  wild  Celts  had 
repelled  their  invaders.  They  were  now  to  be  brought  into 
final  subjection  by  the  introduction  among  them  of  feudal 
institutions. 

Between  the  death  of  Malcolm  Caenmore  and  the  time  of 
David  I.  the  state  of  the  North  was  one  of  constant  insur- 
rection. The  former  sovereign  is  generally  supposed  to  have 
built  a  castle  at  Inverness  upon  the  present  site,  but  from 
its  walls  there  apparently  emanated  but  little  authority.     The 


INFLUX   OF   SAXON   AND   NORMAN   COLONISTS.      1$ 

risings  of  the  men  of  Moray — "  Homines  inquieto  semper 
ingenio,"  as  Buchanan  terms  them — were  more  numerous 
than  we  care  to  chronicle.  With  King  David,  a  new  poUcy 
was  inaugurated — a  pohcy  which  was  carried  out  by  his 
grandson  Malcolm,  by  William  the  Lion,  and  by  Alexander 
II.  During  the  reigns  of  these  kings  the  state  of  our 
northern  county  was  entirely  altered. 

During  the  twelfth  century  there  took  place  in  Scotland 
what  can  only  be  regarded  as  a  revolution,  although  un- 
accompanied by  the  turmoil  and  bloodshed  which  have 
generally  been  the  concomitants  of  great  social  changes. 
A  new  people  began  to  pour '  across  the  Scottish  Border 
from  the  south,  displacing,  or  predominating  over,  the  old 
inhabitants,  encouraged  by  the  king,  and  welcomed  to  the 
new  home  they  had  sought  for  themselves.  There  was  a 
stream  of  English  colonisation  towards  the  Lowlands  of 
Scotland.  It  was  an  extraordinary  emigration,  not  like  that 
of  our  Aryan  ancestors,  who  moved  in  tribes,  and  not  like 
that  caused  by  the  pressure  of  an  overcrowded  population. 
The  new-comers  belonged  to  the  ranks  of  the  aristocracy. 
They  were  of  noble  birth  and  knightly  accomplishments — 
men  of  the  sword,  used  to  the  court,  the  camp,  and  the 
usages  of  chivalry.  Some  of  them  were  Anglian,  of  families 
settled  long  in  Northumbria ;  most  were  of  the  Norman  race, 
which  had  come  over  with  William  the  Conqueror. 

These  emigrants  were  cordially  received  by  the  king.  It 
was  doubtless  thought  that  their  culture  and  their  skill  in  arms 
would  prove  useful  in  developing  and  defending  the  country, 
and  it  was  reasonably  expected  that  they  would  prove  loyal 
to  the  sovereign  to  whose  generosity  they  owed  their  fortunes. 
His  generosity  to  them  was  great.  They  received  lands  from 
him,  which  they  held  in  feudal  tenure ;  and  they  settled  on 
the  estates  thus  acquired.    The  natives  gave  way  before  them, 


l6  .    FEUDALISM   IN    SCOTLAND. 

or  remained  under  their  protection.  Knightly  Norman  and 
Saxon  lord  built  their  castles,  and  gave  lands  to  their  followers 
under  a  similar  title  to  that  by  which  they  held  their  own ; 
and  the  feudal  system  became  stamped  upon  the  whole 
country.  That  system  was  a  very  simple  one.  The  king 
was  regarded  as  the  owner  of  the  whole  land  of  the  kingdom. 
He  retained  large  estates  in  his  own  hands,  from  which  he 
derived  his  personal  followers  and  his  royal  revenues.  The 
rest  he  gave  to  his  nobles,  on  condition  that  they  should 
maintain  for  the  defence  of  the  kingdom  a  certain  number 
of  armed  men.  These  tenants  of  the  Crown  followed  the 
example  of  the  sovereign.  Each  retained  a  portion  of  the  land 
in  his  own  hand,  and  bestowed  the  rest  in  estates  of  smaller 
or  larger  size  on  condition  that  each  noble  or  knight  who 
held  of  him  should  supply  a  portion  of  the  armed  force  he 
was  required  to  furnish  for  the  royal  standard.  Each  knight, 
again,  let  his  land  to  men  of  inferior  degree  on  condition 
that  they  provided  themselves  with  requisite  arms,  and  as- 
sembled under  his  banner  for  military  service. 

These  great  changes  in  the  South  were  viewed  with  appre- 
hension by  the  men  of  the  North,  who  feared  their  appli- 
cation to  themselves.  King  David  had  only  reigned  six 
years  when  they  raised  an  insurrection  against  him,  led  by 
Malcolm,  a  natural  son  of  his  predecessor.  Following  Mal- 
colm were  the  men  of  Moray,  with  their  maormor  Angus, 
now  termed  the  Earl  of  Moray,  at  their  head.  AVith  5000 
men  they  entered  Scotia.  The  commander  of  the  royal 
army  met  them  in  battle  and  was  victorious.  He  pursued 
them  into  Moray,  and  reduced  again  that  ancient  kingdom 
into  subjection.  The  Irish  annalists  chronicle  the  fight  : 
"  Battle  between  the  men  of  Alban  and  the  men  of  Moray, 
in  which  fell  4000  of  the  men  of  Moray  with  their  King 
Oangus,  son  of  the  daughter  of  Lulag."     The  changes  that 


ROYAL   FORTRESSES   BUILT.  I7 

followed   this   battle  were   rapid,  and  all  in  the  same  direc- 
tion. 

David  proceeded  to  deal  with  the  maormor's  territory  as 
forfeited  to  the  Crown.  He  portioned  it  out  to  men  who 
were  strangers  to  the  country,  and  who  held  their  estates 
as  vassals,  according  to  Norman  usage.  Their  fortresses  rose 
throughout  the  conquered  kingdom  of  Moray.  Unlike  the 
strongholds  that  preceded  them  —  the  raths,  buildings  of 
wood  or  wattles  on  the  top  of  a  mound  protected  by  earthen 
works — these  fortresses  were  of  stone.  They  were  not  for  de- 
fence but  for  aggression  ;  each  was  a  centre  of  royal  authority, 
each  a  menace  to  the  rebels  of  the  district :  the  Comyn, 
a  great  Norman  lord,  held  Badenoch  and  Lochaber  with  his 
castles  at  Ruthven  and  Inverlochy.  Bisset,  another  Norman 
with  lesser  barons  under  him,  dominated  the  Aird  and  Strath- 
glass  from  his  castle  at  Beaufort,  Durward,  a  third,  ruled 
Glenurquhart  and  its  neighbourhood  from  the  royal  castle 
on  Loch  Ness  ;  whilst  at  Inverness  itself  there  was  a  royal 
castle,  held  by  a  sheriff  in  the  king's  name,  and  visited  often 
by  the  king  in  person. 

The  ancient  inhabitants  were  thoroughly  brought  into  sub- 
jection. If  we  may  believe  Fordun,  Malcolm  IV.  "  removed 
the  whole  nation  of  the  Moravianses  from  the  land  of  their 
birth,  as  of  old  Nebuchadnezzar  King  of  Babylon  had  done 
with  the  Jews,  and  scattered  them  through  the  other  kingdoms 
of  Scotland,  both  beyond  the  mountains  and  on  this  side 
thereof,  so  that  not  even  one  native  of  that  land  abode  there, 
and  installed  therein  his  own  peaceful  people."  How  far  this 
eviction  of  the  old  inhabitants  was  carried  out,  we  have  no 
means  of  knowing.  It  was  probably  but  partial  in  extent, 
and  confined  to  the  border  of  the  Moray  Firth ;  but  those 
inhabitants  who  remained  were  thoroughly  under  the  do- 
minion of  their  overlords.     The  nativi,  as  they  were  called, 

B 


1 8         THE  BURGH  AND  THE  CHURCH. 

were  entirely  their  property :  they  were  serfs,  the  goods  and 
chattels  of  their  master.  The  castle  rising  in  each  separate 
district  of  Inverness-shire  proclaimed  the  supremacy  of  the 
baron  and  the  king. 

But  the  castle  and  all  it  represented  was  not  the  only 
instrument  by  which  our  northern  county  was  brought  into 
harmony  with  the  rest  of  Scotland.  There  were  two  other 
important  feudal  institutions  planted  among  its  people,  which 
exercised  upon  them  a  great  and  beneficent  influence.  These 
were  the  Burgh  and  the  Church. 

It  was  part  of  the  policy  of  King  David  I.  and  King 
William  the  Lion  to  create  trading  communities  in  different 
parts  of  the  kingdom — chartered  corporations  endowed  with 
special  privileges,  and  living  under  the  protection  and  super- 
intendence of  the  king.  These  royal  burghs,  as  they  were 
called,  with  the  lands  belonging  to  them,  were  his  exclusive 
property,  and  generally  they  rose  under  the  shadow  of  a  royal 
castle.     The  inhabitants  were  vassals  of  the  Crown. 

The  hamlet  of  Inverness  with  its  noble  and  safe  harbour 
was  in  every  way  suited  to  be  a  commercial  centre.  It  was 
accordingly  erected  by  the  Crown  into  a  burgh,  and  under 
the  protection  of  the  king  a  number  of  Anglo-Saxons,  Flem- 
ings, and  southern  Scots  settled  there :  the  names  of  the 
early  citizens  testify  to  their  foreign  origin. 

Inverness  was  probably  made  a  royal  burgh  by  David  I. ; 
but  its  privileges  were  clearly  defined  and  confirmed  by  King 
William  the  Lion,  who  granted  four  charters  in  its  favour. 
By  the  first  of  these,  the  privileges  of  the  town  were  extended 
to  all  the  king's  burgesses  of  Moray,  and  it  was  declared  that 
burgesses  were  not  liable  to  prosecution  for  any  debt  that  was 
not  personally  their  own.  The  second  charter,  dated  1 1 80, 
granted  land  for  the  support  of  the  burgh.  It  exempted  all 
burgesses  of  Inverness  from  all  tolls  and  customs  throughout 


EARLY   CHARTERS   OF   INVERNESS.  I9 

the  kingdom,  and  prohibited  any  one  not  a  burgess  from 
buying  or  seUing  within  the  burgh  or  in  the  shire.  The  king 
promised  to  make  a  fosse  round  the  town,  which  the  burgesses 
were  to  enclose  with  a  good  paUng.  The  third  charter  con- 
firmed to  Geoffray  Blund,  burgess  of  Inverness,  and  his  heirs, 
and  to  all  the  burgesses  of  Inverness  and  their  heirs,  exemp- 
tion from  the  wager  of  battle, — "  Perpetual  liberty  that  they 
shall  never  have  combat  among  them,  nor  shall  any  burgess 
or  any  other  man  of  our  whole  kingdom  have  combat  with 
our  said  burgesses  of  Moray,  or  with  their  heirs  save  on  oath  : 
moreover,  I  have  granted  to  my  said  burgesses  of  Moray  and 
their  heirs  that  they  make  half  the  oath  and  half  the  forfeiture 
which  my  other  burgesses  make  in  my  whole  kingdom,  and 
they  shall  be  free  of  toll  throughout  my  whole  kingdom  for 
ever."  The  fourth  charter  appointed  the  Sabbath-day  (Satur- 
day) as  the  day  for  a  weekly  market,  and  granted  the  king's 
peace  to  all  who  should  come  to  it.  It  granted  to  the  bur- 
gesses all  privileges  enjoyed  by  those  of  other  burghs  of 
Scotland.  It  prohibited  all  without  the  burgh  from  manu- 
facturing cloths,  dyed  or  cut,  charging  the  Sheriff  of  Inverness, 
should  any  such  cloth  be  found,  to  seize  it.  It  forbade  buy- 
ing or  selling  merchandise  or  keeping  taverns  in  any  place  in 
the  shire  except  the  burgh,  "  unless  in  a  town  where  a 
knight  or  laird  of  the  town  may  be  staying  "  ;  and  it  conferred 
on  the  bailies  authority  to  enforce  the  observance  of  all  its 
stipulations. 

With  the  privileges  granted  in  these  charters  the  burgh  of 
Inverness  entered  on  its  career  as  a  commercial  centre  and  an 
outpost  of  civilisation.  The  establishment  of  a  free  town, 
with  privilege  of  trade  and  right  of  government  by  its  own 
laws,  marked  a  new  era  in  the  history  of  the  Highlands.  The 
burgh  was  the  home  of  freedom.  While  the  dwellers  without 
the  walls  of  Inverness  were  but  serfs — hewers  of  wood  and 


20  PROGRESS   OF   THE   TOWN. 

drawers  of  water  to  those  above  them — those  within  the  burgh 
were  free  men  ;  and  by  the  laws  of  the  burgh,  as  of  all  burghs 
in  the  kingdom,  it  was  enacted  that  "  if  any  man's  thyrll 
barouns  or  knikhts  cumys  to  burgh  and  byes  a  borowage, 
and  dwels  in  the  borowage  a  twelfmoneth  and  a  dey,  frorutyn 
challenge  of  his  lorde  or  his  bailye,  he  shall  be  ever  mare  fre 
as  a  burges  within  that  kingis  burgh,  and  joyse  the  freedom  of 
that  burgh." 

The  position  of  the  newly  founded  town  must  have  been 
long  a  very  difficult  and  trying  one  to  maintain,  and  it  had 
many  times  to  suffer  from  the  assaults  of  the  wild  tribes 
among  which  it  was  placed.  But  its  progress,  if  often  inter- 
rupted, was  steady.  The  burgh  rose  slowly  but  surely  to  a 
position  of  importance.  In  1249,  Matthew  Paris,  describing 
the  armament  which  accompanied  Louis  IX.  on  his  crusading 
expedition  to  the  Holy  Land,  speaks  of  the  great  ship  of  the 
Earl  of  St  Poll  and  Blois — a  "  wonderful  vessel "  he  calls  it — 
which  had  been  built  for  the  earl  at  Inverness.  Even  at  that 
early  period  the  Celtic  village  on  the  banks  of  the  Ness  had 
outgrown  its  primitive  character,  and  had,  under  its  new  priv- 
ileges, become  the  home  of  such  labour  and  skill  that  there 
were  found  in  it  workmen  able  to  fit  out  a  great  ship,  whose 
beauty  excited  wonder  and  admiration  amid  the  vessels 
manned  by  the  chivalry  of  France. 

But  neither  the  influence  of  the  Castle  nor  that  of  the 
Burgh  affected  Inverness-shire  so  powerfully  as  that  of  the 
Church. 

The  Church  planted  by  St  Columba  and  his  followers 
had  apparently  been  brought,  as  regarded  its  doctrines  and 
ceremonies,  into  conformity  with  the  Church  of  Rome ;  but 
its  general  framework  and  polity  were  peculiar  to  itself  It 
was  a  collegiate  system.  Its  clergy  lived  together  in  com- 
munities, and   in   some   central   position,    whence   they  went 


THE   PAROCHIAL   CLERGY.  21 

forth  as  missionaries  to  preach  among  the  surrounding  tribes. 
With  the  coming  of  the  Normans  and  the  feudahsing  of  the 
North,  this  Church  poHty  was  changed.  A  parochial  clergy 
superseded  the  missionary  system  that  had  formerly  supplied 
the  spiritual  wants  of  the  people.  The  monastic  orders  of 
the  Church  of  Rome  were  introduced  among  them,  and  a 
bishop  ruled  over  the  territory  which  had  formerly  been 
subject  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Columban  monastery. 

The  bishopric  of  Moray  was  founded  by  King  Alexander  I. 
in  1 107,  but  at  that  time  the  northern  part  of  the  kingdom 
was  so  disturbed  that  the  bishop  was  unable  to  fix  his  resi- 
dence there.  It  was  not  till  the  time  of  Bricius,  the  sixth 
bishop,  in  1203,  that  the  bishop  became  resident.  His 
cathedral  was  at  Spynie,  and  at  his  death  it  was  transferred 
to  Elgin.  A  great  part  of  what  is  now  Inverness-shire  was 
within  the  diocese  of  Moray,  and  was  included  in  the  dean- 
eries of  Inverness  and  Strathspey.  The  rest  of  our  county  lay 
within  the  diocese  of  Argyle,  the  bishopric  of  which  was 
founded  in  1200;  and  the  parishes  in  Inverness-shire  were 
partly  within  the  deanery  of  Lorn  and  partly  within  that  of 
Morven.  The  whole  of  Inverness-shire  was  thus  placed  under 
the  parochial  system.  It  was  one  that  touched  very  closely 
the  life  of  the  people.  Each  separate  district  had  its  resident 
priest,  who  discharged  the  offices  of  religion  to  those  living 
within  its  bounds,  and  who  was  responsible  for  their  superin- 
tendence. He  was  maintained  by  the  tithes  of  the  baron's 
land,  of  his  corn,  his  pastures,  and  his  fishing.  Some  of 
these  parishes  were  erected  and  endowed  by  the  Crown  ; 
others  by  the  strangers  who  had  settled  in  the  country. 
Thus  Kingussie  was  erected  by  a  certain  Gilbert  de  Kathern  ; 
Kiltarlity  and  Kirkhill  by  Bisset,  Lord  of  Beaufort ;  and  there 
were  other  territorial  magnates  who  were  equally  munificent. 

The  conventual  system  of  the  Church  of  Rome  was  but 


22  THE   PRIORY   OF   BEAULY. 

slightly  represented  within  the  bounds  of  Inverness-shire, 
compared  with  other  parts  of  Scotland.  The  monasteries 
of  Pluscarden  and  Kinloss,  not  far  from  its  southern  border, 
and  Beauly  on  its  northern  confines,  were  probably  sufficient 
for  the  needs  of  the  inhabitants.  The  Priory  of  Beauly 
occupied,  until  the  Reformation,  a  conspicuous  place  in 
Inverness-shire.  It  was  founded  by  John  Bysset,  Lord  of  the 
Aird,  in  1230,  and  belonged  to  the  Vallescaulians,  or  order 
of  Vallis  Caulium.  It  was  one  of  the  three  monasteries 
of  that  order  then  existing  in  Scotland.  The  monks  were 
men  of  austere  lives.  All  property  was  held  in  common. 
Chapter  was  kept  daily.  Flesh-meat  was  forbidden  in  the 
refectory.  For  part  of  the  year  two  meals  a-day  were  al- 
lowed :  bread,  water,  and  pulse  formed  the  diet  for  the  rest 
of  the  year.  Sackcloth  was  worn  next  the  flesh.  Most  of 
their  time  the  monks  spent  in  reading,  prayer,  and  con- 
templation. They  wore  a  white  cassock  with  a  narrow 
scapulary,  and  they  never  went  beyond  the  precincts  of  their 
convent.  The  brethren  were  much  occupied  with  gardening, 
and  with  the  cultivation  of  the  neighbouring  lands  belonging 
to  them.  The  site  of  their  house  well  deserves  its  name  of 
Beauly,  or,  as  it  is  called  in  the  Latin  charters,  Monasterium 
de  bello  loco.  It  was  placed  amid  the  tract  of  alluvial  soil 
brought  down  l)y  the  river,  open  to  the  sunny  south,  look- 
ing across  to  the  wooded  hills  beyond  the  water,  and  sur- 
rounded by  level  land  producing  the  finest  wheat.  The 
influence  of  the  brethren  must  have  been  considerable  among 
the  wild  tribes  where  their  lot  was  cast.  They  held  up  before 
them  for  generations  the  virtues  of  a  peaceful  and  self-deny- 
ing life.  They  showed  them  what  might  be  done  in  the 
improvement  and  cultivation  of  the  soil.  They  received 
within  their  precincts  the  children  of  the  neighbouring 
barons,   and  gave  them   such   education   as   they   were    able 


DOMINICAN    MONASTERY   IN    INVERNESS.  23 

to  impart.  The  remains  of  their  church  still  exist.  It  was 
not  a  great  building  from  an  architectural  point  of  view, 
forming  without  aisles  an  oblong  150  feet  long,  with  lateral 
chapels  on  the  sides  of  the  east  end.  It  was  not  largely 
endowed ;  but  it  held  the  churches  of  St  Lawrence,  Conveth, 
Comar,  and  Abertarff,  and  it  had  a  considerable  revenue  from 
the  salmon-fisheries  of  the  neighbouring  river. 

In  the  town  of  Inverness  there  was  founded  in  1233  a 
monastery  of  preaching  friars  of  the  order  of  St  Dominic. 
It  must  have  been  a  building  of  importance,  and  it  was  well 
endowed.  Only  a  small  fragment  of  it  now  remains.  It 
is  said  that  Alexander  II.,  when  in  Paris  in  1217,  saw  the 
founder  of  the  order,  and  besought  him  to  send  some  of  his 
brethren  to  Scotland  in  order  to  teach  the  people,  promising 
them  all  help  and  encouragement.  It  was  in  fulfilment  of 
that  promise  that  he  founded  in  several  towns  in  Scotland,  as 
well  as  at  Inverness,  monasteries  of  the  Dominican  order.    . 

Thus  by  the  power  represented  by  the  Castle,  the  Burgh, 
and  the  Church,  Inverness-shire  was  entirely  feudalised,  and 
Normans,  Saxon  Lords,  and  Flemings  dominated  the  ancient 
Celtic  inhabitants.  How  despotic  their  power  was  is  illus- 
trated by  an  agreement  entered  into  between  the  Bishop  of 
Moray  and  Comyn,  the  great  Lord  of  Badenoch.  In  this 
agreement  it  is  provided,  in  regard  to  the  native  men  (fiativi), 
that  the  bishop  should  have  all  the  cleric  and  two  lay  native 
men,  but  that  all  the  other  native  men  on  lands  in  Badenoch, 
with  all  their  chattels  and  possessions,  and  with  their  chil- 
dren and  all  their  posterity,  and  the  chattels  of  their  children, 
should  belong  to  Walter  Comyn. 

It  is  to  the  period  of  which  we  are  writing  that  we  owe 
the  division  of  the  country  into  counties,  shires,  or  sheriff- 
doms for  civil  purposes.  In  11 53  a  sheriff  was  stationed  at 
Inverness  whose  authority  extended  all   over  Scotland  north 


24  CREATION   OF   THE   SHERIFFDOM. 

of  the  Grampians.  "  Gif  ane  dwells  byond  Drumalbin  in 
Moray,  Ross,  Caithness,  Argyle,  or  in  Kintyre,"  it  was  enacted, 
"  he  shall  have  fifteen  days  and  also  ane  month  to  produce 
his  warrant  before  the  scherif ;  and  gif  he  goes  for  his  warrant 
dwelland  in  Moray  or  in  Ross,  or  in  anie  other  of  the  steids 
and  places  pertaining  to  Moray,  and  can  nocht  find  or  appre- 
hend his  warrant,  he  shall  pass  to  the  Scherif  of  Inverness ; 
and  the  scherif  sail  send  him  the  king's  servants,  quha  sail 
see  he  be  righteouslie  treated  and  handled  conform  to  the 
law  of  the  land." 

The  shire  or  sheriffdom  of  Inverness  was  thus  at  the 
beginning  very  extensive.  Gradually,  as  the  royal  authority 
was  established  over  other  parts  of  the  northern  king- 
dom, its  dimensions  were  curtailed.  Other  sheriffdoms  were 
erected,  as  those  of  Elgin,  Forres,  Nairn,  and  Cromarty, 
and  the  county  of  Inverness  by  degrees  assumed  its  present 
proportions. 


25 


CHAPTER    III. 


INVERNESS-SHIRE  DURING  THE  SCOTTISH  WAR  OF  INDEPENDENCE — EDWARD 
I.  OK  ENGLAND  IN  THE  NORTH — THE  CASTLE  OF  UKQUHART  A  STRONG- 
HOLD OF  THE  PATRIOTIC  PARTY — RANDOLPH,  EARL  OF  MORAY — HIS 
VIGOROUS  RULE — DAVID  II.  AT  INVERNESS— GREAT  SOCIAL  CHANGES 
IN  THE  COUNTY— ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  CLAN  SYSTEM — THE  ERASERS, 
GRANTS,  CHISHOLMS,  CAMERONS,  AND  OTHERS  BECOME  HEADS  OF 
CLANS — THE  CLAN  SYSTEM  IN  THE  MAIN  A  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE 
NORMAN  POLITY  —  THE  FIRST  NOTICE  IN  HISTORY  OF  THE  CLANS 
CONNECTED  WITH  INVERNESS-SHIRE  —  FEUD  BETWEEN  THE  CLAN 
CHATTAN  AND  THE  CLAN  CAMERON  — BATTLE  OF  INVERNAHAVON  — 
CONFLICT  ON   THE   INCH   OF  PERTH. 


The  county  of  Inverness  was  not  affected  to  the  same  ex- 
tent as  other  parts  of  Scotland  by  the  long  struggle  which 
issued  in  the  independence  of  the  kingdom.  It  was  far 
away  from  the  great  scenes  of  conflict,  and  the  contending 
armies  which  traversed  other  counties  left  its  soil  almost  un- 
trodden. The  great  territorial  lords  among  whom  the  shire 
was  partitioned  had  indeed  to  take  part  in  the  national  con- 
flict, and,  as  far  as  we  can  learn  from  the  annals  of  the 
time,  they  were  on  the  patriotic  side.  A  John  of  Glen- 
urquhart  and  a  son  of  John  of  the  Aird  were  among  the 
prisoners  taken  by  the  English  after  the  battle  of  Dunbar 
(1296).  Andrew  Moray,  son  of  Sir  Andrew  Moray  of  Petty 
near  Inverness,  and  of  Avoch  in  Ross,  was  a  close  companion 
of  Sir  William  Wallace,  and  represented  his  interest  among 
the  Highlanders.      David,  Bishop  of  Moray,  was  a  chief  sup- 


26  INVASIONS   BY   EDWARD   I. 

porter  of  King  Robert  Bruce,  and  preached  throughout  his 
diocese  a  crusade  in  his  favour.  Names  well  known  in 
after- years  in  the  history  of  Inverness -shire  appear  in  the 
historic  narrative.  A  Simon  Fraser,  a  John  Cambron,  and 
a  Mackintosh  are  named  among  the  followers  of  the  Scottish 
monarch.  At  Bannockburn,  it  is  said,  as  many  as  eighteen 
chiefs  fought  on  the  patriotic  side,  and  among  them  were 
probably  some  at  least  from  our  northern  county.  Tradition 
has  always  represented  the  Macdonalds  as  forming  part  of 
the  right  wing  of  the  royal  army. 

King  Edward  I.  of.  England,  having  marched  through 
Scotland  as  far  as  Elgin,  sent  parties  of  soldiers  into  Inver- 
ness-shire, who  seized  the  northern  strongholds  and  garrisoned 
them  with  English  troops.  The  castle  of  Inverness  had 
placed  in  it  Sir  Reginald  le  Chen  as  commandant,  and 
that  of  Glenurquhart  on  Loch  Ness  was  put  under  the 
charge  of  Sir  William  Fitz  Warrine,  a  knight  of  renown. 
The  invaders  had  a  troubled  time,  and  at  last  were  driven 
out,  the  castles  being  taken  by  the  Scots. 

In  1303  the  English  king  again  appeared  with  an  immense 
army  in  the  north,  and,  intrenching  himself  in  the  island 
fortress  of  Loch-in-Dorb  near  Forres,  brought  the  country 
into  subjection.  The  castle  of  Inverness  yielded  at  once 
to  his  summons,  and  that  of  Glenurquhart  was  taken  after 
a  long  siege.  These  castles  after  a  time  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  Bruce,  who  came  against  them  in  person,  and  they 
were  held  by  him  during  his  reign  as  king. 

Again  in  1335  the  King  of  England,  Edward  III.,  ac- 
companied by  Edward  Balliol,  who  had  been  crowned  King 
of  Scotland,  led  an  army  as  far  as  Inverness,  taking  the 
castle,  and  wasting  the  surrounding  district  with  fire  and 
sword.  The  castle  of  Urquhart,  commanded  by  a  stout 
soldier.    Sir    Robert    de    Lauder,   was    defended    successfully 


THE   EARLDOM   OF   MORAY.  27 

against    its    assailants,   and    continued    a    stronghold    of   the 
patriotic  party  till  peace  was  restored  to  Scotland. 

The  long  years  of  warfare  left  some  marks  on  Inverness- 
shire,  as  well  as  on  the  rest  of  the  country.  The  Comyns,  the 
great  lords  of  Badenoch,  one  of  whom,  as  all  readers  of  Scottish 
history  know,  had  been  murdered  by  the  Bruce,  disappeared 
from  the  scene,  and  their  lands  were  gifted  to  others.  Thomas 
Randolph,  nephew  of  King  Robert  Bruce,  was  created  Earl  of 
Moray,  with  the  lordship  of  a  territory  which  comprised  nearly 
the  whole  of  what  is  now  Inverness-shire.  It  included  the 
whole  lands  extending  from  the  Spey  to  where  Glenelg  meets 
the  western  sea,  with  its  manors,  townships,  and  thanages,  and 
all  the  royal  demesnes,  rents,  and  duties.  All  barons  and 
freeholders  of  the  said  earldom  who  held  of  the  Crown,  and 
their  heirs,  were  to  render  their  homages,  fealties,  attendances 
at  courts,  to  Thomas  Randolph  and  his  heirs. 

The  new  Earl  of  Moray  thus  became  the  most  powerful 
northern  potentate,  and  the  overlord  of  many  barons  :  he  was 
a  marked  figure  in  his  time ;  he  acted  as  Regent  of  the  king- 
dom in  the  minority  of  King  David ;  and  we  find  him  holding 
court  at  Inverness,  and  dispensing  justice  with  a  firm  hand. 
An  incident  of  his  vigorous  rule,  which  occurred  in  the 
northern  capital,  is  related  by  one  of  the  early  Scottish  his- 
torians. The  murderer  of  a  priest  having  gone  to  Rome  and 
procured  absolution  from  the  Pope,  was  brought  before  the 
Regent  for  trial.  He  was,  notwithstanding  his  plea  of  papal 
absolution,  tried,  condemned,  and  executed :  the  Pope,  the 
Regent  held,  might  absolve  him  from  the  spiritual  conse- 
quences of  his  crime,  but  for  his  offences  against  the  law  it 
was  but  right  that  he  should  suffer. 

Towards  the  close  of  his  reign  (in  1369)  King  David  II. 
came  to  Inverness  in  person  with  a  considerable  force,  and 
accompanied    by   the   barons   and   prelates   of  the  kingdom. 


28  THE   LORD   OF   THE   ISLES. 

His  object  was  to  reduce  to  subjection  certain  wild  Highland 
lords  who  had  kept  the  country  in  turmoil,  had  refused  to  pay 
their  share  of  taxation,  and  generally  defied  the  royal  authority. 
It  was  the  beginning  of  those  strifes  between  the  Crown  and 
the  chiefs  that  went  on  for  centuries.  The  head  of  these  in- 
surgents was  the  Lord  of  the  Isles,  whose  family  had  long 
intrigued  with  England  against  the  Scottish  Crown.  The 
western  potentate  appeared  in  the  castle  of  Inverness  and 
submitted  himself  to  the  king.  He  supplicated  the  remission 
of  his  late  faults  :  he  promised  that  he  and  his  following  would 
keep  the  peace ;  that  he  would  make  reparation  to  all  good 
men  of  the  kingdom  for  such  injuries,  losses,  and  troubles  as 
had  been  wrought  by  him  and  his  sons  ;  and  he  offered  to 
give  his  son,  his  grandson,  and  his  natural  son  as  hostages 
to  the  king  for  his  good  behaviour.  The  king  accepted 
his  submission,  and  peace  reigned  for  a  time  beyond  the 
Highland  borders. 

Great  social  changes  had  by  this  time  taken  place  in  Inver- 
ness-shire. During  the  disordered  state  of  the  country  the 
power  and  pride  of  the  feudal  lords  in  the  north  had  been  on 
the  increase.  Isolated  from  the  rest  of  the  kingdom,  and  re- 
siding among  their  mountain  fastnesses,  each  of  them  had 
become  a  kind  of  sovereign  to  his  own  vassals,  and  exercised 
over  them  a  jurisdiction  almost  independent  of  royal  authority. 
They  made  war  with  their  neighbours  at  their  pleasure,  trav- 
elled the  country  with  military  pomp,  and  when  at  home  in 
their  castles  lived  in  barbaric  magnificence.  It  is  a  character- 
istic of  the  Celtic  race  that  they  must  have  leaders,  and  this 
was  a  feeling  entirely  in  accordance  with  the  notions  of  the 
Normans  and  Saxons  who  had  been  planted  among  them. 
These  barons  rallied  round  them  clans  of  followers  who  bore 
their  names,  looked  to  them  as  their  leaders,  and  yielded  to 
them  at  all  times  implicit  obedience. 


POWERFUL   CLANS.  29 

The  Frasers  or  Frizells,  lords  of  Lovat,  a  Norman  family 
early  located  in  the  Lothians,  succeeded  to  the  chief  part 
of  the  possessions  of  the  great  house  of  Bisset,  and  became 
chiefs  of  a  powerful  clan  inhabiting  the  Aird  and  the  district 
along  the  river  Beauly.  The  Chisholms,  also  of  the  same 
race,  one  of  whom  had  been  Constable  of  Urquhart  Castle, 
acquired  the  Erchless  branch  of  the  Bisset  property,  and 
became  like  their  neighbours  the  founders  of  a  considerable 
clan.  The  Grants,  descendants  of  Sir  Laurence  le  Grant  or 
le  Grand,  who  had  been  Sheriff  of  Inverness  in  the  reign  of 
Alexander  III.,  at  a  time  when  it  was  highly  improbable  that 
any  but  a  foreigner  would  occupy  that  office,  obtained  lands 
first  in  Stratherrick  and  afterwards  by  the  river  Spey,  and 
founded  the  great  clan  that  still  bears  their  name.  The 
Camerons  were  apparently  also  originally  a  Lowland  family, 
holding  lands  in  Forfar,  Perth,  and  Fife  as  early  as  the 
thirteenth  century.  The  surname  of  Cambron  occurs  no 
fewer  than  seven  times  in  the  Ragman  Rolls — the  lists  of  those 
who  submitted  themselves  to  the  English  king.  They  are 
sometimes  termed  Miles  and  sometimes  Chevalier,  and  are 
designated  as  of  the  counties  we  have  mentioned.  A  Hugh 
Cambron  in  12 14  held  the  office  of  Sheriff  of  Angus,  and  in 
1 26 1  a  Robert  of  Cambron  was  forester  of  the  castle  at  Cluny 
in  Perthshire.  During  the  reign  of  William  the  Lion,  a  Robert 
of  Cambron  was  a  witness  to  a  grant  made  to  the  Monastery  of 
Cambuskenneth.  Very  possibly  the  name  was  assumed  from 
the  district  or  parish  of  Cameron  in  Fife,  the  name  of  which 
in  early  charters  is  spelt  Cambron.  Some  scion  of  this  house 
in  all  likelihood  acquired  lands  on  the  shores  of  Loch  Lochy, 
and  gathered  around  him  the  clan  which  bore  his  name. 
Indeed  we  know  that  in  1292  a  Robert  de  Chambroun  of 
Balligarnucht  (Baligairny  near  Scone)  was  awarded  50  merks 
of  pension,  according  to  a  concession  of  King  Alexander,  from 


30  CLANS   FOUNDED   BY  STRANGERS. 

the  rents  of  Inverness.  This  Robert  from  the  south,  who  had 
come  northward  to  push  his  fortunes  hke  so  many  others,  may 
have  been  the  progenitor  of  the  great  family  of  Lochiel. 

Probably  other  Inverness-shire  clans  were  formed  in  like 
manner  by  strangers.  The  tradition  of  most  of  the  clans 
speaks  of  their  founders  as  foreigners,  and  the  tradition  is 
probably  correct.  As  we  have  seen,  the  feudalisation  of 
Inverness-shire  was  so  complete,  and  the  natives  were  so 
thoroughly  subdued,  that  it  is  difficult  to  believe  that  any 
vestige  of  Celtic  authority  which  may  have  existed  in  the  old 
province  of  Moray  had  been  suffered  to  continue.  How- 
ever this  may  be,  what  is  called  the  clan  system  became 
thoroughly  established  throughout  Inverness-shire.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  clans  we  have  mentioned,  there  were  others  equally 
prominent,  inhabiting  well-defined  areas,  Badenoch  and  the 
adjoining  district  were  peopled  by  the  Clan  Chattan,  a  great 
confederation  comprising  several  septs,  such  as  the  Mac- 
phersons.  Mackintoshes,  Farquharsons,  and  Davidsons.  In 
Lochaber  were  the  Macdonalds  of  the  Isles,  who  had  received 
from  Balliol  a  grant  of  that  district ;  while  another  branch  of 
the  same  great  family,  called  the  Clanranald,  held  the  lordship 
of  Garmorran,  comprising  Moidart,  Knoydart,  Morar,  Arisaig, 
and  finally  probably  Glengarry. 

The  clan  system  thus  established  throughout  Inverness-shire 
gives  the  key  to  its  history  throughout  succeeding  centuries. 
In  its  main  features  that  system  is  well  known,  and  need 
scarcely  be  described.  It  was  a  paternal  form  of  government. 
The  chief  was  regarded  as  the  father  of  his  people.  Each 
district  was  an  independent  state,  each  clan  an  isolated  com- 
munity. The  people  knew  no  one  higher  than  the  chief,  and 
no  country  except  that  of  which  his  castle  was  the  centre. 
His  word  was  absolute.  He  held  in  his  hand  the  power  of 
life  and  death.     His   tenants  followed  his   standard  in  war. 


THE   CLAN    SYSTEM.  3  I 

supplied  his  table  with  the  produce  of  their  labour,  and  their 
whole  life  was  but  the  echo  of  his  will. 

Each  clan  formed  a  little  army  in  which  there  was  regular 
organisation.  The  chief  was  commander ;  the  standard- 
bearer  carried  the  banner  of  the  clan  ;  the  oldest  cadet  led 
the  right  wing;  the  youngest  the  rear;  while  the  head  of 
every  district  was  captain  of  his  tribe.  There  was  ample 
opportunity  for  military  prowess.  The  feuds  between  the 
chiefs  were  interminable.  Whatever  feud  was  taken  up  by 
the  chief  was  espoused  by  the  clan,  and  was  often  handed 
down  from  generation  to  generation  with  increasing  virulence. 
When,  at  rare  intervals,  the  clans  in  one  part  of  Inverness- 
shire  were  at  peace,  those  in  another  part  were  at  war,  fight- 
ing their  opponents  in  the  field  —  harrying  their  lands  and 
raiding  their  cattle.  The  history  of  the  county  is  for  long 
little  else  than  a  history  of  rapine,  bloodshed,  and  internal 
disorder.  There  is  scarcely  anything  to  chronicle  except 
the  conflicts  between  one  clan  and  another,  or  with  the  Crown 
when  the  king  endeavoured  to  curb  their  ferocity. 

The  clan  system  of  the  Highlands  we  believe  to  have 
been  the  Norman  polity  influenced  by  the  Celtic  customs  of 
those  among  whom  it  was  planted.  A  clan  beyond  the 
Grampians  differed  but  slightly  from  a  clan  on  the  southern 
Scottish  Borders,  at  the  head  of  which  was  a  Norman  baron. 
The  baron  held  of  the  sovereign,  and  the  vassals  held  of  the 
baron.  In  the  Highlands  this  was  also  the  case,  but  there 
were  certain  peculiarities  of  Highland  tenure  which  differed 
from  that  in  other  parts  of  the  kingdom.  When  a  feudal  lord 
died,  "  his  sovereign  was  entitled  to  see  him  succeeded  by  one 
capable  of  defending  the  fief ;  and  if  the  nearest  in  blood  was 
a  minor,  an  imbecile,  or  a  woman,  he  might  refuse  to  renew 
the  investiture.  If  a  like  circumstance  occurred  on  the  death 
of  a  Highland  chief,  the  clan  took  up  the  matter,  and  looked 


32  CLANS   IN    IRELAND. 

from  the  nearest  heir  by  blood  to  some  collateral  relative 
of  higher  promise,"  to  whom  they  gave  their  obedience.  In 
this  respect,  and  also  in  a  few  minor  matters,  Celtic  customs 
prevailed ;  but  in  the  main  the  clan  system  differed  little  from 
the  feudal. 

What  took  place  in  the  north  of  Scotland  has  its  counter- 
part in  what  had  previously  taken  place  in  Ireland.  When 
Henry  11.  went  to  that  country  in  1 171,  his  first  act  was  to 
have  himself  acknowledged  as  overlord,  not  only  by  "  Strong- 
bow,"  but  also  by  the  Irish  chiefs.  The  lands  of  all  who 
refused  to  submit  were  forfeited,  and  were  apportioned 
among  Henry's  Anglo  -  Norman  followers,  who  took  over  at 
the  same  time  the  headship  of  the  clans.  They  became 
powerful  chiefs.  Thus  the  Frasers  and  the  Camerons  in 
Scotland  had  their  counterparts  in  the  Fitzgeralds  and  Butlers 
in  Ireland.  In  after-years  these  Anglo-Irish  chiefs,  like  the 
chiefs  of  Inverness-shire,  were  the  most  troublesome  enemies 
of  the  Enghsh  rule.  Both  gathered  round  them  numerous 
followers,  whom  they  ruled  on  feudal  principles,  and  with 
whose  aid  they  were  a  standing  menace  to  royal  order  and 
authority. 

The  first,  or  almost  the  first,  appearance  of  the  clan  system 
on  the  pages  of  Scottish  history  is  connected  with  Inverness- 
shire. 

In  1396  the  attention  of  the  Government  was  called  to 
the  warfare  between  two  northern  clans,  which  kept  the 
country  beyond  the  Grampians  in  a  constant  state  of  disquiet 
and  alarm.  What  clans  these  were  it  is  not  easy  now  to 
determine.  The  references  in  contemporary  historians  are  very 
obscure,  especially  in  regard  to  the  names  which  the  Lowland 
scribes  give  to  the  septs,  and  which  correspond  to  no  names 
known  now.  Some  have  supposed  the  contending  parties 
to   have    been   the    Clan    Chattan   and   the   Clan   Cameron ; 


BATTLE   OF   INVERNAHAVON.  33 

Others,  the  Mackintoshes  and  the  Macphersons  ;  others,  the 
Macphersons  and  the  Davidsons  ;  others,  the  Davidsons  and 
the  Camerons.  Probably  the  first  of  these  theories  is  the 
true  one,  though  it  is  impossible  to  write  on  the  subject  with 
any  degree  of  certainty.  Between  the  Camerons  and  the 
Clan  Chattan  there  existed  an  old  feud  regarding  the  pos- 
session of  certain  lands  of  Glenlui,  and  Locharkaig  in 
Lochaber,  claimed  by  the  Mackintoshes  by  a  title  granted 
by  the  Lord  of  the  Isles,  which  had  been  confirmed  by  the 
Crown,  but  held  by  the  Camerons  at  the  point  of  the  sword. 
That  feud  lasted  long,  and,  previous  to  the  period  of  which 
we  are  writing,  was  the  cause  of  a  battle  between  the 
Camerons  and  the  Clan  Chattan  at  Invernahavon  in  Bade- 
noch,  when  the  former  were  defeated  with  great  slaughter. 
The  Government  sought  to  settle  the  quarrel  between  the 
contending  parties,  whoever  they  were,  by  peaceable  means, 
and  commissioners  were  appointed  to  endeavour  to  effect  a 
settlement.  Their  efforts  were  abortive ;  the  quarrel  was 
too  fierce  to  be  settled  by  any  compromise,  and  ultimately  a 
proposal  was  made  that  the  opponents  should  abide  by  the 
ordeal  of  combat  or  wager  of  battle,  a  form  of  appeal  to 
Providence  which  was  in  special  favour  with  the  Normans. 

It  has  been  said  by  Sir  Walter  Scott,  who  has  cast  the 
glamour  of  romance  around  this  incident  in  the  '  Fair  Maid 
of  Perth,'  that  it  "  marks  with  equal  distinctness  the  rancour 
of  these  native  feuds  and  the  degraded  condition  of  the 
Government  of  the  country."  The  readiness  with  which 
the  northern  chiefs  fell  in  with  the  proposal  seems  also  to 
indicate  their  familiarity  with  the  practice  of  the  Norman 
race,  to  which  they  themselves  probably  belonged. 

Thirty  of  each  contending  clan — that  being  the  maximum 
number  of  compurgators  required  by  Norman  usage  to  clear 
an  accused  person — met  on  the  North  Inch  of  Perth  to  decide 

c 


34  THE   COMBAT   ON   THE   INCH   OF   PERTH. 

their  quarrel  by  the  arbitrament  of  the  sword.  It  was  re- 
garded as  a  great  occasion,  and  many  spectators  were  gathered 
together.  King  Robert  III.,  his  queen  and  Court,  were 
present,  surrounded  by  nobles,  churchmen,  knights,  and 
foreign  visitors.  The  population  of  the  city  and  surrounding 
neighbourhood  trooped  out  in  large  numbers  to  see  the  show. 
Sir  Walter  Scott  has  given  so  vivid  a  description  of  what  took 
place  that  there  is  no  need  now  to  portray  the  scene.  It  is 
for  us  only  to  tell  the  result.  One  clan  being  for  some  cause 
short  of  a  combatant,  his  place  was  supplied  by  an  armourer 
of  Perth  called  the  "  Gow  Chrom  "  or  Crooked  Smith.  The 
formalities  required  by  the  laws  of  chivalry  on  such  occasions 
took  place,  and  a  murderous  conflict  began.  At  its  close  the 
only  survivor  of  the  vanquished  clan  sought  safety  by  swim- 
ming the  river  Tay,  leaving  on  the  field  eleven  of  the  victors, 
among  whom  was  the  stranger  who  had  fought  in  their  ranks. 
What  became  of  the  defeated  clan  after  the  fight  is  a  matter 
of  conjecture.  There  is  every  likelihood  that  the  feud  which 
it  was  intended  to  appease  continued  to  be  waged  with  more 
or  less  intensity.  The  defeated  would  naturally  feel  that 
their  disgrace  could  only  be  wiped  out  by  blood,  and  they 
would  thirst  for  vengeance.  Certainly,  if  the  combatants 
were,  as  we  have  supposed,  the  Clan  Chattan  and  the  Clan 
Cameron,  the  quarrel  between  them  was  not  brought  to  a 
close  upon  the  banks  of  the  Tay,  but  continued  to  be  waged 
for  many  years  with  ever-increasing  ferocity. 


35 


CHAPTER    IV. 


ANNALS  OF  INVERNESS-SHIRE  NOW  FALL  INTO  TWO  DIVISIONS— THE  KING 
AGAINST  THE  CLANS  AND  THE  CLANS  AGAINST  EACH  OTHER — EFFORTS 
OF  THE  CROWN  TO  BRING  THE  CHIEFS  INTO  SUBJECTION — TWO  CEN- 
TURIES OF  DISORDER — REBELLIONS  OF  THE  LORDS  OF  THE  ISLES — OF 
DONALD  IN  141 1 — HIS  DEFEAT  AT  HARLAW — VISIT  TO  INVERNESS  OF 
JAMES  I. — EXECUTES  JUSTICE  ON  THE  REBELS — INVERNESS  BURNT  BY 
THE  ISLAND  CHIEF — HIS  DEFEAT  IN  LOCHABER  AND  SUBMISSION  AT 
HOLYROOD— THE  RISING  OF  DONALD  BALLOCH — THE  REBELLION  OF 
JOHN  OF  THE  ISLES  IN  I451,  AND  OF  HIS  NEPHEW  IN  I49I — THE  LORD- 
SHIP OF  THE  ISLES  FORFEITED — OTHER  UPRISINGS  OF  THE  NORTHERN 
CLANS — POLICY  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT  TO  STRENGTHEN  THE  AUTHOR- 
ITY OF  THE  CROWN  IN  THE  NORTH — THE  EARL  OF  HUNTLY  APPOINTED 
LIEUTENANT-GENERAL  OF  THE  HIGHLANDS  —  HIS  DIFFICULTIES  IN 
MAINTAINING  ORDER— JOHN  OF  MOIDART  AND  THE  "BATTLE  OF  THE 
SHIRTS  " — THE  BLACK  TAILOR  OF  THE  AXE— GRADUAL  EVOLUTION 
OF  ORDER— ROYAL  VISITS  TO  THE  NORTH — OF  JAMES  II.,  III.,  IV.,  V., 
AND  OF  MARY  OF  GUISE — MARY  QUEEN  OF  SCOTS  AT  INVERNESS — THE 
BURGH  OF  INVERNESS  IN  THOSE  TROUBLED  TIMES — HOLDS  ITS  OWN 
AGAINST   "  CLANNED  MEN  "  AND   GROWS   IN  WEALTH  AND  PROSPERITY. 


We  have  now  come  to  a  period  when  the  annals  of  Inverness- 
shire  fall  into  two  divisions.  Under  the  first  we  have  the 
efforts  of  the  Crown  to  bring  into  subjection  its  subjects  be- 
yond the  Highland  line  when  they  became  rebellious.  Under 
the  second  we  have  the  feuds  of  the  chiefs  among  themselves, 
almost  interminable,  and  certainly  monotonous  to  relate  with 
any  fulness  of  detail :  they  are  all  of  the  same  character,  and 
any  one  of  them  may  be  taken  as  a  sample  of  the  rest.  The 
history  of  two  centuries  is  little  else  than  a  history  of  rapine 
and  disorder. 


36  THE   LORDS   OF   THE   ISLES. 

In  the  struggle  with  royal  authority,  the  Lords  of  the  Isles 
were  almost  always  those  who  raised  the  standard  of  revolt, 
though  they  were  aided  and  abetted  by  other  chiefs  and  other 
clans.  These  western  magnates, j^ after  the  Hebrides,  which 
formerly  belonged  to  Norway,  were  annexed  by  Scotland, 
seem  to  have  cherished  a  strong  feeling  of  antagonism  to  the 
Scottish  Government.  They  affected  the  style  and  title  of 
princes,  maintained  an  army  and  fleet,  gave  charters  to  chiefs 
as  their  vassals,  intrigued  and  entered  into  alliance  with 
England,  and  spoke  of  the  Scottish  people  as  their  "  old 
enemies."  At  every  suitable  opportunity  during  many  years 
they  made  efforts  to  maintain  their  independence,  and  to 
throw  off  their  allegiance  to  Scotland.  Inverness-shire  clans 
were  found  ready  to  give  them  assistance.  The  Clanranald 
of  Garmorran  were  their  kinsmen  ;  the  Clan  Cameron  were 
their  vassals  ;  and  the  Clan  Chattan,  who  were  probably  also 
their  vassals  for  their  holding  in  Lochaber,  powerfully  sup- 
ported their  pretensions  on  more  than  one  occasion.  Again 
and  again  the  King  of  Scotland  had  to  take  the  field  against 
them,  and  bring  them  into  subjection.  Though  often  par- 
doned and  treated  with  a  clemency  which  seems  surprising, 
they  returned  again  and  again  to  their  old  courses,  and 
were  a  standing  menace  to  the  peace  of  the  kingdom. 

In  141 1  the  Lord  of  the  Isles  was  named  Donald.  He 
was  a  chief  who  inherited  all  the  warlike  propensities  and  all 
the  proud  pretensions  of  his  forebears.  Taking  as  a  pretext  for 
hostility  the  rejection  by  the  Regent  of  the  kingdom,  the  Duke 
of  Albany,  of  his  claim  to  the  earldom  of  Ross,  he  landed  on 
the  mainland  a  powerful  army  of  Islesmen  armed  with  bows, 
pole-axes,  knives,  and  swords.  With  little  opposition,  he  took 
possession  of  the  territory  of  the  earldom,  his  title  to  which 
had  been  refused.  Flushed  with  success,  he  gathered  together 
at  Inverness  all  the  forces  that  he  could  muster,  and  marched 


BATTLE   OF   HARLAW.  IJ 

southward  through  Moray,  bent  upon  the  conquest  of  Scotland. 
The  Clan  Cameron,  the  Clan  Chattan,  and  the  Clanranald, 
led  by  their  chiefs,  were  among  his  followers.  For  a  time  he 
carried  all  before  him  ;  but  at  Harlaw  in  the  Braes  of  Buchan 
he  encountered  a  force  commanded  by  the  Earl  of  Mar,  when 
one  of  the  bloodiest  battles  ensued  of  which  we  have  account 
in  Scottish  history.  The  battle  was  a  drawn  one,  and  neither 
side  could  claim  the  victory.  Night  came  down  upon  the 
combatants,  and  when  morning  dawned  the  Lord  of  the  Isles 
had  retreated.  He  was  ultimately  obliged  to  yield  his  claims 
to  the  earldom,  and  after  making  his  submission  to  the  Crown 
and  giving  hostages  for  his  good  behaviour,  he  received  pardon 
for  his  offences. 

This  rebellion  was  quelled,  but  was  soon  succeeded  by 
another.  "  Let  God  but  grant  me  Hfe,"  King  James  L  is 
reported  to  have  said  on  his  accession  to  power,  "  and  there 
shall  not  be  a  spot  in  my  dominion  where  the  key  shall  not 
keep  the  castle  and  the  furze  bush  the  cow,  though  I  myself 
should  live  the  life  of  a  dog  to  accomplish  it."  These  were 
brave  words,  and  the  king  did  his  best  to  give  effect  to  them. 
The  expedition  of  Donald  of  Harlaw,  as  he  was  called,  showed 
clearly  the  contempt  for  the  law,  and  the  general  spirit  of 
insubordination,  which  prevailed  throughout  Inverness-shire. 
To  our  county,  therefore,  the  king  came  in  person,  determined 
to  assert  authority.  Accompanied  by  his  queen,  his  retinue, 
and  large  numbers  of  his  Parliament,  he  crossed  the  Month  on 
horseback,  and  took  up  his  quarters  in  the  castle  of  Inverness. 
There  was  much  loyal  pageantry  and  display  in  the  northern 
capital.  The  Highland  chiefs  were  commanded  to  give 
attendance  for  the  purpose  of  consulting  as  to  the  best  means 
of  maintaining  peace  and  order.  Not  daring  to  refuse,  for 
they  held  their  lands  from  the  Crown,  they  obeyed  the 
summons,  although  many  of  them  must  have  done  so  with 


T,S  DESTRUCTION    OF   INVERNESS. 

fear  and  trembling.  Forty  of  them  were  imprisoned,  and 
among  them  the  Lord  of  the  Isles.  They  were  lured  like 
wild  beasts  into  a  trap.  No  sooner  did  they  enter  the  hall 
where  Parliament  was  assembled  than  they  were  seized  and 
committed  to  prison.  Some  of  them  were  condemned,  after 
what  trial  we  know  not,  to  periods  of  imprisonment ;  others 
were  executed  offhand.  Alexander  of  Garmorran  was  among 
the  latter,  the  Lord  of  the  Isles  among  the  former.  His  im- 
prisonment was  of  short  duration,  and  on  making  promise  of 
good  behaviour  for  time  to  come  he  was  released.  Such 
promises  were  of  little  value,  and  before  the  king  had  well 
reached  Edinburgh  they  were  broken.  Smarting  under  the 
indignity  that  had  been  put  upon  him,  and  the  treacherous 
treatment  he  had  received,  the  Island  Lord  returned  to  the 
West  and  raised  his  followers.  At  the  head  of  several  thou- 
sand men  he  marched  to  Inverness,  the  scene  of  his  disgrace, 
burning  for  vengeance.  The  castle,  which  had  been  specially 
strengthened  after  Harlaw,  resisted  his  attack  ;  the  town  he 
pillaged  and  burned  to  the  ground.  Having  thus  gratified  his 
vengeance,  he  returned  to  Lochaber  on  his  way  home ;  but 
ere  he  left  that  country  retribution  overtook  him.  The  king 
with  wonderful  activity  mustered  an  army,  placed  himself  at 
its  head,  found  his  way  into  that  remote  district,  and  came 
unexpectedly  upon  his  rebellious  subject.  The  Clan  Chattan 
and  the  Clan  Cameron,  on  seeing  the  royal  standard,  left  the 
Lord  of  the  Isles  and  went  over  to  the  king.  The  Lord  of 
the  Isles  was  so  pressed  that  he  made  proposals  of  surrender, 
which  were  rejected.  Leaving  his  army,  he  took  to  flight,  but 
even  in  his  wild  dominions  the  outlaw  found  no  place  of 
safety.  In  desperation  he  resolved  to  throw  himself  on  the 
clemency  of  the  king.  His  manner  of  doing  this  was  highly 
dramatic.  On  Easter  Sunday  the  king  and  queen  were 
engaged  in  their  devotions  before  the  high  altar  in  the  Chapel 


BATTLE   OF   INVERLOCHY.  39 

Royal  of  Holyrood,  when  a  wild  and  haggard  figure  cast  him- 
self before  them  :  it  was  the  Lord  of  the  Isles,  clothed  only  in 
a  shirt  and  drawers ;  in  one  hand  he  held  his  bonnet,  in  the 
other  he  held  his  sword  by  the  point,  and  offered  it  to  the  king 
in  token  of  submission.  Touched  by  the  humiliating  spectacle, 
as  well  as  influenced  by  the  entreaties  of  his  queen,  the  king 
granted  the  chief  his  life,  but  ordered  him  to  be  imprisoned 
in  the  castle  of  Tantallon.  It  might  have  been  better  for 
the  peace  of  the  country  if  he  had  been  more  severely  dealt 
with. 

Scarcely  had  this  rebel  been  in  ward  when  a  third  uprising 
took  place,  which,  like  that  which  we  have  noticed,  affected 
Inverness-shire.  Donald  Balloch,  a  near  relative  of  the  im- 
prisoned lord,  enraged  at  the  treatment  of  his  chief,  and 
probably  with  his  connivance,  manned  his  galleys  of  war 
with  the  strength  of  the  clan,  and,  disembarking  on  the  shores 
of  Lochaber,  joined  battle  with  the  king's  forces  under  the 
Earls  of  Mar  and  Caithness.  A  fearful  engagement  took 
place  at  Inverlochy,  and  the  Islesmen  were  victorious.  The 
Earl  of  Caithness  with  many  barons  and  knights  were  left 
dead  on  the  field,  and  the  Earl  of  Mar  with  dif^culty  rescued 
the  remains  of  the  royal  army,  and  made  his  way  by  the 
valley  of  the  Spean  into  Badenoch.  According  to  some 
chroniclers,  he  abandoned  his  men  and  fled  through  the 
mountains.  Donald  Balloch  then  ravaged  at  his  leisure  the 
lands  of  the  Clan  Chattan  and  the  Clan  Cameron,  who  had 
in  the  former  fight  deserted  the  banner  of  his  chief.  Having 
thus  glutted  his  vengeance,  he  retreated  with  much  plunder 
to  the  Islands,  and  afterwards  sought  safety  in  Ireland. 

Another  rebelUon  took  place  in  1451,  headed  by  John, 
Lord  of  the  Isles,  son  of  the  man  who  had  humbled  himself 
at  Holyrood.  Inverness-shire  suffered  much  from  him,  as 
it    had    suffered   from    his    ancestors.       He   demolished    the 


40  JOHN,   LORD   OF   THE   ISLES. 

castle  of  Ruthven  in  Badenoch,  seized  the  castles  of  Urquhart 
and  Inverness,  and  committed  many  outrages  on  the  west 
coast  of  Scotland.  He  received  for  these  the  forgiveness 
of  the  sovereign  and  was  restored  to  royal  favour,  but  with 
the  obstinacy  of  his  race  he  soon  returned  to  his  own  courses. 
Taking  advantage  of  the  weakness  of  the  Government  after 
the  death  of  the  king,  he  entered  into  a  league  with  England, 
the  object  of  which  was  the  conquest  of  Scotland.  He  made 
himself  master  of  the  castle  of  Inverness,  and  assumed  in  the 
northern  capital  the  exercise  of  royal  authority.  He  seized 
the  customs  of  the  town,  and  issued  proclamations  com- 
manding the  inhabitants  of  the  North  to  pay  him  their  taxes, 
and  to  refuse  obedience  to  King  James.  This  rebellion  was 
in  time  suppressed,  and  again  the  rebel  had  the  favour  of 
the  Crown  extended  to  him.  His  nephew  then  rebelled, 
and  in  1494,  with  a  large  body  of  his  mainland  vassals  from 
Lochaber  and  Garmorran,  and  with  the  Clan  Chattan  and  the 
Clan  Cameron,  marched  into  Badenoch,  and  thence  to  In- 
verness, where  they  captured  the  castle.  This  achievement 
filled  the  cup  of  the  Islesman's  iniquity  to  the  brim,  and 
brought  his  lordship  to  a  close.  It  was  forfeited  and  annexed 
to  the  Crown.  It  was  long,  however,  before  Inverness-shire 
ceased  to  be  troubled  by  the  descendants  of  the  western 
viking. 

In  1503  there  was  an  incursion  of  Islesmen  into  Badenoch 
which  was  wasted  with  fire  and  sword.  This  insurrect  on 
was  so  formidable  that  three  campaigns  had  to  be  under- 
taken before  it  was  quelled.  In  1 5 1 3  a  large  force  of  High- 
landers, led  by  Sir  Donald  of  Lochalsh,  who  claimed  the 
lordship  of  the  Isles,  aided  by  Macranald  of  Glengarry  and 
Chisholm  of  Comar,  seized  the  castle  of  Urquhart.  This 
rebellion  lasted  five  years.  It  was  not  till  the  middle  of  the 
sixteenth  century  that   the   western   family  ceased   to   harass 


LAWLESSNESS   IN   THE   HIGHLANDS.  4I 

Inverness -shire,    though    they    continued    to    be   a    constant 
source  of  trouble  to  other  parts  of  Scotland. 

Other,  but  less  serious,  uprisings  of  Inverness-shire  clans 
mark  this  period.  The  lawless  state  of  the  county  may  be 
judged  from  a  royal  mandate  issued  in  1528  against  the 
Clan  Chattan  for  "  daly  raising  of  fire,  slauchter,  murther, 
heirschippis,  and  wasting  of  the  countre."  The  powerful 
barons  and  chiefs  by  whom  the  mandate  was  to  be  executed 
were  to  "  pass  all  at  anys  upon  the  Clan  quhattane  and  invade 
them  to  their  utter  destruction  be  slauchtir,  byrning,  drouning, 
and  uther  wayis,  and  lief  na  creatur  livand  of  that  clann  ex- 
cept priestis,  women,  and  bairnis."  The  lives  of  the  latter 
were  to  be  spared,  because  it  were  inhumanity  to  put  hands 
in  their  blood,  but  they  were  to  be  shipped  out  of  the  country 
to  Jesland,  Zesland,  or  Norway.  Fortunately  for  the  clan 
this  terrible  sentence  of  extermination  was  not  carried  out, 
but  it  may  be  taken  as  indicating  that  at  the  time  Inverness- 
shire  was  a  boiling  caldron  of  disorder  and  rapine. 

The  Government  at  last  adopted  a  distinct,  though  doubt- 
ful, policy  in  order  to  strengthen  its  authority  in  the  Highlands. 
This  was  to  commit  the  power  of  the  Crown  to  two  great 
territorial  houses,  which  had  shown  vast  capacity  for  their 
own  aggrandisement,  and  which  were  expected,  from  their 
overwhelming  influence,  to  be  able  to  curb  the  rapacity  of 
weaker  clans.  In  the  West,  Argyle,  whose  fortunes  had 
risen  with  the  downfall  of  the  Lords  of  the  Isles,  was  in- 
vested with  full  authority.  In  the  North,  the  Earl  of  Huntly 
was  in  1544  appointed  Sheriff  of  Inverness  and  Lieutenant- 
General  of  all  the  Highlands.  The  reign  of  the  latter  was  a 
troubled  one.  He  was  constantly  in  the  field  against  insur- 
gents, either  in  the  western  district  of  Moidart,  in  Lochaber, 
or  in  Badenoch,  In  the  year  of  his  appointment  he  was 
involved  in  a   conflict  which   may  be  taken   as   a   specimen 


42  A   TYPICAL   CLAN    FEUD. 

of  the  clan  feuds  of  the  time,  and  the  ferocity  with  which 
they  were  waged. 

A  certain  Ronald  Gaulda,  or  the  foreigner,  had  claimed, 
in  opposition  to  John  of  Moidart,  the  chieftainship  of  the 
Clanranald — a  claim  which  was  accompanied  in  the  usual 
Highland  fashion  with  disturbance  and  robbery.  The  Earl 
of  Huntly  took  the  side  of  Ronald,  and  with  a  large  force 
set  out  to  invade  the  Garmorran  country.  A  number  of 
Inverness-shire  clans  accompanied  him, — the  Frasers,  who 
were  connected  by  marriage  with  Ronald,  and  whose  lands 
had  been  harried  by  his  opponents ;  the  Grants,  with  the 
men  of  Strathspey  and  Glenmoriston  ;  and  the  Clan  Chattan 
with  1500  men.  The  Macdonalds  of  Lochaber  and  Glen- 
garry with  the  Clan  Cameron  supported  John  of  Moidart. 
The  forces  of  the  latter  retired  before  Huntly,  and  without 
a  battle  he  placed  Ronald  Gaulda  in  apparent  possession  of 
Moidart.  On  his  return  homewards  his  party  divided  at 
the  Water  of  Gloy,  a  stream  flowing  into  Loch  Lochy  from 
the  east  near  its  southern  extremity.  Huntly,  the  chief  of 
Grant,  and  the  Clan  Chattan  took  the  route  by  Lochaber 
and  Badenoch  to  their  respective  territories.  The  Frasers, 
accompanied  by  Ronald  Gaulda  and  the  men  of  Urquhart 
and  Glenmoriston,  continued  their  journey  along  the  Great 
Caledonian  Glen.  In  the  narrow  pass  at  the  south  end  of 
Loch  Lochy  they  were  set  upon  by  John  of  Moidart  and 
his  following.  From  the  hills  above  the  ancient  church  of 
Kilfinnan  the  Macdonalds  and  Camerons  swooped  down  like 
birds  of  prey  upon  their  enemies.  A  fearful  hand-to-hand 
conflict  ensued,  which  lasted  from  mid-day  till  late  in  the 
afternoon.  At  its  close  the  Frasers  were  almost  entirely 
cut  off  Lovat  their  chief,  his  eldest  son  Ronald  Gaulda, 
with  eighty  of  the  gentry  of  the  Frasers,  were  slain.  The 
day    was    hot,   and    the    combatants    stripped   themselves    to 


BATTLE   OF   THE   SHIRTS.  43 

their  shirts — a  circumstance  which  led  to  the  fight  being 
called  "  Blar  na  leinna,"  or  "  Battle  of  the  Shirts,"  a  name 
which  the  field  of  battle  bears  to  this  day.  The  armourer 
of  the  Clanranalds  is  said  to  have  met  in  the  conflict  with 
his  fellow-craftsman  of  the  Frasers.  "Take  that,"  said  the 
Macdonald,  delivering  a  fierce  blow,  "from  Clanranald's 
blacksmith."  The  Fraser  parried  the  thrust,  saying,  "  And 
thou  receive  this  from  MacShimie's  [Lovat's]  blacksmith." 
When  the  fight  was  over,  the  two  men  were  found  lying 
dead  side  by  side.  It  was  probably  the  fiercest  battle  ever 
waged  by  the  clans  since  that  of  the  Inch  at  Perth,  and 
many  traditions  regarding  it  still  linger  in  Highland  song 
and  story. 

John  of  Moidart  returned  triumphantly  to  his  native  wilds. 
In  the  succeeding  spring,  with  a  host  of  marauding  followers, 
he  swept  bare  Invermoriston  and  Glenurquhart,  leaving  no 
hoof  or  article  of  value  on  the  raided  lands.  He  was  out- 
lawed, and  his  possessions  were  declared  forfeited,  but  he  still 
maintained  his  own.  Expeditions  were  sent  against  him  in 
vain.  Argyle  was  to  bombard  his  castle  from  the  sea,  Huntly 
to  attack  it  from  the  shore,  but  neither  was  able  to  disturb 
him.  The  queen  -  regent  came  in  person  to  Inverness  to 
deal  with  him,  but  he  failed  to  appear.  Lochiel  and  Kep- 
poch,  his  allies,  were  seized  and  beheaded,  but  he  himself 
retained  his  freedom.  At  length,  after  being  assured  by 
the  Earl  of  Athole,  who  had  been  commissioned  to  capture 
him,  that  he  would  be  leniently  dealt  with,  he  and  his  sons 
appeared  before  the  queen -regent.  They  were  committed 
to  prison,  but  they  made  their  escape  and  found  their  way 
back  to  Moidart.  From  this  nothing  could  dislodge  the 
chief.  The  name  of  the  notorious  rebel,  John  Moydartach, 
appears  often  in  the  annals  of  the  time.  The  last  mention 
of  him   in   the   public   records   is   a   minute   in   which    "  my 


44  THE  "BLACK   TAILOR   OF   THE   AXE." 

Lords "  are  requested  to  report  by  what  means  John  of 
Moidart  may  be  "  dandonit."  "  Dandonit "  the  brave  old 
hero  never  was,  and  he  died  peacefully  in  his  own  house 
of  Castle  Tirrim,  forty  years  after  the  battle  in  which  he 
had  been  victor. 

Perhaps  no  better  illustration  could  be  found,  though 
many  more  might  be  taken  from  the  clan  histories,  of  the 
state  of  Inverness  -  shire  during  the  years  to  which  this 
chapter  relates.  During  this  period  occurred  the  incident 
of  the  "  black  tailor  of  the  axe,"  a  story  still  told  on  the 
banks  of  Loch  Arkaig.  It  also  illustrates  the  wild  state  of 
the  country,  not  untouched  by  gleams  of  romance.  The 
black  tailor,  famed  for  his  skill  in  wielding  the  Lochaber 
axe,  was  the  leader  of  the  Camerons  during  the  minority 
of  their  chief.  While  out  hunting,  he  was  taken  prisoner 
by  the  Mackintoshes.  "  Were  I  in  your  place,"  said  the 
chief  of  the  latter  clan,  "what  would  you  do  with  me?" 
"  I  would,"  replied  the  captive,  "  give  you  a  chance  of 
escaping  with  your  life,  and  if  you  could  get  free  I  would 
let  you  go."  "Then,"  said  the  Mackintosh,  "I  shall  do  the 
same  with  you,  that  you  may  not  say  you  outstripped  me 
in  your  generosity."  A  ring  of  armed  men  was  formed 
around  the  black  tailor,  and  he  was  told  to  find  his  way 
out.  After  looking  around  for  a  time  to  see  if  he  could, 
as  he  said,  "pull  a  stake  out  of  the  paling,"  he  suddenly 
made  a  spring  to  a  part  of  the  circle ;  a  warrior  fell  beneath 
the  stroke  of  his  axe,  and  darting  through  the  opening  he 
was  free,  though  followed  closely  by  his  late  captors.  The 
fugitive  came  to  a  wide  ditch,  which  he  leapt.  The  Mack- 
intosh, leaping  after  him,  fell  into  the  bog.  The  tailor,  turn- 
ing, stood  over  him  flourishing  his  terrible  axe  above  his 
head.  "  I  might,"  he  said,  "  but  I  will  not ; "  and  stretching 
out   his   hand   he   extricated  his  adversary  from  the  morass. 


MEASURES   FOR   MAINTAINING   ORDER.  45 

Mackintosh,  impressed  by  his  generosity,  waved  back  his 
men,  and  the  black  tailor  disappeared.  Strange  to  say,  he 
was  never  seen  again  in  Lochaber.  He  vanished,  and  many 
legends  were  associated  with  his  mysterious  disappearance. 
He  is  now  known  to  have  gone  to  Cowal  in  Argyleshire, 
where  he  took  the  name  of  Taylor ;  and  one  of  his  descend- 
ants occupies  at  the  present  time  an  honoured  place  as  a 
professor  in  the  University  of  Edinburgh.  His  prowess  was 
long  remembered ;  the  place  where  he  made  his  famous  leap 
is  still  pointed  out  near  the  banks  of  the  Caledonian  Canal 
at  Gairlochy,  and  is  called  to  this  day  "  the  leap  of  the 
tailor."  "  The  black  tailor  of  the  battle-axe  who  put  defeat 
upon  the  Mackintosh  "  is  a  proverbial  saying  throughout  the 
Highlands. 

Much,  however,  was  done  during  this  period  to  make  the 
law  respected,  and  a  gradual  evolution  of  order  from  chaos 
began  to  take  place.  Besides  the  appointment  of  a  lord- 
lieutenant,  there  were  other  measures  adopted  to  strengthen 
the  central  authority.  The  royal  castles  of  Inverness  and 
Inverlochy  were  strongly  fortified.  Huntly  not  only  received 
power  to  add  to  the  fortification,  but  was  also  bound  at  his 
own  expense  to  build  upon  the  Castlehill  of  Inverness  a  hall  of 
stone  and  Hme  upon  vaults.  It  was  to  be  100  feet  in  length, 
30  in  breadth,  and  the  same  in  height,  to  have  a  slated  roof, 
with  kitchen  and  chapel  attached.  At  Inverlochy  he  was 
to  raise  a  tower  of  strength  with  a  barbican.  These  for- 
tresses must  have  tended  somewhat  towards  the  mainten- 
ance of  order. 

But  more  than  any  castle  -  building,  the  establishment  of 
courts  of  justice  throughout  the  county  must  have  conduced 
to  law  and  order.  There  was  to  be  a  depute-sheriff  at  Inver- 
ness ;  another  was  to  hold  courts  at  Kingussie  for  Badenoch, 
and  a  third  at  Inverlochy  for  Lochaber.    The  justice  dispensed 


46  ROYAL  VISITS   TO  INVERNESS. 

at  these  tribunals  may  have  been  of  the  roughest  and  the 
readiest  kind ;  still  it  was  better  than  none,  and  it  brought 
home  to  the  minds  both  of  chief  and  clan  the  existence  of 
an  authority  higher  than  that  of  both. 

The  royal  visits  to  the  North  also  specially  tended  to  bring 
about  a  more  settled  condition  of  things       It  is  a  noteworthy 
fact  that,  though  the  Inverness-shire  chiefs  might  pay  but  little 
respect  to  the  king's  laws  when  the  sovereign  was  at  Holyrood, 
when  he  came  among  them  in  person  the  principles  of  feudal- 
ism asserted  themselves  :  they  received  him  with  loyalty,  and 
paid  him  ready  submission.     The  visit  of  King  James  I.  to 
Inverness  we  have  already  noticed.     A  large  portion  of  the 
time  of  James  II.  appears  to  have  been  spent  north  of  the 
Spey,  and  on  more  than  one  occasion  he  held  justice-ayres  at 
Inverness.     James   III.,  a  year  after  his  marriage,   made  in 
1470  a  journey  there,  and  remained  in  the  town  from  the 
24th  of  July  to  the  24th  of  August.     James  IV.  frequently 
came  to  the  northern  capital:  he  was  there  in  1493,   1494 
twice,  in  1499,  i^   150I)  ^"d  in   1503.     James  V.  does  not 
appear  to  have  gone  farther  north  than  Athole ;  but  he  visited 
with  a  large  fleet  the  Western  Isles  belonging  to  the  county, 
and  the  mainland  districts  of  Glenelg  and  Moidart,  when  he 
seized  and  took  south  with  him,  among  other  Highland  chiefs, 
the  captains  of  Clanranald  and  Glengarry.     Mary  of  Guise, 
queen-regent  of  the  kingdom,  accompanied  by  many  nobles, 
held  at  Inverness  in  1555a  Convention  of  Estates,  and  visited 
with    "  extreme    and   vigorous    punishment "   many    offenders 
against  the  law.     The  last  royal  visitor  was  Mary,  Queen  of 
Scots.      In  1562  she  made  on  horseback  what  Randolph  in 
a  letter  to  Cecil  calls  "  a  terrible  journey."     Leaving  Edinburgh 
on  the  nth  of  August,  she  reached  Inverness  on  the  nth  of 
September.     She  was  denied   admission  to  the  castle,  which 
was  held  at  the  time  by  a  representative  of  the  Earl  of  Huntly, 


MARY,   QUEEN   OF   SCOTS.  47 

with  whom  the  queen  was  at  variance.  The  Frasers,  the 
Munros,  and  the  Clan  Chattan  came  to  her  aid,  captured 
the  castle,  and  hanged  the  captain  over  the  battlements. 
Randolph,  who  was  in  attendance  on  the  queen,  describes  her 
visit  with  considerable  vividness  : — 

"At  the  queen's  arrival  at  Inverness,  she,  proposing  to  have 
lodged  in  the  castle,  which  pertaineth  to  herself,  and  the  keep- 
ing only  to  the  Earl  of  Huntly  (Lord  Gordon),  being  sheriff 
by  inheritance,  was  refused  there  to  have  entry,  and  enforced 
to  lodge  in  the  town.  That  night,  the  castle  being  summoned 
to  be  rendered  to  the  queen,  answer  was  given  by  those  that 
kept  it  in  Lord  Gordon's  behalf,  that  without  his  command  it 
should  not  be  delivered.  The  next  day  the  country  assembled 
to  the  assistance  of  the  queen.  The  Gordons  also  made  their 
friends  come  out.  We  looked  every  hour  to  see  what  shall 
become  of  the  matter.  We  left  nothing  undone  that  was  need- 
ful. And  the  Gordons,  not  finding  themselves  so  w^ell  served, 
and  never  amounting  to  above  500  men,  sent  word  to  those 
who  were  within,  amounting  to  only  twelve  or  thirteen  able 
men,  to  render  the  castle ;  which  they  did.  The  captain  was 
hanged,  and  his  head  set  upon  the  castle ;  some  others  con- 
demned to  perpetual  imprisonment ;  and  the  rest  received 
mercy.  In  all  those  garbulles,  I  assure  your  honour  I  never 
saw  the  queen  merrier ;  never  dismayed ;  nor  never  thought 
I  that  stomach  to  be  in  her  that  I  find.  She  repented  noth- 
ing, but,  when  the  lords  and  others  at  Inverness  came  in  the 
morning  from  the  watche,  that  she  was  not  a  man,  to  know 
what  life  it  was  to  lye  all  night  in  the  fields,  or  to  walk  upon 
the  causeway,  with  a  jack  and  knapsack,  a  Glasgow  buckler, 
and  a  broadsword.  Lest  your  honour  should  speere  [inquire] 
what  in  this  meantime  I  did,  it  may  please  you  to  know  that, 
in  good  faith,  when  so  many  were  occupied,  I  was  ashamed  to 
sit  still,  and  did  as  the  rest." 


48  THE  BURGHERS  OF   INVERNESS. 

Unfortunately  we  have  had  little  to  tell  in  this  chapter 
beyond  the  story  of  constant  warfare.  In  the  history  of  the 
troubled  years  over  which  we  have  rapidly  travelled,  there  is 
but  one  pleasing  feature  which  is  worthy  of  notice.  The  little 
burgh  of  Inverness  held  its  own  bravely,  and  presented  in  its 
condition  a  marked  contrast  to  the  surrounding  country.  The 
town  had  been  burned  to  the  ground,  as  we  have  seen,  by  the 
Islesmen,  but  after  a  time  of  great  hardship  it  recovered  from 
its  forlorn  condition.  As  years  went  on  it  grew  in  wealth 
and  prosperity  ;  it  carried  on  trade  with  foreign  parts,  chiefly 
with  Flanders.  It  exported  hides  of  cattle  ;  skins  of  marten, 
weasels,  foxes,  and  other  wild  animals ;  salmon,  iron,  and 
woollen  cloth,  spun  and  woven  in  Highland  cottages,  and 
brought  to  the  burgh  market  for  sale.  Its  imports  were 
doubtless  those  of  Scottish  burghs  of  the  period — wine,  spices, 
cloth  of  all  kinds  from  buckram  to  satin  and  velvet,  and 
articles  of  domestic  and  church  furniture.  The  growing  wealth 
of  the  burgh  is  shown  by  the  liberality  of  its  indwellers  to  the 
Church ;  they  founded  altars  in  their  parish  church,  and 
endowed  chaplains  to  minister  at  them.  The  Scottish  sov- 
ereigns entertained  a  sincere  regard  for  these  peace-loving 
citizens,  and  added  by  many  charters  to  the  privileges  they 
already  possessed.  They  were  a  community  by  themselves, 
and  held  no  intercourse  but  that  of  trade  with  the  tribes 
around.  The  names  met  with  in  their  charters — Hay,  Jasper, 
Vaus,  Cuthbert,  Dempster,  Fleming,  and  the  like — are  un- 
mingled  with  those  of  Macpherson,  Mackintosh,  Chisholm,  or 
Macdonald. 

The  freedom  the  burghers  enjoyed  seems  to  have  been 
coveted  by  certain  of  their  Highland  neighbours,  who  sought 
to  obtain  holdings  within  the  burgh.  "Outlandish  men,"  a 
charter  tells  us,  "  of  great  clans  not  able  or  qualified  to  use 
merchandise,"  obtained  an  influence  over  widows  of  deceased 


MERCHANTS   AND   "OUTLANDISH    MEN."  49 

burgesses,  and  thus  by  marriage  endeavoured  to  become 
possessed  of  property  to  the  "  hurt  and  skaith  "  of  the  com- 
munity. Such  Celtic  intrusion  could  not  be  allowed.  A  law 
was  therefore  passed  by  royal  authority  against  the  "  clanned 
men,"  and  they  were  allowed  neither  to  "  scott,  lott,  walk,  or 
ward "  with  the  burgesses.  What  the  latter  possessed  they 
would  keep  to  themselves.  The  kilted  Highlander  might 
bring  to  the  market-place  the  hides  of  the  cattle  his  clan 
had  raided,  or  the  skins  of  the  animals  he  had  trapped  among 
the  mountains.  The  chief  might  buy  from  the  merchant 
tuns  of  wine  to  enliven  his  castle  hall,  or  satin  and  velvet  to 
adorn  his  wife.  Beyond  that  there  could  be  no  intercourse. 
Thus  the  brave  little  burgh  kept  the  even  tenor  of  its  way 
— a  centre  where  peace  and  order  reigned  in  the  midst  of 
violence.  Provost  and  citizen  could  lay  their  heads  on  their 
nightly  pillow  without  fear  of  being  awakened  by  the  skirl 
of  the  bagpipes  or  the  clang  of  broadswords.  There  was  no 
other  part  of  Inverness-shire  of  which  that  could  be  said. 


D 


so 


CHAPTER    V. 


THE  REFORMATION  IN  SCOTLAND — SLOW  PROGRESS  OF  PROTESTANTISM  IN 
INVERNESS-SHIRE — CONFORMITY  TO  THE  "NEW  OPINIONS"  MORE  AP- 
PARENT THAN  REAL — DEPUTATION  OF  THE  KIRK  AT  INVERNESS — OFFER 
OF  THE  MACKINTOSH  TO  "  PLANT"  MINISTERS— POSITION  OF  THE  ROMAN 
CLERGY  IN  INVERNESS-SHIRE  BEFORE  THE  REFORMATION  —  MINISTERS 
GRADUALLY  SETTLED  THROUGHOUT  THE  COUNTY — THE  NEW  MINISTER 
OF  KILMALLIE  AND  HIS  DOCTRINE  —  TROUBLES  OF  THE  MINISTER  OF 
ABERTARFF— THE  REFORMATION  IN  THE  BURGH — DISSOLUTION  OF  THE 
MONASTERIES  AND  DESTINATION  OF  THEIR  PROPERTY  —  HARDSHIPS 
SUFFERED  BY  THE  OLD  CLERGY  —  THEIR  ZEAL  IN  TROUBLED  TIMES — 
CHARACTER  OF  THE  ROMAN  CATHOLICS  OF  INVERNESS-SHIRE — HUNTLY 
REMAINS  CATHOLIC— A  PERIOD  OF  TERRIBLE  FEUDS  —  THE  VIGOROUS 
RULE  OF  JAMES  VI. — THE  KING'S  WRIT  MADE  TO  RUN  FREELY  IN  THE 
NORTH — THE  FIGHTING  CHIEFS  BROUGHT  BEFORE  THE  PRIVY  COUNCIL 
— THEIR  SONS  ORDERED  TO  BE  EDUCATED — THE  GRADUAL  CESSATION 
OF   CLAN    FEUDS — A   NEW   EPOCH   BEGINS   IN   INVERNESS-SHIRE. 


The  Reformation  in  Scotland  may  be  said  to  date  from  the 
year  1560.  By  the  Estates  of  the  kingdom  the  Confession 
of  Faith  was  then  adopted,  the  Pope's  jurisdiction  was  abol- 
ished, and  it  was  rendered  criminal  to  say  mass.  Any 
priest  doing  so  was  liable  to  confiscation  of  goods  for  the 
first  offence,  to  banishment  for  the  second,  and  to  death 
for  the  third. 

It  was  long,  however,  before  Protestantism  took  any  hold 
in  our  northern  region.  In  1563  a  commission  was  given 
to  Robert  Pont,  one  of  the  Superintendents  under  the  new 
order,  to  plant  kirks  in  the  county  of  Inverness.  He  does 
not  seem  to  have  made  much  progress,  for  five  years  after  he 


THE   REFORMATION.  5  I 

received  his  appointment  he  was  removed  to  a  district  "  where 
his  labours  might  be  more  fruitful  than  they  could  be  at  that 
time  in  Moray."  Certain  of  the  Inverness-shire  chiefs  out- 
wardly accepted  the  Reformed  faith.  The  chief  of  Grant  had 
been  a  member  of  the  Parliament  which  had  adopted  the 
Reformation.  Mackintosh  and  Lovat  appear  also  to  have 
been  regarded  as  Protestant ;  while  Glengarry,  Chisholm,  the 
Macdonalds  of  Lochaber,  and  others  remained  Roman  Catho- 
lic. It  is  generally  supposed  that  the  people  accepted  the 
religion  of  the  chief,  and  followed  him  as  readily  into  the 
Protestant  Church  as  they  did  when  he  commanded  a  foray 
against  a  neighbour.  This  may  generally  have  been  the  case, 
but  there  were  exceptions.  The  chief  of  the  Moidart  Clan- 
ranalds  became  Protestant,  but  his  people  adhered  to  the 
old  faith.  A  large  part  of  Lovat's  people  also  remained 
Catholic. 

In  fact,  conformity  to  the  new  opinions  was  long  more 
apparent  than  real  in  Inverness -shire.  In  a  paper  drawn 
up  by  the  hand  of  Lord  Burleigh,  the  English  statesman, 
in  1590,  we  have  a  statement  of  the  comparative  strength 
of  Protestantism  and  Roman  Catholicism  throughout  Scot- 
land. We  learn  from  it  that  all  the  northern  part  of  the 
kingdom,  including  Inverness  -  shire,  adhered  wholly  or  in 
great  part  to  the  Roman  Catholic  party,  being  commanded 
mostly  by  noblemen  who  secretly  adhered  to  that  faith,  and 
directed  by  priests  who  were  concealed  in  various  parts  of 
the  country.  Certainly  large  districts  of  Inverness-shire,  so 
far  as  the  profession  of  religion  is  concerned,  remained 
Roman  Catholic. 

In  1597  a  deputation  from  the  Kirk  came  to  Inverness  to 
confer  with  those  friendly  to  Protestantism  as  to  the  planting  of 
the  country  with  ministers,  and  as  to  obtaining  for  them  suit- 
able stipends.     What  progress  the  deputation  made  we  do  not 


52        ROMAN   CATHOLICISM    IN    THE   HIGHLANDS. 

know ;  but  one  of  their  number,  the  Rev.  J.  Melville,  informs 
us  in  his  Diary  that  The  Mackintosh  made  them  the  following 
speech,  which  he  heartily  commends  :  "  Now  it  maybe  thought 
I  am  liberall  because  na  minister  will  come  amungs  us,  there- 
fore get  me  men  and  sey  [try]  me,  and  I  will  find  sufficient 
caution  for  saiftie  of  their  persones,  obedience  to  their  doc- 
trine and  discipline,  and  find  payment  of  their  stipend  and 
entertainment."  Such  was  his  earnestness  and  zeal  in  the 
cause,  that  the  writer  tells  us  "  MakinToshie  warred  [excelled] 
all  the  rest  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  North."  But  whatever 
"  the  gentlemen  of  the  North  "  may  have  done,  the  people  of 
the  wide  districts  of  Strathglass,  Lochaber,  Moidart,  Arisaig, 
and  Knoydart  are,  speaking  generally,  Roman  Catholic  at 
the  present  day,  and  have  been  so  from  the  earliest  times. 
"  Great  and  blessed  Morar,"  runs  a  Gaelic  proverb,  "  where 
no  Protestant  ever  preached  a  sermon." 

It  is  difficult  to  estimate  the  influence  of  the  clergy  of 
Inverness-shire  over  their  flocks  previous  to  the  Reformation. 
There  is  much  reason  for  supposing  it  to  have  been  more 
nominal  than  real.  In  the  clan  histories  the  clergy  are  never 
mentioned  as  taking  any  part  whatever  in  repressing  the 
terrible  feuds  of  the  period,  or  as  acting  as  mediators  be- 
tween contending  clans.  They  seem  to  have  done  little  or 
nothing  for  the  general  education  of  the  people.  Except 
that  a  priest  now  and  again  draws  up  a  deed  as  a  notary 
public,  or  is  mentioned  in  some  charter  regarding  tithes  and 
lands,  we  should  never  know  of  the  existence  of  the  clergy 
at  all.  Nor  do  the  Highlanders  appear  to  have  been  deeply 
impressed  by  the  sanctity  of  the  Church.  They  raided  the 
lands  of  the  priests,  as  they  raided  those  of  secular  persons. 
In  1390,  the  Wolf  of  Badenoch,  as  he  was  called,  in  order 
to  avenge  some  slight  offered  to  him  by  his  bishop,  burned 
to  the  ground  the  noble  Cathedral  of  Elgin  and  the  manses 


ACTS  OF   SACRILEGE.  53 

of  the  canons.  In  1430,  at  the  Feast  of  Pahns,  the  Clan 
Chattan  killed,  it  is  said,  in  a  certain  church  nearly  the  whole 
of  the  Camerons,  In  1488  the  Macdonalds  of  Garmorran, 
Lochaber,  and  the  Clan  Cameron  made  a  raid  into  Ross-shire 
against  the  Mackenzies.  On  a  Sunday  morning  at  Contin, 
they  found  that  the  aged  men,  women,  and  children  of  the 
district  had  taken  refuge  in  the  church.  Without  scruple 
they  ordered  the  doors  to  be  closed,  and  set  fire  to  the 
building,  when  the  priest  and  his  congregation  perished  in 
the  flames.  In  1603  the  Macdonalds  of  Glengarry,  on  a 
foray  in  Ross,  surprised  a  party  of  their  enemies  in  the 
church  of  Kilchrist.  They  burned  church  and  congregation 
together.  Glengarry's  piper  marching  round  the  building  and 
drowning  the  cries  of  the  miserable  sufferers  with  a  pibroch, 
which  became  afterwards  the  family  tune  of  the  victorious 
clan.  These  atrocious  deeds  of  sacrilege  indicate  a  total 
want  of  that  reverence  for  the  Church  and  the  sanctities  of 
religion  which  belongs  to  people  who  have  emerged  in  any 
degree  from  the  darkness  of  heathenism. 

The  process  of  placing  ministers  in  Inverness-shire  among 
such  a  people  was  necessarily  very  slow.  Throughout  the 
county  the  parishes  were  generally  served  in  the  first  instance 
by  a  class  of  teachers  called  "Readers"  and  "Exhorters." 
The  readers  read  the  Scriptures  and  the  common  prayers,  but 
exercised  no  other  ecclesiastical  function ;  the  exhorters  were 
allowed  to  baptise  and  perform  the  marriage  ceremony,  and  to 
preach  as  they  had  the  gift.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that 
some  of  the  priests  in  Inverness-shire  became  exhorters  in  their 
parishes.  The  priest  of  Urquhart,  the  vicar  of  Kiltarlity,  and 
the  parson  of  Moy  did  so  ;  and  there  were  others  who  followed 
their  example.  Gradually,  regular  ministers  were  settled  in 
the  parishes,  but  it  was  not  till  1658  that  a  minister  was 
appointed  to  Kilmallie,  the  country  of  the  Camerons,  where 


54  MINISTERIAL   DIFFICULTIES. 

"  he  was  to  remain  till  a  kirk  should  be  built,  and  the  people 
brought  to  some  comely  order."  It  was  only  in  1720  that 
Kilmonivaig,  the  great  parish  which  comprehended  the  larger 
part  of  Lochaber  and  the  wide  district  of  Glengarry,  was 
supplied  with  Protestant  ministration.  It  is  said  that  the 
new  minister  of  the  first  parish  endeavoured  to  impress 
upon  his  people  the  duty  of  forgiving  their  enemies.  The 
Camerons,  who  had  been  ordered  by  their  chief  to  give 
attendance,  were  greatly  exercised  over  the  new  doctrine. 
"  That  was  strange  doctrine,"  one  of  them  is  reported  to 
have  said  to  another;  "do  you  think  it  is  right?"  "The 
minister,"  was  the  reply,  "is  a  learned  man,  and  he  should 
know."  "  That  may  be,"  said  the  other,  "  but  for  my  part  give 
me  Moses,  '  an  eye  for  an  eye  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth.' " 

Many  of  the  ministers  settled  among  the  clans  had  a  very 
difficult  position  to  fill,  and  it  was  frequently  long  before 
they  made  any  progress  in  attracting  people  to  their  services. 
Often  the  parishioners  gathered  together  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  church  to  put  the  stone  and  throw  the  caber, 
while  the  pastor  preached  to  empty  space.  The  minister  of 
Abertarff  reported  to  the  brethren  of  his  presbytery  "that 
he  was  so  troubled  by  the  Lochaber  robbers,  that  are  so 
numerous  and  broken  out,  that  scarce  had  he  so  much  time 
as  to  provide  a  discourse  on  the  Sabbath-day."  Occasion- 
ally the  services  of  the  churches  were  broken  in  upon  by 
"  lymaris  and  idle  men,"  who  turned  the  worship  to  ridicule 
and  rendered  preaching  impossible.  Many  of  the  ministers 
were  stalwart  men,  and  some  are  said  to  have  driven  the 
people  into  the  church  by  physical  force.  Gradually,  how- 
ever, difficulties  were  overcome,  and  congregations  were 
gathered,  often  more  perhaps  by  the  compulsion  of  the  chief 
than  by  the  attraction  of  the  preacher. 

The  burghers  of  the  town  of  Inverness  seem  to  have  adopted 


PROTESTANTISM    IN    INVERNESS.  55 

the  Protestant  faith  more  readily  than  their  Highland  neigh- 
bours. The  year  before  the  Reformation  was  established, 
and  when  changes  were  imminent,  the  provost  of  the  convent 
and  his  chapter  deposited  for  security  their  charters  and  valu- 
ables with  the  provost  and  magistrates  of  the  town.  Among 
the  valuables  were  five  chalices,  silver-gilt  with  gold,  two  silver 
spoons,  a  "  little  relic  of  silver,"  and  some  vestments.  These 
slender  possessions  never  found  their  way  back  to  the  Church. 
All  the  ecclesiastical  property,  altarages,  and  lands,  which 
belonged  either  to  the  convent  or  to  the  parish  church,  were 
conveyed  by  royal  charter  to  the  provost  and  magistrates  for 
the  hospitality  and  sustentation  of  the  poor  and  orphans,  and 
of  ministers  within  the  burgh,  "  being  situated  among  the 
Highlands  and  undaunted  people."  In  1567  Thomas  Howie- 
son  or  Houston,  who  had  formerly  been  a  priest,  was  appointed 
minister  of  the  town.  During  the  ecclesiastical  troubles  in 
the  reign  of  James  VI.,  an  eminent  minister,  Robert  Bruce, 
was  banished  to  Inverness,  and  it  is  said  "  wonderfully  illumi- 
nated that  dark  and  remote  country." 

The  Monastery  of  Beauly,  with  its  possessions,  fell  into  the 
hands  of  Lord  Lovat.  The  abbot  of  Kinloss,  who  was  prior 
of  Beauly,  made  a  charter  in  favour  of  Hugh,  Lord  Fraser  of 
Lovat,  granting  to  him  the  barony  town  and  lands  of  Beauly, 
with  the  different  possessions  and  salmon-fishings  owned  by 
the  monks.  This  charter  was  confirmed  by  an  Act  of  Parlia- 
ment in  1584.  There  was  a  struggle  between  Lord  Lovat 
and  the  Lord  of  Kintail  for  the  possession  of  the  church 
property  in  the  gift  of  the  Crown,  and  both  went  to  Edin- 
burgh for  the  purpose.  The  minister  of  Kirkhill  gives  in  his 
journal  an  amusing  account  of  how  the  chief  of  the  Frasers 
got  the  better  of  his  competitor.  "  Lovat,  well  acquainted 
with  the  road,  cuts  short  and  arrived  by  a  day's  journey 
before  him  at  Edinburgh,  some  saying  they  were  a  night  in 


56  LOVAT   AND   THE   PRIORY   OF   BEAULY. 

one  and  the  same  lodging,  or  perhaps  in  one  town,  on  the 
way,  unknown  to  one  another.  But  be  sure  Lord  Lovat  had 
his  inteUigence  of  the  other's  motions,  and  made  but  short 
stay  in  any  part  till  he  came  to  his  journey's  end ;  and  in 
short  he  secured  his  object  and  got  his  right  to  Beauly 
through  the  seals,  before  Mackenzie  came  to  Edinburgh. 
The  day  after,  they  met  together  in  the  open  street,  and 
the  whole  matter  came  above  -  board,  and  Kintail  found 
himself  outwitted." 

The  possessions  which  Lovat  thus  cleverly  obtained  still 
remain  with  the  Frasers ;  but  the  monks  who  had  been  dis- 
possessed were  treated  with  kindness.  They  were  restored 
to  their  cells,  and  a  provision  was  assigned  them  for  the  re- 
mainder of  their  days,  though  they  were  forbidden  to  say 
mass  in  the  priory  church.  It  is  supposed  that  certain  of 
them  continued  to  give  instruction  to  some  of  the  young 
gentry  of  the  north,  as  nothing  had  been  done  to  supply 
the  place  of  the  monastic  schools. 

Of  the  priory  buildings  there  are  no  remains.  Those  of 
the  church  may  be  still  seen.  Its  ancient  and  picturesque 
walls,  and  the  noble  trees  around  it,  form  a  pleasing  feature  in 
a  beautiful  landscape. 

The  large  number  of  people  in  Inverness-shire  who  adhered 
to  the  old  faith  were  not  left  altogether  without  the  ministra- 
tions of  their  religion.  Priests  disguised  as  peasants  perambu- 
lated the  country  in  the  discharge  of  their  religious  functions, 
and  at  the  risk  of  their  lives.  Members  of  the  Jesuit,  Bene- 
dictine, Franciscan,  and  Lazarite  orders  planted  themselves  in 
various  districts  among  the  Roman  Catholic  population.  One 
of  the  Jesuit  stations  in  North  Britain  was  Strathglass.  Irish 
priests  also  found  their  way  into  Moidart  and  the  western 
district,  and  the  chief  of  Glengarry  obtained  the  services  of 
two  of  them  for  his  clan. 


PERSECUTION    OF   JESUITS.  5/ 

The  hardships  these  clergymen  endured  in  their  wanderings 
were  very  great.  One  of  them  who  ministered  in  Moidart  was 
apprehended,  tried  in  Edinburgh,  banished,  and  threatened 
with  the  penalty  of  death  if  he  ventured  to  return.  He  did 
return,  was  seized  by  English  soldiers,  and  was  thrown  into 
the  dungeon  of  Glengarry  Castle,  where  he  perished.  In  the 
neighbourhood  of  Castletirrim  the  priests'  hiding-place  was  a 
small  cave  in  the  hillside,  like  a  fox's  den.  The  records  of 
the  Presbytery  of  Inverness  are  full  of  notices  of  "  seminary 
priests,"  who  were  duly  excommunicated,  and  handed  over 
to  the  secular  authorities.  The  presbytery  made  also  strict 
inquiry  after  "  Popish  gear."  They  found  on  one  occasion  an 
image  of  St  Finnan  in  a  private  house  in  Dunlichty,  and 
caused  it  to  be  burned  with  all  solemnity  at  the  cross  of  the 
burgh.  Glengarry  was  said  to  be  a  worshipper  of  the  "  Coan," 
an  effigy  probably  of  the  Celtic  apostle  St  Coan,  to  whom  a 
church  in  Knoydart  was  dedicated.  He  was  charged  for  this 
offence  before  the  Privy  Council,  and  the  image  was  brought 
to  Edinburgh  and  burnt  at  the  cross.  The  old  faith  could 
not  be  put  down  by  such  measures.  If  presbyteries  were 
active,  priests  were  not  less  so.  A  succession  of  devoted  men 
laboured  among  their  co-religionists  till  the  day  of  toleration 
came.  Probably  under  their  ministrations,  and  beneath  the 
ban  of  persecution,  the  people  became  more  earnest  in  their 
religion  than  they  had  been  under  their  old  parish  priests. 
There  are  to-day  to  be  found  no  more  devout  and  exemplary 
people  than  the  Catholics  of  Inverness-shire  ;  and  it  is  pleasing 
to  add  that  they  live,  and  have  long  lived,  on  terms  of  amity 
and  goodwill  with  their  Protestant  neighbours. 

Though  the  great  event  of  the  Scottish  Reformation  did  not 
for  long  affect  Inverness-shire  religiously,  it  produced  politi- 
cally considerable  changes.  The  great  house  of  Huntly  re- 
mained Roman  Catholic,  and  as  the  Reformed  polity  made 


58  THE   GORDONS   AND   THE    MACKINTOSHES. 

progress,  the  family  came  into  antagonism  both  with  the 
Government  and  with  those  chiefs  who  had  accepted  Protest- 
antism. This  gave  rise  to  conflicts,  many  of  which  took  place 
outside  of  Inverness-shire,  and  we  are  not  called  upon  to  de- 
scribe them.  Those  within  its  bounds  were  prolonged  enough. 
The  Mackintoshes  had  an  old  feud  to  settle  with  Huntly, 
whose  grandfather  had  beheaded  their  chief  in  his  castle  of 
Strathbogie,  and  they  were  prompt  to  seize  the  opportunity. 
With  the  Grants  and  the  Frasers  they  entered  into  alliance 
against  the  Catholic  earl.  The  Camerons,  the  Macphersons, 
and  the  Macdonalds  of  Keppoch,  as  the  Clanranald  of  Loch- 
aber  were  now  called,  gave  him  their  support.  Thus  nearly 
all  the  Inverness-shire  clans  were  in  the  field  on  one  side  or 
the  other. 

It  is  impossible  to  convey  a  picture  of  the  country  torn  by 
such  feuds  as  these.  In  1592  the  Mackintoshes  "lifted"  the 
rents  of  the  castle  lands  at  Inverness  which  pertained  to 
Huntly,  seized  those  belonging  to  him  in  Badenoch,  and 
made  a  raid  on  the  Camerons.  In  1593  a  letter  of  the  king 
tells  "  of  great  incursions,  fire-raising,  murder  of  women  and 
bairns,  and  heirscheip  of  gear  and  goods  upon  the  Earl  of 
Huntly  by  the  Clan  Chattan."  In  the  same  year  the  Mack- 
intoshes and  their  allies  seized  4000  head  of  horses  and  cattle 
which  Huntly  had  sent  into  Lochaber  for  security.  "  The 
Camerons  did  behold  the  matter,  but  durst  not  encounter." 
In  1594  Argyle  with  the  Protestant  forces  besieged  Ruthven 
in  Badenoch,  but  it  was  so  gallantly  defended  by  the  Mac- 
phersons that  he  was  unable  to  take  it.  He  then  marched 
through  the  mountains  to  Strathbogie,  where  he  was  defeated. 
So  the  strife  went  on  ;  private  feuds  mixed  with  more  public 
interests,  and  the  whole  county  was  in  a  blaze  as  when  the 
heather  is  on  fire.  The  conflagration  at  last  died  out.  In 
1597   Huntly  made  his  peace  with   the   Kirk   at  Aberdeen. 


VIGOROUS   MEASURES  OF  JAMES  VI.  59 

He  became  an  avowed  Protestant,  and  was  restored  to  his 
power  and  his  lands.  The  turmoil  ceased  for  a  time,  but 
it  left  Inverness-shire  in  many  parts  utterly  desolate,  and 
whole  glens  almost  without  inhabitants. 

James  VI.  of  all  the  Scottish  kings  set  himself  most  man- 
fully to  suppress  disorder  in  the  Highlands.  His  predecessors 
had  governed  the  North  as  one  might  ride  a  wild  horse  with 
slackened  rein,  pulling  it  up  sharply  at  intervals  to  his  own 
personal  danger.  James  VI.  kept  the  bridle  always  tightly 
in  his  own  hands,  and  let  the  animal  he  bestrode  feel  that 
he  was  on  his  back.  His  hold  over  his  northern  subjects 
never  relaxed.  He  made  the  chiefs  of  the  most  remote  dis- 
tricts know  that  the  strong  arm  of  the  law  could  reach  them 
in  their  fastnesses.  He  dealt  sharply  with  them  by  fine  and 
imprisonment.  He  compelled  them  to  appear  personally  from 
time  to  time  before  his  Privy  Council  in  Edinburgh,  and  he 
gave  them  to  understand  that  the  possession  of  their  lands 
depended  upon  their  good  behaviour.  Intended  raids  on  one 
another's  territories  were  often  stopped  before  they  could  be 
executed.  When  carried  out,  severe  punishment  followed 
closely  upon  the  offence.  Before  the  victorious  chief  could 
well  reach  his  castle  with  his  prey,  he  was  served  with  a  sum- 
mons to  appear  before  the  Council.  This  tribunal  seemed  to 
be  in  direct  communication  with  the  North  :  whatever  took 
place  in  Inverness-shire  was  at  once  reported  at  Edinburgh, 
and  the  king's  writ  was  made  to  run  as  freely  in  Badenoch 
and  Lochaber  as  in  the  Lothians. 

The  measures  adopted  for  the  pacification  of  the  North 
were  severe,  and  often  cruel,  but  they  were  effective.  By 
an  Act  of  Parliament  passed  in  1587  chiefs  of  clans  were 
made  to  find  securities  to  a  large  amount,  proportioned  to 
the  number  of  their  vassals,  for  the  peaceable  behaviour  of 
those  under  them.      If  any  person  was  injured  by  the  members 


6o  EDUCATION    OF   THE   CHIEFS'   SONS. 

of  a  clan,  he  could  proceed  against  the  sureties,  and  exact 
an  amount  from  them  proportionate  to  the  damage  he  had 
sustained.  By  another  Act  of  Parliament,  in  1597,  all  High- 
land chiefs  were  called  upon  to  appear  personally  at  Edin- 
burgh, and  to  produce  within  a  year  the  titles  by  which  they 
held  their  lands.  In  consequence  of  this  measure,  and  of 
their  failure  to  produce  proper  charters,  certain  chiefs  lost 
portions  of  their  lands,  which  were  forfeited  to  the  Crown, 
though  the  forfeiture  does  not  appear  to  have  been  rigorously 
pressed.  The  king's  intention  probably  was  to  plant  southern 
colonists  on  his  newly  acquired  land  in  the  Highlands  ;  but 
after  the  failure  of  an  experiment  of  the  kind  made  in  the 
island  of  Lewis,  his  project  was  abandoned. 

But  more  than  by  any  enactment  passed  by  Parliament 
or  Privy  Council,  the  Highlands  were  influenced  by  a  decree 
which  enjoined  that  the  sons  of  chiefs  should  have  a  liberal 
education.  "  The  chief  principal  caus,"  it  narrates,  "  whilk 
hes  procurit  and  procuris  the  continuance  of  barbaritie,  im- 
puritie,  and  incivihtie  within  the  Yilis  of  this  kingdom  hes 
proceedit  from  the  small  cair  that  the  chieftains  and  princi- 
pall  clannit  men  of  the  Yilis  hes  haid  of  the  upbringing  of 
thair  childrene  in  virtue  and  lerning  •  who  being  carles  of 
thair  dewtis  in  that  poynte,  and  keeping  thair  childrene  still 
at  home  with  thame,  whair  they  see  nothing  in  thair  tender 
years  but  the  barbarous  and  incivile  formes  of  the  countrie, 
thay  are  thairby  maid  to  apprehend  that  thair  is  no  better 
formes  of  dewtie  and  civilitie  keepit  in  any  other  part  of 
the  countrie,  sua  that  when  thay  come  to  the  yeirs  of  ma- 
turitie  hardlie  can  thay  be  reclaimed  from  these  barbarous, 
rude,  and  incivil  formes,  whairas  if  thay  had  been  sent  to 
the  inland  in  thair  youthe,  and  trainit  up  in  vertew,  learning, 
and  the  Inglische  tongue,  thay  would  have  been  better  able 
to  reforme  thair  countryeis  and  to  reduce  the  same  to  godli- 


CLAN    FEUDS.  6l 

ness,  obedience,  and  civilitic'  This  was  the  wisest  of  all 
King  James's  measures.  Though  in  the  first  instance  ap- 
plicable only  to  the  Islands,  it  was  carried  out  throughout 
the  northern  Highlands.  Young  Inverness-shire  chiefs  were 
educated  at  the  great  seats  of  learning  in  Scotland,  England, 
and  on  the  Continent.  Nothing  could  have  tended  more 
towards  civilisation,  and  it  is  perhaps  also  in  some  degree 
true  that  "  the  first  traces  of  that  overflowing  loyalty  to  the 
House  of  Stewart,  for  which  the  Highlanders  have  been  so 
highly  lauded,  are  to  be  found  in  that  generation  of  their 
chiefs  whose  education  was  conducted  on  the  High  Church 
and  State  principle  of  the  British  Solomon." 

Our  limited  space  prevents  us  from  giving  any  detailed 
account  of  the  feuds  which  from  time  to  time  occurred  in 
Inverness-shire,  even  during  the  vigorous  reign  of  King  James 
VI.  —  the  Clan  Cameron  against  Glengarry,  Mackintoshes 
against  Camerons,  Camerons  against  Macdonalds,  Huntly 
against  the  one  or  the  other  or  both.  The  feud  between 
the  Clan  Chattan  and  the  Earl  of  Moray  was  of  the  most 
ferocious  character.  The  Clan  Chattan  had  been  for  many 
years  friends  of  the  earl,  who  had  granted  them  valuable  lands 
and  possessions  in  return  for  various  services  they  had  ren- 
dered him.  Having  now,  as  he  thought,  no  further  need  of 
their  assistance,  he  withdrew  his  donations.  Then  arose  a 
terrible  conflict.  The  dispossessed  clan  determined  to  recover 
the  abstracted  territory.  Two  hundred  gentlemen  and  300 
followers  banded  themselves  together.  The  old  historian 
Spalding  gives  a  picturesque  account  of  their  operations. 
"  They  keeped  the  fields  in  their  Highland  weid,  with  swords, 
bowes,  arrows,  targets,  hagbuttis,  pistollis,  and  other  High- 
land armour ;  and  first  began  to  rob  and  spulzie  the  earl's 
tenents,  who  laboured  their  possessions  of  their  haill  goods, 
geir,  insight  plenishing,  horse,  nolt,  sheep,  corns,  and  cattell. 


62  THE   SUPREMACY   OF   THE   LAW  ASSERTED. 

and  left  them  nothing  that  they  could  gett  within  their  bounds  ; 
syne  fell  sorning  throwout  Murray,  Strathawick,  Urquhart, 
Ross,  Sutherland,  Brae  of  Man,  and  diverse  other  places,  take- 
ing  their  meat  and  food  perforce  wher  they  could  not  get  it 
willingly,  frae  friends  alse  weill  as  frae  foes ;  yet  still  keeped 
themselves  from  shedeing  of  innocent  blood.  Thus  they 
lived  as  outlawes  oppressing  the  country  (besydes  the  casting 
of  the  earl's  lands  waist),  and  openly  avowed  they  had 
tane  this  course  to  gett  their  own  possessions  again,  or  then 
hold  the  country  walking."  In  the  end,  the  Earl  of  Moray 
had  the  best  of  it.  He  got  himself  appointed  the  king's 
lieutenant  in  the  Highlands,  and  received  power  to  proceed 
capitally  against  his  enemies.  He  was  enabled  to  do  so  with 
considerable  success.  He  made  peace  privately  with  some 
members  of  the  clan,  who  betrayed  the  others,  and  having 
by  virtue  of  his  commission  tried  and  executed  "  some  slight 
louns  followers  of  the  Clan  Chattan,"  he  brought  the  diffi- 
culty to  a  peaceful  issue.  The  story  is  a  slight  specimen 
of  what  went  on  at  the  time  in  every  quarter  of  the  country. 
It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  the  supremacy  of  the  law  was 
always  in  the  long-run  asserted,  though  often  very  roughly, 
and  not  always  with  perfect  justice.  There  is  a  monotonous 
simplicity  in  the  process  followed  :  offending  chiefs  had  to 
travel  to  Edinburgh  to  appear  personally  before  the  Council, 
when  they  were  severely  fined,  or  put  in  ward,  or  forced  to 
"chop  hands"  together  and  swear  friendship.  If  they  did 
not  appear  they  were  outlawed,  "  letters  of  intercommuning  " 
were  issued  against  them,  and  their  lands  were  wasted  with  fire 
and  sword  by  some  neighbour  to  whom  the  Crown  intrusted 
the  commission,  on  the  principle,  as  it  was  said,  of  "  garring 
ane  devil  dang  anither,"  and  who  often  used  it  as  much 
for  his  own  interest  as  to  uphold  the  supremacy  of  the  law. 
Gradually  the  clan  feuds  ceased,  or  at  least  broke  out  at  rarer 


END   OF   THE   CLAN    FEUDS.  6^ 

intervals.  We  enter  upon  a  new  epoch.  The  Highlandmen 
of  Inverness-shire  came  to  exercise  their  miUtary  prowess  on 
a  wider  field  than  in  strife  among  themselves,  and  in  stealing 
each  other's  cattle.  They  are  heard  of  henceforth  as  actors 
in  scenes  which  occupy  a  conspicuous  place  in  the  nation's 
history. 


64 


CHAPTER    VI. 


HIGHLAND  SEERS  PROPHESY  TROUBLOUS  TIMES  IN  1644— THEIR  PROGNOSTI- 
CATIONS FULFILLED — MONTROSE  BREAKS  WITH  THE  COVENANT  AND 
JOINS  THE  KING— THE  FIERY  CROSS  SPEEDS  THROUGHOUT  INVERNESS- 
SHIRE — COLKITTO  APPEARS  IN  THE  COUNTY — ALARM  OF  THE  BURGHERS 
OF  INVERNESS— CAMPAIGN  OF  MONTROSE  IN  THE  NORTH — HIS  GAME 
OF  "hide-and-seek"  ROUND  THE  GRAMPIANS  —  INVERNESS-SHIRE 
CLANS  JOIN  HIS  STANDARD — HIS  DESCENT  UPON  ARGYLE— CAMPS  AT 
KILCHUMIN  —  HIS  MARCH  TO  INVERLOCHY  —  THE  BATTLE  OF  INVER- 
LOCHY— HIS  RETREAT  TO  INVERNESS-SHIRE  AFTER  PHILIPHAUGH  — 
LAYS  SIEGE  TO  THE  TOWN — DISBANDS  HIS  ARMY — TWO  OTHER  AT- 
TEMPTS TO  RETRIEVE  THE  ROYAL  FORTUNES— THE  LAST  EFFORT  OF 
MONTROSE — HIS  APPEARANCE  AS  A  PRISONER  AT  INVERNESS — INFLU- 
ENCE OF  MONTROSE  ON  THE  HIGHLANDERS  —  INSPIRES  THEM  WITH 
LOYALTY   TO  THE   STEWARTS. 


In  1644  Highland  seers  were  busy  in  Inverness-shire.  Those 
gifted  with  second -sight  had  visions  of  contending  armies, 
and  those  not  so  gifted  noted  with  alarm  occurrences  which 
appeared  to  them  portents  of  coming  calamity.  "  Prodigious 
signs,  apparitions,  spectres,  and  strange  sights  presaging  war 
and  revolutions — such  as  men  fighting  in  the  air,  horse  and 
foot  retreating  and  returning — were  all  visibly  observed,"  and 
are  noted  by  a  local  historian.  "Two  of  our  fleshers,"  he 
tells  us,  going  one  morning  into  Inverness,  "  saw  an  army, 
foot  and  horse,  marching  before  them,  and  heard  the  rattling 
noise  of  their  arms  till  they  came  and  entered  into  the  woods 
of  Bunchrew.  Another  evening,  three  men  going  to  the  ferry 
of  Beauly  saw  an  army  marshalled,  horse  and  foot,  the  very 


WISE   PROPHETS.  65 

colour  of  their  horses  and  clothes,  kettle-drums  and  ensign, 
apparent."  This  was  not  all:  "Two  prodigious  whales  came 
up  the  firth  with  a  high  spring -tide,  the  one  pursuing  the 
other,  and  fastened  both  upon  the  shallow  sands.  They 
were  so  big  and  high  that  the  people  made  use  of  small 
ladders  to  reach  their  top.  There  were  also  two  porpoises 
that  ran  up  the  river  Ness  under  the  bridge,  and  reached 
the  Isle  a  mile  above  the  town,  where  they  were  killed. 
Some  conjectured  that  the  two  whales  were  an  emblem  of 
the  king  and  Parliament  pursuing  one  another ;  but,  alas  ! 
these  things  portended  no  good.  Another  wonderful  event 
happened  above  Beauly  three  several  evenings — two  parties 
fighting,  so  that  men  saw  the  glistening  of  their  swords  slashing 
at  one  another." 

These  strange  prognostications  found  ample  interpretation 
in  subsequent  events  that  took  place  in  Inverness  -  shire. 
Southern  Scotland  had  for  some  years  been  convulsed  by 
the  strife  which  followed  the  ill-advised  attempt  of  King 
Charles  I.  to  interfere  with  the  religious  convictions  of  his 
Scottish  subjects.  The  royal  forces  and  those  of  the  Covenant 
were  arrayed  against  each  other,  and  the  districts  they  tra- 
versed experienced  the  terrible  calamities  of  civil  war.  The 
conflict,  as  it  rose  and  fell,  did  not  affect  to  any  extent  the 
county  of  Inverness.  Grant,  Lovat,  and  Mackintosh  were 
Covenanters;  and  when  in  1638  the  Earl  of  Sutherland, 
Lord  Lovat,  and  others  of  the  party  came  to  Inverness,  the 
inhabitants  of  the  town  signed  the  Covenant,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  minister  and  a  few  others.  But  the  greater 
part  of  the  people  of  the  county  held  aloof  from  the  contro- 
versy, and  took  no  active  part  either  for  king  or  for  Covenant. 
The  Camerons,  Macpherson,  Clanranald,  Glengarry,  and 
Keppoch  remained  peacefully  within  their  own  bounds,  and 
viewed  the  religious  strife  from  afar.      But  their  swords  were 

E 


66  ALEXANDER   MACDONALD    (COLKITTO). 

not  allowed  to  remain  long  in  their  scabbards,  and  a  series 
of  events  took  place  which  called  them  all  into  the  field. 
Montrose,  having  broken  with  the  Covenanters  and  joined 
the  king,  received  a  commission  as  king's  lieutenant  to  raise 
the  clans,  and  the  fiery  cross  was  soon  speeding  throughout 
Inverness-shire. 

Early  in  July  1644  Alexander  Macdonald — better  known 
by  his  patronymic  of  Colkitto,  or  among  the  Gaelic  people 
as  Alasdair  MacCholla  Chiataich  —  landed  in  Argyleshire 
with  a  band  of  Irish  soldiers,  and,  after  capturing  some 
Argyleshire  castles,  came  to  Knoydart.  Thence  he  marched 
by  Glen  Quoich  through  Glengarry  to  Kilchumin,  now  Fort 
Augustus.  The  burghers  of  Inverness,  who  had  so  lately 
signed  the  Covenant,  heard  of  his  coming  with  alarm.  "  A 
number  of  Irish  rebels,"  their  minutes  record,  "a  foreign 
public  enemie,  having  invaded  the  kingdom  and  advanced 
to  Glengarie,  being  about  3000,  with  intention  to  force  all 
persons  to  join  with  them  in  ane  black  and  doleful  Covenant 
just  opposite  to  their  National  Covenant  lately  subscrivit  by 
the  two  kindgoms  of  Scotland  and  England.  Therefore, 
that  they  prove  not  slack  or  deficient  to  their  power  to 
oppose  the  said  public  enemie  in  maintenance  of  the  law 
subscrivit  thereanent,  have  thought  it  expedient  that  eighty 
of  the  most  resolute  and  best  framed  muscateers  be  presently 
sent  from  the  borough  to  the  heights  of  Stratherrick.  John 
Cuthbert  of  Castlehill  to  be  captain  and  prime  commander, 
and  to  follow  the  said  Irish  rebels  into  Badenoch."  The 
"  resolute  and  best  framed  muscateers "  were  not  able  to 
impede  their  progress.  Accompanied  by  the  men  of  Glen- 
garry, Colkitto  marched  through  Badenoch,  where  he  was 
joined  by  the  Macphersons  under  the  eldest  son  of  Cluny, 
and  reached  Blair  Athole.  There  he  was  met  by  Montrose ; 
the  royal  standard  was  solemnly  unfurled,  and  the  campaign 


THE   SUCCESSES   OF    MONTROSE.  67 

commenced  which  adds  such  lustre  to  the  fame  of  the  great 
commander. 

We  have  only  to  do,  in  these  pages,  with  that  part  of  the 
campaign — certainly  not  the  least  brilliant — which  took  place 
in  Inverness-shire.  The  battle  of  Tippermuir,  the  occupation 
of  Perth,  the  capture  of  Aberdeen,  followed  in  quick  succes- 
sion. From  Aberdeen,  Montrose  came  through  Strathdon 
and  the  mountain-passes  of  the  Grampian  range  to  Rothie- 
murchus  on  the  banks  of  the  Spey  :  there  he  intended  to  cross 
the  river,  but  the  Frasers  and  the  Grants  had  seized  the  boats 
and  menaced  him  with  an  army  of  3000  men.  He  was  now 
between  two  hostile  forces,  for  the  army  of  the  Covenanters, 
led  by  Argyle,  was  farther  east  in  Huntly's  country  ;  but  he 
was  equal  to  the  occasion,  and  he  now  commenced  that  suc- 
cession of  rapid  movements  which  his  army  of  hardy  moun- 
taineers were  so  well  able  to  execute,  and  which  were  char- 
acteristic of  this  great  general.  His  object  was  to  weary  out 
his  opponents  by  long  marches  ere  he  struck  a  decisive  blow. 
He  and  they  played  a  mutual  "  game  of  hide-and-seek  "  round 
the  Grampians  and  through  their  passes.  One  week  he  was 
on  the  one  side  of  the  mountains  and  the  next  on  the  other. 
From  Rothiemurchus  he  went  down  Speyside  to  Abernethy ; 
thence  he  returned  to  Rothiemurchus,  and  from  there  into 
Badenoch.  Here  he  was  very  unwell,  and  thought  to  be 
dying ;  but  in  a  few  days  he  was  on  the  move  again,  "  like 
to  one  risen  from  the  dead,"  and  marched  by  Dalwhinnie  to 
Blair  Athole.  From  this  place  he  continued  "his  strange 
and  rapid  orbit,"  Argyle  and  his  forces  crawling  heavily  after 
him.  He  swept  through  Killiecrankie,  passed  into  Angus, 
crossed  the  Dee  into  Strathbogie,  thence  by  the  Spey  into 
Badenoch  again,  and  from  thence  he  led  his  warriors  by  a 
forced  march  by  night  to  Blair  Athole.  His  enemies,  now 
thoroughly  tired  out,  had  retreated  into  winter  quarters,  and 


68  DEVASTATION    OF   ARGYLE. 

he  resolved  to  strike  a  decisive  blow.  Most  of  the  royal 
clans  surrounded  his  standard,  and  among  them  were  those 
of  our  county  —  John  of  Moidart,  chief  of  the  Clanranald, 
Glengarry  and  Keppoch,  with  their  men.  The  Badenoch 
Macphersons  were  there,  and  a  detachment  of  the  Clan 
Cameron  sent  by  Lochiel,  who  was  himself  too  old  to  take 
the  field.     The  blow  Montrose  struck  was  daring  and  severe. 

With  his  gallant  following  he  passed  down  Loch  Tay  side 
and  by  Glenorchy  into  the  country  of  Argyle,  which  he  swept 
with  fire  and  sword  up  to  the  doors  of  the  castle  of  Inveraray. 
Even  the  Highland  annals  contain  no  account  of  a  devasta- 
tion so  terrible  as  that  which  he  inflicted  on  the  land  of  the 
Campbells.  To  use  the  striking  expression  of  Scripture,  he 
"  shaved  it  as  with  a  razor."  Hundreds  of  the  inhabitants 
were  put  to  the  sword,  their  dweUings  being  given  to  the 
flames,  and  their  cattle  in  vast  herds  driven  away :  none 
who  were  fit  to  bear  arms  were  spared.  "  They  left  no 
house  or  hold  except  impregnable  strength  unburnt ;  their 
corn,  goods,  and  gear ;  and  left  not  a  four-footed  beast  in 
his  haill  lands ;  and  such  as  would  not  drive  they  houghed 
and  slew  that  they  should  never  make  stead."  So  says  a 
writer  of  the  time.  Yet  bad  as  the  spoliation  was,  it  was 
not  worse  than  that  inflicted  by  Argyle  on  the  Braes  of 
Angus,  when  he  swept  the  lands  of  the  Ogilvies  with  fire 
and  sword,  and  burnt  "  the  bonnie  house  of  Airlie." 

Leaving  desolation  behind  him,  Montrose  came  once  more 
into  Inverness-shire  by  the  Pass  of  Glencoe.  Crossing  the 
wild  muirlands  that  skirt  Lochtreig  and  Loch  Ossian,  he 
reached  Lochaber  by  the  pass  through  which  the  railway 
now  runs  to  Fort  William,  and  then  skirting  the  shores  of 
Loch  Lochy  and  Loch  Oich,  he  came  to  Kilchumin,  or 
Fort  Augustus,  where  he  pitched  his  camp  at  a  place  called 
Leiter  nan  Lub.     Here   he   remained   several   days,  holding 


A   FAMOUS   MARCH.  69 

councils  of  war  and  deliberating  as  to  his  future  course. 
This  was  suddenly  decided.  On  the  30th  January  there 
arrived  at  the  camp  the  celebrated  bard  of  Keppoch,  Ian 
Lorn,  or  John  the  Bare,  who  brought  tidings  that  Argyle 
had  established  himself  at  Inverlochy  with  an  army,  and  was 
spoiling  the  Braes  of  Lochaber.  Instantly  Montrose  resolved 
to  give  him  battle  ere  he  could  effect  a  junction  with  the 
Covenanting  forces  at  Inverness.  It  was  a  hasty  resolve,  but 
it  was  well  taken.  His  men  were  in  splendid  condition, 
jubilant  with  their  successes — "well  breathed  by  their  long 
foray  in  the  West,  and  high-blooded  with  Argyleshire  beef." 
They  were  ready  to  encounter  any  foe,  however  formidable ; 
to  encounter  Argyle,  whom  they  hated,  was  a  pleasant  under- 
taking. The  direct  way  to  Inverlochy  from  Kilchumin  lies 
by  the  shores  of  Loch  Lochy  and  Loch  Oich  and  the  line 
of  the  present  Caledonian  Canal  ;  but  it  was  the  object  of 
Montrose  to  take  his  enemy  by  surprise,  and  he  therefore 
adopted  a  more  circuitous  route. 

Placing  guards  on  the  regular  tracks  to  prevent  intelligence 
of  his  movements  being  carried  to  Argyle,  he  began  his  won- 
derful march.  On  the  31st  January  1645  his  camp  was  in 
motion.  They  ascended  the  bed  of  the  river  Tarff,  a  rugged 
stream  that  comes  brawling  down  to  Loch  Ness.  Then  they 
crossed  the  wild  range  of  Corryarrick,  and  keeping  well  to 
the  right,  they  came  upon  the  river  Roy,  which  they  followed 
into  the  glen  bearing  its  name.  This  they  descended,  passing 
the  celebrated  parallel  roads,  and  so  by  Bohuntin  to  the 
valley  of  the  Spean.  It  was  a  terrible  march.  The  hills 
were  deep  with  snow  and  the  water-courses  swollen.  The 
journey  could  only  have  been  accomplished  by  men  inured 
to  hardship.  Crossing  the  river  Spean  near  Roy  Bridge,  they 
probably  followed  the  rough  track  by  Corrychoile,  Leanachan, 
and  Dounie.     On  the  evening  of  Saturday  the  ist  of  February 


70  THE   ROUT   OF   THE   CAMPBELLS. 

they  were  within  gunshot  of  the  enemy.  Above  them  towered 
the  mighty  Ben,  in  front  of  them  were  the  dark  towers  of 
Inverlochy  shining  in  the  moonhght.  They  lay  upon  their 
arms  all  that  night,  exchanging  occasional  shots  with  the 
enemy,  whose  scouts  they  had  killed  in  their  advance.  When 
the  morning  of  Sunday  the  2d  February  1645  dawned  they 
made  ready  for  the  attack.  The  most  of  them  had  not  tasted 
a  bit  of  bread  during  their  two  days'  march.  "  The  General 
himself  and  the  Earl  of  Airlie  had  no  more  to  break  their 
fast  when  they  went  to  battle  than  a  little  meal  mixed  with 
cold  water,  which  out  of  a  hollow  dish  they  did  pick  up  with 
their  knives  for  want  of  spoons."  The  royal  standard  was 
unfurled  and  formally  saluted,  the  pipes,  trumpets,  and  kettle- 
drums sounded,  and  the  battle  began.  The  onslaught  of  the 
clans  was  fierce.  "  The  rebels,"  Montrose  says,  "  could  not 
stand  it,  but  after  some  resistance  at  first,  they  began  to  run." 
Argyle  himself  had  taken  no  part  in  the  battle,  but  viewed  it 
in  safety  from  his  galley  moored  in  Loch  Linnhe.  Some 
have  said  he  did  so  because  he  was  suffering  from  a  broken 
arm,  while  others  attribute  his  conduct  to  cowardice.  When 
his  men  were  defeated  he  set  sail  and  departed,  leaving  them 
to  their  fate.  The  slaughter  of  his  people  was  great:  1500 
of  them  lay  dead  on  the  field.  Those  that  escaped  took 
their  flight  along  the  slopes  above  the  present  town  of  Fort 
William.  They  were  followed  by  the  victors  as  they  made 
for  Argyleshire  as  far  as  Lundivra,  near  which  a  cairn  still 
stands  which  marks  the  spot  where  the  pursuit  ceased.  It 
was  a  decisive  battle.  The  power  of  the  Campbells  was 
broken,  and  Ian  Lom,  who  had  viewed  the  conflict  from 
a  distance,  celebrated  the  victory  over  the  enemies  of  his 
clan  in  impassioned  strains,  which  are  well  known  to  the 
lovers  of  Gaelic  poetry.  Montrose  at  the  conclusion  of  the 
battle  sent  an  account  of  it  to  his  royal  master.     The  words 


MONTROSE   IN    INVERNESS.  7 1 

with  which  the  letter  closes  are  full  of  the  exultation  pro- 
duced by  victory  :  "  Give  me  leave,  after  I  have  reduced 
this  country  and  conquered  from  Dan  to  Beersheba,  to  say 
to  your  Majesty,  as  David's  general  to  his  master.  Come 
thou  thyself,  lest  this  country  be  called  by  my  name." 

We  have  little  more  to  tell  of  the  exploits  of  Montrose,  for 
his  subsequent  career  lies  beyond  the  limits  of  this  story. 
After  resting  his  men  for  a  few  days  at  Inverlochy,  he  went 
north  by  Loch  Lochy  and  Loch  Oich  to  Kilchumin,  thence 
through  Stratherrick  by  Boleskine  and  Loch  Faraline  into 
Strathnairn,  then  into  Strathdearn,  and  so  to  Speyside,  where 
he  was  joined  by  the  Grants,  whence  he  passed  into  Moray- 
shire. After  his  defeat  by  General  David  Leslie  at  Philip- 
haugh,  Montrose  came  again  to  the  north  to  raise  the  clans, 
and  laid  siege  to  Inverness.  "  He  fixed  his  guns,"  says  one 
who  witnessed  the  siege,  "  upon  the  old  Castlehill  under  a 
hawthorn-tree  due  east,  and  battered  shot.  The  river  being 
fordable,  several  of  his  horse  and  foot  sallied  out  as  scouts 
westward  to  the  Aird,  and  surprised  the  people  of  Farnua 
sowing  their  seed."  The  garrison  defended  themselves  most 
valiantly.  Montrose,  not  being  supported  by  Huntly  as  he 
had  expected,  was  forced  to  raise  the  siege,  and  retreated 
as  General  Middleton  was  entering  from  Petty,  He  then 
travelled  by  Strathglass  and  Glenmoriston,  Kilchumin  and 
Stratherrick,  into  Strathspey,  ravaging  the  country  as  he 
went  with  fire  and  sword.  The  Clan  Fraser  had  always 
opposed  him,  and  he  now  took  his  revenge.  "Betwixt  the 
bridge-end  of  Inverness  and  Guisachan,  sixteen  miles,"  says 
the  minister  of  Kirkhill,  "  there  was  not  left  in  my  country 
a  sheep  to  bleat  or  a  cock  to  crow,  so  severe  were  the  depre- 
dations." 

The  hopes  of  Montrose  were  now  very  high  :  he  had  the 
Highlanders   again   at   his   back,   and   everything  pointed   to 


72  ABORTIVE   RISINGS. 

a  campaign  that  would  efface  the  defeat  of  Philiphaugh.  His 
hopes,  however,  were  suddenly  frustrated  :  he  received  orders 
from  the  king  to  disband  his  forces  and  to  seek  refuge  on  the 
Continent.  ^Vhen  the  great  general  next  appeared  in  Inver- 
ness-shire it  was  as  a  prisoner. 

Two  other  attempts  by  the  brave  Highlanders  were  made  to 
retrieve  the  royal  fortunes,  which  we  can  only  glance  at.  In 
1647  Huntly  received  a  private  commission  from  the  king  to 
raise  an  army,  and  for  a  time  he  made  a  gallant  stand.  He 
was  opposed  by  David  Leslie,  and  was  forced  to  retire 
through  Badenoch  into  Lochaber,  where  he  disbanded  his 
forces,  and  with  a  few  friends  sought  refuge  in  flight.  Leslie 
followed  closely  after  him,  captured  Ruthven,  and  held  the 
castle  of  Inverlochy.  Another  great  general  then  engaged 
in  the  pursuit  of  Huntly,  following  him  through  Glen- 
moriston  into  Badenoch  and  other  places,  and  he  was  at 
length  captured  in  Strathdon. 

In  May  1649,  ^^er  the  execution  of  Charles  I.,  a  northern 
rising  in  support  of  the  royal  cause  took  place  under  Lord 
Reay  and  others,  which  was  equally  abortive.  At  the  head 
of  1500  of  their  followers  they  entered  the  town  of  Inverness, 
expelled  the  troops  from  the  garrison,  and  demolished  the 
walls  of  the  town.  "  They  crossed  the  bridge  of  Ness,"  says 
the  minister  of  Kirkhill,  "  on  the  Lord's  Day  in  time  of  divine 
service  and  alarmed  the  people  of  Inverness,  impeding  God's 
worship  in  the  town.  For  instead  of  bells  to  ring  into  service 
I  saw  and  heard  no  other  than  the  noise  of  pipes,  drums,  pots, 
pans,  kettles,  and  spits  in  the  streets  to  provide  them  victuals 
in  every  house.  And  in  their  quarters  the  rude  rascality  would 
eat  no  meat  at  their  tables  until  the  landlord  laid  down  a 
shilling  Scots  upon  each  trencher,  calling  this  '  argiod  cagainn  ' 
(chewing-money),  which  every  soldier  got,  so  insolent  were 
they."     This  formidable  body  was  soon   afterwards   defeated 


DEFEAT   OF    MONTROSE.  73 

when  they  had  crossed  the  Spey,  400  being  killed  and  1000 
disarmed  and  made  prisoners.  The  latter  were  conveyed 
through  Moray  to  Inverness,  "  where,"  says  the  worthy  minis- 
ter, "  I  saw  them  pass  through  ;  and  those  men  who  in  the 
former  march  would  hardly  eat  their  meat  without  money,  are 
now  begging  food,  and  like  dogs  lap  the  water,  which  was 
brought  them  in  tubs  and  other  vessels,  in  the  open  streets. 
Thence  they  were  conducted  over  the  bridge  of  Ness,  and  dis- 
missed every  man,  armless  and  harmless,  to  his  own  house  : 
this  is  a  matter  of  fact  which  I  saw  and  heard." 

In  the  spring  of  1650  the  gallant  Montrose  made  his  last 
effort  in  behalf  of  the  cause  which  he  had  so  long  and  so 
nobly  supported.  He  landed  in  Caithness  with  a  small  body 
of  men  and  proceeded  southwards,  wishing  to  reach  Inver- 
ness-shire, where  he  hoped  to  be  joined  by  his  old  companions 
in  arms.  He  was  opposed  by  an  overwhelming  force,  and  was 
defeated.  Seeking  safety  among  the  hills  of  Sutherlandshire, 
he  was  captured  by  Macleod  of  Assynt,  and  delivered  over 
to  his  enemies.  They  carried  him  to  Edinburgh  in  triumph. 
From  the  Diary  of  the  minister  of  Kirkhill,  we  get  a 
glimpse  of  the  hero  as  he  passed  through  Inverness  -  shire, 
and  took  his  last  look  at  the  mountains  he  knew  so  well,  and 
had  so  often  traversed.  "  I  set  down,"  says  the  minister, 
"  that  which  I  myself  was  an  eyewitness  of.  On  7th  of  May 
at  Lovat,  Montrose  sat  upon  a  little  shelty  horse  without  a 
saddle,  but  a  bundle  of  rags  and  straw,  and  pieces  of  ropes 
for  stirrups ;  his  feet  fastened  under  the  horse's  belly,  and  a 
bit  halter  for  a  bridle.  He  had  on  a  dark,  old,  reddish  plaid, 
and  a  cap  on  his  head ;  a  muscateer  on  each  side,  and  his 
fellow-prisoners  on  foot  after  him.  Thus  he  was  conducted 
through  the  country ;  and  near  Inverness,  on  the  road  to 
Muirton,  where  he  desired  to  alight  and  called  for  a  draught 
of  water,  being  then   in  the  first  crisis  of  a  high  fever,  the 


74  A    GALLANT    PRISONER. 

crowd  from  the  town  came  forth  to  gaze.  The  two  ministers 
went  thereupon  to  comfort  him.  At  the  end  of  the  bridge, 
stepping  forward,  an  old  woman,  Margaret  M'George,  ex- 
claimed and  brawled,  saying,  '  Montrose,  look  above,  see 
those  ruinous  houses  of  mine,  which  you  occasioned  to  be 
burned  down  when  you  besieged  Inverness ' ;  yet  he  never 
altered  his  countenance,  but  with  a  majesty  and  state  beseem- 
ing him,  kept  a  countenance  high.  At  the  cross  was  a  table 
covered,  and  the  magistrates  treated  him  with  wine,  which  he 
would  not  taste  till  alloyed  with  water.  The  stately  prisoners, 
his  officers,  stood  under  a  fore-stair  and  drank  heartily.  I 
remarked  Colonel  Hurry,  a  robust,  tall,  stately  fellow  with  a 
long  cut  on  his  cheek.  All  the  way  through  the  streets  he 
(Montrose)  never  lowered  his  aspect.  The  provost,  Duncan 
Forbes,  taking  leave  of  him  at  the  town's  end,  said,  '  My  lord, 
I  am  sorry  for  your  circumstances.'  He  replied,  '  I  am  sorry 
for  being  the  object  of  your  pity.'  " 

So  the  noble  and  gallant  gentleman,  with  brave  heart  and 
head  erect,  passes  to  his  doom. 

Montrose  was  a  great  power  in  determining  the  destiny  of 
the  Highlanders.  When  the  Inverness-shire  clans  joined  him, 
they  were  attracted  to  his  standard  more  probably  from  hatred 
to  Argyle  than  from  affection  for  King  Charles.  Gillespie 
Gruamach,  or  Grim  Archibald,  as  they  called  that  nobleman, 
was  their  dread  foe.  Ever  since  the  downfall  of  the  Lords  of 
the  Isles  his  family  had  gone  on  acquiring  territory  in  the 
West,  and  was  now  threatening  to  add  lands  in  Inverness- 
shire  to  its  possessions.  Argyle  had  obtained  the  superiority 
of  Loch  Eil  and  of  Glengarry ;  that  of  Badenoch  he  had  re- 
ceived from  the  Presbyterians.  He  was  credited  with  a 
scheme  for  the  acquisition  of  all  Lochaber.  There  was  ap- 
parently no  limit  to  his  acquisitiveness.  All  the  Inverness- 
shire  chiefs  regarded  him  as  their  enemy.     Had  he  been  on 


THE   FIRST  JACOBITE.  75 

the  side  of  the  king,  they  would  probably  have  been  on  that 
of  the  Covenant.  Montrose  inspired  them  with  a  true  feeling 
of  loyalty.  They  never  forgot  the  lesson  he  taught  them. 
Henceforth  devotion  to  the  Stewarts  became  with  them  a 
kind  of  religion.  It  induced  them  to  take  up  the  cause  of 
the  king  when  it  seemed  to  others  hopeless.  Through  long 
years  their  swords  were  always  at  his  command.  It  was  not 
until  CuUoden  had  sealed  the  fate  of  the  Stewarts  that  they 
ceased  to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  Montrose. 


76 


CHAPTER    VII. 

CROMWELL  IX  THE  NORTH— HIS  CONQUEST  OF  INVERNESS-SHIRE— BUILDS  A 
CITADEL  AT  INVERNESS — DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  FORTRESS — CHURCHES 
RAZED  TO  BUILD  IT— A  VESSEL  OF  WAR  PLACED  ON  LOCH  NESS — THE 
CHIEF  OF  GLENGARRY  PLOTS  INSURRECTION  —  THE  RISING  OF  1653 
UNDER  GLENCAIRN  —  WONDERFUL  MARCH  THROUGH  THE  COUNTY  OF 
GENERAL  MONK — FINAL  DEFEAT  OF  GLENCAIRN — EWEN  CAMERON  OF 
LOCHIEL  REFUSES  TO  MAKE  TERMS  WITH  THE  ENGLISH  — THE  "  ULYSSES 
OF  THE  HIGHLANDS  " — HIS  CHARACTER,  AND  STRUGGLES  WITH  CROM- 
WELL'S SOLDIERS — MAKES  PEACE  WITH  MONK — ACCOMPANIES  HIM  TO 
LONDON  AT  THE  RESTORATION  OF  CHARLES  II. — RESTORATION  OF  THE 
KING  RECEIVED  WITH  JOY  IN  THE  NORTH — THE  CITADEL  OF  INVERNESS 
DEMOLISHED — INFLUENCE  OF  CKOMWELL'S  SOLDIERS  ON  THE  PEOPLE 
—  ON  THF.IR  DEPARTURE  THE  COUNTY  BECOMES  TURBULENT  —  THE 
KEPPOCH  MURDER  AND  THE  PUNISHMENT  OF  THE  MURDERERS — "THE 
WELL  OF  THE  SEVEN  HEADS  " — THE  MACKINTOSHES  INVADE  LOCHABER 
— THE  OLD  FEUD  BETWEEN  THEM  AND  THE  CAMERONS  CLOSED — THE 
LAST  OF  THE  CLAN  BATTLES  OF  INVERNESS-SHIRE  —  THE  FIGHT  AT 
MULROY — "  MACDONALD  TOOK  THE  BRAE  ON  THEM"  —  THE  COUNTY 
ASSUMES   ITS   PRESENT   GEOGRAPHICAL   AREA. 

A  NEW  power  was  now  to  make  itself  felt  in  Inverness-shire. 
That  county,  with  the  rest  of  Scotland,  was  to  experience  the 
effect  of  foreign  domination.  After  the  battle  of  Worcester 
the  soldiers  of  Cromwell  overran  the  greater  part  of  the 
kingdom,  and  established  their  garrisons  from  Berwick-on- 
Tweed  to  Stornoway  in  the  remote  island  of  Lewis.  Appar- 
ently with  little  difficulty  they  conquered  the  Highlands. 
The  forces  of  the  clans  were  no  match  for  their  well-dis- 
ciplined troops.  Their  armies  found  their  way  into  the 
most   inaccessible   places,  and  marched  unmolested  through 


THE   CITADEL   OF   INVERNESS.  -J-J 

the  wildest  passes.  They  struck  terror  into  the  hearts  of 
the  Highlanders,  who  submitted  themselves  to  the  English- 
men almost  without  resistance.  Cromwell's  soldiers  treated 
the  people  kindly,  abstained  from  plundering,  paid  for  what- 
ever supplies  they  received,  and  generally  exercised  a  civilising 
influence  on  the  inhabitants. 

In  November  165 1  Colonel  Fitch  occupied  Inverness, 
quartering  his  men  in  the  castle  and  "great  houses  betwixt 
Spey  and  Loch  Ness."  In  the  spring  of  the  next  year  he 
commenced  building  a  citadel,  which  was  to  accommodate 
2000  men,  horse  and  foot.  "  The  wall,"  a  letter  from  Inver- 
ness at  the  time  informs  us,  "  is  to  be  of  freestone,  and  will  be 
of  great  use  when  finished.  The  ground  it  is  to  be  built  on  is 
by  an  arm  of  the  sea,  and  the  river  Ness,  over  which  there  is 
a  bridge  made.  On  Monday  they  are  to  begin  digging  the 
grafts,  which  are  to  partake  of  the  water  of  Ness." 

A  full  account  of  the  erection  is  given  by  the  minister  of 
Kirkhill  in  his  Diary.  In  1655  he  writes  :  "The  Citadel  of 
Inverness  is  now  on  a  great  length,  almost  finished.  They 
had  first  built  a  long  row  of  buildings  made  of  bricks  and 
planks  upon  the  river-side  to  accommodate  the  regiment,  and 
ramparts  and  bulwarks  of  earth  in  every  street  of  the  town, 
and  also  fortified  the  castle  and  the  bridge  and  the  main  court 
of  guard  at  the  Cross.  They  bought  a  large  plot  of  ground 
from  the  burghers,  called  Carseland,  where  they  built  the 
citadel,  founded  May  16,  1652,  and  now  finished,  a  most 
stately  scene !  It  was  five-cornered,  with  bastions,  with  a 
wide  trench  that  an  ordinary  barque  might  sail  in  at  full  tide ; 
the  breast-work  three  storeys,  built  all  of  hewn  stone  lined 
within,  and  a  brick  wall.  Sentinel-houses  of  stone  at  each 
corner,  a  sally-port  to  the  south  leading  to  the  town,  and  on 
the  north  a  great  entry  or  gate  called  the  Port,  with  a  strong 
drawbridge  of  oak,   called    the   Blue    Bridge,   and  a   stately 


yS  A  SACRILEGIOUS   STRUCTURE. 

structure  over  the  gate,  well  cut  with  the  Commonwealth  arms 
and  the  motto  '  Togam  tuentur  arma.'  This  bridge  was  drawn 
every  night,  and  a  strong  guard  within.  Ships  or  shallops 
sailing  in  or  out,  the  bridge  was  heaved  to  give  way.  The 
entry  from  the  bridge  into  the  citadel  was  a  stately  vault  about 
70  feet  long,  with  seats  on  each  side,  and  a  row  of  iron  hooks 
for  pikes  and  drums  to  hang  on.  In  the  centre  of  the  citadel 
stood  a  great  four-square  building,  all  hewn  stone,  called  the 
magazine  and  granary.  In  the  third  storey  was  the  church, 
well  furnished  with  a  stately  pulpit  and  seats,  a  wide  bartizan 
on  top,  and  a  brave  great  clock  with  four  large  gilded  dials 
and  a  curious  ball.  .  .  .  North-west  and  north-east  are  lower 
storeys  for  ammunition,  timber,  lodgings  for  manufactories, 
stablings,  provision  and  brewing  houses,  and  a  great  long 
tavern  with  all  manner  of  wines,  viands,  beer,  ale,  and  cider, 
sold  by  one  Master  Benson,  so  that  the  whole  regiment  was 
accommodated  within  these  walls.  All  their  oak  planks  and 
beams  were  carried  out  of  England  in  ships  to  Kessock  Roads  ; 
all  their  fir  logs  and  spars  were  sold  out  of  Hugh  Fraser 
Struy's  woods  :  I  saw  that  gentleman  receive  30,000  merks 
at  once  for  timber.  Most  of  their  best  hewn  stone  was  taken 
from  Chanonry  —  the  great  cathedral  and  steeple  and  the 
bishop's  castle  were  razed — also  from  the  Church  and  Abbey 
of  Kinloss  and  Beauly,  the  Greyfriars'  and  St  Mary's  Chapel 
at  Inverness,  and  many  more,  so  that  it  was  a  sacrilegious 
structure,  and  therefore  could  not  stand.  The  whole  expense 
amounted  to  about  eighty  thousand  pounds." 

It  must  have  been  a  brave  structure,  and  calculated  to 
overawe  the  neighbouring  clans,  as  it  stood  there  strong  and 
impregnable  with  its  blue  banner  floating  above  with  the  name 
"  Emmanuel "  written  upon  it  in  letters  of  gold.  But  the 
Englishmen  performed  another  feat  of  engineering,  which  was 
thought  at  the  time  even  more  remarkable  than  the  building 


AN    ENGINEERING   FEAT.  79 

of  the  citadel.  They  constructed  at  Inverness  a  vessel,  or 
frigate,  as  she  was  called,  capable  of  containing  sixty  men,  and 
carried  her  overground  to  Loch  Ness.  "  This  day,"  says  a  letter 
from  the  town,  "  a  pinnace  of  above  forty  tons  was  launched  by 
the  understanding  and  exceeding  pains  of  Captain  Pestle,  cap- 
tain of  the  Satisfaction  ;  and  some  of  his  seamen,  with  almost 
all  the  soldiers,  with  officers  of  Colonel  Fitch's  regiment,  was 
drawn  six  miles  and  upwards  overland,  to  the  great  admiration 
of  all  who  were  spectators ;  it  being  a  work  thought  almost 
impossible.  Considering  the  bulk  of  the  vessel,  and  the  ill 
way  she  was  drawn  over,  I  believe  the  like  was  never  under- 
taken. The  men  broke  three  cables,  seven  inches,  with  haul- 
ing of  her,  yet  it  was  incredible  to  see  with  what  cheerfulness 
she  was  carried  through  their  great  labour.  There  is  appointed 
divers  soldiers  and  seamen  to  be  put  in  her,  and  four  pieces 
of  ordnance,  and  to  sail  up  and  down  a  standing  water  called 
lough  Nesse.  She  will  do  excellent  service  in  preventing 
the  Highlanders  to  make  their  passage  that  way,  which  is 
frequented  by  them." 

While  these  brave  doings  were  going  on  in  the  Highland 
capital,  the  turbulent  spirits  among  the  clans  were  plot- 
ting insurrection.  The  chief  of  Glengarry  went  everywhere 
through  the  North  trying  to  effect  a  rising  among  the  High- 
landers. From  the  letters  of  Cromwell's  soldiers  his  labours 
among  the  "  wilde  men,"  as  they  called  them,  were  incessant. 
"  Glengarry,"  writes  Colonel  Lilburne  to  Cromwell,  "  had  a 
meeting  in  the  Highlands  about  Strathglass.  I  perceive  he 
hath  been  tampering  with  all  the  chiefs  of  clans  in  and  about 
Loughaber  and  northward."  "  Their  plots  do  ripen,"  he 
writes  again,  "  especially  among  the  mountains ;  undoubtedly 
one  from  Charles  Stuart  has  been  with  Glengarry,  which  hath 
put  a  great  deal  of  life  into  these  kind  of  cattle."  From  Paris 
in  1652  Charles  H.  sent  a  commission  to  Glengarry,  Cameron, 


80  THE   RISING   OF    1653. 

Laird  of  Lochiel,  Macdonald  of  Keppoch,  Fraser  Foyers,  and 
others,  constituting  them  a  council  of  war.  This  council  met 
in  the  following  year  at  Glenelg,  and  sent  a  letter  to  the 
exiled  King  assuring  him  of  their  readiness  to  spend  their 
lives  in  his  service.  The  result  of  these  movements,  in  which 
Glengarry  was  the  leading  spirit,  was  the  Rising  in  1653  under 
Lord  Glencairn.  Glengarry  brought  300  men  to  his  banner ; 
Cameron  of  Lochiel  400  ;  and  some  of  the  other  clans  of 
Inverness-shire  were  also  represented,  though  the  Badenoch 
men  refused  to  join.  The  hopes  of  the  Royalists  were  short- 
lived. In  Badenoch  Lord  Lorn,  braving  the  curse  of  his 
father,  joined  them  with  1000  foot  and  50  horse;  but  soon 
after  left  them,  and  marched  off  with  his  forces  in  a  huff,  con- 
ceiving himself  insulted  by  certain  of  the  chiefs.  As  his  father 
was  the  superior  of  Badenoch,  he  thought  himself  entitled  to 
command  the  troops.  This  demand  was  refused,  and  he  re- 
turned home.  This  was  the  precursor  of  failure.  The  army 
moved  northward,  and  at  Dornoch  General  Middleton,  who 
had  been  sent  by  the  king,  took  the  command.  Middleton 
was  an  able  general,  but  he  had  to  contend  with  men  of 
greater  ability. 

General  Monk,  Governor  of  Scotland  under  Cromwell, 
hastened  northwards  with  an  army,  and  his  march  through 
the  wildest  parts  of  Inverness-shire  is  one  of  the  most  aston- 
ishing feats  of  the  kind  ever  recorded.  Any  one  who  knows 
the  country  will  concur  in  this  opinion.  From  Ruthven  in 
Badenoch  he  marched  on  the  20th  of  June  to  Cluny,  and 
thence  to  Glenroy.  On  the  23d  he  met,  at  the  south  end  of 
Loch  Lochy,  the  Marquis  of  Argyle  and  the  governor  of  Inver- 
lochy.  On  the  24th  he  reached  Glenmoriston,  and  on  the  way 
he  met  Colonel  Morgan's  brigade  "  near  Glengarry's  new  house, 
which  had  been  burned  by  that  brigade  the  day  before.' 
The   remaining   structure   Monk   ordered   to  be   defaced    by 


GENERAL   MONK'S   MARCH.  8l 

pioneers.  On  the  25th  the  army  came  to  Glenquoich,  at  the 
head  of  Glengarry,  and  encamped.  On  the  26th  it  reached 
Kintail ;  on  the  27th  it  came  to  Loch  ALsh  ;  on  the  29th, 
taking  the  road  from  Kintail  to  Glen  Strathfarrar,  it  came  to 
a  place  called  by  the  general  Glenteugh ;  on  the  30th  it 
marched  from  this  place  to  Brouline  in  Glen  Strathfarrar, 
"  The  way  for  near  five  miles,"  the  general  says,  "  was  so 
boggie  that  a  hundred  baggage-horses  were  left  behind,  and 
many  other  horses  bogged  or  tired.  Never  any  horseman, 
much  less  an  army,  were  observed  to  march  that  way  before." 
From  Glen  Strathfarrar,  Monk  marched  up  Strathglass  and 
down  Glenurquhart  to  Inverness.  Thence  he  went  south- 
wards through  Strathnairn.  At  Faille,  in  that  strath,  he 
met  with  General  Morgan,  whom  he  sent  towards  Braemar  to 
watch  the  enemy's  movements.  In  Argyleshire  he  heard  that 
Morgan  had  met  with  Middleton's  forces,  and  had  utterly 
routed  them  near  Loch  Garry,  on  the  northern  border  of 
Perthshire,  near  Drumuchtar.  The  defeat  at  Loch  Garry 
ended  the  rising  of  Glencairn,  and  in  his  own  words,  "  the 
king's  interest  was  broken  in  Scotland." 

Most  of  the  Inverness-shire  chiefs  now  gave  bonds  for  their 
good  behaviour  to  the  Government  of  the  Commonwealth, 
and  were  permitted  to  live  in  peace  within  their  bounds. 
There  was  one  of  them,  however,  who  for  long  would  make 
no  terms  with  the  English  invaders.  This  was  the  chief  of 
Lochiel. 

Ewen  Cameron  of  Lochiel,  known  among  the  Highlanders 
as  Eoghain  Dubh,  or  Black  Ewen,  and  among  Cromwell's 
Englishmen  as  Macllduy,  was  one  of  the  outstanding  figures 
of  his  time  ;  he  was  chief  among  chiefs.  Of  great  strength 
and  courage,  inured  to  hardship,  skilful  in  the  chase,  and 
brave  in  battle,  he  possessed  all  those  physical  qualities  that 
naturally  command  the  admiration  of  a  warlike  people.     He 

F 


82  THE   ULYSSES   OF   THE   HIGHLANDS. 

was  also  one  whose  moral  and  intellectual  power  were  equally 
conspicuous.  He  was  a  man  of  great  natural  wisdom,  which 
compensated  for  a  somewhat  defective  education.  He  had 
above  all  for  the  time  a  high  ideal  of  character  and  life. 
Chivalrous  to  a  degree,  he  in  many  ways  resembled  Mon- 
trose, whom  he  regarded  as  his  model.  He  was  adored  by 
his  clan,  who  supposed  him  to  be  possessed  of  supernatural 
powers.  His  turbulent  neighbours  respected  him  as  a  soldier 
and  a  leader  of  men,  and  even  his  enemies  spoke  of  him  with 
admiration.  His  Memoir  reads  like  the  life  of  one  of  Plu- 
tarch's heroes.  He  has  been  happily  called  by  Lord  Mac- 
aulay  "  the  Ulysses  of  the  Highlands." 

Lochiel   had  been  brought  up  under  the  guardianship  of 
Argyle,  whose  vassal  he  was,  but  at  an  early  age  he  cast  in 
his  lot  with  the  Royalists.      He  joined  Glencairn  in  his  insur- 
rection, and  he  was  one  of  Middleton's  most  trusted  officers. 
Cromwell's  soldiers  at  Inverlochy,  where  they  had  built  a  fort, 
lived  in  constant  dread  of  their  neighbour.     The  relation  of 
his    exploits    in  harassing    the   garrison   there  forms   a  large 
portion  of  his  Memoirs.      When  the  soldiers  of  the  Common- 
wealth  showed  themselves  abroad,   he   constantly  fell  upon 
them  and  defeated  them.     Cromwell's  troopers  were  obHged 
to  perform  their  devotions  as  regularly  as  their  drill,  and  the 
daily  prayer  of  an   Irishman   who  escaped   from   the   chiefs 
hands  is  said  to  have  been,  "  that  God  in  His  mercy  would 
be  pleased  to  keep  him  out  of  the  hands  of  Lochiel  and  his 
bloody  crew  for  the  rest  of  his  life."     The  spot  is  still  shown 
near  Achdalew,  on  the  north  side  of  Loch  Eil,  where  the  chief 
engaged  in  mortal  combat  with  an  officer  commanding  a  party 
from  the  fort.     The  officer,  having  lost  his  sword,  closed  with 
his  antagonist,  and  wrestled  with  him  till  they  both  fell  to  the 
ground  in  each  other's  arms.      In  their  struggle  they  rolled 
into  the  channel  of  a  burn,  which  the  drought  of  summer  had 


,  AN    HONOURABLE   PEACE.  83 

left  dry.  Their  strength  was  so  spent  that  neither  of  them 
could  stir  a  limb  ;  but  at  last  the  Englishman  recovered  the 
use  of  his  right  hand,  and  seized  a  dagger  that  hung  at  his 
belt,  meaning  to  stab  his  enemy,  who  held  him  fast.  In  en- 
deavouring to  disengage  himself  to  give  the  blow,  he  stretched 
and  exposed  his  neck,  when  Lochiel  jumped  at  his  extended 
throat,  which  he  used  to  say  "  God  had  put  into  his  mouth," 
and  bit  it  right  through,  keeping  such  a  hold  that  he  brought 
away  the  mouthful.  "  This,"  he  said,  "  was  the  sweetest  bite 
I  ever  had  in  my  life." 

But  even  Lochiel  had  at  last,  for  the  sake  of  his  clan,  to 
make  peace  with  the  Englishmen.  The  terms  he  made  with 
Monk,  who  commanded  in  Scotland,  were  highly  honourable 
to  himself.  He  would  give  no  oath  and  no  assurance  but  his 
word  of  honour.  His  clan  should  be  allowed  to  carry  their 
arms  as  before.  The  name  of  Cromwell,  whom  he  detested 
as  a  usurper,  was  not  to  be  referred  to.  Rather  than 
acknowledge  him,  he  would  remain  an  outlaw  and  fugitive 
all  his  days.  He  and  his  clan  were  to  lay  down  their  arms, 
in  the  name  of  Charles  II.,  to  the  governor  of  Inverlochy, 
and  take  them  up  again  immediately  in  the  name  of  the 
States.  These  terms  and  others  most  favourable  to  Lochiel, 
and  most  creditable  to  the  generosity  of  Monk,  were  accepted. 
A  great  banquet  crowned  the  surrender  at  Inverlochy,  and 
peace  reigned  between  the  Camerons  and  the  Sassenach. 

In  1660  Monk  made  his  famous  march  to  London,  which 
led  to  the  Restoration  of  Charles  II.  Lochiel,  whom  he  held 
in  great  honour,  rode  by  his  side.  He  was  received  by  the 
king  with  marked  favour,  and  his  exploits  were  the  talk  of 
the  town.  During  one  of  his  frequent  attendances  at  Court, 
the  following  strange  incident  is  said  to  have  occurred  :  The 
chief  went  into  a  barber's  shop  to  get  his  hair  and  his  beard 
dressed,  and  when  the  razor  was  passing  over  his  throat,  the 


84  THE   RESTORATION. 

chatty  barber  observed,  "  You  are  from  the  North,  sir." 
"  Yes,"  said  Lochiel,  "  I  am.  Do  you  know  people  from 
the  North  ? "  "  No,"  repHed  the  barber,  "  nor  do  I  wish 
to ;  they  are  savages  there.  Would  you  believe  it,  sir,  one 
of  them  tore  the  throat  out  of  my  father  with  his  teeth,  and 
I  only  wish  I  had  the  fellow's  throat  as  near  me  as  I  have 
yours  just  now ! "  The  feelings  of  the  chief  may  be  im- 
agined.    It  is  said  he  never  entered  a  barber's  shop  again. 

The  restoration  of  the  king  was  received  with  joy  throughout 
the  Highlands,  and  the  northern  capital  abandoned  itself  to 
festivity.  Races  were  held,  at  which  most  of  the  Inverness- 
shire  chiefs  were  present.  Grants,  Mackintoshes,  Frasers, 
and  Macdonalds  mingled  together  in  the  utmost  cordiality. 
The  gratitude  of  the  king  towards  those  who  had  stood  by 
him  in  his  adversity  was  supposed  to  be  unbounded,  though 
it  cannot  be  said  he  did  much  to  show  it.  Glengarry,  how- 
ever, received  a  peerage,  with  the  title  of  Macdonnell  and 
Aros ;  and,  to  please  the  clans,  the  fortresses  which  Cromwell 
had  erected  to  keep  them  in  subjection  were  ordered  to  be 
razed  to  the  ground.  The  key  of  that  of  Inverlochy  and  its 
buildings  was  given  to  Lochiel,  and  the  great  citadel  at  Inver- 
ness was  utterly  demolished. 

"  This  of  Inverness,"  observes  the  minister  of  Kirkhill  in 
1 66 1,  "had  not  stood  ten  years.  I  was  an  eyewitness  of  the 
last  stone  that  was  broken  of  this  famous  citadel,  as  I  was 
also  witness  of  the  foundation-stone  laid."  He  tells,  also, 
"  how  the  Commonwealth  arms  were  pulled  down  and  broken, 
and  the  king's  arms  set  up  in  their  place ;  the  Blue  Bridge 
slighted,  the  sally-port  broken,  the  magazine-house  steeple 
broken,  and  the  great  bell  taken  down.  All  this  done  with 
demonstrations  of  joy  and  gladness,  the  soldiers  shouting 
'  God  save  the  King ! '  as  men  weary  of  the  yoke  and 
slavery  of  usurpation  which   lay  so   long  about  their  necks. 


CHARACTER   OF   CROMWELL'S   TROOPS.  85 

A  rare  thing  fell  out  here  that  was  notarly  known  to  a 
thousand  spectators,  that  the  Commonwealth's  arms  set  above 
the  most  conspicuous  gate  of  the  citadel,  a  great  thistle  growing 
out  above  it  covered  the  whole  carved  work  and  arms  so  as 
not  a  bit  of  it  could  be  seen,  to  the  admiration  of  the  be- 
holders. This  was  a  presage  that  the  Scots  should  therefore 
eclipse." 

The  English  troops  left  Inverness  with  regret.  A  few  of 
them,  however,  settled  in  the  town,  where  their  descendants 
still  remain.  "  Never  people  left  a  place,"  says  the  minister, 
"with  such  reluctance.  It  was  sad  to  see  and  hear  their 
sighs  and  tears,  pale  faces  and  embraces,  at  their  parting 
farewell  from  that  town,  and  no  wonder :  they  had  peace 
and  plenty  for  ten  years  in  it ;  they  made  that  place  happy, 
and  it  made  them  so.  The  citadel  was  slighted,  and  all  the 
country  called  in  to  raze  it.  I  saw  it  founded.  I  saw  it 
flourish.  I  saw  it  in  its  glory  and  grandeur,  and  now  in  its 
ruins.      '  Sic  transit  gloria  mundi.'  " 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  soldiers  of  Cromwell 
exercised  a  civilising  influence  in  the  North,  as  throughout 
Scodand.  According  to  Dr  Johnson,  they  first  taught  the 
people  of  Inverness  to  make  shoes  and  plant  kail,  and  to 
speak  the  English  language  with  elegance.  Some  of  their 
own  letters  speak  hopefully  of  their  religious  influence  on  the 
Highlanders,  and  describe  how  the  latter  listened  to  their 
preachers,  of  whom  there  were  many  in  every  regiment,  and 
testified  their  approbation  by  their  "groans."  Even  the 
Royalist  minister  of  Kirkhill  grows  eloquent  as  he  writes 
of  all  they  did  for  Inverness  :  "  They  brought  such  stores 
of  all  wares  and  conveniences  to  Inverness  that  English 
cloth  was  sold  near  as  cheap  as  in  England.  The  pint  of 
claret  went  for  one  shilling.  They  set  up  an  apothecary's 
shop,  with  a  druggist ;  they  not  only  civilised,  but  enriched 


86  RENEWED   TURBULENCE. 

the  place."  One  thing  they  certainly  did,  beyond  all  doubt — 
they  kept  the  Highlanders  in  order,  and  repressed  with  strong 
hands  those  clan  feuds  and  robberies  which  form  so  great 
a  part  of  northern  history,  and  which  at  their  departure 
broke  out  with  the  old  violence.  Like  hounds  let  loose 
from  the  leash,  the  robbers  in  every  glen  sprang  to  their 
old  work.  It  would  be  tedious  to  tell  of  their  doings  :  how 
reavers  from  Glengarry  carried  away  cattle  from  the  Laird  of 
Grant's  tenants ;  how  caterans  from  the  Clan  Maclean  in  the 
dead  of  night  lifted  cows  belonging  to  The  Chisholm,  and 
drove  them  into  Badenoch ;  how  the  great  barnyards  of 
Culcabock,  belonging  to  Lishes,  were  all  set  on  fire  — "  it 
made  such  a  dreadful  flame  as  put  Inverness  into  a  conster- 
nation " — how  Glenmoriston  seized  the  Laird  of  Inshes  and 
conveyed  him  to  his  glen,  where  he  kept  him  a  prisoner  for 
nearly  two  months. 

Incidents  like  these  were  common  all  over  the  county  after 
the  departure  of  the  Englishmen ;  but  one  terrible  deed, 
which  was  followed  by  a  vengeance  as  terrible,  we  must 
mention.  The  young  chief  of  Keppoch  and  his  brother 
Ronald  were  sent  abroad  for  their  education,  and  during 
their  absence  the  management  of  the  clan  and  estates  de- 
volved on  certain  cousins,  as  their  nearest  relations.  On 
the  return  of  the  young  men  to  their  home,  a  feast  was 
given  in  their  honour,  and  at  this  feast  they  were  barbarously 
murdered  by  their  treacherous  relatives.  The  bard  of  the 
clan,  Ian  Lom,  was  deeply  affected  by  their  fate,  and  de- 
nounced their  assassins  with  all  the  power  of  his  muse.  His 
poetry  glows  with  fire.  He  used  also  his  personal  influence 
to  bring  the  murderers  to  justice,  and  went  from  one  castle 
to  another  crying  for  vengeance.  His  efforts  after  a  time 
were  successful.  The  Government  authorised  Sir  Alexander 
Macdonald  of  Sleat  to  punish  the  criminals.     Guided  by  Ian 


A   SIGNAL   RETRIBUTION.  87 

Lorn,  the  son  of  this  chief  made  an  incursion  by  night  into 
Lochaber,  and  surprised  the  assassins,  seven  in  number,  in 
tlieir  beds.  They  were  at  once  executed.  Their  heads  were 
cut  off,  packed  in  a  creel,  and  carried  on  a  man's  back  ;  and 
next  morning  at  dawn  they  were  laid  at  the  feet  of  Lord 
Macdonnell  of  Glengarry.  Near  the  entrance  to  Invergarry 
Castle  is  a  well  where  the  heads  were  washed  before  being 
presented  to  the  chief.  This  well  is  called  to  this  day  "  The 
Well  of  the  Seven  Heads "  ;  and  above  it  stands  a  monu- 
ment bearing  an  inscription,  which,  in  Gaelic,  English,  Latin, 
and  French,  tells  of  this  act  of  retribution,  and  calls  on  the 
passer-by  to  draw  near  and  read  a  story  of  the  justice  of  the 
Eternal  God. 

Two  clan  feuds,  one  of  which  ended  peacefully,  the  other 
of  which  was  closed  in  bloodshed,  may  here  be  briefly 
noticed.  During  upwards  of  three  hundred  years  the  Mack- 
intoshes again  and  again  put  forward  their  claims  to  the 
lands  of  Glenlui  and  Locharkaig,  and  during  the  same  period 
the  Camerons  stoutly  defended  their  possession  of  them  with 
the  sword.  After  the  restoration  of  the  king,  the  claims 
of  The  Mackintosh  were  strenuously  pressed  in  the  Scottish 
Parliament,  the  courts  of  law,  and  the  Privy  Council.  The 
king  did  all  he  could  to  help  his  old  friend  Lochiel,  and 
there  were  protracted  negotiations,  which  came  to  nothing. 
In  1665  The  Mackintosh  determined  to  make  a  descent  on 
Lochaber,  and  wrest  by  force  the  disputed  lands  from 
Lochiel.  With  1500  men  he  entered  in  September  his 
enemy's  country.  Lochiel  mustered  his  clan,  which,  with 
some  friendly  neighbours,  numbered  in  all  a  force  of  1200, 
300  of  whom  were  bowmen,  to  meet  his  foe.  There  was 
every  prospect  of  a  fierce  conflict.  The  Mackintoshes  and 
their  allies  were  on  the  north  side  of  Arkaig  Water ;  the 
Camerons  guarded  the  ford  on  the  other  side ;    happily,  by 


88  THE   LAST   OF   THE   CLAN    BATTLES. 

the  mediation  of  the  Earl  of  Breadalbane,  bloodshed  was  at 
the  last  moment  prevented.  Lochiel  offered  to  purchase  the 
disputed  lands  for  a  certain  sum,  and  Mackintosh  accepted 
his  offer.  "  The  combatants  drank  together  and  exchanged 
swords,  rejoicing  in  the  extinction  of  the  ancient  feud."  The 
feud  had  indeed  been  an  ancient  one.  As  we  have  already 
shown,  it  probably  led  to  the  battle  on  the  Inch  of  Perth 
in  the  reign  of  King  Robert  III.  During  subsequent  years  it 
was  like  a  smouldering  fire,  leaping  again  and  again  into  flame. 
Tradition  asserts  that,  during  three  centuries  and  a  half,  a 
Mackintosh  and  a  Cameron  had  never  spoken  together.  That 
is  doubtless  an  exaggeration ;  but  it  serves  to  show  how  fierce 
was  the  enmity  between  the  two  clans,  handed  down  from 
father  to  son  with  all  the  persistence  of  an  Itahan  vendetta. 

The  other  feud  closed  the  list  of  the  clan  battles,  and  on 
that  account  may  be  interesting  to  the  reader,  who  has  been 
told  of  so  many. 

The  lands  of  Glenroy  and  Glenspean  had  been  conferred 
on  the  Mackintoshes  by  an  undoubted  charter.  They  were 
held  by  the  Macdonalds  of  Keppoch,  who  declined  to  ac- 
knowledge what  they  termed  the  "  sheepskin  title "  of  the 
other  clan.  In  1688  Mackintosh,  with  1000  men,  which 
included  a  party  of  regular  soldiers  from  Inverness,  acting 
with  the  sanction  of  the  Privy  Council,  marched  against  his 
foe.  The  chief  of  Keppoch  was  well  known  throughout  the 
Highlands  by  the  name  of  "  Col  of  the  Cows  " — a  name  given 
him  on  account  of  his  skill  in  tracking  and  recovering  stolen 
cattle.  He  had  every  reason  to  detest  The  Mackintosh,  for 
while  he  was  a  student  at  the  University  of  St  Andrews,  that 
chief  had  caused  him  to  be  imprisoned  in  the  common  tol- 
booth  of  Inverness,  when  he  had  gone  north  to  attend  his 
father's  funeral.  He  had  been  liberated  by  an  order  of  the 
Privy  Council,  but  the  insult  had  not  been  forgotten.      With 


KEPPOCH   WINS   THE   DAY.  89 

all  the  men  he  could  muster,  and  aided  by  his  kinsmen  of 
Glengarry  and  Glencoe,  and  a  party  of  Camerons,  he  awaited 
with  fierce  joy  the  approach  of  his  antagonist.  At  a  place 
called  Mulroy  the  two  forces  came  into  collision.  A  hand- 
to-hand  conflict  took  place,  in  which  the  Macdonalds  were 
victorious. 

A  certain  Donald  MacBane,  who  had  been  an  apprentice 
to  a.  tobacco-spinner  in  Inverness,  and  who  had  enlisted  in 
the  army,  gives  an  amusing  but  graphic  description  of  the 
fight,  at  which  he  was  present :  "  We  were  no  sooner  in  order 
but  there  appears  double  of  the  number  of  the  Macdonalds, 
which  made  us  then  to  fear  the  worst ;  at  least,  for  my  part, 
I  repeated  my  former  wash  [that  he  had  been  spinning  tobacco 
in  Inverness].  The  Macdonalds  came  down  the  hill  upon 
us  without  either  shoe,  stocking,  or  bonnet  on  their  head  : 
they  gave  a  shout,  and  then  the  fight  began  on  both  sides, 
and  continued  a  hot  dispute  for  an  hour.  Then  they  broke 
in  upon  us  with  their  sword  and  target  and  Lochaber  axes, 
which  obliged  us  to  give  way.  Seeing  my  captain  sore 
wounded,  and  a  great  many  more  with  their  heads  lying 
cloven  on  every  side,  I  was  sadly  affrighted,  never  having  seen 
the  like  before.  A  Highlandman  attacked  me  with  sword 
and  targe,  and  cut  my  wooden-handled  bayonet  out  of  the 
muzzle  of  my  gun.  I  then  clubbed  my  gun  and  gave  him  a 
stroke  with  it,  which  made  the  butt-end  to  fly  off.  Seeing  the 
Highlandmen  come  fast  upon  me,  I  took  to  my  heels  and  ran 
thirty  miles  before  I  looked  behind  me.  Every  person  I  saw 
or  met  I  took  him  for  my  enemy." 

The  slaughter  was  great.  The  visitor  to  Lochaber  can  still 
trace  the  graves  that  lie  thick  on  the  field  of  battle.  The 
banner  of  the  Mackintosh  was  only  saved  by  the  standard- 
bearer  leaping  over  a  chasm  where  no  one  dared  to  follow. 
The  chief  himself  fell  into  Keppoch's  hands,  and,  it  is  said, 


90  THE  COUNTY  OF   INVERNESS. 

was  compelled  to  yield  his  title  to  the  disputed  land.  When 
the  captive  heard  the  shouts  of  the  Macdonalds  welcoming 
the  "  Lord  of  Keppoch,"  he  said,  "  You  are  as  far  from  being 
Lord  of  Keppoch  at  this  moment  as  you  have  been  all  your 
life."  "  Never  mind,"  answered  the  victor,  "  we'll  enjoy  the 
good  weather  while  it  lasts."  The  bard  of  the  conqueror 
celebrated  the  victory  in  triumphant  strains,  telling  how  the 
Macdonalds,  like  brave  dogs,  held  at  the  mountain-cats  and 
took  the  mewing  out  of  their  nose,  regardless  of  their  sharp 
claws.  And  the  last  of  the  clan  battles,  equal  in  ferocity  to 
any  of  the  innumerable  ones  that  preceded  it,  is  still  com- 
memorated by  the  well-known  pibroch,  "  Macdonald  took  the 
Brae  on  them." 

It  may  be  mentioned  here,  for  we  have  had  no  opportunity 
of  previously  doing  so,  that  in  1661  the  county  of  Inverness 
assumed  its  present  geographical  area.  In  that  year  it  was 
disjoined  from  Ross-shire.  Caithness  had  been  dissevered 
from  it  in   161 7,  and  Sutherland  in   1633. 


91 


CHAPTER    VIII. 


INVERNESS-SHIRE  DURING  THE  WARS  OF  VISCOUNT  DUNDEE — "GREAT  JOHN 
OF  THE  BATTLES  " — TAKES  UP  ARMS  IN  FAVOUR  OF  JAMES  VII. — COMES 
TO  INVERNESS — FINDS  THE  TOWN  BESIEGED  BY  KEPPOCH — "  COL  OF 
THE  cows" — HIS  INTERVIEW  WITH  THAT  FREEBOOTER — APPOINTS  A 
GENERAL  MUSTER  OF  THE  CLANS — HIS  MARCH  THROUGH  INVERNESS- 
SHIRE  TO  DALMACOMER — GATHERING  OF  THE  CLANS — STRIKING  PIC- 
TURES OF  THE  CHIEFS  IN  THE  "  GRv^MIAD " — GLENGARRY,  KEPPOCH, 
LOCHIEL — THE  CAMPAIGN  IN  BADENOCH  AGAINST  GENERAL  MACKAY — 
DUNDEE  AT  MOY  IN  LOCHABER — THE  BATTLE  OF  KILLIECRANKIE  AND 
DEATH  OF  DUNDEE — THE  INEFFECTUAL  STRUGGLE  OF  THE  CHIEFS  ON 
THE  SIDE  OF  THE  KING — THE  HAUGHS  OF  CROMDALE — MACKAY  ERECTS 
FORT  WILLIAM— THE  CHIEFS  SUBMIT  TO  GOVERNMENT — KEPPOCH  AND 
GLENGARRY  NARROWLY  ESCAPE  THE  FATE  OF  GLENCOE — THE  COUNTY 
AGAIN   PEACEFUL — DEATH   OF  LOCHIEL. 


The  form  of  Church  government  in  Scotland  during  the 
reign  of  Charles  11.  was  Episcopacy.  In  this  the  Inverness- 
shire  people  seem  to  have  acquiesced.  While  many  in  the 
South  regarded  it  as  abomination,  and  resisted  it  to  the 
death,  within  the  bounds  of  our  county  there  was  very  little 
religious  dissension  to  speak  of.  In  Ross  and  Moray  there 
were  Covenanters  and  conventicles,  but  in  Inverness-shire  the 
only  outstanding  man  who  uplifted  his  testimony  against  the 
established  order  of  things  was  a  Mr  M'Bean,  one  of  the 
ministers  of  the  burgh.  He  seems  to  have  had  a  certain 
following  among  the  townsmen,  but  his  career  as  a  "schis- 
matic" was  a  short  one.  He  was  firmly  dealt  with  by  his 
brethren  and  his  bishop,  and  was  finally  judicially  deposed  by 


92  CLAVERHOUSE. 

the  Privy  Council  at  Edinburgh — the  last  case  of  deposition 
under  Episcopacy.  It  was  sufficient  justification  to  the  High- 
landers in  their  support  of  Episcopacy  that  it  was  the  religion 
the  king  wished  established.  What  the  king  wished  must  be 
right. 

"A  Highland  Host,"  as  we  know,  supported  Dundee,  or 
Claverhouse,  in  his  endeavours  to  put  down  the  Covenanters, 
and  returned  to  their  native  wilds  with  great  plunder,  taken 
from  the  Westland  Whigs.  By  the  Highlanders  Dundee  was 
regarded,  not  as  the  "  bloody  Claverse,"  who  was  supposed 
to  be  in  league  with  the  devil,  and  whose  hands  were  im- 
brued in  the  blood  of  the  saints,  but  as  "  Ian  mor  nan 
Cath"  "great  John  of  the  Battles,"  the  brave  general  and 
loyal  servant  of  the  king.  When  Dundee,  after  the  revolu- 
tion which  drove  James  VH.  from  his  throne,  took  up  arms 
in  favour  of  the  deposed  monarch,  and  against  the  Prince  of 
Orange,  he  found  the  Inverness-shire  clans  as  ready  to  follow 
him  as  they  had  been  to  follow  Montrose. 

The  first  note  of  the  new  "  rising  "  was  struck  at  Inverness 
on  Sunday  the  28th  April  1689.  Macdonald  of  Keppoch 
with  800  men  appeared  before  the  northern  capital  and 
threatened  it  with  destruction.  This  chief,  the  famous 
"  Col  of  the  Cows  "  already  mentioned,  had  been  chosen  by 
some  of  the  neighbouring  chiefs  to  meet  Dundee  and  conduct 
him  to  Lochaber.  He  readily  undertook  to  discharge  this 
duty,  the  more  so  that  it  gave  him  an  opportunity  of  gratifying 
his  love  of  plunder.  He  came  up  accordingly  from  Lochaber, 
through  the  lands  of  The  Mackintosh,  which  he  thoroughly 
harried — Mackintosh  was  the  enemy  whom  he  had  previously 
defeated  at  Mulroy — and  then  advanced  to  Inverness,  the 
garrison  of  which  had  assisted  Mackintosh.  The  authorities 
of  the  town  were  not  altogether  unprepared  for  his  coming. 
They  had  organised  a  guard  of  the  inhabitants  for  their  pro- 


"COL   OF   THE   COWS."  93 

tection  ;  and  a  body  of  300  well-armed  and  resolute  citizens, 
under  chosen  captains,  mustered  in  defence  of  their  homes. 

During  the  whole  of  the  Sunday  on  which  Keppoch  appeared 
before  the  town  they  stood  under  arms,  ready  to  resist  any 
attempt  he  might  make  to  effect  an  entrance.  The  ministers 
preached  that  morning  at  the  cross,  "  all  the  citizens  being 
necessitated  to  stand  in  a  posture  of  defiance."  It  was  a 
trying  Sabbath  for  the  burghers,  but  it  passed  off  without 
any  attack  being  made.  The  next  two  days  Keppoch  spent 
before  the  town,  threatening  to  come  in  and  burn  it,  but  afraid 
to  venture.      He  then  demanded  a  ransom  of  2000  dollars. 

At  this  juncture,  when  everything  pointed  to  a  severe 
conflict,  Dundee  appeared  on  the  scene,  and  the  whole  aspect 
of  things  changed.  There  was  no  longer  any  question  of 
burning  the  town.  The  citizens  agreed  to  pay  1000  dollars, 
and  it  is  said  Dundee  gave  his  word  to  pay  1000  more 
on  the  king's  return  to  his  own,  as  the  town  had  not  pro- 
claimed the  Prince  of  Orange.  The  money  was  collected 
in  the  burgh,  and  the  marauder  ceased  his  threatening. 

Dundee,  who  with  some  eighty  troopers  had  reached  In- 
verness from  the  South,  was  greatly  pleased  to  find  the 
Highlanders  in  arms,  and  wished  at  once  to  lead  them 
southward  to  meet  the  revolutionary  troops,  who  were  in 
pursuit  of  him.  Keppoch  was  received  with  cheers  by  the 
troopers,  but  he  was  in  no  way  disposed  to  join  them.  "  Col 
of  the  Cows "  was  more  anxious  to  secure  his  plunder  than 
to  aid  Dundee,  Some  of  his  men,  he  said,  were  Camerons, 
and  could  not  march  south  without  the  express  leave  of 
their  master.  "The  king  of  thieves,"  says  one  who  was 
present,  "  basely  debated  the  matter  to  and  fro,  and  framed 
excuses  for  delay.  He  then  marched  rapidly  his  claymores 
to  the  mountains,  driving  before  him  great  herds  of  cattle, 
robbing  villages  and  dwellings  as  he  went,  and  pillaging  the 


94  THE   "GR^MIAD." 

poorest  cottages ;  and  then,  having  wrapped  all  in  flames 
behind  him,  he  retired  to  the  hills  and  hid  himself  among 
the  rocks  of  his  inaccessible  mountains.  It  was  a  bitter 
disappointment  to  Dundee." 

The  writer  whom  we  have  quoted  was  standard-bearer  to 
Dundee,  and  accompanied  him  throughout  his  Highland 
campaign.  In  an  epic  poem  called  the  "  Grsemiad,"  and 
written  in  Latin,  he  details  the  achievements  of  his  com- 
mander. We  follow  him  in  his  description  of  Dundee's 
movements,  for  it  is  full  of  interesting  local  touches.  The 
reader  will  make  all  allowance  for  his  poetic  flights. 

Dundee,  leaving  Inverness,  proceeded  westward,  hoping 
to  be  more  successful  with  the  other  chiefs  than  he  had 
been  with  the  mercenary  Keppoch.  "  He  passed  through 
Stratherrick,  his  horses  scrambling  over  pathless  mountains 
white  with  perpetual  frost,  to  where,  surrounded  by  its  gloomy 
marshes,  stands  the  castle  of  Invergarry  crowning  its  lofty 
rock.  From  thence,  retracing  his  steps  by  the  same  route, 
beset  with  vast  and  horrid  crags,  he  passes  on  and  halts 
at  the  kirk  of  Kilchumin."  From  this  place,  now  Fort 
Augustus,  Dundee  went  by  the  Pass  of  Corryarrick  to  the 
Spey,  and  halted  at  the  farm  of  Presmukerach,  on  the  river 
Truim,  Here  he  rested  for  a  day  and  wrote  letters  to  such 
of  the  Highland  chiefs  as  were  on  his  side,  appointing  a 
general  meeting  of  the  clans  to  take  place  in  Lochaber  about 
the  1 8th  May.  He  then  went  southward  by  Dalwhinnie 
and  Athole,  made  a  successful  raid  on  Perth,  and  an  un- 
successful attempt  on  the  town  of  Dundee.  He  returned 
to  Inverness-shire  by  Loch  Rannoch,  and  followed  the  track 
which  leads  from  Kinloch  Rannoch  to  Loch  Treig,  past 
Corrour,  and  so  on  to  Lochaber. 

The  journey  is  graphically  described  by  his  poetic  standard- 
bearer,  and  any  one  who  has  ever  made  it  either  on  foot  or 


A   PERILOUS    MARCH.  95 

by  railway  will  recognise  the  truthfulness  of  the  picture  he 
draws  of  his  march  across  the  northern  extremity  of  the 
wild  Moor  of  Rannoch  :  "  He  led  his  troops  through  moun- 
tains, forcing  his  way  by  plain  and  rock  and  cliff,  by  swelter- 
ing bog  and  gully.  Many  of  the  wearied  horses  sink  into 
the  marsh  and  are  lost  in  its  depth.  Failing  to  raise  them, 
the  riders  place  the  saddles  on  their  own  shoulders  and 
pursue  their  way  on  foot.  I  myself,  having  lost  my  horse, 
have  to  tramp  by  rugged  path  and  hill  and  rock  and  river. 
At  length,  by  stream  and  marsh  and  quaking  bog,  by  forest 
blocked  with  uprooted  trees,  by  precipice  and  mountain- 
height,  we  reach  Loch  Treig,  and  there  fix  our  lofty  camp. 
Though  the  glories  of  spring  were  clothing  the  Lowlands, 
we  have  to  tear  our  limbs  from  our  frozen  couches,  and 
our  hair  and  beards  are  stiff  with  ice.  We  pursue  our  way 
through  regions  condemned  to  perpetual  frost,  and  never 
trodden  before  by  the  foot  of  man  or  horse.  By  mountains 
rising  above  the  airy  flight  of  birds  and  cliffs  towering  to 
the  sky,  by  devious  paths  among  the  time-worn  rocks,  our 
march  unlocks  the  iron  bolts  of  Nature.  Hannibal  with 
less  labour  clave  his  way  by  vinegar  and  flame  across  the 
lofty  Alps.  Here  no  smoke,  no  sign  of  human  dwelling 
appears,  but  only  the  lair  of  the  wild  beast  and  a  chaos 
of  mountain,  wood,  and  sky.  Here  the  sun  itself  scarce 
darts  a  ray.  At  last  our  march  is  ended,  and  Dundee 
plants  his  foot  on  level  ground,  and  presses  with  his  heel 
the  level  bank  as  he  crosses  the  deep  waters  of  Glenroy. 
Gladly  Lochaber  receives  the  Grahame  into  her  bosom." 

Dundee  seems  to  have  rested,  after  his  arduous  march,  for 
some  days  near  what  is  now  Roy  Bridge,  awaiting  the  general 
muster  of  the  clans,  and  sending  out  the  fiery  cross  in  every 
direction.  The  poetic  soldier  gives  a  vivid  description  of 
Lochaber.      In  its  desolation  it  appeared  to  himself  and  his 


96  LOCHABER. 

comrades  to  be  the  end  of  the  world.  "  The  horses,"  he 
says,  "  were  sent  over  the  plain  to  swell  as  best  they  might 
their  famished  flanks  with  the  prickly  shoots  of  the  sur- 
rounding bushes.  Leaving  their  huts  white  with  hoar-frost, 
the  men  speed  on  foot  through  the  woods  and  climb  the 
steeps  of  the  cloud  -  capped  hills  to  view  the  surrounding 
region.  There  Keppoch  extends  towards  the  south,  and 
Corpach  to  the  Irish  Sea,  while  here  Ben  Nevis  towers  aloft, 
raising  her  massive  summit  to  the  sky.  Beneath  their  eyes 
is  seen  the  lake  [Loch  Laggan]  which  pours  its  waters  into 
the  Spean,  and  the  great  waters  of  the  Gloy  and  the  sounding 
streams  of  the  Roy  as  they  flow  to  the  sea  by  separate 
mouths.  Here  too  they  behold  Lochaber  parting  the  north 
wind  with  its  frozen  ridges  and  expanding  its  wild  fields. 
Cliff  rises  above  cliff,  and  the  deep-lying  straths  are  bathed 
in  soft  light.  Wherever  they  turn,  mountain  and  rock  and 
river  and  lake,  dense  thickets  of  bramble  and  thorn,  with 
here  and  there  a  peasant's  cot,  meet  the  eye.  The  ground 
beneath  their  feet  is  hard  with  frost,  the  air  is  freezing  with 
the  keen  north  wind,  and  the  whole  region  is  a  wilderness 
of  briar,  thistle,  and  heather,  while  snow  covers  the  mountains 
and  ice  the  rivers.  '  Alas  !  '  they  cry,  '  to  what  unknown 
land  has  our  fate  carried  us,  to  what  uncongenial  clime  ? 
'Mid  wood  and  rock  and  desert  we  wander  in  regions  of 
eternal  snow.  Lochaber  is  surely  the  extremity  of  the  earth. 
When  and  where  shall  these  labours  cease,  this  unfortunate 
journey  end  ?  '  " 

While  Dundee  and  his  troopers  were  awaiting  the  great 
muster  of  the  clans,  and  his  poet  was  describing  the  wild 
scenery^  of  Lochaber,  the  enemy  he  was  to  encounter  was  not 
altogether  inactive.  The  Revolutionist  army  was  under  the 
command  of  Major-General  Mackay  of  Scourie  in  Sutherland- 
shire.     He  was  a  soldier  of  fortune,  and  had  had  considerable 


A   GATHERING   OF   THE   CLANS.  97 

experience  in  Continental  warfare.  He  arrived  at  Inverness 
between  the  8th  and  loth  of  May,  a  few  days  after  Dundee 
had  left  the  town.  On  his  arrival  he  commenced  to  fortify 
the  burgh,  which  he  describes  as  an  open  country  town.  He 
remained  there  a  fortnight,  and  before  he  left  had  the  satis- 
faction of  seeing  the  town  transformed  into  a  sort  of  fortified 
camp.  He  ordered  Colonel  Ramsay  to  come  north  with 
600  chosen  men  of  the  three  Dutch  regiments  in  Scotland, 
and  arranged  to  join  him  at  Ruthven  in  Badenoch  on  the 
26th  May.  Early  on  the  morning  of  that  day  Mackay  left 
Inverness  to  keep  his  appointment  with  Ramsay ;  but  before 
he  got  half-way  to  Badenoch  he  met  an  express  from  Ruth- 
ven with  the  news  that  Dundee  was  in  Badenoch  within  ten 
or  twelve  miles  of  Ruthven,  and  that  Ramsay,  fearing  to 
encounter  him,  had  fallen  back  on  Perth. 

On  the  day  that  Mackay  left  Inverness,  Dundee  had  arrived 
in  Badenoch  at  the  head  of  a  large  Highland  army.  While 
the  former  had  been  fortifying  the  town,  the  latter  had  been 
gathering  the  clans.  His  summons  to  the  Highlanders  had 
been  largely  responded  to,  and  from  every  part  of  the  West, 
even  from  far-off  islands  in  the  Hebrides,  the  chiefs  and  their 
men  came  to  the  place  of  meeting — a  place  called  Dalma- 
comer  in  Lochiel's  country.  It  is  beside  the  Falls  of 
Macomer,  and  close  to  Gairlochy,  near  the  south  end  of 
Loch  Lochy.  The  traveller  from  Inverness  by  steamer 
passes  within  sight  of  the  field,  which  on  that  day  in  early 
summer  must  have  presented  an  animated  appearance. 
Many  of  the  great  chiefs  of  Inverness  -  shire  were  present. 
The  Mackintoshes  and  the  Erasers  absented  themselves, 
and  Grant  was  a  strong  supporter  of  King  William.  The 
Macphersons  were  in  sympathy  with  Dundee,  but  would 
not  march  without  an  order  from  their  superior,  the  Duke 
of  Gordon.      As  they  had   not  received  this,  they  took  no 

G 


98  dalcomera's  plain. 

decided  part  in  the  campaign.  But  Keppoch,  Lochiel,  Clan- 
ranald,  and  others  were  there  in  full  Celtic  pomp,  with  banners 
waving  and  pipes  playing.  The  poet  on  whose  personal 
reminiscences  we  have  already  largely  drawn,  pictures  the 
scene  on  what  he  terms  "  Dalcomera's  plain "  in  glowing 
language.  His  descriptions  of  some  of  those  present  are 
photographic,  and  we  venture  to  give  a  few  of  them  here. 

"  First  from  his  northern  shores  the  brave  Glengarry  leads 
300  illustrious  youths  in  the  first  flower  of  vigorous  manhood, 
each  of  whom  a  tartan  garb  covers,  woven  with  Phrygian 
skill  in  triple  stripe,  and  as  a  garment  clothes  their  broad 
chests  and  flanks.  A  helmet  defends  the  temples  of  the 
head.  A  coloured  plaid  veils  their  shoulders,  and  otherwise 
they  are  naked.  The  chief  himself,  mounted  on  a  foaming 
steed  and  towering  in  glittering  arms,  advances  into  the  plain 
claymore  in  hand,  his  cloak  shining  with  gold,  and  a  broad 
baldric  with  buckled  clasp  crossing  his  left  breast.  Following 
him  closely  comes  his  brother  Allan  the  brave,  with  a  hundred 
men  all  clothed  in  garments  interwoven  with  the  red  stripe, 
their  brawny  calves  bound  with  the  red  buskins.  Afar  they 
bristle  with  spears,  and  they  stand  firm  with  sword  belted 
round  their  loins,  with  shields  strengthened  with  brazen  knobs 
protecting  their  bodies." 

After  describing  MTan  of  Glencoe  and  Sir  Donald  Mac- 
donald  of  Sleat,  the  poet  turns  to  Keppoch.  The  conduct  of 
"  The  King  of  Thieves  "  at  Inverness  has  apparently  been  con- 
doned by  his  appearance  in  full  strength  at  "  Dalcomera,"  and 
indeed  he  seems  to  have  made  with  his  followers  a  gallant 
show. 

"  His  head  is  covered  with  a  helmet,  he  flourishes  his  two- 
handled  sword,  and  his  shield  flashes  as  with  love  of  war  he 
comes  wildly  on.  Two  hundred  men  of  fierce  aspect  are 
gathered  around  him,  to  whom  life  in  arms  alone  is  pleasing, 


SIR   EWEN   CAMERON.  99 

and  to  drive  the  new  booty  is  a  delight :  these  carry  the 
hand-axe  with  keen  point,  and  others  the  gleaming  javelin, 
and  the  knotty  club.  Others  again  show  in  their  right  hand 
the  spear,  in  their  left  the  shield,  and  the  brazen  gun  thunders 
in  the  heads  of  them  all  with  loud  report." 

Sir  Ewen  Cameron  of  Lochiel — he  had  been  knighted  by 
James  VII. —  is  next  portrayed.  His  dark  Spanish  counte- 
nance, of  which  tradition  tells,  is  noticed.  He  was  now  sixty 
years  of  age,  but  full  of  vigour.  He  brought  1000  men  to 
the  muster,  and  was  throughout  the  campaign  the  principal 
adviser  of  Dundee.  He  was  accompanied  by  Sir  Alexander 
Drummond  of  Balhaldy,  who  had  married  his  eldest  daughter. 

"  Here  now  Sir  Ewen  Cameron,  a  hero  of  martial  fame, 
coming  from  the  distant  shores  of  the  northern  waters,  carried 
with  him  to  the  field  1000  men,  whom,  a  warlike  offspring, 
rugged  Abria  nourishes,  chiefs  unconquered  in  war  whom  it 
ever  delights  to  lift  the  recent  prey  and  to  apply  themselves  to 
robbery.  He  himself,  stiff  in  brazen  armour,  rises  high  above 
his  axe-bearing  line,  and  on  each  side  of  him  a  faithful  guard 
of  kinsmen  and  clansmen  is  gathered.  With  him  goes  his 
son-in-law  Balhaldy.  The  Cameron  chief  himself,  mounted 
on  a  grey  horse,  shines  in  a  tri-coloured  tunic  trimmed  all 
round  with  gold  lace.  A  helmet  covers  his  head  ;  to  his  side 
is  girt  a  double-edged  brand ;  blood-red  plumes  float  on  his 
crest.  A  cuirass  of  leather  harder  than  adamant  girds  his 
breast,  and  on  his  left  arm  hangs  his  shield.  His  tartan  hose 
are  gartered  around  his  calf,  mail  covers  his  shoulders,  and  a 
brazen  plate  his  back.  All  his  trappings  are  rigid  with  solid 
brass  and  throw  back  to  the  clouds  the  reflected  light.  His 
very  look  so  fierce  might  fright  the  boldest  foe.  His  savage 
glance  and  the  swarthy  view  of  his  Spanish  countenance,  his 
flashing  eyes,  his  head,  with  moustache  curled  as  the  moon's 
horn  or  as  the  handle  of  the  tongs,  might  terrify  the  bands  of 


100  HIGHLAND   CHIEFTAINS. 

the  half- human  Sycambrians.  In  Hke  arms  his  eldest  son 
accompanied  him  in  the  first  flower  of  peerless  youth.  He, 
the  ornament  of  his  race  and  guardian  of  his  father's  clan,  has 
accustomed  himself  to  bear  the  hard  service  of  the  camp,  and 
holds  the  place  in  command  second  to  his  father." 

Other  leaders  are  portrayed  with  equal  care,  but  the  de- 
scriptions are  too  long  to  quote  in  full.  "  Macmartin  rising 
high  above  the  whole  line,  his  dark  locks  hang  around  his 
face  and  cover  his  cheeks,  and  his  eyes  shine  like  the  stars." 
"Stalwart  Glendessary."  "  Fraser  of  Foyers,  sprung  from  the 
Fraser  clan,  than  whom  there  was  none  more  illustrious  in 
northern  land  nor  any  excelling  him  in  arms."  "  Fraser  of  Cul- 
duthel,  surrounded  by  the  flower  of  his  warriors,  all  stiff"  with 
brass  and  shining  with  steel  and  gold."  "  The  valiant  Grant, 
not  that  degenerate  Grant  who  takes  his  name  from  Bala 
Castle,  but  the  bold  Grant  of  Urquhart,  bearing  unstained 
honour  in  a  faithful  breast,  and  keen  against  the  foes  of  the 
Caesar."  "  The  exalted  captain  of  Clanranald  in  the  first  flower 
of  his  age,  glowing  from  his  youthful  studies,  showing  the 
preludes  of  a  mind  great  beyond  his  years.  While  scarce  the 
first  down  tints  his  cheek,  he,  fired  with  a  great  love  of  his 
country's  glory,  moved  keenly  to  battle  with  his  whole  race. 
He  bears  along,  rushing  into  the  fight,  races  whom  the  Black 
Isle  [Uist]  has  sent,  those  whom  Knoydart  and  Moidart 
nourish  in  their  vast  fields." 

A  large  force  streamed  out  of  the  field  of  Dalmacomer, 
taking  the  road  by  Glen  Roy  to  Badenoch.  "  The  pipers 
struck  up  the  pibroch,  and  the  clarion  and  bugles  sounded. 
The  army,  brilliant  with  the  varied  weapons  of  Lochaber,  move 
the  standard  while  the  pipe  resounds,  and  the  whole  force  in 
marching  order  advances  into  the  surrounding  country.  The 
bold  Glengarry,  as  leader  of  ^the  first  line,  marches  in  the  van, 
accompanied  by  thirty  horse  in  due  order.     Then  the  rest  of 


TREACHERY   IN    THE   CAMP.  1 01 

the  chiefs  advanced  each  in  his  own  station  and  followed  by 
his  own  people.  Swift  Foyers  following  with  his  marshalled 
clan  brought  up  smartly  the  rear,  and  now  the  tartaned  host 
had  poured  itself  out  upon  the  fields,  and  forced  its  way 
through  rocks  and  rivers,  and  had  left  behind  the  confines  of 
Glen  Roy  and  the  lofty  mountains  of  Garviemore.  Now  it  is 
over  the  Spey  and  is  holding  the  open  country." 

The  campaign  now  entered  upon  cannot  be  regarded  as  in 
any  way  brilliant.  Mackay  after  leaving  Inverness  went  first 
to  Culnakyle  and  Belcastle  or  Castle  Grant,  and  from  that 
base  of  operation  extended  his  lines  up  Speyside  until  he 
was  within  a  few  miles  of  Dundee,  who  was  encamped  at  the 
old  castle  of  Raitts,  near  the  present  site  of  Belville.  The 
poet  speaks  of  Mackay  as  "  encamped  at  the  kirk  of  chilly 
Alvie "  in  a  position  difficult  to  attack.  "  In  his  front  lay  a 
wooden  bridge  of  vast  timbers,  in  his  rear  was  a  ditch  of  roll- 
ing water,  a  burn  protected  his  right,  and  the  woods  his  left." 
Here  he  remained  strongly  intrenched,  and  resisting  the 
taunts  of  the  enemy  to  come  out  and  give  him  battle.  His 
position  was  a  very  difficult  one.  In  addition  to  the  paucity 
of  his  forces  he  had  to  contend  with  treachery  in  his  camp. 
Some  of  his  officers  were  so  uncertain  in  their  allegiance  that 
they  had  to  be  closely  watched.  Two  of  his  troopers  were 
detected  carrying  information  to  Dundee.  Had  not  the  dis- 
covery of  their  treachery  been  made,  Mackay's  army  would 
have  been  surrounded  and  probably  cut  to  pieces. 

Dundee,  if  in  less  embarrassed  circumstances  than  his 
opponent,  was  able  to  do  very  little.  Keppoch  and  his 
clan  captured  and  burnt  the  castle  of  Ruthven,  which  was 
garrisoned  by  a  detachment  under  the  command  of  a  brother 
of  Forbes  of  Culloden.  Keppoch  also  distinguished  himself 
by  burning  the  old  castle  of  The  ^^lackintosh,  called  Dun- 
achton,   near   Loch   Insh.     This  was   pleasant   work   for   the 


102  THE   KING   OF   THIEVES. 

Lochaber  freebooter.  "  Keppoch,"  says  our  poet,  "  after  he 
had  destroyed  Ruthven  Castle,  having  returned  with  great 
pomp  to  this  house,  fired  it,  urged  by  the  spur  of  revenge 
and  the  love  of  plunder,  and  reduced  it  to  ashes.  The  flocks, 
the  ravished  wealth  of  the  burnt  houses,  oxen,  and  the  common 
booty  of  the  fields,  were  carried  off.  Nor  was  our  general 
able  to  restrain  the  violence  of  this  savage  soldier  from 
breaking  out  and  wrapping  the  whole  district  in  flames." 
From  the  plundered  Mackintosh  we  learn  that  Keppoch 
carried  away  "all  the  portable  goods,  worth  at  least  40,000 
merks,  and  the  whole  tenants  and  possessors  thereof  were 
forced  to  flee,  and  are  now  with  their  wives  and  children 
begging  their  bread  and  living  on  charity."  It  is  to  the 
credit  of  Dundee  that  he  was  extremely  angry  with  his 
marauding  follower,  and  told  him  in  the  presence  of  all  his 
officers  that  he  would  rather  serve  as  a  common  soldier  among 
disciplined  troops  than  command  such  men  as  he,  who 
seemed  to  make  it  his  business  to  draw  the  odium  of  the 
country  upon  him.  The  chief  made  a  very  humble  apology 
and  promised  not  to  repeat  his  conduct.  He  had,  however, 
secured  his  plunder,  and  the  cattle  of  The  Mackintosh  were 
by  that  time  far  on  their  way  to  Lochaber. 

Mackay,  afraid  of  treachery  among  his  troops,  and  hearing 
that  Dundee  was  moving  towards  him,  determined  to  retreat. 
Starting  at  nightfall,  he  went  down  the  river  Spey  by  Ballin- 
dalloch,  closely  followed  by  Dundee.  In  Banffshire  he  re- 
ceived an  accession  to  his  numbers,  and  turned  upon  Dundee, 
who  retreated  before  him  into  Badenoch.  Then  the  march- 
ing and  counter- marching  ended.  Dundee  went  back  to 
Lochaber  to  wait  for  additional  reinforcements  from  Ireland. 
Mackay,  afraid  to  follow  him  through  the  mountain -passes, 
sent  part  of  his  troops  to  Inverness,  Elgin,  and  Strathbogie, 
and  went  himself  south   to   raise  additional   troops  and   to 


KILLIECRANKIE.  IO3 

press  upon  the  authorities  the  necessity  of  building  a  fort  at 
Inverlochy. 

In  Lochaber  Dundee  took  up  his  abode  at  Moy,  a  house 
on  the  banks  of  the  Lochy,  and  there  waited  the  arrival  of 
the  soldiers  from  Ireland.  When  they  came  he  was  bitterly 
disappointed.  They  only  numbered  500  men,  poorly  armed, 
ill-clothed,  and  badly  disciplined.  He  did  the  best  he  could 
for  them  in  the  circumstances,  and  after  a  short  time  marched 
them  south  by  Dalwhinie,  accompanied  by  1800  Highlanders. 
On  the  27th  July  1689  the  famous  battle  of  Killiecrankie  was 
fought,  when  victory  for  King  James  was  dearly  purchased  by 
the  death  of  Dundee. 

It  does  not  fall  within  our  province  to  describe  the  battle 
of  Killiecrankie,  or,  as  it  is  always  called  by  the  Highlanders, 
the  battle  of  Rinroy.  We  may  say,  however,  that  the  Inver- 
ness-shire chiefs  greatly  distinguished  themselves,  and  many 
traditions  of  their  prowess  have  been  handed  down,  and  are 
still  repeated  within  the  bounds  of  our  county. 

Lochiel  was  supposed  by  the  Highlanders  to  possess  the 
gift  of  second-sight,  and  before  the  battle  he  is  reported  to 
have  said,  "That  side  will  win  which  first  sheds  blood."  The 
Laird  of  Glenmoriston — lan-a-chragain,  as  he  was  called — 
who  heard  the  words  spoken,  repeated  them  to  a  famous  deer- 
stalker from  his  glen,  and  pointed  out  to  him  an  officer 
mounted  on  a  white  steed  who  had  galloped  forward  from 
the  lines  of  the  enemy  to  survey  the  ground.  The  hunter 
crept  forward,  took  deliberate  aim,  and  the  officer  fell  to  the 
ground.  There  was  no  longer  any  doubt  among  the  High- 
landers as  to  how  the  battle  was  likely  to  go. 

The  chief  of  the  Camerons  himself,  who  wore  shoes — 
probably,  as  it  has  been  suggested,  the  only  pair  possessed 
by  the  clan — not  being  able  to  keep  up  with  his  men  as 
they  rushed  onward,  sat  down  by  the  way,  cut  off  his  shoes. 


104  HIGHLAND   PROWESS. 

and  then  bounded  forward,  charging  barefoot  at  the  head  of 
his  men.  One  of  his  sons  was  a  captain  in  the  Scots  Fusihers, 
serving  in  the  army  of  King  WiUiam.  As  Mackay  saw  the 
Highlanders  approaching  he  turned  to  young  Cameron  and 
said,  "  There's  your  father  with  his  wild  savages  ;  how  would 
you  like  to  be  with  them  ? "  "  It  matters  little,"  was  the 
reply,  "  what  I  would  like ;  but  I  advise  you  to  be  prepared, 
or  perhaps  my  father  and  his  wild  savages  may  be  nearer 
you  before  night  than  you  would  like."  One  of  the  Grants 
of  Glenurquhart  having  been  knocked  down  by  a  ball  which 
came  against  his  target,  rose  again  with  the  remark,  "  Och  ! 
sure  the  Boddachs  [old  boys]  are  in  earnest,"  and  rushed 
on  with  the  rest.  Another  man  from  the  same  part  of  In- 
verness-shire specially  distinguished  himself  by  passing  his 
sword  through  from  the  left  shoulder  to  the  right  loin  of  a 
Hessian  officer. 

Glengarry  was  prominent  in  the  fray.  He  wielded  a  pon- 
derous two-handed  sword,  with  which  it  is  said  he  killed  two 
men  at  every  step  he  took.  Sixteen  gentlemen  of  his  clan 
were  slain,  and  among  them  his  son  Donald  Gorm.  It  is 
reported  that  this  youth  killed,  before  he  himself  fell,  eighteen 
of  the  enemy  with  his  own  sword,  and  all  within  such  a  space 
"  as  it  would  have  required  a  lippy  of  lint-seed  to  sow."  Many 
such  tales  as  these  are  still  related  of  the  prowess  of  Inver- 
ness-shire men  at  Killiecrankie. 

The  importance,  however,  of  a  victory,  by  whatever  acts  of 
individual  bravery  it  may  be  distinguished,  can  only  be  esti- 
mated by  its  results,  and  the  battle  of  Killiecrankie,  instead 
of  advancing  the  cause  of  King  James,  in  reality  gave  it  its 
death-blow.  The  loss  of  Dundee  was  irreparable.  There  was 
no  one  on  his  own  side  fit  to  take  his  place.  He  understood 
the  Highlanders,  and  they  understood  him.  He  adapted  him- 
self to  their  manners  and  prejudices,  and  still  more  to  their 


lochiel's  loyalty.  105 

peculiar  mode  of  warfare.  It  is  said  he  used  to  walk  on 
foot  with  the  common  men,  sometimes  with  those  of  one 
clan  and  sometimes  with  those  of  another.  He  amused  them 
with  his  humour.  He  showed  his  familiarity  with  their  gene- 
alogies. He  was  acquainted  with  their  traditions  and  the 
songs  of  their  bards.  King  James  himself  rightly  estimated 
his  loss  when  he  wrote  that  it  gave  him  a  fresh  occasion 
of  adoring  Providence  and  contemplating  the  instability  of 
human  affairs  when  one  single  shot  from  a  routed  and  flying 
enemy  decided  to  all  appearance  the  fate  of  more  than  one 
kingdom. 

General  Cannon,  who  took  the  command  on  the  death  of 
Dundee,  was  entirely  unfitted  for  the  position  to  which  he 
was  called.  He  mismanaged  everything.  His  Highland 
followers  melted  away.  Lochiel  returned  home,  and  Cannon 
soon  followed  him  to  Lochaber,  where  he  remained  for  the 
winter.  At  a  council  of  war  held  at  Keppoch  many  of  the 
chiefs  proposed  to  submit  to  King  William.  Lochiel  stood 
alone  in  opposing  them,  "  I  am  an  old  man,"  he  said,  "  yet 
I  am  determined  to  spend  the  remainder  of  my  life  after  my 
old  manner,  among  mountains  and  caves,  rather  than  give 
up  my  conscience  and  honour  by  submission,  let  the  terms 
be  ever  so  inviting,  until  I  have  my  master's  permission  to  do 
so.  No  argument  or  view  of  interest  or  of  safety  shall  prevail 
with  me  to  change  this  resolution,  whatever  may  be  the 
event."  The  result  of  Lochiel's  determination  was  another 
effort  for  the  royal  cause  under  General  Buchan,  whom  King 
James  sent  over  from  Ireland.  Unfortunately  Buchan  was 
as  incompetent  as  his  predecessor,  and  his  attempt  ended  in 
failure.  On  30th  April  1690  he  encamped  with  a  body  of 
1200  men  on  the  Haughs  of  Cromdale,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Spey.  The  spot  was  singularly  ill-chosen,  being  quite  open  to 
attack.     Sir  Thomas  Livingstone,  an   able   and   experienced 


I06         THE  HAUGHS  OF  CROMDALE. 

officer,  came  down  from  Inverness  to  Strathspey  in  search 
of  Buchan,  and  on  arriving  in  that  district  received  informa- 
tion from  the  captain  of  Castle  Grant  of  the  position  Buchan 
had  taken  up.  The  Highlanders  were  reposing  in  fancied 
security  near  Lethendy,  and  Livingstone  could  see  plainly 
from  the  hill  above  Castle  Grant  the  fires  of  their  camp. 
They  were,  as  General  Mackay  says  in  his  Memoirs,  "  as  if 
they  had  been  led  hither  by  the  hand  as  an  ox  to  the 
slaughter." 

Livingstone  having  taken  half  an  hour  to  refresh  himself 
and  his  men  after  their  fatiguing  journey,  marched  them 
down  under  cover  of  night  through  the  Glen  of  Auchinarrow 
to  the  river  Spey.  At  a  ford  below  Delachaple  he  found 
a  detachment  of  loo  Highlanders  guarding  the  passage. 
Leaving  a  party  of  dragoons  and  a  few  soldiers  to  keep  them 
engaged,  he  went  on  with  the  main  body  of  his  men  to 
another  ford  a  mile  farther  down  the  river.  This  he  crossed 
at  the  head  of  three  troops  of  dragoons  and  a  troop  of  horse, 
a  body  of  his  own  Highlanders  being  in  the  van.  When  he 
reached  the  opposite  bank  of  the  Spey  he  found  the  camp 
of  the  enemy  in  confusion.  The  slumbering  Highlanders 
started  from  their  sleep  and  fled  for  refuge  to  the  neighbour- 
ing hills,  fighting  their  way  across  the  plain.  Buchan  ran 
away  bareheaded  and  without  his  coat,  and  Cannon  escaped 
in  his  shirt.  Happily  for  the  fugitives  a  thick  mist  came 
down  on  the  mountains  and  hid  them  from  their  pursuers, 
who  soon  gave  up  the  chase.  The  Jacobites  were  thoroughly 
defeated,  and  the  victory  of  their  opponents  has  been  com- 
memorated by  the  beautiful  Scottish  ballad  of  "  The  Haughs 
of  Cromdale,"  one  of  the  few  poetic  efforts  associated  with 
the  victories  of  the  Whigs. 

The  ballad  is  peculiar  in  this,  that  it  mixes  up  with  the 
description  of  the  battle  recollections  of  a  battle  of  Montrose, 


BATTLE   OF   THE    BOYNE.  lO/ 

and  places  upon  the  Haughs  of  Cromdale  clans  that  were 
never  there,  but  who  had  previously  distinguished  themselves 
under  the  famous  general.  There  is  no  doubt,  however,  of 
the  applicability  of  these  verses  to  the  defeat  of  Buchan  : — 

"We  were  in  bed,  sir,  every  man, 
When  the  English  host  upon  us  cam' ; 
A  bloody  battle  then  began 

Upon  the  Haughs  of  Cromdale. 

The  English  horse  they  were  sae  rude, 
They  bath'd  their  hoofs  in  Hieland  blude, 
But  our  brave  clans  they  boldly  stood 
Upon  the  Haughs  of  Cromdale. 

But  alas,  we  could  nae  langer  stay, 
For  ower  the  hills  we  cam'  away ; 
And  sair  do  we  lament  the  day 
That  e'er  we  cam'  to  Cromdale." 

After  the  battle  of  Cromdale  any  hopes  of  success  cherished 
by  the  Highlanders  rapidly  vanished,  and  they  were  entirely 
extinguished  by  the  defeat  of  King  James  at  the  battle  of 
the  Boyne.  Livingstone  and  his  dragoons  at  Inverness  made 
constant  excursions  in  the  neighbourhood  against  those  still 
in  the  field,  and  the  chiefs  who  had  taken  up  arms  under 
Dundee  being  utterly  dispirited  retreated  to  their  fastnesses, 
where  they  lay  inactive  and  unable  to  strike  a  blow.  Buchan 
with  a  few  of  his  officers  took  refuge  with  Glengarry ;  Cannon 
with  others  retired  to  the  Western  Islands. 

General  Mackay  now  determined  to  execute  a  design  which 
he  had  long  entertained — namely,  the  erection  of  a  fort  near 
Inverlochy,  a  place  that  commanded  the  passage  along  the 
chain  of  lakes  which  now  form  the  Caledonian  Canal.  He 
sent  there  some  ships  from  Greenock  laden  with  provisions 
and  implements,  and  at  the  head  of  3000  men  he  marched 
first  into  Badenoch  and  then  down  Glen  Spean.  He  met 
with    no    resistance,    and    though    he    passed    the    castle    of 


I08  FORT   WILLIAM. 

Keppoch,  the  dispirited  Highlanders  did  not  venture  to 
obstruct  his  progress.  He  reached  Inverlochy  on  the  3rd 
July. 

The  fort  he  erected  was  on  the  site  of  that  which  had  been 
occupied  by  the  troops  of  Cromwell.  Mackay  was  not  satis- 
fied with  the  situation,  as  it  was  overlooked  by  a  neighbouring 
hill,  but  he  could  find  no  more  eligible  site.  The  work  was 
carried  through  with  great  rapidity.  In  eleven  days  a  wall 
of  20  feet  was  raised,  with  a  deep  fosse  or  ditch  at  its  base. 
This  was  palisaded  round  with  a  chemin  convert  and  glacis, 
and  armed  with  some  demi  -  culverins  from  a  ship  of  war. 
The  whole  structure  was  of  triangular  form  ;  and  in  honour  of 
the  king  the  general  named  it  Fort  William.  Having  placed 
in  it  a  garrison  of  1000  men  under  Colonel  Hill,  he  returned 
south  unmolested,  staying  a  few  days  at  Ruthven  in  Badenoch 
to  repair  and  garrison  the  old  castle,  which  had  been  dismantled 
by  Dundee. 

The  Government  of  King  William  now  resolved  to  lay  out 
a  sum  of  money,  said  to  have  been  ^^20,000,  in  conciliating 
the  Jacobite  chieftains.  The  negotiation  was  intrusted  to 
the  Earl  of  Breadalbane,  who  is  generally  allowed  to  have 
been  an  unprincipled  man,  and  certainly  his  conduct  in 
regard  to  his  dealings  with  the  chiefs  lays  him  open  to 
suspicion.  The  money  disappeared  and  the  chiefs  got  none 
of  it.  They  had  various  meetings  with  the  Earl  at  Achallader 
in  Glenorchy,  but  no  satisfactory  arrangement  could  be  come 
to.  On  one  point  they  were  determined.  They  would  not 
make  submission  to  King  William  until  they  received  per- 
mission from  King  James.  This  permission  the  exiled  king 
reluctantly  granted,  so  that  the  chiefs  were  free  to  do  what 
they  pleased.  They  were  not  long  in  making  up  their  mind. 
On  the  29th  August  1691  Government  issued  a  proclamation 
promising  an  indemnity  to  every  rebel  who  should  swear  the 


THE   MASSACRE   OF  GLENCOE.  109 

oath  of  allegiance  in  the  presence  of  a  civil  magistrate  before 
the  ist  January  1692,  and  threatening  with  the  penalties  of 
fire  and  sword  those  who  held  out  after  that  day.  The 
Inverness-shire  chiefs  who  had  taken  part  in  the  late  rising 
hastened  to  take  the  oath.  Clanranald,  Keppoch,  and  Glen- 
garry were  duly  sworn.  Lochiel  was  the  last  of  the  band  to 
submit.  He  only  received  notice  of  King  James's  permission 
within  thirty  hours  of  the  period  allowed  by  the  Act  of  In- 
demnity. On  the  very  day  on  which  the  indemnity  expired 
he  reached  Inverary  and  took  the  oath  before  the  sheriff 
there  ;  thus  making  a  narrow  escape  from  sharing  the  fate  of 
Glencoe. 

The  massacre  of  Glencoe  has  left  an  indelible  stain  upon 
the  reign  of  King  "William.  Papers  have  come  to  light  of 
late  years  which  clearly  prove  that  it  was  intended  to  have 
dealt  with  certain  of  the  Inverness  -  shire  chiefs  and  their 
people  in  the  same  fashion  as  Glencoe.  Mr  Secretary  Stair 
was  in  great  hopes  that  Glengarry  and  Keppoch  would  refuse 
to  take  the  oath,  and  would  afford  the  Government  an  excuse 
for  the  extermination  of  their  people.  "  Both  Glengarry  and 
Keppoch,"  he  writes,  "  are  Papists,  and  that's  the  only  Papist 
clan  in  the  Highlands.  Who  knows  but  by  God's  providence 
they  are  permitted  to  fall  into  this  delusion  that  they  may  be 
extirpate,  which  will  vindicate  their  majestys'  justice  and 
reduce  the  Highlands  without  further  severity  to  the  rest." 
Of  Glengarry  the  secretary  was  specially  anxious  to  make  an 
example,  as  his  castle,  lying  midway  between  Fort  William 
and  Inverness,  would  make  an  excellent  fortification  to  keep 
the  country  in  order.  On  3rd  of  November  Stair  writes  :  "  I 
wrote  to  you  formerly  that  if  the  rest  were  willing  to  concur, 
as  the  crows  do,  to  pull  down  Glengarry's  nest  this  winter, 
so  as  the  king  be  not  hindered  to  draw  four  regiments  from 
Scotland,  in  that  case  the  destroying  him  and  his  clan,  and 


no  SHORTLIVED   SUBMISSION. 

garrisoning  his  house  as  a  middle  between  Inverlochy  and 
Inverness,  will  be  full  as  acceptable  as  if  he  had  come  in. 
This  answers  all  ends,  and  satisfies  those  who  complain  of 
the  king's  too  great  gentleness.  .  .  .  Because  I  breathe 
nothing  but  destruction  to  Glengarry,  Tarbet  thinks  Keppoch 
will  be  a  more  proper  example  of  severity ;  but  he  hath  not 
a  house  so  proper  for  a  garrison,  and  he  hath  not  been  so 
forward  to  ruin  himself  and  all  the  rest.  But  I  confess  both's 
best  to  be  ruined." 

Happily  those  projects  of  vengeance  were  baffled,  but 
these  letters  show  how  nearly  the  tragedy  of  Glencoe  was 
repeated  in  the  valley  of  the  Spean  and  by  the  banks  of  the 
Garry.  The  Inverness  -  shire  glens  were  now  once  more 
peaceful,  and  were  disturbed  only  by  the  cattle-liftings  and 
raids  which  went  on  at  all  times.  There  was  much,  however, 
to  indicate  that  the  peace  was  not  likely  to  be  durable.  The 
chiefs  had  taken  the  oath  to  King  William,  but  they  had 
done  so  under  compulsion.  Mr  Secretary  Stair  showed  con- 
siderable prescience  when  he  wrote,  "  Their  doing  so  after 
they  got  King  James's  allowance  is  worse  than  their  obstinacy, 
for  those  who  lay  down  arms  at  his  command  will  take 
them  up  again  by  his  warrant."  The  warrant  was  not  long 
of  coming,  and  the  men  who  took  the  oath  in  1692  were  quite 
ready  to  break  it  without  scruple  in  17 15. 

The  gallant  Lochiel,  who  had  been  the  mainspring  of  the 
rising  under  Dundee,  retired  into  private  life  at  its  close. 
He  made  over  the  greater  part  of  his  estates  to  his  son, 
reserving  the  liferent.  He  was  alive  when  the  clans  came 
out  again,  but  was  infirm  and  stricken  in  years.  A  portrait- 
ure of  this  greatest  of  chiefs  has  come  down  to  us  from  one 
who  saw  him  in  17 16,  and  we  may  give  it  here :  "Sir  Ewen's 
eyes  retained  their  former  vivacity,  and  his  sight  was  so 
good  in  his  ninetieth  year  that  he  could  discern  the  minutest 


A   GREAT   CHIEF.  I  I  I 

object  and  read  the  smallest  print ;  nor  did  he  so  much  as 
want  a  tooth,  which  seemed  as  white  and  close  as  one  could 
have  imagined  they  were  in  the  twentieth  year  of  his  age. 
In  this  state  he  was  when  I  had  the  good  fortune  to  see  him, 
and  so  great  was  his  strength  at  that  time  that  he  wrung  some 
blood  from  the  point  of  my  fingers  with  a  grasp  of  his  hand. 
He  was  of  the  largest  size,  his  bones  big,  his  countenance 
fresh  and  smooth,  and  he  had  a  certain  air  of  greatness  about 
him  which  struck  the  beholders  with  awe  and  respect.  He 
enjoyed  perfect  health  from  the  cradle  to  the  grave,  and  not 
a  drop  of  his  blood  was  ever  drawn  except  on  one  occasion 
when  a  knife  had  accidentally  pierced  his  foot." 

Sir  Ewen  died  in  1718.  His  gift  of  second-sight  is  said  to 
have  remained  with  him  to  the  last,  and  when  in  1 7 1 5  the 
Chevalier  St  George  landed  at  Peterhead,  he  is  reported  to 
have  called  aloud  from  his  bed  that  his  king  had  arrived  and 
that  his  own  son  was  with  him,  and  ordered  his  clan  together 
that  they  might  drink  his  majesty's  health. 

The  limits  of  this  work  have  not  allowed  us  to  do  full 
justice  to  the  character  and  exploits  of  Lochiel,  but  in  the 
old  annals  of  Inverness-shire  he  certainly  stands  out  as  the 
most  noble  as  well  as  the  most  picturesque  figure,  and  the 
best  specimen  of  a  Highland  chief,  which  the  county  has 
produced. 


112 


CHAPTER    IX. 


INVERNESS-SHIRE  AGAIN  DISTURBED — DEATH  OF  QUEEN  ANNE — PROCLA- 
MATION OF  KING  GEORGE  AT  INVERNESS— THE  CHIEFS  PROMISE  TO 
SUPPORT  THE  KING,  BUT  TAKE  PART  IN  THE  RISING  OF  THE  EARL 
OF  MAR — "OLD  BO^LUM  " — FAILURE  OF  THE  RISING  IN  I715 — PUNISH- 
MENT OF  THE  CHIEFS  WHO  TOOK  PART— GENERAL  WADE  RECEIVES 
SUBMISSIONS  TO  THE  GOVERNMENT  —  HUMBLE  LETTERS  ADDRESSED 
TO  HIM— CLEMENCY  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT  —  MEASURES  ADOPTED  BY 
WADE  —  BUILDING  OF  BARRACKS  —  DISARMING  OF  THE  CLANS  — EM- 
BODIMENT OF  COMPANIES  OF  LOYAL  HIGHLANDERS  —  ERECTION  OF 
FORT  AUGUSTUS  —  CONSTRUCTION  OF  ROADS  THROUGHOUT  THE 
COUNTRY — FEATS  OF  ENGINEERING — WEAKNESS  OF  GENERAL  WADE'S 
POLICY  —  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  "  WATCHES  " — MACDONALD  OF  BARIS- 
DALE — INVERNESS-SHIRE   QUIET,    BUT   READY   FOR   INSURRECTION. 


During  the  last  years  of  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne  it  be- 
came evident  that  some  new  movement  was  on  foot  among 
the  Inverness -shire  Jacobites.  There  were  secret  meetings 
among  the  chiefs,  and  gatherings  of  their  retainers  in  com- 
plete warlike  array  which  had  no  ostensible  or  legitimate  aim. 
At  huntings  and  funerals  of  outstanding  men  in  the  county 
there  were  armed  demonstrations  at  which  many  clans  mus- 
tered. The  Tory  Ministry  of  Queen  Anne  were  believed 
to  be  scheming  to  bring  in  the  Stewarts  in  succession  to  her 
Majesty.  The  queen  herself  was  well  known  to  cherish 
feelings  of  the  warmest  sympathy  towards  the  exiled  family. 
Large  sums  of  money  were  distributed  by  the  Government 
among  the  Highland  clans,  who  were  to  be  ready,  when  the 
proper  moment  arrived,  to  come  out  in  full  strength  in  sup- 


PAPIST   ACTIVITY.  II3 

port  of  the  cause  to  which  they  had  shown  themselves  in  past 
years  so  deeply  attached. 

As  an  evidence  of  how  firmly  they  were  assured  of  the 
coming  triumph  of  their  aspirations,  the  priests  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  Church,  who  had  hitherto  received  no  toleration, 
began  in  the  North  to  exercise  publicly  the  functions  of  their 
office.  They  came  out  from  their  hiding-places,  assumed 
the  dress  of  their  profession,  opened  schools,  and  said 
mass  among  the  people  without  let  or  hindrance.  They 
defied  alike  the  fulminations  of  the  presbytery  and  the  per- 
secution of  the  civil  magistrate.  "  Swarms  of  Papists,"  a 
document  of  the  time  tells  us,  "  came  daily  from  France  into 
Britain,  whereof  many  were  believed  to  be  missionaries  for 
propagating  that  which  they  call  the  Catholic  faith.  It  ap- 
pears, from  the  particular  informations  taken  up  and  brought 
in  to  the  Commission  of  the  General  Assembly  by  the  several 
presbyteries  of  Scotland,  that  in  some  shires  in  the  North 
and  Highlands  there  were  then  about  forty  Popish  priests, 
Jesuits  and  the  like,  in  Popish  orders,  who  were  all  well 
known,  appeared  openly,  and  were  so  bold  as  to  take  up 
their  residence  in  these  places  and  publicly  to  go  about  all 
the  parts  of  their  function."  A  goodly  number  of  these 
Highland  clergymen  made  their  presence  felt  in  Inverness- 
shire,  to  the  great  dissatisfaction  of  the  Kirk,  which  implored 
the  Government  to  prohibit  them.  In  the  list  which  the  Kirk 
submits  to  the  authorities  there  is  mention  of  a  Mr  Peter 
Macdonald  about  Glengarry,  a  Mr  Gordon  about  Moidart, 
six  or  seven  priests  in  the  presbytery  of  Skye,  and  some  about 
Lochaber,  and  many  more,  who  were  travelling  through  the 
country,  suspected  to  be  priests  and  missionaries  from  Rome. 
"  In  the  bounds  of  Lochaber,  Glengarie,  Moydart,  and  Arisaig, 
Popery  daily  increased  to  a  lamentable  degree,  so  that  the 
priests  residing  in  these   bounds   said   mass   publicly  almost 

H 


114  THE   ELECTOR   OF   HANOVER. 

every  Lord's  day  to  swarms  of  their  deluded  proselytes.  In 
the  parish  of  Kilmorrock,  in  the  shire  of  Inverness,  the  priests 
who  resided  there  had  within  two  years  or  thereby  perverted 
an  hundred  families  to  Popery  :  so  that  the  Papists  were  the 
far  greater  part  of  that  people."  The  Government  turned 
a  deaf  ear  to  the  supplications  of  the  Kirk.  The  priests 
were  suffered  to  work  on  unmolested,  and  the  Presbyterians 
felt  assured  that  there  existed  a  secret  design  to  tamper 
with  the  Protestant  succession  and  place  a  Stewart  on  the 
throne. 

Their  fears  were  not  at  that  time  realised.  Before  the  pro- 
jects of  the  Jacobites  were  ripe.  Queen  Anne  died  suddenly, 
and  the  Elector  of  Hanover  was  duly  proclaimed  sovereign 
of  the  realm.  It  was  a  bitter  disappointment  to  most  of  the 
Inverness-shire  chiefs.  They  knew  that  in  the  high  quarters 
where  their  cause  had  of  late  been  secretly  encouraged  they 
must  now  be  prepared  to  encounter  utter  hostility.  They 
knew  also  that  the  British  Court  could  no  longer  tolerate  or 
wink  at  their  treasonable  schemes.  They  felt  perhaps  most 
acutely  that  no  further  secret  money  could  come  from  the 
treasury  to  their  impoverished  glens.  They  were  obliged, 
however,  to  submit  with  the  best  grace  they  could  to  see 
the  throne  occupied  by  a  "  w^ee  German  lairdie  "  rather  than 
by  a  prince  who  inherited  the  blood  and  birthright  of  a  long 
line  of  Scottish  kings.  What  took  place  at  Inverness  when 
"  King  George "  was  proclaimed  may  be  taken  as  an  indica- 
tion of  the  general  feeling  throughout  the  county.  When 
the  sheriff.  Sir  Robert  Munro,  proceeded  to  make  the  proc- 
lamation, he  was  openly  opposed  and  derided  by  the  magis- 
trates of  the  burgh.  They  encouraged  the  mob  to  break 
the  windows  of  the  few  Whigs  who  ventured  to  illuminate 
their  houses.  When  the  Hanoverian  Laird  of  Castlehill  com- 
plained  of  the  assault   upon   his   house  they  put  him   into 


A   DECEITFUL   LETTER.  II5 

prison,  and  they  openly  in  the  market-place  called  down  im- 
precations on  the  king. 

The  chiefs  whom  we  have  so  often  seen  in  arms  for 
the  Stewarts  sympathised,  doubtless,  with  the  magistrates  of 
the  burgh.  But  they  acted  in  a  more  politic,  if  not  more 
commendable,  fashion.  Instead  of  calling  down  imprecations 
on  the  king,  they  signed  a  letter  addressed  to  the  Earl  of 
Mar,  through  whom  they  had  been  in  the  habit  of  receiving 
sums  of  money  from  the  Government  of  Queen  Anne,  ex- 
pressing their  great  delight  at  the  accession  of  King  George, 
and  their  willingness  to  give  all  their  support  to  his  throne. 
Cameron  of  Lochiel,  Macdonnell  of  Keppoch,  Mackintosh  of 
Mackintosh,  Grant  of  Glenmoriston,  Chisholm  of  Comer,  and 
Macpherson  of  Cluny,  attached  their  names  to  this  precious 
document.  "  It  did  exceedingly  comfort  them,"  they  set  forth, 
"  that  after  so  good  and  great  a  queen  as  Queen  Anne,  they 
were  to  be  governed  by  his  Sacred  Majesty  King  George, 
a  prince  so  brightly  adorned  with  all  royal  virtues."  They 
pleased  themselves  with  this  agreeable  persuasion,  that  his 
Majesty's  royal  and  kindly  influence  would  reach  them,  who 
were  the  most  remote  of  all  his  subjects  in  these  islands. 
They  declared  to  Lord  Mar  that  as  they  were  always  ready 
to  fulfil  his  directions  in  following  Queen  Anne,  so  they 
would  now  be  equally  forward  to  concur  with  him  in  faith- 
fully serving  King  George.  They  concluded  their  letter  by 
entreating  his  lordship  to  advise  them  how  they  may  best 
offer  their  duty  to  his  Majesty  upon  his  coming  over  to 
Britain,  and  be  most  useful  to  his  royal  Government. 

Nothing  could  have  been  more  deceitful  than  this  famous 
letter,  with  its  expressions  of  attachment  to  a  sovereign 
whom  those  who  signed  it  heartily  detested.  It  is  sup- 
posed by  some  that  Mar  obtained  it  from  them  in  order 
to    forward    his    own    interests    with    the    new    king.      It    is 


Il6        THE   STANDARD   ON    THE   BRAES   OF   MAR. 

conjectured  by  others  that  it  was  written  in  order  to  put 
the  Government  off  their  guard,  that  they  might  carry  on 
their  plots  with  less  prospect  of  being  interfered  with. 
Under  any  supposition  it  was  a  discreditable  and  hypo- 
critical production,  and  met  with  the  fate  it  deserved.  King 
George  paid  no  attention  either  to  their  letter  or  to  Mar 
when  he  presented  it,  and  that  nobleman,  after  keeping  up 
for  a  time  a  show  of  loyalty  at  Whitehall,  left  the  Court 
secretly  and  in  disguise  for  the  Highlands,  to  raise  the 
standard  of  rebellion  with  the  aid  of  those  very  chiefs  who 
a  few  weeks  previous  had  been  so  profuse  in  professing 
their  allegiance  to  "  the  Hanoverian,"  and  so  earnest  in 
desiring  to  know  how  they  might  be  most  useful  to  his 
Government. 

The  new  rising  of  the  clans  began  at  Braemar.  Many 
Jacobites  of  importance  had  gathered  there  on  pretence  of 
holding  one  of  those  great  hunting  -  meetings  which  were 
common  in  the  Highlands.  Glengarry  was  there  to  represent 
the  Inverness-shire  clans.  Whether  any  deer  were  slain  we 
do  not  know,  but  there  was  much  treason  talked,  and  the 
upshot  of  the  proceedings  was  the  raising  of  the  standard 
of  the  Chevalier  as  King  James  VHI.  on  the  3rd  September 
1 7 1 5,  and  the  march  of  an  army  southward  under  the 
Earl  of  Mar. 

The  Inverness -shire  clans  who  had  taken  part  in  the 
rising  under  Dundee  cast  in  their  fortunes  with  the  new 
enterprise,  and  joined  the  headquarters  of  the  Earl  of  Mar 
at  Perth.  Glengarry  brought  with  him  500  men,  Keppoch 
300,  Clanranald  500,  Grant  of  Glenmoriston  100,  and  John 
Cameron  of  Lochiel  nearly  1000.  Clanranald,  the  chief 
of  Moidart,  who  when  a  youth  had  taken  up  arms  with 
Dundee,  was  a  soldier  of  renown.  At  the  close  of  Dundee's 
insurrection,  and  after  the  submission  of  the  chiefs  to  King 


THE   GATHERING.  II7 

William,  he  had  gone  abroad,  and  had  seen  much  service 
in  the  French  army.  His  military  experience  and  his  know- 
ledge of  Mar's  incapacity  as  a  general  led  him  to  take  a 
gloomy  view  of  the  result  of  the  new  undertaking.  When 
he  left  his  ancient  stronghold  of  Castle  Tirrim  he  gave 
secret  instructions  to  one  of  his  followers  who  remained 
at  home  to  set  the  place  on  fire  immediately  on  his  de- 
parture. "I  shall  never,"  he  said,  "come  back  again,  and 
it  is  better  that  our  old  family  seat  should  be  given  to 
the  flames  than  forced  to  give  shelter  to  those  who  are 
about  to  triumph  over  our  ruin."  With  this  sad  presenti- 
ment he  turned  his  face  southward.  By  the  time  he 
reached  Glenfinnan  the  castle  was  in  flames,  and  became 
the  gaunt  and  melancholy  ruin  with  which  those  who  have 
visited  Moidart  are  familiar,  and  which  forms  so  striking 
and  weird  a  feature  in  the  beautiful  landscape. 

In  addition  to  the  Inverness-shire  clans  we  have  named, 
there  were  others  that  now  took  the  same  side,  though  on 
the  last  occasion  they  had  been  inactive.  Chisholm  of 
Strathglass,  Cluny  Macpherson,  and  the  Laird  of  Mackin- 
tosh, each  brought  a  contingent  into  the  field.  That  of 
the  last  named  amounted  to  1000  men.  On  the  side  of  the 
Government  were  Lord  Lovat  and  the  Laird  of  Grant ;  but 
the  greater  portion  of  the  Fraser  clan  went  with  Mar. 

The  Mackintoshes,  who  generally  on  these  occasions 
showed  an  inclination  to  stay  at  home,  were  induced  to  take 
arms  by  the  persuasion  of  one  of  their  kinsmen,  William 
Mackintosh,  younger  of  Borlum,  Inverness-shire.  He  was 
a  most  conspicuous  figure  in  the  new  enterprise.  "  Old 
Borlum,"  as  he  was  generally  called,  had  been  a  soldier 
of  fortune,  and  had  attained  distinction  in  the  French  ser- 
vice. He  was  employed  for  some  years  as  an  agent  between 
the  chiefs  and  the   exiled   royal   family,  and   now  took   the 


Il8  DECLARATION    OF   WAR. 

position  of  brigadier  in  the  army  of  Mar.  He  was  described 
in  a  proclamation  by  the  Government  as  "  a  tall  raw-boned 
man,  fair-complexioned,  beetle-browed,  grey-eyed,  and  speak- 
ing broad  Scotch,"  and  is  generally  supposed  to  have  been 
a  somewhat  rough-handed  and  unscrupulous  soldier.  But 
he  did  his  duty  well ;  and  had  the  command  of  the  army 
been  intrusted  to  him  instead  of  the  incompetent  general 
by  whom  it  was  directed,  the  issue  of  the  campaign  might 
have  been  different. 

We  are  not  called  upon  to  describe  this  campaign,  except 
in  so  far  as  it  affected  Inverness-shire.  It  began  in  that 
county.  On  the  15th  September  the  Laird  of  Mackintosh 
convened  his  men  at  Farr  as  if  he  intended  to  review  them, 
but  on  the  evening  of  that  day  he  marched  to  Inverness, 
where  he  came  at  sunrise  with  banners  displayed.  From  the 
Jacobite  town  he  met  with  no  resistance.  He  made  himself 
master  of  all  the  arms  and  ammunition  he  could  find,  and  of 
some  money  belonging  to  the  Government.  He  then  formally 
proclaimed  King  James,  and  placed  a  garrison  in  the  castle. 

From  Inverness  Mackintosh  proceeded  to  the  house  of 
Culloden,  and  demanded  all  the  arms  and  ammunition  that 
were  in  it.  Mrs  Forbes,  the  wife  of  the  laird,  who  was  from 
home,  made  a  gallant  resistance.  She  refused  the  demand 
made  upon  her,  and  put  her  house  in  a  state  of  defence. 
Some  of  her  friends  interfered  on  her  behalf,  and  Mackin- 
tosh went  off  with  his  brigade  to  join  Mar  at  Perth.  This 
brigade  was  probably  the  best  equipped  body  of  men  in 
the  rebel  army,  and  distinguished  itself  on  many  occasions. 

Glengarry  and  the  Laird  of  Glenmoriston,  with  500  men, 
went  westward  into  Argyleshire,  in  hopes  of  seizing  Inverary. 
Their  effort  was  unsuccessful,  and  they  also  went  south  to 
join  the  main  army. 

At  the  battle  of  Sheriffmuir  victory  was   claimed  by  both 


SHERIFFMUIR.  II9 

parties.  The  engagement  was  long  remembered  in  Inver- 
ness-shire, for  it  was  marked  by  the  death  of  young  Clan- 
ranald.  He  died  fighting  bravely  at  the  head  of  his  clan. 
The  fall  of  their  chief  almost  paralysed  his  followers,  w'ho 
wavered  for  a  moment  as  if  about  to  retreat,  Avhen  Glengarry 
rushed  up  to  them,  waving  his  bonnet  in  the  air  and  crying, 
"Revenge!  revenge!  to-day,  and  mourning  to-morrow!" 
Then  placing  himself  in  the  position  occupied  by  the  fallen 
chief,  he  led  them  on  with  such  fury  that  the  opposing 
columns  were  compelled  to  fly 

The  day  on  which  the  battle  of  Sherififmuir  was  fought 
was  marked  also  by  the  defeat  of  the  army  which,  under 
Mackintosh  of  Borlum,  had  gone  south  into  England,  and 
by  the  retaking  of  the  castle  of  Inverness.  Simon  Fraser, 
afterwards  better  known  as  Lord  Lovat,  had  appeared  in 
his  own  district,  and  found  that  while  the  main  body  of 
his  clan  had  followed  their  legal  head,  Mackenzie  of  Fraser- 
dale,  to  the  army  of  ^Nlar,  no  fewer  than  300  men,  capable 
of  bearing  arms,  remained  at  home.  With  that  cunning  by 
which  he  w^as  always  distinguished,  he  felt  that  by  supporting 
King  George  he  might  become  the  recognised  chief  of  the 
clan.  He  mustered  the  300  available  men,  and  sent  a 
message  to  those  of  the  clan  in  the  South  to  return  at 
once  to  their  native  glen,  threatening  them  with  all  pains 
and  penalties  should  they  refuse  at  once  to  do  so.  The 
command  of  him  whom  they  regarded  as  their  true  chief  was 
at  once  obeyed.  They  deserted  the  camp  of  Mar  and  came 
home.  With  the  whole  strength  of  the  Fraser  clan,  and 
assisted  by  the  Forbeses,  the  Roses  of  Kilravock,  and  part 
of  the  Clan  Grant,  Lovat  proceeded  to  besiege  Inverness. 
Ere,  however,  his  plans  for  the  siege  were  completed,  the 
terrified  garrison  took  to  flight  and  crossed  the  Moray  Firth 
to  the  opposite  shore. 


I20  END   OF   "THE   FIFTEEN." 

The  rising  of  "  the  Fifteen,"  as  it  is  always  called  in  the 
North,  speedily  came  to  an  end,  notwithstanding  the  appear- 
ance of  the  Chevalier  himself  on  the  scene.  It  was  from  the 
first  to  the  last  an  ill-managed  enterprise.  The  exclamation 
of  one  of  the  chieftains  at  Sheriffmuir  tells  not  only  of  the 
incompetency  of  their  leader,  but  of  what  might  have  been  if 
a  different  man  had  held  the  command.  "  Oh  !  "  he  cried, 
"  for  an  hour  of  Dundee  !  "  There  was  certainly  entirely 
wanting  anything  of  the  spirit,  the  ability,  and  the  chivalry 
which  characterised  the  campaign  of  that  born  leader  of  men. 
"  The  Fifteen "  was  throughout  a  mean  and  sordid  affair. 
Beginning  in  hypocrisy,  impotent  in  its  conceptions,  and  end- 
ing in  utter  failure,  its  character  is  only  partially  redeemed  by 
the  beautiful  poetry  in  which  it  is  commemorated,  for  with 
"  the  '45  "  it  has  its  place  in  Jacobite  song. 

Many  of  those  who  took  part  in  the  rising  were  severely 
dealt  with.  Those  who  were  made  prisoners  in  England  were 
tried  there.  Some  were  executed,  others  sentenced  to  long 
terms  of  imprisonment,  and  many  were  shipped  off  as  slaves 
to  the  American  plantations.  The  Inverness-shire  chiefs  came 
off  better  than  might  have  been  expected.  Glengarry  was 
pardoned,  on  the  ground  that  he  left  the  rebel  forces  at  an 
early  period  of  the  insurrection.  Mackintosh,  after  a  short 
imprisonment,  was  liberated  on  the  intercession  of  his  wife, 
"  who  made  it  plain  that  he  was  trepanned  into  rebellion  by 
the  craft  of  the  brigadier."  John  Cameron  of  Lochiel  fled  to 
France,  whence  he  never  came  back.  He  had  made  but  a 
poor  figure  as  a  soldier,  and  the  clan  which  had  been  led  by 
Sir  Ewen  his  father,  and  had  fought  under  Montrose  and 
Dundee,  regarded  him  with  contempt.  Grant  of  Glenmoriston 
and  Chisholm  were  declared  traitors,  and  their  estates  were 
forfeited  to  the  Crown.  Keppoch  took  himself  into  hiding, 
and  probably  was  the  only  one  who  reaped  any  benefit  from 


REFRACTORY   TENANTS.  121 

the  rising.  While  it  was  in  progress  he  went  across  to  Glen- 
urquhart,  and  returned  home  with  a  rich  booty.  "  Col  of  the 
Cows  "  maintained  his  character  to  the  last. 

The  Government  derived  but  little  benefit  from  the  forfeited 
estates.  The  commissioners  who  were  appointed  to  collect 
the  rents  of  such  estates  as  those  of  The  Chisholm  and  Grant 
of  Glenmoriston  were  able  to  show  but  little  for  their  trouble. 
The  properties  they  found  so  burdened  with  debts  and  settle- 
ments of  various  kinds  that  they  were  able  to  extract  only 
"  fractional  proportions  "  of  their  value.  Occasionally  they 
found  that  the  tenants  paid  regularly  their  rents  to  the  old 
laird,  while  they  had  nothing  for  King  George.  In  certain 
instances  rent  was  paid  both  to  the  king  and  the  chief. 

On  one  occasion,  under  a  military  escort,  two  Ross-shire 
Whigs  came  to  Invermoriston,  and  afterwards  to  Strathglass, 
with  power  from  Government  to  gather  in  the  rents  of  these 
estates.  They  held  courts  and  gave  judgment  against  de- 
faulters, but  they  added  very  little  to  their  treasury.  On 
their  way  from  Strathglass  to  Kintail,  as  they  passed  through 
beautiful  Glen  Affric,  they  were  set  upon  by  300  men,  headed 
by  Donald  Murchison,  factor  for  Seaforth,  and  aided  by  the 
son  of  the  chief  of  Glenmoriston  and  his  followers.  The 
emissaries  of  the  Government  were  forced  to  beat  a  retreat, 
leaving  their  commission  in  Donald's  hands.  One  of  them 
and  his  son  were  wounded,  the  latter  so  severely  that  he  died 
of  his  injuries.  The  royal  factorage  of  the  forfeited  estates 
proved  a  failure.  They  were  finally  put  up  for  sale,  and 
through  the  good  services  of  friends  purchased  and  restored 
to  their  former  owners. 

When  General  Wade  took  command  of  the  royal  forces  in 
Scotland,  he  had  power  given  him  to  receive  the  submission 
of  persons  attainted  of  high  treason,  and  several  of  them  came 
to  him  for  this  purpose.     "  They  laid  down  their  swords  on 


122  ABJECT   PROFESSIONS. 

the  ground,"  the  general  reports  to  King  George,  "  expressed 
their  sorrow  and  concern  for  having  made  use  of  them  in 
opposition  to  your  Majesty,  and  promised  a  peaceful  and 
dutiful  obedience  for  the  remainder  of  their  lives.  They  after- 
wards sent  me  their  letters  of  submission,  copies  of  which 
I  transmitted  to  your  Majesty's  principal  Secretary  of  State.  I 
made  use  of  the  proper  arguments  to  convince  them  of  their 
past  folly  and  rashness,  and  gave  them  hopes  of  obtaining 
pardon  from  your  Majesty's  gracious  and  merciful  dis- 
position." 

Very  humble  and  full  of  contrition  were  the  letters  which 
the  chiefs  sent  in  to  the  general.  "  I  presume,"  wrote  The 
Chisholm,  "  to  throw  myself  under  your  protection,  fully 
confident  that  so  much  goodness  cannot  decline  representing 
my  unhappy  case  to  the  best  of  kings, — I  meant  rebellion, 
which  I  now  detest ;  and,  sir,  I  hope  that  my  repentance 
will  be  judged  the  more  solid  that  I  am  now  in  a  mature 
age ;  whereas  I  had  not  attained  to  the  years  of  manhood 
when  unnaturally  I  allowed  myself  to  be  led  to  bear  arms 
against  his  Majesty  King  George."  "As  none  of  those  who 
were  unhappily  engaged  in  that  unaccountable  rebellion,"  pled 
the  Laird  of  Glenmoriston,  "  was  more  innocently  seduced  by 
others  to  go  into  it  than  myself,  so  do  I  sincerely  assure  your 
Excellency  that  no  man  is  more  sorry  for  his  foolish  error 
than  I  am,  and  if  his  Majesty  will  be  so  good  as  to  give  me 
his  gracious  pardon,  I  shall  while  I  live  behave  myself  as  a 
dutiful  subject  to  King  George  and  his  royal  family.  I  do, 
therefore,  most  humbly  throw  myself  at  his  Majesty's  feet, 
imploring  his  mercy,  and  humbly  entreat  of  your  Excellency 
(who  seem  resolved  to  do  good  to  all  that  will  serve  the 
king  faithfully)  to  obtain  my  pardon  of  his  Majesty;  and  I 
do  sincerely  promise  that  I  shall  pass  the  remainder  of  my 
days    in    peace    and    fidelity    towards    his    Majesty    and    the 


"OLD   BORLUiM.  I  23 

Government."  These  were  abject  professions  to  come  from 
the  bold  "  Ian  a  Chragain  "  (John  of  the  Rock),  whose  life 
had  been  passed  in  fighting  for  the  Stewarts.  He  had 
distinguished  himself  at  Killiecrankie,  and  had  long  refused 
to  submit  to  King  William.  He  had  done  great  deeds  at 
Sheriffmuir.  But  his  house  had  been  burnt,  and  he  had 
lived  for  some  time  in  a  cave  in  his  own  glen.  He  was 
now  an  old  man,  and  trial  had  somewhat  tamed  his  spirit. 
It  is  creditable  to  Wade  that  through  his  intercession  the 
chiefs  who  submitted  themselves  to  the  king  received  a  free 
pardon,  and  the  Laird  of  Glenmoriston  passed  the  evening 
of  his  days  in  peace. 

"  Old  Borlum,"  who  was  one  of  the  outstanding  men  in 
the  rising,  had  surrendered  himself  to  the  English  at  Preston, 
and  was  conducted  to  London  in  a  kind  of  triumphal  proces- 
sion with  other  prisoners,  pinioned  and  bound  as  if  they  were 
criminals  of  the  vilest  kind.  Borlum,  however,  found  means 
of  evading  his  trial.  With  fifteen  of  his  fellow-prisoners  he 
broke  out  of  Newgate,  knocking  down  and  disarming  the 
warders.  Seven  of  those  who  escaped  were  retaken,  but 
the  brigadier  was  more  fortunate.  He  made  his  way  out 
of  the  country  to  France.  He  was  soon  back  in  the 
Highlands,  where  he  found  a  refuge  among  the  Jacobite 
clans.  He  took  part  in  the  engagement  at  Glenshiel,  when 
some  Spanish  troops  who  attempted  an  invasion  under 
Seaforth  were  defeated.  After  wandering  some  time  about 
Inverness-shire  he  was  captured,  and  confined  in  the  castle 
of  Edinburgh,  In  this  prison  he  spent  the  rest  of  his  life, 
beguiling  his  time  by  writing  a  treatise  on  agriculture  entitled, 
'An  Essay  on  Ways  and  Means  for  Inclosing,  Fallowing, 
Planting,  &c.,  Scotland.'  After  a  captivity  of  nearly  a  quarter 
of  a  century  the  old  warrior  died  in  prison  at  the  age  of 
eighty,  true  to  the  last  to  his  Jacobite  principles. 


124  ROYAL   CLEMENCY. 

The  Government  of  King  George,  upon  the  whole,  showed 
great  clemency  to  those  who  had  been  engaged  on  the  Jacobite 
side,  and  their  conduct  towards  the  Highlanders  contrasts 
favourably  with  the  measures  adopted  by  the  authorities 
after  '45.  "The  Fifteen"  was  followed  by  no  atrocities 
similar  to  those  perpetrated  by  the  Government  after  Cul- 
loden,  and  the  rule  of  General  Wade  was  mild  compared 
with  that  of  the  Duke  of  Cumberland.  One  thing,  however, 
the  Government  were  determined  to  do,  and  that  was  to  put 
it  out  of  the  power  of  the  Highlanders  to  give  them  trouble 
again.  The  measures  they  adopted  were  suggested  by  General 
Wade,  who  was  advised  by  one  who  knew  Inverness-shire  well, 
and  who  was  perhaps  the  most  distinguished  man  it  has  pro- 
duced, Forbes  of  CuUoden. 

Barracks  were  built  at  Kilchumin,  Ruthven,  and  Glenelg, 
and  in  other  parts  of  the  North,  and  garrisoned  by  regular 
troops.  An  Act  was  passed  by  Parliament  in  17 16  for 
disarming  the  Highlanders,  who  were  commanded  to  deliver 
up  all  the  arms  in  their  possession,  for  which  they  were 
to  receive  payment  from  the  collectors  of  taxes.  These 
measures,  however,  produced  no  effect.  The  regular  troops, 
ignorant  of  the  country  and  its  inhabitants,  were  found  use- 
less in  the  wild  and  inaccessible  places  where  they  were 
planted,  while  the  Highlanders  delivered  up  no  arms  except 
such  as  were  unfit  for  service.  They  obtained,  to  their  great 
joy,  large  prices  for  old  broadswords  and  rusty  firelocks. 
They  found,  indeed,  the  arrangement  so  profitable  that  they 
imported  from  Holland  great  quantities  of  broken  and  use- 
less arms,  for  which  they  demanded  and  obtained  exorbitant 
sums.  Wade  states  that  the  king  paid  nearly  ;;^i 3,000  for 
broken  and  useless  arms  that  were  hardly  worth  the  expense 
of  carriage. 

In  1725  General  Wade  reported  to  the  Government  that  it 


ARMED   POLICE.  I  25 

was  necessary  that  more  effectual  measures  should  be  taken,  or 
he  could  not  be  responsible  for  what  might  happen.  His  re- 
commendations were  certainly  extremely  wise.  He  advised  the 
Government  that  companies  of  such  Highlanders  as  were  loyal 
to  the  king  should  be  established  under  proper  regulations, 
commanded  by  officers  speaking  the  language  of  the  country, 
subject  to  martial  law,  and  under  the  orders  and  inspection  of 
the  governors  of  Fort  William,  Inverness,  and  the  officer  com- 
manding the  king's  forces  in  those  parts.  These  companies 
were  to  be  employed  in  disarming  the  Highlanders,  prevent- 
ing depredations,  bringing  criminals  to  justice,  and  hindering 
rebels  and  attainted  persons  from  inhabiting  that  part  of  the 
country. 

By  September  1725  the  companies  recommended  by  the 
general  were  embodied.  They  formed  a  body  of  armed  police 
similar  to  what  is  now  the  Royal  Constabulary  of  Ireland. 
Lord  Lovat's  company  was  posted  to  guard  all  the  passes  in 
the  mountains  from  the  Isle  of  Skye  eastwards  as  far  as 
Inverness ;  the  company  of  Colonel  Grant  occupied  the  sev- 
eral passes  from  Inverness  southward  to  Dunkeld  ;  Sir  Duncan 
Campbell's  company  those  from  Dunkeld  westward  as  far  as 
the  country  of  Lorn.  Three  companies  commanded  by  lieu- 
tenants were  posted,  the  first  at  Fort  William,  the  second  at 
Kilchumin,  and  the  third  at  Ruthven  in  Badenoch. 

The  instructions  given  to  the  officers  commanding  these 
companies  were  very  definite,  and  calculated  to  be  effectual  in 
carrying  out  the  purpose  for  which  they  were  embodied. 
"  The  passes  of  Strathlony,  Glennifien,  Guisachan,  Glen- 
strathfarrar,  the  braes  of  Urquhart,  Stratherrick,  and  Strath- 
nairn,"  were  to  be  specially  guarded.  Information  was  to  be 
gathered  of  all  robberies  and  depredations.  Cattle  and  other 
stolen  property  were  to  be  recovered  and  returned  to  their 
proper  owners,  and  the  criminals  to  be  seized  in  order  to  their 


126  EFFECTUAL    MEASURES. 

being  prosecuted.  Information  was  also  to  be  obtained  of  the 
names,  haunts,  and  retreats  of  all  robbers  and  outlaws,  and 
of  any  arms  or  warlike  weapons  that  might  be  concealed  by 
persons  belonging  to  the  clans  who  were  summoned  to  deliver 
up  their  arms.  Priests  were  to  be  specially  looked  after  by 
these  new  guardians  of  the  peace.  They  were  to  endeavour 
to  detect  all  such  persons  who  may  have  been  sent  from  foreign 
parts,  or  others  who  were  employed  to  infect  the  minds  of  the 
people  with  the  pernicious  principles  of  Popery  and  disaffec- 
tion, or  to  seduce  his  Majesty's  subjects  from  their  allegiance  ; 
and  when  they  found  any  such  dangerous  persons,  they  were 
to  bring  them  before  one  of  his  Majesty's  justices  of  the  peace 
in  order  to  their  being  prosecuted  as  the  law  directs.  These 
and  other  instructions  given  to  the  Highland  companies  show 
how  determined  General  Wade  was  to  bridle  and  restrain  the 
restless  clans. 

With  the  aid  of  the  new  police,  the  general  now  proceeded 
to  disarm  the  people  in  a  more  effective  way  than  had  hitherto 
been  done.  In  every  parish  proclamation  was  made  to  the 
clans  by  the  general  in  his  Majesty's  name  to  the  following 
effect :    "  I  do  hereby  strictly  require  and  command  you  and 

every  one  of  you  in to  bring  or  send  to all  your 

broadswords,  targets,  poynards,  whingars,  or  durks,  side  pistol 
or  pistols,  guns,  or  any  warlike  weapons,  and  then  and  there  to 
deliver  up  to  me  or  the  officer  commanding  all  and  singular 
your  arms  and  warlike  weapons,  for  the  use  of  his  Majesty, 
his  heirs  and  successors."  This  imperative  command  was  in 
the  main  obeyed.  The  general  reports  regarding  the  chiefs  of 
Inverness-shire,  that  "  the  arms  of  the  several  clans  of  the  Mac- 
donalds  of  Glengary,  Macleods  of  Glenelg,  Chisholms  of 
Strathglass,  and  Grants  of  Glenmoriston  were  surrendered  to 
me  at  the  barrack  of  Killjhuimen  the  fifteenth  of  September ; 
and  those  of  the  Macdonalds  of  Keppoch,  Moidart,  Arisaig, 


CONSTRUCTION    OF   FORTS.  12/ 

and  Glenco,  as  also  the  Camerons  and  Stewarts  of  Appin, 
were  delivered  to  the  governor  of  Fort  William.  The 
M'Intoshes  were  summoned,  and  brought  in  their  arms  to 
Inverness,  and  the  followers  of  the  Duke  of  Gordon,  with  the 
clan  of  Macphersons,  to  the  barrack  of  Ruthven."  The 
general  adds  that  "  the  number  of  arms  collected  this  year  in 
the  Highlands  amounted  to  2685.  At  the  time  they  were 
brought  in  there  was  a  mixture  of  good  and  bad,  but  the 
damage  they  received  in  the  carriage,  and  growing  rusty  by 
being  exposed  to  rain,  they  were  of  little  more  worth  than 
the  value  of  the  iron."  In  the  opinion  of  Wade  the  dis- 
arming of  the  people  was  complete,  and  "instead  of  durks, 
swords,  guns,  and  pistols,  they  now  travel  to  their  churches, 
markets,  and  fairs  with  only  a  staff  in  their  hands."  Probably 
he  took  a  more  hopeful  view  of  his  operation  than  he  was  en- 
titled to.  Certainly  he  had  not  swept  Inverness-shire  so  bare 
of  weapons  as  he  imagined.  Twenty  years  afterwards  dirks, 
broadswords,  and  guns  were  plentiful  enough  among  those 
whom  he  represents  as  reduced  to  the  use  of  their  staffs. 

The  general  constructed  a  fort  at  Kilchumin,  close  to  Loch 
Ness,  which  he  named  Fort  Augustus.  It  had  accommodation 
for  four  companies  of  soldiers,  and  a  line  of  communication 
with  the  old  barracks,  which  were  able  to  accommodate  six 
companies.  He  also  repaired  the  old  castle  of  Inverness, 
erecting  it  into  a  citadel,  with  a  governor's  house,  magazine, 
and  chapel,  and  barracks  to  accommodate  800  troops.  This 
citadel  he  named  Fort  George. 

Upon  Loch  Ness  he  placed  a  vessel  of  about  thirty  tons, 
which  was  named  the  Highland  Galley.  She  carried  six  or 
eight  "patteroes,"  and  was  employed  to  transport  men,  pro- 
visions, and  baggage  from  Inverness  to  Fort  Augustus.  Crom- 
well's soldiers,  as  we  have  seen,  sailed  a  vessel  on  Loch  Ness, 
but  she  was  built  at  Inverness  and  transported  overland.    That 


128  GENERAL   WADE'S   ROADS. 

of  Wade  was  built  on  the  banks  of  the  lake.  "  When  she 
made  her  first  trip  she  was  mightily  adorned  with  colours,  and 
fired  her  guns  several  times,  which  was  a  strange  sight  to  the 
Highlanders,  who  had  never  seen  the  like  before." 

But  more  than  any  other  measure  which  General  Wade 
adopted  for  the  pacification  of  the  Highlands,  the  making  of 
roads  through  the  country  was  the  most  successful.  These 
will  always  be  connected  with  his  name.  Some  of  them  are 
in  use  to  this  day,  and  others  can  be  easily  traced.  These 
highways  were  regarded  as  among  the  greatest  engineering 
works  of  the  time.  They  are  commemorated  in  the  well- 
known  couplet,  said  to  have  been  composed  by  General  Cauld- 
field,  an  Irish  soldier  in  command  of  Fort  George  : — 

"  Had  you  seen  these  roads  before  they  were  made, 
You  would  hft  up  your  hands  and  bless  General  Wade  !  " 

Before  the  General's  time  there  was  no  road  in  Inverness- 
shire.  There  were  merely  rough  tracks  through  the  mountains, 
which  could  be  traversed  only  with  difficulty  by  men  on  horse- 
back. They  were  well  known,  and  are  still  used  as  drove- 
roads  along  which  cattle  are  driven  to  the  southern  markets. 
It  is  wonderful  how  Montrose,  Monk,  Dundee,  and  Mackay 
were  able  to  find  their  way  through  the  mountains,  and  to 
transport  from  place  to  place  great  numbers  of  men,  both  foot 
and  cavalry,  with  baggage  and  camp  equipage.  Artillery  they 
were  unable  to  employ  in  their  campaigns.  By  the  construc- 
tion of  the  new  roads  this  difficulty  was  overcome. 

General  Wade's  purpose  was  to  penetrate  the  fastnesses  of 
the  Highlands  by  the  construction  of  two  great  lines  of  com- 
munication. The  main  and  direct  line  extended  from  the 
fortress  of  Stirling  by  Crieff  to  Dalnacardoch,  crossing  the  Tay 
at  Aberfeldy  by  a  bridge  of  five  arches.  A  branch  line  took  a 
more  easterly  direction,  extending  from  Perth  by  Dunkeld  to 


MAIN    LINES   OF   ROAD.  1 29 

Dalnacardoch.  The  united  line  then  crossed  the  mountain 
summit  to  Dalwhinnie,  along  the  track  now  followed  by  the 
Highland  Railway.  At  Dalwhinnie  the  road  branched  off  in 
two  directions.  One  branch  went  down  the  valley  of  the 
Spey,  and  by  way  of  Kingussie  and  Carrbridge  to  Inverness. 
The  other  turned  off  to  the  left  and  reached  Fort  Augustus  by 
Garviemore  and  over  the  steep  sides  of  Corryarrick. 

The  second  main  line  of  road  was  on  the  west  coast. 
Commencing  on  the  south  at  Loch  Lomond,  it  passed  on 
by  Dalmally,  Tyndrum,  and  through  Glencoe  and  Balla- 
chulish  to  Fort  William.  From  Fort  William  a  road  was 
made  crossing  the  Spean  at  High  Bridge,  keeping  along  the 
southern  shore  of  Loch  Lochy  and  Loch  Oich  to  Fort 
Augustus,  and  thence  along  the  Stratherrick  side  of  Loch 
Ness  to  Inverness. 

These  roads  were  begun  in  1726,  and  their  construction 
was  carried  on  for  eleven  years,  in  which  time  two  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  were  made.  Five  hundred  soldiers  from  the 
Highland  companies  and  other  regiments  took  part  in  the 
work.  The  privates  were  allowed  6d.  a-day  above  their  pay, 
the  corporals  8d.,  and  the  sergeants  is.  Officers  were  allowed 
2s.  6d.  a-day  for  extraordinary  expense  and  maintenance. 

The  standard  breadth  of  the  roads  was  1 6  feet,  but  in  some 
places  they  were  wider.  Being  constructed  for  military  pur- 
poses, no  attention  was  paid  to  the  matter  of  gradient.  They 
ran  on  in  straight  lines  up  hill  and  down  dale.  When  any 
eminence  was  met  with,  the  road  went  up  one  side  and  down 
the  other.  If  the  hill  was  too  steep  to  be  dealt  with  in  this 
way,  the  road  was  carried  up  by  a  series  of  zigzags  to  the 
summit,  and  by  a  similar  arrangement  to  the  base  on  the 
other  side. 

The  difficulties  which  the  engineers  who  constructed  these 
highways  had  to  overcome  must  have  been  very  great.     The 

I 


130  ENGINEERING   OBSTACLES. 

work  was  frequently  interrupted  for  months  together  by  the 
severity  of  the  weather.  Spongy  moors  had  to  be  made  firm, 
precipices  to  be  blasted,  great  boulders  to  be  removed,  rushing 
torrents  to  be  bridged,  and  trenches  made  to  receive  and  carry 
off  the  rains  and  melting  snows.  In  a  letter  written  by  Mr 
Burt  at  the  time  of  their  construction,  a  very  vivid  description 
is  given  of  the  obstacles  that  had  to  be  surmounted  by  the 
workmen.  The  writer  tells  us  that  when  the  road  along 
Loch  Ness  was  made,  "  the  miners  hung  by  ropes  from  the 
precipice  over  the  water  (like  Shakespeare's  gatherers  of 
samphire  from  Dover  chffs)  to  bore  the  stone  in  order  to 
blow  away  a  necessary  part  from  the  face  of  it,  and  the  rest 
likewise  was  chiefly  done  by  gunpowder ;  but  where  any  part 
was  fit  to  be  left  as  it  was,  being  flat  and  smooth,  it  was 
brought  to  a  roughness  proper  for  a  stay  to  the  feet,  and  in 
this  part,  and  all  the  rest  of  the  road  where  the  precipices 
were  like  to  give  horror  or  uneasiness  to  such  as  might  pass 
over  them  in  carriages,  though  at  a  good  distance  from  them, 
they  are  secured  on  the  lake-side  by  walls  either  left  in  the 
working  or  built  up  with  stone  to  a  height  proportioned  to  the 
occasion." 

Along  the  edge  of  Loch  Oich,  the  writer  says,  "  the  rocks 
project  over  the  lake,  and  the  path  was  so  rugged  and  narrow 
that  the  Highlanders  were  obliged  for  their  safety  to  hold  by 
the  rocks  and  shrubs  as  they  passed,  with  the  prospect  of 
death  beneath  them.  In  many  places  the  rocks  were  so  steep 
and  uneven  that  the  passenger  was  obliged  to  creep  on  his 
hands  and  on  his  knees."  To  make  a  roadway  in  such  a 
place  was  no  easy  task,  and  the  writer  takes  great  pride  in 
the  work  carried  out  in  the  face  of  such  difficulties.  "  The 
roads  on  these  moors,"  he  says,  "  are  now  as  smooth  as  Con- 
stitution Hill,  and  I  have  galloped  on  some  of  them  for  miles 
together  in  great  tranquillity,  which  was  heightened  by  reflec- 


LOCAL   DISSATISFACTION.  131 

tion  on  my  former  fatigue,  when  for  a  great  part  of  the  way  I 
had  been  obhged  to  quit  my  horse,  it  being  too  dangerous  or 
impracticable  to  ride,  and  even  hazardous  to  pass  on  foot." 

He  tells  an  amusing  story  of  the  wonder  with  which  the 
natives  of  Inverness-shire  regarded  the  feats  of  the  engineers  : 
"  The  first  design  of  removing  a  vast  fallen  piece  of  rock  was 
entertained  by  the  country  people  with  great  derision,  of  which 
I  saw  one  instance  myself.  A  very  old  wrinkled  Highland 
woman  upon  such  an  occasion,  standing  over  against  me  when 
the  soldiers  were  fixing  their  engines,  seemed  to  sneer  at  it, 
and  said  something  to  an  officer  of  one  of  the  Highland  com- 
panies. I  imagined  she  was  making  a  jest  of  the  undertaking, 
and  asked  the  officer  what  she  said.  '  I  will  tell  you  her 
words,'  said  he.  '  "  What  are  the  fools  a-doing  ?  That  stone 
will  lie  there  for  ever,  for  all  of  them  " ' ;  but  when  she  saw 
that  vast  bulk  begin  to  rise,  though  by  slow  degrees,  she  set 
up  a  hideous  Irish  yell,  took  to  her  heels,  ran  up  the  side  of 
a  hill  just  by  like  a  young  girl,  and  never  looked  behind  her 
while  she  was  within  our  sight.  I  make  no  doubt  she  thought 
it  was  magic  and  the  workmen  warlocks." 

According  to  this  writer,  the  chiefs  of  Inverness-shire  and 
their  followers  regarded  the  making  of  the  roads  with  consider- 
able dissatisfaction.  Probably  what  he  says  is  much  exagger- 
ated, but  it  may  be  taken  as  a  whole  to  exhibit  the  general 
opinion  of  the  people  of  the  county  at  the  time  in  regard  to 
those  improvements  : — 

"  Those  chiefs  and  other  gentlemen  complain  that  thereby 
an  easy  passage  is  opened  into  their  country  for  strangers,  who 
in  time,  by  their  suggestions  of  liberty,  will  destroy  or  weaken 
that  attachment  of  their  vassals  which  it  is  so  necessary  for 
them  to  support  and  preserve.  That  their  fastnesses  being 
laid  open,  they  are  deprived  of  that  security  from  invasion 
which  they  formerly  enjoyed. 


132  wade's  success. 

"  That  the  bridges  in  particular  will  render  the  ordinary 
people  effeminate  and  less  fit  to  pass  the  waters  in  other  places 
where  there  are  none. 

"  The  middling  order  say  the  roads  are  to  them  an  incon- 
venience instead  of  being  useful,  as  they  have  turned  them  out 
of  their  old  ways  ;  for  their  horses  being  never  shod,  the  gravel 
would  soon  whet  away  their  hoofs,  so  as  to  render  them 
unserviceable ;  whereas  the  rocks  and  moor  -  stones,  though 
together  they  make  a  rough  way,  yet  considered  separately, 
they  are  generally  pretty  smooth  on  the  surface  where  they 
tread,  and  the  heath  is  always  easy  to  the  feet.  .  .  . 

"  The  lowest  class,  who  many  of  them  at  some  times  cannot 
compass  a  pair  of  shoes  for  themselves,  allege  that  the  gravel 
is  intolerable  for  their  naked  feet ;  and  the  complaint  has  ex- 
tended to  their  thin  brogues.  It  is  true  they  do  sometimes 
for  these  reasons  go  without  the  road,  and  ride  or  walk  in  very 
incommodious  ways.  But  why  do  the  black  cattle  do  the 
same  thing?     Certainly  for  the  ease  of  their  feet." 

General  Wade  had  now  carried  out  his  programme  for  the 
subjugation  and  opening  up  of  the  Highlands,  and  especially 
of  our  county.  He  had  disarmed  the  people,  built  forts,  and 
made  roads.  He  had  established  in  the  very  heart  of  the 
unruly  clans  bodies  of  disciplined  soldiers,  speaking  the 
language  and  wearing  the  dress  of  the  country,  and  trained 
to  mountain  warfare.  He  had  put  down  depredation  and 
robbery.  There  had  only  been,  he  states  in  his  final  report, 
but  one  single  instance  where  cattle  had  been  stolen  without 
being  recovered  and  returned  to  their  proper  owners.  The 
general  was  a  strong  man,  and  had  done  wonderful  things. 
Another  rising  seemed  to  be  out  of  the  question.  Dissatisfac- 
tion there  was,  indeed,  on  the  part  of  the  people  and  their 
leaders.     But  they  could  only  grumble  and  submit. 

The  weakness  of  the  general's  policy — though  for  that  he 


A   POLICY   OF   REPRESSION.  1 33 

may  not  have  been  responsible — was  that  it  was  only  a  policy 
of  repression.  Nothing  was  done  for  the  enlightenment  of 
the  inhabitants,  nothing  to  ameliorate  the  hard  conditions 
of  their  lives,  nothing  to  establish  bonds  of  affection  and 
gratitude  between  them  and  the  Government.  They  were 
treated  with  contempt  as  a  conquered  people,  and  kept  down 
by  the  strong  hand.  When  that  hand  was  removed  they  were 
ready  to  return  to  their  old  courses. 

In  the  year  1740  the  Highland  companies  which  Wade  had 
embodied  and  planted  in  detachments  throughout  the  county 
were  disbanded,  and  the  garrisons  were  occupied  by  small 
parties  of  soldiers  drawn  from  the  regular  army.  No  reason 
was  given  for  this  step.  It  certainly  was  the  most  foolish 
possible  that  the  Government  could  have  taken.  Cattle-lifting 
and  robbery  began  whenever  the  military  police  were  with- 
drawn, and  the  last  state  of  Inverness-shire  was  worse  than 
the  first. 

In  Badenoch  and  along  Speyside  farms  were  regularly 
harried  by  freebooters  from  Lochaber  and  Argyle.  So  great 
was  the  evil  that  at  the  request  of  the  tacksmen  of  the  country 
Ewen  Macpherson  of  Cluny  established  a  "  watch  "  or  band 
of  men  for  their  protection  and  to  guard  the  passes.  These 
"  watches  "  were  common  over  the  county.  In  general  they 
levied  blackmail,  receiving  sums  of  money  from  people  for 
giving  them  protection,  while  they  robbed  and  stole  from  those 
who  did  not  pay  this  tax.  There  is  no  reason  whatever  for 
supposing  Cluny  to  have  been  a  blackmailer,  for  he  is  said  to 
have  been  "  much  out  of  pocket  by  his  generous  undertaking." 
Others  who  commanded  "  watches  "  were  not  so  particular. 

Macdonald  of  Barasdale,  in  the  west  of  Inverness-shire, 
"a  gentleman  of  polished  behaviour,  fine  address,  and  fine 
person,"  and  a  cadet  of  the  family  of  Glengarry,  was  a  close 
imitator  of  the  famous  Rob  Roy.      He  is  said  to  have  carried 


134  THE   STORM   BREWING. 

out  the  art  of  plunder  to  the  highest  pitch  of  perfection. 
"  Besides  exerting  all  the  common  practices,  he  imposed  that 
article  of  commerce  they  called  blackmail  to  a  degree  beyond 
what  was  ever  known  by  his  predecessors."  He  forced  an 
extensive  neighbourhood  to  pay  him  a  very  considerable  sum 
yearly  for  their  protection,  and  raised  an  income  of  ^^500 
a-year  by  this  tax.  "  He  behaved  with  genuine  humour  in 
restoring  on  proper  consideration  the  stolen  cattle  to  his 
friends.  He  observed  a  strict  fidelity  towards  his  own  gang, 
and  yet  was  indefatigable  in  bringing  to  justice  any  rogues 
that  interfered  with  his  own.  He  considered  himself  in  a 
very  high  light,  as  a  benefactor  to  the  public  and  preserver  of 
general  tranquillity." 

Such  was  the  lawless  and  disordered  state  to  which  the 
county  was  reduced  after  the  disbandment  of  the  Highland 
companies.  Matters  went  back  very  much  to  what  they  were 
before  "  the  Fifteen."  Emissaries  from  the  Court  of  the 
Stewarts  came  across  the  water  to  visit  the  chiefs  and  spy  the 
land.  Boxes  of  arms  were  secretly  conveyed  into  the  country 
by  the  ships  which  brought  wine  and  other  commodities  from 
the  Continent.  The  clans  became  as  well  armed  as  they  were 
ever  before.  The  Government  had  relaxed  their  vigilance, 
and  they  paid  the  penalty.  The  eve  of  1745  found  Inver- 
ness-shire ripe  for  insurrection,  and  the  chiefs  as  ready  as  they 
had  ever  been  to  engage  in  any  desperate  venture  that  came 
their  way. 


135 


CHAPTER    X. 


SOCIAL  STATE  OF  INVERNESS  -  SHIRE  BEFORE  THE  DESTRUCTION  OF  THE 
FEUDAL  SYSTEM — SOURCES  OF  INFORMATION — REPORTS  OF  LOVAT  AND 
OF  GENERAL  WADE — BURT'S  LETTERS — THE  TOWN  OF  INVERNESS— ITS 
BUILDINGS  AND  CONDITION — DESCRIPTIONS  OF  MACKEY  AND  BURT — 
FORT  WILLIAM — THE  CHIEFS.  THE  TACKSMEN,  AND  THE  COMMON  PEOPLE 
— THEIR  MODE  OF  LIFE — HOUSES,  CUSTOMS,  AMUSEMENTS,  AND  POSI- 
TION GENERALLY  —  CUSTOMS  AND  MANNERS  OF  THE  PERIOD  ILLUS- 
TRATED BY  LIFE  OF  LORD  LOVAT — THE  LEADING  MAN   IN  THE  COUNTY. 


We  may  pause  at  this  stage  of  our  narrative  to  take  a  slight 
survey  of  the  state  of  Inverness-shire  socially  and  otherwise 
before  the  great  event  which  so  completely  changed  the 
condition  of  its  inhabitants.  We  have  reached  the  divid- 
ing line  between  the  old  and  the  new.  On  the  one  side 
is  the  clan  system,  with  all  its  influences  for  good  or  evil ; 
on  the  other  we  have  the  beginning  of  that  state  of  things 
which  exists  to-day.  The  difference  between  the  Inverness- 
shire  of  1745  and  that  of  1897  is  very  marked.  Except 
that  the  physical  features  remain  the  same,  there  is  hardly 
any  resemblance  between  them.  The  character  of  the  people, 
manners,  modes  of  living,  education,  personal  freedom,  are 
all  changed.  Not  more  marked  is  the 'Contrast  between  the 
old  and  crumbling  ruin  of  Castle  Urquhart  on  Loch  Ness 
and  the  noble  mansion  in  its  neighbourhood,  or  between 
the  railway  that  passes  through  the  wilds  of  Badenoch  and 
those    mountain  -  tracks  which   the   passenger    sees   as   he   is 


136  'LETTERS   FROM   THE    NORTH.' 

borne  swiftly  along,  on  which  clansmen  drove  their  raided 
cattle,  and  Montrose  and  Dundee  led  their  Highland  fol- 
lowers. 

We  are  not  without  considerable  material  to  enable  us 
to  form  some  idea  at  least  of  how  men  lived  in  Inverness- 
shire  in  the  olden  time,  and  up  to  the  eve  of  the  collapse 
of  the  feudal  system.  Well-authenticated  reports  from  com- 
petent persons  as  to  the  state  of  the  Highlands  generally, 
and  Inverness -shire  in  particular,  have  come  down  to  us. 
Such  are  those  of  Lord  Lovat,  General  Wade,  and  others. 
There  are  incidents  recorded  in  the  clan  histories,  and  in- 
serted in  the  almost  continuous  record  of  battle  and  robbery, 
which  shed  considerable  light  on  social  conditions.  And 
there  are  also  the  narratives  of  such  travellers  as  at  that 
early  period  visited  Inverness- shire.  They  were  not  num- 
erous, and  their  references  to  what  went  on  at  the  time 
were  sparse.  One  of  them,  however,  Mr  Burt  (or  Birt),  has 
in  his  '  Letters  from  the  North '  ^  given  his  impressions  with 
considerable  fulness.  In  these  Letters  he  makes  such  mis- 
takes as  an  Englishman  transported  suddenly  from  London  to 
Inverness  would  naturally  be  led  into,  and  perhaps  also  he 
shows  traces  of  a  desire  to  astonish  his  correspondent  by 
telling  him  things  calculated  to  shock  and  amaze  him.  But 
on  the  whole  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  the  general  truth- 
fulness of  his  descriptions,  or  to  deter  us  from  believing 
them,  especially  when  established  by  evidence  from  other 
sources.  Burt  wrote  his  Letters  about  1725-26,  though  they 
were  not  published  till  long  afterwards.  He  was  employed 
by  General  Wade  in  some  civil  capacity,  either  as  a  surveyor 
or  accountant.     He  resided  chiefly  in  the  town  of  Inverness, 

^  LeUers  from  a  gentleman  in  the  North  of  Scotland  to  his  friend  in 
London,  containing  an  account  of  the  Highlands,  with  the  customs  and 
manners  of  the  Highlanders. 


INVERNESS   BEFORE   'THE   FORTY-FIVE.'  1 37 

but  he  appears  to  have  travelled  from  time  to  time  in  out- 
lying parts  of  the  county. 

Guided  by  the  sources  of  information  which  we  have  re- 
ferred to,  and  such  others  as  are  available,  we  begin  our 
sketch  of  Inverness-shire  in  the  olden  time  by  putting  on 
record  anything  we  can  glean  about  its  capital,  the  burgh  of 
Inverness.^ 

Inverness  at  the  period  of  which  we  are  writing  was  a 
town  of  between  2000  and  3000  inhabitants.  The  number  of 
houses  in  the  burgh  was  probably  between  400  and  500.  In 
the  centre  of  the  town  was  the  cross,  which  stood  on  the 
Exchange.  Here  converged  four  streets — East  Street  to  the 
east,  Bridge  Street  to  the  west,  Castle  Street  to  the  south,  and 
Kirk  Street  to  the  north.  East  Street  extended  from  the  cross 
to  the  Eastgate,  while  Bridge  Street  was  its  continuation  west- 
wards to  the  river.  Castle  Street,  which  then  as  now  ran  along 
the  escarpment  on  the  east  side  of  the  Castlehill,  did  not  run 
quite  so  far  south  as  it  now  does  ;  while  Kirk  Street  practically 
ended  at  the  parish  church.  At  the  chapel -yard  were  the 
butts,  where  the  citizens  congregated  with  their  arms  in  times 
of  danger,  or  for  inspection  and  exercise.  Still  farther  to  the 
north  was  the  pier  and  what  remained  of  the  disused  and 
partially  dismantled  fort  of  Oliver  Cromwell.  At  the  foot  of 
Bridge  Street  the  river  Ness  was  spanned  by  a  handsome 
stone  bridge.  On  the  west  side  of  the  river  was  a  scattered 
hamlet  of  humble  dwellings,  which  formed  part  of  the  burgh 
though  they  could  hardly  be  said  to  be  in  it. 

Of  public  buildings  there  were  very  few.  The  principal 
was  the  Castle,  which  stood  on  the  site  of  the  present  building. 
It  had  been  put  in  good  repair  and  had  been  strongly  fortified 
by  General  Wade,  and  commanded  the  town  and  the  bridge 

1  I  am  much  indebted  to  a  description  by  Mr  K.  M 'Donald,  the  present 
town-clerk  of  the  burgh. 


138  PUBLIC   BUILDINGS. 

over  the  Ness,  the  only  bridge  leading  from  the  southern  to 
the  northern  side  of  the  Great  Glen.  Next  in  importance 
was  the  parish  church,  which  stood  on  the  present  site.  In 
its  session-house  the  council  met  once  a-year  to  elect  magis- 
trates— a  ceremony  which  was,  according  to  what  w-as  described 
as  the  ancient  and  laudable  custom  of  the  burgh,  preceded  by 
"  prayer  and  supplication  to  God  for  a  blessing  on  the  work." 
A  carpet  was  solemnly  carried  to  the  session-house  on  this 
important  day  in  each  year,  that  the  city  fathers  might  have  a 
draped  floor  while  performing  the  important  duty  of  electing 
their  provost,  baihes,  treasurer,  and  dean  of  guild  for  the  en- 
duing year.  When  the  ceremony  was  over,  the  carpet  was  a§ 
solemnly  carried  back  to  its  ordinary  resting-place,  wherever 
that  might  be. 

Near  the  cross,  at  the  top  of  Bridge  Street  and  Kirk 
Street,  was  the  tolbooth,  comprising  the  court-house  and  gaol. 
At  the  ground-level  under  the  tolbooth  stair  were  two  shops. 
The  tolbooth  had  a  steeple  with  bells  and  a  clock.  The 
steeple  was  taken  down  and  rebuilt  in  1691,  part  at  least 
of  the  cost  being  met  out  of  money  collected  to  buy  off 
Coll  Macdonald  of  Keppoch  when  he  threatened  the  town. 
The  kind  of  building  the  tolbooth  was  may  be  gathered 
from  the  fact  that  it  had  no  chimney  until  the  steeple  was 
rebuilt. 

At  the  bridge  end  up  to  1 709  was  the  Laigh  Council  House, 
where  the  ordinary  meetings  of  the  council  were  held,  and 
where  the  town  clerk  resided,  or  at  all  events  had  his  offices. 
In  that  year  the  town  purchased  for  2700  merks  a  house  called 
Lord  Lovat's,  and  on  the  site  so  acquired  a  new  town-house 
was  built  at  a  cost  of  10,000  merks.  The  council  then  as  now 
numbered  twenty-one.  Once  in  each  year  five  of  them  retired, 
and  the  remaining  sixteen  proceeded  to  elect  the  council  for 
the  following  year — usually  electing  themselves  and  the  bulk 


TRADES.  1 39 

of  the  retiring  five  as  well.  On  rare  occasion  after  a  national 
crisis  the  whole  council  was  dismissed  by  the  Crown,  or  ceased 
to  exist  by  neglecting  to  re-elect  itself  on  the  proper  day. 
Then  a  new  council  had  to  be  elected  by  a  poll  of  the 
burgesses. 

For  the  size  of  the  town  its  trade  was  considerable.  The 
greater  part  of  the  ground  between  Church  Street  and 
Academy  Street  was  covered  with  malt-kilns  and  barns.  A 
large  and  important  business  was  done  in  malting.  The 
privilege  of  engaging  in  this  business  was  confined  to  guild 
brethren.  The  malt  was  sold  to  the  people  of  the  surround- 
ing districts  and  paid  for  in  hides,  in  the  tanning  and  export 
of  which  another  large  section  of  the  trade  of  the  town  con- 
sisted. In  addition  to  the  various  branches  of  the  building 
trades,  and  those  necessary  for  supplying  the  everyday  wants 
of  the  people,  there  were  burgesses  engaged  in  the  trades 
of  armourer  and  glover,  which  have  long  since  ceased  to  be 
carried  on  in  the  town.  Many  of  the  merchants  took  part 
in  transactions  of  considerable  magnitude,  and  were  men  of 
substance.  The  well-known  names  of  Cuthbert,  Duff,  Inglis, 
Robertson,  and  Forbes,  familiar  in  local  history,  were  those  of 
Inverness  merchants  who  acquired  estates  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  town,  and  some  of  whose  representatives  are  still 
Inverness-shire  proprietors. 

At  the  period  of  "the  '45"  the  town  was  considerably 
impoverished.  The  fiscal  policy  of  the  Government  had 
inflicted  serious  injury  on  its  trade.  Its  main  industry, 
"  malting,"  had  declined,  and  other  trades  suffered  from  the 
consequent  depression.  Its  import  and  export  trade  seems, 
on  the  other  hand,  to  have  kept  up ;  for  in  1738  a  new  quay, 
called  the  Citadel  Quay,  was  built,  which  could  at  high 
tides  receive  vessels  of  150  tons.  The  expense  of  erecting 
this  quay  was  ^^2790,  defrayed  by  a  heavy  excise  on  ale  and 


140  REVENUE   AND   EXPENDITURE. 

beer  used  in  the  town,  the  collection  of  which  excited  great 
dissatisfaction  among  the  inhabitants. 

In  1692  the  royal  burghs  of  Scotland  were  visited  by 
instructions  of  "  the  Convention  of  Royal  Burghs."  The 
visitors  were  ordered  to  give  "  ane  exact  accompt "  of  the 
common  good  of  each  burgh,  and  how  it  was  expended. 
That  of  Inverness  amounted  to  _;^i645,  los.  8d.  Scots,  and 
was  made  up  from  "  the  peck  and  toll  money  of  the 
bridge,  the  weighhouse  and  salt  measure,  the  flesh  stocks 
and  shambles,  the  anchorage  and  shore  dues,  the  few-duties 
yearly,  and  what  is  paid  to  the  town  by  the  weivers."  On 
the  other  hand,  the  disbursements  of  the  town  amounted  to 
;^303o,  1 5s.  8d.  Scots,  expended  on  salaries  to  the  ministers, 
to  the  master  of  the  grammar-school,  the  drummer's  salary, 
the  provost  and  four  bailies'  salaries,  the  executioner's  salary, 
rent  of  a  cellar  for  a  meal-market,  &c.,  the  balance  between 
the  charge  and  discharge  being  raised  by  cess  on  the  in- 
habitants of  the  burgh. 

Mr  John  Mackey,  whose  travels  through  Scotland  were 
published  in  1723,  and  who  visited  the  burgh  probably  about 
1 7 1 7,  gives  a  pleasing  account  of  Inverness.  He  speaks 
of  it  as  "a  pretty  town  situated  at  the  mouth  of  the  river 
Ness,  which  runs  from  a  lake  of  that  name  full  twenty-three 
miles  long.  There  are  two  very  good  streets  in  this  town,  and 
the  people  are  more  polite  than  in  most  towns  in  Scotland ; 
they  speak  as  good  English  here  as  at  London  and  with  an 
English  accent,  and  ever  since  Oliver  Cromwell  was  here  they 
are  in  their  manners  and  dress  entirely  English.  Here  are 
coffee-houses  and  taverns  as  in  England.  Here  are  the  ruins 
of  an  old  castle,  and  indeed  the  place  deserves  to  be  well 
fortified,  for  it  is  one  of  the  most  considerable  passes  between 
the  low  country  and  the  Highlands." 

Mr  Burt,  who  wrote  after  the  visit  of  this  traveller,  is  not 


BURT'S  DESCRIPTION.  I4I 

so  complaisant  in  his  remarks.  He  has  nothing  to  say  of  the 
beauty  of  the  situation  of  Inverness,  and  indeed  is  anything 
but  flattering  in  his  description  of  its  streets  and  buildings. 
He  tells  how  greatly  Mr  Mackey  was  held  in  esteem  by  the 
inhabitants  for  calling  it  the  "  pretty  town  of  Inverness,"  and 
how  often  he  had  heard  the  words  quoted  by  them  with 
pleasure,  but  he  himself  is  apparently  determined  to  give 
no  satisfaction  of  the  same  kind.  We  must,  however,  allow 
him  to  tell  his  own  tale. 

"  Inverness,"  he  tells  us,  "  is  one  of  the  royal  boroughs 
of  Scotland,  and  jointly  with  Nairn,  Forres,  and  Chanonry, 
sends  a  member  to  Parliament.  The  town  has  a  military 
governor,  and  the  corporation  a  provost  and  four  bailies,  a 
kind  of  magistrate  little  differing  from  our  mayors  and  alder- 
men. Besides  whom  there  is  a  dean  of  guild,  who  presides 
in  matters  of  trade,  and  other  borough  offices,  as  in  the  rest 
of  the  corporate  towns  of  the  country.  It  is  not  only  the 
head  borough  or  county  town  of  the  shire  of  Inverness,  which 
is  of  large  extent,  but  generally  esteemed  to  be  the  capital 
of  the  Highlands;  but  the  natives  do  not  call  themselves 
Highlanders,  not  so  much  on  account  of  their  low  situation  as 
because  they  speak  English.  Yet  though  they  speak  Eng- 
lish, there  are  scarce  any  who  do  not  understand  the  Irish 
tongue ;  and  it  is  necessary  they  should  do  so  to  carry  on 
their  dealings  with  the  neighbouring  country  -  people,  for 
within  less  than  a  mile  of  the  town  there  are  few  who  speak 
any  English  at  all." 

"  The  bridge,"  he  says,  "  is  about  80  yards  over,  and  a 
piece  of  good  workmanship,  consisting  of  seven  arches,  built 
of  stone,  and  maintained  by  the  toll  of  a  bodle,  or  the  sixth 
part  of  a  penny,  for  each  foot-passenger  with  goods,  a  penny 
for  a  loaded  horse,  &c." 

He  does  not  appear  to  have  a  great  opinion  of  the  criminal 


142  CRIMINAL   ADMINISTRATION. 

administration  of  the  burgh.  "  From  the  tolbooth  or  county 
gaol,"  he  tells  us,  "  the  greatest  part  of  the  murderers  and 
other  notorious  villains  that  have  been  committed  since  I  have 
been  here  have  made  their  escape,  and  I  think  this  has  mani- 
festly proceeded  from  the  furtherance  or  connivance  of  the 
keepers,  or  rather  their  keepers.  When  this  evil  has  been 
complained  of,  the  excuse  was,  the  prison  was  a  weak  old 
building,  and  the  town  is  not  in  a  condition  to  keep  it  in 
repair ;  but,  for  my  own  part,  I  cannot  help  concluding  from 
many  circumstances  that  the  greatest  part  of  the  escapes  have 
been  the  consequence  either  of  clan  interest  or  of  clan  terror. 
As,  for  example,  if  one  of  the  magistrates  were  a  Cameron, 
the  criminal  Cameron  must  not  suffer  if  the  clan  be  desirous 
he  should  be  saved." 

It  is  not  probable  that  any  of  the  magistrates  of  Inverness 
would  belong  to  the  clan  of  Lochiel,  but  doubtless  the  peace- 
loving  citizens  had  their  own  reasons  for  not  offending  any  of 
the  clans  by  which  they  were  surrounded.  Their  town  at  this 
period  was  almost  undefended,  and  it  might  be  better  for  the 
magistrates  to  allow  any  captive  Highlandman  to  effect  his 
escape  than  to  incur  the  wrath  of  some  offended  chief  and 
his  following. 

The  town  hall  he  represents  as  "  a  plain  building  of  rubble, 
and  there  is  one  room  in  it  where  the  magistrates  meet  upon 
the  town  business,  which  would  be  tolerably  handsome,  but 
the  walls  are  rough,  not  whitewashed  or  so  much  as  plastered, 
and  no  furniture  in  it  but  a  table,  some  bad  chairs,  and  alto- 
gether immoderately  dirty." 

The  merchants  and  other  men  of  business  met  at  the  cross 
for  the  transaction  of  their  affairs.  "  They  stand  in  the  middle 
of  the  dirty  street,  and  are  frequently  interrupted  in  their 
negotiations  by  horses  and  carts,  which  often  separate  them 
from  one  another  in  the  midst  of  their  bargains."     "  Near  the 


WANT   OF   CLEANLINESS.  I43 

extreme  part  of  the  town  toward  the  north  are  two  churches, 
one  for  the  Enghsh  and  the  other  for  the  Irish  tongue,  both  out 
of  repair  and  much  as  clean  as  the  other  churches  I  have  seen." 

Dirt  is  the  continual  complaint  of  this  Englishman.  It 
meets  him  everywhere — in  the  houses,  churches,  streets.  The 
last  he  allows  to  be  well  paved,  but  when  he  asked  the 
magistrates  one  day  when  the  dirt  was  almost  above  his  shoes 
why  they  suffered  the  town  to  be  so  excessively  dirty  and  did 
not  employ  the  people  to  clean  the  streets,  the  answer  was, 
"  It  will  not  be  long  before  we  have  a  shower." 

The  houses  appear  to  have  been  built  end  on  to  the  streets, 
with  a  staircase  outside  which  led  to  each  floor.  The  lowest 
stage  of  the  building  had  a  door  towards  the  street  which 
served  for  a  shop  or  a  warehouse.  The  suburbs  of  the  town 
were  made  up  of  "  most  miserably  low  dirty  hovels,  faced  and 
covered  with  turf,  with  a  bottomless  tub  or  basket  in  the  roof 
for  a  chimney." 

Of  the  shops,  or,  as  they  were  called,  warehouses,  our 
visitor  thought  very  little.  "There  is  indeed,"  he  says,  "a 
shop  up  a  pair  of  stairs  which  is  kept  by  three  or  four  mer- 
chants in  partnership,  and  that  is  pretty  well  stored  with 
various  sorts  of  small  goods  and  wares  mostly  from  London. 
This  shop  is  called  by  way  of  eminence  the  warehouse  here 
(for  the  purpose).  A  hat  which  with  you  would  cost  thirteen 
or  fourteen  shillings,  goes  by  the  established  name  of  a  guinea 
hat,  and  other  things  are  much  in  the  same  proportion."  To 
call  such  a  place  a  warehouse,  or  its  proprietor  a  merchant, 
evidently  gives  our  narrator  considerable  amusement.  "  On 
this  side  the  Tweed  many  things  are  aggrandised  in  imitation 
of  their  ancient  allies  (as  they  call  them)  the  French.  A 
peddling  shopkeeper  that  sells  a  pennyworth  of  thread  is  a 
merchant,  the  person  who  is  sent  for  that  thread  has  received 
a  conunission,  and  bringing  it  to  the  sender  is  making  a  report. 


144  APPEARANCE   OF   THE   TOWNSFOLK. 

A  bill  to  let  you  know  there  is  a  single  room  to  be  let  is  called 
a  Placard ;  the  doors  are  Ports  ;  an  enclosed  field  of  two  acres 
is  a  Park,  and  the  wife  of  a  laird  of  fifteen  pounds  a-year  is  a 
lady  and  treated  with — Your  Ladyship." 

His  description  of  the  passers-by  on  a  street  of  the  town  is 
graphic  enough,  though  probably  overdrawn.  "  In  one  part 
the  poor  women,  maid-servants,  and  children,  in  the  coldest 
weather,  in  the  dirt  or  in  the  snow,  either  walking  or  standing 
to  talk  with  one  another,  without  stockings  or  shoes.  In 
another  place  you  see  a  man  dragging  along  a  half-starved 
horse,  little  bigger  that  an  ass,  in  a  cart  about  the  size  of  a 
wheelbarrow.  One  part  of  his  plaid  is  wrapt  round  his  body 
and  the  rest  is  thrown  over  his  shoulder,  and  every  now  and 
then  he  turns  himself  about  to  adjust  his  mantle  when  blown 
off  by  the  wind  or  fallen  by  his  stooping,  or  to  thump  the 
poor  little  horse  with  a  great  stick.  The  load  in  his  cart,  if 
compact,  might  be  carried  under  his  arm  ;  but  he  must  not 
bear  any  burden  himself,  though  his  wife  has  perhaps  at  the 
same  time  a  greater  load  on  her  loyns  than  he  has  in  his  cart. 
I  say  on  her  loyns,  for  the  women  carry  fish  and  other  heavy 
burdens  in  the  same  manner  as  the  Scots  pedlars  carry  their 
packs  in  England.  The  poor  men  are  seldom  barefoot  in  the 
town,  but  wear  brogues,  a  sort  of  pumps  without  heels,  which 
keep  them  little  more  from  the  wet  and  the  dirt  than  if  they 
had  none,  but  they  serve  to  defend  their  feet  from  the  gravel 
and  stones." 

The  better  class  of  the  citizens,  he  says,  were  dressed  in 
a  more  comfortable  fashion  :  "  The  gentlemen,  magistrates, 
merchants,  and  shopkeepers  are  dressed  after  the  English 
manner,  and  make  a  good  appearance  enough  according  to 
their  several  ranks.  Their  women  of  fashion  go  seldom 
abroad,  but  when  they  appear  they  are  generally  well  dressed 
in  the  English  mode." 


LAZINESS   AND   POVERTY.  145 

Inverness  was  the  only  market-town  in  the  county.  "  There 
are  four  or  five  fairs  in  the  year,  when  the  Highlanders  bring 
their  commodities  to  market.  But,  good  God  !  you  could  not 
conceive  there  was  such  misery  in  the  island.  One  has  under 
his  arm  a  piece  of  coarse  plaiding ;  these  are  considerable 
dealers.  But  the  merchandise  of  the  greatest  part  of  them 
is  of  a  most  contemptible  value,  such  as  these — viz.,  two  or 
three  cheeses,  of  about  three  or  four  poundweight  apiece ; 
a  kid,  sold  for  sixpence  or  eightpence  at  the  most ;  a  small 
quantity  of  butter  in  something  that  looks  like  a  bladder,  and 
is  sometimes  set  down  in  the  dirt  upon  the  street ;  three  or 
four  goatskins  ;  a  piece  of  wood  for  an  axle-tree  to  one  of  the 
little  carts,  &c.  With  the  produce  of  what  each  of  them  sells 
they  generally  buy  something — viz.,  a  horn  or  wooden  spoon 
or  two,  a  knife,  a  wooden  platter,  and  suchlike  necessaries  for 
their  huts,  and  carry  home  with  them  Httle  or  no  money. 
You  may  see  one  eating  a  large  onion  without  salt  or  bread, 
another  gnawing  a  carrot,  &c.  These  are  rarities  not  to  be 
had  in  their  own  parts  of  the  country." 

Dirt,  laziness,  and  poverty  meet  our  visitor  in  every  direc- 
tion he  turns.  Notwithstanding,  however,  his  beggarly  estimate 
of  what  he  saw,  there  is  no  reason  for  believing  Inverness  was 
less  deficient  in  the  comforts  of  life  than  other  Scottish,  and 
even  perhaps  English,  country  towns  of  that  period.  There 
were,  we  know,  men  of  good  substance  and  education  among 
its  inhabitants,  and  there  was  a  society  into  which  it  is  evident 
Mr  Burt  was  not  allowed  to  enter.  He  had  no  military  rank 
and  no  social  position  as  a  gentleman.  He  tells  us  himself 
that  he  was  regarded  as  a  spy.  Perhaps,  indeed,  his  exclusion 
from  the  hospitality  of  the  well-to-do  citizens  has  something  to 
do  with  the  contempt  which  he  so  freely  expresses.  But  his 
descriptions  are  amusing,  and  the  contrast  between  the  Inver- 
ness he  saw  and  the  beautiful  town  of  the  present  day  cannot 

K 


146  ABUNDANT   CREATURE   COMFORTS. 

but  be  gratifying.  One  thing  he  does  allow  to  be  worthy 
of  praise.  The  Englishman  was  a  man  who  evidently  loved 
good  living,  and  the  materials  for  that  were  plentiful  enough. 
"  Salmon  and  trout  just  taken  out  of  the  river,  and  both  very 
good  of  their  kind.  Partridge,  grouse,  hare,  duck,  mallard, 
woodcocks,  snipes,  &c.,  each  in  its  proper  season.  .  .  . 
Wholesome  and  agreeable  drink,  I  mean  French  claret,  which 
is  to  be  met  with  almost  everywhere  in  public-houses  of  any 
note.  French  brandy  very  good,  about  three  or  four  shillings 
a  gallon.  In  quantities  from  hovering  ships  on  the  coast  it 
has  been  bought  for  twentypence.  Lemons  are  seldom  wanting 
here,  so  that  punch  for  those  that  like  it  is  very  reasonable ; 
but  few  care  to  drink  it,  as  thinking  claret  a  much  better 
liquor.  The  little  Highland  mutton  when  fat  is  delicious, 
and  certainly  the  greatest  luxury,  and  the  small  beef  when 
fresh  is  very  sweet  and  succulent.  Mutton  and  beef  are 
about  a  penny  the  pound.  Salmon,  which  was  at  the  same 
price,  is  by  a  late  regulation  of  the  magistrates  raised  to  two- 
pence a  pound,  which  is  thought  by  many  to  be  an  exorbitant 
price.  A  fowl  which  they  call  a  hen  may  be  bought  for  two- 
pence or  twopence-halfpenny.  Pork  is  not  common  with  us, 
but  what  we  have  is  good."  It  is  evident  our  writer  found 
Inverness  a  good  place  to  stay  in,  and  the  abundance  of 
creature  comforts  which  he  describes,  and  their  moderate 
cost,  might  well  detract  to  some  extent  from  the  sweeping 
criticisms  in  which  he  so  freely  indulges. 

There  was  only  one  other  town  in  the  county  besides  Inver- 
ness at  this  period.  This  was  what  is  now  the  flourishing  and 
picturesque  town  of  Fort  William.  "  It  was  erected,"  Burt 
tells  us,  "  into  a  barony  in  favour  of  the  governor  of  the  fort 
for  the  time  being,  and  into  a  borough  bearing  the  name  of 
Queen  Mary.  It  was  originally  designed  as  a  sutlery  to  the 
garrison  in  so  barren  a  country,  where  little  can  be  had  for 


CHARACTER   OF   THE   CHIEFS.  I47 

the  support  of  the  troops.  The  houses  were  neither  to  be 
built  with  stone  or  brick,  and  are  to  this  day  composed  of 
timber,  boards,  and  turf.  This  was  ordained,  to  the  end 
they  might  the  more  suddenly  be  burnt  or  otherwise  de- 
stroyed by  order  of  the  governor  to  prevent  any  lodgement 
of  an  enemy  that  might  annoy  the  fort  in  case  of  rebellion 
or  invasion." 

The  inhabitants  of  the  county  outwith  the  two  towns  of 
Inverness  and  Fort  William  or  Maryburgh  were  divided  into 
three  classes — the  chiefs,  the  tacksmen,  and  the  common 
people.  The  chiefs  were  the  great  men  of  Inverness-shire. 
They  were  all  men  of  culture  and  education.  They  had  all 
been  trained  at  universities  either  at  home  or  abroad.  They 
could  all  speak  English,  Gaelic,  and  French  with  equal  fluency. 
Their  character  and  mode  of  living  present  us  with  a  strange 
combination  of  culture  and  barbarity.  A  man  like  Sir  Ewen 
Cameron,  who  could  take  his  place  in  the  Court  of  the  king 
with  grace,  could  yet  head  a  pack  of  marauders  to  the  South 
and  return  at  the  tail  of  a  drove  of  lifted  cattle.  Keppoch, 
who  had  been  trained  at  the  university  of  St  Andrews,  was 
chiefly  celebrated  for  his  skill  in  tracking  stolen  cows. 
Chiefs  possessed  of  a  great  degree  of  personal  refinement 
and  courtesy  would  without  scruple  indulge  at  will  in  deeds 
of  lawlessness  and  ferocity.  They  seem  to  us  to  have  been 
by  turns  cultured  and  courtly  gentlemen,  and  wild  savages 
bent  on  rapine  and  bloodshed.  As  their  power  depended 
on  the  number  of  their  followers,  it  was  their  constant  object 
to  swell  the  ranks  of  their  retainers  and  to  keep  alive  among 
them  the  use  of  arms.  When  an  English  guest  asked  Mac- 
donald  of  Keppoch  the  amount  of  his  income,  his  laconic 
reply  was,  "I  can  raise  500  men."  The  importance  and  rank 
of  each  chief  depended  on  the  number  of  armed  followers  he 
could  lead  into  battle. 


148  FIGHTING    STRENGTH    OF   THE   CLANS. 

The  fighting  strength  of  the  Inverness-shire  clans  has  been 
variously  estimated.  Probably  the  account  given  by  General 
Wade  in  his  report  to  the  king  may  be  taken  as  the  most 
accurate.  Lord  Lovat  could  command  800  men,  the  Laird 
of  Grant  800,  Forbes  of  Culloden  200,  Glengarry  800,  Clan- 
ranald  800,  Lochiel  800,  Keppoch  220,  Mackintosh  with  the 
Farquharsons  800,  Chisholm  of  Strathglass  150,  the  Macpher- 
sons  220. 

The  chiefs  lived  in  considerable  state.  Each  had  a  numer- 
ous household.  A  select  bodyguard  defended  his  person,  and 
his  visits  were  paid  with  much  pomp  and  ceremony.  He  was 
accompanied  by  his  henchman,  his  bard,  his  spokesman,  his 
sword-bearer,  the  man  who  carried  him  over  fords,  the  leader 
of  his  horse,  his  baggage-man,  his  piper  and  piper's  attendant. 
Mr  Burt  gives  an  amusing  account  of  his  meeting  one  of  these 
Inverness-shire  magnates  in  one  of  his  journeys.  "On  my 
way,"  he  says,  "  I  met  a  Highland  chieftain  with  fourteen 
attendants.  When  we  came,  as  the  sailor  says,  almost  broad- 
side and  broadside,  he  eyed  me  as  if  he  would  look  my  hat 
off;  but  as  he  was  at  home  and  I  a  stranger  in  the  country,  I 
thought  he  might  have  made  the  first  overture  of  civility,  and 
therefore  I  took  little  notice  of  him  and  his  ragged  followers. 
On  his  part  he  seemed  to  show  a  kind  of  disdain  at  my  being 
so  slenderly  attended,  with  a  mixture  of  anger  that  I  showed 
him  no  respect  before  his  vassals ;  but  this  might  be  my  sur- 
mise, yet  it  looked  very  like  it." 

The  dwellings  of  the  chiefs  had  little  to  boast  of  in  the  way 
of  grandeur  or  convenience.  Some  of  them  still  resided  in 
their  square  towers  or  castles  four  or  five  storeys  high,  of  which 
we  have  a  specimen  in  the  old  castle  of  Glengarry.  In  such 
a  rude  retreat  the  Lord  Lovat  of  the  period  of  which  we  are 
writing  is  said  to  have  entertained  400  people.  Most  of  the 
Inverness-shire  chiefs,  however,  had  removed  from  their  ancient 


PROFUSE   HOSPITALITY.  1 49 

fastnesses  to  houses  built  of  stone  and  lime.  These  were, 
according  to  Mr  Burt's  account,  "  not  large,  except  some  few, 
yet  pretty  commodious." 

In  their  homes  the  chiefs  exercised  unbounded  hospitality. 
The  provisions  of  life  were  abundant.  Of  butcher-meat  there 
was  ample  store.  His  hills  afforded  the  chief  every  variety  of 
game,  and  his  rivers  abundance  of  fish.  In  an  account  of  the 
housekeeping  of  Lord  Lovat  in  1590  we  are  told  that  the 
weekly  expense  of  provisions  in  his  household  was  seven  bolls 
of  meal,  seven  of  malt,  and  one  of  flour.  Each  year  seventy 
beeves  were  consumed,  besides  venison,  fish,  poultry,  kid, 
lamb,  veal,  and  all  sorts  of  feathered  game  in  profusion.  The 
same  abundance  of  good  things  existed  in  all  the  households 
of  the  Inverness-shire  chiefs.  Claret  was  both  plentiful  and 
good.  It  was  imported  from  France.  The  consumption  by 
Clanranald's  house  was  twelve  hogsheads  a-year.  In  that  of 
CuUoden  the  libations  were  of  the  most  copious  description. 
The  custom  of  the  house  was  to  remove  the  top  of  each  suc- 
cessive cask  of  claret  and  place  it  in  the  corner  of  the  hall  to 
be  emptied  in  pailfuls.  On  the  occasion  of  a  marriage  or  a 
funeral  the  profusion  was  almost  unbounded.  The  funeral  of 
a  chief  was  specially  an  event  which  called  together  people 
from  far  and  near  —  all  were  made  welcome,  and  all  were 
sumptuously  entertained.  When  The  Mackintosh  died  in  1 704 
the  funeral  feasts  and  entertainments  were  kept  up  for  a  whole 
month.  When  The  Chisholm  died  in  181  7,  his  body  lay  in 
state  for  several  days  in  an  inn  in  Inverness,  where  wines  and 
refreshments  were  laid  out  for  all  visitors.  A  banquet  was 
held  in  a  granary  close  to  Beauly  Priory,  where  he  was  buried. 
Those  of  "gentle  kindred"  occupied  the  upper  room,  while 
the  commons  caroused  in  the  lower  storey.  Claret,  it  is 
said,  "ran  like  ditch-water,"  and  the  old  women  of  the  village 
brought  pails  to  carry  off  the  superfluous  whisky,  and  are  said 


ISO  DESPOTIC   GOVERNMENT. 

to  have  kept  public-houses  for  six  months  afterwards  on  the 
reUcs  of  the  feast.  At  the  burial  of  Mrs  Forbes  of  Culloden, 
her  two  sons  and  their  friends  drank  so  hard  that  when  the 
company  arrived  at  the  churchyard  they  found  they  had  for- 
gotten to  bring  the  coffin. 

The  government  of  the  clan  by  the  chief  was  despotic, 
though  tempered  by  the  patriarchal  relations  between  him  and 
his  people.  Most  probably  all  of  the  Inverness-shire  chiefs 
had  hereditary  powers  of  jurisdiction.  They  could  try  and 
punish  offenders  against  the  law.  Courts  were  regularly  held 
and  presided  over  by  a  person  called  a  bailie,  whose  jurisdiction 
was  absolute.  He  could  fine,  imprison,  banish,  and  sentence 
to  death.  The  places  of  execution  in  each  district  of  Inver- 
ness-shire can  still  be  pointed  out.  The  tenantry  of  the  dis- 
trict were  obliged  to  attend  the  court  of  the  locality,  which 
was  conducted  with  much  pomp  and  formality. 

The  chief,  though  generally  remitting  the  administration  of 
justice  to  his  bailie,  often  exercised  his  power  to  punish  with- 
out the  intervention  of  that  official.  When  Mr  Burt  complained 
of  incivility  which  he  had  received  from  some  members  of  a 
clan,  the  chief  at  once  said  that  if  he  would  give  him  their 
names  he  would  send  him  their  heads.  A  Catholic  priest 
having  mentioned  to  Glengarry  that  he  had  occasion  to  re- 
buke and  punish  a  well-known  thief,  that  chief  said  the  punish- 
ment was  not  sufficient.  He  ordered  the  offender  to  be  cast 
into  the  dungeon  of  his  castle  and  starved  to  death,  a  sentence 
which  would  have  been  carried  out  but  for  the  intercession  of 
the  clergyman.  Clanranald  sentenced  a  woman  who  had  stolen 
some  money  in  his  house  to  be  tied  by  the  hair  to  the  seaweed 
on  the  rocks  till  the  tide  came  in  and  drowned  her.  When 
ships  about  to  sail  for  the  West  Indies  came  to  Inverness,  the 
neighbouring  chiefs  sent  offenders  from  their  various  districts 
to  be  transported  as  slaves.     No  power  but  the  strong  hand 


WILD  SPORTS.  151 

could  keep  the  people  in  order,  and  that  power  was  freely 
exercised  by  their  superiors. 

When  not  engaged  in  looking  after  his  estates  and  their 
management,  the  chief  had  other  occupations.  The  chase  was 
his  favourite  amusement.  Red  deer  were  plentiful  in  the  hills, 
and  other  wild  animals  also  were  keenly  sought  for.  Wolves 
had  been  at  one  time  numerous,  but  were  now  extinct.  The 
last  seen  in  Scotland  is  said  to  have  been  killed  in  Lochaber 
by  Sir  Ewen  Cameron  of  Lochiel  in  1680,  but  there  is  a  tra- 
dition that  it  was  slain  in  the  parish  of  Inverness  not  far  from 
the  house  of  Kinmylies.  There  is  also  another  tradition  that 
it  was  killed  by  a  woman  in  Strathglass.  Wild  cats,  foxes,  and 
badgers  still  abounded.  The  deer  were  not  stalked  as  they 
are  now,  but  were  driven  into  a  limited  space,  where  they  were 
killed  by  the  chief  and  his  friends  with  their  broadswords. 
Sir  Ewen  Cameron  entertained  some  gentlemen,  whom  he  had 
made  prisoners,  with  a  hunting  after  this  fashion  at  the  head 
of  Loch  Arkaig.  He  was  met,  his  biographer  tells  us,  at  the 
head  of  the  loch  by  some  hundreds  of  men  whom  he  had 
ordered  to  be  convened  for  the  purpose.  "These  people, 
stretching  themselves  in  a  line  along  the  hills,  soon  enclosed 
great  numbers  of  deer,  which,  having  driven  to  a  place  ap- 
pointed, they  guarded  them  so  closely  within  the  circle  which 
they  had  formed  round  them  that  the  gentlemen  had  the 
pleasure  of  killing  them  with  their  broadswords,  which  was  a 
diversion  new  and  uncommon  to  them." 

But  dearer  to  the  chief  than  the  pleasure  of  the  chase  was 
the  raid  made  on  some  far-off  country  in  search  of  spoil.  To 
take  a  prey  from  the  Lowlands  was  regarded  as  an  innocent 
and  healthful  amusement.  At  the  period  of  which  we  are 
writing  the  chiefs  seldom  ventured  personally  to  lead  a  foray, 
for  the  restraints  of  the  Government  were  very  stringent.  But 
most  of  them  connived  at  their  sons  and  the  men  of  their  clan 


152  CATTLE-LIFTING. 

engaging  in  the  laudable  pursuits  of  their  ancestors,  and  shared 
without  scruple  in  the  proceeds  of  any  successful  venture. 
The  Inverness  -  shire  clans  "  most  addicted  to  rapine  and 
plunder,"  General  Wade  informs  us,  were  the  Camerons  and 
the  Macdonalds  of  Keppoch.  They  "go  out,"  he  tells  us,  "  in 
parties  from  ten  to  thirty  men,  traverse  large  tracks  of  moun- 
tains till  they  arrive  at  the  lowlands  where  they  design  to  com- 
mit these  depredations,  which  they  choose  to  do  in  places 
distant  from  the  glens  they  inhabit.  They  drive  the  stolen 
cattle  in  the  night-time,  and  in  the  day  remain  on  the  tops  of 
the  mountains  or  in  the  woods  with  which  the  Highlands 
abound,  and  take  the  first  occasion  to  sell  them  at  the  fairs  or 
markets  that  are  held  annually  in  many  parts  of  the  country. 
Those  who  are  robbed  of  their  cattle  follow  them  on  the  track, 
and  often  recover  them  from  the  robbers  by  compounding  for 
a  certain  sum  of  money ;  but  if  the  pursuers  are  in  numbers 
superior  to  the  thieves,  and  happen  to  seize  any  of  them,  they 
are  seldom  or  never  prosecuted.  The  encouragement  and 
protection  given  by  some  of  the  chiefs  of  clans  is  reciprocally 
rewarded  by  allowing  them  a  share  in  the  plunder,  which  is 
sometimes  one-half  or  two-thirds  of  what  is  stolen." 

After  the  chiefs  the  class  of  people  deemed  most  important 
in  the  county  were  the  tacksmen.  They  were  generally  rela- 
tions of  the  chief,  and  held,  Mr  Burt  tells  us,  "  pretty  large 
farms,  perhaps  twenty  or  thirty  pounds  a-year,  and  they  again 
generally  parcel  them  out  to  under-tenants  in  small  propor- 
tions." The  tacksmen  were  usually  at  this  time  men  of 
some  education.  They  were  beginning  to  build  for  them- 
selves stone  houses,  but  many  of  them  lived  in  turf  huts  not 
much  better  than  those  inhabited  by  the  common  people. 

The  state  of  the  people  generally,  in  comparison  with  those 
of  southern  Scotland,  was  of  the  most  miserable  description. 
Their   number   greatly  exceeded    the    means    of   subsistence 


HOUSES  OF  THE  COMMON   PEOPLE.  I  53 

afforded  by  the  lands  they  occupied.  The  author  of  an 
able  pamphlet  entitled  'An  Enquiry  into  the  Causes  that 
facilitate  the  Use  and  Progress  of  Rebellions  in  Scotland' 
calculates  that  there  was  not  at  this  period  employment  for 
more  than  one-half  the  number  of  people  in  the  Highlands  : 
of  the  remainder  he  says,  "Many  are  supported  by  the  bounty 
of  their  acquaintances  and  relations,  others  get  their  living  by 
levying  blackmail,  and  the  rest  gain  their  subsistence  by  steal- 
ing or  robbery  and  committing  depredations."  This  account 
may  be  exaggerated,  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  the 
wretched  condition  of  the  people  compared  with  that  of  their 
more  southern  neighbours,  though  doubtless  it  had  its  allevia- 
tions. Their  wants  were  few,  from  their  infancy  they  were 
inured  to  hardship,  and  they  were  in  the  main  treated  kindly 
by  their  landlords.  Eviction  for  non-payment  of  rent  was 
unknown.  Though  we  may  pity  their  state,  they  themselves, 
enjoying  their  freedom,  did  not  envy  those  dwelling  beyond 
their  glens  and  mountains,  and  would  have  been  sorry  to 
change  places  with  them. 

Their  houses  were  of  a  very  humble  description.  They 
were  built  of  round  stones  without  any  cement,  thatched  with 
sods  and  sometimes  heather.  Generally,  though  not  always, 
they  were  divided  by  a  wicker  partition  into  two  apartments, 
in  the  larger  of  which  the  family  lived.  In  the  middle  of  this 
room  was  the  fire,  made  of  peat,  over  which,  suspended  by  an 
iron  hook,  was  the  pot  for  cooking.  There  was  seldom  a 
chimney,  and  the  smoke  found  its  way  out  by  the  roof  and 
door.  The  other  end  of  the  house  was  reserved  for  the  cattle 
and  poultry.  A  Highland  town,  Burt  informs  us,  was  com- 
posed of  a  "  few  huts  for  dwellings,  with  barns  and  stables ; 
and  both  the  latter  are  of  a  more  diminutive  size  than  the 
former  ;  all  irregularly  placed  some  one  way,  some  another  ;  at 
any  distance  they  look  like  heaps  of  dirt." 


154  A   MISTAKEN   CRITIC. 

The  family  grew  a  little  corn  sufficient  to  yield  them  meal, 
which  was  their  chief  article  of  food  ;  but  they  were  often 
reduced  to  severe  privations,  and  it  was  no  uncommon  thing 
for  them  in  the  winter  season  to  be  driven  to  support  life  by 
bleeding  their  cattle,  mixing  the  blood  with  a  little  oatmeal, 
and  frying  the  whole  into  a  sort  of  cake.  Their  great  depend- 
ence for  a  livelihood  was  not  so  much  on  their  tillage  as  on 
their  cattle.  Great  herds  of  black  cattle  roamed  in  the 
mountains.  Each  township  had  its  own  herd  who  looked 
after  them.  They  had  a  few  sheep  of  a  small  breed.  Droves 
of  horses  belonging  to  the  tacksmen  and  tenants  were  every- 
where to  be  met  with  among  the  hills.  They  were  hardy 
animals  of  small  size,  and  were  often  allowed  to  run  wild 
among  the  mountains  till  they  were  eight  or  ten  years  old, 
when  they  were  hunted  down  and  captured  with  difficulty. 
The  people  disposed  of  their  stock  to  drovers,  who  collected 
their  herds  and  drove  them  to  markets  and  fairs  in  the  Low- 
lands of  Scotland  and  north  of  England. 

Mr  Burt  seems  to  think  that  the  people  led  a  dull  and 
melancholy  existence  :  "  They  have  no  diversions  to  amuse 
them,  but  sit  brooding  over  the  fire  till  their  legs  and  thighs 
are  scorched  to  an  extraordinary  degree ;  and  many  have  sore 
eyes,  and  some  are  quite  blind.  This  long  continuance  in 
the  smoke  makes  them  almost  as  black  as  chimney-sweepers, 
and  when  the  huts  are  not  water-tight,  which  is  often  the 
case,  the  rain  that  comes  through  the  roof  and  mixes  with 
the  sootiness  of  the  inside,  where  all  the  sticks  look  like 
charcoal,  falls  in  drops  like  ink."  This  seems  cheerless 
enough,  but  we  know  that  the  Englishman  was  not  correct 
in  depicting  the  life  of  the  people  as  dull.  On  the  contrary, 
it  was  full  of  cheerfulness.  When  in  the  summer  months 
they  removed  to  their  distant  shielings,  or  in  winter  crowded 
round  the  blazing  hearth,  they  passed  their  idle  hours  joining 


DRINKING  EXCESSES.  I  55 

in  the  dance  and  listening  to  the  song.  They  recited  the 
legendary  tales  that  came  down  from  a  far-off  past.  They 
sang  the  songs  of  their  bards.  They  rehearsed  the  brave 
deeds  of  their  ancestors,  and  they  danced  long  and  late  to 
the  music  of  the  pipes.  The  Highlander  of  that  time  was 
far  livelier,  and  his  life  was  in  some  respects,  notwithstanding 
its  privations,  brighter  and  more  festive,  than  that  of  the  High- 
lander of  the  present  day. 

The  liquor  of  the  tacksmen  and  people  was  ale,  as  that  of 
the  chiefs  was  claret.  But  whisky  was  beginning  to  be  drunk, 
and  stills  were  at  work  in  many  districts,  tending  to  the 
demoralisation  of  the  people.  "The  buddiell  or  aqua  vitse 
houses,"  says  a  report  of  the  time  —  "that  is,  houses  where 
they  distil  and  retail  aquavity  —  are  the  bane  and  ruin  of 
the  country.  These  houses  are  everywhere,  and  when  the 
price  of  barley  is  low,  all  of  them  malt  and  distil  in  great 
quantities."  According  to  Mr  Burt,  the  Highland  gentlemen 
were  immoderate  drinkers  of  whisky,  even  three  or  four 
quarts  at  a  sitting.  In  general  the  people  that  could  pay  for 
it  drank  it  without  moderation.  In  1744  the  town  council  of 
Inverness  passed  strong  resolutions  against  smuggling,  and 
against  the  use  of  tea  and  brandy,  articles  which  they  said 
had  only  begun  to  be  used  in  this  country,  and  threatened 
to  destroy  the  health  and  morals  of  the  people.  The  mem- 
bers bound  themselves  to  discontinue  the  use  of  these  ex- 
travagant and  pernicious  commodities. 

The  common  dress  of  the  people  of  Inverness-shire,  and 
of  the  Highlands  generally,  has  been  fully  described  by  Mr 
Burt.  It  is  what  he  saw  daily  on  the  streets  of  Inverness 
and  wherever  he  travelled  about.  "  The  dress  consists  of 
a  bonnet  made  of  thrum  without  a  brim,  a  short  coat,  a 
waistcoat  longer  by  five  or  six  inches,  short  stockings,  and 
brogues,  or  pumps  without  heels.      Few  besides  gentlemen 


156  DRESS. 

wear  the  troivse — that  is,  the  breeches  and  stockings  all  of 
one  piece  and  drawn  on  together ;  over  this  habit  they  wear 
a  plaid,  which  is  usually  three  yards  long  and  two  breadths 
wide,  and  the  whole  garb  is  made  of  chequered  tartan  and 
plaiding  :  this  with  the  sword  and  pistol  is  called  full  dress, 
and  to  a  well-proportioned  man  with  any  tolerable  air  it 
makes  an  agreeable  figure.  The  common  habit  of  the 
Highlander  is  far  from  being  acceptable  to  the  eye.  With 
them  a  small  part  of  the  plaid,  which  is  not  so  large  as  the 
former,  is  set  in  folds  and  girt  round  the  waist,  to  make  of 
it  a  short  petticoat  that  reaches  half-way  down  the  thigh,  and 
the  rest  is  brought  over  the  shoulder  and  then  fastened  before 
below  the  neck.  The  stocking  rises  no  higher  than  the  thick 
of  the  calf,  and  from  the  middle  of  the  thigh  to  the  middle  of 
the  leg  is  a  naked  space.  This  dress  is  called  the  quelt." 
Our  Englishman  makes  remarks  on  this  apparel  which  are 
particularly  disparaging.  But  it  is  evident  that  no  dress  could 
have  been  better  suited  to  the  life  the  Highlanders  had  to 
lead.  When  they  were  obliged  to  lie  out  in  the  hills,  in  their 
hunting-parties,  or  in  tending  their  cattle,  or  in  war,  the  plaid 
served  them  both  for  bed  and  covering.  The  freedom  of 
their  limbs  also  enabled  them  to  undertake  long  journeys 
and  to  climb  the  mountains  much  better  than  if  they  were 
clothed  in  modern  apparel. 

The  common  people  of  Inverness-shire  were  at  this  time 
almost  entirely  uneducated.  There  was  a  grammar-school  at 
Inverness,  but  the  Acts  of  Parliament  ordaining  that  there 
should  be  a  school  in  every  parish  had  remained  a  dead 
letter.  In  1709  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  Christian 
Knowledge  in  the  Highlands  was  incorporated,  and  a  few 
schools  were  planted  here  and  there  —  one  at  Abertarff  in 
171 1,  and  one  at  Glenmoriston  in  1726.  The  progress  of 
enlightenment  is  slow.      It  was  specially  so  in  this  case,  where 


SECOND-SIGHT.  1 57 

only  English  was  taught.  It  was  long  before  any  impression 
was  made  on  the  dark  state  of  the  county.  Below  the  rank 
of  tacksman  there  was  probably  no  one  in  Inverness-shire  who 
could  sign  his  name  or  read  a  printed  line. 

We  know  but  little  of  the  religious  character  of  the  people. 
Ministers  were  in  every  parish,  and  kirk-sessions  were  active 
in  maintaining  discipline.  The  records  of  these  bodies  show 
how  zealous  they  were  in  summoning  offenders  against  morals, 
fining  them  for  their  shortcomings,  and  occasionally  handing 
them  over  to  the  civil  magistrates  to  be  imprisoned  or  set 
in  the  pillory.  There  were  only  Irish  Bibles  used  in  the 
Highlands,  and  even  these  the  people  could  not  read.  They 
were  dependent  for  religious  instruction  on  their  preachers, 
who  were  few,  and,  it  is  to  be  feared,  not  of  a  high  order. 

But  if  religion  lay  light  on  the  shoulders  of  the  Inverness- 
shire  man  of  the  period,  he  was  a  firm  believer  in  those  things 
which  are  now  termed  superstitions.  There  were  many  in 
Inverness-shire  at  this  time  who  were  supposed  to  possess  the 
mysterious  gift  of  second-sight.  Such  were  to  be  found  in 
every  parish.  Witchcraft  was  also  another  article  of  Celtic 
faith.  In  1690  the  magistrates  of  Inverness  applied  to  the 
Privy  Council  for  a  commission  to  try  witches,  and  when  Mr 
Burt  at  the  table  of  an  Inverness-shire  chief  ventured  to 
argue  with  a  minister  against  the  probability  of  witchcraft 
being  true,  he  was  set  down  at  once  as  an  atheist.  As  late 
as  1704  two  men  were  in  durance  at  Inverness,  "alleged 
guilty  of  the  horrid  crimes  of  mischievous  charms  by  witch- 
craft and  malefice,  sorcery  or  necromancy."  A  commission, 
consisting  of  Forbes  of  Culloden,  Rose  of  Kilravock,  and 
some  others,  was  ordered  to  take  them  on  trial,  and  they 
were  afterwards  executed  under  care  of  the  magistrates  of 
Inverness.  Fairies  were  still  seen  by  the  belated  hunter,  and 
every  family  of  importance  in  the  county  had  its  special  ghost. 


158  SIMON    FRASER,   LORD   LOVAT. 

Perhaps  this  sketch  of  Inverness-shire  immediately  before 
1745  may  give  our  readers  some  idea  of  the  general  state  of 
society  in  the  county  ere  everything  became  changed  and  old 
things  passed  for  ever  away. 

We  will  conclude  this  chapter  by  giving  a  short  account 
of  one  who  was  at  this  time  the  most  prominent  man  in 
Inverness-shire.  His  life  illustrates  in  many  particulars  the 
customs  and  manners  of  the  period.  Simon  Fraser,  after- 
wards Lord  Lovat,  was  born  about  1667.  He  was  educated 
at  the  University  of  Aberdeen,  where  he  took  his  degree  in 
1683.  He  was  an  accomplished  classical  scholar,  and  in- 
tended to  take  up  the  study  of  civil  law  after  leaving  college. 
Circumstances,  however,  led  him  to  change  his  determination, 
and  he  accepted  a  commission  in  a  regiment  raised  in  the 
service  of  William  and  Mary.  His  chief.  Lord  Lovat,  having 
to  go  to  London  to  be  presented  at  Court,  Simon  accom- 
panied him,  and  so  ingratiated  himself  in  his  favour  that 
Lovat  promised  to  leave  him  all  his  estates  in  case  he  should 
die  without  male  issue.  He  did  die  soon  after,  leaving  his 
estates  to  Simon's  father,  who  assumed  the  title  of  Lord 
Lovat,  Simon  himself  taking  that  of  Master  of  Lovat.  This, 
however,  did  not  pass  undisputed.  The  late  lord  had  left  a 
daughter,  who  was  heiress  by  his  marriage-contract,  and  who 
assumed  the  title  of  Baroness  Lovat.  Simon,  to  make  his 
position  secure,  arranged  to  elope  with  this  young  lady,  and 
a  clansman,  Fraser  of  Fenechiel,  conducted  the  lady  forth  one 
winter  night  in  such  haste  that  she  is  said  to  have  walked 
barefoot.  The  elopement,  however,  was  frustrated,  and  Lord 
Saltoun,  who  represented  a  branch  of  the  clan,  ventured  on 
her  behalf  into  Inverness-shire  to  arrange  matters  with  the 
people  and  induce  them  to  submit  to  her  as  their  head.  Simon 
gathered  together  a  few  armed  followers,  and  in  the  woods  of 
Bunchrew  captured  Saltoun  and  his  followers.     He  took  them 


A  VIOLENT  WOOING.  I  59 

first  to  the  tower  of  Fanellan,  where,  when  they  looked  out 
in  the  morning,  they  beheld  a  huge  gallows  erected.  They 
were  afterwards  taken  to  Ellanaigus,  where  they  were  con- 
fined in  a  "creel-house"  and  treated  with  great  indignity. 
They  were  afterwards  liberated,  Simon  having  in  hand  projects 
of  a  still  more  outrageous  character.  As  he  was  unable  to 
get  possession  of  the  heiress,  he  determined  to  marry  her 
mother,  the  dowager  Lady  Lovat.  He  seized  Castle  Downie, 
where  the  lady  resided ;  and  then  followed  this  outrage, 
which  is  thus  fully  described  in  legal  proceedings  afterwards 
taken  : — 

"  He  and  his  said  accomplices  make  the  lady  close 
prisoner  in  her  chamber  under  his  armed  guard,  and  there 
come  upon  her  with  Mr  Robert  Munro,  minister  of  Aber- 
tarff,  and  three  or  four  ruffians,  in  the  night-time,  about  two 
or  three  in  the  morning,  and  having  dragged  out  her  maids, 

Agnes    M'Bryar  and Fraser,  he  proposes   to   the   lady 

that  she  should  marry  him,  and  when  she  fell  lamenting  and 
crying,  the  great  pipe  was  blown  up  to  drown  her  cries,  and 
the  wicked  villains  ordered  the  minister  to  proceed.  And 
though  she  protested  with  tears  and  cries,  and  also  afforded 
all  promises  of  anything  else,  and  declared  she  would  sacrifice 
her  life  sooner  than  consent  to  their  proposal,  nevertheless 
the  said  minister  proceeds  and  declares  them  married  persons, 
and  Hugh  Fraser  of  Kilmonavic  and  Hutcheon  Oig,  both  of 
them  thieves  and  murderers,  are  appointed  for  their  waiting- 
maids.  And  though  she  often  swarved  [fainted],  and  again 
cried  most  piteously,  yet  no  relenting.  But  the  bagpipe 
is  blown  up  as  formerly,  and  the  aforesaid  ruffians  rent  off  her 
clothes,  cutting  her  stays  with  their  dirks,  and  so  thrust  her 
into  her  bed." 

"For  this  offence  Simon  was  outlawed,  and  "  letters  of 
intercommuning  "  were  issued  against  him.     By  the  aid  of  the 


l6o  LOVAT  TURNS  JESUIT. 

Stratherrick  men  he  held  his  own  and  defied  his  enemies. 
Some  of  the  latter  he  captured,  and  administered  to  them  the 
following  oath  on  their  dirks  :  "They  renounced  their  claims 
in  Jesus  Christ  and  their  hopes  of  heaven,  and  devoted  them- 
selves to  the  devil  and  all  the  torments  of  hell,  if  ever  they 
ventured  into  the  territories  of  Lord  Lovat  or  occasioned  him 
directly  or  indirectly  the  smallest  mischief"  ! 

After  a  time  Simon  found  the  country  too  hot  to  hold  him, 
and  fled  to  France,  where  he  was  well  received  at  the  exiled 
Court  of  St  Germains,  whence  in  1 703  he  returned  to  Scotland 
on  a  Jacobite  mission.  While  in  France  he  adopted  the  Ro- 
man Catholic  faith.  In  the  Highlands  he  had  interviews  with 
Lochiel  and  several  of  the  chiefs,  who  confided  to  him  their 
plans  of  a  general  rising.  These  he  betrayed  to  the  Duke  of 
Queensberry,  hoping  by  his  treachery  to  gain  favour  with 
the  Government.  He  then  hastened  back  to  France  to  act 
the  part  of  spy  among  the  Jacobites.  His  duplicity  was  dis- 
covered, he  was  seized  and  sent  to  the  Bastille,  only  obtaining 
his  liberty  in  1708  by  entering  the  Jesuit  College  of  St  Omer. 
He  is  believed  to  have  become  a  priest  and  acquired  consider- 
able popularity  as  a  preacher,  and  is  reported  to  have  said 
that  if  he  had  remained  in  orders  he  would  at  least  have  been 
an  archbishop,  if  he  did  not  fill  the  chair  of  St  Peter. 

Meantime  the  heiress  of  Lovat  had  married  Mackenzie  of 
Fraserdale,  had  obtained  possession  of  the  estates  in  Inverness- 
shire,  and  assumed  the  title  of  the  Baroness  Lovat.  To  many 
of  the  Frasers  this  was  a  disappointment,  and  they  resolved  to 
send  one  of  their  number,  a  Major  Fraser,  to  France  to  find 
Simon,  whom  they  regarded  as  their  natural  chief.  The 
mission  of  the  major  was  successful.  He  and  Simon  escaped 
to  England,  and  after  various  strange  adventures  returned  to 
Inverness-shire. 

The  time  of  his  return  was  critical.     The  husband  of  the 


A   CHIEF'S   COURT.  l6l 

baroness  was  away  with  Mar  during  the  rising  of  i  7 1 9,  and 
had  the  greater  portion  of  the  Clan  Fraser  with  him.  Simon 
resolved  to  take  the  side  of  the  Hanoverians.  As  we  have 
seen,  he  had  been  enabled  to  render  the  Government  signal 
service.  At  his  command  the  men  of  the  clan  who  had 
followed  Mackenzie  at  once  returned  home,  and  with  these 
and  the  clansmen  who  had  not  gone  out  he  captured  Inver- 
ness and  broke  the  neck  of  the  rebellion  in  the  North.  Suc- 
cess now  attended  his  steps.  He  obtained  the  forfeited  estates 
of  Lovat  from  the  Government,  had  honours  conferred  upon 
him,  and  finally  received  by  a  decree  of  the  Court  of  Session 
the  title  of  Lord  Lovat.  He  was  made  Sheriff  of  Inverness, 
and  became  the  great  man  of  the  county. 

At  Castle  Dounie  or  Beaufort  he  kept  a  sort  of  rude  court. 
"His  table,"  says  Sir  Walter  Scott,  "was  filled  with  Frasers, 
whom  he  called  his  cousins,  and  took  care  that  the  fare  with 
which  they  were  regaled  was  adapted,  not  to  their  supposed 
quality,  but  to  the  actual  importance  of  his  guests."  At  the 
head  of  a  long  table  were  the  neighbouring  chiefs  or  distin- 
guished strangers,  and  here  claret  and  French  cookery  graced 
the  board.  Lower  down  were  the  duihnewassels,  who  enjoyed 
beef  and  mutton,  with  a  glass  of  some  humbler  wine.  The 
commoners  of  the  clan  occupied  the  next  range,  feeding  on 
sheep-heads,  and  drinking  whisky  or  ale.  Clustering  on  the 
castle  green  in  sunshine,  or  cowering  in  the  outhouses  in  foul 
weather,  were  congregated  the  rufiians  of  the  clan,  to  gnaw  the 
bones  and  devour  the  offal.  The  provisions  brought  in  for 
each  day  were  all  consumed  by  nightfall,  and  a  stranger  arriving 
in  the  evening  could  find  nothing  with  which  to  break  his  fast. 
Lovat  exercised  his  power  over  his  vassals  with  the  utmost 
severity,  and  a  visitor  to  the  castle  tells  us  he  saw  sometimes 
three  or  four,  sometimes  half-a-dozen,  hung  up  by  the  heels 
for  hours  on  the  few  trees  round  the  mansion. 

L 


l62  DOUBLE-DEALING. 

Lovat's  first  marriage  he  regarded  as  a  youthful  froUc,  and 
afterwards  married  twice  while  his  first  unfortunate  wife  was 
still  alive.  The  character  and  previous  conduct  of  the  man 
do  not  seem  to  have  in  any  way  diminished  his  popularity. 
"You  know,"  wrote  the  Duke  of  Queensberry,  "Lord  Lovat 
is  one  for  whom  I  have  with  good  reason  the  greatest  esteem 
and  respect."  The  king  himself  became  godfather  to  one  of 
his  children,  and  Lord  President  Forbes,  a  man  held  in  highest 
esteem,  constantly  corresponded  with  him  on  the  most  friendly 
and  affectionate  footing. 

About  1736  this  extraordinary  man  began  to  support  the 
Government  with  less  ardour.  John  Roy  Stewart,  a  celebrated 
Jacobite,  it  is  said  with  his  connivance  as  sheriff,  broke  out  of 
gaol  at  Inverness  and  w-ent  to  live  for  six  weeks  at  Lovat's 
house,  and  "  was  charged  from  him  with  a  message  to  the 
Pretender."  From  1737  Lovat  was  at  the  head  of  an  associ- 
ation of  the  Highland  chiefs  for  the  restoration  of  the  exiled 
family.  Outwardly,  however,  he  professed  himself  to  be  a  firm 
supporter  of  the  Government.  When  spoken  to  on  the  sub- 
ject by  Lord  Islay  he  was  loud  in  his  professions  of  loyalty. 
"  He  said  my  house  was  a  Jacobite  house,"  says  Lovat  him- 
self, "  that  the  discourse  of  those  in  my  house  was  of  Jacobit- 
ism,  and  that  I  conversed  with  nobody  but  Jacobites.  He 
told  me  that  the  First  Minister  had  intelligence  from  abroad 
of  my  correspondence  with  the  Pretender.  I  answered  his 
lordship  with  a  little  warmth  that  those  stories  were  damned 
calumnies  and  lies,  and  that  I  did  not  for  many  years  write  a 
letter  to  a  person  beyond  sea,  which  indeed  is  true." 

The  Government  were  not  deceived  by  these  unblush- 
ing falsehoods.  They  treated  him  with  suspicion  and  cold- 
ness, and  deprived  him  of  his  sheriffship  of  Inverness.  His 
wrath  at  losing  this  appointment  was  unbounded.  At  Castle 
Dounie  he  openly  entertained  those  known  to  be  disaffected. 


THE   LEADING   MAN    IN   INVERNESS-SHIRE.         163 

His  intrigues  with  the  Jacobite  chiefs  were  unremitting,  while 
he  wrote  the  Lord  Advocate  that  "  no  hardship  or  ill-usage  that 
I  meet  with  can  alter  or  diminish  my  zeal  and  attachment  for 
his  Majesty's  person  and  Government."  He  wrote  to  a  friend 
to  persuade  Glengarry  to  take  the  oaths.  "  I  know,"  he  said, 
"he  has  no  regard  for  them,  so  he  should  not  stand  to  take  a 
cartload  of  them,  as  I  would  do  to  serve  my  friends  ; "  and 
denouncing  the  Government  for  the  treatment  he  had  received 
from  them,  he  said,  "  If  Kouli  Khan  had  landed  in  Scotland, 
that  would  have  justified  him  to  have  joined  him  with  his 
clan,  and  he  would  have  done  it." 

Such  was  the  leading  man  in  Inverness-shire  on  the  eve  of 
the  '45.  This  rapid  sketch  of  his  strange  career  sheds  more 
light  on  the  condition  of  the  county  at  that  time  than  any 
amount  of  description  can  do. 


164 


CHAPTER    XL 


THE  COUNTY  PREPARING  FOR  A  RISING — EMISSARIES  FROM  FRANCE  AT 
WORK — PRINCE  CHARLES  STEWART  LANDS  IN  MOIDART — THE  DIE  CAST — 
HEROISM  OF  YOUNG  MACDONALD  OF  KINLOCH  MOIDART — DESCRIPTION 
OF  THE  PRINCE  BY  ONE  WHO  WAS  PRESENT — LOCHIEL  PREVAILED  TO 
JOIN  THE  ENTERPRISE  —  THE  FIRST  BLOODSHED  IN  THE  NEW  RISING 
— THE  STANDARD  RAISED  IN  GLENFINNAN  —  GENERAL  COPE  MARCHES 
NORTHWARD — MAKES  FOR  INVERNESS — PRINCE  CHARLES  CROSSES  COR- 
RYARRICK  AND  CAMPS  AT  DALWHINNIE — THE  CLANSMEN  WHO  WERE 
WITH  HIM  —  THE  CUNNING  POLICY  OF  LOVAT  —  THE  HIGHLAND  ARMY 
MOVES  TO  THE  SOUTH  —  THEIR  RETURN  TO  INVERNESS-SHIRE  —  THE 
"affair  of  MOY"  —  LOUDON  ABANDONS  INVERNESS  —  THE  HIGHLAND 
ARMY  DESTROYS  FORT  GEORGE — THE  DUKE  OF  CUMBERLAND  ARRIVES 
AT  NAIRN — PRINCE  CHARLES  CAMPS  ON  CULLODEN  MOOR— FAILURE  OF 
THE  PROJECTED  ATTACK  ON  THE  HANOVERIAN  CAMP — THE  BATTLE  OF 
CULLODEN— THE  MACDONALDS  STAND  ON  THEIR  DIGNITY  AND  REFUSE 
TO  FIGHT^THE  LAST  CHARGE — BRAVERY  OF  THE  HIGHLANDERS — JOHN 
MOR  M'GILLVRAY — ESCAPE  OF  LOCHIEL — THE  SAVAGE  TREATMENT  OF 
■  THE  WOUNDED  AND  PRISONERS— THE  DUKE  OF  CUMBERLAND  MOVES  TO 
INVERNESS — FAILURE  OF  THE  HIGHLANDERS  TO  RETRIEVE  THEIR  POSI- 
TION—THE MEETINGS  AT  RUTHVEN  AND  MUIRLAGAN— INVERNESS-SHIRE 
ABANDONED  TO  THE  ENEMY — "MOURNING,  LAMENTATION,  AND   WOE." 


During  the  years  that  succeeded  the  rising  of  the  Earl  of  Mar 
in  1715,  communications  were  frequently  passing  between 
the  Inverness-shire  chiefs  and  the  exiled  family  at  the  Court 
of  St  Germains.  Emissaries  from  France  were  continually 
finding  their  way  into  the  Highlands  and  consulting  with  the 
leaders  of  the  Jacobite  clans.  These  were  still  loyal  in  their 
attachment  to  the  cause  for  which  they  had  suffered  so  much, 
but  they  expressed  themselves  as  unable  to  do  anything  further 
to  support  it  without  foreign  assistance.     Their  followers  were 


THE   LANDING   OF   THE   PRINCE.  16$ 

to  some  extent  disarmed.  Forts  had  been  erected  and  supplied 
with  soldiers  to  keep  them  in  check.  Roads  had  been  made 
throughout  their  country  along  which  troops  and  artillery 
could  be  swiftly  conveyed  from  the  South.  They  were  closely 
watched  by  the  Government.  To  make  any  attempt  to  over- 
throw the  present  order  of  things,  they  all  felt  would  be  hope- 
less. One  thing  alone  could  render  such  an  attempt  success- 
ful. If  a  foreign  army  landed  on  the  coast  well  supplied  with 
the  munitions  of  war,  and  led  by  a  leader  like  Montrose 
or  Dundee,  something  might  be  done.  The  Inverness-shire 
Jacobites  —  Lovat  now  among  them  —  waited  patiently  for 
such  an  opportunity,  but  they  waited  with  little  hope  of  it 
ever  arising.  It  was  therefore  with  feelings  of  the  utmost 
consternation  that  they  heard  of  the  arrival  of  Prince  Charles 
Edward  Stewart  in  Scotland  without  money,  arms,  or  men. 
Their  feelings,  which  were  to  them  as  a  religion,  prompted 
them  to  cast  in  their  lot  with  him,  but  their  judgment  told 
them  that  in  doing  so  they  were  entering  on  an  enterprise 
almost  certain  to  end  in  ruin  to  them  all.  History  affords  no 
truer  instance  of  the  claims  of  what  was  supposed  to  be  duty 
triumphing  over  those  of  self-interest  and  self-preservation 
than  was  exhibited  in  the  '45. 

On  the  25th  July  1745  Charles  Stewart  landed  in  Inver- 
ness-shire, on  the  southern  shore  of  Loch-na-Nuagh,  a  rocky 
bay  between  Moidart  and  Arisaig.  He  had  come  thither  in  a 
French  ship  of  war  named  the  Doutelle,  after  touching  at  one 
of  the  Outer  Hebrides.  The  ship  had  anchored  opposite  the 
present  house  of  Roshven.  On  the  arrival  of  the  vessel 
Charles  had  sent  for  young  Clanranald,  who  came  on  board 
accompanied  by  his  kinsman  Macdonald  of  Kinloch  Moidart 
and  some  other  gentlemen  of  his  clan.  They  found  a  large 
tent  had  been  erected  for  their  reception,  plentifully  supplied 
with  wine,  spirits,  and  other  refreshments.     While  the  rest  of 


l66  THE   CASTING   OF   THE   DIE. 

the  party  were  partaking  of  these,  Clanranald  and  Macdonald 
of  Kinloch  Moidart  were  engaged  in  earnest  conversation  with 
Charles,  who  conjured  them  to  help  him  in  this  his  hour  of 
utmost  need.  They  expressed  to  him  frankly  the  feelings  en- 
tertained by  their  Jacobite  brethren  of  the  hopelessness  of  his 
engaging  in  a  formidable  contest  without  an  army  at  his  back, 
and  begged  of  him  to  give  up  the  enterprise  and  to  return  to 
France.  To  all  their  expostulations  Charles  turned  a  deaf 
ear :  he  had  resolved  to  go  on,  and  nothing  would  turn  him 
back.  As  the  party  walked  backwards  and  forwards  along 
the  deck  in  excited  argument,  a  younger  brother  of  Kinloch 
Moidart,  Ronald  by  name,  stood  near  enough  to  hear  their 
conversation.  To  him  the  hesitation  of  Clanranald  and  Kin- 
loch Moidart  was  unworthy  of  their  clan  and  their  name. 
That  the  son  of  their  lawful  king  should  appeal  to  them  in 
vain  for  aid  seemed  to  him  treason  and  disloyalty.  Charles 
in  passing  the  youth  guessed  with  quick  instinct  what  were 
his  thoughts,  and,  turning  suddenly  to  him,  with  extended 
hand  cried,  "  You  at  least  will  not  forsake  me."  "  I  will 
follow  you  to  death,"  was  the  eager  reply,  "  were  there  no 
other  to  draw  a  sword  in  your  cause."  This  expression  of 
attachment  moved  Charles  to  tears,  and  the  Macdonalds, 
carried  away  by  the  enthusiasm  of  the  moment,  declared  they 
would  oppose  him  no  longer.  The  die  was  cast.  Nothing 
now  remained  but  to  see  the  affair  out  to  the  end. 

An  enthusiastic  Highlander  who  was  present  at  this  striking 
scene  describes  Prince  Charles  as  "a  tall  youth  of  a  most 
agreeable  aspect,  in  a  plain  black  coat,  with  a  plain  shirt  not 
very  clean,  and  a  cambric  stock  fixed  with  a  plain  silver 
buckle,  a  fair  round  ring  out  of  the  buckle ;  a  plain  hat  with 
a  canvas  string,  having  one  end  fixed  to  one  of  his  coat 
buttons.  He  had  black  stockings,  and  brass  buckles  in  his 
shoes.     At  the  first  appearance  of  this  pleasing  youth,"  says 


THE   SEVEN   MEN    OF   MOIDART.  1 67 

the  narrator,  "  I  felt  my  heart  swell  to  my  throat."  Charles 
was  disguised  as  an  English  clergyman.  During  his  enterprise 
he  generally  wore  the  Highland  dress.  He  was  accompanied 
by  a  retinue  of  seven  persons,  afterwards  called  "the  Seven 
Men  of  Moidart."  With  this  slender  following  he  took  up 
his  abode  in  the  house  of  Borradale,  where  he  remained 
some  days,  sending  messengers  to  such  chiefs  as  he  believed 
to  be  his  friends. 

Lochiel  at  once  obeyed  his  summons,  but  he  came  deter- 
mined to  persuade  him  to  return  to  France.  "  If  such  is  your 
purpose,  Donald,"  his  brother,  Cameron  of  Fassiefern,  had 
said  to  him,  "  write  to  the  Prince  your  opinion,  but  do  not 
trust  yourself  to  the  fascination  of  his  presence.  I  know  you 
better  than  you  know  yourself,  and  you  will  be  unable  to 
refuse  compliance."  It  was  good  advice,  but  it  was  not  taken, 
and  the  result  showed  the  truthfulness  of  the  prophecy.  "  I 
have  come  hither,"  said  Charles  in  his  reply  to  Lochiel's 
arguments,  "with  my  mind  made  up  to  reclaim  my  rights 
or  to  perish.  Be  the  issue  what  it  may,  I  am  determined  to 
display  my  standard,  and  to  take  the  field  with  such  as  may 
join  it.  Lochiel,  whom  my  father  esteemed  the  best  friend 
of  our  family,  may  remain  at  home  and  learn  his  Prince's  fate 
from  the  newspapers."  The  better  judgment  of  the  chief  gave 
way  before  this  appeal.  "  Not  so,"  he  replied.  "  If  you  are 
resolved  on  this  rash  undertaking,  I  will  go  with  you,  and  so 
shall  every  one  over  whom  I  have  influence."  He  then  left 
Borradale  to  summon  his  clan  and  those  of  his  neighbours 
most  likely  to  join  him. 

The  first  blood  in  the  new  rising  was  shed  in  Inverness- 
shire.  On  the  1 6th  August  the  governor  of  Fort  Augustus, 
hearing  rumours  of  some  new  movement  among  the  people 
of  his  neighbourhood,  thought  it  prudent  to  reinforce  the 
garrison  of  Fort  William  by  sending  there  a  detachment  under 


l68  THE   FIRST   BLOOD   SHED. 

the  command  of  a  Captain  Scott.  This  officer  and  his  head 
men  reached  High  Bridge,  which  crosses  the  Spean,  and 
still  stands  a  picturesque  ruin,  when  they  were  set  upon  by 
a  party  of  Keppoch's  men,  and  two  of  their  number  were 
taken  prisoners.  Scott  deemed  it  best  to  retreat  by  the  way 
he  had  come.  All  along  the  side  of  Loch  Lochy  he  was  fired 
upon  by  his  pursuers  from  the  heights  above,  and  when  he 
reached  the  narrow  strip  of  land  between  that  lake  and  Loch 
Oich  he  saw  the  Macdonnells  of  Glengarry  coming  down  upon 
him  from  the  rocks  above  Kilfinnan.  With  an  enemy  in  front 
and  behind,  he  was  compelled  to  surrender.  Lochiel,  who 
came  up  with  a  party  of  Camerons,  took  the  detachment  to 
Achnacarry  as  prisoners,  and  Captain  Scott  was  sent  on  parole 
to  Fort  Augustus  to  obtain  the  aid  of  a  surgeon  to  attend  on 
the  wounded. 

On  the  nth  August  Prince  Charles  left  Borradale  and 
crossed  by  boat  to  the  Moidart  shore.  On  landing  at 
Glenuig  he  was  met  by  a  crowd  of  natives,  some  of  whom 
danced  a  reel  in  the  exuberance  of  their  joy.  This  reel  is 
still  known  by  the  name  of  "The  Eight  Men  of  Moidart.' 
Crossing  Glenuig  on  foot  to  Caolas,  he  took  boat  again  and 
came  to  Kinloch  Moidart,  where  he  remained  a  few  days. 
The  beautiful  avenue  between  the  house  of  Kinloch  Moidart 
and  the  shore  bears  still  the  name  of  "  The  Prince's  Walk." 

It  had  been  arranged  that  the  clans  should  assemble  at 
Glenfinnan,  at  the  north  end  of  Loch  Shiel,  on  the  19th 
August.  On  the  i8th  Charles  left  Kinloch  Moidart  for 
Dalelea,  and  sailed  by  boat  from  there  to  Glenaladale,  where 
he  spent  the  night.  Next  morning  by  the  same  conveyance 
he  reached  Glenfinnan. 

The  position  of  Glenfinnan  as  it  opens  on  Loch  Shiel  is 
strikingly  picturesque.  Four  glens  converge  on  a  piece  of 
level  ground,  one  side  of  which  is  washed  by  the  waters  of 


THE  STANDARD  UNFURLED.  169 

the  lake.  The  sides  of  the  hills  are  covered  with  pine 
and  birch.  It  is  a  lonely  spot,  silent  and  deserted.  When 
Charles  arrived  here  at  mid  -  day  only  a  few  Macdonalds 
occupied  the  ground.  He  had  expected  to  find  the  valley 
alive  with  men,  and  his  heart  sank  within  him.  For  two 
hours  he  remained  in  the  utmost  anxiety  listening  for  the 
sounds  of  the  pibroch  and  the  tramp  of  armed  men.  Then 
his  fears  were  set  at  rest.  Lochiel  and  his  men,  marching  in 
two  lines,  with  some  of  the  prisoners  they  had  taken  between 
them,  crossed  the  crest  of  a  neighbouring  hill  and  took  their 
stand  on  the  level  ground. 

On  the  arrival  of  the  Camerons  Charles  commanded  the 
standard  to  be  unfurled.  The  Marquis  of  TuUibardine, 
tottering  with  age,  supported  by  an  attendant  on  each  side, 
performed  this  duty,  and  the  banner,  which  was  of  red  silk 
with  a  white  spot  in  the  centre,  floated  on  the  mountain  breeze. 
Then  the  enthusiasm  of  the  Highlanders  burst  forth.  "  Such 
loud  huzzas  and  schimming  of  bonnets  up  into  the  air,  appear- 
ing like  a  cloud,  was  not  heard  of  for  a  long  time."  When 
the  enthusiasm  had  abated,  TuUibardine  read  aloud  the 
manifesto  of  James  and  his  commission  of  regency  to  Prince 
Charles,  who  then  stepped  forward  and  addressed  his  followers. 
His  address  was  short,  but  calculated  to  stir  greatly  the  hearts 
of  those  who  heard  it.  He  had  preferred,  he  told  them,  to 
land  in  Scotland  rather  than  in  England  or  in  Ireland,  knowing 
that  he  would  find  there  a  population  of  brave  men  who  would 
be  as  willing  to  live  or  die  with  him  as  he  was  resolved  to 
conquer  or  perish.  Among  those  present  as  an  unwilling 
spectator  was  a  Captain  Sweetenham,  who  had  been  taken 
prisoner  by  the  Keppochs  while  travelling  from  Badenoch  to 
Fort  William.  "  Go,"  said  Charles  to  him  at  the  close  of  his 
address,  "  to  your  general,  say  what  you  have  seen,  and  add 
that  I  am  coming  to  give  him  battle." 


170  FUTILE   TACTICS   OF   COPE. 

On  the  19th  August — the  same  day  that  the  standard  of 
Charles  was  unfurled  at  Glenfinnan — General  Cope  and  his 
army  left  Edinburgh  for  the  North,  On  the  26th  they  reached 
Dalwhinnie,  where  they  camped  for  the  night.  Here  the 
general  on  the  morning  of  the  27th  held  a  council  of  war. 
His  original  intention  had  been  to  go  from  Dalwhinnie  by 
Corryarrick  to  Fort  Augustus,  and  meet  the  insurgents  in  that 
neighbourhood,  on  the  other  side  of  the  mountains  ;  but  it 
was  reported  to  him  that  if  he  attempted  such  a  thing  he 
would  be  cut  to  pieces,  as  the  Highlanders  were  waiting  him 
at  Snugborough,  one  of  the  most  dangerous  passes  on  the 
Corryarrick  road,  where  all  the  advantage  was  on  their  side, 
and  to  meet  them  there  would  be  his  certain  destruction. 
After  deliberation  the  council  of  war  decided  they  should 
make  for  Inverness.  At  a  place  which  is  still  called  "  Cope's 
Turn "  the  royal  army  altered  its  route  and  made  its  way 
towards  Ruthven,  leaving  the  pass  to  the  low  country  open  to 
their  foes.  Any  course  more  fatuous  than  was  thus  taken  by 
the  English  general  can  hardly  be  imagined.  Cope  reached 
Inverness  on  the  29th  August,  when,  finding  his  tactics  had 
been  completely  frustrated,  he  assembled  his  men  and  marched 
them  to  Aberdeen,  where  they  were  shipped  for  the  South. 

On  the  22  nd  August  Prince  Charles  left  Glenfinnan  and 
encamped  at  Kinlochiel.  On  the  23rd  he  lodged  at  Fassiefern; 
from  thence,  by  a  detour  to  keep  out  of  sight  of  Fort  William, 
he  came  to  Moy,  the  place,  it  will  be  recollected,  where  Dundee 
stayed  for  some  time.  On  the  26th  he  crossed  the  river  Lochy 
and  reached  Aberchalder,  within  three  miles  of  Fort  Augustus, 
where  his  army  halted  for  the  night,  he  himself  going  to  the 
house  of  Invergarry  in  the  neighbourhood.  Here  it  was  he 
received  a  message  from  Lord  Lovat  by  a  kinsman,  Eraser  of 
Gortuleg.  Eraser  asked  Charles  to  excuse  the  absence  of  his 
chief  on  account  of  his  age.      Lovat  wished  a  patent  of  a 


CLUNY   MACPHERSON.  171 

dukedom  that  had  been  promised  him,  and  an  order  em- 
powering him  to  seize  the  Lord  President  Forbes,  dead  or 
ahve.  The  patent  had  been  left  behind  with  some  baggage, 
but  an  order  to  seize  the  person  of  the  President  was  given, 
and  with  this  Gortuleg  returned  to  his  chief,  who  was  at  this 
very  time  assuring  the  Government  of  his  unshaken  loyalty,  and 
ridiculing  to  his  friend  and  correspondent  the  President,  whom 
he  wished  to  seize,  the  silly  hopes  of  the  insurgents. 

On  the  27th  August,  the  day  on  which  Cope  changed  his 
route,  Charles  arrived  at  the  foot  of  Corryarrick.  He  fully 
expected  to  meet  the  English  general  at  the  summit  of  this 
mountain.  Pulling  on  a  new  pair  of  brogues,  he  said  with 
glee,  "  Before  I  throw  these  off  I  shall  meet  with  Mr  Cope." 
It  was  fully  believed  that  the  two  armies  would  come  into 
collision  at  mid-day.  To  the  astonishment  of  Charles  and  his 
men,  as  they  climbed  cautiously  the  southern  slope  of  Corry- 
arrick, they  were  unmolested.  They  were  still  more  amazed 
when  from  deserters  they  learnt  of  the  resolve  Cope  had  taken. 
The  Highlanders  threw  their  bonnets  up  into  the  air  in  their 
joy,  drank  healths  to  the  Prince,  and  wished  to  follow  the 
English  general  and  compel  him  to  fight.  A  council  of  war 
was  called,  and  it  was  resolved  not  to  take  this  course,  but  to 
make  a  descent  upon  the  Lowlands,  which  were  open  to  them 
and  unprotected.  Two  days  after  the  Highland  army  had 
crossed  Corryarrick  they  encamped  at  Dalwhinnie,  on  the 
same  ground  that  Cope  had  previously  occupied.  There  a 
party  which  had  made  an  unsuccessful  attempt  on  Ruthven 
brought  into  camp  as  a  prisoner  Cluny  Macpherson.  Cluny 
was  an  officer  in  the  Hanoverian  army,  though  at  heart  a 
Jacobite.  He  soon  became  one  of  the  Prince's  most  enthusi- 
astic followers,  and  left  his  army  on  the  march  south,  to  bring 
in  the  Macphersons  to  his  aid. 

On  the  30th  August  the  Highland  army  left  Dalwhinnie  on 


172  A   HEROIC   LADY. 

their  march  south.  There  we  are  not  called  in  our  narrative 
to  accompany  them.  The  Camerons,  Clanranalds,  the  Glen- 
garry men,  the  Keppochs,  and  the  Grants  of  Glenmoriston 
were  with  them.  The  Macphersons,  600  strong,  joined  them 
after  the  battle  of  Prestonpans.  On  the  Prince's  return  from 
England  the  Mackintoshes  also  joined  his  standard  at  Stirling. 
The  Mackintosh  himself  was  an  officer  in  the  Royal  army, 
and  though  at  one  time  on  the  point  of  joining  Prince 
Charles,  he  finally  resolved  to  hold  aloof  His  heroic  wife, 
however,  was  a  true  Jacobite  :  she  embodied  her  husband's 
clan,  and  placing  them  under  the  command  of  M'Gillvray  of 
Dumnaglass,  who  had  seen  service  abroad,  sent  them  off  to 
the  war. 

The  part  played  by  Lord  Lovat  was  quite  in  keeping  with 
his  character.  In  the  beginning  of  September  he  wrote  to 
Lochiel :  "  I  fear  you  have  been  ower  rash  in  going  ere  affairs 
were  ripe.  You  are  in  a  dangerous  state.  The  Elector's 
general  Cope  is  in  your  rear,  hanging  at  your  tail,  with  3000 
men,  such  as  have  not  been  seen  here  since  Dundee's  affair, 
and  wc  have  no  force  to  meet  him.  If  ye  Macphersons 
would  tak'  the  field,  I  would  bring  out  my  lads  to  help  yer 
wark,  and  'twixt  ye  twa  we  might  cause  Cope  to  keep  his 
Christmas  here."  At  the  same  time  he  writes  the  Lord 
Advocate  asking  for  1000  stand  of  arms,  for  if  he  had  arms 
and  other  accoutrements  he  could  bring  1200  good  men  into 
the  king's  service.  The  battle  of  Prestonpans,  fought  on  the 
2ist  September,  was  the  turning-point  in  the  policy  of  the 
old  villain.  Bumpers  were  drunk  at  Castle  Downie  to  the 
confusion  of  the  house  of  Hanover.  The  fiery  cross  was 
sent  out  to  summon  the  Erasers.  Seven  hundred  men  were 
drilled  on  the  green  of  the  castle,  with  white  cockades  and 
sprigs  of  yew  in  their  bonnets.  The  clan  went  joyfully  south 
under  the  command  of  the  Master  of  Lovat.     "  I  send  my 


LO vat's  lies.  173 

eldest  son,"  he  wrote  the  secretary  of  the  Prince,  "  the  hope 
of  my  family  and  the  darling  of  my  life,  a  youth  about  nine- 
teen years  old,  who  was  just  going  abroad  to  finish  his  studies 
and  education  after  having  learned  with  applause  what  is 
taught  in  our  Scots  universities,  and  was  graduate  Master  of 
Arts.  But  instead  of  sending  him  abroad  to  complete  his 
education,  I  have  sent  him  to  venture  the  last  drop  of  his 
blood  in  the  glorious  Prince's  service."  To  the  Lord  Presi- 
dent he  told  a  different  tale.  He  solemnly  protested  that 
since  his  son  was  determined  on  "that  mad  foolish  project, 
he  always  flew  in  his  face  like  a  wild  cat  when  he  spoke  to 
him  against  any  of  his  distracted  opinions."  When  his  son 
had  gone  off  with  the  clan,  he  mourns  over  his  infatuation. 
"  The  consequences  of  his  doing  so  are  terrible  beyond  ex- 
pression, though  I  declare  I  could  not  have  done  more  to  save 
my  own  life  and  the  lives  of  the  clan,  as  well  as  the  estate 
of  Lovat,  than  Ij  have  done  by  smooth  and  rough  usage  to 
detain  him  at  home."  With  Lovat  lying  had  reached  the 
dignity  of  a  fine  art. 

In  the  early  days  of  February  1746  Prince  Charles  was 
back  in  Inverness-shire  with  a  division  of  his  army.  He  en- 
tered the  county  by  Dalwhinnie.  The  other  part  of  his  forces, 
under  Lord  George  Murray,  took  their  route  to  the  North  by 
Aberdeen  and  Peterhead.  On  the  i6th  February  the  Prince 
reached  Moy  Castle,  the  seat  of  The  Mackintosh,  capturing 
the  castle  of  Ruthven  on  his  way.  The  chief's  lady  received 
him  with  great  hospitality  and  entertained  him  munificently. 
Here  he  made  a  narrow  escape  from  being  captured.  Lord 
Loudon  with  1700  troops  lay  at  Inverness,  some  twelve  miles 
distant  from  Moy,  and  hearing  that  Charles  was  residing  there, 
accompanied  by  only  a  slender  retinue,  he  determined  to  sur- 
prise him.  With  1500  men  he  set  out  in  the  night  from  In- 
verness for  Moy.     His  design,  however,  was  frustrated.     Lady 


174  A   NARROW   ESCAPE. 

Mackintosh  received  timely  intimation  of  his  visit  from  a  girl 
whose  father  kept  a  public-house  at  Inverness,  and  who  in 
waiting  upon  his  customers  had  heard  hints  of  the  midnight 
raid.  The  lady  acted  at  once  on  the  information  she  received. 
She  sent  some  of  her  men,  headed  by  a  blacksmith,  to  wait 
in  the  \yoods  through  which  the  road  from  Inverness  passed. 
On  the  approach  of  Loudon  and  his  men  the  vassals  of  The 
Mackintosh  fired  upon  them,  and  by  imitating  the  war-cries  of 
the  Camerons,  the  Macdonalds,  and  other  clans,  led  them  to 
believe  that  the  strength  of  the  whole  Highland  army  was 
present.  Fearing  an  ambuscade,  Loudon  and  his  troops  beat 
a  hasty  retreat,  and  never  halted  till  they  reached  the  gates  of 
Inverness. 

Their  panic  lasted  after  their  arrival  there.  Believing  that 
the  whole  Highland  army  was  encamped  at  Moy,  and  that  they 
could  not  defend  the  town  against  them,  Loudon  and  his 
army  left  Inverness  by  Kessock  Ferry,  and  the  day  after 
their  departure,  the  17th  February,  Charles  and  his  followers 
entered  the  town.  Here  they  remained  till  the  middle  of 
April,  the  Prince  being  hospitably  entertained  by  the  Dow- 
ager Lady  Mackintosh  in  her  house  in  Church  Street — the 
only  house,  it  is  said,  in  Inverness  which  had  a  room  without 
a  bed  in  it. 

After  a  siege  of  two  days  Fort  George,  the  citadel  of 
Inverness,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Highlanders,  and  was 
blown  up.  On  the  5th  March  Fort  Augustus  was  also  taken 
by  a  party  of  300  men  sent  from  Inverness  under  Brigadier 
Stapleton.  This  party,  with  the  assistance  of  the  Macdonnells 
and  the  Camerons,  afterwards  endeavoured  to  reduce  Fort 
William ;  but  the  garrison  made  a  stout  defence,  and  the 
assailants,  unable  to  prevent  the  arrival  of  supplies  and 
reinforcements  by  sea,  were  eventually  forced  to  raise  the 
siege. 


AN   ABORTIVE  SURPRISE.  175 

While  the  Highland  army  was  lying  at  Inverness,  and 
enjoying  such  comforts  as  the  town  could  supply,  the  Han- 
overian general,  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  was  marching 
northwards  by  Aberdeen  and  the  Spey.  On  the  12th  April 
he  crossed  that  river.  On  the  14th  he  reached  Nairn,  where 
he  was  only  sixteen  miles  from  his  enemy.  It  was  evident 
that  a  pitched  battle  was  inevitable. 

Charles  left  Inverness  on  the  day  that  his  opponent  reached 
Nairn,  and  took  up  his  abode  at  CuUoden  House,  the  resi- 
dence of  Lord  President  Forbes.  During  his  stay  in  the 
town  he  had  manifested  outwardly  every  confidence  in  his 
success,  and  had  kept  up  a  bold  and  cheerful  front  to  those 
around  him.  In  the  morning  he  hunted  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, and  in  the  evening  attended  concerts  and  balls.  In- 
verness had  never  seen  more  gaiety  than  during  his  residence 
there,  and  when  he  left,  with  pipes  playing  and  banners 
flying,  the  inhabitants  with  loud  huzzas  wished  him  good 
luck  and  a  speedy  and  glorious  return. 

On  the  15th  April  Charles  drew  his  army  up  on  Culloden 
Muir  to  await  the  approach  of  the  enemy,  but  none  appeared. 
The  Duke  of  Cumberland  rested  his  troops  on  that  day, 
which  was  his  birthday,  an  event  celebrated  with  considerable 
rejoicing  by  his  men.  It  was  proposed  by  the  Prince  and 
Lord  George  Murray  to  take  advantage  of  this  festivity  by 
making  a  night-attack  on  the  Hanoverian  camp  at  Nairn. 
Injunctions  were  issued  to  recall  stragglers  who  had  gone  to 
Inverness ;  but  before  the  muster  could  be  completed  it  was 
eight  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and  two  o'clock  in  the  morning 
was  the  hour  appointed  for  the  attack.  The  Highlanders, 
however,  set  out  in  two  columns,  each  at  some  distance  from 
the  other.  Keeping  clear  of  the  public  road,  they  toiled  on 
through  boggy  ground,  the  difficulty  of  traversing  which  was 
so  great  that   many   of   the    men   fell   down   exhausted   with 


176  PREPARING  FOR  BATTLE. 

fatigue.  When  the  hour  arrived  at  which  the  attack  was  to 
have  taken  place  the  first  .column  had  only  reached  the  house 
of  Kilravock,  four  miles  from  the  Duke  of  Cumberland's  camp. 
Dawn  of  day  was  near,  a  halt  was  called,  and  finally  it  was 
decided  to  retrace  their  steps,  and  the  party  arrived  at  Cul- 
loden  Muir  utterly  broken  down  and  dispirited. 

This  abortive  night  march  was  a  bad  preparation  for  a 
general  action,  but  indeed  all  the  circumstances  were  against 
the  Highlanders.  Many  of  their  adherents  under  Cluny, 
Lord  Cromarty,  and  the  Master  of  Lovat  had  not  yet  joined. 
Those  encamped  had  been  for  a  considerable  time  without 
food  except  of  the  coarsest  description.  On  the  morning  of 
the  memorable  i6th  of  April  Charles  could  find  no  better 
refreshment  than  a  morsel  of  bread  and  a  glass  of  whisky. 
Some  of  the  foraging  parties  at  length  returned  with  a  supply 
of  provisions,  but  before  they  could  be  cooked  the  enemy 
were  seen  in  the  distance  advancing  across  the  plain.  The 
whole  force  marshalled  together  amounted  to  about  5000  men, 
famished  and  fatigued.  The  force  they  were  to  encounter  was 
one  of  nearly  double  their  number,  in  good  physical  condition, 
and  well  supported  by  horse  and  artillery.  It  needed  no  seer 
to  foretell  the  issue  of  a  combat  so  unequal. 

The  story  of  the  battle  of  CuUoden  has  been  often  graphic- 
ally told,  and  we  have  little  to  relate  which  has  not  been 
better  related  elsewhere,  yet  the  continuity  of  our  narrative 
demands  some  notice  of  the  fight.  The  Highlanders  were 
drawn  up  in  two  lines.  On  the  right  was  the  first  line, 
commanded  by  Lord  George  Murray,  which  consisted  of  the 
Athole  men,  the  Camerons,  the  Stewarts,  the  Frasers,  the 
Mackintoshes,  the  Farquharsons,  and  some  other  clans.  On 
the  left  was  the  second  line,  commanded  by  Lord  John 
Drummond,  composed  of  the  Macdonalds  of  Clanranald, 
Keppoch,   and   Glengarry.     The    right   was    to   some  extent 


HIGHLAND   PRIDE.  1 77 

protected  by  some  park  walls,  and  the  left  by  a  piece  of 
boggy  ground.  Four  pieces  of  artillery  were  placed  at  the 
extremity  of  each  line,  and  the  same  number  in  the  centre. 
On  the  right  of  the  first  line  and  on  the  left  of  the  second 
line  was  a  troop  of  horse.  There  was  also  a  reserve  of  a 
regiment  of  foot-guards  and  some  horsemen. 

The  Hanoverian  army  was  arranged  in  three  lines.  There 
was  a  body  of  cavalry  on  each  wing,  and  two  pieces  of 
artillery  between  every  two  regiments  in  the  front  line.  Such 
Highlanders  as  supported  the  Hanoverians  were  told  off  to 
guard  the  baggage. 

There  was  considerable  dissension  in  the  Highland  army. 
The  Macdonalds  had  always  claimed  the  privilege  of  being  on 
the  right  of  the  army.  Their  being  placed  on  the  left  gave 
them  deep  offence.  "We  of  the  clan  Macdonald,"  wrote 
one  of  their  officers,  "thought  it  ominous  we  had  not  this 
day  the  right  hand  in  battle  as  formerly  at  Gladsmuir  and 
Falkirk,  and  which  our  clan  maintain  we  had  enjoyed  in  all 
our  battles  and  struggles  since  the  battle  of  Bannockburn." 
It  was  a  fine  instance  of  Highland  pride,  but  the  cherishing 
of  it  at  such  a  time  was  deeply  disastrous. 

The  battle  commenced  with  a  cannonade  from  the  High- 
landers, which  was  entirely  ineffective,  and  was  sharply  re- 
turned from  the  other  side.  Gaps  began  to  appear  in  the 
Highland  lines.  A  well-aimed  shot  ploughed  the  ground  at 
the  feet  of  Charles  and  covered  him  with  dust,  killing  an 
attendant  who  was  leading  a  spare  horse  close  by  him. 
For  nearly  half  an  hour  the  English  artillery  kept  playing 
upon  the  ranks  of  their  enemy.  The  Highlanders  stood  this 
badly,  and  clamoured  to  be  allowed  to  make  an  onslaught. 
A  message  was  sent  to  Charles  begging  permission  to  attack, 
but  before  the  answer  came  the  Mackintoshes  rushed  wildly 
on  against  the  English  centre,  followed  by  the  whole  of  the 

M 


178  THE   MACDONALDS   REFUSE   TO   FIGHT. 

Highland  right  Hne.  For  a  time  they  swept  all  before  them 
in  their  impetuous  rush.  The  ranks  of  the  enemy  were 
broken,  and  it  seemed  as  if  the  successful  tactics  of  Killie- 
crankie  were  to  be  repeated.  The  Highlanders  had,  how- 
ever, only  broken  one  line  to  find  themselves  confronted  with 
another.  A  bristling  wall  of  bayonets  opposed  them,  and 
when  they  neared  this  dense  living  wall  they  received  volley 
after  volley,  so  murderous  at  close  quarters  that  they  are  said 
to  have  been  found  afterwards  in  layers  3  and  4  feet  deep. 
In  vain  they  hurled  themselves  against  their  foes.  Lochiel, 
severely  wounded,  was  carried  by  two  clansmen  to  the  rear. 
Almost  every  man  in  the  front  rank  was  killed.  Those  who 
survived  were  driven  in  confusion  from  the  field,  which  was 
covered  by  heaps  of  slain.  The  terrific  rush  of  the  right 
wing  had  spent  itself  in  vain. 

There  remained  to  retrieve  this  disaster  the  left  wing,  and 
had  those  who  composed  it  acted  with  the  courage  of  their 
comrades  the  issue  of  the  day  might  perhaps  have  been 
changed.  But  the  Macdonalds  stood  sullen  and  motionless, 
cutting  the  heather  with  their  broadswords.  They  would 
rather  suffer  a  defeat  than  forgive  the  insult  they  thought 
had  been  put  upon  them.  Glengarry's  regiment  was  com- 
manded by  the  Duke  of  Perth,  a  brave  and  fearless  man. 
In  vain  he  cried  "  Claymore."  In  vain  he  called  to  the  men 
to  convert  the  left  wing  into  the  right.  In  vain  he  said  he 
would  call  himself  Macdonald  for  the  rest  of  his  life.  The 
angry  clansmen  refused  to  move.  Nor  was  one  of  their  own 
born  chiefs  more  successful.  Keppoch  with  a  few  followers 
rushed  forward,  but  his  own  clan  remained  where  they  were. 
He  fell  pierced  by  musket-balls,  exclaiming,  "  My  God  !  have 
the  children  of  my  tribe  forsaken  me  ?  "  but  they  showed  no 
disposition  to  avenge  his  death.  As  the  enemy  came  nearer 
they  turned  their  backs  and  marched  out  of  the  field  in  good 


DISASTER.  179 

order  without  striking  a  blow.  Their  conduct  displayed  Celtic 
pride  in  its  most  infatuated  form. 

There  remained  now  only  the  reserve  line  of  the  Prince's 
army.  It  had  been  reinforced  by  the  remains  of  the  right 
line,  and  showed  some  disposition  to  make  a  stand,  but 
Charles  felt  that  nothing  they  could  do  could  retrieve  the 
disasters  of  the  day.  It  was  hopeless.  The  Highlanders 
began  to  disappear  from  the  field.  A  portion  of  the  reserve 
line  made  their  retreat  in  good  order,  with  colours  flying  and 
pipes  playing  ;  others  sought  their  own  safety  as  best  they 
might.  The  battle  was  over,  and  the  hopes  of  the  Stewarts 
were  over  with  it. 

The  fight  had  been  a  brave  one,  though  it  only  lasted 
about  forty  minutes.  Many  stories  of  personal  prowess  have 
come  down  to  us.  There  are  still  tales  told  in  every  In- 
verness-shire glen  of  hand-to-hand  fights  between  single 
Highlanders  and  the  foes  by  whom  they  were  finally 
overpowered.  A  major  of  the  Mackintoshes,  John  Mor 
M'Gillvray,  was  seen  a  gunshot  past  the  enemy's  cannon 
surrounded  by  the  English  soldiers  ;  he  killed  a  dozen  men 
with  his  broadsword  while  some  of  the  halberts  were  run 
through  his  body.  Another  member  of  the  same  clan  killed 
seven  of  the  English  with  the  tram  of  a  peat-cart  before 
he  was  overpowered  and  killed.  A  Highlander  of  pro- 
digious strength,  Golice  Macbane,  too  badly  wounded  to 
fly  with  his  comrades,  placed  his  back  to  a  turf  wall  and 
defied  for  a  long  time  his  enemies.  Though  assailed  by  a 
large  force  of  dragoons,  he  held  his  own  against  them  with 
claymore  and  target.  "  Save  that  brave  fellow,"  cried  some 
English  officers,  as  they  saw  the  unequal  combat ;  but  the 
dragoons,  maddened  by  the  injuries  he  had  inflicted  upon 
them,  succeeded  in  cutting  him  down,  though  not  till  thirteen 
of  their  number  lay  dead  around  him.      If  personal  bravery 


l8o  NO   QUARTER. 

could  have  changed  the  issue  of  the  fight,  it  certainly  was 
not  wanting. 

Marvellous  stories  also  are  still  told  of  how  men  escaped 
with  their  lives  from  the  dreadful  carnage.  Lochiel,  severely 
wounded  in  both  ankles,  was  carried  from  the  field  by  two 
brave  henchmen.  He  was  borne  on  men's  shoulders  across 
the  river  Nairn  to  a  place  of  safety.  Others,  after  lying 
the  whole  night  on  the  plain,  crawled  away  to  some  friendly 
shelter.  Single  Highlanders  making  for  the  glens  fought 
their  way  with  their  broadswords  and  got  free,  some  of  them 
carrying  on  their  backs  the  property  they  had  taken  from 
their  slain  enemies.  Those  who  were  wounded  on  the  field 
received  no  quarter.  The  English  soldiers  went  among  them 
stabbing  them  with  their  bayonets  and  cutting  them  down 
with  their  swords.  They  splashed  and  dabbled  each  other 
with  blood  for  their  amusement.  One  of  their  own  side 
speaks  of  them  as  resembling  "an  army  of  butchers."  The 
road  from  CuUoden  to  Inverness  was  strewn  thick  with  the 
dead.  On  the  day  after  the  battle  search  was  made  in 
the  neighbouring  woods  for  any  fugitives  who  had  sought 
refuge  there,  and  all  that  could  be  found  were  murdered 
without  mercy.  A  number  of  them  were  discovered  in  a 
miserable  cabin,  which  was  surrounded  and  set  on  fire 
Thirty-two  blackened  corpses  were  found  among  the  ruins. 

Any  prisoners  who  were  spared — and  among  them  were 
some  men  of  rank  —  were  treated  with  appalling  cruelty. 
Some  were  thrown  into  the  prison  of  Inverness,  and  those 
whom  its  narrow  limits  could  not  contain  were  confined 
in  the  church.  No  attention  was  paid  to  the  wounded. 
Many  of  them  were  stripped  of  their  clothing ;  all  of  them 
were  almost  starved  for  want  of  food.  They  were  then  put 
on  board  transports  to  be  conveyed  to  London.  Their 
sufferings    on    board    these   vessels   were    indescribable.      In 


THE  BUTCHER.  l8l 

one  vessel  150  prisoners  were  confined  in  the  hold;  of 
these  only  49  were  alive  at  the  end  of  the  voyage. 

It  was  a  dreadful  business  altogether.  No  more  de- 
grading idea  can  be  obtained  of  the  character  of  the  Duke 
of  Cumberland  and  his  officers  than  that  which  comes  from 
the  perusal  of  the  narratives  of  what  followed  the  battle 
written  by  his  own  side.  The  name  of  the  victor  will  always 
be  covered  with  infamy,  and  the  man  himself  remembered 
by  the  title  of  "  The  Butcher,"  which  he  well  earned  by 
his  barbarity. 

When  the  battle  was  over  he  went  to  Inverness,  where 
he  occupied  the  same  lodging  in  Church  Street  that  Charles 
had  lived  in  before.  "  I've  had  two  kings'  bairns,"  after- 
wards said  Lady  Mackintosh,  to  whom  the  house  belonged, 
"  and  to  tell  you  the  truth,  I  wish  I  may  never  have 
another." 

After  CuUoden  the  Highlanders  never  rallied  again  to  any 
purpose.  Had  they  done  so,  though  they  might  not  have 
retrieved  the  disaster  they  had  suffered  at  Culloden,  they  might 
have  been  able  to  make  terms  with  their  enemies  and  saved 
themselves  and  their  property  from  the  destruction  that 
threatened  them.  They  could  have  retreated,  as  in  the  days 
of  Montrose  and  Dundee,  to  the  fastnesses  of  their  mountains, 
where  no  regular  troops  could  follow  them,  and  by  maintaining 
a  guerilla  warfare  have  forced  the  invaders  to  admit  them  to 
honourable  capitulation.  Their  leaders  seemed  to  have  enter- 
tained this  idea,  but  unfortunately  it  was  not  carried  out. 
Two  days  after  the  great  battle  a  considerable  party  of  the 
Jacobites  found  their  way  to  Ruthven  in  Badenoch,  a  place 
associated  with  much  Inverness-shire  history.  Among  them 
were  the  Duke  of  Athole,  Lord  George  Murray,  the  Duke  of 
Perth,  Lord  Ogilvie,  and  other  chiefs  of  clans,  with  about 
4000  or   5000   Highlanders.     They  were  keen  for  renewing 


1 82  THE   prince's   DECISION. 

hostilities,  and  were  far  from  considering  their  chances  desper- 
ate. Lord  George  sent  a  messenger  to  inform  the  Prince  of 
their  gathering.  The  Highlanders,  he  said,  were  full  of  ardour 
and  eager  to  be  led  against  the  enemy.  The  Grants  and  other 
clans  which  had  hitherto  remained  neutral  were  disposed  to 
declare  themselves  on  their  side.  The  clans  who  had  received 
leave  of  absence  would  assemble  in  the  course  of  a  few  days, 
and  instead  of  5000  or  6000  men — the  number  who  had 
fought  in  their  ranks  at  CuUoden — 8000  or  9000  men  might 
be  counted  upon.  Every  one  present  earnestly  entreated 
Charles  to  come  and  put  himself  once  more  at  the  head  of  an 
army  of  enthusiastic  followers.  Two  days  passed  and  the 
answer  from  Charles  came.  It  was  short,  but  to  the  point — 
"  Let  every  man  seek  his  own  safety  in  the  best  way  he  can." 
Charles,  who  began  his  enterprise  with  seven  men,  abandoned 
it  when  he  might  have  been  the  leader  of  as  many  thousands. 
One  who  was  present  at  Ruthven,  a  Chevalier  De  Johnstone, 
who  had  fought  as  a  soldier  of  fortune  in  the  Jacobite  cam- 
paign, tells  us  how  bitter  was  the  disappointment  to  the  brave 
men  who  were  again  ready  to  peril  their  fortunes  for  the  cause 
of  the  man  who  now  refused  to  lead  them.  "  The  answer  of 
the  Prince,"  he  says,  "  was  heart-breaking  to  the  brave  men 
who  had  sacrificed  themselves  for  him.  However  critical  our 
situation,  the  Prince  ought  not  to  have  despaired.  On  occa- 
sions when  everything  is  to  be  feared,  we  ought  to  lay  aside 
fear ;  when  we  are  surrounded  with  dangers,  no  danger  ought  to 
alarm  us.  With  the  best  plans  we  may  fail  in  our  enterprise, 
but  the  firmness  we  display  in  misfortune  is  the  noblest  orna- 
ment of  virtue.  This  is  the  manner  in  which  a  Prince  ought 
to  have  conducted  himself  who,  with  an  unexampled  rashness, 
landed  in  Scotland  with  seven  men." 

The  visitors  to  the  old  keep  of  Ruthven,  near  the  bright 
little  town  of  Kingussie,  or  the  traveller  who  sees  its  grey  walls 


A   FINAL   ATTEMPT.  1 83 

as  he  is  borne  by  railway  rapidly  through  Badenoch,  may  well 
recall  the  touching  scene  that  ensued  when  these  chivalrous 
men  there  took  leave  of  one  another :  "  Our  separation  at 
Ruthven,"  says  De  Johnstone,  "was  truly  affecting.  We  bade 
one  another  an  eternal  adieu.  No  one  could  tell  whether  the 
scaffold  would  not  be  his  fate.  The  Highlanders  gave  vent 
to  their  grief  in  wild  bowlings  and  lamentations ;  the  tears 
flowed  down  their  cheeks  when  they  thought  that  their 
country  was  now  at  the  discretion  of  the  Duke  of  Cumber- 
land, and  on  the  point  of  being  plundered,  whilst  they  and 
their  children  would  be  reduced  to  slavery  and  plunged  with- 
out resource  in  a  state  of  remediless  distress."  Few  scenes 
in  the  story  of  Inverness-shire  are  more  full  of  pathos. 

One  more  attempt  was  made  by  the  Highlanders  to  save 
themselves  from  impending  destruction.  On  the  8th  of  May 
several  of  the  Inverness-shire  chiefs  and  other  gentlemen 
met  together  at  Muirlaggan,  a  spot  about  two  miles  from  the 
western  end  of  Loch  Arkaig.  Lochiel,  young  Clanranald, 
Barrisdale,  John  Roy  Stewart,  Cameron  of  Dungallon,  Lord 
Lovat,  and  others,  were  present.  After  protracted  consulta- 
tion they  resolved  on  united  action.  Lochiel,  Clanranald, 
Glengarry,  Keppoch,  Barrisdale,  and  others,  with  their  men, 
were  to  rendezvous  on  the  15  th  May  at  Achnacarry,  the  place 
of  tryst  being  kept  secret.  The  Frasers,  the  Mackintoshes, 
and  the  Macphersons  were  to  meet  the  same  day  at  some 
convenient  place  in  Badenoch.  Other  clans  were  to  meet 
in  the  Braes  of  Mar.  They  were  all  to  take  up  arms,  and 
none  were  to  lay  them  down  or  make  a  separate  peace  with- 
out the  general  consent  of  the  whole. 

The  plan  was  well  organised,  and  had  it  been  carried  out 
much  trouble  to  the  Highlands,  and  especially  to  Inverness- 
shire,  might  have  been  saved.  Money  was  not  wanting  for 
the  projected  enterprise — ;^3o,ooo  of  gold  in  six  casks  had 


1 84  DESOLATION. 

arrived  from  France  for  the  use  of  the  Jacobite  clans,  and  with 
that  sum  much  might  have  been  done.  But  though  money 
was  plentiful,  men  were  wanting.  The  clansmen  could  not 
be  roused.  Clanranald's  men  would  not  leave  their  own 
country.  Glengarry's  people  had  been  to  a  great  extent  dis- 
armed. The  Government  troops  had  already  begun  to  scour 
the  country.  The  Erasers  could  not  be  mustered.  When 
Lochiel  with  300  men  came  to  the  place  of  rendezvous  he 
found  few  there  to  meet  him,  and  he  himself  and  the  few 
who  did  meet  him  were  nearly  taken  prisoners  by  a  detach- 
ment of  the  enemy.  Nothing  could  now  be  done  except  to 
leave  the  county  and  people  to  their  fate.  Their  fate  was 
indeed  a  cruel  one.  For  many  months  together  Inverness- 
shire  was  ravaged  and  desolated  from  one  end  to  the  other. 
Its  annals  at  this  period  are  like  the  scroll  of  the  ancient 
prophet,  "  written  within  and  without  with  mourning,  lamen- 
tation, and  woe." 


i85 


CHAPTER    XII. 


CHARLES  EDWARD  STEWART  AFTER  CULLODEN— ARRIVES  AT  GORTULEG — 
MEETS  WITH  LOVAT — REACHES  INVERGARRY— STARTS  FOR  THE  WEST — 
AT  GLEN  PEAN,  MEOBLE,  AND  LOCH  MORAR — CROSSES  THE  MOUNTAINS 
TO  GLENBOISDALE— RESOLVES  TO  PROCEED  TO  THE  ISLANDS — SETS  SAIL 
FROM  [BORRADALE  WITH  DONALD  MACLEOD  —  RETURNS  AFTER  MANY 
ADVENTURES  AND  ESCAPES  TO  THE  MAINLAND — AT  LITTLE  MALLACK — 
REACHES  BORRADALE  FOR  THE  THIRD  TIME — PASSES  THROUGH  A  COR- 
DON OF  SOLDIERS— STAYS  WITH  THE  SEVEN  OUTLAWS  OF  GLENMORISTON 
— MOVES  AGAIN  WESTWARD — WELCOMED  BY  FRIENDS  IN  LOCHARKAIG 
—  MAKES  FOR  BADENOCH — JOINS  LOCHIEL  AT  MELLANUIR — IN  A  SHIELING 
ON  BEN  ALDER — THE  CAGE  AND  ITS  INMATES  — HEARS  OF  THE  ARRIVAL 
OF  TWO  FRENCH  VESSELS  IN  LOCH-NA-NUAGH — TRAVELS  TO  BORRADALE 
AND  EMBARKS  FOR  FRANCE — ATROCITIES  PERPETRATED  ON  THE  INHABI- 
TANTS OF  INVERNESS-SHIRE  BY  THE  HANOVERIANS — SICKENING  DETAILS 
— REBEL-HUNTING — RACES  AT  FORT  AUGUSTUS— FATE  OF  THE  INVER- 
NESS-SHIRE CHIEFS  —  ESCAPE  OF  CLUNY  AND  YOUNG  CLANRANALD — 
COLONEL  MACDONALD  OF  BARRISDALE — THE  APPREHENSION  OF  LOVAT 
—TAKEN  TO  LONDON — HIS  TRIAL  AND  EXECUTION — DR  CAMERON  THE 
LAST  VICTIM  OF  THE  '45 — ACTS  OF  PARLIAMENT  PASSED  AFTER  THE  IN- 
SURRECTION— THE  ACT  OF  CLEMENCY — THE  ACT  FOR  DISARMING  THE 
HIGHLANDERS  AND  ABOLISHING  THEIR  DRESS— THE  ACT  ABOLISHING 
HERITABLE  JURISDICTIONS — ITS  IMPORTANT  RESULTS  —  THE  ROMANCE 
OF  THE  COUNTY.ENDS — A   NEW  ORDER   OF  THINGS   BEGINS. 


The  wanderings  of  Charles  Edward  Stewart  after  Culloden 
form  a  romantic  episode  in  the  history  of  Inverness-shire, 
and  must  to  some  extent  be  narrated  in  these  pages  to  make 
that  history  complete,  though  we  can  only  give  an  outline  of 
the  story.  It  is  a  story  of  which  our  county  may  be  proud, 
for  it  illustrates  as  nothing  else  could  do  the  high  feeling 
of  honour  and  loyalty  which  lived  in  the  hearts  of  the 
humblest  of  its  people,  who  gave  shelter  and  hospitality  to 


1 86  SPLENDID   LOYALTY. 

the  unfortunate  fugitive  at  the  risk  of  their  Hves.  They 
scorned  to  betray  him  when  to  do  so  would  have  brought 
them  fortune  beyond  their  wildest  dreams.  The  ;^30,ooo 
which  the  Government  set  upon  his  head  was  within  the 
reach  of  hundreds  of  men  ground  down  to  the  dust  by  pov- 
erty and  suffering,  yet  every  one  of  them  disdained  to  take  it. 
History  records  no  such  perfect  instance  of  loyalty  to  a  person, 
and  of  splendid  fidelity  to  a  fallen  cause. 

Charles,  from  the  eminence  on  which  he  stood  on  the  field 
of  Culloden,  saw  with  dismay  the  ruin  of  his  army  and  the 
failure  of  his  ambitions.  Two  of  his  friends,  Sheridan  and 
Sullivan,  who  were  near  him,  believing  that  all  was  lost,  seized 
his  horse  by  the  bridle  and  forced  him  from  the  field.  Riding 
by  the  Water  of  Nairn,  he  and  his  friends  came  to  Tordaroch, 
which  they  found  deserted  ;  thence  they  came  to  Aberarder, 
where  also  they  got  no  access.  They  then  passed  by  Faraline 
to  Gortuleg  or  Gorthlick,  where  they  halted.  At  this  place 
the  Prince  met  for  the  first  time  Lord  Lovat.  Regarding  the 
interview  which  took  place  between  them  the  accounts  given 
are  conflicting.  According  to  one  account  the  chief  embraced 
Charles  with  great  cordiality  :  according  to  another,  he  over- 
whelmed him  with  reproaches.  In  the  intervals  of  his  parox- 
ysms of  rage  he  rushed  about  the  house  exclaiming,  "  Chop  oft 
my  head  !  chop  off  my  head  !  "  Whichever  story  is  the  true 
one,  the  interview  between  the  two  was  but  brief.  Charles, 
after  changing  his  dress  and  taking  a  glass  or  two  of  wine,  left 
the  house  at  ten  o'clock  at  night  for  Fort  Augustus.  Here  a 
ball  was  extracted  from  his  horse,  and  he  continued  his  journey 
to  Invergarry  House,  where  he  arrived  at  two  o'clock  in  the 
morning.  The  chief  was  absent,  and  the  place  deserted  and 
destitute  of  furniture.  Charles  threw  himself,  overcome  by 
fatigue,  on  the  floor,  and  slept  till  far  on  in  the  next  day.  On 
his  awaking,  his  faithful  servant  Ned  Burke  provided  for  him  a 


THE  prince's  hardships.  1 87 

breakfast,  having  caught  two  salmon  in  the  river  Garry  with  a 
net  which  he  had  found.  This  repast  finished,  Charles  pre- 
pared to  start  for  the  west,  and  took  leave  of  all  his  com- 
panions, with  the  exception  of  Sullivan,  O'Neil,  and  Burke. 
Dressed  in  the  clothes  of  Burke,  he  pressed  on  till  he  arrived 
at  Glen  Pean,  at  the  head  of  Loch  Arkaig,  where  he  stayed  all 
night  at  the  house  of  Donald  Cameron.  He  arrived  here 
about  nine  in  the  evening,  and  was  so  fatigued  that  he  fell 
asleep  while  Burke  was  undoing  his  spatterdashes.  Next 
morning  he  and  his  friends  went  still  farther  west  to  Meoble, 
not  far  from  Loch  Morar,  where  he  passed  the  night  and  was 
kindly  entertained.  The  hardships  of  his  journey  now  com- 
menced. He  had  to  abandon  his  horse  and  travel  on  foot. 
Leaving  Meoble,  the  party  reached  Oban,  at  the  head  of  Loch 
Morar,  where  they  stayed  the  night  in  a  shieling  near  a  wood. 
Next  day,  Sunday,  20th  April,  they  crossed  the  mountains  to 
Glenboisdale  in  Arisaig,  not  far  from  the  spot  where  nine 
months  previously  he  had  landed  to  begin  the  enterprise  which 
had  ended  in  such  miserable  failure.  At  Glenboisdale  several 
fugitives  joined  the  party,  and  long  and  anxious  were  the  con- 
sultations as  to  what  course  the  Prince  should  pursue.  Gov- 
ernment vessels  were  cruising  among  the  Western  Isles,  while 
detachments  of  infantry  were  guarding  all  the  fords  and  passes 
on  the  mainland.  The  situation  was  full  of  peril.  After  much 
deliberation  it  was  decided  that  Charles  should  proceed  to  the 
Islands  on  the  chance  of  finding  a  vessel  which  might  convey 
him  to  France.  There  happened  to  be  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Kinloch  Moidart  an  old  Highlander,  Donald  Macleod,  who 
was  well  acquainted  with  the  navigation  of  the  Hebrides.  He 
was  sent  for  to  meet  the  Prince  at  Borradale.  The  account 
of  the  interview  taken  down  from  Donald  by  the  faithful 
chronicler  of  the  Jacobites,  Bishop  Forbes,  is  extremely  inter- 
esting,  and   strikingly   Celtic.      When   the   Highlander  came 


1 88  IN    THE   HEBRIDES. 

to  Borradale  the  first  man  he  met  was  the  Prince  walking 
moodily  by  himself  in  a  wood. 

"  Are  you  Donald  Macleod  of  Quatergill  in  Skye  ? "  he 
asked. 

"Yes,"  said  Donald,  "I  am  the  same  man,  may  it  please 
your  Majesty,  at  your  service.  What  is  your  pleasure  wi' 
me?" 

"  Then,"  said  the  Prince,  "  you  see,  Donald,  I  am  in  distress. 
I  therefore  throw  myself  into  your  bosom  and  let  you  do  with 
me  what  you  like.  I  hear  you  are  an  honest  man  and  fit  to 
be  trusted." 

"  When  Donald  was  giving  me  this  part  of  the  narrative," 
says  the  bishop,  "  he  grat  sare,  the  tears  came  running  down 
his  cheeks,  and  he  said,  'Wha  the  deil  could  help  greeting 
when  speaking  on  sic  a  sad  subject  ? '  " 

On  the  evening  of  the  24th  April,  under  the  guidance  of 
this  faithful  Highlander  and  skilful  pilot,  Charles  set  out  from 
Borradale,  on  Loch-na-Nuagh,  to  seek  for  safety  in  the  Islands. 
Of  his  numerous  adventures  among  the  Hebrides,  the  perils 
he  encountered,  his  hairbreadth  escapes,  and  above  all,  of 
the  faithful  friends,  especially  the  heroic  Flora  Macdonald, 
who  succoured  him,  it  does  not  fall  within  our  province  to 
tell.  Early  on  the  morning  of  the  5th  July  he  landed  again 
on  the  mainland  of  Inverness-shire  at  a  place  called  Little 
Mallack,  on  the  south  side  of  Loch  Nevis,  and  from  this 
point  we  once  more  take  up  his  story. 

The  change  from  the  Islands  to  the  mainland  did  not  seem 
to  offer  greater  safety  to  the  fugitive  Prince.  The  whole 
district  was  in  the  hands  of  the  king's  soldiers,  and  was  well 
watched  in  every  part.  For  three  days  and  three  nights 
Charles  and  his  companions,  among  whom  was  the  Laird 
of  Mackinnon  in  Skye,  and  a  John  Mackinnon  of  the  same 


FURTHER   WANDERINGS.  1 89 

clan,  durst  not  stir  from  the  place  where  they  landed,  but  lay 
concealed  among  the  heather  under  the  open  sky.  On  the 
fourth  day  they  rowed  along  the  shore  of  Loch  Nevis,  hoping 
to  find  some  cave  where  they  could  obtain  shelter  from  the 
inclement  weather.  As  they  passed  round  a  point  they  ran 
against  a  boat  moored  to  a  rock,  and  saw  standing  on  the 
shore  a  party  of  men,  the  red  crosses  on  whose  bonnets  told 
them  that  they  belonged  to  the  militia.  They  were  ordered 
to  pull  ashore  for  examination.  This  they  did  not  do. 
"  Pull  for  your  lives,"  said  Mackinnon  to  the  boatmen,  and 
away  they  sped  down  the  loch.  They  were  pursued  by  the 
soldiers,  and  for  some  time  the  pursuit  was  keen ;  but  at 
length  they  distanced  their  followers,  and  coming  to  a  place 
where  the  woods  came  down  to  the  shore,  they  shot  their 
boat  into  a  little  bay.  Charles  landed,  and  from  a  hill  saw 
the  militiamen  returning  from  the  pursuit.  The  fugitives 
again  embarked  after  a  few  hours'  rest,  and  reached  a  small 
island,  where  they  took  refuge. 

Old  Clanranald  happening  to  be  in  the  country,  John 
Mackinnon  was  sent  to  him  requesting  his  assistance.  This 
the  chief  declined  to  give :  he  had  suffered  much  in  the 
cause,  and  would  not  run  any  further  risk.  Mackinnon  left 
him  in  a  passion  and  returned  to  Charles,  who  received 
the  news  of  his  failure  resignedly.  "Well,  Mackinnon, 
there  is  no  help  for  it,  we  must  do  the  best  we  can  for 
ourselves." 

From  Little  Mallack,  to  which  they  returned,  they  travelled 
to  the  house  of  Macdonald  of  Morar,  at  the  head  of  the  loch 
of  that  name,  and  reached  it  at  an  early  hour  in  the  morning. 
It  had  been  burned  by  the  military,  but  they  found  the  owner 
and  his  family  in  a  bothy  which  had  been  erected  close  by. 
Mrs  Macdonald,  who  was  the  sister  of  Lochiel,  gave  the  party 


190  LOYAL   FRIENDS. 

a  kindly  reception,  and  at  the  sight  of  the  poor  prince  she 
was  so  affected  that  she  burst  into  tears.  Her  husband  also 
appeared  no  less  hearty  in  his  welcome.  He  would,  he  said, 
go  and  see  young  Clanranald  and  enlist  his  services.  When 
he  returned  his  manner  was  changed.  His  enthusiasm  had 
departed.  He  had  not,  he  said,  been  able  to  find  the 
young  chief,  and  had  evidently  been  dissuaded  from  giving 
any  further  assistance.  To  a  touching  appeal  made  to  him 
by  Charles  he  remained  unmoved,  and  the  poor  fugitive 
feeling  himself  deserted  and  in  the  toils  of  the  enemy, 
exclaimed,  "  O  God  Almighty !  look  down  upon  my  cir- 
cumstances and  pity  me,  for  I  am  in  a  most  melancholy 
situation." 

His  circumstances  were  indeed  melancholy  enough.  Escape 
seemed  hopeless,  but  his  friends  the  Mackinnons  stood 
true  to  him  and  would  not  allow  him  to  despair.  "  I  never," 
cried  the  old  chief,  "  will  leave  your  Royal  Highness  in  the 
day  of  danger,  but  will,  under  God,  do  all  I  can  for  you, 
and  go  with  you  wherever  you  order  me."  "  With  the  help 
of  God,"  said  John,  "  I  will  go  through  the  wide  world  with 
your  Royal  Highness."  Accompanied  by  these  brave  men 
Charles  reached  Borradale  for  the  third  time.  The  house 
that  had  welcomed  him  at  his  first  landing  had  been  burnt 
down,  and  Angus  Macdonald,  the  proprietor,  was  living  in  a 
small  hut.  He  at  once  gave  the  Prince  his  promise  to  pro- 
tect him,  and  he  remained  hidden  with  him  three  days  in  a 
wood.  He  now  bade  an  affectionate  farewell  to  his  Skye 
friends,  who  returned  home. 

Borradale  was  not  long  a  place  of  safety.  Intelligence 
reached  Charles  that  he  had  been  traced  from  Skye,  and  his 
pursuers  were  even  now  on  his  scent.  A  Government  ship  had 
entered  Loch-na-Nuagh.      Again  the  hunted  man  had  to  shift 


WITH   THE   OUTLAWS.  I9I 

his  quarters.  He  resolved  to  move  more  into  the  interior 
of  the  country,  but  it  was  difficult  for  him  to  do  so.  A 
cordon  of  soldiers  had  been  drawn  from  the  head  of  Loch 
Shiel  to  Loch  Hourn.  The  sentinels  along  this  line  were 
posted  so  close  to  one  another  that  in  the  daytime  no  one 
could  pass  without  being  seen  by  them.  At  night  fires  were 
lighted,  and  the  soldiers  passed  and  repassed  from  fire  to  fire. 
After  wandering  some  days  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Arisaig, 
where  he  met  with  friends,  Charles  by  good  fortune  fell  in 
with  Donald  Cameron  of  Glen  Pean,  a  man  who  was  well 
acquainted  with  all  the  passes  and  paths  of  the  district. 
Guided  by  him  he  was  able  to  slip  through  the  line  of 
watchers,  and  after  many  narrow  escapes,  and  suffering  in- 
credible hardships,  among  the  mountains  that  border  Loch 
Arkaig,  he  found  himself  on  the  night  of  July  28  in  the  Braes 
of  Glenmoriston,  when  his  only  shelter  was  "a  small  cave, 
the  limits  of  which  were  so  narrow  and  the  narrow  floor  so 
rugged  as  almost  to  rob  him  even  of  the  luxury  of  sleep." 

In  this  region  were  seven  men  who  had  served  in  the 
Jacobite  army,  and  were  now  living  the  life  of  outlaws 
amid  the  wild  passes  that  lie  above  Glenmoriston.  Their 
houses  had  been  burnt,  and  they  had  been  themselves  pro- 
scribed. They  were  animated  by  intense  hatred  to  the  Duke 
of  Cumberland  and  his  men,  and  they  harassed  the  royal 
troops  on  every  possible  occasion,  constantly  attacking  them 
as  they  went  on  their  errands,  and  cutting  off  many  of  them 
by  volleys  suddenly  fired  from  behind  the  rocks.  They 
were  the  constant  terror  of  the  troops  at  Fort  Augustus  when- 
ever they  went  beyond  the  limits  of  their  garrison. 

With  these  brave  outlaws  Charles  enjoyed  a  welcome 
repose  of  nearly  three  weeks,  during  which  they  watched  over 
his  safety  and  supplied  his  wants.     They  took  solemnly  an 


192  ROUGH   HOSPITALITY. 

oath  "that  their  backs  should  be  to  God  and  their  faces  to 
the  devil,  that  all  the  curses  the  Scriptures  did  pronounce 
might  come  upon  themselves  and  all  their  posterity  if  they  did 
not  stand  firm  to  the  Prince  in  the  greatest  dangers,  and  if 
they  should  discover  to  any  person — man,  woman,  or  child 
— that  the  Prince  was  in  their  keeping,  till  once  his  person 
should  be  out  of  danger."  So  faithfully  did  they  keep  this 
oath  that  they  never  spoke  of  Charles  having  been  with  them 
till  a  twelvemonth  after  he  had  left  Scotland.  With  them 
the  fugitive  enjoyed  comforts  to  which  he  had  been  long  a 
stranger.  His  food  was  plentiful  though  coarse,  and  he  could 
sleep  in  peace,  well  guarded  by  faithful  friends.  His  enter- 
tainers did  everything  they  could  to  cheer  him.  They  for- 
aged for  him.  Distressed  at  his  mean  apparel,  they  shot 
down  some  servants  carrying  baggage  for  the  officers  at  the 
barracks,  that  he  might  be  better  clothed.  They  ventured  to 
the  fort  to  buy  bread  for  him,  and  on  one  occasion  brought 
him  with  joy  a  pennyworth  of  gingerbread,  which  to  them 
seemed  the  greatest  dainty  that  he  could  possibly  enjoy. 

Accompanied  by  these  good  friends,  the  Prince  wandered 
for  some  time  among  the  mountains  of  Glenmoriston  and 
Strathglass.  He  was  in  Glen  Cannich  and  at  Fasnakyle  on 
the  19th  August.  Hearing  that  Glenmoriston  and  Glengarry 
were  clear  of  soldiers,  he  moved  again  towards  the  west.  With 
his  friends  he  passed  from  Glenmoriston  into  Glen  Loyne, 
and  coming  to  the  river  Garry  somewhere  near  Inchlagan, 
forded  it  breast-high,  and  made  his  way  through  the  opposite 
mountains  to  Achnasaul,  near  the  east  end  of  Loch  Arkaig. 
In  this  neighbourhood  he  met  with  friendly  people,  who  con- 
ducted him  to  a  wood  at  the  foot  of  Loch  Arkaig,  where  he 
and  his  party  passed  a  night.  The  Glenmoriston  men  now 
parted  from  him  and  returned  to  their  own  country.  One 
of  them,  however,  remained  for  a  few  days,  to  be  the  bearer 


THE   CAGE.  193 

of  twenty-four  guineas  to  his  companions  as  an  acknowledg- 
ment of  their  fidehty. 

Among  friends  on  the  bank  of  Loch  Arkaig,  where  he  was 
more  than  once  in  imminent  peril,  Charles  remained  from  the 
20th  August  until  near  the  end  of  the  month,  when  he 
received  a  message  from  Lochiel  and  Cluny,  who  were  in 
hiding  in  Badenoch,  requesting  him  to  join  them.  He  seems 
to  have  made  his  way  thither  by  the  valley  of  the  Spean,  and 
on  the  30th  August  reached  Mellanuir,  near  Ben  Alder,  where 
Lochiel  was  living  with  four  other  persons.  Lochiel  gave  him 
an  enthusiastic  welcome,  and  Charles,  as  he  partook  of  the 
cheer  afforded  him  and  ate  minced  collops  out  of  a  sauce-pan, 
exclaimed,  "  Now,  gentlemen,  I  live  like  a  prince." 

Cluny  joined  the  party  at  this  place,  and  the  day  after  his 
arrival  they  shifted  their  quarters  to  a  Highland  shieling  on 
Ben  Alder  called  Uiskchiha,  which  is  said  to  have  been 
"  superlatively  bad  and  smoky."  Thence  after  two  or  three 
days  they  removed  to  "a  romantic  and  comical  habitation 
called  the  Cage,"  on  the  shoulders  of  Ben  Alder,  and  not  far 
from  the  western  end  of  Loch  Ericht. 

This  last  refuge  of  the  Prince  is  in  one  of  the  wildest  parts 
of  Inverness-shire.  A  graphic  description  of  it  is  given  by  one 
of  those  who  shared  its  shelter  :  "  The  habitation  called  the 
Cage  was  within  a  thick  bush  of  wood.  There  were  first 
some  rows  of  trees  laid  down  in  order  to  level  a  floor  for  the 
habitation,  and  as  the  place  was  steep,  this  raised  the  lower 
side  to  equal  height  with  the  other,  and  these  trees  in  the  way  of 
joists  or  planks  were  entirely  well  levelled  with  earth  and  gravel. 
There  were  betwixt  the  trees  growing  naturally  on  their  own 
roots,  some  stakes  fixed  in  the  earth,  which,  with  the  trees, 
were  interwoven  with  ropes  made  of  heath  and  birch-twigs  all 
to  the  top  of  the  cage,  it  being  of  a  round  or  rather  of  an  oval 
shape,  and  the  whole  thatched  and  covered  with  logs.     This 

N 


194  A   WILD   HIDING-PLACE. 

whole  fabric  hung,  as  it  were,  by  a  large  tree,  which  inclined 
from  the  one  end  all  along  the  roof  to  the  other,  and  which 
gave  it  the  name  of  the  Cage  ;  and  by  chance  there  happened  to 
be  two  stones  at  a  small  distance  from  each  other,  next  the  preci- 
pice, resembling  the  pillars  of  a  bosom  chimney,  and  here  was 
the  fire  placed.  The  smoke  had  its  vent  out  there,  all  along  a 
very  stony  part  of  the  rock,  which  and  the  smoke  were  so 
much  of  a  colour  that  no  one  could  have  distinguished  the 
one  from  the  other.  The  Cage  was  only  large  enough  to  con- 
tain six  or  seven  persons,  four  of  which  number  were  frequently 
employed  in  playing  cards,  one  idle  looking  on,  one  baking, 
and  another  firing  bread  and  cooking." 

The  place  where  this  singular  habitation  stood  can  still  be 
identified.  It  is  about  200  yards  above  a  rough  burn  which 
runs  into  Loch  Ericht.  The  "  Cage  "  itself  has  disappeared, 
but  the  huge  stones  which  formed  the  chimney  still  remain, 
and  go  by  the  name  of  "  Prince  Charlie's  Cave."  A  wilder 
and  more  solitary  spot  can  scarcely  be  found  in  Scotland. 
To  the  left  the  visitor  looks  down  on  the  blue  waters  of  Loch 
Ericht  and  the  yellow  strands  that  bound  its  western  extremity ; 
beyond  stretches  the  wild  moor  of  Rannoch,  with  Ben  Doran 
and  the  hills  of  the  Black  Mount  forest  in  the  distance.  To 
the  right  are  those  of  the  forest  of  Corour  ■.  above,  steep  and 
strewn  with  great  white  boulders,  is  the  shoulder  of  Ben 
Alder.  No  sound  is  heard  but  that  of  the  wind  as  it  rushes 
through  the  corries,  or  the  murmur  of  a  hundred  little  streams 
as  they  force  their  way  through  their  rocky  channels.  Few 
places  are  more  lonely  and  desolate. 

Here  it  was  that  Charles  received  the  joyful  news  that  two 
French  vessels  sent  to  take  him  away  had  anchored  in  Loch- 
na-Nuagh.  He  instantly  began  to  make  preparations  for  his 
departure,  and  when  messengers  from  Cluny  arrived  to  guide 


SAFELY   EMBARKED.  1 95 

him  to  the  vessels,  they  found  him  ready  to  begin  his  journey 

at  a  moment's  warning.     On  the   13th  September  he  left  the 

Cage,  travelling  by  night  by  Glen  Roy,  Achnacarry,  and  the 

head  of  Loch  Arkaig.     On  the   19th  September  he  reached 

Borradale  for  the  last  time,  and  next  day  embarked  on  board 

the  French  man-of-war  L'Heureuse,  accompanied  by  Lochiel, 

Sullivan,  Sheridan,  and  about  a  hundred  others.     Thus  ended 

his  Highland  adventures,  which  complete  the  episode  of  "  the 

Forty-Five."     The   whole    tale    reads   like   a   chapter   in    the 

romances  of  chivalry,  and  will  ever  reflect  honour  upon  the 

Highlanders,  and  especially  on  those  of  our  northern  county. 

As  we  think  of  their  fidelity  and  disinterestedness  we  recall 

the  words  of  Shakespeare — 

' '  'Tis  wonderful 
That  an  invis'ble  instinct  should  frame  them 
To  loyalty  unlearned,  honour  untaught, 
Civility  not  seen  from  others  ;  valour 
That  wildly  grows  in  them,  but  yields  a  crop 
As  if  it  had  been  sowed." 

While  Charles  was  wandering  among  the  islands  and  moun- 
tains of  Inverness-shire,  the  inhabitants  of  that  county  were 
suffering  the  most  fearful  hardships.  Atrocities  so  dreadful 
were  perpetrated  among  them  by  the  royal  troops,  that  if  they 
were  not  fully  vouched  for  by  good  authority  they  could  not 
be  believed.  The  Duke  of  Cumberland,  to  use  his  own  words, 
regarded  the  Highlands  "  as  a  nest  of  rebels,"  and  that  nest 
he  determined  to  crush  beneath  his  heavy  heel.  After 
Culloden  he  transferred  his  headquarters  to  Fort  Augustus, 
and  from  his  camp  there  sent  out  parties  of  soldiers  to  scour 
the  neighbouring  country  and  to  inflict  upon  the  inhabitants 
the  utmost  extremities  of  war.  No  mercy  was  shown  in  carry- 
ing out  his  orders.  The  patriotic  President  Forbes,  who 
ventured  to  expostulate  with   him  on  the  enormities  perpe- 


196  UNSPEAKABLE   ATROCITIES. 

trated  by  his  soldiers,  and  made  mention  of  the  "  laws  of  the 
country,"  received  for  reply,  "The  laws  of  the  country!  My 
lord,  I'll  make  a  brigade  give  laws,  by  God !  "  And  he  after- 
wards referred  to  the  President  as  "  that  old  woman  who  spoke 
to  me  of  humanity  "  ! 

Certainly  no  feeling  of  humanity  was  shown  by  those  who 
carried  out  his  orders.  Within  a  compass  of  fifty  miles  round 
Fort  Augustus  all  was  soon  ruin  and  desolation.  The  houses 
of  Lochiel,  Glengarry,  Keppoch,  Kinloch  Moidarj;,  and  Cluny 
were  burnt.  The  houses  of  the  peasantry  shared  the  same  fate. 
Cattle  were  driven  away,  townships  given  to  the  flames,  women 
outraged,  whole  families  turned  out  of  their  homes  to  perish 
by  starvation  and  exposure.  Such  men  as  were  captured  were 
shot  without  trial.  The  details  are  sickening,  and  are  almost 
unparalleled  in  the  annals  of  civilised  warfare.  Pestilence 
followed  close  on  these  atrocities,  and  decimated  those  whom 
the  conquerors  had  spared. 

The  men  of  Glenmoriston  and  Urquhart  were  told  that  if 
they  delivered  up  their  arms  at  Inverness  their  lives  would  be 
spared.  Relying  on  this  promise,  made  to  them  by  no  less  a 
person  than  the  chief  of  Grant,  they  marched  to  Inverness 
and  laid  down  their  arms.  They  were  immediately  made 
prisoners,  sent  by  sea  to  London,  and  those  who  survived  the 
treatment  to  which  they  were  subjected  were  transported 
to  the  plantations.  No  faith  was  kept  with  the  "  rebels." 
"Rebel-hunting"  was  the  term  adopted  by  the  royal  officers 
to  designate  their  bloody  work,  and  it  was  engaged  in  as  a 
pleasant  amusement. 

Various  attempts  have  been  made  to  free  the  Duke  of 
Cumberland  from  the  charge  of  inhumanity.  He  was  dis- 
charging, it  has  been  said,  a  painful  duty,  and  he  did  so 
with  as  much  lenience  as  he  could  venture  to  show.  The 
following    order    issued    by    him    at    Fort    Augustus    is    suf- 


A    SAVAGE   ORDER.  1 97 

ficient  to  prove   the   severity  with  which  he  carried   out  his 

measures  : — 

' '  Fort  Augustus,  July  8tA. 

"  There  is  no  meal  to  be  sold  to  any  persons  but  soldiers  ;  their 
wives  are  not  allowed  to  buy  it.  If  any  soldier,  soldier's  wife,  or 
any  person  belonging  to  the  army,  is  known  to  sell  or  give  any 
meal  to  any  Highlander  or  any  person  of  the  country,  they  shall 
first  be  whipped  severely  for  disobeying  this  order,  and  then  put 
on  meal-and-water  in  the  Provost  for  a  fortnight." 

The  inhumanity  displayed  by  this  order  is  too  apparent. 

Sometimes  as  many  as  2000  cattle  reached  Fort  Augustus 
in  one  drove.  They  had  been  plundered  from  the  wretched 
inhabitants,  and  were  afterwards  sold  to  drovers  from  the 
South,  the  proceeds  being  divided  among  the  soldiers.  The 
fort  was  surrounded  by  crowds  of  wretched  beggars,  mostly 
women,  begging  for  the  ofifal,  or  even  to  be  allowed  to  lick 
the  blood  of  the  cattle  slain  for  the  use  of  the  army. 

The  people  seem  to  have  offered  no  resistance,  or  to  have 
in  any  way  revenged  the  infamous  treatment  they  received. 
No  sword  was  drawn  or  gun  fired.  Their  spirit  was  broken. 
One  instance,  and  only  one,  of  retaliation  has  come  down  to 
us.  A  Glengarry  man  on  returning  home  found  his  house 
had  been  burnt,  his  wife  violated,  and  his  property  destroyed. 
Maddened  by  his  wrongs,  he  vowed  vengeance  on  the  officer 
who  had  committed  the  outrage,  and  who,  he  was  told,  was 
mounted  on  a  white  horse.  Some  weeks  afterwards,  by  the 
side  of  Loch  Arkaig,  he  saw  an  officer  who  answered  the  de- 
scription, and,  lurking  in  the  recesses  of  a  wood,  he  shot  him 
dead.  He  found  afterwards  that  he  had  killed  the  wrong 
man,  and  is  said  to  have  destroyed  his  gun  and  renounced 
the  vow  of  vengeance  he  had  taken. 

Inverness-shire  more  than  any  other  part  of  Scotland 
suffered  from  the  vengeance  of  the  Hanoverians,  and  in  many 
of  its  glens  stories  are  still  told  of  the  misery  inflicted  upon 


198  HANGING    HAWLEY. 

the  people.  At  last  the  time  of  fearful  trial  came  to  a  close. 
By  the  end  of  June  there  were  no  more  houses  left  to  burn 
or  property  to  devastate.  The  reign  of  cruelty  and  murder 
came  to  an  end.  The  fire  went  out  for  want  of  fuel.  The 
Duke  of  Cumberland  thus  pleasantly  records  his  impression 
of  what  had  been  done  during  his  visit :  "I  am  sorry  to  leave 
this  country  in  the  condition  it  is  in  ;  for  all  the  good  that  we 
have  done  has  been  a  little  blood-letting,  which  has  only 
weakened  the  madness  but  not  cured  it,  and  I  tremble  for 
fear  that  this  vile  spot  may  still  be  the  ruin  of  this  island  and 
of  our  family." 

There  was  clearly  no  compunction  for  the  miseries  they  had 
inflicted  upon  the  unfortunate  people  experienced  either  by 
the  duke  or  his  officers.  Their  barbarities  had  been  entirely 
congenial  employment.  When  the  work  of  outrage  and 
butchery  was  finished  they  turned  to  other  amusements. 
His  Royal  Highness  instituted  horse  and  foot  races  at  Fort 
Augustus,  and  did  not  think  it  beneath  him  to  make  the 
peasant  women  of  the  neighbourhood,  or,  as  some  say,  the 
followers  of  the  camp,  strip  in  front  of  the  army  and  ride 
races  in  perfect  nudity.  General  Hawley — "  Hanging  Haw- 
ley,"  as  he  was  called — who  had  been  foremost  in  every  cruelty, 
took  a  leading  part  in  these  disgusting  amusements.  Nothing 
could  possibly  be  more  degrading  to  humanity  than  the  story 
of  what  took  place  in  Inverness-shire  after  Culloden,  It  is  a 
shameful  page  in  British  history. 

Some  of  the  Inverness-shire  chiefs  who  had  been  engaged 
in  the  insurrection  made  good  their  escape.  Lochiel  accom- 
panied Prince  Charles  to  France.  Cluny  remained  hidden 
among  the  mountains  of  Badenoch  for  nine  years,  during 
which  he  met  with  many  strange  adventures.  He  lurked  in 
caves,  vaults,  and  huts,  supplied  with  all  necessaries,  and 
even  comforts,  by  his   own   clansmen,  who  paid  their  rents 


A  SINGLE   TRAITOR.  1 99 

both  to  the  Government  and  to  their  chief.  One  of  the  most 
secure  of  his  hiding-places,  and  which  still  is  to  be  seen,  was 
a  vault  under  the  house  of  Dalchully,  three  miles  from  his 
own  castle.  It  is  about  8  feet  square  and  7  feet  deep,  wain- 
scoted with  deal  planks,  and  entered  by  a  trap-door  in  the 
floor  above.  In  1755  Cluny  effected  his  escape  to  the  Con- 
tinent, and  died  at  Dunkirk  in  1764.  Young  Clanranald 
managed  to  get  on  board  a  vessel  on  the  east  coast  of  Scot- 
land, sailed  in  her  to  London,  and  without  challenge  crossed 
from  there  to  Paris.  Other  Inverness-shire  chiefs  were  not  so 
fortunate.  Glengarry  was  apprehended,  taken  to  London, 
and  committed  to  the  Tower,  where  he  suffered  a  long  im- 
prisonment. Macdonald  of  Kinloch  Moidart  was  executed 
at  Carlisle. 

One  prominent  Inverness-shire  man.  Coll  Macdonald  of 
Barrisdale,  who  had  taken  considerable  part  in  the  Jacobite 
campaign,  demands  special  mention.  His  fidelity  to  the  cause 
after  CuUoden  was  suspected  by  his  companions.  When 
Prince  Charles  sailed  for  France,  he  was  seized  and  carried 
with  him,  with  a  view  to  his  being  tried  in  that  country 
as  an  informer.  Some  steps  seem  to  have  been  taken  to 
that  end,  but  they  do  not  appear  to  have  been  seriously 
followed  up.  Barrisdale  and  his  son  were  confined  to  prison, 
from  which  they  effected  their  escape  to  Scotland.  The 
son  was  seized  and  condemned  to  death,  though  afterwards 
pardoned,  and  old  Coll  passed  the  rest  of  his  days  in  confine- 
ment. The  State  Papers  show  that  there  is  no  doubt  of 
Barrisdale  being  a  traitor  to  his  friends.  While  the  poverty- 
stricken  people  of  his  district  scorned  to  betray  Prince 
Charles,  he  wrote  to  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  promising 
to  discover  the  whereabouts  of  the  Prince  provided  his 
Royal  Highness  would  intercede  for  him.  The  duke  agreed 
to    the    bargain,    which    happily    Barrisdale    was    unable    to 


200  THE   END   OF   LOVAT. 

fulfil.  Among  the  whole  of  the  Highlanders  he  stands  alone 
as  a  traitor. 

The  fate  of  Lord  Lovat,  whose  strange  history  we  have 
noticed  more  than  once  in  this  narrative,  is  well  known. 
With  the  cunning  which  was  his  great  characteristic,  he 
had  prepared  for  himself,  in  case  of  the  fortune  of  war 
going  against  the  Jacobites,  a  place  of  refuge  on  an  island 
on  Lochamhulin,  among  the  mountains  of  Glen  Strathfarrar. 
Thither  he  was  carried  in  a  litter  after  his  parting  with  the 
Prince  on  the  day  of  the  battle.  From  a  hill-top  on  his  way 
to  this  distant  retreat  he  is  said  to  have  seen  his  castle  burned 
by  Cumberland's  soldiers,  illuminating  the  darkness  with 
flames.  After  a  time  he  shifted  his  quarters  from  his  lair  in 
Glen  Strathfarrar  to  another  similar  hiding-place  on  an  island 
on  the  lake  of  Morar,  in  Arisaig.  Here  he  was  apprehended 
by  a  party  from  a  vessel  of  war,  commanded  by  a  Captain 
Fergusson,  which  had  been  sent  to  search  the  west  coast. 
It  is  said  that  he  was  discovered  in  a  hollow  tree,  in  which 
he  was  able  to  stand  upright.  He  had  entered  by  an  orifice 
below,  through  which  the  sailors  were  astonished  to  see  what 
appeared  two  human  legs  muffled  in  flannel. 

The  old  lord,  now  past  eighty,  was  carried  in  a  litter  to 
Fort  William,  and  thence  by  easy  stages,  by  Edinburgh  and 
Berwick,  to  London.  There  he  was  tried  by  the  House  of 
Lords  and  condemned  to  be  executed.  On  the  gth  April 
1747  he  was  beheaded  on  Tower  Hill.  Almost  the  last 
words  he  spoke  was  the  well-worn  quotation  from  Horace — 

"  Dulce  et  decorum  est  pro  patria  mori. " 

He  could  scarcely  have  chosen  one  more  inappropriate  to  his 
own  career.  As  Sir  Walter  Scott  has  remarked,  Lovat  was  a 
strong  example  of  the  truth  of  the  observation  that  it  is  easier 
to  die  than  to  live  well. 


THE   LAST   VICTIM.  201 

Many  of  humbler  rank  than  this  great  Inverness-shire  chief, 
and  from  the  same  county,  shared  his  fate.  In  the  Hsts  of 
those  put  upon  their  trial  at  Southwark,  Carhsle,  and  York 
we  come  on  many  names  with  the  words  "  shire  of  Inverness, 
gentleman,"  attached  to  them.  Few  of  that  rank  escaped  the 
last  penalty  of  the  law.      Crowds  of  others  were  transported. 

The  last  man  of  note  who  suffered  for  his  share  in  the 
rising  belonged  to  our  county.  This  was  Dr  Archibald 
Cameron,  the  grandson  of  Sir  Ewen  Dubh,  and  brother  of 
the  "gentle  Lochiel"  of  the  '45.  He  was  a  distinguished 
physician  as  well  as  a  brave  soldier,  and  had  been  during 
the  campaign  as  assiduous  in  the  cause  of  wounded  prisoners 
as  of  those  belonging  to  his  own  side.  He  had  escaped  with 
Charles  and  his  brother  to  France.  In  1753,  beUeving  that 
the  severities  with  which  his  people  were  prosecuted  were 
over,  he  ventured  back  to  Scotland.  He  was  apprehended 
at  the  house  of  Gordon  of  Glenbucket,  an  old  Jacobite,  taken 
to  London,  and  tried  under  an  old  attainder,  and  condemned 
to  be  executed.  In  the  words  of  Sir  Walter  Scott,  his  execu- 
tion, so  long  after  hostilities  were  over,  "  threw  much  reproach 
upon  the  Government,  and  even  upon  the  personal  character 
of  George  II.  as  sullen,  relentless,  and  unforgiving."  He  died 
like  a  good  and  brave  man,  and  a  monument  to  him — the 
last  victim  of  the  '45 — may  still  be  seen  in  the  Savoy  Chapel, 
London,  where  he  was  buried. 

After  the  bloody  work  of  "  stamping  out  the  rebellion  "  was 
accomplished,  laws  were  passed  by  Parliament  with  a  view  to 
the  "  settlement  of  the  Highlands."  The  first  Act,  passed  in 
1747,  was  one  of  mercy.  It  granted  a  pardon  to  all  who  had 
been  engaged  in  the  insurrection,  with  the  exception  of  eighty 
persons  who  were  exempted.  Among  the  eighty  were  Glen- 
garry, Grant  of  Glenmoriston,  Chisholm  of  Comer,  Fraser  of 
Foyers,   Fraser  of  Gortuleg,  and   some   other   Inverness-shire 


202  ACTS   OF   REPRESSION. 

men.  Those  persons  also  were  excepted  who  had  formerly 
been  named  in  what  was  called  the  Act  of  Attainder.  Among 
these  were  Dr  Archibald  Cameron,  Cameron  of  Dungallon, 
young  Clanranald,  Alexander  Macdonald  of  Keppoch,  Archi- 
bald Macdonald,  son  of  Barrisdale,  and  Ewen  Macpherson  of 
Cluny.  After  the  passing  of  the  Act  of  Indemnity  many  of 
those  who  had  been  detained  in  prison  were  liberated,  and 
returned  home.  Among  them  were  some  from  our  county 
who  had  been  apprehended  for  taking  part  in  the  escape  of 
Charles. 

Another  Act  was  passed  "  for  the  more  effectually  disarming 
the  Highlands  in  Scotland,  and  for  the  more  effectually  restor- 
ing the  peace  of  the  Highlands,  and  for  restraining  the  use  of 
the  Highland  dress."  The  attempt  to  disarm  the  Highlanders 
after  the  rising  of  1 7 1 5  had  not  been,  as  we  have  seen,  very 
effectual ;  but  the  Act  now  passed  was  most  thoroughly  carried 
out.  The  severest  penalties  were  imposed  on  those  who  failed 
to  deliver  up  their  weapons  by  a  certain  date.  A  second 
offence  was  punished  by  transportation  for  seven  years. 

The  enactment  against  wearing  the  national  dress  seems  to 
us  utterly  ridiculous,  as  all  sumptuary  laws  are  ;  but  it  was,  for 
a  time  at  least,  very  strictly  enforced.  Any  person,  man  or 
boy,  who  "  should  on  any  pretence  whatever  wear  or  put  on 
the  clothes  commonly  called  Highland  clothes — namely,  the 
plaid,  philibeg,  trews,  shoulder-belts,  or  any  part  of  the  High- 
land garb — or  should  use  for  greatcoats,  or  for  upper  coats, 
tartans  or  party-coloured  plaid  or  stuff,  should  be  imprisoned 
without  bail  for  six  months ;  and  on  being  convicted  for 
a  second  offence,  should  be  liable  to  be  transported  to  any  of 
his  Majesty's  plantations  abroad  for  seven  years." 

The  oath  which  was  administered  to  the  people  by  those 
to  whom  the  enforcement  of  this  wanton  exercise  of  power 
was  committed  has  come  down  to  us  :  "  I,  A.  B.,  do  swear, 


END   OF   THE   CLAN    SYSTEM.  203 

and  as  I  shall  answer  to  God  at  the  great  day  of  judgment,  I 
have  not,  nor  shall  have,  in  my  possession,  any  sword,  gun,  or 
pistol,  or  arm  whatsoever ;  and  never  use  tartan,  plaid,  or  any 
part  of  the  Highland  garb  ;  and  if  I  do  so,  may  I  be  cursed  in 
my  undertakings,  family,  and  property.  May  I  never  see  my 
wife  and  children,  father,  mother,  or  relations.  May  I  be 
killed  in  battle  as  a  coward,  and  lie  without  burial  in  a  strange 
land  far  from  the  graves  of  my  forefathers  and  kindred.  May 
all  this  come  across  me  if  I  break  my  oath." 

The  devices  by  which  the  people  sought  to  retain,  without 
breaking  the  law,  something  resembling  their  former  dress  are 
still  remembered  throughout  Inverness  -  shire.  Some  wore 
pieces  of  blue,  green,  or  thin  red  cloth  tied  round  the  waist 
and  reaching  down  to  their  knees  ;  others  carried  the  breeches 
they  were  ordered  to  wear  over  their  shoulders,  the  law  not 
having  particularised  on  what  part  of  the  body  they  were 
to  be  worn.  Many  sewed  up  their  kilts  in  the  middle,  trans- 
forming them  into  a  kind  of  wide  trousers.  This  was  a  fav- 
ourite device,  and  those  employing  it  were  solemnly  held  by 
courts  of  justice  to  have  given  obedience  to  the  law  of  the 
land.  We  may  here  mention  that  in  1782  this  ridiculous 
Act,  so  far  as  it  related  to  the  Highland  garb,  was  repealed. 

Another  Act  was  passed  in  1747,  which  affected  the  county 
much  more  deeply  than  the  taking  away  of  guns  and  dirks  or 
the  abolition  of  kilts  and  sporrans.  It  changed  the  conditions 
of  life,  broke  up  the  feudal  system,  and  destroyed  for  ever  the 
spirit  of  clanship.  The  polity  which  came  in  with  the  Nor- 
man settlement  in  Inverness-shire,  and  which  with  its  Celtic 
adjuncts  had  lasted  so  many  hundred  years,  was  by  a  single 
stroke  swept  away.  Heritable  jurisdictions  were  abolished. 
The  Highland  chiefs  were  deprived  of  their  judicial  powers, 
and  their  retainers  could  only  be  tried  by  the  regularly  autho- 
rised judges  of  the  Crown.       "All  heritable  jurisdictions  of 


204  ^   NEW   ORDER   OF   THINGS. 

justiciary,  all  regalities  and  heritable  bailieries  and  constabu- 
laries, were  dissolved,  and  the  powers  formerly  vested  in  them 
were  ordained  to  be  exercised  by  such  of  the  king's  courts 
as  these  powers  would  have  belonged  to  if  the  jurisdictions 
had  never  been  granted."  The  jurisdictions  exercised  by  the 
Highland  proprietors  were  bought  up  and  invested  in  sheriffs 
appointed  by  the  Crown.  The  right  of  ward-holding,  by 
which  landlords  commanded  the  military  services  of  their 
tenants,  was  also  done  away  with. 

The  effect  of  this  Act  upon  the  Highlanders  was  very  far- 
reaching.  The  despotism  of  the  chiefs,  which  there  is  reason 
to  believe  was  often  arbitrarily  exercised,  at  once  ceased. 
Their  vassals  were  as  free  as  themselves.  No  Keppoch,  Clan- 
ranald,  or  Lochiel  could  demand  their  assistance,  or  adjudge 
them  in  case  of  contumacy  to  be  executed  with  scant  form  of 
law.  They  were  no  longer  thirled  to  their  native  glens,  they 
could  go  where  they  pleased  without  asking  the  permission  of 
their  superior.  The  chief  himself  became  henceforth  no  more 
than  an  ordinary  landed  proprietor,  though  doubtless  still 
honoured  on  account  of  the  name  he  bore  and  the  race  to 
which  he  belonged. 

From  the  passing  of  this  Act  the  history  of  Inverness-shire 
takes  a  new  departure.  Its  romance,  indeed,  may  in  some 
sense  be  said  to  have  ended  with  Culloden  and  "  Bonnie 
Prince  Charlie."  But  modern  Inverness-shire  contains  those 
elements  of  civilisation  and  prosperity  which  were  conspicu- 
ously absent  from  the  Inverness-shire  of  the  '45,  and  which 
largely  compensate  for  the  loss  of  the  romance  of  feudalism, 
whether  in  peace  or  war.  What  seemed  at  the  time  to 
be  the  utter  destruction  of  the  social  conditions  of  life  in 
the  county  proved  its  regeneration.  Before  the  graves  on 
Culloden  heath  became  green  a  new  and  better  order  of 
things  began  to  be  evolved. 


205 


CHAPTER     XIII. 


TRAVELLERS  IN  INVERNESS-SHIRE  AFTER  THE  45 — VISIT  OF  GENERAL  JAMES 
WOLFE  IN  1751 — HIS  DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  TOWN  AND  PEOPLE  — GOES 
TO  CULLODEN  AND  FORT  GEORGE— ATTENDS  AN  ASSEMBLY — CULLODEN 
COMMEMORATED  AT  INVERNESS  —  REPORTS  OF  HANOVERIAN  OFFICERS 
QUARTERED  IN  THE  COUNTY  —  A  CAPTURED  PRIEST  —  ENDEAVOURS  OF 
THE  PEOPLE  TO  EVADE  THE  ACT  PREVENTING  THE  HIGHLAND  DRESS 
— VISIT  OF  BISHOP  POCOCKE  IN  I760 — HIS  INTEREST  IN  ANTIQUITIES — 
DESCRIBES  FORT  WILLIAM — REACHES  FORT  AUGUSTUS  BY  LOCH  LOCHY 
— COMES  TO  INVERNESS  AND  CULLODEN — HIS  DESCRIPTION  OF  BEAULY 
PRIORY  AND  OF  THE  AIRD  —  VISIT  OF  PENNANT  IN  1769  —  HIS  DIS- 
PARAGEMENT OF  PRINCE  CHARLES  —  HIS  PRAISE  OF  INVERNESS — RES- 
TORATION OF  THE  LOVAT  ESTATES  —  ADMINISTRATION  OF  FORFEITED 
PROPERTY  IN  THE  COUNTY — A  FAIR  AT  INVERNESS — LOCH  NESS  AFFECTED 
BY  AN  EARTHQUAKE — LOCHABER  DESCRIBED — BREAK  UP  OF  THE  CLAN 
SYSTEM  —  VISIT  OF  DR  SAMUEL  JOHNSON  AND  BOSWELL  IN  I773  —  AT 
FORT  GEORGE  —  SPENDS  A  SUNDAY  IN  INVERNESS  —  THE  EPISCOPAL 
CHAPEL  —  RIDES  BY  GLENMORISTON  TO  GLENELG  —  HIS  VIEWS  ON 
EMIGRATION  AND  DISAPPEARANCE  OF  THE  TACKSMEN — GENERAL  CHAR- 
ACTER OF  HIS  OBSERVATIONS  — VISIT  OF  COLONEL  THORNTON  IN  I784 — 
SETTLES  DOWN  AS  A  SPORTSMAN  IN  BADENOCH — HIS  INTEREST  IN  THE 
PEOPLE  AND  SCENERY — RESTORATION  OF  CLUNY  MACPHERSON  TO  HIS 
ESTATES  —  A  BADENOCH  FEAST — DYING  OUT  OF  JACOBITE  FEELING— 
"GEORGE  III.,  AND  LONG  MAY  HE  REIGN!"  DRANK  EVERYWHERE  — 
WHAT  MAY  BE  LEARNED  FROM  THE  ACCOUNTS  OF  THESE  TRAVELLERS 
— THEY   SHOW    AN    EXTRAORDINARY   CHANGE   TO   HAVE   TAKEN    PLACE. 


We  may  at  this  stage  break  the  continuity  of  our  narrative 
by  noticing  the  impressions  of  travellers  who  visited  Inver- 
ness-shire between  1745  and  the  beginning  of  the  present 
century.  They  were  not  numerous.  Inverness  was  then  re- 
garded as  a  very  far-distant  part  of  Great  Britain.  To  reach 
it  involved  a  long  and   expensive  journey.     No  public  con- 


206  LETTERS   OF   GENERAL  WOLFE. 

veyances  existed,  and  the  adventurous  tourist  had  to  make 
his  way  either  on  foot  or  horseback,  or  by  hired  vehicle. 
The  travellers  who  did  so  were  not  many,  or  at  least  not 
many  have  given  us  in  print  the  benefit  of  their  observa- 
tions. Still,  what  we  do  have  from  their  narratives  is  in- 
teresting. It  was  a  transition  time  in  Inverness-shire,  as  in 
the  Highlands  generally ;  and  the  glimpses  of  things  given 
us  by  these  passers-by  help  to  supply  the  want  of  more 
detailed  record.  Apart  also  from  this,  it  is  always  instruc- 
tive to  see  ourselves  as  others  see  us. 

General  James  Wolfe,  the  hero  of  Quebec,  whose  tragic 
death  in  the  hour  of  victory  will  be  long  remembered,  was 
in  Inverness  in  175 1.  In  his  letters  he  gives  us  his  im- 
pressions of  the  place  and  of  the  people.  They  are  not 
very  favourable — indeed  we  could  not  expect  they  would  be. 
Wolfe  was  a  young  officer  quartered  in  an  enemy's  country, 
and  engaged  in  the  unpleasant  task  of  keeping  in  order  its 
inhabitants.  He  had  fought  at  Culloden  five  years  previously, 
and  was  imbued  with  all  the  bitterness  of  feeling  enter- 
tained by  the  victors  towards  those  whom  they  regarded  as 
"  rebels."  But  he  was  a  man  who  even  at  that  time  showed 
somewhat  of  that  noble  and  honourable  character  which  after- 
wards distinguished  him  as  a  soldier.  It  is  said  that  when 
riding  over  the  field  of  Culloden  after  the  battle  with  the 
Duke  of  Cumberland,  a  Highlander,  severely  wounded,  sat 
up  and  smiled  defiance  at  his  companion.  "  Wolfe,"  said 
the  duke,  "  shoot  me  that  Highland  scoundrel  who  thus 
dares  to  look  on  us  with  such  contempt  and  insolence  ! " 
"  My  commission,"  replied  the  manly  officer,  "  is  at  your 
Royal  Highness's  disposal,  but  I  can  never  consent  to  be- 
come an  executioner." 

Wolfe's  letters  from  Inverness  are  by  no  means  so  detailed 
as  those  of  Burt,  but  they  are  even  more  full  of  contempt  for 


FORT   GEORGE.  207 

the  people  of  the  place.  "  A  little  while,"  he  says,  "  serves  to 
discover  the  villanous  nature  of  the  inhabitants,  and  brutality 
of  the  people  in  its  neighbourhood."  It  was  natural,  perhaps, 
that  he  should  feel  thus  towards  those  he  regarded  as  enemies, 
but  he  is  quite  as  severe  in  his  opinion  of  the  Highland 
Hanoverians :  "  Those  who  pretend  the  greatest  attachment 
to  the  Government  seem  to  distinguish  themselves  for 
greater  rudeness  and  incivility  than  the  open  and  professed 
Jacobites." 

On  his  journey  to  Inverness  he  had  a  look  at  the  new  fort 
which  the  Government  were  then  engaged  in  constructing, 
and  which  we  know  to-day  as  Fort  George.  "  I  turned  aside 
to  look  at  the  new  fort  of  Ardersier  or  Fort  George,  and  find 
a  vast  quantity  of  earth  thrown  up  for  ramparts,  and  the 
counterscarp  and  glacier  finished.  But  I  believe  there's  still 
work  for  six  or  seven  years  to  do.  When  it  is  finished  one 
may  venture  to  say,  without  saying  much,  that  it  will  be 
the  most  considerable  fortress  and  best  situated  in  Great 
Britain." 

Our  traveller  made  an  excursion  to  renew  his  acquaintance 
with  the  field  of  Culloden,  which  he  tells  his  correspondent 
he  surveyed  with  "great  exactness."  He  seemed  to  feel — 
and  he  frankly  says  so — that  the  glory  of  the  victors  was 
not  a  little  tarnished.  "  The  actors,"  he  says,  "  shine  in 
the  world  too  high  and  bright  to  be  eclipsed ;  but  it  is 
plain  they  don't  borrow  much  of  their  glory  from  their 
performance  on  that  occasion,  however  they  may  have  dis- 
tinguished themselves  in  later  events."  But  he  excuses  the 
massacre  of  the  wounded  after  the  battle  :  "  You  would  not 
have  left  these  ruffians  the  only  possible  means  of  conquest, 
nor  suffer  multitudes  to  go  off  unhurt  with  the  power  to 
destroy."  Altogether  he  appears  to  consider  Culloden,  from 
a  military  point  of  view,  as  a  very  poor  affair. 


208  AN    UNGALLANT   OFFICER. 

He  groans  profoundly  over  the  hardships  of  his  situation  at 
Inverness,  though  regarding  them  heroically  as  part  of  the 
training  of  a  miUtary  life.  "  The  winds,"  he  says,  "  some- 
times drive  the  snows  with  such  violence  that  the  roads  are 
utterly  impassable,  and  again  when  it  thaws  the  rivers  swell  so 
prodigiously  that  there  is  no  less  danger  and  difficulty  on  that 
side.  I  can  have  no  measure  of  diversion  out  of  my  room, 
unless  to  shoot  woodcocks  at  the  risk  of  rheumatism.  It 
would  be  unmanly  and  very  unbecoming  a  soldier  to  com- 
plain of  little  evils  such  as  bad  food,  bad  lodging,  bad  fire." 
Dreary  as  his  situation  was,  he  was  not  altogether  without 
compensations.  Inverness  was  not  without  gaiety,  and  the 
gloom  which  fell  upon  it  after  Culloden  had  partly  cleared 
away.  There  was  in  the  town  a  ball  once  a-fortnight,  and  of 
this  entertainment  our  writer  gives  an  amusing  account :  "  We 
have  an  assembly  of  female  rebels  every  fortnight,  entirely 
composed  of  Macdonalds,  Frasers,  and  M'Intoshes.  I  had 
the  honour  to  dance  with  the  daughter  of  a  chieftain  who  was 
killed  at  Culloden,  the  Laird  of  Kippock.  They  are  perfectly 
wild  as  the  hills  that  breed  them,  but  they  lay  aside  their 
principles  for  the  sake  of  sound  and  movement.  They  make 
no  converts,  which  I  chiefly  attribute  to  a  strong  dialect  of 
the  Erse  that  destroys  the  natural  softness  of  their  notes." 

While  Wolfe  was  in  Inverness  the  magistrates  of  the  town 
invited  his  commanding  officer.  Lord  Bury,  and  his  regiment 
to  an  entertainment  on  the  birthday  of  the  Duke  of  Cumber- 
land. It  was  a  friendly  offer,  and  showed  a  desire  for  amicable 
relations.  Lord  Bury  suggested  that  they  should  postpone 
the  celebrations  till  the  day  following,  the  anniversary  of  Cul- 
loden. Nothing  could  have  been  in  worse  taste  than  the 
suggestion.  The  officials,  after  consulting  their  friends,  ex- 
pressed politely  their  regret  that  his  request  could  not  be 
complied  with  ;  and  no  wonder,  for  there  were  few  in   Inver- 


ROMAN    CATHOLICISM   PROSCRIBED.  209 

ness  to  whom  the  anniversary  was  not  sad.  Lord  Bury 
repHed  that  he  was  sorry,  but  that  he  had  mentioned  the 
matter  to  his  soldiers,  and  that  he  could  not  answer  for  their 
conduct  under  the  disappointment,  which  he  feared  would 
provoke  them  to  some  outrage  in  the  town.  The  veiled 
threat  produced  the  desired  effect,  and  under  compulsion  the 
"  battle  of  Culloden  "  was  celebrated  in  Inverness.  It  was 
truly  a  bad  balm  for  a  closing  wound. 

From  the  reports  of  officers  stationed  in  different  parts  of 
Inverness-shire  during  Wolfe's  sojourn  in  the  Highland  capital 
we  get  some  glimpses  of  the  state  of  the  country.  Troops 
seem  to  have  been  placed  in  the  most  remote  and  out-of-the- 
way  places.  Captain  Alexander  Trapaud  was  stationed  at 
Laggan  Achadrom,  on  the  neck  of  land  between  Loch  Lochy 
and  Loch  Oich.  He  describes  the  "  hardships  of  married 
soldiers  "  with  young  children,  owing  "  to  the  scarcity  of  meal 
and  fuel."  He  also  gives  the  price  of  provisions  :  "  Sheep, 
when  to  be  had,  three  or  four  shillings  ;  goat,  the  same ;  lamb, 
sixteen  to  eighteen  pence ;  butter,  fourpence  a  pound ;  eggs, 
three-halfpence  a  dozen." 

Roman  Catholic  priests  after  '45  had  a  very  hard  time.  They 
were  treated  as  rebels  and  their  offices  proscribed.  Many  in 
Inverness-shire  underwent  great  hardships,  Trapaud  in  one 
of  his  reports  tells  that  "the  sergeant  stationed  at  Knockfin 
apprehended  on  Sunday  the  15th  instant  one  John  Farquhar- 
son,  a  Popish  priest,  dressed  in  all  his  sacerdotal  vestments, 
as  he  was  preaching  to  about  three  hundred  persons  in  a  great 
barn  at  the  bridge  of  Cannich  in  Strathglass.  He  was  brought 
to  me,  and  I  sent  him  with  a  party  and  the  witnesses,  together 
with  his  vestments  and  all  the  altar  furniture,  to  the  Sheriff  of 
Inverness-shire,  who  committed  him  to  gaol.  The  next  day 
he  was  bailed  out.  The  sergeant  ran  a  great  hazard  of  his 
life  in  taking  the  above  priest,  as  he  was  disguised,  by  a  small 

o 


210  PHILIBEG   OR   PETTICOAT. 

sword  and  two  soldiers  with  their  bayonets,  the  people  making 
an  attempt  to  rescue  the  priest." 

We  have  seen  how  the  Highland  dress  was  proscribed. 
An  officer  reports  to  his  commander  that  "  he  took  a  fellow 
wearing  a  blanket  in  the  form  of  a  philibeg."  He  took  him 
to  the  sheriff-substitute,  who  refused  to  commit  him  because 
the  blanket  was  not  tartan.  On  the  officer's  return  he  met  a 
man  similarly  clothed ;  so,  as  he  found  it  needless  to  take  him 
before  a  magistrate,  he  took  the  blanket  philibeg  and  cut  it  to 
pieces.  This  deed  of  valour  is,  however,  excelled  by  the 
exploit  of  Captain  John  Beckwith,  stationed  at  the  head  of 
Loch  Arkaig,  who  gravely  informs  his  superior,  "On  the  24th 
last  month  one  of  my  men  brought  me  a  man  to  all  appear- 
ance in  a  philibeg ;  but  on  close  examination  I  found  it  to  be 
a  woman's  petticoat  (which  answers  every  end  of  that  part  of 
the  Highland  dress).  I  sent  him  to  the  sheriff-substitute, 
who  dismissed  him." 

These  are  some  gleanings  from  the  Life  of  General  Wolfe, 
which,  slight  as  they  are,  cast  a  side-light  on  the  state  of  the 
country  at  the  time.  After  a  residence  of  nine  months  at 
Inverness,  during  which  he  went  to  kirk  every  Sunday,  and 
studied  mathematics  under  a  local  celebrity,  Mr  Barber,  he 
took  his  departure.  If  he  said  hard  things  of  the  High- 
landers when  among  them,  he  had  good  cause  afterwards  to 
think  better  of  them.  They  fought  bravely  under  his  com- 
mand. He  led  many  of  them  to  victory,  and  they  bitterly 
avenged  his  death. 

A  visitor  who  passed  through  our  county  in  1760 — nine 
years  after  Wolfe — was  a  very  different  kind  of  man  from  that 
distinguished  soldier.  Bishop  Pococke  was  an  ecclesiastic  of 
the  Church  of  Ireland  who  had  acquired  fame  by  his  travels  in 
Egypt  and  Palestine.  He  was  interested  mainly  in  antiquities. 
What  he  calls  "  druidical   circles "  or   ruined  churches  were 


.  pococke's  travels.  2  I  I 

carefully  noted  by  him  and  described,  but  he  has  little  to 
say  of  the  social  condition  of  the  people.  He  entered  our 
county  by  Fort  William,  which  he  tells  us  had  been  built  to 
bridle  the  Highlanders.  "  It  is  a  weak  fortress,"  he  says, 
"  but  they  have  put  high  palisadoes  along  the  passes,  which 
would  prevent  any  sudden  assault."  The  village  which  had 
grown  up  beside  the  garrison  he  describe  as  a  "  very  poor 
town."  After  a  short  description  of  Inverlochy,  which  he 
tells  us  "  was  formerly  a  place  of  trade  and  was  destroyed  by 
the  Danes  and  Norwegians,"  he  pursued  his  journey  by  the 
military  road  to  High  Bridge  over  the  river  Spean,  "  which 
here  falls  beautifully  down  the  rocks."  In  passing  he  saw  the 
ruins  of  Achnacarry,  the  site  of  Lochiel's  house,  "  which  was 
destroyed  after  the  rebellion  was  suppressed."  The  road  along 
Loch  Lochy  he  describes  as  "very  pleasant,  being  adorned 
with  wood  above  and  below."  He  also  expresses  his  admira- 
tion for  the  "beautiful  narrow  lake  called  Loch  Oich,  with 
two  or  three  small  islands  in  it  covered  with  clumps  of 
trees."  He  notices  in  passing  the  castle  of  Glengarry,  a 
corner  of  which  was  blown  up  by  the  Duke  of  Cumberland, 
and  "a  new  house  built  near  it." 

At  Fort  Augustus,  "a  very  handsome,  regular  building, 
consisting  of  four  bastions,  which  had  been  repaired  at  a  cost 
of  ;^i 0,000,"  our  traveller  was  entertained  by  Mr  Trapaud, 
the  governor,  and  next  day  set  out  with  that  gentleman  in 
the  boat  or  galley  belonging  to  the  fort  for  Inverness.  In 
passing  Glenmoriston  he  noticed  the  laird's  house,  which  had 
been  burnt  but  had  been  rebuilt,  and  a  very  fine  linen  manu- 
factory built  out  of  the  forfeited  estates.  "  They  teach  forty 
girls  for  three  months  to  spin,  and  then  they  take  in  forty 
more.  They  buy  flax  and  employ  six  looms.  They  buy  also 
yarn  from  the  country-people,  who  raise  a  large  quantity  of  it. 
It   consists   of  the   principal  building  and  an   office,  for  the 


212  A   GOOD   TOWN   OF   TWO   STREETS. 

manufactures  on  each  side."  This  factory  had  been  erected 
by  the  Trustees  for  Manufactories  and  Fisheries  in  1756,  when 
it  was  thought  necessary  by  Government  to  do  something  to 
give  employment  to  the  Highlanders  and  to  prevent  them 
leaving  the  country.  It  does  not  appear  to  have  been  a  suc- 
cess, and  was  closed  in  1791. 

From  Glenmoriston  the  Bishop  came  to  Foyers,  and  is  full 
of  admiration  of  the  fall ;  thence,  passing  Castle  Urquhart, 
of  which  he  gives  a  drawing,  he  came  to  the  end  of  Loch 
Ness,  where  he  was  met  by  the  Governor's  postchaise,  and 
drove  to  the  town,  passing  "  a  druid  temple."  Of  Inverness 
he  speaks  kindly.  It  is  "  on  a  flat  below  the  high  grounds, 
and  all  that  flat  ground  is  very  rich.  It  is  a  pretty  good  town 
of  two  streets.  They  have  a  trade  in  imports,  and  an  export 
of  salted  salmon  caught  in  the  river  Beauliew,  and  also  near 
the  town  in  the  river  Ness.  They  had  an  export  of  malt  to 
Holland,  but  it  is  at  an  end  and  all  the  malt-houses  are  in 
ruins.  The  salt  salmon  of  Scotland  is  sent  in  great  quantities 
to  London,  and  a  new  trade  is  lately  opened  of  exporting  it 
to  the  East  Indies." 

After  describing  some  of  the  buildings  of  the  town,  our 
traveller  has  next  to  tell  of  Fort  George,  where  he  went  in 
company  with  General  Poole.  Though  begun  eleven  years 
before,  it  was  not  quite  finished.  The  houses  of  the  governor 
and  depute  governor  were  still  to  be  built,  and  also  "sluices 
to  let  in  the  sea-water  and  make  it  an  island  " ;  but  the  bishop 
admires  all  that  he  saw,  and  expresses  the  opinion  that  though 
"  a  thousand  men  may  defend  it  for  some  time,  it  would  take 
two  thousand  for  a  long  siege." 

From  Fort  George  he  came  to  Culloden,  which  he  leisurely 
surveyed,  and  describes,  with  somewhat  of  the  air  of  a  mili- 
tary expert,  the  plan  of  the  battle  and  its  execution.  He 
saw  "for  half  a  mile  the  graves  where  the  slain  fell.     They 


BEAULY   PRIORY.  21  3 

were  all  instantly  stripped  by  the  women,  who  went  loaded 
with  spoils  to  Inverness,  and  the  bodies  were  soon  naked 
over  the  field."  Probably  this  is  as  new  to  the  reader  as  it 
was  to  the  bishop.  His  reverence  was  a  strong  Hanoverian, 
and  closes  his  description  with  the  words,  "  Thus  ended  this 
day  of  such  consequence  to  the  British  dominions,  and 
crowned  the  duke  with  immortal  laurels."  This  last  assertion 
is  somewhat  strong  even  for  a  Whig  bishop. 

After  crossing  the  Moray  Firth  to  Ross-shire,  and  taking  a 
tour  in  that  county  and  in  Sutherland  and  Caithness,  our 
traveller  again  entered  Inverness-shire  by  Beauly.  He  de- 
scribes the  priory,  "  pleasantly  situated  on  the  river  Beauliew." 
In  the  church,  "  the  shell  of  which  remains  entire,"  he  saw  a 
tomb  belonging  to  one  of  the  Earl  of  Seaforth's  family,  in 
which  was  the  body  of  a  lady.  "  Part  of  the  skin  remains 
entire  Hke  leather,  and  the  hand  is  also  entire  and  dried  like 
a  mummy."  He  also  notices  the  remains  of  the  kitchen  of 
the  priory,  "  with  a  chimney  as  wide  as  the  room."  From 
Beauly  he  came  to  Kirkhill,  where  he  is  much  struck  by  the 
richness  and  beauty  of  the  country.  The  Aird  was  then,  as 
now,  fertile  and  well  cultivated,  like  a  garden.  Reelick  the 
bishop  admired,  a  very  pretty  box  built  on  the  side  of  a 
hill  by  Mr  Fraser,  the  author  of  the  life  of  "  Koulikan,  who 
purchased  that  estate  after  he  had  made  a  small  fortune  in  the 
East  Indies."  There  does  not  appear  to  have  been  much 
difference  in  what  the  Aird  was  then  from  what  it  is  now. 
There  was  "  agreeable  variety  of  wood,"  and  "  beautiful  fields 
up  the  side  of  the  hills  "  had  a  most  charming  effect  in  the 
prospect.  Bunchrew,  "  in  a  most  delightful  situation,  was  a 
fine,  well-timbered  estate."  The  same  may  still  be  said  after 
the  lapse  of  a  hundred  years. 

Pennant,  a  distinguished  naturalist  and  traveller,  came  to 
the  north  of  Scotland  in   1769,  nine  years  after  the  bishop. 


214  pennant's  tour. 

He  entered  Inverness-shire  from  Nairn,  and  came  first  to 
Fort  George  and  Culloden.  Of  these  he  has  nothing  new  to 
tell.  He  is  contemptuous  and  most  untrue  in  what  he  says 
of  Prince  Charles,  who,  according  to  him,  "  never  came  into 
action,  but  fled  ingloriously  to  the  old  traitor  Lovat  "  !  Of 
the  barbarities  perpetrated  upon  the  Highlanders  he  speaks 
lightly  :  "  Let  a  veil  be  hung  over  a  few  excesses  consequential 
of  a  day  productive  of  so  much  benefit  to  the  United  King- 
dom." 

Of  Inverness  he  has  nothing  but  good  to  say.  It  is  "  large 
and  well  built ;  the  winter  residence  of  many  of  the  neighbour- 
ing gentry ;  the  present  emporium,  as  it  was  the  ancient,  of 
the  north  of  Scotland."  He  tells  of  its  imports — "  groceries, 
haberdasheries,  hardware,  and  other  necessaries  from  London." 
A  new  import  he  also  mentions — "  six  to  eight  hundred  hogs- 
heads of  porter  annually."  The  exports  are  salmon  and  her- 
rings, and  "  cordage  and  sacking."  Of  late  years,  he  says,  "  the 
linen  manufacture  of  the  place  saves  it  above  three  thousand 
pounds  a-year,  which  used  to  go  to  Holland."  We  gather 
from  his  observations  that  the  prosperity  of  the  town  had 
already  begun  to  revive.  The  poverty  of  the  surrounding 
district  after  '45  had  exercised  upon  it  a  depressing  influence, 
not  compensated  by  the  residence  of  the  troops  quartered 
there ;  but  with  the  settlement  of  the  country  things  had 
begun  to  look  brighter  for  the  burgh. 

Pennant  visited  Castle  Downie,  the  seat  of  the  Lovats.  It 
was  at  this  time  in  ruins,  having  been  burnt  by  the  orders 
of  the  Uuke  of  Cumberland.  The  country  around  was 
"fertile,  well  cultivated,  and  smiling."  The  son  of  the  Lord 
Lovat  who  was  executed  had  received  a  grant  of  the  forfeited 
estates.  He  had  greatly  distinguished  himself  as  an  officer  in 
the  royal  army,  and  was  thus  rewarded.  An  Act  of  Parliament 
had  been  passed  for  this  purpose,  and  our  traveller  says  "  no 


A   UTOPIAN    PROJECT.  21$ 

patent  for  nobility  conveyed  greater  glory  to  any  one  than  the 
preamble  to  the  Act  has  done  to  this  gentleman."  He  has 
also  something  to  say  on  the  administration  of  the  property 
forfeited  in  Inverness-shire  to  the  Crown  after  the  insurrection. 
The  rents  were  lodged  in  the  hands  of  trustees  and  spent  in 
the  improvement  of  the  country.  The  revenue  was  applied 
"  for  the  founding  of  schools  for  the  instruction  of  children  in 
spinning.  Wheels  are  given  away  to  poor  families  and  flax-seed 
to  farmers.  Some  money  is  given  in  aid  of  the  roads  and 
towards  building  bridges  over  the  torrents,  by  which  means 
a  ready  intercourse  is  made  to  parts  before  inaccessible  to 
strangers."  It  is  doubtful  whether  as  much  was  done  in  this 
way  as  our  traveller  imagines.  Any  improvement  made  at 
this  time  by  the  Government  was  but  slight.  One  thing,  how- 
ever, was  done  which  was  worthy  of  all  praise.  The  factors 
on  the  forfeited  estates  were  instructed  to  improve  them  by 
planting  trees,  which  was  done  to  a  considerable  extent,  and 
the  expenses  incurred  were  paid  out  of  the  rents.  It  was  a 
good  example  to  proprietors,  and  in  after -days  was  largely 
followed.  An  experiment  was,  according  to  our  traveller, 
made  by  Government  which  apparently  ended  in  failure. 
The  attempt  to  colonise  the  Highlands  by  planting  in  them 
communities  of  strangers  was,  as  we  have  seen,  a  favourite 
project  of  James  VI.  It  was  repeated  under  more  favour- 
able auspices,  but  with  as  little  success.  "In  1753,"  Pennant 
tells  us,  "a  large  sum  was  spent  on  a  Utopiati  project  of 
establishing  colonies  [on  the  forfeited  estates]  of  disbanded 
soldiers  and  sailors.  Comfortable  houses  were  built  for  them, 
land  and  money  given,  and  some  lent ;  but  the  success  by  no 
means  answered  the  intentions  of  the  projectors."  This 
scheme  of  plantation  has  left  no  trace  behind  it,  though  it 
probably  swallowed  up  a  good  deal  of  money  at  the  time. 
After  a  tour  in  the  more  northerly  counties  our  traveller 


2l6      LOCH    NESS   AND   THE   LISBON    EARTHQUAKE. 

came  back  to  Inverness,  where  he  describes  one  of  the  usual 
fairs  of  the  place.  "  The  commodities  were  skins,  various 
necessaries  brought  in  by  the  pedlars,  coarse  country  cloths, 
cheese,  butter,  and  meal  " — the  last  in  goatskin  bags — "  the 
butter  lapped  in  cawls  or  leaves  of  the  broad  alga  or  tang,  and 
great  quantities  of  birch-wood  and  hazel  cut  in  lengths  for 
carts,  and  which  had  been  floated  down  the  river  from  Loch 
Ness."  At  this  fair  he  saw  specimens  of  the  Highland  dress, 
which  he  minutely  describes.  The  Act  which  proscribed  it 
had  not  been  yet  formally  repealed ;  but  it  was  apparently 
falling  into  desuetude,  and  the  people  were  returning  to  their 
old  apparel.  Plaids  and  philibegs  were  plentiful  at  the  fair 
of  Inverness,  but  those  who  wore  them  carried  no  weapons  in 
the  time  of  Burt.  "  Since  the  Disarming  Act  they  are  scarcely 
to  be  met  with.  Partly  owing  to  that,  partly  to  the  spirit  of 
industry  now  rising  among  them,  the  Highlanders  in  a  few 
years  will  scarce  know  the  use  of  any  weapon." 

"Mr  Pennant  pursued  his  journey  from  the  Highland  capital 
by  the  side  of  Loch  Ness  to  Fort  William.  Like  all  travellers 
since,  he  was  much  impressed  by  the  beauty  of  the  scenery 
through  which  he  passed,  and  especially  by  the  grandeur  of 
the  Fall  of  Foyers,  that  "  vast  cataract  in  a  darksome  glen  of 
a  stupendous  depth."  He  gives  an  interesting  description  of 
an  occurrence  the  memory  of  which  still  remains,  and  which 
was  much  discussed  at  the  time.  On  the  occasion  of  the 
great  earthquake  at  Lisbon,  ist  November  1755,  the  waters 
of  Loch  Ness  were  "  affected  in  a  very  extraordinary  manner. 
They  rose  and  flowed  up  the  lake  from  east  to  west  with 
vast  impetuosity,  and  were  carried  above  200  yards  up  the 
river  Oich,  breaking  on  its  banks  in  a  wave  near  3  feet  high, 
then  continuing  ebbing  and  flowing  for  the  space  of  an  hour ; 
but  at  eleven  o'clock  a  wave  greater  than  any  of  the  rest 
came  up  the  river,  broke  on  the  north  side,  and  overflowed 


DISPERSION    OF   THE   CLANS.  217 

the  bank  for  the  extent  of  30  feet.  At  the  same  time  a  little 
isle  in  a  small  loch  in  Badenoch  was  totally  reversed  and 
flung  on  the  beach."  Pennant  was  an  enthusiastic  naturalist, 
and  doubtless  made  full  inquiry  before  he  penned  his  descrip- 
tion, which  has  been  fully  corroborated. 

Lochaber,  through  which  he  passed  by  Low  Bridge  and 
High  Bridge,  seemed  to  our  traveller  a  poverty-stricken  dis- 
trict. He  saw  scarcely  any  arable  land,  and  what  little  there 
was  for  tillage  let  at  los.  an  acre.  He  notices,  what  we  learn 
from  other  scources,  that  rents  were  being  raised  by  the 
proprietors  to  such  an  extent  as  to  force  the  people  to  leave 
the  country.  Emigration  from  Inverness -shire  was  already 
beginning :  "  The  rage  of  raising  rents  has  reached  this 
distant  country.  In  England  there  may  be  reason  for  it 
(in  a  certain  degree),  where  the  value  of  lands  is  increased 
by  accession  of  commerce,  and  by  the  rise  of  provisions ; 
but  here,  contrary  to  all  policy,  the  great  men  begin  at  the 
wrong  end  with  squeezing  the  bag  before  they  have  helped 
the  tenant  to  fill  it  by  the  introduction  of  manufactures.  This 
already  shows  its  unhappy  effects,  and  begins  to  depopulate 
the  country,  for  numbers  of  families  have  been  obliged  to  give 
up  the  strong  attachment  the  Scots  in  general  have  for  their 
country,  and  to  exchange  it  for  the  wilds  of  America." 

We  learn  also  from  Pennant  that  the  old  clan  system 
which  had  so  long  dominated  the  Highlands  had  been 
thoroughly  broken  up.  The  Highlander  no  longer  remained 
all  his  life  an  inhabitant  of  the  same  glen,  which  he  was 
unable  to  leave  without  the  special  permission  of  his  chief. 
The  old  tie  between  the  vassal  and  his  lord  had  almost  been 
entirely  severed  even  at  the  time  of  which  our  traveller  writes  : 
"The  Highlanders  mix  more  with  the  world,  and  become 
daily  less  attached  to  their  chiefs ;  the  clans  begin  to  disperse 
themselves  through  the  different  parts  of  the  country,  finding 


2l8  BOSWELL  AND   JOHNSON. 

that  their  industry  and  good  conduct  afford  them  better  pro- 
tection (since  the  due  execution  of  their  laws)  than  their 
chieftain  can  afford  ;  and  the  chieftain,  tasting  the  sweets  of 
advanced  rents  and  the  benefits  of  industry,  dismisses  from 
his  table  the  crowds  of  retainers,  the  former  instruments  of 
his  oppression  and  freakish  tyranny."  When  we  compare 
the  state  of  things  these  words  describe  with  that  portrayed 
by  Burt  before  1745,  we  can  see  how  entirely  new  conditions 
of  life  and  of  society  were  already  beginning  to  take  root  in 
Inverness-shire. 

A  more  celebrated  traveller  than  those  we  have  noticed 
came  to  our  northern  county  in  1773.  This  was  the  famous 
Dr  Samuel  Johnson,  who  was  accompanied  by  his  equally 
famous  friend  and  biographer,  Mr  Boswell.  It  was  thought 
at  the  time  a  wonderful  undertaking  for  the  great  lexicographer 
to  attempt  a  journey  to  the  Highlands  and  Islands  of  Scotland. 
It  was  as  if,  living  in  our  day,  he  should  propose  a  visit  to  the 
river  Congo.  When  Boswell  mentioned  the  intended  tour  to 
Voltaire  at  Ferney,  the  great  philosopher  regarded  him  with 
amazement,  "  as  if  he  had  talked  of  going  to  the  North  Pole." 
"You  do  not  insist,"  said  Voltaire  cynically,  "on  my  accompany- 
ing you?"  "No,  sir."  "Then  I  am  very  willing  you  should 
go  "  !  The  tour,  however,  was  successfully  accomplished,  and 
with  few,  if  any,  of  those  hardships  which  were  anticipated  by 
the  southern  friends  of  the  travellers,  and  the  record  of  the 
tour  itself  has  become  almost  an  English  classic.  Some  of 
the  observations  of  Dr  Johnson  were  keenly  resented  by 
the  Highlanders,  and  a  Highland  minister  published  a  work, 
almost  equal  in  size  to  the  '  Tour,'  with  the  object  of  showing 
the  doctor  ignorant,  bigoted,  and  spiteful.  He  is  represented 
as  hating  Scotland  and  everything  Scottish,  and  as  having 
chosen  a  time  of  the  year  for  his  tour  (August)  when  every- 
thing looked  at  its  worst.     Two  great  offences  are  particularly 


HOSPITALITY   AT   FORT   GEORGE.  219 

charged  against  him  :  he  denied  the  authenticity  of  Ossian, 
and  would  not  allow  that  there  were  any  trees  to  be  seen  in 
his  travels.  But  apart  from  these  dreadful  mistakes,  the 
'  Tour '  and  its  accompanying  record  by  Boswell  may,  we 
think,  be  taken  as  a  fair  picture  of  what  the  travellers  really 
saw.  They  had  no  intention  at  any  time  of  conveying  a 
wrong  impression,  and  the  prejudices  shown  occasionally  by 
the  great  doctor  were  only  such  as  might  naturally  be  ex- 
pected from  one  who  had  long  lived  in  London,  and  who 
carried  the  associations  of  Fleet  Street  into  the  wilds  of 
Glenmoriston  and  Skye. 

The  doctor  entered  Inverness-shire  by  way  of  Fort  George, 
where  he  was  entertained  in  a  sumptuous  manner  by  Sir  Eyre 
Coote,  the  commandant.  His  companion  could  not  help 
being  struck  with  admiration  at  finding  "  on  this  barren  sandy 
point  such  buildings,  such  a  dinner,  such  company  ;  it  was  like 
enchantment."  But  the  doctor  replied,  "  It  did  not  strike  him 
as  anything  extraordinary.  Here  was  a  large  sum  of  money 
expended  in  building  a  fort ;  here  was  a  regiment.  If  there 
had  been  less  than  we  had  found,  it  would  have  surprised  him." 
He,  however,  vouchsafed  to  say  at  his  departure,  "  I  shall 
always  remember  this  fort  with  gratitude."  In  the  evening  the 
travellers  drove  to  Inverness. 

The  day  after  their  arrival  was  Sunday.  Fortunately  for 
Johnson  there  was  an  "  English  chapel  "  in  the  town,  for  he 
made  a  point  of  never  countenancing  Presbyterian  worship. 
It  had  been  built  in  1772  out  of  the  burgh  funds  and  a  loan. 
It  was  a  poor  edifice.  "  The  altar  was  a  bare  fir  table,  with  a 
coarse  stool  for  kneeling  on,  covered  with  a  piece  of  thick 
sail-cloth,  doubled  by  way  of  cushion."  The  clergyman,  Mr 
Tait,  "  read  prayers  well,  though  with  a  Scotch  accent."  The 
number  attending  the  service,  Boswell  says,  was  small ;  but 
the  doctor  says,  "  there  was  a  very  decent  congregation."     At 


220  A   HIGHLAND    HUT. 

Inverness  the  latter  was  impressed  by  a  noticeable  change  in 
the  manners  and  customs  of  the  people  :  "  The  appearance  of 
life  began  to  alter.  I  had  seen  a  few  women  with  plaids  at 
Aberdeen,  but  at  Inverness  the  Highland  manners  are  com- 
mon." Here  the  travellers  made  preparation  for  their  journey 
westward  by  engaging  two  men-servants,  John  Hay  and  Lauch- 
land  Vass,  with  three  horses,  two  for  the  doctor  and  his  com- 
panion, and  one  for  their  baggage.  It  must  have  been  a 
somewhat  comical  sight  to  see  the  ponderous  form  of  the 
doctor  astride  a  Highland  sheltie.  He  seems,  however,  to 
have  "  rode  very  well,"  and  his  admirer  proudly  remarks,  "  As 
I  saw  him  now  for  the  first  time  on  horseback,  jaunting  about 
at  his  ease  in  quest  of  pleasure  and  novelty,  the  very  different 
occupations  of  his  former  laborious  life,  his  admirable  pro- 
ductions— his  'London,'  his  'Rambler,'  &c. — immediately 
presented  themselves  to  my  mind,  and  the  contrast  made  a 
strong  impression  on  my  imagination." 

The  tourists  took  their  way  along  Loch  Ness  to  Fort 
Augustus.  The  doctor  was  pleased  with  his  servants.  "  Both 
of  them  were  ready  and  civil.  Civility  seems  part  of  the 
national  character  of  Highlanders.  Every  chieftain  is  a  mon- 
arch, and  politeness,  the  natural  product  of  royal  government, 
is  diffused  from  the  laird  through  the  whole  clan."  He  was 
pleased  also  with  General  Wade's  military  road  :  "  We  went 
upon  a  surface  so  hard  and  level  that  we  had  little  care  to  hold 
the  bridle,  and  were  therefore  at  full  leisure  for  contemplation." 
On  this  road  he  made  his  first  acquaintance  with  a  regular 
Highland  hut,  "  ranged  for  the  most  part  with  some  ten- 
dency to  circularity.  It  must  be  placed  where  the  wind  can- 
not act  upon  it  with  violence,  because  it  has  no  cement ;  and 
where  the  water  will  run  easily  away,  because  it  has  no  floor 
but  the  naked  ground."  The  old  woman  who  lived  in  this 
habitation,  "with  the  true  pastoral  hospitality,  asked  them  to 


FALLS   OF   FOYERS.  221 

sit  down  and  drink  whisky."  In  return  for  her  kindness  the 
doctor  gave  her  a  shilHng.  "  She  begged  snuff,  for  snuff  is 
the  luxury  of  a  Highland  cottage."  She  sent  her  visitors  away 
with  many  prayers  in  Erse.  The  doctor  was  evidently  in  good 
humour  with  his  reception  at  this  humble  abode.  "  Its  in- 
habitants," he  says,  "possessed  such  property  as  a  pastoral 
poet  might  exalt  into  riches." 

They  dined  at  the  "  General's  Hut,"  then  "  a  house  of  en- 
tertainment for  passengers.  We  found  it  not  ill  stocked  with 
provisions."  They  were  deprived  of  the  pleasure  they  ex- 
pected from  the  Fall  of  Foyers,  owing  to  a  long  continuance  of 
dry  weather,  and  could  only  imagine  "  the  effect  of  a  thousand 
streams  poured  from  the  mountains  into  one  channel,  strug- 
gling for  expansion  in  a  narrow  passage,  exasperated  by  rocks 
rising  in  their  way,  and  at  last  discharging  all  their  violence 
of  waters  by  a  sudden  fall  through  the  horrid  chasm."  At 
Fort  Augustus  Mr  Trapaud,  the  governor,  treated  them  "  with 
that  courtesy  which  is  so  closely  connected  with  the  miHtary 
character."     With  him  they  passed  a  very  agreeable  evening. 

Between  twelve  and  one  next  day  they  set  off  for  the  west 
coast  by  way  of  Glenmoriston.  At  Anoch,  in  that  glen,  they 
dined  and  stayed  all  night ;  the  house  "  in  a  glen  or  valley 
pleasingly  watered  by  a  winding  stream."  The  doctor  remarks 
that  "  this  country,  however  it  may  delight  the  gazer  or  please 
the  naturalist,  is  of  no  great  advantage  to  its  owners  " ;  and  he 
mentions  that  the  laird — we  suppose  of  Glenmoriston — "  had 
raised  his  rents,  to  the  danger  of  depopulating  his  farms,  and 
by  exerting  every  act  of  augmentation  has  obtained  a  yearly 
revenue  of  four  hundred  pounds,  which  for  a  hundred  square 
miles  is  three-halfpence  an  acre."  He  found  in  the  humble 
house  of  Anoch  culture  and  civility  that  surprised  him.  The 
young  woman  that  waited  was  "  not  inelegant  in  mien  or 
dress.     Her  conversation,  like  her  appearance,  was  gentle  and 


222  CHARACTERISTIC   OBSERVATIONS. 

pleasing.  We  knew  that  the  girls  of  the  Highlands  are  all 
gentlewomen,  and  treated  her  with  great  respect,  which  she 
received  as  customary  and  due,  and  was  neither  elated  by  it 
nor  confused."  The  gallant  traveller  was  so  pleased  with  the 
young  lady  that  he  presented  her  with  a  book,  which  Boswell 
informs  us  was  a  copy  of  Cocker's  Arithmetic.  It  was  at  this 
place  Johnson  first  heard  of  "the  general  dissatisfaction  which 
is  now  driving  the  Highlanders  into  the  other  hemisphere," 
and  when  he  asked  his  host  "  whether  they  would  stay  at 
home  if  they  were  well  treated,  he  answered  with  indignation' 
that  no  man  willingly  left  his  native  country." 

From  Glenmoriston  the  travellers  came  to  Glenshiel  and 
Glenelg,  whence  they  crossed  to  Skye.  The  country  through 
which  they  passed  was  mountainous,  and  on  the  scenery  the 
doctor  makes  many  of  his  characteristic  observations  :  "  An 
eye  accustomed  to  flowery  pastures  and  waving  harvests  is 
astonished  and  repelled  by  this  wide  extent  of  hopeless 
sterility.  The  appearance  is  that  of  matter  incapable  of  form 
or  usefulness,  dismissed  by  Nature  from  her  care  and  dis- 
inherited of  her  favours,  left  in  its  original  elemental  state,  or 
quickened  only  with  one  sullen  power  of  useless  vegetation." 

We  will  not  follow  our  distinguished  tourist  to  the  Heb- 
rides ;  we  will  only  notice  that  his  remarks  here  and  there  give 
us  a  very  vivid  picture  of  what  was  taking  place  in  Inverness- 
shire  at  the  time  of  his  visit.  He  was  told  how  many  of  the 
tacksmen  were  going  to  America  rather  than  comply  with  the 
demands  made  upon  them  by  the  chiefs  for  increase  of  rent. 
Their  places  were  filled  by  a  number  of  poor  people  who  had 
lived  under  them,  properly  speaking,  as  servants,  the  pre- 
decessors of  the  crofters  of  the  present  day.  This  migration 
Dr  Johnson  deplored.  It  seemed  to  him  that  the  chiefs 
should  have  identified  themselves  more  with  their  people  than 
they  did.     The   replacing   the  old   "  tacksmen   by   strangers 


RAPACITY   OF   THE   CHIEFS   CENSURED.  223 

appeared  to  him  a  great  misfortune.  The  stranger  whose 
money  buys  him  preference  considers  himself  as  paying  for 
all  that  he  has,  and  is  indifferent  about  the  laird's  honour  or 
safety.  The  commodiousness  of  money  is  indeed  great,  but 
there  are  some  advantages  which  money  cannot  buy,  and 
which  therefore  no  wise  man  will  by  the  love  of  money  be 
tempted  to  forego." 

The  tacksmen  seemed  to  the  doctor  the  strength  of  social 
life  in  the  country.  "  As  the  mind  governs  the  hands,  so  in 
every  society  the  man  of  intelligence  must  govern  the  man  of 
labour.  If  the  tacksmen  be  taken  away,  the  people  must  be 
given  up  to  grossness  and  ignorance ;  the  tenant  for  want  of 
instruction  will  be  unskilful,  and  for  want  of  admonition  will 
be  negligent."  The  modern  factor,  according  to  his  view, 
could  never  take  the  place  of  the  tacksman  :  "  having  no 
dignity  attached  to  his  character,  he  can  have  little  authority 
among  men  taught  to  pay  reverence  only  to  birth,  and  who 
regard  the  tacksman  as  their  hereditary  superior.  Nor  can 
the  steward  have  equal  zeal  for  the  prosperity  of  an  estate 
profitable  only  to  the  laird  with  the  tacksman  who  has  the 
laird's  income  involved  in  his  own." 

The  doctor  severely  censures  the  rapacity  of  the  chiefs  in 
driving  away  the  people  and  letting  the  land  to  strangers. 
He  thought  that  the  landlords  should  be  restrained  by  law 
from  making  extortionate  demands.  His  views  are  in  great 
part  those  of  a  Highland  agitator  of  the  present  day.  It 
was,  according  to  him,  folly  in  the  Government  to  allow  the 
chiefs  to  dispossess  the  people  :  "  To  hinder  insurrection  by 
driving  away  the  people,  and  to  govern  peaceably  by  having 
no  subjects,  is  an  expedient  that  argues  no  great  profundity 
of  politics.  To  soften  the  obdurate,  to  convince  the  mis- 
taken, to  mollify  the  resentful,  are  worthy  of  a  statesman  ; 
but    it    affords  a    legislator    little    self- applause    to    consider 


224  COLONEL   THORNTON. 

that  where    there  was   formerly  insurrection   there   is   now  a 
wilderness." 

It  is  difificult  for  the  unbiassed  reader  of  the  famous  '  Tour ' 
to  understand  the  resentment  on  the  part  of  Highlanders 
which  its  publication  called  forth.  The  doctor  is  full  of 
sympathy  for  the  hardships  of  their  lot  and  for  what  seemed 
to  him  their  oppression  at  the  hands  of  their  lairds.  He 
admired  their  civility  and  hospitality  at  home,  and  their 
bravery  as  soldiers  in  the  army  abroad.  Bigoted  Episcopalian 
as  he  was,  he  found  their  ministers  whom  he  met  worthy  of 
his  highest  esteem.  As  the  great  traveller  and  writer  took  no 
offence  when  asked  by  a  haughty  chief  whether  he  was  of  the 
Johnstones  of  Glencoe  or  of  Ardnamurchan  (!),  so  it  becomes 
his  readers  to  take  none  though  he  is  doubtful  about  Ossian 
and  thinks  Gaelic  the  rude  speech  of  a  barbarous  people. 

Late  in  the  last  century  —  in  1784  —  another  traveller 
came  to  the  county  whose  object  in  visiting  it  was  different 
from  those  we  have  mentioned.  Colonel  Thornton  of  Thorn- 
ville  Royal  in  Yorkshire  was  a  sportsman.  He  may  be  con- 
sidered the  pioneer  of  that  numerous  class  who,  as  the  autumn 
comes  round,  yearly  make  their  appearance  in  the  North. 
On  this  account,  if  on  no  other,  the  story  of  his  adventures 
is  of  considerable  interest.  He  hired  the  house  of  Raitts  in 
Badenoch  from  Mrs  Mackintosh  of  Borlum,  with  grass  and 
provisions  for  twenty  horses.  He  provided  himself  with  tents 
which  he  could  move  readily  from  one  place  to  another.  He 
engaged  an  artist,  Mr  Gerard,  to  accompany  him  and  take 
drawings  of  the  scenery,  and  carried  with  him  provisions  for 
three  or  four  months.  Boats,  camp-equipage,  and  all  things 
necessary  were  transported  by  a  sailing-vessel  from  Hull  to 
Forres,  and  carted  thence  to  Raitts.  He  himself  and  his  com- 
panion made  their  journey  overland  in  a  gig  with  two  horses 
driven  tandem. 


AN   APPRECIATIVE   TRAVELLER.  225 

ft. 

The  colonel  was  a  thorough  sportsman,  and  was  much 
given  to  hospitality.  He  entertained  the  gentlemen  and 
ladies  of  the  district  in  most  generous  fashion,  went  to  kirk 
every  Sunday,  and  made  himself  thoroughly  at  home  among 
the  people.  His  days  were  spent  on  the  hill  shooting,  and 
fishing,  chiefly  for  pike,  in  the  lochs  of  the  district.  He 
carried  his  tent  and  boats  to  the  wildest  spots  among  the 
Badenoch  mountains.  He  astonished  the  natives  by  hawking 
on  the  moors.  He  seems  to  have  been  confined  by  no 
marches,  but  wandered  anywhere  he  chose  to  go  over  the 
wide  district  from  Rothiemurchus  to  Loch  Laggan. 

Unlike  other  tourists,  he  makes  no  complaint  as  to  accom- 
modation or  fare.  Wherever  he  went  he  met  with  politeness 
and  hospitality.  "  Everything,"  he  says,  "  for  the  comfort  of 
life  may  be  had  in  the  Highlands  at  least  nine  months  in  the 
year,  superior,  if  not  to  all,  to  most  countries.  Nature  has 
given  to  the  face  of  the  country  a  large  proportion  of  barren 
heath,  but  in  the  valleys  every  luxury  of  animal  food,  and 
that  of  the  most  excellent  kind,  abounds  during  the  winter 
months."  The  scenery  was  to  him  full  of  beauty.  He  had 
to  "  rough  it "  considerably  as  he  went  from  place  to  place, 
but  anything  like  hardship  seems  only  to  have  added  zest  to 
his  enjoyment.  Whether  he  spent  the  night  in  a  bothy  or  in 
a  gentleman's  house,  nothing  can  excel  his  appreciation  of  the 
kindness  he  received  and  the  goodwill  of  those  who  proffered  it. 

The  colonel's  book  is  in  the  main  a  delightful  chronicle  of 
sport,  but  there  are  in  it  references  to  the  people  and  their 
social  life  which  are  worthy  of  notice.  Emigration  had  taken 
place  in  Badenoch  as  in  other  parts  of  the  county.  The  best 
mechanics,  the  colonel  was  told,  had  gone  abroad.  Many  of 
the  tacksmen  still  remained.  They  were  gentlemen  of  culture 
and  education,  and  the  sportsman  found  in  them  genial  com- 
panions.    Some  of  them  had  been  in  the  American  war,  and 

p 


226      THE    RESTORATION    OF   CLUNY   MACPHERSON. 

amused  him  with  the  story  of  their  adventures.  Recollections 
of  the  '45  were  still  fresh  in  the  district.  A  "Captain  M'P. 
had  been  a  captain  in  the  year  1745,  and  amused  me,"  he 
says,  "  with  genuine  accounts  of  what  had  passed  in  the  rebel 
army ;  and  as  I  had  just  been  reading  an  account  of  that 
horrid  period,  he  threw  several  new  lights  on  confused  parts 
of  the  history  of  those  times.  He  himself  was  long  a  pris- 
oner, and  narrowly  escaped  with  his  life,  evidence  only  being 
wanted  against  him." 

We  gain  a  pleasing  impression  of  the  social  state  of  the 
district  from  the  gallant  colonel's  narrative.  Though  the  clan 
system  in  other  parts  of  Inverness-shire  had  become  a  mere 
nominal  relationship,  in  Badenoch  its  best  features  still  re- 
mained unbroken.  Macphersons  and  Mackintoshs  were  on 
every  side  of  him.  Cluny  Macpherson  was  still  a  venerated 
chief.  "  The  lenity  shown  to  those  who  had  been  out  in  the 
'45  had  been  well  rewarded  by  the  services  they  or  their 
posterity  had  rendered  to  their  country." 

While  the  colonel  was  in  Badenoch  an  event  occurred  which 
gave  great  joy  throughout  the  district.  This  was  the  restora- 
tion of  Cluny  Macpherson  to  the  estates  of  his  ancestors, 
which  had  been  forfeited.  It  was  celebrated  with  much  re- 
joicing, and  the  colonel  received  a  polite  invitation  from 
Colonel  Macpherson  and  the  clan  "to  be  present  at  the 
festivities.  It  was  a  hearty  and  enthusiastic  gathering,  and 
was  held  at  Pitmain.  On  our  arrival  we  found  a  large  party 
of  gentlemen  assembled,  and  the  area  full  of  the  lower  class  of 
the  clan  Macpherson.  Other  gentlemen  were  likewise  con- 
tinually ushering  in  from  all  parts,  some  of  whom  came  above 
sixty  miles.  No  words  can  express  the  joy  that  was  exhibited 
on  every  countenance.  The  ladies  too — not  that  I  think  it 
singular — seemed  to  enter  if  possible  more  heartily  into  the 
joys  of  the  day  than  the  men."     The  genial  Sassenach  was 


A   JOYOUS   GATHERING.  22/ 

quite  at  home  among  the  Highlanders,  and  entirely  in  sym- 
pathy with  the  occasion.  Strong  Hanoverian  though  he  and 
his  family  had  always  been,  the  return  of  the  chief  to  his  own 
gave  him  the  greatest  satisfaction.  "  At  most  public  meetings 
there  are  some  discontented  mortals  who  rather  check  than 
inspire  mirth  :  the  case  was  here  quite  the  reverse.  With  that 
perfect  innocence  which  abounds  in  the  Highlands,  joined  to 
clannish  regard,  not  totally  removed  by  luxury  and  knowledge 
of  the  world,  every  individual  added  something  and  exerted 
himself  to  promote  the  common  cause." 

The  feast  was  worthy  of  feudal  times.  "The  table  was 
covered  with  every  luxury  the  vales  of  Badenoch,  Spey,  and 
Lochaber  could  produce.  And  a  very  substantial  entertain- 
ment it  was — game  of  all  kinds  and  venison  in  abundance," 
The  gallant  gentleman  was  specially  struck  by  the  charms  of 
the  ladies.  They  were  "  dressed  in  all  their  Highland  pride, 
each  following  her  own  fancy  and  wearing  a  shawl  of  tartan  : 
this,  contrasted  by  the  other  parts  of  the  dress  at  candlelight, 
presented  a  most  glaring  coup  d'oeiL" 

The  colonel  was  evidently  pleased  with  the  loyalty  of  the 
clan.  There  was  no  mention  of  "  the  king  over  the  water." 
The  old  Jacobite  feelings  had  died  out.  "  George  the  Third, 
and  long  may  he  reign  !  "  was  drunk  with  as  much  unfeigned 
loyalty  as  ever  it  was  in  London,  "  and  echoed  by  the  inferiors 
of  the  clan  in  the  area  around  us,"  not  a  few  of  whom  had 
probably  marched  in  the  ranks  of  Prince  Charlie's  army  and 
fought  at  Culloden.  A  ball  concluded  the  festivities,  when 
a  great  number  of  different  reels  were  danced  with  true  High- 
land spirit,  while  every  hill  and  mountain  in  Badenoch  blazed 
with  bonfires  of  "  wood,  peat,  and  dry  heather." 

This  joyous  gathering  was  a  survival  of  the  olden  time,  and 
the  old  clan  feeling  still  held  full  sway  in  Badenoch.  But  in 
neighbouring  districts  the  colonel  noticed  that  it  was  dying 


228  THE   END   OF   JACOBITISM. 

out.  Even  at  such  a  great  feudal  centre  as  Castle  Grant,  which 
he  had  previously  visited,  he  was  "  astonished  to  observe  how 
very  much  all  ranks  of  people  were  changed  in  their  manners 
in  the  course  of  ten  or  twelve  years.  Luxury  and  effeminacy 
have  proportionably  found  their  way  hither,  and,  through  the 
facility  of  intercourse  with  the  South  by  means  of  the  high 
military  roads,  have  almost  totally  destroyed  the  power  of  the 
chieftains.  The  existence  of  a  new  condition  of  things  alto- 
gether had  become  apparent  before  the  close  of  the  century. 
Even  a  sportsman  like  the  colonel,  intent  as  he  was  on  his 
own  peculiar  pastime,  could  not  fail  to  notice  it. 

The  travellers  at  whose  tours  in  our  county  we  have 
rapidly  glanced  in  this  chapter,  take  us  over  a  period  of 
between  forty  and  fifty  years.  When  we  put  together  their 
impressions,  we  can  form  a  very  fair  idea  of  what  was  the 
history  of  that  time.  Severity  and  repression  and  the  strong 
hand  of  the  law  were  the  chief  features  of  the  first  decade  after 
CuUoden.  Then  things  almost  suddenly  changed.  Many  of 
the  Highlanders  enlisted  in  the  army ;  many  emigrated  to 
other  countries.  Those  that  remained  were  rack-rented. 
The  chiefs  came  back  to  their  old  estates  to  find  a  different 
state  of  things  from  what  they  left.  The  number  of  their 
followers  no  longer  constituted  their  wealth.  They  had  in- 
deed no  followers,  only  tenants,  from  whom  it  behoved  them 
to  get  for  their  own  support  and  dignity  all  that  they  could. 
If  the  tenants  could  not  pay,  they  must  be  replaced  by  those 
who  could.  All  Jacobite  feeling  had  entirely  died  out  or  lived 
only  in  the  songs  of  the  bards.  The  toast  which  Colonel 
Thornton  listened  to  with  so  much  approval  in  Badenoch 
— "  George  the  Third,  and  long  may  he  reign  ! " — would  be 
drunk  with  equal  loyalty  in  the  Braes  of  Lochaber  and  the 
Glens  of  Moidart.  It  was  an  extraordinary  change  in  so 
short  a  time. 


229 


CHAPTER    XIV. 


THE  SULLEN  DISCONTENT  OF  THE  PEOPLE  AFTER  CULLODEN — BROKEN  BY  A 
CALL  TO  ARMS — THE  PEOPLE  ENLIST  LARGELY  IN  THE  ARMY — HIGHLAND 
REGIMENTS  BEFORE  '45 — LORD  CHATHAM  ORDERS  REGIMENTS  TO  BE 
RAISED  ON  AN  EXTENSIVE  SCALE — HIS  CELEBRATED  SPEECH  IN  PRAISE 
OF  HIGHLAND  SOLDIERS — INVERNESS-SHIRE  A  PRODUCTIVE  RECRUITING- 
GROUND — THE  HON.  SIMON  ERASER  RAISES  A  REGIMENT  IN  I757 — MANY 
GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  COUNTY  JOIN — THE  FRASER  HIGHLANDERS  AND 
THEIR  CAREER — REGIMENT  RAISED  IN  I759  UNDER  THE  INFLUENCE  OF 
THE  HOUSE  OF  GORDON — MACDONALD'S  HIGHLANDERS  RAISED  IN  I778 — 
THE  GORDON  HIGHLANDERS  RAISED  IN  I794 — THE  VARIOUS  FENCIBLE 
REGIMENTS — THE  79TH  RAISED  BY  CAMERON  OF  ERRACHT — SKETCH  OF 
HIS  HISTORY  AND  THAT  OF  THE  CAMERON  HIGHLANDERS-:-EFFECT  ON 
INVERNESS-SHIRE  OF  THIS  GREAT  OPENING  UP  OF  MILITARY  SERVICE— 
EVERY  MAN  PROUD  TO  BE  A  SOLDIER — INVERNESS-SHIRE  MEN  Vi^HO  HAVE 
DISTINGUISHED  THEMSELVES  IN  THE  ARMY  :  SIR  COLQUHOUN  GRANT  AND 
HIS  SERVICES— JOHN  CAMERON  OF  FASSIEFERN — HIS  GALLANT  CAREER — 
KILLED  AT  QUATRE  BRAS  AND  BURIED  IN  LOCHABER — SIR  JOHN  CAMERON 
OF  CULCHENNA  —  SIR  ALEXANDER  CAMERON  OF  INVERAILORT  —  SIR 
JAMES  MACDONNELL  OF  GLENGARRY  —  SIR  HERBERT  MACPHERSON  — 
TWO  GREAT  NON-COMBATANTS:  SIR  JAMES  MACGREGOR,  M.D. — JOHN 
CAMERON,  WAR  CORRESPONDENT  —  MEN  LIKE  THESE  MAINTAIN  THE 
MARTIAL  SPIRIT  OF  THEIR  ANCESTORS— THIS  SPIRIT  GENERALLY  DEAD 
THROUGHOUT  THE  COUNTY— FEW   INVERNESS  MEN  JOIN   THE   ARMY, 


The  sullen  discontent  into  which  the  Inverness-shire  people 
sank  after  the  fatal  field  of  Culloden,  and  the  hardships  by 
which  it  was  followed,  were  first  broken  by  a  call  to  arms. 
Such  calls  had  hitherto  come  to  them  from  their  chiefs,  and 
in  aid  of  the  Stewarts  :  this  new  summons  reached  them  from 
the  Government,  and  enUsted  them  in  large  numbers  in  the 
cause  to  which  they  had  hitherto  been  opposed.     Within  little 


230  CALLS   TO   ARMS. 

more  than  ten  years  after  the  battle  of  Culloden  hundreds  of 
Inverness-shire  men  were  fighting  in  the  ranks  of  the  royal 
army.  There  was  scarcely  a  glen  throughout  the  county 
which  did  not  send  out  its  quota  of  recruits  to  serve  under 
the  banner  of  King  George. 

Two  Highland  regiments  had  been  raised  before  '45  which 
had  in  their  ranks  many  both  of  officers  and  men  from  Inver- 
ness-shire. The  independent  companies  formed  in  1730  for 
the  purpose  of  preserving  order  in  the  Highlands  were  in  1740 
united  under  the  name  of  the  43rd  Regiment  of  the  line, 
since  changed  to  the  42nd,  and  best  known  by  the  original 
designation  of  the  "  Black  Watch."  The  distinguished  career 
of  this  regiment  is  part  of  the  history  of  the  country.  Lord 
Loudon,  who  commanded  the  royal  forces  in  the  North,  was 
able  also,  by  his  exertions  among  the  clans  which  supported  the 
Hanoverian  interest,  to  raise  a  regiment  of  1 250  men,  of  whom 
750  were  embodied  at  Inverness.  Many  of  them  fought  at 
Culloden  under  the  Duke  of  Cumberland.  This  regiment  did 
gallant  service  in  Flanders,  but  on  the  restoration  of  peace  in 
1748  it  was  disbanded. 

The  successful  raising  of  these  regiments,  and  the  good  ser- 
vices effected  by  them,  naturally  suggested  the  employment  of 
the  Highlanders  to  a  still  greater  extent  in  the  service  of  the 
country;  and  when  the  bitter  memories  of  the  '45  began  to  die 
down  the  attempt  was  made,  and  made  with  conspicuous  suc- 
cess. Lord  Chatham,  then  Mr  Pitt,  ordered  regiments  to  be 
raised  in  the  Highlands  on  an  extensive  scale,  and  he  enlisted 
many  Highland  gentlemen  in  whom  the  people  had  confidence 
to  take  part  in  his  enterprise.  He  gave  these  gentlemen 
commissions  and  sent  them  to  the  Highlands  to  invite  the 
people  to  serve  under  them.  The  invitation  was  largely 
responded  to  by  those  to  whom  it  was  addressed.  They 
were  men  trained  to  the  use  of  arms,  and  were  glad  to  resume 


A  JUSTIFIABLE    BOAST.  231 

the  weapons  which  had  been  taken  from  them,  and  the  dress 
to  which  they  had  been  long  accustomed.  They  had  confi- 
dence in  the  gentlemen  of  their  own  clan  who  asked  them  to 
enlist.  Nowhere  could  better  soldiers  be  found  than  among 
the  mountains.  It  was  with  justifiable  pride  that  Lord  Chat- 
ham in  his  celebrated  speech  on  the  commencement  of  the 
American  war  thus  expressed  himself :  "  I  sought  for  merit 
wherever  it  was  to  be  found.  It  was  my  boast  that  I  was  the 
first  Minister  who  looked  for  and  found  it  in  the  mountains  of 
the  North.  I  called  it  forth,  and  drew  into  your  service  a 
hardy  and  intrepid  race  of  men,  who  had  gone  nigh  to  have 
overturned  the  State  in  the  war  before  last.  These  men 
in  the  last  war  were  brought  to  combat  on  your  side,  and 
fought  with  valour  and  conquered  for  you  in  every  part  of 
the  world." 

Inverness-shire  proved  a  most  productive  recruiting-ground. 
In  1757  the  Hon.  Simon  Fraser,  son  of  the  famous  Lord 
Lovat,  and  who  had  himself  served  in  the  army  of  Prince 
Charles,  received  a  commission  to  raise  a  regiment  among 
his  clan.  Though  the  ancient  castle  of  Downie  was  in  ruins 
and  the  Lovat  estates  forfeited,  such  was  the  attachment  of 
the  people  to  the  son  of  their  old  chief  that  in  a  few  weeks 
he  raised  a  body  of  800  men  among  them.  To  this  were 
added  600  others  raised  by  gentlemen  of  the  country,  and 
especially  by  those  who  had  obtained  commissions.  Among 
these  were  many  well-known  Inverness- shire  men,  such  as 
John  Macpherson  of  Cluny ;  Donald  Macdonald,  brother  of 
Clanranald ;  Alexander  Cameron  of  Dungalton  ;  James  Fraser 
of  Belladrum  ;  Ranald  INIacdonnell,  son  of  Keppoch  ;  Ewen 
Cameron  of  the  family  of  Glennevis,  and  others.  The  men 
wore  the  full  Highland  dress,  with  musket  and  broadsword. 
Fraser's  Highlanders,  as  they  were  called,  distinguished  them- 
selves in  many  battles,  and  took  part  in  the  siege  of  Quebec 


232  INVERNESS-SHIRE   REGIMENTS. 

under  General  Wolfe,  when  that  great  soldier  was  killed.  At 
the  conclusion  of  the  war  many  of  the  officers  and  men 
settled  in  North  America.  The  rest  returned  to  Scotland 
and  were  disbanded ;  but  on  the  war  of  the  American 
Revolution  breaking  out,  Fraser's  Highlanders  were  again 
revived.  Two  battalions  were  raised  by  Colonel  Fraser  in 
1776,  who  on  account  of  his  distinguished  services  received 
a  grant  of  the  Lovat  estates.  This  body  of  men  was  con- 
stantly in  action  during  the  war,  and  on  its  termination 
returned  to  Scotland  and  was  discharged  in  1783. 

Another  regiment  connected  with  Inverness-shire  was  that 
raised  in  1759  under  the  influence  of  the  house  of  Gordon. 
Many  of  the  men  came  from  Badenoch  and  the  valley  of 
the  Spey.  The  76th  Regiment,  raised  in  1778,  or,  as  it  was 
called,  Macdonald's  Highlanders,  was  also  largely  recruited  in 
our  county,  especially  in  Glengarry.  It  also  did  brave  service 
in  the  American  revolutionary  war.  Its  men  were  taken 
prisoners  on  the  surrender  of  Lord  Cornwallis's  army.  Many 
attempts  were  made  by  their  emigrant  countrymen  to  induce 
them  to  join  the  cause  of  American  independence,  but  all  of 
them  stood  true  to  their  allegiance.  This  regiment  was  dis- 
banded on  its  return  to  Scotland  in  1784.  We  may  mention 
also  that  the  Gordon  Highlanders,  still  known  as  the  92nd 
Regiment,  raised  by  the  Marquis  of  Huntly  in  1794,  num- 
bered among  its  officers  and  men  many  Inverness  -  shire 
soldiers  from  Badenoch  and  Strathspey. 

Besides  the  regiments  we  have  just  noticed,  there  were 
bodies  of  Fencibles,  as  they  were  called,  raised  entirely  in  the 
Highlands.  The  following  were  specially  connected  with  In- 
verness-shire :  The  Grant  or  Strathspey  Fencibles  were  raised 
in  1793;  the  Inverness-shire  Fencibles  in  1794;  the  Fraser 
Fencibles  in  1794;  the  Glengarry  Fencibles  in  1794;  the 
Lochaber  Fencibles  in  1799.     These  fencible  regiments  were 


SIR   ALAN    CAMERON.  233 

chiefly  employed  in  garrison  duty,  but  from  their  ranks  many 
men  passed  into  the  regular  army. 

These  notes,  necessarily  brief,  may  serve  to  show  to  what  a 
large  extent  the  men  of  Inverness-shire  took  service  under 
Government  before  the  close  of  last  century.  But  there  is 
one  Highland  regiment  which  we  have  not  yet  mentioned, 
but  which  must  not  be  forgotten  by  us,  as  in  a  very  special 
manner  it  had  its  origin  in  Inverness-shire.  This  is  the  79th 
Regiment,  which  has  had  a  most  distinguished  history,  and 
which  still  bears  the  name  of  the  "Cameron  Highlanders." 
This  splendid  regiment  was  raised  by  Cameron  of  Erracht 
in  Lochaber,  afterwards  Sir  Alan  Cameron.  He  was  con- 
nected with  the  family  of  Lochiel.  His  father  had  been  out  in 
the  '45,  and  his  family,  like  many  others,  had  been  subjected 
to  the  cruelties  and  indignities  which  followed  that  period. 
Alan  was  a  man  of  herculean  build  and  of  a  fiery  but  chivalrous 
disposition,  whereby  he  early  acquired  considerable  influence 
among  the  Highlanders  of  his  native  glens.  When  sixteen 
years  of  age  he  had  the  misfortune  to  kill  a  gentleman  of  his 
own  clan  in  a  duel,  and  to  avoid  the  consequences  was  forced 
to  fly  to  America.  On  the  breaking  out  of  the  War  of  In- 
dependence he  obtained  a  commission  in  a  local  cavalry  corps 
raised  by  loyalists  for  the  service  of  the  Crown.  Whilst  on 
detached  duty  he  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  Provincials, 
and  confined  at  Philadelphia  for  nearly  two  years.  In  an 
attempt  to  escape  he  severely  injured  himself,  but  managed 
to  elude  the  pursuit  of  his  enemies.  Ultimately  he  re- 
turned home  as  a  lieutenant  on  half-pay  of  Tarleton's  Light 
Dragoons. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  century  the  hostile  attitude  of  the 
French  Republicans  rendered  a  considerable  addition  to  the 
land  forces  of  Great  Britain  imperative,  and  the  Government 
decided    to    raise    several    new    regiments.       Alan    Cameron 


234      THE   queen's   OWN    CAMERON    HIGHLANDERS. 

offered  his  services  to  recruit  men  in  his  native  county.  His 
offer  was  accepted,  and  he  received  a  "  letter  of  service,"  dated 
1 7th  August  1793,  authorising  him  to  raise  a  Highland  regi- 
ment, of  which  he  was  appointed  major  commandant.  The 
men  were  to  be  engaged  without  any  limitation  as  to  the 
period  of  their  service.  They  were  to  receive  no  allowance 
of  "  levy-money,"  and  they  were  not  to  be  drafted  into  any 
other  regiments. 

With  this  "  letter  of  service  "  Alan  went  down  to  Lochaber, 
to  which  he  had  long  been  a  stranger.  When  he  arrived  he 
was  received  with  acclamation.  He  came  to  Fort  William  at 
the  time  of  the  market,  and  all  present  at  that  gathering  gave 
him  an  enthusiastic  reception.  His  mission  was  crowned 
with  success.  His  brother  had  already  enlisted  a  company, 
and  from  all  parts  of  Lochaber  and  the  neighbourhood  men 
flocked  in  to  tender  their  services.  Within  less  than  two 
months  750  men  were  collected  at  Fort  William.  On  a 
winter's  morning  they  were  paraded  close  by  the  fort,  and 
marched  to  Stirling  with  their  pipers  playing  before  them, 
amid  the  cheers  of  the  people  of  the  district.  At  Stirling 
they  were  formally  embodied,  and  passed  as  effective  by  the 
inspecting  officer,  and  designated  the  79th.  A  few  days  after 
their  arrival  Major  Cameron  received  orders  to  increase  the 
establishment  of  the  new  regiment  to  1000  rank  and  file. 
He  returned  to  Lochaber,  and  within  five-and-twenty  days 
brought  back  the  needed  number  of  men.  All  the  officers 
of  the  regiment  with  scarcely  an  exception  were  Highland 
gentlemen.  The  uniform  of  the  regiment  was  scarlet  with 
green  facings  ;  the  kilt  was  of  the  Erracht  Cameron  tartan. 
It  was  specially  designed  by  Alan  Cameron's  mother,  and  has 
ever  since  been  worn  by  the  regiment.  The  79th  at  its  em- 
bodiment was  called  the  "  Cameronian  Volunteers " ;  after- 
wards it  became  the  "  Cameronian  Highlanders  "  ;  and  finally 


A   DISTINGUISHED   SOLDIER.  235 

received  the  name  of  "  The  Queen's  Own   Cameron   High- 
landers," by  which  it  is  now  called. 

This  regiment  has  always  been  specially  regarded  as  the 
Inverness-shire  regiment,  and  its  headquarters  are  still  in  the 
county.  Its  history  is  one  unbroken  record  of  gallant  achieve- 
ments in  every  part  of  the  world,  and  to  give  an  account  of 
them  would  almost  be  to  write  the  history  of  the  British  army 
in  modern  times. 

Alan  of  Erracht  had  a  most  distinguished  career  as  a 
soldier.  He  accompanied  his  regiment  to  Holland  in  1794, 
and  to  the  West  Indies  in  1795.  •^"  ^799  ^e  commanded 
the  79th  in  a  second  expedition  to  the  Low  Countries,  and 
was  severely  wounded  at  Egmont-op-Zee.  He  commanded 
the  regiment  during  the  expedition  to  Ferrol  and  Cadiz  in 
1800,  through  the  Egyptian  campaign  of  1801,  and  at  the 
capture  of  Copenhagen  in  1807.  Returning  to  England  after 
Moore's  expedition  to  Sweden,  he  was  immediately  ordered 
with  the  79th  to  Portugal.  After  holding  the  post  of  British 
commandant  at  Lisbon,  Brigadier  Cameron — to  which  rank 
he  had  been  advanced — joined  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley's  army 
and  commanded  a  brigade  at  the  battles  of  Talavera  and 
Busaco.  At  Talavera  he  had  two  horses  shot  under  him. 
For  his  services  in  the  Peninsula  he  received  a  gold  medal 
and  his  K.C.B.  After  Busaco  he  was  compelled  to  resign  his 
command  and  to  return  home  on  account  of  ill-health.  He 
died  on  the  9th  March  1828.  During  his  connection  of 
fifteen  years  with  the  79th  he  brought  his  regiment  to  a  high 
state  of  efficiency.  He  took  a  fatherly  interest  in  his  men, 
by  whom  he  was  regarded  with  the  deepest  affection.  His 
familiar  name  among  them  was  "  Old  Cia  mar  th'a  thu  ? " 
(How-are-you  ?),  a  question  he  was  constantly  putting  to  them 
in  Gaelic  as  he  asked  after  their  welfare.  The  pride  he  took 
in  his  soldiers  was  that  of  an  old  chief  in  his  clan.      It  is  said 


236  A   COUNTY   OF   SOLDIERS. 

that  when  he  was  told  by  the  commander-in-chief  that  the 
regiment  would  probably  be  drafted  into  others,  and  so  lose 
its  individuality,  he  characteristically  replied,  "You  may  tell 
the  king  from  me  that  he  may  send  us  to  h — 1  if  he  likes,  and 
I  will  go  at  the  head  of  them,  but  he  daurna  draft  us."  His 
son  succeeded  him  in  command  of  the  regiment,  but  as  its 
head  had  a  short  though  gallant  career.  He  was  killed  at 
Fuentes  d'Onor,  and  when  his  men  heard  that  "  Cia  mar 
th'a's  "  son  had  fallen,  they  raised  in  Gaelic  cries  for  vengeance 
and  dashed  onwards  in  a  charge  that  carried  all  before  it. 

The  effect  upon  the  population  of  Inverness-shire  by  this 
great  opening  of  military  service  in  the  closing  years  of  the 
last  century  was  very  great,  more  indirectly  perhaps  than 
directly.  The  Highland  people  became  acquainted  with 
other  countries  than  their  own.  Many  of  them  as  early  as 
1765  received  grants  of  land  in  America  and  settled  there. 
Those  who  came  back  recounted  round  the  peat-fires  of  their 
homes  tales  of  their  adventures  and  of  the  colonies  across  the 
sea  with  their  mighty  forests  and  unoccupied  prairies,  and  many 
Highlanders  were  thus  induced  to  seek  a  home  in  other  lands 
and  among  the  friends  who  were  already  there  before  them. 
A  warlike  spirit  was  also  fostered  among  the  people  which 
was  long  of  dying  out.  An  Inverness-shire  man  was  in  those 
days  proud  to  be  a  soldier.  During  the  Peninsular  war,  from 
every  little  hamlet  throughout  the  county  men  were  recruited 
for  the  army.  Every  family  of  importance  within  its  bounds 
had  a  son  or  sons  in  the  service.  The  very  children  used  in 
their  play  to  form  themselves  into  regiments.  The  writer  of 
these  pages  is  old  enough  to  remember  a  time  when  every 
other  farm  in  a  wide  district  was  tenanted  by  a  veteran  officer, 
who  had  gone  through  the  Peninsular  campaign,  and  from 
whom  he  heard  tales  of  the  lines  of  Torres  Vedras  and  of  the 
battle  of  Waterloo. 


SIR  COLQUHOUN   GRANT.  237 

To  give  anything  like  a  detailed  account  here  of  those 
Inverness-shire  men  who  have  distinguished  themselves  in  the 
military  service  of  the  country  would  be  impossible.  They 
are  too  numerous.  But  there  are  some  who  were  so  cele- 
brated, and  attained  so  great  a  reputation,  that  in  a  county 
history  like  this  they  should  at  least  be  mentioned. 

Sir  Colquhoun  Grant,  of  the  family  of  the  Grants  of  Gar- 
tonbeg,   achieved    great    distinction    as    a    soldier,   and    fully 
maintained  the  mihtary  prestige  of  his  clan.      He  was  born 
in   1764,  a  period  when  Inverness-shire   men   were   inspired 
with   an   intense  desire   to   serve  their  country  in   the   field. 
He  saw  considerable  service  with  the  36th  and  25th  Light 
Dragoons   in  India,  and  took  part   in  the  capture  of  Serin- 
gapatam.      In  1802,  after  serving  in  two  dragoon  regiments 
with  distinction,  he  became  for  a  time  lieutenant-colonel  of 
the  72nd  Highlanders,  and  was  wounded  at  the  head  of  his 
men  at  the  Cape   of  Good  Hope  in   1806.     He  afterwards 
joined   the   15th  Hussars,  and  in  the  Peninsular  war  distin- 
guished himself  as  a  dashing  and  adventurous  soldier.      He 
commanded   a  brigade   at   Morales,  and  was  wounded   both 
there  and  at  Vittoria.     At  Waterloo  he  was  in  the  thick  of 
the  fight,  and  had  several  horses  killed  under  him.     He  was 
regarded  by  the  whole  army  as  a  fine  specimen  of  a  High- 
lander,  and    on    several    occasions    led    his    men    to   victory 
against  forces  that  far  outnumbered   his  own.      He  was  the 
recipient  of  many  honours,  was  made  K.C.B.,  and  had  be- 
stowed on  him  the  foreign  orders  of  St  Vladimir  of  Russia 
and  William  the  Lion  of  the  Netherlands.     After  long  military 
service  he  entered  Parliament,  and  died  in  England  in  1835 
full  of  years  and  honours. 

John  Cameron  of  Fassiefern  is  still  remembered  in  the 
county  as  a  soldier  of  renown.  He  was  born  at  Inverscaddle 
in   Argyleshire  in   1771,  where   his  family  happened    to   be 


238  JOHN   CAMERON    OF   FASSIEFERN. 

residing,  but  by  clanship  and  association  he  must  be  regarded 
as  an  Inverness-shire  man.  He  was  brought  up  at  Fassiefern 
on  Locheilside,  was  educated  at  the  school  of  Fort  WiUiam 
and  afterwards  at  the  University  of  Aberdeen.  He  was  a 
thorough  Highlander,  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  Highland 
tradition  and  the  achievements  of  his  clan.  In  1793  his 
father  purchased  for  him  a  commission  in  the  26th  Cameron- 
ian  Regiment,  which  he  does  not  appear  to  have  joined ;  but 
a  year  afterwards  he  entered  the  Gordon  Highlanders,  accom- 
panied by  a  band  of  Lochaber  men.  After  serving  for  a  time 
in  Ireland  he  was  ordered  with  his  regiment  to  Holland  to 
form  part  of  the  expedition  under  Sir  Ralph  Abercromby, 
where  he  was  under  the  command  of  the  famous  Sir  John 
Moore.  In  the  battle  of  Egmont-op-Zee  he  was  wounded. 
He  served  in  Egypt  under  Sir  Ralph  Abercromby  in  1801. 
After  the  battle  of  Mandora  he  received  his  majority,  and  took 
a  conspicuous  part  in  the  battle  of  Alexandria,  when  he  was 
again  wounded.  After  serving  in  England  and  Ireland  he 
took  part  as  lieutenant-colonel  in  the  unfortunate  Walcheren 
expedition.  Towards  the  close  of  18 10  he  joined  the  British 
army  in  the  Peninsula  at  the  head  of  the  92nd,  and  fought 
at  the  battle  of  Fuentes  d'Onor  and  the  capture  of  Badajos. 
He  shared  in  the  victory  at  Salamanca  in  181 2,  and  after- 
wards was  with  Hill's  division  in  the  retreat  of  Burgos,  where, 
he  wrote,  "  he  passed  through  the  most  wretched  and  distress- 
ing occurrences  of  his  military  life." 

In  command  of  the  first  brigade  of  Hill's  division,  he  took 
a  leading  position  in  the  battle  of  Vittoria,  when  the  French 
power  was  broken  in  Spain.  At  the  Rock  of  Maya  he  received 
three  wounds,  and  for  his  distinguished  conduct  was  permitted 
by  the  king  to  bear  the  name  "Maya"  on  his  shield.  After 
recovering  from  his  injuries  he  rejoined  his  regiment.  At  its 
head  he  was  the  first  to  cross  the  Nivelle  when  the  battle  of 


A   HERO   OF   QUATRE   BRAS.  239 

that  name  was  fought.  In  all  the  battles  of  this  time  he  and 
his  Highlanders  were  always  to  the  front.  At  Aire  he  so  dis- 
tinguished himself  that  he  was  authorised  to  bear  "above  the 
cognisance  of  Lochiel  a  representation  of  the  town  of  Aire,  in 
allusion  to  his  glorious  services." 

After  the  Peace  of  Paris,  Cameron  returned  home  with 
visions  of  settling  down  at  Fassiefern,  but  was  again  called 
into  the  field  in  181 5.  At  Brussels  eight  battalions  were 
placed  under  his  command,  and  he  marched  to  Quatre  Bras, 
where  he  died  "  like  the  offspring  of  Lochiel."  No  more 
gallant  soldier  ever  breathed,  and  his  loss  to  the  army  was 
alluded  to  in  touching  terms  by  the  Duke  of  Wellington  in  his 
despatch  after  Waterloo.  As  his  life-blood  was  ebbing  away 
he  inquired  how  his  beloved  Highlanders  had  acquitted  them- 
selves. When  he  heard  they  had  been  victorious,  "  I  die 
happy,"  he  said,  "and  trust  my  dear  country  will  believe  that 
I  have  served  her  faithfully."  His  body  was  removed  to  In- 
verness-shire and  buried  in  the  churchyard  of  Kilmallie,  where 
there  are  few  graves  not  belonging  to  the  Clan  Cameron.  His 
funeral  was  attended  by  3000  Inverness  -  shire  men.  His 
father,  in  acknowledgment  of  his  son's  services,  was  created 
a  baronet.  A  monument  to  this  most  distinguished  soldier 
was  afterwards  erected  at  Kilmallie.  On  it  are  written  the 
words  of  Sir  Walter  Scott,  who  more  than  once  alludes  to  him 
as  the  bravest  among  the  brave  : — 

"  Proud  Benevis  hears  with  awe 
How  at  the  bloody  Quatre  Bras 
Brave  Cameron  heard  the  wild  hurrah 
Of  victory  as  he  fell." 

There  were  two  other  great  soldiers  connected  with  Inver- 
ness-shire belonging  to  the  Clan  Cameron  who  emulated  in  mod- 
ern times  the  brave  deeds  of  Sir  Ewen  of  Lochiel.  Sir  John 
Cameron  was  the  son  of  John  Cameron  of  Culchenna,  and  was 


240  SIR   JOHN    CAMERON. 

born  in  1773.  His  mind  in  his  early  years  was  filled  with 
recollections  of  the  martial  deeds  of  his  clan,  and  his  great 
desire  was  to  see  service  in  the  army.  His  ancestors  had 
fought  on  the  side  of  the  Stewarts  in  a  cause  that  had  proved 
hopeless.  His  one  wish  was  to  show  equal  valour  in  the  ranks 
of  the  king's  army.  A  commission  was  purchased  for  him  in 
the  43rd  Regiment,  which  he  joined  in  1787,  and  from  that 
date  his  sword  was  but  rarely  in  its  scabbard.  His  career 
throughout  was  an  active  one.  In  the  expedition  of  Sir 
Charles  Grey  he  took  part  in  the  capture  of  the  islands  of 
Martinique,  St  Lucia,  and  Guadaloupe.  In  the  Peninsular 
campaign  he  saw  much  fighting.  He  was  at  the  battle  of 
Vimiera,  fought  in  the  advance  to  Salamanca,  and  took 
part  in  the  retreat  of  Corunna.  In  the  Walcheren  expedition 
he  was  at  the  head  of  the  first  battalion.  He  distinguished 
himself  in  a  marked  way  at  the  battle  of  Busaco,  of  Fuentes 
d'Onor,  and  in  the  sieges  of  Badajos,  Salamanca,  Vittoria,  San 
Sebastian,  and  Bayonne.  He  was  one  of  the  most  trusted 
officers  in  the  British  army.  He  fully  maintained  the  char- 
acter of  the  Clan  Cameron  given  to  them  by  an  ancient 
writer  as  "  the  fiercest  among  the  fierce."  He  received  many 
honours.  In  181 5  he  was  one  of  the  first  on  whom  the  title 
K.C.B.  was  conferred.  He  was  a  Knight  also  of  the  Tower 
and  Sword  of  Portugal.  In  more  peaceful  times  he  com- 
manded in  Canada  and  elsewhere.  He  was  lieutenant-general 
in  1837.  He  handed  on  his  military  genius  to  his  son. 
Sir  Duncan  Cameron,  who  fought  at  the  head  of  the  Black 
Watch  at  Balaclava,  and  afterwards  commanded  the  Highland 
Brigade  in  the  Crimea. 

The  other  Cameron,  Sir  Alexander  of  Inverailort,  was  born 
in  1 781,  and,  like  the  two  former  warriors  we  have  mentioned, 
maintained  on  many  a  hard-fought  field  the  reputation  of  his 
ancestors.     After  serving  in  the  Breadalbane  Fencibles  and  the 


SIR  ALEXANDER   CAMERON.  24I 

92nd  Highlanders,  he  became  lieutenant  in  the  Rifle  Brigade, 
and  was  present  at  the  taking  of  Copenhagen.  Afterwards  he 
took  part  in  hard  fighting  with  his  old  regiment  the  92nd  in 
Egypt,  when  he  was  severely  wounded.  Like  those  Inverness- 
shire  men  whom  we  have  noticed,  he  achieved  great  distinc- 
tion in  the  Peninsular  war.  He  was  at  the  battle  of  Vimiera, 
took  part  in  the  retreat  of  Sir  John  Moore,  and  fought  bravely 
at  Corunna.  Cameron  was  always  to  the  front.  On  one 
occasion  he  held  a  bridge  with  only  two  companies  against  the 
French  army  until  he  received  assistance.  Many  similar  and 
equally  gallant  deeds  are  credited  to  him.  During  the  siege 
of  Torres  Vedras  he  was  in  responsible  command.  At  the 
siege  of  Almeida,  the  battle  of  Fuentes  d'Onor,  at  Ciudad 
Rodrigo,  at  Badajos,  Salamanca,  and  Vittoria,  he  and  his 
Rifles  were  always  in  advance.  At  the  last  engagement  he 
was  severely  wounded  and  had  to  return  home.  When  the 
war  broke  out  in  181 5  he  went  to  Belgium.  He  was  in  the 
thick  of  the  fight  at  Quatre  Bras  and  Waterloo,  where  he  was 
again  wounded.  His  latter  years  were  spent  peacefully  among 
his  native  hills.  He  was  made  K.C.B.  in  1838,  and  attained 
the  rank  of  lieutenant-general.  At  Inverailort  "the  General," 
as  he  was  always  called,  passed  his  last  days,  honoured  and 
respected.  He  died  there  26th  July  1850.  The  eulogium 
passed  upon  him  by  a  great  military  authority  was  a  very  high 
one.  He  was  "  one  of  the  best  ofificers  ever  trained  by  Moore 
and  employed  by  Wellington." 

The  fighting  clan  of  Glengarry  have  sent  many  brave  men 
into  the  army,  but  none  more  distinguished  than  Sir  James 
Macdonnell,  the  third  son  of  Duncan  Macdonnell  the  chief. 
He  entered  the  service  in  1793.  In  1795  he  was  captain  in 
the  17th  Dragoons.  In  1804  a  second  battalion  was  formed 
for  the  78th  Ross-shire  Buffs,  and  he  was  appointed  one  of  the 
majors.     He  served  with  this  battalion  in  Naples,  Sicily,  and 

Q 


242  SIR  JAMES   MACDONNELL. 

the  descent  on  Calabria  in  1806,  and  took  part  in  the  battle 
of  Mandora  and  in  the  expedition  to  Egypt  in  1807.  Here 
he  distinguished  himself  by  capturing  a  Turkish  battery  at 
Alexandria.  It  was  a  gallant  affair,  and  marked  Macdonnell 
as  a  daring  officer.  He  became  colonel  of  the  78th  in  1809. 
In  181 1  he  exchanged  into  the  Coldstream  Guards,  and  served 
with  them  in  the  Peninsula.  He  fought  at  Salamanca,  Vittoria, 
Nivelle,  and  Nive,  and  was  made  C.B.  in  181 5.  His  great 
achievement,  for  which  he  is  honourably  mentioned  in  military 
annals,  was  performed  on  the  night  before  Waterloo,  and 
notably  contributed  to  the  success  of  the  famous  battle.  With 
some  regiments  he  obtained  possession  under  heavy  fire  of 
the  chateau  of  Hougomont,  the  key  to  the  French  position, 
and  held  it  with  great  determination.  For  this  deed  of  arms 
he  received  the  approbation  of  Wellington.  At  one  time, 
when  the  French  were  making  their  way  into  the  courtyard  of 
the  chateau,  the  brave  Glengarry  man,  with  the  help  of  some 
soldiers,  closed  the  gates  against  the  enemy  by  sheer  physical 
strength.  In  peaceful  times  he  served  in  Ireland  and  in 
Canada.  He  became  lieutenant-general  in  1854,  was  made 
G.C.B.  in  1855,  and  died  in  1857. 

These  military  heroes  of  our  county  achieved  their  fame 
in  the  Napoleonic  wars.  The  one  we  are  about  to  notice 
showed  in  more  modern  times  that  he  was  equally  animated 
by  the  spirit  of  his  race.  Sir  Herbert  Macpherson,  V.C., 
K.C.B.,  K.S.I.,  was  born  at  Ardersier  in  1827,  of  a  dis- 
tinguished military  family.  He  received  his  education  at 
the  Nairn  Academy,  and  in  1845  obtained  a  commission  in 
the  78th  Regiment,  of  which  his  father  had  at  one  time  been 
in  command.  He  was  engaged  in  the  Persian  war,  1856-57, 
under  Sir  James  Outram,  and  also  during  the  Indian  Mutiny, 
when  by  his  brave  conduct  at  the  relief  of  Lucknow  he  won 
the  Victoria  Cross.  When  his  regiment  was  ordered  home 
he  exchanged  into  the  Bengal  Staff  Corps,  and  commanded 


SIR    HERBERT   MACPHERSON.  243 

a  Goorkha  regiment  and  saw  mucli  service  in  the  Looshai 
expedition.  At  the  first  advance  into  Afghanistan  he  com- 
manded a  brigade  under  Sir  Samuel  Brown,  and  so  dis- 
tinguished himself  that  he  was  made  C.B.  He  achieved 
great  fame  by  his  conduct  in  the  Khyber  Pass,  and  was 
with  General  Roberts  in  his  march  to  Candahar.  For  his 
services  in  this  campaign  he  was  made  K.C.B.,  and  on  his 
return  to  Inverness  -  shire  he  received  the  freedom  of  the 
burgh  of  the  county.  In  the  Egyptian  campaign  under 
Wolseley  he  took  a  prominent  part,  especially  in  the  famous 
battle  of  Tel-el-Kebir,  and  for  his  services  there  and  many 
gallant  actions  was  created  Knight  of  the  Star  of  India. 
On  his  return  home  he  received  an  ovation  from  his  fellow- 
countymen  in  Inverness-shire.  He  was  entertained  at  a 
public  banquet  and  presented  with  a  Highland  claymore. 
In  1886  he,  on  his  return  to  India,  was  appointed  com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  Presidency  of  Madras ;  and  after  the 
first  expedition  to  Burmah  had  failed,  he  was  sent  to  that 
country  at  the  head  of  a  large  force  to  bring  about  its  settle- 
ment. With  a  large  flotilla  of  boats  he  ascended  the  river 
Irawaddy.  At  Mandalay  on  the  river  he  contracted  fever  and 
had  to  return  to  Rangoon.  He  died  on  board  the  steamer 
by  which  he  was  being  brought  back,  on  20th  October  1886. 
His  life  from  first  to  last  was  one  succession  of  gallant  deeds. 
Without  influence  or  fortune  he  reached  the  front  rank  of  the 
British  army.  He  was  beloved  by  those  who  served  under 
him,  and  in  the  words  of  Sir  Garnet  Wolseley  was  regarded 
"  as  a  pillar  of  strength  to  any  army  with  which  he  may  be 
connected."  He  was  as  fine  a  specimen  of  a  Highland  soldier 
as  our  county  ever  produced. 

Two  notices  of  men  who  were  non-combatants,  but  who 
yet  distinguished  themselves  in  connection  with  the  army, 
may  conclude  this  chapter. 

Sir  James  MacGregor,  Bart.,  T^I.D.,  was  born  at  Lethendry, 


244  SIR   JAMES   MACGREGOR. 

in  Strathspey,  and  was  educated  as  a  doctor  in  the  University 
of  Aberdeen.  He  joined  the  army  as  a  surgeon,  and  saw 
much  miUtary  service  in  various  parts  of  the  globe,  especially 
in  the  Peninsular  campaign.  His  eminence  as  an  army 
medical  ofificer  caused  him  to  be  appointed  afterwards 
Deputy  Inspector  of  Hospitals,  and  finally  Director-General 
of  the  Army  Medical  Department.  In  this  high  office  he 
gained  great  reputation  for  his  zeal  and  administrative  ability. 
He  was  in  high  favour  with  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  and 
with  the  officers  charged  with  the  administration  of  the  dif- 
ferent military  departments.  Numerous  honours  were  con- 
ferred upon  him.  He  was  made  a  Knight  Commander  of 
the  Tower  and  Sword  of  Portugal,  and  was  permitted  by  the 
sovereign  to  wear  the  Turkish  Order  of  the  Crescent  for  the 
part  he  bore  in  the  Egyptian  campaign.  In  1831  he  was 
created  a  baronet,  and  in  1850  was  invested  with  the  Order 
of  a  Knight  Commander  of  the  Bath.  After  fifty-seven  years 
spent  in  active  employment  he  died  at  London  in  1858. 

John  Cameron  was  a  native  of  Inverness,  and  of  the 
family  of  Kinlochiel.  He  was  a  bank  clerk  in  the  county 
town ;  afterwards  he  went  out  to  India,  where  he  was  in 
the  employment  of  a  mercantile  firm  in  Bombay.  He  soon 
began  to  contribute  articles  to  the  '  Bombay  Gazette,'  and  was 
for  a  time  acting  editor  of  that  paper.  The  Afghan  War  of 
1879  required  a  special  correspondent  in  the  field  for  the 
'  Bombay  Gazette,'  and  Cameron  accompanied  the  first  cam- 
paign in  the  expedition  to  Kabul.  His  letters,  from  their 
great  descriptive  power,  attracted  much  attention  ;  and  in  the 
following  year,  on  the  renewal  of  the  Afghanistan  War,  he 
joined,  as  correspondent  of  the  London  '  Standard,'  the 
column  for  the  relief  of  Candahar.  Journeying  night  and 
day,  he  reached  Quetta  in  seven  days  after  leaving  Bombay, 
having  ridden  up  the  Bolan  Pass  from  Lebe  in  thirty-six  hours. 


JOHN    CAMERON,   WAR   CORRESPONDENT.  245 

He  was  the  first  to  ride  with  the  news  of  General  Roberts's 
victory  to  the  nearest  telegraph-post,  beating  his  competitors 
and  the  Government  couriers  by  a  day  and  a  half.  Then, 
returning  with  great  rapidity  to  Candahar,  he  accompanied  the 
first  party  who  went  out  to  the  battle-field  of  Maiwand,  and 
sent  home  a  description  of  the  scene  and  the  fighting  which 
established  his  reputation  as  one  of  the  best  journalists  of  his 
class.  Soon  after  his  return  to  Bombay  the  Transvaal  War 
broke  out.  He  at  once  crossed  to  Natal,  arriving  there  before 
correspondents  from  England  could  reach  the  spot.  He  was 
present  at  the  battles  of  Laing's  Nek  and  Ingogo,  and  at  the 
fatal  fight  on  Majuba  Hill,  when  he  was  knocked  down  and 
taken  prisoner  by  the  Boers,  but  contrived  on  the  following 
day  to  send  home  his  account  of  the  battle.  After  peace  was 
concluded  in  the  Transvaal  he  came  to  England,  but  in  June 
1882  left  for  Egypt,  and  was  present  at  the  bombardment  of 
Alexandria.  He  continued  with  the  British  forces,  describing 
every  engagement  that  took  place  with  his  graphic  pen.  After 
service  as  a  journalist  in  Madagascar  and  Tonquin,  he  heard 
on  his  way  home  from  the  latter  place  of  the  threatening  of 
Suakin  by  the  forces  of  Osman  Digna.  Leaving  his  ship  at 
Suez,  he  made  his  way  to  Suakin  and  accompanied  the  British 
expeditionary  force,  witnessing  and  describing  the  battles  of 
El  Teb  and  Tamanieb.  After  a  few  weeks'  stay  in  England 
he  started  once  more  for  Egypt,  and  pushed  up  the  Nile  with 
the  advanced  boats  of  Lord  Wolseley's  expedition.  On  the 
19th  January  1885  he  was  shot  in  the  Arab  attack  on  Sir 
Herbert  Stewart's  advanced  brigade  on  the  march  from  Abu 
Klea.  His  death  was  much  lamented  both  in  journalistic 
and  military  circles.  He  was  a  true  Highlander,  as  brave  as 
he  was  clever,  fearless  of  danger,  and  full  of  pride  in  his 
profession.  Such  as  he  maintain,  even  in  our  time,  the 
martial  spirit  by  which  Inverness-shire  men  in  all  periods  of 


246  DECAY   OF   THE   MILITARY   SPIRIT. 

our  county's  history  have  been  animated.  It  must  be  con- 
fessed, however,  that  much  of  that  spirit  has  now  died  out. 
There  are  not  many  Inverness-shire  men  at  present  in  the 
ranks  of  the  army,  though  there  are  still  some  who  keep  up 
the  fighting  name  of  their  forebears.  The  crofter  will  readily 
serve  in  the  militia,  but  he  holds  aloof  from  the  regular  army. 
The  recruiting  parties  that  pass  with  pipes  playing  through 
our  glens  find  few  to  follow  them.  Few  indeed  of  the  clans- 
men are  there,  and  those  few  are  not  like  their  progenitors, 
who  were  men  of  war  "from  their  youth  upwards." 


247 


CHAPTER    XV. 


CHANGES  IN  THE  COUNTY  AI>H3  AMONG  ITS  PEOPLE — RENTS  OF  THE  TACKS- 
MEN RAISED  —  LARGE  NUMBERS  LEAVE  INVERNESS-SHIRE  FOR  THE 
COLONIES — PROGRESS  OF  THE  PROCESS  OF  DEPOPULATION — THE  STRONG 
TIDE  OF  EMIGRATION  TO  AMERICA — GOVERNMENT  INDUCED  TO  TRY 
TO  STOP  IT — SEND  MR  TELFORD,  ENGINEER,  TO  REPORT  ON  THE  BEST 
MEASURES  TO  BE  TAKEN — HIS  RECOMMENDATIONS — STRONGLY  ADVISES 
GIVING  THE  PEOPLE  Vi^ORK  IN  THE  CONSTRUCTION  OF  ROADS  AND  A 
CANAL — CONSTRUCTION  OF  ROADS  AND  MAKING  OF  THE  CALEDONIAN 
CANAL  BEGUN  IN  1804 — THE  DIFFERENT  LINES  OF  ROADS  DESCRIBED, 
AND  THEIR  COST  —  THE  EXCAVATING  OF  THE  CANAL — DIFFICULTY 
OF  THE  WORK — IMPEDIMENTS  SURMOUNTED  —  OPENING  OF  THE  NEW 
WATERWAY — ITS  COST — THE  BENEFICIAL  RESULTS  TO  INVERNESS-SHIRE 
OF  THESE  UNDERTAKINGS— INCREASE  IN  THE  VALUE  OF  PROPERTY— 
THE  TOWN  OF  INVERNESS  MAKES  A  NEW  START  —  A  GREAT  RECORD 
OF  IMPROVEMENT — THE  GREAT  WOOL  FAIR  ESTABLISHED — EMIGRATION 
NOT  STOPPED  BY  THE  GOVERNMENT  WORKS — PERIOD  OF  SHEEP-FARMING 
BEGINS  —  LANDLORDS  BEGIN  TO  EVICT  —  DIFFERENCE  BETWEEN  THE 
EARLIER  AND  LATER  EMIGRATIONS— THE  GLENGARRY  EVICTIONS— THE 
COUNTRY  SWEPT  BARE  OF  THE  INHABITANTS  —  A  TRAGIC  STORY  AT 
BEST. 


While  men  from  every  part  of  Inverness-shire  were  embodied 
in  the  miUtary  forces  of  the  country,  and  many  of  them  were 
gallantly  fighting  in  distant  lands,  a  great  change  was  taking 
place  among  the  people  at  home.  As  we  have  already  noticed, 
society  in  Inverness-shire  and  the  Highlands  generally  was 
divided  into  three  great  classes.  First  there  were  the  land- 
owners or  superiors,  then  the  tacksmen  or  wadsetters,  and 
lastly  the  subtenants  holding  their  lands  from  the  middlemen 
and  paying  them  their  rent.     These  subtenants  corresponded 


248  A    PROCESS   OF   DEPOPULATION. 

to  the  crofters  of  the  present  day.  The  laird  received  his  rent 
from  the  middleman,  and  could  depend  on  his  service  in  time 
of  war.  He  was  generally  an  officer  of  the  clan,  and  in  most 
cases  also  a  relative  of  the  landowner.  He  lived  in  consider- 
able comfort,  and  drew  rents  from  the  subtenants. 

With  the  opening  up  of  the  country  and  the  consequent  rise 
in  the  price  of  cattle  the  landlord  began  to  improve  his  posi- 
tion, either  by  increasing  the  rents  of  the  tacksman,  or  by 
dispensing  with  him  altogether  and  drawing  his  rents  directly 
from  the  subtenants.  Wadsets  were  in  many  cases  redeemed, 
while  leases  as  they  expired  were  not  renewed.  Thus  the 
middlemen  were  obliged  to  find  a  new  home  for  themselves. 
They  emigrated  in  large  numbers  to  America  and  elsewhere, 
taking  with  them  in  most  cases  many  of  those  of  the  humbler 
class  who  had  hitherto  been  their  dependants  and  followers. 
This  emigration  on  the  part  of  the  latter  was  not  in  conse- 
quence of  what  in  our  day  is  termed  "  eviction."  It  was  spon- 
taneous, and  was  stoutly  opposed  at  first  by  the  lairds.  But 
it  was  widespread,  whole  districts  were  depopulated,  and  sheep- 
farmers  from  the  South  began  to  take  possession  of  the 
vacated  lands.  ^Vhere  they  appeared  on  the  scene  most  of  the 
small  tenants  who  had  not  emigrated  were  forced  to  remove 
to  the  seashore,  to  take  refuge  in  the  towns  and  villages,  or 
to  follow  their  former  neighbours  to  other  lands. 

The  process  of  depopulation  began  as  early  as  1759,  when 
many  from  the  western  parts  of  Inverness-shire  emigrated  to 
North  Carolina.  That  province  became  so  thoroughly  Celtic 
in  some  of  its  parts  that  many  of  the  negroes  acquired  Gaelic 
and  attended  the  ministrations  of  the  Gaehc-speaking  ministers. 
It  is  said  that  one  of  the  early  emigrants,  being  addressed  on 
arriving  in  Gaelic  by  a  black  man,  exclaimed  in  tones  of  horror 
in  the  same  language,  "  God  of  grace !  will  we  all  become 
like  him  ?  " 


WIDESPREAD   EMIGRATION.  249 

As  time  went  on,  other  districts  besides  North  Carolina  were 
chosen  by  the  departing  Inverness-shire  Highlanders  for  their 
new  home.  In  1773  a  newspaper  informs  us  that  three 
gentlemen  of  the  name  of  Macdonnell,  with  their  families  and 
400  Highlanders  from  Glengarry,  Glenmoriston,  Glenurquhart, 
and  Strathglass,  embarked  for  America,  having  obtained  a 
grant  of  land  in  Albany.  In  the  same  year  a  vessel  left  Fort 
William  for  America  with  425  men,  women,  and  children  from 
Knoydart,  Lochaber,  Appin,  Mamore,  and  Fort  William.  A 
few  days  previous  to  their  departure  250  emigrants  sailed  from 
Fort  George,  and  308  of  the  Macdonnells  of  Glengarry  em- 
barked at  Fort  William  for  America.  The  son  of  The  Glen- 
aladale,  who  had  been  out  in  the  '45,  sold  his  lands,  and  with 
his  tenantry  set  out  for  Prince  Edward's  Island.  In  1786  a 
devoted  priest,  the  Rev.  Alexander  Macdonald,  of  the  family  of 
Scotos,  who  had  laboured  in  Canada,  reached  Quebec  with  a 
party  of  nearly  600  men  from  the  Glengarry  estate.  Later  on 
they  were  followed  by  many  others  from  the  same  district,  and 
founded  a  new  Glengarry  in  Upper  Canada,  calling  their  farms 
by  the  names  of  places  in  the  old  glen.  In  1801  three  vessels 
left  the  west  coast  for  Pictou  with  799  emigrants  from  the 
Aird,  Strathglass,  Urquhart,  Glengarry,  Knoydart,  Arisaig, 
Moidart,  and  Lochaber.  In  1803  eleven  vessels  left  different 
ports  for  the  same  destination. 

These  statistics  are  sufficient  to  show  how  strongly  the  tide  of 
emigration  flowed  from  the  North  of  Scotland  to  the  American 
continent  towards  the  end  of  the  last  and  the  beginning  of  the 
present  century.  This  nomadic  movement  was  viewed  by 
many  with  alarm.  That  patriotic  body  the  Highland  Society 
of  London  took  into  careful  consideration  the  process  of  de- 
population, and  by  their  influence  the  Government  were  in- 
duced to  take  steps  to  stay  if  possible — we  quote  from  the 
report   of  a  committee   of  the   House  of  Commons — "that 


250  TELFORD  S    REPORT. 

emigration  which  will  deprive  the  country  of  its  hardiest  and 
bravest  protectors,  who  have  distinguished  themselves  most 
conspicuously  on  sea  and  land."  The  first  proceeding  of  the 
Government  was  to  appoint  Mr  Telford,  the  celebrated  en- 
gineer, to  report  on  the  state  of  the  Highlands,  to  ascertain  the 
causes  of  emigration  and  the  means  of  preventing  it,  and  the 
best  methods  of  opening  up  and  improving  the  country.  Ac- 
cordingly Mr  Telford  came  down  to  the  North,  and  in  1803 
he  made  a  very  complete  and  exhaustive  report.  He  amply 
corroborates  what  we  have  said  as  to  the  extensive  emigration. 
About  3000  persons,  he  tells  us,  had  left  the  Highlands  in 
1802,  and  three  times  that  number  were  preparing  to  go  in  the 
year  in  which  he  writes.  The  most  powerful  cause  of  emi- 
gration, in  his  opinion,  was  "  the  converting  large  districts  of  the 
country  into  extensive  sheep-walks.  This  not  only  requires 
much  fewer  people  to  manage  the  same  tract  of  country,  but 
in  general  an  entirely  new  people  who  have  been  accustomed 
to  this  mode  of  life  have  been  brought  from  the  southern  part 
of  Scotland." 

Mr  Telford,  however,  enters  with  considerable  hesitation  on 
the  question  of  whether  Government  should  interfere  to  pre- 
vent emigration.  He  states  the  two  views  on  the  subject  with 
which  we  are  familiar  at  the  present  day,  but  is  particularly 
careful  not  to  state  his  own.  On  the  one  hand,  he  points  out 
that  it  is  the  interest  of  the  empire  that  this  district  be  made 
to  produce  as  much  human  food  as  it  is  capable  of  doing  at 
the  least  possible  expense,  and  this  may  be  done  by  stocking 
it  chiefly  with  sheep ;  and  though  some  temporary  incon- 
veniences may  arise,  yet  upon  the  whole  matters  will  in  the 
end  adjust  themselves.  On  the  other  hand,  he  points  out  that 
it  is  a  great  hardship,  if  not  a  great  injustice,  that  the  inhabi- 
tants of  an  extensive  district  should  all  at  once  be  driven  from 
their  native  country  to  make  way  for  sheep-farming,  which  is 


PUBLIC   WORKS   BEGUN.  25  I 

likely  to  be  carried  on  to  an  imprudent  extent ;  that  in  a  few 
years  this  excess  will  be  evident,  but  before  it  is  discovered 
the  country  will  be  depopulated,  and  the  race  of  people  which 
has  maintained  so  honourable  a  share  in  the  operations  of  our 
armies  and  navies  will  be  no  more.  Having  stated  these 
opposite  views  temperately  enough,  he  presses  upon  the 
Government  a  project  about  which  there  could,  he  thought, 
be  no  dispute.  Public  works  would  prove  beneficial  to  the 
country  whether  it  was  to  be  inhabited  by  men  or  by  sheep. 
If  anything  could  stop  emigration,  plenty  of  work  at  home 
would  do  so.  The  building  of  bridges,  the  making  of  roads, 
and,  above  all,  the  construction  of  the  Caledonian  Canal, 
which  had  often  been  projected,  would  give  employment  to 
large  numbers  of  people,  and  would  accomplish  "all  the  lead- 
ing objects  which  can  reasonably  be  looked  forward  to  for  the 
improvement  and  future  welfare  of  the  country." 

It  was  fortunate  for  our  shire  that  Mr  Telford's  practical 
suggestions  commended  themselves  to  the  Government.  In 
1804  the  construction  of  the  Highland  roads  and  bridges 
and  of  the  Caledonian  Canal  was  begun  simultaneously. 
General  Wade  had  done  much  for  Inverness  -  shire  in  the 
way  of  road  -  making,  but  Mr  Telford  and  his  subordinates 
far  excelled  that  celebrated  officer.  Main  lines  of  roads 
were  successively  constructed,  branching  westward  at  right 
angles  to  the  great  Caledonian  Glen,  from  Fort  William  to 
Arisaig  on  the  west  coast,  from  Invergarry  through  Glengarry 
to  Loch  Hourn  head  on  the  west,  and  from  Invermoriston 
through  Glenmoriston  to  Glenshiel  and  Loch  Duich.  On 
the  east  side  of  the  Caledonian  Glen  a  line  of  road  was 
constructed  from  Fort  William  up  Loch  Laggan  side  to  join 
the  military  road  at  Pitmain ;  also  a  road  from  Grantown 
on  the  east  side  of  the  Spey,  with  a  new  iron  bridge  across 
the  river  at  Craigellachie.     On  the  east  side  of  Loch  Ness  a 


252  COSTLY   UNDERTAKINGS. 

line  of  road  was  made  through  Inverfarigaig,  and  the  High- 
land road  was  altered  and  a  new  road  constructed  from  Moy 
to  Inverness  and  from  Inverness  to  Dingwall,  with  a  branch 
from  Beauly  up  the  valley  of  Strathglass. 

The  traveller  who  is  smoothly  carried  along  these  splendid 
highways  can  have  little  idea  of  the  cost  and  labour  expended 
in  constructing  them.  The  works  were  spread  over  a  wide 
extent  of  country  where  there  were  no  inns  or  habitations  of 
any  kind,  and  where  those  engaged  were  exposed  to  a  rude 
and  boisterous  climate.  The  cost  was  great.  The  expen- 
diture on  new  roads  and  bridges  amounted  to  ^540,000, 
of  which  ^2^267, 000  was  furnished  by  the  Government,  the 
balance  being  contributed  by  the  counties  and  by  indi- 
viduals. Of  this  sum  a  goodly  portion  came  to  Inverness- 
shire.  The  work  of  construction  went  on  for  about  seventeen 
years,  and  in  1821  it  was  brought  to  a  close.  The  benefit  to 
the  country  has  been  incalculable. 

The  feasibility  of  making  a  canal  through  the  Great  Glen  of 
Albyn  and  uniting  the  Moray  Firth  with  Loch  Linnhe  had 
often  been  discussed  before  Telford  took  the  matter  in  hand. 
A  famous  Highland  seer  in  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth 
century  is  said  to  have  prophesied,  "  The  time  will  come,  and 
it  is  not  far  off,  when  full-rigged  ships  will  be  sailing  eastward 
and  westward  by  Muirton  and  Tomnahurich."  Mr  Burt  in 
his  famous  Letters,  in  describing  the  Great  Glen  and  its  chain 
of  lakes,  alludes  to  the  possibility  of  a  canal  being  some  day 
constructed.  To  him  it  seemed  "  an  incredible  expense  to 
cut  fourteen  navigable  miles  in  so  rocky  a  country " ;  and 
there  was,  to  his  mind,  even  a  stronger  objection  than  the 
expense  :  "  The  whole  opening  lies  in  so  direct  a  line,  and 
the  mountains  that  bound  it  are  so  high ;  the  wind  is  confined, 
as  it  were,  in  the  nozzle  of  a  pair  of  bellows,  so  that,  let  it 
blow  from  what  quarter  it  will  without  the  opening,  it  never 


THE   CALEDONIAN    CANAL.  253 

varies  much  from  east  to  west.  This  would  render  navigation 
so  precarious  that  hardly  any  would  venture  on  it."  Mr 
Pennant  also  in  his  'Tour'  decides  against  the  possibility 
of  the  undertaking  :  "  It  is  supposed  to  be  practicable,  but 
at  a  vast  expense — at  an  expense  beyond  the  power  of  N. 
Britain  to  effect,  except  it  could  realise  those  sums  which 
the  wishes  of  a  few  of  its  sons  had  attained  in  idea."  The 
doubters,  however,  had  little  conception  of  the  marvels  which 
modern  engineering,  backed  by  the  resources  of  the  national 
Exchequer,  are  capable  of  effecting. 

Mr  Telford  and  a  gentleman  associated  with  him,  Mr 
William  Jessop,  began  their  work  in  1804  and  prosecuted 
it  vigorously  to  its  close.  It  was  proposed  by  Mr  Telford 
that  the  intended  canal  should  be  formed  of  a  size  to  admit 
the  largest  class  of  British  and  American  traders,  or  such  as 
on  occasions  of  emergency  a  3 2 -gun  frigate  fully  equipped 
could  pass  along.  In  order  that  this  might  be  done,  it  was 
contemplated  that  a  uniform  depth  of  20  feet  of  water  would 
be  necessary,  with  locks  measuring  170  feet  long  by  40  feet  in 
width.  Mr  Telford's  estimate  for  executing  the  work  on  this 
scale  amounted  to  no  more  than  p^3 50,000,  and  the  period  of 
its  completion  was  computed  at  seven  years. 

The  length  of  the  canal  is  sixty  miles  forty  chains,  of  which 
forty  miles  are  lakes.  The  summit  level  of  Loch  Oich,  the 
central  lake,  is  100  feet  above  the  sea  at  high-water  mark  at 
Inverness  and  Fort  William.  The  canal  was  constructed  no 
feet  wide  at  top  and  50  feet  at  bottom,  with  a  permanent 
depth  of  20  feet  of  water  throughout,  having  a  basin  of  20 
acres  in  extent  at  Inverness,  with  storage  and  warehouse 
accommodation.  The  summit  level  is  passed  by  the  con- 
struction of  twenty-eight  locks  170  feet,  and,  when  two  or 
more  are  contiguous,  180  feet  long,  40  feet  wide,  and  28 
feet  deep. 


254  DIFFICULTY   OF   CONSTRUCTION. 

The  difficulties  experienced  by  the  constructors  were  great, 
and  it  was  only  by  skill  and  perseverance  that  they  were  finally 
overcome.  Perhaps  the  chief  difficulty  was  the  regulating 
and  controlling  the  great  rivers  and  innumerable  streams 
that  pour  into  the  three  lakes  forming  part  of  the  waterway. 
The  drainage  area  extends  to  about  1200  square  miles  of 
mountainous  country,  with  extended  valleys  like  that  of  Glen- 
garry, containing  vast  lakes  to  the  right  and  left  of  it.  From 
these  valleys  at  times  heavy  floods  come  down  with  terrible 
violence.  These  water  -  courses  had  to  be  controlled  and 
regulated,  and  to  do  so  required  no  small  foresight  and 
calculation. 

Loch  Lochy,  ten  miles  long,  had  to  be  raised  permanently 
9  feet,  and  a  new  passage  for  the  river  cut  through  the  solid 
rock.  Loch  Oich,  three  and  three-quarter  miles,  and  Loch 
Dochfour,  had  to  be  dredged  and  made  of  the  required  depth 
of  20  feet.  At  the  west  end  a  large  stream  had  to  be  brought 
under  the  canal  by  three  arches.  Inlets  and  outlets  for  streams 
had  to  be  constructed  at  different  parts.  Great  embankments 
and  cuttings  had  often  to  be  made  in  mossy  and  gravelly 
ground,  and  the  difficulty  of  rendering  them  water-tight  in  the 
gravelly  and  sandy  soil  peculiar  to  some  of  the  localities  was 
very  great.  At  Fort  Augustus  the  gravel  was  found  to  be  so 
open  that  the  lock,  which  was  to  be  24  feet  under  the  loch- 
level,  was  impossible,  and  the  river  had  to  be  diverted  and  the 
canal  locks  built  on  the  rocks  where  the  river  formerly  ran. 

The  construction  of  the  locks,  particularly  at  the  entrance 
to  the  sea  and  the  lakes,  was  a  matter  of  considerable  diffi- 
culty. At  the  western  end  the  lock  was  formed  by  a  coffer- 
dam on  the  solid  rock,  so  as  to  give  the  clear  waterway  of 
20  feet  throughout  the  canal.  About  two  miles  from  this 
entrance  a  series  of  nine  locks  was  constructed,  elevating  the 
canal  7  2  feet  in  height,  which  Telford  christened  "  Neptune's 


COST   OF   THE   UNDERTAKING.  255 

Staircase,"  and  which  still  bears  that  name.  The  most  dififi- 
cult  feat  of  all  was  the  construction  of  the  sea-lock  at  Inver- 
ness. To  obtain  the  required  depth  of  20  feet  at  all  times,  it 
had  to  be  extended  into  the  sea  about  900  yards;  and  there, 
on  an  artificial  mound  over  a  bed  of  mud  60  feet  deep,  it  was 
founded  and  built. 

These  technical  engineering  details,  for  which  we  are  chiefly 
indebted  to  the  late  Mr  Joseph  Mitchell,  C.E.,  who  was 
closely  connected  with  the  work,  may  serve  to  show  how 
much  of  skill  and  patient  labour  were  expended  on  it.  The 
expense  far  exceeded  the  original  estimate.  An  enormous 
rise,  owing  to  the  war  with  France,  had  taken  place  in  the 
prices  of  all  descriptions  of  commodities  as  well  as  of  food, 
and  consequently  of  labour  and  workmanship.  From  the 
year  when  the  canal  works  were  commenced  to  the  years 
181 2  and  1 81 3  the  difference  in  many  articles  had  increased 
to  50,  70,  and  even  100  per  cent.  Labourers,  whose  wages 
in  1803  were  from  is.  6d.  to  is.  8d.  per  day,  received  in  1814 
2S.  4d.  and  2s.  6d.  Native  timber  rose  from  lod.  to  i4d. 
per  foot,  and  finally  to  3s.  6d.  per  cubic  foot ;  Baltic  timber 
from  2S.  6^d.  to  7s.;  oak  from  5s.  to  los.  and  12s.  This 
rise  immensely  increased  the  cost  of  the  undertaking. 

Another  source  of  unlooked-for  expenditure  is  to  be  attrib- 
uted to  the  great  extent  of  dredging,  a  process  hitherto  un- 
tried on  so  large  a  scale.  It  was  on  the  Caledonian  Canal 
that  steam-power  was  first  applied  to  this  operation.  The 
excavation  of  Loch  Oich  in  particular  was  most  difficult,  from 
the  vast  number  of  oak-trees,  some  of  them  i  o  feet  to  1 2  feet 
diameter,  that  had  in  the  course  of  ages  been  carried  down 
by  the  river  Garry  and  were  embedded  in  the  bottom  of  the 
lake,  forming  a  network  of  trees  and  branches  difficult  to 
penetrate. 

Many  unforeseen  difficulties  occurred  to  prevent  the  canal 


256  OPENING   OF   THE   CANAL. 

being  opened  until  several  years  after  the  time  originally  contem- 
plated. The  first  passage  from  sea  to  sea  was  accomplished 
in  a  steamboat  on  the  23rd  and  24th  October  1822  in  thirteen 
hours.  On  this  occasion  a  large  party  of  county  magnates 
— the  magistrates  of  Inverness  and  others — made  the  voyage. 
The  vessel  started  amid  music  and  the  firing  of  guns.  A 
grand  display  took  place  in  Lochaber,  "  A  large  bonfire  was 
lit,  and  a  plentiful  supply  of  whisky  was  given  by  the  gentle- 
men of  Fort  William,  who  with  genuine  Highland  enthusiasm 
prolonged  the  festivities  of  that  memorable  evening." 

Though  the  canal  was  opened  for  traffic  in  1822,  it  was  by 
no  means  completed.  Up  to  that  time  the  cost  had  been 
^^645, 000.  It  was  not  till  1843  that  the  work  was  really 
finished  as  it  stands  to-day.  The  disbursements  in  connec- 
tion with  the  undertaking  had  then  reached  the  enormous 
sum  of  ;^ 1, 3 00, 000,  while  the  whole  revenue  up  to  that  date 
was  only  about  ^,^80,000. 

Though  the  canal  had  been  by  no  means  a  profitable 
undertaking  so  far  as  shown  in  the  profits  reaped  by  the 
Government,  it  certainly  benefited  the  Highlands  generally. 
Relays  of  nearly  3000  Highlanders  received  employment 
during  the  time  of  its  construction.  The  making  of  the 
roads,  which  went  on  at  the  same  time,  must  have  given 
occupation  to  probably  as  many  more.  The  lairds  who  owned 
the  lands  through  which  the  canal  passed  received  consider- 
able sums  of  money. 

The  results  of  these  great  undertakings  were  well  sum- 
marised in  a  report  to  Government  in  1828  by  Mr  Joseph 
Mitchell,  who  with  his  father  had  taken  a  chief  part  in  carry- 
ing on  the  works.  He  shows  that  a  great  change  had  been 
already  effected  in  the  North,  and  especially  in  Inverness- 
shire,  perhaps  unparalleled  in  the  same  space  of  time  in  the 
history  of  any  country.      Before  the  commencement  of  the 


COACHING   FACILITIES.  257 

present  century  no  public  coach  or  regular  vehicle  of  convey- 
ance existed  in  the  Highlands.  In  the  year  1800  it  had  been 
attempted  to  establish  coaches  between  Inverness  and  Perth, 
and  between  Inverness  and  Aberdeen  ;  but  from  the  state 
of  the  roads  at  that  period,  and  the  little  intercourse  that  then 
took  place,  it  had  been  necessary  to  discontinue  them  after 
a  short  trial.  It  was  not  until  1806  and  181 1  that  coaches 
were  regularly  established  in  these  directions.  After  the  com- 
pletion of  the  parliamentary  works,  they  began  to  run  from 
and  to  Inverness  with  great  frequency.  Forty-four  coaches 
arrived  at,  and  the  same  number  departed  from,  Inverness 
every  week.  Postchaises  and  other  modes  of  travelling  in- 
creased proportionally.  Instead  of  five  postchaises,  which  was 
the  number  kept  in  Inverness  about  the  year  1803,  there  were 
in  1828  upwards  of  a  dozen,  besides  two  establishments  for 
the  hire  of  gigs  and  horses,  all  of  which  found  sufficient 
employment. 

The  number  of  private  carriages  at  Inverness  and  its 
vicinity  increased.  In  1715  the  first  coach  or  chariot  seen 
in  Inverness  is  said  to  have  been  brought  by  the  Earl  of  Sea- 
forth,  and  was  an  object  of  wonder  and  veneration  to  the 
inhabitants.  In  1760  the  first  postchaise  was  brought  to 
Inverness,  and  was  the  only  four  -  wheeled  carriage  in  the 
district.  Soon  after  the  roads  were  finished  there  were  four 
manufactories  for  coaches  in  the  burgh. 

With  facilities  for  travel,  inns  were  established  on  all  the 
principal  roads,  and  in  the  remotest  parts  of  the  county  the 
traveller  found  accommodation  and  the  means  of  continuing 
his  journey.  Regular  carriers  for  the  conveyance  of  goods 
passed  at  all  seasons  of  the  year  from  one  place  to  another. 
A  postal  service  reaching  to  the  extremes  of  the  county  was 
also  established. 

A  great  increase  in  the  value  of  property  took  place  almost 

R 


258  RENEWED   PROSPERITY. 

immediately  on  the  completion  of  these  improvements.  In 
Inverness  and  its  vicinity  the  increase  was  in  several  cases 
tenfold.  The  lands  of  Markinch,  situated  between  the  town 
and  the  canal,  were  rented  at  the  beginning  of  the  century 
for  ;^7o  and  ;^8o  ;  in  1828  their  rental  amounted  to  ;^6oo. 
The  estates  of  The  Chisholm  rose  from  jQloo  in  1785  to 
;;^5ooo  per  annum.  When  the  chief  of  Glengarry  died  in 
1788  his  yearly  income  did  not  exceed  ;^8oo ;  the  same 
lands  in    1828  yielded  from  ;^6ooo  to  ^7000  a-year. 

The  town  of  Inverness  specially  benefited  by  the  works 
completed  by  the  Government.  It  received  an  impetus  to 
its  prosperity  the  force  of  which  has  net  yet  slackened.  The 
prosperity  of  the  burgh  may  be  said  to  date  from  1785,  when 
Mr  Inglis,  the  provost,  a  man  of  ability  and  public  spirit, 
carried  out  improvements  of  considerable  importance,  tending 
much  to  the  wellbeing  and  civilisation  of  the  people.  In 
1 79 1  the  Royal  Academy  was  erected  by  voluntary  subscrip- 
tion, many  sons  of  Inverness  in  the  colonies  contributing 
large  sums.  In  the  same  year  the  gaol  was  built  at  an 
expense  of  ^3350,  a  theatre  was  erected,  and  the  streets 
were  paved. 

Steamboat  communications  were  established  between  In- 
verness and  the  west  coast  and  Glasgow,  as  well  as  between 
Inverness  and  Leith  on  the  east  coast.  "  The  increasing 
wants  of  the  inhabitants  of  Inverness,"  says  Mr  Mitchell  in 
1825,  "sufficiently  prove  their  increasing  wealth.  Since 
their  closer  connection  with  the  southern  counties  a  rapid 
change  has  taken  place  in  the  general  state  of  society. 
The  manufacture  of  hempen  and  woollen  cloths  was  com- 
menced, churches  and  chapels  of  various  sects  were  built, 
Missionary  and  Bible  Societies  established,  schools  endowed, 
an  infirmary  erected,  reading-rooms  established,  subscription 
libraries  set  on  foot,  two  newspapers  instituted  weekly,  and 


THE   ANNUAL   WOOL   MARKET.  259 

a  horticultural,  a  literary,  and  various  other  professional  and 
philanthropical  institutions  were  founded.  Two  additional 
banks  were  likewise  instituted,  three  iron-foundries  and  three 
rope  and  sail  manufactories  commenced,  an  additional  bridge 
was  constructed,  the  harbour  was  enlarged  and  improved,  the 
town  was  lighted  with  gas,  and  all  within  the  last  twenty-five 
or  thirty  years." 

This  is  a  great  record,  and  shows  a  wonderful  change  in 
the  brave  little  burgh  from  the  time  when  Col  of  the  Cows 
threatened  it  with  destruction.  It  shows  also  how  the  open- 
ing up  of  the  country,  and  the  bringing  North  and  South 
into  close  connection,  had  proved  a  source  of  wealth.  One 
item  of  improvement  is  specially  noticed  in  the  report  to 
which  we  have  been  referring  :  "  In  no  instance  is  the  benefit 
arising  from  facility  of  communication  more  apparent  than  in 
the  establishment  in  181 7  of  the  great  annual  sheep  and  wool 
market  at  this  central  point  of  the  Highlands,  to  which  all  the 
sheep-farmers  resort  from  the  remotest  parts  of  the  country. 
Here  the  whole  fleeces  and  sheep  of  the  north  of  Scotland  are 
generally  sold  or  contracted  for  in  the  way  of  consignments, 
and  in  18 18  upwards  of  100,000  stones  of  wool  and  150,000 
sheep  were  sold  at  very  advanced  prices.  This  circumstance 
affords  a  striking  proof  of  the  advantage  of  lines  of  communi- 
cation in  facilitating  the  exportation  and  sale  of  the  staple 
commodities  of  the  country." 

The  great  works  of  the  Government  certainly  brought 
wealth  to  Inverness-shire  and  to  its  capital,  but  they  had  not 
the  result  their  construction  was  primarily  intended  to  produce. 
They  were  undertaken  principally  to  prevent  the  depopulation 
of  the  country,  and  that  they  certainly  did  not  do.  They 
scarcely  retarded  it  at  all.  While  the  roads  were  being 
made  and  the  canal  was  being  dug  the  hive  still  continued  to 
swarm,  and  vessels  came  to  western  lochs  and  to  the  Moray 


260  THE   BEGINNING   OF   EVICTIONS. 

Firth  and  spread  their  sails  with  their  living  freight  for  lands 
beyond  the  sea. 

It  is  probable,  indeed,  that  the  wealth  the  public  works 
brought  into  the  country,  and  the  employment  they  gave  the 
inhabitants,  would  have  in  the  end  induced  the  people  to 
remain  at  home,  and  might  have  stemmed  the  outgoing  tide 
had  not  other  forces  come  into  operation.  The  landlords 
began  to  compel  the  people  to  go,  and  the  period  of  evictions 
began.  The  early  emigrants  were  in  many  instances  men  of 
means.  They  emigrated  with  the  view  of  acquiring  a  position 
of  independence  abroad  which  they  did  not  expect  to  obtain 
at  home.  The  outgoing  band  was  generally  headed  by  a 
man  in  whom  they  had  confidence.  Many  of  them  went 
to  join  colonies  of  friends  and  relations  on  the  other  side  of 
the  Atlantic.  They  were  buoyant  with  hope.  The  earlier 
emigrations  were  to  a  certain  extent  comparatively  cheerful. 
When  Glengarry  tried  to  keep  his  people  at  home,  the  poet 
Burns  denounced  him  as  a  tyrant,  and  the  Highland  Society 
as  in  league  with  Beelzebub  in  preventing  the  people  from 
making  their  escape  from  the  slavery  of  their  lords  and 
masters.  Those  who  left  Inverness-shire  in  those  days  went 
forth  bravely  in  search  of  freedom  and  independence.  But 
the  later  emigrants  had  none  of  the  spirit  and  the  enthusiasm 
of  the  pioneers.  They  were  the  crofters  whom  the  tacks- 
men had  left  behind,  who  were  dependent  directly  on  the 
laird,  and  when  he  forced  them  to  emigrate  they  left  their 
native  land  with  heavy  hearts. 

We  are  not  called,  fortunately,  to  write  in  full  the  final 
clearing  out  of  the  Inverness-shire  people  from  their  native 
glens.  It  is  a  painful  story,  and  it  would  be  painful  to  narrate 
it.  The  Glengarry  evictions  in  1853  are  still  fresh  in  the 
remembrance  of  many.  The  estate  was  possessed  by  a  minor, 
and  his  mother,  the  widow  of  the  late  chief,  who  managed  it, 


THE   GLENGARRY   EVICTIONS.  261 

determined  to  evict  every  crofter  on  her  property  and  make 
room  for  sheep.  They  were  all  served  with  summonses  of 
removal,  a  message  being  sent  to  them  that  they  would  be 
conveyed  to  Australia.  Finally,  as  it  was  not  convenient  to 
transport  them  to  that  country,  they  were  told  that  they  would 
be  taken  to  North  America.  Scenes  of  the  most  heartrend- 
ing description  ensued.  Some  who  refused  to  go  had  their 
houses  burnt  and  levelled  to  the  ground ;  no  mercy  whatever 
was  shown  them.  Whole  families  were  left  exposed  to  the 
weather  without  shelter  of  any  kind.  The  district  they  in- 
habited is  to-day  to  a  large  extent  a  wilderness  where  only 
sheep  and  wild  animals  are  to  be  met  with,  with  the  few 
keepers  and  shepherds  needful  for  their  management. 

Other  evictions  took  place — unaccompanied,  so  far  as  we 
know,  by  the  cruelty  inflicted  on  the  people  of  Glengarry. 
At  one  time  only  two  of  the  ancient  native  stock  remained 
in  possession  of  an  inch  of  land  on  the  estate  of  Chisholm, 
which  in  the  olden  days  was  the  abode  of  a  numerous  clan. 
In  1849  more  than  500  souls  left  Glenelg  at  once.  Glen 
Dessary  and  Loch  Arkaig  side  were  swept  bare.  So  the 
clearing  of  the  glens  went  on,  and  sheep  took  the  place  of 
men  over  a  wide  district  of  Inverness-shire. 

It  is  not  for  us,  who  are  not  writing  philosophy  or  political 
economy  but  history,  to  moralise  on  this  great  change.  Un- 
doubtedly there  is  something  tragic  in  the  story.  It  may  be 
true  that  the  people  could  not  exist  in  comfort  in  their  own 
wilds,  and  were  subject  to  periodic  visitations  of  famine,  and 
that  in  other  lands  those  who  emigrated  have  found  ample 
means  of  sustenance,  and  in  many  cases  have  exchanged 
poverty  for  wealth  ;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  it  was 
not  to  promote  their  comfort  that  they  were  sent  away,  but 
too  often  to  satisfy  the  greed  of  those  who  dispossessed 
them,   and   in   not   a   few  instances  they  were  evicted  from 


262         DISAPPEARANCE   OF   THE   OLD   PEASANTRY. 

lands  fertile  enough  to  have  sustained  them  in  comparative 
comfort. 

The  few  of  the  original  stock  of  Inverness-shire  peasantry, 
descendants  of  the  old  clans,  who  still  remain  as  crofters,  have 
had  much  done  for  them  in  our  own  time,  and  legislation  has 
ameliorated  their  condition  and  given  them  security  in  their 
holdings.  On  many  estates  they  are  treated  with  kindness, 
and  derive  a  comfortable  subsistence  from  their  industry. 
But  those  one  sees  to-day  are  only  the  fag-end,  the  poor 
remnants  of  a  great  people,  the  vestiges  of  a  soldier  race 
for  ever  passed  away.  Political  economy  has  been  sarcas- 
tically termed  "the  dismal  science."  If  it  be  invoked  to 
defend  what  has  been  done  in  Inverness-shire  its  dismalness 
appears  to  be  beyond  a  doubt. 


263 


CHAPTER    XVI. 


AGRICULTURAL  PROGRESS  OF  THE  COUNTY— HIGHLAND  FARMING  IN  THE 
OLDEN  TIME — THE  MONKS  OF  BEAULY  AND  THEIR  CIVILISING  INFLUENCE 
— THE  PEAR-TREE  IN  THEIR  GARDEN — THE  PEASANT  A  SOLDIER,  NOT 
AN  AGRICULTURIST — CONSIDERABLE  IMPROVEMENT  IN  THE  BEGINNING 
OF  THE  PRESENT  CENTURY— COMPREHENSIVE  SURVEY  OF  THE  COUNTY 
BY  DR  JAMES  ROBERTSON  FOR  THE  BOARD  OF  AGRICULTURE  —  HIS 
REPORT  TO  BE  DEPENDED  ON — DISCUSSES  THE  POSSIBILITY  OF  CULTI- 
VATING THE  MOORS— CERTAIN  MOORLANDS  SPECIFIED  BY  HIM  —  HIS 
ESTIMATE  OF  THE  PROPRIETORS— THE  LAND-TENURES  EXISTING— THE 
HOUSES  OF  THE  PROPRIETORS  AND  FARMERS — THE  METHODS  OF  FARM- 
ING— RUNRIG — OUTFIELD  AND  INFIELD — FOUR  CLASSES  OF  FARMERS  — 
THE  MORAL  CHARACTER  OF  THE  PEOPLE — THE  RENTS  PAYABLE  BY 
TENANTS— THE  RELIEF  OF  THE  POOR  AND  ABSENCE  OF  POOR-RATES — 
THE  IMPLEMENTS  OF  HUSBANDRY — THE  CROPS  CULTIVATED — PLANTING 
OF  TREES— SHEEP-BREEDING — THE  KELP  INDUSTRY — THE  VILLAGES — 
CONCLUSIONS  TO  BE  DRAWN  FROM  DR  ROBERTSON'S  REPORT — HIS  REPORT 
CONTRASTED  WITH  THAT  OK  MR  MACDONALD  IN  1872— GENERAL  PRO- 
GRESS AND  INCREASE  IN  RENTAL— INCREASE  IN  THE  NUMBER  OF  GOOD 
STEADINGS  —  CHARACTER  OF  THE  LEASES  GIVEN  —  IMPROVEMENT  IN 
AGRICULTURAL  IMPLEMENTS — EXTENSION  OF  PLANTATIONS — FAILURE 
OF  KELP — ESTABLISHMENT  OF  POOR-RATES — THE  CROPS  PRINCIPALLY 
CULTIVATED  —  INCREASE  OF  DEER  FORESTS  —  PRESENT  VALUE  OF 
PROPERTY. 

PROGRESS  IN  THE  EDUCATION  OF  THE  PEOPLE — EDUCATION  IN  THE 
OLDEN  TIME— IMMENSE  IMPROVEMENT  CAUSED  BY  THE  EDUCATION  ACT 
OF  1872  —  NEW  BUILDINGS  AND  GOVERNMENT  GRANTS  —  SECONDARY 
EDUCATION — GREAT  PROGRESS  OF  ENLIGHTENMENT  IN  MODERN  TIMES 
— THE  MORALITY  OF  THE  PEOPLE  SHOWN  BY  THE  RETURNS  OF  THE 
REGISTRAR-GENERAL — THEIR   ATTENTION  TO  RELIGIOUS   DUTIES. 


Inverness-shire  can  hardly  be  said,  either  in  past  or  present 
times,  to  take  a  high  place  as  regards  agriculture.  In  its 
population  it  stands  as  about  the  tenth  county  in  Scotland, 
and   it   is   doubtful   whether   its    agricultural    produce  would 


264  THE   MONKS   OF   BEAULY. 

entitle  it  to  a  higher  position.  Yet  agriculture  has  made 
considerable  progress  in  Inverness-shire  since  the  beginning 
of  the  present  century,  and  especially  since  the  making  of 
the  Caledonian  Canal  and  those  roads  spoken  of  in  our  last 
chapter.  Of  that  progress  it  is  right  something  should  here 
be  said. 

The  first  Inverness-shire  agriculturists  were  probably  the 
monks  of  Beauly.  The  monastic  orders  devoted  much  of 
their  time  to  agriculture.  Their  lands  were  always  the  best 
tilled  in  Scotland.  The  approach  to  a  monastery  anywhere 
in  the  kingdom  could  be  always  traced  by  the  fertile  fields 
around  it.  The  woods,  enclosed  and  protected,  were  of 
loftier  growth,  the  meadows  and  corn-lands  better  cultivated. 
The  population  inhabiting  the  Church  lands  were  more  active, 
industrious,  and  prosperous  than  those  on  the  lands  either  of 
the  Crown  or  of  the  feudal  nobility.  The  monks  of  Beauly 
were  no  exception  to  the  general  rule.  It  was  probably  to 
them — to  their  labours  and  their  teaching — that  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  Priory  and  the  Aird  of  Inverness-shire 
owed  that  beauty  and  fertility  which  still  distinguish  those 
districts,  and  which  is  noticed  by  our  earliest  travellers.  One 
of  the  few  traditions  of  the  conventual  life  on  the  banks  of 
the  Beauly  that  have  come  down  to  us  tells  of  the  fame  of 
the  brotherhood  as  horticulturists.  They  often,  it  is  said,  got 
six  chalders  of  good  fruit  off  their  orchard  ,  and  the  old  min- 
ister of  Kirkhill,  writing  in  1662,  tells  us  that  "he  heard  old 
men  declare  that  one  tree  in  the  orchard  paid  the  teind — 
that  is,  carried  ten  bolls  of  pears,  which  were  shaken  and 
measured  in  pecks  and  firlots,  good  ripe  fruit."  We  may  be 
sure  that  like  labour  and  skill  to  that  with  which  they  tended 
their  apple  and  pear  trees  were  also  spent  on  the  land  of  which 
they  were  the  owners. 

But  though  the  neighbourhood  of  the  monastery  was  always 


NEGLECT  OF  AGRICULTURE.  265 

an  object-lesson  to  the  rest  of  the  county,  it  does  not  seem 
to  have  produced  much  effect.  The  clansman  dwelling  among 
the  mountains  was  certainly  no  agriculturist.  He  was  a  soldier, 
and  the  sword  came  more  naturally  to  his  hand  than  the 
plough  or  the  reaping-hook.  The  conditions  of  his  life,  not  to 
speak  of  the  character  of  the  soil,  prevented  him  giving  much 
attention  to  the  tillage  of  the  fields.  Glenurquhart,  like  the 
Aird,  was  always  fertile  and  cultivated,  but  other  valleys  had 
little  in  this  respect  to  boast  of.  A  scanty  and  imperfect 
cultivation  of  corn  was  limited  to  detached  patches  of  arable 
ground  among  the  rocks.  Cattle  were  the  main  resources 
of  the  tribe,  and  the  acquisition  of  these  the  great  object  of 
their  forays.  Their  precarious  crops  gave  them  wherewithal 
to  bake  their  oaten  cakes  and  distil  their  ale  or  whisky,  and 
they  sought  nothing  more.  Their  corn  was  produced  with 
or  without  manure,  as  that  could  or  could  not  be  procured. 
When  the  land  had  been  scourged  by  a  repetition  of  grain 
crops  till  it  could  bear  no  longer,  it  was  allowed  to  go  waste 
till  it  gained  what  was  called  heart  enough  to  allow  it  to  be 
cultivated  again. 

When  peaceful  times  came  to  Inverness-shire  more  attention 
was  bestowed  on  the  tillage  of  the  land,  and  at  the  beginning 
of  the  present  century  considerable  improvement  had  been 
made.  In  1795  a  Board  of  Agriculture  and  Internal  Improve- 
ment for  Scotland  was  instituted.  In  the  years  immediately 
succeeding  surveys  of  the  different  counties  were  made  by  com- 
petent persons  ;  and  in  1 8 1 3  a  very  comprehensive  report  was 
sent  in  to  the  Board  and  published,  giving  "a  general  view  of 
the  agriculture  of  Inverness,  with  observations  on  the  means 
of  its  improvement."  The  author  of  this  report  was  the  Rev. 
James  Robertson,  minister  at  Callander.  He  seems  to  have 
been  as  familiar  with  the  processes  of  agriculture  as  with 
the  doctrines  of  theology.      He  was  a  practical  farmer,  well 


266  REV.   JAMES   ROBERTSON. 

acquainted  with  the  Highlands,  and  speaking  the  GaeUc 
language.  Though  his  style  is  somewhat  Johnsonian,  and  his 
ideas  of  turning  the  moors  into  fertile  fields  Utopian,  yet  his 
report,  on  the  whole,  may  be  depended  upon.  It  was  evidently 
the  result  of  careful  and  personal  examination.  Dr  Robertson 
visited  every  part  of  the  county  from  Fort  George  to  Moidart 
and  Arisaig.  He  went  to  most  inaccessible  places,  and  on 
one  occasion  he  and  his  guide  had  to  sleep  all  night  in  pour- 
ing rain  under  the  shelter  of  some  friendly  rocks.  The  picture 
he  gives  of  the  agricultural  state  of  the  county  is  not  without 
considerable  interest,  if  only  that  we  may  contrast  it  with  the 
state  of  things  at  the  present  day. 

After  a  general  description  of  the  county,  its  divisions, 
cHmate,  and  soil,  Dr  Robertson  takes  up  and  discusses  the 
possibility  of  cultivating  the  moors  which  have  a  favourable 
climate — "  the  low-lying  ground  covered  with  a  short  heath, 
which  grows  upon  a  thin  stratum  of  peat-earth,  with  a  subsoil 
of  gravel  or  till."  These  moors  he  found  both  numerous 
and  extensive,  and  he  believed  them  to  be  capable  of  being 
brought  under  cultivation.  He  specifies  particularly  those  on 
the  sides  of  the  Lochy  and  the  Speari  rivers ;  the  low  ground 
between  Loch  Oich  and  Fort  Augustus ;  at  the  entrance  into 
Urquhart  from  Invermoriston ;  above  Loch  Meikle  in  the 
Braes  of  Urquhart ;  at  the  western  entrance  into  the  Aird ; 
betwixt  the  church  of  Kiltarlity  and  the  house  of  Beaufort,  a 
most  inviting  plot  of  ground  just  at  the  proprietor's  door ; 
betwixt  Inverness  and  the  nearest  end  of  Loch  Ness ;  in  the 
parish  of  Croy,  the  extensive  moor  of  CuUoden,  and  west- 
ward to  wStratherrick,  and  many  miles  in  that  strath  and  in 
Strathnairn.  Many  of  the  moors  he  mentions  are  now  cul- 
tivated, others  remain  still  as  they  were.  At  Cantray  great 
improvements  were  already  in  progress,  "  affording  ocular  and 
decisive  evidence  of  what   can   be  made  of  such  moors,  to 


A   SCHEME   OF   RECLAMATION.  267 

what  account  they  may  be  turned,  and  what  beauty  our 
other  black  and  barren  spots  may  by  human  industry  be 
made  to  display."  The  reporter  believed  that  when  ren- 
dered productive  they  would  support  two-fifths  of  the  present 
population. 

Of  the  deep  mosses  that  abound  in  the  county  he  was  not 
so  hopeful,  though  he  was  sanguine  enough  to  believe  that 
even  they  might  be  so  treated  as  to  furnish  a  good  return  for 
money  laid  out  upon  them  ;  and  he  mentions  the  fact  that 
Colonel  Fraser  of  Belladrum  had  a  deep  moss  at  the  time 
under  a  state  of  progressive  improvement. 

Of  the  proprietors  of  Inverness-shire  he  formed  a  high 
opinion,  both  as  to  their  intelligence  and  their  desire  to  benefit 
their  tenantry  :  "  They  were  distinguished  no  less  by  their  im- 
proved talents  and  the  poHteness  of  their  manners  than  by  the 
opulence  of  their  fortunes.  For  the  most  part  they  have  filled 
high  offices  in  the  army,  and  now  enjoy  rural  ease,  equally 
respected  by  their  sovereign  and  beloved  by  their  country. 
They  were  full  of  desire  to  cultivate  and  adorn  their  proper- 
ties." He  divides  the  proprietors  into  five  classes.  There 
were  five  with  estates  exceeding  ;^3ooo  Scots  valuation,  three 
with  estates  from  pTiooo  to  ;^3ooo,  twelve  from  ;^4oo  to 
;^iooo,  seventeen  from  ;!^ioo  to  ;^4oo,  and  seven  under 
;^ioo.  This  shows  that  a  considerable  portion  of  the  county 
had  been  broken  up  into  properties  of  more  moderate  size 
than  those  of  the  old  feudal  chiefs,  many  of  whom  still  con- 
tinued to  reside  in  the  county. 

The  land-tenures  were  of  three  kinds  :  Baronial  rights,  which 
were  reserved  by  ancient  families  over  their  vassals  under  the 
name  of  superiorities  ;  twenty-six  estates  which  were  held  of 
the  Crown,  and  acknowledged  no  superiors ;  and  a  third  class 
held  of  a  subject  upon  condition  of  paying  a  stipulated  feu- 
duty  in   money,   victual,    or  other  articles.     Wadsets,  which 


268  STATE   OF   DWELLINGS. 

at  one  period   were  numerous,  had   become  almost  extinct, 
and  had  been  changed  into  ordinary  leases. 

The  houses  of  the  proprietors  were  large  and  elegant,  and 
generally  of  modern  construction  ;  but  Castle  Grant  in  Strath- 
spey, and  The  Chisholm's  castle  at  the  confluence  of  the 
Glass  and  the  Farrar,  were  of  older  date,  and  instead  of 
being  deserted,  which  is  the  fate  of  many  others,  were  in 
high  repair,  enlarged  and  ornamented.  The  farmhouses  and 
offices  were  not  so  admirable.  Those  dwelling-houses  built 
for  gentlemen  or  the  wealthier  sort  of  tenants  were  well  con- 
structed and  substantially  built,  but  those  of  the  poorer  tenants 
were  in  most  places  "  mean  beyond  description.  The  inhabi- 
tants were  too  poor  for  the  most  part  to  build  them  properly, 
and  the  landlord  cared  nothing  about  the  matter,  his  only 
object  being  to  gratify  the  cravings  of  luxury  and  to  secure 
his  rent." 

Wherever  good  houses  were  built  for  the  accommodation  of 
the  farmer's  family,  the  offices  were  in  the  same  style  of  ex- 
cellence. There  was  hardly  a  district  of  the  county  where  a 
certain  number  of  these  were  not  to  be  found,  in  some  more, 
in  others  less.  The  offices  attached  to  the  proprietors'  houses 
were  for  the  most  part  excellent,  and  those  of  Newton  and 
Belladrum  receive  special  commendation.  Those  of  the  farms 
were  very  indifferent.  "  The  fact  is,"  says  Dr  Robertson,  "  and 
it  must  give  pain  to  a  feeling  heart,  that  there  is  too  great  an 
interval  between  the  higher  and  the  lower  order  of  tenantry. 
The  former  are  very  comfortable  in  all  their  accommoda- 
tions, very  intelligent  in  their  conversation,  polite  in  their 
manners,  and  hospitable  in  their  houses ;  the  latter  are  de- 
prived of  these  comforts,  but  have  an  understanding  to  dis- 
cern and  an  acuteness  to  feel  their  wretchedness,  which  fills 
them  with  anguish." 

The  methods  of  farming  were  not  such  as  generally  com- 


AN   ANCIENT   SYSTEM   OF   FARMING.  269 

mended  themselves  to  Dr  Robertson.  A  number  of  farmers 
working  together  about  the  same  ploughgate  of  land,  their 
houses  huddled  together  in  the  same  group,  all  their  ground 
in  alternate  ridges,  and  their  possessions  without  enclosures, 
betokened,  in  his  opinion,  a  low  state  of  agriculture.  From 
this  condition  the  southern  counties  had  emerged,  but  in 
Inverness-shire  much  remained  to  be  done  to  change  this 
feudal  aspect  of  the  county.  In  many  parts  the  change  from 
alternate  ridges,  called  runrig,  had  only  been  lately  introduced. 
In  some  places  it  had  not  been  yet  adopted ;  and  in  one  dis- 
trict the  practice  from  time  immemorial  had  been  for  every 
farmer  to  hold  his  share  of  infield  during  a  very  limited  period, 
generally  three  years,  which  then  passed  into  the  possession  of 
another.  The  denominations  of  outfield  and  infield  still  pre- 
vailed over  one-half  of  the  arable  land  of  the  county.  The 
outfields  were  manured  by  the  dung  of  the  cattle  confined  in 
folds  overnight  during  the  summer  and  autumn,  and  then 
cropped  while  the  land  could  produce  any  grain.  The  infields 
got  all  the  house-dung,  and  were  cropped  alternately  with 
barley  and  oats,  or  frequently  with  two  crops  of  oats  after  the 
barley.  According  to  this  ancient  system  all  the  contiguous 
tenants  of  the  same  landlord  used  their  hill-grass  in  common 
through  the  whole  year. 

Our  agriculturist  deeply  deplored  this  primitive  system  of 
farming,  though  it  was  some  comfort  to  him  that  in  a  few 
districts  the  "dawn  of  improvement"  had  begun  to  ap- 
pear. It  certainly  was  very  faint  yet,  but  his  hope  was 
that  when  the  light  of  knowledge  in  rural  affairs  began  to 
be  diffused  things  might  become  greatly  changed  for  the 
better. 

There  were  at  this  time  four  classes  of  farmers  in  the 
county.  A  few,  but  very  few,  were  technical-bred  farmers  who 
had   been   regularly  instructed   in  farming  from  their  youth. 


270  MORAL   CHARACTER   OF   THE    PEOPLE. 

and  who  followed  no  other  employment.  A  second  class 
consisted  of  gentlemen  who  had  no  landed  property,  but 
who  took  farms  partly  for  pleasure  and  partly  for  profit. 
Many  of  them  had  been  in  the  army  and  navy,  and  wished 
to  pass  the  remainder  of  their  time  in  the  enjoyment  of  the 
pleasures  of  rural  life.  The  most  numerous  class  by  far 
were  those  whose  fathers  and  grandfathers  for  generations 
followed  the  plough.  Having  never  left  their  native  country, 
nor  seen  the  practice  of  agriculture  superior  to  their  own, 
they  seldom  or  never  attempted  to  improve  their  farms 
or  amend  their  circumstances.  Besides  these  classes  there 
were  others  who  possessed  an  arable  farm  in  one  district 
and  a  grazing  in  another.  Such  men  were  of  an  active  and 
enterprising  disposition. 

Dr  Robertson  speaks  highly  of  the  moral  character  of  the 
people.  It  had  greatly  improved.  The  crimes  of  bloodshed, 
rapine,  and  plunder  carried  on  during  the  feuds  of  former 
ages  were  never  heard  of.  The  domestic  and  social  virtues 
were  now  revered  and  cultivated  by  all  ranks,  and  the  comforts 
of  life  were  enjoyed  by  the  higher  orders  as  much  as  in  any 
country.  Even  the  condition  of  the  lower  ranks  in  these 
respects  was  never  so  happy,  "  were  it  not  the  frenzy  which 
had  seized  the  common  people  to  emigrate."  The  law  was 
everywhere  dominant.  Single  individuals  travelled  unarmed 
in  all  directions  throughout  the  Highlands  to  purchase  cattle, 
with  thousands  of  pounds  in  their  pockets,  without  dread  or 
annoyance. 

Rents  had  risen  considerably.  Near  the  county  town, 
where  ground  was  measured  and  for  the  most  part  enclosed, 
land  which  was  formerly  let  at  ^i  sterling  per  acre  yielded  a 
rent  of  ;^4.  The  pasture  of  a  full-grown  sheep  in  the  grazing 
district,  which  formerly  used  to  be  valued  at  is.,  was  esti- 
mated at  3s.   or  4s.      In  the  best  cultivated  provinces,  from 


CONDITION  OF  THE   POOR.  27 1 

the  head  of  the  Beauly  river  along  the  coast  to  Fort  George, 
the  rent  of  farms  in  general  was  from  ;£io  to  ;^2oo.  In 
some  places  of  Strath  Lochy,  Glen  Spean,  and  Badenoch, 
where  the  arable  and  grazing  systems  were  combined  and 
the  farms  extensive,  the  disproportion  in  the  size  of  farms 
was  carried  a  greater  length,  the  rents  of  the  great  tacksmen 
being  higher  in  proportion  to  that  of  the  small  tenants  in 
their  neighbourhood.  While  the  former  paid  from  jQ2>°°  to 
;^5oo,  the  rents  of  the  latter  ran  from  ^5  to  ^20. 

There  was  no  such  thing  as  poor-rates.  The  poor  were 
provided  for  from  the  charitable  collections  of  the  people 
at  church,  the  interest  of  sums  bequeathed  for  their  use  by 
pious  and  wealthy  persons,  occasional  donations  by  benevolent 
people,  certain  dues  for  the  proclamation  of  banns,  fines  for 
breaches  of  decorum,  and  the  charge  for  use  of  the  mortcloth 
at  funerals.  Those  funds  were  managed  by  the  minister  of  the 
parish  and  his  elders  under  the  control  of  the  heritors  of  the 
parish.  The  poor  had  an  honest  pride  and  reluctance  to 
accept  alms.  Many  of  them  preferred  to  suffer  the  most 
terrible  distress,  to  the  very  danger  of  perishing,  rather  than 
become  mendicants.  In  Dr  Robertson's  travels  through  In- 
verness-shire not  more  than  ten  beggars  solicited  charity  from 
him  on  the  public  road. 

The  duration  of  leases  in  the  county  differed  in  various 
districts  and  estates.  Some  were  of  only  seven  years'  dura- 
tion, while  others  were  prolonged  to  thirty.  Nineteen  years 
was  more  general  than  any  other  term,  and  that  mostly  on 
grazing  possessions.  The  greater  part  of  the  small  tenants 
had  no  leases.  The  landlords  of  the  estates  believed  the 
people  would  be  more  submissive  in  such  dependence  than  if 
their  possessions  were  warranted  by  a  valid  agreement  for  a 
term  of  years. 

The  implements  of  husbandry  were  for  the  most  part  of  a 


272  PRIMITIVE   IMPLEMENTS. 

primitive  character.  In  the  western  part  of  the  county  the 
caschrom,  or  spade  with  the  crooked  handle,  was  in  general  use. 
Harrows  with  wooden  teeth  ;  cart-wheels  unshod  with  iron ; 
tumblers,  currans  or  airrachs,  to  carry  home  corn  and  hay ; 
baskets  for  carrying  out  dung,  another  kind  of  basket  for 
carrying  home  peats ;  sledges  for  particular  carriages,  and 
many  instruments  of  the  same  rude  construction,  were  used 
in  various  districts  of  the  county.  On  gentlemen's  farms 
harrows  for  breaking  coarse  ground,  drill-barrows,  threshing- 
machines,  and  carts  of  various  construction,  might  be  found  ; 
but  very  few  of  the  common  tenantry  showed  any  inclination 
to  adopt  the  style  of  dressing  their  ground  which  rendered 
these  implements  necessary.  Horses  or  oxen  were  employed 
promiscuously  in  the  plough ;  sometimes  as  many  as  eight 
oxen  were  yoked  to  one  plough. 

Potatoes  were  extensively  cultivated,  and  every  householder, 
from  the  highest  to  the  lowest  orders  of  the  people,  had 
potatoes  for  his  family.  On  the  west  coast  the  seaware  was 
collected  most  industriously,  for  the  purpose  of  manuring. 
Wheat  was  grown  to  some  small  extent,  chiefly  in  the  parish 
of  Kirkhill.  In  the  Aird  a  few  beans  were  cultivated. 
At  Keppoch  Mr  Macdonald  had  an  excellent  crop  of  peas, 
and  at  Aberchalder,  near  Loch  Oich,  and  in  general  east 
from  the  great  valley  of  the  Caledonian  Canal  except  Bade- 
noch,  pease  constituted  a  part  of  the  farmer's  crop.  Barley 
or  here  was  generally  sown.  Of  all  the  grains,  oats  were  by 
far  the  most  abundant.  Flax  was  not  much  cultivated  except 
in  Badenoch.  Turnips  were  grown,  and  every  person  who 
wished  to  be  thought  an  improver  of  land  sowed  more  or  less 
field  turnips.  Rye  was  cultivated  in  a  few  districts,  and  the 
poor,  who  adhered  to  old  modes  of  farming,  sowed  a  good 
deal  when  they  despaired  of  the  land  making  any  return  even 
in  oats. 


DOiMESTIC   MANUFACTURES.  273 

The  planting  of  trees  had  made  great  progress.  The 
planted  firs  and  larches  of  Strathspey,  besides  the  natural 
firs,  were  supposed  to  extend  over  7000  acres,  and  at  Kin- 
rara,  Invereshie,  Belville,  Cluny,  and  other  parts  of  Badenoch, 
and  in  many  other  places,  plantations  were  both  extensive  and 
thriving. 

Sheep,  as  we  have  seen,  were  largely  bred.  The  old  in- 
digenous sheep — small,  fine-woolled,  and  altogether  white — 
were  very  numerous.  Stocks  of  Cheviot  sheep  were  gaining 
ground,  introduced  by  the  sheep-farmers  from  the  South  who 
had  taken  up  the  cleared  grounds. 

There  was  no  regular  deer-forest  in  all  the  county  when 
Dr  Robertson  made  his  survey,  except  that  of  Lochiel.  The 
great  forest  of  Gaick,  the  property  of  the  Duke  of  Gordon, 
had  been  lately  dismantled  and  turned  into  a  sheep-walk. 

Kelp  was  largely  made  on  the  coast,  and  brought  in  a  large 
revenue.  Public  manufactures  were  inconsiderable.  But  the 
domestic  manufacture  of  the  county  was  large.  Upwards 
of  60,000  of  the  inhabitants  out  of  a  population  of  74,000 
might  be  said  to  be  clothed  by  their  home-spun  and  home- 
wrought  stuffs  of  various  kinds. 

The  principal  village  in  the  county  was  Maryburgh,  or,  as 
it  is  now  called,  Fort  William.  It  contained  about  2000  souls, 
and,  owing  to  the  dispossession  of  the  people  in  the  adjacent 
Highlands,  its  population  was  growing.  The  houses  were  built 
on  feus  from  the  Duke  of  Gordon,  and  many  of  them  were 
two  storeys  high.  The  village  of  Campbeltown,  near  Fort 
George,  was  next  in  importance.  Its  population  was  about 
350.  Kingussie  was  a  village  lately  begun  in  Badenoch,  and 
promised  to  rise  fast  into  consequence  owing  to  the  en- 
couragement given  to  settlers  and  "  the  richness  of  the  ad- 
jacent country."  A  village  had  also  been  established  at 
Beauly  by  Mr  Fraser  of  Lovat.    The  tenements  were  not  feus, 

s 


274  THRIVING   VILLAGES. 

but  given  under  a  contract  of  thirty-eight  years  for  ^2,  8s.  of 
yearly  rent.  Such  villages  as  these,  Dr  Robertson  hoped, 
would  be  largely  planted  throughout  the  county,  especially 
along  the  Hne  of  the  Caledonian  Canal,  then  being  made,  and 
on  the  coast,  where  the  poorest  person  able  to  work  for  his 
bread  might  find  an  asylum  ^  and  he  points  to  the  village  of 
Grantown  to  show  what  might  be  effected  in  this  way.  In 
this  village  were  more  than  200  families,  tradesmen  of  various 
kinds,  shops  well  furnished,  schools,  and  a  post-office. 

Altogether,  the  impression  we  derive  from  the  report  we 
have  so  largely  drawn  upon  is  that  Inverness-shire,  though 
extremely  primitive  in  regard  to  its  agriculture,  was  being  at 
the  beginning  of  the  present  century  very  considerably  im- 
proved. Changes  of  a  progressive  nature  had  already  com- 
menced. New  methods  were  being  imported  from  the  South, 
and  the  county  was  becoming  gradually  assimilated  in  regard 
to  agriculture  with  the  rest  of  Scotland — a  process  which  has 
gone  on  from  that  time  to  the  present  day. 

It  is  interesting  to  contrast  a  careful  report  on  the  agri- 
culture of  the  county  made  in  our  own  day  with  that  made  in 
the  early  days  of  the  century,  such  as  we  have  had  under 
review.  In  1872  the  Highland  and  Agricultural  Society  of 
Scotland  published  an  elaborate  essay  on  the  agriculture  of 
Inverness-shire  by  Mr  William  Macdonald,  a  gentleman  con- 
versant with  such  matters.  It  is  quite  as  carefully  done  as 
that  by  Dr  Robertson,  and  the  comparison  of  the  two  is 
instructive.  There  has  been  no  material  change  since  Mr 
Macdonald  wrote.  He  shows  that  agriculture  in  various  ways 
has  made  considerable  progress  in  Inverness-shire  since  the 
beginning  of  the  present  century,  and  especially  since  1845. 
The  population  of  the  county  has  been  on  the  decrease  since 
1 84 1,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  rental  has  increased 
immensely.       The    total    rental,    which    in    1674    was    only 


MR    MACDONALD'S   REPORT.  275 

£6ogc),  in  1871-72  was  ^296,353,  i8s.  sd.  In  1895-96 
it  was  ;^32 7,979.  This  increase,  however,  has  been  in  great 
part  owing  to  the  large  amount  of  property  used  for  grouse- 
shootings  and  deer-forests.  The  number  of  landed  pro- 
prietors had  also  increased.  In  1808  the  number  of  landed 
proprietors  whose  rents  amounted  to  ;£ioo  and  upwards 
yearly  was  eighty-three ;  there  are  now  more  than  a  hundred 
such  landowners  in  the  county. 

The  most  extensive,  and  at  the  same  time  most  rugged, 
mountainous,  and  unproductive  portion  of  Inverness-shire  is 
still,  as  it  was  when  Dr  Robertson  wrote,  the  district  lying  to 
the  south-west  of  the  Caledonian  Canal.  On  the  parishes 
of  Inverness,  Petty,  Ardersier,  Dores,  Kirkhill,  Kilmorack, 
and  Kiltarlity,  Inverness  -  shire  mainly  depends  for  its  agri- 
cultural reputation. 

Good  commodious  slated  farm  -  steadings,  Mr  Macdonald 
shows,  have  increased  considerably  year  by  year.  Offices 
and  houses  of  modern  construction  are  everywhere  taking  the 
place  of  old  hovels.  In  some  cases  the  tenant  has  improved 
his  buildings  without  the  assistance  of  the  laird.  In  the 
majority  of  instances  the  proprietor  defrayed  the  cost,  the 
tenant  commonly  paying  5  or  6  per  cent  interest  per  annum. 
In  the  uplands  of  Inverness-shire  the  inhabited  houses  re- 
main still  of  a  primitive  nature.  In  Badenoch,  and  especi- 
ally in  the  Laggan  district,  not  only  the  huts  in  which  the 
cattle  are  sheltered,  but  also  the  dwelling-houses  of  some  of 
the  people,  are  constructed  of  at  least  three  parts  of  turf.  In 
the  West  Highlands  it  is  no  rarity  to  meet  with  the  kitchen, 
parlour,  bedrooms,  byre,  barn,  stable,  pigsty,  and  poultry- 
house  all  under  one  roof  and  in  a  very  small  compass. 

Leases  have  been  very  generally  given  since  1830.  All 
except  the  mere  crofters  rejoice  in  the  privilege,  and  some  of 
those  on  the  mainland  have  received  a  five,  ten,  or  fourteen 


2/6  AGRICULTURAL   IMPROVEMENTS. 

years'  lease,  and  are  increasing  their  cultivated  possessions. 
The  most  common  duration  of  lease  is  nineteen  years. 

The  five-shift  course  of  cropping  is  most  common  and 
most  popular  in  the  county,  though  there  are  rather  more 
leases  than  there  are  farmers  working  the  five-shift  course. 
The  principal  proprietors,  as  a  rule,  specify  the  five  -  shift 
course  in  their  leases,  but  they  do  not  enforce  it  in  every 
case.  When  the  soil  and  other  circumstances  demand  a 
deviation  from  this  rule  the  landlord  sometimes  gives  way, 
and  allows  the  tenant  to  adopt  the  course  which  experience 
points  out  as  the  best  calculated  to  secure  the  heaviest  crops 
without  deteriorating  the  condition  of  the  soil. 

In  no  department  of  agriculture  has  Inverness-shire  made 
more  progress  than  in  implements  for  tillage.  Twenty-five 
years  before  Mr  ISIacdonald's  survey  there  was  scarcely  what 
could  be  called  a  good  plough  in  the  county,  there  were  few 
grubbers,  and  not  very  many  drill-ploughs.  These  and  other 
improved  implements  are  everywhere  to  be  met  with.  Carts 
have  generally  taken  the  place  of  the  old  "  back-creels."  The 
number  of  threshing-machines  is  every  year  increasing. 

In  the  lowland  and  middle  parishes  of  the  county  much 
waste  land  has  been  brought  under  cultivation.  In  1854 
the  total  arable  acreage  amounted  to  44,242.  In  1869  the 
acreage  under  all  kinds  of  crop  was  80,174  ;  in  1870,  83,061 
acres.  Surface -draining  has  been  largely  executed  in  Bade- 
noch,  Lochaber,  Glenelg,  Glengarry,  and  other  high  parts 
of  the  county,  with  a  view  to  improve  the  sheep -pasture. 
Many  miles  of  stone  dikes  have  been  erected,  chiefly  in  the 
lower  districts,  while  wire  -  fencing  is  everywhere  to  be  met 
with. 

The  planting  of  trees  has  gone  on  rapidly.  Since  1845 
in  Strathspey  alone  several  thousands  of  acres  have  been 
planted.     Along  the  route  of  the  Caledonian  Canal,  and  in 


DECLINE   OF   THE   KELP   INDUSTRY.  277 

the  valleys  of  Glengarry,  Glenurquhart,  and  Glenmoriston, 
the  landscape  has  been  beautified  by  large  plantations.  Be- 
tween 1845  and  1872  the  area  planted  is  estimated  at 
15,000  acres. 

The  kelp  industry  has  entirely  ceased.  It  formerly  was 
a  source  of  great  wealth  to  the  proprietors  of  the  west  coast, 
and  Clanranald  is  said  to  have  derived  an  income  of  ^30,000 
a-year  from  the  manufacture.  Owing  to  the  abolition  of  the 
tax  on  Spanish  barilla  in  1823  it  could  no  longer  be  carried 
on  at  a  profit,  and  its  cessation  reduced  many  of  the  proprietors 
from  comparative  affluence  to  poverty. 

The  exaction  of  poor-rates  is  another  feature  in  which 
the  Inverness-shire  of  to-day  differs  from  the  Inverness-shire 
surveyed  by  Dr  Robertson.  In  all  the  parishes  an  assess- 
ment is  now  made  for  the  support  of  the  poor.  The  average 
assessment  per  pound  made  in  1896  in  the  parishes  was 
IS.  7^d.  In  one  of  the  parishes  of  the  mainland  it  was 
as  high  as  2s.  4d.  per  pound.  The  old  independent  spirit 
which  refused  public  support  is  wellnigh  extinct.  Relief  is 
not  received  as  a  gratuity,  but  claimed  as  a  right. 

Wheat  is  largely  sown  in  the  Aird  and  Beauly  districts. 
The  average  yield  in  some  of  these  districts  is  occasionally 
40  bushels  per  acre.  The  county  also  grows  good  bere 
and  barley,  and  under  these  commodities  there  is  more 
than  triple  the  area  that  is  set  down  as  wheat-producing. 
As  an  oat -growing  county  Inverness -shire  has  greatly  im- 
proved, and  takes  a  fair  position  in  Scotland.  The  area 
under  oats  is  the  largest  north  of  Banffshire.  Turnips  are 
generally  grown,  the  area  under  this  crop  being  about  9  per 
cent  of  the  ground  under  rotation.  There  is  no  county  in 
Scotland  that  has  a  higher  percentage  of  its  arable  land  allot- 
ted to  potatoes  than  Inverness-shire. 

Great  attention  has  been  paid  to  the  breeding  of  cattle,  of 


278  DEER-FORESTS. 

which  every  variety  is  to  be  found  within  the  Hmits  of  the 
county.  Sheep-farming  has  been  brought  to  great  perfection, 
perhaps  more  than  in  any  other  part  of  Scotland. 

There  is  one  great  change  that  has  taken  place  in  Inver- 
ness-shire since  the  beginning  of  the  century.  Then  sheep 
were  taking  the  place  of  the  inhabitants,  but  now  to  a  large 
extent  sheep  have  been  dispossessed  by  deer.  The  greater 
part  of  the  hill-grounds  of  Inverness-shire  have  been  made 
deer-forests.  At  the  time  of  Dr  Robertson's  survey  there 
was,  as  we  have  seen,  only  one  regular  forest.  In  the  year 
in  which  we  write  there  are  thirty-nine.  In  187 1  the  ap- 
proximate yearly  rental  of  the  deer-forests  on  the  mainland 
of  Inverness-shire  was  ;^i2,57i.  In  1896  it  was  ;^37,ooo. 
This  foresting  of  the  county  has  immensely  increased  the 
value  of  property ;  and  if  it  has  put  money  into  the  pockets 
of  the  proprietors,  it  has  also  in  many  ways  benefited  the 
people.  Into  the  economic  question  of  sheep  versus  deer 
we  are  not  called  upon  to  enter. 

Whilst  in  its  agricultural  affairs  Inverness-shire  has  pro- 
gressed during  the  present  century,  it  has  specially  done  so  in 
connection  with  a  cognate  subject,  the  education  and  general 
enlightenment  of  the  people.  Shaw,  the  historian  of  Moray, 
born  upwards  of  two  hundred  years  ago,  and  educated  at 
Ruthven,  Kingussie,  says  in  his  History  :  "I  well  remember 
when  from  Speymouth  (through  Strathspey,  Badenoch,  and 
Lochaber)  to  Lorn  there  was  but  one  school  —  namely,  at 
Ruthven  in  Badenoch,  and  it  was  much  to  find  in  a  parish 
three  persons  who  could  read  or  write."  Things  were  better 
at  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  ;  for  in  addition  to  the 
ordinary  parochial  schools,  many  schools  had  been  planted  by 
the  Society  for  Propagating  Christian  Knowledge  throughout 
the  county.     Still  the  educational  condition  of  the  people  was 


EDUCATIONAL   ADVANCE.  279 

very  backward.  In  1826,  according  to  statistics  carefully 
prepared  by  the  "  Inverness  Society  for  the  Education  of 
the  Poor,"  there  were  within  the  bounds  of  the  Presbytery 
of  Inverness  377  families  in  which  no  person  could  read; 
within  those  of  the  Presbytery  of  Abernethy  59  families  ; 
within  those  of  the  Presbytery  of  Abertarff  86.  There  is 
probably  to-day  no  person  within  these  districts  who  cannot 
read  and  write. 

Educational  advance  has  been  gradual.  With  the  exception 
of  the  parochial  schools,  there  were  previous  to  1843  very  few 
schools  of  an  efficient  character.  Here  and  there  was  to  be 
seen  the  school  of  a  Society  for  Propagating  Christian  Know- 
ledge, of  a  Gaelic  Society,  or  other  school  maintained  by  the 
Church,  where  pupils  were  taught  to  read,  write,  and  cipher. 
Lads  desirous  of  advancing  beyond  that  stage  had  to  attend  a 
parish  school,  and  in  order  to  do  that  not  a  few  walked  great 
distances,  sometimes  eight  miles,  with  the  usual  peat  under 
their  arm,  which  was  sorely  needed  to  heat  the  clay-floored 
room.  A  considerable  number  of  teachers  were  licentiates  of 
the  Church,  and  scholarly  men,  during  the  first  forty  years  of 
the  present  century.  Although  unable  to  instruct  satisfactorily 
all  the  pupils  under  their  charge — a  number  which  by  modern 
regulations  would  require  two  or  three  teachers  —  they  in- 
variably paid  great  attention  to  pupils  of  "pregnant  pairts," 
not  a  few  of  whom  went  in  those  days  direct  from  our  country 
parish  schools  to  the  universities. 

The  Disruption  of  1843  ^^^^  a  majority  of  the  parish 
churches  vacant.  The  filling  up  of  these  created  vacancies  in 
not  a  few  schools,  and  it  was  found  difficult  to  supply  the 
places  of  the  teachers  who  had  got  parish  churches.  The 
result  was  that  men  much  inferior  in  scholarship  and  culture 
succeeded  them,  and  the  cause  of  education  suffered.  After 
the  Free  Church  was  supplied  with  places  of  worship  it  com- 


280  THE   EDUCATION   ACT   OF    1 872. 

menced  the  erection  of  school  buildings,  but  unfortunately, 
in  many  instances,  placed  them  in  the  vicinity  of  the  parish 
schools,  and  so  limited  their  usefulness. 

The  passing  of  the  Education  Act  in  1872  proved  a  great 
boon  to  the  county.  Schools  are  now  placed  within  easy 
reach  of  most  of  the  children,  the  few  exceptions  being  the 
children  of  shepherds  and  gamekeepers  in  the  outlying  glens. 
New  schools  have  been  built  in  all  the  districts  of  the  county, 
which  are  a  great  contrast  to  those  by  which  they  were  pre- 
ceded. We  remember  a  schoolhouse  midway  between  Dal- 
whinnie  and  Newtonmore  which  was  in  existence  thirty  years 
ago,  and  was  a  type  of  many  in  the  county.  The  walls  and 
roof  were  formed  of  turf.  The  fire  was  in  the  centre  of  the 
room.  There  was  no  chimney.  The  rents  in  the  walls  and  a 
single  broken  four-paned  window  competed  with  a  hole  in  the 
roof  for  the  exit  of  the  peat-smoke.  There  was  a  single  desk, 
at  which  only  three  out  of  twenty  pupils  could  write  at  a  time. 
Instead  of  such  buildings  there  are  now  substantial,  well-venti- 
lated schoolrooms,  with  comfortable  dweUing-houses  for  the 
teachers,  throughout  the  mainland  of  Inverness-shire. 

Towards  the  erection  of  sixty-eight  schools  and  dwellings, 
containing  accommodation  for  6103  pupils,  ;^5  2,471,  14s.  5d. 
was  paid  by  the  Education  Department  soon  after  the  passing 
of  the  Act  to  the  school  boards  in  building  grants,  a  sum 
equal  to  j£S,  iis.  6d.  per  sitting.  About  ^20,000  additional 
was  borrowed  from  the  Government  for  school  building  pur- 
poses at  moderate  interest,  which  amount  will  be  almost  all 
repaid — capital  and  interest — in  about  fourteen  years.  The 
teaching  in  those  schools  has  been  annually  improving,  and 
is  now,  with  a  few  exceptions,  excellent.  Since  the  Trust  for 
Education  in  the  Highlands  and  Islands  commenced  paying 
grants  of  5s.  to  teachers  for  passes  made  by  their  senior  pupils 
in  Gaelic  reading,  more  attention  has  been  paid  to  Gaelic  in 


SECONDARY   EDUCATION.  28 1 

several  of  the  schools,  and  a  considerable  number  of  the  children 
are  now  able  to  read  the  Scriptures  in  that  language  to  parents 
and  grandparents  who  cannot  do  so  themselves. 

Secondary  education  has  been  greatly  encouraged  during  the 
last  four  years  by  the  appointment  of  Secondary  Education 
or  County  Committees,  and  the  grants  paid  by  Government  to 
these  committees.  The  scheme  of  the  Inverness-shire  County 
Committee  is  acknowledged  to  be  one  of  the  best  in  operation 
in  Scotland,  and  has  worked  well  to  promote  the  object  in 
view.  Besides  allowing  grants  for  merit  and  leaving  certificates 
to  the  managers  of  any  schools  in  which  these  certificates  may 
be  gained,  it  allows  grants  of  ^40  to  each  of  the  six  following 
schools  on  the  mainland  :  Fort  William,  Glenurquhart,  Beauly, 
Abernethy,  Gorgask  in  Laggan,  and  Kingussie.  The  last  has 
become  famous  as  a  central  school  in  gaining  university  leaving- 
certificates,  and  for  the  number  of  pupils  it  annually  sends 
direct  to  the  Scottish  universities. 

This  chapter  has  been  in  the  main  statistical.  What  has 
been  said,  however,  may  be  sufficient  to  show  that,  both  in 
regard  to  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  and  the  cultivation  of  the 
mind,  much  has  been  effected  since  the  beginning  of  the 
century.  The  Inverness-shire  peasant  knows  how  to  till  his 
land  on  the  most  approved  methods,  and  when  his  day's  toil 
is  over  he  can  improve  his  mind  in  a  manner  utterly  unknown 
to  his  forefathers.  The  newspaper  published  in  Glasgow  or 
Edinburgh  reaches  all  except  the  most  outlying  parts  of  Inver- 
ness-shire on  the  same  day  on  which  it  leaves  the  press.  The 
crofter  in  his  hut  is  as  conversant  with  the  news  of  the  day 
and  the  politics  of  the  time  as  the  laird  in  his  mansion. 
There  are  few  visitors  to  the  county  on  purposes  either  of 
business  or  amusement  who  have  not  been  struck  by  the 
intelligence  and  culture  possessed  by  many  in  the  humblest 
ranks  of  its  people. 


282  HIGH   STANDARD   OF   MORALITY. 

The  rural  population  in  Inverness-shire,  it  may  be  also 
added,  maintain  a  high  standard  so  far  as  morals  are  con- 
cerned, and  the  quarterly  returns  of  the  Registrar-General  in- 
variably show  the  illegitimacy  rate  in  the  county  to  be  among 
the  lowest  in  Scotland.  The  people  are  strictly  attentive  to 
the  outward  duties  of  religion,  and  are  regular  in  their  at- 
tendance on  its  ministrations.  In  few  parts  of  Scotland  are 
the  churches  to  which  the  bulk  of  the  people  belong — 
Protestant  and  Catholic — more  regularly  attended. 


283 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

DISTINGUISHED  MEN  OF  INVERNESS-SHIRE  IN  CIVIL  LIFE— NOT  SO  MANY  AS 
IN  OTHER  COUNTIES,  OWING  TO  THE  LONG  YEARS  OF  TURBULENCE 
THROUGH  WHICH  OUR  COUNTY  PASSED — DUNCAN  FORBES  OF  CULLODEN 
—  HIS  FAMILY  AND  EARLY  EDUCATION — JOINS  THE  SCOTTISH  BAR — 
MADE  SHERIFF  OF  MID-LOTHIAN — MARRIES — TAKES  THE  SIDE  OF  THE 
GOVERNMENT  IN  THE  RISING  IN  I715— PLEADS  WARMLY  THE  CAUSE  OF 
THOSE  FORFEITED — RETURNED  TO  PARLIAMENT  FOR  THE  INVERNESS 
BURGHS — HIS  LITERARY  WORKS — APPOINTED  PRESIDENT  OF  THE  COURT 
OF  SESSION — HIS  GREAT  INFLUENCE  IN  BEHALF  OF  THE  GOVERNMENT 
IN  1745 — HIS  EFFORTS  UNREWARDED  BY  THE  AUTHORITIES — HIS  DEATH 
— CHARLES  GRANT,  A  STATESMAN  AND  PHILANTHROPIST — HIS  BIRTH 
AND  EARLY  YEARS — GOES  TO  INDIA — HIS  CAREER  THERE — THE  CHAR- 
ACTER   OF    HIS    POLICY BECOMES    A    DIRECTOR    OF   THE    EAST    INDIA 

COMPANY  —  HIS  SERVICES  IN  ITS  BEHALF —  HIS  ASSOCIATION  WITH 
WILBERFORCE— HIS  ENDEAVOURS  TO  PROMOTE  THE  WELFARE  OF  THE 
HIGHLANDS — HIS  DEATH — HIS  DISTINGUISHED  SONS — THE  RIGHT  HON. 
SIR  JAMES  MACKINTOSH  —  HIS  BIRTH  AND  EDUCATION  —  BECOMES  A 
DOCTOR  OF  MEDICINE — AFTERWARDS  JOINS  THE  ENGLISH  BAR — HIS 
DEFENCE  OF  THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION — BECOMES  RECORDER  OF  BOM- 
BAY—RETURNS HOME  AFTER  A  PERIOD  OF  SERVICE — ENTERS  PARLIA- 
MENT— MADE  A  PRIVY  COUNCILLOR,  ALSO  A  PROFESSOR  OF  LAW  AND 
LORD  RECTOR  OF  GLASGOW  UNIVERSITY— HIS  LITERARY  AND  PHILO- 
SOPHICAL CELEBRITY — HIS  DEATH — JAMES  MACPHERSON,  BORN  AT  RUTH- 
VEN— STUDIES  FOR  THE  MINISTRY — PUBLISHES  FRAGMENTS  OF  ANCIENT 
POETRY— MAKES  A  JOURNEY  OF  LITERARY  RESEARCH  IN  THE  HIGH- 
LANDS—  PUBLISHES  'OSSIAN'  —  THE  GREAT  CONTROVERSY  THAT  EN- 
SUED—MADE GOVERNOR  OF  PENSACOLA — APPOINTED  AGENT  FOR  THE 
NABOB  OF  ARCOT  —  SETTLES  IN  BADENOCH  —  DIES  THERE,  AND  IS 
BURIED  IN  WESTMINSTER  ABBEY — OTHER  DISTINGUISHED  MEN — THEIR 
LIVES  AND  LABOURS  SKETCHED — GRANT  OF  CORRYMONY — FRASER  OF 
REELICK— JOHN  F.  M'LENNAN— THE  LITERARY  SPIRIT  OF  INVERNESS 
— ROBERT  CARRUTHERS  AND  THE  'INVERNESS  COURIER'  —  MODERN 
LITERARY  MEN  OF  THE  COUNTY— THE  GREAT  LAWYERS  PRODUCED  BY 
IT— ITS   THEOLOGICAL   POVERTY — DISTINGUISHED  CATHOLIC   DIVINES. 

Inverness  -  shire    was    for   centuries   a    county   of   soldiers. 
With  the  exception  of  the  peace-loving  citizens  of  the  burgh, 


284  DISTINGUISHED   MEN    OF   THE   COUNTY. 

few  could  rise  to  distinction  except  in  warfare.  In  other  parts 
of  Scotland  there  were  many  avenues  by  which  men  could 
attain  celebrity.  In  our  county  there  was  but  one.  It  was  not 
till  long  after  1745,  when  the  last  vestiges  of  the  feudal  system 
had  passed  away,  that  Inverness  -  shire  men  began  in  any 
numbers  to  be  distinguished  in  any  profession  other  than  that 
of  arms.  Though  the  county  has  not  for  this  reason  contrib- 
uted anything  like  the  same  proportion  of  outstanding  men 
to  the  civil  walks  of  life  with  some  other  counties  of  Scot- 
land, it  yet  has  given  some  whose  names  take  high  place  in 
history,  and  whose  career  may  be  properly  noticed  in  these 
pages. 

Perhaps  the  greatest  man,  taking  all  things  into  considera- 
tion, that  Inverness-shire  has  produced  is  Duncan  Forbes 
of  Culloden.  Bishop  Warburton  calls  him  "one  of  the 
greatest  men  that  Scotland  ever  bred  as  a  judge,  a  patriot, 
and  a  Christian."  This  is  high  praise,  and  justly  bestowed. 
Forbes  exercised  much  influence  in  his  time,  and  had  it  not 
been  for  his  great  exertions  the  Jacobite  rising  in  '45  might 
have  had  a  very  different  result.  He  may,  indeed,  be  said  to 
have  saved  the  Hanoverian  throne.  Forbes  was  the  second 
son  of  the  proprietor  of  the  estate  of  Culloden,  and  was  born 
at  Bunchrew,  another  estate  belonging  to  the  family,  on  the 
loth  November  1685.  His  family  had  come  from  the  South 
in  the  seventeenth  century ;  one  of  them  had  been  Provost  of 
Inverness.  They  were  strong  Presbyterians,  and  active  friends 
of  revolution  principles.  His  father,  Duncan  Forbes,  was 
member  in  the  Scottish  Parliament  for  the  county  of  Nairn. 
His  mother  was  Mary  Innes,  a  daughter  of  the  Laird  of  Innes, 
a  Morayshire  baronet.  Forbes,  after  obtaining  his  early  edu- 
cation at  Inverness,  was  sent  to  the  University  of  Edinburgh 
when  nineteen  years  of  age.     His  father  died  the  same  year, 


DUNCAN    FORBES   OF   CULLODEN.  285 

and  was  succeeded  in  his  estates  by  his  son  John,  the  elder 
brother    of   the    subject    of    our    sketch.      From    Edinburgh 
Forbes  went  to  Leyden,   in  Holland,  where  he  studied  law 
and  oriental   languages.       He  returned   home  from  Holland 
after  two  years,  passed  as  an  advocate  in  Edinburgh,  through 
the  influence  of  the  Duke  of  Argyll  was   appointed   Sheriff 
of  Mid-Lothian,  and  married  Mary,  a  daughter  of  Mr  Rose 
of  Kilravock.      The   rising  under  the  Earl   of  Mar  brought 
him  into  prominent  notice.     With  his  elder  brother  he  was 
actively  engaged  in  the  civil  war  in  Inverness-shire,  and  was 
in  close  association  with  Simon,  Lord  Lovat,  in  the  task  of 
suppressing  the  insurrection.     When  that  had  been  achieved 
—  greatly  through  his   exertions  —  he   used   his   utmost   en- 
deavours   to    obtain    the    clemency    of    the    Crown    for    his 
unfortunate  countrymen.     He  showed  kindness  in  mitigating 
the   fate   of  the  wretched   prisoners,  who  were   treated  with 
the  utmost  rigour  by  the  Government.     He  collected  money 
for  their  defence,  and  publicly  remonstrated  with  the  authorities 
for  the  cruelty  they  displayed.     Some  time  after,  he  proposed 
the  plan,  afterwards  adopted  by  Pitt,  by  which  their  forfeited 
estates  were  restored  to  the  chiefs,  and  by  which  the  people 
were   employed   as    soldiers   in   the  service  of  the   country. 
It  would  have  been  well  for  Inverness -shire  if  his  humane 
views  had  been  carried  out  when  in  after  days  a  conquered 
and  defenceless  people  were  left  at  the  mercy  of  the  victors. 
The  insurrection  being  overcome,  he  pleaded  that  it  was  not 
the  way  to  make  the  Scottish  Jacobites  peaceful  and  contented 
subjects  to  execute  until  the  hangman  was  exhausted,  and  to 
proscribe  for  ever  as   outcasts  those  who  were  spared  from 
death.     With  solemn  earnestness  he  showed  that  extirpation, 
if  it  be  sharper  and  more  horrible,  is  a  more  effective  remedy 
than   proscription,  and  in   the  end  not  so   cruel.     "  If,"  he 
says,  "all  the  rebels,  with  their  wives  and  children,  could  be  at 


286  ELECTED  LORD  ADVOCATE. 

once  rooted  from  the  earth,  the  shock  would  be  astonishing ; 
but  time  would  commit  it  to  obhvion,  and  the  danger  would 
be  less  to  the  constitution  than  when  thousands  of  inno- 
cents, punished  with  misery  and  want  for  the  offences  of 
their  friends,  are  suffered  to  wander  about  the  country  sigh- 
ing out  their  complaints  to  heaven,  and  drawing  at  once 
the  compassion  and  moving  the  indignation  of  every  human 
creature." 

In  1722  Forbes  was  returned  to  Parliament  as  member  for 
the  Inverness  district  of  Burghs,  and  three  years  afterwards 
he  was  raised  to  the  office  of  Lord  Advocate.  While  in 
Parliament,  he  was  on  intimate  terms  with  Sir  Horace  Walpole 
and  with  Lords  Mansfield  and  Hardwicke,  and  was  a  member 
of  the  Literary  Society,  adorned  by  Swift,  Pope,  and  other 
intellectual  celebrities  of  the  time.  In  1734  his  elder  brother 
John  died,  and  he  succeeded  to  the  family  estates.  He  re- 
sided at  CuUoden  as  often  as  his  public  duties  would  ad- 
mit, and  made  an  admirable  laird,  doing  much  to  improve 
his  property  and  to  promote  the  happiness  of  his  tenants. 
He  also  made  contributions  to  theological  literature.  In 
1732  he  published  'A  Letter  to  a  Bishop  concerning  some 
Discoveries  in  Philosophy  and  Theology,'  a  book  of  no  great 
merit  in  itself,  but  which  was  much  thought  of  at  the  time 
and  passed  through  three  editions.  In  1735  he  wrote  a 
book  more  ambitious  in  its  character,  called  '  Some  Thoughts 
concerning  Religion  natural  and  revealed,  and  the  manner 
of  understanding  Revelation,'  tending  to  show  that  Chris- 
tianity is  indeed  nearly  as  old  as  the  Creation.  These 
treatises  were  very  popular,  and  are  evidences  of  the  deep 
piety  of  their  writer — a  piety  we  of  our  day  find  difficult  alto- 
gether to  reconcile  with  his  conviviality.  He  was  a  hard 
drinker,  and  the  libations  of  claret  at  Culloden  were  even 
in  his  time  famous  throughout  the  North. 


PRESIDENT   OF   THE   COURT   OF   SESSION.         287 

In  1737  Forbes  was  appointed  President  of  the  Court 
of  Session,  the  highest  office  to  which  a  Scottish  lawyer  can 
aspire.  He  was  much  respected  as  a  judge,  and  filled  his 
position  with  dignity  and  ability,  raising  the  court  over 
which  he  presided  to  a  state  of  efficiency  it  has  never  sur- 
passed. A  very  fine  portrait  statue  in  marble  of  Forbes, 
attributed  to  Roubillac,  is  one  of  the  chief  ornaments  of  the 
Hall  of  the  Parliament  House  in  Edinburgh. 

The  rising  of  the  '45  brought  the  President  into  great 
prominence,  and  he  will  always  be  remembered  chiefly  for 
the  abihty  he  displayed  at  that  critical  juncture.  He  had 
a  warm  sympathy  with  the  Highlanders,  and  did  all  in  his 
power  to  keep  them  from  being  tempted  to  break  with  the 
Government.  On  hearing  of  the  landing  of  Prince  Charles 
he  at  once  set  ojf  to  Inverness.  He  was  intimately  ac- 
quainted with  the  Northern  chiefs,  and  his  talents  and  emi- 
nent position  gave  him  weight  and  influence  even  among  the 
turbulent  spirits  of  the  Jacobites.  His  whole  efforts  were  put 
forth  to  keep  the  clans  from  joining  in  the  rising.  Through 
his  influence  the  great  Skye  clans  of  Macdonald  and  Macleod, 
who  could  have  brought  to  the  standard  of  the  Prince  8000 
men,  were  kept  at  home.  He  also  kept  the  clans  of  Ross- 
shire  from  taking  the  field.  For  a  length  of  time  anything 
done  in  Scotland  to  save  the  country  to  the  reigning  family 
was  the  work  of  Forbes.  For  weeks  he  concentrated  in  him- 
self the  whole  elements  of  government  in  the  North.  "  I 
found  myself,"  he  says,  describing  his  position  at  the  time, 
"  almost  alone  :  without  troops,  without  arms,  mthout  money 
or  credit ;  provided  with  no  means  to  prevent  extreme  folly 
except  pen  and  ink,  a  tongue,  and  some  reputation,  and  if  you 
except  Macleod,  whom  I  sent  for  from  the  Isle  of  Skye,  sup- 
ported by  no  man  of  common-sense  or  courage."  With  the 
resources  at  his  command  he  certainly  worked  wonders. 


288  CHARLES   GRANT. 

His  great  efforts  in  the  Hanoverian  cause  were  unrewarded. 
His  gentle  spirit  was  lacerated  by  the  memorable  cruelties 
which  followed  the  battle  of  Culloden.  His  endeavours  on 
behalf  of  his  suffering  countrymen  were  treated  with  con- 
tempt. The  money  he  had  raised  on  his  own  responsibility 
to  meet  the  emergency  was  never  repaid.  No  gratitude  was 
ever  expressed  for  his  energetic  and  indomitable  efforts.  The 
treatment  he  received  so  preyed  upon  his  mind  that  it  is 
said  to  have  hastened  his  death.  He  died  on  the  loth 
December  1747,  pressed  by  creditors  whose  claims  he  was 
unable  to  meet,  but  leaving  a  name  which  is  held  in  greater 
honour  by  none  than  by  his  own  countrymen  of  the  North. 

Charles  Grant  was,  like  Forbes,  a  statesman  and  a  phil- 
anthropist, though  his  energies  were  exerted  in  a  wider 
sphere.  He  was  born  at  Aldourie,  in  the  parish  of  Dores, 
on  the  1 6th  April  1746,  the  memorable  day  on  which  the 
battle  of  Culloden  was  fought.  A  few  hours  after  his  birth 
his  father,  Alexander,  was  killed  on  the  fatal  field  fighting  for 
Prince  Charles.  Grant  received  his  education  in  Elgin,  and 
in  1767  proceeded  to  India  in  a  military  capacity,  but  on  his 
arrival  was  taken  into  the  employ  of  Mr  Richard  Becher,  a 
member  of  the  Bengal  Council.  In  1772  he  was  appointed 
a  writer  on  the  Bengal  establishment,  and  commenced  a  civil 
career  that  became  more  and  more  distinguished.  Three 
years  later  he  was  selected  for  the  office  of  secretary  to  the 
Board  of  Trade  at  Calcutta,  and  in  1 7  8 1  as  commercial 
resident  at  Maldah,  one  of  the  most  important  posts  of  the 
service.  In  1784  he  obtained  the  rank  of  senior  merchant, 
and  in  1787  had  conferred  on  him  by  Lord  Cornwallis  the 
office  of  member  of  the  Board  at  Calcutta  in  consideration  of 
his  distinguished  abilities  and  approved  integrity.  In  this 
high  office  he  continued  till  1790,  when  family  circumstances 


CHAIRMAN    OF   THE   EAST   INDIA   COMPANY.       289 

compelled  him  to  return  to  England.  His  early  promotion 
to  stations  of  trust  and  employment  had  enabled  him  to 
acquire  a  considerable  fortune,  and  he  hoped  at  home  to  use 
his  influence  in  promoting  the  welfare  of  the  natives  of  India, 
in  whose  prosperity  he  had  come  to  take  deep  interest.  He 
had  on  a  voyage  made  the  acquaintance  of  the  celebrated  mis- 
sionary Schwarz,  and  this  led  him  ever  afterwards  to  identify 
himself  with  missionary  enterprise,  and  to  do  all  in  his  power 
to  promote  it. 

After  his  return  home  he  was  in  1794  elected  a  director  of 
the  East  India  Company,  and  from  this  time  till  his  death 
took  a  leading  part  in  the  administration  of  our  Indian  empire. 
In  1802  he  was  elected  M.P.  for  Inverness,  and  shortly  after- 
wards became  chairman  of  the  Board  of  the  Directors  of  the 
East  India  Company.  This  was  a  great  position,  and  he  is 
universally  acknowledged  to  have  filled  it  with  conspicuous 
success.  It  was  through  him  that  a  college  was  established 
for  the  education  of  young  men  destined  for  the  Company's 
service,  and  he  watched  over  its  interests  with  anxious  solici- 
tude. His  great  desire  was  the  establishment  of  an  empire  in 
India  founded  rather  upon  character  than  upon  force.  Acting 
upon  this  view,  when  Parliament  arraigned  the  administration 
of  the  Marquis  Wellesley,  he  took  a  leading  part  in  the  dis- 
cussions, opposing  with  all  his  might  what  he  called  "  military 
government,"  which  he  defined  to  be  pursuing  conquest  for 
the  sake  of  the  extension  of  territory.  The  character  of 
Grant's  policy  was  eloquently  set  forth  by  himself  in  a  great 
speech  in  which  he  spoke  of  what  had  been  the  policy  of 
other  conquering  nations  :  "  None  of  these  nations  sought  to 
establish  themselves  in  the  affections  of  their  acquired  subjects, 
or  to  assimilate  them  to  their  manners  ;  and  those  subjects, 
far  from  supporting  them,  rejoiced  in  their  defeats.  Some 
attempts  they  made  to  instruct  the  natives  which  had  their 

T 


290  THE   CLAPHAM   SECT. 

use,  but  sordid  views  overwhelmed  their  efforts.  It  remains 
for  us  to  show  how  we  shall  be  distinguished  from  those 
nations  in  the  history  of  mankind, — whether  conquest  shall 
have  been  in  our  hands  the  means  not  merely  of  displaying  a 
Government  unequalled  in  India  for  administrative  justice, 
kindness,  and  moderation  ;  not  merely  of  increasing  the 
security  of  the  subject  and  prosperity  of  the  country,  but 
of  advancing  social  happiness,  of  meliorating  the  moral  state 
of  men,  and  of  extending  a  superior  light  farther  than  the 
Roman  eagle  ever  flew." 

Grant  was  a  man  of  deep  piety,  and  did  everything  in  his 
power  to  raise  the  low  moral  tone  of  Indian  society.  He 
exerted  himself  greatly  to  advance  the  cause  of  missions. 
Through  him  the  augmentation  of  the  ecclesiastical  establish- 
ment of  British  India  and  the  institution  of  a  bishop's  see  at 
Calcutta  were  brought  about,  and  especially  the  privilege  was 
granted  to  European  missionaries,  hitherto  denied,  of  enjoying 
access  to  the  natives  of  the  country  in  their  ministrations. 
He  fought  hard  to  obtain  this  permission,  and  was  so 
strongly  supported  by  public  opinion  that  the  concession  of 
greater  hberty  to  Christian  missions  in  the  East  was  at  last 
reluctantly  given. 

Charles  Grant  was  closely  associated  with  Wilberforce  and 
other  great  philanthropists  of  his  time,  and  with  the  band  of 
religious  men  known  by  the  name  of  the  "  Clapham  Sect." 
The  welfare  of  his  native  Highlands  lay  very  close  to  his  heart. 
He  was  a  zealous  member  of  the  Society  for  Promoting  Chris- 
tian Knowledge  in  the  Highlands  and  Islands,  and  helped  it 
largely  by  his  contributions.  He  was  proprietor  of  the  estate 
of  Waternish  in  Skye.  Through  his  influence  civil  or  military 
appointments  were  obtained  in  India  by  many  Inverness-shire 
young  men.  From  every  part  of  the  county  promising  youths 
went  out  to  that  country  to  seek  their  fortunes.     He  was  one 


SIR  JAMES   MACKINTOSH.  29 1 

of  the  greatest  benefactors  Inverness-shire  ever  had,  and  in 
recognition  of  his  services  the  county  voted  a  portrait  of  him 
by  Sir  Henry  Raeburn  to  be  painted,  which  still  hangs  in  the 
county  hall.  He  died  in  London  3rd  October  1823.  His 
eldest  son,  Sir  Robert  Grant,  became  Governor  of  Bombay. 
His  son  Charles,  born  in  India,  rose  like  his  father  and 
brother  to  great  eminence  in  political  life.  He  occupied  the 
high  ofifices  of  Secretary  for  Ireland,  President  of  the  Board  of 
Trade,  and  Colonial  Secretary,  and  was  raised  to  the  peerage 
under  the  title  of  Lord  Glenelg.  He  also  succeeded  his  father 
as  M.P.  for  Inverness  on  his  retirement  from  that  office  in 
18 1 9.  He  was  a  Liberal  in  politics,  an  eloquent  speaker,  and 
a  pure-spirited  statesman.      He  died  in  1866. 

The  Right  Hon.  Sir  James  Mackintosh  was  an  Inverness- 
shire  man  whose  career  as  a  philosopher,  politician,  and  his- 
torian reflects  credit  on  the  county  of  his  birth.  He  was  born 
at  Aldourie,  on  the  banks  of  Loch  Ness,  on  the  24th  October 
1765.  His  father,  John  Mackintosh,  was  Laird  of  Kyllachie. 
Mackintosh  received  his  early  education  at  a  school  in  Fortrose, 
where  he  was  a  devoted  reader,  especially  of  history,  and  where 
he  otherwise  gave  promise  of  his  afterwards  distinguished  career. 
In  1780  he  went  to  King's  College,  Aberdeen,  and  during  his 
course  there  showed  that  taste  for  moral  and  metaphysical 
studies  which  was  always  a  marked  feature  in  his  character. 
After  taking  the  degree  of  Master  of  Arts  he  went  to  Edinburgh 
to  study  medicine.  Here  he  took  a  leading  part  in  the  Philo- 
sophical and  Medical  Societies  connected  with  the  university. 
On  taking  his  diploma  as  doctor  of  medicine  he  went  to 
London,  but  after  long  waiting  saw  no  prospects  of  a  profes- 
sional settlement.  He  took  considerable  interest  in  poli- 
tics, and  acted  for  a  time  on  the  staff  of  a  paper  called  the 
'  Oracle,'  where  he  superintended  the  foreign  news.     Finally 


292  'VINDICI^   GALLIC^.' 

he  determined  to  abandon  medicine  and  to  study  for  the  bar. 
In  his  new  profession  he  attained  considerable  eminence, 
and  was  specially  notable  for  his  brilliant  defence  in  the  trial 
of  Peltier,  who  was  charged  with  a  libel  on  Bonaparte.  What 
brought  him  into  prominence  was  not  so  much  his  forensic 
ability  as  his  reply  to  Burke's  condemnation  of  the  French 
Revolution.  That  great  historic  movement  found  in  him  a 
warm  defender,  and  his  book,  '  Vindiciee  Gallicae,'  published  in 
1 791,  was  greatly  admired  even  by  Burke,  whose  principles  it 
impugned.  In  this  book  he  advocated  Liberal  views  which 
would  not  be  thought  very  advanced  in  our  day,  but  which  at 
that  time  were  almost  new,  though  they  had  been  somewhat 
anticipated  in  Paine's  '  Age  of  Reason.'  He  discusses  at 
length  the  expediency  and  necessity  of  a  revolution,  and  de- 
fends it  on  the  theory  of  the  British  Constitution.  Before  the 
French  could  obtain  the  inestimable  blessings  of  the  freedom 
Britons  enjoyed,  it  was  necessary  that  there  should  be  such  an 
upturning  as  had  excited  the  wonder  of  the  world.  The  chains 
of  tyranny  were  broken,  and  reason  had  triumphed  over  auth- 
ority and  prejudice.  He  considers  at  length  the  conduct  of 
the  actors  in  the  great  upheaval,  and  vindicates  them  so  far  as 
the  result  was  manifested  in  the  new  Constitution  of  France. 
He  defends  the  annexation  of  ecclesiastical  revenues,  and  lays 
down — probably  for  the  first  time — the  axiom  which  has  since 
been  very  generally  recognised,  that  "  Church  property  is 
public  property." 

The  book  is  a  statement  in  a  philosophical  form  of  the 
principles  of  Liberalism,  and  Mackintosh  was  through  its  pub- 
lication ]}rought  into  association  with  Fox  and  the  leading 
Whigs  of  the  day,  who  recognised  in  him  a  recruit  to  their 
party  likely  to  be  useful.  Under  their  auspices  he  delivered 
a  course  of  lectures  on  the  "  Law  of  Nature  and  of  Nations  " 
in  the  hall  of  Lincoln's  Inn,  which  were  attended  by  many 


A   DISTINGUISHED   CAREER.  293 

prominent  men,  and  were  distinguished  by  great  philosoph- 
ical power.  He  seemed  marked  out  for  political  advance- 
ment, and  was  on  familiar  terms  with  the  literary  men  of 
London  society ;  but  the  office  of  Recorder  of  Bombay  being 
offered  to  him,  he  accepted  it,  and  was  for  nine  years  in 
India. 

On  his  return  to  England  in  181 2,  entering  into  po- 
litical life,  he  was  elected  member  of  Parliament  for  the 
county  of  Nairn.  He  did  not  acquire  much  political  dis- 
tinction, but  was  respected  as  a  statesman.  His  speeches 
were  more  philosophical  and  forensic  than  popular,  and  he 
never  altogether  accommodated  himself  to  the  atmosphere 
of  the  House  of  Commons.  He  was  made  a  Privy  Coun- 
cillor and  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Control,  and  in  18 18 
became  "  Professor  of  Law  and  General  Politics "  in  the 
East  India  Company's  College  at  Haileybury,  which  had 
lately  been  founded  by  his  countyman  Charles  Grant.  This 
was  a  congenial  sphere  of  work,  and  he  was  enabled  to  give 
full  scope  to  the  philosophical  bent  of  his  mind.  In  18 19 
he  was  elected  member  of  Parliament  for  Knaresborough, 
and  in  1S23  Lord  Rector  of  the  University  of  Glasgow, 
when  he  delivered  an  address  to  the  students  of  great  elo- 
quence and  thoughtfulness.  He  was  a  frequent  contributor 
to  the  '  Edinburgh  Review,'  and  the  author  of  a  '  History 
of  England.'  Macaulay  speaks  of  him  with  much  respect ; 
and  Lord  Jeffrey,  who  was  one  of  his  intimate  friends,  says 
of  him  that  "his  range  of  study  and  speculation  was  nearly 
as  large  as  that  of  Bacon,  and  there  were,  in  fact,  but  few 
branches  of  learning  with  which  he  was  not  familiar."  It 
is  chiefly  as  a  philosophical  writer  that  Mackintosh  will  be 
remembered.  His  '  Dissertation  on  the  Progress  of  Ethical 
Philosophy,'  contributed  to  the  '  Encyclopedia  Britannica,' 
in   which    he    summarises    the    speculations    of   ancient    and 


294  JAMES   MACPHERSON. 

modern  ethical  philosophers,  was  much  admired  at  the  time 
of  its  publication,  and  still  holds  a  useful  place  in  the  liter- 
ature of  its  department.  In  this  book  Mackintosh  takes  up 
a  philosophical  position  to  a  great  extent  his  own.  He 
expresses  and  defends  his  opinion  that  the  affections  usu- 
ally called  benevolent  are  properly  described  as  disinterested. 
He  contends  earnestly  for  the  independent  existence  and 
supremacy  of  conscience  or  the  moral  faculty.  He  assents 
to  the  theory  of  the  formation  of  our  passions  and  affections, 
and  even  of  our  sentiments  of  virtue  and  duty,  by  means 
of  the  association  of  ideas.  He  also  lays  down  a  "  theory 
of  conscience"  which  he  elaborates  at  great  length.  Many 
of  his  views  had  been  anticipated  by  Bishop  Butler,  though 
he  amplified  them  and  worked  them  out  to  their  legitimate 
conclusions  with  much  acuteness  as  well  as  lucidity.  He 
died  in   London  on  the  30th  May   1832. 

James  Macpherson  was  perhaps,  so  far  as  literature  is 
concerned,  the  best  known  man  connected  with  Inverness- 
shire.  He  was  born  at  Ruthven,  in  the  parish  of  Kingussie, 
in  1736,  and  was  the  son  of  Andrew  Macpherson,  a  tacksman, 
nephew  of  the  chief  of  the  clan.  He  was  educated  at  Inver- 
ness, and  at  the  universities  of  Aberdeen  and  Edinburgh. 
At  the  latter  university  he  studied  divinity  with  a  view  to 
the  ministry  of  the  Church  of  Scotland.  He  was  also  for  a 
time  schoolmaster  at  his  native  place.  In  1758  he  published 
a  poem  called  '  The  Highlander,'  followed  by  '  Death  '  and 
the  'Hunter,'  none  of  which  evinced  poetic  merit.  In  1759 
he  became  tutor  in  the  family  of  Graham  of  Balgowan,  and 
it  was  during  this  time  he  met  Mr  Home  and  submitted  to 
him  short  translations  from  poems  in  the  Gaelic  language. 
Mr  Home  brought  these  to  Edinburgh  and  showed  them  to 
Dr  Blair,  Adam    Ferguson,  and  Principal  Robertson,  all   of 


OSSIAN.  295 

whom  greatly  admired  them.  In  1760,  at  the  desire  of 
Home  and  Blair,  he  published  '  Fragments  of  Ancient  Poetry 
collected  in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland.'  These  fragments 
excited  much  attention,  and  an  earnest  desire  to  recover 
other  remains  of  Gaelic  poetry  which  were  said  to  exist  in 
the  Highlands.  A  liberal  subscription  having  been  made 
to  defray  his  expenses,  Macpherson  was  induced  to  under- 
take a  journey  of  research  throughout  the  Highlands.  Dur- 
ing his  tour  he  occasionally  wrote  to  Dr  Blair  informing  him 
of  his  progress  in  collecting  poems  either  in  manuscript  or 
from  recitation.  He  arrived  in  Edinburgh  in  1761,  and 
took  lodgings  immediately  below  Dr  Blair,  to  whom  he  often 
repeated  parts  of  what  he  was  engaged  in  translating.  The 
result  of  his  labours  was  the  appearance  in  1762  of  '  Fingal, 
an  Ancient  Epic  Poem  in  Six  Books,  together  with  several 
other  Poems  composed  by  Ossian,  the  son  of  Fingal. 
Translated  from  the  Gaelic  Language  by  James  M.'  In 
the  following  year  appeared  '  Temora,  an  Epic  Poem  in 
Eight  Books.' 

These  publications  created  a  great  sensation  in  the  literary 
world,  and  occasioned  a  controversy  which  has  not  yet 
ceased.  By  many  Macpherson  was  hailed  as  a  genius,  by 
others  he  was  denounced  as  a  literary  forger.  Among  the 
latter  was  Dr  Johnson,  whose  abuse  was  of  the  strongest 
kind.  "  Macpherson  had,"  according  to  him,  "  only  found 
names  and  stories  and  phrases,  being  passages  in  old  songs, 
and  with  these  blended  his  own  compositions,  and  so  made 
up  what  he  gave  to  the  world  as  translations  of  an  ancient 
poem."  Johnson's  vituperation  so  irritated  the  proud  High- 
lander that  he  sent  the  great  man  a  challenge  by  a  friend. 
Johnson  purchased  a  stout  oak  stick  and  replied  that  "  he 
would  repel  violence,  and  not  desist  from  any  fear  of  the 
menaces  of  a  ruffian." 


296  A   FAMOUS   CONTROVERSY. 

If  the  great  sage  was  bold  in  his  attack  upon  Macpherson, 
that  gentleman  did  not  want  for  able  defenders.  A  strong 
array  of  eminent  men — Blair,  Lord  Kames,  Sir  John  Sinclair, 
Home,  and  others — mustered  in  defence  of  the  genuineness 
of  the  poems,  the  success  of  which  was  great.  Within  a  year 
after  their  publication  they  were  translated  into  the  languages 
of  France,  Germany,  Italy,  Denmark,  and  Poland,  while  edition 
after  edition  was  called  for  at  home.  The  poems  were  the 
admiration  of  Goethe  and  Byron,  and  were  carried  about  by 
Napoleon  in  his  campaigns.  It  is  not  within  our  province  to 
enter  into  the  centroversy  that  has  raged  around  these  remark- 
able productions.  It  is  perhaps  sufficient  to  say  that  modern 
researches  and  Celtic  criticism  have  amply  vindicated  the 
reputation  of  Macpherson  from  the  attacks  made  upon  him 
as  a  forger.  The  publication  in  our  own  time  of  the  '  Book 
of  the  Dean  of  Lismore '  has  shown  the  existence  of  ancient 
Gaelic  poetry  such  as  Macpherson  collected.  It  contains 
many  heroic  ballads,  nine  of  which  are  attributed  to  Ossian. 
GaeHc  scholars  have  shown  that  tradition  is  quite  capable  of 
preserving  such  fragmentary  compositions  as  Macpherson 
received  from  recitation,  and  that  such  fragments  were  well 
known  to  men  who  knew  nothing  of  his  labours.  That  such 
fragments  were  pieced  together  by  Macpherson  there  is  little 
doubt,  but  to  what  extent  he  inserted  lines  of  his  own  com- 
position as  connecting  links — if  he  inserted  any — it  is  im- 
possible to  say.  Gaelic  scholars  have  been  unable  to  point 
out  any  piece  of  new  cloth  sewn  on  to  the  old.  The  same 
heroic  spirit  pervades  the  whole.  Certainly,  if  the  poems 
were  either  in  part  or  whole  the  work  of  Macpherson,  it  is 
remarkable  that  he  never  afterwards  wrote  any  to  be  com- 
pared with  them  even  in  the  remotest  way.  "  If  he  created 
Ossian,"  as  it  has  well  been  said,  "  he  was  an  athlete  who 


"FAIR  JAMES."  297 

made  one  surprising  leap  and  was  palsied  ever  afterwards — a 
marksman  who  made  a  centre  at  the  first  shot  but  who  never 
afterwards  could  hit  the  target."  His  subsequent  incur- 
sions into  the  realm  of  literature  may  almost  be  said  to  be 
failures ;  they  are  certainly  destitute  of  any  spark  of  the  fire 
of  genius  which  glows  throughout  '  Fingal '  and  '  Temora.' 

If  Macpherson  never  wrote  another  '  Ossian,'  he  had  suc- 
cesses of  a  different  kind,  which  probably  compensated  him 
for  any  rough  handling  he  had  received.  Through  the  kind 
offices  of  the  Earl  of  Bute  he  received  a  civil  appointment  at 
Pensacola,  in  North  America,  and  returned  to  London  two 
years  afterwards  with  a  pension  of  ;!^2oo  a-year,  to  act  as  a 
political  writer  in  behalf  of  Government.  His  '  Introduction 
to  the  History  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland'  appeared  in 
1771  ;  a  'Prose  Translation  of  Homer' — a  thin  and  watery 
affair — in  1773;  a  'History  of  Great  Britain  from  the  Res- 
toration to  the  Accession  of  the  House  of  Hanover'  in  1773, 
for  which  he  is  said  to  have  received  ^^3000.  In  1780  he 
was  appointed  agent  for  the  Nabob  of  Arcot,  and  returned 
to  Parliament  for  Camelford.  From  his  various  labours  he 
amassed  a  considerable  fortune,  which  enabled  him  to  purchase 
the  estate  of  Raitts,  the  name  of  which  he  changed  to  Belle- 
ville, near  Kingussie.  Here  he  built  an  elegant  mansion,  to 
which  he  retired  to  spend  the  evening  of  his  life.  In  his  new 
capacity  as  a  Highland  laird  he  was  honoured  and  respected. 
He  was  liberal  to  the  poor,  and  went  among  his  people  by  the 
name  of  "  Fair  James."  Through  his  influence  with  the 
Government  he  obtained  the  restoration  to  his  chief  of  the 
property  which  had  been  forfeited  after  the  '45.  This  made 
him  popular  with  all  his  neighbours,  towards  whom  he  exer- 
cised generous  hospitality.  He  was  regarded  by  them  as 
a  fine  specimen  of  a  true  and  chivalrous  Highlander.     He 


298  JAMES   GRANT. 

died  at  Belleville  in   1796,  and  was  buried   in   Westminster 
Abbey,  near  the  Poets'  Corner, 

Though  those  we  have  mentioned  are  the  great  literary 
figures  of  our  county  annals,  these  are  not  without  others  who 
are  worthy  of  remembrance.  James  Grant  of  Corrymony  was 
a  Scottish  advocate,  and  when  he  died  was  the  oldest  member 
of  his  profession.  He  was  born  in  1743,  and  had  a  reputa- 
tion in  his  time  both  as  a  poHtician  and  man  of  letters. 
He  was  prominently  distinguished  as  a  supporter  of  Liberal 
principles  at  a  time  when  in  Scotland  there  were  not  many 
such.  He  was  a  personal  friend  of  Henry  Erskine,  Jeffrey, 
Mackintosh,  and  other  reformers  of  the  same  class,  and  was 
a  frequenter  of  the  literary  circles  of  Edinburgh.  Two  works 
of  his  were  much  thought  of  when  they  appeared :  the  one 
'  On  the  Origin  of  Society,  Language,  Property,  Government, 
Jurisdiction,  Contracts,  and  Marriage ' ;  the  other  '  On  the 
Origin  and  Descent  of  the  Gael,  with  an  Account  of  the 
Picts  and  Scots,  and  Observations  relative  to  the  Authenticity 
of  the  Poems  of  Ossian.'  These  books  show  considerable 
learning  and  research,  and  though  modern  philological  in- 
quiries have  greatly  diminished  their  value  as  contributions 
to  science,  they  are  still  worthy  of  being  read  both  for  the 
learning  they  display  and  the  ingenuity  of  the  author  in 
making  good  his  conclusions.  Grant  was  a  stout  Highlander, 
and  with  him  all  that  was  worthy  was  derived  from  the  Gael. 
The  Gaelic  language  was  the  common  parent  of  both  the 
Greek  and  Latin.  The  identity  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans 
with  the  Highlanders  could  be  gathered  from  their  stature 
and  complexion,  their  manners  and  customs,  their  modes  of 
living,  their  dress,  their  weapons,  their  religion,  and  their 
language.      In  arguing  in  favour  of  these  propositions,  Grant 


JAMES   BAILLIE   FRASER.  299 

displays  intimate  acquaintance  both  with  classic  writers  and 
with  the  language  and  literature  of  his  own  country.  He 
died  in  1835  ^^  the  advanced  age  of  ninety-two.  His  grand- 
son, also  James  Grant,  was  a  popular  writer  of  fiction. 

James  Baillie  Fraser,  born  at  Reelick  on  the  nth 
June  1783,  was  well  known  as  a  traveller  and  man  of  letters. 
After  a  distinguished  career,  like  many  Invernessians,  in  India, 
he  made  a  tour  in  the  Himalayas  and  penetrated  as  far  as 
the  sources  of  the  Jumna  and  the  Ganges.  This  was  an 
achievement  which  at  the  time  attracted  much  notice,  and 
he  gave  the  results  of  his  explorations  to  the  public  in  a 
volume  of  travels.  He  subsequently  made  several  expeditions 
into  remote  parts  of  the  East,  in  which  he  displayed  a  daring 
and  adventurous  spirit.  In  182 1  he  travelled  through  Persia 
dressed  as  a  native,  afterwards  writing  a  full  account  of 
his  wanderings.  He  gave  to  the  public  many  volumes  of 
travels  in  such  remote  regions  as  Kurdistan,  Mesopotamia, 
and  Assouan,  countries  of  which  at  that  time  little  was 
known.  He  also  essayed  fiction,  and  wrote  several  novels, 
such  as  '  The  Highland  Smugglers,'  '  Tales  of  the  Caravan- 
serai,' and  others.  He  was  an  elegant  writer,  and  his  literary 
efforts  were  much  admired.  In  latter  years,  like  many  of 
his  countrymen,  he  came  back  to  his  native  county,  and 
spent  the  evening  of  his  days  at  Reelick,  where  he  died  in 
1856. 

John  F.  M'Lennan  was  one  whom  we  must  not  forget  in 
this  sketch.  He  was  born  in  Inverness,  where  his  father  was 
an  insurance  agent,  and  after  receiving  his  early  education  in 
that  town,  was  a  student  at  the  University  of  Aberdeen,  where 
his  mathematical  talent  won  him  much  distinction.     He  com- 


300  JOHN   F.    M'LENNAN. 

pleted  his  education  at  Cambridge,  and  passed  in  1853  in  the 
Hst  of  Wranglers.  After  doing  literary  work  in  London  he 
came  to  Edinburgh,  where  he  became  a  member  of  the 
Scottish  Bar.  His  natural  sympathies  were  literary  and  scien- 
tific rather  than  legal,  and  he  was  highly  esteemed  in  Edin- 
burgh among  those  with  tastes  similar  to  his  own.  He  wrote 
the  article  on  "  Law  "  in  the  '  Encyclopedia  Britannica,'  and 
while  doing  so  was  much  struck  by  the  forms  of  marriage 
ceremonies,  for  which,  it  seemed  to  him,  the  usual  explana- 
tions were  insufficient.  His  investigations  were  pursued  with 
great  tenacity,  and  in  1865  he  produced  his  book  on  'Primi- 
tive Marriage.'  This  book  attracted  much  attention  as  a  new 
departure  in  sociological  inquiry.  It  was,  as  it  has  well  been 
said,  "  a  shaft  sent  right  into  the  darkest  part  of  primitive 
history."  It  changed  entirely  the  prevalent  conceptions  of 
early  society.  Others  have  taken  up  the  line  of  investigation 
which  M'Lennan  began,  but  which  he  was  not  spared  to  fully 
carry  out.  His  work  bore  the  undoubted  stamp  of  original 
genius,  and  his  speculations  placed  him  high  in  rank  among 
the  scientific  men  of  this  century.     He  died  in  1881. 

We  have  mentioned  the  names  of  some  of  the  outstanding 
men  whom  our  county  has  given  to  literature,  though  the  list, 
we  are  aware,  is  by  no  means  complete.  There  have  been  also 
many  Inverness-shire  men  connected  with  the  Press  who  have 
been  well  known  in  journalism,  like  the  war  correspondent  we 
have  already  noticed,  and  John  Cameron  Macdonald,  born 
in  Fort  William,  who  died  manager  of  the  '  Times  '  newspaper, 
and  was  the  inventor  of  the  famous  Walter  Press.  Of  late 
years  there  has  been  a  distinct  revival  of  a  literary  spirit  in 
Inverness-shire,  and  especially  in  the  town  of  Inverness.  In 
1826  Robert  Carruthers  became  editor  of  the  'Inverness 


ROBERT   CARRUTHERS.  3OI 

Courier,'  and  will  long  be  affectionately  remembered  as  a 
powerful  personality  in  the  promotion  of  culture  from  the  time 
of  his  coming  to  Inverness  until  his  death  in  1878.  Not  only 
was  he  an  eminent  man  of  letters  himself,  but  he  awakened 
literary  aspirations  in  others.  He  was  to  many  young  men 
"guide,  philosopher,  and  friend."  It  was  in  the  columns  of 
the  '  Inverness  Courier '  that  Hugh  Miller  began  his  literary 
career,  and  others  besides  that  distinguished  man  have  had 
occasion  to  look  back  with  gratitude  to  its  editor.  The 
impetus  which  he  gave  to  culture  and  intellectual  life  in  the 
North  has  not  ceased.  In  no  town  of  its  size  is  there  more 
cultivated  society  than  in  that  of  Inverness,  and  no  county 
has  had  more  done  to  illustrate  its  history,  language,  and 
customs  than  Inverness-shire.  The  painstaking  antiquarian 
researches  of  Mr  Fraser- Mackintosh,  the  elaborate  clan 
histories  of  Mr  Alexander  Mackenzie,  the  admirable  local 
histories  of  Mr  William  Mackay  and  Mr  Alexander  Mac- 
pherson,  the  philological  works  of  Mr  Alexander  MacBain, 
the  deeply  interesting  '  Reminiscences  of  the  late  Joseph 
Mitchell,  C.E.,'  and  the  'Transactions'  of  the  Gaelic  Society 
and  of  the  Field  Club,  have  cast  a  flood  of  light  upon  the 
history  of  Inverness-shire,  its  traditions,  folk-lore,  and  poetry, 
and  the  social  condition  of  its  people  in  ancient  and  modern 
times.  To  the  painstaking  researches  of  those  whom  we  have 
mentioned,  as  well  as  to  others  of  kindred  spirit,  a  very 
hearty  tribute  of  thanks  is  due  from  the  writer  of  this  book, 
who  has  been  much  indebted  to  their  labours. 

The  profession  of  the  law  has  apparently  been  that  to  which 
Inverness-shire  men  have  taken  most  kindly  after  that  of  arms. 
To  the  names  already  mentioned  others  might  be  added. 
Besides   President   Forbes,  another  lawyer  from  the  county. 


302  EMINENT   THEOLOGIANS. 

William  Mackintosh,  who  takes  the  title  of  Lord  Kvllachy, 
has  reached  the  judicial  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Scotland.  The  late  Lord  Gordon  of  Drumearn  had  also 
a  distinguished  forensic  and  judicial  career.  Born  at  In- 
verness, loth  April  1 8 14,  Edward  Strathearn  Gordon, 
after  his  education  in  his  native  town  and  at  the  universities 
of  Edinburgh  and  Glasgow,  was  called  to  the  Bar  in  1835. 
In  after  years  he  held  the  offices  of  Lord  Advocate  and  Dean 
of  Faculty,  and  was  member  of  Parliament  for  the  universities 
of  Glasgow  and  Aberdeen.  In  1876  he  was  made  a  Lord  of 
Appeal,  with  a  life  peerage  and  the  title  of  Baron  Gordon.  He 
was  held  in  high  respect  for  his  judicial  capacity.  He  died  at 
Brussels,  21st  August  1879. 

Inverness-shire  has  not  produced  many  eminent  theo- 
logians. Of  popular  preachers  in  the  English  and  Gaelic 
languages,  and  of  faithful  pastors,  it  has  had  many  in  all  its 
various  Protestant  churches,  but  none  have  been  famous  beyond 
their  own  district,  either  for  their  eloquence,  capacity  in  eccle- 
siastical administration,  or  contributions  to  theology.  One 
only  seems  to  have  reached  the  office  of  Moderator  of  the 
General  Assembly.  This  was  Dr  Thomas  Maclauchlan, 
who  was  born  at  Moy  in  1 8 1 6,  and  became  Moderator  of  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland  in  1876. 
He  was  also  a  prominent  Celtic  scholar,  and  published,  among 
other  works  of  interest,  the  '  Book  of  Lismore,'  with  a  trans- 
lation into  English  and  Modern  Gaelic.  In  the  Church  of 
Rome  many  Inverness-shire  priests  have  attained  high  ecclesi- 
astical positions.  Not  a  few  have  become  members  of  the 
hierarchy  at  home  and  abroad,  and  have  been  professors  in 
different  foreign  colleges.  Two  sons  of  the  well-known 
family  of  Glenaladale  are  at  present  members  of  the  Roman 


REASON    OF   A   PAUCITY   OF   GREAT    NAMES.       303 

episcopate  in  Scotland — the  one  Bishop  of  Aberdeen,  and  the 
other  Archbishop  of  St  Andrews  and  Edinburgh. 

This  Hst  of  outstanding  Inverness-shire  men  may  appear 
slender  and  the  names  few,  but  those  who  remember  the 
feuds  and  turbulent  state  of  the  county  until  the  eve  of  modern 
times  will  wonder,  not  that  its  men  of  distinction  should  be 
so  few,  but  that  they  should  be  so  many. 


304 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 


INVERNESS-SHlRE  RICH  IN  ONE  SPECIES  OF  LITERATURE  :  HAS  PRODUCED 
MANY  BARDS — ANCIENT  POEMS — "  THE  DESIRE  OF  THE  AGED  BARD" — 
"THE  owl" — IAN  LOM,  THE  KEPPOCH  BARD — SKETCH  OF  HIS  LIFE — 
SPECIMENS  OF  HIS  POETRY — "  THE  DAY  OF  INVERLOCHY  " — HIS  PANE- 
GYRIC ON  SIR  JAMES  MACDONALD— HIS  "LAMENT  FOR  GLENGARRY"  — 
THE  BARD  OF  THE  CLANRANALD,  ALEXANDER  MACDONALD — HIS  HIS- 
TORY— THE  CHARACTER  OF  HIS  POETRY  —  TRANSLATIONS  OF  SOME  OF 
HIS  POEMS — "THE  SUGAR  BROOK" — "THE  SONG  OF  THE  HIGHLAND 
CLANS" — "MORAG  BEAUTIFUL"  — "  in  PRAISE  OF  THE  KILT  "—"  THE 
WAR-SHIP  OF  CLANRANALD"  —  JULIAN  MACDONALD  —  HER  ELEGY  ON 
GLENGARRY — BLACK  JOHN  OF  CLANRANALD— HIS  POEM  ON  "THE  HIGH- 
LAND CLANS  " — MACPHERSON  OF  STRATHMASHIE — JOHN  ROY  STEWART — 
HIS  LIFE  AND  POEMS— BLIND  ALAN,  BARD  OF  GLENGARRY — CHARACTER 
OF  HIS  EFFORTS — HIS  "SONG  ON  DRINKING" — EWAN  M'LACHLAN — HIS 
GENIUS,  LIFE,  AND  EARLY  DEATH — SPECIMENS  OF  HIS  POETRY — "THE 
MELODY  OF  LOVE  " — MANY  OTHER  BARDS  BESIDES  THESE  MENTIONED — 
ESTIMATE  OF  THE  INVERNESS-SHIRE  BARDS  AND  THEIR  POWER  OF  SONG. 


There  is  a  species  of  literature  belonging  to  the  Highlands 
of  which  Inverness-shire  has  its  full  share — namely,  the  work 
of  the  Gaelic  bards.  Their  poems,  some  of  them  transmitted 
orally  through  many  generations,  occupy  a  place  of  their  own 
in  the  hearts  of  the  Highland  people.  It  is  right  that  some 
notice  should  be  taken  here  of  those  bards  belonging  to  the 
mainland  of  Inverness-shire,  though  it  is  exceedingly  difficult 
to  convey  a  true  idea  of  their  power  to  those  unfamiliar  with 
the  language  in  which  they  wrote.  An  English  translation 
of  these  poems  gives  at  best  but  a  feeble  reflection  of  their 


EARLY  GAELIC  POETRY.  305 

Strength  and  originality,  yet  it  is  only  through  such  a  medium 
that  we  can  bring  them  before  our  readers. 

Inverness-shire  has  produced  many  poets.  Some  of  them, 
perhaps,  belong  to  prehistoric  times,  others  to  more  modern 
days.  Every  glen  in  the  county  has  its  own  bards,  and  in 
every  cottage  their  songs  are  sung.  The  minstrelsy  of  Loch- 
aber,  Glenmoriston,  and  Glenurquhart  alone  would  fill,  if  col- 
lected, many  volumes.  The  songs  are  of  varied  character. 
They  are  of  war  and  the  chase,  of  the  beauties  of  nature  and 
the  delights  of  love.  Often  they  glow  with  the  spirit  of 
patriotism,  the  affection  of  the  Highlanders  for  the  Stewart 
race;  often  they  tell  of  the  exultation  of  the  warrior  in  the 
hour  of  battle  and  in  pursuit  of  his  foes.  Not  unfrequently 
they  are  tinged  with  that  deep  melancholy  which  belongs 
to  a  race  whose  glories  are  mainly  in  the  past.  The  history 
of  the  Inverness -shire  people  is  reflected  in  their  songs  as 
clearly  as  their  mountains  are  mirrored  in  the  lakes  at  their 
feet. 

One  of  the  earliest  GaeHc  poets,  so  far  as  we  can  judge 
from  the  fragment  of  his  muse  which  has  escaped  oblivion, 
belonged  to  Inverness  -  shire.  "  The  Desire  of  the  Aged 
Bard,"  as  his  poem  is  called,  has  in  it  references  to  Loch 
Treig;  to  Scuir  Eilt  at  the  head  of  Loch  Leven,  and  to  Ben 
Nevis,  which  he  terms  Ben  Ard,  or  the  High  Mountain.  Its 
scene  is  evidently  laid  in  Lochaber,  It  bears  marks  of  high 
antiquity  :  it  speaks  of  the  elk,  an  animal  now  extinct.  It 
apparently  belongs  to  a  time  before  the  brethren  of  lona  had 
converted  the  Northern  tribes  to  Christianity.  The  heaven 
to  which  the  bard  aspires  is  not  the  heaven  of  Scripture,  but 
the  "  Isle  of  Heroes  " — the  halls  where  dwell  Ossian  and 
Daol — "  the  dwelling  of  the  bards  upon  Ardven,  from  which 
there  is  no  return." 

u 


306  "THE   DESIRE   OF   THE   AGED   BARD." 

The  poem  begins  with  a  wish  on  the  part  of  the  bard  to 
pass  away  amid  the  scenes  of  nature  which  he  loved  : — 

"  O  place  me  by  the  little  streams  that  flow  softly  with  gentle  steps, 
Under  the  shade  of  spreading  branches  lay  my  head  ; 
And,  O  thou  sun,  be  kind  to  me. 
Lay  softly  my  side  on  the  grass  upon  the  bank  of  flowers  and  gentle 

breezes, 
My  feet  bathed  in  the  wandering  stream  that  slowly  winds  along  the 

plain. 
Let  the  pale  primrose,  grateful  in  hue,  and  the  little  daisy  surround 

my  hillock. 
Greenest  when  bedewed." 

In  scenes  Uke  these  he  would  recall  the  vanished  days  ere 
he  took  his  last  journey.  He  would  hear  in  his  solitude 
the  hunter's  step  and  the  song  of  his  dogs  on  the  mountains, 
and  as  he  listened  the  days  of  his  youth  would  come  back 
to  him  : — 

' '  The  marrow  of  my  bones  shall  awake  when  I  hear 
The  noise  of  horns,  of  dogs,  and  of  bowstrings  ; 
When  the  cry  is  heard,  '  The  stag  is  fallen  ! ' 
My  feet  shall  leap  with  joy  along  the  mountain-heights." 

Upon  his  mind  there  rushes  the  recollection  of  the  time  when 
he  too  followed  the  chase  among  the  hills  and  far-spreading 
moorlands  that  lie  between  Ben  Nevis  and  the  Black  Mount, 
of  the  prowess  of  his  old  companions,  and  of  the  faithful  dog 
that  bore  him  company  : — 

"  I  see,  methinks,  the  hound  by  my  side 
That  followed  me  early  and  late, 
The  hills  I  loved  to  travel. 
The  rocks  that  echoed  the  hunter's  horn. 

The  smoke  of  the  deer-feast  arose, 
Our  drink  from  Treig,  the  wave  our  music. 
Ghosts  might  shriek  and  mountains  roar; 
Reclined  in  our  cave,  peaceful  was  our  rest. 


"THE   DESIRE   OF   THE   AGED    BARD."  307 

I  see  Ben  Ard  of  beauteous  hue, 
The  monarch  of  a  thousand  hills  ; 
The  dreams  of  stags  are  in  his  locks, 
His  head  is  in  the  bed  of  clouds. 

I  see  Scuir  Eilt  on  the  brow  of  the  glen, 
Where  the  cuckoo  first  sweetly  calls  ; 
Tlie  beautiful  green  hill  of  thousand  firs, 
Of  plants,  of  roes  and  elks," 

So  his  dreams  move  on  in  long  procession,  bringing  back  days 
of  joy  to  his  memory.  Love  mingles  also  in  his  visions  with 
the  delights  of  the  chase :  "  Happiness  to  thy  soul,  virgin  of 
the  curling  locks."  "  Her  hand  of  snow  among  her  locks  of 
gold,  and  her  mild  rolling  eye  on  the  youth  of  her  love." 
Then  the  dream  passes  and  his  pulses  beat  slow.  Death  is 
near,  and  he  must  face  it : — 

"  Hast  thou  forsaken  me,  O  pleasant  dream? 
Return  yet — one  little  step  return. 
Thou  wilt  not  hear  me.     Alas  !   I  am  sad. 
Mountains  of  my  love,  farewell !  " 

But  he  will  meet  the  inevitable  with  a  brave  heart  and  in  a 
manner  worthy  of  his  forefathers.  The  closing  verses  are  the 
death-song  of  the  old  pagan  : — 

"  Turn  my  ear  to  the  roar  of  the  waterfall 
That  bursts  in  thunder  from  the  rock; 
Let  a  harp  and  a  shell  be  by  my  side. 
And  the  shield  that  defended  my  sires  in  battle. 

Then  come  friendly  over  the  sea, 

Low  whisper  that  moveth  softly ; 

Bear  my  shade  on  the  wing  of  thy  swiftness, 

Make  thy  way  to  the  Isle  of  Heroes, 

Where  those  who  passed  of  old 
Are  in  deep  slumber  without  sound  of  music. 
Open  the  hall  where  dwell  Ossian  and  Daol. 
The  night  shall  fall,  the  bard  shall  not  be  found. 


308  DONALD   MACDONALD. 

But  oh,  before  it  comes,  ere  my  shade  retire 
To  the  dwelling  of  the  bards  upon  Ardven, 
Whence  there  is  no  return, 
Give  me  my  harp  and  shell  for  the  road; 
Then,  my  harp  and  beloved  shell,  farewell !  " 

There  is  another  poetic  fragment,  not  so  old  as  that  we  have 
referred  to,  yet  still  very  ancient,  which  also  belongs  to  Inver- 
ness-shire. It  is  supposed  to  have  been  composed  by  a  famous 
hunter  and  poet  of  Lochaber,  Donald  Macdonald,  or,  as  he 
was  called,  Donald  Macdonald,  the  son  of  Finlay  of  the  Songs. 
The  title  of  the  poem  is  "  The  Owl."  Donald,  it  is  said, 
married  when  an  old  man  a  young  woman  who  treated  him 
with  much  indignity,  and  who,  to  show  her  contempt  for  her 
husband,  brought  home  an  old  and  enfeebled  owl,  which  she 
presented  to  him  as  a  fit  companion  for  his  declining  years. 
The  ancient  hunter,  with  a  philosophy  which  does  him  credit, 
accepted  the  gift,  and  entered  into  a  long  conversation  with 
the  bird  of  wisdom,  worthy  of  ^sop.  This  conversation  is 
the  subject  of  the  poem.  It  opens  with  an  expression  of  pity 
on  the  part  of  the  hunter  for  one  aged  and  decrepit  like 
himself: — 

"  Poor  owl  of  Srone, 
Sorrowful  to-night  is  thy  bed. 
If  thou  hast  lived  since  the  days  of  Donnaghall, 
No  wonder  though  thy  spirit  is  heavy." 

The  owl  replies  by  saying  that  his  age  is  as  that  of  the  oak. 
He  has  seen  many  generations  pass  away.  He  has  known  the 
heroes  of  former  years,  though  he  is  to-day  the  poor  owl  of 
Srone ;  and  then  ensues  an  outpouring  of  the  reminiscences  of 
the  past.     Some  of  the  verses  are  very  plaintive  : — 

"  I  am  sitting  on  the  fairy  hill  of  the  mountains, 
Gazing  at  the  head  of  Loch  Treig ; 
Craiguaine,  sacred  to  the  chase, 
The  sunny  height  where  dwell  the  deer. 


"THE  OWL."  309 

I  see  the  crest  of  wooded  Bidean, 
The  side  nearest  of  Scuir-a-li, 
Scuir-a-chointich  of  slender  stags. 
Dear  to  me  to-day  is  all  I  see. 

I  see  Stralhfarsuin  of  the  cattle, 

Where  loudest  is  the  bay  of  gallant  hound  ; 

And  the  rocky  corry  of  Mam, 

Where  oft  my  hand  struck  down  the  brown  stag. 

My  blessing  to  Ben  Alta, 

The  honoured  among  all  mountains ; 

And  to  Loch  Erroch's  side,  where  dwell  the  deer — 

Well  I  loved  to  be  there." 

Then  comes  the  mourning  of  the  aged  hunter  over  departed 
days.  Old  age  had  brought  feebleness  both  to  himself  and 
the  dog,  his  companion  in  the  chase  : — 

"  Dismal  and  heavy  is  my  heart, 
For  age  has  wounded  my  foot. 
No  more  will  I  climb  the  hill  of  the  deer, 
Never  again  let  loose  my  dogs. 

Me  and  thee,  my  white  hound, 

Sad  for  us  to-day  is  all  we  have  left ; 

We  have  lost  the  baying  voice  and  the  song. 

Though  once  our  condition  was  lofty. 

The  wood  from  thee  has  taken  the  roe, 
The  heights  from  me  have  taken  the  stag ; 
But  there  is  no  shame  in  that,  my  hero. 
Since  age  has  settled  on  us  both." 

Lochaber,  to  which  the  bards  we  have  noticed  belonged, 
has  ever  been  famous  for  its  poets  ;  but  among  them  none  has 
attained  a  higher  reputation  than  Ian  Lom,  or  John  the 
Bare.  He  has  already  been  noticed  in  these  pages.  He,  as 
we  have  seen,  guided  Montrose  in  his  wonderful  march  through 
the  mountains  from  Kilchumin  to  Inverlochy.  After  the 
famous  battle  there,  he  celebrated  the  victory  of  the  Great 
General.     We  have  also  seen   how,   through    his  unwearied 


310  IAN   LOM,   OR  JOHN    THE   BARE. 

efforts,  the  Keppoch  murderers  were  brought  to  justice.  John 
the  Bare  was  related  to  the  Keppoch  family,  and,  like  his  chief, 
was  a  devoted  Royalist.  He  celebrated  in  his  verses  the 
prowess  of  Dundee,  and  accompanied  him  in  his  march  to 
Killiecrankie.  The  poet  was  a  man  of  considerable  humour 
and  ready  wit,  of  which  many  stories  are  told.  When  Alastair 
Colquitto  said  to  him  that  he  was,  in  honour  of  his  services, 
to  take  prominent  part  in  the  battle  of  Inverlochy,  John,  who 
had  no  taste  for  fighting,  replied,  "If  I  go  along  with  thee 
to-day,  who  will  sing  thy  praise  to-morrow  ?  Go  thou,  Alastair, 
and  exert  thyself  as  usual,  and  I  shall  sing  thy  feats  and 
celebrate  thy  prowess  in  martial  strains."  He  then  betook 
himself  to  a  place  of  safety. 

After  the  affair  of  Inverlochy,  irritated  beyond  measure 
by  the  poet's  satires,  Argyll  is  said  to  have  offered  a  consider- 
able reward  for  his  head.  John  the  Bare,  relying  on  the 
sanctity  of  person  which  belonged  to  the  ofifice  of  a  bard 
as  of  a  priest,  went  himself  to  the  castle  of  Inverary  and 
demanded  the  reward.  "  Give  it  to  me,"  he  said  to  Argyll, 
"for  here  I  am,  produced  by  myself!"  "  Grim  Archibald," 
to  his  credit,  received  him  courteously  and  conducted  him 
over  the  castle.  On  entering  a  room  hung  round  with  the 
spoils  of  the  chase,  and  especially  with  the  heads  of  black- 
cocks, he  said  to  his  guest,  "  Did  you  ever,  John,  see  so 
many  blackcocks  in  one  place ? "  "I  have,"  said  John. 
"  Where  ?  "  "  At  Inverlochy,"  was  the  reply.  "  Ah,  John," 
replied  the  nobleman,  "will  you  ever  leave  off  gnawing  at 
the  Campbells  ?  "  "I  am  only  sorry,"  was  the  bard's  remark, 
"  that  I  cannot  swallow  them  "  ! 

The  steward  of  the  castle,  to  whom  the  poet  was  sent  for 
entertainment,  does  not  appear  to  have  had  the  same  respect 
for  him  as  his  master,  and  set  before  him  very  meagre  fare. 
All  he  gave  him  for  his  repast  was  a  dish  of  boiled  whelks 


"  THE   DAY   OF   INVERLOCHY."  3  I  I 

gathered  on  the  shore  of  Loch  Fyne.  The  bard,  sitting 
down  on  the  floor,  loosened  the  gold  pin  with  which  his 
plaid  was  fastened,  and  proceeded  to  extract  the  meat  from 
the  shell  -  fish,  pouring  forth  as  he  ate  extempore  verses 
descriptive  of  his  dinner  as  a  specimen  of  the  hospitality  of 
the  Argyleshire  chief  and  of  the  fare  given  to  strangers  at 
Inverary.  The  steward  at  last,  alarmed  lest  these  verses 
should  gain  currency  to  the  discredit  of  his  master,  removed 
the  whelks  and  set  before  the  poet  more  substantial  fare. 

The  most  spirited  of  the  poems  of  John  the  Bare  is  that 
called  "The  Day  of  Inverlochy."  He  describes  the  fight 
as  seen  by  him  from  the  battlements  of  the  castle,  though 
that  he  was  ever  there  is  highly  improbable.  Nothing  can 
exceed  the  contempt  which  he  pours  upon  the  Campbells, 
whom  he  pictures  in  full  flight,  swimming  the  water  of  Nevis, 
or  with  "  cloven  skulls  "  "  stretched  to  rot  upon  the  heather." 

The  rendering  we  give  of  part  of  this  spirited  poem  is  that 
of  Mr  Napier  in  his  '  Memoirs  of  Montrose.'  It  is  by  no 
means  literal,  yet  it  may  give  the  English  reader  some  idea 
of  the  ven^e  and  vigour  of  the  verses  : — 

"  Heard  ye  not !  heard  ye  not  how  that  whirlwind  the  Gael 
To  Lochaber  swept  down  from  Loch  Ness  to  Lochiel ; 
And  the  Campbells,  to  meet  them  in  battle  array, 
Like  the  billow  came  on  and  were  broke  like  its  spray  ? 
Long,  long  shall  our  war-songs  exult  in  that  day. 

'Twas  the  Sabbath  that  rose,  'twas  the  feast  of  St  Bride, 
When  the  rush  of  the  clans  shook  Ben  Nevis's  side. 
I,  the  bard  of  the  battle,  ascended  the  height 
Where  dark  Inverlochy  o'ershadowed  the  fight, 
And  saw  the  Clan  Domhnuil  resistless  in  might. 

Through  the  land  of  my  fathers  the  Campbells  have  come, 

The  flames  of  their  foray  enveloped  my  home  ; 

Broad  Keppoch  in  ruins  is  left  to  deplore, 

And  my  country  is  waste  from  the  hill  to  the  shore. 

Be  it  so  !     By  St  Mary  !  there's  comfort  in  store. 


312  JOHN    THE   BARE. 

Though  the  Braes  of  Lochaber  a  desert  be  made, 
And  Glen  Roy  may  be  lost  to  the  plough  and  the  spade ; 
Though  the  bones  of  my  kindred,  unshrouded,  unurned, 
Mark  the  desolate  path  where  the  Campbells  have  burned. 
Be  it  so  !     From  that  foray  they  never  returned. 

Fallen  race  of  Diarmid  !  disloyal,  untrue, 

No  harp  in  the  Highlands  will  sorrow  for  you  ; 

But  the  birds  of  Lochiel  are  wheeling  on  high. 

And  the  Badenoch  wolves  hear  the  Camerons  cry, 

Come  feast  ye  !  come  feast  ye  !  where  the  false-hearted  lie." 

John  the  Bare  turned  his  muse  to  other  subjects  besides 
battles.  His  boat-song,  which  begins  "  On  my  rising  in  the 
morning  early,"  is  in  praise  of  the  vessel  of  Sir  James 
Macdonald  of  Sleat,  the  chief  through  whose  influence  the 
Keppoch  murderers  were  brought  to  justice.  In  it  he  skilfully 
mingles  admiration  for  the  ship  with  admiration  for  its  owner, 
though  perhaps  his  best  effort  is  in  the  former  direction. 
Here  is  his  description  of  the  vessel : — 

"  '  The  Dubh  Cnoydeartach,'  swarthy, 
Broad,  high-shouldered,  tight, 
With  many  spears  and  iron  blades  in  her  bosom. 

It  is  not  the  riders  of  fleet  horses 
That  could  take  the  prize  of  the  race  from  thee 
When  on  high  thou  spreadest  thy  sails 
Over  the  sea; 

When  aloft  are  the  bellying  sails 
Over  the  proud  ocean, 
And  waves  without  number  are  spouting 
Beneath  thy  keel." 

From  the  vessel  he  passes  to  the  chief,  whom  he  praises 
in  more  exuberant  fashion.  "  Great  is  my  love  to  thee," 
he  begins,  "though  I  will  not  make  a  display  of  it,"  which 
he  immediately  proceeds  to  do  : — 

"  Beloved  of  the  women  of  Loch  Treig 
And  Strath  Ossian  of  pleasant  meadows, 
A  band  would  rise  with  thee  from  Roy 
With  the  bent  yew  on  their  shoulders  ; 


"LAMENT   ON    THE   CHIEF   OF   GLENGARRY."      313 

And  from  the  cold  hills  of  Cairn  na  lairge 
Many  a  youthful  hero, 
With  the  quiver  behind  his  shield, 
Will  come  to  thee  from  the  shoulder  of  Meal  na  lairg, 
That  would  answer  thy  call 
Without  fear,  without  sorrow, 
When  thou  raisest  aloft  for  deeds  of  valour 
The  cross  of  fire." 

Ian  Lom's  poem  on  the  Keppoch  Murder,  his  "  Lament 
for  Montrose,"  his  "  Lament  on  the  Chief  of  Glengarry,"  are 
full  of  tenderness.  From  the  last  of  these  poems  we  may 
give  one  or  two  verses  translated  by  an  able  Celtic  scholar  : — 

"  Not  safe  were  they  who  rashly  met 

Thy  warriors  stern  and  true, 
When  the  proud  heather  badge  was  set 

In  all  their  bonnets  blue. 
When  thy  brave  banner  waved  on  high, 

And  thou  thyself  wert  seen, 
With  battle  kindling  in  thine  eye, 

To  draw  the  broadsword  keen, 
Then,  then  'twas  time  for  Albin's  foes 
To  fly  their  fierce,  their  deadly  blows. 

That  praise,  that  early  praise  was  thine. 

And  spread  thy  well-known  fame  afar ; 
Thou  didst  on  all  occasions  shine. 

The  wisest  leader  in  the  war. 
No  serried  redcoats  daunted  thee. 

Although  their  well-aimed  volleys  rolled 
Upon  thy  ranks  from  musketry 

That  oft  in  deadly  slaughter  told. 
Thy  just  distinctions  ever  were 
The  wise  to  lead,  the  bold  to  dare. 

Thy  lineage  is,  for  blood  and  length. 

In  Albin's  councils  unexcelled, 
And  formed  of  chieftains  famed  for  strength, 

Who  in  the  deadly  charge  compelled 
Steeds  fierce  and  fleet  that  harnessed  shone 

Like  meteors  coursing  through  the  sky ! 
While  on  their  selles,  as  on  a  throne, 

They  towered  in  their  war  panoply. 
And  none  of  them  has  been  constrained 
To  deeds  that  have  that  lineage  stained." 


314  ALEXANDER  MACDONALD. 

The  translation  gives  a  feeble  idea  of  this  lament.  In  the 
Gaelic  the  words  sometimes  sound  like  the  roll  of  thunder. 
One  hears  the  tramp  of  armed  men  mingled  with  the  wail  of 
the  clan  and  the  sound  of  the  bagpipe  as  the  great  chief  of 
Glengarry  is  borne  to  his  burial : — 

"  The  manly  leader  of  the  race 

Who  own  the  Garrian  glen 
Is  off  to  his  last  resting-place, 

Borne  high  by  sorrowing  men  ; 
The  chieftain,  lofty,  true,  and  bold, 
Who  never  his  allegiance  sold." 

The  greatest  of  the  Inverness-shire  bards,  who  holds, 
indeed,  a  place  in  the  foremost  rank  of  Celtic  poets,  was 
Alexander  Macdonald,  or,  as  he  was  called,  "  Allastair, 
the  son  of  Master  Allistair."  He  was.  born  in  the  beginning 
of  the  eighteenth  century  and  lived  in  troublous  times.  His 
father  was  minister  of  Ardnamurchan  during  the  establish- 
ment of  Episcopacy,  and  was  famous  among  his  people  as 
much  for  his  great  physical  strength  as  for  his  religious  influ- 
ence. His  son  Alexander,  it  is  said,  was  destined  for  the 
ministry,  and  sent  to  pursue  his  studies  at  the  University  of 
Glasgow  ;  but  he  married  before  he  finished  his  college  course, 
and  had  to  turn  to  other  employment.  For  a  time  he  acted 
as  schoolmaster  in  Ardnamurchan,  where  he  compiled  a 
Gaelic  and  English  vocabulary  which  was  published  by  the 
Society  for  the  Propagation  of  Christian  Knowledge.  When 
the  chiefs  resolved  to  take  up  the  cause  of  Prince  Charles 
Stewart,  he  threw  himself  into  the  Jacobite  movement  with 
the  utmost  zeal.  He  abandoned  the  farm  by  which  he  added 
to  his  scanty  allowance  as  a  teacher,  and  received  a  commis- 
sion in  the  Jacobite  army.  By  his  songs  he  did  all  in  h'is 
power  to  inspire  the  people  of  his  district  with  enthusiasm. 
He   became  a  Roman   Catholic,  after  having  been   first  an 


AN   ARDENT   JACOBITE.  315 

Episcopalian  and  afterwards  a  Presbyterian.  After  CuUoden 
he  found  shelter  in  the  wilds  of  his  native  district,  between 
Kinloch  Aylort  and  Moidart,  and  from  his  hiding-places  sent 
forth  songs  denouncing  "  the  Hanoverian  usurper."  His 
Gaelic  songs  in  praise  of  Prince  Charlie  are  quite  in  the  spirit 
of  those  English  Jacobite  ballads  which  are  still  regarded  as 
beautiful,  and  his  address  to  the  Prince  under  the  guise  of 
"  Morag  "  is  the  Celtic  counterpart  of  "  Bonnie  Charlie's  o'er 
the  main."  His  love  for  the  Prince  is  only  exceeded  by  the 
contempt  he  pours  upon  the  Hanoverians.  His  poems  after 
Culloden  breathe  rebellion  in  every  line.  He  denounces  the 
king  as  "  the  son  of  a  German  sow,"  whose  only  care  for  the 
Highlander  was  that  of  the  raven  for  its  bone.  He  prays  the 
Lord  of  the  universe  to  take  from  them  "  the  pig  "  and  his 
yoke,  with  his  "leprous,  scabbed,  swinish  progeny";  and  his 
devout  aspiration  for  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  is  that  the 
"  Butcher  "  may  have  a  rope  tied  round  his  neck  and  be  made 
to  swing  from  it.  Fortunately  for  him,  the  language  in  which 
his  invectives  were  couched  was  not  generally  understood  by 
his  enemies,  else  he  would  surely  have  had  the  fate  meted 
out  to  him  which  he  so  ardently  desired  for  the  "  Butcher." 
He  was  permitted,  however,  to  spend  the  evening  of  his  days 
in  peace.  After  acting  as  tutor  to  certain  Jacobite  families 
in  Edinburgh,  he  retired  to  Moidart,  and  afterwards  to 
Knoydart.  He  died  at  Sandaig,  near  Arisaig,  at  a  good  old 
age,  and  was  carried  by  his  clansmen  to  his  grave  in  Eillan 
Finnan  on  Loch  Shiel. 

Many  of  Macdonald's  poems  are  coarse  and  indecent.  It 
has  been  truly  said  of  him  that,  "like  Nebuchadnezzar's 
image,  he  was  gold  above  and  coarse  clay  below."  He  had, 
however,  an  intense  appreciation  of  the  beauty  of  nature. 
Like  most  GaeHc  poets,  he  has  no  feeling  of  the  spiritual 
suggestions  of  scenery,  and  of  "those  thoughts  that  lie  too 


3l6  THE   "SUGAR   BROOK." 

deep  for  tears  "  ;  but  he  has  great  love  for  the  beauty  of  nature 
in  itself,  its  harmony  and  grandeur,  and  great  command  of  lan- 
guage in  describing  it.  A  little  burn,  called  the  "  Sugar  Brook," 
which  flowed  past  his  cottage,  is  the  theme  of  much  loving 
and  delicate  description.  In  the  "fragrant  summer  morning" 
the  azure  dew  lies  grey  upon  the  grass  "  like  rosaries."  The 
blue-backed  cuckoo  proudly  tosses  her  head,  cuckooing  on 
the  branch.  The  blithesome  brown  wren  has  music  of  her 
own.  The  linnet  tunes  up  its  choicest  strain,  and  the  moor- 
hen hoarsely  responds  to  the  croaking  of  the  blackcock. 
After  these  slight  touches,  the  poet  paints  the  stream  itself : — 

"  The  trout  kept  leaping  nimbly 

With  merry  plunge  and  play, 
Dimpling  the  burn  with  sprightly  tricks, 

Warm  in  the  summer  ray. 
Their  blade-blue  backs  and  spotted  gills 

Gleamed  with  their  gem-like  scales, 
When  with  a  dash  they  snapt  the  fly 

That  careless  wandering  sails." 

The  poet  describes  with  very  delicate  touch  the  sights  and 
sounds  that  greet  him  as  he  wanders  by  the  burnside — the 
hum  of  bees,  the  lowing  kye,  the  beauty  of  the  simple 
flowers  that  border  the  streamlet  : — 

"  O  dainty  is  the  graving  work 

By  Nature  near  thee  wrought, 
Whose  fertile  banks  with  shining  flowers 

And  pallid  buds  are  fraught. 
The  shamrock  and  the  daisy 

Spread  o'er  thy  borders  fair 
Like  new-made  spangles,  or  like  stars 

From  out  the  frosty  air. 

O  lily,  king  of  flowers,  thou 

The  new  rose  hast  undone; 
In  bunches  round,  of  tender  hue 

And  white  crown,  like  the  sun, 


"THE   SONG   OF   THE   HIGHLAND   CLANS."        317 

To  keep  the  Sugar  brook  from  harm, 

As  amulets  are  given, 
Such  stars  to  sparkle  where  it  winds, 

Like  guiding  lights  from  heaven." 

The  "Ode  to  Summer"  and  the  "Ode  to  Winter,"  the 
"  Welcome  to  the  Mainland,"  and  other  descriptive  poems, 
show  the  poet's  love  for  nature  and  his  deep  feeling  of  her 
beauty.  It  is,  however,  in  his  patriotic  songs  that  he  shows 
most  of  his  power.  The  song  which  he  is  said  to  have 
sung  all  through  the  Highlands,  calling  on  the  people  to 
rise  and  join  Prince  Charles — "The  Song  of  the  Highland 
Clans,"  as  it  is  called — carries  in  its  verses  an  impassioned 
appeal  that  English  is  powerless  to  convey  : — 

"  O  loved  and  loyal  kindred  ! 

Choice  homage  now  give  ye  ; 
Let  no  mote  cloud  your  eyesight, 

Your  heart  from  care  keep  free. 
The  health  of  James  Stewart 

With  welcome  send  it  round  ; 
Without  reserve  receive  it. 

This  holy  pledge  we  sound. 

Now  fill  a  draught  for  Charlie, 

Rogue  !  let  this  cup  o'erflow. 
Ha  !  'tis  a  balm  to  heal  our  hearts. 

Revive  us  when  we're  low. 
Yea  !  should  death's  hand  be  laying  us, 

Weak,  wan,  beside  the  grave, 
O  Universal  King  !  return. 

Return  him  o'er  the  wave  !  " 

The  famous  fulling  song,  called  "  Morag  Beautiful,"  may 
still  often  be  heard  sung  in  alternate  verses  by  women  en- 
gaged in  fulling  cloth  as  they  roll  it  backward  and  forward 
and  from  side  to  side.  In  this  song  the  Prince  is  represented 
under  the  guise  of  a  young  maiden,  Morag,  with  flowing  locks 
of  yellow  hair  floating  over  her  shoulders.      Every  two  lines 


3l8  "MORAG   BEAUTIFUL." 

is  followed  by  an  impassioned  chorus.  We  give  some  of 
the  verses  in  literal  translation  : — 

"  Graceful  Morag  of  the  curling  ringlets, 
Thy  love  is  the  cause  of  my  anxiety. 

If  thou  art  gone  from  us  over  the  sea, 
May  thy  return  be  speedy. 

Remember  to  bring  with  thee  a  band  of  maidens 
Who  will  tightly  full  the  red  cloth.  - 

And  shouldst  thou  come  again  to  my  country, 
Death  alone,  my  love,  will  separate  us. 

I  will  adhere  to  thee  as  closely 
As  the  limpet  to  the  sea-rock. 

I  would  follow  thee  to  the  extremity  of  the  world, 
Shouldst  thou  come,  my  love,  to  invite  me. 

Many  are  the  warriors  high-blooded,  stately. 
That  would  draw  their  swords  for  thy  love. 

Two  thousand  would  come  from  Sleat, 
And  a  regiment  from  Glengarry. 

The  Gael  will  all  close  round  thee, 

Let  those  who  will,  come  or  remain  away. 

King  !  but  they  were  good  at  fullering  the  cloth 
And  shaping  it  with  their  blades." 

Many  such  patriotic  songs  came  from  our  poet  in  the  de- 
pressed days  of  the  Jacobites,  breathing  love  for  the  Prince, 
and  striving  in  vain  to  keep  alive  the  loyalty  of  his  adhe- 
rents. At  the  time  when  the  Highland  dress  was  proscribed, 
he  was  bold  enough  to  put  forth  a  song  in  praise  of  the  garb 
of  the  Gael.  In  it  he  dilates  on  both  its  beauty  and  adaptive- 
ness,  and  abuses  the  king  who  suppressed  it.  "  He  expected 
to  have  blunted  the  zeal   of  the  noble  Gael,  but  instead  of 


IN    PRAISE  OF   THE    KILT. 


319 


doing  so,  he  put  them  on  their  mettle,"  and  made  them 
"  keen  as  a  razor's  edge  "  : — 

'*  Although  they  should  tear  open  our  bosoms 
And  drag  our  hearts  out  of  us, 
They  will  not  extract  Charles 
While  the  vital  spark  remains." 

Some  of  our  readers,  in  these  days  when  the  kilt  has  become 
fashionable,  will  perhaps  like  to  hear  what  this  old  Highlander 
has  to  say  of  its  merits.  Our  translation  is  by  the  late  Pro- 
fessor Blackie  : — 

"  Give  me  the  plaid,  the  light,  the  airy. 
Round  my  shoulder,  under  my  arm. 
Rather  than  English  wool  the  choicest, 
To  keep  my  body  tight  and  warm. 

Who  is  so  trim  as  a  kilted  laddie  ? 

Tight  his  gear,  and  light  his  adorning. 
With  only  a  buckle  his  belt  to  fasten. 

When  he  leaps  to  his  feet  in  the  morning. 

Thou  art  my  joy  in  the  charge  of  battle. 
When  bright  blades  are  flashing  o'er  me ; 

When  the  war-pipe  is  sounding,  sounding, 
And  the  banners  are  flapping  o'er  me. 

Good  art  thou  in  the  stalking  of  deer, 

When  peaks  are  red  with  the  young  day  dawning ; 

Mild  art  thou  with  sober  cheer. 

When  going  to  church  on  Sunday  morning. 

I  with  thee  would  lie  on  the  heather. 

Closely  wrapt  to  keep  me  warm, 
Safe  within  thy  folds  defying 

Batter  of  rain  and  bray  of  storm." 

Macdonald's  greatest  poem  is  undoubtedly  that  called  the 
"  Launching  of  the  Biorlinn,"  or  war-ship  of  Clanranald.  It  is 
a  poetic  sea-piece.  Its  conception  is  original  and  its  execu- 
tion  masterly.     It  is  one  of  the  longest   Gaelic  poems   not 


320  THE   "LAUNCHING   OF   THE   BIORLINN." 

Ossianic,  and  therefore  any  extracts  from  it  can  give  but  little 

conception  of  the  whole.     The  poem  begins  with  the  blessing 

of  the  ship,  and  a  noble  invocation  to  the  persons  of  the  Holy 

Trinity  to  take  the  bark  under  their  protection  and  guidance. 

Then  comes  the  blessing  of  the  arms — the  swords,  "  our  keen 

grey  brands  of  Spain,"  the  dirks  and  pistols — and  every  kind 

of  warlike  gear  which  the  vessel  holds.    The  next  part  is  a  call 

to  row  to  the  place  of  embarkation ;  "  to  bring  the  galley  so 

black  and  shapely  to  the  sailing-point ; "  to  stretch  and  pull 

and  bend  in  the  rowlocks  with  "  their  sinewy  arms  so  brawny, 

knotted,  and  hairy,"  that  will  rise  and  drop  together  with  one 

motion.     This  is  followed  by  a  boat-song  supposed  to  be  sung 

by  Malcolm,  son  of  Ronald  of  the  Ocean,  with  a  spirited 

chorus.     The   arrival  at  the  sailing-point  is   then   described. 

Every  man  is  ordered  to  go  to  his  own  special  post — the 

helmsman,  the  man  set  apart  for  the  sheet  and  the  foresheet,  the 

look-out  man  at  the  bow,  the  man  at  the  halyards,  the  baler, 

those  ordered  to  haul  the  backstays  in  case  the  sails  might  be 

carried  away  by  the  roughness  of  the  weather,  the  six  chosen 

as  a  reserve  in  case  any  of  those  named  should  fail  or  be 

carried  overboard.     These  sailors  and  the  duties  allotted  to 

each  of  them  are  described  with  great  minuteness  and  vigour. 

Then  comes  the  story  of  the  voyage,  and  any  one  familiar  with 

the  Hebrides  will  feel  that  the  description  is  drawn  directly 

from  personal  experience.     We  give  some  lines  which  speak 

for  themselves  : — 

"  The  sun  bursting  golden  yellow 

From  his  cloud  husk ; 
Then  the  sky  grew  tawny,  smoky, 

Full  of  gloom  : 
It  waxed  wave-blue,  thick,  buff-speckled, 

Dun,  and  troubled  ; 
Every  colour  of  the  tartan 

Marked  the  heavens. 


A   HOMERIC   DESCRIPTION.  32  I 

A  rainbow  "dog"  is  seen  to  westward, 

Stormy  presage; 
Flying  clouds  by  strong  winds  riven, 

Squally  showers. 
They  lifted  up  the  speckled  sails, 

Towering,  tight ; 
And  they  stretched  the  rigid  shrouds  up, 

Tense  and  stiff, 
To  the  tall  and  stately  masts  ; 

Red  and  resiny, 
They  were  tied  so  taut  and  knotty 

Without  blunder. 
Through  the  eyelet-holes 

And  the  round  blocks 
They  fixed  every  rope  of  rigging 

Quick  in  order, 
And  each  man  at  his  place  sat  down 

To  watch  smartly." 

Then  comes  this  marvellous  description  of  the  storm  in  the 
Western  Sea.     It  is  Homeric  : — 

"  Opened  then  the  windows  of  the  sky, 

Spotted  grey-blue, 
For  blowing  of  the  gurly  wind 

And  the  storm-bands ; 
And  the  dark-grey  Ocean  all  around  him 

Drew  his  mantle — 
His  rough  woolly  robe  of  dun-black, 

Horrid,  flowing  : 
It  swelled  up  in  mountains  and  in  glens 

Rough  and  shaggy. 
Till  the  tumbling  sea  was  roaring 

All  in  hills  up. 
The  blue  deep  opened  up  its  jaws 

Wide  and  threatening, 
Pouring  out  against  each  other 

In  deadly  struggle. 
A  man's  deed  it  was  to  look  at 

The  fiery  mountains. 
Flashes  of  wildfire  sparkling 

On  each  summit. 
In  front  the  high  hoary  surges 

Came  fiercely  raving, 
X 


322  THE   BEST   OF   THE   BARDS. 

And  the  hind  seas,  onward  swelling, 

Hoarsely  bellowed. 
Every  time  we  rose  up  grandly 

On  the  wave-tops. 
Need  was  then  to  lower  sail 

Quick  and  smartly. 
When  we  sank  into  the  glens 

With  a  gulp  down, 
Every  stitch  of  sail  she  had 

W^as  hauled  to  mast-top. 
The  high,  broad-skirted,  heaving  waves 

Came  on  raging  ; 
Before  ever  they  were  near  us 

We  heard  them  roaring, 
Sweeping  bare  the  smaller  waves 

As  with  scourges, 
Making  one  deadly  sea 

Dire  for  steering." 

This  description  of  a  storm  in  the  West  Highlands  even 
our  English  readers  will  allow  to  be  powerful  and  poetic. 
The  poem  does  not  end  with  the  extract  we  have  given, 
but  goes  on  through  many  verses  to  describe  the  perils  of 
the  voyage  and  the  battle  with  the  storm,  until  the  vessel, 
shaping  her  course  through  the  sheltering  Sound  of  Islay, 
arrives  safe  at  Carrickfergus.  Though  "not  a  knee  or 
timber  in  her  but  was  loosened,"  not  a  tiller  was  unspHt 
or  helm  unbroken  ;  though  every  stick  in  her  was  creaking, 
the  "  waves  cried  peace  on  them  at  last,"  and  the  sea,  "  a 
smooth  white  table,"  "  ceased  from  barking." 

Macdonald  was  certainly  the  best  of  the  Inverness-shire 
bards,  and,  perhaps  more  than  any  of  the  others,  his  verses 
lend  themselves  to  translation.  The  extract  just  given  is  from 
the  translation  by  the  late  Alexander  Nicolson,  as  true  a  Skye 
man  as  ever  lived.  It  is  literal,  and  gives  in  no  small  degree 
much  of  the  force  and  strength  of  the  original. 

Ian  Lom  and  Allasdair  Macdonald  are  the  chief  bards  of 
the  mainland  of  our  county,  but  there  were  others  also  of  whom 


SICELY   MACDONALD.  323 

something  needs  to  be  said.  We  are  indebted  considerably 
to  the  great  authority  on  the  Celtic  bards,  Mackenzie,  in  his 
'  Beauties  of  Gaelic  Poetry.' 

SiCELY  or  Julian  Macdonald  was  a  daughter  of  the  chief 
of  Keppoch,  and  lived  from  the  reign  of  Charles  II.  to  that  of 
George  II.  She  was  a  fervent  Royalist,  and  a  bitter  enemy 
to  the  house  of  Hanover.  Her  husband  was  a  cadet  of  the 
house  of  Lovat,  and  one  of  her  poems  is  an  elegy  for  him.  It 
is  a  bitter  outpouring  of  grief,  in  which  she  compares  herself 
to  a  boat  "  broken  on  the  shore,  without  rudder,  sail,  or  oar." 
In  her  latter  days  she  turned  her  muse  to  sacred  topics  and 
composed  hymns,  some  of  which  are  still  remembered  in  the 
North.  Her  finest  verses  are  those  in  praise  of  the  chief 
of  Glengarry,  written  after  his  death.  In  this  elegy,  after 
telling  how  the  clansmen  had  lost  the  grey  old  oak  that 
shielded  them,  as  the  branches  of  the  tree  give  shelter  alike 
to  the  capercailzie  and  the  strong  blue-eyed  hawk,  she  bursts 
into  a  fervent  eulogy  on  the  departed  chief,  and  compares 
him  to  everything  great  and  precious  : — 

"Thou  wert  the  red  flame  to  burn  up  thy  foes, 
Thou  wert  the  battle-axe  that  hewed  them  to  their  heels, 
Thou  wert  the  strong  shoulder  to  wage  the  battle, 
Thou  wert  the  hero  with  no  timidity  of  hand. 

Thou  wert  the  salmon  in  the  spring  water, 
Thou  wert  the  glad  fountain  of  health  to  many, 
Thou  wert  Ben  Nevis  above  each  height. 
Thou  wert  the  rock  that  could  not  be  climbed. 

Thou  wert  the  copestone  of  the  castle, 
Thou  wert  the  broad  paving-stone  of  the  road, 
Thou  wert  the  bright  jewel  of  all  virtues, 
Thou  wert  the  precious  gem  of  the  ring. 

Thou  wert  the  yew-tree  in  the  wood, 
Thou  wert  the  strong  stalwart  oak, 
Thou  wert  the  green  holly,  the  rough;thorn, 
Thou  wert  the  blossoming  apple-tree." 


324  JOHN    MACDONALD. 

This  eulogium  may  perhaps  appear  somewhat  overdone,  but 
in  the  original  every  metaphor  is  made  to  tell.  It  was  a  song 
highly  appreciated  in  the  North,  and  was  the  model  on  which 
others  of  a  similar  character  were  framed. 

John  Macdonald,  or,  as  he  was  called,  Black  John,  the 
son  of  John  the  son  of  Allan,  belonged  to  the  family  of  Clan- 
ranald,  and  had  the  position  of  a  gendeman  in  the  district  of 
Moidart.  He  was  born  about  1665,  was  well  educated,  and 
shows  his  culture  in  his  poems.  These  are  highly  polished 
compositions,  and  perhaps  on  that  account  wanting  somewhat 
in  the  fire  and  exuberant  fancy  which  are  generally  displayed 
by  the  northern  bards.  His  best  poem  is  one  on  "  The  High- 
land Clans."  In  this  song  he  takes  one  clan  after  another, 
and  gives  in  elegant  and  classical  Gaelic  the  characteristics 
of  each  of  the  various  septs — Monroes,  Frasers,  Camerons, 
Grants,  and  others.  He  begins  by  telling  that  a  time  was  at 
hand  when  the  stability  of  the  Government  would  be  tried. 
"  The  men  of  Alba  had  risen  in  their  vigour  and  might."  Every 
true  fighting  man  was  mustering  "  in  his  clean  new  armour  " 
to  fight  for  the  restoration  of  the  Crown.  The  good  and  true 
men  of  the  Lowlands  had  risen.  The  spoiling  of  the  English 
was  at  hand.  The  French  in  their  array  would  be  soon  after 
them.  After  this  prologue  he  tells  what  the  Highlanders 
would  do  when  they  joined  in  the  fray.  First  he  gives  the 
place  of  honour  to  his  own  clan  : — 

"  Clan  Donnuil  will  rise 
Like  lions  enraged  ; 

They  will  come  down  like  live  thunderbolts. 
Tall  and  stout  are  these  heroes  ; 
These  are  the  men  to  stand  by  the  right, 
Whose  cognisance  is  the  red  hand." 

The  Camerons  would  not  be  far  behind  the  Clan  Donald 
when  the  hour  came  to  strip  for  the  battle  : — 


LAUCHLAN    MACPHERSON.  325 

"  Many  are  the  warriors 
Of  Ewen  of  Lochiel  ; 
Rough,  broad  men, 
Famous  for  their  prowess, 
Sweeping  on  to  battle 
Like  the  spring-tide  or  mountain  torrent. 
Well  know  I  that  at  stripping-lime 
They  will  not  hold  back  from  the  onslaught." 


The  whole  poem  has  a  fine  martial  ring  about  it,  and 
closely  resembles  the  Latin  poem  "  The  Grsmiad,"  which  we 
have  noticed,  and  which  describes  the  gathering  of  the  clans 
on  the  field  of  Macomer  to  follow  the  banner  of  Dundee. 

Mr  Lauchlan  Macpherson  of  Strathmashie,  in  Badenoch, 
was,  like  the  last  poet  we  have  named,  of  gentle  birth  and 
assured  position.  He  was  born  in  1723,  received  a  good 
education,  and  in  his  latter  years  assisted  James  Macpherson 
in  the  translations  of  the  Gaelic  poems  which  compose 
'  Ossian.'  He  was  an  accomplished  Celtic  scholar,  and  had 
large  knowledge  of  Gaelic  poetic  manuscripts.  He  was  also 
a  poet  himself,  though  not  one  by  profession.  He  seemed 
to  have  turned  off  verses  more  for  his  own  amusement  than 
for  any  other  reason.  He  was  a  great  humourist,  and,  except 
his  "Lament"  for  the  departure  of  his  chief  to  France  after 
the  '45,  his  verses  are  of  a  sprightly  and  occasionally  even 
ridiculous  character.  Such  is  his  song,  "The  Fellowship  of 
Whisky,"  which  has  something  of  the  ring  of  Burns  about  it, 
as  the  poet  sings  in  merry  verses  the  praise  of  that  by  which 
"heroes  are  often  felled  to  the  ground  without  any  sword 
being  drawn."  Of  the  same  character  is  his  somewhat  inde- 
cent satire  called  "The  Grey  Breeks."  In  it  he  lampoons 
the  Hanoverian  Government  for  their  attempt  to  abolish  the 
Highland  garb,  and  turns  to  ridicule  the  Highlanders  mas- 
querading in  trousers. 


326  JOHN   ROY   STEWART. 

John  Roy  Stewart,  or  John  Stewart  the  Red,  was  a 
great  warrior,  and  was  famous  for  his  prowess  as  well  as  for 
his  poetry.     He  was  born  at  Knock,  in  Badenoch,  in  1700. 
He  was  well  educated,  and  on  his  attaining  manhood  became 
quartermaster  and  lieutenant  in  the  Scots  Greys.     After  a  time 
he  retired  from  the  king's  service  and  was  largely  employed 
as  a  Jacobite  agent.      He  was  constantly  coming  and  going 
between  the  exiled  royal  family  and  the  Highland  chiefs,  and 
had  a  share  in  all  the  political  plots  and  intrigues  of  his  time. 
In  1736  he  was  apprehended  as  a  dangerous  person  and  im- 
prisoned at  Inverness,  but  with  the  connivance  of  Lord  Lovat 
he  broke  out  of  gaol  and  escaped  to  France,  where  he  was  as 
much  at  home  as  in  his  own  country.      He  was  sent  to  Rome 
on  an  important  mission,  and  he  fought  at  Fontenoy.      On 
the  march  south  of  Prince  Charles   he  joined  the   army  at 
Blair.      He  raised  and  commanded  the  Jacobite  "  Edinburgh 
Regiment,"   which    distinguished    itself    on    many    occasions 
under  his  leadership.      From  his  courage  and   resource,  his 
gift   of  song,   and   his   experience  as   a   soldier   from   having 
served  in  France,  he  was  a  great  favourite  with  the  Prince, 
by  whom  he  was  familiarly  termed  "  The  Body."     At  Cul- 
loden  he  fought  with  much  bravery,  and  attracted  the  notice 
of  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  who  asked  who  he  was.     When 
he  was   told   it   was   John   Roy  Stewart,   "  Good   God ! "  he 
exclaimed,  "  the  man  I  left  in  Flanders  doing  the  butcheries 
of  ten   heroes !      Is    it    possible    he    can    have    dogged    me 
here  ?  " 

After  CuUoden,  Stewart  had  a  hard  time.  A  price  was  set 
upon  his  head,  and  many  attempts  were  made  to  capture 
him.  He  had  frequent  hairbreadth  escapes,  but  though  his 
hiding-places  in  Badenoch  were  known  to  many  he  was 
never  betrayed.  It  was  when  resting  with  a  sprained  ankle 
beside  a  waterfall   in   Rothiemurchus,  with    his    foot   in   the 


HIS  "PSALM."  327 

stream,  that  he  composed  in  English  the  verses,  long  held  in 
high  esteem  by  the  Jacobites,  called  "John  Roy  Stewart's 
Psalm  "  :— 

"  The  Lord's  my  targe,  I  will  be  stout, 
With  dirk  and  tnisty  blade  ; 
Though  Campbells  come  in  flocks  about, 
I  will  not  be  afraid. 

The  Lord's  the  same  as  heretofore. 

He's  always  good  to  me  ; 
Though  redcoats  come  a  thousand  more. 

Afraid  I  will  not  be. 

Thougli  they  the  woods  do  cut  and  burn. 

And  drain  the  waters  dry. 
Nay,  though  the  rocks  they  overturn, 

And  change  the  course  of  Spey  : 

Though  they  mow  down  both  corn  and  grass 

And  seek  me  under  ground  ; 
Though  hundreds  guard  each  road  and  pass, 

John  Roy  will  not  be  found." 

Found  he  was  not.      He  joined  the  Prince  in  Lochaber,  and 
accompanied  him  to  France,  where  he  died  about  1752. 

The  English  doggerel — for  it  is  little  better — that  we  have 
quoted  from  his  pious  effusion  gives  little  idea  of  the  strength 
of  his  Gaelic  poetry.  His  songs  are  still  popular  in  the  High- 
lands, and  breathe  in  every  line  the  intense  love  he  bore  for 
the  cause  to  which  he  gave  the  best  part  of  his  life.  His  two 
poems  on  "  The  Day  of  Culloden  "  are  a  very  wail  of  sorrow. 
In  one  of  them  he  charges  Lord  George  Murray  with  treachery, 
compares  him  to  Achan,  and  pours  forth,  as  it  has  well  been 
said,  "  torrents  of  invective  and  revenge."  In  the  other  he 
sets  forth  his  deep  love  for  Prince  Charles,  "  the  true  heir  of 
the  crown,"  a  wanderer  "  he  knew  not  whither."  He  enumer- 
ates with  sorrow,  yet  with  pride,  one  after  another  of  those  who 
had  fought   on  his   side,  and  praises  their  valour,  and  then 


328  ALAN    DALL. 

expresses  fervently  the  hope,  never  to  be  reahsed,  that  the 
"  wheel  of  fortune  would  come  round,"  when  the  false  Hano- 
verian would  receive  the  wages  of  iniquity ;  when  William  the 
son  of  George  would  be  "as  a  blighted  tree  without  root, 
branch,  or  leaf,"  and  the  faithful  clansmen,  young  and  old, 
would  gather  under  the  shadow  of  their  chosen  king.  His 
elegy  on  Lady  Mackintosh  of  Moy,  who  entertained  the  Prince, 
is  also  a  plaintive  and  tender  poem. 

Alan  Dall,  or  Blind  Alan,  born  1750,  was  the  last  of 
those  family  bards  who  were  attached  to  the  household  of  a 
chief.  Most  of  his  songs  were  composed  at  Inverlochy,  and 
a  selection  of  them  was  published  which  spread  his  fame 
throughout  Inverness-shire.  They  attracted  the  attention  of 
Ranaldson  Macdonnell  of  Glengarry,  who  still  kept  up  in 
comparatively  modern  times  something  of  the  style  of  a 
chief.  About  1795  he  brought  Alan  to  Glengarry  and 
made  him  his  family  bard,  and  many  of  his  effusions  are 
in  praise  of  his  patron.  He  was  a  man  of  sharp  wit,  and 
knew  well  how  to  please  his  benefactor,  to  whom  a  little 
flattery  was  always  agreeable.  On  one  occasion,  after  the 
Glengarry  games  were  over,  and  when,  according  to  usual 
custom,  the  bard  was  to  give  an  exhibition  of  his  powers, 
the  chieftain  came  forward  and  said,  "  Now,  Alan,  I  will  give 
you  the  best  cow  on  my  estate  if  you  sing  the  doings  of  this 
day  without  once  mentioning  my  name."  Alan's  reply  was 
instantaneous,  and  is  often  still  quoted  : — 

"  Sooner  the  day  without  the  sun, 
Or  without  salt  the  sea, 
Than  a  song  from  me,  most  honoured  chief, 
Without  the  praise  of  thee. " 

Doubtless  Alan  got  his  cow !  His  poems  are  often  coarse  in 
fibre,  and  those   in  praise  of  his  patron  are  fulsome  in  the 


A  JOVIAL   POET.  329 

extreme,  but  his  satire  is  sharp.  His  verses  on  the  shepherds 
from  the  Lowlands,  whom  he  hated,  are  full  of  venom.  When 
he  was  in  good  humour,  which  was  as  often  as  he  could  obtain 
a  sufficient  quantity  of  whisky,  he  sang  songs  of  a  genial  and 
rollicking  character  which  are  often  very  diverting.  Such  are 
his  songs  on  "Whisky"  and  on  "Drinking."  They  are  far 
from  being  such  as  would  commend  themselves  to  an  advo- 
cate of  temperance,  but  they  exhibit  well  the  jollity  of  the 
convivial  Highlander.  Here  is  his  experience  of  a  jovial  night 
and  subsequent  repentance.     The  translation  is  literal : — 

"  When  we  sat  in  the  public-house, 
The  stoups  went  beyond  counting  ; 
Quickly — not  lingeringly  coming — 
They  raced  towards  us. 

No  thought  had  I  of  the  flight  of  time,  but  constantly  paying, 
And  drinking  the  health  of  the  Prince, 
My  heart  with  pleasure  leaping  high, 
For  Ronald  was  praising  me. 

But  when  I  arose  to  go  home 

I  became  weak  in  the  knees  ; 

I  tacked  hither  and  thither,  not  seeing  rightly 

From  the  many  conceits  in  my  eyes. 

Pressing  along  through  the  night  with  scarcely  a  blink  of  light, 

I  made  prostrations  which  doubled  me  up, 

And  I  fear  indecent  exposures  : 

My  friends  were  much  dissatisfied. 

When  I  arose  next  morning 

My  mind  was  little  disposed  to  merriment. 

My  head  was  without  power,  my  bosom  on  fire. 

My  eyes  polluted  and  red. 

The  'son  of  the  malt;  it  was  that  laid  me  low 

In  a  bed  uncomfortable  ; 

That  wrestler  subdued  me. 

And  left  me  bruised  and  weak. 

Bad  trades  are  rhyming  and  blethering. 
Idiotic  conduct  it  is 

To  be  sitting  at  a  table  calling  for  drink 
And  turning  pockets  inside  out ; 


330  EWAN    M'LACHLAN. 

Scattering  money  vaingloriously, 
And  stealing  kisses  in  sly  corners. 
But  while  my  money  lasted 
No  landlord  turned  his  back  on  me." 

The  poem  concludes  with  the  most  solemn  resolutions  to 
turn  over  a  new  leaf,  and  "  doubly  to  repent "  and  to  "  eschew 
drink  "  for  the  future,  "  for  a  moneyless  man  can  only  make 
his  bread  by  the  sweat  of  his  brow."  It  is  to  be  feared  these 
resolutions  were  like  too  many  others  made  in  similar  circum- 
stances. 

EwAN  M'Lachlan  was  a  poet  of  education  and  learning,  a 
scholar  of  no  mean  order,  but  a  true  Highlander,  fond  of  the 
mountains  and  the  language  of  his  people.  He  was  born  in 
Lochaber  1775,  was  educated  at  the  grammar-school  of  Fort 
William,  and  spent  some  years  as  a  tutor  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  that  town.  In  1798  he  entered  King's  College,  Aberdeen, 
where  he  distinguished  himself  by  his  proficiency  in  classics. 
After  taking  the  degree  of  A.M.  with  honours,  he  entered  the 
Divinity  Hall  and  completed  his  theological  studies,  but  instead 
of  entering  the  ministry  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  he  became 
assistant  librarian  of  King's  College  and  headmaster  of  the 
grammar-school  of  Old  Aberdeen,  positions  which  he  occupied 
till  his  death  in  1822,  in  the  forty-ninth  year  of  his  age.  He 
was  a  distinguished  classic  scholar  and  philologist,  and  was 
specially  famous  as  a  Gaelic  scholar.  He  was  the  compiler  of 
the  Gaehc- English  part  of  the  Highland  Society's  Gaelic 
Dictionary,  a  work  of  immense  labour,  and  an  abiding 
monument  of  his  intimate  acquaintance  not  only  with  the 
Gaelic  language,  but  also  with  Arabic,  Chaldean,  Hebrew, 
Persian,  and  other  oriental  languages.  He  had  in  his  time 
considerable  reputation  as  a  poet.  His  Greek  and  Latin 
odes  are  said  to  be  second  only  to  those  of  George  Buchanan  ; 


A   SCHOLARLY    POET.  33 1 

and  his  translation  of  Homer's  '  Iliad '  into  Gaelic,  a  work  on 
which  he  was  engaged  at  his  death,  has  been  pronounced  by 
competent  scholars  to  be  faithful  to  the  original  and  imbued 
with  its  spirit.  He  died  at  Aberdeen  from  overwork,  in  the 
prime  of  life,  when  much  was  expected  from  his  genius.  He 
was  buried  in  his  native  Lochaber  with  every  mark  of  sorrow 
and  respect.  A  conspicuous  monument  to  him  stands  near 
the  town  of  Fort  William,  His  Gaelic  poems  are  cultured 
productions,  as  might  be  expected.  They  all  display  great 
love  of  nature.  Those  on  Summer,  Autumn,  and  Winter 
show  close  observation  of  the  effects  of  the  changing  seasons. 
The  same  familiarity  with  the  varied  beauty  of  the  Highland 
landscape  pervades  the  allegorical  composition  called  "The 
Mavis  of  Clan  Lachluin,"  in  which  the  poet  assumes  the 
character  of  that  song-bird  : — 

"  The  sun  is  on  his  flashing  march,  his  golden  hair  abroad  ; 
It  seems  as  on  the  mountain-side  of  beams  a  furnace  glowed. 
Now  melts  the  honey  from  the  flowers,  and  now  a  dew  o'erspreads 
(A  dew  of  fragrant  blessedness)  all  the  grasses  of  the  meads. 
Not  least  in  my  remembrance  is  my  country's  flowering  heather, 
Whose  russet  crest  nor  cold  nor  sun  nor  sweep  of  gale  may  wither  ; 
Dear  to  my  eye  the  symbol  wild,  that  loves  like  me  the  side 
Of  my  own  Highland  mountain  that  I  climb  in  love  and  pride." 

This  extract  is  a  translation  from  the  Gaelic,  and,  though 
literal  enough,  is  but  a  tame  copy  of  the  original.  With  one 
lilt  of  M'Lachlan's,  translated  by  himself,  we  may  close  our 
attempts  to  bring  the  poetry  of  our  Inverness-shire  bards 
within  the  comprehension  of  our  Saxon  readers.  It  is  called 
"The  Melody  of  Love,"  and  is  a  song  that  is  still  most 
popular  in  the  Highlands.  It  is  sung  to  a  lively  air  and  has 
a  spirited  chorus  : — 

"Not  the  swan  on  the  lake,  or  the  foam  on  the  sliore, 
Can  compare  with  the  charms  of  the  maid  I  adore ; 
Not  so  white  is  the  new  milk  that  flows  o'er  the  pail, 
Or  the  snow  that  is  showered  from  the  boughs  of  the  vale. 


332  MARY   MACKELLAR. 

As  the  cloud's  yellow  wreath  on  the  mountain's  high  brow, 
The  locks  of  my  fair  one  redundantly  flow ; 
Her  cheeks  have  the  tint  that  the  roses  display 
When  they  glitter  with  dews  on  the  morning  of  May. 

As  the  planet  of  Venus  that  beams  o'er  the  grove, 

Her  blue  rolling  eyes  are  the  symbols  of  love; 

Her  pearl-circled  bosom  diffuses  bright  rays, 

Like  the  moon  when  the  stars  are  bedimmed  with  her  blaze. 

The  mavis  and  lark  when  they  welcome  the  dawn 
Make  a  chorus  of  joy  to  resound  through  the  lawn; 
But  the  mavis  is  tuneless,  the  lark  strives  in  vain, 
When  my  beautiful  charmer  renews  her  sweet  strain. 

^^^^en  summer  bespangles  the  landscape  with  flowers, 
While  the  thrush  and  the  cuckoo  sing  soft  from  the  bowers, 
Through  the  wood-shaded  windings  with  Bella  I'll  rove, 
And  feast  unrestrained  on  the  smiles  of  my  love." 

There  are  some  other  GaeHc  poets  of  the  past  whom  we 
might  have  mentioned  had  our  space  permitted.  There  are 
also  Inverness-shire  poets  of  the  present  day  who  emulate,  and 
not  without  considerable  success,  the  efforts  of  their  prede- 
cessors. It  is  only  a  few  years  since  Inverness-shire  lost  one 
who  in  an  eminent  degree  possessed  the  bardic  spirit.  This 
was  Mrs  Mary  Mackellar  or  Cameron,  a  native  of  Fort  William. 
She  wrote  English  poems,  some  of  which  are  not  without  con- 
siderable merit ;  but  her  Gaelic  poems  are  full  of  spirit,  and 
are  likely  to  be  long  remembered.  Of  her  and  of  other  min- 
strels, well  known  to  the  northern  people,  who  have  well 
maintained  the  continuity  of  Inverness-shire  song,  we  cannot 
now  write. 

It  has  been  a  difficult  task  to  make  a  presentation  in  any 
comprehensible  form  of  these  Inverness-shire  poets.  In  doing 
so  we  have  supplemented  our  own  knowledge  of  Gaelic  with 
such  translations  by  competent  scholars  as  were  within  our 
reach.      While  the  productions  of  our  county  poets  may  not 


A   POETRY   OF   CHIVALRY   AND   DEEP   FEELING.      333 

excite  the  admiration  of  our  southern  readers,  and  may  even 
seem  to  some  of  them  not  only  rough  and  primitive,  but  feeble 
and  commonplace,  others  will  feel  that  it  is  remarkable  to 
find  among  our  wild  and  remote  mountains,  and  often  among 
an  uneducated  people,  so  deep  and  long-continued  an  expres- 
sion of  fine  feeling,  chivalry,  and  love  for  all  that  is  highest 
and  best  as  the  work  of  these  bards  presents  to  us. 


334 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

INVERNESS-SHIRE  OF  THE  PRESENT  DAY— THE  FOUR  DIVISIONS  OF  ITS  HIS- 
TORY— FEW  REMNANTS  LEFT  OF  THE  OLDEN  TIME— THE  OLD  CASTLES 
— THE  PRESENT  CHIEFS — DISAPPEARANCE  OF  THE  MACDONALD  FAM- 
ILIES OF  KEPPOCH,  CLANRANALD,  AND  GLENGARRY — "THE  LAST  OF 
THE  CHIEFS" — INCREASE  IN  THE  NUMBER  OF  PROPRIETORS  AND  OF 
DISTRICTS  GIVEN  UP  TO  SPORT — TWO  ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  THE  CHANGE 
IN  INVERNESS  AND  THE  WEALTH  POURED  INTO  IT  BY  SPORTSMEN — 
GLENGARRY  AND  GLENQUOICH  —  MONEY  SPENT  IN  IMPROVEMENTS  — 
RATES  AND  TAXES  PAID  BY  SPORTING  TENANTS — RAILWAY  REACHES 
INVERNESS-SHIRE — HIGHLAND  AND  WEST  HIGHLAND  LINES— LINES  PRO- 
JECTED— GROWTH  AND  PROSPERITY  OF  THE  TOWNS — INVERNESS  NEVER 
SO  WORTHY  OF  BEING  CALLED  "THE  CAPITAL  OF  THE  HIGHLANDS" — 
FORT  WILLIAM — THE  BEN  NEVIS  OBSERVATORY — KINGUSSIE — A  GREAT 
HEALTH  RESORT — FORT  AUGUSTUS  THE  SITE  OF  A  BENEDICTINE  MON- 
ASTERY—SMALL INCREASE  IN  MANUFACTURES — THE  ALUMINIUM  WORKS 
IN  STRATHERRICK — FEARS  OF  THE  BEAUTY  OF  FOYERS  BEING  DESTROYED 
—  THE  BEAUTY  OF  INVERNESS -SHIRE  ITS  GREAT  INHERITANCE —THE 
HEIGHT  OF  ITS  MOUNTAINS  AND  CHARACTER  OF  ITS  SCENERY  —  ITS 
CLIMATE  — THE  RAINFALL  AT  SOME  OF  ITS  PRINCIPAL  RECORDING 
STATIONS  —  ITS  GEOLOGICAL  FORMATION  — THE  COUNTY  INTERESTING 
TO  THE  GEOLOGIST — THE  UPLANDS  OF  INVERNESS-SHIRE — THE  PROCESS 
BY  WHICH  THE  VALLEYS  WERE  FORMED— THE  GREAT  GLEN  A  FRACTURE 
— THE  SCOOPING  OUT  OF  ITS  LAKES — THE  VAST  RESULTS  OF  GLACIAL 
ACTION  EVERYWHERE  APPARENT  —  ESPECIALLY  IN  GLEN  SPEAN  AND 
GLEN  ROY  —  THE  PARALLEL  ROADS  OF  THE  LATTER  —  THE  VARIOUS 
THEORIES  REGARDING  THEM— THE  THEORY  OF  AGASSIZ  DOUBTLESS  THE 
CORRECT  ONE. 

THE  POPULATION  OF  THE   COUNTY   IN    1881    AND   1891 — CONCLUSION — 
FLOREAT   INVERNESSIA  ! 

^VR  have  now  come  in  our  narrative  to  the  Inverness-shire 
of  the  present  day.  Of  its  condition  and  prospects  it  is  not 
necessary  that  much  should  here  be  said.  They  are  well 
known  to  every  one  who  has  visited  our  beautiful  county. 


FOUR   EPOCHS   OF   THE    HISTORY.  335 

The  history  we  have  endeavoured  to  bring  before  our 
readers  naturally  falls  into  four  great  epochs  or  divisions. 
The  first  was  the  annexation  of  the  kingdom  of  Moray  to 
Scotland,  the  coming  of  the  southern  lords,  and  the  subse- 
quent establishment  by  these  strangers  of  the  Norman  polity, 
modified  in  some  measure  by  the  peculiar  customs  and 
traditions  of  the  Celtic  people  among  whom  it  was  planted. 
The  second  was  the  cessation  of  the  clan  feuds,  which  had 
long  desolated  the  country  and  rendered  life  and  property 
everywhere  unsafe,  by  the  banding  of  the  clans  together  in 
a  common  attachment  to  the  house  of  Stewart.  The  third 
was  the  change  which  took  place  after  CuUoden.  The  old 
feudal  system  was  swept  away,  hereditary  jurisdiction  and 
the  arbitrary  powers  of  the  chiefs  abolished,  the  people  emi- 
grated in  vast  numbers  to  other  lands,  and  the  county  they 
inhabited  was  almost  entirely  devoted  to  pastoral  purposes. 
The  fourth  is  that  under  which  Inverness -shire  now  exists. 
The  county  has  become  mainly  a  place  for  sport  and  recrea- 
tion. Large  stretches  of  it  are  devoted  to  deer-forests,  and 
thousands  annually  visit  it  attracted  by  sport  or  by  the  beauties 
of  its  scenery.  This  is  the  outstanding  feature  of  the  Inver- 
ness-shire of  the  present  day.  There  are  still  in  some  parts 
of  it  agricultural  and  pastoral  industry.  In  the  west  there 
are  large  sheep-farms,  and  in  the  east  many  acres  under 
tillage ;  but  the  wealth  derived  from  these  sources  is  small 
in  comparison  with  that  poured  into  the  county  by  the 
sportsmen  who  rent  its  forests,  grouse-moors,  and  rivers, 
and  the  multitude  of  tourists  who  in  the  summer-time  crowd 
its  hotels. 

There  are  few  features  in  the  Inverness-shire  of  the  present 
day  which  link  it  vnth  the  Inverness-shire  of  the  olden  time, 
of  which  we  have  had  so  much  to  tell  in  these  pages.  The 
old   castles   of   Glenurquhart,    Inverlochy,    Invergarry,   Castle 


336  LINKS   WITH    THE   PAST. 

Tirrim,  Castle  Downie,  and  other  great  strongholds  of  the 
feudal  time,  still  stand  uninhabited  and  deserted,  telUng  of 
the  old  days  when  "  might  was  right."  But  the  clansmen 
who  dwelt  under  their  shadow  are  nearly  all  gone,  and  the 
few  who  remain  have  lost  in  great  part  the  martial  spirit  of 
their  ancestors.  Instead  of  the  old  keeps  where  dwelt  the 
feudal  magnates,  we  have  elegant  mansions,  like  those  of 
Achnacarry,  Beaufort,  Balmacaan,  Glengarry,  and  also  many 
others  to  which  attach  no  historical  interest,  and  whose 
owners  for  the  most  part  bear  no  historic  names.  From 
one  end  of  the  county  to  the  other,  from  the  southern 
border  of  Badenoch  to  the  rough  bounds  of  Moidart,  these 
mansions  are  to  be  met  with  every  few  miles,  evidence  in 
themselves  of  the  vast  change  that  has  come  over  Inverness- 
shire. 

Most  of  the  old  chiefs  of  whom  we  have  written  so  much 
are  still  represented  in  their  descendants.  A  Lochiel  is  still 
at  Achnacarry,  a  Grant  in  Glenmoriston  and  Strathspey,  a 
Fraser  at  Beaufort,  a  Chisholm  in  Strathglass,  a  Mackintosh 
at  Moy,  and  a  Macpherson  at  Cluny;  and  several  other 
families  also  remain  in  the  county  whose  ancestors  took  a 
conspicuous  part  in  the  olden  days. 

It  is  a  curious  circumstance  that  the  only  great  clan  families 
who  have  disappeared  are  those  of  the  Macdonalds.  We  have 
no  longer  a  Keppoch  in  the  Braes  of  Lochaber,  a  Clanranald 
in  Moidart,  or  a  Glengarry  in  the  glen  that  bears  his  name. 

The  Keppochs,  who  had  little  or  no  legal  title  to  their  lands, 
naturally  soon  disappeared.  When  sheep-skins  became  more 
powerful  than  swords  as  instruments  of  possession,  the  descen- 
dants of  brave  "  Col  of  the  Cows "  became  only  tenants  of 
their  holding,  and  finally  vanished  from  Lochaber. 

The  grandson  of  Clanranald  of  the  '45,  it  is  said  through 
association  with  the  Prince  Regent  and  his  foolish  and  extrav- 


THE   DECAY   OF   THE    MACDONALDS.  337 

agant  companions,  was  brought  to  absolute  ruin.  One  after 
another,  large  parts  of  the  family  property  were  cut  off  and 
sent  into  the  market.  Of  the  splendid  inheritance,  once  like 
a  principality,  there  only  remains  to  the  descendants  of  a  long 
line  of  chiefs  the  roofless  walls  of  Castle  Tirrim,  standing  gaunt 
and  bare  by  the  Western  Sea. 

The  family  of  Glengarry  had  almost  as  sad  an  ending. 
The  fifteenth  chief,  Alasdair  Ranaldson  Macdonnell,  may  be 
said  to  have  been  the  last  of  the  old  race  who  was  a  conspicu- 
ous figure  in  Inverness-shire.  It  was  the  aim  of  his  life  to 
carry  into  modern  times  the  pomp  and  surroundings  of  an 
ancient  chief.  He  always  wore  the  Highland  dress,  lived  as 
much  as  possible  after  the  manner  of  his  ancestors,  exercised 
unbounded  hospitality,  and  maintained  a  household  modelled 
upon  that  of  feudal  times.  He  went  about,  like  his  forebears, 
with  a  bodyguard,  which  was  called  his  "  tail."  He  had  his 
piper  and  his  bard.  When  George  IV.  visited  Scotland,  Glen- 
garry came  to  Edinburgh  with  the  gentlemen  of  his  clan,  and 
was  in  great  prominence  during  the  royal  visit.  During  the 
time  of  the  Peninsular  war  he  commanded  a  regiment  called 
the  Glengarry  Fencibles,  who  wore  the  Highland  costume  and 
the  little  cap  called  the  Glengarry  bonnet.  He  had  all  the  im- 
petuousness  of  the  old  chiefs  of  his  race,  and  was  sometimes 
hurried  by  his  fiery  temper  into  acts  of  a  most  serious 
kind.  On  one  occasion  he  unreasonably  quarrelled  with  an 
officer  at  Inverness  :  a  duel  was  the  result,  and  Glengarry 
killed  his  man.  He  was  tried  for  his  life,  but  escaped  through 
the  eloquence  of  Henry  Erskine. 

This  chief,  said  to  be  the  prototype  of  Fergus  Maclvor  in 
'  Waverley,'  was  killed  in  1828  in  leaping  off  a  steamer  which 
had  drifted  on  some  rocks  near  Fort  William.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  son,  a  boy  of  ten  years  old,  and  the  estate  came 
under  trust.     The  trustees  found  that  the  liabilities  of  the  late 

Y 


338  CLUNY   MACPHERSON. 

chief  amounted  to  about  ^80,000,  and  resolved  to  sell  the 
greater  portion  of  the  estate.  That  which  was  unsold  was 
parted  with  by  the  young  chief  on  coming  of  age.  There  are 
20,000  Macdonalds  in  Glengarry  in  Canada,  but  few  in  the 
beautiful  glen  at  home.  The  once  famous  family  own  to-day 
only  their  burying-place  in  the  ancient  church  of  St  Finnan, 
and  the  ruined  castle  that  casts  its  dark  shadow  on  the  waters 
of  Loch  Oich. 

We  had  almost  said  that  the  chief  we  have  mentioned  was 
the  last  of  the  old  lords  of  Inverness-shire,  but  that  would 
not  be  altogether  correct.  There  was  one  who,  without  the 
absurdities  which  distinguished  Glengarry,  displayed  in  our  own 
time  all  the  best  qualities  of  an  ancient  chief.  Cluny  Mac- 
pherson — grandson  of  the  Cluny  who  was  exiled  after  1745 — 
will  always  be  remembered  by  those  who  had  the  pleasure 
of  knowing  him  as  the  embodiment  of  all  that  was  best  in 
the  old  patriarchal  chief.  He  possessed  his  ancestral  estates 
for  the  long  period  of  seventy  years.  He  maintained  with 
dignity  the  name  he  bore,  and  inherited  all  the  martial 
ardour  of  his  ancestors.  Of  wonderful  courtesy  and  chival- 
rous feeling,  he  carried  into  all  his  duties  a  flavour  of  the 
olden  time.  In  the  Highland  dress,  surmounted  by  the 
bonnet  and  eagle's  feather  of  the  chief,  with  his  fine  erect 
athletic  figure,  no  more  graceful  specimen  of  a  Highlander 
could  be  seen.  He  died  in  1885,  "the  last  of  the  chiefs," 
who  so  long,  in  very  different  times  from  his  own,  controlled 
the  destinies  of  Inverness-shire. 

The  change  in  the  county  occasioned  by  the  breaking  up 
of  large  properties  like  those  of  Clanranald,  Glengarry,  and 
others,  has  been  very  marked.  Proprietors  are  numerous  : 
according  to  a  return  made  in  1892-93,  they  number  1867. 
Districts  given  up  to  sport  are  many.  Any  one  who  happens 
to  be  at  Inverness  on  the  days  preceding  the  12th  of  August 


BREAKING   UP   OF   LARGE    PROPERTIES.  339 

will  wonder  at  the  army  of  sportsmen  who  arrive  in  detach- 
ments from  the  South,  and  who  from  the  northern  capital 
branch  off  to  their  residences  in  remote  glens,  to  remain 
there  until  the  approach  of  winter  calls  them  to  return  to  the 
regions  whence  they  came. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  change  produced  in  Inverness- 
shire  and  the  wealth  poured  into  the  county  by  the  new 
condition  of  things,  we  may  refer  to  two  estates  with  which 
all  who  love  the  beauty  of  Highland  scenery  are  familiar — 
namely,  those  of  Glengarry  and  Glenquoich.  They  are  typical 
of  many  more. 

Glenquoich  was  purchased  by  the  late  Right  Hon.  Edward 
Ellice  from  Mr  Ranaldson  Macdonnell — the  last  chief  of  the 
doughty  Macdonnells  who  possessed  the  ancestral  estates  of 
Glengarry,  Glenquoich,  and  Knoydart — in  1840  at  the  price 
of  ;^3  2,000,  while  the  Glengarry  portion  was  acquired  by 
Mr  Ellice  from  the  late  Earl  of  Dudley  in  i860  for  the  sum 
of  ;2^i 20,000,  Lord  Dudley  having  twenty  years  before  pur- 
chased Glengarry  from  the  Macdonnell  family  for  ^^9000. 

These  estates  afford  a  fair  illustration  of  the  enormous 
harvest  which  during  the  past  half- century  the  county  of 
Inverness  has  reaped  from  its  adaptability  to  meet  the  needs 
of  those  persons — now  a  numerous  class — of  wealth  and 
station  who  pour  into  the  Highlands  every  autumn  in  search 
of  health  and  recreation. 

From  evidence  regarding  these  estates  which  was  laid 
before  the  Royal  Commission  of  1892-94  appointed  to  in- 
quire into  the  condition  of  crofters  and  other  smaller  tenants, 
it  appeared  that  during  the  previous  thirty  years  there  had 
been  expended  by  the  proprietors  of  Glengarry — namely,  Mr 
Ellice  above  mentioned,  his  son,  the  late  Edward  Ellice,  so 
long  the  well-known  member  of  Parliament  for  the  St  Andrews 
Burghs,  and  the  widow  of  the  latter,  Mrs  Ellice,  the  present 


340  GLENQUOICH. 

proprietor — no  less  than  ^^274,749  upon  their  property,  and 
that  by  far  the  greater  portion  of  this  expenditure  had  gone 
to  local  tradesmen  and  labourers  for  services  rendered  to  the 
estate. 

An  even  more  remarkable  instance  of  the  same  kind,  which 
we  quote  from  the  report  we  have  mentioned,  is  the  outlay 
upon  the  adjoining  estate  of  Glenquoich,  It  is  the  more 
striking  from  being  the  case  of  a  tenant,  having  no  pro- 
prietary interest  in  the  estate,  voluntarily  expending,  out  of 
his  love  for  the  place  and  the  pleasure  he  derives  from  his 
residence  upon  it,  a  very  large  sum.  It  was  shown  that  in 
twenty  years  Lord  Burton,  the  tenant  referred  to,  had  ex- 
pended the  great  amount  of  ^^225,272,  consisting  to  a  great 
extent  of  payments  to  the  resident  and  local  population  as 
wages,  and  for  materials  for  extensive  works.  "  Not  less  than 
a  hundred  and  thirty  miles  of  roads,"  says  the  report,  "and 
paths,  fifty  miles  of  fences,  and  many  new  houses  and  other 
buildings,  have  been  constructed,  which  have  afforded  well- 
paid  employment  to  a  large  number  of  workpeople,  chiefly  of 
the  crofter  class." 

What  may  be  called  the  sporting  interests  of  Inverness-shire 
have  been  instrumental  not  only  in  contributing  to  the  pros- 
perity and  wealth  of  the  people  through  the  employment  and 
wages  they  have  directly  received;  it  must  also  be  remembered 
that  in  a  very  marked  degree  they  have  lessened  the  pres- 
sure of  rates  and  taxes  in  many  parishes,  and  have  thus 
benefited  all  classes.  While  the  rents  of  pastoral  farms  have 
gone  down  greatly,  and  agriculture  generally  has  been  in  the 
Highlands,  as  elsewhere,  depressed  for  a  good  many  years,  the 
demand  for  shootings  and  sporting-places  in  the  Highlands 
has  suffered  little  or  no  abatement  to  the  present  day.  Their 
annual  values  or  rents  have  also  not  appreciably  receded. 
From  this  it  can  readily  be  seen  that  the  great  rents  often 


THE    IMPORTANCE   OF   SPORTING   RENTS.  34I 

obtained  for  shootings  must  materially  increase  the  rateable 
basis  of  taxation,  and  correspondingly  keep  down  the  rates. 

Evidence  of  what  we  have  said  has  from  time  to  time  been 
brought  out  by  various  parliamentary  inquiries  into  Highland 
affairs.  It  has  been  shown  that  over  the  whole  Highland  area 
25  per  cent  of  rates  and  taxes  is  raised  from  shooting  and 
fishing  rental,  while  in  not  a  few  parishes,  including  several 
parishes  in  Inverness-shire,  the  proportion  reaches  35,  40,  and 
even  50  per  cent.  What  the  withdrawal  of  this  burden  from 
parishes  with  an  otherwise  impoverished  rental  would  entail 
on  the  ratepayers  can  be  easily  imagined.  The  withdrawal 
or  destruction  of  interests  so  beneficial  would  be  embittered 
by  the  reflection  that  generally  these  were  interests  which 
might  and  did  exist  without  detriment  to  any  other  concern, 
and  which  were  in  fact  almost  the  only  profitable  use  to  which 
such  possessions  could  be  put. 

We  have  probably  said  enough  on  this  subject,  but  if  any 
of  our  readers  desire  further  proof  of  the  invaluable  im- 
portance to  our  northern  county  of  its  sporting  rents,  they 
will  find  it  in  abundance  in  many  a  blue-book  and  official 
document.  We  would  specially  mention  as  of  deep  interest 
the  reports  following  the  two  inquiries  of  the  Royal  Commis- 
sion in  1883-84  and  1892-94  into  the  condition  of  the 
Highlands  and  Islands.  These  furnish  most  instructive  read- 
ing  to  all  interested  in  Northern  history. 

The  attractions  of  the  Scottish  Highlands,  the  marvellous 
natural  beauty  of  their  scenery,  and  the  health  and  vigour 
derived  from  a  visit  to  their  bens  and  glens,  will  doubtless 
long  continue  to  draw  many  to  the  North.  Their  visits,  it  is 
pleasant  to  think,  are  being  rendered  every  year  easier  and 
less  costly  by  the  wisdom  of  the  Government  in  providing 
increased  postal  and  telegraphic  facilities,  and  by  a  remark- 
able development  of  railways  through  private  enterprise. 


342  THE   HIGHLAND   RAILWAY. 

On  the  5th  November  1855  the  "iron  horse"  first  reached 
Inverness,  and  that  town  was  connected  by  railway  with 
Nairn.  In  1858  the  hne  was  extended  to  Keith,  and  direct 
communication  with  the  South  by  Aberdeen  established.  On 
the  9th  September  1861  what  is  now  called  the  Highland 
line  was  opened.  The  idea  of  such  a  line  was  at  first  ridi- 
culed on  account  of  the  engineering  difficulties  it  presented, 
but  these  jvere  successfully  overcome,  mainly  by  the  ability 
of  Mr  Joseph  Mitchell,  C.E.,  who  gives  in  his  reminiscences 
a  full  history  of  the  undertaking.  There  are  few  travellers 
who  are  not  familiar  with  this  route  to  the  Northern  High- 
lands. It  passes  through  the  most  beautiful  mountain  scenery 
in  Scotland,  and  the  passenger  who  leaves  London  at  night 
is  landed  early  in  the  forenoon  of  next  day  at  Inverness. 

Another  line  of  railway  also  reaches  our  county  from  the 
South.  Starting  from  the  Firth  of  Clyde,  by  the  shores  of 
Loch  Lomond,  through  the  solitudes  of  the  Black  Forest, 
across  the  Moor  of  Rannoch,  and  by  the  valley  of  wild  Loch 
Treig,  the  West  Highland  Railway  finally  debouches  into  the 
valley  of  the  Spean,  by  which  it  arrives  at  Fort  William.  This 
railway  was  opened  in  1894. 

Other  railway  projects  have  received  the  sanction  of  Parlia- 
ment. A  line  is  to  be  made  from  Fort  William  to  the  western 
border  of  the  county  at  Mallaig.  Another  is  to  run  from 
Fort  William  to  Fort  Augustus.  Connection  between  this 
place  and  Inverness  is  likely  to  be  soon  effected,  and  when 
this  is  done  all  parts  of  our  county  will  be  brought  into 
close  communication.  As  it  is,  crowds  of  travellers  during  the 
summer  months  come  to  Inverness-shire  either  by  the  railway 
routes  or  by  the  excellent  line  of  steamers  which  pass  through 
the  Caledonian  Canal.  Our  county,  once  so  inaccessible,  is 
now  perhaps  better  known  to  the  southerner  and  the  foreigner 
than  any  other  district  of  Scotland. 


THE   PRESENT   TOWN   OF    INVERNESS.  343 

One  result  of  the  opening  up  of  Inverness-shire  to  the  rest 
of  the  world  has  been,  as  might  be  expected,  the  increase  and 
prosperity  of  its  various  towns.  The  burgh,  founded  by  King 
David  I.,  and  to  which  William  the  Lion  granted  privileges, 
is  now  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  flourishing  towns  in 
Scotland  of  its  size.  It  has  lost  the  primitive  character 
which  distinguished  it  through  many  centuries,  when  it  had 
to  struggle  for  very  existence  in  the  midst  of  wild  and 
hostile  tribes.  Its  ancient  castle  and  fort  have  disappeared. 
Where  the  former  stood  rises  the  imposing  and  castellated 
structure  which  contains  the  county  buildings.  Many  hand- 
some buildings  beautify  the  town.  Among  them  is  specially 
noticeable  the  Cathedral  of  St  Andrew,  belonging  to  the 
Episcopal  Church  of  Scotland,  built  in  1866,  and  occupying 
a  commanding  position  by  the  waters  of  the  Ness.  The 
town  is  also  distinguished  by  the  many  elegant  residences 
by  which  on  every  side  it  is  surrounded.  Its  amenity  is 
remarkable.  There  are  few  views  in  Scotland  or  anywhere 
else  exceeding  in  beauty  that  which  is  commanded  from  the 
upper  heights  of  the  town,  when  the  spectator  looks  down 
on  the  wooded  islands  of  the  river,  the  blue  waters  of  the 
Moray  Firth,  and  sees  bounding  his  view  the  Ross-shire  hills 
and  those  of  the  Beauly  valley. 

The  business  and  trade  of  Inverness  have  been  on  the 
increase  since  the  opening  of  the  Caledonian  Canal.  The 
tonnage  of  the  port  in  1840  was  8000,  which  has  since  been 
more  than  doubled.  In  1831  the  population  of  the  town 
and  parish  was  14,324;  at  the  last  census  it  was  19,215.  It 
is  the  centre  and  emporium  of  a  large  and  prosperous  dis- 
trict, and  is  more  worthy  to-day  than  at  any  previous  time 
of  the  name  so  frequently  given  to  it — the  capital  of  the 
Highlands. 

Fort   William,   which   in    Burt's   time   was   a  collection   of 


344  BEN    NEVIS. 

hovels  under  the  protection  of  the  fort,  is  now  a  considerable 
town  of  1870  inhabitants.  It  is  under  municipal  government, 
has  handsome  shops,  hotels,  churches,  and  dwelling-houses, 
and  is  becoming  year  by  year  attractive  as  a  place  of  residence. 
The  old  fort  has  been  swept  away,  and  there  is  little  to  re- 
mind the  visitor  of  the  days  when  the  place  was  a  military 
stronghold. 

On  the  summit  of  Ben  Nevis,  in  the  neighbourhood,  is  the 
famous  observatory,  visited  annually  by  many  thousands. 
The  ascent  of  the  mountain  is  a  great  attraction  to  travellers, 
and  it  is  easily  effected.  During  the  summer  and  autumn  of 
1893  a  road  was  made  to  the  top  of  the  hill  and  the  obser- 
vatory equipped  for  meteorological  observations  at  a  cost  of 
about  ;^4ooo.  Here  work  is  carried  on  night  and  day,  and 
the  results  have  been  of  the  greatest  importance  to  meteoro- 
logical science. 

Kingussie,  on  the  banks  of  the  Spey,  which,  as  we  have 
seen,  was  founded  shortly  before  1795,  has  not  belied  the 
promise  with  which  at  that  early  time  it  was  regarded.  It  is 
a  centre  of  education,  and  a  much  frequented  place  of  summer 
residence.  The  beauty  of  the  scenery  by  which  it  is  sur- 
rounded, as  well  as  its  other  attractions,  in  the  way  of  recrea- 
tion and  amusement,  draw  hither  year  after  year  crowds  of 
strangers,  and  few  who  have  been  there  once  fail  to  return 
again.  It  is  fast  becoming  one  of  the  great  health-resorts  of 
Scotland. 

Fort  Augustus  as  a  military  station  has  disappeared,  and 
where  the  fort  stood  is  a  magnificent  and  well-endowed  Bene- 
dictine abbey.  Lord  Lovat  purchased  from  the  Government 
the  fortress  and  farm  attached  to  it  for  the  sum  of  ^5000 
The  old  buildings  were  cleared  away  and  the  present  mon- 
astery erected  at  a  cost  of  ^^40,000.  It  was  opened  with 
imposing  ceremonial  in  August   1878.      The  monastic  com- 


FORT   AUGUSTUS.  345 

munity  numbers  twenty-five,  with  a  staff  of  professors  for  the 
training  of  the  youths  who  are  sent  there  for  their  education. 
The  abbey  is  doubtless  a  great  source  of  strength  to  the 
Roman  CathoHc  community  of  Inverness-shire,  which,  as  we 
have  seen,  is  large. 

Inverness-shire  has  not  made  much  progress  in  manufac- 
tures. Two  breweries  at  Inverness,  a  woollen  factory,  some 
meal  and  flour  mills,  and  various  distilleries  in  different  parts 
of  the  county,  mainly  represent  this  branch  of  industry. 
Lately,  however,  there  has  been  a  new  departure.  The  British 
Aluminium  Company  have  set  up  works  at  Foyers  for  the 
manufacture  of  their  special  product.  They  employ  perma- 
nently at  this  place  a  hundred  hands,  and  possess  7500  acres 
of  land,  with  water  rights  over  lochs,  rivers,  and  streams 
within  an  area  of  about  100  square  miles,  which  has  cost 
them  upwards  of  ;^7 8,000.  What  may  be  the  results  of 
this  new  industry  it  is  impossible  to  determine.  It  has  been 
feared  that  it  may  lead  to  the  destruction  of  the  famous  and 
beautiful  Fall  of  Foyers,  and  of  the  wooded  scenery  by  which 
it  is  framed.  That  it  may  not  do  so  will  be  the  earnest  wish 
of  all  who,  like  the  poet  Burns,  have  stood  where 

"  Among  the  heathy  hills  and  ragged  woods 
The  roaring  Foyers  pours  his  mossy  floods." 

The  beauty  of  our  county  is  an  inheritance  of  which  it  is 
not  likely  to  be  ever  deprived.  Other  districts  of  Scotland 
may  be  richer  in  mineral  and  industrial  wealth,  but  none 
can  surpass  Inverness-shire  in  the  grandeur  and  loveliness 
of  its  scenery.  It  is  especially  the  "  land  of  the  mountain 
and  the  flood."  Its  mountains  present  every  variety  of  form. 
Within  its  bounds  are  the  highest  and  grandest  of  Scottish 
hills.  The  Grampians  form  its  southern  boundary,  rising 
in  Ben  Nevis,  the  highest  peak  in  Great  Britain,  to  a  height 


346  THE   SCENERY   OF   THE   COUNTY. 

of  4406  feet.  Other  heights  are  Cairngorm  (4090),  Ben 
Alder  (3757),  Mam  Siul  (3862),  Mealfourvounie  (2730). 
From  the  borders  of  Arisaig  to  those  of  the  Moray  Firth 
one  mountain  rises  behind  another  hke  the  billowy  waves  of 
a  tempestuous  sea,  sometimes  clothed  with  heath,  sometimes 
with  forests  of  pine  and  fir,  sometimes  bare  and  verdureless, 
but  always  grand  and  impressive. 

Water  everywhere  blends  with  rock  to  soften  the  asperity 
of  the  landscape.  The  rivers  of  the  county — the  Spey,  the 
Nairn,  the  Findhorn,  the  Beauly,  the  Foyers,  the  Spean — and 
the  Great  Lakes  of  Lochy  and  Ness,  of  Garry,  Laggan,  Ericht, 
and  many  others,  vary  the  wildness  of  the  scenery.  Nor  must 
we  forget  the  great  arm.s  of  the  sea  by  which  the  west  coast  of 
the  county  is  indented,  reaching  far  up  among  the  mountains. 
Loch  Linnhe,  Loch  Eil,  Loch  Aylort,  and  Loch  Moidart  rival 
in  their  beauty  and  picturesqueness  the  Norwegian  fiords. 

The  main  arteries  of  travel — the  Highland  and  West  High- 
land Railways,  and  the  Caledonian  Canal — have  made  many  fa- 
miliar with  the  scenery  of  Inverness-shire.  There  is,  however, 
much  varied  and  impressive  scenery  which  these  beaten  tracks 
do  not  touch.  The  road  from  Loch  Eil  to  Arisaig,  from  the 
Spean  along  Loch  Laggan  to  Kingussie,  from  Beauly  through 
Strathglass  and  the  Chisholm's  Pass,  from  Invergarry  to  Loch 
Hourn,  and  from  Glenmoriston  to  Loch  Duich,  are  routes 
unfamiliar  to  many,  but  which  for  attractiveness  are  unequalled 
in  Scotland.  No  county  can  compare  with  Inverness-shire  for 
varied  beauty.  It  is  not  surprising  that  so  many  annually 
visit  it,  nor  is  it  wonderful  that  its  inhabitants,  as  it  has  been 
truly  said,  "should  be  touched  with  deep  romantic  feelings 
at  once  tender,  melancholy,  and  wild,  and  that  the  recollection 
of  their  own  picturesque  native  dwellings  should  haunt  them 
to  their  latest  hours." 

The  climate  of  Inverness-shire  is  in  one  respect  similar  to 


CLIMATE   AND   RAINFALL.  347 

that  of  the  rest  of  Scotland.  The  rainfall  on  its  western  side 
is  very  great.  On  the  east  the  heaviest  rains  are  from  the 
German  Ocean,  but  they  are  less  incessant  than  in  the  dis- 
tricts adjacent  to  the  Atlantic.  It  is  generally  said  that  the 
annual  number  of  rainy  days  at  the  Inverness  end  of  the 
Great  Glen  is  about  sixty  days  less  than  at  Fort  William,  its 
western  extremity. 

The  following  is  the  mean  annual  rainfall  at  some  of  the 
principal  recording  stations  in  the  county  :  Glen  Strathfarrar, 
59*04  inches;  Fort  William,  So'qi  ;  Invergarry,  6070  ;  Glen- 
quoich,  i04'62;  Glenfinnan,  io6"35;  Inverie,  jg'ii  ;  Kin- 
loch  Moidart,  64*44.  These  figures  tell  of  a  terribly  moist 
climate.  But  though  the  rainfall  is  great  the  temperature  is 
mild.  Winter  is  genial,  and  there  is  little  frost  or  snow, 
especially  on  the  west  coast.  It  is  a  common  proverb  that 
"west  coast  rain  doesn't  hurt,"  and  it  is  surprising  with  what 
indifference  t^ie  inhabitants,  and  visitors  who  have  become 
acclimatised,  regard  the  frequent  downpour. 

The  geological  formation  of  Inverness-shire  is  of  varied 
character.  The  prevailing  rocks  are  gneiss  and  granite,  espe- 
cially the  former,  of  which  the  greater  part  of  the  county  is 
composed.  In  the  neighbourhood  of  Inverness  and  along  the 
southern  shore  of  Loch  Ness  is  a  band  of  red  sandstone. 
Mealfourvounie,  on  the  northern  side  of  the  loch  from  where 
the  band  terminates,  is  one  of  the  most  elevated  masses  of  old 
red  sandstone  in  Scotland. 

To  the  geologist  there  are  two  features  presented  by  the 
county  which  are  of  very  special  interest.  In  no  county  of 
Scotland  is  shown  more  clearly  the  process  by  which  its 
numerous  and  deep  valleys  have  been  formed,  and  the  result 
of  glacial  action  in  bringing  about  its  present  striking  con- 
figuration. 


348  GEOLOGICAL  FEATURES. 

The  tourist  who  ascends  Ben  Nevis  sees  not  only  the  varied 
character  of  the  country  beneath  him — mountain  rising  beyond 
mountain,  far  as  the  eye  can  reach — he  sees  also  from  that 
elevation  what  has  been  truly  called  the  "tableland  of  the 
Highlands."  As  it  has  been  well  put  by  the  celebrated  geolo- 
gist Sir  Archibald  Geikie,  "  Along  the  skyline  the  wide  sweep 
of  summits  undulates  up  to  a  common  level,  varied  here  by  a 
higher  cone  and  there  by  the  line  of  some  strath  or  glen,  but 
yet  wonderfully  persistent  round  the  whole  panorama.  If,  as 
sometimes  happens,  a  bank  of  cloud  with  a  level  under-surface 
should  descend  upon  the  mountains,  it  will  be  seen  to  touch 
summit  after  summit,  the  long  line  of  the  cloud  defining,  like 
a  great  parallel  ruler,  the  long  level  line  of  the  ridge  below." 
This  long  level  ridge  tells  the  onlooker  what  was  in  far  distant 
ages  the  general  contour  of  the  country — a  wide  undulating 
plain,  once  the  bottom  of  an  ancient  sea. 

Another  elevation  in  Inverness-shire  where  the  mountain 
tableland  can  be  clearly  seen  is  from  the  hills  to  the  north- 
ward of  Dalwhinnie.  Here  another  great  view  may  be  had  of 
the  sea  of  mountains  between  Strathspey  and  the  Great  Glen 
as  well  as  the  higher  Grampians.  The  mountains  present  one 
unbroken  line  of  upland.  No  one  could  imagine  that  the 
great  undulating  plain  was  broken  by  many  a  deep  glen  and 
rocky  gorge. 

This  undulating  plateau  represents  the  general  submarine 
level.  The  valleys  which  break  into  it  have  been  caused  not 
by  eruptive  forces,  but  by  the  powers  of  waste.  They  have 
been  all  dug  out  in  the  course  of  ages  by  water  and  frost. 
If  it  were  possible  to  fill  in  these  valleys  with  what  has 
been  swept  out  of  them  by  these  agencies,  the  traveller 
might  walk  from  Dalwhinnie  to  Ben  Nevis  along  a  surface 
almost  as  level  as  a  table  and  unbroken  in  its  flatness. 
This    is    an    interesting    feature    of   the   geological    structure 


EVIDENCES   OF   GLACIAL   ACTION.  349 

of  the  county,  but  there  is  perhaps  one  even  more 
striking.  The  results  of  glacial  action  are  everywhere 
apparent.  Everywhere  the  rocks  are  striated,  scratched, 
and  grooved  by  the  great  mass  of  ice  as  it  moved  along 
the  surface  of  the  land.  Everywhere  also  may  be  seen 
large  boulders  of  stone  that  have  been  lifted  by  ice-power 
from  their  original  site  and  deposited  where  they  lie  by  the 
glacial  mass  as  it  glided  seawards. 

The  great  lakes  have  been  dug  out  by  the  same  agency. 
The  Caledonian  Glen  which  divides  the  county  is  probably 
the  result  of  an  ancient  fracture  in  the  crust  of  the  earth. 
Loch  Ness  is  still  agitated  during  earthquakes,  showing  that 
yet  underground  movements  tend  to  reveal  themselves  along 
the  old  line  of  disturbance.  After  the  fracture  had  been 
made  it  became  subjected  to  a  continual  process  of  denuda- 
tion, and  to  account  for  the  great  depths  of  its  two  principal 
lakes  we  have  to  go  back  to  the  Ice  Age.  "  In  old  times," 
it  has  been  clearly  shown,  "  a  larger  amount  of  ice  probably 
flowed  into  the  Great  Glen  than  into  any  other  valley  in 
Scotland.  From  the  Avest  came  the  great  glaciers  of  Loch 
Eil,  Loch  Arkaig,  Glenmoriston,  and  Glenurquhart ;  from 
the  east  those  of  the  glens  of  Lochaber,  and  those  which 
descended  from  the  north-western  flanks  of  the  Monadhliadh 
Mountains.  The  sides  of  the  valley  show  everywhere  the 
flowing  rounded  outlines  that  mark  the  seaward  march  of 
the  ice  ;  and  its  rocky  bottom,  where  visible,  bears  the  same 
impress.  That  it  has  been  ice-worn  is  thus  rendered  plain. 
The  lake  basins  of  the  Great  Glen  have  been  scooped  out 
by  ice." 

But  the  most  striking  instance  probably  of  glacial  action  in 
Scotland  is  presented  to  us  in  the  valley  of  the  Spean,  and 
by  the  celebrated  parallel  roads  of  Glen  Roy.  In  the  former 
valley  the  glacier  which  came  down  from  the  glen  of  Loch 


350  GLEN    SPEAN. 

Treig  has  left  many  traces.  It  appears  to  have  gone  right 
across  Glen  Spean  and  ascended  the  hills  opposite  the  side 
whence  it  came.  Agassiz,  who  visited  Inverness-shire  in  1840, 
describes  the  profound  impression  made  upon  him  as  he 
stood  in  Glen  Spean.  "  I  shall  never  forget,"  he  says,  "  the 
impression  experienced  at  the  sight  of  the  terraced  mounds 
of  blocks  which  occur  at  the  mouth  of  the  valley  of  Loch 
Treig  where  it  joins  Glen  Spean  :  it  seemed  to  me  as  if 
I  were  looking  at  the  numerous  moraines  of  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Tines  in  the  valley  of  Chamounix,"  Nowhere,  in- 
deed, can  the  result  of  glacial  action  be  studied  better  than 
along  the  banks  of  the  Spean.  It  is  seen  everywhere.  How 
vast  it  must  have  been,  if  there  be  truth  in  the  estimate  of 
Jamieson  that  "the  ice  in  Glen  Spean  must  have  been  two 
miles  broad  at  the  surface,  and  at  least  1300  feet  deep" ! 

The  parallel  roads  of  Glen  Roy  have  long  formed  one  of 
the  remarkable  sights  of  the  county,  and  are  visited  annually 
by  many  travellers.  It  is  almost  unnecessary  to  describe 
them.  On  the  opposite  sides  of  the  glen,  and  at  exactly 
the  same  levels,  are  three  well-defined  terraces,  as  marked 
as  the  terraces  of  a  country  mansion.  They  extend  for 
several  miles,  and  are  easily  recognisable  at  a  great  distance. 
The  lowest  terrace  is  862  feet  above  sea -level,  the  second 
is  1077  feet,  and  the  third  is  1155  feet.  The  height  of  the 
terrace  on  one  side  of  the  glen  is  exactly  the  same  as  that 
opposite  it  on  the  other.  The  terraces  are  each  from  60 
to   70  feet  broad. 

These  "  roads "  were  in  ancient  times  supposed  to  have 
been  made  by  human  hands.  At  one  time  they  were  be- 
lieved to  be  the  hunting  roads  of  the  Fingalian  heroes,  at 
another  those  of  the  ancient  Scottish  kings.  Along  them 
deer  were  driven  by  crowds  of  men  and  killed  by  the  hunters 
with    V)ow   or   broadsword.       The   legendary   origin   of   these 


THE   ROADS  OF   GLEN   ROY.  35  I 

wonderful  formations  has  long  ago  vanished  before  scientific 
inquiry,  though  it  is  only  in  comparatively  recent  times  a  satis- 
factory solution  of  the  phenomena  has  been  reached.  The 
greatest  geologists  of  the  century  tried  to  solve  the  problem. 
Darwin,  Agassiz,  Nichol,  and  Milne  Home  have  all  pro- 
pounded their  theories.  A  literature  of  its  own  belongs  to 
this  remote  glen,  down  which  Montrose  made  his  celebrated 
march  to  Inverlochy.  All  the  theories  put  forward  suggest 
water  in  some  form  as  the  cause,  for  no  other  agent  could 
have  produced  the  exact  parallelism — not  only  on  one  side 
but  on  both  sides  of  the  valley.  Darwin  held  the  theory, 
and  in  this  he  was  supported  by  Nichol,  that  the  terraces 
were  old  sea-beaches.  It  was  supposed  that  an  arm  of  the 
sea,  like  one  of  the  western  lochs,  at  a  remote  period  pene- 
trated far  inland.  These  beaches  of  different  levels  were 
formed  as  the  sea  receded  from  the  land.  This  explanation 
was  not  deemed,  however,  satisfactory.  Were  it  true,  the 
levels  in  the  neighbouring  valleys — in  Glen  Spean  and  in 
Glen  Gloy — would  be  the  same  as  those  in  Glen  Roy,  but 
they  are  not. 

Another  theory  was  put  forward  by  Mr  Milne  Home,  an 
accompUshed  Scottish  geologist,  who  devoted  much  labour 
to  the  subject.  Briefly,  his  conclusion  was  that  the  roads 
were  the  successive  margins  of  fresh  -  water  lakes  supported 
on  gravel.  Many  existing  lakes,  it  was  pointed  out,  are 
formed  in  this  manner,  and  the  result  here  was  the  same 
as  had  occurred  elsewhere.  The  difficulty  in  the  way  of 
accepting  this  theory  was  that  of  explaining  how  the  enor- 
mous natural  dams,  the  lowest  of  them  86 2  feet  above 
the  sea,  could  have  been  swept  away  from  their  contiguous 
valleys. 

The  theory  of  Agassiz  is  that  which  is  now  generally 
accepted.     He  goes  back  to  the  Ice  Age,  when  every  valley 


352  VARIOUS   THEORIES. 

had  its  glacier.  The  roads  were,  according  to  him,  the 
margins  of  fresh-water  lakes  supported  on  ice.  As  the  tem- 
perature in  the  latitude  of  Scotland  rose,  the  ice  barriers 
were  gradually  reduced  to  a  lower  level.  The  existence  of 
the  three  parallel  beaches  shows  that  the  process  of  melting 
was  arrested  at  different  periods,  during  which  the  three 
successive  beaches  were  formed  ;  and  as  the  difference  be- 
tween the  third  and  second  beach  is  only  78  feet,  while  that 
between  the  second  and  the  lowest  is  215  feet,  the  natural 
inference  is  that  the  thawing  proceeded  nearly  three  times  as 
rapidly  during  the  latter  period  as  during  the  earlier.  "  The 
parallel  roads  of  Glen  Roy,"  to  quote  the  words  of  Agassiz, 
"are  intimately  connected  with  the  occurrence  of  glaciers, 
and  have  been  caused  by  a  glacier  from  Ben  Nevis.  The 
phenomenon  must  have  been  precisely  analogous  to  the 
glacier  lakes  of  the  Tyrol  and  to  the  event  that  took  place 
in  the  valley  of  the  Bagne." 

The  views  of  Agassiz  have  been  generally  adopted  by 
scientific  men.  His  theory  was  accepted  by  Jamieson  in 
1863,  and  by  the  late  General  Sir  Henry  James,  who  wrote 
an  interesting  paper  on  the  phenomenon  in  1894,  which  is 
now  regarded  as  the  standard  opinion  on  the  subject.  Sir 
Henry  has  pointed  out  that  the  Margilensee  in  Switzerland 
was  an  existing  example  of  a  fresh-water  lake  supported  on  a 
glacier  in  precisely  the  same  way  as  were  the  old  lakes  in  the 
glens  of  Lochaber,  according  to  the  theory  which  he  supports. 
The  roads,  therefore,  long  supposed  to  have  been  artificially 
formed,  are  shown  beyond  all  doubt  to  have  been  the  result 
of  natural  forces — "  the  shores,  as  it  were,  of  a  phantom  lake 
that  came  into  being  with  the  growth  of  the  glaciers,  and 
vanished  as  these  melted   away." 

Perhaps  what  we  have  said  is  sufificient  to  show  that  our 
county  presents  a  fine  field  for  geological  research,  and  brings 


DECREASING    POPULATION.  353 

before  the  observant  mind  in  a  vivid  and  striking  manner  the 
story  of  ages  reaching  far  back  into  the  past. 

The  population  of  Inverness-shire  has,  on  the  whole,  been 
decreasing,  as  the  census  shows.  In  1881  it  was  90,454; 
in  1891,  89,317.  That  of  the  islands  in  1881  was  35,523; 
in    1891,    34,307;    of   the    mainland   in    1881,    54,931;    in 

With  these  statistics  we  close  our  story,  with  the  expression 
of  a  hope  that  a  county  with  so  striking  a  history  and  so 
admirable  a  people  may  yet  have  a  great  future  before  it ; 
and  may  go  on  year  by  year  increasing  in  all  those  elements 
that  constitute  its  prosperity.     Floreat  Invernessia  1 


LIST    OF    BOOKS    RELATING    TO 


OR   PUBLISHED   IN 


INVERNESS-SHIRE. 


AGRICULTURE. 

Carmichael,  Alexander.      Grazing  and  Agrestic  Customs   of  the 

Outer  Hebrides.     Crofters  Commission  Report,   1884. 
Macdonald,    William.      On    the   Agriculture   of  Inverness  -  shire. 

Transactions  of  the  Highland   Society,  2nd  series,  vol.   iv., 

1872. 
Robertson,  Rev.  James,  D.D.     General  View  of  the  Agriculture  of 

Inverness.     London,  1812. 


ARCHAEOLOGY. 
Antiquaries  of  Scotland,  Proceedings  of  the  Society : — 

Abernethy,  Strathspey,  Notice  of  Flint  Flakes  found  at.  By 
Arthur  Mitchell,  M.D.     Vol.  vi.  p.  251. 

Alvie,  Notice  of  Artificial  Cave  in  the  parish  of.  By  Sir  D. 
Brewster.     Vol.  v.  p.  119. 

Arisaig,  Description  of  Stockaded  Remains  recently  discovered 
at.     Vol.  iii.  p.  516. 

Arisaig,  Notice  of  some  Fragments  of  Sculptured  Monu- 
mental Slabs  in  the  Churchyard  of.  By  Col.  Lumsden. 
1883-84.     P.  211. 

Ballachulish,   Notice   of  a  Flint  Arrow-head   found   at,  and 


356  LIST   OF    BOOKS   RELATING   TO 

another  at   Boleskine.      By  Dr  R.  Christison.      1888-89. 

P.  93- 
Balnalick,  Glen-Urquhart,  Notice  of  the  opening  of  Sepulchral 

Cairn  at.    With  Notes  on  Cup-marked  Stones.    By  Angus 

Grant.     1887-88.     P.  42. 
Beauly  Prior}',  Church  of.    By  Captain  White.    Vol.  viii.  p.  430. 
Beauly  V^alley,  Notes  on  Ancient  Remains  in.     By  Thomas 

Wallace.     1885-86.     P.  134. 
Clanchattan,  Notice  of  the  Names  of.     By  John  M'Pherson. 

Vol.  X.  p.  112. 
Clanranald,  Notice  of  the  Ancient  MS.  termed  the  Little  Book 

of.     By  D.  F.  Skene.     Vol.  i.  p.  89. 
Corran  Ferry,  Inverness-shire,  Notice  of  the  discovery  of  a 

Cist,  with  Urn  and  Strike-light,  at.    By  Donald  Campbell, 

M.D.     1889-90.     P.  436. 
Croy,  Mains  of.  Notice  of  the  discovery  of  portions  of  Two 

Penambular  Brooches  of  Silver,  with  Beads  of  Glass  and 

Amber,  and  Silver  Coin  of  Caenwulph,  King  of  Mercia, 

at.    Vol.  xi.  p.  588. 
Fyres,  Inverness-shire,  Notes  on  a  Human  Skull  found  at.    By 

W.  Turner,  M.D.     Vol.  vi.  p.  266. 
Glenelg,  Kirkton  of,  Notice  of  Urn  found  near.     By  Arthur 

Mitchell,  M.D.     Vol.  vi.  p.  372. 
Glenelg  and  Kintail,  Notes  on  some  Prehistoric  Stones  in.     By 

Lockhart  Bogle.     1894-95.     P.  180. 
Glen  Urquhart,  Notice  of  the  opening  of  a  Sepulchral  Cairn 

in.     By  Angus  Grant.     1887-88.     P.  42. 
Glen   Urquhart,   Notice  of  Two    Sculptured   Stones   in.     By 

William  Mackay.     1885-86.     P.  358. 
Grant,  Laird  of.  Notice  of  Unpublished  Letter  from  General 

Mackay  to.     By  Joseph  Robertson.     Vol.  iii.  p.  336. 
Inch,  Notice  of  Celtic  Bell  at.    By  Joseph  Anderson.    1879-80. 

P.  102. 
Inverness,  burgh  of,   On   Cup  -  marked    Stones   in   the.       By 

William  Jolly.     1881-82.     P.  300. 
Inverness,  neighbourhood  of,  Notice  of  Cup-marked  Stones  in 

the.     By  William  Jolly.     1880-81.     P.  329. 
Keppoch,   Notice  of  Highland  Charm  Stone.      By  Rev.  D. 

Stewart.     1889-90.     P.  157. 
Keppoch,   Notice  of  Original   Letter  of  King  James   II.   to 

Macdonald  of,  after  the  battle  of  Killiecrankie.     By  John 

A.  Smith.     Vol.  iii.  p.  248. 
Lochaber,  Mid,  Jottings  in.      By  Professor   Duns.      1881-82. 

P.  49- 


INVERNESS.  357 

Onich,  Lochaber,  Notice  of  the  Clach  a  chara,  a   Stone  of 

Memorial  at.     By  James  Drummond.     \'ol.  vi.  p.  328. 
Strathnairn,  Notice  of  Ancient  Circular  Dwellings,  Hill  Forts, 

and  Burial  Cairns  of.     1881-82.     P.  288. 
Strathspey,  Notice  of  the  discovery  of  an  Undescribed  Sculp- 
tured Stone  with  Inscribed  Symbols  in.     By  Sir  Arthur 
Mitchell.     1888-89.     P.  87. 
Cjaelic  Society  of  Inverness  Transactions.     19  vols.     1871.     Still 

being  issued. 
ln\erness  P^ield  Club  Transactions.     3  vols.     1875-96.     Still  being 

issued. 
Logan,  James.    The  Scottish  Gael.    New  edition.    By  Dr  Stewart. 

Inverness,  1876. 
Macpherson,  John,  D.D.,  Sleat.    Critical  Dissertation  on  the  Origin, 

&c.,  of  the  Ancient  Caledonians.     Dublin,  1768. 
Northern  Scientific  Society's  Transactions,     i  vol.     1881-87. 
Stewart,  Rev.  Alex.,  LL.D.— 

Nether  Lochaber.     Edinburgh,  1883. 

'Twi.xt  Ben  Nevis  and  Glencoe.     Edinburgh,  1885. 


BIOGRAPHY. 

Adam,  John  (the  Mulbuie  Murderer),  Life  and  Trial  of     Inverness, 
1888. 

Burton,  John   Hill.     Lives  of  Simon.   Lord   Lovat,  and   Duncan 
Forbes  of  Culloden.     London,  1847. 

Chisholm,  The,  Memoirs  of  Alex.  William.     1842. 

Clerk,    Rev.    A.,    LL.D.      Memoir    of    Colonel    John    Cameron, 
Fassifem.     Glasgow,  1858. 

Drummond,  John,  or  Macgregor.     Memoirs  of  Sir  Ewen  Cameron 
of  Lochiel.     Abbotsford  Club,  1842. 

Fraser,  Rev.  James,  of  Brae,  Memoirs  of     New  edition.     Inver- 
ness, 1889. 

(iordon,   Pryse    Lockhart   (of  Ardersier),    Personal    Memoirs   of 
London,   1836. 

Grant,   J.    P.     Memoir    and    Correspondence    of    Mrs    Grant   of 
Laggan.     London,   1844. 

Grassie,  James.     Legends  of  the  Highlands  of  Scotland.     Inver- 
ness, 1843. 

Hav,  A.  Penrose.     Post-Ofifice  Recollections.     Inverness,  1885. 

Kennedy,  Rev.  J.     Memoirs  and  Letters  of  Revs.  F.  and  A.  Cook. 
Inverness,  1895. 
Second  edition.     Inverness,  1897. 


358  LIST   OF   BOOKS    RELATING   TO 

Lord  Lovat — 

Memoirs  of  the  Life  of     London,  1746. 

A  free  Examination  of  a  Modern  Romance,  entitled  Memoirs 

of  the  Life  of     London,  1746. 
Life  and  Adventures  of  Simon.     London,  1746. 
Memoirs   of  the   Life  of,  written  by  himself  in  the  French 
language,    and    now    first    translated    from    the    original 
manuscript.     London,  1797. 
Macdonald,  Flora,  The  Life  of     By  her  Granddaughter.     London, 

1875. 
Macgregor,  Rev.  A.     The  Life  of  Flora  Macdonald.     Inverness, 

1882. 
Mackintosh,  Sir  James,  Memoirs  of     2  vols.     London,  1835. 
Maclean,  John  (the  Inverness  Centenarian) — 

Historical  and  Traditional   Sketches  of  Highland-  Families. 
Dingwall,  1848. 

New  edition.     Inverness,  1895. 
Reminiscences  of  a  Clachnacuddin    Nonagenarian.      Inver- 
ness, 1842. 

New  edition.     Inverness,  1886. 
Maclennan,  Farquhar  (Fearchair-a'-Ghunna),  Life  and  Sayings  of. 

In\erness,  1881. 
Macleod,    Hugh    (the    Assynt    Murderer),    Life    and     Trial    of. 

Inverness,   1889. 
Macpherson,  Cluny,  The  Golden  Wedding  of     Edinburgh,  1883. 
Miller,  Hugh.     John  Forsyth,  a  Merchant  of  Cromarty. 
Mitchell,  Joseph,  C.E.     Reminiscences  of  my  Life  in  the  High- 
lands.    London,   1883.     Privately  printed. 
Seafield,  Ian  Charles,  Earl  of:  In  Memoriam.     Inverness,  1884. 


FICTION. 

Black,  William— 

In  Far  Lochaber.     3  vols.     London,  1888. 

The  Wise  Women  of  Inverness.     London,  1885. 

Cameron,  Miss  M.  E.     The   House  of  Achendarroch.     London, 
1878. 

Inverness,  The  Witch  of,  and  the  Fairies  of  Tomnahurich.     Inver- 
ness, 1891. 

Lauder,  Sir  Thomas  Dick,  Bart.— 

The  Wolfe   of  Badenoch  :    An    Historical    Romance  of  the 

Fourteenth  Century.     London,  1863. 
Highland  Legends.     London,  1841. 

Mackenzie,  Emma  Rose.     Tales  of  the  Heather.     Inverness,  1892. 


I 


INVERNESS.  359 


HISTORY  AXD    GEXEALOGY. 

Anderson,  Isabel  H.    Inverness  before  Railways.    Inverness,  1885. 
Anderson,  John — 

Historical  Account  of  the  Family  of  Fraser  or  Frysel.     Edin- 
burgh, 1825. 
State  of  Society  and  Knowledge  in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland. 
Edinburgh,  1827. 
Batten,  E.  C.     Charters  of  the  Priory  of  Heauly.     London,  [877. 

Grampian  Club. 
Burt.     Letters  from  a  Gentleman  in  the  North  of  Scotland  to  his 
Friend  in  London. 

First  edition.  2  vols.  8vo.  London,  1754.  Second  edition. 
8vo.  London,  1759.  New  edition,  with  notes.  2  vols.  8vo. 
London,  181 5. 
Another  edition.  With  facsimiles  of  the  original  engravings. 
With  an  Introduction  Ijy  R.  Jamieson,  F.S.A.  And  the 
History  of  Donald  the  Hammerer,  from  an  Authentic 
Account  of  the  Family  of  Invernahyle:  a  MS.  communi- 
cated by  Sir  Walter  Scott.  2  vols.  8vo.  Edinburgh, 
1876. 
Cameron,  Alexander.     History  and  Traditions  of  the  Isle  of  Skye. 

Inverness,  1871. 
Campbell,  Duncan.     Book  of  Garth.     Inverness,  1888. 
Carruthers,  Robert,  LL.D.      The    Highland    Note-Book.      Edin- 
burgh, 1843. 
Culloden  Papers.     London,  181 5. 

Ferguson,  Colonel.    Major  Erasers  Manuscript.    Edinburgh,  1889. 
Franck,  Richard.     Northern  Memoirs,  1694. 

New  edition.     By  Sir  Weaker  Scott.     Edinburgh,  1821. 
Fraser  Family,  Annals  of  such  Patriots  of  the,  Frysell,  &c.,  as  have 
signalised  themselves  in  the  Public  Service  of  Scotland.    Edin- 
burgh, 1795. 
Fraser-Mackintosh,  Charles,  LL.D. — 

Dunachton,  Past  and  Present.     Inverness. 

Antiquarian  Notes.     Inverness,  1S65. 

Invernessiana.     Inverness,  1875. 

Yachting   and   Electioneering    in    the    Hebrides.     Inverness, 

1887. 
Letters  of  Two  Centuries.     Inverness,  1S90. 
Antiquarian  Notes.     2nd  series.     Inverness,  1897. 
Fraser,  Sir  William.     Chiefs  of  Grant.     3  vols.     Edinburgh,  1883. 
Grant,  Francis  J.     The  Grants  of  Corrimony,  &c.     Lerwick,  1895. 


360  LIST   OF   BOOKS   RELATING   TO 

Grant,  Rev.  John,  and    Rev.  William    Leslie.      A   Survey  of  the 
Province  of  i\Ioray,  Historical,  Geographical,  and    Political. 
Elgin,  1798. 
(Gregory,   Donald.      Western   Highlands  and    Isles.      Edinburgh, 

1836. 
Inverness,  History  and  Description  of  the  Town  of.     Inverness, 

1847. 
Lauder,    Sir   Thomas    Dick,    Bart.,    Account    of   the    Morayshire 

Floods.     Edinburgh,  1830. 
Lumsden,  Mathew.    Genealogy  of  the  Family  of  Forbes.    Inverness, 

1819. 
Macaulay,  Rev.  K.     History  of  St  Kilda.     London,  1764. 
Macdonald,  D.     Memorabilia  of  Inverness.     Inverness,  1822. 

Second  edition.     Inverness,  1887. 
Macdonald,   Rev.  A.,   Killearnan,  and   Rev.  A.,   Kiltarlity.     Clan 

Donald.     Vol.  i.     Inverness,  1896.     Vol.  ii.  in  the  press. 
Macdonald,  Rev.  Charles.     Moidart ;  or.  Among  the  Clanranalds. 

Oban,  1889. 
M'Donald,  Rev.  M.,  D.D.     The  Covenanters  of  Moray  and  Ross. 

Second  edition.     Inverness,  1892. 
Mackay,  William.     Urquhart  and  Glenmoriston.     Inverness,  1893. 
Mackenzie,  Alexander — 

History  of  the  Clan  Mackenzie,  with  Genealogies  of  the  Prin- 
cipal Families.     Inverness,  1874. 
Second  edition.     Inverness,  1894. 
History  of  the  Macdonalds  and  Lords  of  the  Isles.    Inverness, 

1881. 
History  of  the   Mathesons,  with   Genealogies  of  the  various 

Branches.     Inverness,  1882. 
History  of  the  Camerons,  with  Genealogies  of  the  Principal 

Families  of  that  Name.     Inverness,  1884. 
History  of  the  Macleods,  with  Genealogies  of  the  Principal 

Families  of  that  Name.     Inverness,  1889. 
History  of  the  Chisholms,  with  Genealogies  of  the  Principal 

Families  of  that  Name.     Inverness,  1891. 
History  of  the    Erasers    of  Lovat,  with   Genealogies  of  the 
Principal  Families  of  that  Name,  to  which  is  added  those 
of  Dunballoch  and  Phopachy.     Inverness,  1896. 
Mackintosh  of  Raigmore.     Invernessicus  :  Objects  interesting  to 
the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  and  particularly  to  Inverness  and 
Inverness-shire.     Edinburgh,  18 14. 
Mackintosh,  Sir  .(Eneas.     Notes,  Descriptive  and  Historical,  prin- 
cipally relating  to  the  Parish  of  Moy  in  Strathdearn.    Privately 
printed.     1892. 


INVERNESS.  361 

Macpherson,  Alexander.    Church  and  Social  Life  in  the  Highlands. 

Edinburgh,  1893. 
Martin,  M.     A  Voyage  to  St  Kilda.     1818. 
Nairne,   D.      Memorable    Hoods    in    the    Highlands   during   the 

Nineteenth  Century.     Inverness,  1895. 
Registrum  Episcopatus  Moraviensis.     Bannatyne  Club.     1837. 
Shaw,  Alexander  Mackintosh.     Historical  Memoirs  of  the  House 
and  Clan  of  Mackintosh  and  of  the  Clan  Chattan.     London, 
1880. 
Shaw,  Rev.  Lauchlan.     History  of  the  Province  of  Moray.     Edin- 
burgh, 1775. 

Second  edition.     Elgin,  1827. 

New  edition  by  Rev.  J.  F.  S.  Gordon.     Glasgow,  1882. 
Sinclair,  Rev.  Allan.     The  Grants  of  Glenmoriston.     Edinburgh, 

1887. 
Stewart,  General,  of  Garth.     Sketches  of  the  Character,  Manners, 
and  Present  State  of  the   Highlanders   of  Scotland.      Edin- 
burgh, 1822. 

Abridged  edition.     In\erness,  1885. 
Sutter,  James.     Memorabilia  of  Inverness,  republished  from  the 
'  Inverness  Courier.'     Inverness,  1822. 
New  edition.     Inverness,  1887. 
Tulloch,    Major- General   A.    B.      The    Forty -Five.       Inverness, 

1896. 
Wimberley,  Captain  Douglas — 

The  Hospital  of  Inverness  and  Dunbar's  Hospital.     Inverness, 

1893. 
Memorials   of  Four   Old    Families  (Campbell  of  Kilmartin, 
Gordon    of  Lesmoir,   Irvine  of  Drum,  and  Wimberley  of 
South  William).     Inverness,  1894. 


MISCELLANEO  US. 

Book  of  Common  Prayer  (Gaelic).     Inbhemis,  1819. 

Brown,  Rev.  W.  Wallace.     Letters  from  Sunny  Shores.     Inver- 
ness, 1896. 

Ellis,  John.     Lectures  on  Freemasonry.     Inverness,  1886. 

Grant,  Mrs,  of  Laggan — 

Superstitions  of  the  Highlanders  of  Scotland.     London,  181 1. 
Letters  from  the  Mountains.     2  vols.     London,  1845.     Sixth 
edition. 

MacGregor,  Rev.  Alexander.    Highland  Superstitions.    Inverness. 


362  LIST   OF   BOOKS    RELATING   TO 

Mackenzie,  Alexander — 

The  Isle  of  Skye  in  1S82-1883.     Inverness,  1883. 

History  of  the  Highland  Clearances.     Inverness,  1883. 

The  Prophecies  of  the  Brahan  Seer  (Coinneach  Odhar).     In- 
verness, 1878. 
M'Niel,  Nigel.     Literature  of  the  Highlanders.     Inverness,  1892. 
Ross,  Alexander.     Freemasonry  in  Inverness.     Inverness,  1877. 
Smith,  Alexander.     A  Summer  in  Skye.     London,  1866. 
Stewart,  William  Grant — 

The  Popular  Superstitions  and  Festive  Amusements  of  the 
Highlanders  of  Scotland.     London,   185 1. 

Lectures  on  the  Mountains.     London,  i860. 


NATURAL   HISTORY. 

Craig,  Archibald.     The  Scenery  and  Bird  Life  of  Glen  Urquhart, 

Inverness. 
Fraser,  Alexander.     History  of  the  Salmon.     Inverness,  1833. 
Miller,  Hugh.     On  the  Herring  Fishery.     Inverness,  1829. 


PHILOLOGY. 

Cameron,  Rev.  Alexander,  LL.D.      Reliquiae  Celticte.     Edited  by 
Alexander  MacBain  and  John   Kennedy.     Vol.  i.     Inverness, 
1892. 
Vol.  ii.     Inverness,  1894. 
Grant,  James,  of  Corrimony — 

Essay  on  the   Origin  of  Society,    Language,    Property,   and 

Government.     London,  1785. 
Thoughts  on  the  Origin  and  Descent  of  the  Gael.     Edinburgh, 
1814. 
MacBain,  Alexander — 

Personal  Names  and  Surnames  of  the  Town  of  Inverness. 

Inverness,   1895. 
An  Etymological  Dictionary  of  the  (Gaelic  Language.     Inver- 
ness, 1896. 
Macbean,  Lachlan — 

Guide  to  Gaelic  Conversation  and  Pronunciation.     Inverness, 

1884. 
Elementary  Lessons  in  Gaelic.     Inverness,  1876. 
Second  edition.     Inverness,  1879. 


INVERNESS.  363 


POETRY  AND  MUSIC— ENGLISH  AND   GAELIC. 

Buchanan,  Dugald.     Gaelic  Hymns.     Inverness,  181 1,  1813,  1820. 

Cameron,  Margaret.     Songs  (Gaelic).     Inverness,  1805. 

Carey,  David.     Craig  Phadric,  &c.     Inverness,  181 1. 

Choice  Collection  of  Scotch  Songs,  with  Gaelic  Translations. 
Inverness,  1829. 

Collection  of  Original  Poems,  vSongs,  &c.  (Gaelic).  Inverness, 
1821. 

Couper,  Dr  R.  Poems,  chiefly  in  the  Scottish  Language.  Inver- 
ness, 1804. 

Grant,  Archibald  (Bard  of  Glenmoriston).  Poems  and  Songs 
(Gaelic).     Inverness,  1863. 

Grant,  Mrs,  of  Laggan.     Poems.     1803. 

Grant,  Peter.     Gaelic  Hymns.     Inverness,  1827. 

Inverness  Book  of  Scottish  Song.     Inverness,  1875. 

Inverness  Collection,  Gaelic  Songs,  &c.     Inbhernis,  1806. 

Logan.  Inverness  Collection  of  Gaelic  Songs,  with  English 
Translations.     Inverness. 

Loudon,  Duncan.     Songs  (Gaelic  and  English).     Inverness,  1780. 

M 'Galium,  Duncan.  Collection  of  Gaelic  Songs,  with  Notes  Bio- 
graphical, Critical,  and  Explanatory.     Inverness,  1821. 

Macdonald,    Alexander.      "  Coinneach    '"us    Coille."      Inverness, 

1895. 
Macdonald,  David.     The  Mountain  Heath.     Inverness,  1838. 
Macdonald,  John.     Songs  (Gaelic).     Inverness,  1802. 
Macdonald,    Rev.   Archibald.      The    Uist    Collection.      Glasgow, 

1894. 
Macdougall,  Allan.     Songs  (Gaelic).     Inbhernis,  1829. 
Mackay,  Alexander.     Songs    and    Poems  (English  and    (Gaelic). 

Inverness,  1821. 
Mackay,  Robert,  or  Donn.     Songs  and  Poems.     Inbhernis,  1829. 
Mackay,  William — 

The  Highland  Minstrel :  A  Collection  of  Gaelic  Songs.     In- 
verness, 1873. 

Eraser  of  Knockie.     Highland  Music.     New  edition.     Inver- 
ness, 1874. 
Mackenzie,  George.     Highland  Day  Dreams.     Inverness,  1887. 

New  edition,  1897. 
Maclachlan,  Ewen.     Metrical  Effusions.     Aberdeen,  1816. 
Macleod,  Donald.     Songs  (Gaelic).     Inverness,  181 1. 
Macpherson,   James.      Poetical   Works.      With    the    Life   of  the 

Author.     Edinburgh,   1802. 


364  LIST   OF   BOOKS    RELATING   TO 

Macrae,  John.     Poems  and  Songs.     Inverness,  1816. 

Miller,  Hugh.  Poems  written  in  the  Leisure  Hours  of  a  Journey- 
man Mason.     Inverness,  1829. 

Roddie  and  Macbean.  Popular  Gaelic  Melodies,  with  English 
Translations.     Inverness,   1878. 

Spiritual  Songs,  with  an  Account  of  John  Mackay  and  Dugald 
Buchanan  (Gaelic).     Inverness,   1835. 

Stewart,  W.  G.     Songs  of  Glen  Urquhart.     4to.     1851. 

Stuart,  John  Sobieski  and  Charles  Edward.  Lays  of  the  Deer 
Forest.     Edinburgh,   1848. 


RELIGION  AND   ECCLESIASTICAL   AFFAIRS. 

Brown   Rev.  W.  Wallace.     Sundays  in  the  Highlands.     Inverness, 

1896. 
Craven,    Rev.   J.    B.     History   of  the    Episcopal   Church    in    the 

Diocese  of  Moray.     London,   1889. 
Eraser,  Hugh.     Allein's  Saints'  Pocket-Book  (Gaelic).     Inverness, 

1823. 
Eraser,  James — 

Bunyan's  Barren  Fig-Tree  (Gaelic).     Inverness,  1824. 

Controversy  between  Protestant  and  Papist  (Gaelic).     Inver- 
ness, 1823. 
Eraser,  William.     On  Baptism  (Gaelic).     Inverness,  1828. 
Lang,  Rev.  Gavin.     The  Holy  Gospel  in  Continuous   Narrative. 

Inverness,  1884. 
Macalister,  Rev.  John.     Gaelic  and  English  Sermons.     Edited  by 

Rev.  J.  Kennedy  Cameron.     Inverness,  1896. 
MacBain,  Alexander.     Celtic  Mythology  and  Religion.     Inverness, 

1885. 
Macdonald,  Angus.     Sermon  by  Thomas  Boston,  and  History  ot 

Hugh    M'Kail    and    James    Renwick    (Gaelic).      Inverness, 

1863. 
Macdonald,  Robert — 

Bunyan's  Badman  (Gaelic).     Inverness,  1824. 

Bunyan's  Sighs  from  Hell  (Gaelic).     Inverness,  1829. 
Mackay,  William.     Records  of  the  Presbyteries  of  Inverness  and 

Dingwall,    1643-88   (Scottish    History    Society).      Edinburgh, 

1896. 
Mackenzie,   D.,  M.A.     The   Catechism   of  the   Church   ((laelic). 

Inverness,   1821. 


INVERNESS.  365 

Mackintosh,  Donald.    Waldo's  Lord's  Supper  (Gaelic).    Inverness, 

1826. 
Macmillan,  John.     Davies  on  the  Church  of  England  (Gaelic). 

Inverness,  1828. 
Owen,  Rev.  John,  D.D.     Christology.     Translated  into  Gaelic  by 

Alexander  Macdougall.     Inverness,  1884. 
Psalms  of  David — 

Rev.  A.  M^cfarlane's  Gaelic  Version.     Inverness,  1774,  1804, 
1813,  1821. 

Rev.  Dr  Smith's  Gaelic  Version.     Inverness,  1821,  1824,  1826. 
Rose,   Hew.     Meditations  on    Interesting   Subjects,   1660.      Pul)- 

lished  at  Inverness,  1761. 
Rose,  John.     Brooke's  Apples  of  (Jokl  (Gaelic).     Inverness,  1824. 
Smith,  John,  D.D.     AUein's  Alarm  (Gaelic).     Inverness,  1807. 

New  edition,  18 13. 
The  Shorter   Catechism   (Gaelic).     Inverness,   1778,   1804,    1813, 

1821. 


STATISTICS. 

Fraser,  Hugh.     Land  Statistics  of  the  Shires  of  Inverness,  Ross, 

and  Cromarty.     Inverness,  1872. 
Moral  Statistics  of  the  Highlands,  compiled  from  Returns  received 

by   the    Inverness    Society   for   the    Education   of  the   Poor. 

Inverness,  1826. 
Statistical  Account   of  Scotland.     Edited  by  Sir  John   Sinclair. 

Edinburgh,  1791. 
New  Statistical  Account  of  Scotland.     Edinburgh,  1845. 


TOPOGRAPHY. 

Anderson,  Peter.     Guide  to  Culloden  Moor.     Inverness,  1867. 
Beaton,  A.  J.     Illustrated  Guide  to  Fortrose  and  Vicinity.     Inver- 
ness, 1885. 
Illustrated  Guide  to  Inverness  and  District.     Inverness,  1894. 
Longmuir,  John,  LL.D.     Speyside.     Aberdeen,  i860. 
New  Guide  to  Inverness  and  Vicinity.     Inverness,  1892. 


366       LIST   OF   BOOKS    RELATING   TO    INVERNESS. 


NEWSPAPERS. 

The  Inverness  Journal  and  Northern  Advertiser.     1807-48. 

The  Inverness  Courier.     1817.     Still  published. 

The  Inverness  Herald.     1836-46. 

The  Inverness  Spectator  and  Clachnacuddin  Record.     1840-41. 

The  Inverness  and  Northern  Agriculturist.     1845-46. 

The  Inverness  Advertiser.     1849-85. 

The  Inverness  Times.     1855-59. 

The  Inverness  Reformer.     1856-58. 

The  Highland  Sentinel.     1861-63. 

The  Highlander.     1873-82. 

The  Northern  Chronicle.     1881.     Still  published. 

The  Highland  News.     1883.     Still  published. 

The  Scottish  Highlander.     1885.     Still  published. 

The  Highland  Times.     1895.     Still  published. 


PERIODICALS. 

The  Northern  Mirror,  or  Inverness  Magazine.     1830. 

Caraid  nan  Gaidheal,  or  the  Highland  Friend.     1853.     One  part 

only  published. 
Merrilees'  Pictorial  Monthly  Magazine.     1857-58. 
The  Institutional  Gazette  (monthly).     1857-58. 
The  Auctioneer.     1874. 
The  Celtic  Magazine  (monthly).     1875-88. 
Fraser's  Illustrated  Monthly  Magazine.     1878. 
The  Invernessian  (monthly).     1880-81. 
The  Inverness  Frolic.     1882-83. 
The  Highland  Monthly.     1889-93. 
The  Northern  Evangelist.     1896.     Still  published. 
The  Nessian-Inverness  Collegiate  School  Magazine.    Occasionally 

issued. 


36; 


LIST   OF    MAPS    OF    INVERNESS. 

ScoticC  Provincial  Mediterranean  inter  Taum  flumen  et  Vararis 
aestuarium  :  Sunt  autem  Braid  -  Allaban,  Atholia,  Marria 
superior,  Badenocha,  Strath-Spea,  Lochabria,  cum  Cherson- 
eso  qui  ei  ad  occasum  prantenditur,  cum  singulis  earundeni 
partibus.     Opera  Ro.  Gordonii  a  Sffnioch. 

A  description  of  the  inland  provinces  of  Scotland  lying 
between  Tay  river  and  Murra  fyrth,  conteyning  Braid-Allaban, 
Brae   of  Mar,   Badenoch,   Strath-Spey,   Lochabyr,   w*^  all   ye 
lands  which  ley  west  from  Lochabyr,  w'  all  their  parts  con- 
teyned  under  them.     Printed  in  Blaeu's  Atlas,  1654. 
Skia  vel  Skiana.     The  Yle  of  Skie.     Blaeu's  Atlas. 
Vistus    Insula,   vulgo  Viist,  cum  aliis   minoribus   ex   /Ebudarum 
munero  ei  ad  meridiem  adjacentibus.    Aiictorc  Timotheo  Pont. 
Blaeu's  Atlas. 
The  East  Part  of  the  Shire  of  Inverness  with  Badenoch,  which  is 

part  of  it.     By  H.  Moll.      1725  (?). 
The  West  Part  of  Inverness,  contains  Lochaber  with  all  the  Terri- 
tories west  from  it.     By  H.  Moll.     1725  (?). 
J.    Thomson's   Atlas   of  Scotland.      1832.      Inverness-shire   in    4 
sheets,  viz. : — 

Skye  Island,  &c.,  from  actual  surveys,  and  compared  with 

the  Government  Surveys.     By  William  Johnson. 
Western  Isles,  from  actual  surveys. 

Northern  Part  of  Inverness-shire.     By  William  Johnson. 
Southern  Part  of  Inverness-shire.     By  William  Johnson. 
Inverness,  County.     (Lothian's  County  Maps  of  Scotland.)     Edin- 
burgh, 1835. 
Inverness-shire,   in   the   '  New   Statistical  Account  of  Scotland.' 

1845- 
Inverness-shire,  in  i-inch  Ordnance  Survey  Maps.     1874- 1896. 

Royal  Scottish  (Geographical  Society's  Atlas  of  Scotland.     By  J. 

G.  Bartholomew.    1895.    ^Vhere  a  full  Bibliography  of  Atlases 

of  Scotland  is  given,  pp.  16-18. 


INDEX. 


Aberdeen,  coacliing  between  Inverness 

and,  257. 
Achnacarry,   Jacobite  rendezvous 'at, 

183. 

Act  of  Parliament,  for  disarming 
the  Higlilands,  202 — for  depriving 
Highland  chiefs  of  judicial  powers, 
203. 

Agassiz,  theory  of,  as  to  parallel 
"road"  formations,  351. 

Agriculture,  state  of,  264,  270 — report 
on,  by  Rev.  James  Robertson,  266 
— land  tenures,  267  —  methods  of 
farming,  269. 

Aird,  emigration  from  the,  249. 

Alexander  I.  founds  the  bishopric  of 
Moray,  21. 

Alexander  II.,  changes  in  the  High- 
lands effected  by,  15. 

Appin,  emigration  from,  249. 

Argyle,  Earl  of,  authority  given  to, 
41 — in  command  against  Montrose, 
67 — defeated  by  Montrose  at  Inver- 
lochy,  70— hatred  of  the  Inverness- 
shire  clans  to,  74  —  acquisition  of 
territory  by,  ib. 

Argyleshire,  invasion  of,  by  Alexander 
Macdonald,  66 — laid  waste  by  Mon- 
trose, 68. 

Arisaig,  emigration  from,  249. 

Athole,  Duke  of,  Jacobite  zeal  of, 
182. 

Badenoch,  incursion  of  Islesmcn  into, 
40— Viscount  Dundee  in,  97 — free- 
booters in,  133 — primitive  condition 
of  present  houses  in,  275. 

Balloch,  Donald,  rebellion  of,  39. 

Beauly,  priory  of,  22. 

Birnie,  monastery  of,  11. 

"  Black  tailor  of  the  battle-axe,"  the, 

45- 


"Black  Watch,"  the,  when  raised, 
230. 

Blackie,  Professor,  translation  of  Alex- 
ander Macdonald's  poem  on  the 
kilt  by,  319. 

"Borlum,  did."  See  Mackintosh, 
William. 

Borradale,  Prince  Charles  in,  167,  188, 

195- 

Braemar,  rising  of  the  clans  at,  116. 

Breadalbane,  Earl  of,  arbitrates  be- 
tween King  William  and  Highland 
chiefs,  108. 

"  Brochs"  in  Inverness-shire,  13. 

Buchan,  General,  Icadsthe  Highlanders 
in  a  campaign  for  King  James,  105. 

Burghead,  battle  of,  4. 

Burt,  Mr,  *  Letters  from  the  North  ' 
by,  136  —  description  of  Inverness 
by,  141,  146 — account  of  Inverness- 
shire  chiefs  by,  147-150  —  on  wild 
sports,  151 — a  mistake  by,  154 — on 
Highland  dress,  156  —  on  second- 
sight,  157. 

"  Cage,  the,"  Prince  Charles  Edward's 
hiding-place,  193  —  picturesqueness 
of,  ib. 

Caledonian  Canal.     See  Canal. 

Caledonian  Glen,  geological  construc- 
tion of  the,  349. 

Cameron,  Sir  Alan,  233  —  raises  the 
Cameron  Highlanders,  234  —  dis- 
tinguished career  of,  235 — pride  in 
his  soldiers  of,  ib. — death  of,  236. 

Cameron,  Sir  Alexander,  distinguished 
career  of,  240. 

Cameron,  Dr  Archibald,  disgraceful 
execution  of,  201. 

Cameron,  Donald,  of  Lochiel,  decides 
to  persuade  Prince  Charles  to  return 
to  France,    166— is  prevailed  upon 


2   A 


370 


INDEX. 


to  side  with  Prince  Charles,  ih. — 
wounded  at  C'uUoden,  i8o — taken 
prisoner  at  Achnacarry,  184 — joined 
by  Prince  Charles  at  Alellanuir,  193 
—  accompanies  Prince  Charles  to 
France,  198. 

Cameron,  Sir  Ewen,  of  Lochiel,  one 
of  the  outstanding  figures  of  his 
time,  82 — character  of,  ib. — exploits 
against  Cromwell  of,  ib. — desperate 
struggle  between  Ironside  officer 
and,  ib. — makes  terms  with  General 
Monk,  83 — accompanies  Monk  to 
London,  ib. — dispute  between  The 
Mackintosh  and,  87 — poetic  descrip- 
tion of,  99  —  second -sight  at  the 
battle  of  Killiecrankie,  103 — bravery 
of,  104 — refuses  to  submit  to  King 
William,  105  —  retires  into  private 
life,  no — old  age  of,  in. 

Cameron,  John,  of  Fassiefern,  237 — 
distinguished  career  of,  239  —  at 
Quatre  Bras,  z^.— last  words  of,  ib, 

Cameron,  John,  of  Lochiel,  with  Mar 
in  rising  of  "the  Fifteen,"  117 — 
makes  poor  figure  as  a  soldier,  120 
— escapes  to  France,  ib. 

Cameron,  John,  war  correspondent, 
career  of,  244,  245 — graphic  quality 
of  correspondence  of,  244. 

Cameron,  Sir  John,  active  military 
career  of,  240. 

Cameron  Highlanders,  the,  where 
raised,  233 — uniform  of,  234. 

Camerons,  the.  Lowland  origin  of,  29 
— proneness  to  rapine  and  plunder 
of,  152. 

Canal,  Caledonian,  the,  when  begun, 
253  —  extent  of,  ib. — difficulties  of 
constructing,  254,  255— opened  for 
traffic,  256. 

Cannon,  General,  incapacity  of,  as 
successor  to  Dundee,  105. 

Carnithers,  Robert,  work  as  editor  of 
the  'Inverness  Courier,'  301  —im- 
petus given  to  culture  in  the  North 
by,  ib. 

Charms,  belief  in,  8. 

Charters  granted  by  William  the 
Lion  to  Inverness,  19. 

Chatham,  Lord,  orders  regiments  to 
be  raised  in  the  Highlands,  230 
—  speech  in  praise  of  Highland 
soldiers,  231. 

Chattan,  clan,  feud  between  the 
Camerons  and,  33 — royal  mandate 
issued  against,  41. 

Chiefs,  retinue  of,  148  —  dwelling- 
houses  of,  ib. — hospitality  of,  149 — 
despotic  government  of,  150— sports 
of,  151 — raids  of,  ib.,  152 — last  of 
the  old  race  of,  338. 


Chisholm,  The,  contrition  of,  after 
"  the  Fifteen,"  122. 

Chisholms,  territory  of  the,  29. 

Church,  the,  influence  of,  in  the 
North,  20. 

Clan  system,  the,  first  appearance  of, 
28  —  despotic  government  of  the 
chief  in,   150 — end  of,  203. 

Clanranald,  chief  of,  lacks  confidence 
in  Mar,  117 — burns  Castle  Tirrim, 
ib. — decay  of  the  family  possessions 

of,  337- 
Coaching  begun   in    the    Highlands, 

257- 

Colkitto.     See  Macdonald,  Alexander. 

"  Coll  of  the  Cows."  See  Macdonald 
of  Keppoch. 

Columba,  St,  belief  in  demonology 
by,  7 — a  story  of,  8 — pilgrimage  to 
the  court  of  King  Brude  by,  9 — 
King  Brude's  reception  of,  ib. — 
Adamnan's  stories  of,  10,  11  — 
nionasteries  of,  11 — churches  of, 
ib. — church  polity  of,  20. 

Comyns,  territory  of  the,  27. 

Cope,  General,  futile  tactics  of,  170 — 
at  Inverness,  ib. 

"  Cope's  turn,"  170. 

Cromdale,  battle  on  the  Haughs  of, 
105. 

Cromwell  in  Inverness  -  shire,  76  — 
builds  a  citadel  at  Inverness,  77. 

Cruithne  of  the  North,  the,  2. 

CuUoden,  battle  of,  176— inequality  of 
the  contest,  ib. — arrangement  of  the 
armies,  ib.,  177  —  desperate  charge 
of  the  Highlanders,  177 — stubborn 
pride  of  the  Macdonalds  at,  178 — 
stories  of  personal  prowess  at, 
179. 

Cumberland,  Duke  of,  in  command 
of  the  Hanoverian  army,  175  —  in- 
humanity of,  after  the  battle  of  Cul- 
loden,  i8i. 

Customs,  149,  161,  227. 

"  Dalcomera's  plain,"  gathering  of  the 
clans  on,  98 — poetic  descriptions  of 
chiefs  at,  ib.,  100. 

Dall,  Alan,  songs  of,  328. 

David  I.,  insurrection  against,  16— 
forfeits  the  territory  of  Moray,  17. 

David  II.  in  Inverness-shire,  27. 

De  Johnstone,  Chevalier,  account  of 
Prince  Charles  after  Culloden  by, 
182,  183. 

Deer-forests,  273,  278. 

Demonology,  belief  in,  8. 

"  Desire  of  the  Aged  Bard,"  the,  305- 
308  —  scene  of,  305  —  bears  marks 
of  high  antiquity,  ib.  —  character- 
istics of,  306-308. 


INDEX. 


371 


Disruption,  effects  of  the,  in  Inverness- 
shire,  279. 
Divination  among  the  Druids,  6. 
Dominican   monastery   in    Inverness, 

23- 

Donald,  Lord  of  the  Isles,  36  —  at- 
tempts to  seize  the  Scottish  throne, 
37 —  Inverness  -  shire  followers  of, 
id. — defeat  of,  //'.—pillages  Inver- 
ness, 38  — submits  to  tlie  king,  39. 

Dress,  the  Highland,  155 — proscribed 
by  Government,  202. 

Druidical  circles,  12. 

Dmidism  in  the  North,  7. 

Druids,  the,  great  influence  of,  6 — 
divination  among,  id. — debased  re- 
ligion of,  7 — St  Columba  and,  8. 

Drumalban,  the  range  of,  i. 

Education  in  Inverness  -  shire,  278- 
281  —  low  state  of,  two  hundred 
years  ago,  278 — work  done  by  the 
Society  for  Propagating  Christian 
Knowledge,  ii.  —  advance  of  a 
gradual  kind,  279  —  effects  of  the 
Disruption  upon,  //'.  —  the  Act  of 
1872  and.  280 — a  primitive  school 
building,  il>. — secondary  education, 
281 — scheme  of  the  Inverness-shire 
County  Committee  regarding,  ii. 

r'dward  I.  in  Inverness-shire,  26. 

Edward  III.  in  Inverness-shire,  26. 

Emigration  from  Inverness-shire,  248, 

249- 
Episcopacy  in  Inverness-shire,  91. 
Evictions   in  Glengarry  and  Glenelg, 

260. 
Evil  eye,  belief  in  the,  8. 

Fairies,  belief  in,  8. 

Farming,  methods  of,  269. 

Fencibles,  Highland,  where  raised, 
232. 

Feudal  institutions  in  Inverness-shire, 
18. 

Feuds,  clan,  61-63,  87-90. 

"Fifteen,  the,"  rising  of,  116-120  — 
an  ill-managed  enterprise,  120  — 
Inverness-shire  chiefs  in,  id. — results 
of,  id.,  121. 

Flanders,  trade  between  Inverness 
and,  48. 

Flemings  in  Inverness-shire,  23. 

Forbes,  Duncan,  of  Culloden,  284 — 
great  influence  of,  i/>. — support  to 
the  Hanoverian  cause  by,  285,  287 
—  elected  Lord  Ad\ ocate,  286 — writ- 
ings of,  id. — appointed  President  of 
the  Court  of  Session,  287 — harshly 
treated  by  the  Government,  288. 

Forbes,  Mrs,  of  Culloden,  gallant 
conduct  of,  118. 


Fort  Augustus,  erection  of,  127  — 
captured  by  the  Jacobites,  174  — 
monastery  at,  344. 

Fort  George,  erection  of,  127 — blown 
up  by  the  Jacobites,  174 — rebuilding 
of,  207. 

Fort  William,  or  Maryburgh,  Mr 
Burt's  description  of,  146  —  Dr 
Robertson's  description  of,  273  — 
attractions  of,  344. 

"Forty-five,  the,"  casting  of  the  die 
in,  166  —  first  blood  in,  167  —  the 
standard  unfurled  in  Glenfinnan, 
168 — campaign  against  Cope,  170- 
172 — battle  of  Culloden,  175-181. 

Fraser,  James  Baillie,  travels  of,  299 — 
novels  by,  id. 

Fraser,  Simon,  Lord  Lovat,  where 
educated,  158 — marriage  schemes 
of,  id.  —  outlawed,  159  —  flees  to 
France,  160 — betrays  Jacobite  plans, 
id. — imprisoned  in  the  Bastille,  id. — 
becomes  a  Jesuit  priest,  id. — escapes 
to  England,  //'.  —  takes  the  Han- 
overian side,  161 — made  Sheriff  of 
Inverness-shire,  id. — high  domestic 
state  maintained  by,  id. — popularity 
of,  162 — joins  the  Jacobite  party,  id. 
— deprived  of  his  sheriffship,  id. 

Fraser  -  Mackintosh,  Mr,  antiquarian 
researches  of,  301. 

Fraser's  Highlanders.  231. 

Erasers,  territory  of  the,  29. 

Gaelic  bards,  works  of,  304-333 — one 
of  the  earliest  of,  305  —  Donald 
Macdonald,  of  Lochaber,  308— Ian 
Lom,  309 — "The  day  of  Inver- 
lochy,"  311 — "  Lament  for  the  Chief 
of  Glengarry,"  313  —  Alexander 
Macdonald,  314  —  the  "Sugar 
Brook,"  316  —  the  "Song  of  the 
Highland  Clans,"  317 — "  Morag 
Beautiful,"  id.  318—"  Launching  of 
the  Biorlinn,"  319-322  —  Sicely  or 
Julian  Macdonald,  323 — John  Mac- 
donald, 324  —  Mr  Lauchlan  Mac- 
pherson,  325 — John  Roy  Stewart, 
326 — John  Roy  Stewart's  "  Psalm," 
327  —  Alan  Dall,  328  —  Ewan 
M'Lachlan,  330-332  —  Mary  Mac- 
kellar,  332. 

Gaulda,  Ronald,  claims  the  chieftain- 
ship of  Clanranald,  42 — defeated  by 
John  of  Moidart,  43. 

Geology  of  Inverness-shire,  347. 

Glen  Dessary,  evictions  in,  261. 

Glen  Roy,  parallel  "  road  "  formations 

of,  349-352. 
Glen  Spean,  geological  formation  of, 

350- 
Glenelg,  emigration  from,  261. 


372 


INDEX. 


Glcnfinnan,  picturesquencss  of,  i68 — 
gathering  of  the  clans  at  "the  Forty- 
five"  in,  169. 

Glengarry,  chief  of,  foments  insurrec- 
tion against  Cromwell,  79  —  poetic 
description  of,  98 — bravery  of,  at 
Killiecrankie,  104  —  imprisoned  in 
the  Tower,  199— decay  of  the  family 
of,  336 — the  last  of  the  old  race  of, 

337- 
Glengarry  evictions,  261. 
Glennioriston,  Prince  Charles  in,  191, 

192. 
Glenquoich,  extensive  outlay  upon  the 

estate  of,  340. 
Gordon  Highlanders,  the,  232. 
Gordon,  Lord,  302. 
"GrEemiad,"  the,  94. 
Grant,  Sir  Colquhoun,  career  of,  237. 
Grants,  territory  of  the,  29. 

Harlaw,  battle  of,  37. 

Hawley,  General,  inhuman  conduct 
of,   198. 

Highlanders,  the,  at  the  battle  of  Cul- 
loden,  176-178 — prowess  of,  at  Cul- 
loden,  179 — eager  to  continue  the 
struggle  for  Prince  Charles,  181 — 
Dr  Johnson's  sympathy  with,  224. 

Highlands,  the,  the  clan  system  in,  31- - 
Act  to  secure  the  settlement  of,  201 
— Act  for  disarming,  202  —  enact- 
ment against  the  national  dress  in, 
ib.  —  benefit  of  the  Caledonian 
Canal  to,  256. 

Home,  Mr  Milne,  on  the  parallel 
"road"  formations  in  Inverness- 
shire,  351. 

Ian  Lom,  bard  of  Clanranald,  poeivi 
on  Montrose's  victory  at  Inverlochy, 
70— efforts  by,  for  vengeance  upon 
the  murderers  of  his  chief's  sons,  87 
— poem  in   praise  of  Montrose  by, 

309- 

Implements,  primitive,  272. 

Inverlochy,  battle  of,  39 — fortification 
of  the  castle  of,  45. 

Invernahavon,  battle  of,  33. 

Inverness,  excellent  situation  of,  18 — 
probably  erected  into  a  burgh  by 
David  I.,  ib. — charters  granted  by 
William  the  Lion  to,  19  —  steady 
prosperity  of,  20 — shipVjuilding  at, 
ib. — monastery  of  St  Dominic  in,  23 
^burnt  by  Donald,  Lord  of  the 
Isles,  38— besieged  by  Montrose,  71 
— occupied  by  Cromwell's  soldiers, 
77 — siege  of,  92,  93 — magistrates 
deride  the  proclamation  of  King 
George,  114  —  captured  by  the 
Jacobites,    118  —  retaken    by    the 


Roj'alists,  119 — extent  of,  at  "the 
Forty-five,"  137 — the  castle  of,  ib. — 
the  tolbooth,  138 — the  Laigh  Coun- 
cil House,  ib. — trade  of,  139  — Mr 
Burt's  description  of,  141-156  — 
criminal  administration  in,  142 — 
want  of  cleanliness  in,  143 — appear- 
ance of  townsfolk,  144 — abundant 
food-supply  in,  146 — Prince  Charles 
Edward  in,  173 — described  by  Pen- 
nant, 214 — Dr  Johnson  in,  219 — 
steamboat  communication  estab- 
lished between  Glasgow  and  Leith 
and,  258 — increasing  wealth  of,  ib. 
— handsome  buildings  of,  343 — scen- 
ery of,  ib.  — increase  of  business  and 
trade  in,  ib. 
Inverness-shire,  in  the  time  of  the 
Picts,  2 — coming  of  Christianity  in- 
to, 6  —  early  religion  of,  8  —  pre- 
historic relics  in,  12 — the  Church  in, 
20,  21 — slight  evidence  of  the  con- 
ventual system  in,  21  —  sheriffdom 
of,  24 — not  greatly  affected  by  the 
War  of  Independence,  25 — Edward 
I.  in,  26 — Edward  III.  in,  ib. — 
David  11.  in,  27 — social  changes  in, 
28 — clans  of,  ib.,  29 — appearance  of 
the  clan  system  in,  32 — rebellions  of 
clans  in,  37-41 — clans  support 
Ronald  Gaulda,  42 — fortification  of 
castles  in,  45 — feudal  spirit  among 
the  chiefs  of,  46 — slow  appearance 
of .  Protestantism  in,  51 — character 
of  the  clergy  of,  52 — church  plant- 
ing in,  53 — political  changes  caused 
by  the  Reformation,  57 — feuds  in, 
61  —  stories  of  Highland  seers  in, 
64 — campaign  of  Montrose,  67-75 
—  Cromwell  in,  76-79  —  General 
Monk's  march  through,  81 — indus- 
tries taught  by  Cromwell's  soldiers, 
85 — chiefs  at  the  battle  of  Killie- 
crankie, 103 — chiefs  take  the  oath 
of  allegiance  to  King  William,  109 
— continued  Jacobite  disturbances 
in,  112 — Roman  Catholic  priests  in, 
113 — disappointment  among  chiefs 
as  to  the  Hanoverian  succession, 
114- — great  changes  in,  between 
1745  and  the  present  day,  135 — 
former  social  state  of,  136  - 163 — 
division  of  inhabitants  of,  147 — 
character  of  the  chiefs,  ib. — fighting 
strength  of  the  clans  in,  148 — pro- 
fuse hospitality  exercised  in,  149 — 
wild  sports  of,  151 — miserable  state 
of  the  common  people,  153 — drink- 
ing excesses  in,  155 — dress  of  in- 
habitants, ib. — superstitions  of,  157 
— atrocities  after  Culloden  in,  195 — 
chiefs  omitted  from  the  Act  of  Par- 


INDEX. 


373 


don  after  CuUoden,  201 — travellers 
in,  205 — hardships  endured  by  the 
Romish  priests  after  "the  Forty- 
five,"  209 — a  productive  recruiting- 
ground,  231  —  soldiers  of,  in  the 
British  army,  232— effect  of  military 
service  upon  the  population  of,  236 
— results  of  emigration,  248,  249 — 
natives  in  North  Carolina,  248— Mr 
Telford's  report  on  results  of  emi- 
gration, 250  —  construction  of  the 
Caledonian  Canal  and  other  works 
in,  251,  253-256  —  increase  in  the 
value  of  property,  258 — evictions  in, 
260,  261 — disappearance  of  the  old 
peasantry,  262  —  agricultural  pro- 
gress of,  264-273 — land  tenures  in, 
267 — former  state  of  dwellings,  268 
— ancient  system  of  farming  in,  269 
— moral  character  of  inhabitants  of, 
270 — rents  in,  ib. — condition  of  the 
poor,  271 — primitive  implements,  272 
— vegetable  products,  ib.  —  breeds 
of  sheep,  273 — deer-forests,  ///.,  278 
— domestic  manufactures,  273— Mr 
W.  Macdonald  on  the  agriculture 
of,  274-278— education  in,  278-282 
— effect  of  the  Education  Act  of 
1872  in,  280 — distinguished  civilians 
of,  284-303— poets  of,  304-333— 
geology  of,  347. 

Jacobites,  movements  among  the,  112 

— gather  at  Braemar,  116. 
James  II.  in  Inverness-shire,  46. 
James  IV,  in  Inverness-shire,  46. 
James  V.,  visit  to  the  Western  Isles 

by,  46. 
James  VI.,  vigorous  measures  of,  to 

suppress  disorder  in  the  Highlands, 

59-61. 
James,  General  Sir  Henry,  theory  of, 

regarding  the  parallel   "roads"  of 

Glen  Roy,  352. 
Jessop,  Mr,  associated  with  Mr  Telford 

in  the  constn.iction  of  the  Caledonian 

Canal,  253. 
Johnson,  Dr,  tour  to  the  Hebrides  of, 

218  —  in    Inverness,    219  —  deplores 

emigration  from  the  Highlands,  222 

— sympathy   with   the   Highlanders 

shown  by,  224. 

Kelp  industry,  decline  of  the,  277. 

Keppochs,  the,  join  the  army  of 
Prince  Charles,  172 — disappearance 
of,  336. 

Killiecrankie,  the  battle  of,  103  — 
Inverness  -  shire  chiefs  at,  ib.  — 
second  -  sight  of  Lochiel  at,  ib. — 
bravery  of  Lochiel  at,  ib. — Glen- 
garry's prowess  at,  104 — the  death- 


blow to  the  cause  of  King  James, 
ib. 
Kingussie,      excellent      higher  -  class 
school  at,  281 — as  a  health  resort, 

344- 
Kinloch  Moidart,   Prince  Charles  at, 

166. 
Knoydart,  emigration  from,  249. 
Kyllachy,  Lord,  302. 

Laggan,  primitive  condition  of  present 

houses  in,  275. 
"  Lament  on  the  Chief  of  Glengarry," 

313- 

"Launching    of    the    Biorlinn,"   the, 

319-323. 
'  Letters  from  the  North,'  136. 
Livingstone,     Sir     Thomas,     defeats 

General  Buchan,  106. 
Lochaber,    stories    of    St    Columba's 

work   in,   10,  11 — prehistoric   relics 

of,   12 — description   of,    96 — raising 

of  the  Cameron  Highlanders  in,  234 

— poets  of,  309. 
Lochiel.      See    Cameron,   Sir   Ewen, 

and  Donald. 
Lochy,   Loch,  changes  upon,  due   to 

the  construction  of  the  Caledonian 

Canal,  254. 
Lord  of  the  Isles.     See  Donald,  Lord 

of  the  Isles. 
Lords  of  the  Isles,  revolts  by  the,  36. 
Lovat,  Lord.     See  Fraser,  Simon. 

MacBain,  Mr  Alexander,  philological 
works  of,  301. 

Macbeth,  King  of  Moray,  4— mythical 
character  of  Shakespeare's  story  of, 
5 — death  of,  ib. 

Macdonald,  Alexander,  poems  of,  314- 
324 — where  educated,  314 — Jacobite 
zeal  of,  ib.  —  songs  in  praise  of 
Prince  Charlie  by,  315— fierce  de- 
nunciation of  the  Hanoverians  by, 
?(^.— "  Morag  Beautiful"  by,  317 — 
the    "  Launching  of  the  Biorlinn  " 

by,  319- 

Macdonald,  Alexander  (Colkitto),  raid 

by,  66. 
Macdonald,  Coll,  triedby  the  Jacobites 

as  an  informer,  199 — a  traitor,  ib. 
Macdonald,  Donald,  poems  of,  308. 
Macdonald,  John,  poems  of,  324. 
Macdonald,    John    Cameron,   of    the 

'  Times,'  300. 
Macdonald  of  Barasdale,  an  imitator 

of  Rob  Fioy,  134. 
Macdonald,  Sicely,  poems  of,  323. 
Macdonald,    Mr   W. ,    essay    on    the 

agriculture    of  Inverness -shire  by, 

274. 
Macdonald    of    Keppoch,    chosen   to 


374 


INDEX. 


guide  Viscount  Dundee  to  Lochaber, 

92 — lays  siege  to  Inverness,  il>.—  v. 

"king   of  thieves,"  93— at   Sheriff- 

muir,  120. 
Macdonalds,  the,  said  to  have  formed 

part  of  the  Scottish  right  wing  at 

Bannockburn,    26 — stulaborn   pride 

of,  at  Culloden,  178. 
Macdonnell,  Sir  James,  distinguished 

military  career  of,  241. 
MacGregor,    Sir    James,    career    of, 

243- 

Mackay,  General,  fortifies  Inverness, 
97  —  campaign  against  Viscount 
Dundee,  loi  —  defeated  at  Killie- 
crankie,  103— builds  a  fort  at  Inver- 
lochy,  107. 

Mackay,  Mr  W.,  local  histories  by, 
301. 

Mackellar,  Mrs  Mary,  poems  of,  332. 

Mackenzie,  Mr  Alexander,  clan  his- 
tories by,  301. 

Mackey,  Mr  John,  account  of  Inver- 
ness by,  140. 

Mackinnons,  gallant  support  to  Prince 
Charles  by  the,  190. 

Mackintosh,  Sir  James,  career  of,  291 
— reply  to  Burke  on  the  French  Re- 
volution by,  292  —  at  Haileybury, 
293 — contributions  to  the  press  by, 
ib. — the  '  Dissertation  '  by,  ib. 

Mackintosh,  William,  of  Borlum,  sides 
with  Mar,  117  —  soldierly  qualities 
of,  118  —  breaks  out  of  Newgate, 
123  —  imprisoned  for  life  in  Edin- 
burgh Castle,  ib. 

Mackintoshes,  the,  raids  by,  58 — feud 
between  the  Camerons  and,  87  — 
feud  between  the  Macdonalds  and, 
88 — ^join  the  army  of  Prince  Charles, 
172. 

M'Lachlan,  Ewan,  literary  works  of, 
330— poems  of,  331. 

Maclauchlan,  Dr  Thomas,  literary 
works  of,  302. 

M'Lennan,  John  F.,  volume  on 
'Primitive  Alarriage'  by,  300. 

Macpherson,  Mr  Alexander,  local 
histories  by,  301. 

Macpherson,  Cluny,  joins  the  ainiy  of 
Prince  Charles,  172 — restored  to  his 
estates,  226. 

Macpherson,  Cluny  (d.  1885),  the  ' '  last 
of  the  chiefs,"  338. 

Macpherson,  Sir  Herbert,  V.C.,  dis- 
tinguished military  career  of,  242. 

Macpherson,  James,  career  of,  294- 
298 — literary  works  of,  294 — poems 
of  "  Ossian,"  295 — Dr  Johnson  and, 
ib. — defenders  of,  296 — civil  appoint- 
ments of,  297-^respected  as  a  pro- 
prietor, ib. — death  of,  298. 


Macpherson,    Lauchlan,     poems    of, 

325- 
Malcolm  Caenmore,  defeat  of  Macbeth 

^y,  5- 

Mamore,  emigration  from,  249. 

Maormor,  the  title  of,  3. 

Mar,  Earl  of,  memorial  from  Inverness- 
shire  chiefs  to,  115 — raises  the  stan- 
dard of  James  VIII.  at  Braemar,  116 
— Inverness-shire  clans  with,  ib. — 
Clfmranald's  want  of  faith  in  military 
capacity  of,  117 — fights  the  battle  of 
Sheriffmuir,  119. 

Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  at  Inverness, 
46. 

Maryburgh.     See  Fort  William. 

Memorial  of  Inverness-shire  chiefs  on 
the  accession  of  King  George,  115. 

Mitchell,  Mr  Joseph,  C.E.,  statistics 
by,  regarding  the  construction  of 
the  Caledonian  Canal,  255,  256 — 
'  Reminiscences  '  of,  301. 

Moidart,  John  of,  claims  the  chieftain- 
ship of  Clanranald,  42  —  defeats 
Ronald  Gaulda,  43  —  outlaw  ry  of, 

Moidart,  Prince  Charles  in,  168  — 
emigration  from,  249. 

"Moidart,  the  Eight  Men  of,"  i63. 

Monk,  General,  great  march  by,  80. 

Montrose,  Marquis  of,  campaign  of, 
67-75 — devastates  Argyle,  68  —  de- 
feats Earl  of  Argyle,  70 — lays  siege 
to  Inverness,  71 — capture  of,  73 — in- 
fluence of,  74 — the  first  Jacobite,  75. 

Moor  of  Rannoch,  description  of,  95. 

"Morag  Beautiful,"  317. 

Moray,  Earl  of,  territory  of,  2-7— vigor- 
ous rule  of,  ib. 

Moray,  the  province  of,  3 — troubled 
condition  of,  ib.  ■ —  conquered  by 
Norwegians,  ib. — character  of  the 
men  of,  4 — made  a  Norwegian  pro- 
vince, ib. — incorporated  with  South- 
ern Scotland,  ib. — rebellions  in,  15 — 
the  bishopric  of,  21. 

Mountains  of  Inverness-shire,  345. 

Moy,  Prince  Charles  at,  173. 

Muiroy,  battle  of,  89. 

Murray,  Lord  George,  in  command  of 
Prince  Charles's  forces,  176. 

Napier,  Mr,  translation  of  Ian  Loni's 
"  Day  of  Inverlochy"  by,  311. 

Ness,  Loch,  how  affected  by  the 
Lisbon  earthquake,  216. 

Nicolson,  Alexander,  translation  of 
Alexander  Macdonald's  "  Launch- 
ing of  tlie  Biorlinn  "  by,  322. 

Oath  administered  to  the  Highlanders 
after  Culloden,  202. 


INDF.X. 


375 


Oich,  Loch,  deepening  of,  254,  255. 

"Ossian,"  MacpluTson's,  295 — sensa- 
tion caused  \>y,  Zifj.  — denounced  b)' 
Dr  Johnson,  //'. — admirers  of,  296 — 
hardly  lilicly  lo  liave  been  a  forgery, 
i/>.,  297. 

Peninsula,  Highlanders  in  the,  236. 

Pennant,  Mr,  travels  of,  in  Invcrness- 
shire,  213-218  —  untruthfulness  of, 
regarding  Prince  Charles,  214 — de- 
scription of  Inverness  by,  id. — ac- 
count of  an  Inverness  fair  by,  216 — 
impressed  with  the  scenery  near 
Fort  William,  ifi.  —  in  Lochaber, 
217 — on  the  old  clan  system,  i/>. 

Perth,  Duke  of,  in  command  at  Cul- 
loden,  178. 

Perth,  the  combat  on  the  North  Inch 

.of.  34- 

Picts,  the,  divisions  of,  2 — confederacy 
by  northern  section  of,  3 — religion 
of,  6. 

Pococke,  Bishop,  travels  of,  in  Inver- 
ness-shire, 210  —  opinion  of  Fort 
William,  211 — at  Fort  Augustus,  ?'/'. 
description  of  Inverness  by,  212 — 
at  Fort  George,  i7>. — at  Beauly,  213. 

Pont,  Robeit,  commissioned  to  plant 
kirks  in  Inverness-shire,  50. 

Protestantism,  slow  growth  of,  in 
Inverness-shire,  50. 

Railways  of  Inverness-shire,  342. 

Rainfall  in  Inveiness-shire,  347. 

Rannoch,  moor  of,  description  of,  95. 

Reay,  Lord,  rising  of  the  Highlanders 
under,  72. 

"Rebel-hunting,"  196. 

Reformation,  Inverness  -  shire  little 
affected  by  the,  50. 

Regiments,  Highlanfl,  raised  before 
"the  Forty-five,"  230  —  levied  in 
Inverness-shire,  231,  232. 

Rents,  270. 

Rivers  of  Inverness-shire,  346. 

Roads,  made  by  General  Wade,  128 — 
main  lines  of,  ifi.  —  military  pur- 
poses of,  129  —  opinions  of  chiefs 
upon  the  making  of,  131  —  further 
making  of,  251. 

Robertson,  Rev.  James,  report  on  the 
agriculture  of  Inverness-shire  by, 
266-270 — moors  he  believed  capable 
of  cultivation,  266 — high  opinion  of 
the  proprietors  of  Inverness-shire 
formed  by,  267  —  on  land  tenures, 
id. — on  house  buildings,  268 — -dis- 
approval of  methods  of  farming,  269 
— speaks  highly  of  the  moral  charac- 
ter of  the  people,  270— on  domestic 
manuf;ictures,  273. 


F^oman  Catholic  priests  in  Inverness- 
shire,  113 — activity  of,  tfi. — hard  ex- 
periences of,  after  Culloden,  209. 

Roman  C'atholicism,  the  prevalent  re- 
ligion in  Inverness-shire,  51. 

Scott,  Sir  Walter,  on  the  feud  between 
Clan  Chattan  and  Clan  Cameron, 

33.  34- 

Secondary  education  in  Inverness- 
shire,  281. 

Second-sight,  157. 

Seers,  visions  of  Highland,  64,  65. 

Sheep,  breeds  of,  273. 

Sheriffdom  of  Inverness-shire  founded, 
24. 

Sheriffnmir,  battle  of,  118 — death  of 
young  Clanranald  at,  ii>.  —  Glen- 
garry's vengeance  at,  i/'. 

"  Shirts,  battle  of  the,"  43. 

Sigurd,  Earl  of  Caithness,  overruns 
JVIoray,  3  —  defeats  the  king  of 
Moray,  4. 

Society  for  the  Propagation  of  Chris- 
tian Knowledge,  schools  planted  in 
Inverness-shire  by,  278 — advocated 
by  Charles  Grant,  290. 

"Song  of  the  Highland  Clans,"  the, 

317- 
Songs  of  Inverness-shire,  305. 
Spean,  glacial  action  in  valley  of  the, 

350- 

Sporting  rents,  340. 

Sports,  wild,  in  the  Highlands,  151, 

Spynie,  ancient  seat  of  the  bishopric 
of  Moray,  21. 

Stair,  Secretary,  and  insubordinate 
Highland  chiefs,  109. 

Steamboat  communication  established 
between  Inverness  and  Glasgow  and 
Leith,  258. 

Stewart,  Prince  Charles  Edward,  lands 
at  Loch-na-Nuagh,  165  — advised  to 
return  to  France,  166— personal  ap- 
pearance of,  i/>. — discusses  his  pro- 
spects with  Lochiel,  167— returns  to 
Inverness -shire,  173  —  before  Cul- 
lofien,  175 — decision  after  the  battle 
of  Culloden,  182 — wanderings  after 
his  overthrow,  185-195 — at  Borra- 
dale,  187  —  adventures  of,  in  the 
Hebrides,  188 — melancholy  circum- 
stances of,  190  —  in  Glenmoriston, 
191— falls  in  with  Lochiel,  193 — 
seeks  refuge  in  the  "Cage,"?'^. — 
embarks  for  France,  194. 

Strathglass,  emigration  from,  249. 

Superstitions,  157. 

Tacksmen,   important   social  position 

of,  152 — Dr  Johnson  on,  223. 
Thornton,     Colonel,     travels    of,     in 


3/6 


INDEX. 


Inverness  -  shire,  224-228  —  sports- 
man -  like  characteristics  of,  225 — 
full  of  praise  of  the  people  and  dis- 
trict, //'. — at  Cluny  Macpherson's 
home-coming  from  exile,  226,  227 — ■ 
notes  decline  of  the  old  clan  system, 
228. 

Trade  of  Inverness,  139. 

Trapaiid,  Captain,  reports  of  hard- 
ships endured  by  Roman  Catholic 
priests  in  Inverness-shire,  209. 

Trees,  planting  of,  273,  276. 

Tiillibardine,  Marquis,  unfurls  Prince 
Charles's  standard  at  Glenfinnan, 
169. 

Urquhart,  castle  of,  a  stronghold  of 
Robert  Bruce,  26 — emigration  from, 
249. 


Wade,  General,  policy  of  repression  in 
the  Highlands  by,  125,  126  —  the 
makin'  '  roads  through  the  High- 
lands !.    ,  128 — weak  point  in  policy 

of,  133- 

Waste  lands,  reclamation  of,  276. 

"  Watches,"  establishment  of,  125. 

William  the  Lion,  changes  in  the 
Highlands  effected  by,  is^grants 
charters  to  Inverness,  19. 

Witchcraft,  belief  in,  8. 

Wolf  of  Badenoch,  the,  52. 

Wolfe,  General,  in  Inverness  -  shire, 
206  —  story  of,  at  Culloden,  ib. — 
letters  of,  regarding  the  people  of 
Inverness-shire,  ib. — at  Fort  George, 
207 — revisits  the  field  of  Culloden, 
ib. 

Wool-produce,  259. 


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