Full text of "History of the Scottish Highlands : Highland clans and Highland regiments, with an account of the Gaelic language, literature, and music"

JOHN M. KELLY LIBDADY

DONATED BY

GAELIC SOCIETY OF
TORONTO

LIEUT. GENERAL SIR ARCHIBALD ALISON. BART.. K.C.B.

HISTORY

OF THE

SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS

HIGHLAND CLANS

AND

HIGHLAND REGIMENTS

WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE GAELIC LANGUAGE, LITERATURE, AND MUSIC

HY THE REV, THOMAS MACLAUCHLAN, LL.D., F.S.A.(SCOT.), AND

AN ESSAY ON HIGHLAND SCENERY BY THE LATE

PROFESSOR JOHN WILSON

EDITED BY
JOHN S. KELT IE, F. S. A. (SCOT.)

A NEW EDITION

WITH THE REGIMENTAL PORTION BROUGHT DOWN TO THE PRESENT TIME FROM OFFICIAL SOURCES

BY WILLIAM MELVEN, M.A., GLASGOW

ILLUSTRATED

NEW YORK:
J. ARNOT PENMAN, 7 WARREN STREET.

. .. '

i OB IF M flD WIT UK i i-

- MACKCHJIE. IOROOII. EDINBURGH s i.

GILLESPIC GRUMACH.

aa -

=m f

3= =

^ *

o =

=> .

I z

r^^] uJ

i
i

INDIA.

COLOURS OF THE

HIGHLANDERS (The

(Royal Highlanders).

IN THE CRIMEA AN

NOW IN

fKELD CATHEDR

f-t

-a

STUART.

CAMERON OF LOCH I EL

ARGYLL CAMPBELL.

BREADALBANE. CAMPBELL.

CHISHOLM.

PART FIRST.
GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

CHAPTER I.

B.C. 55 A.D. 446.

Highlands defined Ancient Scotland Roman Trans-
actions Agricola Caledonians Contest at Loch Ore
Galgacns Mons Grampias Battle Agricola super-
seded Lollias Urbicns Antonine's Wall TJlpius
Marcellus Severus Constantius Chlorns Picts
Scots Attacots Attack Roman Provinces Romans
abandon Britain Influence of Romans Roman Re-
mains Roads Camps Ardoch.

As it is generally acknowledged that the physi-
cal character of a. country influences in a great
degree the moral and physical character of its
inhabitants, and thus to a certain extent deter-
mines their history, it may not be deemed out
of place to define here the application of the
term Highlands, so far as Scotland is con-
cerned, and briefly to describe the general
physical aspect of that part of our native land.
If it hold good at all that there subsists a re-
lation between a people and the country which
they have inhabited for centuries, the follow-
ing history will show that this is peculiarly
the case with the Scottish Highlanders.

Most of those who have thought of the
matter at all, have doubtless formed to them-
selves a general notion of the northern half of
Scotland as a

" Land of brown heath and shaggy wood,
Land of the mountain and the flood,"

and of its inhabitants as a brawny, rugged, in-
domitable, impulsive race, steadfast in their
friendship and loyalty, but relentless and
fierce in their enmity. Although the popular
and poetic notion of the country is on the whole
correct, and although the above epithets may
i.

express the main features of the character of
the people, still it requires a close acquaint-
ance with this interesting race, both histori-
cally and by personal intercourse, to form an
adequate notion of their character in all its
aspects.

To speak roughly, nearly the whole of the
country north of a line connecting the heads of
the estuaries of the Clyde, Forth, and Tay,
may be included under the designation of the
Highlands, and, in fact, popularly is so. In-
deed, at the time at which the northern half
of Scotland the ancient and proper Caledonia
emerges from its pristine gloom, and for the
first time glimmers in the light of history, the
line indicated by the forts of Agricola, and
afterwards by the wall of Antonine, marked
the southern boundary of the region which was
then, and for centuries afterwards, regarded by
the Romans, and also, probably, by the south-
ern Britons, as occupying the same position in
relation to the rest of the country as the High-
lands proper did at a subsequent period. In
course of time the events which fall to be re-
corded in the following pages gradually altered
this easily perceived boundary, so that for cen-
turies before the present day, a much more in-
tricate but atill distinct line has marked the
limits of what is now strictly and correctly re-
garded as the Highlands of Scotland.

The definition of this territory which best
suits the purposes of history, and in all re-
spects most nearly accords with those of poli-
tical and social geography, is one which makes
it commensurate with the country or locations
of the ancient Highland clans. This definition
assigns to the Highlands all the continental

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

territory north of the Moray frith, and all the
territory, both insular and continental, west-
ward of an easily traceable line from that frith
to the frith of Clyde. The line commences at
the mouth of the river Nairn : thence, with
the exception of a slight north-eastward or out-
ward curve, the central point of which is on the
river Spey, it runs due south-east till it strikes
the river Dee at Tullach, nearly on the third
degree of longitude west of Greenwich ; it then
runs generally south till it falls upon West-
water, or the southern large head-water of the
North Esk ; thence, over a long stretch, it runs
almost due south-west, and with scarcely a de-
viation, till it falls upon the Clyde at Ardmore
in the parish of Cardross ; and now onward to
the Atlantic ocean, it moves along the frith of
Clyde, keeping near to the continent, and ex-
cluding none of the Clyde islands except the
comparatively unimportant Cumbraes. All
the Scottish territory west and north-west of
this line is properly the Highlands. Yet both
for the convenience of topographical descrip-
tion, and because, altogether down to the middle
of the 13th century, and partially down to the
middle of the 16th, the Highlands and the
Western Islands were politically and histori-
cally distinct regions, the latter are usually
viewed apart under the name of the Hebrides.
The mainland Highlands, or the Highlands
after the Hebrides are deducted, extend in ex-
treme length from Duncansby Head, or John
o' Groat's on the north, to the Mull of Kintyre
on the south, about 250 miles ; but over a dis-
tance of 90 miles at the northern end, they have
an average breadth of only about 45 miles,
over a distance of 50 or 55 miles at the southern
end, they consist mainly of the Clyde islands,
and the very narrow peninsula of Kintyre,
and even at their broadest part, from the
eastern base of the Grampians to Ardna-
murchan Point on the west, they do not ex-
tend to more than 120 miles. The district
comprehends the whole of the counties of
Caithness, Sutherland, Ross, Cromarty, Inver-
ness, and Argyle, large parts of Nairn, Perth,
Dumbarton, and Bute, and considerable por-
tions of Elgin, Banff, Aberdeen, Forfar, and
Stirling. Considerable parts of this district,
however, such as Caithness-ehirc, the island
of Bute, and some large tracts of moor or valley

or flanking plain, do not exhibit the physical
features which are strictly Highland.

A district so extensive can be but faintly
pictured in a general and rapid description.
Mountains, chiefly covered with heath or ling,
but occasionally, on the one hand, displaying
sides and summits of naked rock, and on the
other, exhibiting a dress of verdure, everywhere
rise, at short intervals, in chains, ridges, groups,
and even solitary heights. Their forms are of
every variety, from the precipitous and pinna-
cled acclivity, to the broad-based and round-
backed ascent; but, in general, are sharp in
outline, and wild or savagely grand in feature.
Both elongated ridges, and chains or series of
short parallel ridges, have a prevailing direc-
tion from north-east to south-west, and send
up summits from 1,000 to upwards of 4,000
feet above the level of the sea. Glens, valleys,
and expanses of lowland stretch in all direc-
tions among the mountains, and abound in
voluminous streams, and large elongated lakes
of picturesque appearance, nearly all the in-
land lakes extending in stripes either north-
eastward and south-westward, or eastward and
westward. Along the whole west coast, at re-
markably brief intervals, arms of the sea, long,
narrow, and sometimes exceedingly rugged in
outline, run north-eastward or south-eastward
into the interior, and assist the inland fresh
water lakes in cleaving it into sections. The
rivers of the region are chiefly impetuous tor-
rents, careering for a while along mountain-
gorges, and afterwards either expanding them-
selves into beautiful lakes and flowing athwart
delightful meadows, or ploughing long narrow
valleys, green and ornate with grasses, trefoils,
daisies, ranunculi, and a profuse variety of
other herbage and flowers. Native woods,
principally of pine and birch, and occasionally
clumps and expanses of plantation, climb the
acclivities of the gentler heights, or crowd down
upon the valley, and embosom the inland lakes.
On the east side, along the coast to the Moray
frith, and towards the frontier in the counties
of Nairn, Elgin, and Perth, gentle slopes and
broad belts of lowland, fertile in soil and fa-
vourable in position, are carpeted with agricul-
tural luxuriance, and thickly dotted with human
dwellings, and successfully vie with the south
of Scotland in towns and population, and ill

ROMAN TRANSACTIONS.

the pursuit and display of wealth. But almost
everywhere else, except in the fairyland of
Loch Fyno, and the southern shore of Loch
Etivo, the Highlands are sequestered, sinless
of a town, a semi- wilderness, where a square
mile is a more convenient unit of measurement
than an acre.

A district characterized by such features as
we have named necessarily exhibits, within
very circumscribed limits, varieties of scenery
of the most opposite descriptions ; enabling the
admirer of nature to pass abruptly from dwell-
ing on the loveliness of an extensive marine
or champaign landscape into the deep solitude
of an ancient forest, or the dark craggy fast-
nesses of an alpine ravine ; or from lingering
amid the quiet grassy meadows of a pastoral
strath or valley, watered by its softly-flowing
stream, to the open heathy mountain-side,
whence ' alps o'er alps arise,' whose summits
are often shrouded with mists and almost per-
ennial snows, and their overhanging precipices
furrowed by foaming cataracts. Lakes and
long arms of the sea, either fringed with woods
or surrounded with rocky barren shores, now
studded with islands, and anon extending their
silvery arms into distant receding mountains,
are mot in every district ; while the extreme
steepness, ruggedness, and sterility of many of
the mountain-chains impart to them as impos-
ing and magnificent characters as are to be seen
In the much higher and more inaccessible ele-
vations of Switzerland. No wonder, then, that
this 'land of mountain and of flood' should
have given birth to the song of the bard, and
afforded material for the theme of the sage, in
all ages ; and that its inhabitants should be
tinctured 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. Neither, amid such profusion and di-
versity of all that is beautiful and sublime in
nature, can the unqualified admiration of
strangers, from every part of Europe, of the
scenery of the Highlands fail of being easily
accounted for ; nor can any hesitate in re-
commending them to visit it, whether their
object be the restoration of health, or the pur-
suit of those sports for which the region is
celebrated.

Such are the main features of the Highlands
of Scotland at the present day, and, to a con-
siderable extent, the description might have ap-
plied to the country at the time of the Roman
invasion. Still, in the graphic words of Stuart,*
" To form an idea of the general aspect of Scot-
land, as it was some eighteen hundred years
ago, we must, in imagination, restore to its now
varied surface the almost unbroken gloom of
the primeval forest; her waving mantle of som-
bre hue, within which the genius loci may bo
supposed to have brooded over the seclusion and
the poverty of ' ancient Caledon." In a bird's-
eye view, if such a thought may be indulged,
the greatest part of the country presented, in
all probability, the appearance of one continu-
ous wood ; a mass of cheerless verdure resting
on hill and dale the sameness of its dark ex-
tent, broken only where some lake or green-
clad morass met the view, or where the higher
mountains lifted their summits above the line
of vegetation. In some districts, considerable
tracks of open moorland might, doubtless, be
seen clad in the indigenous heather of tho
North ; while, in others, occasional spots of pas-
ture-land would here and there appear ; but,
on the whole, these must have formed a strik-
ing contrast to the wide expanse of the pre-
vailing forest."

As the present work is concerned only with
the Highlands of Scotland, it would of course
be out of place to give any minute account of
the transactions of the Romans in the other
parts of the island. Suffice it to say that from
the time, B.C. 55, when Julius Caesar first land-
ed on the coast of South Britain, until A.D. 78,
when, under the Emperor Vespasian, Cnseus
Julius Agricola assumed the command in Great
Britain, the greater part of midland and
south England had been brought under tho
sway of the Romans. This able commander
set himself with vigour and earnestness to con-
firm the conquests which had been already
made, to reduce the rest of the country to sub-
jection, to conciliate the Britons by mild mea-
sures, and to attach them to the Roman power
by introducing among them Roman manners,
literature, luxuries, and dress.

Agricola was appointed to tho command in
Britain in tho year 78 A.D., but appears not
* Caledonia Romana, f. 11.

GENEEAL HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

to have entered Scotland till his third cam-
paign in the year 80. He employed himself
in the years 80, 81, and 82, in subduing the
country south of the friths of Forth and Clyde,
the Bodotria and Glotta of Tacitus, erect-
ing, in 81, a series of forts between those two
estuaries. Having accomplished this, Agricola
made preparations for his next campaign,which
he was to open beyond the friths in the sum-
mer of 83, he in the meantime having heard
that the Caledonians as Tacitus calls the
people north of the Forth had formed a con-
federacy to resist the invader.

These Caledonians appear to have been
divided into a number of tribes or clans,
having little or 110 political connection, and
almost constantly at war among themselves.
It was only when a foreign foe threatened their
much-prized freedom that a sense of danger
forced them to unite for a time under the com-

mand of a military leader. Some writers, on
the authority of Ptolemy of Alexandria, but
chiefly on that of the pseudo-Eichard of Ciren-
ceater, 3 give a list of the various tribes which,
during the Boman period, inhabited North
Britain, and define the locality which each
occupied with as much exactness as they might
do a modern English county. " There was
one thing," says Tacitus, " which gave us an
advantage over these powerful nations, that
they never consulted together for the advantage
of the whole. It was rare that even two or
three of them united against the common
enemy." Their whole means of subsistence
consisted in the milk and flesh of their flocks
and the produce of the chase. They lived in
a state almost approaching to nudity; but
whether from necessity or from choice cannot
be satisfactorily determined. Dio represents
the Caledonians as being naked, but Herodinn

Fig. 1. Sculptured Stone in the Church of Meigle. Fig. 2. From a Sculptured Stone found at St. Andrews.

speaks of them as wearing a partial covering.
They appear, at all events, if the stone dug up
at Blackness in the year 1868 (see p. 11), be
taken as an authority, to have gone naked into
battle. Their towns, which were few, consisted
of huts covered with turf or skins, and for
better security they were erected in the centre
of some wood or morass. " What the Britons
call a town, says Ctesar, "is a tract of
woody country, surrounded by a vallum and
ditch, for the security of themselves and cattle
against the incursions of an enemy; for, when

they have enclosed a very large circuit witli
felled trees, they build within it houses for

8 The De Silu Britannia: " professed to be a manu-
script of the fourteenth century, written by a monk
named Richard of Cirencester, made up by him from
certain fragments left by a Roman General. The per-
son who stepped forth as the lucky discoverer of so
precious a relic was Charles Julius Bertram, English
Professor in the Royal Marine Academy at Copen-
hagen. His revelation was accepted without hesi-
tation, and revolutionized the existing notions about
the geography of Roman Britain. After all, the hoax
was not absolutely useless; it stimulated inquiry, and,
in itself, what it professed to lay down on authority,
were the guesses and theories of a learned and acute
man." Burton's History of Scotland, vol. i. p. 13.

THE CALEDONIANS.

themselves, and hovels for their cattle." 4 Not-
withstanding, perhaps owing to the scantiness
of their covering, which left their bodies ex-
posed to the rigour of a cold and variable cli-
mate, the Caledonians were a remarkably hardy
race, capable of enduring fatigue, cold, and
hunger to an extent which their descendants
of the present day could not encounter without
risk of life. They were decidedly a warlike
people, and are said, like the heroes of more
ancient times, to have been addicted to rob-
bery. The weapons of their warfare consisted
of small spears, long broadswords, and hand
daggers ; and they defended their bodies in
combat by a small target or shield, all much
of the same form and construction as those
afterwards used by their posterity in more mo-
dern times. It would appear from the stone
above referred to that the shields of the
Caledonians were oblong, with a boss in the
centre, and their swords short and pointed,
not long and blunt, as represented by Ta-
citus. The use of cavalry appears not to
have been so well understood among the Cale-
donians as among the more southern tribes ;
but in battle they often made use of cars, or
chariots, which were drawn by small, swift,
and spirited horses ; and it is conjectured
that, like those used by the southern Britr
ons, they had iron scythes projecting from
the axle. It is impossible to say what form
of government obtained among these warlike
tribes. When history is silent, historians
should either maintain a cautious reserve or
bo sparing in their conjectures ; but analogy
may supply materials for well-grounded specu-
lations, and it may therefore be asserted, with-
out any great stretch of imagination, that, like
most of the other uncivilized tribes we read of
in history, the Northern Britons or Caledonians
were under the government of a leader or chief
lo whom they yielded a certain degree of obedi-
ence. Dio, indeed, insinuates that the govern-
ments of these tribes were democratic ; but ho
should have been aware that it is only when
bodies of men assume, in an advanced state of
civilization, a compact and united form that de-
mocracy can prevail ; and the state of barbar-
ism in which he says the inhabitants of North

4 Dt Bella Oallico, ii. 17.

Britain existed at the period in question seems
to exclude such a supposition. We have no
certain information from any contemporary,
and conjecture is therefore groundless. Later
fable-loving historians and chroniclers, indeed,
give lists of Kings of Scotland or, rather, of
Pictland extending back for centuries before
the Christian era, but these by general consent
are now banished to the realm of myths. It
is probable, as we have already said, that the
Caledonians were divided into a number of
independent tribes, and that each tribe was
presided over by a chief, but how he obtained
his supremacy it is impossible to say. We have
one instance, at least, of a number of 'tribes
uniting under one leader, viz., at the battle of
Mons Grampius, when the Caledonians were
commanded by a chief or leader called by Ta-
citus, Galgacus, " inter plures duces virtuto et
genere preestans." 5 " The earliest bond of
union may probably be traced to the time
when they united under one common leader to
resist or assail the Eoman legionaries ; and out
of the Dux or Toshach elected for the occasion,
like Galgacus, and exercising a paramount
though temporary authority, arose the Ardrigh
or supreme king, after some popular or ambi-
tious chieftain had prolonged his power by suc-
cessful wars, or procured his election to this
prominent station for life." 6

Whatever may have been the relation of the
members of the different tribes, and the relation
of the tribes to each other, it is certain, from the
general tone of the works of Tacitus and other
Roman historians in which those early inhabit-
ants of the Scottish Highlands are mentioned,
that they offered a far more formidable resist-
ance to the Eoman arms than had hitherto been
done by any other of the British tribes.

In personal stature, the natives of Caledonia,
like those of other parts of Britain, appear to
have excelled their Eoman invaders, and from
Tacitus wo learn that those with whom his
fatlicr-in-law came into contact were distin-
guished by ruddy locks and lusty limbs. It
is also certain that for the sake of ornament,
or for the purpose of making their appearance
more terrible in war, they resorted to the bar-

8 Tacitus, Agricola,
6 E. W. Robertson's Scotland under her Early
Kings, vol. i. p. 31.

GENERAL HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

barons practice of tattooing their bodies. In-
deed it may bo taken as a proof of their never
having to any great extent come under the
power and influence of Home and Roman cus-
toms, that they retained this practice for long
after the other Britons had abandoned it, and
on tliis account, in all probability, afterwards
acquired the name of Picts.

The people whom Agricola encountered in
Scotland cannot have been otherwise than
tolerable proficients in the common branches
of art; how else can we suppose them to have
been supplied with all that materiel of war
with which they are said to have appeared be-
fore him 1 Indolent and uninformed as were
the bulk of the people, they must have had
among them artificers both in wood and in
iron, not unskilled in their respective trades
able to construct the body of a car to provide

liritisk War-Chariot.

for it axles of great strength above all, able
to construct the wheels and arm them with
those sharp-edged instruments that were des-
tined to cut down whatever opposed their
course. 7

Agricola, in the summer of 83, after having
obtained information as to the nature of the
country and the aspect of its inhabitants from
exploring parties and prisoners, transported his
army across the Frith of Forth to the shores
of Fife by means of his fleet, and marched
along the coast eastwards, keeping the fleet in
sight. It cannot with certainty be ascertained
at what part of the Forth this transportation
of the forces took place, although some bold

7 Stuart's Caledonia Romana, pp. 35, 36.

antiquarians assert that it must have been not
far from Queensferry. The fleet, Tacitus tells
us, 8 now acting, for the first time, in concert
with the land-forces, proceeded in sight of the
army, forming a magnificent spectacle, and
adding terror to the war. It frequently hap-
pened that in the same camp were seen the
infantry and cavalry intermixed with the
marines, all indulging their joy, full of their
adventures, and magnifying the history of their
exploits; the soldier describing, in the usual
style of military ostentation, the forests which
he had passed, the mountains which he climbed,
and the barbarians whom he put to the rout;
while the sailor had his storms and tempests,
the wonders of the deep, and the spirit with
which he conquered winds and waves.

The offensive operations of the sixth cam-
paign were commenced by the Caledonian
Britons, who, from the higher country, made
a furious attack upon the trans-Forthan forti-
fications, which so alarmed some of Agri-
cola's officers, who were afraid of being cut off
from a retreat, that they advised their general
to recross the Forth without delay; but Agri-
cola resisted this advice, and made preparations
for the attack which he expected would soon
be made upon his army. As Agricola had
received information that the enemy intended
to fall upon him from various quarters, he
divided his army into three bodies and con-
tinued his march. Some antiquarians have
attempted to trace the route taken by each
division, founding their elaborate theories on
the very slender remains of what they sup-
pose to have been Roman fortifications and
encampments. As it would serve no good
purpose to encumber our pages with these an-
tiquarian conjectures, detailed accounts of
which will be found in Chalmers, Stuart, Roy,
and others, we shall only say that, with con-
siderable plausibility, it is supposed that the
Ninth Legion encamped on the north side of
Loch Ore, about two miles south of Loch Leven
in Kinross-shire. Another legion, it is said,
encamped near Dunearn Hill, about a mile
distant from Burntisland, near which hill are
still to be seen remains of a strength called
Agricola's camp. At all events the divisions

* Agricola XXT.

CONTESTS AT LOCH ORE AND MONS GRAMPIU&

do not seem to have been very far apart, as
will bo seen from the following episode.

The enemy having watched the proceedings
of the Roman army made the necessary pre-
parations for attack, and during the night
made a furious assault on the Ninth Legion
at Loch Ore. They had acted with such
caution that they were actually at the very
camp before Agricola was aware of their move-
ments; but with great presence of mind he
despatched a body of his lightest troops to
turn their flank and attack the assailants in the
rear. After an obstinate engagement, main-
tained with varied success in the very gates of
the camp, the Britons were at length repulsed
by the superior skill of the Roman veterans.
This battle was so far decisive, that Agricola
did not find much difficulty afterwards in sub-
duing the surrounding country, and, having
finished his campaign, he passed the winter of
83 in Fife; being supplied with provisions
from his fleet in the Forth, and keeping up a
constant correspondence with his garrisons on
the southern side.

By this victory, according to Tacitus, so
complete and glorious, the Roman army was
inspired with confidence to such a degree, that
they now pronounced themselves invincible,
and desired to penetrate to the extremity of
the island.

The Caledonians now began to perceive
the danger of their situation from the prox-
imity of such a powerful enemy, and a
sense of this danger impelled them to lay
aside the feuds and jealousies which had
divided and distracted their tribes, to consult
together for their mutual safety and protection,
and to combine their scattered strength into a
united and energetic mass. The proud spirit
of independence which had hitherto kept the
Caledonian tribes apart, now made them co-
alesce in support of their liberties, which were
threatened with utter annihilation. In tliis
eventful crisis, they looked around them for a
leader or chief under whom they might fight
the battle of freedom, and save their country
from the dangers which threatened it. A chief,
named Galgacus by Tacitus, was pitched upon
to act as generalissimo of the Caledonian army;
and, from the praises bestowed upon him by
that historian, this warrior appears to have

well merited the distinction thus bestowed.
Preparatory to the struggle they were about to
engage in, they sent their wives and children
into places of safety, and, in solemn assemblies
in which public sacrifices were offered up, rati-
fied the confederacy into which they had en-
tered against their common enemy.

Having strengthened his army with some
British auxiliaries from the south, Agricola
marched through Fife in the summer of 84,
making for a spot called by Tacitus Mans
Gramplus; sending at the same time his fleet
round the eastern coast, to support him in his
operations, and to distract the attention of the
Caledonians. Various conjectures have been
broached as to the exact line of Agricola's
march and the exact position of the Mons
Grampius. The most plausible of these is
that of General Roy, 9 who supposes that
the march of Agricola was regulated by the
course of the Devon; that he turned to the
right from Glendevon through the opening of
the Ochil hills, along the course of the rivulet
which runs along Gleneagles ; leaving the braes
of Ogilvie on his left, and passing between
Blackford and Auchterarder towards the Gram-
pian hills, which he saw at a distance before
him as he debouched from the Ochils. By an
easy march he reached the moor of Ardoch,
from which he descried the Caledonian army,
to the number of 30,000 men, encamped
on the declivity of the hill which begins
to rise from the north-western border of the
moor of Ardoch. Agricola took his station
at the great camp which adjoins the fort
of Ardoch on the northward. If the Roman
camp at Ardoch does mark the spot where the
disastrous engagement about to bo noticed took-
place between these brave and determined
Caledonians and the invincible Roman legions,
it is highly probable that Agricola drew out
his army on the neighbouring moor, having a
large ditch or trench of considerable length in
front, the Caledonian host under Galgacus
being already disposed in battle array on the
heights beyond. The Roman army is sup-
posed to have numbered about 20,000 or
30,000, the auxiliary infantry, in number
about 8,000,* occupying the centre, the wings

military AnMquitiei.

Tac. Agritola xxiv.

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

consisting of 3,000 horse. The legions were
stationed in the rear, at the head of the en-
trenchments, as a body of reserve to support
the ranks, if necessary, hut otherwise to remain
inactive, that a victory, obtained without the
effusion of Roman blood, might be of higher
value. Previous to the commencement of this
interesting fight, according to " the fashion of
historical literature at that time," a speech is
put into the mouth of each general by the his-
torian Tacitus. "How much more valuable
would it have been to us had Tacitus deigned
to tell us something about the tongue in which
the leader of the barbarians spoke, or even his
name, and the name of the place where he
fought, as the natives uttered it ! Yet, for the
great interests of its day, the speech of Gal-
gacus was far removed from a mere feat of idle
pedantry. It was a noble rebuke on the em-
pire and the Roman people, who, false to the
high destiny assigned to them by Virgil, of
protecting the oppressed and striking down the
oppressors, had become the common scourge
of all mankind. The profligate ambition, the
perfidy, the absorbing pride, the egotism, and
the cruelty of the dominant people how
could all be so aptly set forth as in the words
of a barbarian chief, ruling over the free people
who were to be the next victims." 2

The narrative of the battle we give mainly
in the words of the Roman commander's son-in-
law, Tacitus, who no doubt had the story from
Agricola's own mouth. 3 The battle began,
and at first was maintained at a distance.
The Britons wanted neither skill nor resolu-
tion. With their long swords, and targets of
small dimension, they had the address to elude
the missive weapons of the Romans, and at
the same time to discharge a thick volley of
their own. To bring the conflict to a speedy
decision, Agricola ordered three Batavian and
two Tungrian cohorts to charge the enemy
sword in hand. To this mode of attack those
troops had been long accustomed, but to the
Britons it was every way disadvantageous.
Their small targets afforded no protection, and
their unwieldy swords, not sharpened to a
point, could do but little execution in a close

* Burton's Tlist. of Scotland, vol. i. p. 9.
1 Tac. Agricola xxxvi, &c. We adopt Murphy's
translation in the main, here and elsewhere.

engagement. The Batavians rushed to the
attack with impetuous fury; they redoubled
their blows, and with the bosses of their
shields bruised the enemy in the face, and,
having overpowered all resistance on the plain,
began to force their way up the ascent of the
hill in regular order of battle. Incited by
their example, the other cohorts advanced with
a spirit of emulation, and cut their way with
terrible slaughter. Eager in pursuit of victory,
they pressed forward with determined fury,
leaving behind them numbers wounded, but
not slain, and others not so much as hurt.

The Roman cavalry, in the mean time,
was forced to give ground. The Caledonians,
in their armed chariots, rushed at full speed
into the thick of the battle, where the infantry
were engaged. Their first impression struck
a general terror, but their career was soon
checked by the inequalities of the ground, and
the close embodied ranks of the Romans.
Nothing could less resemble an engagement of
the cavalry. Pent up in narrow places, the
barbarians crowded upon each other, and were
driven or dragged along by their own horses.
A scene of confusion followed. Chariots with-
out a guide, and horses without a rider, broke
from the ranks in wild disorder, and flying
every way, as fear and consternation urged,
they overwhelmed their own files, and trampled
down all who came in their way.

Meanwhile the Britons, who had hitherto
kept their post on the hills, looking down with
contempt on the scanty numbers of the Roman
army, began to quit their station. Descending
slowly, they hoped, by wheeling round the
field of battle, to attack the victors in the rear.
To counteract their design, Agricola ordered
four squadrons of horse, which he had kept as
a body of reserve, to advance to the charge.
The Britons poured down with impetuosity,
and retired with equal precipitation. At the
same time, the cavalry, by the directions of the
general, wheeled round from the wings, and
fell with great slaughter on the rear of the
enemy, who now perceived that their own
stratagem was turned against themselves.

The field presented a dreadful spectacle of
carnage and destruction. The Britons fled;
the Romans pursued; they wounded, gashed,
and mangled the runaways; they seized their

AGKICOLA SUPERSEDED.

prisoners, and, to bo ready for others, butchered
them on the spot Despair and horror ap-
pean-d iu various shapes; in one part of the
lii-ld the, Caledonians, sword in hand, fled in
crowds from a handful of Romans; in other
places, without a weapon left, they faced every
lunger, and rushed on certain death. Swords
and bucklers, mangled limbs and dead bodies,
covered the plain. The field was red with
blood. Tho vanquished Britons had their
moments of returning courage, and gave proofs
of virtue and of brave despair. They fled to
the woods, and, rallying their scattered num-
bers, surrounded such of the Romans -as pur-
sued with too much eagerness.

Night coming on, the Romans, weary of
slaughter, desisted from the pursuit. Ten
thousand of tlio Caledonians fell in this en-
gagement: on the part of the Romans, the
number of slain did not exceed three hundred
and forty.

The Roman army, elate with success, and
enriched with plunder, passed the night in
exultation. The Britons, on the other hand,
wandered about, uncertain which way to turn,
helpless and disconsolate. The mingled cries
of men and women filled the air with lamen-
tations. Some assisted to carry off the
wounded; others called for the assistance of
such as escaped unhurt; numbers abandoned
their habitations, or, in their frenzy, set
them on fire. They fled to obscure retreats,
and, in the moment of choice, deserted them;
they held consultations, and, having inflamed
their hopes, changed their minds in despair;
they beheld the pledges of tender affection,
nd burst into tears ; they viewed them again,
and grew fierce with resentment. It is a fact
well authenticated, that some laid violent
hands upon their wives and children, deter-
mined with savage compassion to end their
misery.

After obtaining hostages from the Horestians,
who in all probability inhabited what is now
the county of Fife, Agricola garrisoned the
stations on the isthmus and elsewhere, re-
crossed the Forth, and took up his winter-
quarters in the north of England, about the
Tyne and Solway. In the meantime he gave
orders to the fleet, then lying probably in the
Frith of Forth or Tay, to proceed on a voyage

of discovery to the northward. The enterprise
appears to have been successfully accomplished
by the Roman navy, which proceeded coast-
wise as far as the Orkneys, whence it sailed
by the Western Islands and the British Chan-
nel ad Portum Trutulenscm, Richborough in
Kent, returning to the point from which it
started. This is the first voyage on record
that determined Britain to be an island.

The Emperor Domitian now resolved to
supersede Agricola in his command in North
Britain; and he was accordingly recalled in
the year 85, under the pretence of promoting
him to the government of Syria, but in reality
out of envy on account of the glory which ho
had obtained by the success of his arms. He
died on the 23d of August, 93, some say, from
poison, while others attribute his death to the
effects of chagrin at the unfeeling treatment
of Domitian. His countrymen lamented his
death, and Tacitus, his son-in-law, preserved
the memory of his actions and his worth in
the history of his life.

During the remainder of Domitian's reign,
and that of Hadrian his successor, North Britain
appears to have enjoyed tranquillity; an infer-
ence which may be fairly drawn from the
silence of the Roman historians. Yet as
Hadrian in the year 121 built a wall between
the Solway and the Tyne, some writers have
supposed that the Romans had been driven
by the Caledonians out of North Britain, in
the reign of that Emperor. But if such was
the case, how did Lollius Urbicus, the Roman
general, about nineteen years after Hadrian's
wall was erected, penetrate without opposition
to Agricola's forts between the Clyde and the
Forth? May we not rather suppose that the
wall of Hadrian was built for the purpose of
preventing incursions into the south by the
tribes which inhabited the country between
that wall and the Friths? But, be this as it
may, little is known of the history of North
Britain from the time of Agricola's recall till
the year 138, when Antoninus Pius assumed
the imperial purple. That good and sagacious
emperor was distinguished by the care which
he took in selecting the fittest officers for the
government of the Roman provinces; and his
choice, for that of Britain, fell on Lollius
Urbicus.

GENERAL HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

The positive information concerning the
transactions of this general in North Britain
is as meagre as could possibly be, the only
clearly ascertained fact in connection with his
command being that he built a wall between
the Forth and Clyde, very nearly on a line
with the forts established by Agricola. " The
meagreness of all ancient record," says Burton, 4
" of the achievements of Lollius Urbicus is
worthy of emphatic mention and recollection,
because his name has got into the ordinary
abridged histories which speak of it, and of ' Ms
campaign in the north' as well-known events,
of which people naturally expect fuller informa-
tion elsewhere. The usual sources for reference
regarding him will however be found utterly
dumb." The story commonly given is that he
proceeded north as far as the Moray Frith,
throwing the extensive country between Forth
and Clyde and the Moray Frith into the form

of a regular Roman province, which, on the
worthless authority of the pseudo-Richard, was
named Vespasiana. All this may have been
the case, and the remains 5 of Roman stations
found throughout the wide tract just men-
tioned give some plausibility to the conjecture;
but there is only the most slender grounds for
connecting them with any northern expedition
of Lollius Urbicus. At all events we may
very safely conclude, from the general tone of
the records which remain of his and of subso
quent expeditions, as well as from the fact that
they found it necessary to divide the Lowlands
from the Higlilands by a fortified wall, that
the Romans considered the Caledonians of
their time very troublesome, and found it ex-
ceedingly difficult if not impossible to bring
them under their otherwise universal yoke.

It may not bo out of place to give here
some account of the wall of Antonine. The

Map and Profile of Antonine's Wall.

wall or rampart extended from Carriden on
the Forth, two miles west from Blackness, and
about the same distance east from Bo'ness, to
West Kilpatrick on the Clyde. The date,
which may be depended on, assigned to the
building of the wall is between 138 and 140
A. D. Taking the length of this wall from
Kilpatrick on the Clyde to Caeridden or
Carriden on the Forth, its extent would be
39,726 Roman paces, which exactly agrees
with the modern measurement of 36 English
miles and 620 yards. This rampart, which
was of earth, and rested on a stone foundation,
was upwards of twenty feet high and four and

4 Scotland, vol. i. p. 29.

twenty feet thick Along the whole extent of
the wall there was a vast ditch or praeteniura
on the outward or north side, which was gene-
rally twenty feet deep and forty feet wide, and
which, there is reason to believe, might be
filled with water when occasion required. 6

5 Wilson says that beyond the Forth and Clyde
nearly the sole traces of the presence of the Romans
are a few earthworks, with one or two exceptions, of
doubtful import, and some chance discoveries of pot-
tery and coins, mostly ascribable, it may be presumed,
to the fruitless northern expedition of Agricola, after
the victory of Mons Grampius, or to the still more
ineffectual one of his successor, Severus. Prehistoric
Annals, p. 365.

6 On the estate of Callender, to the east of Falkirk,
distinct remains of this trench are still to be seen, ill
good preservation, n.easuring a few hundred yards in
length and about 1 2 feet in depth.

ANTONINE'S WALL.

This ditch and rampart were strengthened at
both ends, and throughout its whole extent, by
about twenty forts, three being at each extrem-
ity, and the remainder placed between at the
distance of about two English miles from one
another; and it is highly probable that these
stations were designedly placed on the previous
fortifications of Agricola. The following, going
from east to west, are the names and sites of
some of the stations which have been iden-
tified: Eough Castle, Castlecary, Westerwood,
Bunhill, Auchindinny, Kirkintilloch, Bemulie,
East Kilpatrick, Castlehill, Duntocher, West
Kilputrick. It will be seen that to a certain ex-
tent they are on the line of the Edinburgh and
Glasgow railway, and throughout nearly its
whole length that of the Forth and Clyde canal.
Its necessary appendage, a military road, ran be-
hind the rampart from end to end, for the use
of the troops and for keeping up the usual
communication between the stations or forts.

From inscriptions on some of the foundation
stones, which have been dug up, it appears that
the Second legion, with detachments from the
sixth and twentieth legions and some auxili
aries, executed these vast military works,
equally creditable to their skill and persever-
ance. Dunglas near the western extremity,
and Blackness near the eastern extremity of
the rampart, afforded the Eomans commodious
harbours for their shipping, as also did Cram-
ond, about five miles west from Edinburgh.
This wall is called in the popular language of
the country Grime's or Graham's Dyke. 7 In
1868 a large oblong slab, in first-rate preserva-
tion, was dug up at Bo'ness, in the parish of
Kinneil (Bede's Peanfahel, " the head of the
wall"), containing an inscription as distinct as
it was on the day when it came from a Boman
chisel. We give here a cut of this remarkable
stone, which is now in the Scottish Antiqua-
rian Museum.

IMP-CAES-TnUAEUO

HADRWTONINO

AVQP10WLG;I1

cat

7 FEC

Stone from Antonine's Wall. (Copied and engraved specially for the present work.)

Wo have no distinct mention of the Caledo-
nians again until the reign of Commodus,
when, about the year 183, these troublesome
barbarians appear to have broken through the
northern wall, slain the general in command
of the Eoman forces, and pillaged the lowland
country beyond. They were, however, driven
back by Ulpius Marcellus, who succeeded by
prudent management in maintaining peace for
a number of years. In the beginning of the
reign of Severus, however, the Caledonians
again broke out, but were kept in check by
Virius Lupus, who appears to have bribed
rather than beaten the barbarians into con-
formity.

The irrepressible Highlanders again broke
out about the year 207, and this time the
Emperor Severus himself, notwithstanding his
bad health and old age, came from Eome to
Britain, determined apparently to " stamp out"
the rebellion. On hearing of his arrival the
tribes sent deputies to him to negotiate for
peace, but the emperor, who was of a warlike
disposition, and fond of military glory, declined
to entertain any proposals.

After making the necessary preparations,

7 There are several other earthworks in England,
according to Chalmers (Caledonia) and Taylor (Words
and Places), which go under the appellation of Grime's
Dyke or Grime's Ditch. Grime in Cornish is said to
signify strong; in Gaelic, war, battle.

GENERAL H1STOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

Severus began his march to the north in the
year 208. He traversed the whole of North
.Britain, from the wall of Antoninus to the very
extremity of the island, with an immense army.
The Caledonians avoided coming to a general
engagement with him, but kept up an inces-
sant and harassing warfare on all sides. He,
however, brought them to sue for peace ; but
the honours of this campaign were dearly
earned, for fifty thousand of the Romans fell a
prey to the attacks of the Caledonians, to
fatigue, and to the severity of the climate.
The Caledonians soon disregarded the treaty
which they had entered into with Severus,
which conduct so irritated him that he gave
orders to renew the war, and to spare neither
age nor sex; but his son, Caracalla, to whom
the execution of these orders was intrusted,
was more intent in plotting against his father
and brother than in executing the revengeful
mandate of the dying emperor, whose demise
took place at York on the 4th February, 211,
m the sixty-sixth year of his age, and in the
third year of his administration in Britain.

It is in connection with this invasion that
wo first hear of the Meats or Mseatoe, who are
mentioned by Dion Cassius, or rather his epi-
tomiser Xiphiline, and who are supposed by
some to have inhabited the country between
the two walls, while others think it more
likely that they were a part of the Caledonians,
and inhabited the district between the Gram-
pians and the wall of Antonine. We shall
not, however, enter into this question here, but
endeavour, as briefly as possible, to record all
that is known of the remaining transactions of
the Romans in the north of Scotland, reserving
other matters for the next chapter.

It was not consistent with the policy by
which Caracalla was actuated, to continue a
war with the Caledonians ; for the scene of his
ambition lay in Rome, to which he made hasty
preparations to depart on the death of his father.
He therefore entered into a treaty with the Cale-
donians by which he gave up the territories sur-
rendered by them to his father, and abandoned
the forts erected by him in their fastnesses.
The whole country north of the wall of Anto-
nine appears in fact to have been given up to
the undisputed possession of the Caledonians,
and we hear of no more incursions by them

till the reign of the emperor Constantius
Chlorus, who came to Britain in the year 306,
to repel the Caledonians and other Picte. 8
Their incursions were repelled by the Roman
legions under Constantius, and they remained
quiet till about the year 345, when they again
entered the territories of the provincial Brit-
ons ; but they were compelled, it is said, again
to retreat by Constans, son of Constantine the
Great.

Although these successive inroads had been
always repelled by the superior power and dis-
cipline of the Romans, the Caledonians of the
fourth century no longer regarded them in the
formidable light in which they had been
viewed by their ancestors, and their genius for
war improving every time they came in hostile
contact with their enemies, they meditated
the design of expelling the intruders altogether
from the soil of North Britain. The wars
which the Romans had to sustain against the
Persians in the East, and against the Germans
on the frontiers of Gaul, favoured the plan of
the Caledonians ; and having formed a treaty
with the Scots, whose name is mentioned for
the first time in history in this connection by
Ammianus Marcellinus, they, in conjunction
with their new allies, about the year 360 in-
vaded the Roman territories and committed
many depredations. Julian, who commanded
the Roman army on the Rhine, despatched
Lupicinus, an able military commander, to do-
fend the province against the Scots and Picts,
but he was recalled before ho had done much
to repel them.

The Picts who on this occasion are men-
tioned by Ammianus Marcellinus 9 as being di-
vided into two nations, the Diedledones and
Vecturiones and Scots, being joined by the
Attacots, " a warlike race of men," and the
Saxons, numbers of whom appear at this early
period to have settled in Britain, made another
attack on the Roman provinces in the year

8 The first writer who mentions the Picts is Enmen-
ius, the orator, who was a Professor at Aiitun, and who,
in a panegyric pronounced by him in the year 297,
mentions the Puts along with the Irish, and again, in
308, in a panegyric pronounced by him on Constans,
speaks of the Caledonians and other Picts. This is
one of the passages mainly relied on by those who
consider the Caledonians and Ticts to have been the
same people.

Am. Mar., xxvii., 8.

THE ROMANS ABANDON BRITAIN.

364, on the accession of Valentinian. These
appear to have made their way as far south as
London, and it required all the valour and
skill of Theodosius the Elder, father of the em-
peror of that name, who was sent to Britain in
the year 307, to repel this aggression, and to
repair the great ravages committed by the bar-
barians. The next outbreak occurred about
the year 398, when the Picts and Scots again
broke loose and ravaged the provinces, being
repelled by a legion sent over by the great
Stilicho, in answer to the petition of the help-
less provincials for assistance.

In the beginning of the fifth century the
enervated Romanized Britons again appear to
have been subjected to the tender mercies of
their wicked northern neighbours ; and in re-
ply to their cry for help, Honorius, in 416, sent
over to their relief a single legion, which drove
back the intruders. The Romans, as is well
known, engrossed by overwhelming troubles
nearer home, finally abandoned Britain about
the year 446, advising the inhabitants, who
were suffering from the ravages of the Picts
and Scotc, to protect themselves by retiring
behind and keeping in repair the wall of Se-
verus.

Such is a brief account of the transactions of
the Romans in Britain so far as these were con-
nected with the Highlands of Scotland. That
energetic and insatiable people doubtless left
their mark on the country and its inhabitants
south of the Forth and Clyde, as the many
Roman remains which exist there at the pres.
ent day testify. The British provincials, in-
deed, appear in the end to have been utterly
enervated, and, in the worst sense, Roman-
ized, so that they became an easy prey to their
Saxon helpers. It is quite evident, however,
that the inhabitants of Caledonia proper, the
district beyond the wall of Antonine, were to
a very slight extent, if at all, influenced by the
Roman invasion. Whether it was from the
nature of the people, or from the nature of the
country which they inhabited, or from both
combined, they appear to have been equally
impervious to Roman force and Roman cul-
ture. The best services that their enemies
rendered to the Caledonians or Picts were that
they forced them to unite against the common
foe thus contributing towards the foundation

of a future kingdom ; and that they gave them
a training in arms such as the Caledonians
could never have obtained, had they not been
brought into collision with the best-trained
soldiers of the world in their time.

"We have in what precedes mainly followed
only one thread in the very intricate web
formed by the early history of the Highlands,
which, to a certain extent at this period, is the
history of Scotland; but, as will have been
seen, there are various other threads which
join in from time to time, and which, after
giving a short account of the traces of the Ro-
man invasion still existing in the Highlands,
we shall endeavour to catch up and follow out
as far as possible.

It is not necessary in a history of the High-
lands of Scotland, as we have denned that term,
that much space should be given to an ac-
count of Roman remains ; for, as we have al-
ready said, these Italian invaders appear never
to have obtained anything like a firm footing
in that rugged district, or made any definite or
characteristic impression on its inhabitants.
" The vestiges whence it is inferred that the
Empire for a time had so far established itself
in Scotland as to bring the natives over to the
habits of peaceful citizens, belong almost ex-
clusively to the country south of Antonine's
wall, between the Forth and Clyde. Coins
and weapons have been found farther north,
but scarcely any vestige of regular settlement
None of the pieces of Roman sculpture found
in Scotland belong to the districts north of the
wall. It is almost more significant still, that
of the very considerable number of Scottish
Roman inscriptions in the various collections,
only one was found north of the wall, and that
in the strongly-fortified station of Ardoch,
where it commemorated that it was dedicated
to the memory of a certain Ammonius Damio-
nis. 1 On the other hand, it is in that unsub-
dued district that the memorials of Roman con-
quest chiefly abound." 2

The whole of Britain was intersected by Ro-
man ways, and as, wherever a Roman army
went, it was preceded by pioneers who cleared
and made a durable road to facilitate its march,
there can be no doubt that the north of Scot-

1 Wilson's Prehisl. Annals.

* Burton's Scotland, vol. i. p. 74.

GENEEAL HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

land was to a considerable extent intersected
by highways during the invasion of Agricola,
Lollius Urbicus, and Severus. One road at
least can be traced as far north as Aberdeen-
shire, and is popularly known in some districts
as the Lang Causeway. This road appears to
have issued from the wall of Antonine, passed
through Camelon, the Roman port on the Car-
ron, and pushing straight forward, according to
the Eoman custom, across the Carron, it pur-
sued its course in a general north-east direction
through Stirling, Perth, by Ardoch, through
Forfar and Kincardine, to about Stonehaven.

It would appear that there are traces of Eo-
man roads even farther north. Between the
rivers Don and Urie in Aberdeenshire, on the
eastern side of Bennachee, there exists an an-
cient road known in the country by the name
of the Maiden Causeway, a name by which
some of the Eoman roads in the north of Eng-
land are distinguished. This proceeds from
Bennachee whereon there is said to have been
a hill-fort, more than the distance of a mile
into the woods of Pitodrie, when it disappears :
it is paved with stones, and is about fourteen
feet wide. Still farther north, from Forres to
the ford of Cromdale on the Spey, there has
been long known a road of very ancient con-
struction, pointing to Cromdale, where the
Eomans may have forded the Spey. Various
traces of very ancient roads are still to be seen
by Corgarf and through Braemar : the tradition
of the people in Strathdee and Braemar, sup-
ports the idea that there are remains of Eoman
roads which traverse the country between the
Don and the Dee. Certain it is, that there are
obvious traces of ancient roads which cross the
wild districts between Strathdon and Strath-
dee, though it is impossible to ascertain when
or by whom these ancient roads were con-
structed, in such directions, throughout such a
country.

Along these roads there were without doubt
many camps and stations, as it is well known
that the Eomans never halted even for a single
night, without entrenching themselves beliind
secure fortifications. There are many remains
of what are supposed to have been Eoman
camps still pointed out in various places north
of the line occupied by Antonine's wall. These
are well known even to the peasantry, and are

generally treated with respect. The line of
these camps reaches as far as the counties of
Aberdeen and Inverness, the most important
of them, however, being found in Strathallan,
Strathearn, and Strathmore. Besides the most
important of these camps, that at Ardoch,
traces of many others have been found. There
was one on the river Earn, about six miles east
of Ardoch, which would command the middle
part of Strathearn lying between the Ocliil
hills on the south and the river Almond on
the north. Another important station is sup-
posed to have been established near Callander,
where, on a tongue of land formed by the junc-
tion of the rivers Strathgartney and Strathyre,
the two sources of the Teith, are seen the em-
bankments referred to by Scott 3 as

. . " The mouldering lines
Where Rome, the empress of the world,
Of yoro her eagle wings unfurled." 4

Another camp is placed at Dalgenross, near
the confluence of the Euchel and the Earn,
which, with Bochastle, would command the
western district of Strathearn. Another im-
portant station was the East Findoch, at the
south side of the Almond ; it guarded the only
practicable passage through the mountains
northward, to an extent of thirty miles from
east to west. The Eoman camp here was placed
on a high ground, defended by water on two
sides, and by a morass with a steep bank 01
the other two sides. It was about one hundred
and eighty paces long, and eighty broad, and
was surrounded by a strong earthen wall nearly
twelve feet thick, part of which still remains.
The trenches are still entire, and in some places
six feet deep.

On the eastern side of Strathearn, and be-
tween it and the Forth, are the remains of Eo-
man posts; and at Ardargie a Eoman camp
was established with the design, it is supposed,
of guarding the passage through the Ochil hills,
by the valley of May water. Another camp
at Gleneagles secured the passage of the same
hills through Glendevon. "With the design of
guarding the narrow, but useful passage from

8 Lady of the Lake.

* According to Burton, however, these are by som
geologists set down as a geological phenomenon.
Hist, of Scot. i. 75.

ROMAN REMAINS ARDOCH.

the middle Highland*, westward through Glen-
lyon to Argyle, the Romans fixed a post at
Fortingal, about sixteen miles north-west from
the station at East-Findoch.

A different line of posts became necessary
to secure Angus and the Mearns. At Coupar
A ngus, on the east side of the Isla, about seven
miles east from Inchtutlicl, stood a Roman
ramp, of a square form, of twenty acres within
the ramparts. This camp commanded the pas-
sage down Strathmore, between the Siedlaw
hills on the south-east, and the Isla on the
north-west. On Campmoor, little more than
a mile south from Coupar Angus, appear the re-
mains of another Roman fort. The great camp
of Battledyke stood about eighteen miles north-
cast from Coupar Angus, being obviously placed
there to guard the passage from the Highlands
through Glen Esk and Glen Prosen. About
eleven and a-half miles north-east of the camp
at Battledykes was another Roman camp, the
remains of which may still be traced near the
mansion-house of Keitliock. This camp is
known by the name of Wardikes. The coun-
try below the Siedlaw hills, on the north side
of the estuary of Tay, was guarded by a Roman
camp near Invergowrie, which had a communi-
cation on the north-east with the camp at
Harefatilds. This camp, which was about two
hundred yards square, and fortified with a high
rampart and a spacious ditch, stood about two
miles west from Dundee.

Traces of a number of others have been
found, but we need not go farther into detail
This account of the Roman transactions in
Scotland would, however, be incomplete with-

^WMC^\

Roman Camp at Ardoch as it appeared in 1755.
[Stuart's Caledonia llomana.}

out a more particular notice of the well-known
camp at Ardoch. Ardoch village, in Perth-
shire, lies on the cast side of Knaigwater, ten
miles north from Stirling, and is about two
miles from the Greenloaning station of tho
Caledonian railway, tho site of the camp be-
ing a little distance to tho north-west of the
village. As this station guarded the principal
inlet into the interior of Caledonia, the Romans
were particularly anxious to fortify so advan-
tageous a position. " The situation of it," says
the writer of the Old Statistical Account of
Muthill, " gave it many advantages ; being on
the north-west side of a deep moss that runs
a long way eastward. On the west side, it is
partly defended by the steep bank of the water
of Knaik ; which bank rises perpendicularly
between forty and fifty feet. The north and
east sides were most exposed ; and there we
find very particular care was taken to secure
them. The ground on the east is pretty regu-
lar, and descends by a gentle slope from the
lines of fortification, which, on that side, con-
sists of five rows of ditches, perfectly entire,
and running parallel to one another. These
altogether are about fifty-five yards in breadth.
On the north side, there is an equal number of
lines and ditches, but twenty yards broader
than the former. On the west, besides tho
steep precipices above mentioned, it was de-
fended by at least two ditches. One is still
visible ; the others have probably been filled
up, in making the great military road from
Stirling to the north. The side of the camp,
lying to the southward, exhibits to tho anti-
quary a less pleasing prospect. Here the pea-
sant's rugged hand has laid in ruins a great
part of the lines ; so that it may be with pro-
priety said, in the words of a Latin poet, ' Jam
seges est, ubi Troja fuit.' Tho area of tho
camp is an oblong of 140 yards, by 125 within
the lines. The general's quarter rises above
the level of the camp, but is not in the centre.
It is a regular square, each side being exactly
twenty yards. At present it exhibits evident
marks of having been enclosed with a stone
wall, and contains the foundation of a house, ten
yards by seven." There are two other encamp-
ments adjoining, having a communication
with one another, and containing about 130
acres of ground. A subterranean passage is

GENERAL HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

said to have extended from the praetorium
under the bed of the Knaik. Not far north of
this station, on the way to Crieff, may be traced
three temporary Roman camps of different sizes.
Portions of the ramparts of these camps still
exist. A mile west of Ardoch, an immense
cairn lately existed, 182 feet long, 45 broad at
the base, and 30 feet in sloping height A
human skeleton, 7 feet long, in a stone coffin,
was found in it. 6

CHAPTER II.

Early Inhabitants Roman Writers Aristotle Taci-
tus Dion Cassius Caledonians and llicatu; Eu-
menius Picts DicaledonesandVecturiones Clau-
dian Inferences Ecclesiastical Chroniclers Their
value Gildas Adamnan Northern and Southern
Picts Columba's "Interpreter" Bede's Account
of Picts Pictish Language Peanfahel Northern
and Southern Picts Welsh Triads Irish Annals
Evidence from Language Cymric and Gaelic Theo-
ries Inver and A ter Innes's Theory Conclusion.

TUB preceding chapter has been occupied almost
entirely with an account of the transactions of
the Romans in the north of Scotland, and it is
now our duty to go back and narrate what is
known of the internal history of the Highlands
during the time of the Romans. In doing so we
are brought face to face with certain much agi-
tated questions which have for centuries engaged
the attention of antiquaries, and in the discus-
sion of which many bulky tomes have been
written and incredible acrimony displayed.
To enter with anything like minuteness into
this discussion would occupy more space than
can be devoted to the entire history, and, more-
over, would be out of place in a popular work
like the present, and distasteful to most of its
readers. The following are some of the much-
discussed questions referred to : Who were
the original inhabitants of Caledonia ? To what
race did they belong were they Gothic or
Celtic? and if Celtic, were they Cymric or Gae-
lic ? When did they enter Scotland, and whence
did they come from the opposite continent, or

6 For more minute descriptions of this camp, as well
as for further details concerning the Roman transac-
tions in Scotland, consult Key's Military Antiquities,
Gough's Camdcn (under Strathearn), Stuart's Cale-
donia Romana, Burton's History of Scotland.

from the south of Britain ? Was the whole of
Scotland, in the time of Agricola, occupied by
one people, or by a mixed race, or by various
races? Were the Picts and Caledonians the
same people ? What is the meaning and origin
of Pict, and was Caledonia a native appellation?
What were the localities of the Northern and
Southern Picts ? Who were the Scots ? What
was the nature of the union of the Scots and
Picts under Kenneth MacAlpin ?

The notices of the early inhabitants of the
Highlands in the contemporary Roman his-
torians are so few, the information given so
meagre and indefinite, and the ecclesiastical
historians of a later time are so full of miracle,
myth, and hearsay, and so little to be depended
on, that it appears to us almost impossible, with
the materials at present within the historian's
reach, to arrive at anything like a satisfactory
answer to the above questions. The impression
left after reading much that has been written
on various sides, is one of dissatisfaction and
bewilderment, dissatisfaction with the far-
fetched and irrelevant arguments frequently
adduced, and the unreliable authorities quoted,
and bewilderment amid the dust-cloud of words
with which any one who enters this debatable
land is sure to be enveloped. " It is scarcely
necessary to observe, that there are few points
of ethnology on which historians and antiqua-
ries have been more at variance with each
other, than respecting the real race of those
inhabitants of a portion of Caledonia popularly
known by the designation of Picts. The diffi-
culty arising from this discrepancy of opinion
is increased by the scanty and unsatisfactory
nature of the materials now available to those
who wish to form an independent judgment.
No connected specimen of the Pictish language
has been preserved ; nor has any ancient au-
thor who knew them from personal observa-
tion, stated in direct terms that they approxi-
mated to one adjoining tribe more than another.
They are indeed associated with the Scots or
Irish as joint plunderers of the colonial Bri-
tons ; and the expression of Gildas that they
differed in some degree from the Scots in their
customs, might seem to imply that they did
bear an analogy to that nation in certain re-
spects. Of course, where there is such a lack
of direct evidence, there is more scope for con-

EAELY INHABITANTS.

Jecture; and the Picts are pronounced by dif-
ferent investigators of their history to have
been Germans, Scandinavians, Welsh, Gael, or
lomething distinct from all the four. The ad-
vocates of the German hypothesis rest chiefly
on Tacitus's description of their physical con-
formation. Dr. Jamieson, assuming that the
present Lowland Scotch dialect was derived
from them, sets them down as Scandinavians;
Bishop Lloyd and Camden conceive them to
have been of Celtic race, probably related to
the Britons; Chalmers, the author of ' Caledo-
nia," regards them as nothing more than a
tribe of Cambrians or "Welsh; while Skene,
one of the latest authors on the subject, thinks
he has proved that they were the ancestors of
the present race of Scottish Highlanders."

The earliest known name applied to Britain
is found in a treatise on the World ascribed to
Aristotle, in which the larger island is called
Albinn, and Ireland referred to as lerne; and
it is worthy of notice that at the present day
the former is the name applied to Scotland by
the Highlanders, who call themselves the Gad
Albinnich. The first author, however, who
gives us any information about the early in-
habitants of the north part of Scotland is
Tacitus, who, in his Life of Agricola, devotes
a few lines, in a parenthetical way, to charac-
terising each of the great divisions of the
people who, in the time of that general, in-
habited Britain. Tacitus tells us that in his
time the inhabitants of Britain differed in the
habit and make of their bodies, and from the
ruddy locks and large limbs of the Caledonians
he inferred that they were of German origin. 7
This glimpse is clear enough, but tantalizing
in its meagreness and generality. What does
Tacitus mean by German does he use it in
the same sense as we do at the present day?
Does he mean by Caledonia the whole of the
country north of the Forth and Clyde, or does
it apply only to that district Fife, Forfar, the
east of Perth, &c. with the inhabitants of
which his father-in-law came in contact? We
find Ptolemy the geographer, who flourished
about the middle of the 2d century A. D., men-
tioning the Caledonians as one of the many
tribes which in his time inhabited the north of

Garnett's Philological Essays, p.
7 Agricola li.

196.

Scotland. The term Caledonians is supposed
by some authorities to have been derived from
a native word signifying " men of the woods,"
or the inhabitants of the woody country; this,
however, is mere conjecture.

The next writer who gives any definite in-
formation as to the inhabitants of Caledonia is
Dion Cassius, who flourished in the early part
of the 3d century, and who wrote a history of
Eome which has come down to us in a very
imperfect state. Of the latter part, containing
an account of Britain, wo possess only an epi-
tome made by Xiphilinus, an ecclesiastic of
the llth century, and which of course is very
meagre in its details. The following are the
particulars given by this writer concerning the
early inhabitants of north Britain. " Of the
Britons the two most ample nations are tho
Caledonians and the Maeatae; for the names of
the rest refer for the most part to these. Tho
Maeatae inhabit very near the wall 8 which
divides the island into two parts; the Caledo-
nians are after these. Each of them inhabit
mountains, very rugged and wanting water,
and also desert fields, full of marshes: thej
have neither castles nor cities, nor dwell in
any : they live on milk and by hunting, and
maintain themselves by the fruits of the trees :
for fishes, of which there is a very great and
numberless quantity, they never taste: they
dwell naked in tents and without shoes: they
use wives in common, and whatever is born to
them they bring up. In the popular state
they are governed, as for the most part : they
rob on the highway most willingly: they war
in chariots: horses they have, small and fleet;
their infantry, also, are as well most swift at
running, as most brave in pitched battle.
Their arms are a shield and a short spear, in
the upper part whereof is an apple of brass,
that, while it is shaken, it may terrify the
enemies with the sound: they have likewise
daggers. They are able to bear hunger, cold,
and all afflictions ; for they merge themselves
in marshes, and there remain many days, hav-
ing only their head out of water: and in woods
are nourished by the bark and roots of trees.
But a certain kind of food they prepare for all
occasions, of which if they take as much as ' the

' The wall of Antonine.

GENEEAL HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

size' of a single bean, they are in nowise ever
wont to hunger or thirst." 9

From this we learn that in the 3d century
there were two divisions of the inhabitants of
the Highlands, known to the Eomans as the
Caledonians and Maeats or Moeatae, the latter
very probably inhabiting the southern part of
that territory, next to the wall of Antonine,
and the former the district to the north of this.
As to whether these were Latinized forms of
native names, or names imposed by the Eo-
mans themselves, we have no means of judg-
ing. The best writers on this subject think
that the Caledonians and Maaats were two
divisions of the same people, both living to the
north of the Forth and Clyde, although Innes, 1
and one or two minor writers, are of opinion
that the Mseats were provincial Britons who
inhabited the country between the wall of
Hadrian and that of Antonine, known as the
province of Valentia. However, with Skene, 2
Mr. Joseph Eobertson, and other able authori-
ties, we are inclined to tliink that the evidence
is in favour of their being the inhabitants of
the southern portion of Caledonia proper.

Herodian, 3 who wrote about A. D. 240,
tells us that the Caledonians were in the habit
of marking or painting their bodies with figures
of animals, and that they wore no clothes in
order that these figures might be preserved and
exhibited.

The next reference made by a Eoman writer
to the inhabitants of Caledonia we find in a
panegyric pronounced in his presence on the
Emperor Constantius Chlorus, by Eumenius, a
professor of rhetoric at Augustodunum (Autun]
in Gaul, in the year 296 or 297, who speaks of
the Britons, in the time of Caesar, having been
attacked by the half-naked Picts and Irish.
To what people the orator meant to apply the
term Picts, around which there has clustered
so much acrimonious disputation, we learn from
another oration pronounced by liim on the same
emperor, before his son Constantino, in the
year 309, in which, recording the actions of
Constantius, he speaks of the woods and
marshes of the Caledonians and other Picts.

9 Dio L. 76, c. 12, as quoted in Ritson's Annals,
p. II.

1 Critical Essay, cl). ii.
8 Highlanders
* Book iii.

After this no further mention is made of thn
Caledonians by any Eoman writer, but towards
the end of the 4th century Ammianus Marcel-
linus, in his account of the Eoman transactions
in Britain, speaks of the Picts in conjunction
with the Saxons, Scots, and Attacots harassing
the provincial Britons about the year 364.
Further on ho informs us that at this time the
Picts were divided into two tribes or nations,
the Dicaledones and Vecturiones, remarking,
at the same time, that " the Attacots were a
warlike race of men, and the Scots a people
much given to wandering, and in the habit of
ravaging or laying waste the districts into
which they came." 4

Claudian the poet, writing, about 397, in
praise of Houorius, mentions, among other ac-
tions of Theodosius, the grandfather of that
emperor, his having subdued the Picts, who
were fitly so named, 5 and makes various other
references to this people and the Scots, which
show that these two in combination were
troubling the Eoman provincials not a little. 6

Such are most of the scanty details given by
the only contemporary historians who take any
notice of the inhabitants of North Britain ; and
the unprejudiced reader will see that the foun-
dation thus afforded upon which to construct
any elaborate theory is so narrow that every
such theory must resemble a pyramid standing
on its apex, liable at the slightest touch to
topple over and be shattered to pieces. It ap-
pears to us that all the conclusions which it is
safe to draw from the few facts stated by the
contemporary Eoman historians are, that at the
commencement of the Christian era Caledonia
proper, or the Highlands, was inhabited by a
people or peoples apparently considerable in
number, and who in all probability had been
settled there for a considerable time, part of
whom at least were known to the Eomans by
the name of Caledonians. That these Calo

4 " Scotti per di versa vagantes, imilta popula-
bnntnr." Am. Mar. xxvii. 8.

Nee falso nomine Pictos

Kdomuit."

6 " Venit et extremis legio pnetenta Britannis
Quse Rcoto dat fnena truci, ferroque notatas
Perlegit exaugues Scoto moriente tiguras."

Debello (Jetico, v. 416.
Thus rendered by Eitson :
The legion came, o'er distant Britains placed,
Which bridles the fierce Scot, and bloodless figures
With iron marked, views in the dying Pict

EARLY INHABITANTS.

doniana, those of them at any rate with whom
Agricola camo in contact in the first century,
were red or fair haired and large limbed, from
which Tacitus inferred that they were of Ger-
man extraction. In the beginning of the third
century there were at least two divisions of the
inhabitants of Caledonia, the Caledonians and
Mocats, the former inhabiting the country to
the north of the Grampians, and the latter, in
all probability, that to the south and south-
east of these mountains. They appear to have
been in many respects in a condition little re-
moved from that of savages, although they
must have made wonderful attainments in the
manufacture of implements of war.

In the latter part of the third century we
found the Highlanders spoken of under a new
name, Picti, which the Roman historians at
least, undoubtedly understood to be the Latin
word meaning ' painted,' 7 and which all the
best modern writers believe to have been im-
posed by the Romans themselves, from the fact
that the indomitable Caledonians had retained
the custom of self-painting after all the Roman-
ized Britons had given it up. There is the
strongest probability that the Caledonians
spoken of as Picts by Eumenius were the same
as the Caledonians of Tacitus, or that the
Caledonians and Picts were the same people
under different names. The immediate cause
for this change of name we have no means of
ascertaining. It is in every way improbable
that the Picts were a new people, who had
come in upon the Caledonians, and supplanted
them some time after Agricola's invasion. The
Romans were constantly coming into contact
with the Caledonians from the time of Agri-
cola till they abandoned Britain entirely, and
had such a supplantation taken place, it cer-
tainly could not have been done quietly, and
without the cognizance of the Romans. But
we find no mention in any contemporary his-
torian of any such commotion, and we know
that the inhabitants of the Highlands never
ceased to harass the British provincials, show-
ing that they were not much taken up with
any internal disturbance. Indeed, writers who
adopt the most diverse opinions on other
points in connection with the Pictish question

7 The name givun by the Irish Annalists to the Picts
[a Cruithie, said by sonic to ini-im "variegated."

are all agreed as to this, that the Caledonians
und Picts were the same people. 8

We learn further from our authorities, that
towards the end of the fourth century the in-
habitants of Caledonia were known to the
Romans under the names of Dicaledoncs and
Vecturiones, it being conjectured that these
correspond to the Caledonians and Maeats of
Dio, and the Northern and Southern Picts of n
later period. The connection of the latter
part of the word Di-caledones with Caledonii is
evident, although the significance of the first
syllable is doubtful, some authorities conjec-
turing that it is the Gaelic word du, meaning
" genuine." It appears at all events to be es-
tablished that during the early history of the
Highlands, whatever other divisions may have
existed among the inhabitants, those dwelling
to the north and those dwelling to the south
of the Grampians were two separate confeder-
acies, and were known by distinct names.

Another not unimportant fact to be learned
from the Roman historians in relation to the
Picts or Caledonians is, that about the middle
of the 4th century they were assisted by the
Attacots, Saxons, and Scots. As to who the
Attacots were it is now impossible to conjec-
ture with anything like certainty, there being no
sufficient reason for believing that they were
allied to the Irish Scots. It is well enough
known who the Saxons were, but how they
came at this early period to be acting in concert
with the Picts it is difficult to say. It is pos-
sible that numbers of them may have effected
a settlement, even at this early period, in North
Britain, although it is more likely that they
were roving adventurers, who had left their
homes, from choice or on compulsion, to try
their fortune in Britain. They were probably
the first droppings of the abundant shower
that overwhelmed South Britain a century
later. The Romans at this period had an offi-
cer with the title of "Comes litoris Saxonici
per Britanniam ;" and Claudian, in his praises
of Stilicho, introduces Britain, saying

" Illius effectum curis, ne bella timerem
Scotica, ne Pictum tremerem, ne littore toto
Prospicerem dubiis venturum Saxona ventis. "

" The only important exception is Ritson, whose
arguments, like those of his opponent Pinkerton, con-
sist mostly of virulent language and vehement assertion

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

It is interesting to notice that this 9 is the
first mention made of the (Scots in connection
with what is now Scotland ; but whether there
were settlements of them at this time among
Jhe Piets, or whether they had come over from
Ireland for the purpose of assisting the latter
to harass the Eomans, it is difficult to Bay.
Probably, as was the case with tho Saxons,
these were the harbingers of the great migra-
tion, that reached its culmination about a cen-
tury and a half later. They appear, from what
Ammianus says, to have been at this time a
set of destructive vagabonds. "We shall have
more to say about them further on.

From the general tone of these contemporary
Roman historians we learn that, whether Celtic
or Gothic, these Picts or Caledonians were a
hardy, indomitable, determined race, with a
strong love of liberty and of the country in
which they dwelt, and a resolution never to be
subject to the greedy Roman. Comparatively
few and barbarous as they were, they caused
the Romans far more trouble than all the rest
of Britain together ; to conquer the latter and
Romanize it appears to have been compara-
tively smooth work, but the Italians acknow-
ledged the Highlanders invincible by building
walls and other fortifications, and maintaining
extra garrisons to protect the provincials from
their fierce and wasting inroads. Whether the
present Highlanders are the descendants of
these or not, they certainly possess many
of their qualities.

It will have been seen that the Roman his-
torians give us almost no clue to what we now
deem of most interest and importance, the
place of the early inhabitants among the fami-
lies of men, the time and manner of their
arrival, the language they spoke, and their
internal history generally. Of course the re-
cords of contemporaries stand in the first place
of importance as evidences, and although we
have other sources, historical, linguistic, and
antiquarian, which shed a little light upon the
subject, these, for various reasons, must be used
with great caution. The only statement ap-
proaching to anything like a hint as to the
origin of the Caledonians is that of Tacitus,
referring to their ruddy locks and large limbs

' In Amin. Mir.

as an evidence of their German origin. There
is no reason to doubt that those with whom
Agricola came in contact were of this make and
complexion, which, at the present day, are
generally hold to be indicative of a Teutonic
origin ; whereas the true Celt is popularly be-
lieved to be of a small make and dark com'
plexion. 1 It may have been, that in Agiicola's
time the part of the country into wliich ho
penetrated was occupied by considerable num-
bers of Teutons, who had effected a settlement
either by force, or by favour of tho prior in
habitants. The statement of Tacitus, however,
those who uphold the Celtic theory endeavour
to explain away.

We may safely say then, that with regard to
all the most important points that have ex-
cited the curiosity of modern enquirers, the
only contemporary historians to whom we can
appeal, leave us almost entirely in the dark.

The writers, next in order of importance to
whom an appeal is made as witnesses in this
perplexing case, are the ecclesiastical chroni-
clers, the chief of whom are Gildas, Adamnan,
Bede, Nennius. "Much of the error into
which former winters have been led, has arisen
from an improper use of these authors ; they
should be consulted exclusively as contempor-
ary historians whatever they assert as exist-
ing or occurring in their own time, or shortly
before it, we may receive as true ; but when
we consider the perverted learning of that
period, and the little information which they
appear to have possessed of the traditions of
the people around them, we ought to reject
their fables or fanciful origins as altogether un-
deserving of credit." 2 Though this dictum
may perhaps be too sweeping, still any one who
examines the authors referred to for himself,
must admit that it is in the main just. It is
well known that these writers exercise little or
no discrimination in the composition of their
narratives, that tradition, miracle, and observed
fact are placed side by side, as all equally worthy
of belief. Even Bede, the most reliable and

1 It is a curious fact that these latter arc, among tho
peasantry of Scotland, the distinctive characteristics of
the Picts or Pechts, who, however, it is not unlikely,
may lie popularly confounded with the Brownies,
especially as, in Perthshire at any rate, they are said
always to have done their work while others were
asleep.

- Skeiie's HigJilarulcrs, vol. i. p. 2.

PICTS.

cautious of these early chroniclers, lived as long
after some of the events of which he professes
to give an account, as we of the present day do
after the time of the Crusades ; almost his sole
authority being tradition or hearsay. More-
over, the knowledge which these writers had
of the distinction between the various races of
mankind was so very hazy, the terms they use
are to us so comparatively unintelligible, and
the information they do contain on the points
in dispute so brief, vague, and parenthetical,
that their value as authorities is reduced almost
to a minimum.

Whoever was the author of the work De
Excidio Britannia, one of the latest and most
acute writers 3 on ethnology has shown that he
is almost totally unworthy of credit, the sources
of his information being exceedingly suspicious,
and lus statements proved to be false by com-
parison with trustworthy contemporary Roman
historians. There is every reason to believe
that the so-called Gildas for by Mr. Wright 4
he has been reduced to a nominis umbra
lived and wrote about the middle of the 6th cen-
tury A.D., so that, had he used ordinary dili-
gence and discrimination, he might have been of
considerable assistance in enabling us to solve
the perplexing mystery of the Pictish question.
But indeed we have no right to look for much
history in the work of Gildas, as it professes
to be merely a complaint " on the general de-
struction of every thing that is good, and the
general growth of evil throughout the land ;"
it is his purpose, he says, " to relate the deeds
of an indolent and slothful race, rather than
the exploits of those who have been valiant in
the field." 6 So far as the origin and early
history of the Picts is concerned, Gildas is of
almost no value whatever, the only time ho
mentions the Picts being incidentally to notice
an invasion they had made into the Roman
provinces. 8 If we can trust him, the Picts
and their allies, the Scots, must have been
very fierce enemies to deal with. They went
about, he tells us, almost entirely destitute of
clothes, having their faces covered with bushy
hair, and were in the habit of dragging the
poor enervated Britons from the top of their

3 L. 0. Pike, The English and their Origin, ch. i.

4 Biographia Britannica Literaria, vol. i.
' Gildas, 1. Id., 19.

protecting wall with hooked weapons, slaughter-
ing them without mercy. Some writers infer
from this narrative that, during the Roman oc-
cupation, no permanent settlement of Scots had
been effected in present Scotland, but that the
Scots who assisted the Picts came over from
their native Scotland (Ireland) for that pur-
pose ; he tells us that the Scots came from the
north-west, and the Picts from the north. 7
" North-west " here, however, would apply
quite as well to Argyle as to Ireland.

The writer next in chronological order from
whom we derive any information of conse-
quence concerning the Picts is Adamnan, a
member of the early Irish Church, who was
born in the county of Donegal about the
year 625, elected abbot of lona in 679, and
who died in the year 704. Adamnan wrote
a life of his great predecessor St. Columba,
in which is contained much information con-
cerning that great missionary's labours among
the Northern Picts ; and although he narrates
many stories which are palpably incredible,
still the book contains much which may
with confidence be accepted as fact. In con-
nection with the questions under consideration,
wo learn that, in the time of Columba and
Adamnan, there were as formerly, in the time
of the Roman writers two divisions of the
Picts, known in the 7th century and afterwards
as the Northern and Southern Picts. Adam-
nan informs us that Columba's mission was to
the Northern Picts alone, the southern divi-
sion having been converted by St. Ninian in
the 5th century. There has been much dispu-
tation as to the precise district inhabited by
each of these two divisions of the Picts, some
maintaining that the southern division occupied
the country to the south of the Forth and Clyde,
while the Northern Picts occupied the whole
district to the north of these estuaries. The
best authorities, however, are of opinion that
both divisions dwelt to the north of Antonine's
wall, and were divided from each other by the
Grampians.

What more immediately concerns our pres-
ent purpose is a passage in Adamnan's work in
which he speaks of Columba preaching to the
Picts through an interpreter. Now Columba

' Gildas, 14.

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

was an Irish Scot, whose native tongue was
Gaelic, and it is from this argued that the Picts
to whom he preached must have spoken a differ-
ent language, or at least dialect, and belonged
to a different race or tribe from the saint him-
self. Mr. Skene, 8 who ably advocates the
Gaelic origin of the Picts, perceiving this diffi-
culty, endeavours to explain away the force of
Ihe passage by making it mean that Columba
"interpreted or explained the word of God,
that is, the Bible, which, being written in
Latin, would doubtless require to be interpreted
to them." The passage as quoted by Skene is,
" Verbo Dei per interpretorem recepto." Gar-
nett, however, one of the most competent and
candid writers on this question in its philologi-
cal aspect, and who maintains, with the great-
est clearness and ability, the Cymric origin of
the Picts, looks at the passage in a different
light. The entire passage, he says, 9 as it
stands in Colganus, is as follows: "Alio in
tempore quo sanctus Columba in Pictorum
provincia per aliquot demorabatur dies, quidam
",um tota plebeius familia, verbum vitce per in-
terpretorem, Sancto prcedicante viro, audiens
credidit, credensque baptizatus est." 1 " Here
it will be observed," continues Garnett, "Adam-
nan does not say, ' verbum Dei,' which might
have been construed to mean the Scripture,
but 'verbum vita, Sancto prcedicante viro,'
which can hardly mean anything but 'the
word of life, as it was preached by the Saint.'"
Certainly, we think, the unprejudiced reader
must admit that, so far as this point is con-
cerned, Mr. Garnett has the best of it. Al-
though at that time the Gaelic and Cymric
dialects may have had much more in common
than they have at the present day, nevertheless
it appears to be beyond a doubt that the differ-
ence between the two was so great that a Gael
would be unintelligible to a speaker of Cymric. 2

8 Highlanders, vol. i. p. 72.

' Garnett's Philological Essays, p. 199.

1 Adam. ap. Colganum, 1. ii. c. 32.

* On the subject in question the recently published
T.ook of Deer cannot be said to afford us any informa-
tion. It gives a short account of the landing of
Columba and a companion at Aberdour in the north
of Aberdeenshire, and the founding of a monastery at
Deer. But although the entries are in Gaelic, they do
not tell ns what language Colnmba spoke, nor whether
' Bede the Pict,' the mormaer of Buchan, understood
him without an interpreter. The name of the saint
Drostan whom Columba left beliiud him to prose-

The next and most important authority of
this class on this qucestio vexata is the Vener-
able Bede, who, considering the age in which he
lived, exercised so much caution and discrimina-
tion, that he deserves to be listened to with re-
spect Bede was born about 673. He was
educated in the Monastery of Wearmouth,
whence he removed to Jarrow, where he was
ordained deacon in his nineteenth year, and
priest in his thirtieth, and where he spent the
rest of his days, dying in 735. He wrote many
works, but the most important is the Historia
Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum, the materials
for which he obtained chiefly from native
chronicles and biographies, records and public
documents, and oral and written communica-
tions from contemporaries.

"We shall transcribe most of the passage in
which Bede speaks of the ancient inhabitants
of Britain; so that our readers may be able to
judge for themselves of the nature and value
of the testimony borne by this venerable au-
thor. It must, however, be kept in mind that
Bede does not pretend to give any but the ec-
clesiastical history of the English nation, every-
thing else being subsidiary to this.

" This island at present, following the num-
ber of the books in which the Divine law was
written, contains five nations, the English,
Britons, Scots, Picts, and Latins, each in its
own peculiar dialect cultivating the sublime
study of Divine truth. The Latin tongue is,
by the study of the Scriptures, become common
to all the rest. At first this island had no
other inhabitants but the Britons, from whom
it derived its name, and who coming over into
Britain, as is reported, from Annorica, pos-
sessed themselves of the southern parts thereof.
When they, beginning at the south, had made
themselves master of the greatest part of the
island, it happened, that the nation of the

cute the work, is Pictish, at any rate not Irish, so
that nothing can be inferred from this. Since much
of the first part of this book was written, Mr. Skene
has advanced the theory, founded partly on four
new Pictish words he has managed to discover, that
the language of the Picts was neither pure Gaelic
nor Cymric, 'but a sort of low Gaelic dialect par-
taking largely of Welsh forms.' This theory is not
new, but was distinctly put forth by Dr. Maclauchlan
some years ago in his able and learned work, The
Early Scottish Church, p. 29 : if true, it would cer-
tainly satisfy a great many of the demands which any
hypothesis on the subject must do.

BEDE ON THE PICTS.

Picts coming into the ocean from Scythia, as
is reported, in a few tall ships, were driven
by the winds beyond the shores of Britain
and arrived off Ireland, on the northern
coasts, where, fouling the nation of the Scots,
they requested to he allowed to settle among
them, but could not succeed in obtaining
their request. The Scots answered, that
the island could not contain them both;
but ' wo can give you good advice,' said they,
' what to do ; we know there is another island,
not far from ours, to the eastward, which we
often see at a distance, when the days are clear.
If you will repair thither, you may be able to
obtain settlements; or if they should oppose
you, you may make use of us as auxiliaries.'
The Picts accordingly sailing over into Britain,
began to inhabit the northern parts thereof, for
the Britons were possessed of the southern.
Now the Picts having no wives, and asking
them of the Scots, they would not consent to
grant them upon any other terms, than that
when any difficulty should arise, they should
rather choose themselves a king from the fe-
male royal race than from the male; which
custom, as is well known, has been observed
among the Picts to this day. In process of
time, Britain, besides the Britons and the Picts,
received a third nation, the Scots, who, de-
parting out of Ireland under their leader Eeuda,
either by fair means, or by force of arms, se-
cured to themselves those settlements among
the Picts which they still possess. From the
name of their commander, they are to this day
called Dalreudins ; for in their language Dal

signifies a part It is properly the

country of the Scots, who, migrating from
thence, as has been said, added a third nation
in Britain to the Britons and the Picts. There
is a very large gulf of the sea, which formerly
divided the nation of the Picts from the Bri-
tons ; which gulf runs from the west very far
into the land, where, to this day, stands the
strong city of the Britons, called Alcluith.
The Scots arriving on the north side of this
bay, settled themselves there." 2

Here then Bede informs us that in his time
the common report was that the Picts came
into Scotland from Scythia, which, like the

1 Bcde's Eccla. Hut., Rook I. c. i.

Germania of Tacitus, may bo taken to mean
the northern countries of Europe generally.
This is substantially the same statement as that
of the author of the Histona Britonum, com-
monly called Nennius, who lived in the 9th
century, and who informs us that the Picts
coming to Scotland about 300 B.C., occupied
the Orkney Islands, whence issuing, they
laid waste many regions, and seized those
on the left-hand side, i. e. the north of
Britain, where they still remained in the writer's
time, keeping possession of a third part of
Britain. 3

Supposing that Bede's report was quite in
accordance with truth, still it gives us but
small help in coming to a conclusion as to the
place of these Picts among the families of men.
It is certain that by far the greater part of
Europe had at one time a Celtic population who
preceded, but ultimately gave way to another
wave of emigrants from the east. Now, if we
knew the date at which this so-called migra-
tion of the Picts took place it might be of con-
siderable assistance to us; but as we cannot
now find out whether these emigrants pro-
ceeded from a Celtic or a Teutonic stock, the
statement of Bede, even if reliable, helps us
not at all towards a solution of the question
as to the race of the Picts. Innes 4 remarks
very justly on this point " Now, supposing
that there were any good ground for the opin-
ion of these two writers, which they themselves
give only as a conjecture or hearsay, and that
we had any certainty of the Caledonians, or
Picts, having had their origin from the more
northern parts of the European continent, it
were an useless, as well as an endless discus-
sion, to examine in particular from which of
all the northern nations of the continent tho
first colony came to Caledonia; because that
these nations of the north were almost in per-
petual motion, and changing habitations, as
Strabo remarks ; and he assigns for it two rea-
sons : the one, because of the barrenness of the
soil, they tilled not the ground, and built habi-
tations only for a day ; the other, because be-
ing often overpowered by their neighbours,
they were forced to remove. Another reason
why it is impossible to know from which of

* Nennius 12, Vatican MS.

4 Critical Assay on Scotland, vol. i. y. 68.

GENEEAL HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

those nations the northern parts of Britain,
(supposing they came from thence) were at
first peopled, is because we have but very lame
accounts of these northern nations from the
Greek or Roman writers, (from whom alone we
can look for any thing certain in those early
times) especially of those of Scandia, to the
north of the Baltic sea, as the same Strabo ob-
serves. Besides, it appears that Caledonia was
peopled long before the inhabitants of these
northern parts of the continent were men-
tioned, or even known by the most ancient
writers wo have ; and perhaps before the first
nations mentioned by them were settled in
those parts."

There is, however, another statement made
by Bede in the passage quoted, upon which,
as it refers to his own time, much more reli-
ance can be placed ; it is, that in his time
Britain contained five nations, each having its
own peculiar dialect, viz., the English, Britons,
Scots, Picts, and Latins. We know that the
English spoke in the main Saxon ; the Britons,
'. e., the inhabitants of "Wales, Cumbria, &c.,
Welsh ; the Scots, Gaelic ; the Latins, we sup-
pose, being the Eomanized Britons and eccle-
siastics. xWhat language then did the Picts
Bpeak 1 As we know that Bede never travelled,
he must have got his information from an in-
formant or by hearsay, which circumstance
rather detracts from its value. But supposing
we take the passage literally as it stands, we
learn that in Bede's time there were five dis-
tinct peoples or nations, whose names he gives,
sharing among them the island. He does not
say there were five distinct tongues, which
would have been quite a different statement ;
he speaks of them not so much in respect of
their language as in respect of their being the
separate items which composed the inhabitants
of Britain. In his time they were all quite
distinct, in a measure independent of and at
enmity with each other. He does not classify
them in respect of the race to which they be-
longed, but with reference to the particular
districts which they inhabited, and perhaps
with regard to the time and means of their
conversion to Christianity, each having been
converted at a different time and by a different
saint. The substance then of what he says
appears to be, that there were in his time

five distinct tribes or congregations of people
in Britain, each converted to Christianity, and
each having the gospel preached in its own
tongue. Supposing that the Picts and Scots,
or Picts and Britons, or Picts and English did
speak exactly the same tongue, it is not at all
likely that Bede, in the present case, would
have classed them together as both being one
nation. Moreover, suppose we allow that Bedo
did mean that each of these nations spoke a
language quite distinct from all the others, then
his statement cuts equally at the Gothic and
Celtic theory. The conclusion we are forced
to is, that from this passage nothing can be
gained to help us out of our difficulty.

There is a statement at the end of the
passage quoted to which we would draw the
reader's attention, as being Bede's way, and no
doubt the universal way in his time, of ac-
counting for a peculiar law which appears to
have regulated the succession to the Pictish
throne, and which ultimately, according to
some, was the means of placing on that throne
a Scottish monarch ; thus accounting to some
extent for the sudden disappearance and ap-
parent destruction of the Pictish people and
language.

We shall here refer to one other passage
in the same historian, which has perhaps
given rise to greater and more acrimonious
contention than any other point in connec-
tion with this wordy discussion. The only
word that has come down to us, which, with
the exception of the names of the Pictish
kings, we can be sure is a remnant of the Pic-
tish language, is the name said by Bede to
have been given to the eastern termination of
the wall of Antonine. Bede, 6 in speaking of
the turf wall built by the Britons of Valentia
in the beginning of the 5th century, says, " it
begins at about two miles distance from the
monastery of Abercorn on the west, at a place
called in the Pictish language Peanfahel, but
in the English tongue Penneltum." This state-
ment of Bede's is straightforward and clear
enough, and has never been disputed by any
writer on any one of the three sides of the
question. Nevertheless it has been used by the
advocates respectively of the Gothic, Gaelic, and

Book i., o, 12.

" PEANFAHEL " NOKTH AND SOUTH PICTS.

Cymric origin of the Picts, as an undoubted
proof of the correctness of each of these theo-
ries. Pinkerton, whose dishonesty and acri-
moniousncss arc well known, and must detract
considerably from the force of his arguments,
claims it as being entirely Gothic or Teutonic.
"Tho Pictish -word," he says, 6 "is broad Go-
thic; Paena 'to extend,' Ihre; and Valid, a
broad sound of veal, the Gothic for ' wall,' or
of the Latin vallum, contracted val ; hence it
means ' the extent or end of the wall.' " This
statement of Pinkerton's may be dismissed as
too far-fetched and awkward to merit much
consideration, and we may safely regard the
word as capable of satisfactory explanation only
in Celtic. Innes, who upholds the British,
'. e. the Cymric, origin of the Picts, says, 7
" we nowhere find a clearer proof of the Pictish
language being the same as the British [Welsh],
than in Bede, where he tells us that Penudhel
in Pictish signifies the head of the wall, which
is just the signification that the same two
words Pen and UaJiel have in the British."
In this opinion Chalmers and other advocates
of the Cymric theory coincide. Mr. Gar-
nett, who essentially agrees with Innes and
Chalmers as to the Cymric origin of the Picts,
lays little stress upon this word as furnishing
an argument in support of his theory. " Al-
most the only Pictish word given us by an an-
cient writer is the well-known Pen val (or as
it appears in the oldest MSS. of Bede (Peann
fahel), the name given by the Picts to the
Wall's End, or eastern termination of the
Vallum of Antoninus. It is scarcely necessary
to say the first part of the word is decidedly
Cymric ; pen, head, being contrary to all Gaelic
analogy. The latter half might be plausibly
claimed as the Gaelic fal; gwall being the
more common termination in Welsh for a
wall or rampart. Fal, however, does occur in
Welsh in the sense of inclosure, a signification
not very remote." 8

The two most recent and able supporters 9
of the Gaelic theory are of much the same

' Inquiry into the Hist, of Scot., vol. i. p. 357, cd.
1814.

7 Crit. Essfai, vol. i. p. 75.

Garnctt's Phil. Essays, p. 198.

* Robertson's Scotland under her Early Kings, vol.
ii. p. 380. Forbes- Leslie's Early Races of Scotland,
vol. i. p 35.

mind as Garnett, and appear to regard this
tantalizing word as affording no support to
either side. Burton 1 cannot admit that any-
thing has been made out of this leading to a
historical conclusion.

We may safely conclude, then, that this so
called Pictish word, or, indeed, any informa-
tion which we find in Bede, affords us no key to
the perplexing question of the origin and race
of the Picts.

We learn, however, one fact from Bede 2
which is so far satisfactory, viz., that in his
time there were two divisions of the Picts,
known as the Northern and Southern Picts,
which were separated from each other by steep
and rugged mountains. On reading the pas-
sage in Bede, one very naturally supposes that
the steep and rugged mountains must be the
Grampians, to which the expression applies
more aptly than to any other 'mountain-chain
in Scotland. Even this, however, has been
made matter of dispute, it being contended by
some that the locality of the Southern Picts
was in the south-west and south of Scotland,
where some writers set up a powerful Pictish
kingdom. Mr. Grub, 3 however, has clearly
shown that the locality of the Southern Picts
was to the north of the Forth and Clyde, and
to the south of the Grampians. " The mistake
formerly so common in regard to the country
of the Southern Picts converted by St. Ninian,
was in part owing to the situation of Candida
Casa. It was supposed that his see must have
been in the country of those whom he con-
verted." He clearly proves that it was not so
in reality, and that there was nothing so un-
usual in the situation as to justify the conclu-
sion which was drawn from it. " It was, no
doubt, the case that the teachers by whom the
chief Celtic and Teutonic nations were con-
verted generally fixed their seat among those
whom they instructed in the faith. But there
was no necessity for this, especially when the
residence of the teacher was in the neighbour-
hood of his converts. St. Columba was pri-
mate of all the churches of the Northern Picts,
but ho did not permanently reside among that
nation. St. Ninian had ready access to his

1 Hist, of Scot., vol. i. p. 187

a Hook iii. ch. 4.

Eccl. Hist, of Soot., vol. i. p. 15, *c.

GENEEAL HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

Pietisli converts, and could govern them as
easily from liis White Church on the Solway,
as Columba could instruct and rule the North-
ern Picts from his monastery in lona." 4

Other authorities appealed to by the uphold-
ers of each of the Celtic theories are the Welsh
traditions, the Irish Annals, the Chronicles
of the Picts and Scots, and various legend-
ary documents of more or less value and
authenticity. As these are of no greater au-
thority than the writers with whom we have
been dealing, and as the partisans of each
theory claim the various passages as either
confirming, or, at any rate, not contradicting
their views, we shall not further trouble the
reader with specimens of the manner in
which they are dealt with. There is one
passage, however, in the Welsh Triads, which
the advocates of the Gaelic hypothesis claim
as strongly confirmatory of their theory. After
referring to the coming in of the Cymry, the
Britons, etc., the Triads 6 go on to say, "Three
tribes came, under protection, into the Island
of Britain, and by the consent and permission
of the nation of the Cymry, without weapon,
without assault. The first was the tribe of the
Caledonians in the north. The second was
the Gwyddelian Eace, which are now in Alban
(Scotland). The third were the men of Gale-
din, who came into the Isle of Wight. Three
usurping tribes came into the Island of Britain
and never departed out of it. The first were
the Coranied, who came from the land of Pwyl.
The second were the Gwyddelian Ffichti, who
came into Alban over the sea of Llychlyn (Den-
mark). The tliird were the Saxons." " The
Triads," says Skene 6 in connection with this,
" appear distinctly to have been written pre-
vious to the Scottish conquest in the ninth cen-
tury, and they mention among the three usurp-
ing tribes of Britain the ' Gwyddyl Ffichti,'
and add immediately afterwards, ' and these
Gwyddyl Ffichti are in Alban, along the shore
of the sea of Llychlyn.' In another place,
among the treacherous tribes of Britain, the
same Triads mention the ' Gwyddyl coch o'r
Werddon a ddaethant in Alban,' that is ' the
Eed Gwyddyl from Ireland, who came into

4 Eccl. Ifisl. of Scot., vol. i. p. 17.

5 Davies' Celtic Researches, p. 165.

6 Highlanders of Scotland, vol. i. p. 69.

Alban,' plainly alluding to the Dalriads, who
were an Irish colony, and who have been ac-
knowledged by all to have been a Gaelic race.
It will be observed from these passages that
the Welsh Triads, certainly the oldest and
most unexceptionable authority on the subject,
apply the same term of Gwyddyl to the Piots
and to the Dalriads, and consequently they
must have been of the same race, and the
Picts a Gaelic people. Farther, the Welsh
word ' Gwyddyl,' by which they distinguish
that race, has been declared by all the best au-
thorities to be exactly synonymous with the
word Gael, the name by which the Highlanders
have at all times been distinguished, and the
Welsh words ' Gwyddyl Ffichti ' cannot be
interpreted to mean any tiling else than ' The
Gaelic Picts,' or ' Pictish Gael.' "

The following is the substance of the infor-
mation given by the Irish writers as to the
origin, race, and early history of the Picts.
The greater part of it is, of course, mere tradi-
tion, accumulating as it grew older, and height-
ened by the imagination of the writers them-
selves. 7 The Picts were called by the Irish
writers Cruitlinidh, which O'Brien considers to
be the same as Britneigh, or Britons ; but ac-
cording to others the name was derived from
Cruthen, who founded the kingdom of the Picts
in North Britain, in the first century ; others
derive the name from Cruit, a harp, hence Cruit-
neach, the Irish for Pict, also signifies a harper,
as they are said to have been celebrated harp-
ers. The ancient Britons are mentioned by
Csesar, and other Eoman writers, to have
painted their bodies of a blue colour, with the
juice of a plant called woad, hence the painted
Britons were called-by the Eomans Picti. The
Picts or Cruthneans, according to the Psalter
of Cashel, and other ancient annals, came from
Thrace, in the reign of the Milesian monarch
Heremon, nearly a thousand years before the
Christian era, and landed at Inver Slainge,
now the Bay of Wexford, under two chief
commanders named Gud and Cathluan, but
not being permitted to settle in Ireland, they
sailed to Albain, or that part of North Britain,
now Scotland, their chiefs having been kindly

7 We are indebted for most of the following account
to Connellan's Annals of the Four Masters, p. 307
(note).

EVIDENCE FROM LANGUAGE.

supplied with wives of Irish birth. The
Crutlineans became possessed of North Brit-
ain, and founded there the kingdom of the
Picts. A colony of the Crutlineans, or
Picts, from North Britain, settled in Ulster
in early times, and are often mentioned from
the first to the ninth century; they resided
chiefly in Dalaradia and Tir Eogain, or parts
of Down, Antrim, and Deny, and became
mixed by intermarriages with the old Irish of
the Irian race, and were ruled over by their
own princes and chiefs; and some of those
Picts, also settled in Connaught, in the county
of Eoscommon. According to the Irish writ-
ers, the Picts, in their first progress to Ireland
from Thrace, settled a colony in Gaul, and the
tribes called Pictones and Pictavi, in that
country, were descended from them, and they
gave name to Pictavia, or the city of Poictiers,
and the province of Poitou; and from these
Picts were descended the Vendeans of France.
The Caledonians, or first inhabitants of Scot-
land, are considered to have been the same as
the Picts, and mixed with Cimbrians or Britons,
and some of the Milesian Scots from Ireland.

The advocates of the various theories, appa-
rently aware of how little can be made of the
meagre and suspicious information afforded by
these early histories and chronicles, have lat-
terly made language the principal battle-ground
on which to fight out this endless and profit-
less strife. Most of them take for granted
that if the language spoken by any people can
bo found out, a sure indication is afforded of
the race to which that people belonged; and
that the topography of a country must neces-
sarily have been imposed by the earliest inha-
bitants of whom we have record; and that, if
so, the limits of their territory must have been
co-extensive with the limits of such topography.
This, however, is going too far. AH the length
to which we are permitted in fairness to go,
when we find in any district or country an
abundance of names of natural objects, as
rivers and mountains, which can with certainty
be traced to any particular language, is, that
at one time or other, a race of people speaking
this language must have passed over and dwelt
for some time in that particular district or
country. We find Celtic names of rivers and
mountains scattered all over Europe, in the

midst of peoples who are admitted on all hands
to have little or none of the Celtic element in
them. 8 So that an unprejudiced judge must
admit that the fact of Cymric and Gaelic words
being found in certain districts of the north of
Scotland argues only that at one time people
speaking these dialects must have dwelt in
these districts. It affords no proof by itself
that the people whom we first meet with in
these districts are the people who spoke these
dialects, and who imposed these names; nor in-
deed, if we could be sure that the people whom
we first meet with as inhabitants also spoke the
dialect to which such names belong, does it
prove that they were the imposers of these
names, that the dialect was their native and ori-
ginal tongue, and that they had not acquired it
either as conquerors or conquered. Nor can it
be adduced as a proof of sameness of race, that
the present inhabitants of any particular dis-
trict speak the same language as those who in-
habited that district 1800 years ago or less.
" He who trusts to language, and especially to
written language, alone, as an index to race,
must bo prepared to maintain that the Gallic
nation emigrated from, the seven hills of Rome,
and that the Franks came with them; that the
Romans extirpated the Celts and Iberians of
Spain, and that the Goths and Moors spoke
nearly the same language as the Romans; that
the Negroes of the United States and Jamaica
were exported from England when in their in-
fancy. So would Philology, if left to herself,
interpret phenomena, of which we know, from
other sources of information, that the causes
are totally different." 9 "The clearest proof
that a mountain or river has a Celtic name,
only shows that at some time or other Celts
had been there; it does not tell us when they
were there. Names, as the experience of the
world amply shows, live after the people who
bestowed them have long disappeared, and that
through successive races of occupants. nl

The materials which have been wrought up
into a linguistic argument by the upholders of
each of the three Pictish theories, Gothic,
Gaelic, and Cymric, are chiefly a list of Pictish

8 See Taylor's Words and Places, ch. ix.

9 Pike's English and their Origin, ch. ii., which
contains some shrewd and valuable remarks on the

subject of language.
1 Burton, vol. i. p. 192.

GENERAL HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

kings which, we believe, may be depended on
as authentic, and the topography of the country
to the east and south-east of the Grampians,
together with the single so-called Pictish word
Peanfahel, which we have already considered.
The theorists differ as much in their interpre-
tation of the significance of what remains of
the Pictish language, as we have seen they do
in their interpretation of any references to the
subject in dispute in ancient chronicles. The
names of the kings, and the names of places
have been traced by the disputants to Gothic,
Gaelic and Cymric roots. As an amusing
specimen of the ingenuity displayed in this
hunt after roots, we give below a small table
from Burton, comparing the different etymo-
logies of names of kings given by Pinkerton,
Chalmers, and Jamieson. 2

It is, however, generally admitted at the
present day, that so far as language is con-
cerned, the Gothic theory has not the remotest
chance; that names of places and of kings are
most satisfactorily and straightforwardly ex-
plained by Cymric roots. As the Gothic
or Teutonic theory cannot stand the test
of modern criticism, we shall content our-
selves with giving specimens of the manner
in which the linguistic, or, more strictly,
topographical argument is used by the advo-
cates of the Cymric and Gaelic hypotheses
respectively.

The Cymric argument is clearly, ably, and
succinctly stated by Mr. Garnett in his essay
on "The Eelation of the Pict and Gael;" he,
however, it must be remembered, looked at
the whole question mainly in its philological
aspect. In stating the argument we shall use
chiefly his own words. 3 " That the Picts

were actually Celts, and not of Teutonic race,
is proved to a demonstration by the names of
their kings; of whom a list, undoubtedly gen-
uine from the fifth century downwards, was
published by Innes, from a manuscript in the
Colbertine library. Some of those appellations
are, as far as we know at present, confined to
the Pictish sovereigns; but others are well-
known Welsh and Gaelic names. They differ,
however, slightly in their forms, from their
Cymric equivalents ; and more decidedly so
from the Gaelic ones ; and, as far as they go,
lead to the supposition that those who bore
them spoke a language bearing a remote ana-
logy to the Irish with its cognates, but a pretty
close one to the Welsh.

" In the list furnished by Innes the names
Madcon, Elpin, Tar an (i.e. thunder), Uven
(Owen), Bargoit, are those of personages well
known in British history or tradition. Wrgust,
which appears as Fergus in the Irish annals, is
the Welsh Gwrgust. Talorg, Talorgan, evi-
dently contain the British word Tal, forehead,
a common element in proper names ; ex. gr.
Talhaiarn, Iron Forehead ; Taliesin, splendid
forehead, &c. Taleurgain would signify in
Welsh golden or splendid front. Three kings
are represented as sons of Wid, in the Irish
annals of Fait or Foith. In Welsh ortho-
graphy it would be Gwydd, wild , a common
name in Brittany at the present day, under the
form of Gwez. The names Drust, Drostan,
Wrad, Necton (in Bede Naitari), closely re-
semble the Welsh Trwst, Trwstan, Gwriad,
Nwython. It will be sufficient to compare the
entire list with the Irish or Highland gene-
alogies, to be convinced that there must have
been a material distinction between the two

Drust

Brudi or
Bridei

Chalmers for Celtic,

Probably the British
name Trwst, which
signifies din.

Brudw, which is pro-
nounced Bridw or
Bradw, is in the
British treacherous.

Pinkerton for Gothic,

Drust, a common Pikish name, is
also Persian, and signifies sin-
cems. . . The Persians were
the old Sythse or Goths, from
whom the rest sprung.

Brudi is the real Gothic name;
Bout is the wounded (Bott
ictus AVachter).

Jamieson, "Teutonic Etymons."

Su. Goth, troesi, drislig. Germ.,
dreist. Alem. gidrost, daring.

Island., Briddi eminebat. vercl :
breida, to extend; and Sueo-
Goth, , law; 2. one who ex-
tends the law, who publishes it.

For other instances see Burton's Scotland, i. p. 196.
* Garnett's Phil. Essays, pp. 197, 198.

EVIDENCE FROM LANGUAGE.

branches. Most of the Pictish names are
totally unknown in Irish or Highland history,
and the few that are equivalent, such as Angus
and Fergus, generally differ in form. The Irish
annalists have rather obscured the matter, by
transforming those names according to their
national system of orthography ; but it is re-
markable that a list in the 'Book of Bally-
mote,' partly given by Lynch in his ' Cam-
brensis Eversus,' agrees closely with Innes,
even preserving the initial w or u where the
Gaelic would require / The philological in-
ferences to be deduced from this document may
bo thus briefly summed up : 1. The names of
the Pictish kings are not Gaelic, the majority
of them being totally unknown both in the
Irish and Highland dialects, while the few
which have Gaelic equivalents decidedly differ
from them in form. Cineod (Kenneth) and
Domhnall or Donnel, appear to be the only ex-
ceptions. 2. Some of them cannot be identi-
fied as Welsh; but the greater number are
either identical with or resemble known Cym-
ric names ; or approach more nearly to Welsh
in structure and orthography than to any other
known language. 3. There appears neverthe-
less to have been a distinction, amounting, at
all events, to a difference in dialect. The Pict-
ish names beginning with w would in Welsh
have gw, as Gwryust for Wrgust, and so of the
rest. There may have been other differences
sufficient to justify Bede's statement that the
Pictish language was distinct from the British,
which it might very well be without any im-
peachment of its claim to be reckoned as closely
cognate."

We have already referred to the use made of
the Pictish word Peannfahel, preserved by
Bede, and to the phrase in Adamnan concerning
Columba's preaching by means of an interpreter.
It is contended by the upholders of the Cymric
theory that the ancient topographical appella-
tions of the Pictish territory can in general
only be explained by the Cymric dialects, one
strong point being the number of local names
beginning with the Welsh prefix after, which,
according to Chalmers, was in several instances
subsequently changed by the Gael into inver.
Skene, 4 who felt the force of this argument,

4 Highlanders.

a-ied to get rid of it by contending that alter is
essentially a Gaelic word, being compounded
of ath, ford, and bior, water. Garnett thinks
this explanation utterly gratuitous, and observes
that the term may be much more satisfactorily
accounted for by a different process. " There
are," he observes, 6 " three words in Welsh do-
noting a meeting of waters after, cynver, and
ynver, respectively compounded of the par-
ticles a, denoting juxtaposition, cyn (Lat. con),
and yn, with the root ber, flowing, preserved
in the Breton verb beri, to flow, and all virtu-
ally equivalent to our word confluence. Inver
is the only term known in any Gaelic dialect,
either as an appellative or in proper names ;
and not a single local appellation with the pre-
fix after occurs either in Ireland or the He-
brides, or on the west coast of Scotland. In-
deed, the fact that inver was substituted for it
after the Gaelic occupation of the Pictish terri-
tories, is decisive evidence on the point ; for,
if after was a term familiar to the Gael, why
should they change it 1 "

" In Scotland," says Isaac Taylor, 8 who up-
holds the Cymric hypothesis, " the invert and
afters are distributed in a curious and instruc-
tive manner. If we draw a line across the map
from a point a little south of Inverary, to one
a little north of Aberdeen, we shall find that
(with very few exceptions) the invers lie to the
north west of the line, and the aftera to the
south-east of it. This line nearly coincides with
the present southern limit of the Gaelic tongue,
and probably also with the ancient division be-
tween the Picts and Scots. Hence we may con-
clude that the Picts, a people belonging to the
Cymric branch of the Celtic stock, and whose
language has now ceased to be anywhere verna-
cular, occupied the central and eastern districts
of Scotland, as far as the Grampians ; while
the Gadhelic Scots have retained their language,
and have given their name to the whole coun-
try. The local names prove, moreover, that in
Scotland the Cymry did not encroach on the
Gael, but the Gael on the Cymry. The in-
trusive names are invers, which invaded the
land of the afters. Thus on the shore of eth
Frith of Forth we find a few invers among the
after*. The Welsh word uchel, high, may also

6 Phil. Essays, p. 200.

Words and Places, p. 246.

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

bo adduced to prove the Cymric affinities of
the Picts. This word does not exist in either
the Erse or the Gaelic languages, and yet it ap-
pears in the name of the OCHIL HILLS, in Perth-
shire. Again, the Erse bally, a town, occurs
in 2,000 names in Ireland ; and, on the other
hand, is entirely absent in Wales and Brittany.
In Scotland this most characteristic test-word is
found frequently in the inver district, while it
never appears among the abers. The evidence
of these names makes it impossible to deny
that the Celts of the Scottish Lowlands must
have belonged to the Cymric branch of the
Celtic stock."

We infer from what Mr. Taylor says, that
he is of opinion that at one time the language
of the whole of the north of Scotland was
Cymric, but that the district in which the
Scots obtained a settlement afterwards under-
went a change of topography. But it is ad-
mitted on all hands that the Scottish Dalriada
comprehended no more than the modern Ar-
gylesliire, extending no farther north than
Loch Leven and Loch Linnhe ; and that the
Irish Scots had little influence on the people or
their language to the north-west of the Gram-
pians. Indeed, Skene 7 maintains that this dis-
trict, in which he places the Northern Picts,
was never subjected to the Scots, and that it
was only the Southern Picts who latterly came
under their sway. Yet we find that the abers
here are few and far between, or, indeed, any
indications of Cymric possession such as we
find in the southern district. Is it possible
that the Northern and Southern Picts were re-
presentatives of the two great divisions of the
Celts, the former claiming a Gaelic origin,
and the latter a Cymric? Perhaps after all
the Welsh Triads may in course of time be of
some help in the solution of this dark prob-
lem, as, according to them, there was more
than one Celtic settlement in Scotland before
the migration of the Scots. The passages
above quoted are, to all appearance, much
more favourable to the Gaelic than to the
Cymric hypothesis, and have been made much
of by Skene and other supporters of that side
of the question.

The Cymric origin of the Picts, besides

7 Highlanders.

Garnett and Taylor, is supported by such
names as Innes, Chalmers, Ritson, Whittaker,
Grub, and others.

Pinkerton, it is well known, is the great and
unscrupulous upholder of the Gothic origin of
the Picts ; while the Gaelic theory has for its
supporters such writers, of undoubted ability
and acuteness, as Skene, E. W. Robertson,
Forbes-Leslie, &c. Burton 8 is of opinion that
the Highlanders of the present day are the
true representatives of the Dalriadic Scots of
the West.

We shall, as we have done in the case of the
other side, allow the upholders of the Gaelic
hypothesis to state for themselves the Gaelic
topographical argument. We shall use the
words of Colonel Forbes-Leslie, who, in his
invaluable work on the " Early Races of Scot-
land," 9 says, " The Celtic words Inver and
Aber have nearly the same meaning ; and the
relative position in which they occur in names
of places has been employed as if it were a suf-
ficient argument for defining the presence or
preponderance of the British or Gaelic Celts in
certain districts. In this way Aber, prefixed
to names of places, has been urged as adequate
proof that the Picts of Caledonia were Celts of
the British branch. The value of these and
some other words requires examination. Iii-
ver is to be found in names of places in Wales.
It may possibly be a British word. It cer-
tainly is a Gaelic one. Aber, although un-
doubtedly British, is also Gaelic compounded
of the two words Ath and Bior and signifying
the same as Inver, viz., the confluence of two
streams, or the entrance to a river. If the
word Aber had been unknown to the Gaelic
scholars of modern days, its former existence in
that language might have been presumed from
the ancient names of places in the districts of
Caledonia, where it occurs most frequently,
being generally Gaelic and not British.

"Beyond the limits of Caledonia on the south
of the Forth and Clyde, but within the boun-
dary of modern Scotland, the word Inver,
generally pronounced Inner, is of common oc-
currence, and bears witness to a Gaelic nomen-
clature. Thus, Inner or Inverkip, in the county
of Renfrew ; Innerwell, in the county of \Vig-

8 Scotland, vol. i. p. 207.
Vol. i. y. 26.

EVIDENCE FROM LANGUAGE INVER AND ABER.

ton ; Iimerwiek, in the county of Haddington ;
[mii'rlcithen, in the county of Peebles ; Inver-
leith and Inveresk, in the county of Edin-
burgh, derive their names from their situation
in regurd to the rivers Kip, Leithun, Esk, &c.
&c.

" From the Moray Frith to the Forth, in the
eastern counties of Caledonia, tho prefix Inver
or Aber is used indiscriminately in contiguous
places. At the confluence of lesser streams
with the river Dee, in Aberdeenshire, we
find Inverey, Abergeldie, Invercauld, Inver-
canny, Aberdeen. Yet in those counties
viz., Aberdeen, Kincardine, Forfar, Perth, and
Fife, in which were situated the capitals,
and which were the richest provinces of the
southern Picts the number of names of
places beginning with Inver is three times as
numerous as those commencing with Aber;
there being, in a list taken from land-regis-
ters, which do not go farther back than the
middle of the sixteenth century, seventy-eight
with Inver to twenty-four with Aber. It
may, however, be admitted that, although
Aber is Gaelic, its use is far more general by
Celts of the British tribes ; and that the pre-
dominance of Inver in the districts north of
tho Spey, and the intermixture of places the
names of which commence with Inver or Aber,
not unfrequently used in records of nearly the
same date for the same place in the country ly-
ing between the Moray and the Solway Friths,
is, to a certain extent, evidence of a British
element of population extending into Caledonia.
The Britons, in earlier times, may have been
pressing on to the north by gradual intrusion,
and were probably afterwards increased by
bodies of exiles escaping from the severity of
Roman bondage and the punishment of unsuc-
cessful revolt.

" That names of places containing the words
Bal, from Bail, a place or residence, and Ard,
a height or rising ground, are so common in
Ireland, and comparatively rare, so it is alleged,
in Caledonia, has also been used as an argu-
ment to prove that the language of the Picts
and other Caledonians of the southern and
eastern districts was British, not Gaelic. But
the foundation of the argument has been as-
sumed, and is easily disproved. It is true that
of largo towns and places that appear in gazet-

teers, names commencing with Bal and Ard are
not numerous. But in fact such names are
extremely common. In the lowlands of Aber-
deenshire that is, in the portion of one county,
and in the part of Caledonia farthest removed
from the settlements of the intrusive Gaels, viz.,
the Scots from Ireland registers of land show
upwards of fifty places the names of which com-
mence with Bal, and forty which commence
with Ard. In the Pictish territory, from tho
Moray Frith to the Forth, I soon collected up
wards of four hundred names of places begin-
ning with Bal, and upwards of one hundred
with Ard; and the number might easily bo
doubled."

Mr. E. W. Robertson, one of the latest and
ablest upholders of this theory, thinks 1 there
is scarcely sufficient evidence to justify any
very decided conclusion as to the pre-existence
of a Cymric population; and that, whilst it
would be unquestionably erroneous to ascribe
a Cymric origin to the Picts, the existence of
a Celtic element akin to the Cymri, amongst
the population of Alban before the arrival of
the Gwyddd Ffichti, must remain to a certain
extent an open question.

Of all a priori theories that have hitherto
been advanced as to how Scotland was likely
to have been at first peopled, that of Father
Innes, the first writer who investigated tho
subject thoroughly and critically, appears to
us to be the most plausible and natural, al-
though even it is beset with many difficulties.
It appears to him more natural and probable
that the Caledonian Britons, or Picts, were of
the same origin as the Britons of the south;
that as these came in originally from the near-
est coast of Gaul, as they multiplied in the
island, they advanced to the north and settled
there, carrying with them the customs and
language of the South Britons.*

We have thus endeavoured to lay before
the reader, as fully as space permits, and as
clearly and unprejudicedly as possible, the
materials at present existing by means of
which to form an opinion on the Pictish ques-
tion, and the arguments pro and con, mainly
in their own words, urged by the partisans of
the different theories. It appears to us that

1 Vol. ii. p. 377. * Essay on Scotland, vol. :. p. 70

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

the data within reach are far too scanty to
justify any one in coming to a settled conclu-
sion, and that we must wait for more light
before we can be justified in finally making up
our minds on this perplexing subject. 1

At the present day we find that nearly the
whole of the territory said to have been ori-
ginally occupied by the Picts, is inhabited,
and has been for centuries, by a population
which in appearance is far more Teutonic than
Celtic, and which undoubtedly speaks a broad
Teutonic dialect. 2 And even in the district
where the Gaelic language has been triumphant
for ages, it is acknowledged even by the most
devoted partisans of the Gaelic theory, that
among the population there is a very consider-
able intermixture of the Teutonic element.
Burton thinks, from a general view of the
whole question, that the proportion of the Teu-
tonic race that came into the use of the Gaelic,
was much greater than the proportion of the
Gaelic that came into the use of the Teutonic
or Saxon, and that this may account for the
contrasts of physical appearance to be seen in
the Highlands.

We certainly have not exhausted the statement
of the question, have not stated fully and com-
pletely all the points in dispute ; nor do we pretend
to have given with fulness all the arguments pro
and eon on the various sides. We have, how-
ever, given as much as will enable any ordinary

1 We have already (p. 22) referred to the Gaelo-
Cymric theory broached by Dr. Maclauchlan in his
Early Scottish Church, and recently adopted by Dr.
Skene. Speaking of the distribution of the topo-
graphical nomenclature in the Highlands, Dr. Mac-
lauchlan says it indicates one of two things ; ' ' either
that the one race overpowered the other in the east,
and superinduced a new nomenclature over the old
throughout the country, that we have in fact two
successive strata of Celtic names, the Gaelic under-
lying the British, which is by no means impossible;
or, what is more likely, that the Pictish people were
a people lying midway between the Gael and the
Cyinri more Gaelic than the Cymri, and more Cymric
than the Gael. This is precisely the character of the
old Pictish topography; it is a mixture of Gaelic and
Cymric ; and if the language of the people was like
their topography, it too was a language neither Gaelic
nor Cymric, but occupying a middle- space between
them, indicating the identity of the races at some dis-
tant period, although they afterwards became rivals
for the possession of the land. " This we think on the
whole the most satisfactory theory yet propounded.

* We would infer from the recently published Book of
Deer, that down at least to the time of David II., the
inhabitants were still a Gaelic speaking population ; all
the entries in that book as to land are in that language.

reader to form for himself a fair idea of the
present state of the Pictish question, and indi-
cated the sources whence more information
may be derived, should any one wish to pur-
sue the subject farther. In the words of the
latest and greatest Scottish historian " this
brief survey of the great Pictish controversy
leaves nothing but a melancholy record of
wasted labour and defeated ambition. It has
been more fruitless than a polemical or a politi-
cal dispute, for these leave behind them, either
for good or evil, their marks upon the conduct
and character of the populations among whom
they have raged; while here a vast outlay of
learning, ingenuity, enthusiasm, and, it must
be added, temper, have left no visible monu-
ment but a pile of forbidding volumes, in
which should any one who has not studied the
matter fundamentally expect to find instructive
information, he will assuredly be led into a
tangled maze of unintelligible pedantry, from
which he will come forth with no impression
but a nightmare feeling of hopeless struggle
with difficulties." 3

CHAPTER III.
A. D. 446843.

Early History Scottish Settlement Origin of Scots
Dalriada Conversion of Picts Druidism i^t.
Columba lona Spread of Christianity Brude
and his Successors Dun-Nechtan Pictish Wars
Ungus Contests Norsemen Union of Picts and
Scots Scoto-Irish or Dalriads Lorn, Fergus,
Angus and their Successors Aidan Contest at
Degsastan Donal Breac Wars with Irish and
Picts Conal II. and Successors Ferchar Fada
Selvach and Duncha Beg Eocha III. unites Dal-
riada Muredach Contests with Picts Aodh-fin
Eocha IV. or Achaius Alpin Kenneth Union
of Picts and Scots Dalriadic Government Tanist
Brehon Laws Fosterage Lists of Kings.

As we have already said, the materials for the
internal history of the Highlands during the
Roman occupation are of the scantiest, nearly
all that can be recorded being the straggles of
the northern tribes with the Roman invaders,
and the incursions of the former and their
allies into the territories of the Romanized
Britons. Doubtless many events as worthy of
record as these, an account of which has been

3 Burton, vol. i. p. 200.

SETTLEMENT OF THE SCOTS IN SCOTLAND.

preserved, were during this period being
transacted in the northern part of Scotland,
and wo have seen that many additions, from
various quarters, must have been made to the
population. However, there are no records
extant which enable us to form any distinct
notion of the nature of these events, and his-
tory cannot be manufactured.

After the departure of the Eomans, the pro-
vincial Britons of the south of Scotland were
completely at the mercy of the Picts as well
as the Saxons, who had been invited over by
the South Britons to assist them against the
northern barbarians. These Saxons, we know,
very soon entered into alliance with those
whom they came to repel, and between them
the Britons south of the friths were eventually
driven into the West, where for centuries they
appear to have maintained an independent
kingdom under the name of Strathclyde, until
ultimately they were incorporated with the
Scots. *

Although both the external and internal
history of the Highlands during this period is
much better known than in the case of the
Boinan period, still the materials are exceed-
ingly scanty. Scottish historians, from Fordun
and Boece downwards, made it their business
to fill up from their own imaginations what is
wanting, so that, until the simple-minded but
acute Innes put it in its true light, the early
history of Scotland was a mass of fable.

Undoubtedly the two most momentous
events of this period are the firm settlement in
Argyle of a colony of Scots from Ireland and
some of the neighbouring isles in 503, 5 and
the conversion of the Northern Picts to Chris-
tianity by Columba about 563.

At the time of the Eoman abandonment of
Britain the Picts were under the sway of a
king or chieftain named Drust, son of Erp,
concerning whom the only record remaining is,
that he lived a hundred years and fought a
hundred battles. In fact, little is known with
certainty of the Pictish history for upwards of
one hundred years after the departure of the
Romans, although some ancient chronicles af-

4 See Innes's Essay, vol. i.

"This is the date commonly given, although Mr.
E. W. Robertson makes it 502 on the authority of
Tighcrnach, while O'Donovan (Annals of the Four
Mn.tttrs, vol. i. p. 160) makes it 508.

ford us lists of Pictish kings or princes, a
chronological table of whom, from Drust down-
wards, will be found at the end of this chap-
ter. The Pictish chronicle contains the names
of thirty-six others who are said to have
reigned before Drust, but these are generally
regarded as almost entirely spurious.

Before proceeding farther with the Pictish
history, it may bo proper to give a brief ac-
count of the settlement of the Irish Scots or
Dalriads, as they are frequently called, in the
Pictish territory.

The time of the settlement of the Scots in
present Scotland was for long a subject of dis
putation, the early Scottish historians, from a
false and unscrupulous patriotism, having
pushed it back for many centuries before its
actual occurrence. This dispute is now, how-
ever, fairly set at rest, there being no founda-
tion for believing that the Scots found their
way from Ireland to Scotland earlier than a cen-
tury or two before the birth of Christ. As we
have already seen, we find the first mention of
the Scots in Ammianus Marcellinus about the
year 360 A.D. ; and their name occurs in the
same connection frequently afterwards, during
the Roman occupation of Scotland. Burton 8
is of opinion that the migration did not take
place at any particular time or under any par-
ticular leader, but that it was gradual, that tho
Scots " oozed " out of Ireland upon the western
coast of Scotland.

It belongs to the history of Ireland to trace
the origin and fix the race of the Scots, to
settle tho time of their coming into Ireland,
and discover whence they came. Some sup-
pose that they migrated originally from Britain
to Ireland, while Innes and others bring them
either from Scandinavia or Spain, and connect
them with the Scyths, asserting that Scot is a
mere corruption of Scyth, and dating the settle-
ment at about the commencement of the Chris-
tian era. The Irish traditions connect them
with a certain Scota, daughter of Pharaoh, and
date their coming to Ireland upwards of 1,000
years B.C. E. W. Robertson 7 and others con
sider them to have been Irish Picts or Cruithne.

Wherever the Scots came from and to what-
ever race they belong, whether Teutonic or

Vol. i. p. 212.

" Early Kings, vol. i. p. 5.

GENERAL H1STOKY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

Celtic, they certainly appear not to have been
the first settlers in Ireland, and at the time at
which they first appear in authentic history
occupied a district in Ireland corresponding to
Connaught, Leinster, and part of Munster.
They were also one of the most powerful of the
Irish tribes, seeing that for many centuries
Ireland was, after them, called Scotia or Scot-
land. It is usually said that a particular corner
in the north-east of Ireland, about 30 miles in
extent, corresponding to the modern county of
Antrim, was the kingdom of the particular band
of Scots who migrated to Scotland ; and that
it received its name, Dal-Riada ('the portion of
Riada'), from Carbre-Riada, a leader of the
Scots who conquered this particular part, pre-
viously inhabited by Cruithne or Irish Picts.
Robertson, 8 however, considers all this fable
and the kingdom of Dalriada as mythical,
Tighernach and the early Irish annalists never
applying the name to any other locality than
British Dalriada. At all events, this particu-
lar district was spoken of by the later chroni-
clers under the name of Dalriada, there being
thus a Dalriada both in Scotland and Ireland. 9
At the time of the migration of the Scots from
Ireland to Scotland, they were to all intents
and purposes a Celtic race, speaking Irish Gae-
lic, and had already been converted to Chris-
tianity.

The account of the Scottish migration usu-
ally given is, that in the year 503 A. n., 1 a new
colony of Dalriads or Dalriadic Scots, under
the leadership of Fergus son of Ere, a descend-
ant of Carbre-Riada, along with his brothers
Lorn and Angus, left Ireland and settled on
the western coast of Argyle and the adjacent
islands. "The territories which constituted
the petty kingdoms of Dalriada can be pretty
well defined. They were bounded on the
south by the Frith of Clyde, and they were
separated on the east from the Pictish king-
dom by the ridge of the great mountain chain

8 Early Kings, vol. ii. p. 305.

9 At this time, and up at least to the 1 1th century,
present Scotland was known as Albania, Alban, or
Alba, the term Scotland or Scotia being generally
applied to Ireland, unless where there is some quali-
fying term, as Nova. Burton thinks it not safe to
consider that the word Scot must mean a native of
present Scotland, when the period dealt with is ear-
lier than the middle of the 12th century.

1 Skene in his Chronicles of the Picts and Scots,
. ex., makes the date to be about 495 or 498.

called Drumalban. They consisted of four
tribes, the genus or Cinel Lorn, descended
from Lorn, the elder of the three brothers ;
the Cinel Gabran and Cinel ComgaD, de-
scended from two sons of Domangart, son of
Fergus, the second of the brothers; and the
Cinel Angus, descended from the third brother,
Angus. The Cinel Comgall inhabited the dis-
trict formerly called Comgall, now corrupted
into Cowall. The Cinel Gabran inhabited what
was called the Airgiallas, or the district of Ar-
gyle proper, and Kintyre. The Cinel Angus
inhabited the islands of Islay and Jura, and
the Cinel Lorn, the district of Lorn. Beyond
this, on the north, the districts between Lorn
and the promontory of Ardnamurchan, i.e.,
the island of Mull, the district of Morven,
Ardgower, and probably part of Lochaber,
seem to have formed a sort of debatable ground
the population of which was Pictish, while the
Scots had settlements among them. In the
centre of the possessions of the Cinel Gabian,
at the head of the well-sheltered loch of Crinan,
lies the great Moss of Crinan, with the river
Add flowing through it. In the centre of the
moss, and on the side of the river, rises an
isolated rocky hill called Dunadd, the top of
which is strongly fortified. This was the
capital of Dalriada, and many a stone obelisk
in the moss around it bears silent testimony to
the contests of which it was the centre. The
picturesque position of Dunolly Castle, on a
rock at the entrance of the equally sheltered
bay of Oban, afforded another fortified sum-
mit, which was the chief stronghold of the
tribe of Lorn. Of Dunstaffnage, as a royal
seat, history knows nothing." 2

It would appear that Lorn and Fergus at
first reigned jointly, the latter becoming sole
monarch on the decease of the former. The
succession appears not to have been confined
to any particular line, and a disputed succes-
sion not unfrequently involved the Scots in
civil war.

There is no portion of history so obscure or
so perplexing as that of the Scoto-Irish kings,
and their tribes, from their first settlement, in
the year 503, to their accession to the Pictish
throne in 843. Unfortunately no contem-

"Skene's Chronicles oftlie Picts and Scots, p. cxiiL

KELIGION OF THE PICTS.

poraneous written records appear ever to have
cxi-tod of that dark pi'riod.of our annals, and
the efforts which the Scotch and Irish anti-
quaries have made to extricate the truth from
the mass of contradictions in which it lies
buried, have rather heen displays of national
prejudice) than calm researches by reasonable
inquirers. The annals, however, of Tigernach,
and of Ulster, along with the brief chronicles
and historical documents first brought to light
by the industrious Innes, in his Critical Essay,
have thrown some glimpses of light on a sub-
ject which had long remained in almost total
darkness. 3

The next authentic event of importance that
falls to be recorded in connection with the
history of the Highlands, is the conversion of
the Northern Picts to Christianity, about the
year 563. The Southern Picts, L e. those
living to the south and east of the Grampians,
were converted by St. Ninian (360 432) about
the beginning of the 5th century ; but the
Northern Picts, until the date above-men-
tioned, continued Pagans. That there were
no Christians among them till that time ap-
peal's very improbable, considering their close
neighbourhood and constant intercourse with
the Southern Picts and the Scots of Dalriada;
but there can be no doubt that the court and
the great bulk of the people adhered to their
ancient superstitions.

The religion of the Picts before their con-
version is supposed by the majority of writers
on this subject to have been that which pre-
vailed in the rest of Britain and in Celtic Gaul,
Druidism. The incredulous Burton, however,
if we may judge from his History of Scotland, 4
as well as from an article of his in the Edin-
burgh Review, seems to believe that the whole
system of Druidism has been elaborated by the
imaginations of modern historians. That the
Picts previous to their conversion had a religion,
and a religion with what may be called priests
and religious services, cannot be doubted, if we
may trust Tacitus and Adamnan, the biographer
of Columba; the former of whom tells us that,
previous to the battle of the Grampians, the

* More recently the invaluable labours of E. W.
Robertson, Burton, Forbes-Leslie, Joseph Robertson,
Grub, Skene, and Maclauchlan, have been the means of
putting the history of this period on its proper footing.

4 Vol. i. ch. vi.

union of the various tribes was ratified by
solemn rites and sacrifices, and the latter, that
Columba's efforts at conversion were strenuously
opposed by the diabolical arts and incantations
of the Magi. It appears from Adamnan that
fountains were particularly objects of venera-
tion ; the superstitious awe with which many
fountains and wells are regarded at the present
day, being doubtless a remnant of the ancient
Pictish religion. Trees, rivers, and lakes, as
well as the heavenly bodies, appear also to have
been objects of religious regard, and not a few
of the customs which exist in Scotland at the
present day have been inherited from our Pict-
ish ancestors. Such are many of the rites
performed on Hallowe'en, Beltane, Midsummer,
&c., and many every-day superstitions still
prevalent in the country districts of Scotland.
" Druidism is said to have acknowledged a
Supreme Being, whose name was synonymous
with the Eastern Baal, and if so, was visibly
represented by the sun; and such remnants of
the ancient worship as are still traceable in the
language of the people, would indicate its having
been a species of sun-worship. To this day
the four leading points of the compass bear, in
the terms which designate them among the
Gael, marks of this. The east is ear, like the
Latin oriens, from the Gaelic eiridh, 'to rise/
the west is iar, 'after,' used also as a preposi-
tion ; the south is deas, and the north tuath ;
and it is in the use of these terms that
the reverence for the solar luminary chiefly
appears. Deas, 'the south,' is in all circum-
stances right ; it is the right hand, which is
easily intelligible, from the relation of that
hand to the south when the face looks east-
ward ; and it is expressive of whatever is other-
wise right. Deas also means complete, trim,
ready ; whatever is deas, or southerly, is just
as it should be. Tuath, ' north,' is the very
opposite. Tuathaisd is a 'stupid fellow;'
Tuuthail is ' wrong' in every sense : south and
north, then, as expressed in the words deiseal
and tuathail, are, in the Gaelic language, the
representatives of right and wrong. Thus
everything that is to move prosperously among
many of the Celts, must move sunwise : a boat
going to sea must turn sunwise ; a man or woman
immediately after marriage, must make a turn
sunwise. There are relics of fire-worship too;

GEXEEAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

certain days are named from fire -lighting;
Beallteine, or ' the first day of summer,' and
tiimhtheine, ' the first day of winter,' the
former supposed to mean the fire of Baal or |
Bel, the latter closing the saimhnS, or summer
period of the year, and bringing in the geamhre,
or winter period, are sufficient evidence of this.
There are places in Scotland where within the
memory of living men the teine cigin, or ' forced
fire,' was lighted once every year by the rubbing I
of two pieces of wood together, while every

fire in the neighbourhood was extinguished in
order that they might bo lighted anew from
this sacred source." 7

Many of the antiquities which are scattered
over the north of Scotland, such as stone circles,
monoliths, sculptured stones, rocking stones,
&c., are very generally supposed to have been
connected with religion. From the resem-
blance of the circles especially, to those which
exist in South Britain and in France, it has
been supposed that one religion prevailed over

Stonehenge. Copied by permission from Col. Forbes- Leslie's Early Races of Scotland.

these countries. As Druidism is so commonly
believed to have prevailed among the Picts as
well as among the other inhabitants of Britain,
we shall here give a very brief account of that
system, chiefly as we find it given in Caesar. 8
The following is the account given by Caesar of
the character and functions of the Druids:
" They attend to divine worship, perform pub-
lic and private sacrifices, and expound matters
of religion. A great number of youths are
gathered round them for the sake of education,
and they enjoy the highest honour in that
nation; for nearly all public and private
quarrels come under their jurisdiction; and
when any crime has been committed, when a
murder has been perpetrated, when a contro-
versy arises about a legacy, or about land-
marks, they are the judges too. They fix re-
wards and punishments; and should any one,

7 Dr. Maclauchlan's Early Scottish Church, pp. 32, 33.

8 Druid is said to be derived from a word meaning
oak, ' common to many of the Indo-European tongues.

whether a private individual or a public man,
disobey their decrees, then they exclude him
from the sacrifices. All these Druids have
one chief, who enjoys the highest authority
amongst them. When he dies, he is succeeded
by the member of the order who is most pro-
minent amongst the others, if there be any
such single individual; if, however, there are
several men equally distinguished, the successor
is elected by the Druids. Sometimes they
even go to war about this supremacy.

"The Druids take no part in warfare; nor
do they pay taxes like the rest of the people ;
they are exempt from military service, and
from all public burdens. Attracted by such
rewards, many come to be instructed by their
own choice, while others are sent by their
parents. They are reported to learn in the
school a great number of verses, so that some
remain there twenty years. They think it an
unhallowed thing to commit their lore to writ-
ing, though in the other public and private

DEUIDISM.

affairs of life they frequently make use of the
Greek alphabet. . . . Beyond all things,
they arc desirous to inspire a belief that men's
souls do not perish, but transmigrate after
death from one individual to another; and
besides, they hold discourses about the stars,
about the size of the world and of various
countries, about the nature of things, and about
the power and might of the immortal gods."

Among the objects of druidical veneration
the oak is said to have been particularly dis-
tinguished; for the Druids imagined that there
was a supernatural virtue in the wood, in the
leaves, in the fruit, and above all in the mistle-

toe. Hence the oak woods were the first places
of their devotion; and the offices of their reli-
gion were there performed without any covering
but the broad canopy of heaven. The part
appropriated for worship was inclosed in a
circle, within which was placed a pillar of
stone set up under an oak, and sacrifices were
offered thereon. The pillars which mark the
sites of these places of worship are still to be
seen; and so great is the superstitious venera-
tion paid by the country people to those sacred
stones, as they are considered, that few persons
have ventured to remove them.

Besides the immunities before-mentioned en-

Circle of Callernish in Lewis. Copied by permission from Col. Forbes-Leslie's Early Raca of Scotland.

joyed by the Druids, they also possessed both
civil and criminal jurisdiction, they decided all
controversies among states as well as among
private persons ; and whoever refused to sub-
mit to their awards was exposed to the most
severe penalties. The sentence of excommuni-
cation was pronounced against him ; he was de-
barred all intercourse with his fellow-citizens ;
his company was universally shunned as pro-
fane and dangerous ; he was refused the pro-
tection of law ; and death itself became an
acceptable relief from the misery and infamy
to which he was exposed.

St. Columba was born in the county of
Donegal, in Ireland, in the year 521, and was
connected both on his father's and mother's
side with the Irish royal family. He was care-
fully educated for the priesthood, and, after hav-
ing finished his ecclesiastical studies, founded
monasteries in yarious parts of Ireland. The
year of his departure from Ireland is, on good
authority, ascertained to have been 563, and it
is generally said that he fled to save his life,
which was in jeopardy on account of a feud
in which his relations were involved. Mr.

Grub 9 believes that " the love of God and of
his brethren was to him a sufficient motive for
entering on the great work to which he was
called. His immediate objects were the in-
struction of the subjects of Conal, king of the
British Scots, and the conversion of their
neighbours the heathen Picts of the North."
In the year 563, when Columba was 42 years
of age, he arrived among his kindred on the
shores of Argyle, and immediately set himself
to fix on a suitable site for a monastery which
he meant to erect, from which were to issue
forth the apostolic missionaries destined to
assist him in the work of conversion, and in
which also the youth set apart for the office of
the holy ministry were to be educated. St.
Columba espied a solitary isle lying apart from
the rest of the Hebridean group, near the
south-west angle of Mull, then known by tho
simple name I, whose etymology is doubtful,
afterwards changed by Bede into Hy, latin-
ized by the monks into lova or lona, and
again honoured with tho name of I-columb-cil,

Eecles. Hist., vol. i. p. 49.

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

the island of St. Columba of the church. This
island, Conal, who was then king of the
Christian Scots of Argyle, presented to Co-
lumba, in order that he might erect thereon a
monastery for the residence of himself and his
disciples. No better station could have been
selected than this islet during such barbarous
times.

In pursuance of his plan, St. Columba
settled with twelve disciples in Hy " Thev

now," says Bede, " neither sought, nor loved,
anything of this world," true traits in the
missionary character. For two years did they
labour with their own hands erecting huts and
building a church of logs and reeds. " The
monastery of lona, like those previously founded
by Columba in Ireland, was not a retreat for
solitaries whose chief object was to work out
their own salvation ; it was a great school of
Christian education, and was specially designed

Ruins on lona.

to prepare and send forth a body of clergy
trained to the task of preaching the Gospel
among the heathen.'' 1 Having established his
missionary institution, and having occupied
himself for some time in the instruction of his
countrymen the Scots of Argyle, the pious
Columba set out on his apostolic tour among
the Picts, probably in the year 565. At this
time Bridei or Brude, whose reign extended
from 536 to 586, the son of Mailcon, a power-
ful and influential prince, reigned over the
Northern Picts, and appears also to have had
dominion over those of the south. Judging
well that if he could succeed in converting
Brude, who, when Columba visited him was
staying at one of his residences on the banks
of the Ness, the arduous task he had undertaken

1 Grub'a Ece, Uist., vol. i. p. 51

of bringing over the whole nation to the wor-
ship of the true God would be more easily
accomplished, he first began with the king,
and by great patience and perseverance suc-
ceeded in converting him.

The first Gaelic entry in the Book of Deer
lets us see the great missionary on one of his
tours, and describes the founding of an im-
portant mission-station which became the centre
of instruction for all the surrounding country.
The following is the translation given of the
Gaelic original : " Columcille, and Drostan
son of Cosgrach, his pupil, came from Hf, as God
had shown to them, unto Abbordoboir, and
Bede the Pict was mormaer of Buchan before
them, and it was he that gave them that town
in freedom for ever from mormaer and toisech.
They came after that to the other town, and
it was pleasing to Columcille because it was

SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY.

full of God's grace, and ho asked of the mor-
maor, to wit Bode, that ho should give it to
him ; and he did not give it, and a son of his
took an illness after [or in consequence of]
refusing the clerics, and ho was nearly dead
[lit. ho was dead but if it wore a little]. After
this the mormaer went to entreat the clerics
that they should make prayer for the son,
that health should come to him ; and he gave
in offering to them from Cloch in tiprat to
Cloch pette meic Garnait. They made the
prayer, and health came to him. After that
Columcille gave to Drostan that town, and
blessed it, and left as (his) word, ' Whosoever
should come against it, let him not be many-
yoared [or] victorious.' Drostan's tears came
on parting from Columcille. Said Columcille,
' Let DEAR be its name henceforward.' "

The Abbordoboir here spoken of is Aberdour
on the north coast of Aberdeenshire, and Dear
probably occupied the site of what is now Old
Deer, about twelve miles inland from Aber-
dour. There is every reason for believing in
the substantial truth of the narrative. The
two saints, probably from the banks of the
Ness, came to Aberdour and "tarried there for
a time and founded a monastery on the land
which had been granted them. In later times
the parish church of Aberdour was dedicated
to St. Drostan." One would almost be inclined
to suppose, from the manner in which the
missionaries were apparently received, that
Christianity had been heard of there before ;
possibly Bede the Pictish mormaer had been
converted at the court of King Brude, and had
invited Columba to pay him a visit in Buchan
and plant the gospel among the inhabitants.
Possibly St. Ninian, the apostle of the southern
Picts, may, during his mission among them,
have penetrated as far north as Buchan.
On the side of the choir of the old parish
church of Turriff, a few miles west of Deer,
was found painted the figure of St. Ninian,
which was probably as old as the 16th cen-
tury. At all events, Colnmba and his com-
panion appear to have been made most welcome
in Buchan, and were afforded every facility for
prosecuting their sacred work. The above
record doubtless gives us a fair notion of
Columba's mode of procedure in prosecuting
his self-imposed task of converting the in-

habitants of Alba. As was the case in Buchan,
he appears to have gone from district to dis-
trict along with his missionary companions,
seen the work of conversion fairly begun,
planted a monastery in a suitable place, and
left one or more of his disciples as resident
missionaries to pursue the work of conversion
and keep Christianity alive in the district. 2

Columba soon had the happiness of seeing
the blessings of Christianity diffusing them-
selves among a people who had hitherto sat
in the darkness of paganism. Attended by his
disciples he traversed the whole of the Pictish
territories, spreading everywhere the light of
faith by instructing the people in the truths of
the Gospel. To keep up a succession of the
teachers of religion, he established, as we have
seen, monasteries in every district, and from
these issued, for many ages, men of apostolic
earnestness, who watered and tended the good
seed planted by Columba, and carried it to the
remotest parts of the north of Scotland and its
islands, so that, in a generation or two after
Columba, Christianity became the universal
religion. These monasteries or cells were long
subject to the Abbey of lona, and the system
of church government which proceeded from
that centre was in many respects peculiar, and
has given rise to much controversy between
presbyterians and episcopalians.

St. Columba died on the 9th of June, 597,
after a glorious and well-spent life, thirty-four
years of which he had devoted to the instruc-
tion of the nation he had converted. His in-
fluence was very great with the neighbouring
princes, and they often applied to him for ad-
vice, and submitted to him their differences,
which he frequently settled by his authority.
His memory was long held in reverence by the
Scots and Caledonians.

Conal, the fifth king of the Scots in Argyle,
the kinsman of St. Columba, and under whose
auspices he entered on the work of conver-
sion, and to whom it is said he was indebted
for Hy, died in 571. His successor Aidan
went over to lona in 574, and was there
ordained and inaugurated by the Abbot ac-
cording to the ceremonial of the liber vitreus,

' Hook of Deer, Preface. Farther details concern-
ing the early Scottish church will be given at the end
of this volume.

GENERAL HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

the cover of which is supposed to have been
encrusted with crystal.

To return to the history of the Picts, we
have already observed that little is known of
Pictish history for more than a hundred years
after the Roman abdication; and even up to
the union of the Picts and Scots, the materials
for the history of both are about as scarce as
they could possibly be, consisting mostly of
meagre chronicles containing the names of
kings, the dates of their accession and death,
and occasionally the names of battles and of
the contending nations. Scotland during this
period appears to have been the scene of un-
ceasing war between the Scots, Picts, Britons
of Strathclyde, English, and Danes, the two
first being continually at strife not only with
each other but among themselves. We shall
endeavour to give, as clearly and as faithfully
as possible, the main reliable facts in the his-
tory of the Scots and Picts until the union of
these two nations.

The reign of Brude was distinguished by
many warlike exploits, but above all, as we
have seen, by his conversion and that of his
people to Christianity, which indeed formed
his greatest glory. His chief contests were
with the Scoto-Irish or Dalriads, whom he de-
feated in 557, and slew Gauran their king.
Bmde died in 586, and for several ages his suc-
cessors carried on a petty system of warfare,
partly foreign and partly domestic. Passing
over a domestic conflict, at Lindores in 621,
under Kenneth, son of Luthrin, we must notice
the important battle of Dun-Nechtan, fought
in 685, between the Picts under Brude, the son
of Bili, 1 and the Saxons, under the Northum-
brian Egfrid. The Saxon king, it is said, greedy
of conquest, attacked the Picts without provoca-
tion, and against the advice of his court. Cross-
ing the Forth from Lothian, he entered Strathearn
and penetrated through the defiles of the Pictish
kingdom, leaving fire and desolation in his train.
His career was stopt at Dun-Nechtan, the hill
of Nechtan, a hill in the parish of Dunnichen,
about the centre of Forfarshire ; and by a
neighbouring lake, long known by the name of
Nechtan's mere, a short distance east from the

1 There is some confusion here ; Dr. Maclauchlan
places this conflict in the reign of Brude son of DerU<~,
who, according to our list, did not succeed till 699.

town of Forfar, did Egfrid and his Saxons fall
before Brude and his exasperated Picts. This
was a sad blow to the Northumbrian power;
yet the Northumbrians, in 699, under Berht,
an able leader, again ventured to try their
strength with the Picts, when they were once
more defeated by Brude, the son of Dereli,
who had recently mounted the Pictish throne.

The wars between the Picts and Northum-
brians were succeeded by various contests for
power among the Pictish princes, which gave
rise to a civil war. Ungus, honoured by the
Irish Annalists with the title of great, and
Elpin, at the head of their respective partisans,
tried their strength at Monacrib, supposed by
some to be Moncrieff in Strathearn, in the
year 727, when the latter was defeated; and
the conflict was renewed at Duncrei (Crieff),
when victory declared a second time against
Elpin, who was obliged to flee from the hostil-
ity of Ungus. Nechtan next tried his strength
with Ungus, in 728, at a place called Mona-
cuma by the Annalists possibly Moncur in
the Carse of Gowrie but he was defeated, and
many of his followers perished. Talorgan, the
son of Congus, was defeated by Brude, the son
of Ungus, in 730, and in the same year the
Picts appear to have entered into a treaty of
peace with the English nation.

The victorious Ungus commenced hostilities
against the Dalriads, or Scoto-Irish, in the
year 736, and appears to have got the better
of the latter. The Scots were again worsted
in another battle in 740 by Ungus, who in the
same year repulsed an attack of the Northum-
brians under Eadbert. In the year 750 he
defeated the Britons of the Cumbrian kingdom
in the battle of Cato or Cath-0, in which his
brother Talorgan was killed. Ungus, who ap-
pears to have been a powerful and able mon-
arch, but whom Bede 2 characterizes as having
conducted himself " with bloody wickedness,
a tyrant and an executioner," died about 760.
A doubtful victory was gained by Ciniod, or
Kenneth, the Pictish king, over Aodh-fin, the
Scottish king, in 767. Constantino, having
overcome Conal, the son of Tarla, in 789,
succeeded him in the throne. 3

Book V. c. 24.

3 See the Ulster Annals, where an account is given
of all these conflicts.

NORSEMEN SCOTO-IRISH.

Up to this period the Norsemen from Scan-
dinavia, or the Vikingr, i. e. men of the voes
or bays, as they were termed, had confined
their ravages to the Baltic; but, in the year
787 they for the first time appeared on the
east coast of England. Some years afterwards
they found their way to the Caledonian shores,
and in 795 made their first attack on lona,
which frequently afterwards, along with the
rest of the Hebrides, suffered grievously from
their ravages. In 839 the Vikingr entered
the Pictish territories. A murderous conflict
ensued between them and the Picts under Uen
their king, in which both he and his only
brother Bran, as well as many of the Pictish
chiefs, fell This event, no doubt, hastened
the downfall of the Pictish monarchy; and as
the Picts were unable to resist the arms of
Kenneth, the Scottish king, he carried into
execution, in the year 843, a project ho had
long entertained, of uniting the Scots and
Picts, and placing both crowns on his head.
That anything like a total extermination of the
Picts took place is now generally discredited,
although doubtless there was great slaughter
both of princes and people. Skene 4 asserts
indeed that it was only the Southern Picts
who became subject to Kenneth, the Northern
Picts remaining for long afterwards indepen-
dent of, but sometimes in alliance with, the
Scots. This is substantially the opinion of
Mr. E. W. Eobertson, 5 who says, " the modern
shires of Perth, Fife, Stirling, and Dumbarton,
with the greater part of the county of Argyle,
may be said to have formed the actual Scottish
kingdom to which Kenneth succeeded." The
Picts were recognised as a distinct people even
in the tenth century, but before the twelfth
they lost their characteristic nominal distinc-
tion by being amalgamated with the Scots,
their conquerors.

The Scoto-Irish after their arrival in Argyle
did not long continue under the separate autho-
rity of the three brothers, Lorn, Fergus, and
Angus. They were said to have been very far
advanced in life before leaving Ireland, and
the Irish chroniclers assert that St. Patrick
gave them his benediction before his death, in
the year 493. The statement as to their ad-

* Highlanders, vol. i p. 65.
8 Early Kings, vol. L p. 39.

vanced age derives some support from their
speedy demise after they had laid the founda-
tions of their settlements, and of a new dynasty
of kings destined to rule over the kingdom of
Scotland. Angus was the first who died,
leaving a son, Muredach, who succeeded him
in the small government of Ha. After tho
death of Lorn the eldest brother, Fergus, the
last survivor, became sole monarch of the
Scoto-Irish; but he did not long enjoy the
sovereignty, for he died in 506.

Fergus was succeeded by his son Dornangart,
or Dongardus, who died in 511, after a short
but troubled reign of about five years. His
two sons Comgal and Gabhran or Gauran, suc-
cessively enjoyed liis authority. Comgal had
a peaceful reign of four and twenty years, dur-
ing which he extended his settlements. He
left a son named Conal, but Gauran his brother,
notwithstanding, ascended the throne in the
year 535 without opposition. Gauran reigned
two and twenty years, and, as we have already
observed, was slain in a battle with the Picts
under Bridei their king.

Conal, the son of Comgal, then succeeded
in 557, and closed a reign of fourteen years in
571. It was during his reign that Columba's
mission to the Picts took place. A civil war
ensued between Aodhan or Aidan, the son of
Gauran, and Duncha or Duncan, the son of
Conal, for the vacant crown, the claim to which
was decided on the bloody field of Loro or Loco
in Kintyre in 575, where Duncha was slain.
Aidan, the son of Gauran, had been formally
inaugurated by St. Columba in lona, in 574.
In the time of Aidan there were frequent wars
between the Dalriads and the English Saxons.
Many battles were fought in which the Scots
were generally defeated, the principal being
that of Degsastan or Dalston near Carlisle, in
603, in which nearly the whole of the Scottish
army was defeated. The wars with the Saxons
weakened the power of the Dalriads very con-
siderably, and it was not till after a long period
of time that they again ventured to meet the
Saxons in the field.

During a short season of repose, Aidan, at-
tended by St. Columba, went to the celebrated
council of Drum-keat in Ulster, in the year
590. In this council he claimed the princi-
pality of Dalriada, the land of his fathers, and

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

obtained an exemption from doing homage to
the kings of Ireland, which his ancestors, it
would appear, had been accustomed to pay.
Aidan died in 605 or 608, at the advanced age
of eighty, and was buried in the church of
Kil-keran, the ruins of which are still to be
Been in the midst of Campbelton.

Aidan was succeeded in the throne by his
son Eocha-bui, or the "yellow," who reigned six-
teen years. He carried on war with the Cruithne
of Ulster. After him came his brother Kenneth-
Cear, or the " left-handed," who was followed
by Ferchar, son of Eogan, of the race of Lorn.

Donal, surnamed breac or freckled, the son
of Eocha'-bui, of the race of Gauran, succeeded
Ferchar about 637. He was a warlike prince
and had distinguished himself in the wars
against the Cruithne of Ireland. Congal-Claon,
the son of Scanlan, the king of the Cruithne
in Ulster, having slain Suibne-Mean, a power-
ful king of Ireland, was attacked by Domnal
II., supreme king of Ireland, who succeeded
Suibne, and was defeated in the battle of
Duncetheren, in 629. Congal sought refuge
in Cantyre, and having persuaded Donal-breac,
the kinsman of Domnal, to join him in a war
against the latter, they invaded Ireland with a
heterogeneous mass of Scoto-Irish, Picts, Brit-
ons, and Saxons, commanded by Donal and
liis brothers. Cealach, the son of Maelcomh,
the nephew of the reigning king, and as tanist
or heir-apparent, the leader of his army, at-
tacked Donal-breac in the plain of Magh Rath
or Moyra in Down, in 637, and completely de-
feated him after an obstinate and bloody en-
gagement. Congal, the murderer of his sov-
ereign, met his merited fate, and Donal-breac
was obliged to secure his own and his army's
safety by a speedy return to Cantyre. St. Co-
lumba had always endeavoured to preserve an
amicable understanding between the Cruithne
of Ulster and the Scoto-Irish, and his injunc-
tions were, that they should live in constant
peace; but Donal disregarded the wise advice
of the saint, and paid dearly for so doing. He
was not more successful in an enterprise against
the Piets, having been defeated by them in the
battle of Glinne Mairison, Glenmairison, or
Glenmoreson, probably in West Lothian, 6

' Slcunc's Citron, p/ Picts and Scots, p. cxv.

during the year 638. He ended his days at
Straith-cairmaic or Strathcarron, possibly in the
neighbourhood of Falkirk, by the sword of
Hoan or Owen, one of the reguli of Strathcluyd,
in the year 642. His son Cathasuidh fell by
the same hand in 649.

Conal II., the grandson of Conal I., who
was also of the Fergusian race of Congal, nest
ruled over the tribes of Cantyre and Argyle;
but Dungal, of the race of Lorn, having ob-
tained the government of the tribe of Lorn,
questioned the right of Conal. He did not,
however, carry his pretensions far, for Conal
died, in undisturbed possession of his domin-
ions, in 652, after a reign of ten years. To
Donal-duin, or the brown, son of Coual, who
reigned thirteen years, succeeded Maolduin, his
brother, in 665. The family feuds which had
long existed between the Fergusian races of
Comgal and Tauran, existed in their bitterest
state during the reign of Maolduin. Doman-
gart, the son of Donal-breac, was murdered in
672, and Conal, the son of Maolduin, was as-
sassinated in 675.

Ferchar-fada, or the tall, apparently of the
race of Lorn, and either the son or grandson of
Ferchar, who died in 637, seized the reins of
government upon the death of Maolduin. On
the death of Ferchar, in 702, the sceptre passed
again to the Fergusian race in the person of
Eocha'-rineval, remarkable for his Roman nose,
the son of Domangart. The reign of this
prince was short and unfortunate. His scep-
tre was seized by Ainbhcealach, the son of
Ferchar-fada, who succeeded Eocha' in 705.
He was of an excellent disposition, but after
reigning one year, was dethroned by his
brother, Selvach, and obliged, in 706, to take
refuge in Ireland. Selvach attacked the
Britons of Strathcluyd, and gained two succes-
sive victories over them, the one at Longecoleth
in 710, and the other at the rock of Mionuirc
in 7 1 6. At the end of twelve years, Ainbhceal-
ach returned from Ireland, to regain a sceptre
which his brother had by his cruelties shown
himself unworthy to wield, but he perished in
the battle of Finglein, perhaps Glen Fyne at
the head of Loch Fyne, in 719. Selvach met a
more formidable rival in Duncha-beg, who was
descended from Fergus, by the line of Congal;
he assumed the government of Cantyre and

DALEIADIC KINGS.

Argail, and confined Selvach to his family
settlement of Lorn. These two princes ap-
pear to have been fairly matched in disposi-
tion and valour, and both exerted themselves
for the destruction of one another, thus bring-
ing many miseries upon their tribes. In an
attempt which they made to invade the ter-
ritories of each other in 719 by means of cur-
rachs, a naval combat ensued off Airdeanesbi,
(probably Ardaness on the coast of Argyle,) in
which Selvach was overcome by Duncha ; but
Selvach was not subdued. The death of
Duncha in 721 put an end to his designs; but
Eocha' III., the son of Eocha'-rineval, the suc-
cessor of Duncha, being as bent on the over-
throw of Selvach as his predecessor, continued
the war. The rival chiefs met at Irroisfoichne
in 727, where a battle was fought, which pro-
duced nothing but irritation and distress.
This lamentable state of things was put an end
to by the death of Selvach in 729. This
event enabled Eocha to assume the govern-
ment of Lorn, and thus the Dalriadan kingdom
which had been alternately ruled by chiefs of
the houses of Fergus and Lorn became again
united under Eocha. He died in 733, after a
reign of thirteen years, during nine of which
he ruled over Cantyre and Argyle, and four
over all the Dalriadic tribes.

Eocha was succeeded in the kingdom by
Muredach, the son of Ainbhceallach, of the
race of Lorn. His reign was short and unfor-
tunate. In revenge for an act of perfidy com-
mitted by Dungal, the son of Selvach, who
had carried off Forai or Torai, the daughter of
Brude, and the niece of Ungus, the great Pictish
king, the latter, in the year 736, led his army
from Strathearn, through the passes of the
mountains into Lorn, which he wasted with
fire and sword. He seized Dunad, in Mid-Lorn,
and burned Creic, another fortress in the Ross
of Mull, taking Dungal and Feradach, the two
sons of Selvach, prisoners. Muredach went in
pursuit of his enemy, and having overtaken
him at Knock Cairpre, at Calatros, on the shores
of the Linne, 6 a battle ensued, in which the
Scots were repulsed with great slaughter.
Talorgan, the brother of Ungus, commanded

6 Dr. Reeves supposes this to be Cnlross in Perth-
shire. JIaclauchlan.

the Picts on this occasion, and pursued the
flying Scots. In this pursuit Muredach in
supposed to have perished, after a reign of
three years.

Eogban or Ewan, the son of Muredach, took
up the fallen succession in 736, and died in
739, in which year the Dalriadic sceptre was
assumed by Aodh-fin, the son of Eocha' III.,
and grandson of Eocha'-rineval, descended
from the Fergusian race of Gauran. In 740
he measured his strength with the celebrated
Ungus; but victory declared for neither, and
during the remainder of Ungus' reign, he did
not attempt to renew hostilities. After the
death of Ungus, in 761, Aodh-fin declared war
against the Picts, whose territories he entered
from Upper Lorn, penetrating through the
passes of Glenorchy and Breadalbane. In 767
he reached Forteviot, the Pictish capital in
Strathearn, where he fought a doubtful battle
with Ciniod the Pictish king. Aodh-fin died
in 769, after a splendid reign of thirty years. 7

Fergus II., son of Aodh-fin, succeeded to
the sceptre on the demise of his father, and
died after an unimportant reign of three years
Selvach II., the son of Eogan, assumed the
government in 772. His reign, which lasted
twenty-four years, presents nothing very re-
markable in history.

A new sovereign of a different lineage, now
mounted the throne of the Scots in 796, in the
person of Eocha or Auchy, the son of Aodh-fin

7 Dr. Skene, in his preface to the Chronicles of the
Picts and Scots, endeavours to prove, by very plausi-
ble reasoning, and by comparison of various lists of
kings, that for a century previous to the accession of
Kenneth to the Pictish throne, Dalriada was under
subjection to the Anglian monarchy, and was ruled
by Pictish sovereigns. In an able paper, however,
read recently by Dr. Archibald Smith before the Anti-
quarian Society of Scotland, he shows that Argyleshire
was invaded but not subdued by Ungus, king of the
Picts, in 736 and 741. Dr. Smith supported his con-
clusion by reference to passages in the annals of Tiger-
nach, of Ulster, and the Albanic Duan, which seemed
to him to give an intelligible and continuous account
of regal succession in Dalriada, but afforded no coun-
tenance to the theory of Pinkerton of the entire con-
quest of the Scote in Britain by Ungus, nor to the
conclusion Dr. Skene has come to, viz., the complete
supremacy of the Picts in the Scottish Dalriada, ana
the extinction of Dalriada as a Scottish nation from
the year 741 to the era of a new Scottish kingdom
founded by Kenneth Macalpin in the year 843. On
the contrary, he was convinced that Aodh-tionn was
the restorer of its full liberty to the crushed section of
Lorn, and that he was, at the close of his career, the
independent ruler of Dalriada as a Scottish nation.

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

of the Gauran race. Eocha' IV. is known also
by the latinized appellation of Achaius. The
story of the alliance between Achaius and
Charlemagne has been shown to be a fable;
although it is by no means improbable that he
entered into an important treaty with the
Picts, by marrying Urgusia, the daughter of
Urguis, an alliance which, it is said, enabled
his grandson Kenneth afterwards to claim and
acquire the Pictish sceptre, in right of Urgusia
his grandmother. Eocha died in 826, after a
happy and prosperous reign of thirty years.
He was succeeded by Dungal, the son of Sel-
vach II., of the race of Lorn, being the last of
that powerful family who swayed the Dalri-
adic sceptre. After a feeble but stormy reign
of seven years, he died in 833.

Alpin, the last of the Scoto-Irish kings, and
the son of Eocha IV. and of Urgusia, now
mounted the throne. He was killed in 836,
near the site of Laicht castle, on the ridge
which separates Kyle from Galloway. The
fiction that Alpin fell in a battle with the
Picts, when asserting his right to the Pictish
throne, has long been exploded.

In 836 Kenneth, the son of Alpin, succeeded
his father. He was a prince of a warlike dis-
position, and of great vigour of mind and body.
He avenged the death of his father by frequent
inroads among the people dwelling to the
south of the Clyde; but the great glory of Ms
reign consists in his achievements against the
Picts, which secured for him and his posterity
the Pictish sceptre. The Pictish power had,
previous to the period of Kenneth's accession,
been greatly enfeebled by the inroads of the
Danish Vikingr; but it was not till after the
death of Uven, the Pictish king, in 839, after
a distracted reign of three years, that Kenneth
made any serious attempt to seize the Pictish
diadem. On the accession of Wred, Kenneth,
in accordance with the principle of succession
said by Bede to have prevailed among the
Picts, claimed the Pictish throne in right of
Urgusia, his grandmother; Wred died in 842,
and after an arduous struggle, Kenneth wrested
the sceptre from Bred, his successor, in 843, after
he had reigned over the Scots seven years.

Burton 8 thinks there can be no doubt that

8 Scotland, vol. i. p. 329.

the two countries were prepared for a fusion
whenever a proper opportunity offered, but
that this was on account of a matrimonial alli-
ance between the two royal houses cannot with
certainty be ascertained. 9 As we have said
already, it is extremely improbable that Ken-
neth gained his supremacy by extermination.
The Picts certainly appear to have suffered
severe defeat, but the likelihood is that aftei
Kenneth succeeded to the throne, a gradual
fusion of the two people took place, so that in
course of time they became essentially ono
speaking one language, obeying the same laws,
and following the same manners and customs.
If we knew for certain to what race the Pictp
belonged, and what language they spoke, it
might help us not a little to understand the
nature and extent of the amalgamation; but as
we know so little about these, and as the
chroniclers, in speaking of this event, are so
enigmatical and meagre, we are left almost en-
tirely to conjecture. We are certain, at any
rate, that from some cause or other, the kings
of the Dalriadic Scots, about the middle of the
9th century, obtained supremacy over at least
the Southern Picts, who from that time forward
ceased to be a separate nation. l

9 See Skene's preface to Chronicle of Picts and Scots,
p. xcviii. et seq. , for some curious and ingenious spe-
culation on this point.

1 We shall take the liberty of quoting here an ex-
tract from an able and ingenious paper read by Dr.
Skene before the Soc. of Ant, in June 1861, and
quoted in Dr. Gordon's Scotichronicon, p. 83. It
will help, we think, to throw a little light on this
dark subject, and assist the reader somewhat to under-
stand the nature and extent of the so-called Scottish
conquest. "The next legend which bears upon the
history of St. Andrews is that of St. Adrian, at 4th
March. The best edition of this legend is in the Aber-
deen Breviary, and it is as follows : Adrian was a na-
tive of Hungary, and after preaching there for some
time, was seized with a desire to preach to other peo-
ple; and having gathered together a company, he set
out ' ad orientales Scotise partes que tune a Pictis oc-
cupabantur, ' i.e., 'to the eastern parts of Scotland,
which were then occupied by the Picts, ' and landed
there with 6,606 confessors, clergy, and people, among
whom were Glodianus, Gayus, Minanus, Scobrandus,
and others, chief priests. These men, with their bish-
op, Adrian, 'deleto regno Pictorum, i.e., ' the Pictish
kingdom being destroyed, ' did many signs, but after-
wards desired to have a residence on the Isle of May.
The Danes, who then devastated the whole of Britain,
came to the Island, and there slew them. Their mar-
tyrdom is said to have taken place in the year 875.
It will be observed that they are here said to have
settled in the east part of Scotland, opposite the Isle
of May, that is in Fife, while the Picts still occupied
it; that the Pictish kingdom is then said to have been
destroyed; and that their martyrdom took place in 875,

GOVERNMENT ST. ADRIAN.

The history of the Scoto-Irish kings affords
few materials either amusing or instructive;
but it was impossible, from the connexion be-
tween that history and the events that will
follow in detail, to pass it over in silence.
The Scoto-Irish tribes appear to have adopted
much the same form of government as existed
in Ireland at the time of their departure from
that kingdom ; the sovereignty of which, though
nominally under one head, was in reality a
pentarchy, which allowed four provincial kings
to dispute the monarchy of the fifth. This
system was the prolific source of anarchy,
assassinations, and civil wars. The Dalriads
were constantly kept in a state of intestine
commotion and mutual hostility by the preten-
sions of their rival chiefs, or princes of the
three races, who contended with the common
sovereign for pre-eminence or exemption. The
dlighe-tanaiste, or law of tanistry, which ap-
pears to have been generally followed as in
Ireland, as well in the succession of kings as
in that of chieftains, rather increased than

thirty years after the Scottish conquest under Kenneth
M'Alpin. Their arrival was therefore almost coinci-
dent with the Scottish conquest; and the large num-
ber said to have come, not tne modest twenty-one who
arrived with Regulus, but 6,606 confessors, clergy, and
people, shows that the traditionary history was really
one of an invasion, and leads to the suspicion at once
that it was in reality a part of the Scottish occupation
of the Pictish kingdom. This suspicion is much
strengthened by two corroborative circumstances: 1st,
the year 875, when they are said to have been slain by
the Danes, falls in the reign of Constantine, the son of
Kenneth Macalpin, in his fourteenth year, and in this
year the Pictish chronicle records a battle between the
Danes and the Scots, and adds, that after it, ' occasi
sunt Scotti in Coachcochlum,' which seems to refer to
this very slaughter. 2d. Hector Boe'ce preserves a
different tradition regarding their origin. He says
' Non desunt qui scribant sanctissimos Christi mar-
tyros Himgaros fuisse. Alii ex Scotis Aiiglisque gre-
garie collectos,' i.e., ' Some write that the most holy
martyrs of Christ were Hungarians. Others (say)
that they were collected from the Scots and English.'
There was therefore a tradition that the clergy slain
were not Hungarians, but a body composed of Scotti
and Angli. Rut Hadrian was a bishop; he landed in
tho east of Fife, within the parochia of S. Regnlus, and
he is placed at the head of some of the lists of bish-
ops of St. Andrews as first bishop. It was there-
fore the Church of St. Andrews that then consisted of
clergy collected from among the Scotti and the Angli.
The Angli probably represented the Church of Acca,
and the Scotti those brought in by Adrian. The real
signification of this occupation of St. Andrews by
Scottish clergy will be apparent when we recollect
that the Columban clergy, who had formerly pos-
sessed the chief ecclesiastical seats among the Picts,
had been expelled in 717, and Anglic clergy intro-
duced the cause of quarrel being the difference of
their usages. Now, tho Pictish chronicle states as the

mitigated these disorders; for the claim to rule
not being regulated by any fixed law of hered-
itary succession, but depending upon the
capricious will of the tribe, rivals were not
found wanting to dispute the rights so con-
ferred. There was always, both in Ireland and
in Argyle, an heir presumptive to the Crown
chosen, under the name of tanist, who com-
manded the army during the life of the reign-
ing sovereign, and who succeeded to him after
his demise. Budgets, and committees of sup-
ply, and taxes, were wholly unknown in those
times among the Scots, and the monarch was
obliged to support his dignity by voluntary
contributions of clothes, cattle, furniture, and
other necessaries.

There is reason to believe that tradition sup-
plied the place of written records for many
ages after the extinction of the Druidical super-
stition. Hence among the Scots, traditionary
usages and local customs long supplied the
place of positive or written laws. It is a mis-
take to suppose, as some writers have done,

main cause of the overthrow of the Pictish kingdom,
a century and a half later, this very cause. It says
' Deus enim eos pro merito suae malitiae alienos ac
otiosos hsereditate dignatus est facere, qnia illi noil
soluni Deum, missam, ac praceptum spreverunt sed et
in jure sequalitatis aliis aequi pariter noluerunt.' I.e.,
' For God, on account of their wickedness, deemed
them worthy to be made hereditary strangers and
idlers; because they contemned not only God, the mass,
and the precept (of the Church), but besides refused
to be regarded as on the same equality with others. 1
They were overthrown, not only because they despised
' Deum missani et prseceptum," but because they would
not tolerate the other party. And this great griev-
vance was removed, when St. Andrews appears at the
head of the Scottish Church in a solemn Concordat
with the king Constantine, when, as the Pictish
Chronicle tells ns, ' Constantinus Rex et Cellachus
Episcopus leges disciplinasque fidei atque jura ecclesi-
arum evangeliorum que pariter cum Scottis devoverunt
custodiri.' I.e., ' King Constantine and Bishop Kel-
laeh vowed to preserve the laws and discipline of tho
faith and the rights of the churches and gospels,
equally with the Scots. ' Observe the parallel language

Bishop of St. Andrews ' vowed to preserve the laws
and discipline of the faith ' 'pariter cum Scottis,' the
thing the Picts would not do. It seems plain, there-
fore, that the ecclesiastical element entered largely into
the Scottish conquest; and a main cause and feature
of it was a determination on the part of the Scottish
clergy to recover the benefices they had been deprived
of. The exact coincidence of this great clerical inva-
sion of the parochia of St. Andrews by ecclesiastics,
said by one tradition to have been Scots, and the sub-
sequent position of St. Andrews as the head of the
Scottish Church, points strongly to this as the true
historic basis of the legend of S. Adrian."

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

that the law consisted in the mere will of the
Brehon or judge. The office of Breitheamhuin
or Brehon was hereditary, and it is quite
natural to infer, that under such a system of
jurisprudence, the dictum of the judge might
not always comport with what was understood
to he the common law or practice; hut from
thence, to argue that the will of the judge was
to be regarded as the law itself, is ahsurd, and
contrary to every idea of justice. As the prin-
ciple of the rude jurisprudence of the Celtic
tribes had for its object the reparation, rather
than the prevention of crimes, almost every crime,
even of the blackest kind, was commuted by
a mulct or payment. Tacitus observes in allu-
sion to this practice, that it was " a temper
wholesome to the commonwealth, that homi-
cide and lighter transgressions were settled by
the payment of horses or cattle, part to the
king or community, part to him or his friends
who had been wronged." The law of Scotland
long recognised this system of compensation.
The fine was termed, under the Brehon law,
eric, which not only signifies a reparation, but
also a fine, a ransom, a forfeit. Among the
Albanian Scots it was called cro, a term pre-
served in the Regiam Majesiatem, which has
a whole chapter showing " the cro of ilk man,
now mikil it is." 2 This law of reparation,
according to O'Connor, was first promulgated
in Ireland, in the year 164.* According to
the Regiam Majestatem, the cro of a villain
was sixteen cows; of an earl's son or thane, one
hundred; of an earl, one hundred and forty;
and that of the king of Scots, one thousand
cows, or three thousand oras, that is to say,
three oras for every cow.

Besides a share of the fines imposed, the
Brehon or judge obtained a piece of arable
land for his support. When he administered
justice, he used to sit sometimes on the top of
a hillock or heap of stones, sometimes on turf,
and sometimes even on the middle of a bridge,
surrounded by the suitors, who, of course,
pleaded their own cause. We have already
seen that, under the system of the Druids, the
offices of religion, the instruction of youth, and
the administration of the laws, were conducted
in the open air; and hence the prevalence of

3 Lib. iv c. XJUT.

3 O'Connor's Dissert.

the practice alluded to. But this practice was
not peculiar to the Druids; for all nations, in
the early stages of society, Lave followed a
similar custom. The Tings of the Scandina-
vians, which consisted of circular enclosures of
stone, without any covering, and within which
both the judicial and legislative powers were
exercised, afford a striking instance of this.
According to Pliny, 4 even the Roman Senate
first met in the open air, and the sittings of
the Court of the Areopagus, at Athens, were so
held. The present custom of holding courts of
justice in halls is not of very remote antiquity
in Scotland, and among the Scoto-Irish, the
baron bailie long continued to dispense justice
to the baron's vassals from a moothill or emi-
nence, which was generally on the bank of a
river, and near to a religious edifice.

Of the various customs and peculiarities
which distinguished the ancient Irish, as well
as the Scoto-Irish, none has given rise to
greater speculation than that of fosterage;
which consisted in the mutual exchange, by
different families, of their children for the pur-
pose of being nursed and bred. Even the son
of the chief was so entrusted during pupilarity
with an inferior member of the clan. An ade-
quate reward was either given or accepted in
every case, and the lower orders, to whom the
trust was committed, regarded it as an honour
rather than a service. " Five hundred kyne
and better," says Campion, "were sometimes
given by the Irish to procure the nursing of a
great man's child." A firm and indissoluble
attachment always took place among foster-
brothers, and it continues in consequence to be
a saying among Highlanders, that " affectionate
to a man is a friend, but a foster-brother is as
the life-blood of his heart." Camden observes,
that no love in the world is comparable by
many degrees to that of foster-brethren in Ire-
land. 6 The close connexion which the practice
of fosterage created between families, while it
frequently prevented civil feuds, often led to
them. But the strong attachment thus created
was not confined to foster-brothers, it also
extended to their parents. Spenser relates of
the foster-mother to Murrough O'Brien, that,
at his execution, she sucked the blood from his

4 Lib. viii. c. 45.
5 Holland's Camden, Ireland, p. 116.

LIST OF PICTISH KINGS.

head, and bathed her face and breast with it,
saying that it was too precious to fall to the
earth.

It is unnecessary, at this stage of our labours,
to enter upon the subject of clanship ; we
mean to reserve our observations thereon till
we come to the history of the clans, when we

shall also notice some peculiarities or traits of totally untrustworthy, we shall omit them.

the Highlanders not hitherto mentioned. We
shall conclude this chapter by giving lists of
the Pictish and Scoto-Irish Kings, wliich are
generally regarded as authentic. A great many
other names are given by the ancient chroniclers
previous to the points at which the following
lists commence, but as these are considered as

A CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF THE PICTISH KINGS, CHIEFLY ACCORDING
TO THE PICTISH CHRONICLE.

Series.

NAUE8 AND FILIATIONS.

Date of

Accession.

Duration of
Reigns.

Data '
of
Death.

1
2

DROST, the son of Erp, .
TALORO, the son of Aniel,

451

4 years.

451

455

NECTON MORBET, the son of Erp, .

455

25 ..

480

DHEST Qurthinmoch,

480

30 .

510

GAI.ANAU ETELICH, or GALANAN KRELECH,

510

12 .

522

DADREST, ....

522

1 .

523

DREST, the son of Girom,

523

1 .

524

DRBST, the son of Wdrest, with the former,

524

5 .

529

DREST, the son of Girom, alone,

529

5 .

534

GARTNACH, the son of Girom, . .

534

7 .

541

GEALTRAIH, or CAILTRAIH, the son of Girom,

541

542

TALORO, the son of Muircholaich, .

542

11 .

553

DREST, the son of Munait,

553

554

GALAM, with Alepb, . . . '

554

555

GALAM, with Briuei,

555

1 .

556

BRIDEI, the son of Mailcon,

556

30 .

586

GARTNAICH, the son of Domelch, or Donald,

586

597

NECTU, or NEOHTAN, the nephew of Verb,

597

20 .

617

CINEOCH, or KENNETH, the son of Lutlirin,

617

636

GARNARD, the son of Wid, . .

636

640

BRIDEI, the son of Wid,

640

5 .

645

TALORO, their brother, .

645

657

TALLORCAN, the son of Enfret, .

657

661

GARTNAIT, the son of Donnel, . .

661

6J .

667

DREST, his brother,

667

7 .

674

BRIDEI, the son of Bili,

674

21 .

695

TARAN, the son of Entitidich, .

695

699

BRIDEI, the son of Dereli, . .

699

11 .

710

NECHTON, the son of Dereli, . .

710

15 .

725

DREST, and Elpin,

726

730

UKOUS, or ONNDST, the son of t'rguist,

730

31 .

761

BRIDEI, the son of Wirguist,

761

763

CINIOCH, or KENNETH, the son of Wredech,

763

12 .

775

ELPIN, the son of Wroid,

775

34 .

779

DRBST, the son of Talorgan,

779

5 .

784

TALOROAN, the son of Ungus or Angus,

784

786

CANADL, the son of Tarla,

786

791

CUSSTASTISE, the son of Urguist,

791

so ;

821

UNOUS, the son of Crguist,

821

12 .

833

DREST, the son of Coustantine, and Talorgan, the son of )
Wthoil, . . . . }

833

3 ..

836

DDEN, or UVEN, the son of Ungus,

836

839

WRAD, the son of Bargoit, . .

839

3 ..

842

BRED, or BRIDDI, . . .

842

1 ..

843

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

A CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF THE SCOTO-IRISH KINGS,
FROM THE YEAR 503 TO 843.

Series.

NAMES AND FILIATIONS.

Date of

Accession.

Duration of
Reigns.

Date
of
Death.

FERGUS, the son of Ere, . . ,

A. D.

503

Years.
3

A.D.

506

DOMANOART, the son of Fergus,

506

511

COMOAL, the son of Domangart, . .

511

535

GAVRAN, the son of Domangart,

535

557

CONAL, the son of Comgal, . . .

557

571

AIDAN, the son of Gavran, . . .

571

605

EoACHA'-Bui, the son of Aidau,

605

621

KENNETH-Cear, the son of Eoacha'-Bui,

621

FERCHAR, the son of Eogan, the first of the race of)
Lorn, .... J

621

637

DONAL-BREAO, the son of Eoacha'-Bui, .

637

642

CONAL II., the grandson of Conal I. . )

642

652

DUNGAL reigned some years with Conal, >

DoNAL-Duin, the son of Conal, . . .

652

665

MAOL-Duin, the son of Conal, .

665

681

FERCHAR-Fada, the grandson of Ferchar I.,

681

702

EoACHA'-Rinevel, the son of Domangart, and the grand- 1
son of Donal-breae, ... J

702

705

AINBHCEALACH, the son of Ferchar-fada,

705

706

SELVACH, the son of Ferchar-fada, reigned over Lorn~)

from 706 to 729, ....

DCNCHA BEO reigned over Cantyre and Argaill till 720, 1

706

733

EOCHA' III., the son of Eoacha'-rinevel, over Cantyre f

and Argaill, from 720 to 729; and also over Lorn
from 729 to 733, . . J

MIREDACH, the son of Ainbhcealach,

733

736

EOOAK, the son of Muredach,

736

739

AoBH-Fin, the son of Eoacha' III.,

739

769

FERGUS, the son of Aodh-fin,

769

772

SELVACH II., the son of Eogan,

772

796

EoAOHA'-Annuine IV., the son of Aodh-fin,

796

826

DUNOAL, the son of Selvach II.,

826

833

ALPIN, the son of Eoacha'-Annuine IV.,

833

836

KENNETH, the son of Alpin, .

836

843

It is right to mention that the Albania Duan
oinits the names between Ainbhcealach and
Dungal (17 27), most of which, however, are
contained in the St. Andrews' list.

CHAPTER IV.

A. D. 8431107.

The Norse Invasions Kenneth Constantine Aodh
Grig and Eocha Donald IV. Constantine III.
Danes Battle of Brunanburg Malcolm I. In-
dulph Duff Culen Kenneth III. Battle of Lun-
carty Malcolm II. Danes Duncan Thorfinn,
Jarl of Orkney Macbeth Battle with Siward Lti-
lach Malcolm III. (Ceanmore) Queen Margaret-
Effect of Norwegian Conquest Donal-bane Edgar
Norsemen Influx of Anglo-Saxons Isolation of
Highlands Table of Kings.

FOR about two centuries after the union of the
two kingdoms, the principal facts to be re-
corded are the extension of the Scottish do-
minion southwards beyond the Forth and

Clyde, towards the present border, and north-
wards beyond Inverness, and the fierce con-
tests that took place with the " hardy Norse-
men " of Scandinavia and Denmark, who dur-
ing this period continued not only to pour
down upon the coasts and islands of Scotland,
but to sway the destinies of the whole of Eu-
rope. During this time the history of the
Highlands is still to a great extent the history
of Scotland, and it was not till about the 12th
century that the Highlanders became, strictly
speaking, a peculiar people, confined to the
territory whose boundaries were indicated in
the first chapter, having for their neighbours
on the east and south a population of undoubt-
edly Teutonic origin. The Norse invasions not
only kept Scotland in continual commotion at
the time, but must have exercised an impor-
tant influence on its whole history, and contri-
buted a new and vigorous element to its popu-
lation. These Vikingr, about the end of the

K F.NNETH CONSTANTINE.

9th century, became so pnv ; to be able

to establish a separate and independent king-
dom in Orkney and the Western Islands, which
proved formidable not only to the king of
Scotland, but also to the powerful king of
Norway. "It is difficult to give them dis-
tinctness without risk of error, and it is even
hard to decide how far the mark left by these
visitors is, on the one hand, the brand of the
devastating conqueror; or, on the other hand,
the planting among the people then inhabiting
Scotland of a high-conditioned race a race
uniting freedom and honesty in spirit with a
strong and healthy physical organization. It
was in the north that the inroad preserved its
most distinctive character, probably from its
weight, as most completely overwhelming the
original population, whatever they might be ;
and though, in the histories, the king of Scots
appears to rule the northern end of Britain, the
territory beyond Inverness and Fort-William
had aggregated in some way round a local
magnate, who afterwards appears as a Maormor.
He was not a viceroy of the king of Norway:
and if he was in any way at the order of the
King of Scotland, he was not an obedient subor-
dinate." 8

Up to the time of Macbeda or Macbeth, the
principle of hereditary succession to the throne,
from father to son, appears not to have been
recognised; the only principle, except force,
which seems to have been acted upon being
that of collateral succession, brother succeeding
to brother, and nephew to uncle. After the
time of Macbeth, however, the hereditary
principle appears to have come into full force,
to have been recognised as that by which alone
succession to the throne was to be regulated.

The consolidation of the Scottish and Pick
ish power under one supreme chief, enabled
these nations not only to repel foreign aggres-
sion, but afterwards to enlarge their territories
beyond the Forth, which had hitherto formed,
for many ages, the Pictish boundary on the
south.

Although the power of the tribes to the
north of the Forth was greatly augmented by
the union which had taken place, yet all the
genius and warlike energy of Kenneth were

Burton's Scotland, vol. i. p. 354.

necessary to protect him and his people from
insult. Eagnor Lodbrog (i. e., Eagnor of the
Shaggy Bones,) with his fierce Danes infested
the country round the Tay on the one side, and
the Strathclydo Britons on the other, wasted
the adjoining territories, and burnt Dunblane.
Yet Kenneth overcame these embarrassments,
and made frequent incursions into the Saxon
territories in Lothian, and caused his foes to
tremble. After a brilliant and successful reign,
Kenneth died at Fortoviot, the Pictish capital,
7 miles S.W. of Perth, on the 6th of February,
859, after a reign of twenty-three years. Ken-
neth, it is said, removed the famous stone
which now sustains the coronation chair at
Westminster Abbey, from the ancient seat of
the Scottish monarchy in Argyle, to Scone.
Kenneth (but according to some Constantine,
the Pictish king, in 820), built a church at
Dunkeld, to which, in 850, he removed the
relics of St. Columba from lona, which at this
time was frequently subjected to the ravages
of the Norsemen. He is celebrated also as a
legislator, but no authentic traces of his laws
now appear, the Macalpine laws attributed
to the son of Alpin being clearly apocryphal.

The sceptre was assumed by Donald III.,
son of Alpin. He died in the year 863, after
a short reign of four years. It is said he re-
stored the laws of Aodh-fin, the son of Eocha
III. They were probably similar to the an-
cient Brehon laws of Ireland.

Constantine, the son of Kenneth, succeeded
his uncle Donald, and soon found himself in-
volved in a dreadful conflict with the Danish
pirates. Having, after a contest which lasted
half a century, established themselves in Ire-
land, and obtained secure possession of Dublin,
the Vikingr directed their views towards the
western coasts of Scotland, which they laid
waste. These ravages were afterwards ex-
tended to the whole of the eastern coast, and
particularly to the shores of the Frith of Forth ;
but although the invaders were often repulsed,
they never ceased to renew their attacks. In
the year 881, Constantine, in repelling an at-
tack of the pirates, was slain at a place called
Merdo-fatha, or Werdo, probably the present
Perth, according to Maclauchlan.

Aodh or Hugh, the fair-haired, succeeded
his brother Constantine. His reign was un-

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

fortunate, short, and troublesome. Grig, who
was Maormor, or chief, of the country betweer
the Dee and the Spey, having become a com-
petitor for the crown, Aodh endeavoured to
put him down, but did not succeed; and havin;
been wounded in a battle fought at Strath-
allan, (or possibly Strathdon,) he was carriec
to Inverurie, where he died, after lingering two
months, having held the sceptre only one year.

Grig now assumed the crown, and, either to
secure his possession, or from some other
motive, he associated with him in the govern-
ment Eocha, son of Ku, the British king ol
Strathclyde, and the grandson, by a daughter,
of Kenneth Macalpin. After a reign of eleven
years, both Eocha and Grig were forced to ab-
dicate, and gave way to

Donald IV., who succeeded them in 893.
During his reign the kingdom was infested by
the piratical incursions of the Danes. Al-
though they were defeated by Donald in a
bloody action at Collin, said to be on the Tay,
near Scone, they returned under Ivar O'lvar,
from Ireland, in the year 904, but were gallantly
repulsed, and their leader killed in a threat-
ened attack on Forteviot, by Donald, who un-
fortunately also perished, after a reign of eleven
years. In his reign the kings of present Scot-
land are no longer called reges Pictorum by the
Irish Annalists, but Ri Alban, or kings of
Alban ; and in the Pictish Chronicle Pictavia
gives place to Albania.

Constantine III., the son of Aodh, a prince
of a warlike and enterprising character, next
followed. He had to sustain, during an un-
usually long reign, the repeated attacks of the
Danes. In one invasion they plundered Dun-
keld, and in 908, they attempted to obtain the
grand object of their designs, the possession of
Forteviot in Strathearn, the Pictish capital ;
but in this design they were again defeated,
and forced to abandon the country. The Danes
remained quiet for a few years, but in 918 their
fleet entered the Clyde, from Ireland, under
the command of Reginald, where they were
attacked by the Scots in conjunction with the
Northern Saxons, whom the ties of common
safety had now united for mutual defence.
Reginald is said to have drawn up his Danes
in four divisions ; the first headed by Godfrey
O'lvar ; the second by Earis ; the third by

Chieftains ; and the fourth by Reginald himself,
as a reserve. The Scots, with Constantino at
their head, made a furious attack on the first
three divisions, which they forced to retire.
Reginald's reserve not being available to turn
the scale of victory against the Scots, the Danes
retreated during the night, and embarked on
board their fleet.

After this defeat of the Danes, Constantine
enjoyed many years' ropose. A long grudgo
had existed between him and ^Ethelstane, son
of Edward, the elder, which at last came to an
open rupture. Having formed an alliance with
several princes, and particularly with Anlaf,
king of Dublin as well as of Northumberland,
and son-in-law of Constantine, the latter col-
lected a large fleet in the year 937, with which
he entered the Humber. The hope of plunder
had attracted many of the Vikingr to Constan-
tino's standard, and the sceptre of ^Ethelstanc
seemed now to tremble in his hand. But that
monarch was fully prepared for the dangers
with which he was threatened, and resolved to
meet his enemies in battle. After a long,
bloody, and obstinate contest at Brunanburg,
near the southern shore of the Humber, victory
declared for ^Ethelstane. Prodigies of valour
were displayed on both sides, especially by
Turketel, the Chancellor of England ; by Anlaf,
and by the son of Constantine, who lost his
life. The confederates, after sustaining a heavy
loss, sought for safety in their ships. This,
and after misfortunes, possibly disgusted Con-
stantine with the vanities of this world, for,
in the fortieth year of his reign, he put into
practice a resolution which he had formed of
resigning his crown and embracing a monastic
Life. He became Abbot of the Monastery of
St. Andrews in 943, and thus ended a long
and chequered, but vigorous, and, on the whole,
successful reign in a cloister, like Charles V.
Towards the end of this reign the term Scot-
land was applied to this kingdom by the
Saxons, a term which before had been given
ay them to Ireland. Constantino died in 952.

Malcolm I., the son of Donald IV., obtained
;he abdicated throne. He was a prince of
great abilities and prudence, and Edmund of
England courted his alliance by ceding Cum-

ia, then consisting of Cumberland and part
of Westmoreland, to him, in the year 945, on

CONTESTS WITH DANES.

condition that he would defend that northern
county, and become the ally of Edmund. Ed-
red, the brother and successor of Edmund, ac-
cordingly applied for, and obtained the aid of
Malcolm against Anlaf, king of Northumber-
land, whose country, according to the barbarous
practice of the times, ho wasted, and carried
off the people with their cattle. Malcolm,
after putting down an insurrection of the
Moray-men under Cellach, their Maormor, or
chief, whom he slew, was sometime thereafter
?lain, as is supposed, at Ulurn or Auldearn in
Moray, by one of these men, in revenge for
the death of his chief.

Indulph, the son of Constantino III., suc-
ceeded the murdered monarch in the year 953.
He sustained many severe conflicts with the
Danes, and ultimately lost his life in 961, after
a reign of eight years, in a successful action
with these pirates, on the moor which lies to
the westward of Cullen.

Duff, the son of Malcolm I., now mounted
the throne ; but Culen, the son of Indulpli, laid
claim to the sceptre which his father had
wielded. The parties met at Drum Crup (pro-
oably Crieff), and, after a doubtful struggle,
in which Doncha, the Abbot of Dunkeld, and
Dubdou, the Maormor of Athole, the partisans
of Culen, lost their lives, victory declared for
Duff. But this triumph was of short duration,
for Duff was afterwards obliged to retreat from
Forteviot into the north, and was assassinated
at Torres in the year 965, after a brief and un-
happy reign of four years and a half.

Culen, the son of Indulph, succeeded, as a
matter of course, to the crown of Duff, which
he stained by his vices. He and his brother
Eocha were slain in Lothian, in an action with
the Britons of Strathclyde in 970, after an in-
glorious reign of four years and a half. Dur-
ing his reign Edinburgh was captured from
the English, this being the first known step
in the progress of the gradual extension of the
Scottish kingdom between the Forth and the
. Tweed. 7

Kenneth III., son of Malcolm I., and brother
of Duff, succeeded Culen the same year. He
waged a successful war against the Britons of
Strathclyde, and annexed their territories to

J Robertson's Early Kings, vol. i. p. 76.

his kingdom. During his reign the Danes
meditated an attack upon Forteviot, or Dun-
keld, for the purposes of plunder, and, with
this view, they sailed up the Tay with a nu-
merous fleet. Kenneth does not appear to
have been fully prepared, being probably not
aware of the intentions of the enemy ; but col-
lecting as many of his chiefs and their followers
as the spur of the occasion would allow, he
met the Danes at Luncarty, in the vicinity of
Perth. Malcolm, the Tanist, prince of Cum-
berland, it is said, commanded the right wing
of the Scottish army; Duncan, the Maormor
of Athole, had the charge of the left: and
Kenneth, the king, commanded the centre.
The Danes with their battle-axes made dread-
ful havoc, and compelled the Scottish army
to give way; but the latter was rallied by
the famous Hay, the traditional ancestor of
the Kinnoul family, and finally repulsed the
Danes, who, as usual, fled to their ships. Bur-
ton thinks the battle of Luncarty " a recent
invention."

The defeat of the Danes enabled Kenneth
to turn his attention to the domestic concerns
of his kingdom. He appears to have directed
his thoughts to bring about a complete change
in the mode of succession to the crown, in or-
der to perpetuate in and confine the crown to
his own descendants. This alteration could
not bo well accomplished as long as Malcolm,
the son of Duff, the Tanist of the kingdom,
and prince of Cumberland, stood in the way;
and, accordingly, it has been said that Kenneth
was the cause of the untimely death of prince
Malcolm, who is stated to have been poisoned.
It is said that Kenneth got an act passed,
that in future the son, or nearest male heir, of
the king, should always succeed to the throne;
and that in case that son or heir were not of
age at the time of the king's demise, that a
person of rank should be chosen Eegent of the
kingdom, until the minor attained his four-
teenth year, when he should assume the reins
of government; but whether such a law was
really passed on the moot-hill of Scone or not,
of which we have no evidence, certain it is
that two other princes succeeded to the crown
before Malcolm the son of Kenneth, Ken-
neth, after a reign of twenty-four years, was, it
is said, in 994 assassinated at Fettercairn by

GENEKAL H1STOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS,

Finella, 3 the wife of the Maormor of the
Mearns, and the daughter of Cunechat, the
Maormor of Angus, in revenge for having put
her only son to death. It has been thought
that till this time the Maormorship of Angus
was iii some measure independent of the Scot-
tish crown, never having thoroughly yielded
to its supremacy, that the death of the young
chief took place in course of an effort on the
part of Kenneth for its reduction, and that
Kenneth himself was on a visit to the quarter
at the time of his death, for exacting the usual
royal privileges of cain and cuairt, or a certain
tax and certain provision for the king and his
followers when on a journey, due by the chiefs
or landholders of the kingdom. 9

Constantino IV., son of Culen, succeeded;
but his right was disputed by Kenneth, the
Grim, i. e. strong, son of Duff. The dis-
pute was decided at Kathveramoii, i. e. the
castle at the mouth of the Almond, near
Perth, where Constantino lost his life in the
year 995.

Kenneth IV., the son of Duff, now obtained
the sceptre which ho had coveted ; but he was
disturbed in the possession thereof by Malcolm,
the son of Kenneth III., heir presumptive to
the crown. Malcolm took the field in 1003,
and decided his claim to the crown in a bloody
battle at Monivaird, in Strathearn, in which
Kenneth, after a noble resistance, received a
mortal wound.

Malcolm II. now ascended the vacant throne,
but was not destined to enjoy repose. At the
very beginning of his reign he was defeated at
Durham by the army of the Earl of Northum-
berland, under his son Uchtred, who ordered
a selection of good-looking Scotch heads to be
stuck on the walls of Durham.

The Danes, who had now obtained a firm
footing in England, directed their attention in
an especial manner to Scotland, which they were
in hopes of subduing. Sigurd, the Earl of
Orkney, carried on a harassing and predatory
warfare on the shores of the Moray Frith,
which he continued even after a matrimonial
alliance he formed with Malcolm, by marrying

8 According to Skene, Finella is a conniption of
Pinuele or Finale Cunchar, Earl of Angus. Skeue's
Annals of the Picls and Scots, p. cxliv.

9 Maclauchlan's Early Scottish Church, p. 306.
Robertson's Scot, under her Early Kings, vol. i. p. 88.

his daughter ; but this was no singular trait in
the character of a Vikingr, who plundered
friends and foes with equal pleasure. The
scene of Sigurd's operations was chosen by
his brother northmen for making a descent,
which they effected near Speymouth. They
carried fire and sword through Moray, and
laid siege to the fortress of Nairn, one of
the strongest in the north. The Danes were
forced to raise the siege for a time, by Mal-
colm, who encamped his army in a plain near
KiMos or Kinloss. In this position he was
attacked by the invaders, and, after a severe
action, was forced to retreat, after being seri-
ously wounded.

Malcolm, in 1010, marched north with his
army, and encamped at Mortlach. The Danes
advanced to meet the Scots, and a dreadful
and fierce conflict ensued, the result of which
was long dubious. At length the northmen
gave way and victory declared for Malcolm.
Had the Danes succeeded they would in all
probability have obtained as permanent a foot-
ing in North Britain as they did in England ;
but the Scottish kings were determined, at all
hazards, never to suffer them to pollute the soil
of Scotland by allowing them even the smallest
settlement in their dominions. In gratitude
to God for his victory, Malcolm endowed a
religious house at Mortlach, with its church
erected near the scene of action. Maclauchlan,
however, maintains that this church was
planted by Malcolm Ceanmore.

Many other conflicts are narrated with mi-
nute detail by the later chroniclers as having
taken place between Malcolm and the Danes,
but it is very doubtful how far these are wor-
thy of credit. That Malcolm had enough to
do to prevent the Danes from overrunning
Scotland and subduing the inhabitants can
readily be believed ; but as we have few au-
thentic particulars concerning the conflicts
which took place, it would serve no purpose
give the imaginary details invented by com-
paratively recent historians.

Some time after this Malcolm was engaged
in a war with the Northumbrians, and, having
led his army, in 1018, to Carham, near Werk,
on the southern bank of the Tweed, where he
was met by Uchtred, the Earl of Northumber-
and, a desperate battle took place, which was

MALCOLM DUNCAN.

contested with great valour on both sides. 1
The success was doubtful on either side, though
Uchtred claimed a victory ; but he did not
long enjoy the fruits of it, as he was soon
thereafter assassinated when on his road to
pay obeisance to the great Canute. Endulf,
the brother and successor of Uchtred, justly
dreading the power of the Scots, was induced
to cede Lothian to Malcolm for ever, who, on
this occasion, gave oblations to the churches
iiuil gifts to the clergy, and they in return
transmitted his name to posterity. He was
designed, par excellence, by the Latin chroni-
clers, rex victoriosissimus , by Si Berchan, the
Forranach or destroyer.

The last struggle with which Malcolm was
threatened, was with the celebrated Canute,
who, for some cause or other not properly ex-
plained, entered Scotland in the year 1031 ;
but those powerful parties appear not to have
come to action. Canute's expedition appears,
from what followed, to have been fitted out to
compel Malcolm to do homage for Cumber-
land, for it is certain that Malcolm engaged to
fulfil the conditions on which his predecessors
had held that country, and that Canute there-
after returned to England.

But the reign of Malcolm was not only dis-
tinguished by foreign wars, but by civil con-
tests between rival chiefs. Finlegh, the Maor-
mor of Ross, and the father of Macbeth, was
assassinated in 1020, and about twelve years
thereafter, Maolbride, the Maormor of Moray,
grandfather of Lulach, was, in revenge for
Finlegh's murder, burnt within his castle, with
fifty of his men.

At length, after a splendid reign of thirty
years, Malcolm slept with his fathers, and his
body was transferred to lona, and interred
ttrith due solemnity among the remains of his
predecessors. By some authorities he is said
to have been assassinated at Glammis.

Malcolm was undoubtedly a prince of great
acquirements. He made many changes and
some improvements in the internal policy of his
kingdom, and in him religion always found a
guardian and protector. But although Mal-

1 The last we hear of any king or ruler of Strath-
clyde was one that fought on Malcolm's side in this
battle ; and presently afterwards the attenuated state
is found, without any conflict, absorbed in the Scots
king's dominions. Burton, TO!, i. p 367.

colm is justly entitled to this praise, he by no
means came up to the standard of perfection
assigned him by fiction. In his reign Scot-
land appears to have reached its present bound-
ary on the south, the Tweed, and Strathclyde
was incorporated with the rest of the kingdom.
Malcolm was the first who was called Rex
Scotice, and might justly claim to be so desig-
nated, seeing that he was the first to hold
sway over nearly the whole of present Scot-
land, the only portions where his authority
appears to have been seriously disputed being
those in which the Danes had established
themselves.

Duncan, son of Bethoc or Beatrice, daughter
of Malcolm II., succeeded his grandfather in
the year 1033. " In the extreme north, do-
minions more extensive than any Jarl of the
Orkneys had hitherto acquired, were united
under the rule of Thorfinn, Sigurd's son, whose
character and appearance have been thus de-
scribed: ' He was stout and strong, but very
ugly, severe and cruel, but a very clever man.'
The extensive districts then dependant upon
the Moray Maormors were in the possession of
the celebrated Macbeth." 2 Duncan, in 1033,
desiring to extend his dominions southwards,
attacked Durham, but was forced to retire
with considerable loss. His principal strug-
gles, however, were with his powerful kins-
man, Thorfinn, whose success was so great that
he extended his conquests as far as the Tay.
" His men spread over the whole conquered
country," says the OrJcneyinga Saga, 3 " and
burnt every hamlet and farm, so that not a cot
remained. Every man that they found they
slew ; but the old men and women fled to the
deserts and woods, and filled the country with
lamentation. Some were driven before the
Norwegians and made slaves. After this Earl
Thorfinn returned to his ships, subjugating the
country everywhere in his progress," Duncan's
last battle, in which he was defeated, was in
the neighbourhood of Burghead, near the
Moray Frith ; and shortly after this, on the
14th August, 1040, he was assassinated in
Bothgowanan, which, in Gaelic, is said to
mean " the smith's hut," by his kinsman the

3 Robertson's Early Kings, vol. i. p. 113.

1 As quoted by Skene, Highlanders, vol. i. p. 112.

GENERAL HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

Maormor Macbeda or Macbeth. Duncan bad
reigned only live years when he was assassi-
nated by Macbeth, leaving two infant sons,
Malcolm and Donal, by a sister of Siward, the
Earl of Northumberland. The former fled to
Cumberland, and the latter took refuge in the
Hebrides, on the death of their father.

Macbeth, " snorting with the indigested
fumes of the blood of his sovereign," imme-
diately seized the gory sceptre. As several
fictions have been propagated concerning the
history and genealogy of Macbeth, we may
mention that, according to the most authentic
authorities, he was by birth Thane of Eoss, and
by his marriage with the Lady Gruoch, who
had a claim to the throne, as granddaughter of
Kenneth, became also Thane of Moray, dur-
ing the minority of Lulach, the infant son of
that lady, by her former marriage with Gilcom-
gain, the Maormor or Thane of Moray. Lady
Gruoch was the daughter of Boedhe, son of
Kenneth IV. ; and thus Macbeth united in his
own person many powerful interests which en-
abled him to take quiet possession of the
throne of the murdered sovereign. He, of
course, found no difficulty in getting himself
inaugurated at Scone, under the protection of
the clans of Moray and Eoss, and the aid of
those who favoured the pretensions of the de-
scendants of Kenneth IV.

Various attempts were made on the part of
the partisans of Malcolm, son of Duncan, to
dispossess Macbeth of the throne. The most
formidable was that of Siward, the powerful
Earl of Northumberland, and the relation of
Malcolm, who, at the instigation or command
of Edward the Confessor, led a numerous army
into Scotland in the year 1054. They marched
as far north as Dunsinnan, where they were met
by Macbeth, who commanded his troops in
person. A furious battle ensued, but Macbeth
fled from the field after many displays of cour-
age. The Scots lost 3,000 men, and the Sax-
ons 1,500, including Osbert, the son of Si ward.
Macbeth retired to his fastnesses in the north,
and Siward returned to Northumberland ; but
Malcolm continued the war till the death of
Macbeth, who was slain by Macduff, Thane of
Fife, in revenge for the cruelties he had in-
flicted on his family, at Lumphanan, in Abor-
deenshirc, in the year 1056, although, accord-

ing to Skene (Chronicles), it was in August,
1057.

Macbeth was unquestionably a man of
great vigour, and well fitted to govern in the
age in which he lived ; and had it not been
for the indelible character bestowed upon him
by Shakespere (who probably followed the
chronicle of Holinshed), his character might
have stood well with posterity. " The deeds
which raised Macbeth and his wife to power
were not in appearance much worse than others
of their clay done for similar ends. However
he may have gained his power, he exercised it
with good repute, according to the reports
nearest to his time." 4 Macbeth, " in a manner
sacred to splendid infamy," is the first king of
Scotland whose name appears in the ecclesias-
tical records as a benefactor of the church, and,
it would appear, the first who offered his ser-
vices to the Bishop of Rome. According to
the records of St. Andrews, he made a gift of
certain lands to the monastery of Lochleven,
and certainly sent money to the poor of Eomc,
if, indeed, he did not himself make a pilgrim-
age to the holy city.

After the reign of Macbeth, the former irre-
gular and confusing mode of succession ceased,
and the hereditary principle was adopted and
acted upon.

Lulach, the great-grandson of Kenneth IV.,
being supported by the powerful influence of
his own family, and that of the deceased
monarch, ascended the throne at the age of
twenty-five or twenty-six ; but his reign lasted
only a few months, he having fallen in battle
at Essie, in Strathbogie, in defending his crown
against Malcolm. The body of Lulach was in-
terred along with that of Macbeth, in loua, the
common sepulchre, for many centuries, of the
Scottish kings.

Malcolm III., better known in history by
the name of Malcolm Ceanmore, or great head,
vindicated his claim to the vacant throne, and
was crowned at Scone, 25th April, 1057. His
first care was to recompense those who had
assisted him in obtaining the sovereignty,
and it is said that he created new titles of
honour, by substituting earls for thanes ; but
this has been disputed, and there are really no

4 Burton's Scotland, vol. i. p. 372.

MALCOLM POPULATION.

data from which a certain conclusion can bo
drawn.

In the year 1059 Malcolm paid a visit to
Edward the Confessor, during whose reign he
lived on amicable terms with the English ; but
after the death of that monarch he made a
hostile incursion into Northumberland, and
wasted the country. He even violated the
peace of St. Cuthbert in Holy Island.

William, Duke of Normandy, having over-
come Harold in the battle of Hastings, on the
14th October, 1066, Edgar ^Etheling saw no
hopes of obtaining the crown, and left Eng-
land along with his mother and sisters, and
sought refuge in Scotland. Malcolm, on hear-
ing of the distress of the illustrious strangers,
left his royal palace at Dunfermline to meet
them, and invited them to Dunfermline, where
they were hospitably entertained. Margaret,
one of Edgar's sisters, was a princess of great
virtues and accomplishments ; and she at once
won the heart of Malcolm.

The offer of his hand was accepted, and their
nuptials were celebrated with great solemnity
and splendour. This queen was a blessing to
the king and to the nation, and appears to
have well merited the appellation of Saint.
There are few females in history who can be
compared with Queen Margaret.

It is quite unnecessary, and apart from the
object of the present work, to enter into any
details of the wars between Malcolm and Wil-
liam the Conqueror, and William Eufus. Suf-
fice it to say that both Malcolm and his eldest
son Edward were slain in a battle on the Alne,
on the 13th November, 1093, after a reign of
thirty-six years. Queen Margaret, who was on
her death-bed when this catastrophe occurred,
died shortly after she received the intelligence
with great composure and resignation to the
will of God. Malcolm had six sons, viz., Ed-
ward, who was killed along with his father,
Edmund, Edgar, Ethelred, Alexander, and Da-
vid, and two daughters, Maud, who was mar-
ried to Henry I. of England, and Mary, who
married Eustache, Count of Boulogne. Of the
sons, Edgar, Alexander, and David, successively
came to the crown.

Thorfinn, Earl of Orkney, died in 1064, and
his extensive possessions in Scotland did not
revert to his descendants, but to the native

chiefs, who had had the original right to pos-
sess them. These chiefs appear to have been
independent of the Scottish sovereign, and to
have caused him no small amount of troublc-
A considerable part of Malcolm's reign was
spent in endeavouring to bring them into sub-
jection, and before his death he had the satis-
faction of seeing the whole of Scotland, with
perhaps the exception of Orkney, acknowledg-
ing him as sole monarch. The Norwegian
conquest appears to have effected a most im-
portant change in the character of the popu-
lation and language of the eastern lowlands of
the north of Scotland. The original po-
pulation must in some way have given way
to a Norwegian one, and, whatever may
have been the original language, we find
after this one of a decidedly Teutonic char-
acter prevailing in this district, probably in-
troduced along with the Norse population.
" In the more mountainous and Highland dis-
tricts, however, we are warranted in conclud-
ing that the effect must have been very differ-
ent, and that the possession of the country by
the Norwegians for thirty years could have ex-
ercised as little permanent influence on the
population itself, as we are assured by the Saga
it did upon the race of their chiefs.

" Previously to this conquest the northern
Gaelic race possessed the whole of the north of
Scotland, from the western to the eastern sea,
and the general change produced by the con-
quest must have been, that the Gael were for
the first time confined within those limits which
they have never since exceeded, and that the
eastern districts became inhabited by that
Gothic race, who have also ever since possessed
them." 5

On the demise of Malcolm, Donal-bane his
brother assumed the government ; but Duncan,
the son of Malcolm, who had lived many years
in England, and held a high military rank un-
der William Kufus, invaded Scotland with a
large army of English and Normans, and forced
Donal to retire for safety to the Hebrides.
Duncan, whom some writers suppose to have
been a bastard, and others a legitimate son of
Malcolm by a former wife, enjoyed the crown
only six months, having been assassinated by

* Skcne's Highlanders, vol. u p. 123.

GENEEAL HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

Maolpoder, tlio Maormor of the Mearns, at
Menteith, at the instigation, it is believed,
of Donal. Duncan left, by his -wife Etlireda,
daughter of Gospatriclc, a son, William, some-
times surnamed Fitz-Duncan.

Donal-bane again seized the sceptre, but
he survived Duncan only two years. Edgar
^Etheling having assembled an army in Eng-
land, entered Scotland, and made Donal pri-
soner in an action which took place in Septem-
ber 1097. He was imprisoned by orders of
Edgar, and died at Eoscobie in Forfarshire,
after having been deprived of his eyesight, ac-
cording to the usual practice of the age. The
series of the pure Scoto-Irish kings may be said
to have ended with Donal-bane.

The reign of Edgar, who appears to have
been of a gentle and peaceful disposition, is
almost devoid of incident, the principal events
being the marriage of his sister Matilda to the
English Henry, and the wasting and conquest
of the Western Islands by Magnus Olaveson
and his Norwegians. This last event had but
little effect on Scotland proper, as these Islands
at that time can hardly be said to have belonged
to it. These Norsemen appear to have settled

Seal of Edgar.

among and mixed with the native inhabitants,
and thus to have formed a population, spoken
of by the Irish Annalists under the name of

Gallgael, " a horde of pirates, plundering on
their own account, and under their own leaders,
when they were not following the banner of
any of the greater sea-kings, whose fleets were
powerful enough to sweep the western seas, and
exact tribute from the lesser island chief tains."
Edgar died in 1107, and was succeeded by his
brother Alexander, whom he enjoined to be-
stow upon his younger brother David the dis-
trict of Cumbria.

We have now arrived at an era in our his-
tory, when the line of demarcation between the
inhabitants of the Lowlands and Highlands of
Scotland begins to appear, and when, by the
influx of a Gothic race into the former, the
language of that part of North Britain is com-
pletely revolutionized, when a new dynasty or
race of sovereigns ascends the throne, and when
a great change takes places in the laws and
constitution of the Hngdom.

Although the Anglo-Saxon colonization of
the Lowlands of Scotland does not come exactly
within the design of the present work; yet, as
forming an important feature in the history of
the Lowlands of Scotland, as contradistin-
guished from the Highlands, a slight notice of
it may not be uninteresting.

Shortly after the Eoman abdication of North
Britain in the year 446, which was soon suc-
ceeded by the final departure of the Romans
from the British shores, the Saxons, a people
of Gothic origin, established themselves upon
the Tweed, and afterwards extended their set-
tlements to the Frith of Forth, and to the
banks of the Solway and the Clyde. About
the beginning of the sixth century the Dalriads,
as we have seen, landed in Kintyre and Ar-
gyle from the opposite coast of Ireland,
and colonized these districts, whence, in the
course of little more than two centuries, they
overspread the Highlands and western islands,
which their descendants have ever since con-
tinued to possess. Towards the end of the
eighth century, a fresh colony of Scots from
Ireland settled in Galloway among the Britons
and Saxons, and having overspread the whole
of that country, were afterwards joined by de-
tachments of the Scots of Kintyre and Argyle,
in connection with whom they peopled that

6 Early Kings, vol. i. p. 1 80.

CHANGES IN POPULATION AND LANGUAGE.

peninsula. Besides these three races, who
made permanent settlements in Scotland, the
Scandinavians colonized the Orkney and Shet-
land islands, and also established themselves
on the coasts of Caitliness and Sutherland, and
in the eastern part of the country north of the
Firth of Tay.

But notwithstanding these early settlements
of the Gothic race, the era of the Saxon colon-
ization of the Lowlands of Scotland is, with
more propriety, placed in the reign of Malcolm
Ceanmore, who, by liis marriage with a Saxon
princess, and the protection he gave to the
Anglo-Saxon fugitives who sought an asy-
lum in his dominions from the persecutions of
William the Conqueror and his Normans, laid
the foundations of those great changes which
took place in the reigns of his successors.
Malcolm, in Ms warlike incursions into North-
umberland and Durham, carried off immense
numbers of young men and women, who were
to be seen in the reign of David I. in almost
every village and house in Scotland. The
Gaelic population were quite averse to the set-
tlement of these strangers among them, and it
is said that the extravagant mode of living in-
troduced by the Saxon followers of Queen
Margaret, was one of the reasons which led to
their expulsion from Scotland, in the reign of
Donal-bane, who rendered himself popular with
Ids people by this unfriendly act.

This expulsion was, however, soon rendered
nugatory, for on the accession of Edgar, the
first sovereign of the Scoto-Saxon dynasty,
many distinguished Saxon families with their
followers settled in Scotland, to the heads of
which families the king made grants of land of
considerable extent. Few of these foreigners
appear to have come into Scotland during the
reign of Alexander I., the brother and suc-
cessor of Edgar ; but vast numbers of Anglo-
Saxons, Anglo-Normans, and Flemings, estab-
lished themselves in Scotland in the reign of
David I. That prince had received his educa-
tion at the court of Henry I., and had married
Maud or Matilda, the only child of Waltheof,
Earl of Northumberland and Huntingdon, by
Judith, niece to William the Conqueror on the
mother's side. This lady had many vassals,
and when David came to the throne, in the
year 1124, he was followed by a thousand

Anglo-Normans, to whom ho distributed lands,
on which they and their followers settled.
Many of the illustrious families in Scotland
originated from this source.

Malcolm Ceanmore had, before his accession
to the throne, resided for some time in Eng-
land as a fugitive, under the protection of Ed-
ward the Confessor, where he acquired a know-
ledge of the Saxon language ; which language,
after his marriage with the princess Margaret,
became that of the Scottish court. This cir-
cumstance made that language fashionable
among the Scottish nobility, in consequence of
which and of the Anglo-Saxon colonization un-
der David I., the Gaelic language was altogether
superseded in the Lowlands of Scotland in
little more than two centuries after the death
of Malcolm. A topographical line of demar-
cation was then fixed as the boundary between
the two languages, which has ever since been
kept up, and presents one of the most singular
phenomena ever observed in the history of
philology.

The change of the seat of government by
Kenneth, on ascending the Pictish throne, to
Abernethy, also followed by the removal of
the marble chair, the emblem of sovereignty,
from Dunstaffnage to Scone, appears to have
occasioned no detriment to the Gaelic popula-
tion of the Highlands ; but when Malcolm
Ceanmore transferred his court, about the year
1066, to Dunfermline, which also became, in
place of lona, the sepulchre of the Scottish
kings, the rays of royal bounty, which had
hitherto diffused their protecting and benign in-
fluence over the inhabitants of the Highlands,
were withdrawn, and left them a prey to an-
archy and poverty. " The people," says Gen-
eral David Stewart, " now beyond the reach of
the laws, became turbulent and fierce, revenging
in person those wrongs for which the adminis-
trators of the laws were too distant and too
feeble to afford redress. Thence arose the
institution of chiefs, who naturally became the
judges and arbiters in the quarrels of their
clansmen and followers, and who were sur.
rounded by men devoted to the defence of
their lights, their property, and their power;
and accordingly the chiefs established within
their own territories a jurisdiction almost
wholly independent of their liege lord."

GENERAL HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

The connection which Malcolm and his suc-
cessors maintained with England, estranged
still farther the Highlanders from the dominion
of the sovereign and the laws ; and their his-
tory, after the population of the Lowlands had
merged into and adopted the language of the
Anglo-Saxons, presents, with the exception of
the wars between rival clans which will be no-
ticed afterwards, nothing remarkable till their
first appearance on the military theatre of our
national history in the campaigns of Montrose,
Dundee, and others.

On the accession of Alexander I., then,
Scotland was divided between the Celt and
the Saxon, or more strictly speaking, Teuton,
pretty much as it is at the present day, the
Gaelic population having become gradually
confined very nearly to the limits indicated in
the first chapter. They never appear, at least
until quite recently, to have taken kindly to
Teutonic customs and the Teutonic tongue, and
resented much the defection of their king in

court, in submitting to Saxon innovations.
Previous to this the history of the Highlands
has been, to a very great extent, the history of
Scotland, and even for a considerable time after
this, Scotia was applied strictly to the country
north of the Forth and Clyde, the district south
of that being known by various other names.
During and after Edgar's time, the whole of
the country north of the Tweed became more
and more a counterpart of England, with its
thanes, its earls, and its sheriffs ; and even the
Highland maormors assumed the title of earl,
in deference to the new customs. The High-
landers, however, it is well known, for cen-
turies warred against these Saxon innovations,
becoming more and more a peculiar people,
being, up till the end of the last century, a
perpetual thorn in the flesh of their Saxon
rulers and their Saxon fellow-subjects. They
have a history of their own, which we deem
worthy of narration. 1

CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF THE SCOTTISH KINGS, FROM 848
TO 1097, ADJUSTED FROM THE BEST AUTHORITIES.

NAMES Or THE KINOS.

Date of
Accession.

Duration of
Reign.

Death.

KENNETH MACALPINK over the Scots and Picts,

A.D.
843

Years.
16

A.D.

859

DONAL MAOALPIN,

859

863

CONSTANTINE II., son of Kenneth,

363

881

AODH, or HUGH, the son of Kenneth,

881

882

BOCHA, or AOHT, or GEIO, jointly,

882

893

DONAL IV., the son of Constantino,

893

904

CONSTANTINB III., the son of Aodh,

904

944*

MALCOLM I., son of Donal IV.,

944

953

INDDLF, the son of Constantino III.,

953

961

DOP, the son of Malcolm I.,

961

4 J

965

COLEN, the son of Indulf,

965

970

KENNETH III., son of Malcolm I.,

970

994

CONSTANTINE I V., son of Culen,

994

995

KENNETH IV., son of Duf,

995

1003

MALCOLM II., son of Kenneth III.,

1003

1033

DONCAN, grandson of Malcolm II.,

1033

1039

MACBETH, son of Finlegh, .

1039

1056

LULACH, son of Gruoch and Gilcomgain,

1056

1057

MALCOLM III., Ceanmore, son of Duncan,

1057

36i

1093

DONALD BANE, son of Duncan,

1093

1094

DDNOAH II., son of Malcolm III.,

1094

DONALD BANE again,

1094

1097

KIKIAK, son of Malcolm III.,

1097

1106

1 Since the above was written, the Book of Deer has been published ; what further information is to be
gained from it will \ found at the end of this volume. * Abdicated ; died 952.

INSURRECTIONS IN THE HIGHLANDS.

CHAPTER V.

A.D. 1107-1411.

KINGS OF SCOTLAND DORIHO THE PEBIOD :

Alexander I., 11071124.
David I., 11241153.
Malcolm IV., 11631165.
William the Lion, 1165-1214.
Alexander II., 1211 -12 III.
Alexander III., 12491286.
Regency, 12861290.
Interregnum, 12901292.
John Ballol. 12921306.

Robert Bruce, 13061320.
David II., 13291332.
Edward Baliol, 13321341.
David II. restored, 13411370.
Robert II. (Stewart), 1370

1390.

Robert III., 13901408.
James I., 14001436.

Alexander I. David I. Insurrections in Highlands
Somerled Moray men and Malcolm IV. William
The Lion Disturbances in the Highlands Ross-
shire Orkney Alexander II. Argyle Caithness
Alexander III. Disturbances in Ross Expedi-
tion of Haco Battle of Largs Robert Bruce Ex-
pedition into Lorn Subdues Western Isles Isles
revolt under David II. and again submit Contest
between the Monroes and Clan Chattan The Clan
Chattan and the Camerons Battle on North Inch
Wolf of Badenoch His son Alexander Stewart
Disturbances in Sutherland Lord of the Isles in-
vades Scotland Battle of Harlaw.

THE reign of Alexander I. was disturbed, about
the year 1116, by an attempt made by the
men of Moray and Merne to surprise the king
while enjoying himself at his favourite resi-
dence at Invergowrie, on the north bank of
the Tay, not far from its mouth. The king,
however, showed himself more than a match
for his enemies, as he not only defeated their
immediate purpose, but, pursuing them with his
army across the Moray Frith, chastised them
so effectually as to keep them quiet for the re-
mainder of his reign, which ended by his
death, in April, 1124. In 1130, six years
after the accession of King David I. to the
Scottish throne, while he was in England, the
Moraymen again rose against the semi-Saxon
king, but were defeated at Strickathrow, in
Forfarshire, by Edward the Constable, son of
Siward Beorn, Angus the Earl of Moray being
left among the dead, Malcolm his brother es-
caping to carry on the conflict. In 1134
David himself took the field against these
Highlanders, and, with the assistance of the
barons of Northumberland, headed by Walter
L'Espec, completely subdued the Moraymen,
confiscated the whole district, and bestowed it
upon knights in whose fidelity he could place
confidence, some of these being Normans.

This was manifestly, according to Dr. Mac-
lauchlan, the period of the dispersion of the

ancient Moravienses. Never till then was
the power of the Moray chiefs thoroughly
broken, and only then were the inhabitants
proscribed, and many of them expelled. The
Murrays, afterwards so powerful, found their
way to the south, carrying with them the name
of their ancient country, and some of the present
tribes of Sutherland, as well as of Inverness-
shire, who, there is reason to believe, belonged to
the Scoto-Pictish inhabitants of Moray, removed
their dwellings to those portions of the country
which they have occupied ever since. The
race of Mac Heth may appear among the Mac
Heths or Mac Aoidhs, the Mackays of Suther-
land, nor is this rendered less probable by the
Morganaich or sons of Morgan, the ancient
name of the Mackays, appearing in the Book
of Deer as owning possessions and power in
Buchan in the 10th or llth century. 2

The next enterprise of any note was under-
taken by Somerled, thane of Argyle and the
Isles, against the authority of Malcolm IV.,
who, after various conflicts, was repulsed,
though not subdued, by Gilchrist, Earl of An-
gus. A peace, concluded with this powerful
chieftain in 1153, was considered of such im-
portance as to form an epoch in the dating of
Scottish charters. A still more formidable in-
surrection broke out among the Moraymen,
under Gildominick, on account of an attempt,
on the part of the Government, to intrude the
Anglo-Norman jurisdiction, introduced into the
Lowlands, upon their Celtic customs, and the
settling of Anglo-Belgic colonists among them.
These insurgents laid waste the neighbouring
counties ; and so regardless were they of the
royal authority, that they actually hanged the
heralds who were sent to summon them to lay
down their arms. Malcolm despatched the
gallant Earl Gilchrist with an army to subdue
them, but he was defeated, and forced to re-
cross the Grampians.

This defeat aroused Malcolm, who was natu-
rally of an indolent disposition. About th
year 1160 he marched north with a powerful
army, and found the enemy on the moor of
Urquhart, near the Spey, ready to give him
battle. After passing the Spey, the noblemen
in the king's army reconnoitred the enemy;

* Maclauchlan's Early Scottish Church, pp. 346-7.

GENERAL HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

but they foTind them so well prepared for ac-
tion, and so flushed with their late success,
that they considered the issue of a battle
rather doubtful. On this account, the com-
manders advised the king to enter into a nego-
tiation with the rebels, and to promise, that in
the event of a submission their lives would be
spared. The offer was accepted, and the king
kept liis word. According to Fordun, 7 the king,
by the advice of his nobles, ordained that every
family in Moray which had been engaged in
the rebellion should, within a limited time, re-
move out of Moray to other parts of the king-
dom, where lands would be assigned to them,
and that their places should be supplied with
people from other parts of the kingdom. For
the performance of this order, they gave hos-
tages, it is said, 8 and at the time appointed
transplanted themselves, some into the north-
em, but the greater number into the southern
counties. Chalmers considers this removal of
the Morayrnen as " an egregious improba-
bility," because " the dispossessing of a whole
people is so difficult an operation, that the re-
cital of it cannot be believed without strong
evidence;" 9 it is very probable that only the
ringleaders and their families were trans-
ported. The older historians say that the
Moraymen were almost totally cut off in an
obstinate battle, and strangers brought into
their place. 1

About this time Somerled, the ambitious and
powerful lord of the Isles, made another and a

7 Book viii. ch. 6.

8 Shaw's Hist, of Moray, new ed., pp. 259-60.
8 Caledonia, vol. i. p. 627.

1 " Whilst the lowlands and the coast of Moray,
which had already been partitioned out among the
followers of David, would have presented compara-
tively few obstacles to such a project, it is hardly pos-
sible to conceive how it could ever have been success-
fully put into execution amidst the wild and inaccessible
mountains of the interior. It appears, therefore, most
reasonable to conclude, that Malcolm only earned out
the policy pursued by his grandfather ever since the
first forfeiture of tbe earldom; and that any changes
that may have been brought about in the population
of this part of Scotland and which scarcely extended
below the class of the lesser Duchasach, or small pro-
prietors are not to be attributed to one sweeping and
compulsatory measure, but to the grants of David and
his successors ; which must have had the effect of either
reducing tbe earlier proprietary to a dependant posi-
tion, or of driving into the remoter Highlands all who
were inclined to contest the authority of the sovereign,
or to dispute the validity of the royal ordinances which
reduced them to the condition of subordinates."
Robertson's Early Kings, vol. i. p. 361.

last attempt upon the king's authority, Hav-
ing collected a large force, chiefly in Ireland,
he landed, in 1164, near Eenfrew ; but he was
defeated by the brave inhabitants and the
king's troops in a decisive battle, in which ho
and his son Gillecolum were slain.

The reign of William the Lion, who suc-
ceeded his brother in 1165, was marked by
many disturbances in the Highlands. The
Gaelic population could not endure the new
settlers whom the Saxon colonization had intro-
duced among them, and every opportunity was
taken to vex and annoy them. An open insur-
rection broke out in Ross-shire, headed by Don-
ald Bane, known also as Mac William, which
obliged William, in the year 1181, to march
into the north, where he built the two castles
of Eddirton and Dunscath to keep the people in
check. He restored quiet for a few years ; but.
in 1187, Donald Bane again renewed his pre-
tensions to the crown, and raised the standard
of revolt in the north. He took possession of
Ross, and wasted Moray. William lost no
time in leading an army against him. While
the king lay at Inverness with his army, a
party of 3,000 faithful men, under the com-
mand of Roland, the brave lord of Galloway,
and future Constable of Scotland, fell in with
Donald Bane and his army upon the Mam-
garvy moor, on the borders of Moray. A con-
flict ensued in which Donald and five hundred
of his followers were killed. Roland carried
the head of Donald to William, " as a savage
sign of returning quiet." After this compara-
tive quietness prevailed in the north till the
year 1196, when Harold, the powerful Earl of
Orkney and Caithness, disturbed its peace.
William dispersed the insurgents at once ; but
they again appeared the following year near
Inverness, under the command of Torphiu, the
son of Harold. The rebels were again over-
powered. The king seized Harold, and obliged
him to deliver up his son, Torphin, as an hos-
tage. Harold was allowed to retain the north-
ern part of Caithness, but the king gave the
southern part of it, called Sutherland, to Hugh
Freskin, the progenitor of the Earls of Suther-
land. Harold died in 1206 ; but as he had
often rebelled, his son suffered a cruel and
lingering death in the castle of Roxburgh,
where he had been confined.

DISTURBANCES IN MOEAY AND CAITHNESS.

During the year 1211 a new insurrection
broke out in Ross, headed by Guthred or God-
frey, tho son of Donald Bane or Mac William,
as ho was called. Great depredations were
committed by the insurgents, who were chiefly
freebooters from Ireland, the Hebrides, and
Lochaber. For a long time they baffled the
king's troops ; and although the king built two
forts to keep them in check, and took many
prisoners, they maintained for a considerable
period a desultory and predatory warfare. Guth-
red even forced one of the garrisons to capitu-
late, and burnt the castle ; but being betrayed
by his followers into the hands of William
Comyn, Earl of Buchan, the Justiciary of Scot-
land, he was executed in the year 1212.

Shortly after the accession of Alexander II.
in 1214, the peace of the north was attempted
to be disturbed by Donald Mac William, who
made an inroad from Ireland into Moray ; but
he was repulsed by the tribes of that country,
' ed by M'Intagart, the Earl of Eoss. In 1 2 2 2,
notwithstanding the formidable obstacles which
presented themselves from the nature of the
country, Alexander carried an army into Ar-
gyle, for the purpose of enforcing the homage
of the western chiefs. His presence so alarmed
the men of Argyle, that they immediately made
their submission. Several of the chiefs fled
for safety, and to punish them, the king distri-
buted their lands among his officers and their
followers. After this invasion Argyle was
brought under the direct jurisdiction of the
Scottish king, although the descendants of the
race of Somerled, Lord of the Isles, still con-
tinued to be the chief magnates.

During the same year a tumult took place in
Caithness, on account of the severity with
which the tithes were exacted by Adam, the
bishop, who, with his adviser, Serlo, was mur-
dered by the bonders. The king, who was at
tho time at Jedburgh, hearing of this murder,
immediately hastened to the north with a mili-
tary force, and inflicted the punishment of death
upon the principal actors in this tragedy, who
amounted, it is said, to four hundred persons ;
and that their race might become extinct, their
children were emasculated, a practice very com-
mon in these barbarous times. The Earl of
Caithness, who was supposed to have been privy
to the murder, was deprived of half of his

estate, which was afterwards restored to him on
payment of a heavy fine. The Earl is said to
have been murdered by his own servants in tho
year 1231, and in order to prevent discovery,
they laid his body into Ms bed and set fire to
the house.

In 1228 the country of Moray became the
theatre of a new insurrection, headed by a Ross-
shire freebooter, named Gillespoc M'Scolane.
He committed great devastations by burning
some wooden castles in Moray, and spoiling
the crown lands. He even attacked and set
fire to Inverness. A large army of horse and
foot, under the command of John Comyn, Earl
of Buchan, Justiciary of Scotland, was, in 1229,
sent against this daring rebel, who was cap-
tured, with his two sons, and their heads sent
to the king.

The lords of Argyle usually paid homage to
the king of Norway for some of the Hebrides
which belonged to that monarch, but Ewen,
on succeeding his father Duncan of Argyle in

1248, refused his homage to the Scottish king,
who wished to possess the whole of the Western
Isles. Though Ewen was perfectly loyal, and
indeed was one of the most honourable men of
his time, Alexander marched an army against
him to enforce obedience, but his Majesty died
on his journey in Kerrera, a small island near
the coast of Argyle opposite Oban, on July 8,

1249, in the fifty-first year of his age, and the
thirty-fifth of his reign.

According to the custom of the times, his
son, Alexander III., then a boy only in his
eighth year, was seated on the royal chair, or
sacred stone of Scone, which was placed before
the cross that stood within the burying-ground.
Immediately before his inauguration, the bishop
of St. Andrews girded him with the sword of
state, and explained to him, first in Latin and
aiterwards in Norman French, the nature of
the compact he and his subjects were about to
enter into. The crown, after the king had
been seated, was placed on his head, and tho
sceptre put into his hand. He was then covered
with the royal mantle, and received the homage
of tho nobles on their knees, who, in token of
submission, threw their robes beneath his feet
On this occasion, agreeably to ancient practice,
a Gaelic sennachy, or bard, clothed in a red
mantle, and venerable for his great age and

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

fo?

JScotort- N

Alexander III. From Pinkerton's Scottish Gallery.

hoary locks, approached the king, and in a
bended and reverential attitude, recited, from
memory, in his native language, the genealogy
of all the Scottish kings, deducing the descent
of the youthful monarch from Gathetus, the
fabulous founder of the nation. 2 The reign of
this prince was distinguished by the entire sub-
jugation of the western islands to the power
of the Scottish crown. The Scandinavian set-
tlers were allowed to leave the islands, if in-
clined, and such of them as remained were
bound to observe the Scottish laws.

Shortly after the accession of Alexander III.,
an insurrection broke out against the Earl of
Ross, of some of the people of that province.
The Earl apprehended their leader or captain,
whom he imprisoned at Dingwall. In revenge,
the Highlanders seized upon the Earl's second

1 Almost the same ceremonial of inauguration was
observed at the coronation of Macdonald, king of the
Isles. Martin says, that "there was a big stone of
seven feet square, in which there was a deep impres-
sion made to receive the feet of Mack-Donald, for he
was crowned king of the Isles standing in this stone ;
and swore that he would continue his vassals in the
possession of their lands, and do exact justice to all
his subjects ; and then his father's sword was put into
his hands. The bishop of Argyle and seven priests
anointed him king, in presence of all the heads of the
tribes in the isles and continent, and were his vassals ;
at which time the orator rehearsed a catalogue of his
incestors." Western Islands, p. 241.

son at Balnagown, took him prisoner, and
detained Viim as a hostage till their captain
should be released. The Monroes and the
Dingwalls immediately took up arms, and hav-
ing pursued the insurgents, overtook them at a
place called Bealligh-ne-Broig, between Ferran-
donald and Loch Broom, where a bloody con-
flict ensued. "The Clan Ivor, Clan-Talvich,
and Clan-Laiwe," says Sir Robert Gordon,
"wer almost uterlie extinguished and slain. 1 '
The Monroes and Dingwalls lost a great many
men. Dingwall of Kildun, and seven score of
the surname of Dingwall, were killed. No
less than eleven Monroes of the house of Foulis,
who were to succeed one after another, fell, so
that the succession of Foulis opened to an in-
fant then lying in his cradle. The Earl's son
was rescued, and to requite the service per-
formed, he made various grants of lands to the
Monroes and Dingwalls. 3

In 1263, Haco, the aged king of Norway,
sailed with a large and powerful fleet, deter-
mined to enforce acknowledgm ant of his
claims as superior of the Western Islands on
their chiefs, as well as upon the king of Scot
land. Sailing southwards among the islands,
one chief after another acknowledged his su-
premacy, and helped to swell his force, the
only honourable exception being the stanch
Ewen of Argyle. Meantime Haco brought
his fleet to anchor in the Frith of Clyde, be-
tween Arran and the Ayrshire coast, his men
committing ravages on the neighbouring coun-
try, as, indeed, they appear to have done dur-
ing the whole of his progress. Negotiations
entered into between Haco and Alexander III.
came to nothing, and as winter was approach-
ing, and his fleet had suffered much from
several severe storms which caught it, the for-
mer was fain to make his way homewards. A
number of his men, however, contrived to ef-
fect a landing near Largs, where they were met
by a miscellaneous Scottish host, consisting of
cavalry and country people, and finally com-
pletely routed. The date of this skirmish,
which is known as the battle of Largs, is Oc-
tober 2d, 1263. Haco died in the end of the
same year in Orkney, and in 1266 Magnus
TV., his successor, ceded the whole of the

3 Sir R. Gordon's History of the Earldom of Suther-
land, p. 36.

BRUCE'S EXPEDITIONS INTO LOEN AND THE ISLES.

Scottish Islands held by Norway, except Ork-
ney and Shetland, the Scottish king paying a
small annual rent. Those of the islesmen who
had proved unfaithful to the Scottish king
were most severely and cruelly punished.

No event of any importance appears to have
occurred in the Highlands till the time of King
Robert Bruce, who was attacked, after his defeat
at Methven, by Macdougall of Lorn, and de-
feated in Strathfillan. But Bruce was deter-
mined that Maedougall should not long enjoy
his petty triumph. Having been joined by his
able partisan, Sir James Douglas, he entered the
territory of Lorn. On arriving at the narrow
pass of Ben Crtiachan, beween Loch Awe and
Loch Etive, Bruce was informed that Mac-
dougall had laid an ambuscade for him. Bruce
divided his army into two parts. One of these
divisions, consisting entirely of archers who
were lightly armed, was placed under the com-
mand of Douglas, who was directed to make a
circuit round the mountain, and to attack the
Highlanders in the rear. As soon as Douglas
had gained possession of the ground above the
Highlanders, Bruce entered the pass, and, as
soon as he had advanced into its narrow gorge,
he was attacked by the men of Lorn, who, from
the surrounding heights, hurled down stones
upon him accompanied with loud shouts.
They then commenced a closer attack, but,
being instantly assailed in the rear by Douglas's
division, and assaulted by the Icing with great
fury in front, they were thrown into complete
disorder, and defeated with great slaughter.
Macdougall, who was, during the action, on
board a small vessel in Loch Etive, waiting the
result, took refuge in his castle of Dunstaffnage.
After ravaging the territory of Lorn, and giving
it up to indiscriminate plunder, Bruce laid siege
to the castle, which, after a slight resistance,
was surrendered by the lord of Lorn, who
swore homage to the king ; but John, the son
of the chief, refused to submit, and took refuge
in England.

During the civil wars among the competi-
tors for the Scottish crown, and those under
Wallace and Bruce for the independence of
Scotland, the Highlanders scarcely ever appear
as participators in those stirring scenes which
developed the resources, and called forth the
jhivalry of Scotland ; but we are not to infer

from the silence of history that they were less
alive than their southern countrymen to the
honour and glory of their country, or that
they did not contribute to secure its indepen-
dence. General Stewart says that eighteen
Highland chiefs 4 fought under Robert Bruce at
Bannockburn; and as these chiefs would be ac-
companied by their vassals, it is fair to suppose
that Highland prowess lent its powerful aid to
obtain that memorable victory which secured
Scotland from the dominion of a foreign
yoke.

After Robert Bruce had asserted the inde-
pendence of his country by the decisive battle
of Bannockburn, the whole kingdom, with the
exception of some of the western islands, under
John of Argyle, the ally of England, submitted
to his authority. He, therefore, undertook an
expedition against those isles, in which he was
accompanied by Walter, the hereditary high-
steward of Scotland, his son-in-law, who, by
his marriage with Marjory, King Robert's
daughter, laid the foundation of the Stewart
dynasty. To avoid the necessity of doubling
the Mull of Kintyre, which was a dangerous
attempt for the small vessels then in use,
Robert sailed up Loch-Fyne to Tarbert with hia
fleet, which he dragged across the narrow isth-
mus between the lochs of East and West Tar-
bert, by means of a slide of smooth planks of
trees laid parallel to each other. It had long
been a superstitious belief amongst the inha-
bitants of the Western Islands, that they
should never be subdued till their invaders
sailed across this neck of land, and it is
said that Robert was thereby partly induced
to follow the course he did to impress upon the
minds of the islanders a conviction that the
time of their subjugation had arrived. The
islanders were quickly subdued, and John of
Lorn, who, for his services to Edward of Eng-
land, had been invested with the title of Ad-
miral of the Western fleet of England, was
captured and imprisoned first in Dumbarton

4 The chiefs at Bannockbnrn were Mackay, Mackin-
tosh, llacpherson, Cameron, Sinclair, Campbell,
Menzies, Maclean, Sutherland, Robertson, Grant,
Fraser, Macfarlane, Ross, Macgregor, Munro, Mac-
kenzie, and Macquarrie. After the lapse of live
hundred years since the battle of Bannockbnrn was
fought, it is truly astonishing to find such a number
of direct descendants who are now in existence, and
still possessed of their paternal estates.

GENEEAL HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

castle, and afterwards in the castle of Loch
Leven, where lie died.

The feeble and effeminate reign of David II.
was disturbed by another revolt by the Lord
of the Isles, who was backed in his attempt to
throw off his dependence by a great number of
the Highland chiefs. David, with "an un-
wonted energy of character, commanded the
attendance of the steward, with the prelates
and barons of the realm, and surrounded by
this formidable body of vassals and retainers,
proceeded against the rebels in person. The
expedition was completely successful. The
rebel prince, John of the Isles, with a numer-
ous train of those wild Highland chieftains
who followed his banner, and had supported
him in his attempt to thr'ow off his dependence,
met the king at Inverness, and submitted to
his authority. He engaged in the most solemn
manner, for himself and his vassals, that they
should yield themselves faithful and obedient
subjects to David, their liege lord ; and not
only give due and prompt obedience to the
ministers and officers of the king in suit and
service, as well as in the payment of taxes and
public burdens, but that they would coerce and
put down all others, of whatever rank or de-
gree, who dared to raise themselves in opposi-
tion to the royal authority, and would compel
them either to submit, or would pursue and
banish them from their territories : for the ful-
filment of which obligation the Lord of the
Isles not only gave his own oath, under the
penalty of forfeiting his whole principality if
it was broken, but offered the high-steward, his
father-in-law, as his security, and delivered his
lawful son, Donald, his grandson, Angus, and
his natural son, also named Donald, as hostages
for the strict performance of the articles of the
treaty." 5 The deed by which John of the
Isles bound liimself to the performance of these
stipulations is dated 15th November, 1369. 6

To enable him the better to succeed in re-
ducing the inhabitants of the Highlands and
islands to the obedience of the laws, it is stated
by an old historian, 7 that David used artifice
by dividing the chiefs, and promising high re-

5 Tytler's Hist, of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 185. Robert-
son's Parliamentary Records, p. 115.

6 Vide the Deed printed in the Appendix to Tytler's
History, vol. ii.

7 Fordun a G )odal, vol. ii. p. 380.

wards to those who should slay or capture theb
brother chiefs. The writer says that this dia
bolical plan, by implanting the seeds of dis-
union and war amongst the chiefs, succeeded ;
and that they gradually destroyed one another
a statement, to say the least of it, highly im-
probable. Certain it is, however, that it was
in this reign that the practice of paving manrent
began, when the powerful wished for followers,
and the weak wanted protection, a circumstance
which shows that the government was too
weak to afford protection to the oppressed, or
to quell the disputes of rival clans.

In the year 1333, 8 John Monroe, the tutoi
of Foulis, in travelling homeward, on his jour-
ney from Edinburgh to Boss, stopped on a
meadow in Stratherdale that he and his ser-
vants might get some repose. While they
were asleep, the owner of the meadow cut off
the tails of their horses. Being resolved to
wipe off this insult, he immediately, on his
return home to Eoss, summoned his whole
kinsmen and followers, and, after inform-
ing them how he had been used, craved their
aid to revenge the injury. The clan, of
course, complied ; and, having selected 350
of the best and ablest men among them,
he returned to Stratherdale, which he. wasted
and spoiled; killed some of the inhabitants,
and carried off their cattle. In passing by the
isle of Moy, on his return home, Macintosh,
the chief of the clan Chattan, being urged by
some person who bore Monroe a grudge, sent
a message to him demanding a share of the
spoil. This was customary among the High-
landers when a party drove cattle which had
been so taken through a gentleman's land, and
the part so exacted was called a Staoig Rathaid,
or Staoig Creicli, that is, a Eoad Collop. Mon-
roe, not being disposed to quarrel, offered Mac-
intosh a reasonable share, but this he was
advised not to accept, and demanded the half
of the booty. Monroe refused to comply with
such an unreasonable demand, and proceeded
on his journey. Macintosh, determined to en-
force compliance, immediately collected his
lansmen, and went in pursuit of Monroe,
whom he overtook at Clach-na-Haire, near In-

8 This is the date assigned by Sir Robert Gordon,
jut Shaw makes it more than a century later, viz., in
1454.

FEUD BETWEEN THE CLAN CHATTAN AND THE CAMEEONS.

verness. As soon as Monroe saw Macintosh
approaching, ho sent home five of his men to
Forrindonald with the cattle, and prepared for
action. But Macintosh paid dearly for his ra-
pacity and rashness, for he and the greater part
of his men were killed in the conflict. Several
of the Monroes also were slain, and John Mon-
roe himself was left for dead in the field of
battle, and might have died if the predecessor
of Lord Lovat had not carried him to his house
in the neighbourhood, where he was cured of
his wounds. One of his hands was so muti-
lated, that he lost the use of it the remainder
of his life, on which account he was afterwards
called John Bac-laiinh, or Ciotach. 9

Besides the feuds of the clans in the reign of
David II., the Highlands appear to have been
disturbed by a formidable insurrection against
the government, for, in a parliament which
was held at Scone, in the year 1366, a resolu-
tion was entered into to seize the rebels in Ar-
gyle, Athole, Badenoch, Lochaber, and Eoss,
and all others who had risen up against the
royal authority, and to compel them to submit
to the laws. The chief leaders in this commo-
tion (of which the bare mention in the parlia-
mentary record is the only account which has
reached us,) were the Earl of Eoss, Hugh de
Eoss, John of the Isles, John of Lorn, and
John de Haye, who were all summoned to at-
tend the parliament and give in their submis-
sion, but they all refused to do so in the most
decided manner; and as the government was
too weak to compel them, they were suffered
to remain independent.

In the year 1386, a feud having taken place
between the clan Chattan and the Camerons, a
battle took place in which a great number of
the elan Chattan were killed, and the Camerons
were nearly cut off to a man. The occasion of
the quarrel was as follows. The lands of Macin-
tosh a in Lochaber, were possessed by the Ca-

Sir R. Gordon, p. 47. Shaw, p. 264.

1 According to that eminent antiquary, the Rev.
Donald Macintosh, non-juring episcopal clergyman,
in his historical illustrations of his Collections of Gaelic
Proverbs, published in 1785, the ancestor of Macin-
tosh became head of the clan Chattan in this way.
During these contests for the Scottish crown, which
succeeded the death of King Alexander III., and fa-
voured the pretensions of the King of the Isles, the
latter styling himself " King," had, in 1291, sent his
nephew Angus Macintosh of Macintosh to Dougall
Dall (blind) MacGillichattan, chief of the clan Chat-
I.

morons, who were so tardy in the payment of
their rents that Macintosh was frequently
obliged to levy them by force by carrying off
his tenants' cattle. The Camerons were so
irritated at having their cattle poinded and
taken away, that they resolved to make repri-
sals, preparatory to which they marched into
Badenoch to the number of about 400 men,
under the command of Charles Macgilony.
As soon as Macintosh became acquainted
with this movement ho called his clan and
friends, the Macphersons and Davidsons, to-
gether. His force was superior to that of the
Camerons, but a dispute arose among the chiefs
which almost proved fatal to them. To Mac-
intosh, as captain of the clan Chattan, the
command of the centre of the army was as-
signed with the consent of all parties; but a
difference took place between Cluny and Iii-
vernahavon, each claiming the command of the
right wing. Cluny demanded it as the chief
of the ancient clan Chattan, of which the Da-
vidsons of Invernahavon were only a branch ;
but Invernahavon contended that to him, as
the oldest branch, the command of the right
wing belonged, according to the custom of the
clans. The Camerons came up during this
quarrel about precedency, on which Macin-
tosh, as umpire, decided against the claim of
Cluny. This was a most imprudent award, as
the Macphersons exceeded both the Macin-
toshes and Davidsons in numbers, and they
were, besides, in the country of the Macpher-
sons. These last were so offended at the deci-
sion of Macintosh that they withdrew from
the field, and became, for a time, spectators of
the action. The battle soon commenced, and
was fought with great obstinacy. Many of the
Macintoshes, and almost all the Davidsons,
were cut off by the superior number of the Ca-

tan, or Macphersons, to acquaint him that " the king "
was to pay him a visit. Macpherson, or MacGillichat-
tan, as ho was named, in honour of the founder of the
family Gillichattan* Mor, having an only child, a
daughter, who, he dreaded, might attract an incon-
venient degree of royal notice, offered her in marriage
to Macintosh along with his lands, and the station of
the chief of the clan Chattan. Macintosh accepted
the offer, and was received as chief of the lady's clan.

* " A votary or servant of St. Kattan," a most popular
Scottish saint, we have thus GUlichallun^, meaning a " vo-
tary of Columba," and of which another form is Malcolm
or Motealm, the prefix Mol being corrupted into Mai,
signifying the same as Gilly. Thus (Htty-Dhia, is the
etymon of Culdce, signifying "servant of God," GilK-
chrut means " servant of Christ."

GENEEAL HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

merons. Tlie Macpliersons seeing their friends
and neighbours almost overpowered, could no
longer restrain themselves, and friendship got
the tetter of their wounded pride. They,
therefore, at this perilous crisis, rushed in
upon the Camerons, who, from exhaustion and
the loss they had sustained, were easily de-
feated. The few that escaped, with their
leader, were pursued from Invernahavon, the
place of battle, three miles above Euthven, to
Badenoch. Charles Macgilony was killed on a
hill in Glenbenchir, which was long called
Torr-Thearlaich, i. e., Charles'-hill. 2

In the opinion of Shaw this quarrel about
precedency was the origin of the celebrated ju-
dicial conflict, which took place on the North
Inch of Perth, before Eobert III., his queen,
Annabella Drummond, and the Scottish no-
bility, and some foreigners of distinction, in
the year 1396, and of which a variety of ac-
counts have been given by our ancient histor-
ians. The parties to this combat were the
Macphersons, properly the clan Chattan, and
the Davidsons of Invernahavon, called in the
Gaelic Clann-Dhaibhidh. The Davidsons were
not, as some writers have supposed, a separate
clan, but a branch of the clan Chattan. These
rival tribes had for a long period kept up a
deadly enmity with one another, which was
difficult to be restrained ; but after the award
by Macintosh against the Macphersons, that
enmity broke out into open strife, and for ten
years the Macphersons and the Davidsons car-
ried on a war of extermination, and kept the
country in an uproar.

To put an end to these disorders, it is said
that Eobert III. sent Dunbar, Earl of Moray,
and Lindsay of Glenesk, afterwards Earl of
Crawford, two of the leading men of the king-
dom, to endeavour to effect an amicable ar-
rangement between the contending parties;
but having failed in their attempt, they pro-
posed that the differences should be decided in
open combat before the king. Tytler 3 is of
opinion that, the notions of the Norman knights
having by this time become familiar to the
fierce mountaineers, they adopted the singular
idea of deciding their quarrel by a combat of
30 against 30. Burton, however, with his

8 Shaw's History of Moray, pp. 260, 261 .
Vol. iu. pp. 76, 77.

usual sagacity, remarks that, "for a whole
race to submit to the ordeal of battle would im-
ply the very highest devotion to those rules of
chivalry which were an extravagant fashion in
all the countries under the Norman influence,
but were utterly unknown to the Highlanders,
who submitted when they must submit, and
retaliated when they could. That such an ad-
justment could be effected among them is about
as incredible as a story about a parliamentary
debate in Persia, or a jury trial in Tiinbuctoo." 4
The beautiful and perfectly level meadow on
the banks of the Tay at Perth, known as the
North Inch, was fixed on, and the Monday
before Michaelmas was the day appointed for
the combat. According to Sir Eobert Gordon,
who is followed by Sir Eobert Douglas and
Mr. Mackintosh, it was agreed that no weapon
but the broad sword was to be employed, but
Wyntoun, who lived about the time, adds
bows, battle-axes, and daggers.
' ' All thai entrit in Barreris,
With Bow and Axe, Knyf and Swerd,
To deal amang them thair last Werd."'

The numbers on each side have been variously
reported. By mistaking the word triceni, used
by Boece and Buchanan, for treceni, some
writers have multiplied them to 300. Bower,
the continuator of Fordun and Wyntoun, how-
ever, mentions expressly 60 in all, or 30 on
either side.

On the appointed day the combatants made
their appearance on the North Inch of Perth,
to decide, in presence of the king, his queen,
and a large concourse of the nobility, their re-
spective claims to superiority. Barriers had
been erected on the ground to prevent the
spectators from encroaching, and the king and
his party took their stations upon a platform
from which they could easily view the combat.
At length the warriors, armed with sword and
target, bows and arrows, short knives and
battle-axes, advanced within the barriers, and
eyed one another with looks of deadly revenge.
When about to engage, a circumstance occurred
which postponed the battle, and had well-nigh
prevented it altogether. According to some
accounts, one of the Macphersons fell sick;
but Bower says, that when the troops had been

Vol. iil p. 72.

BATTLE OF THE NORTH INCH.

marshalled, one of tho Macphersons, panic-
Btruck, slipped tlirough the crowd, plunged
into the Tay and swam across, and, though
pursued by thousands, effected his escape.
Sir Robert Gordon merely observes, that, " at
their entrio into tho feild, the clan Chattan
lacked one of their number, who wes privilie
stolne away, not willing to be pertaker of so
deir a bargane." A man being now wanting
on one side, a pause ensued, and a proposal
was made that one of tho Davidsons should
retire, that tho number on both sides might be
equal, but they refused. As the combat could
not proceed from this inequality of numbers,
the king was about to break up the assembly,
when a diminutive and crooked, but fierce
man, named Henry Wynd, a burgher of Perth,
better known to readers of Scott as Hal o' the
Wynd, and an armourer by trade, sprung with-
in tho barriers, and, as related by Bower, thus
addressed the assembly: "Here am I. Will
any one fee me to engage with these hirelings
in this stage play? For half a mark will I try
tho game, provided, if I escape alive, I have
my board of one of you so long as I live.
Greater love, as it is said, hath no man than
this, that a man lay down his life for his
friends. What, then, shall be my reward,
who stake my life for the foes of the common-
wealth and realm?" This demand of Gow
Crom, " Crooked Smith," as Henry was fami-
liarly styled, adds Bower, was granted by the
king and nobles. A murderous conflict now
began. The armourer, bending his bow, and
sending the first arrow among the opposite
party, killed one of them. After showers of
arrows had been discharged on both sides, the
combatants, with fury in their looks, and re-
venge in their hearts, rushed upon one another,
and a terrific scene ensued, which appalled the
heart of many a valorous knight who witnessed
the bloody tragedy. The violent thrusts of
the daggers, and the tremendous gashes in-
flicted by the two-handed swords and battle-
axes, hastened the work of butchery and death.
"Heads were cloven asunder, limbs were
lopped from the trunk. The meadow was
soon flooded witli blood, and covered with
dead and wounded men." 5

* Tales of a Grandfather, vol. ii.

After tho crooked armourer had killed his
man, as already related from Bower, it is said
that he either sat down or drew aside, which
being observed by the leader of Cluny's band,
he asked his reason for thus stopping ; on
which Wynd said, " Because I have fulfilled
my bargain, and earned my wages." "The
man," exclaimed the other, "who keeps no
reckoning of his good deeds, without reckoning
shall be repaid," an observation which tempted
the armourer to earn, in the multiplied deaths
of his opponents, a sum exceeding by as many
times the original stipulation. This speech of
the leader has been formed into the Gaelic
adage,

" Am fear nach cunnladh rium
Cha chimntainn ns,"

which Macintosh thus renders,

" The man that reckons not with me
I will not reckon with him."

Victory at last declared for the Maephersons,
but not until 29 of the Davidsons had fallen
prostrate in the arms of death. Nineteen of
Cluny's men also bit the dust, and the remain-
ing 11, with the exception of Henry Wynd,
who by his excellence as a swordsman had
mainly contributed to gain the day, were all
grievously wounded. The survivor of the
clan Davidson escaped unhurt. Mackintosh
following Buchanan, relates that this man,
after all his companions had fallen, threw him-
self into the Tay, and making the opposite
bank, escaped ; but this is most likely a new ver-
sion of Bower's account of the affrighted cham-
pion before the commencement of the action.

The leader of the clan Kay or Davidsons is
called by Bower Schea-beg, and by Wyntoun,
Scha-Ferquharis son, Boece calls him Strat-
berge. Who Christi-Mac-Iain, or Christi-Jon-
ton was genealogically, we are not informed ;
but one thing is pretty clear, that he, not
Schea-beg, or Shaw Oig, for these are obvi-
ously one and the same, commanded the clan
Chattan, or " Clamw-Chait." 6 Both the prin-
cipals seem to have been absent, or spectators
merely of the battle ; and as few of the lead-
ing men of the clan, it is believed, were parties

' For a more thorough discussion of this fight,
e account of the Clan Mackintosh in Vol. II

.see

GENEEAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

in the combat, the savage policy of the govern-
ment, which, it is said, had taken this method
to rid itself of the chief men of the clan, by
making them destroy one another, was com-
pletely defeated. This affair seems to have
produced a good effect, as the Highlanders re-
mained quiet for a considerable time thereafter.
The disorders in the Highlands occasioned
by the feuds of the clans were, about the period
in question, greatly augmented by Alexander
of Badenoch, fourth son of Eobert II., whom
he had constituted Lieutenant or governor from
the limits of Moray to the Pentland Frith.
This person, from the ferocity of his disposi-
tion, obtained the appropriate appellation of
" the Wolf of Badenoch." Avaricious as well

Efligy of "the Wolf of Badenoch" in Dunkehl Cathedral.

as cruel, the Wolf seized upon the lands of
Alexander Barr, bishop of Moray, and as he
persisted in keeping violent possession of them,
he was excommunicated. The sentence of ex-
communication not only proved unavailing, but
tended to exasperate the Lord of Badenoch to
such a degree of fury that, in the month of
May, 1390, he descended from his heights and
burnt the town of Forres, with the choir of the
church and the manse of the archdeacon. And
in June following, he burnt the town of Elgin,
the church of Saint Giles, the hospital of Mai-
son-Dieu, and the cathedral, with eighteen
houses of the canons and chaplains in the
college of Elgin. He also plundered these
churches of their sacred utensils and vestments,
which he carried off. For this horrible sacri-
lege the Lord of Badenoch was prosecuted, and
obliged to make due reparation. Upon making
his submission he was absolved by Walter Trail,

bishop of St. Andrews, in the church of the
Black Friars, in Perth. He was first received
at the door, and afterwards before the high
altar, in presence of the king (Eobert III. his
brother,) and many of the nobility, on condi-
tion that he should make full satisfaction to
the bishop of Moray, and obtain absolution
from the pope. 6

The Lord of Badenoch had a natural son,
named Alexander Stewart, afterwards Earl of
Mar, who inherited the vices of his father.
Bent upon spoliation and bloodshed, and re-
solved to imitate liis father's barbarous exploits,
he collected, in 1392, a vast number of cateraus,
armed only with the sword and target, and
with these he descended from the range of hills
which divides the county of Aberdeen and
Forfar, devastated the country, and murdered
the inhabitants indiscriminately. A force was
instantly collected by Sir Walter Ogilvy, sheriff
of Angus, Sir Patrick Gray, and Sir David Lind
say of Glenesk, to oppose him, and although
inferior in numbers, they attacked Stewart and
his party of freebooters at Gasklune, near the
water of Ha. A desperate conflict took place,
which was of short duration. The caterans
fought with determined bravery, and soon over-
powered their assailants. The sheriff, his bro-
ther, Wat of Lichtoune, Young of Ouchterlony,
the lairds of Cairncross, Forfar, and Guthry,
and 60 of their followers, were slain. Sir
Patrick Gray and Sir David Lindsay were
severely wounded, and escaped with difficulty.
Winton has preserved an anecdote illustrative
of the fierceness of the Highlanders. Lindsay
had run one of them, a strong and brawny
man, through the body with a spear, and
brought him to the earth ; but although in the
agonies of death, he writhed himself up, and
with the spear sticking in his body, struck
Lindsay a desperate blow with his sword, which
cut him through the stirrup and boot into the
bone, on which he instantly fell and expired. 7

Nicolas, Earl of Sutherland, had a feud with
Y-Mackay of Far, in Strathnaver, chief of the
Clanwig-worgm, and his son Donald Mackay.
in which many lives were lost, and great de-
predations committed on both sides. In order

8 Shaw's Moray, pp. 314-15. Winton, vol. ii. p,
363. Keith's Catalogue, p. 83.
7 Winton, vol. ii. p. 369.

DISTURBANCES IN SUTHERLAND EAELDOM OF EOSS.

to put an end to this difference, the Earl pro-
posed a meeting of the parties at Dingwall, to
be held in presence of the Lord of the Isles,
his father-in-law, and some of the neighbouring
gentry, the friends of the two families. The
meeting having been agreed to, the parties mot
at the appointed time, in the year 1395, and
took up their residence in the castle of Ding-
wall in apartments allotted for them. A dis-
cussion then took place between the Earl and
Mackay, regarding the points in controversy,
in which high and reproachful words were ox-
changed, which so incensed the Earl, that he
killed Mackay and his son with his own hands.
Having with some difficulty effected his escape
from the followers and servants of the Mac-
kays, he immediately returned home and pre-
pared for defence, but the Mackays were too
weak to take revenge. The matter was in
some degree reconciled between Robert, the
successor of Nicolas, and Angus Mackay, the
eldest son of Donald. 8

Some years after this event a serious conflict
took place between the inhabitants of Suther-
land and Strathnaver, and Malcolm Macleod
of the Lewis, which arose out of the following
circumstances. Angus Mackay above men-
tioned, had married a sister of Malcolm Mac-
lood, by whom he had two sons, Angus
Dow, and Roriegald. On the death of Angus,
Houcheon Dow Mackay, a younger brother, be-
came tutor to his nephews, and entered upon
the management of their lands. Malcolm Mac-
leod, understanding that his sister, the widow
of Angus, was ill treated by Houcheon Dow,
went on a visit to her, accompanied by a num-
ber of the choicest men of his country, with the
determination of vindicating her cause either
by entreaty or by force. He appears not to
have succeeded in his object, for he returned
homeward greatly discontented, and in revenge
laid waste Strathnaver and a great part of the
Breachat in Sutherland, and carried off booty
along with him. As soon as Houcheon Dow
and his brother Neill Mackay learnt this in-
telligence, they acquainted Robert, Earl of
Sutherland, between whom and Angus Mackay
a reconciliation had been effected, who imme-
diately despatched Alexander Ne-Shrem-Gorme

8 Sir Robert Gordon's History, p. 60.

(Alexander Murray of Cubin,) with a number
of stout and resolute men, to assist the Mac-
kays. They followed Macleod with great haste,
and overtook himat'fittum-Turwigh, upon the
marches between Ross and Sutherland. The
pursuing party at first attempted to recover the
goods and cattle which had been carried off,
but this being opposed by Macleod and his
men, a desperate conflict ensued, in which
great valour was displayed on both sides. It
" was long, furious, cruel, and doubtful," says
Sir Robert Gordon, and was " rather desperate
than resolute." At last the Lewismen, with
their commander, Malcolm Macleod, nick-
named Gilealm Beg M'Bowen, were slain, and
the goods and cattle were recovered. One
man alone of Macleod's party, who was sorely
wounded, escaped to bring home the sorrowful
news to the Lewis, which he had scarcely de-
livered when he expired. 9

These feuds were followed by a formidable in-
surrection, or more correctly, invasion, in 1411,
by Donald, Lord of the Isles, of such a serious
nature as to threaten a dismemberment of the
kingdom of Scotland. The male succession to
the earldom of Ross having become extinct,
the honours of the peerage devolved upon a
female, Euphemia Ross, wife of Sir "Walter
Lesley. Of this marriage there were two chil-
dren, Alexander, afterwards Earl of Ross, and
Margaret, afterwards married to the Lord of the
Isles. Earl Alexander married a daughter of
the Duke of Albany. Euphemia, Countess of
Ross, was the only issue of this marriage, but
becoming a nun she resigned the earldom of
Ross in favour of her nncle John Stewart, Earl
of Buchan. The Lord of the Isles conceiving
that the countess, by renouncing the world,
had forfeited her title and estate, and, more-
over, that she had no right to dispose thereof,
claimed both in right of Margaret his wife.
The Duke of Albany, governor of Scotland, at
whose instigation the countess had made the
renunciation, of course refused to sustain the
claim of the prince of the islands. The Lord
of the Isles having formed an alliance with
England, whence he was to be supplied
with a fleet far superior to the Scottish, at
the head of an army of 10,000 men, fully

* Sir Robert Gordon, pp. 61, 62.

GENERAL HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

equipped and armed after the fashion of the
islands with bows and arrows, pole-axes, knives,
and swords, in 1411 burst like a torrent upon
the earldom, and carried everything before him.
He, however, received a temporary check at
Dingwall, where he was attacked with great
impetuosity by Angus Dubh Mackay of Parr,
or Black Angus, as he was called ; but Angus
was taken prisoner, and his brother Roderic
Gald and many of his men were killed.

Flushed with the progress he had made,
Donald now resolved to carry into execution
a threat he had often made to burn the town
of Aberdeen. For this purpose he ordered his
army to assemble at Inverness, and summoned
all the men capable of bearing arms in the
Boyno and the Enzie, to join his standard on
his way south. This order being complied
with, the Lord of the Isles marched through
Moray without opposition. He committed
great excesses in Strathbogie and in the dis-
trict of Garioch, which belonged to the Earl of
Mar. The inhabitants of Aberdeen were in
dreadful alarm at the near approach of this
marauder and his fierce hordes; but their fears
were allayed by the speedy appearance of a
well-equipped army, commanded by the Earl
of Mar, who bore a high military character,
assisted by many brave knights and gentlemen
in Angus and the Mearns. Among these were
Sir Alexander Ogilvy, sheriff of Angus, Sir
James Scrymgeour, constable of Dundee and
hereditary standard-bearer of Scotland, Sir
William de Abemethy of Salton, nephew to
the Duke of Albany, Sir Robert Maule of Pan-
mure, Sir Alexander Irving of Drum, and Sir
Robert Melville. The Earl was also joined by
Sir Robert Davidson, the Provost of Aberdeen,
and a party of the burgesses.

Advancing from Aberdeen, Mar marched by
Inverury, and descried the Highlanders sta-
tioned at the village of Harlaw, on the water of
Ury,near its junction with the Don. Mar soon
saw that he had to contend with tremendous
odds; but although his forces were, it is said,
only a tenth of those opposed to him, he
resolved, from the confidence he had in his
steel-clad knights, to risk a battle. Having
placed a small but select body of knights and
men-at-arms in front, iinder the command of
the constable of Dundee and tho sheriff of

Angus, the Earl drew up the main strength of
his army in the rear, including the Murrays,
the Straitens, the Maules, the Irvings, the
Lesleys, the Levels, the Stirlings, headed by
their respective chiefs. The Earl then placed
himself at the head of this body. At the head
of the Islesmen and Highlanders was the Lord
of the Isles, subordinate to whom were Mac-
intosh and Maclean and other Highland chiefs,
all bearing the most deadly hatred to their
Saxon foes, and panting for revenge.

On a signal being given, the Highlanders
and Islesmen, setting up those terrific shouts
and yells which they were accustomed to raise
on entering into battle, rushed forward upon
their opponents ; but they were received with
great firmness and bravery by the knights,
who, with their spears levelled, and battle-axes
raised, cut down many of their impetuous but
badly armed adversaries. After the Low-
landers had recovered themselves from the
shock which the furious onset of the High-
landers had produced, Sir James Scrymgeour,
at the head of the knights and bannerets who
fought under him, cut his way through the
thick columns of the Islesmen, carrying death
everywhere around him; but the slaughter of
hundreds by this brave party did not intimi-
date the Highlanders, who kept pouring in by
thousands to supply the place of those who
had fallen. Surrounded on all sides, no alterna-
tive remained for Sir James and his valorous
companions but victory or death, and the latter
was their lot. The constable of Dundee was
amongst the first who suffered, and his fall so en-
couraged the Highlanders, that seizing and stab-
bing the horses, they thus unhorsed their riders,
whom they despatched with their daggers. In
the meantime the Earl of Mar, who had pene-
trated with his main army into the very heart
of the enemy, kept up the unequal contest
with great bravery, and, although he lost dur-
ing the action almost the whole of his army,
he continued the fatal struggle with a handful
of men till nightfall. The disastrous result
of this battle was one of the greatest mis-
fortunes which had ever happened to the
numerous respectable families in Angus and
the Mearns. Many of these families lost
not only their head, but every male in tho
house. Lesley of Balquhain is said to have

BATTLE OF IIARLAW.

fallen with six of his sons. Besides Sir James
Srrymgeour, Sir Alexander Ogilvy the slieriff
of Angus, with his eldest son George Ogilvy,
Sir Thomas Murray, Sir Robert Maule of Pan-
mure, Sir Alexander Irving of Drum, Sir Wil-
liam Abernethy of Salton, Sir Alexander Strai-
ten of Lauriston, James Lovel, and Alexander
Stirling, and Sir Robert Davidson, Provost of
Aberdeen, with 500 men-at-arms, including
the principal gentry of Buchan, and the greater
part of the burgesses of Aberdeen who fol-
lowed their Provost, were among the slain.
The Highlanders left 900 men dead on the
field of battle, including the chiefs Maclean
and Mackintosh. This memorable battle was
fought on the eve of the feast of St. James the
Apostle, July 25th, 1411. It was the final
contest for supremacy between the Celt and
the Teuton, and appears to have made at the
time an inconceivably deep impression on the
national mind. For more than a hundred
years, it is said, the battle of Harlaw continued
to be fought over again by schoolboys in their
play. "It fixed itself in the music and the
poetry of Scotland ; a march, called the ' Battle
of Harlaw,' continued to be a popular air down
to the time of Drummond of Hawthornden,
and a spirited ballad, on the same event, is
still repeated in our age, describing the meeting
of the armies, and the deaths of the chiefs, in
no ignoble strain." 1

Mar and the few brave companions in arms
who survived the battle, passed the night on
the field; when morning dawned, they found
that the Lord of the Isles had retreated during
the night, by Inverury and the hill of Benochy.
To pursue him was impossible, and he was

1 Tytler, vol. iii. p. 177.
concludes thus:

The ballad of the Battle

There was not, sin" King Kenneth's days,

Sic strange intestine cruel strife
In Scotlande seen, as ilk man says,

\Yhere monie likelie lost their life ;

Whilk made divorce tween man and wife,
And monie children fatherless,

Whilk in this realm has been full rife;
Lord help these lands ! our wrangs redress !

In July, on Saint James his evin,

That four-and-twenty dismal day,
Twelve hundred, ten score, and eleven

Of years sin' Christ, the soothe to say;

Men will remember, as they may,
When thus the reritie they knaw ;

And monie a ane will nimirnc for aye
The brim battle of the Harlaw.

therefore allowed to retire without molestation,
and to recruit his exhausted strength. 2

As soon as the news of the disaster at Hai-
law reached the ears of the Duke of Albany,
then regent of Scotland, he set about collecting
an army, with which he marched in pernon to
the north in autumn, with a determination to
bring the Lord of the Isles to obedience. Hav-
ing taken possession of the castle of Dingwall,
he appointed a governor, and from thence pro-
ceeded to recover the whole of Ross. Donald
retreated before him, and took up his winter-
quarters in the islands. Hostilities were re-
newed next summer, but the contest was not
long or doubtful notwithstanding some little
advantages obtained by the King of the Isles
for he was compelled to give up his claim to
the earldom of Ross, to become a vassal to the
Scottish crown, and to deliver hostages to se-
cure his future good behaviour. A treaty to
this effect was entered into at Pilgilbe or Pol-
gillip, the modern Loch-Gilp, in Argyle

CHAPTER VI.
A. D. 1424-1512.

KINGS or SCOTLAND:

James I.. 14061436.
James II., 14361460.

James III., 14CO 14S8.
James IV., 14881613.

James I. State of Country Policy of the King to the
Highland Chiefs Lord of the Isles Disturbances in
Sutherland Barbarity of a Robber James's High-
land Expedition Disturbances in Caithness In-
surrection in the West under Donald Balloch Lord
of the Isles invades Sutherland Allan of Lorn
Machinations of Edward IV. with Island Chiefs
Rebellion of Earl of Ross Lord of the Isles sub-
mits Disturbances in Ross and Sutherland Wiso
Policy of James IV. Visits Highlands Feuds in
Sutherland Highlanders at Flodden.

ON the return of James I., in 1424, from his
captivity in England, he found Scotland, and

* "So ended one of Scotland's most memorable bat-
tles. The contest between the Lowlanders and Don-
ald's host was a contest between foes, of whom their
contemporaries would have said that their ever being
in harmony with each other, or having a feeling of
common interests and common nationality, was not
within the range of rational expectations .....
It will be difficult to make those not familiar with the
tone of feeling in Lowland Scotland at that time be-
lieve that the defeat of Donald of the Isles was felt ta
a more memorable deliverance even than that of Ban-
nockburn." Burton, vol. iii. pp. 101, 102.

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

particularly the Highlands, in a state of thi
most fearful insubordination. Rapine, rob
bory, and an utter contempt of the laws pre-
vailed to an alarming extent, which, requirec
all the energy of a wise and prudent prince
like James, to repress. When these excesses
wore first reported to James, by one of his
nobles, on entering the kingdom, he thus ex-
pressed himself : " Let God but grant me life,
and there shall not be a spot in my dominions
where the key shall not keep the castle, and
the furze-bush the cow, though I myself should
lead the life of a dog to accomplish it." 3 "At
this period, the condition of the Highlands, so
far as is discoverable from the few authentic
documents which have reached our times, ap-
pears to have been in the highest degree rude
and uncivilized. There existed a singular com-
bination of Celtic and of feudal manners.
Powerful chiefs, of Norman name and Norman
blood, had penetrated into the remotest dis-
tricts, and ruled over multitudes of vassals and
serfs, whose strange and uncouth appellatives
proclaim their difference of race in the most
convincing manner. 4 The tenure of lands by
charter and seisin, the feudal services due by
the vassal to his lord, the bands of friendship
or of rnanrent which indissolubly united certain
chiefs and nobles to each other, the baronial
courts, and the complicated official pomp of
feudal life, were all to be found in full strength
and operation in the northern counties ; but
the dependence of the barons, who had taken
up their residence in these wild districts, upon
the king, and their allegiance and subordina-
tion to the laws, were less intimate and influ-
ential than in the Lowland divisions of the
country ; and as they experienced less protec-
tion, we have already seen, that in great public
emergencies, when the captivity of the sover-
eign, or the payment of his ransom, called for
the imposition of a tax upon property through-
out the kingdom, these great northern chiefs
thought themselves at liberty to resist the col-
lection within their mountainous principalities.
"Besides such Scoto-Norman barons, how-
ever, there were to be found in the Highlands
and Isles, those fierce aboriginal chiefs, who

3 Fordun a Goodal, voL ii. p. 511.

4 MS. Adv. Lib. Coll. Diplom. a Macferlane, vol.
i. p. 245. MS. Cart. Moray, 263.

hated the Saxon and the Norman race, and
offered a mortal opposition to the settlement of
all intruders within a country which they con-
sidered their own. They exercised the same
authority over the various clans or septs of
which they were the chosen heads or leaders,
which the baron possessed over his vassals
and military followers ; and the dreadful dis-
putes and collisions which perpetually occurred
between these distinct ranks of potentates,
were accompanied by spoliations, ravages, im-
prisonments, and murders, which had at last
become so frequent and so far extended, that
the whole country beyond the Grampian range
was likely to be cut off, by these abuses, from
all regular communication with the more pacific
parts of the kingdom." 6

Having, by a firm and salutary, but perhaps
severe, course of policy, restored the empire of
the laws in the Lowlands, and obtained the
enactment of new statutes for the future wel-
fare and prosperity of the kingdom, James
next turned his attention to his Highland do-
minions, which, as we have seen, were in a do-
plorable state of insubordination, that made
both property and life insecure. The king
determined to visit in person the disturbed
districts, and by punishing the refractory chiefs,
put an end to those tumults and enormities
which had, during his minority, triumphed
over the laws. James, in the year 1427, ar-
rived at Inverness, attended by his parliament,
and immediately summoned the principal chiefs
.here to appear before him. From whatever
motives whether from hopes of effecting a
reconciliation by a ready compliance with the
mandate of the king, or from a dread, in case
of refusal, of the fate of the powerful barons
of the south who had fallen victims to James's
severity the order of the king was obeyed, and
he chiefs repaired to Inverness. No sooner,
lowever, had they entered the hall where the
>arliament was sitting, than they were by
order of the king arrested, ironed, and im-
orisoned in different apartments, and debarred
ill communication with each other, or with
heir followers. It has been supposed that
hese chiefs may have boon entrapped by some
air promises on the part of James, and the joy

5 Tytler, vol. iii. pp. 250, 251.

VIGOKOUS rOLICY OF JAMES I.

James I.

which, according to Fordun, he manifested at
seeing these turbulent and haughty spirits
caught in the toils which he had prepared for
them, favours this conjecture. The number of
chiefs seized on this occasion is stated to have
amounted to about forty; but the names of
the principal ones only have been preserved.
These were Alaster or Alexander Macdonald,
Lord of the Isles ; Angus Dubh Mackay, with
his four sons, who could bring into the field
4 ; 000 fighting men ; Kenneth More and his
son-in-law, Angus of Moray, and Macmathan,
who could muster 2,000 men ; Alexander Mac-
reiny of Garmoran and John Macarthur, each of
whom could bring into the field 1 ,000 followers.
Besides these were John Ross, James Campbell,
and William Lesley. The Countess of Ross,
the mother of Alexander, the Lord of the Isles,
and heiress of Sir Walter Lesley, was also
apprehended and imprisoned at the same time. 8
The king now determined to inflict summary
vengeance upon his captives. Those who were
most conspicuous for their crimes were imme-
diately executed ; among whom were James
Campbell, who was tried, convicted, and hanged

Forduu a Hearne, vol. iv. pp. 12834.

for the murder of John of the Isles ; and Alex-
ander Macreiny and John Macarthur, who were
beheaded. Alexander of the Isles and Angus
Dubh, after a short confinement, were both
pardoned ; but the latter was obliged to deliver
up, as a hostage for his good behaviour, his
son Neill, who was confined on the Bass rock,
and, from that circumstance, was afterwards
named Neill- Wasse-Mackay. 7 Besides these,
many others who were kept in prison in differ-
ent parts of the kingdom, were afterwards con-
demned and executed.

The royal clemency, which had been extended
so graciously to the Lord of the Isles, met with
an ungrateful return ; for shortly after the king
had returned to his lowland dominions, Alex-
ander collected a force of ten thousand men in
Ross and the Isles, and with this formidable
body laid waste the country ; plundered and
devastated the crown lands, against which his
vengeance was chiefly directed, and razed the
royal burgh of Inverness to the ground. On
hearing of these distressing events, James, with
a rapidity rarely equalled, collected a force, the
extent of which has not been ascertained, and
marched with great speed into Lochaber, where
he found the enemy, who, from the celerity of
his movements, was taken almost by surprise.
Alexander prepared for battle ; but, before its
commencement, he had the misfortune to wit-
ness the desertion of the clan Chattan, and
the clan Cameron, who, to a man, went over
to the royal standard. The king, thereupon,
attacked Alexander's army, which he com-
pletely routed, and the latter sought safety in
flight

Reduced to the utmost distress, and seeing
the impossibility of evading the active vigi-
lance of his pursuers, who hunted him from
place to place, this haughty lord, who con-
sidered himself on a par with kings, resolved
to throw himself entirely on the mercy of the
king, by an act of the most abject submission.
Having arrived in Edinburgh, to which ho had
travelled in the most private manner, the hum-
bled chief suddenly presented himself before
the king, on Easter-Sunday, in the church of
Holyrood, when he and his queen, sumrinded
by the nobles of the court, were employed in

' Sir R. Gordon, p. 64,

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

their devotions before the high altar. The
extraordinary appearance of the fallen prince
denoted the inward workings of his troubled
mind. Without bonnet, arms, or ornament
of any kind, his legs and arms quite bare, his
body covered with only a plaid, and holding
a naked sword in his hand by the point, he fell
down on his knees before the king, imploring
mercy and forgiveness, and, in token of his un-
reserved submission, offered the hilt of his
sword to his majesty. At the solicitation of
the queen and nobles, James spared his life,
but committed him immediately to Tantallan
castle, under the charge of William Earl of
Angus, his nephew. This took place in the
year 1429. The Countess of Ross was kept in
close confinement in the ancient monastery of
Inchcolm, on the small island of that name, in
the Frith of Forth. 8 The king, however, re-
lented, and released the Lord of the Isles and
his mother, after about a year's imprisonment.
About this period happened another of those
bloody frays, which destroyed the internal
peace of the Highlands, and brought ruin and
desolation upon many families. Thomas Mac-
neill, son of Neill Mackay, who was engaged
in the battle of Tuttum-Turwigh, possessed the
lands of Creigh, Spaniziedaill, and Palrossie, in
Sutherland. Having conceived some displea-
sure at Mowat, the laird of Freshwick, the
latter, with his party, in order to avoid his ven-
geance, took refuge in the chapel of St. Duffus,
near the town of Tain, as a sanctuary. Thither
they were followed by Thomas, who not only
slew Mowat and his people, but also burnt the
chapel to the ground. This outrage upon re-
ligion and humanity exasperated the king,
who immediately ordered a proclamation to be
issued, denouncing Thomas Macneill as a rebel,
and promising his lands and possessions as a
reward to any one that would kill or appre-
hend him. Angus Murray, son of Alexander
Murray of Cubin, immediately set about the
apprehension of Thomas Macneill. To accom-
plish his purpose, he held a secret conference
with Morgan and Neill Macneill, the brothers
of Thomas, at which he offered, provided
they would assist him in apprehending their
brother, his two daughters in marriage, and

.8 KoiJun, vol. iv. p. 1286.

promised to aid them in getting peaceable pos-
session of such lands in Strathnaver as they
claimed. This, ho showed them, might be
easily accomplished, with little or no resistance
as Neill Mackay, son of Angus Dubh, from
whom the chief opposition might have been
expected, was then a prisoner in the Bass, and
Angus Dubh, the father, was unable, from
age and infirmity, to defend his pretensions.
Angus Murray also promised to request the
assistance of the Earl of Sutherland. As these
two brothers pretended a right to the posses-
sions of Angus Dubh in Strathnaver, they were
easily allured by these promises ; they imme-
diately apprehended their brother Thomas at
Spaniziedaill in Sutherland, and delivered hini
up to Murray, by whom he was presented to
the king. Macneill was immediately executed
at Inverness, and Angus Murray obtained, in
terms of the royal proclamation, a grant of the
lands of Palrossie and Spaniziedaill from the
king. The lands of Creigh fell into the hands
of the Lord of the Isles, as superior, by the
death and felony of Macneill. 9

In pursuance of his promise, Murray gave his
daughters in marriage respectively to Neill and
Morgan Macneill, and with the consent and
approbation of Robert Earl of Sutherland, he
invaded Strathnaver with a party of Suther-
land men, to take possession of the lands of
Angus Dubh Mackay. Angus immediately
collected his men, and gave the command of
them to John Aberigh, his natural son, as he
was unable to lead them in person. Both par-
ties met about two miles from Toung, at a place
called Drum-ne-Coub ; but, before they came
to blows, Angus Dubh Mackay sent a message
to Neill and Morgan, his cousins-german, offer-
ing to surrender them all his lands and posses-
sions in Strathnaver, if they would allow him
to retain Keantayle. This fair offer was, how-
ever, rejected, and an appeal was therefore
immediately made to arms. A desperate con-
flict then took place, in which many were
killed on both sides ; among whom were
Angus Murray and his two sons-in-law, Neill
and Morgan Macneill. John Aberigh, though
he gained the victory, was severely wounded,
and lost one of his arms. After the battle

Sir Robert Gordon, pp. 64, 65.

POLICY OF JAMES I. HIGHLAND FEUDS.

Angus Dubh Mackay was carried, at his own
request, to the field, to search for tho bodies
of his slain cousins, but ho was killed by an
arrow from a Sutherland man who lay con-
cealed in a bush hard by.

James I. made many salutary regulations for
putting an end to the disorders consequent
upon the lawless state of the Highlands, and
the oppressed looked up to him for protection.
The following remarkable case will give some
idea of the extraordinary barbarity in which
the spoliators indulged : A notorious thief,
named Donald Ross, who had made himself
rich with plunder, carried off two cows from a
poor woman. This woman having expressed a
determination not to wear shoes again till she
had made a complaint to the king in person,
the robber exclaimed, " It is false : I'll have
you shod before you reach the court;" and
thereupon, with a brutality scarcely paralleled,
the cruel monster took two horse shoes, and
fixed them on her feet with nails driven into
the flesh. Tho victim of this savage act, as
soon as she was able to travel, went to the
king and related to him the whole circum-
stances of her case, which so exasperated him,
that ho immediately sent a warrant to the
sheriff of the county, where Ross resided, for his
immediate apprehension ; which being effected,
he and a number of his associates were sent
ander an escort to Perth, where the court was
then held. Boss was tried and condemned, he
and his friends being treated in the same man-
ner as he had treated the poor woman ; and
before his execution a linen shirt, on which
was painted a representation of his crime, was
thrown over him, in which dress he was paraded
through tho streets of tho town, afterwards
dragged at a horse's tail, and hanged on a gal-
lows. 1

The commotions in Strathnaver, and other
parts of the Highlands, induced tho king to
make another expedition into that part of his
dominions ; previous to which he summoned a
Parliament at Perth, wliich was held on the
15th of October, 1431, in which a land-tax, or
" zelde," was laid upon the whole lands of the
kingdom, to defray the expenses of the under-
taking. No contemporary record of this expe-

1 Foriluii a GooJal, vol. ii. p. 510.

dition exists ; but it is said that tho king pro
ceedod to Dunstaflnage castle, to punish those
chiefs who had joined in Donald Balloch's in-
surrection ; that, on his arrival there, numbers
of these came to him and made their submis-
sion, throwing the whole odium of the rebel-
lion upon the leader, whose authority, they
alleged, they were afraid to resist; and that,
by their means, three hundred thieves were ap-
prehended and put to death.

For several years after this expedition the
Highlands appear to have been tranquil ; but,
on the liberation of Neill Mackay from his
confinement on the Bass, in the year 1437,
fresh disturbances began. This restless clu'ef
had scarcely been released, when he entered
Caithness, and spoiled the country. He was
met at a place called Sandsett ; but the people
who came to oppose his progress were defeated,
and many of them were slain. This conflict was
called Ruaig Hanset; that is, the flight, or
chase at Sandsett.

About the same time a quarrel took place be-
tween the Keiths and some others of the inhab-
itants of Caithness. As the Keiths could not
depend upon their own forces, they sought the
aid of Angus Mackay, son of Neill last men-
tioned, who had recently died. Angus agreed
to join the Keiths; and accordingly, accom-
panied by his brother, John Roy, and a chief-
tain named lain-Mor-Mac-Iain-Riabhaich, with
a company of men, he went into Caithness,
and, joining the Keiths, invaded that part of
Caithness hostile to the Keiths. Tho people
of Caithness lost not a moment in assembling
together, and met the Strathnaver men and the
Keiths at a place called Blare-Tannie. Here a
sanguinary contest took place; but victory de-
clared for the Keiths, whose success, it is said,
was chiefly owing to the prowess of lain-Mor-
Mac-Iain-Riabhaich, whose name was, in con-
sequence, long famous in that and the adjoin-
ing country.*

After the defeat of James, Earl of Douglas,
who had renounced his allegiance to James II.,
at Arkinholme, in 1454, he retired into Ar-
gyleshire, where he was received by the Earl
of Ross, with whom, and the Lord of the Isles,
ho entered into an alliance. The ocean prince,

1 Sir R. Gordon, p. 89.

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

having a powerful fleet of 500 galleys at
his command, immediately assembled his
vassals, to the amount of 5,000 fighting men,
and, having embarked them in his navy,
gave the command of the whole to Donald
Balloch, Lord of Ma, his near kinsman, a chief
who, besides his possessions in Scotland, had
great power in the north of Ireland. This
potent chief, whose hereditary antipathy to
the Scottish throne was as keen as that of his
relation, entered cheerfully into the views of
Douglas. "With the force under his command
he desolated the western coast of Scotland
from Innerkip to Bute, the Cumbraes and the
Island of Arran ; yet formidable as he was both
in men and ships, the loss was not so consider-
able as might have been expected, from the
prudent precautions taken by the king to re-
pel the invaders. The summary of the damage
sustained is thus related in a contemporary
chronicle : " There was slain of good men fif-
teen; of women, two or three; of children,
three or four. The plunder included five or
six hundred horse, ten thousand oxen and kine,
and more than a thousand sheep and goats.
At the same time, they burnt down several
mansions in Innerkip around the church; har-
ried all Arran ; stormed and levelled with the
ground the castle of Brodick ; and wasted, with
fire and sword, the islands of the Cumbraes.
They also levied tribute upon Bute ; carrying
away a hundred bolls of malt, a hundred marts,
and a hundred marks of silver." 3

While Donald Balloch was' engaged in this
expedition, the Lord of the Isles, with his
kinsmen and followers to the number of five or
six hundred, made an incursion into Suther-
land, and encamped before the castle of Skibo.
What his object was has not been ascertained;
but, as a measure of precaution, the Earl of
Sutherland sent Neill Murray, son of Angus
Murray, who was slain at Drum-na-Coub, to
watch his motions. The Lord of the Isles im-
mediately began to commit depredations, where-
upon he was attacked by Murray, and com-
pelled to retreat into Eoss with the loss of one
of his captains, named Donald Dubh-na-Soirn,
and fifty of liis men. Exasperated at this de-
feat, Macdonald sent another party of his

8 Auckinledc Chronicle, p. 55.

islanders, along with a company of men from
Eoss, to Strathfleet in Sutherland to lay waste
the country, and thus wipe off the disgrace of
his late defeat. On hearing of this fresh in-
vasion, the Earl of Sutherland despatched his
brother Eobert with a sufficient force to attack
the Clandonald. They met on the sands of
Strathfleet, and, after a fierce and bloody strug-
gle, the islanders and their allies were over-
thrown with great slaughter. Many perished
in the course of their flight. This was the last
hostile irruption of the Clandonald into Suther-
land, as all the disputes between the Lord of
the Isles and the Sutherland family were after-
wards accommodated by a matrimonial alliance

The vigorous administration of James II.,
which checked and controlled the haughty
and turbulent spirit of his nobles, was also
felt in the Highlands, where his power,
if not always acknowledged, was neverthe-
less dreaded ; but upon the death of that
wise prince in 1460, and the accession of his
infant son to the crown, the princes of the
north again abandoned themselves to theii
lawless courses. The first who showed the
example was Allan of Lorn of the Wood, as
he was called, a nephew of Donald Balloch by
Ms sister. Coveting the estate of his eldei
brother, Ker of Lorn, Allan imprisoned him
in a dungeon in the island of Kerrera, with the
view of starving him. to death that he might
the more easily acquire the unjust possession
he desired; but Ker was liberated, and his pro-
perty restored to him by tho Earl of Argyle, to
whom he was nearly related, and who suddenly
attacked Allan with a fleet of galleys, defeated
him, burnt his fleet, and slew the greater part
of his men. This ect, so justifiable in itself,
roused tho revengeful passions of the island
chiefs, who issued from their ocean retreats and
committed the most dreadful excesses. 4

After the decisive battle of Teuton, Henry
VI. and his Queen retired to Scotland to watch
tho first favourable opportunity of seizing the
sceptre from the house of York. Edward IV.,
anticipating the danger that might arise to his
crown by an alliance between his rival, tho
exiled monarch, and the king of Scotland, de-
termined to counteract the effects of such a

4 Auchinleck GkronicU, pp. 58, 59.

INTRIGUES OF EDWAED IV. EAEL OF EOSS EEBELS.

connection by a stroke of policy. Aware of
the disaffected disposition of some of the Scot-
tish nobles, and northern and island chiefs, he
immediately entered into a negotiation with
John, Earl of Eoss, and Donald Balloch, to
detach them from their allegiance. On the 19th
of October, 1461, the Earl of Ross, Donald
Balloch, and his son John de Isle, held a coun-
cil of their vassals and dependants at Astornish,
at which it was agreed to send amliassadors to
England to treat with Edward. On the arrival
of these ambassadors a negotiation was entered
into between them and the Earl of Douglas,
and John Douglas of Balveny, his brother, both
of whom had been obliged to leave Scotland
for their treasons in the previous reign. These
two brothers, who were animated by a spirit of
hatred and revenge against the family of their
late sovereign James II., warmly entered into
the views of Edward, whose subjects they had
become ; and they concluded a treaty with the
northern ambassadors which assumed as its
basis nothing less than the entire conquest of
Scotland. Among other conditions, it was sti-
pulated that, upon payment of a specified
sum of money to himself, his son, and ally, the
Lord of the Isles should become for ever the
vassal of England, and should assist Edward
and his successors in the wars in Ireland and
elsewhere. And, in the event of the entire
subjugation of Scotland by the Earls of Eoss
and Douglas, the whole of the kingdom on the
north of the Frith of Forth was to be divided
equally between these Earls and Donald Bal-
loch, and the estates which formerly belonged
to Douglas between the Frith of Forth and the
borders were to be restored to him. This sin-
gular treaty is dated London, 18th February,
H62. 5

Pending this negotiation, the Earl of Angus,
at that time one of the most powerful of the
Scottish nobles, having, by the promise of an
English dukedom from the exiled Henry, en-
gaged to assist in restoring him to his crown
and dominions, the Earl of Eoss, before the
plan had been organized, in order to counteract
the attempt, broke out into open rebellion,
which was characterized by all those circum-
stances of barbarous cruelty which clistin-

' Rotuli Scotia, vol. ii. p. 407.

guished the inroads of the princes of the
islands. He first seized the castle of Inver-
ness at the head of a small party, being ad-
mitted unawares by the governor, who did not
suspect his hostile intentions. He then col-
lected a considerable army, and proclaimed
himself king of the Hebrides. With his army
he entered the country of Athole, denounced
the authority of the king, and commanded all
taxes to bo paid to him ; and, after committing
the most dreadful excesses, he stormed the
castle of Blair, dragged the Earl and Countess
of Athole from the chapel of St. Bridget, and
carried them off to Isla as prisoners. It is re-
lated that the Earl of Eoss thrice attempted to
set fire to the holy pile, but in vain. He lost
many of his war-galleys, in a storm of thunder
and lightning, in which the rich booty he had
taken was consigned to the deep. Prepara-
tions were immediately made by the regents
of the kingdom for punishing this rebellious
chief; but these became unnecessary, for,
touched with remorse, he collected the remains
of his plunder, and stripped to his shirt and
drawers, and barefooted, he, along with his
principal followers, in the same forlorn and de-
jected condition, went, to the chapel of St.
Bridget which they had lately desecrated, and
there performed a penance before the altar.
The Earl and Countess of Athole were there-
upon voluntarily released from confinement,
and the Earl of Eoss was afterwards assassi-
nated in the castle of Inverness, by an Irish
harper who bore iiim a grudge.*

Although at this period an account of Ork-
ney and Shetland does not properly belong to
a history of the Highlands, as these islands had
long been the property of the king of Nor-
way, and had a population almost purely Teu-
tonic, with a language, manners, and customs
widely differing from those of the Highlanders
proper ; still it will not be out of place to men-
tion here, that these islands were finally made
over to Scotland in 1469, as security for the
dowry of Margaret of Norway, the wife of
James III.

The successor of the Lord of the Isles who
was generally more like an independent sov-

Ferrerius, p. 883. Lesley de Rebus Oatii Scvto-
mm, p. 300.

GENERAL HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

ereign than a subject of the Scottish king not
being disposed to tender the allegiance which
his father had violated, the king, in the month
of May, 1476, assembled a large army on the
north of the Forth, and a fleet on the west
coast, for the purpose of making a simultaneous
attack upon him by sea and land. Seeing no
hopes of making effectual resistance against
such a powerful force as that sent against him,
he tendered his submission to the king on cer-
tain conditions, and resigned the earldom of
Ross, and the lands of Kintyre and Knapdale,
into his majesty's hands. By this act he was
restored to the king's favour, who forgave him
all his offences, and " infeft him of new " in the
lordship of the Isles and the other lands which
he did not renounce. The Earl of Athole, who
commanded the royal army, was rewarded for
this service by a grant of the lands and forest
of Cluny. 7

After the Lord of the Isles had thus resigned
the earldom of Ross into the king's hands, that
province was perpetually molested by incur-
sions from the islanders, who now considered
it a fit theatre for the exercise of their preda-
tory exploits. Gillespic, cousin of the Lord
of the Isles, at the head of a large body of the
islanders, invaded the higher part of Ross and
committed great devastation. The inhabitants,
or as many as the shortness of the time would
permit, amongst whom the Clankenzie were
chiefly distinguished, speedily assembled, and
met the islanders on the banks of the Connan,
where a sharp conflict took place. The Clan-
kenzie fought with great valour, and pressed
the enemy so hard that Gillespic Macdonald
was overthrown, and the greater part of his
men were slain or drowned in the river, about
two miles from Braile, thence called Blar-ua-
Pairc. The predecessor of the Laird of Brodie,
who happened to be with the chief of the Mac-
kenzies at the time, fought with great courage.

For a considerable time the district of Suther-
land had remained tranquil, but on the llth
of July, 1487, it again became the scene of a
bloody encounter between the Mackays and the
Rosses. To revenge the death of a relation, or
to wipe away the stigma of a defeat, were con-
sidered sacred and paramount duties by the

7 Lesley's Hist., p. 41. Sir K. Gordon, p. 77.

Highlanders ; and if, from the weakness of the
clan, the minority of the chief, or any other
cause, the day of deadly reckoning was de-
layed, the feeling which prompted revenge was
never dormant, and the earliest opportunity
was embraced of vindicating the honour of the
clan. Angus Mackay, son of the famous Neill
of the Bass, having been killed at Tarbert by
a Ross, his son, John Riabhaich Mackay, ap-
plied to John Earl of Sutherland, on whom he
depended, to assist him in revenging his father's
death. The Earl promised his aid, and accord
ingly sent his uncle, Robert Sutherland, with
a company of chosen men, to assist John Mac-
kay. With this force, and such men as John
Mackay and his relation Uilleam-Dubh-Mac-
lain-Abaraich, son of John Aberigh who fought
at Drum-na-Coub, could collect, they invaded
Strath-oy-kell, carrying fire and sword in theit
course, and laying waste many lands belonging
to the Rosses. As soon as the Laird of Balna-
gown, the chief of the Rosses, heard of this
attack, he collected all his forces, and attacked
Robert Sutherland and John Riabhaich Mac-
kay, at a place called Aldy-charrish. A long
and obstinate battle took place ; but the death
of Balnagown and seventeen of the principal
landed gentlemen of Ross decided the combat ,
for the people of Ross, being deprived of their
leader, were thrown into confusion, and utterly
put to flight, with great slaughter.

The fruit of this victory was a large quantity
of booty, which the victors divided the same
day ; but the avarice of the men of Assynt, in-
duced them to instigate John Mackay to resolve
to commit one of the most perfidious and dia-
bolical acts ever perpetrated by men who had
fought on the same side. The design of the
Assynt men was, to cut off Robert Sutherland
and his whole party, and possess themselves of
their share of the spoil, before the Earl of
Sutherland could learn the result of the battle,
that he might be led to suppose that his uncle
and his men had all fallen in the action with
the Rosses. When this plan was divulged to
UiUeam-Dubh-Mac-Iain-Abaraich, he was hor-
rified at it, and immediately sent notice to
Robert Sutherland of it, that he might be upon
his guard. Robert assembled his men upon
receipt of this extraordinary intelligence, told
them of the base intentions of John Mackay,

PKUDENT POLICY OF JAMES IV.

u<l put them in order, to be prepared for the
threatened attack; but on John Eiabhaich
Miickay perceiving that Robert and his party
were prepared to meet him, he slunk off,
and went home to Strathnaver. 8

The lawless state of society in the Highlands,
which followed as a consequence from the re-
moval of the seat of government to the Low-
lands, though it often engaged the attention of
the Scottish sovereigns, never had proper re-
medies applied to mend it. At one time the
aid of force was called in, and when that was
found ineffectual, the vicious principle of di-
viding the chiefs, that they might the more
effectually weaken and destroy one another,
was adopted. Both plans, as might be sup-
posed, proved abortive. If the government
had, by conciliatory measures, and by a profu-
sion of favours, suitable to the spirit of the
times, secured the attachment of the heads of
the clans, the supremacy of the laws might
have been vindicated, and the sovereign might
have calculated upon the support of powerful
and trustworthy auxiliaries in his domestic
struggles against the encroachments of the
nobles. Such ideas appear never to have once
entered the minds of the kings, but it was re-
served for James IV., who succeeded to the
throne in 1488, to make the experiment. " To
attach to his interest the principal chiefs of
these provinces, to overawe and subdue the
petty princes who affected independence, to
carry into their territories, hitherto too exclu-
sively governed by their own capricious or
tyrannical institutions, the same system of a
severe, but regular and rapid, administration of
civil and criminal justice, which had been
established in his Lowland dominions, was the
laudable object of the king ; and for this pur-
pose he succeeded, with that energy and activ-
ity which remarkably distinguished him, in
opening up an intercourse with many of the
leading men in the northern counties. With
the captain of the Clanchattan, Duncan Mack-
intosh ; with Ewan, the son of Alan, captain
of the Clancameron ; with Campbell of Glen-
urqhay ; the Macgillcouns of Duart and Loch-
buy; Mackane of Ardnamurchan ; the lairds of
Mackenzie and Grant ; and the Earl of Huntley

' Sir R. Gordon, pp. 78, 79. |

a baron of the most extensive power in those
northern districts he appears to have been in
habits of constant and regular communication
rewarding them by presents, in the shape
either of money or of grants of land, and se-
curing their services in reducing to obedience
such of their fellow chieftains as proved contu-
macious, or actually rose in rebellion." '

But James carried his views further. Eightly
judging how much the personal presence of
the sovereign would be valued by his distant
subjects, and the good effects which would re-
sult therefrom, he resolved to visit different
parts of his northern dominions. Accordingly,
in the year 1490, accompanied by his court, he
rode twice from Perth across the chain of
mountains which extends across the country
from the border of the Mearns to the head of
Loch Eannoch, which chain is known by the
name of the " Mount." Again, in 1493, he
twice visited the Highlands, and went as far
as Dunstaffnage and Mengarry, in Ardnamur-
chan. In the following year he visited the
isles no less than three times. His first voy-
age to the islands, which took place in April
and May, was conducted with great state. He
was attended by a vast suite, many of whom
fitted out vessels at their own expense. The
grandeur which surrounded the king impressed
the islanders with a high idea of his wealth
and power ; and his condescension and famili-
arity with all classes of his subjects, acquired
for him a popularity which added strength to
his throne. During these marine excursions
the youthful monarch indulged his passion for
sailing and hunting, and thereby relieved the
tediousness of business by the recreation of
agreeable and innocent pleasures.

The only opposition which James met with
during these excursions was from the restless
Lord of the Isles, who had the temerity to put
the king at defiance, notwithstanding the re
peated and signal marks of the royal favour
he had experienced. But James was not to bo
trifled with, for he summoned the island prince
to stand his trial for " treason in Kintyre ; "
and in a parliament held in Edinburgh shortly
after the king's return from the north, " Sir
John of the Isles," as he is named in the troa-

Tytler, vol. iv. pp. 867, 38fs.

GENEEAL HISTOKY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

surer's accounts, was stripped of his power, and
his possessions were forfeited to the crown.

One of those personal petty feuds which were
so prevalent in the Highlands, occurred about
this time. Alexander Sutherland of Dilred,
being unable or unwilling to repay a sum of
money he had borrowed from Sir James Dun-
bar of Cumnock, the latter took legal measures
to secure his debt by appraising part of Dilred's
lands. This proceeding vexed the laird of
Dilred exceedingly, and he took an umbrage at
the Dunbars, who had recently settled in
Sutherland, " grudgeing, as it were," says Sir
E. Gordon, " that a stranger should brawe
(brave) him at his owne doors." Happening
to meet Alexander Dunbar, brother of Sir
James, who had lately married Lady Margaret
Baillie, Countess Dowager of Sutherland, high
words passed between them, a combat ensued,
and, after a long contest, Alexander Dunbar was
killed. Sir James Dunbar thereupon went to
Edinburgh, and laid the matter before King
James IV., who was so exasperated at the
conduct of Alexander Sutherland, that he
immediately proclaimed him a rebel, sent mes-
sengers everywhere in search of him, and pro-
mised his lands to any person that would
apprehend Mm. After some search he was
apprehended with ten of his followers by his
uncle, Y-Eoy-Mackay, brother of John Eeawigh
Mackay already mentioned, who sent him to
the king. Dilred was tried, condemned, and
executed, and his lands declared forfeited.
For this service, Y-Eoy-Mackay obtained from
the king a grant of the lands of Armdall, Far,
Golspietour, Kinnald, Kilcolmkill, and Dilred,
which formerly belonged to Alexander Suther-
land, as was noted in Mackay's infeftment,
dated in 1449. 1 " Avarice," says Sir E. Gor-
don, " is a strange vyce, which respects neither
blood nor freindship. This is the first infeft-
ment that any of the familie of Macky had
from the king, so far as I can perceave by the
records of this kingdom ; and they wer untill
this tyme possessors onlie of ther lands in
Strathnaver, not careing much for any charters
or infeftments, as most pairts of the High-
landers have alwise done."

The grant of the king as to the lands over

1 Sir B. Gordon, p. 80

which Sir James Dunbar's security extended,
was called in question by Sir James, who ob-
tained a decree before the lords of council and
session, in February, 1512, setting aside the
right of Y-Eoy-Mackay, and ordaining the Earl
of Sutherland, as superior of the lands, to re-
ceive Sir James Dunbar as his vassal.

A lamentable instance of the ferocity ot
these times is afforded in the case of one of
the Earls of Sutherland, who upon some pro-
vocation slew two of his nephews. This earl,
who was named John, had a natural brother,
Thomas Moir, who had two sons, Eobert
Sutherland and the Keith, so called on account
of his being brought up by a person of that
name. The young men had often annoyed the
Earl, and on one occasion they entered Ms
castle of Dunrobin to brave him to his face, an
act wMch so provoked the Earl, that he in-
stantly killed Eobert in the house. The Keith,
after receiving several wounds, made his es-
cape, but he was overtaken and slain at the
Clayside, near Dunrobin, wMch from that cir-
cumstance was afterwards called Ailein-Cheith,
or the bush of the Keith.

In 1513 a troop of Highlanders helped to
swell the Scotch army on the ever-memorable
and disastrous field of Flodden, but from their
peculiar mode of fighting, so different from
that of the Lowlandors, appear to have been
more a hindrance than a help.

CHAPTEE VII.

A. D. 15161588.

KINGS Or SCOTLAND :

James V., 151S-1642. I Mary, 1642-1667.

James VI., 16671603.

Doings in Sutherland Battle of Torran-Dubh Fend
between the Keiths and the clan Gun John llac-
kay and Murray of Aberscors Alexander Suther-
land, the bastard, claims the Earldom Contests
between John Mackay and the Master of Sutherland
Earls of Caithness and Sutherland Dissensions
among the clan Chattan Hector Macintosh elected
Captain His doings Disturbances in Sutherland
Feuds between the Clanranald and Lord Lovat
The ' Field of Shirts' Earl of Huntly's Expedition
Commotions in Sutherland Earl of Huntly and
the Clanranald The Queen Eegent visits the High-
lands Commotions in Sutherland Queen Mary'i
Expedition against Huntly Earl and Countess of
Sutherland poisoned Earl of Caithness' treatment
of the young Earl of Sutherland Quarrel between

I'.ATTLE OF TORKAN-DUBH.

the Monroes and clan Kenzie Doings of the Earl
of Caithness Unruly state of the North The clan
Chattixn Reconciliation of the Earls of Sutherland
and Caithness The Earl of Sutherland and the clan
Gun Disastrous Feud between the Macdonalds and
Macleans Disputes between the Earls of Sutherland
and Caithness Reconciliation between llackay and
the Earl of Sutherland.

IN the year 1516, Adam Earl of Sutherland,
in anticipation of threatened dangers in the
north, entered into bonds of friendship and
alliance with the Earl of Caithness for mutual
protection and support. The better to secure
the goodwill and assistance of the Earl of
Caithness, Earl Adam made a grant of some
lands upon the east side of the water of Ully ;
but the Earl of Caithness, although he kept
possession of the lands, joined the foes of his
ally and friend. The Earl of Sutherland, how-
ever, would have found a more trustworthy
supporter in the person of Y-Roy-Maekay, who
had come under a written obligation to serve
him the same year ; but Mackay died, and a
contest immediately ensued in Strathnaver, be-
tween John and Donald Mackay his bastard
sons, and Neill-Naverigh Mackay, brother of
Y-Roy, to obtain possession of his lands. John
took possession of all the lands belonging to
his father in Strathnaver ; but his uncle Neill
laid claim to them, and applied to the Earl of
Caithness for assistance to recover them. The
Karl, after many entreaties, put a force under
the command of Neill and his two sons, with
which they entered Strathuaver, and obtaining
an accession of strength in that country, they
dispossessed John Mackay, who immediately
went to the clan Chattan and clan Kenzie, to
crave their aid and support, leaving his brother
Donald Mackay to defend himself in Strath-
naver as ho best could. Donald not having a
sufficient force to meet his uncle and cousins in
open combat, had recourse to a stratagem which
succeeded entirely to his mind. "With his
little band he, under cloud of night, surprised
his opponents at Delreavigh in Strathnaver,
and slew both his cousins and the greater
purl of their men, and thus utterly destroyed
the issue of Neill. John Mackay, on hearing
of this, immediately joined his brother, and
drove out of Strathnaver all persons who had
favoured the pretensions of his uncle Neill-
Nuvri-igh. This unfortunate old man, after be-
ing abandoned by the Earl of Caithness, threw
1.

himself upon the generosity of his nephew*,
requesting that they would merely allow him a
small maintenance to keep him from poverty
during the remainder of his life ; but these un-
natural relatives, regardless of mercy and the
ties of blood, ordered Neill to be beheaded in
their presence by the hands of Claff-na-Gep,
his own foster brother. 2

In the year 1517, advantage was taken by
John Mackay of the absence of the Earl of
Sutherland, who had gone to Edinburgh to
transact some business connected with his
estates, to invade the province of Sutherland,
and to burn and spoil every thing wliich came
in his way. He was assisted in this lawless
enterprise by two races of people dwelling in
Sutherland, called the Siol-Phaill, and the Siol-
Thomais, and by Neil-Mac-Iain-Mac- Angus of
Assynt, and his brother John Mor-Mac-Iain,
with some of their countrymen. As soon as
the Countess of Sutherland, who had remained
at home, heard of this invasion, she prevailed
upon Alexander Sutherland, her bastard bro-
ther, to oppose Mackay. Assisted chiefly by
John Murray of Aberscors, and Uilleam Mac-
Sheumais-Mhic-Chruner, chief of the clan Gun
in Sutherland, Alexander convened hastily the
inhabitants of the country and went in search
of the enemy. He met John Mackay and his
brother Donald, at a place called Torran-Dubh
or Cnocan-Dubh, near Rogart in Strathfleet.
Mackay's force was prodigious, for he had as-
sembled not only the whole strength of Strath-
naver, Durines, Edderachillis, and Assynt, with
the Siol-Phaill and Soil-Thomais ; but also all
the disorderly and idle men of the whole dio-
cese of Caithness, with all such as he could
entice to join him from the west and north-
west isles, to accompany him in his expedition,
buoyed up with the hopes of plunder. But
the people of Sutherland were nowise dismayed
at the appearance of this formidable host, and
made preparations for an attack. A desperate
struggle commenced, and after a long contest,
Mackay's vanguard was driven back upon the
position occupied by himself. Mackay having
rallied the retreating party, selected a number
of the best and ablest men he could find, and
having placed the remainder of his army under

3 Sir Robert Gordon, p. 90.

GENERAL HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

the command of Ms brother Donald, to act as
a reserve in case of necessity, lie made a furious
attack upon the Sutherland men, who received
the enemy with great coolness and intrepidity.
The chiefs on both sides encouraged their men
to fight for the honour of their clans, and in
consequence the fight was severe and bloody ;
but in the end the Sutherland men, after great
slaughter, and after prodigies of valour had been
displayed by both parties, obtained the victory.
Mackay's party was almost entirely cut off,
and Mackay himself escaped with difficulty.
The victors next turned their attention to the
reserve under the command of Donald Mackay ;
but Donald dreading the fate of his brother,
fled along with his party, which immediately
dispersed. They were, however, closely pur-
sued by John Murray and Uilleam Mac-Shcu-
mais, till the darkness of the night prevented
the pursuit. In this battle, two hundred of
the Strathnaver men, tliirty-two of the Siol-
Phaill, and fifteen of the Siol-Thomais, besides
many of the Assynt men, and their commander,
Niall-Mae-Iain-Mac-Aonghais, a valiant chief-
tain, were slain. John Mor-Mac-Iain, the
brother of this chief, escaped with his life after
receiving many wounds. Of the Sutherland
men, tliirty-eight only were slain. Sir Robert
Gordon says that this "was the greatest conflict
that hitherto lies been foughtin between the
inhabitants of these cuntrcyes, or within the
diocy of Catteynes, to our knowlcge." 3

Shortly after the battle of Torran-Dubh,
Uilleam Mac-Sheumais, called Cattigh, chief of
the clan Gun, killed George Keith of Aikregell
with his son and twelve of their followers, at
Drummoy, in Sutherland, as they were travel-
ling from Invcrugie to Caithness. Tliis act
was committed by Mac-Sheumais to revenge
the slaughter of his grandfather (the Cruner,)
who had been slain by the Keiths, under the
following circumstances. A long feud had ex-
isted between the Keiths and the clan Gun, to
reconcile which, a meeting was appointed at
the chapel of St. Tayr in Caithness, near
Girnigoe, of twelve horsemen on each side.
The Crunor, then chief of the clan Gun, with
some of lu's sons and his principal kinsmen,
to the number of twelve in all, came to the

* Sir K. Gordon, p. 92.

chapel at the appointed time. As soon as they
arrived, they entered the chapel and prostrated
themselves in prayer before the altar. While
employed in this devotional act, the laird of
Inverugie and Aikregell arrived with twelve
horses, and two men on each horse. After
dismounting, the whole of this party rushed
into the chapel armed, and attacked the Cruner
and his party unawares. The Clan Gun, how-
ever, defended themselves with great intrepid-
ity, and although the whole twelve were slain,
many of the Keiths were also killed. For
nearly two centuries the blood of the slain was
to be seen on the walls of the chapel, which it
had stained. James Gun, one of the sons of the
Cruner, being absent, immediately on hearing
of his father's death, retired with his family
into Sutherland, where he settled, and where
his son William Mac-Sheumais, or Mac-James,
otherwise William Cattigh, was bom.

As John Mackay imputed his defeat at
Torran-Dubh mainly to John Murray of Aber-
scors, he resolved to take the first convenient
opportunity of revenging himself, and wiping
off the disgrace of his discomfiture. He, there-
fore, not being in a condition himself to under-
take an expedition, employed two brothers,
William and Donald, his kinsmen, chieftains
of the Sliochd-Iain-Abaraich, with a company
of men, to attack Murray. The latter having
mustered his forces, the parties met at a place
called Loch-Salchie, not far from the Torran-
Dubh, where a sharp skirmish took place, in
which Murray proved victorious. The two
Strathnaver chieftains and the greater part
of their men were slain, and the remainder
were put to flight. The principal person who
fell on Murray's side was his brother Jolm-
Roy, whose loss he deeply deplored.

Exasperated at this second disaster, John
Mackay sent Jolui Croy and Donald, two of
his nephews, sons of Angus Mackay, who was
killed at Morinsh in Ross, at the head of a
number of chosen men, to plunder and burn
the town of Pitfour, in Strathfieet, which be-
longed to John Murray ; but they were equally
unsuccessful, for John Croy Mackay and some
of his men were slain by the Murrays, and
Donald was taken prisoner. In consequence
of those repeated reverses, John Mackay sub-
mitted himself to the Earl of Sutherland on

ALEXANDER SUTHERLAND THE ISASTARI).

hie return from Edinburgh, and granted him
liia bond of service, in the year 1518. But,
notwithstanding this submission, Mackay after-
wards tampered with Alexander Sutherland,
the bastard, and having gained his favour by
giving his sister to Sutherland in marriage, he
prevailed upon him to rise against the Earl of
Sutherland. All these commotions in the
north happened during the minority of King
James V., when, as Sir R, Gordon says, " everio
man thought to escape unpunished, and cheiflie
these who were remotest from the seat of jus-
tice." 4

This Alexander Sutherland was son of Jol n,

the third (if that name, Earl of Sutherland,
and as ho pretended that the Earl and his
mother had entered into a contract of marriage,
lie laid claim, on the death of the Earl, to tho
title and estates, as a legitimate descendant of
Earl John, his father. By tho entreaties of
Adam Gordon, Lord of Aboyne, who had mar-
ried Lady Elizabeth, the sister and sole heiress
of Earl John, Alexander Sutherland judicially
renounced lus claim in presence of the sheriff
of Inverness, on the 25th of July, 1509. Ho
now repented of what he had done, and, being
instigated by the Earl of Caithness and John
Mackay, mortal foes to the house of Suther-

Old Dunrohin Castle.

land, he renewed his pretensions. Earl Adam,
perceiving that ho might incur some danger
in making an appeal to arms, particularly as
the clans and tribes of the country, with many
of whom Alexander had become very popular,
were broken into factions and much divided
on the question betwixt tho two, endeavoured
to win him over by offering him many favour-
able conditions, again to renounce his claims,
but in vain. Ho maintained the legitimacy
of his descent, and alleged that tho renuncia-
tion he had granted at Inverness had been
obtained from him contrary to his inclination,
and against the advice of his best friends.
U.-.ving collected a considerable force, he, in

1 i'ir K. Gordon, p. 1)3.

absence of the earl, who was in Strathbogie,
attacked Dunrobin castle, tho chief strength ol
tho earl, wlu'ch he took. In this siege he was
chiefly supported by Alexander Terrell of tho
Doill, who, in consequence of taking anus
against tho earl, his superior, lost all his lands,
and was afterwards apprehended and executed.
As soon as the earl heard of the insurrection,
ho despatched Alexander Lesley of Kinninuvy,
with a body of men, into Sutherland to assist
John Murray of Aberscors, who was already at
tho head of a force to support the earl. They
immediately besieged Dunrobin, which sur-
rendered. Alexander had retired to Strath-
navcr, but ho again returned into Sutherland
with a fresh body of men, and laid waste the
country. After putting to death several of hi*

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

own kinsmen who had joined the earl, he de-
scended farther into the country, towards the
parishes of Loth and Clyne. Meeting with
little or no opposition, the bastard grew care-
less, and being observed wandering along the
Sutherland coast, flushed with success and re-
gardless of danger, the earl formed the design
of cutting him entirely off. With this view,
he directed Alexander Lesley of Kinninuvy,
John Murray, and John Scorrigh-Mac-Finlay,
one of the Siol-Thomais, to hover on Suther-
land's outskirts, and to keep skirmishing with
him till he, the earl, should collect a sufficient
force with which to attack him. Having col-
lected a considerable body of resolute men, the
earl attacked the bastard at a place called Ald-
Quhillin, by East Clentredaill, near the sea
side. A warm contest ensued, in which Alex-
ander Sutherland was taken prisoner, and the
most of his men were slain, including John
Bane, one of his principal supporters, who fell
by the hands of John Scorrigh-Mac-Finlay.
After the battle Sutherland was immediately
beheaded by Alexander Lesley on the spot, and
his head sent to Dunrobin on a spear, which
was placed upon the top of the great tower,
" which shews us " (as Sir Eobert Gordon, fol-
lowing the superstition of his times, curiously
observes), " that whatsoever by fate is allotted,
though sometymes forshewod, can never be
avoyded. For the witches had told Alexander
the bastard that his head should be the highest
that ever wes of the Southerlands ; which he
did foolishlye interpret that some day he should
be Earl of Southerland, and in honor above
all his prcdicessors. Thus the divell and his
ministers, the witches, deceaving still such as
trust in them, will either find or frame predic-
tions for everio action or event, which doeth
ever fall out contrarie to thcr expectations ; a
kynil of people to all men unfaithfull, to hopers
decoatful, and in all cuntries allwise forbidden,
all wise reteanod and manteaned." 5

The Earl of Sutherland being now far ad-
vanced in life, retired for the most part to
Strathbogieand Aboyne, to spend the remainder
of his days amongst his friends, and intrusted
the charge of the country to Alexander Gordon,
his eldest son, a young man of great intrepidity

6 Sii II Gordon, pp 96, 97.

and talent. The restless chief John Mackay,
still smarting under his misfortunes, and thirst-
ing for revenge, thought the present a favour-
able opportunity for retrieving his losses.
With a considerable force, therefore, he in-
vaded Sutherland, and entered the parish of
Creigh, which he intended to ravage, but the
Master of Sutherland hastened thither, attacked
Mackay, and forced him to retreat into Strath-
naver with some loss. Mackay then assembled
a large body of his countrymen and invaded
the Brcachat. He was again defeated by
Alexander Gordon at the Grinds after a keen
skirmish. Hitherto Mackay had been allowed
to hold the lands of Grinds, and some other
possessions in the west part of Sutherland, but
the Master of Sutherland now dispossessed him
of all these as a punishment for his recent con-
duct. Still dreading a renewal of Mackay'a
visits, the Master of Sutherland resolved to re-
taliate, by invading Strathnaver in return, and
thereby showing Mackay what he might in
future expect if he persevered in continuing his
visits to Sutherland. Accordingly, he collected
a body of stout and resolute men, and entered
Strathnaver, which he pillaged and burnt, and,
having collected a largo quantity of booty, re-
turned into Sutherland. In entering Strath-
naver, the Master of Sutherland had taken the
road to Strathully, passing through Mackay's
bounds in the hope of falling in with and ap-
prehending him, but Mackay was absent on a
creach excursion into Sutherland. In return-
ing, however, through the Diric Moor and the
Breacliat, Alexander Gordon received intelli-
gence that Mackay with a company of men
was in the town of Lairg, with a quantity of
cattle he had collected in Sutherland, on his
way home to Strathnaver. He lost no time in
attacking Mackay, and such was the celerity of
his motions, that his attack was as sudden as
unexpected. Mackay made the best resistance
he could, but was put to the rout, and many
of his men were killed. He himself made his
escape with groat difficulty, and saved his life
by swimming to the island of Eilcan-Minric,
near Lairg, where he lay concealed during the
rest of the day. All the cattle which Mackay
had carried away were rescued and carried back
into Sutherland. The following day Mackay
left Ihn island, returned home to his country,

DISSENSION AMONG THE CLAN CHATTAN.

and again submitted himself to the Master and
his father, the Earl, to whom he a second time
gave his bond of service and manrent in the
year 1522. 6

As the Earl of Caithness had always taken
a side against the Sutherland family in these
different quarrels, the Earl of Sutherland
brought an action before the Lords of Council
and Session against the Earl of Caithness, to
recover back from him the lands of Strathully,
on the ground, that the Earl of Caithness had
not fulfilled the condition on which the lands
were granted to him, viz., to assist the Earl of
Sutherland against his enemies. There were
other minor points of dispute between the earls,
to got all wliich determined they both repaired
to Edinburgh. Instead, however, of abiding
the issue of a trial at law before the judges,
both parties, by the advice of mutual friends,
referred the decision of all the points in dis-
pute on either side to Gavin Dunbar, 7 bishop
of Aberdeen, who pronounced his award at
Edinburgh, on the llth March, 1524, his
judgment appearing to have satisfied both
parties, as the carls lived in peace with one
another ever after.

The year 1526 was signalized by a great
dissension among the clan Chattan. The
chief and head of that clan was Lauchlan
Macintosh of Dunnachtan, " a verrio honest
and wyse gentleman," says Bishop Lesley, " an
barroun of gude rent, quha keipit hes hole ken,
friendes and tennentis in honest and guid
rowll;" 8 and according to Sir Robert Gordon,
" a man of great possessions, and of such ex-
cellencies of witt and judgement, that with
great commendation he did conteyn all his
followers within the limits of ther dueties."
The strictness with which this worthy chief
curbed the lawless and turbulent dispositions of
his clan raised up many enemies, who, as
Bishop Lesley says, were " impacient of vertu-
ous living." At the head of this restless party
was James Malcolmeson, a near kinsman of
the chief, who, instigated by his worthless

6 Pir R. Gordon, p. 97.

7 It was this excellent Bishop who built, at his own
expense, the beautiful bridge of seven arches on the
Dee, near Aberdeen. The Episcopal arms cut on
mime of the stones are almost as entire as when
chiselled by the hands of the sculptor.

1 Hal of Scotland, p. 137 P. 99.

companions, and the temptation of ruling the
clan, murdered the good cliief. Afraid to face
the well-disposed part of the clan, to whom the
chief was beloved, Malcolmeson, along with
his followers, took refuge in the island in the
loch of Rothicmurclms; but the enraged clan
followed them to their hiding places and de-
spatched them.

As the son of the deceased cliief was of ten-
der age, and unable to govern the clan, with
common consent they made choice of Hector
Macintosh, a bastard brother of the late chief,
to act as captain till his nephew should arrive
at manhood. In the meantime the Earl of
Moray, who was uncle to young Macintosh,
the former chief having been married to the
earl's sister, took away his nephew and placed
him under the care of his friends for the bene-
fit of his education, and to bring him up vir-
tuously. Hector Macintosh was greatly in-
censed at the removal of the child, and used
every effort to get possession of him ; but meet-
ing with a refusal he became outrageous, and
laid so many plans for accomplishing his ob-
ject, that his intentions became suspected, as
it was thought he could not wish so ardently
for the custody of the child without some bad
design. Baffled in every attempt, Hector, as-
sisted by his brother William, collected a body
of followers, and invaded the Earl of Moray's
lands. They overthrew the fort of Dykes, and
besieged the castle of Tarnoway, the country
surrounding which they plundered, burnt the
houses of the inhabitants, and slew a number
of men, women, an:l children. Raising the
siege of Tarnoway, Hector and his men then
entered the country of the Ogilvies and laid
siege to the castle of Pettens, which belonged
to the Laird of Durnens, one of the families
of the Ogilvies, and which, after some resist-
ance, surrendered. No less than twenty-four
gentlemen of the name of Ogilvie were mas-
sacred on this occasion. After this event the
Macintoshes and the party of banditti they had
collected, roamed over the whole of the adjoin-
ing country, carrying terror and dismay into
every bosom, and plundering, burning, and
destroying everything within their reach. To
repress disorders which called so loudly for
redress, King James V., by the advice of his
council, granted a commission to the Earl of

GENERAL H1STOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

Moray to take measures accordingly. Having
a considerable force put under his command,
the earl went in pursuit of Macintosh and his
party, and having surprised them, he took
upwards of 300 of them 1 and hanged them,
along with William Macintosh, the brother
of Hector. A singular instance of the fidelity
of the Highlanders to their chiefs is afforded
in the present case, where, out of such a
vast number as suffered, not one would
reveal the secret of Hector Macintosh's retreat,
although promised their lives for the discovery.
" Tlier faith wes so true to ther captane, that
they culd not be persuaded, either by fair
meanes, or by any terror of death, to break the
same or to betray their master." 2

Seeing no hopes of escaping the royal ven-
geance but by a ready submission, Hector Mac-
intosh, by advice of Alexander Dunbar, Dean
of Moray, tendered his obedience to the king,
which was accepted, and he was received into
the royal favour. He did not, however, long
survive, for he was assassinated in St. Andrews
by one James Spence, who was in consequence
beheaded. After the death of Hector, the
clan Chattan remained tranquil during the re-
maining years of the minority of the young
chief, who, according to Bishop Lesley, " wes
sua well brocht up by the meenes of the Erie of
Murray and the Laird of Phindlater in vertue,
honestie, and civile policye, that after he had
received the governement of his cuntrey, he
was a mirrour of vertuo to all the hieland cap-
tanis in Scotland." 3 But the young chieftain's
" honestie and civile policye " not suiting the
ideas of those who had concurred in the mur-
der of his father, a conspiracy was formed
against him by some of his nearest kinsmen to
deprive him of his lifo, which unfortunately
took effect.

The Highlands now enjoyed repose for some
years. John Mackay died in 1529, and was
succeeded by his brother Donald, who remained
quiet during the life of Adam Earl of Suther-
land, to ivhom his brother had twice granted
his bond of service. But, upon the death of

1 This is the number given by Bishop Lesley, whoso
account must be preferred to that of Sir R. Gordon,
who states it at upwards of 200, as the liishop lived
almut a century before Sir Robert.

* Sir R. Gordon, p. 100

8 Hiil., p. 138.

that nobleman, he began to molest the inhabi-
tants of Sutherland. In 1542 he attacked the
village of Knockartol, which he burnt ; and
at the same time he plundered Strathbroray.
To oppose his farther progress, Sir Hugh Ken-
nedy collected as many of the inhabitants of
Sutherland as the shortness of the time would
permit, and, being accompanied by Gilbert
Gordon of Gartay, John Murray of Aberscors,
his son Hutcheon Murray, and Mac-Mhic-
Sheumais of Killiernan, he attacked Mackay
quite unawares near Alt-Na-Beth. Notwith-
standing this unexpected attack, Mackay's men
met their assailants with great firmness, but
the Strathnaver men were ultimately obliged
to retreat with the loss of their booty and a
great number of slain, amongst whom was
John Mackean-Mac-Angus, chief of Sliochd-
Mhic-Iain-Mhic-IIutcheon, in Edderachillis.
Though closely pressed by Gilbert Gordon and
Hutcheon Murray, Donald Mackay made good
his retreat into Strathnaver.

By no means disheartened at his defeat, and
anxious to blot out the stain which it had
thrown upon him, he soon returned into Suth-
erland with a fresh force, and encamped near
Skibo. Houcheon Murray collected some Suth-
erland men, and with them he attacked Mac-
kay, and kept him hi check till an additional
force which he expected should arrive. As
soon as Mackay saw this new bod}' of men ap-
proaching, with which he was quite unable to
contend, he retreated suddenly into his own
country, leaving several of his men dead on the
field. This affair was called the skirmish of
Loch-Buy. This mode of annoyance, which
continued for some time, was put an end to by
the apprehension of Donald Mackay, who,
being brought before the Earls of Huntly and
Sutherland, was, by their command, committed
a close prisoner to the castle of Foulis, where
he remained a considerable time in captivity.
At last, by means of Donald Mac-Iain-Mhoir,
a Strathnaver man, he effected his escape, and,
returning home, reconciled himself with the
Earl of Sutherland, to whom he gave his bond
of service and manrent, on the 8th of April,
1549.

During the reign of James V. some respect
was paid in the Higldands to the laws ; but
tho divisions which fell out amongst the no-

CLANRANALD AND LORD LOVAT FIELD OF SHIRTS.

bility, the unquiet state of the nation during
the minority of the infant queen, and the wars
with England, relaxed the springs of govern-
ment, and the consequence was that the usual
scenes of turbulence and oppression soon dis-
played themselves in the Highlands, accom-
panied with all those circumstances of ferocity
which rendered them so revolting to humanity.
The Clanranald was particularly active in these
lawless proceedings. This clan bore great en-
mity to Hugh, Lord Lovat ; and because Ran-
ald, son of Allan Macruari of Moidart, was sis-
ter's son of Lovat, they conceived a prejudice
against him, dispossessed him. of his lands, and
put John Macranald, his cousin, in possession
of the estate. Lovat took up the cause of his
nephew, and restored him to the possession of
his property; but the restless clan dispossessed
Ranald again, and laid waste part of Lovat's
lands in Glenelg. These disorders did not
escape the notice of the Earl of Arran, the
governor of the kingdom, who, by advice of
his council, granted a special commission to
the Earl of Huntly, making him lieutenant-
general of all the Highlands, and of Orkney
and Zetland. He also appointed the Earl of
Argyle lieutenant of Argyle and the Isles.
The Earl of Huntly lost no time in raising a
largo army in the north, with which he marched,
in May, 1544, attended by the Macintoshes,
Grants, and Frasers, against the clan Cameron
and the clan Ranald, and the people of Moy-
dart and Knoydart, whoso principal captains
were Ewcn AUenson, Ronald M'Coneilglas, and
John Moydart. These had wasted and plun-
dered the whole country of Urquhart and Glen-
morriston, belonging to the Laird of Grant, and
the country of Abertarf, Strathglass, and others,
the property of Lord Lovat. They had also
taken absolute possession of these different
territories as their own properties, which they
intended to possess and enjoy in all time com-
ing. But, by the mediation of the Earl of Ar-
gyle, they immediately dislodged themselves
upon the Earl of Huntly's appearance, and re-
tired to their own territories in the west.

In returning to his own country, Lovat was
accompanied by the Grants and Macintoshes
as far as Gloy, afterwards called the Ninc-Mile-
Water, and they even offered to escort him
home in case of danger ; but, having no appro-

liensions, he declined, and they returned home
by Badenoch. This was a fatal error on the
part of Lovat, for, as soon as he arrived at
Letterfinlay, he was informed that the Clan-
ranald were at hand, in full march, to intercept
him. To secure an important pass, he de-
spatched lain-Cleireach, one of his principal
officers, with 50 men ; but, from some cause
or other, lain-Cluireach did not accomplish his
object; and, as soon as Lovat came to the north
end of Loch Lochy, he perceived the Clanran-
ald descending the hill from the west, to the
number of about 500, divided into seven com-
panies. Lovat was thus placed in a position
in which he could neither refuse nor avoid
battle. The day (3d July) being extremely
hot, Lovat's men, who amounted to about 300,
stript to the shirts, from which circumstance
the battle was called Blar-Nan-Leino, i.e., the
Field of Shirts. A sort of skirmish at first
took place, first with bows and arrows, which
lasted a considerable time, until both sides had
expended their shafts. The combatants then
drew their swords, and rushed in true High-
land fashion on each other, with fierce and
deadly intent. The slaughter was tremendous,
and few escaped on either side. Lord Lovat,
with 300 of the surname of Fraser, and other
followers, were left dead on the field. Lovat's
eldest son, a youth of great accomplishments,
who had received his education in France,
whence he had lately arrived, was mortally
wounded, and taken prisoner. He died within
throe days. Great as was the loss on the side of
the Frasers, that on the opposite side was com-
paratively still greater. According to a tradi-
tion handed down, only four of the Frasers and
ten of the Clanranald remained alive. The
darkness of the night alone put an end to the
combat. This was an unfortunate blow to the
clan Fraser, which, tradition says, would have
been almost entirely annihilated but for the
happy circumstance that the wives of eighty
of the Frasers who were slain were pregnant at
the time, and were each of them afterwards
delivered of a male child. 4

As soon as intelligence of this disaster was
brought to the Earl of Huntly, he again ro-

4 Lesley, p. 184. Sir R. Gordon, pp. 109, HO.
Shaw's Moray, pp. 265, 266.

GENEEAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

turned with an army, entered Locliaber, wliich
he laid waste, and apprehended many of the
leading men of the hostile tribes, whom ho put
to death.

The great power conferred on the Earl of
Huntly, as lieutenant-general in the north of
Scotland, and the promptitude and severity
with which he put down the insurrections of
some of the chiefs alluded to, raised up many
enemies against him. As he in company with
the Earl of Sutherland was about to proceed
to France for the purpose of conveying the
queen regent to that country, in the year 1550,
a conspiracy was formed against him, at the
Head of which was Macintosh, chief of the
clan Chattan. This conspiracy being discov-
ered to the earl, he ordered Macintosh to
be immediately apprehended and brought to
Strathbogie, where he was beheaded in the
month of August of that year. His lands
were also forfeited at the same time. This
summary proceeding excited the sympathy and
roused the indignation of the friends of the
deceased chief, particularly of the Earl of Cas-
silis. A commotion was about to ensue, but
matters were adjusted for a time, by the pru-
dence of the queen regent, who recalled the
act of forfeiture. and restored Macintosh's heir
to all his father's lands. But the clan Chattan
were determined to avail themselves of the
first favourable opportunity of being revenged
upon the earl, which they, therefore, anxiously
looked for. As Lauchlan Macintosh, a near
kinsman of the chief, was suspected of having
betrayed his chief to the earl, the clan entered
his castle of Pettie by stealth, slew him, and
banished all his dependants from the country
if the clan.

About the same time the province of Suther-
land again became the scene of some commo-
tions. The carl having occasion to leave home,
intrusted the government of the country to
Alexander Gordon, his brother, who ruled it
with great justice and severity; but the people,
disliking the restraints put upon them by
Alexander, created a tumult, and placed John
Sutherland, son of Alexander Sutherland, the
bastard, at their head. Seizing the favourable
opportunity, as it appeared to them, when
Alexander Gordon was attending divine service
in the church at Golspikirktoun, they proceeded

to attack him, but receiving notice of their
intentions, he collected the little company he
had about him, and went out of church reso-
lutely to meet them. Alarmed at seeing liini
and his party approach, the people immediately
dispersed and returned every man to his own
house. But William Murray, son of Caen
Murray, one of the family of Pulrossie, indig-
nant at the affront offered to Alexander Gor-
don, shortly afterwards killed John Suther-
land upon the Nether Green of Dunrobin, in
revenge for which murder William Murray
was liimself thereafter slain by the Laird of
Clyne.

The Mackays also took advantage of the
Earl of Sutherland's absence, to plunder and
lay wasto the country. Y-Mackay, son of
Donald, assembled the Strathnaver men and
entered Sutherland, but Alexander Gordon
forced him back into Strathnaver, and not
content with acting on the defensive, he en-
tered Mackay's country, which he wasted, and
carried off a large booty in goods and cattle,
in the year 1551. Mackay, in his turn, re-
taliated, and this system of mutual aggression
and spoliation continued for several years. 5

During the absence of the Earl of Huntly hi
France, John of Moydart, chief of the Clan-
ranald, returned from the isles and recom-
menced his usual course of rapine. The queen
regent, on her return from France, being in-
vested with full authority, sent the Earl of
Huntly on an expedition to the north, for the
purpose of apprehending Clanranald and put-
ting an end to his outrages. The earl having
mustered a considerable force, chiefly High-
landers of the clan Chattan, passed into Moy-
dart and Knoydart, but Ids operations were
paralyzed by disputes in his camp. The cliief
and his men having abandoned then- own
country, the earl proposed to pursue them in
their retreats among the fastnesses of the
Highlands; but his principal officers, who
were chiefly from the Lowlands, unaccustomed
to such a mode of warfare in such a country,
demurred; and as the earl was afraid to en-
trust liimself with the clan Chattan, who
owed him a deep grudge on account of the
execution of their last chief, he abandoned the

6 Sir E. Gordon, p. 133.

QUEEN REGENT VISITS THE HIGHLANDS.

enterprise and returned to the low country.
Sir Robert Gordon says that the failure of the
expedition, was owing to a tumult raised in
the earl's camp by the clan Chattan, who
returned homo; but we are rather disposed to
consider Bishop Lesley's account, which we
have followed, as the more correct. 6

The failure of this expedition gave great
offence to the queen, who, instigated it is sup-
posed by Huntly's enemies, attributed it to
negligence on his part. The consequence was,
that the earl was committed a prisoner to the
castle of Edinburgh in the month of October,
where he remained till the month of March
following. He was compelled to renounce the
earldom of Moray and the lordship of Aber-
nethy, with his tacks and possessions in Orkney
and Zetland, and the tacks of the lands of the
earldom of Mar and of the lordship of Strath-
die, of wliich he was bailie and steward, and
he was moreover condemned to a banishment
of five years in France. But as he was about
to leave the kingdom, the queen, taking a
more favourable view of his conduct, recalled
the sentence of banishment, and restored him
to the office of chancellor, of which he had
been deprived; and to make this act of leniency
somewhat palatable to the earl's enemies, the
queen exacted a heavy pecuniary fine from the
earl.

The great disorders which prevailed in the
Highlands at this time, induced the queen-
regent to undertake a journey thither in order
to punish these breaches of the law, and to
repress existing tumults. She accordingly
arrived at Inverness in the month of July,
1555, where she was met by John, Earl of
Sutherland, and George, Earl of Caithness.
Although the latter nobleman was requested
to bring his countrymen along with liim to the
court, ho neglected or declined to do so, and
he was therefore committed to prison at Inver-
ness, Aberdeen, and Edinburgh, successively,
and he was not restored to liberty till ho paid
a considerable sum of money. Y-Mackay of
Far was also summoned to appear before the
queen at Inverness, to answer for his spolia-
tions committed in the country of Sutherland
during the absence of Earl John in France;

4 I/islcy, p. 251.

but he refused to appear. Whereupon the
queen granted a commission to the Earl of
Sutherland, to bring Mackay to justice. The
earl accordingly entered Strathnaver with a
great force, sacking and spoiling every thing
in his way, and possessing himself of all the
principal positions to prevent Mackay's escape.
Mackay, however, avoided the carl, and as he
declined to fight, the earl laid siege to the
castle of Borwe, the principal strength in
Strathnaver, scarcely two miles distant from
Far, which he took after a short siege, and
hanged Ruaridh -Mac- Iain -Mhoir, the com-
mander. This fort the carl completely demo-
lished.

"While the Earl of Sutherland was engaged
in the siege, Mackay entered Sutherland se-
cretly, and burnt the church of Loth. He
thereafter went to the village of Knockartol,
where he met Mackenzie and his countrymen
in Strathbroray. A slight skirmish took place
between them; but Mackay and his men fled
after he had lost Angus-Mackcanvoir, one of
his commanders, and several of his followers.
Mackenzie was thereupon appointed by the earl
to protect Sutherland from the incursions of
Mackay during his stay in Strathnaver. Hav-
ing been defeated again by Mackenzie, and
seeing no chance of escape, Mackay surren-
dered himself, and was carried south, and com-
mitted a prisoner to the castle of Edinburgh,
in which he remained a considerable time.
During the queen's stay in the north many
notorious delinquents were brought to trial,
condemned and executed.

During Mackay's detention in Edinburgh,
John Mor-Mackay, who took charge of his
kinsman's estate, seizing the opportunity of the
Earl of Sutherland's absence in the south of
Scotland, entered Sutherland at the head of a
determined body of Strathnaver men, and
spoiled and wasted the east corner of that pro-
vince, and burnt the chapel of St. Ninian.
Mac-Mhic-Sheumais, chief of the Clan-Gun,
the Laird of Clyne, the Terrell of the Doill,
and James Mac-William, having collected a
body of Sutherland men, pursued the Strath-
naver men, whom they overtook at the foot of
the hill called Ben-Moir, in Berridell. Here
they laid an ambush for them, and having, by
favour of a fog, passed their sentinels, they

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

unexpectedly surprised Mackay's men, and
attacked them with great fury. The Strath-
nayer men made an obstinate resistance, but
were at length overpowered. Many of them
were killed, and others drowned in the water
of Garwary. Mackay himself escaped with
great difficulty. This was one of the severest
defeats the Strathnaver men ever experienced,
except at the battle of Knoken-dow-Reywird.

On the release of Mackay from his confine-
ment in the castle of Edinburgh, he was em-
ployed in the wars upon the borders, against
the English, in which he acquitted himself
courageously ; and on his return to Strathnaver
he submitted himself to the Earl of Suther-
land, with whom he lived in peace during the
remainder of the earl's life. But Mackay in-
curred the just displeasure of the tribe of
Slaight-ean-Voir by the committal of two crimes
of the deepest dye. Having imbibed a violent
affection for the wife of Tormaid-Mac-Iain-
Mhoir, the chieftain of that tribe, he, in order
to accomplish his object, slew the chief, after
which he violated his wife, by whom he had a
son called Donald Balloch Mackay. The in-
sulted clan flew to arms ; but they were de-
feated at Durines, by the murderer and adul-
terer, after a sharp skirmish. Three of the
principal men of the tribe who had given
themselves up, trusting to Mackay's clemency,
were beheaded. 7

In the early part of the reign of the unfor-
tunate Queen Mary, daring the period of the
Reformation in Scotland, the house of Huntly
had acquired such an influence in the north
and north-east of Scotland, the old Maormorate
of Moray, as to be looked upon with suspicion
by the government of the day. Moreover the
Lords of the Congregation regarded the earl
with no friendly feeling as the great leader of
the Roman Catholic party in the country, and
it was therefore resolved that Mary should
make a royal progress northwards, apparently
for the purpose of seeing what was the real
state of matters, and, if possible, try to overawe
the earl, and remind him that he was only a
subject. The queen, who, although Huntly
was the Catholic leader, appears to have entered
into the expedition heartily; and her bastard

7 Sir R. Gordon, p. 136.

brother, the Earl of Murray, proceeded, in 1562,
northwards, backed by a small army, and on
finding the earl fractious, laid siege to the castle
of Inverness, which was taken, and the governor
hanged. The queen's army and the followers
of Huntly met at the hill of Corrichie, about
sixteen miles west of Aberdeen, when the lat-
ter were defeated, the earl himself being found
among the slain. It was on this occasion that
Mary is said to have wished herself a man to
be able to ride forth " in jack and knap-
skull." This expedition was the means of
effectually breaking the influence of this power-
ful northern family.

George, Earl of Caithness, who had long
borne a mortal hatred to John, Earl of Suther-
land, now projected a scheme for cutting him
off, as well as his countess, who was big with
child, and their only son, Alexander Gordon ;
the earl and countess were accordingly both
poisoned at Helmsdalo, while at supper, by
Isobel Sinclair, wife of Gilbert Gordon of Gar-
tay, and sister of William Sinclair of Duin-
baith, instigated, it is said, by the earl ; but
their son, Alexander, made a very narrow
escape, not having returned in time from a
hunting excursion to join his father and mother
at supper. On Alexander's return the earl had
become fully aware of the danger of his situ-
ation, and he was thus prevented by his father
from participating in any part of the supper
which remained, and after taking an affection-
ate and parting farewell, and recommending
him to the protection of God and of his dearest
friends, he sent him to Dunrobin the same
night without his supper. The earl and his
lady were carried next morning to Dunrobin.
where they died within five days thereafter, in
the month of July, 1567, and were buried in
the cathedral church at Dornoch. Pretending
to cover himself from the imputation of being
concerned in this murder, the Earl of Caith-
ness punished some of the earl's most faithful
servants under the colour of avenging his death ;
but the deceased earl's friends being determined
to obtain justice, apprehended Isobel Sinclair,
and sent her to Edinburgh to stand her trial,
where, after being tried and condemned, she
died on the day appointed for her execution.
During all the time of her illness she vented
the most dreadful imprecations upon her cousin,

CONDUCT OF THE EARL OF CAITHNESS.

the carl, who had induced her to commit the
horrid act. Had this woman succeeded in
cutting off the earl's son, her own eldest son,
John Gordon, hut for the extraordinary circum-
stances of his death, to he noticed, would have
succeeded to the earldom, as he was the next
male heir. This youth happening to he in the
house when his mother had prepared the poison,
became extremely thirsty, and called for a
drink. One of his mother's servants, not aware
of the preparation, presented to the youth a
portion of the liquid into which the poison
had heen infused, which he drank. This oc-
casioned his death within two days, a circum-
stance which, together with the appearances of
the body after death, gave a clue to the dis-
covery of his mother's guilt. 8

Taking advantage of the calamity which had
befallen the house of Sutherland, and the
minority of the young earl, now only fifteen
years of age, Y-Mackay of Far, who had
formed an alliance with the Earl of Caithness,
in 15G7 invaded the country of Sutherland,
wasted the barony of Skibo, entered the town
of Dornoch, and, upon the pretence of a quar-
rel with the Murrays, by whom it was chiefly
inhabited, set fire to it, in which outrage he was
assisted by the Laird of Duffus. These mea-
sures were only preliminary to a design which
the Earl of Caithness had formed to get the Earl
of Sutherland into his hands, but he had the cun-
ning to conceal his intentions in the meantime,
and to instigate Mackay to act as he wished,
without appearing to be in any way concerned.

In pursuance of his design upon Alexander,
the young Earl of Sutherland, the Earl of Caith-
ness prevailed upon Robert Stuart, bishop of
Caithness, to write a letter to the governor of
the castle of Skibo, in which the Earl of
Sutherland resided, to deliver up the castle to
him ; a request with which the governor com-
plied. Having taken possession of the castle,
the earl carried off the young man into Caith-
ness, and although only fifteen years of age, he
got him married to Lady Barbara Sinclair, his
daughter, then aged thirty-two years. Y-Mac-
ka}' was the paramour of this lady, and for
continuing the connexion with him she was
afterwards divorced by her husband.

' Sir R. Gordon, p. 147.

The Earl of Caithness having succeeded in
his wishes in obtaining possession of the Earl
of Sutherland, entered the earl's country, and
took possession of Dunrobin castle, in which
he fixed his residence. He also brought the
Earl of Sutherland along with him, but ho
treated him meanly, and he burnt all the papers
belonging to the house of Sutherland he could
lay his hands on. Cruel and avaricious, he,
under the pretence of vindicating the law, for
imaginary crimes expelled many of the ancient
families in Sutherland from the country, put
many of the inhabitants to death, disabled
those he banished, in their persons, by new
and unheard-of modes of torture, and stripped
them of all their wealth. To be suspected of
favouring the house of Sutherland, and to be
wealthy, were deemed capital crimes by this
oppressor.

As the Earl of Sutherland did not live on
friendly terms with his wife on account of her
licentious connexion with Mackay, and as there
appeared no chance of any issue, the Earl of
Caithness formed the base design of cutting off
the Earl of Sutherland, and marrying William
Sinclair, his second son, to Lady Margaret
Gordon, the eldest sister of the Earl of Suther-
land, whom he had also gotten into his hands,
with the view of making William earl of
Sutherland. The better to conceal his inten-
tions the Earl of Caithness made a journey
south to Edinburgh, and gave the necessary
instructions to those in his confidence to
despatch the Earl of Sutherland ; but some of
his trusty friends having received private intel-
ligence of the designs of the Earl of Caithness
from some persons who were privy thereto,
they instantly set about measures for defeating
them by getting possession of the Earl of
Sutherland's person. Accordingly, under cloud
of night, they came quietly to the burn of
Golspie, in the vicinity of Dunrobin, where,
concealing themselves to prevent discovery,
they sent Alexander Gordon of Sidderay to the
castle, disguised as a pedlar, for the purpose of
warning the Earl of Sutherland of the danger
of his situation, and devising means of escape.
Being made acquainted with the design upon
his life, and the plans of his friends for rescu-
ing him, the earl, early the following morning,
proposed to the residents in the castle, under

GENERAL HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

whose charge he was, to accompany him on a
small excursion in the neighbourhood. This
proposal seemod so reasonable in itself, that,
although he was perpetually watched by the
Earl of Caithness' servants, and his liberty
greatly restrained, they at once agreed; and,
going out, the earl being aware of the ambush
laid by his friends, led his keepers directly into
the snare before they were aware of danger.
The earl's friends thereupon rushed from their
hiding-place, and seizing him, conveyed him
safely out of the country of Sutherland to
Strathbogie. This took place in 1569. As
soon as the Earl of Caithness's retainers heard
of the escape of Earl Alexander, they collected
a party of men favourable to their interests,
and wont in hot pursuit of him as far as Port-
ne-Coulter ; but they found that the earl and
his friends had just crossed the ferry. 9

Shortly after this affair a quarrel ensued
between the Monroes and the clan Kenzie, two
very powerful Eoss-shire clans. Lesley, the
celebrated bishop of Eoss, had made over to
his cousin, the Laird of Balquhain, the right
and title of the castle of the Canonry of Eoss,
together with the castle lands. Notwithstand-
ing this grant, the Eegent Murray had given
the custody of this castle to Andrew Monroe
of Milntown ; and to make Lesley bear with
the loss, the Eegent promised him some of the
lands of the Barony of Fintry in Buchan, but
on condition that he should cede to Monroe the
castle and castle lands of the Canonry ; but the
untimely and unexpected death of the Eegent
interrupted this arrangement, and Andrew
Monroe did not, of course, obtain the title to
the castle and castle lands as he expected.
Yet Monroe had the address to obtain permis-
sion from the Earl of Lennox during his
regency, and afterwards from the Earl of Mar,
his successor in that office, to get possession of
the castle. The clan Kenzie grudging to see
Monroe in possession, and being desirous to
get hold of the castle themselves, purchased
Lesley's right, and, by virtue thereof, demanded
delivery of the castle. Monroe refused to
accede to this demand, on which the clan laid
siege to the castle ; but Monroe defended it for
three years at the expense of many lives on

9 Sir R. Gordon, p. 154

both sides. It was then delivered up to the
clan Kenzie under the act of pacification. l

No attempt was made by the Earl of Suther-
land, during his minority, to recover his pos-
sessions from the Earl of Caithness. In the
meantime the latter, disappointed and enraged
at the escape of his destined prey, vexed and
annoyed still farther the partisans of the
Sutherland family. In particular, he directed
his vengeance against the Murrays, and made
William Sutherland of Evelick, brother to the
Laird of DulTus, apprehend John Croy-Murray,
under the pretence of bringing him to justice.
This proceeding roused the indignation of
Hugh Murray of Aberscors, who assembled his
friends, and made several incursions upon the
lands of Evelick, Pronsies, and Eiercher. They
also laid waste several villages belonging to the
Laird of Duffus, from which they carried off
some booty, and apprehending a gentleman
of the Sutherlands, they detained him as an
hostage for the safety of John Croy-Murray.
Upon this the Laird of Duffus collected all his
kinsmen and friends, together with the Siol-
Phaill at Skibo, and proceeded to the town of
Dornoch, with the intention of burning it.
But the inhabitants, aided by the Murrays,
went out to meet the enemy, whom they
courageously attacked and overthrew, and pur-
sued to the gates of Skibo. Besides killing
several of Duffus' men they made some prison-
ers, whom they exchanged for John Croy-
Murray. This affair was called the skirmish
of Torran-Eoy.

The Laird of Duffus, who was father-in-law
to the Earl of Caithness, and supported him
in all his plans, immediately sent notice of this
disaster to the earl, who without delay sent
his eldest son, John, Master of Caithness, with
a large party of countrymen and friends, in-
cluding Y-Mackay and his countryman, to
attack the Murrays in Dornoch. They be-
sieged the town and castle, which were both
manfully defended by the Murrays and their
friends ; but the Master of Caithness, favoured
by the darkness of the night, set fire to the
cathedral, the steeple of wliich, however, was
preserved. After the town had been reduced,
the Master of Caithness attacked the castlo

1 Sir R. Gordon, p. 155.

DOINGS OF MACKAY AND THE EARL OF CAITHNESS.

and the steeple of the church, into which a
body of men had thrown themselves, both of
which held out for the space of a week, and
would probably have recisted much longer, but
for the interference of mutual friends of the
parties, by whose mediation the Hurrays sur-
rendered the castle and the steeple of the
church ; and, as hostages for the due perform-
ance of other conditions, they delivered up
Thomas Murray, son of Houcheon Murray of
Aberscors, Houcheon Murray, son of Alex-
ander Mac-Sir-Angus, and John Murray, son
of Thomas Murray, the brother of John Mur-
ray of Aberscors. But the Earl of Caithness
refused to ratify the treaty which his son had
entered into with the Murrays, and afterwards
basely beheaded the three hostages. These
occurrences took place in the year 1570. 2

The Murrays and the other friends of the
Sutherland family, no longer able to protect
themselves from the vengeance of the Earl of
Caithness, dispersed themselves into different
countries, there to wait for more favourable
times, when they might return to their native
soil without danger. The Murrays went to
Strathbogie, where Earl Alexander then re-
sided. Hugh Gordon of Drummoy retired to
Orkney, where he married a lady named Ursula
Tulloch ; but he frequently visited his friends
in Sutherland, in spite of many snares laid
for him by the Earl of Caithness, while secretly
going and returning through Caithness. Hugh
Gordon's brothers took refuge with the Mur-
rays at Strathbogie. John Gray of Skibo and
his son Gilbert retired to St. Andrews, where
their friend Robert, bishop of Caithness, then
resided, and Mac-Mhic-Sheumais of Strathully
went to Glengarry.

As the alliance of such a powerful and war-
like chief as Mackay would have been of great
importance to the Sutherland interest, an
attempt was made to detach him from the
Earl of Caithness. The plan appears to have
originated with Hugh Murray of Aberscors,
who made repeated visits to Strathbogie, to
consult with the Earl of Sutherland and his
friends on this subject, and afterwards went
into Strathnaver and held a conference with
Mackay, whom he prevailed upon to accom-

2 Sir R. Gordon, p. 16B.

pany him to Strathbogie. Mackay then en-
tered into an engagement with the Earl of
Huntly and the Earl of Sutherland, to assist
the latter against the Earl of Caithness, in con-
sideration of which, and on payment of .300
Scots, he obtained from the Earl of Huntly the
heritable right and title of the lands of Strath-
naver ; but Mackay, influenced by Barbara
Sinclair, the wife of the Earl of Sutherland,
with whom he now publicly cohabited, broke
his engagement, and continued to oppress the
earl's followers and dependents.

From some circumstances which have not
transpired, the Earl of Caithness became sus-
picious of his son John, the Master of Caith-
ness, as having, in connection with Mackay, a
design upon his life. To put an end to the
earl's suspicion, Mackay advised John to go to
Girnigo (Castle Sinclair), and to submit him-
self to his father's pleasure, a request with
which the Master complied ; but, after arriving
at Girnigo, he was, while conversing with his
father, arrested by a party ol armed men, who,
upon a secret signal being given by the earl,
had rushed in at the chamber door. He was
instantly fettered and thrust into prison within
the castle, where, after a miserable captivity
of seven years, he died, a prey to famine and
vermin.

Mackay, who had accompanied the Master to
Girnigo, and who in all probability would have
shared the same fate, escaped and returned
home to Strathnaver, where he died, within
four months thereafter, of grief and remorse
for the many bad actions of his life. During
the minority of his son Houcheon, John Mor-
Mackay, the cousin, and John Beg-Mackay,
the bastard son of Y-Mackay, took charge of
the estate ; but John Mor-Mackay was speedily
removed from his charge by the Earl of Caith-
ness, who, considering him as a favourer of the
Earl of Sutherland, caused him to be appre-
hended and carried into Caithness, where he
was detained in prison till his death. During
this time John Robson, the chief of the clan
Gun in Caithness and Strathnaver, became a
dependent on the Earl of Sutherland, and acted
as his factor in collecting the rents and duties
of the bishop's lands within Caithness which
belonged to the earl This connexion was
exceedingly disagreeable to the Earl of Caith-

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

ness, who in consequence took a grudge at
John Robson, and, to gratify his spleen, he
instigated Houcheon Mackay to lay waste the
lands of the cl;u Gun, in the Brea-Moir, in
Caithness, without the knowledge of John
Beg-Mackay, his brother. As the clan Gun
had always been friendly to the family of
Mackay, John Beg-Mackay was greatly exas-
perated at the conduct of the earl in enticing
the young chief to commit such an outrage ;
but he had it not in his power to make any
reparation to the injured clan. John Robson,
the chief, however, assisted by Alexander Earl
of Sutherland, invaded Strathnaver and made
ample retaliation. Meeting the Strathnaver
men at a place called Creach-Drumi-Dovin, he
attacked and defeated them, killing several of
them, and chiefly those who had accompanied
Houcheon Mackay in his expedition to the
Brea-Moir. He then carried off a large quan-
tity of booty, which he divided among the clan
Gun of Strathully, who had suffered by IIou-
cheon Mackay's invasion. 3

The Earl of Caithness, having resolved to
avenge himself on John Beg-Mackay for the
displeasure shown by him at the conduct of
Houcheon Mackay, and also on the clan Gun,
prevailed upon Neil-Mac-Iain-Mac- William,
chief of the Sliochd-Iain-Abaraich, and James
Mac-Rory, chief of the Slioehd-Iaiii-Mhoir, to
attack them. Accordingly, in the month of
September, 1579, these two chiefs, with their
followers, entered Balnekill in Durines during
the night-time, and slew John Beg-Mackay
and "William Mac-Iain-Mac-Rob, the brother
of John. Robson, and some of their people.
The friends of the deceased were not in a con-
dition to retaliate, but they kept up the spirit
of revenge so customary in those times, and
only waited a favourable opportunity to gratify
it. This did not occur till several years there-
after. In the year 1587, James Mac-Rory,
" a fyne gentleman and a good commander,"
according to Sir Robert Gordon, was assassi-
nated by Donald Balloch-Mackay, the brother
of John Beg-Mackay ; and two years there-
after John Mackay, the son of John Beg,
attacked Neil Mac-Iain-Mac- William, whom
he wounded severely, and cut off some of his

3 Sir R. Gordon, p. 173

followers. " This Neil," says Sir R. Gordon,
" heir mentioned, wes a good captain, bold,
craftie, of a verio good witt, and quick resolu
tion."

After the death of John Beg-Mackay, and
William Mac-Iain-Mac-Rob, a most deadly and
inveterate feud followed, between the clan GUI
and the Sliochd-Iain-Abaraich, but no recital
of the details has been handed down to us.
" The long, the many, the horrible encounters,"
observes Sir R. Gordon " which happened be-
tween these two trybes, with the bloodshed,
and infinit spoills committed in every pairt of
the diocy of Cattcynes by them and their asso-
ciats, are of so disordered and troublesome
mcmorie, that, what with their asperous names,
together with the confusion of place, tymes,
and persons, would yet be (no doubt) a wan-
to the reader to overlook them; and therefor,
to favor myne oune paines, and his who should
get little profite or delight thereby, I doe pass
them over." 4

The clan Chattan, fifty years earlier, must
have been harassing the surrounding districts
to a terrible extent, and causing the govern-
ment considerable trouble, as in 1528 we find
a mandate addressed by King James " to our
shirreffs of Kincardin, Abirdene, Banf, Elgen,
Fores, Name, and Invernyss; and to our
derrest bruthir, James, Erie of Murray, oiu
lieutenant generate in the north partis of our
realme, and to our louittis consingis [ ] Erie
of Sutherland; John Erie of Cathnes," &c.,
&c., commanding them that inasmuch as John
M'Kiiilay, Thomas Mackinlay, Donald Glass,
&c., " throcht assistance and fortifying of all
the kin of Clanquhattane duelland within
Baienach, Petty, Brauchly, Strathnarne, and
other parts thereabout, committs daily fire-
raising, slaughter, murder, heirschippis, and
wasting of the cuntre," to the harm of the true
lieges, these sheriffs and others shall fall upon
the " said Clanquhattane, and invade them to
their utter destruction by slaughter, burning,
drowning, and other ways; and leave na crea-
ture living of that clan, except priests, women,
and bairns." The "women and bairns" they
were ordered to take to " some parts of the son
nearest land, quhair ships salbe forsene on our

4 History, p. 171.

PROCEEDINGS AGAINST THE CLAN GUN.

expenses, to sail with them, furth of our realme,
ami land with them in Jesland, Zesland, or
Norway; because it were inhumanity to put
hands in the blood of women and bairns."
Had this mandate for "stamping out" this
troublesome clan been carried out it would
certainly have been an effectual cure for many
of the disturbances in the Highlands j but wo
cannot find any record as to what practical
result followed the issue of tliis cruel decree. 6

In the year 1585 a quarrel took place be-
tween Noil Houcheonson, and Donald Neilson,
the Laird of Assyut, who had married Houcheon
Mackay's sister. The cause of Donald Neilson
wis espoused by Houcheon Mackay, and the
elan Gun, who came with an army out of
Caithness and Strathnavcr, to besiege Neil
Houcheonson in the isle of Assynt. Neil,
who was commander of Assynt, and a follower
of the Earl of Sutherland, sent immediate
notice to the earl of Mackay's movements, on
receiving which the earl, assembling a body of
men, despatched them to Assynt to raise the
siege; but Mackay did not wait for their
coming, and retreated into Strathnaver. As
the Earl of Caithness had sent some of his
people to assist Mackay, who was the Earl of
Sutherland's vassal, the latter resolved to
punish both, and accordingly made preparations
for entering Strathnaver and Caithness with
an army. But some mutual friends of the
parties interfered to prevent the effusion of
blood, by prevailing on the two earls to meet
at Elgin, in the presence of the Earl of Huntly
and other friends, and get their differences
adjusted. A meeting was accordingly held, at
which the earls were reconciled. The whole
blame of the troubles and commotions which
had recently disturbed the peace of Sutherland
and Caithness, was thrown upon the clan Gun,
who were alleged to have been the chief insti-
gators, and as then- restless disposition might
give rise to new disorders, it was agreed, at
said meeting, to cut them off, and particularly
that part of the tribe which dwelt in Caith-
ness, which was chiefly dreaded, for which
purpose the Earl of Caithness bound himself
to deliver up to the Earl of Sutherland, certain
individuals of the clan living in Caithness.

' See Scolding Club Miscclla^.i , vol. ii. p. S3.

To enable him to implement his engagement a
resolution was entered into to send two com-
panies of men against those of the clan Gun
who dwelt in Caithness and Strathnaver, and
to surround them in such a way as to prevent
escape. The Earl of Caitlmess, notwithstand-
ing, sent private notice to the clan of the
preparations making against them by Angus
Sutherland of Mellary, in Berriedale; but the
clan were distrustful of the earl, as they had
already received secret intelligence that he had
assembled his people together for the purpose
of attacking them.

As soon as the Earl of Sutherland could get
his men collected he proceeded to march to the
territories of the clan Gun; but meeting by
chance, on his way, with a party of Strath-
naver men, under the command of William
Mackay, brother of Houcheon Mackay, carrying
off the cattle of James Mac-Rory, a vassal of
his own, from Coireceann Loch in the Diri-
Meanigh, he rescued and brought back his
vassal's cattle. After this the earl's party pur-
sued "William Mackay and the Strathnaver
men during the whole day, and killed one of
the principal men of the clan Gun in Strath-
naver, called Angus-Eoy, with several others
of Mackay's company. This affair was called
Latha-Tom-Fraoich, that is, the day of the
heather bush. At the end of the pursuit, and
towards evening, the pursued party found
themselves on the borders of Caithness, where
they found the clan Gun assembled in conse-
quence of the rising of the Caithness people
who had taken away their cattle.

Tliis accidental meeting of the Strathnaver
men and the clan Gun was the means, probably,
of saving both from destruction. They imme-
diately entered into an alliance to stand by
one another, and to live or die together. Next
morning they found themselves placed between
two powerful bodies of their enemies. On the
one side was the Earl of Sutherland's party at
no groat distance, reposing themselves from
the fatigues of the preceding day, and on the
other were seen advancing the Caithness men,
conducted by Henry Sinclair, brother to tho
laird of Dun, and cousin to the Earl of Caith-
ness. A council of war was immediately held
to consult how to act in this emergency, when
it was resolved to attack the Caithness men

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

first, as they were far inferior in numbers,
which was done by the clan Gun and their
allies, who had the advantage of the hill, with
great resolution. The former foolishly expended
their arrows wliile at a distanoe from their
opponents; but the clan Gun having hus-
banded their shot till they came in close con-
tact with the enemy, did great execution.
The Caithness men were completely over-
thrown, after leaving 140 of their party, with
their captain, Henry Sinclair, dead on the field
of battle. Had not the darkness of the night
favoured their flight, they would have all been
destroyed. Henry Sinclair was Mackay's
uncle, and not being aware that he had been
in the engagement till he recognised his body
among the slain, Mackay felt extremely grieved
at the unexpected death of his relative. This
skirmish took place at Aldgown, in the year
1586. The Sutherland men having lost sight
of Mackay and his party among the hills,
immediately before the conflict, returned into
their own country with the booty they had
recovered, and were not aware of the defeat of
the Caithness men till some time after that
event.

The Earl of Caithness afterwards confessed
that he had no intention of attacking the clan
Gun at the time in question ; but that his
policy was to have allowed them to bo closely
pressed and pursued by the Sutherland men,
and then to have relieved them from the im-
minent danger they would thereby be placed
in, so that they might consider that it was to
him they owed their safety, and thus lay them
under fresh obligations to him. But the
deceitful part he acted proved very disastrous
to his people, and the result so exasperated
him against the clan Gun, that he hanged
John Mac-Iain-Mac-Rob, chieftain of the clan
Gun, in Caithness, whom he had kept captive
for some time.

The result of all these proceedings was another
meeting between the Earls of Sutherland and
Caithness at the hill of Bingrime in Suther-
land, which was brought about by the media-
tion of Sir Patrick Gordon of Auchindun,
who was sent into the north by his nephew,
the Earl of Huntly, for that purpose. Here
again a new confederacy was formed against
the clan Gun iu Caithness, who were now

maintained and harboured by Mackay. The
Earl of Sutherland, on account of the recent
defeat of the Caithness men, undertook to
attack the clan first. He accordingly directed
two bodies to march with all haste against tlio
clan, one of which was commanded by James
Mac-Rory and Neil Mac-Iain-Mac-William,
chief of the Sliochd-Iain-Abaraich, who were
now under the protection of the Earl of Suther-
land; and the other by William Sutherland
Johnson, George Gordon in Marie, and Wil-
liam Murray in Iviimald, brother of Hugh
Murray of Aberscors. Houcheon Mackay,
seeing no hopes of maintaining the clan Gun
any longer without danger to himself, dis-
charged them from his country, whereupon
they made preparations for seeking an asylum
in the western isles. But, on their journey
thither, they were met near Loch Broom, at a
place called Leckmelme, by James Mac-Rory
and Neil Mac-Iain-Mac-William, where, after a
sharp skirmish, they were overthrown, and
the greater part of them killed. Their com-
mander, George Mac-Iain-Mac-Rob, brother of
John Mac-Iain-Mac-Rob, who was hanged by
the Earl of Caithness, was severely wounded,
and was taken prisoner after an unsuccessful
attempt to escape by swimming across a loch
close by. After being carried to Dunrobin
castle, and presented to the Earl of Sutherland,
George Gun was sent by liiui to the Earl of
Caithness, who, though extremely grieved at
the misfortune which had happened to the clan
Gun, dissembled his vexation, and received the
prisoner as if he approved of the Earl of
Sutherland's proceedings against him and his
unfortunate people. After a short confine-
ment, George Gun was released from his cap-
tivity by the Earl of Caithness, at the entreaty
of the Earl of Sutherland, not from any favour
to the prisoner himself, or to the earl, whom
the Earl of Caithness hated mortally, but with
the design of making Gun an instrument of
annoyance to some of the Earl of Sutherland's
neighbours. But the Earl of Caithness was
disappointed in his object, for George Gun,
after his enlargement from prison, always re-
mained faithful to the Earl of Sutherland. 6
About this time a violent feud arose in the

Sir R. Gordon, p. 185.

1T.UD T.KTWKKN THE MACDONALDS AND MACLEANS.

western isles between Angus Macdonald of
Kintyre, and Sir Lauclilan Maclean of Duart,
in Mull, whose sister Angus had married,
which ended in the almost total destruction of
the clan Donald and clan Lean. The circum-
stances which led to this unfortunate dissen-
sion were these :

Donald Gorm Macdonald of Slate, when
going on a visit from Slate to his cousin, Angus
Macdonald of Kintyre, was forced by contrary
winds to land with his party in the island of
Jura, which belonged partly to Sir Lauclilan
Maclean, and partly to Angus Macdonald.
The part of the island where Macdouald of
Slate landed belonged to Sir Lauchlan Maclean.
No sooner had Macdonald and his company
landed, than, by an unlucky coincidence, Mac-
donald Tearrcagh and Houcheon Macgillespic,
two of the clan Donald who had lately quarrelled
with Donald Gorm, arrived at the same time
with a party of men ; and, understanding that
Donald Gorm was in the island, they secretly
took away, by night, a number of cattle be-
longing to the clan Lean, and immediately put
to sea. Their object in doing so was to make
the clan Lean believe that Donald Gorm and
his party had carried off the cattle, in the hope
that the Macleans would attack Donald Gorm,
and they were not disappointed. As soon as
the lifting of the cattle had been discovered,
Sir Lauchlan Maclean assembled his whole
forces, and, under the impression that Donald
Gorm and his party had committed the spoli-
ation, he attacked them suddenly and unawares,
during the night, at a place in the island called
Inverchuockwrick, and slew about sixty of the
:lau Donald. Donald Gonn,having previously
gone on board his vessel to pass the night, for-
tunately escaped.

When Angus Macdonald heard of this " un-
toward event," he visited Donald Gorm in
Skye for the purpose of consulting with him
on the means of obtaining reparation for the
loss of his men. On his return homeward to
Kintyre, he landed in the Isle of Mull, and,
contrary to the advice of Coll Mac-James and
Reginald Mac-James, his two brothers, and of
Reginald Mac-Coll, his cousin, who wished
him to send a messenger to announce the re-
sult of his meeting witli Donald Gorm, went
to the castle of Duart, the principal residence

of Sir Lauchlan Maclean in Mull. His two
brothers refused to accompany him, and they
acted rightly; for, the day after Angus arrived
at Duart, he and all his party were perfidiously
arrested by Sir Lauchlan Maclean. Reginald
Mac-Coll, the cousin of Angus, alone escaped.
The Rhinns of Islay at this time belonged to
the clan Donald, but they had given the pos-
session of them to the clan Lean for personal
services. Sir Lauchlan, thinking the present
a favourable opportunity for acquiring an abso-
lute right to this property, offered to release
Angus Macdonald, provided he would renounce
liis right and title to the Ehinns ; and, in case
of refusal, he threatened to make him end his
days in captivity. Angus, being thus in some
degree compelled, agreed to the proposed terms;
but, before obtaining his liberty, he was forced
to give James Macdonald, his eldest son, and
Reginald Mac-James, his brother, as hostages,
until the deed of conveyance should be deliv-
ered to Sir Lauchlan.

It was not, however, the intention of Angus
Macdonald to implement this engagement, if
he could accomplish the liberation of his son
and brother. His cousin had suffered a griev-
ous injury at the hands of Sir Lauchlan Mac-
lean without any just cause of offence, and he
himself had, when on a friendly mission, been
detained most unjustly as a prisoner, and com-
pelled to promise to surrender into Sir Lauch-
lan's hands, by a regular deed, a part of his
property. Under these circumstances, his
resolution to break the unfair engagement he
had come under is not to be wondered at. To
accomplish his object he had recourse to a
stratagem in which he succeeded, as will be
shown in the sequel.

After Maclean had obtained delivery of the
two hostages, he made a voyage to Islay to get
the engagement completed. He left behind,
in the castle of Duart, Reginald Mac-James,
one of the hostages, whom he put in fetters,
and took the other to accompany him on his
voyage. Having arrived in the isle of Islay,
he encamped at Eilean-Gorm, a ruinous castle
upon the Rhinns of Islay, which castle had
been lately in the possession of the clan Lean.
Angus Macdonald was residing at the tune at
the house of Mulindry or Mullindhrca, a com-
fortable and well-furnished residence belonging

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS

Castle Duart,

to liim on the island, and to which he invited
Sir Lauehlan, under the pretence of affording
him better accommodation, and providing him
with better provisions than he could obtain in
liis camp ; but Sir Lauchlan, having his sus-
picions, declined to accept the invitation.
" There wes," says Sir Robert Gordon, " so
little trust on either syd, that they did not now
mc.it in friendship or amitie, bot vpon ther
owne guard, or rather by messingers, one from
another. And true it is (sayeth John Col win,
in his manuscript) that the islanders are, of
nature, verie suspicious ; full of invention
against ther nighbours, by whatsoever way
they may get them destroyed. Besyds this,
they are bent and eager in taking revenge, that
neither have they regaird to persone, tyme,
aige, nor cause ; and ar generallie so addicted
that way (as lykwise are the most pairt of all
Highlanders), that therein they surpasse all
other people whatsoever."

Sir Lauchlan, however, was thrown off his
guard by fair promises, and agreed to pay
Macdonald a visit, and accordingly proceeded
to Mulindry, accompanied by James Macdon-
ald, his own nephew, and the son of Angus,
and 8G of his kinsmen and servants. Maclean
and his party, on their arrival, were received
by Macdonald with much apparent kindness,
and were sumptuously entertained during the
whole day. In the meantime, Macdonald sent
notice to all his friends and well-wishers in the
island, to come to his house at nine o'clock at

night, his design being to seize Maclean and
his party. At the usual hour for going to
repose, Maclean and his people were lodged in
a long-house, which stood by itself, at some
distance from the other houses. During the
whole day Maclean had always kept James
Macdonald, the hostage, within his reach, as a
sort of protection to him in case of an attack,
and at going to bed he took him along with
him. About an hour after Maclean and his
people had retired, Angus assembled his men
to the number of 300 or 400, and made them
surround the house in which Maclean and his
company lay. Then, going himself to the
door, he called upon Maclean, and told him
that he had come to give him his reposing
drink, which he had forgotten to offer him
before going to bed. Maclean answered that
he did not wish to drink at that time ; but
Macdonald insisted that he should rise and
receive the drink, it being, he said, his will
that he should do so. The peremptory tone of
Macdonald made Maclean at once apprehen-
sive of the danger of his situation, and imme-
diately getting up and placing the boy between
his shoulders, prepared to preserve his life as
long as he could with the boy, or to sell it as
dearly as possible. As soon as the door was
forced open, James Macdonald, seeing his
father with a naked sword in his hand and a
number of his men armed in the same manner,
cried aloud for mercy to Maclean, Ms uncle,
which being granted, Sir Lauchlan was irr.rae-

FEUD BETWEEN THE MACDONALDS AND MACLEANS.

diately removed to a secret chamber, where he
remained till next morning. After Maclean
had surrendered, Angus Macdonald announced
to those within the house, that if they would
come without their lives would he spared ;
but lie excepted Macdonald Terreagh and
another Individual whom he named. The
whole, with the exception of these two, hav-
ing complied, the house was immediately set
on fire, and consumed along with Macdonald
Terreagh and his companion. The former was
one of the clan Donald of the Western Islands,
and not only had assisted the clan Lean
against his own tribe, but was also the origin-
ator, as we have seen, of all these disturbances ;
and the latter was a near kinsman to Maclean,
one of the oldest of the clan, and celebrated
for his wisdom and prowess. This affair took
place in the month of July, 1586.

When the intelligence of the seizure of Sir
Lauchlan Maclean reached the Isle of Mull,
Allan Maclean, who was the nearest kinsman
to Maclean, whose children were then very
young, bethought himself of an expedient to
obtain the possessions of Sir Lauchlan. In
conjunction with his friends, Allan cause. 1 a
false report to be spread in the island of Islay,
that the friends of Maclean had killed Reginald
Mac-James, the remaining hostage at Duart
in Mull, by means of which he hoped that
Angus Macdonald would be moved to kill Sir
Lauchlan, and thereby enable him (Allan) to
supply his place. But although this device
did not succeed, it proved very disastrous to
Sir Lauclilan's friends and followers, who were
beheaded in pairs by Coll Mac-James, the
brother of Angus Macdonald.

The friends of Sir Lauchlan seeing no hopes
of his release, applied to the Earl of Argyle to
ossist them in a contemplated attempt to rescue
him out of the hands of Angus Macdonald ;
but the earl, perceiving the utter hopelessness
of such an attempt with such forces as he and
they could command, advised them to com-
plain to King James VI. against Angus Mac-
donald, for the seizure and detention of their
cliicf. The king immediately directed that
Macdonald should 1)6 summoned by a herald-
at-arms to deliver up Sir Lauchlan into the
hands of the Earl of Argyle ; but the herald
was interrupted in the performance of his duty,

not being able to procure shipping for Islay,
and was obliged to return home. The Earl of
Argyle had then recourse to negotiation with
Macdonald, and, after considerable trouble, he
prevailed on him to release Sir Lauchlau on
certain strict conditions, but not until Regi-
nald Mac-James, the brother of Angus, had
been delivered up, and the earl, for perform-
ance of the conditions agreed upon, had given
his own son, and the son of Macleod of Harris,
as hostages. But Maclean, quite regardless of
the safety of the hostages, and in open viola-
tion of the engagements he had come under,
on hearing that Angus Macdonald had gone
on a visit to the clan Donald of the glens in
Ireland, invaded Isla, which he laid waste, and
pursued those who had assisted in his capture.

On his return from Ireland, Angus Macdon-
ald made great preparations for inflicting a
just chastisement upon Maclean. Collecting
a large body of men, and much shipping, he
invaded Mull and Tiree, carrying havoc and
destruction along with him, and destroying
every human being and every domestic animal,
of whatever kind. While Macdonald was
committing these ravages in Mull and Tirce,
Maclean, instead of opposing him, invaded
Kintyre, where he took ample retaliation by
wasting and burning a great part of that coun-
try. In this manner did these hostile clans
continue, for a considerable period, mutually
to vox and destroy one another, till they were
almost exterminated, root and branch.

In order to strengthen his own power and
to weaken that of his antagonist, Sir Lauchlan
Maclean attempted to detach John Mac-Iain,
of Ardnamurchan, from Angus Macdonald and
his party. Mac-Iain had formerly been an
unsuccessful suitor for the hand of Maclean's
mother, and Sir Lauchlan now gave him an
invitation to visit him in Mull, promising, at
the same time, to give him his mother in mar-
riage. Mac-Iain accepted the invitation, and
on his arrival in Mull, Maclean prevailed on
his mother to marry Mac-Iain, and the nuptials
were accordingly celebrated at Torloisk in
MulL No persuasion, however, could induce
Mac-Iain to join against his own tribe, towards
which, notwithstanding his matrimonial alli-
ance, he entertained the strongest affection.
Chagrined at the unexpected refusal of Mac-

100

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

Iain, Sir Lauclilan resolved to punish Ms
refractory guest "by one of those gross infringe-
ments of the laws of hospitality which so often
marked the hostility of rival clans. During
the dead hour of the night he caused the door
of Mac-Iain's bedchamber to he forced open,
dragged him from his bed, and from the arms
of his wife, and put him in close confinement,
after killing eighteen of his followers. After
Buffering a year's captivity, he was released and
exchanged for Maclean's son, and the other
hostages in Macdonald's possession.

The dissensions between these two tribes
having attracted the attention of government,
the rival chiefs were induced, partly by com-
mand of the king, and partly by persuasions
and fair promises, to come to Edinburgh in the
year 1592, for the purpose of having their
differences reconciled. On their arrival they
were committed prisoners to the castle of Edin-
burgh, but were soon released and allowed to
return home on payment of a small pecuniary
fine, "and a shanifull remission," says Sir Ro-
bert Gordon, "granted to either of them." 7

In the year 1587, the flames of discord,
which had lain dormant for a short time, burst
forth between the rival houses of Sutherland
and Caithness. In the year 1583, Alexander,
Earl of Sutherland, obtained from the Earl of
Huntly a grant of the superiority of Strath-
naver, and of the heritable sheriffship of
Sutherland and Strathnaver, which last was
granted in lieu of the lordship of Aboyne.
This grant was confirmed by his Majesty in
a charter under the great seal, by which
Sutherland and Strathnaver were disjoined
and dismembered from the sheriffdom of
Inverness. As the strength and influence of
the Earl of Sutherland were greatly increased
by the power and authority with which the
superiority of Strathnaver invested him, the
Earl of Caithness used the most urgent entreat-
ies with the Earl of Huntly, who was his
brother-in-law, to recall the gift of the superi-
ority which he had granted to the Earl of
Sutherland, and confer the same on him. The
Earl of Huntly gave no decided answer to this
application, although he seemed rather to listen
with a favourable ear to his brother-in-law's

7 History, p. 192.

request. The Earl of Sutherland having been
made aware of his rival's pretensions, and of
the reception which he had met with from the
Earl of Huntly, immediately notified to Huntly
that he would never restore the superiority
either to him or to the Earl of Caithness, as
the bargain he had made with him had been
long finally concluded. The Earl of Huntly
was much offended at this notice, but he and
the Earl of Sutherland were soon reconciled
through the mediation of Sir Patrick Gordon
of Auchindun.

Disappointed in his views of obtaining the
superiority in question, the Earl of Caithness
seized the first opportunity, which presented
itself, of quarrelling with the Earl of Suther-
land, and he now thought that a suitable occa-
sion had occurred. George Gordon, a bastard
son of Gilbert Gordon of Gartay, having offered
many indignities to the Earl of Caithness, the
Earl, instead of complaining to the Earl of
Sutherland, in whose service this George Gordon
was, craved satisfaction and redress from the
Earl of Huntly. Huntly very properly desired
the Earl of Caithness to lay his complaint
before the Earl of Sutherland ; but this he
declined to do, disdaining to seek redress from
Earl Alexander. Encouraged, probably, by the
refusal of the Earl of Huntly to interfere, and
the stubbornness of the Earl of Caithness to
ask redress from his master, George Gordon,
who resided in the town of Marie in Strathully,
on the borders of Caithness, not satisfied with
the indignities which he had formerly shown
to the Earl of Caithness, cut off the tails of the
earl's horses as they wore passing the river of
Helmsdale under the care of his servants, on
their journey from Caithness to Edinburgh,
and in derision desired the earl's servants to
show him what he had done.

This George Gordon, it would appear, led a
very irregular and wicked course of life, and
shortly after the occurrence we have just related,
a circumstance happened which induced the Earl
of Caithness to take redress at his own hands.
George Gordon had incurred the displeasure of
the Earl of Sutherland by an unlawful con-
nexion with his wife's sister, and as he had no
hopes of regaining the earl's favour but by
renouncing this impure intercourse, he sent
Patrick Gordon, his brother, to the Earl of

EAltLS OF CAITHNESS A3V SUTHERLAND.

101

Caitluicss to endeavour to effect a reconciliation
with him, as he could no longer rely upon the
protection of his master, the Earl of Suther-
land. The Earl of Caithness, who felt an
inward satisfaction at hearing of the displea-
sure of the Earl of Sutherland with George
Gordon, dissembled his feelings, and pretended
to listen with great favour to the request of
Patrick Gordon, in order to throw George
Gordon off his guard, while ho was in reality
meditating his destruction. The ruse succeeded
so effectually, that although Gordon received
timcous notice, from some friends, of the
intentions of the earl to attack him, he reposed
in false security upon the promises held out to
him, and made no provision for his personal
safety. But he was soon undeceived by the
appearance of the earl and a body of men,
who, in February, 1587, entering Marie under
the silence of the night, surrounded his house
and required him to surrender, which he refused
to do. Having cut his way through his enemies
and thrown himself into the river of Helms-
dale, which he attempted to swim across, he
was slain by a shower of arrows.

The Earl of Sutherland, though ho disliked
the conduct of George Gordon, was highly in-
censed at his death, and made great prepara-
tions to punish the Earl of Caithness for his
attack upon Gordon. The Earl of Caithness
in his turn assembled his whole forces, and,
being joined by Mackay and the Strathnaver
men, together with John, the Master of Orkney,
and the Earl of Carrick, brother of Patrick,
Earl of Orkney, and some of his countrymen,
marched to Helmsdale to meet the Earl of
Sutherland. As soon as the latter heard of the
advance of the Earl of Caithness, lie also pro-
ceeded towards Helmsdale, accompanied by
Mackintosh, Roderick Mackenzie of Redcastle,
Hector Monroe of Contaligh, and Neill Hou-
cheonson, with the men of Assynt. On his
arrival at the river of Helmsdale, the Earl of
Sutherland found the enemy encamped on the
opposite side. Neither party seemed inclined
to come to a general engagement, but contented
themselves with daily skirmishes, annoying
each other with guns and arrows from the
opposite banks of the river. The Sutherland
men, who were very expert archers, annoyed
the Caithness men so much, as to force them

to break up their camp on the river side and
to remove among the rocks above the villago
of Easter Helmsdale. Mackay and his coun-
trymen were encamped on the river of Marie,
and in order to detach liim from the Earl of
Caithness, Macintosh crossed that river and
had a private conference with liim. After
reminding him of the friendship wliich had so
long subsisted between his ancestors and the
Sutherland family, Macintosh endeavoured to
impress upon his mind the danger ho incurred
by taking up arms against liis own superior the
Earl of Sutherland, and entreated liim, for his
own sake, to join the earl; but Mackay remained
inflexible.

By the mediation of mutual friends, the two
earls agreed to a temporary truce on the 9th
of March, 1587, and thus the effusion of human
blood was stopped for a short time. As
Mackay was the vassal of the Earl of Suther-
land, the latter refused to comprehend him in
the truce, and insisted upon an unconditional
submission, but Mackay obstinately refused to
do so, and returned home to his own country,
highly chagrined that the Earl of Caithness,
for whom he had put his life and estate in
jeopardy, should have acceded to the Earl of
Sutherland's request to exclude him from tho
benefit of the truce. Before the two earls
separated they came to a mutual understand-
ing to reduce Mackay to obedience ; and that
he might not suspect their design, they agreed
to meet at Edinburgh for the purpose of con-
certing the necessary measures together. Ac-
cordingly, they held a meeting at the appointed
place in the year 1588, and came to the reso-
lution to attack Mackay; and to prevent
Mackay from receiving any intelligence of
their design, both parties swore to keep the
same secret; but the Earl of Caithness, re-
gardless of his oath, immediately sent notice to
Mackay of the intended attack, for the purpose
of enabling him to meet it. Instead, however,
of following the Earl of Caithncss's advice,
Mackay, justly dreading his hollow friendship,
made haste, by the advice of Macintosh and
the Laird of Foulis, to reconcile himself to the
Earl of Sutherland, his superior, by an im-
mediate submission. For this purpose he and
the earl first met at Inverness, and after con-
ferring together they made another appoint-

102

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

meiit to meet at Elgin, where a perfect and
final reconciliation took place hi the month of
November, 1588.

CHAPTER VIII.

A. D. 1K88 1601.
KINO OP SCOTLAND:-- -James VI., 15071003.

Continued strife between the Earls of Sutherland and
Caithness Short Reconciliation Strife renewed
Fivsh Keconciliation Quarrel between Clan Gun
nnd other tribes The Earl of Hnntly, the Clan
Chattan, and others Death of the " Bonny " Earl
of Murray Consequent excitement Strife between
Hnntly and the Clan Chattan Huntly attainted
and treated as a rebel Argyle sent against him
Battle of Glenlivet Journey of James VI. to the
North Tumults in Ross Feud between the Mac-
leans and Macdonalds Defeat of the Macleans Dis-
pute between the Earls of Sutherland and Caithness
Fend between Macdonald of Slate and Macleod of
Harris Reconciliation.

TUB truce between the Earls of Caithness
and Sutherland having now expired, the latter,
accompanied by Mackay, Macintosh, the Laird
of Foulis, the Laird of Assynt, and Gille-Calum,
Laird of Rasay, entered Caithness with all his
forces in the beginning of 1588. In taking
this step he was warranted by a commission
which he had obtained at court, through the
influence of Chancellor Maitland, against the
Earl of Caithness for killing George Gordon.
The people of Caithness, alarmed at the great
force of the earl, lied in all directions on his
approach, and he never halted till he reached
the strong fort of Giniigo, where he pitched
his camp for twelve days. He then penetrated
as far as Duncansby, killing several of the
country people on his route, and collecting an
immense quantity of cattle and goods, so large,
indeed, as to exceed all that had been seen toge-
ther in that country for many years. This inva-
sion had such an effect upon the people of Caith-
ness, that every race, clan, tribe, and family
there, vied with one another in offering pledges
to the Earl of Sutherland to keep the peace in
all time coming. The town of Wick was also
pillaged and burnt, but the church was pre-
served. In the church was found the heart of
the Earl of Caithncss's father in a case of lead,
which was opened by John Mac-Gille-Calum of
Rasay, and the ashes of the heart were tlirown
by liim to the winds.

During the time when these depredations
were being committed, the Earl of Caithness
shut himself up in the castle of Girnigo ; but
on learning the disasters which had befallen
his country, he desired a cessation of hostilities
and a conference with the Earl of Sutherland.
As the castle of Girnigo was strongly fortified,
and as the Earl of Caithness had made prepa-
rations for enduring a long siege, the Earl of
Sutherland complied with his request. Both
carls ultimately agreed to refer all their differ-
ences and disputes to the arbitration of friends,
and the Earl of Huntly was chosen by mutual
consent to act as umpire or oversman, in the
event of a difference of opinion.. A second
truce was in this way entered into until tho
decision of the arbiters, when all differences
were to cease. 8

Notwithstanding this engagement, however,
the Earl of Caithness soon gave fresh provoca-
tion, for before the truce had expired he sent
a party of his men to Diri-Chatt in Sutherland,
under the command of Kenneth Buy, and his
brother Farquhar Buy, chieftains of the Siol-
Mhic-Imheair in Caithness, and chief advisers
of the Earl of Caithness in his bad actions, and
his instruments in oppressing the poor people
of Caithness. The Earl of Sutherland lost no
time in revenging himself for the depredations
committed. At Whitsunday, in the year 1 580,
he sent 300 men into Caithness, with Alexan-
der Gordon of Kilcalmekill at their head.
They penetrated as far as Girnigo, laying the
country waste everywhere around them, and
striking terror into the hearts of the inhabit-
ants, many of whom, including some of the
Siol-Mlu'c-Imheair, they killed. After spend-
ing their fury the party returned to Sutherland
with a large booty, and without the loss of a
single man.

To retaliate upon the Earl of Sutherland for
this inroad, James Sinclair of Marklo, brother
of the Earl of Caithness, collected an army
of 3,000 men, with which he marched into
Strathully, in the month of Juno, 1589. As
the Earl of Sutherland had been apprehen-
sive of an attack, he had placed a range of
sentinels along the borders of Sutherland, to
give notice of the approach of the enemy. Of

8 Sir R. Gordon, o. 157.

STRIFE BETWEEN THE EARLS OF CAITHNESS AND SUTHERLAND. 103

these, four wore stationed in the village of
Liribcll, which the Caithness men entered in
the middle of the day unknown to the sentinels,
who, instead of keeping an outlook, were at
the time carelessly enjoying themselves within
the watch-house. On perceiving the Caithness
men about entering the house, they shut them-
selves up within it ; but the house being set
on fire, three of them perished, and the fourth,
rushing through the flames, escaped with great
difficulty, and announced to his countrymen
the arrival of the enemy. From Strathully,
Sinclair passed forward with his army to a
place called Crissalligh, on the height of Strath-
broray, and began to drive away some cattle
towards Caithness. As the Earl of Sutherland
had not yet had sufficient time to collect a suf-
ficient force to oppose Sinclair, he sent in the
meantime Houchcon Mackay, who happened
to be at Dunrobin with 500 or 600 men, to
keep Sinclair in check until a greater force
should be assembled. With this body, which
was hastily drawn together on the spur of the
occasion, Mackay advanced with amazing celer-
ity, and such was the rapidity of his move-
ments, that he most unexpectedly came up
with Sinclair not far from Crissalligh, when
his army was ranging about without order or
military discipline. On coming up, Mackay
found John Gordon of Kilcalmekill at the
head of a small party skirmishing with the
Caithness men, a circumstance which made
him instantly resolve, though so far inferior in
numbers, to attack Sinclair. Crossing there-
fore the water, which was between him and
the enemy, Mackay and his men rushed upon
the army of Sinclair, which they defeated after
a long and warm contest The Caithness men
retreated with the lis of their booty and part
of their baggage, and were closely pursued by
a body of men commanded by John Murray,
nicknamed the merchant, to a distance of 16
miles. 9

This defeat, however, did not satisfy the
Earl of Sutherland, who, having now assembled
an army, entered Caithness with the intention
of laying it waste. The earl advanced as far
as Corrichoigh, and the Earl of Caithness con-
vened his forces at Spittle, where he lay wait-

Sir R. Cordon, p. 199.

ing the arrival of his enemy. The Earl of
Huntly, having been made acquainted with the
warlike preparations of the two hostile earls,
sent, without delay, his uncle, Sir Patrick
Cordon of Auchindun, to mediate between
them, and he luckily arrived at the Earl of
Sutherland's head-quarters, at the very instant
his army was on its march to meet the Earl
of Caithness. By the friendly interference of
Sir Patrick, the parties were prevailed upon to
desist from their hostile intentions, and to
agree to hold an amicable meeting at Elgin, in
presence of the Earl of Huntly, to whom they
also agreed to refer all their differences. A
meeting accordingly took place in the month
of November, 1589, at which all disputes wern
settled, and in order that the reconciliation
might be lasting, and that no recourse might
again bo had to arms, the two earls subscribed
a deed, by which they appointed Huntly and
his successors hereditary judges, and arbitra-
tors of all disputes or differences, that might
thenceforth arise between these two houses.

This reconciliation, however, as it did not
obliterate the rancour which existed between
the people of these different districts, was but
of short duration. The frequent depredations
committed by the vassals and retainers of the
earls upon the property of one another, led to an
exchange of letters and messages between them
about the means to be used for repressing these
disorders. During this correspondence the Earl
of Sutherland became unwell, and, being con-
fined to liis bed, the Earl of Caithness, in Octo-
ber, 1590, wrote him a kind letter, which he had
scarcely despatched when he most unaccount-
ably entered Sutherland with a hostile force ;
but he only remained one night in that country,
in consequence of receiving intelligence of a
meditated attack upon his camp by John Gor-
don of Kilcalmekill, and Neill Mac-Iain-Mac-
William. A considerable number of the Suth-
erland men having collected together, they re-
solved to pursue the Caithness men, who had
carried off a large quantity of cattle; but, on
coming nearly up with them, an unfortunate
difference arose between the Murrays and the
Gordons, each contending for the command of
the vanguard. The Murraye rested their claim
upon their former good services to the house
of Sutherland ; but the Gordons refusing to

101

GENEEAL 11ISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

admit it, all the Hurrays, with tlio exception
of William Murray, brother of tlie Laird of
I'alrossie, and John Murray, the merchant,
withdrew, and took a station on a hill hard
by to witness the combat. This unexpected
event seemed to paralyze the Gordons at first;
but seeing the Caithness men driving the
cattle away before them, and thinking that if
they did not attack them they would be accused
of cowardice, Patrick Gordon of Gartay, John
Gordon of Einbo, and John Gordon of Kil-
calmekill, after some consultation, resolved to
attack the retiring foe without loss of time,
and without waiting for the coming up of the
Stratlmaver men, who were hourly expected.
This was a bold and desperate attempt, as the
Gordons were only as one to twelve in point
of numbers, but they could not brook the idea
of being branded as cowards. With such
numerical inferiority, and with the sun and
wind in their faces to boot, the Sutherland
men advanced upon and resolutely attacked
the Caillmess men near Clyne. In the van of
the Caitlmess army were placed about 1,500
archers, a considerable number of whom were
from the Western Isles, under the command of
Donald Balloch Mackay of Scourie, who
poured a thick shower of arrows upon the men
of Sutherland as they advanced, the latter, in
return, giving their opponents a similar recep-
tion. The combat raged with great fury for a
considerable time between these two parties :
thrice were the Caithness archers driven back
upon their roar, which was in consequence
thrown into great disorder, and thrice did
they return to the conflict, cheered on and
encouraged by their leader ; but, though supe-
rior in numbers, they could not withstand the
firmness and intrepidity 01 the Sutherland
men, who forced them to re Ure from the field
of battle on the approach of night, and to
abandon the cattle which had been carried off.
The loss in killed and wounded was about
equal on both sides ; but, with the exception
of Nicolas Sutherland, brother of the Laird of
Forse, and Angus Mac-Angus-Tennat, both
belonging to the Caitlmess party, and John
Murray, the merchant, on the Sutherland side,
there were no principal persons killed.

Vain as the efforts of the common friends of
the rival earls had hitherto been to reconcile

them effectually, the Earl of Huntly and
others once more attempted an arrangement,
and having prevailed upon the parties to meet
at Strathbogie, a final agreement was entered
into in the month of March, 1591, by w'lich
they agreed to bury all bygone differences in
oblivion, and to live on terms of amity in al]
time thereafter.

This fresh reconciliation of the two earls was
the means of restoring quiet in their districts
for a considerable time, which was partially
interrupted in the year 1594, by a quarrel
between the clan Gun and some of the other
petty tribes. Donald Mac-Williani-Mac-Hen-
ric, Alister Mac-Iain-Mac-Eoric, and others of
the clan Gun entered Caithness and attacked
Farquhar Buy, one of the captains of the tribe
of Siol-Mhic-Imheair, and William Sutherland,
alias William Abaraich, the chief favourite of
the Earl of Caithness, and the principal plotter
against the life of George Gordon, whose death
has been already noticed. After a warm skir-
mish, Farquhar Buy, and William Abaraich,
and some of their followers, wore slain. To re-
venge this outrage, the Earl of Caithness sent
the same year his brother, James Sinclair of
Murkle, with a party of men, against the clan
Gun in Strathic, in Stratlmaver, who killed
seven of that tribe. George Mac-Iain-Mac-
Ilob, the chief, and Donald Mac-William-Muc-
Henric narrowly escaped with their lives.

For the sake of continuity, we have deferred
noticing those transactions in the north in
wliich George Gordon, Earl of Huntly, was
more immediately concerned, and which led to
several bloody conflicts.

The earl, who was a favourite at court, and
personally liked by James VI., finding liirnself
in danger from the prevailing faction, retired
to his possessions in the north, for the purpose
of improving his estates and enjoying domestic
quiet. One of his first measures was to erect
a castle at Euthven, in Badenoch, in the neigh-
bourhood of his hunting forests. This gave
great offence to Macintosh, the chief of the clan
Chattan, and his people, as they considered
that the object of its erection was to overawe
the clan. Being the earl's vassals and tenants,
they were bound to certain services, among
wliich the furnishing of materials for the build-
ing formed a chief part ; but, instead of a.ssiat-

EAUL OF IIUNTLY AGAINST THE CLAN CIIATTAX AND OTHERS. 105

ing the earl's people, they at first indirectly
and in an underhand manner endeavoured to
prevent the workmen from going on with their
operations, and afterwards positively refused
to furnish the necessaries required for tho
Imilding. This act of disobedience was the
cause of much trouble, which was increased by a
quarrel in tho year 1590, between tho Gordons
and the Grante, the occasion of which was as
follows. John Grant, the tutor of Ballen-
dalloch, having withheld the rents due to the
widow, and endeavoured otherwise to injure
her, James Gordon, her nephew, eldest son of
Alexander Gordon of Lismore, along with some
of his friends, went to Ballendalloch to obtain
justice for her. On their arrival, differences
were accommodated so far that the tutor paid
up all arrears due to the lady, except a trifle,
which he insisted, on some ground or other, on
retaining. This led to some altercation, in
which the servants of both parties took a share,
and latterly came to blows; but they were
separated, and James Gordon returned home.
Judging from what had taken place, that his
aunt's interests would in future be better
attended to if under the protection of a hus-
band, he persuaded the brother of Sir Thomas
Gordon of Cluny to marry her, which he did.
Tin's act so incensed the tutor of Ballendalloch,
that lie at once showed his displeasure by
killing, at the instigation of the laird of Grant,
one of John Gordon's servants. For this the
tutor, and such of the Grants as should harbour
or assist him, were declared outlaws and rebels,
and a commission was granted to the Earl of
lluntly to apprehend and bring them to justice,
in virtue of which, he besieged the house of
Biillendalloch, and took it by force, on the
2d November, 1590 ; but the tutor effected
his escape. Sir John Campbell of Cadell, a
despicable tool of the Chancellor Maitland,
who had plotted the destruction of the earl
and the laird of Grant, now joined in the
conspiracy against him, and stirred up the clan
Chattan, and Macintosh their chief, to aid
the Grants. They also persuaded tho Earls of
Athol and Murray to assist them against the
Earl of lluntly.

As soon as Huntly ascertained that the
til-ants and clan Chattan, who were his own
vassals, had put themselves under the com-

mand of these earls, ho assembled his followers,
and, entering Badenoch, summoned his vassala
to appear before him, and deliver up tho
tutor and his abettors, but none of them came.
He then proclaimed and denounced them rebels,
and obtained a royal commission to invade and
apprehend them. To consult on the best
means of defending themselves, the Earls of
Murray and Athole, tho Dunbars, tho clan
Chattan, the Grants, and the laird of Cadell,
and others of their party met at Forres. In
the midst of their deliberations Huntly, who
had received early intelligence of the meeting,
and had, in consequence, assembled his forces,
unexpectedly made his appearance in the
neighbourhood of Forres. This sudden advance
of Huntly struck terror into the minds of the
persons assembled, and the meeting instantly
broke up in great confusion. The whole party,
with tho exception of tho Earl of Murray, left
the town in great haste, and fled to Tarnoway;
the Earl of Huntly, not aware that Murraj
had remained behind, marcliing directly to
Tarnoway in pursuit of tho fugitives. On
arriving within sight of the castle into which
the flying party had thrown themselves, the
earl sent John Gordon, brother of Sir Thomas
Gordon of Cluny, with a small body of men to
reconnoitre ; but approaching too near without
due caution, he was shot by one of the Earl of
Murray's servants. As Huntly found the castle
well fortified, and as the rebels evacuated it
and fled to the mountains, leaving a sufficient
force to protect it, he disbanded his men on
November 24, 1590, and returned home,
whence he proceeded to Edinburgh.

Shortly after his arrival the Earl of Bothwell,
who had a design upon the life of Chancellor
Maitland, made an attack upon the palace of
Holyroodhouso under cloud of night, with tho
view of seizing Maitland ; but, having failed
in Ids object, he was forced to flee to tho north
to avoid the vengeance of the king. Tho Earl
of Huntly, who had been lately reconciled to
Maitland, and tho Duke of Lennox, were sent in
pursuit of Bothwell, but ho escaped. Under-
standing afterwards that ho was harboured by
the Earl of Murray at Donnibristlo, tho chan-
cellor, having procured a commission against
him from the king in favour of lluntly, a_.;ain
scut him, accompanied by forty gui llemen, to
o

106

GEXEEAL H1STOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

attack the Earl of Murray. When the party had
arrived near Donnibristle. the Earl of Huntly
sent Captain John Gordon, of Buckie, brother
of Gordon of Gight, with a summons to the Earl
of Murray, requiring him to surrender himself
prisoner ; but instead of complying, one of the
earl's servants levelled a piece at the bearer of
the despatch, and wounded him mortally.
Huntly, therefore, after giving orders to take
the Earl of Murray alive if possible, forcibly
entered the house ; but Sir Thomas Gordon,
recollecting the fate of his brother at Tarnoway,
and Gordon of Gight, who saw his brother
lying mortally wounded before his eyes, entirely
disregarded the injunction; and following the
carl, who had fled among the rocks on the
adjoining sea-shore, slew him. It was this Earl
of Murray who was known as the "bonny"
earl, and, according to some historians, had
impressed the heart of Anne of Denmark, and
excited the jealousy of her royal spouse. This
at least was the popular notion of his time :

" He was a braw gallant,
And he played at the gluve ;
And the bonny Earl of Murray,
Oh 1 he was the queen's love

According to one account the house was set
on fire, and Murray was discovered, when
endeavouring to escape, by a spark wliich fell
on his helmet, and slain by Gordon of Buckie,
saying to the latter, who had wounded him in
the face, " You .have spilt a better face than
your awin."

The Earl of Huntly immediately despatched
John Gordon of Buckie to Edinburgh, to lay
a statement of the affair before the king and
the chancellor. The death of the Earl of
Murray would have passed quietly over, as an
event of ordinary occurrence in those trouble-
some tunes ; but, as he was one of the heads
of the Protestant party, the Presbyterian
ministers gave the matter a religious turn by
denouncing the Catholic Earl of Huntly as a
murderer, who wished to advance the interests
of his church by imbruing his hands in the
blood of his Protestant countrymen. The
effect of the ministers' denunciations was a
tumult among the people in Edinburgh and
other parts of the kingdom, which obliged the
king to cancel the commission he had granted

to the Earl of Huntly. The spirit of discon-
tent became so violent that Captain John
Gordon, who had been left at Inverkeithing
for the recovery of his wounds, but who had
been afterwards taken prisoner by the Earl of
Murray's friends and carried to Edinburgh,
was tried before a jury, and, contrary to law
and justice, condemned and executed for having
assisted the Earl of Huntly acting under a royal
commission. The recklessness and severity of
this act were still more atrocious, as Captain
Gordon's wounds were incurable, and he was
fast hastening to his grave. John Gordon of
Buckie, who was master of the king's house-
hold, was obliged to flee from Edinburgh, and
made a narrow escape with his life.

As for the Earl of Huntly, he was summoned,
at the instance of the Lord of St. Colme, brother
of the deceased Earl of Murray, to stand trial.
He accordingly appeared at Edinburgh, and
offered to abide the result of a trial by his
peers, and in the meantime was committed a
prisoner to the castle of Blackness on the 12th
of March, 1591, till the peers should assemble
to try him. On giving sufficient surety, how-
ever, that he would appear and stand trial on
receiving six days' notice to that effect, he was
released by the king on the 20th day of the
same month.

The clan Chattan, who had never submitted
without reluctance to the Earl of Huntly, con-
sidered the present aspect of affairs as peculiarly
favourable to the design they entertained of
shaking off the yoke altogether, and being
countenanced and assisted by the Grants, and
other friends of the Earl of Murray, made no
secret of their intentions. At first the earl
sent Allan Macdonald-Dubh, the chief of the
clan Cameron, with his tribe, to attack the
clan Chattan in Badenoch, and to keep them
in due order and subjection. The Camerons,
though warmly opposed, succeeded in defeat-
ing the clan Chattan, who lost 50 of their
men after a sharp skirmish. The earl next
despatched Macronald, with some of the
Lochaber men, against the Grants in Strath-
spey, whom he attacked, killed 18 of them,
and laid waste the lands of Ballendalloch.
After the clan Chattan had recovered from
their defeat, they invaded Strathdee and
Glenmuck in November 1592. To punish

EARL OF IIUNTLY ATTAINTED.

107

this aggression, the Earl of Iluntly collected
his forces and entered Pettie, then in posses-
sion of the clan Chattan as a fief from the
Earls of Murray, and laid waste all the lands
of the clan Chattan there, killed many of
them, and carried off a large quantity of cattle,
which ho divided among his army. But in
returning from Fettle after disbanding his
army, he received the unwelcome intelligence
that William Macintosh, son of Lauchlan Mac-
intosh, the chief, with 800 of the clan Chattan,
had invaded the lands of Auchindun and Cab-
berogh. The earl, after desiring the small
party which remained with him to follow him
as speedily as possible, immediately set off at
full speed, accompanied by Sir Patrick Gordon
of Auchindun and 3G horsemen, in quest of
Macintosh and his party. Overtaking them
before they had left the bounds of Cabberogh,
upon the top of a hill called Stapliegate, he
attacked them with his small party, and, after
a warm skirmish, defeated them, killing about
CO of their men, and wounding William Mac-
intosh and others.

The Earl of Iluntly, after thus subduing his
enemies in the north, now found himself placed
under ban by the government on account
of an alleged conspiracy between Mm and the
Earls of Angus and Errol and the crown of
Spain, to overturn the State and the Church.
The king and his councillors seemed to be
satisfied of the innocence of the narls ; but the
ministers, who considered the reformed religion
in Scotland in danger while these Catholic
peers were protected and favoured, importuned
his majesty to punish them. The king, yield-
ing to necessity and to the intrigues of Queen
Elizabeth, forfeited their titles, intending to
restore them when a proper opportunity
occurred ; and, to silence the clamours of the
ministers, convoked a parliament, which was
held in the end of May, 1594. As few of the
peers attended, the ministers, having the com-
missioners of the burghs on their side, carried
everything their own way, and the consequence
was, that the three earls were attainted without
trial, and their arms were torn in presence of
the parliament, according to the custom in
such cases.

Having so far succeeded, the ministers,
instigated by the Queen of England, now

entreated the king to send the Earl of Argyle,
a youth of nineteen years of age, in the pay of
Queen Elizabeth, with an army against the
Catholic earls. The king, still yielding to
necessity, complied, and Argyle, having col-
lected a force of about 12,000 men, entered
Badenoch and laid siege to the castle of Euth-
ven, on the 27th of September, 1594. He was
accompanied in this expedition by the Earl of
Athole, Sir Lauchlan Maclean with soire of his
islanders, the chief of the Macintoshes, the
Laird of Grant, the clan Gregor, Macneil of
Barra, with all their friends and dependents,
together with the whole of the Campbells, and
a variety of others animated by a thirst for
plunder or malice towards the Gordons. The
castle of Euthven was so well defended by the
clan Pherson, who were the Earl of Huntly's
vassals, that Argyle was obliged to give up the
siege. He then marched through Strathspey,
and encamped at Drummin, upon the river
Avon, on the 2d of October, whence he issued
orders to Lord Forbes, the Frasers, the Dun-
bars, the clan Kenzie, the Irvings, the Ogil-
vies, the Leslies, and other tribes and clans
in the north, to join his standard with all con-
venient speed.

The earls, against whom this expedition was
directed, were by no means dismayed. They
knew that although the king was constrained
by popular clamour to levy war upon them, he
was in secret friendly to them ; and they were,
moreover, aware that the army of Argylc,
who was a youth of no military experience,
was a raw and undisciplined militia, and com-
posed, in a great measure, of Catholics, who
could not be expected to feel very warmly for
the Protestant interest, to support which the
expedition was professedly undertaken. The
seeds of disaffection, besides, had been already
sown in Argyle's camp by the corruption of the
Grants and Campbell of Lochnell.

On hearing of Argyle's approach, the Earl
of Errol immediately collected a select body of
about 100 horsemen, being gentlemen, on
whose courage and fidelity he could rely, and
with these he joined the Earl of Huntly at
Strathbogie. The forces of Iluntly, after this
junction, amounted, it is said, to nearly 1,500
men, almost altogether horsemen, and with this
body he advanced to Carnborrow, where the

108

GEXEEAL HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

two earls and their chief followers made a
solemn TOW to conquer or die. Marching from
thence, Huntly's army arrived at Auchindun
on the same day that Argyle's army reached
Drummin. At Auchindun, Huntly received
intelligence that Argyle was on the eve of
descending from the mountains to the lowlands,
which induced him, on the following day,
to send Captain Thomas Can and a party of
horsemen to reconnoitre the enemy, while ho
himself advanced with his main army. The
reconnoitring party soon fell in, accidentally,
with Argylo's scouts, whom they chased, and
some of whom they killed. This occurrence,
which was looked upon as a prognostic of
victory, so encouraged Huntly and his men,
that he resolved to attack the army of Argyle
before he should he joined by Lord Forbes,
and the forces which were waiting for his
appearance in the lowlands. Argyle had now
passed Glenlivet, and had reached the banks
of a small brook named Altchonlachan.

On the other hand, the Earl of Argyle had
no idea that the Earls of Huntly and Errol
would attack him with such an inferior force ;
and he was, therefore, astonished at seeing them
approach so near him as they did. Apprehen-
sive that his numerical superiority in foot would
be counterbalanced by Huntly's cavalry, he
hold a council of war, which advised Argyle to
wait till the king, who had promised to appear
with a force, should arrive, or, at all events,
till he should be joined by the Frasers and
Mackenzies from the north, and the Irvings,
Forbeses, and Leslies from the lowlands with
their horse. This opinion, which was con-
sidered judicious by the most experienced of
Argyle's army, was however disregarded by
him, and he determined to wait the attack of
the enemy ; and to encourage his men he
pointed out to them the small number of those
they had to combat with, and the spoils they
might expect after victory. He disposed Ms
army on the declivity of a hill, betwixt Glen-
livet and Glenrinnes, in two parallel divisions.
The right wing, consisting of the Macleans and
Macintoshes, was commanded by Sir Lauchlan
Maclean and Macintosh the left, composed
of the Grants, Macncills, and Macgregors, by
Grant of Gartinbcg ; and the centre, consisting
pf the Campbells, &c., was commanded by

Campbell of Auchinbreck. This vanguard
consisted of 4,000 men, one-half of whom
carried muskets. The rear of the army, con-
sisting of about 6,000 men, was commanded
by Argyle himself. The Earl of Huntly's van-
guard was composed of 300 gentlemen, led by
the Earl of Errol, Sir Patrick Gordon of
Auchindun, the laird of Gight, the laird of
Bonnitoun, and Captain, afterwards Sir Thomas
Carr. The earl liimself followed with tlio
remainder of his forces, having the laird of
Cluny upon his right hand and the laird of
Abergeldy upon his left. Three pieces of field
ordnance under the direction of Captain Andrew
Gray, afterwards colonel of the English and
Scots who served in Bohemia, were placed in
front of the vanguard. Before advancing, the
Earl of Huntly harangued his little army to
encourage them to fight manfully; ho told
them that they had no alternative before them
but victory or death that they were now to
combat, not for their own lives only, but also
for the very existence of their families, which
would be utterly extinguished if they fell a
prey to their enemies.

The position which Argyle occupied on tho
declivity of the hill gave him a decided advan-
tage over his assailants, who, from the nature
of their force, were greatly hampered by the
mossy nature of the ground at the foot of
tho hill, interspersed by pits from which turf
had been dug. But, notwithstanding these
obstacles, Iluntly advanced up the hill with
a slow and steady pace. It had been
arranged between him and Campbell of
Lochuell, who had promised to go over to
Huntly as soon as the battle had commenced,
that, before charging Argyle with his cavalry,
Iluntly should fire his artillery at the yellow
standard. Campbell bore a mortal enmity
at Argyle, and as he was Argyle's nearest
heir, he probably had directed the fir'ig
at the yellow standard in the hope of
cutting off the earl. Unfortunately for
himself, however, Campbell was shot dead
at the first fire of the cannon, and upon
his fall all his men fled from the field.
Macneill of Barra was also slain at the same
time.

The Highlanders, who had never before
seen field pieces, were thrown into disorder

BATTLE OF CLEXLIVET.

109

by the cannonade, -which being perceived by
Ilimtly, ho charged the enemy, and rashing in
among them with his horsemen, increased the
confusion. The Earl of Errol was directed to
attack the right wing of Argyle's army, com-
manded l>y Maclean, but as it occupied a very
steep part of the hill, and as Errol was greatly
annoyed by thick volleys of shot from above,
ho was compelled to make a detour, leaving
the enemy on his left. But Gordon of Auch-
indun, disdaining such a prudent course, gal-
loped up the hill with a party of his own fol-
lowers, and charged Maclean with great im-
petuosity ; but Auchindun's rashness cost him
his life. The fall of Auchindun so exasperated
his followers that they set no bounds to their
fury; but Maclean received their repeated
assaults with firmness, and manoeuvred his
troops so well as to succeed in cutting off the
Earl of Errol, and placing him between his
own body and that of Argylc, by whose joint
forces ho was completely surrounded. At this
important crisis, when no hopes of retreat
remained, and when Errol and his men were
in danger of being cut to pieces, the Earl of
Huntly, very fortunately, came up to his assist-
ance and relieved him from, his embarrass-
ment. The battle was now renewed and con-
tinued for two hours, during which both parties
fought with great bravery, "the one," says Sir
Robert Gordon, " for glorie, the other for
necessitie." In the heat of the action the Earl
of Huntly had a horse shot under him, and was
in imminent danger of his life ; but another
horse was immediately procured for him. Af-
ter a hard contest the main body of Argylo's
army began to give way, and retreated towards
the rivulet of Altchonlachan ; but Maclean
still kept the field, and continued to support
the falling fortune of the day. At length,
finding the contest hopeless, and after losing
many of his men, ho retired in good order with
the small company that still remained about
him. Huntly pursued the retiring foe beyond
the water of Altchonlachan, when ho was
prevented from following them farther by the
steepness of the hills, so unfavourable to the
operations of cavalry. The success of Huntly
was mainly owing to the treachery of Lochncll,
and of John Grant of Gartinbeg, one of Huntly's
vassals, who, in terms of a concerted plan, re-

treated with his men as soon as the action
began, by which act the centre and the left
wing of Argyle's army were completely broken.
On the side of Argyle 500 men were killed
besides Macneill of Barra, and Lochnell
and Auchinbreck, the two cousins of Argylo.
The Earl of Huntly's loss was comparatively
trilling. About 14 gentlemen wore slain, in-
cluding Sir Patrick Gordon of Auchindun,
and the Laird of Gight ; and the Earl of Errol
and a considerable number of persons were
wounded. At the conclusion of the battle the
conquerors returned thanks to God on tho
field for tho victory they had achieved. This
battle is called by some writers the battle of
Glenlivet, and by others the battle of Altchon-
lachan. Among the trophies found on the
field was the ensign belonging to tho Earl of
Argyle, which was carried with other spoils to
Strathbogie, and placed upon the top of tho
great tower. So certain had Argylo been of
success in his enterprise, that he had made out
a paper apportioning tho lands of the Gordons,
the Hays, and all who were suspected to favour
them, among the chief officers of his army.
This document was found among tho baggage
which he left behind him on the field of battle. 1
Although Argyle certainly calculated upon
being joined by the king, it seems doubtful if
James ever entertained such an intention, for
he stopped at Dundee, from which he did not
stir till he heard of the result of tho battle of
Glenlivet. Instigated by tho ministers and
other enemies of tho Earl of Huutly, who
became now more exasperated than ever at tho
unexpected failure of Argyle's expedition, the
king proceeded north to Strathbogie, and in
his route he permitted, most unwillingly, the
house of Craig in Angus, belonging to Sir
John Ogilvio, son of Lord Ogilvie, that of
Bagaes in Angus, the property of Sir Walter
Lindsay, the house of Culsalmond in Garioch,
appertaining to tho Laird of Newton-Gordon,
the house of Slaincs in Buchan, belonging to
tho Earl of Errol, and the castle of Strathbogio,
to be razed to tho ground, under the pretext
that priests and Jesuits had been harboured in
them. In the meantime tho Earl of Ilunlly

1 Sir K. Cordon, pp. 226, 227, 223, 220. Slmw's
Moray, fp. 206, 267, 268.

110

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS

and his friends retired into Sutherland, where
they remained six weeks with Earl Alexander;
and on the king's departure to Strathbogie,
Iluntly returned, leaving his eldest son George,
Lord Gordon, in Sutherland with his aunt, till
the return of more peaceable times.

The king left the Duke of Lennox to act as
his lieutenant in the north, with whom the
two earls held a meeting at Aberdeen, and as
their temporary absence from the kingdom
might allay the spirit of violence and discon-
tent, which was particularly annoying to his
majesty, they agreed to leave the kingdom
during the king's pleasure. After spending
sixteen months in travelling through Germany
and Flanders, Huntly was recalled, and on bis
return he, as well as the Earls of Angus and
Errol, were restored to their former honours
and estates by the parliament, held at Edin-
burgh in November 1597, and in testimony of
his regard for Iluntly, the king, two years
thereafter, created him a marquis. This signal
mark of the royal favour had such an influence
upon the clan Chattan, the clan Kenzie, the
Grants, Forbeses, Leslies, and other hostile
clans and tribes, that they at once submitted
themselves to the marquis.

The warlike operations in the north seem,
for a time, to have drawn off the attention of
the clans from their own feuds; but in the
year 1597 a tumult occurred at Loggiewreid in
Ross, which had almost put that province and
the adjoining country into a flame. The quar-
rel began between John Mac-Gille-Calum,
brother of Gille-Calum, Laird of Rasay, and
Alexander Bane, brother of Duncan Bane of
Tulloch, in Ross. The Monroes took the side
of the Banes, and the Mackenzies aided John
Mac-Gille-Calum. In this tumult John Mac-
Gille-Calum and John Mac-Murthow-Mac-
William, a gentleman of the clan Kenzie, and
three persons of that surname, were killed on
the one side, and on the other were slain John
Monroe of Culcraigie, his brother Houcheon
Monroe, and John Monroe Robertson. This
occurrence renewed the ancient animosity be-
tween the clan Kenzie and the Monroes, and
both parties began to assemble their friends
for the purpose of attacking one another ; but
their differences were in some measure happily
reconciled by the mediation of common friends.

In the following year the ambition and
avarice cf Sir Lauchlan Maclean, of whom
notice has been already taken, brought him to
an untimely end, having been slain in Islay by
Sir James Macdonald, Ids nephew, eldest son
of Angus Macdonald of Kintyre. Sir Lauch-
lan had long had an eye upon the possessions
of the clan Ronald in Islay ; but having failed
in extorting a conveyance thereof from Angus
Macdonald in the way before alluded to, he
endeavoured, by his credit at court and by
bribery or other means, to obtain a grant of
these lands from the crown in 1595. At this
period Angus Macdonald had become infirm
from age, and his son, Sir James Macdonald,
was too young to make any effectual resistance
to the newly acquired claims of his covetous
uncle. After obtaining the gift, Sir Lauchlan
collected his people and friends, and invaded
Islay, for the purpose of taking possession of
the lands which belonged to the clan Donald.
Sir James Macdonald, on hearing of his uncle's
landing, collected his friends, and landed in
Islay to dispossess Sir Lauclilan of the property.
To prevent the effusion of blood, some common,
friends of the parties interposed, and endea-
voured to bring about an adjustment of their
differences. They prevailed upon Sir James
to agree to resign the half of the island to his
uncle during the life of the latter, provided he
would acknowledge that he held the same for
personal service to the clan Donald in the same
manner as Maclean's progenitors had always
held the Rhinns of Islay ; and he moreover
offered to submit the question to any impartial
friends Maclean might choose, under this
reasonable condition, that in case they should
not agree, his Majesty should decide. But
Maclean, contrary to the advico of his best,
friends, would listen to no proposals short of
an absolute surrender of the whole of the island.
Sir James therefore resolved to vindicate his
right by an appeal to arms, though his force
was far inferior to that of Sir Lauchlan.
A desperate struggle took place, in which great
valour was displayed on both sides. Sir
Lauchlan was killed fighting at the head of
his men, who were at length compelled to
retreat to their boats and vessels. Besides
their chief, the Macleans left 80 of the'r prin-
cipal men and 200 common soldiers dead on

STRIFE BETWEEN EARLS OF SUTHERLAND AND CAITHNESS. Ill

the lield of battle. Lauchlan Barroch-Maclean,
son of Sir Lauchlan, was dangerously wounded,
but escaped. Sir James Macdonald was also
so severely wounded that he never fully recov-
t'rom liis wounds. About 30 of the clan
Donald were killed and about 60 wounded.
Sir Lauchlan, according to Sir Robert Gordon,
had consulted a witch before he undertook this
journey into Islay, who advised him, in the
first place, not to land upon the island on a
Thursday ; secondly, that he should not drink
of the water of a well near Groynard ; and
lastly, she told him that one Maclean should
bo slain at Groynard. " The first he trans-
gressed unwillingly," says Sir Robert, " being
driven into the island of Ha by a tempest
upon a Thursday ; the second he transgressed
negligentlio, haveing drank of that water befor
he wes awair; and so he wes killed ther at
Groinard, as wes foretold him, hot doubtfullic.
Thus endeth all these that doe trust in such
kynd of responces, or doe hunt after them !" 2

On hearing of Maclean's death and the defeat
of his men, the king became so higlily incensed
against the clan Donald that, finding he had a
right to dispose of their possessions both in
Kintyre and Islay, he made a grant of them to
the Earl of Argyle and the Campbells. This
gave rise to a number of bloody conflicts be-
tween the Campbells and the clan Donald in
the years 1614, -15, and -16, wliich ended in
the ruin of the latter.

The rival houses of Sutherland and Caith-
ness had now lived on friendly terms for some
years. After spending about eighteen months
at court, and attending a convention of the
estates at Edinburgh in July, 1598, John, sixth
Earl of Sutherland, went to the Continent,
where he remained till the month of September,
1GOO. The Earl of Caithness, deeming the
absence of the Earl of Sutherland a fit oppor-
tunity for carrying into effect some designs
against him, caused William Mackay to obtain
leave from his brother Houcheon Mackay to
hunt in the policy of Durines belonging to the
Earl of Sutherland. The Earl of Caithness
thereupon assembled all his vassals and de-
pendents, and, under the pretence of hunting,
made demonstrations for entering Sutherland

2 Iliitory, p. 238.

or Strathnaver. As soon as Mackay was
informed of his intentions, he sent a message
to the Earl of Caitlmcss, intimating to him that
he would not permit him to enter either of
these countries, or to cross the marches. Tho
Earl of Caithness returned a haughty answer;
but he did not carry his threat of invasion into
execution on account of the arrival of the Earl
of Sutherland from the Continent. As the
Earl of Caithness still continued to threaten
an invasion, the Earl of Sutherland collected
his forces, in the month of July 1601, to op-
pose him. Mackay, with his countrymen,
soon joined the Earl of Sutherland at Lagan-
Gaincamhd in Dirichat, where he was soon
also joined by the Monroes under Robert
Monroe of Contaligh, and the laird of Assynt
with his countrymen.

While the Earl of Sutherland's force was
thus assembling, the Earl of Caithness ad-
vanced towards Sutherland with his army.
The two armies encamped at the distance of
about three miles asunder, near the hill of
Bengrinio. In expectation of a battle on the
morning after their encampment, the Suther-
land men took up a position in a plain which
lay between the two armies, called Leathad
Reidh, than which a more convenient station
could not have been selected. But the com-
modiousness of the plain was not the only
reason for making the selection. There had
been long a prophetic tradition in these coun-
tries that a battle was to be fought on this
ground between the inhabitants of Sutherland,
assisted by the Strathnaver men, and the men
of Caitlmess; that although the Sutherland
men were to bo victorious their loss would bo
great, and that the loss of the Strathnaver
men should even be greater, but that the
Caithness men should be so completely over-
thrown that they should not be able, for a con-
siderable length of time, to recover the blow
which they were to receive. This superstitious
idea made such an impression upon the minds
of the men of Sutherland that it was with
great difficulty they could be restrained from
immediately attacking their enemies.

The Earl of Caithness, daunted by this cir-
cumstance, and being diffident of the fidelity
of some of his people, whom lie had used with
great cruelty, sent messengers to the Earl of

112

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

Sutherland expressing his regret at what had
happened, stating that he was provoked to his
present measures by the insolence of Mackay,
who had repeatedly dared him to the attack,
and that, if the Earl of Sutherland would pass
over the affair, he would permit him and his
army to advance twice as far into Caithness as
he had marched into Sutherland. The Earl of
Sutherland, on receipt of tliis offer, called a
council of his friends to deliberate upon it.
Mackay and some others advised the earl to
decline the proposal, and attack the Earl of
Caithness; while others of the earl's advisors
thought it neither fit nor reasonable to risk so
many lives when such ample satisfaction was
offered. A sort of middle course was, there-
fore, adopted by giving the Earl of Caithness
an opportunity to escape if lie inclined. The
messengers were accordingly sent back with
this answer, that if the Earl of Caitlmess and
his army would remain where they lay till
sunrise next morning they might be assured of
an attack.

When this answer was delivered in the Earl
of Caitlmess' camp, his men got so alarmed
that the carl, witli great difficulty, prevented
them from running away immediately. Ho
remained on the field all night watching them
in person, encouraging them to remain, and
making great promises to them if they stood
firm. But his entreaties were quite unavailing,
for as soon as the morning dawned, on per-
ceiving the approach of the Earl of Sutherland's
army, they fled from the field in the utmost
confusion, jostling and overthrowing one an-
other in their flight, and leaving their whole
baggage behind them. The Earl of Sutherland
resolved to pursue the flying enemy; but,
before proceeding on the pursuit, his army col-
lected a quantity of stones which they accu-
mulated into a heap to commemorate the flight
of the Caitlmess men, which heap was called
Cani-Teiche, that is, the Flight Cairn.

JN"ot wishing to encounter the Earl of Suther-
land under the adverse circumstances which
Lad occurred, the Earl of Caithness, after
entering his own territories, sent a message to
his pursuer to the effect that having complied
with his request in withdrawing his army, ho
liopod hostile proceedings would ceaso, and
that if the Earl of Sutherland should advance

with his army into Caitlmess, Earl George
would not liinder him; but he suggested to
Mm the propriety of appointing some gentle-
men on both sides to see the respective armies
dissolved The Earl of Sutherland acceded to
this proposal, and sent George Gray of Cuttle,
eldest son of Gilbert Gray of Sordell, with a
company of resolute men into Caithness to see
the army of the Earl of Caithness broken up.
The Earl of Caithness, in Ms turn, despatched
Alexander Bane, chief of the Caitlmess Lanes,
who witnessed the dismissal of the Earl of
Sutherland's army. 3

About the period in question, great commo-
tions took place in the iioi-th-west isles, in con-
sequence of a quarrel between Donald Gorm
Macdonald of Slate, and Sir Roderick Macleod
of Harris, arising out of the following circum-
stances. Donald Gorm Macdonald, who had
married the sister of Sir Roderick, instigated
by jealousy, had conceived displeasure at her
and put her away. Having complained to
her brother of the treatment thus received, Sir
Roderick sent a message to Macdonald requir-
ing him to take back his wife. Instead of
eornplyingwiththis request, Macdonald brought
an action of divorce against her, and having
obtained decree therein, married the sister of
Kenneth Mackenzie, lord of Kintail. Sir
Roderick, who considered himself disgraced
and his family dishonoured by such proceed-
ings, assembled all la's countrymen and his
tribe, the Siol-Thormaid, without delay, and
invaded with fire and sword the lands of Mac-
donald in the isle of Skye, to which lie laid
claim as his own. Macdonald retaliated by
landing in Harris with his forces, which he
laid waste, and after killing some of the inha-
bitants retired with a large booty in cattle.
To make amends for tin's loss, Sir Roderick in-
vaded Uist, which belonged to Macdonald, and
despatched his cousin, Donald Glas Macleod,
with 40 men, into the interior, to lay the
island waste, and to carry off a quantity of
goods and cattle, which the inhabitants had
placed within the precincts of the church of
Killtrynard as a sanctuary. This exploit
turned out to be very serious, as Donald
Macleod and his party were most unexpert-

3 Sir Kobcrt Gonluu, \>. 243.

FEUD BETWEEN THE COLQUHOUNS AND MACGREGOK3.

e<lly attacked in the act of carrying off their
prey, by John Mac-Iain-Mhic-Shoumais, a kins-
man of Macdonald, at the head of a body of
12 men who had remained in the island, by
whom Donald Macleod and the greater part of
his men were cut to pieces, and the booty
rescued. Sir Roderick, thinking that the force
which had attacked his cousin was much
greater than it was, retired from the island,
intending to return on a future day with a
greater force to revenge his loss.

This odious system of warfare continued till
the hostile parties had almost exterminated one
another ; and to such extremities were they re-
duced by the ruin and desolation which fol-
lowed, that they were compelled to eat horses,
dogs, cats, and other animals, to preserve a
miserable existence. To put an end, if possible,
at once to this destructive contest, Macdonald
collected all his remaining forces, with the
determination of striking a decisive blow at
his opponent ; and accordingly, in the year
1C01, he entered Sir Roderick's territories with
the design of bringing him to battle. Sir Ro-
derick was then in Argyle, soliciting aid and
advice from the Earl of Argyle against the
clan Donald ; but on hearing of the approach
of Macdonald, Alexander Macleod, brother of
Sir Roderick, resolved to try the result of a
battle. Assembling, therefore, all the inhabi-
tants of his brother's lands, together with the
whole tribe of the Siol-Thormaid, and some of
the Siol-Thorquill, he encamped close by the
hill of Benquhillin, in Skye, resolved to give
battle to the clan Donald next morning. Ac-
cordingly, on the arrival of morning, an obsti-
nate and deadly fight took place, which lasted
the whole day, each side contending with the
utmost valour for victory ; but at length the
clan Donald overthrew their opponents. Alex-
ander Macleod was wounded and taken pri-
soner, along with Neill-Mac-Alastair-Ruaidh,
and 30 others of the choicest men of the
Siol-Thormaid. lain-Mac-Thormaid and Thor-
maid-Mac-Thormaid, two near kinsmen of Sir
Roderick, and several others, were slain.

After this affair, a reconciliation took place
between Macdonald and Sir Roderick, at the
solicitation of old Angus Macdonald of Kintyre,
the laird of Coll, and other friends, when Mac-
donald delivered up to Sir Roderick the pri-

soners he had taken at Benquhillin ; but
although these parties never again showed any
open hostility, they brought several actions at
law against each other, the one claiming from

the other certain parts of his possessions.

CHAPTER IX.

A.D. 1G02 1G13.

KINO Of SCOTLAND:
James VI, 15671603.

KINO OF ORKAT BRJTAIMI

James I., 10031625.

Feud between the Colquhouns and Macgregors Mac-
gregors outlawed Execution of their Chief Quar-
rel between the clan Kenzie and Glengarry Alister
Mac-Uilleam-Mhoir beheaded Lawless proceedings
in Sutherland Deadly quarrel in Dornoch Meeting
between the Earls of Caithness and Sutherland-
Feud between the Murrays and somo of the Siol-
Thomais Dissension in Moray among the Dunbars
Quarrel between the Earl of Caithness and the
chief of the Mackays Commotions in Lewis among
the Macleods Invasion of Lewis by Fife adventurers
Compelled to abandon it Lord Kintail obtains
possession of Lewis Expulsion of Neill Macleod
Quarrel botwcen the Laird of Rasay arid Mackenzie
of Gairloch Disturbances in Caithness Tumults
in Caithness on the apprehension of Arthur Smith,
a false coiner Earl of Caithness prosecutes Donald
Mackay and others Dissensions among the clan
Cameron.

IN the early part of the year 1602 the west of
Scotland was thrown into a state of great dis-
order, in consequence of the renewal of some
old quarrels between Colquhoun of Luss, the
chief of that surname, and Alexander Macgre-
gor, chief of the clan Gregor. To put an end
to these dissensions, Alexander Macgregor left
Rannoch, accompanied by about 200 of his
kinsmen and friends, entered Lennox, and took
up his quarters on the confines of Luss's terri-
tory, where he expected, by the mediation of
his friends, to bring matters to an amicable
adjustment. As the laird of Luss was sus-
picious of Macgregor's real intentions, he as-
sembled all his vassals, with the Buchanans
and others, to the number of 300 horse and
500 foot, designing, if the result of the meet-
ing should not turn out according to his ex-
pectations and wishes, to cut off Macgregor
and his party. But Macgregor, anticipating
Colquhoun's intention, was upon his guard, and,
by his precautions, defeated the design upon
him. A conference was held for the purpose
of terminating all differences, but the meeting

114

GENEKAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

broke up without any adjustment : Macgregor
then proceeded homewards. The laird of
Luss, in pursuance of his plan, immediately
followed Macgregor with great haste through
Glenfruin, in the expectation of coming upon
him unawares, and defeating him ; but Mac-
gregor, who was on the alert, observed, in due
time, the approach of his pursuers, and made
his preparations accordingly. He divided his
company into two parts, the largest of which
he kept under his own command, and placed
the other part under the command of John
Macgregor, his brother, whom he despatched
by a circuitous route, for the purpose of
attacking Luss's party in the rear, when they
should least expect to be assailed. This stra-
tagem succeeded, and the result was, that after
a keen contest, Luss's party was completely
overthrown, with the loss of 200 men, besides
several gentlemen and burgesses of the town
of Dumbarton. It is remarkable that of the
Macgregors, John, the brother of Alexander,
and another person, were the only killed, though
some of the party were wounded.

The laird of Luss and his friends sent early
notice of their disaster to the king, and by
misrepresenting the whole affair to him, and
exhibiting to his majesty eleven score bloody
shirts, belonging to those of their party who
were slain, the king grew exceedingly incensed
at the clan Gregor, who had no person about
the king to plead their cause, proclaimed them
rebels, and interdicted all the lieges from har-
bouring or having any communication with
them. The Earl of Argyle, with the Camp-
bells, was afterwards sent against the proscribed
clan, and hunted them through the country.
About 60 of the clan made a brave stand at
Bentoik against a party of 200 chosen men
belonging to the clan Cameron, clan Nab, and
clan Konald, under the command of Robert
Campbell, son of the laird of Gleuorchy, when
Duncan Aberigh, one of the chieftains of the
clan Gregor, and his son Duncan, and seven
gentlemen of Campbell's party were killed.
But although they made a brave resistance, and
killed many of their pursuers, the Macgregors,
after many skirmishes and great losses, were at
last overcome. Commissions were thereafter
sent through the kingdom, for fining those who
had harboured any of the clan, and for pun-

ishing all persons who had kept up any com-
munication with them, and the fines so levied
were given by the king to the Earl of Argyle,
as a recompense for his services against the
unfortunate Macgregors.

Alexander Macgregor, the chief, after suffer-
ing many vicissitudes of fortune, at last sur-
rendered himself to the Earl of Argyle, on con-
dition that he should grant him a safe conduct
into England to King James, that he might
lay before his majesty a true state of the whole
affair from the commencement, and crave the
royal mercy ; and as a security for his return to
Scotland, he delivered up to Argyle thirty of his
choicest men as hostages. But no sooner had
Macgregor arrived at Berwick on his way to Lon-
don, than he was basely arrested, brought back
by the earl to Edinburgh, and, by his influence,
executed along with the thirty hostages. Argyle
hoped, by these means, ultimately to annihilate
the whole clan ; but in this cruel design he
was quite disappointed, for the clan speedily
increased, and became almost as powerful as
before. 4

While the Highland borders were thus dis-
turbed by the warfare between the Macgregors
and the Colquhouns, a commotion happened in
the interior of the Highlands, in consequence
of a quarrel between the clan Kenzie and the
laird of Glengarry, who, according to Sir Robert
Gordon, was "unexpert and unskilfull in the
lawes of the realme." From his want of know-
ledge of the law, the clan Kenzie are said by
the same writer to have "easalie intrapped
him within the compas thereof," certainly by
no means a difficult matter in those lawless
times ; they then procured a warrant for citing
him to appear before the justiciary court at
Edinburgh, which they took good care should
not be served upon him personally. Either not
knowing of these legal proceedings, or neglect-
ing the summons, Glengarry did not appear at
Edinburgh on the day appointed, but went
about revenging the slaughter of two of his
kinsmen, whom the clan Kenzie had killed
after the summons for Glengarry's appearance
had been issued. The consequence was that
Glengarry and some of his followers were out-
lawed. Through the interest of the Earl of

4 Sir K. Gordon, p. 247.

ALISTEIl MAC-UILLEAM-MIIOIE BEHEADED.

115

Dunfermline, lord chancellor of Scotland,
Kenneth Mackenzie, afterwards created Lord
Kintail, obtained a commission against Glen-
garry and his people, which occasioned great
trouble and much slaughter. Being assisted
by many followers from the neighbouring
country, Mackenzie, by virtue of his commis-
sion, invaded Glengarry's territories, which he
mercilessly wasted and doetroycd with fire and
sword. On his return, Mackenzie besieged
the castle of Strome, which ultimately sur-
rendered to him. To assist Mackenzie in this
expedition, the Earl of Sutherland, in token of
the ancient friendship which had subsisted
between his family and the Mackenzies, sent
240 well equipped and able men, under the
command of John Gordon of Einbo. Mac-
kenzie again returned into Glengarry, where
lie had a skirmish with a party commanded by
Glengarry's eldest son, in which the latter and
CO of his followers were slain. The Mackenzies
also suffered some loss on this occasion. At
last, after much trouble and bloodshed on both
sides, an agreement was entered into, by which
Glengarry renounced in favour of Kenneth
Mackenzie, the castle of Strome and the adja-
cent lands. 5

In the year 1G05, the peace of the northern
Highlands was somewhat disturbed by one
of those atrocious occurrences so common at
that time. The chief of the Mackays had a
servant named Alister-Mac-Uilleam-Mlioir.
This man having some business to transact in
Caithness, went there without the least appre-
hension of danger, as the Earls of Sutherland
and Caithness had settled all their differences.
No sooner, however, did the latter hear of
Mac-Uillcam-Mhoir's arrival in Caitliness, than
he sent Henry Sinclair, liis bastard brother,
with a party of men to kill him. Mac-Uilleam-
Mhoir, being a bold and resolute man, was not
openly attacked by Sinclair ; but on entering
the house where the former had taken up his
residence, Sinclair and his party pretended
that they had come on a friendly visit to him
to enjoy themselves in his company. Not
suspecting their hostile intentions, Alister
invited them to sit down and drink with him;
but scarcely had they taken their seats when

5 Sir Pv. Gordon, p. 243.

they seized Mac-Uilleam-Mhoir, and carried
him off prisoner to the Earl of Caithness, who
caused him to bo beheaded in his own presence,
the following day. The fidelity of this unfor-
tunate man to Mackay, his master, during the
disputes between the Earls of Sutherland and
Caithness, was the cause for which he suffered.
Mackay, resolved upon getting the earl
punished, entered a legal prosecution against
him at Edinburgh, but by the mediation of the
Mai-quis of Huntly the suit was quashed, 6

In July, 1G05, a murder was committed in
Strathnaver, by Robert Gray of Hopsdalo or
Ospisdell, the victim being Angus Mac-Ken-
neth-Mac-Alister, one of the Siol-Mhurchaidh-
Rhiabhaich. The circumstances leading to
this will illustrate the utterly lawless and
insecure state of the Highlands at this time.
John Gray of Skibo held the lands of Ardinsh
under John, the fifth of that name, Earl of
Sutherland, as superior, wliich lands the grand-
father of Angus Mac-Kenneth had in possession
from John Mackay, son of Y-Roy-Mackay,
who, before the time of this Earl John, pos-
sessed some lands in Breachat. AVhcn Jolin
Gray obtained the grant of Ardinsh from John
the fifth, he allowed Kenneth Mac-Alister, the
father of Angus Mae-Kenneth, to retain posses-
sion thereof, which he continued to do till
about the year 1573. About this period a
variance arose between John Gray and Hugh
Murray of Aberscors, in consequence of some
law-suits which they carried on against one
another; but they were reconciled by Alex-
ander, Earl of Sutherland, who became bound
to pay a sum of money to John Gray, for Hugh
Murray, who was iu the meantime to get
possession of the lands of Ardinsh in security.
As John Gray still retained the property and
kept Kenneth Mac-Alister in the possession
thereof at the old rent, the Murrays took
umbrage at him, and prevailed upon the Earl
of Sutherland to grant a conveyance of the
wadset or mortgage over Ardinsh in favour of
Angus Murray, formerly bailie of Dornoch. In
the meantime, Kenneth Mac-Alister died, leav-
ing his son, Angus Mac-Kenneth, in possession.
Angus Munay having acquired the mortgage,
now endeavoured to raise the rent of Ardinsh,

Sir R. Gordon, p. 253.

115

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

but Ajigus Mac-Kenneth refusing to pay more
than his father had paid, was dispossessed, and
the lands were let to William Mac-Iain-Mac-
Kcnneth, cousin of Angus Mac-Kenneth. This
proceeding so exasperated Angus that he mur-
dered Ids cousin "William Mac-Kenneth, his
wife, and two sons, under cloud of night, and
so determined was he that no other person
should possess the lands but himself, that he
killed no less than nine other persons, who had
successively endeavoured to occupy them. No
others being disposed to occupy Ardinsh at the
risk of their lives, and Angus Murray getting
wearied of his possession, resigned his right to
Gilbert Gray of Skibo, on the death of John
Gray, his father. Gilbert thereafter conveyed
the property to Robert Gray of Ospisdell, his
second son ; but Robert, being disinclined to
allow Angus Mac-Kenneth, who had again
obtained possession, to continue tenant, he
dispossessed him, and let the land to one Pinlay
Logan, but this new tenant was murdered by
Mac-Kenneth in the year 1G04. Mac-Kenneth
then fled into Strathnaver with a party com-
posed of persons of desperate and reckless pas-
sions like himself, with the intention of annoy-
ing Robert Gray by their incursions. Gray
having ascertained that they were in the parish
of Creigh, he immediately attacked them and
killed Murdo Mac-Kenneth, the brother of
Angus, who made a narrow escape, and again
retired into Strathnaver. Angus again re-
turned into Sutherland in May 1G05, and, in
the absence of Robert Gray, burnt his stable,
with some of his cattle, at Ospisdell. Gray
then obtained a warrant against Mac-Kenneth,
and having procured the assistance of a body
of men from John Earl of Suthcr?and, entered
Strathnaver and attacked Mac-Kenneth at the
Cruffs of Hoip, and slew him. 7

The Earl of Caithness, disliking the unquiet
state in which he had for some time been forced
to remain, made another attempt, in the month
of July, 1G07, to hunt in Bengrime, without
asking permission from the Earl of Sutherland ;
but ho was prevented from accomplishing his
purpose by the sudden appearance in Strathully
of the latter, attended by his friend Mackay,
and a considerable body of their countrymen.

' Sir R. Gordon, p. 254.

Almost the whole of the inhabitants of Dornoch
turned out on this occasion, and went to Stralh-
ully. During their absence a quarrel ensued
in the town between one John Macphaill and
three brothers of the name of Pope, in which
one of the latter was killed ; the circumstances
leading to and attending which quarrel were
these : In the year 1585, William Pope, a
native of Ross, settled in Sutherland, and
being a man of good education, was appointed
schoolmaster in Dornoch, and afterwards be-
came its resident minister. He also received
another clerical appointment in Caithness, by
means of which, and of his other living, ho
became, in course of time, wealthy. This
good success induced two yoimger brothers,
Charles and Thomas, to leave their native
country and settle in Sutherland. Thomas
was soon made chancellor of Caithness ami
minister of Rogart. Charles became a notary
public and a mcssenger-at-arms ; and having,
by his good conduct and agreeable conversa-
tion, ingratiated himself with the Earl of
Sutherland, was appointed to the office of
sheriff-clerk of Sutherland. The brothers soon
acquired considerable wealth, which they laid
out in the purchase of houses in the town of
Dornoch, where they chiefly resided. Many
of the inhabitants of the town envied their
acquisitions, and took every occasion to insult
them as intruders, who had a design, as they
supposed, to drive the ancient inhabitants of
the place from their possessions. On the
occasion in question William and Thomas
Pope, along with other ministers, had held a
meeting at Dornoch on church affairs, on
dissolving which, they went to breakfast at
an inn. While at breakfast, Jolm Macphaill
entered the house, and demanded some liqucr
from the mistress of the inn, but she refused
to give him any, as she knew him to be a
troublesome and quarrelsome person. Mac-
phaill, irritated at the refusal, spoke harshly
to the woman, and the ministers having made
some excuse for her, Macphaill vented his abuse
upon them. Being threatened by Thomas
Pope, for his insolence, he pushed an arrow
with a barbed head, which he held in his hand,
into one of Pope's arms. The parties then
separated, but the two Popes being observed
walking in the churchyard in the evening, with

DEADLY QUABEEL DJ DOKXOCH.

Dornoch, showing the Cathedral and the remaining tower of the old Castle.

their swords girt about them, by Macphaill,
who looked upon their so arming themselves
as a threat, he immediately made the circum-
stance known to Houcheon Macphaill, his
nephew, and one William Murray, all of whom
entered the churchyard and assailed the two
brothers with the most vituperative abuse.
Charles Pope, learning the danger his brothers
were in, immediately hastened to the spot,
where he found the two parties engaged.
Charles attacked Murray, whom he wounded
in the face, whereupon Murray instantly killed
him. "William and Thomas were grievously
wounded by Macphaill and his nephew, and
left for dead, but they ultimately recovered.
Mii'-phaill and his nephew fled to Holland,
where they ended their days. After tliis oc-
currence, the surviving brothers left Sutherland
nnil went back into their own country. It is
only by recording such comparatively unim-
portant incidents as this, apparently somewhat
beneath the dignity of history, that a know-
ledge of the real state of the Highlands at this
time can be conveyed.

By the mediation of the Marquis of Iluntly,
the Earls of Caithness and Sutherland again
met at Elgin with their mutual friends, and
once more adjusted their differences. On this
occasion the Earl of Sutherland was accom-
panied by largo parties of the Gordons, the
Frasers, the Dunbars, the clan Kcnzie, the

Monroes, the clan Chattan, and other friends,
which so displeased the Earl of Caithness, who
was grieved to see his rival so honourably
attended, that he could never afterwards be
induced to meet again with the Earl of Suther-
land or any of his family.

During the year 1G08 a quarrel occurred in
Sutherland between Tver Mac-Donald-Mac-
Alister, one of the Siol-Thomais, and Alex-
ander Murray in Auchindough. Tver and Ms
eldest son, John, meeting one day with Alex-
ander Murray and his son, Thomas, an alterca-
tion took place on some questions in dispute.
From words they proceeded to blows, and the
result was that John, the son of Ivor, and
Alexander Murray were killed. Ivor then fled
into Strathnaver, whither he was followed by
Thomas Murray, accompanied by a party of 2-t
men, to revenge the death of his father. Ivor,
however, avoided them, and having assembled
some friends, he attacked Murray unawares, at
the hill of BincMibrig, and compelled him to
flee, after taking five of his men prisoners,
whom he released after a captivity of five days.
As the chief of the Mackays protected Iver,
George Murray of Pulrossie took up the quarrel,
and annoyed Iver and his party ; but the
matter was compromised by Mackay, who paid
a sum of money to Pulrossie and Thomas
Murray, as a reparation for divers losses they
had sustained at Tver's hands during his out,

113

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

lawry. This compromise was the more readily
entered into by Pulrossie, as the Earl of Suth-
erland was rather favourable to Tver, and was
by no means displeased at him for the injuries
lie did to Pulrossie, who had not acted duti-
fully towards liim. Besides having lost his
own son in the quarrel, who was killed by
Thomas Murray, Tver was unjustly dealt with
in being made the sole object of persecution. 8

A civil dissension occurred about this time
in Moray among the Dunbars, which nearly
proved fatal to that family. To understand
the origin of this dispute it is necessary to state
the circumstances which led to it, and to go
back to the period when Patrick Dunbar,
sheriff of Moray, and tutor and uncle of Alex-
ander Dunbar of Westficld, was killed, along
with the Earl of Murray, at Donnibristle.
Alexander did not enjoy his inheritance long,
having died at Dunkeld, shortly after the death
of his uncle, under circumstances which led to
a suspicion that he had been poisoned. As he
died without leaving any issue, he was suc-
ceeded by Alexander Dunbar, son of the above-
mentioned Patrick, by a sister of Robert Dunbar
of Burgy. This Alexander was a young man of
great promise, and was directed in all his pro-
ceedings by his uncle Robert Dunbar of Burgy.
Patrick Dunbar of Blery and Kilbuyack and his
family, imagining that Robert Dunbar, to whom
they bore a grudge, was giving advice to his
nephew to their prejudice, conceived a deadly
enmity at both, and seized every occasion to
annoy the sheriff of Moray and liis uncle. An
accidental meeting having taken place between
Robert Dunbar, brother of Alexander, and
William Dunbar, son of Blery, high words
were exchanged, and a scuffle ensued, in which
William Dunbar received considerable injury
in his person. Patrick Dunbar and his sons
were so incensed at this occurrence that they
took up arms and attacked their chief, Alex-
ander Dunbar, sheriff of Moray, in the town of
Torres, where he was shot dead by Robert
Dunbar, son of Blery. John Dunbar, sherilf
of Moray, who succeeded his brother Alexander,
and his brother, Robert Dunbar of Burgy, en-
deavoured to bring the murderers of his brother
to justice ; but tney failed in consequence of

8 Sir R. Gordon, p. 259.

Alexander Dunbar being, at the time of his
death, a rebel to the king, having been de-
nounced at the horn for a civil cause. By
negotiation, however, this deadly feud was
stayed, and a sort of reconciliation effected by
the friendly mediation of the Earl of Dunferm-
line, then Lord Chancellor of Scotland. 9

In the year 1610 the Earl of Caitlmess and
Houcheon Mackay, chief of the Mackays, had
a difference in consequence of the protection
given by the latter to a gentleman named John
Sutherland, the son of Mackay's sister. Suth-
erland lived in Berridale, under the Earl of
Caitliness, but he was so molested by the earl
that he lost all patience, and went about
avenging the injuries he had sustained. The-
earl, therefore, cited him to appear at Edin-
burgh to answer to certain charges made against
him ; but not obeying the summons, he was
denounced and proclaimed a rebel to the king.
Reduced, in consequence, to great extremities,
and seeing no remedy by which he could re-
trieve himself, he became an outlaw, wasted
and destroyed the earl's country, and carried
off herds of cattle, which he transported into
Strathnaver, the country of his kinsman. Tho
earl thereupon sent a party of the Siol-Mhic-
Imhcair to attack him, and, after a long search,
they found him encamped near the water of
Shin in Sutherland. He, however, was aware
of their approach before they perceived him,
and, taking advantage of this circumstance,
attacked them in the act of crossing the water.
They were in consequence defeated, leaving
several of their party dead on the field.

This disaster exasperated the earl, who re-
solved to prosecute Mackay and his son, Do-
nald Mackay, for giving succour and protec-
tion within their country to John Sutherland,
an outlaw. According!}', he served both of
them with a notice to appear before the Privy
Council to answer to the charges he had pre-
ferred against them. Mackay at once obeyed
the summons, and went to Edinburgh, where
he met Sir Robert Gordon, who had come from
England for the express purpose of assisting
Mackay on the present occasion. The carl,
who had grown tired of the troubles which
John Sutherland had occasioned in his country,

Sir R. Gordon, p. 261.

COMMOTIONS IN LEWIS AMONG THE MACLEODS.

119

was induced, by the entreaties of friends, to
settle matters on the following conditions :
That he should forgive John Sutherland all
past injuries, and restore him to his former
possessions ; that John Sutherland and his
brother Donald should be delivered, the one
after the other, into the hands of the earl, to
be kept prisoners for a certain time ; and that
Donald Mac-Thomais-Mhoir, one of the Sliochd-
lain-Abaraich, and a follower of John Suther-
land in his depredations, should be also deliv-
ered up to the earl to be dealt with as to him
should seem meet ; all of which stipulations
were complied with. The earl hanged Donald
Mac-Thomais as soon as he was delivered up.
John Sutherland was kept a prisoner at Girnigo
about twelve months, during which time Don-
ald Mackay made several visits to Earl George
for the purpose of getting him released, in which
he at last succeeded, besides procuring a dis-
charge to Donald Sutherland, who, in his turn,
should have surrendered himself as prisoner on
the release of his brother John, but upon the
condition that he and his father, Houcheon
Mackay, should pass the next following Christ-
mas with the earl at Girnigo. Mackay and
his brother William, accordingly, spent their
Christmas at Girnigo, but Donald Mackay was
prevented by business from attending. The
design of the Earl of Caithness in thus favour-
ing Mackay, was to separate him from the
interests of the Earl of Sutherland, but he was
unsuccessful

Some years before the events we have just
related, a commotion took place in Lewis,
occasioned by the pretensions of Torquill
Connaldagh of the Cogigh to the possessions
of Roderick Macleod of Lewis, his reputed
father. Roderick had first married Barbara
Stuart, daughter of Lord Methven, by whom
he had a son named Torquill-Ire, who, on arriv-
ing at manhood, gave proofs of a warlike
disposition. Upon the death of Barbara Stuart,
Macleod married a daughter of Mackenzie,
lord of Kintail, whom he afterwards divorced
for adultery with the Breve of Lewis, a sort
of judge among the islanders, to whose autho-
rity they submitted themselves. Macleod next
married a daughter of Maclean, by whom he
had two sons, Torquill Dubh and Tormaid.

In sailing from Lewis to Skye, Tonjuill-

Ire, eldest son of Macleod, and 200 men,
perished in a great tempest. Torquill Con-
naldagh, above mentioned, was the fruit of the
adulterous connexion between Macleod's second
wife and the Breve, at least Macleod would
never acknowledge him as his son. This Tor-
quill being now of age, and having married a
sister of Glengarry, took up arms against Mac-
leod, his reputed father, to vindicate his sup-
posed rights as Macleod's son, being assisted
by Tormaid, Ougigh, and Murthow, three of
the bastard sons of Macleod. The old man
was apprehended and detained four years in
captivity, when he was released on condition
that he should acknowledge Torquill Con-
naldagh as his lawful son. Tormaid Ougigh
having been slain by Donald Macleod, his
brother, another natural son of old Macleod,
Torquill Connaldagh, assisted by Murthow
Macleod, his reputed bastard brother, took
Donald prisoner and carried him to Cogigh,
but he escaped and fled to his father in
Lewis, who was highly offended at Torquill for
seizing his son Donald. Macleod then caused
Donald to apprehend Murthow, and having
delivered him to his father, he was imprisoned
in the castle of Stornoway. As soon as
Torquill heard of this occurrence, he went to
Stornoway and attacked the fort, which he
took, after a short siege, and released Murthow.
He then apprehended Roderick Macleod,
killed a number of his men, and carried off all
the charters and other title-deeds of Lewis,
which he gave in custody to the Mackenzies.
Torquill had a son named John Macleod, who
was in the service of the Marquis of Huntly ; lie
now sent for him, and on his arrival committed
to him the charge of the castle of Storuoway
in. which old Macleod was imprisoned. John
Macleod being now master of Lewis, and
acknowledged superior thereof, proceeded to
expel Rorie-Og and Donald, two of Roderick
Macleod's bastard sons, from the island ; but
Rorie-Og attacked him in Stornoway, and after
killing him, released Roderick Macleod, his
father, who possessed the island in peace during
the remainder of his life. Torquill Connaldagh,
by the assistance of the clan Kenzie, got
Donald Macleod into his possession, and exe-
cuted him at Dingwall.

Upon the death of Roderick Macleod, his

120

GENEEAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

Stornoway Castle. From a photograph taken specially for this work.

son Torquill DuLh succeeded him in Lewis.
Taking a grudge at Eorie-Og, his brother,
ho apprehended him, and sent him to Mac-
lean to be detained in prison; but he escaped
out of Maclean's hands, and afterwards per-
ished in a snow-storm. As Torquill Dubh
excluded Torquill Uonnaldagh from the
Buceession of Lewis, as a bastard, the clan
Kenzie formed a design to purchase and conquer
Lewis, which they calculated on accomplish-
ing on account of the simplicity of Torquill
Connaldagh, who had now no friend to advise
with, and from the dissensions which unfor-
tunately existed among the race of the Siol-
Torqtiill. This scheme, moreover, received the
aid of a matrimonial alliance between Torquill
Connaldagh and the clan, by a marriage between
his eldest daughter and Eoderick Mackenzie,
the lord of Kintail's brother. The clan did not
avow their design openly, but they advanced
their enterprise under the pretence of assisting
Torquill Connaldagh, who was a descendant of
the Ivintail family, and they ultimately suc-
ceeded in destroying the family of Macleod of
Lewis, together with his tribe, the Siol-Torquill,
and by the ruin of that family and some neigh-
bouring clans, this ambitious clan made them-
selves complete masters of Lewis and other
places. As Torquill Dubh was the chief
oijstaclu iii their way, they formed a conspiracy

against his life, which, by the assistance of the
Breve, they were enabled to carry out success-
fully. The Breve, by stratagem, managed to
obtain possession of Torquill Dubh and some
of his friends, and deliver them to the lord of
Ivintail, who ordered them to be beheaded,
which they accordingly were in July, 1597.

Some gentlemen belonging to Fife, hearing
of these disturbances in Lewis, obtained from
the king, in 1598, a gift of the island, their
professed object being to civilize the inhabit-
ants, their real design, however, being, by
means of a colony, to supplant the inhabitants,
and drive thorn from the island. A body of
soldiers and artificers of all sorts were sent,
with every thing necessary for a plantation,
into Lewis, where, on their arrival, they began
to erect houses in a convenient situation, and
soon completed a small but neat town, in which
they took up their quarters. The new settlers
were, however, much annoyed in their opera-
tions by Neill and Murthow Macleod, the only
sons of Eoderick Macleod who remained in
the island. The speculation proved ruinous
to many of the adventurers, who, in conse-
quence of the disasters they met with, lost
their estates, and were in the end obliged to
quit the island.

In the meantime, Nuill Macleod quarrelled
witli his brother Murlhow, for harbouring and

THE FIFE ADVENTURERS IN LEWIS.

121

maintaining the Breve and such of his tribe as
were still alive, who had been the chief instru-
ments in the murder of Torquill Dubh. Neill
thereupon apprehended his brother, and some
of the clan Mhic-Ghille-Mhoir, all of whom ho
killed, reserving Ills brother only alive. When
the Fife speculators were informed that Neill
had taken Murthow, his brother, prisoner, they
scut him a message offering to give him a share
of the island, and to assist him in revenging
the death of Torquill Dubh, provided he would
deliver Murthow into their hands. Neill
agreed to this proposal, and having gone there-
after to Edinburgh, he received a pardon from
the king for all his past offences.

These proceedings frustrated for a time the
designs of the Mackenzies upon the island, and
the lord of Kintail almost despaired of obtain-
ing possession by any means. As the new
settlers now stood in his way, he resolved to
desist from persecuting the Siol-Torquill, and
to cross the former in their undertakings, by
all the means in his power. He had for some
time kept Tormaid Macleod, the lawful brother
of Torquill Dubh, a prisoner ; but he now re-
leased him, thinking that upon his appearance
in the Lewis all the islanders would rise in his
favour ; and he was not deceived in his expec-
tations, for, as Sir Eobert Gordon observes,
" all these islanders, (and lykwayes the Hie-
landers,) are, by nature, most bent and prone
to adventure themselves, their lyffs, and all
they have, for their masters and lords, yea
beyond all other people." 1 In the meantime
Murthow Macleod was carried to St. Andrews,
and there executed. Having at his execution
revealed the designs of the lord of Kintail,
the latter was committed, by order of the
king, to the castle of Edinburgh, from which,
however, he contrived to escape without trial,
by means, as is supposed, of the then Lord-
Chancellor of Scotland.

On receiving pardon Neill Macleod returned
into Lewis with the Fife adventurers ; but he
had not been long in the island when ho quar-
relled with them on account of an injury ho had
received from Sir James Spence of Wormistoun.
He therefore abandoned them, and watched a
favourable opportunity for attacking them.

1 Uistory, p. 271.

They then attempted to apprehend him by a
stratagem, but only succeeded in bringing dis-
aster upon themselves. Upon hearing of this,
the lord of Kintail thought the time was now
suitable for him to stir, and accordingly lie
sent Tormaid Macleod into Lewis, as ho had
intended, promising him all the assistance in
his power if he would attack the Fife settlers.

As soon as Tormaid arrived in the island,
his brother Neill and all the natives assembled
and acknowledged him as their lord and master.
He immediately attacked the camp of the ad-
venturers, which he forced, burnt the fort,
killed the greater part of their men, took the
commanders prisoners, whom ho released, after
a captivity of eight months, on their solemn
promise not to return again to the island, and
on their giving a pledge that they should obtain
a pardon from the king for Tormaid and his
followers for all past offences. After Tormaid
had thus obtained possession of the island,
John Mac-Donald-Mac-Houcheon apprehended
Torquill Connaldagh, and carried him into
Lewis to his brother, Tormaid Macleod. Tor-
maid inflicted no punishment upon Connal-
dagh, but merely required from him delivery
of the title-deeds of Lewis, and the other
papers which he had carried off when he appre-
hended his father Roderick Macleod. Con-
naldagh informed him that he had it not in his
power to give them up, as he had delivered
them to the clan Kcnzie, in whose possession
they still were. Knowing this to be the fact,
Tormaid released Torquill Connaldagh, and
allowed him to leave the island, contrary to
the advice of all his followers and friends, who
were for inflicting the punishment of deatli
upon Torquill, as he had been the occasion of
all the miseries and troubles which had befallen
them.

The Breve of Lewis soon met with a just
punishment for the crime he had committed in
betraying and murdering his master, Torquill
Dubh Macleod. The Breve and some of his
relations had taken refuge in the country of
Assynt. John Mac-Donald-Mac-IIouchcon,
accompanied by four persons, having accident-
ally entered the house where the Breve and
six of his kindred lodged, found themselves
unexpectedly in the same room with them.
Being of opposite factions, a light immediately

122

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS

ensued, in the course of which the Breve and
his party fled out of the house, but were pur-
sued by John and his men, and the Breve and
five of his friends killed.

Although the Fife settlers had engaged not
to return again into Lewis, they neverthe-
less made preparations for invading it, having
obtained the king's commission against Tor-
maid Macleod and his tribe, the Siol-Torquill.
They were aided in tliis expedition by forces
from all the neighbouring counties, and par-
ticularly by the Earl of Sutherland, who sent
a party of men under the command of William
Mac-Mhic-Sheumais, chief of the clan Gun
in Sutherland, to assist in subduing Tormaid
Macleod. As soon as they had effected a land-
ing in the island with all their forces, they sent
a message to Macleod, acquainting him that if
he would surrender himself to them, in name
of the king, they would transport him safely to
London, where his majesty then was ; and
that, upon his arrival there, they would not
only obtain his pardon, but also allow him to
deal with the king in behalf of his friends, and
for the means of supporting himself. Macleod,
afraid to risk his fortune against the numerous
forces brought against him, agreed to the terms
proposed, contrary to the advice of his brother
Neill, who refused to yield. Tormaid was
thereupon sent to London, where he took care
to give the king full information concerning all
the circumstances of his case ; he showed his
majesty that Lewis was his just inheritance,
and that his majesty had been deceived by the
Fife adventurers in making liim believe that
the island was at his disposal, which act of
deception had occasioned much trouble and a
great loss of blood. He concluded by implor-
ing his majesty to do him justice by restoring
him to his rights. Understanding that Mac-
leod's representations were favourably received
by his majesty, the adventurers used all their
influence at court to thwart him ; and as some
of them were the king's own domestic servants,
they at last succeeded so far as to get him to bo
sent home to Scotland a prisoner in 1605.
He remained a captive at Edinburgh till the
month of March, 1615, when the king granted
him permission to pass into Holland, to Maurice,
Prince of Orange, where ho ended his days.
The settlers soon trrew wearied of their new

possession, and as all of them had declined in
their circumstances in this luckless speculation,
and as they were continually annoyed by Neill
Macleod, they finally abandoned the island,
and returned to Fife to bewail their loss.

Lord Kintail, now no longer disguising his
intentions, obtained, through means of the
Lord Chancellor, a gift of Lewis, under the
great seal, for his own use, in virtue of the old
right which Torquill Connaldagh had long
before resigned in his favour. Some of the
adventurers having complained to the king of
this proceeding, his majesty became highly
displeased at Kintail, and made him resign his
right into his majesty's hands by means of
Lord Balmerino, then Secretary of Scotland,
and Lord President of the session ; which right
his majesty now (1608) vested in the persons
of Lord Balmerino, Sir George Hay, afterwards
Chancellor of Scotland, and Sir James Spenco
of Wormistoun. Balmerino, on being con-
victed of high treason in 1609, lost his share,
but Hay and Spence undertook the coloniza-
tion of Lewis, and accordingly made great
preparations for accomplishing their purpose.
Being assisted by most of the neighbouring
countries, they invaded Lewis for the double
object of planting a colony, and of subduing
and apprehending Neill Macleod, who now
alone defended tiie island.

On this occasion Lord Kintail played a
double part, for while he sent Roderick Mac-
kenzie, his brother, with a party of men openly
to assist the new colonists who acted under
the king's commission, promising them at the
same time his friendship, and sending them a
vessel from Ross with a supply of provisions,
he privately sent notice to Neill Macleod
to intercept the vessel on her way; so that the
settlers, being disappointed in the provisions
to which they trusted, might abandon the
island for want. The case turned out exactly
as Lord Kintail anticipated, as Sir George
Hay and Sir James Spence abandoned the
island, leaving a party of men behind to keep
the fort, and disbanded their forces, returning
into Fife, intending to have sent a fresh sup-
ply of men, with provisions, into the island.
But Neill Macleod having, with the assistance
of his nephew, Malcolm Macleod, son of Ro-
derick Og, burnt the fort, and apprehended

NEILL MACLEOD EXPELLED FROM LEWIS.

123

the men who were left behind in the island,
whom he sent safely home, the Fife gentlemen
abandoned every idea of again taking possession
of the island, and sold their right to Lord Kin-
taiL Ho likewise obtained from the king a
grant of the share of the island forfeited by
liuhucrino, and thus at length acquired what
he had so long and anxiously desired. 2

Lord Kintail lost no time in taking posses-
sion of the island, and all the inhabitants,
shortly after his landing, with the exception
of Neill Macleod and a few others, submitted
to him. Neill, along with his nephews, Mal-
colm, William, and Eoderick, the three sons
of Roderick Og, the four sons of Torquill Blair,
and thirty others, retired to an impregnable
rock in the sea called Bcnissay, on the west of
Lewis, into which Neill had been accustomed,
for some years, to send provisions and other
necessary articles to serve him in case of neces-
sity. Neill lived on this rock for three years,
Lord Kintail in the meantime dying in 1611.
As Macleod could not be attacked in his im-
pregnable position, and as his proximity was a
source of annoyance, the clan Kenzie fell on
the following expedient to get quit of him.
They gathered together the wives and children
of those that were in Berrissay, and also all per-
sons in the island related to them by consan-
guinity or affinity, and having placed them on
a rock in the sea, so near Berrissay that they
could bo heard and seen by Neill and his
party, the clan Kenzie vowed that they would
suffer the sea to overwhelm them, on the
return of the flood-tide, if Neill did not in-
stantly surrender the fort This appalling
spectacle had such an effect upon Macleod and
his companions, that they immediately yielded
up the rock and left Lewis.

Neill Macleod then retired into Harris, where
ho remained concealed for a time; but not
being able to avoid discovery any longer, he
gave himself up to Sir Eoderick Macleod of
Harris, and entreated him to carry him into
England to the king, a request with which Sir
Roderick promised to comply. In proceeding
on his jmtrney, however, along with Macleod,
he was charged at Glasgow, under pain of
treason, to deliver up Neill to the privy coun-

1 Gordon, p. 274; Gregory's Western Higldands,
p. 334.

oil. Sir Roderick obeyed the charge,
with his eldest son Donald, were presented to
the privy council at Edinburgh, where Neill
was executed in April 1G13. His son Donald
was banished from the kingdom of Scotland,
and immediately went to England, where he
remained three years witli Sir Robert Gordon,
tutor of Sutherland, and from England he
afterwards went to Holland, where he died.

After the death of Neill Macleod, Roderick
and William, the sons of Roderick Og, were
apprehended by Roderick Mackenzie, tutor of
Kintail, and executed. Malcolm Macleod, his
tliird son, who was kept a prisoner by Roder-
ick Mackenzie, escaped, and having associated
himself with the clan Donald in Islay and
Kintyre during their quarrel with the Camp-
bells in 1G15-16, he annoyed the clan Kenzie
with frequent incursions. Malcolm, thereafter,
went to Flanders and Spain, where he remained
with Sir James Macdonald. Before going to
Spain, he returned from Flanders into Lewis
in 161G, where he killed two gentlemen
of the clan Kenzie. He returned from Spain
in 1G20, and the last that is heard of him is
in 1626, when commissions of fire and sword
were granted to Lord Kintail against " Mal-
colm Macquari Macleod."

From the occurrences in Lewis, we now
direct the attention of our readers to some pro-
ceedings in the isle of Rasay, which ended in
bloodshed. The quarrel lay between Gille-
Chalum, laird of the island, and Murdo Mac-
kenzie of Gairloch, and the occasion was as
follows. The lands of Gairloch originally bo-
longed to the clan Mhic-Ghille-Chalum, the
predecessors of the laird of Rasay; and when
the Mackenzies began to prosper and to rise,
one of them obtained the third part of thcso
lands in mortgage or wadset from the clan
Mhic-Ghille-Chalum. In process of time the
clan Kenzie, by some means or other, unknown
to the proprietor of Gairloch, obtained a right
to the whole of these lands, but they did not
claim possession of the whole till the death
of Torquill Dubh Macleod of Lewis, whom
the laird of Rasay and liis tribe followed as
their superior. But upon the death of Torquil]
Dubh, the laird of Gairloch took possession of

1 Gregory, p. 337.

124

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

the whole of the lauds of Gairloch in virtue of
his pretended right, and chased the clan Mhic-
Ghillo-Chalum from the lands with fire and
sword. The clan retaliated hi their turn by
invading the laird of Gairloch, plundering his
lands and committing slaughters. In a skir-
mish which took place in the year 1G10, in
which lives were lost on both sides, the laird
of Gairloch apprehended John Mac-Alain-Mac-
Eory, one of the principal men of the clan;
Lut being desirous to get hold also of John
Holmoch-Mac-Rory, another of the chiefs, he
sent his son Murdo the following year along
with Alexander Bane, the son and heir of
Bane of Tulloch in Ross, and some others, to
scarcli for and pursue John llolmoch; and as
he understood that John llolmoch was in Skye,
lie hired a ship to carry his son and party
thither; but instead of going to Skye, they
unfortunately, from some unknown cause,
landed in Rasay.

On their arrival in Rasay in August 1611,
Gillo-Chalum, laird of Rasay, with some of his
followers, went on board, and unexpectedly
found Murdo Mackenzie in the vessel. After
consulting with his men, he resolved to take
Mackenzie prisoner, in security for his cousin,
John Mac-Alain-Mac-Rory, whom the laird of
Gairloch detained in captivity. The party
then attempted to seize Mackenzie, but he and
lu's party resisting, a keen conflict took place
on board, which continued a considerable time.
At last, Murdo Mackenzie, Alexander Bane,
and the whole of their party, with the excep-
tion of three, were slain. These three fought
manfully, killing the laird of Rasay and the
whole men who accompanied him on board,
and wounding several persons that remained in
the two boats. Finding themselves seriously
wounded, they took advantage of a favourable
wind, and sailed away from the island, but
expired on the voyage homewards. From this
time the Mackenzies appear to have uninter-
ruptedly held possession of Gairloch. 4

About the time this occurrence took place,
the peace of the north was almost again dis-
turbed in consequence of the conduct of William
Mac- Angus-Roy, one of the clan Gun, who,
though born in Strathnaver, had become a

1 Sir Robert Gordon, p 278.

servant to the Earl of Caithness. This man
had done many injuries to the people of Caith-
ness by command of the earl; and the mere dis-
pleasure of Earl George at any of his people,
was considered by William Mac-Angus as
sufficient authority for him to steal and take
away their goods and cattle. William got so
accustomed to this kind of service, that he
began also to steal the cattle and horses of the
earl, his master, and, after collecting a large
booty in this way, he took his leave. The
earl was extremely enraged at his quondam
servant for so acting; but, as William Mac-
Angus was in possession of a warrant in writing
under the earl's own hand, authorizing him to
act as he had done towards the people of
Caithness, the earl was afraid to adopt any
proceedings against him, or against those who
protected and harboured him, before the Privy
Council, lest he might produce the warrant
which he held from the earl The confidence
which, the earl had reposed in him served,
however, still more to excite the earl's indig-
nation.

As William Mac- Angus continued his depre-
dations in other quarters, he was apprehended
in the town of Tain, on a charge of cattle-
stealing; but he was released by the Monroes,
who gave security to the magistrates of the
town for his appearance when required, upon
due notice being given that ho was wanted for
trial. On attempting to escape ho was re-
delivered to the provost and bailies of Tain, by
whom he was given up to the Earl of Caith-
ness, who put him in fetters, and imprisoned
him within Castle Sinclair (1612). He soon
again contrived to escape, and fled into Strath-
naver, the Earl of Caithness sending his son,
William, Lord Berridale, in pursuit of him.
Missing the fugitive, he, in revenge, appre-
hended a servant of Mackay, called Angus
Heiiriach, without any authority from his
majesty, and carried him to Castle Sinclair,
where he was put into fetters and closely im-
prisoned on the pretence that he had assisted
William Mac-Angus in effecting his escape.
When tills occurrence took place, Donald
Mackay, son of Houcheon Mackay, the chief,
was at Dunrobiu castle, and he, on hearing of
the apprehension and imprisonment of his
father's servant, could scarcely bo made to

APPBEHENSION OF ARTHUR SMITH, A FALSE COINER.

125

believe the fact on account of the friend-
ship which had been contracted between his
father and the earl the preceding Christinas,
liut being made sensible thereof, and of the
cruel usage which the servant had received, he
prevailed on his father to summon the earl and
his son to answer to the charge of having ap-
prehended and imprisoned Angus Henriach, a
free subject of the king, without a commission.
The earl was also charged to present his pris-
oner before the privy council at Edinburgh in
the month of June next following, which he
accordingly did; and Angus being tried before
the lords and declared innocent, was delivered
over to Sir Robert Gordon, who then acted for
Mackay. 5

During the same year (1612) another event
occurred in the north, which created consider-
able uproar and discord in the northern High-
lands. A person of the name of Arthur Smith,
who resided in Banff, had counterfeited the
coin of the realm, in consequence of which he,
and a man who had assisted him, fled from Banff

into Sutherland, where being apprehended in
the year 1599, they were sent by the Countess
of Sutherland to the king, who ordered them to
be imprisoned in Edinburgh for trial. They
were both accordingly tried and condemned,
and having confessed to crimes even of a deeper
dye, Smith's accomplice was burnt at the place
of execution. Smith himself was reserved for
farther trial By devising a lock of rare and
curious workmanship, which took the fancy of
the king, he ultimately obtained his release
and entered into the service of the Earl of
Caithness. His workshop was under the rock
of Castle Sinclair, in a quiet retired place
called the Gote, and to which there was a
secret passage from the earl's bedchamber.
No person was admitted to Smith's workshop
but the earl ; and the circumstance of his
being often heard working during the night,
raised suspicions that some secret work was
going on which could not bear the light of
day. The mystery was at last disclosed by an
inundation of counterfeit coin in Caitlmcss,

Castles Sinclair and Girnigo. From a photograph taken specially for this work.

Orkney, Sutherland, and Ross, which was first
detected by Sir Robert Gordon, brother to the
Earl of Sutherland, when in Scotland, in the
year 1611, and he, on his return to England,
made the king acquainted therewitlL A com-
mission was granted to Sir Robert to apprehend

5 Sir R. Gordon, p. 2S1.

Smith, and bring him to Edinburgh, but he
was so much occupied with other concerns
that ho intrusted the commission to Donald
Mackay, his nephew, and to John Gordon,
younger of Ernbo, whoso name was jointly
inserted in the commission along with that of
Sir Robert. Accordingly, Mackay and Gordon,
accompanied by Adam Gordon Georgcson Jului,

12(1

GEXEEAL HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

Gordon in Broray, and some other Sutherland
men, went, in May, 1612, to Strathnaver, and
assembling some of the inhabitants, they
marched into Caithness next morning, and
entered the town of Thurso, where Smith then
resided.

After remaining about three hours in the
town, the party went to Smith's house and
apprehended him. On searching his house
they found a quantity of spurious gold and
silver coin. Donald Maekay caused Smith
to be put on horseback, and then rode off
with him out of the town. To prevent any
tumult among the inhabitants, Gordon remained
behind with some of his men to show them, if
necessary, his Majesty's commission for appre-
hending Smith. Scarcely, however, had Mac-
kay left the town, when the town-bell was
rang and all the inhabitants assembled. There
were present in Thurso at the time, John Sin-
clair of Stirkage, son of the Earl of Caithness's
brother, James Sinclair, brother of the laird of
Dun, James Sinclair of Dyrren, and other
friends, on a visit to Lady Berridale. When
information was brought them of the appre-
hension of Smith, Sinclair of Stirkage, trans-
ported with rage, swore that he would not
allow any man, no matter whose commission
he held, to carry away his uncle's servant in
his uncle's absence. A furious onset was made
upon Gordon, but his men withstood it bravely,
and after a warm contest, the inhabitants were
defeated with some loss, and obliged to retire
to the centre of the town. Donald Maekay
hearing of the tumult, returned to the town to
aid Gordon, but the affair was over before he
arrived, Sinclair of Stirkage having been killed.
To prevent the possibility of the escape or
rescue of Smith, he was killed by the Strath-
naver men as soon as they heard of the tumult
in the town.

The Earl of Caithness resolved to prosecute
Donald Maekay, John Gordon, younger of
Embo, with their followers, for the slaughter
of Sinclair of Stirkago, and the mutilation of
Janics Sinclair, brother of the laird of Dun,
and summoned them, accordingly, to appear at
Edinburgh. On the other hand, Sir Eobort
Gordon and Donald Mackay prosecuted the
Earl of Caithness and his son, Lord Berridalc,
with several other of their countrymen, for

resisting the king's commission, attacking the
commissioners, and apprehending Angus Henri-
ach, without a commission, which was declared
treason by the laws. The Earl of Caithness
endeavoured to make the Privy Council believe
that the affair at Thurso arose out of a pre-
meditated design against him, and that Sir
Eobert Gordon's intention in obtaining a com-
mission against Arthur Smith was, under the
cloak of its authority, to find means to slay
him and his brethren ; and that, in pursuance
of his plan, Sir Eobert had, a little before the
skirmish in Thurso, caused the earl to be
denounced and proclaimed as a rebel to the
king, and had lain in wait to kill him ; Sir
Eobert, however, showed the utter ground-
lessness of these charges to the Lords of the
Council.

On the day appointed for appearance, the
parties met at Edinburgh, attended by their
respective friends. The Earl of Caithness and
his son, Lord Berridale, were accompanied by
the Lord Gray, the laird of Eoslin, the laird
of Cowdenknowes, a son of the sister of the
Earl of Caitlmess, and the lairds of Murkle and
Greenland, brothers of the earl, along with a
large retinue of subordinate attendants. Sir
Eobert Gordon and Donald Mackay were
attended by the Earl of Winton and his
brother, the Earl of Eglinton, with all their
followers, the Earl of Linlithgow, with
the Livingstones, Lord Elphinston, with his
friends, Lord Eorbes, with his friends, the
Drummonds, Sir John Stuart, captain of Dum-
barton, and bastard son of the Duke of Lennox ;
Lord Balfour, the laird of Lairg Mackay in
Galloway ; the laird of Foulis, with the Mon-
roes, the laird of Duffus, some of the Gor-
dons, as Sir Alexander Gordon, brother of the
Earl of Sutherland, Cluny, Lcsmoir, Buckio.
Knokespock, with other gentlemen of respoctar
bility. The absence of the Earl of Sutherland
and Houchcon Mackay mortified the Earl of
Caithness, who could not conceal his displea-
sure at being so much overmatched in the
respectability and number of attendants by
seconds and children, as lie was pleased to call
his adversaries.

According to the usual practice on such
occasions, the parties were accompanied by
their respective friends, from their lodgings, to

DISSENSIONS AMONG THE CLAN CAMERON.

127

the house where the council was sitting ; but
fi'\v were admitted within. The council spent
three days in hearing the parties and deliberat-
ing upon the matters brought before them, but
they came to no conclusion, and adjourned
tlunr proceedings till the king's pleasure should
bo known. In the meantime the parties, at
the entreaty of the Lords of the Council,
entered into recognizances to keep the peace,
in time coming, towards each other, which
extended not only to their kinsmen, but also
to their friends and dependants.

The king, after fully considering the state of
affairs between the rival parties, and judging
that if the law were allowed to take its course
the peace of the northern countries might bo
disturbed by the earls and their numerous fol-
lowers, proposed to the Lords of the Privy
Council to endeavour to prevail upon them to
submit their differences to the arbitration of
mutual friends. Accordingly, after a good
deal of entreaty and reasoning, the parties
were persuaded to agree to the proposed mea-
sure. A deed of submission was then sub-
scribed by the Earl of Caithness and William,
Lord Berridale, on the one part, and by Sir
Robert Gordon and Donald Mackay on the
other part, taking burden on them for the Earl
of Sutherland and Mackay. The arbiters ap-
pointed by Sir Robert Gordon were the Earl of
Kinghom, the Master of Elphinston, the Earl
of Haddington, afterwards Lord Privy Seal of
Scotland, and Sir Alexander Drummond of
Meidhop. The Archbishop of Glasgow, Sir
John Preston, Lord President of the Council,
Lord Blantyre, and Sir William Oliphant,
Lord Advocate, were named by the Earl of
Caithness. The Earl of Dunfermline, Lord-
Chancellor of Scotland, was chosen oversman
and umpire by both parties. As the arbiters
had then no time to hear the parties, or to
enter upon the consideration of the matters
submitted to them, they appointed them to re-
turn to Edinburgh in the month of May, 1613.

At the appointed time, the Earl of Caith-
ness and Ms brother, Sir John Sinclair of
Greenland, came to Edinburgh, Sir Robert
Gordon arriving at the same time from En"-

O O

land. The arbiters, however, who were all
members of the Privy Council, being much
occupied with state affairs, did not go into the

matter, but made the parties subscribe a new
deed of submission, under which they gave
authority to the Marquis of Huntly, by whoso
friendly offices the differences between the two
houses had formerly been so often adjusted, to
act in the matter by endeavouring to bring
about a fresh reconciliation. As the marquis
was the cousin-german of the Earl of Suther-
land, and brother-in-law of the Earl of Caith-
ness, who had married his sister, the council
thought him the most likely person to be
intrusted with such an important negotiation.
The marquis, however, finding the parties
obstinate, and determined not to yield a single
point of their respective claims and pretensions,
declined to act farther in the matter, and remit-
ted the whole affair back to the Privy Council.
During the year 1613 the peace of Loch-
aber was disturbed by dissensions among the
clan Cameron. The Earl of Argyle, reviv-
ing an old claim acquired in the reign of
James V., by Colin, the third earl, endea-
voured to obtain possession of the lands of
Lochiel, mainly to weaken the influence of his
rival the Marquis of Huntly, to whose party
the clan Cameron were attached. Legal pro-
ceedings were instituted by the earl against
Allan Cameron of Lochiel, who, hastening to
Edinburgh, was there advised by Argyle to
submit the matter to arbiters. The decision
was in favour of the earl, from whom Locliiel
consented to hold his lands as a vassal This,
of course, highly incensed the Marquis of
Huntly, who resolved to endeavour to effect
the ruin of his quondam vassal by fomenting
dissensions among the clan Cameron, inducing
the Camerons of Erracht, Kinlochiel, and Glen-
nevis to become his immediate vassals in those
lands which Lochiel had hitherto held from
the family of Huntly. Lochiel, failing to in-
duce his kinsmen to renew their allegiance to
him, again went to Edinburgh to consult his
lawyers as to the course which he ought to pur-
sue. While there, he heard of a conspiracy by
the opposite faction against his life, which
induced him to hasten home, sending wcrd
privately to his friends the Camerona of
Callart, Strone, Letterfinlay, and others to
meet him on the day appointed for the assem-
bling of his opponents, near the spot where
the latter were to meet.

128

GENEEAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

On arriving at the appointed rendezvous,
Lochiel placed in ambush all his followers but
six, with whom he advanced towards his ene-
mies, informing them that he wished to have
a conference with them. The hostile faction,
thinking this a favourable opportunity for
accomplishing their design, pursued the chief,
who, when he had led them fairly into the
midst of his ambushed followers, gave the
signal for their slaughter. Twenty of their
principal men were killed, and eight taken
prisoners, Lochiel allowing the rest to escape.
Lochiel and his followers were by the Privy
Council outlawed, and a commission of fire and
sword granted to the Marquis of Huntly and
the Gordons, for their pursuit and apprehen-
sion. The division of the clan Cameron which
supported Lochiel continued for several years
in a state of outlawry, but, through the influ-
ence of the Earl of Argyle, appears not to have
suffered extremely. 6

CHAPTER X.

A.D. 16131623.

KINO OF OHEM BRITAIN I JaillCS 1., 16031325.

Continued animosity between the Earls of Caithness
and Sutherland The latter imprisoned as a sus-
pected Catholic Formidable Kebellion in the South
Hebrides Suppressed by the Earl of Argyle Fresh
intrigues of the Earl of Caithness His oppressions
Burning of the corn at Sanset Legal proceedings
against the Guns Agreement between the Earl of
Caithness, Sir Robert Gordon, and Lord Forbes
Lord Berridale imprisoned Conditions of release
Put in possession of the family Estates Alliance
between the Earl of Caithness and Sir Donald Mac-
kay Sir Robert Gordon protects the clan Gun
Mackay's attempts against the Clan Mackay and
Sir Robert Gordon reconciled Quarrel between the
Earl of Enzie and the elan Chattan Slaughter of
Thomas Lindsay Hostile preparations against the
Earl of Caithness Expedition into Caithness
Flight of the Earl Reduction and pacification of
Caithness.

As the Privy Council showed no inclination to
decide the questions submitted to them by the
Earl of Caitlmcss and his adversaries, the earl
sent his brother, Sir John Sinclair of Green-
land, to Edinburgh, to complain of the delay
which had taken place, and desired him to
throw out hints, that if the earl did not obtain

Gregory's Western Ui'jhlands, p. 342.

satisfaction for his supposed injuries, he would
take redress at his own hands. The earl
thought that he would succeed, by such a
threat, in moving the council to decide in his
favour, for he was well aware that he was
unable to carry it into execution. To give
some appearance of an intention to enforce it,
he, in the month of October, 1613, while the
Earl of Sutherland, his brothers and nephews,
were absent from the country, made a demon-
stration of invading Sutherland or Strathnaver,
by collecting his forces at a particular point,
and bringing thither some pieces of ordnance
from Castle Sinclair. The Earl of Sutherland,
having arrived in Sutherland while the Earl of
Caithness was thus employed, immediately
assembled some of his countrymen, and, along
with his brother Sir Alexander, went to the
marches between Sutherland and Caithness,
near the height of Strathully, where they
waited the approach of the Earl of Caithness.
Here they were joined by Mackay, who had
given notice of the Earl of Caithness's move-
ments to the lairds of Eoulis, Balnagown, and
Assynt, the sheriff of Cromarty, and the tutor
of Kintail, all of whom prepared themselves to
assist the Earl of Sutherland. The Earl of
Caithness, however, by advice of his brother,
Sir John Sinclair, returned home and dis-
banded his force.

To prevent the Earl of Caitliness from at-
tempting any farther interference with the
Privy Council, either in the way of intrigue or
intimidation, Sir Eobert Gordon obtained a
remission and pardon from the king, in the
month of December, 1613, to his nephew,
Donald Mackay, John Gordon, younger of
Embo, John Gordon in Broray, Adam Gordon
Georgeson, and their accomplices, for the
slaughter of John Sinclair of Stirkage at
Thurso. However, Sir Gideon Murray, Deputy
Treasurer for Scotland, contrived to prevent the
pardon passing through the seals till the begin-
ning of the year 1616.

The Earl of Caitliness, being thus baffled in
his designs against the Earl of Sutherland and
his friends, fell upon a device which never
failed to succeed in times of religious intoler-
ance and persecution. Unfortunately for man-
kind and for the interests of Christianity, the
principles of religious toleration, involving the

FORMIDABLE REBELLION IX THE SOUTH HEBRIDES.

129

inalienable right of every man to worsliip God
accenting to the dictates of his conscience, have
been till of lato but little understood, and at
the period in question, and for upwards of one
hundred and sixty years thereafter, the statute
book of Scotland was disgraced by penal enact-
ments against the Catholics, almost unparalleled
for their sanguinary atrocity. By an act of the
first parliament of James VI., any Catholic
who assisted at the offices of his religion was,
" for the first fault," that is, for following the
dictates of his conscience, to suffer confiscation
of all his goods, movable and immovable,
personal and real ; for the second, banishment;
and death for the third fault ! But the law
was not confined to overt acts only the mere
suspicion of being a Catholic placed the sus-
pected person out of the pale and protection of
the law ; for if, on being warned by the bish-
ops and ministers, ho did not recant and give
confession of his faith according to the ap-
proved form, ho was excommunicated, and
declared infamous and incapable to sit or stand
in judgment, pursue or bear office. 7

Under this last-mentioned law the Earl of
Caithness now sought to gratify his vengeance
against the Earl of Sutherland. Having repre-
sented to the Archbishop of St. Andrews and
the clergy of Scotland that the Earl of Suther-
land was at heart a Catholic, he prevailed upon
the bishops with little difficulty, it is sup-
posed to acquaint the king thereof. His
majesty thereupon issued a wan-ant against
the Earl of Sutherland, who was in conse-
quence apprehended and imprisoned at St.
Andrews. The earl applied to the bishops for
a month's delay, till the 15th February, 1614,
promising that before that time ho would
cither give the church satisfaction or surrender
himself; but his application was refused by
the high commission of Scotland. Sir Alex-
ander Gordon, the brother of the earl, being
then in Edinburgh, immediately gave notice to
his brother, Sir Robert Gordon, who was at
the time in London, of the proceedings against
their brother, the earl. Sir Robert having
applied to his majesty for the release of the
earl for a time, that ho might make up his
mind on the subject of religion, and look after

7 Act James VI., Parl. 3, Cap. 45.

his affairs in the north, his majesty granted a
warrant for his liberation till the month of
August following. On the expiration of the
time, ho returned to his confinement at St.
Andrews, from which he was removed, on
his own application, to the abbey of Holyrood
house, where ho remained till the month of
March, 1G15, when he obtained leave to go
home, " having," says Sir Robert Gordon, " in
some measure satisfied the church concerning
liis religion."

The Earl of Caithness, thus again defeated
in his views, tried, as a dernier resort, to dis-
join the families of Sutherland and Mackay.
Sometimes he attempted to prevail upon the
Marquis of Huntly to persuade the Earl of
Sutherland and his brothers to come to an
arrangement altogether independent of Mac-
kay; and at other times he endeavoured to
persuade Maekay, by holding out certain in-
ducements to him, to compromise their differ-
ences without including the Earl of Suther-
land in the arrangement; but he completely
failed in these attempts. 8

In 161415 a formidable rebellion broke out
in the South Hebrides, arising from the efforts
made by the clan Donald of Islay to retain that
island in their possession. The castle of Duny-
veg in Islay, which, for three years previous to
1614, had been in possession of the Bishop of the
Isles, having been taken by Angus Oig, younger
brother of Sir James Macdonald of Islay, from
Ranald Oig, who had surprised it, the former
refused to restore it to the bishop. The Privy
Council took the matter in hand, and, having
accepted from John Campbell of Calder an
offer of a feu-duty or perpetual rent for Islay,
they prevailed on him to accept a commission
against Angus Oig and his followers. Tho
clan Donald, who viewed with suspicion the
growing power of the Campbells, looked upon
this project with much dislike, and treated
certain hostages left by the bishop with great
severity. Even the bishop remonstrated against
making " the name of Campbell greater in the
Isles than they are already," thinking it neither
good nor profitable to his majesty, " to root
out one pestiferous clan, and plant in another
little better." Tho remonstrance of the bishop

Sir K. Gordon, p. 299.
u

130

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

and an offer made to put matters right by Sir
James Macdonald, who was then imprisoned
in Edinburgh castle, were alike unheeded, and
Campbell of Calder received his commission of
Lieutenandry against Angus Oig Macdonald,
CollMac-Gillespic, and the other rebels of Islay.
A free pardon was offered to all who were not
concerned in the taking of the castle, and a
remission to Angus Oig, provided he gave up
the castle, the hostages, and two associates of
his own rank.

While Campbell was collecting his forces,
and certain auxiliary troops from Ireland
were preparing to embark, the chancellor of
Scotland, the Earl of Dunfermline, by means

of a Ross-shire man, named George Graham of
Eryne, prevailed on Angus Oig to release the
bishop's hostages, and deliver up to Graham
the castle, in behalf of the chancellor. Graham
re-delivered the castle to Angus, to be held by
him as the regular constable, until he should
receive further orders from the chancellor, and at
the same time assured Angus of the chancel-
lor's countenance and protection, enjoining him
to resist all efforts on the part of Campbell or
his friends to eject him. These injunctions
Graham's dupes too readily followed. "There
can be no doubt whatever that the chancellor
was the author of this notable plan to procure
the liberation of the hostages, and at the same

Duuyveg Castle, Islay. From a dra
time to deprive the clan Donald of the benefit
of the pardon promised to them on this account.
There are grounds for a suspicion that the
chancellor himself desired to obtain Islay ;
although it is probable that he wished to avoid
the odium attendant on the more violent mea-
sures required to render such, an acquisition
available. He, therefore, contrived so as to
leave the punishment of the clan Donald to
the Campbells, who were already sufficiently
obnoxious to the western clans, whilst he him-
self had the credit of procuring the liberation
of the hostages."

Campbell of Calder and Sir Oliver Lambert,
commander of the Irish forces, did not effect a
junction till the 5th of January, 1615, and on

.wing taken expressly for this work,
the 6th, Campbell landed on Islay with 200
men, his force being augmented next day by
140 more. Several of the rebels, alarmed, de-
serted Angus, and were pardoned on condition
of helping the besiegers. Ronald Mac-James,
uncle of Angus Oig, surrendered a fort on the
island of Lochgorme which he commanded, on
the 21st, and along with, his son received a
conditional assurance of his majesty's favour.
Operations were commenced against Duny veg
on February 1st, and shortly after Angus had
an interview with the lieutenant, during which
thelatter showed that Angushad been deceived
by Graham, upon which he promised to sur-
render. On returning to the castle, however,
he refused to implement his promise, being in-

CAPTURE OF DUNYVEG CASTLE.

131

stigated to liold out apparently by Coll Mac-
Gillespic. After being again battered for some
time, Angus and some of his followers at last
surrendered unconditionally, Coll Mac-Gillespic
contriving to make liis escape. Campbell took
possession of tlio castle on the 3d February,
dispersed the forces of the rebels, and put to
death a number of those who had deserted the
siege ; Angus himself was reserved for exami-
nation by the Privy Council. In the course of
the examination it came out clearly that the
Earl of Argyle was the original promoter of the
seizure of the castle, his purpose apparently
being to ruin the clan Donald by urging them
to rebellion ; but this charge, as well as that
against the Earl of Dunfermline, appears to
have been smothered.

During the early part of the year 1615, Coll
Mac-Gillespic and others of the clan Donald
who had escaped, infested the western coasts,
and committed many acts of piracy, being
joined about the month of May by Sir James
Macdonald, who had escaped from Edinburgh
castle, where he had been lying for a long
time under sentence of death. Sir James and
his followers, now numbering several hundreds,
after laying in a good supply of provisions,
sailed towards Islay. The Privy Council were
not slow in taking steps to repress the rebel-
lion, although various circumstances occurred
to thwart their intentions. Calder engaged to
keep the castle of Dunyveg against the rebels,
and instructions were given to the various
western gentlemen friendly to the government
to defend the western coasts and islands.
Large rewards were offered for the principal
rebels. All the forces were enjoined to be
at their appointed stations by the Gth of July,
furnished with forty days' provisions, and with
a sufficient number of boats, to enable them to
act by sea, if necessary.

Sir James Macdonald, about the end of
Juno, landing on Islay, managed by stratagem
to obtain possession of Dunyveg Castle, him-
self and his followers appearing to have con-
ducted themselves with great moderation.
Dividing his force, which numbered about 400,
into two bodies, with one of which he himself
intended to proceed to Jura, the other, under
Coll Mac-Gillcppic, was destined for Kintyrc,
tor the pii'i'ose of encouraging the ancient

followers of his family to assist him. In tho
beginning of July, Angus Oig and a number of
his followers were tried and condemned, and
executed immediately after.

Various disheartening reports were now cir-
culated as to the disaffection of Donald Gormo
of Sleat, captain of the clan Eanald, Euari
Macleod of Harris, and others ; and that Hector
Maclean of Dowart, if not actually engaged in
the rebellion, had announced, that if he was
desired to proceed against the clan Donald, ho
would not be very earnest in the service. Tho
militia of Ayr, Eenfrew, Dumbarton, Bute,
and Inverness were called out, and a commis-
sion was granted to the Marquis of Hamilton
to keep the clan Donald out of Arran.

The Privy Council had some time before
this urged tho king to send down the Earl of
Argyle from England to which he had fled
from his numerous creditors to act as lieu-
tenant in suppressing the insurrection. After
many delays, Argyle, to whom full powers had
been given to act as lieutenant, at length
mustered his forces at Duntroon on Loch
Crinan early in September. He issued a pro-
clamation of pardon to all rebels who were
willing to submit, and by means of spies ex-
amined Macdonald's camp, which had been
pitched on the west coast of Kintyre, the num-
ber of the rebels being ascertained to be about
1,000 men. Argyle set himself so promptly
and vigorously to crush the rebels, that Sir
James Macdonald, who had been followed to
Islay by the former, finding it impossible either
to resist the Lieutenant's forces, or to escape
with his galleys to the north isles, desired from
the earl a truce of four days, promising at tho
end of that tune to surrender. Argyle would
not accede to this request except on condition
of Sir James giving up the two forts which he
held ; this Sir James urged Coll Mac-Gillespic
to do, but ho refused, although he sent secretly
to Argyle a message that he was willing to
comply with the earl's request. Argyle im-
mediately sent a force against Sir James to
surprise him, who, being warned of tliis by tho
natives, managed to make his escape to an
island called Inchdaholl, on the coast of Ire-
land, and never again returned to the Hebrides.
Xext day, Mac-Gillespic surrendered the two
forts and his prisoners, upon assurance of his

132

GENERAL IIISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

own life and the lives of a few of liis followers,
at tlie same time treacherously apprehending
nnd delivering to Argyle, Macfie of Colonsay,
one of the principal rebel leaders, and eighteen
others. This conduct soon had many imita-
tors, including Macfie himself.

Having delivered the forts in Islay to Camp-
bell of Calder, and having executed a number
of the leading rebels, Argyle proceeded to
Kintyre, and crushed out all remaining seeds of
insurrection there. Many of the principal
rebels, notwithstanding a diligent search,
effected their escape, many of them to Ireland,
Sir James Macdonald being sent to Spain by
some Jesuits in Galway. The escape of so
many of the principal rebels seems to have
given the Council great dissatisfaction. Argyle
carried on operations till the middle of Decem-
ber 1615, refusing to dismiss the hired soldiers
in the beginning of November, as he was
ordered by the Council to do. He was com-
pelled to disburse the pay, amounting to
upwards of .7,000, for the extra month and a
half out of his own pocket.

" Thus," to use the words of our authority
for the above details, 9 " terminated the last
struggle of the once powerful clan Donald of
Islay and Kintyre, to retain, from the grasp of
the Campbells, these ancient possessions of
their tribe."

Ever since the death of John Sinclair at
Thurso, the Earl of Caithness used every means
in his power to induce such of his country-
men as were daring enough, to show their
prowess and dexterity, by making incursions
into Sutherland or Strathnaver, for the pur-
pose of annoying the vassals and depend-
ants of the Earl of Sutherland and his ally,
Mackay. Amongst others he often communi-
cated on this subject with William Kenneth-
Bon, whose father, Kenneth Buidhe, had always
been the principal instrument in the hands
of Earl George in oppressing the people of
his own country. For the furtherance of his
plans he at last prevailed upon William, who
already stood rebel to the king in a criminal
cause, to go into voluntary banishment into
Stratlinaver, and pxit himself under the pro-
oection of Mackay, to whom he was to pre-

8 Gregory's Western Highlands, p. 349, it scq.

tend that he had left Caitliness to avoid any
solicitations from the Earl of Caithness to
injure the inhabitants of Strathnaver. To
cover their designs they caused a report to be
spread that William Mac-Kenneth was to leave
Caithness because he would not obey the orders
of the earl to execute some designs against Sir
Robert Gordon, the tutor of Sutherland, and
Mackay, and when this false rumour had
been sufficiently spread, Mac-Kenneth, and
his brother John, and their dependants, fled
into Stratlinaver and solicited the favour and
protection of Mackay. The latter received
them, kindly ; but as William and his party
had been long addicted to robbery and theft,
he strongly advised them to abstain from such
practices in all time coming ; and that they
might not afterwards plead necessity as an
excuse for continuing their depredations, he
allotted them some lands to dwell on. After
staying a month or two in Strathnaver, during
which time they stole some cattle and horses
out of Caithness, William received a private
visit by night from Kenneth Buidhe, his
father, who had been sent by the Earl of Caith-
ness for the purpose of executing a contem-
plated depredation in Sutherland. Mackay
was then in Sutherland on a visit to his uncle,
Sir Robert Gordon, which being known to
William Mac-Kenneth, ho resolved to enter
Sutherland with his party, and cany off into
Caithness all the booty they coidd collect.
Being observed in the glen of Loth by some of
the clan Gun, collecting cattle and horses, they
were immediately apprehended, with the ex-
ception of lain-Garbh-Mac-Chonahl-Mac-Mhur-
chidh-Mhoir, who, being a very resolute man,
refused to surrender, and was in consequence
killed. The prisoners were delivered to Sir
Robert Gordon at Dornqch, who committed
William and his brother John to the castle of
Dornoch for trial. In the meantime two of
the principal men of Mac-Kenneth's party
were tried, convicted, and executed, and the
remainder were allowed to return home on
giving surety to keep the peace. This occur-
rence took place in the month of January,
1818.

The Earl of Caitlmess now finished his rest-
less career of iniquity by the perpetration of a
crime which, tnough trivial in its cruscqucnces,

MACHINATIONS OF THE EAEL OF CAITHNESS.

133

was of so highly a penal nature in itself as to
bring his own life into jeopardy. As the cir-
cumstances which led to the burning of the
corn of William Innes, a servant of Lord Forbes
at Sanset in Caithness, and the discovery of
the Earl of Caithness as instigator, are some-
what curious, it is thought that a recital of
them may not bo here out of place.

Among other persons who had suffered at
the hands of the earl was his own kinsman,
William Sinclair of Dumbaith. After annoy-
ing him in a variety of ways, the earl insti-
gated his bastard brother, Henry Sinclair, and
Kenneth Buidhe, to destroy and lay waste part
of Dumbaith's lands, who, unable to resist, and
being in dread of personal risk, locked himself
up in his house at Dunray, which they besieged.
William Sinclair immediately applied to John,
Earl of Sutherland, for assistance, who sent
his friend Mackay with a party to rescue Sin-
clair from his perilous situation. Mackay suc-
ceeded, and carried Sinclair along with him
into Sutherland, where he remained for a time,
but he afterwards went to reside in Moray,
where he died. Although thus cruelly perse-
cuted and forced to become an exile from his
country by the Earl of Caithness, no entreaties
could induce him to apply for redress, choosing
rather to suffer himself than to see his relative
punished. William Sinclair was succeeded by
his grandson, George Sinclair, who married a
sister of Lord Forbes. By the persuasion of
his wife, who was a mere tool in the hands
of the Earl of Caithness, George Sinclair was
induced to execute a deed of entail, by which,
failing of heirs male of his own body, he left
the whole of liis lands to the carl. When the
earl had obtained this deed he began to devise
means to make away with Sinclair, and ac-
tually persuaded Sinclair's wife to assist him
in tliis nefarious design. Having obtained
notice of this conspiracy against his life, Sin-
clair left Caithness and took up his residence
with his brother-in-law, Lord Forbes, who
received liim with great kindness and hospi-
tality, and reprobated very strongly the wicked
conduct of his sister. Sinclair now recalled
the entail in favour of the Earl of Caithness,
and mado a new deed by which he conveyed
his whole estate to Lord Forbes. George Sin-
clair died soon after the execution of tlic deed,

and having left no issue, Lord Forbes took pos-
session of his lands of Dunray and Dumbaith.

Disappointed in his plans to acquire Sinclair's
property, the Earl of Caithness seized every
opportunity of annoying Lord Forbes in his
possessions, by oppressing his tenants and
servants, in every possible way, under the pre-
tence of discharging his duty as sheriff, to
which office he had been appointed by the Earl
of Huntly, on occasion of his marriage with
Huntly's sister. Complaints were made from
time to time against the earl, on account of
these proceedings, to the Privy Council of
Scotland, which, in some measure, afforded
redress ; but to protect his tenants more effectu-
ally, Lord Forbes took up a temporary resi-
dence in Caithness, relying upon the aid of tho
house of Sutherland in case of need.

As the Earl of Caithness was aware that any
direct attack on Lord Forbes would be properly
resented, and as any enterprise undertaken by
his own people would be laid to his charge,
however cautious he might be in dealing with
them, he fixed on the clan Gun as the fittest
instruments for effecting his designs against
Lord Forbes. Besides being the most resolute
men in Caithness, always ready to undertake
any desperate action, they depended more upon
tho Earl of Sutherland and Mackay, from
whom they held some lands, than upon tho
Earl of Caitlincss ; a circumstance which .the
latter supposed, should the contemplated out-
rages of the clan Gun ever become matter of
inquiry, might throw the suspicion upon tho
two former as the silent instigators. Accord-
ingly, the earl opened a negotiation with Jolm
Gun, chief of the clan Gun in Caithness, and
witli his brother, Alexander Gun, whose father
he had hanged in the year 1586. In conse-
quence of an invitation, the two brothers, along
with Alexander Gun, their cousin-gennan, re-
paired to Castle Sinclair, where they met tho
earl. The earl did not at first divulge his
plans to all the party; but taking Alexander
Gun, tho cousin, aside, he pointed out to him
the injury he alleged he had sustained, in con-
sequence of Lord Forbes having obtained a
footing in Caithness, that he could no longer
submit to the indignity shown him by a stran-
ger, that ho had made choice of him (Gun) to
undertake a piece of service for him, on per-

134

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

forming which he would reward him most
amply ; and to secure compliance, the earl de-
sired him to remember the many favours he had
already received from him, and how well he
had treated him, promising, at the same time, to
show him even greater kindness in time coming.
Alexander thereupon promised to serve the earl,
though at the hazard of his life ; hut upon being
interrogated by the earl whether he would
undertake to burn the corn of Sanset, belong-
ing to "William Innes, a servant of Lord Forbes,
Gun, who had never imagined that he was to
be employed in such an ignoble affair, expressed
the greatest astonishment at the proposal, and
refused, in the most peremptory and indignant
manner, to undertake its execution ; yet, to
satisfy the earl, he told him that he would, at
his command, undertake to assassinate William
Innes, an action which he considered less
criminal and dishonourable, and more becom-
ing a gentleman, than burning a quantity of
corn ! Finding him obdurate, the earl enjoined
him to secrecy.

The earl next applied to the two brothers,
John and Alexander, with whom he did not
find it so difficult to treat. They at first hesi-
tated with some firmness in undertaking the
business on which the earl was so intent ; and
they pleaded an excuse, by saying, that as
justice was then more strictly executed in
Scotland than formerly, they could not expect
to escape, as they had no place of safety to re-
treat to after the crime was committed ; as a
proof of which they instanced the cases of the
clan Donald and the clan Gregor, two races of
people much more powerful than the clan Gun,
who had been brought to the brink of ruin, and
almost annihilated, under the authority of the
laws. The earl replied, that as soon as they
should perform the service for him he would
send them to the western isles, to some of his
acquaintances and friends, with whom they
might remain till Lord Forbes and he were
reconciled, when he would obtain their pardon ;
that in the meantime he would profess, in
public, to be their enemy, but that he would be
their friend secretly, and permit them to fre-
quent Caithness without danger. Alexander
Gun, overcome at last by the entreaties of the
carl, reluctantly consented to his request, and
going into Sanset, in the dead of night, with

two accomplices, set fire to all the corn stacks
which were in the barn-yard, belonging to
"William Innes, and which were in consequence
consumed. This affair occurred in the month
of November, 1615. The Earl of Caithness
immediately spread a report through the whole
country that Mackay's tenants had committed
this outrage, but the deception was of short
duration.

It may be here noticed that John, sixth Earl
of Sutherland, died in September, 1015, and
was succeeded by his eldest son, John, a boy
six years old, to whom Sir Robert Gordon, his
uncle, was appointed tutor.

Sir Robert Gordon, having arrived in the
north of Scotland, from England, in the montli
of December following, resolved to probo the
matter to the bottom, not merely on account
of his nephew, Mackay, whose men were sus-
pected, but to satisfy Lord Forbes, who waa
now on friendly terms with the house of Suth-
erland ; but the discovery of the perpetrators
soon became an easy task, in consequence of a
quarrel among the clan Gun themselves, the
members of which upbraided one another as
the authors of the fire-raising. Alexander Gun,
the cousin of Alexander Gun, the real criminal,
thereupon fled from Caithness, and sent some
of his friends to Sir Robert Gordon and Donald
Mackay with these proposals : that if they
would receive him into favour, and secure him
from danger, he would confess the whole cir-
cumstances, and reveal the authors of the con-
flagration, and that he would declare the whole
before the Privy Council if required. On
receiving this proposal, Sir Robert Gordon
appointed Alexander Gun to meet him pri-
vately at Hclmsdale, in the house of Sir Alex-
ander Gordon, brother of Sir Robert. A meet-
ing was accordingly held at the place appointed,
at which Sir Robert and his friends agreed to
do everything in their power to preserve Gun's
life ; and Mackay promised, moreover, to give
him a possession in Strathie, where jiis father
had formerly lived.

"When the Earl of Caithness heard of Alex-
ander Gun's flight into Sutherland he became
greatly alarmed lest Alexander should reveal the
affair of Sanset ; and anticipating such a result,
the carl gave out everywhere that Sir Robert
Gordon, Mackay, and Sir Alexander Gordon,

EUENIXG OF THE COEN AT SAXSET.

135

had hired some of the clan Gun to accuse
him of having burnt William Innes's corn.
But this artifice was of no avail, for as soon as
Lord Forbes received notice from Sir Robert
Gordon of the circumstances related by Alex-
ander Gun, ho immediately cited Jolm Gun
and his brother Alexander, and their accom-
plices, to appear for trial at Edinburgh, on the
2d April, 1616, to answer to the charge of
burning the corn at Sanset ; and he also sum-
moned the Earl of Caithness, as sheriff of that
county, to deliver them up for trial. Jolin
Gun, thinking that the best course he could
pursue under present circumstances was to fol-
low the example of his cousin, Alexander, sent
a message to Sir Alexander Gordon, desiring
an interview with him, which being granted,
they met at Kavidale. John Gun then offered
to reveal everytliing he knew concerning the
fire, on condition that his life should be spared;
but Sir Alexander observed that he could come
under no engagement, as he was uncertain how
the king and the council might view such a
proceeding ; but he promised, that as John had
not been an actor in the business, but a witness
only to the arrangement between his brother
and the Earl of Caithness, he would do what
he could to save him, if he went to Edinburgh
in compliance with the summons.

In this state of matters, the Earl of Caith-
ness wrote to the Marquis of Huntly, accusing
Sir Eobert Gordon and Mackay of a design to
bring him within the reach of the law of trea-
son, and to injure the honour of his house by
slandering him with the burning of the corn at
Sanset. The other party told the marquis that
they could not refuse to assist Lord Forbes in
finding out the persons who had burned the corn
at Sanset, but that they had never imagined
that the earl would have acted so base a part
as to become an accomplice in such a criminal
act ; and farther, that as Mackay's men were
challenged with the deed, they certainly were
entitled at least to clear Mackay's people from
the charge by endeavouring to find out the male-
factors, in all which they considered they had
done the earl no wrong. The Marquis of
Huntly did not fail to write the Earl of Caith-
ness the answer he had received from Sir Eo-
bert Gordon and Mackay, which grieved him
exceedingly, as he was too well aware of the

consequences which would follow if the prose-
cution of the Guns was persevered in.

At the time appointed for the trial of the
Guns, Sir Eobert Gordon, Mackay, and Lord
Forbes, with all his friends, went to Edin-
burgh, and upon their arrival they entreated
the council to prevent a remission in favour of
the Earl of Caithness from passing the signet
until the affair in hand was tried ; a request
with which the council complied. The Earl
of Caithness did not appear ; but he sent his
son, Lord Berridale, to Edinburgh, along with
John Gun and all those persons who had been
summoned by Lord Forbes, with the exception
of Alexander Gun and his two accomplices.
He alleged as his reason for not sending them
that they were not his men, being Mackay's
own tenants, and dwelling in Dilred, the pro-
perty of Mackay, which was held by him off
the Earl of Sutherland, who, he alleged, was
bound to present the three persons alluded to.
But the lords of the council would not admit
of this excuse, and again required Lord Berri-
dale and his father to present the three culprits
before the court on the 10th June following,
because, although they had possessions in Dil-
rcd, they had also lands from the Earl of Caith-
ness on which they usually resided. Besides,
the deed was committed in Caithness, of which
the earl was sheriff, on which account also he
was bound to apprehend them. Lord Berri-
dale, whose character was quite the reverse of
that of his father, apprehensive of the conse-
quences of a trial, now offered satisfaction in
his father's name to Lord Forbes if he would
stop the prosecution ; but his lordship refused
to do anything without the previous advice and
consent of Sir Eobert Gordon and Mackay, who,
upon being consulted, caused articles of agree-
ment to be drawn up, which were presented
to Lord Berridale by neutral persons for his
acceptance. He, however, considering the con-
ditions sought to be imposed upon his father
too hard, rejected them.

In consequence of the refusal of Lord Berri-
dale to accede to the terms proposed, John Gun
was apprehended by one of the magistrates of
Edinburgh, on the application of Lord Forbes,
and committed a prisoner to the jail of that
city. Gun thereupon requested to see Sir
Eobert Gordon and Mackay, whom he entreated

136

GENERAL HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

to use their influence to procure him his
liberty, promising to declare everything he
knew of the business for which he was
prosecuted before the lords of the council.
Sir Eobcrt Gordon and Mackay then deliber-
ated with Lord Forbes and Lord Elphinston
on the subject, and they all four promised
faithfully to Gun to do everything in their
power to save him, and that they would
thenceforth maintain and defend him and his
cousin, Alexander Gun, against the Earl of
Caithness or any person, as long as they
had reason and equity on their side ; besides
which, Mackay promised him a liferent lease
of the lands in Strathie to compensate for his
possessions in Caithness, of which lie would,
of course, be deprived by the earl for revealing
the Litter's connexion with the fire-raising at
Sansct. John Gun was accordingly examined
the following day by the lords of the council,
when he confessed that the Earl of Caithness
made his brother, Alexander Gun, burn the
com of Sanset, and that the affair had been
proposed and discussed in liis presence. Alex-
ander Gun, the cousin, was examined also at
the same time, and stated the same circum-
stances precisely as John Gun had done.
After examination, John and Alexander were
again committed to prison.

As neither the Earl of Caithness nor his son,
Lord Berridale, complied with the commands
of the council to deliver up Alexander Gun and
his accomplices in the month of June, they
were both outlawed and denounced rebels ; and
were summoned and charged by Lord Forbes to
appear personally at Edinburgh in the month
of July immediately following, to answer to the
charge of causing the corn of Sanset to be burnt.
This fixed determination on the part of Lord
Forbes to bring the earl and his son to trial
had the effect of altering their tone, and they
now earnestly entreated him and Mackay to
agree to a reconciliation on any terms ; but
they declined to enter into any arrangement
until they had consulted Sir Eobert Gordon.
After obtaining Sir Bobert's consent, and a
written statement of the conditions which lie
required from the Earl of Caithness in behalf of
his nephew, the Earl of Sutherland, the parties
entered into a final agreement in the month of
July, 1 GIG. The principal heads of the contract,

which was afterwards recorded in the books of
council and session, were as follows : That
all civil actions between the parties should bo
settled by the mediation of common friends,
that the Earl of Caithness and his son should
pay to Lord Forbes and Mackay the sum of
20,000 merks Scots money, that all quarrels
and criminal actions should be mutually for-
given, and particularly, that the Earl of Caith-
ness and all his friends should forgive and
remit the slaughter at Thurso,- that the Earl
of Caithness and his son should renounce for
themselves and their heirs all jurisdiction,
criminal or civil, within Sutherland or Sfcrath-
naver, and any other jurisdiction which they
should thereafter happen to acquire over any
lands lying within the diocese of Caithness
then pertaining, or which should afterwards
belong, to the Earl of Sutherland, or his heirs,
that the Earl of Caithness should deliver
Alexander Gnn and his accomplices to Lord
Forbes, that the earl, his son, and their heirs,
should never thenceforth contend with the
Earl of Sutherland for precedency in parlia-
ment or priority of place, that the Earl of
Caithness and his son, their friends and tenants,
should keep the peace in time coming, under
the penalty of great sums of money, and should
never molest nor trouble the tenants of the
Earl of Sutherland and Lord Forbes, that
the Earl of Caithness, his son, or their friends,
should not receive nor harbour any fugitives
from Sutherland or Strathnaver, and that
there should be good friendship and amity
kept amongst them in all time to come.

In consequence of this agreement, the two
sons of Kenneth Buy, William and John be-
fore-mentioned, were delivered to Lord Berri-
dale, who gave security for their keeping the
peace; and John Gun and Alexander his
cousin were released, and delivered to Lord
Forbes and Mackay, who gave surety to the
lords of the council to present them for trial
whenever required ; and as the Earl of Caith-
ness had deprived them of their possessions in
Caithness on account of the discovery they had
made, Mackay, who had lately been knighted
by the king, gave them lands in Slrathnaver
as he had promised. Matters being thus set-
tled, Lord Berridalo presented liimself bo-
fore the court at Edinburgh to abide his

LORD BERRIDALE IMPRISONED.

137

trial; but no person of course appearing against
him, the trial was postponed. The Earl of
Caithness, however, failing to appear, tho diet
against him was continued till the 28th of
August following.

Although tho king was well pleased, on ac-
count of tho peace which such an adjustment
would produce in lu's northern dominions, with
the agreement which had been entered into,
and tho proceedings which followed thereon,
all of which were made known to him by the
Privy Council; yet, as the passing over such
a flagrant act as wilful fire-raising, without
punishment, might prove pernicious, ho wrote
a letter to the Privy Council of Scotland,
commanding them to prosecute, with all sever-
ity, those who were guilty of, or accessory to,
tho crime. Lord Berridale was thereupon
apprehended on suspicion, and committed a
prisoner to the castle of Edinburgh ; and his
father, perceiving the determination of the
king to prosecute the authors of the fire, again
declined to appear for trial on the appointed
day, on which account he was again outlawed,
and declared a rebel as the guilty author.

In this extremity Lord Berridale had recourse
to Sir Robert Gordon, then resident at court,
for his aid. He wrote him a letter, entreating
him that, as all controversies were now settled,
lie would, in place of an enemy become a faithful
friend, that for Ms own part, ho, Lord Berri-
dalo, had been always innocent of the jars and
dissensions which had happened between the
two families, that he was also innocent of the
crime of which lie was charged, and that lie
\\Miccl his majesty to be informed by Sir Ro-
of these circumstances, hoping that he
would order him to bo released from confine-
ment. Sir Robert answered, that he had long
desired a perfect agreement between the houses
of Sutherland and Caithness, which lie would
endeavour to maintain during his administra-
tion in Sutherland, -that ho would intercede
with tlie Icing in behalf of his lordship to the
utmost of his power, that all disputes being
now at an end, he would be his faithful friend,
that he had a very different opinion of his
disposition from that he entcil lined of his
father, the c:-.rl ; and he concluded by en treat-
ing him to be careful to preserve the friend .Oiin
which had been now commenced between them.

As the king understood that Lord Berridale
was supposed to be innocent of the crime with
which he and his father stood charged, and as
he could not, without a verdict against Berri-
dale, proceed against tho family of Caithness
by forfeiture, in consequence of his lordship
having been infeft many years before in his
father's estate; his majesty, on tho earnest
entreaty of the then bishop of Ross, Sir Robert
Gordon, and Sir James Spence of Wormistoun,
was pleased to remit and forgive the crime on
the following conditions: 1st. That tho Earl
of Caithness and his son should give satisfac-
tion to their creditors, who were constantly
annoying his majesty with clamours against
the earl, and craving justice at Ids hands. 2d.
That the Earl of Caithness, with consent of
Lord Berridale, should freely renounce and
resign perpetually, into the hands of liis ma-
jesty, the heritable sheriffship and justiciary of
Caithness. 3d. That the Earl of Caithness
should deliver tho three criminals who had
burnt the corn, that public justice might bo
satisfied upon them, as a terror and example
to others. 4th. That the Earl of Caithness,
with consent of Lord Berridalo, should give
and resign in perpetuum to the bishop of
Caithness, tho house of Strabister, with as
many of the feu lands of that bishopric as
should amount to the yearly value of two
thousand mcrks Scots money, for the purpose
of augmenting the income of the bishop, which
was at tliat time small in consequence of tho
greater part of his lands being in the hands of
the earL Commissioners were sent down
from London to Caithness in October 1 GIG, to
see that these conditions were complied witlu
The second and last conditions were imme-
diately implemented; and as the earl and las
son promised to give satisfaction to their
creditors, and to do everything in their power
to apprehend the burners of the corn, tho lat-
ter was released from tho castle of Edinburgh,
and directions were given for drawing up a
remission and pardon to the Earl of Caithness.
Lord Bemdalc, however, had scarcely been
released from the castle, when he was again
imprisoned within tho jail of Edinburgh, at
the instance of Sir James Home of Cowdrn-
knowcs, his cousin german, who had become
surety for him and his father to their creditors

133

GENERAL HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

for large sums of money. The earl himself
narrowly escaped the fato of his son and retired
io Caithness, but his creditors had sufficient
interest to prevent his remission from passing
till they should be satisfied. "With consent of
the creditors the council of Scotland gave him
a personal protection, from time to time, to
enable him to come to Edinburgh for the pur-
pose of settling with them, but he made no
arrangement, and returned privately into Caith-
ness before the expiration of the supersedere
which had been granted him, leaving his son
to suffer all the miseries of a prison. After
enduring a captivity of five years, Lord Berri-
dale was released from prison by the good
offices of the Earl of Enzie, and put, for behoof
of himself, and his own and his father's credi-
tors, in possession of the family estates from
wliich his father was driven by Sir Eobert
Gordon acting under a royal warrant, a just
punishment for the many enormities of a long
and misspent life. *

Desperate as the fortunes of the Earl of
Caithness were even previous to the disposal
of his estates, he most unexpectedly found an
ally in Sir Donald Mackay, who had taken
offence at Sir Eobert Gordon, and who, being a
man of quick resolution and of an inconstant
disposition, determined to forsake the house of
Sutherland, and to ingratiate himself with the
Earl of Caithness. He alleged various causes
of discontent as a reason for his conduct, one
of the chief being connected with pecuniary
considerations ; for having, as he alleged,
burdened his estates with debts incurred for
some years past in following the house of
Sutherland, he thought that, in time coming, he
might, by procuring the favour of the Earl of
Caithness, turn the same to his own advantage
and that of his countrymen. Moreover, as he
had been induced to his own prejudice to grant
certain life-rent tacks of the lands of Strathio
and Dilred to John and Alexander Gun, and
others of the clan Gun for revealing the affair
of Sanset, he thought that by joining the Earl
of Caithness, these might be destroyed, by
which means he would get back his lands
which he meant to convey to his brother, John
Mackay, as a portion ; and he, moreover,

1 Sir K. Gordon, p. 329, ct scq.

expected that the earl would give him and his
countrymen some possessions in Caithness.
But the chief ground of discontent on the part
of Sir Donald Mackay was an action brought
against him and Lord Forbes before the court
of session, to recover a contract entered into
between the last Earl of Sutherland and Mac-
kay, in the year 1613, relative to their marches
and other matters of controversy, which being
considered by Mackay as prejudicial to him,
he had endeavoured to get destroyed tlirough
the agency of some persons about Lord Forbes,
into whose keeping the deed had been intrusted.

After brooding over these subjects of discon-
tent for some years, Mackay, in the year 1618,
suddenly resolved to break with the house of
Sutherland, and to form an alliance with the
Earl of Caithness, who had long borne a mortal
enmity at that family. Accordingly, Mackay
sent John Sutherland, his cousin-gennan, into
Caithness to request a private conference with
the earl in any part of Caithness he might
appoint. This offer was too tempting to be
rejected by the earl, who expected, by a recon-
ciliation with Sir Donald Mackay, to turn the
same to his own personal gratification and
advantage. In the first place, he hoped to
revenge himself upon the clan Gun, who were
his principal enemies, and upon Sir Donald
himself, by detaching him from his superior,
the Earl of Sutherland, and from the friendship
of his uncles, who had always supported him
in all his difficulties. In the second place, he
expected that, by alienating Mackay from the
duty and affection he owed the house of Suther-
land, that he would weaken his power and
influence. And lastly, ho trusted that Mackay
would not only be prevailed upon to discharge
his own part, but would also persuade Lord
Forbes to discharge his share of the sum of
20,000 merks Scots, which ho and his son,
Lord Berridale, had become bound to pay them,
on account of the burning at Sanset.

The Earl of Caithness having at once agreed
to Mackay's proposal, a meeting was held by
appointment in the neighbourhood of Dunray,
in the parish of Eeay, in Caithness. The
parties met in the night-time, accompanied each
by three men only. After much discussion, and
various conferences, which were continued for
two or three days, they resolved to destroy the

ALLIANCE OF THE EARL OF CAITHNESS WITH SIR DONALD MACKAY. 139

clan Gun, and particularly John Gun, and
Alexander his cousin. To please the carl,
Mackay undertook to despatch these last, as
they were obnoxious to him, on account of the
part they had taken against him, in revealing
the burning at Sanset. They persuaded them-
selves that tho house of Sutherland would
defend the clan, as they were bound to do
by their promise, and that that house would
bo thus drawn into some snare. To confirm
their friendship, the earl and Mackay arranged
that John Mackay, the only brother of Sir
Donald, should marry a niece of tho earl, a
daughter of James Sinclair of Murkle, who
was a mortal enemy of all the clan Gun. Hav-
ing thus planned the line of conduct they were
to follow, they parted, after swearing to con-
tinue in perpetual friendship.

Notwithstanding the private way in which
the meeting was held, accounts of it immedi-
ately spread through the kingdom ; and every
person wondered at the motives which could
induce Sir Donald Mackay to take such a step
80 unadvisedly, without the knowledge of his
uncles, Sir Robert and Sir Alexander Gordon,
or of Lord Forbes. The clan Gun receiving
secret intelligence of tho design upon them,
from different friendly quarters, retired into
Sutherland. The clan were astonished at Mac-
kay's conduct, as he hud promised, at Edin-
burgh, in presence of Lords Forbes and Elph-
ingston and Sir Robert Gordon, in the year
1G1G, to be a perpetual friend to them, and
chiefly to John Gun and to his cousin Alex-
ander.

After Mackay returned from Caithness, he
sent his cousin-german, Angus Mackay of Big-
house, to Sutherland, to acquaint his uncles,
who had received notice of the meeting, that
his object in meeting the Earl of Caithness was
for his own personal benefit, and that nothing
had been done to their prejudice. Angus
Mackay met Sir Eobert Gordon at Dunrobin,
to whom ho delivered his kinsman's message,
which, he said, he hoped Sir Robert would
take in good part, adding that Sir Donald
would show, in presence of both his uncles, that
the clan Gun had failed in duty and fidelity to
Lira and the house of Sutherland, since they had
revealed the burning ; and therefore, that if his
uncles would not forsake John Gun, and some

others of the clan, ho would adhere to them no
longer. Sir Robert Gordon returned a verbal
answer by Angus Mackay, that when Sir
Donald came in person to Dunrobin to clear
himself, as in duty he was bound to do, ho
would then accept of his excuse, and not till
then. And he at the same time wrote a letter
to Sir Donald, to the effect that for his own
(Sir Robert's) part, ho did not much regard
Mackay's secret journey to Caithness, and his
reconciliation with Earl George, without his
knowledge or the advice of Lord Forbes ; and
that, however unfavourable the world might
construe it, he would endeavour to colour it in
the best way he could, for Mackay's own
credit. He desired Mackay to consider that a
man's reputation was exceedingly tender, and
that if it were once blemished, though wrong-
fully, there would still some blot remain, be-
cause the greater part of the world would
always incline to speak the worst ; that what-
ever had been arranged in that journey, between
him and the Earl of Caithness, beneficial to
Mackay and not prejudicial to the house of
Sutherland, he should be always ready to assist
him therein, although concluded without his
consent. As to the clan Gun, he could not
with honesty or credit abandon them, and par-
ticularly John and his cousin Alexander, until
tried and found guilty, as he had promised
faithfully to be their friend, for revealing the
affair of Sanset ; that he had made them this
promise at the earnest desire and entreaty of
Sir Donald himself ; that the house of Suther-
land did always esteem their truth and con-
stancy to be their greatest jewel ; and seeing
that he and his brother, Sir Alexander, were
almost the only branches of it then of ago or
man's estate, they would endeavour to prove
true and constant wheresoever they did possess
friendship ; and that neither the house of
Sutherland, nor any greater house whereof
they had the honour to be descended, should
have the least occasion to be ashamed of them
in that respect ; that if Sir Donald had quar-
relled or challenged the clan Gun, before going
into Caithness and his arrangement with Earl
George, the clan might have been suspected ;
but ho saw no reason to forsake them until
they were found guilty of some great offence.
Sir Robert Gordon, therefore, acting as tutor

140

GENERAL IIISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

for his nephew, took the clan Gun under his
immediate protection, with the exception of
Alexander Gun, the burner of the corn, and
liia accomplices. John Gun thereupon de-
manded a trial before hia friends, that they
might hear what Sir Donald had to lay to his
charge. John and his kinsmen were acquitted,
and declared innocent of any offence, either
against the house of Sutherland or Mackay,
since the fact of the burning.

Sir Donald Mackay, dissatisfied with this
result, went to Edinburgh for the purpose of
obtaining a commission against the clan Gun
from the council, for old crimes committed by
them before his majesty had left Scotland for
England ; but he was successfully opposed in
this by Sir Eobert Gordon, who wrote a letter
to the Lord-Chancellor and to the Earl of
Mclrose, afterwards Earl of Haddington and
Lord Privy Seal, showing that the object of
Sir Donald, in .asking such a commission, was
to break the king's peace, and to breed fresh
troubles in Caithness. Disappointed in tMs
attempt, Sir Donald returned home to Strath-
naver, and, in the month of April, 1618, he
went to Braill, in Caithness, where he met the
earl, with whom he continued three nights.
On this occasion they agreed to despatch Alex-
ander Gun, the burner of the corn, lest Lord
Forbes should request the earl to deliver him
up ; and they hoped that, in consequence of
such an occurrence, the tribe might be ensnared.
Before parting, the earl delivered to Mackay
some old writs of certain lands in Strathnaver
and other places within the diocese of Caith-
ness, which belonged to Sir Donald's prede-
cessors ; by means of which the earl thought
lie would put Sir Donald by the ears with his
uncles, expecting him to bring an action against
the Earl of Sutherland, for the warrandice of
Strathnaver, and thus free himself from the
superiority of the Earl of Sutherland.

Shortly after this meeting was held, Sir
Donald entered Sutherland privately, for the
purpose of capturing John Gun; but, after
lurking two nights in Golspie, watching Gun,
without effect, ho was discovered by Adam
Gordon of Kilcalmkill, a trusty dependant of
the house of Sutherland, and thereupon re-
turned to his country. In the meantime the
Earl of Caithness, who sought every oppor-

tunity to quarrel with the house of Suther-
land, endeavoured to pick a quarrel with Sir
Alexander Gordon about some sheilings which
he alleged the latter's servants had erected
beyond the marches between Torrish, in Strath -
ully, and the lands of Berridale. The dispute,
however, came to nothing.

When Sir Eobert Gordon heard of these
occurrences in the north, he returned home
from Edinburgh, where he had been for some
time; and, on his return, ho visited the Marquis
of Huntly at Strathbogie, who advised him to
be on his guard, as he had received notice from
the Earl of Caithness that Sir Donald meant
to create some disturbances in Sutherland.
The object the earl had in view, in acquaint-
ing the marquis with Mackay's intentions, was
to screen himself from any imputation of being
concerned in Mackay's plans, although he fa-
voured them in secret. As soon as Sir Eobert
Gordon was informed of Mackay's intentions ho
hastened to Sutherland ; but before his arrival
there, Sir Donald had entered Strathully with
a body of men, in quest of Alexander Gun, the
burner, against whom he had obtained letters
of caption. He expected that if he could find
Gun in Strathully, where the clan of that
name chiefly dwelt, they, and particularly
John Gun, would protect Alexander, and that
in consequence ho would ensnare John Gun
and his tribe, and bring them within the reach
of the law, for having resisted the king's
authority ; but Mackay was disappointed in
his expectations, for Alexander Gun escaped,
and none of the clan Gun made the least
movement, not knowing how Sir Eobert Gor-
don was affected towards Alexander Gun.
In entering Strathully, without acquainting
his uncles of his intention, Sir Donald had
acted improperly, and contrary to his duty, as
the vassal of the house of Sutherland : but, not
satisfied with this trespass, ho went to Badin-
loch, and there apprehended William M'Corkill,
one of the clan Gun, and carried him along
with him towards Strathnaver, on the ground
that he had favoured the escape of Alexander
Gun; but M'Corkill escaped while his keepers
were asleep, and went to Dunrobin, where he
met Sir Alexander Gordon, to whom he related
the circumstance.

Hearing that Sir Eobert Gordon was upon

MACKAY AND SIR EGBERT GORDON RECONCILED.

liis journey to Sutherland, Mackay loft Badin-
loch in haste, and wont privately to the parisl:
of Culmaly, taking up his residence in Golspie-
tour with John Gordon, younger of Emho, till
hn should learn in what manner Sir Robert
would act towards him. Mackay, perceiving
that his presence in Golspietour was likely to
lead to a tumult among the people, sent his
men home to Strathnaver, and went himself
the following day, taking only one man along
with him, to Dunrobin castle, where he met
Sir Robert Gordon, who received him kindly
according to his usual manner; and after Sir
Robert had opened his mind very freely to
him on the bad course he was pursuing, ho
began to talk to him about a reconciliation
with John Gun; but Sir Donald would not
hear of any accommodation, and after staying a
few days at Dunrobin, returned home to his
own country.

Sir Donald Maekay, perceiving the danger
in which he had placed himself, and seeing
that he could put no reliance on the hollow
and inconstant friendship of the Earl of Caith-
ness, became desirous of a reconciliation with
his uncles, and with this view he offered
to refer all matters in dispute to the arbitra-
ment of friends, and to make such satisfaction
for his offences as they might enjoin. As Sir
Robert Gordon still had a kindly feeling
towards Mackay, and as the state in which the
n (fairs of the house of Sutherland stood during
the minority of his nephew, the earl, could not
conveniently admit of following out hostile
measures against Mackay, Sir Robert embraced
his offer. The parties, therefore, met at Tain,
and matters being discussed in presence of Sir
Alexander Gordon of Navidale, George Monroe
of Milntoun, and John Monroe of Leamlair,
they adjudged that Sir Donald should send
Angus Mackay of Bighouse, and three gentle-
men of the Slaight-ean-Aberigh, to Dunrobin,
there to remain prisoners during Sir Robert's
plrasuro, as a punishment for apprehending
William M'Corkill at Badinlocb, After set-
tling some other matters of little moment, the
partii's agreed to hold another meeting for
adjusting all remaining questions, at Elgin, in
the month of June of the following year, 1C19.
Sir Donald wished to include Gordon of Emho
and others of his friends in Sutherland in this

arrangement; but as they were vassals of the
house of Sutherland, Sir Robert would not
allow Mackay to treat for them.

In the month of November, 1018, a disturb-
ance took place in consequence of a quarrel
between George, Lord Gordon, Earl of Enzio,
and Sir Lauchlan Macintosh, chief of the clan
Chattan, which arose out of the following cir-
cumstances: When the earl went into Loch-
abcr, in the year 1613, in pursuit of the clan
Cameron, he requested Macintosh to accom-
pany him, both on account of his being the
vassal of the Marquis of Huntly, the earl's
father, and also on account of the ancient
enmity which had always existed between the
clan Chattan and clan Cameron, in consequence
of the latter keeping forcible possession of cer-
tain lands belonging to the former in Lochaber.
To induce Macintosh to join him, the cavl
promised to dispossess the clan Cameron of
the lands belonging to Macintosh, and to
restore him to the possession of them ; but, by
advice of the laird of Grant, his father-in-law,
who was an enemy of the house of Huntly, ho
declined to accompany the earl in his expedi-
tion. The earl was greatly displeased at Mac-
intosh's refusal, which afterwards led to some
disputes between them. A few years after the
date of this expedition in which the earl sub-
dued the clan Cameron, and took their chief
prisoner, whom he imprisoned at Inverness in
the year 1614 Macintosh obtained a commis-
sion against Macronald, younger of Keppoch,
and Ms brother, Donald Glass, for laying waste-
his lands in Lochaber; and, having collected
all his friends, he entered Loehaber for the
purpose of apprehending them, but, being un-
successful in his attempt, he returned home.
As Macintosh conceived that he had a right to
the services of all liis clan, some of whom
were tenants and dependants of the Marquis
of Huntly, he ordered these to follow liim, and
compelled such of them as were refractory to
accompany him into Lochaber. This proceed-
ing gave offence to the Earl of Enzie, who
summoned Macintosh before the lords of the
Privy Council for having, as he asserted, ex-
ceeded his commission. He, moreover, got
Macintosh's commission recalled, and obtained
a new commission in his own favour from the
lords of the council, under which he invadej

142

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

Lochaber, and expelled Macronald and his
brother Donald from that country.

As Macintosh held certain lands from the
earl and his father for services to he done,
which the earl alleged had not been performed
by Macintosh agreeably to the tenor of his
titles, the earl brought an action against Mac-
intosh in the year 1618 for evicting these
lands, on the ground of liis not having imple-
mented the conditions on which he held them.
And, as the earl had a right to the tithes of
Culloden, wliich belonged to Macintosh, he
served him, at the same time, with an inhibition,
prohibiting him to dispose of these tithes. As
the time for titliing drew near, Macintosh, by
advice of the clan Kenzie and the Grants,
circulated a report that he intended to oppose
the earl in any attempt he might make to take
possession of the tithes of Culloden in kind,
because such a practice had never before been
in use, and that he would try the issue of an
action of spuilzie, if brought against him.
Although the earl was much incensed at such
a threat on the part of his own vassal, yet,
being a privy counsellor, and desirous of
showing a good example in keeping the peace,
ho abstained from enforcing his right; but,
having formerly obtained a decree against Mac-
intosh for the value of the tithes of the pre-
ceding years, he sent two messengers-at-arms
to poind and distrain the crops upon the
ground under that warrant. The messengers
were, however, resisted by Macintosh's servants,
and forced to desist from the execution of their
duty. The earl, in consequence, pursued Mac-
intosh and his servants before the Privy
Council, and got them denounced and pro-
claimed rebels to the king. He, thereupon,
collected a number of his particular friends
with the design of carrying his decree into
execution, by distraining the crop at Cullodon
and carrying it to Inverness. Macintosh pre-
pared himself to resist, by fortifying the house
of Culloden and laying hi a large quantity of
ammunition; and having collected all the corn
within shot of the castle and committed the
charge of it to his two uncles, Duncan and
Lauchlan, he waited for the approach of the
earL As the earl was fully aware of Mac-
intosh's preparations, and that the clan Chattan,
the Grants, and the clan Kenzie, had promised

to assist Macintosh in opposing the execution
of his warrant, he wrote to Sir Robert Gordon,
tutor of Sutherland, to meet him at Culloden
on the 5th of November, 1618, being the day
fixed by him for enforcing his decree. On
receipt of this letter, Sir Robert Gordon left
Sutherland for Bog-a-Gight, where the Marquis
of Huntly and his son then were, and on his
way paid a visit to Macintosh with the view
of bringing about a compromise; but Macintosh,
who was a young man of a headstrong disposi-
tion, refused to listen to any proposals, and
rode post-haste to Edinburgh, from wliich ha
went privately into England.

In the meantime, the Earl of Enzie having
collected his friends, to the number of 1,100
horsemen well appointed and armed, and
600 Highlanders on foot, came to Inver-
ness with this force on the day appointed,
and, after consulting his principal officers,
marched forwards towards Culloden. When
ho arrived within view of the castle, the earl
sent Sir Robert Gordon to Duncan Macintosh,
who, with his brother, commanded the house,
to inform him that, in consequence of his
nephew's extraordinary boasting, he had come
thither to put his majesty's laws in execution,
and to carry off the corn which of right be-
longed to him. To this message Duncan re-
plied, that he did not mean to prevent the earl
from taking away what belonged to him, but
that, in case of attack, he would defend the
castle which had been committed to his charge.
Sir Robert, on his return, begged the earl to
send Lord Lovat, who had some influence with
Duncan Macintosh, to endeavour to prevail on
him to surrender the castle. At the desire of
the earl, Lord Lovat accordingly went to the
house of Culloden, accompanied by Sir Robert
Gordon and George Monroe of Milntoun, and,
after some entreaty, Macintosh agreed to sur-
render at discretion; a party thereupon took
possession of the house, and sent the keys to
the earl. He was, however, so well pleased
with the conduct of Macintosh, that he sent
back the keys to him, and as neither the clan
Chattan, the Grants, nor the clan Kenzie,
appeared to oppose him, ho disbanded his
party and returned home to Bog-a-Gight.
He did not even carry off the corn, but gave
it to Macintosh's grandmother, who enjoyed

SLAUGHTER OF THOMAS LINDSAY

113

the life-rent of the lands of Cullodcn as her
jointure.

As the Earl of Enzie had other claims against
Sir Lauchlan Macintosh, he cited him before
the lords of council and session, but failing to
appear, he was again denounced rebel, and
outlawed for his disobedience. Sir Lauchlan,
who was then in England at court, informed
the king of the earl's proceedings, which he
described as harsh and illegal, and, to counteract
the effect which such a statement might have
upon the mind of his majesty, the earl posted
to London and laid before him a true statement
of matters. The consequence was, that Sir
Lauchlan was sent home to Scotland and com-
mitted to the castle of Edinburgh, until he
should give the earl full satisfaction. This
step appears to have brought him to reason,
and induced him to apply, through the media-
tion of some friends, for a reconciliation with
the earl, which took place accordingly, at
Edinburgh, in the year 1G19. Sir Lauchlan,
however, became bound to pay a large sum of
money to the earl, part of which tlifi latter
afterwards remitted. The laird of Grant, by
whoso advice Macintosh had acted in opposing
the earl, also submitted to the latter; but the
reconciliation was more nominal than real,
for the earl was afterwards obliged to protect
the chief of the clan Cameron against them,
and this circumstance gave rise to many dis-
sensions between them and the earl, which
ended only witli the lives of Macintosh and
the laird of Grant, who both, died in the year
1G22, when the ward of part of Macintosh's
lands fell to the carl, as his superior, during
the minority of his son. The Earl of Seaforth
and his clan, who had also favoured the de-
signs of Macintosh, were in like manner recon-
ciled, at the same time, to the Earl of Enzie,
at Aberdeen, through the mediation of the
Earl of Dunfermline, the Chancellor of Scot-
land, whoso daughter the Earl of Seaforth had
married. 2

In no part of the Highlands did the spirit
of faction operate so powerfully, or reign with
greater virulence, than in Sutherland and
Caithness and the adjacent country. The
jealousies and strifes which existed for such a

1 Sir liobort Gordon, p. 350, et SCTJ.

length of time between the two great rival
families of Sutherland and Caithness, and the
warfare which these occasioned, sowed the
seeds of a deep-rooted hostility, which extended
its baneful influence among all their followers,
dependants, and friends, and retarded their
advancement. The most trivial offences were
often magnified into the greatest crimes, and
bodies of men, animated by the deadliest
hatred, were instantly congregated to avenge
imaginary wrongs. It would be almost an
endless task to relate the many disputes and
differences which occurred during the seven-
teenth century in these distracted districts;
but as a short account of the principal events
is necessary in a work of this nature, we again
proceed agreeably to our plan.

The resignation which the Earl of Caithness
was compelled to make of part of the feu lands
of the bishopric of Caithness, into the hands of
the bishop, as before related, was a measure
which preyed upon his mind, naturally restless
and vindictive, and in consequence he con-
tinually annoyed the bishop's servants and
tenants. His hatred was more especially
directed against Robert Monroe of Aldie, com-
missary of Caithness, who always acted as
chamberlain to the bishop, and factor in the
diocese, whom he took every opportunity to
molest. The earl had a domestic servant,
James Sinclair of Dyren, who had possessed
part of the lands which he had been compelled
to resign, and which were now tenanted by
Thomas Lindsay, brother-uterine of Robert
Monroe, the commissary. This James Sinclair,
at the instigation of the earl, quarrelled with
Thomas Lindsay, who was passing at the time
near the earl's house in Thurso, and, after
changing some hard words, Sinclair inflicted a
deadly wound upon him, of which he shortly
thereafter died. Sinclair immediately fled to
Edinburgh, and thence to London, to meet
Sir Andrew Sinclair, who was transacting
some business for the king of Denmark there,
that he might intercede with the king for a
pardon ; but his majesty refused to grant it,
and Sinclair, for better security, went to Den-
mark along with Sir Andrew.

As Robert Monroe did not consider his per-
son safe in Caithness under such circumstances,
he retired into Sutherland fur a time. He then

144

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

pursued James Sinclair and his master, the
Earl of Caithness, for the slaughter of his
brother, Thomas Lindsay ; hut, not appearing
for trial on the day appointed, they were both
outlawed, and denounced rebels. Hearing that
Sinclair was in London, Monroe hastened
thither, and in his own name and that of the
bishop of Caithness, laid a complaint before his
majesty agaii.st the earl and his servant. His
majesty thereupon wrote to the Lords of the
Privy Council of Scotland, desiring them to
adopt the most speedy and rigorous measures
to suppress the oppressions of the earl, that his
subjects in the north who were well affected
might live in safety and peace ; and to enable
them the more effectually to punish the earl,
his majesty ordered them to keep back the
remission that had been granted for the affair
at Sansct, which had not yet been delivered to
him. His majesty also directed the Privy
Council, with all secrecy and speed, to give a
commission to Sir Robert Gordon to apprehend
the earl, or force him to leave the kingdom, and
to take possession of all his castles for his
majesty's behoof; that he should also compel
the lauded proprietors of Caithness to find
surely, not only for keeping the king's peace
in time coming, but also for their personal
appearance at Edinburgh twice every year, as
the West Islanders were bound to do, to
answer to such complaints as might bo made
against them. The letter containing these in-
structions is dated from Windsor, 25th May,
1621.

The Privy Council, on receipt of this letter,
communicated the same to Sir Robert Gordon,
who was then in Edinburgh ; but he excused
himself from accepting the commission offered
him, lest his acceptance might be construed as
proceeding from spleen and malice against the
Earl of Caithness. This answer, however, did
not satisfy the Privy Council, which insisted
that ho should accept the commission ; he
eventually did so, but on condition that the
council should furnish him with shipping and
the munitions of war, and all other necessaries
to force the earl to yield, in case he should
fortify either Castlo Sinclair or Ackergill, and
withstand a siege.

While the Privy Council were deliberating
on this matter, Sir Robert Gordon took occa-

sion to speak to Lord Berridale, who was still
a prisoner for debt in the jail of Edinburgh,
respecting the contemplated measures against
the earl, his father. As Sir Robert was still
very unwilling to enter upon such an enter-
prise, he advised his lordship to undertake
the business, by engaging in which he might
not only get himself relieved of the claims
against him, save his country from the dangers
which threatened it, but also keep possession of
his castles ; and that as his father had treated
him in the most unnatural manner, by suffering
him to remain so long in prison without taking
any steps to obtain his liberation, ho would bo
justified, in the eyes of the world, in accepting
the offer now made. Being encouraged by
Lord Gordon, Earl of Enzic, to whom Sir
Robert Gordon's proposal had been communi-
cated, to embrace the offer, Lord Berridalo
offered to undertake the service without any
charge to his majesty, and that he would,
before being liberated, give security to his
creditors, cither to return to prison after he
had executed the commission, or satisfy them
for their claims against him. The Privy Coun-
cil embraced at once Lord Berridale's proposal,
but, although the Earl of Enzie offered himself
as surety for his lordship's return to prison after
the service was over, the creditors refused to
consent to his liberation, anrl thus the matter
dropped. Sir Robert Gordon was again urged
by the council to accept the commission, and
to make the matter more palatable to him, they
granted the commission to him and the Earl
of Enzio jointly, both of whom accepted it.
As the council, however, had no command from
the king to supply the commissioners with
shipping and warlike stores, they delayed pro-
ceedings till they should receive instructions
from liis majesty touching that point.

When the Earl of Caithness was informed of
the proceedings contemplated against him, and
that Sir Robert Gordon had been employed by a
commission from his majesty to act in the mat-
ter, ho wrote to the Lords of the Privy Council,
asserting that he was innocent of the death of
Thomas Lindsay ; that his reason for not ap-
pearing at Edinburgh to abide his trial for that
crime, was not that ho had been in any shape
privy to the slaughter, but for fear of ln's
creditors, who, he was afraid, would apprehend

LORD BERRIDALE AND HIS CREDITORS.

145

and imprison luin ; and promising, that if his
majesty would grant him a protection and safe-
comluct, ho would find security to abide trial
for the slaughter of Thomas Lindsay. On
receipt of this letter, the lords of the council
promised him a protection, and in the month
of August, his brother, James Sinclair of
Murklo, and Sir John Sinclair of Greenland,
became sureties for his appearance at Edin-
burgh, at the time prescribed for his appear-
ance to stand trial. Thus the execution of the
commission was in the meantime delayed.

Notwithstanding the refusal of Lord Berri-
dale's creditors to consent to his liberation,
Lord Gordon afterwards did all in his power
to accomplish it, and ultimately succeeded in
obtaining this consent, by giving his own
personal security either to satisfy the creditors,
or deliver up Lord Borridale into their hands.
His lordship was accordingly released from
prison, and returned to Caithness in the year
1G21, after a confinement of five years. As
his final cidargemcnt from jail depended upon
his obtaining the means of paying his creditors,
and as his father, the earl, staid at homo con-
suming the rents of his estates, in rioting and
licentiousness, without paying any part either
of the principal or interest of his debts, and
without feeling the least uneasiness at his son's
confinement, Lord Berridale, immediately on
his return, assisted by his friends, attempted
to apprehend his father, so as to get the family
estates into his own possession ; but without
success.

In the meantime the carl's creditors, wearied
out with the delay which had taken place
in liquidating their debts, grew exceedingly
clamorous, and some of them took a journey to
Caithness in the month of April, 1622, to
endeavour to effect a settlement with the carl
personally. All, however, that they obtained
wi-rii fair words, and a promise from the earl
that lie would speedily follow them to Edin-
burgh, and satisfy them of all demands; but
he failed to perform his promise. About this
time, a sort of reconciliation appears to have
taken place between the earl and his son, Lord
Berridale; but it was of short duration. On
this new disagreement breaking out, the earl
lost the favour and friendship not only of his
brothers, James and Sir John, but also that of

his best friends in Caithness. Lord Berridale,
thereupon, left Caithness and took up liis
residence with Lord Gordon, who wrote to his
friends at Court to obtain a new commission
against the carl. As the king was daily troubled
with complaints against the earl by his creditors,
he readily consented to such a request, and ho
accordingly wrote a letter to the Lords of tho
Privy Council of Scotland, in tho month of
December 1622, desiring them to issue a com-
mission to Lord Gordon to proceed against tho
carl. The execution of the commission was,
however, postponed in consequence of a message
to Lord Gordon to attend the Court and pro-
ceed to France on some affairs of state, whoro
ho accordingly went in the j-car 1C 23. On
tho departure of his lordship, the earl mado
an application to the Lords of tha Council for
a new protection, promising to appear at Edin-
burgh on tho 10th of August of this year, and
to satisfy his creditors. This turned out to bo
a mere pretence to obtain delay, for although
the council granted tho protection, as required,
upon tho most urgent solicitations, the earl
failed to appear on tho day appointed. This
breach of his engagement incensed his majesty
and the council tho more against Mm, and made
them more determined than ever to reduce him
to obedience, llo was again denounced and
proclaimed rebel, and a new commission was
granted to Sir Robert Gordon to proceed against
him and his abettors with fire and sword. In
this commission there were conjoined with Sir
Robert, his brother, Sir Alexander Gordon,
Sir Donald Mackay, his nephew, and James
Sinclair of Murlde, but on this condition, that
Sir Robert should act as chief commissioner,
and that nothing should be done by the other
commissioners in tho service they wore employed
in, without his advice and consent.

The Earl of Caithness seeing now no longer
any chance of evading the authority of tho
laws, prepared to meet tho gathering storm by
fortifying his castles and strongholds. Pro-
clamations were issued interdicting all persons
from having any communication with the earl,
and letters of concurrence were given to Sir
Robert in name of his majesty, charging and
commanding tho inhabitants of Ross, Suther-
land, Stralhnavcr, Caithness, and Orkney, to
assist liim in the execution of his majesty's

140

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

commission ; a ship well furnished with muni-
tions of war, was sent to the coast of Caithness
to prevent the earl's escape by sea, and to
furnish Sir Robert with ordnance for battering
the earl's castles in case he should withstand
a siege.

Sir Robert Gordon having arrived in Suther-
land in the month of August, 1623, was
immediately joined by Lord Berridale for the
purpose of consulting ou the plan of operations
to be adopted ; but, before fixing on any par-
ticular plan, it was concerted that Lord Bern-
dale should first proceed to Caithness to learn
what resolution his father had come to, and to
ascertain how the inhabitants of that country
stood affected towards the earl. He was also
to notify to Sir Robert the arrival of the ship
of war on the coast. A day was, at the same
time, fixed for the inhabitants of the adjoin-
ing districts to meet Sir Robert Gordon in
Strathully, upon the borders between Suther-
land and Caitliucss. Lord Bcrridalo was not
long in Caithness when lie sent notice to Sir
Robert acquainting him that his father, the
earl, had resolved to stand out to the last
extremity, and that he had fortified the strong
castle of Ackergill, which he had supplied with
men, ammunition, and provisions, and upon
holding out which he placed Ms last and only
hope. He advised Sir Robert to bring with
him into Caithness as many men as he could
muster, as many of the inhabitants stood still
well affected to the earl.

The Earl of Caithness, in the meantime,
justly apprehensive of the consequences which
might ensue if unsuccessful in his opposition,
despatched a messenger to Sir Robert Gordon,
proposing that some gentlemen should be
authorized to negotiate between them, for the
purpose of bringing matters to an amicable
accommodation. Sir Robert, who perceived
the drift of this message, which was solely to
obtain delay, returned for answer that he was
exceedingly sorry that the earl had refused the
benefit of his last protection for clearing away
the imputations laid to his charge ; and that
he clearly perceived that the earl's object in
proposing a negotiation was solely to waste
time, and to weary out the commissioners
and army by delays, which he, for his own
part, would not submit to, because the harvest

was nearly at hand, and the king's ship could
not be detained upon the coast idle. Unless,
therefore, the earl at once submitted himself
unconditionally to the king's mercy, Sir Robert
threatened to proceed against him and his
supporters immediately. The earl had been
hitherto so successful in his different schemes
to avoid the ends of justice that such an answer
was by no means expected, and the firmness
displayed in it served greatly to shake his
courage.

Upon receipt of the intelligence from. Lord
Berridale, Sir Robert Gordon rrade prepara-
tions for entering Caithness without delay;
and, as a precautionary measure, he took
pledges from such of the tribes and families in
Caitliness as he suspected were favourable to
the earl. Before all his forces had time to
assemble, Sir Robert received notice that tho
war ship had arrived upon the Caitlmess coast,
and that the earl was meditating an escape be-
yond the seas. Unwilling to withdraw men
from the adjoining provinces during the harvest
season, and considering the Sutherland forces
quite sufficient for his purpose, he sent couriers
into Ross, Strathnaver, Assynt, and Orkney,
desiring the people who had been engaged to
accompany the expedition to remain at homo
till farther notice ; and, having assembled all
the inhabitants of Sutherland, he picked out
the most active and resolute men among them,
whom he caused to be well supplied with war-
like weapons, and other necessaries, for the
expedition. Having thus equipped his army,
Sir Robert, accompanied by his brother, Sir
Alexander Gordon, and the principal gentle-
men of Sutherland, marched, on the 3d of
September, 1623, from Dunrobin to Killiernan
in Strathully, tho place of rendezvous previ-
ously appointed. Here Sir Robert divided his
forces into companies, over each of which he
placed a commander. The following morning
he passed the river Ilelmsdalc, and arranged
liis army in the following order : Half-a-mile
in advance of the main body he placed a com
pany of the clan Gun, whose duty it was to
search the fields as they advanced for the pur-
pose of discovering any ambuscades wliich
might be laid in their way, and to clear away
any obstruction to the regular advance of tho
main body. The right wing of the army was

EKDUCTION AND PACIFICATION OF CAITHNESS.

147

led by John Murray of Aberscors, Hugh Gor-
don of Ballellon, and Adam Gordon of Kil-
raliiikilL The left wing was commanded by
John Gordon, younger of Embo, Robert Gray
of Ospisdale, and Alexander Sutherland of
Kilphiddcr. And Sir Robert Gordon himself,
his brother Sir Alexander, the laird of Pul-
rossie, and William Mac-Mhic-Sheumais of
Killieman, led tlie centre. The two wings
were always kept a short distance in advance
of the centre, from which they were to
receive support when required. In this man-
ner the army advanced towards Berridale, and
they observed the same order of marching dur-
ing all the time they remained in Caithness.

As soon as Lord Berridale heard of Sir
Robert Gordon's advance, he and James Sin-
clair of Murkle, one of the commissioners, and
some other gentlemen, went forward in haste
to meet him. The parties accordingly met
among the mountains above Cayen, about three
miles from Berridale. Sir Robert continued
his march till he arrived at Brea-Na-Hcnglish
in Berridale, where at night he encamped.
Here they were informed that the ship of war,
after casting anchor before Castle Sinclair, had
gone from thence to Scrabster road, and that
the Earl of Caithness had abandoned the
country, and sailed by night into one of the
Orkney Islands, with the intention of going
thence into Norway or Denmark. From Brea-
Na-Henglish the army advanced to Lathron,
where they encamped. Here James Sinclair
of Murkle, sheriff of Caithness, Sir William
Sinclair of May, the laird of Ratter, the laird
of Forse, and several other gentlemen of Caith-
ness, waited upon Sir Robert Gordon and
tendered their submission and obedience to his
majesty, offering, at the same time, every
assistance they could afford in forwarding the
objects of the expedition. Sir Robert received
them kindly, and promised to acquaint his
majesty with their submission ; but ho dis-
trusted some of them, and he gave orders that
none of the Caithness people should be allowed
to enter his camp after sunset. At Lathron,
Sir Robert was joined by about 300 of the
Caithness men, consisting of the Cadels and
others who had favoured Lord Berridale.
These men wore commanded by James Sinclair,
fur cf Murkle, and were kept always a mile or

two in advance of the army till they reached
Castle Sinclair.

No sooner did Sir Robert arrive before Castle
Sinclair, which was a very strong place, and
the principal residence of the Earl of Caith-
ness, than it surrendered, the keys being de-
livered up to him as representing his majesty.
The army encamped before the castle two
nights, during which time the officers took up
their quarters within the castle, which was
guarded by Sutherland men.

From Castle Sinclair Sir Robert marched to
the castle of Ackergill, another strong place,
which also surrendered on the first summons,
and the keys of which were delivered in like
manner to him. The army next marched in
battle array to the castle of Kease, the last resi-
dence of the earl, which was also given up with-
out resistance. The Countess of Caithness had
previously removed to another residence not far
distant, where she was visited by Sir Robert
Gordon, who was her cousin-german. The
countess entreated him, with great earnestness,
to get her husband again restored to favour,
seeing lie had made no resistance to him. Sir
Robert promised to do what he could if tho
earl would follow liis advice ; but he did not
expect that matters could be accommodated so
speedily as she expected, from the peculiar
situation in which the earl then stood.

From Kease Sir Robert Gordon returned
with his army to Castle Sinclair, where, accord-
ing to the directions he had received from the
Privy Council, he delivered tho keys of all
these castles and forts to Lord Berridale, to bo
kept by him for his majesty's use, for which ho
should be answerable to the lords of the coun-
cil until the farther plcasiire of his majesty
should be known.

The army then returned to Wick in the same
marcliing order which had been observed since
its first entry into Caithness, at which place
tho commissioners consulted together, and
framed a set of instructions to Lord Berridalo
for governing Caithness peaceably in time com-
ing, conformably to the laws of the kingdom,
and for preventing the Earl of Caithness from
again disturbing the country, should he venture
to return after the departure of the army. At
Wick Sir Robert Gordon was joined by Sir
Donald Mackay, who had collected together

148

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

the choicest men of Stratlmaver ; but, as the
object of the expedition had been accomplished,
Sir Donald, after receiving Sir Robert's thanks,
returned to Stratlmaver. Sir Robert having
brought this expedition to a successful termina-
tion, led back his men into Sutherland, and,
after a stay of three months, went to England,
carrying with him a letter from the Privy
Council of Scotland to the king, giving an
account of the expedition, and of its happy
results. 3

CHAPTER XI.
A. D. 1624-1636.

muTisn SOVEREIGNS :
James VI., 10031625. Charles I., 1625 1049.

Insurrection of the clan Chattan against the Earl of
Jinn-ay Dispute hctwccn the laird of DufTiis and
Gordon, younger of Embo Sir Donald JIackay's
machinations Feud among the Grants Dispute
between the lairds of Frendraught and Rothiemay
Quarrel between Frendraught and the laird of Pit-
caple Calamitous and fatal fire at Frendraught
House Inquiry as to the causa of the fire Escape
of James Grant Apprehension of Grant of Ballin-
dalloch And of Thomas Grant Dispute between
the Earl of Sutherland and Lord Lorn Depreda-
tions committed upon Frendraught Marquis of
Huntly accused therewith The Marquis and Let-
terfourie committed Liberated Death and char-
acter of the Marquis.

THE troubles in Sutherland and Caithness had
been scarcely allayed, when a formidable in-
surrection broke out on the part of the clan
Chattan against the Earl of Murray, which
occasioned considerable uproar and confusion
in the Highlands. The clan Chattan had for
a very long period been the faithful friends
and followers of the Earls of Murray, who,
on that account, had allotted them many
valuable lands in recompense for their ser-
vices in Pettie and Strathearn. The clan had,
in particular, been very active in revenging
upon the Marquis of Huntly the death of
James, Earl of Murray, who was killed at
Donnibristle; but his son and successor being
reconciled to the family of Huntly, and need-
ing no longer, as he thought, the aid of the
clan, dispossessed them of the lands which his
predecessors had bestowed upon them. This
harsh proceeding occasioned great irritation,

3 Sir Robert Gordon, p. 366, et sej.

and, upon the death of Sir Lauchlan their
cliief, who died a short time before Whitsun-
day, 1624, they resolved either to recover the
possessions of which they had been deprived,
or to lay them waste. While Sir Lauchlan
lived, the clan were awed by his authority and
prevented from such an attempt, but no such
impediment now standing in their way, and as
their chief, who was a mere child, could run
no risk by the enterprise, they considered tho
present a favourable opportunity for carrying
their plan into execution.

Accordingly, a gathering of the clan, to tho
number of about 200 gentlemen and 300 ser-
vants, took place about Whitsunday, 1G24.
This party was commanded by three uncles of
the late chief. 4 " They keeped the feilds,"
says Spalding, " in their Highland weid upon
foot with swords, bowes, arrowes, targets, hag-
bnttis, pistollis, and other Highland armour;
and first began to rob and spoulzie tho carle's
tcnnents, who laboured their possessions, of
their haill goods, geir, insight, plenishing,
horse, nolt, sheep, corns, and cattell, and left
them nothing that they could gett within their
bounds; syne fell in sorning throw out Murray,
Strathawick, Urquhart, Ross, Sutherland, Brao
of Marr, and diverse other parts, takeing their
meat and food per force wher they could not
gett it willingly, frae freinds alseweill as frao
their faes; yet still keeped themselves from
shcdeing of innocent blood. Thus they lived
as outlawes, oppressing the countrie, (bosydes
the casting of the earlo's lands waist), and
openly avowed they had tane this course to gett
thir own possessions again, or then hold tho
country walking."

When this rising took place, the Earl of
Murray obtained from Monteith and Balquhid-
der about 300 armed men, and placing himself
at their head he marched through Moray to In-
verness. Tho earl took up his residence in
the castle with the Earl of Enzie, his brother-
in-law, eldest son of the Marquis of Huntly,
and after the party had passed one night at
Inverness, ho despatched them in quest of tho

4 Spalding says that the party were commanded by
Lauchlan Macintosh, alias Lauchlan Og, uncle of the
young chief, and Lauchlan Macintosh or Lauchlau
Angus-son, eldest son of Angus Macintosh, alias
Angus William, son of Auld Tirlie. Meniorialls of
Hie Trulilcs in Scotland and in England, A. D. 1624
1645.

INSURRECTION OF THE CLAN CIIATTAN QUELLED.

clan Chattan, but whether from fear of meet-
ing them, or because they could not find them,
certain it is that the Monteith and Balquhidder
men returned without effecting anything, after
putting the earl to groat expense. The earl,
thiTi'l'inv, sriit Ihrin back to their respective
countries, and went himself to Elgin, where he
1 another body of men to suppress the
clan Chattan, who were equally unsuccessful in
iinding the latter out.

These ineffectual attempts against the clan
served to make them more bold and dar-
ing in their outrages; and as the earl now saw
that no force which he could himself bring
into the field was sufficient to overawe these
marauders, King James, at his earnest solici-
1, 'it ion, granted him a commission, appointing
him his lieutenant in the Highlands, and giv-
ing him authority to proceed capitally against
the offenders. On his return the earl pro-
claimed the commission he had obtained from
his majesty, and issued letters of intercom-
muning against the clan Chattan, prohibiting
all persons from harbouring, supplying, or en-
tertaining them, in any manner of way, under
certain severe pains and penalties. Although
the Marquis of Huntly was the earl's father-in-
law, he felt somewhat indignant at the appoint-
ment, as he conceived that ho or his son had
the best title to be appointed to the lieutenancy
of the north; but he concealed his displeasure.

After the Earl of Murray had issued the
notices, prohibiting all persons from communi-
cating with, or assisting the clan Chattan, their
kindred and friends, who had privately pro-
mised them aid, before they broke out, began
to grow cold, and declined to assist them, as
they were apprehensive of losing their estates,
many of them being wealthy. The earl per-
ceiving this, opened a communication with
some of the principal persons of the clan, to
induce them to submit to his authority, who,
seeing no hopes of making any longer an effec-
tual resistance, readily acquiesced, and, by the
intercession of friends, made their peace with
the earl, on condition that they should inform
him of the names of such persons as had given
them protection, after the publication of his
letters of interdiction. Having thus quelled
tin's formidable insurrection without bloodshed,
tho earl, by virtue of his commission, held

justice courts at Elgin, where " some slight
louns, followers of the clan Chattan," were
tried and executed, but all the principals con-
cerned were pardoned.

As the account which Spalding gives of the
appearance of the accused, and of the base
conduct of the principal men of the clan
Chattan, in informing against their friends and
benefactors, is both curious and graphic, it is
hero inserted: "Then presently was brought
in befor the barr; and in the honest men's
faces, the clan Chattan who had gotten supply,
verified what they had gotten, and the honest
men confounded and dasht, knew not what to
answer, was forced to come in the earle's will,
whilk was not for their weill : others compearcd
and willingly confessed, trusting to gett more
favour at the earle's hands, but they came little
speid: and lastly, some stood out and denyed
all, who was reserved to the triall of an assyse.
The principall malefactors stood up in judg-
ment, and declared what they had gotten,
whether meat, money, cloathing, gun, ball,
powder, lead, sword, dirk, and the like com-
modities, and also instructed the assyse in ilk
particular, what they had gotten frae the per-
sons pannalled; an uncouth form of probation,
wher the principall malefactor proves against
the receiptor for his own pardon, and honest
men, perhaps neither of the clan Chattan's
kyne nor blood, punished for their good will,
ignorant of the laws, and rather receipting
them more for their evil nor their good.
Nevertheless thir innocent men, under collour
of justice, part and part as they came in, were
soundly fyned in great soumes as their estates
might bear, and some above their estate was
fyned, and every one warded within the tolbuith
of Elgine, while the least myte was payed of
such as was persued in anno 1624." 5

Some idea of the unequal administration of
the laws at this time may be formed, when it
is considered that the enormous fines imposed
in the present instance, went into the pockets
of the chief judge, the Earl of Murray himself,
as similar mulcts had previously gone into
those of the Earl of Argyle, in his crusade
against the unfortunate clan Cregor! This
legal robbery, however, docs not appear to have

Memorialised, i. p. 8.

150

GENERAL IIISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

enriched the houses of Argyle and Murray, for
Sir Eobert Gordon observes, that " these fynes
did not much advantage either of these two
earles." The Earl of Murray, no doubt, think-
ing such a mode of raising money an easy and
profitable speculation, afterwards obtained an
enlargement of his commission from Charles I.,
not only against the clan Chattan, but also
against all other offenders within several adja-
cent shires; but the commission was afterwards
annulled by his majesty, not so much on
account of the abuses and injustice which
might have been perpetrated under it, but
because, as Sir Eobert Gordon observes, "it
grieved divers of his majesty's best affected
subjects, and chieflie the Marquis of Huntlio,
unto whose predicessors onlie the office of
livetcnnendrie in the nortli of Scotland had
bein granted by former kings, for these many
ages."

There seems reason, however, for supposing
that the recall of the commission was hastened
by complaints to the king, on the part of the
oppressed; for the earl had no sooner obtained
its renewal, than he held a court against the
burgh of Inverness, John Grant of Glenmoris-
ton, and others who had refused to acknowledge
their connexion with the clan Chattan, or to
pay him the heavy fines which he had imposed
upon them. The town of Inverness endea-
voured to get quit of the earl's extortions, on
the ground that the inhabitants were innocent
of the crimes laid to their charge; but the earl
frustrated their application to the Privy Coun-
cil. The provost, Duncan Forbes, was then
sent to the king, and Grant of Glenmoriston
took a journey to London, at the same time,
on his own account; but their endeavours
proved ineffectual, and they had no alternative
but to submit to the earl's exactions. 7

The quarrel between the laird of Duffus and
John Gordon, younger of Embo, which had
lain dormant for some time, burst forth again,
in the year 1625, and proved nearly fatal to
both parties. Gordon had long watched an
opportunity to revenge the wrong which he
conceived had been done him by the laird

6 Founder of the house of Culloden, and great-
grandfather of the celebrated Lord President Forbes.

7 Vide the petition of Provost Forbes to the king,
"in the name of the inhabitants" of Inverness;
priiitoi among the Culloden Papers, No. 5, p. 4.

of Duffus and his brother, James, but he could
never fall in with either of them, as they
remained in Moray, and, when they appeared
in Sutherland, they were always accompanied
by some friends, so that Gordon was prevented
from attacking them. Frequent disappoint-
ments in this way only whetted his appetite
for revenge ; and meeting, when on horseback,
one day, between Sidderay and Skibo, witli
John Sutherland of Clyne, third brother of
the laird of Duffus, who was also on horseback,
he determined to make the laird of Clyne suffer
for the delinquencies of his elder brother.
Eaising, therefore, a cudgel which he held in
his hand, he inflicted several blows upon John
Sutherland, who, as soon as he recovered him-
self from the surprise and confusion into which
such an unexpected attack had thrown him,
drew his sword. Gordon, in his turn, un-
sheathed his, and a warm combat ensued,
between the parties and two friends who ac-
companied them. After they had fought a,
while, Gordon wounded Sutherland in the
head and in one of his hands, and otherwise
injured him, but he spared his life, although
completely in his power.

Duffus immediately cited John Gordon to
appear before the Privy Council, to answer for
this breach of the peace, and, at the same
time, summoned before the council some of the
Earl of Sutherland's friends and dependants,
for an alleged conspiracy against himself and
his friends. Duffus, with his two brothers
and Gordon, came to Edinburgh on the day
appointed, and, the parties being heard, Gordon
was declared guilty of a riot, and was there-
upon committed to prison. This result gave
great satisfaction to Duffus and his brothers,
who now calculated on nothing less than the
utter ruin of Gordon ; as they had by means
of Sir Donald Mackay, obtained a Strathnaver
man, named William Mack-Allen (one of the
Siol-Thomais), who had been a servant of
Gordon's, to become a witness against him,
and to prove every thing that Duffus waa
pleased to allege against Gordon.

In this state of matters, Sir Eobert Gordon
returned from London to Edinburgh, where lie
found Duffus in high spirits, exulting at his
success, and young Embo in prison. Sir
Eobert applied to Duffus, hoping to bring

SIE DOXALD MACKAY'S MACHINATIONS.

151

about a reconciliation by the intervention of
friends, but Duffus refused to hear of any
arrangement ; and the more reasonable the
conditions were, which Sir Robert proposed,
the more unreasonable and obstinate did lie
become ; his object being to get the lords to
award him great sums of money at the expense
of Gordon, in satisfaction for the wrong done
Ms brother. Sir Robert, however, finally suc-
ceeded, by the assistance of the Earl of Enzie,
who was then at Edinburgh, in getting the
prosecution against the Earl of Sutherland's
friends quashed, in obtaining the liberation of
John Gordon, and in getting his fine mitigated
to one hundred pounds Scots, payable to the
king only ; reserving, however, civil action to
John Sutherland of Clyne against Gordon,
before the Lords of Session. 8

Sir Donald Mackay, always restless, and
desirous of gratifying his enmity at the house
of Sutherland, endeavoured to embroil it with
the laird of Duffus in the following way.
Having formed a resolution to leave the king-
dom, Sir Donald applied for, and obtained, a
license from the king to raise a regiment in the
north, to assist Count Mansfield in his campaign
in Germany. He, accordingly, collected, in a
few months, about 3,000 men from different
parts of Scotland, the greater part of whom he
embarked at Cromarty in the month of October
1C26; but, on account of bad health, he was
obliged to delay his own departure till the
following year, when he joined the king of
Sweden with his regiment, in consequence of
a peace having been concluded between the
King of Denmark and the Emperor of Ger-
many. 9 Among others whom Mackay had
engaged to accompany him to Germany, was a
person named Angus Roy Gun, against whom,
a short time previous to his enlistment, Mac-

Sir K. Gordon, p. 397, ct scq.

* A considerable number of gentlemen, chiefly from
Ross, Sutherland, and Caithness, joined Mackay, some
of whom rose to high rank in the army of Gustavus
Adolphus. Among these were Kobert Monroe of
Fonlis, and his brother, Hector ; Thomas Mackenzie,
brother of the Earl of Seaforth ; John Monroe of Obis-
dell, and his brother Robert ; John Monroo of Assynt,
and others of that surname; Hugh Koss nf Priesthill ;
David Ross and Nicolas Ross, sons of Alexander Ross
(jf Invercharron; Hugh Gordon, son of Adam Gordon
of Culkour ; John Gordon, son of John Gordon of
Garty ; Adam Gordon and John Gordon, sons of
Adam Gordon George-son ; Ivo Mackay, William, son
of Donald Mackay of Scourie ; William Gun, sou of

kay and his brother, John Mackay of Dirlet,
had obtained a commission from the lords of
the Privy Council for the purpose of appre-
hending him and bringing him before the
council for some supposed crimes. Mackay
could have easily apprehended Angus Roy Gun
on different occasions, but having become one
of his regiment, he allowed the commission, as
far as he was concerned, to remain a dead letter.

Sometime after his enlistment, Angus Roy
Gun made a journey into Sutherland, a circum-
stance which afforded Mackay an opportunity
of putting into execution the scheme he had
formed, and which showed that he was no
mean adept in the arts of cunning and dissimu-
lation. His plan was this : He wrote, in the
first place, private letters to the laird of Duffus,
and to his brother, John Sutherland of Clyne,
to apprehend Angus Roy Gun under the com-
mission he had obtained ; and at the same
time, sent the commission itself to the laird of
Duffus as his authority for so doing. He next
wrote a letter to Alexander Gordon, the Earl
of Sutherland's uncle, who, in the absence of
his brother, Sir Robert, governed Sutherland,
entreating him, as Angus Roy Gun was then in
Sutherland, to send him to him to Cromarty, as
he was his hired soldier. Ignorant of Mackay's
design, and desirous of serving him, Sir Alex-
ander sent two of his men to bring Gun to
Sir Alexander ; but on their return they were
met by John Sutherland of Clyne and a party
of sixteen men, who seized Gun ; and to pre-
vent a rescue, the laird of Duffus sent his
brother, James Sutherland, Alexander Murray,
heir-apparent of Aberscors, and William Neill-
son, chief of the Sliochd-Iain-Abaraich, with
300 men to protect his brother John. At the
same time, as he anticipated an attack from Sir
Alexander Gordon, he sent messengers to his
supporters in Ross, Strathnaver, Caithness, and
other places for assistance.

When Sir Alexander Gordon heard of the
assembling of such a body of the Earl of
Sutherland's vassals without his knowledge,
he made inquiry to ascertain the cause ; and

John Gnn Rob-son ; John Sinclair, bastard son of tho
earl of Caithness ; Francis Sinclair, son of James Sin-
clair of Murkle ; John Innes, son of William Innes of
Sanset ; John Gun, son of William Gun in Golspie-
Kirktown; and George Gun, son of Alexander Gun
Kob-sou.

152

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

being informed of Gun's capture, lie collected
18 men who were near at hand, and hastened
with them from Dunrobin towards Clyno. On
arriving at the bridge of Broray, he found
James Sutherland, with his brother John, and
their whole party drawn up in battle array at
the cast end of the bridge. He, thereupon, sent
a person to the Suthorlands to know the cause
of such an assemblage, and the reason why they
had taken Gun from his servants. As the
Sutherlands refused to exhibit their authority,
Sir Alexander made demonstrations for passing
the bridge, but he was met by a shower of
shot and arrows which wounded two of his
men. After exchanging shots for some time,
Sir Alexander was joined by a considerable
body of his countrymen, by whose aid, not-
withstanding the resistance he met with, ho
was enabled to cross the bridge. The Suther-
lands were forced to retreat, and as they saw
no chance of opposing, with success, the power
of the house of Sutherland, they, after some
hours' consultation, delivered up Angus Roy
Gun to Sir Alexander Sutherland, who sent
him immediately to Mackay, then at Cromarty.
As such an example of insubordination
among the Earl of Sutherland's vassals might,
if overlooked, lead others to follow a similar
course, Sir Alexander caused the laird of Duffus
and his brother of Clyne, with their accom-
plices, to be cited to appear at Edinburgh on
the 16th of November following, to answer
before the Privy Council for their misdemean-
ours. The laird of Duffus, however, died in
the month of October, but the laird of Clyne
appeared at Edinburgh at the time appointed,
iind produced before the Privy Council the
letter ho had received from Mackay, as his
authority for acting as he had done. Sir Alex-
ander Gordon also produced the letter sent to
him by Sir Donald, who was thereby convicted
of having been the intentional originator of the
difference ; but as the lords of council thought
that the laird of Clyno had exceeded the
bounds of his commission, he was imprisoned
in the jail of Edinburgh, wherein he was
ordered to remain until he should give satisfac-
tion to the other party, and present some of
his men who had failed to appear though sum-
moned. By the mediation, however, of James
Sutherland, tutor of Duffus, a reconciliation

was effected between Sir Robert and Sir Alex-
ander Gordon, and the laird of Clyne, who
was, in consequence, soon thereafter liberated
from prison. 1

The year 1628 was marked by the breaking
out of an old and deadly feud among the
Grants, which had been transmitted from father
to son for several generations, in consequence
of the murder of John Grant of Ballindalloch,
about the middle of the sixteenth century, by
John Roy Grant of Carron, the natural son of
John Grant of Glenmoriston, at the instigation
of the laird of Grant, the chief of the tribe,
who had conceived a grudge against his kins-
man. Some years before the period first men-
tioned, James Grant, one of the Carrou family,
happening to bo at a fair in the town of Elgin,
observed one of the Grants of the Ballindalloch
family eagerly pursuing his (James's) brother,
Thomas Grant, whom he knocked down in the
street and wounded openly before his eyes.
The assailant was in his turn attacked by James
Grant, who killed him upon the spot and im-
mediately decamped. Ballindalloch then cited
James Grant to stand trial for the slaughter of
his kinsman, but, as he did not appear on the
day appointed, he was outlawed. The laird of
Grant made many attempts to reconcile tin
parties, but in vain, as Ballindalloch was ob-
stinate and would listen to no proposals.
Nothing less than the blood of James Grant
would satisfy Ballindalloch.

This resolution on the part of Ballindalloch
almost drove James Grant to despair, and see-
ing his life every moment in jeopardy, and de-
prived of any hope of effecting a compromise,
he put himself at the head of a party of bri-
gands, whom ho collected from all parts of the
Highlands. These freebooters made no dis-
tinction between friends and foes, but attacked
all persons of whatever description, and wasted
and despoiled their property. James Grant of
Dalncbo, one of the family of Ballindalloch,
fell a victim to their fury, and many of the
kinsmen of that family suffered greatly from
the depredations committed by Grant and his
associates. The Earl of Murray, under the
renewed and extended commission which he
had obtained from King Charles, made various

1 Sir K. Gordon, p. 101, et scq.

FEUD AMOXG THE GEANTS.

153

attempts to put an end to these lawless pro-
ceedings, but to no purpose; the failure of
these attempts serving only to harden James
Grant and his party, who continued their de-
predations. As John Grant of Carron, nephew
of James Grant, was supposed to maintain and
assist his uncle secretly, a suspicion for which
there seems to have been no foundation, John
Grant of liallindalloch sought for an oppor-
tunity of revenging himself upon Can-on, who
was a promising young man. Carron having
one day left his house, along with one Alex-
ander Grant and seven or eight other persons,
to cut down some timber in the woods of
Abernethy, Ballindalloch thought the occa-
sion favourable for putting his design into
execution. Having collected and armed sixteen
of his friends, he went to the forest where
Carron was, and under the pretence of search-
ing for James Grant and some of his associates,
against whom he had a commission, attacked
Carron, who fought manfully in defence of his
life, but being overpowered, was killed by
Ballindallocli. Before Carron fell, however,
ho and Alexander Grant had slain several of
Ballindalloch's friends, among whom were
Thomas Grant of Davey, and Lauchlan Mac-
intosh of Rockinoyr. Alexander Grant after-
wards annoyed Ballindalloch, killing several of
his men, and assisted James Grant to lay waste
Ballindalloch'g lands. "Give me leave heir,"
says Sir E. Gordon, " to remark the provi-
dence and seerait judgement of the Almightio
God, who now hath mett Carron with the
same measure that his forefather, John Eoy
Grant of Carron, did serve the ancestor of
Balli-iidallogh; for upon the same day of the
moneth that John Eoy Grant did kill the great
grandfa ther of Ballendallogh (being the eleventh
day of September), the verie same day of this
month wcs Carron slain by tliis John Grant of
Ballendallogh many yeirs thereafter. And, be-
sides,as that John Eoy Grant of Can-on was left-
handed, so is this John Grant of Ballendallogh
left-handed also; and moreover, it is to be ob-
served that Ballendallogh, at the killing of this
Can-on, had upon him the same coat-of-armour,
or maillie-coat, which John Eoy Grant had upon
him at the slaughter of the great-grandfather
of this Ballendallogh, which maillie-coat Bal-
lendallogh had, a little before this tymo, taken
I.

from James Grant, in a skirmish that passed
betwixt them. Thus wee doe sio that the
judgements of God are inscrutable, and that,
in his own tyme, lie punisheth blood by blood." 8

The Earl of Murray, when he heard of this
occurrence, instead of taking measures against
Ballindalloch for his outrage against the laws,
which ho was fully entitled to do by virtue
of the commission he held, took part with
Ballindalloch against the friends of Carron.
He not only represented Ballindalloch's case
favourably at court, but also obtained an in-
demnity for him for some years, that he might
not be molested. The countenance thus given
by his majesty's lieutenant to the murderer of
their kinsmen, exasperated James and Alexan-
der Grant in the highest degree against Ballin-
dalloch and his supporters, whom they contin-
ually annoyed with their incursions, laying
waste their lands and possessions, and cutting
off their people. To such an extent was this
system of lawless warfare carried, that Ballin-
dalloch was forced to flee from the north of
Scotland, and live for the most part in
Edinburgh, to avoid the dangers with which
he was surrounded. But James Grant's des-
perate career was checked by a party of the
clan Chattan, who unexpectedly attacked him
at Auchnachyle, in Strathdoun, under cloud of
night, in the latter end of December, 1C 30,
when he was taken prisoner after receiving
eleven wounds, and after four of his party were
killed. He was sent by his captors to Edin-
burgh for trial before the lords of the council,
and was imprisoned in the castle of Edinburgh,
from which he escaped in the manner to bo
afterwards noticed.

About the time that James Grant was deso-
lating the district of the Highlands, to which
his operations were confined, another part of
the country was convulsed by a dispute, end-
ing tragically, which occurred between James
Crichton of Frendret, or Frcndraught, and
William Gordon of Eothiemay, whose lands
lay adjacent to each other. Part of Gordon's
lands wliich marched with those of Crichton
were purchased by the latter; but a dispute
having occurred about the right to the salmon
fishings belonging to these lands, an irrccon-

1 History,?. 416.

154

GEXEEAL H1STOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

cilable difference arose between them, which, no
mediation of friends could reconcile, although
the matter in dispute was of little moment.
The parties having had recourse to the law to
settle their respective claims, Crichton pre-
vailed, and succeeded in getting Gordon de-
nounced rebel He had previously treated
Eothiemay very harshly, who, stung by the
severity of his opponent, and by the victory he
had obtained over him, would listen to no pro-
posals of peace, nor follow the advice of his
best friends. Determined to sot the law at
defiance, he collected a number of loose and
disorderly characters, and annoyed Frendraught,
who, in consequence, applied for and obtained
a commission from the Privy Council for appre-
hending Eothiemay and his associates. In the
execution of this task he was assisted by Sir
George Ogilvy of Banff, George Gordon,
brother-german of Sir James Gordon of Les-
moir, and the uncle of Frendraught, James
Leslie, second son of Leslie of Pitcaple, John
Meldrum of Eeidhill, and others. Accom-
panied by these gentlemen, Crichton left his
house of Frendraught on the 1st of January,
1630, for the house of Eothiemay, with a reso-
lution either to apprehend Gordon, his anta-
gonist, or to set him at defiance by affronting
him. He was incited the more to follow this
course, as young Eothiemay, at the head of a
party, had come a short time before to the very
doors of Frendraught, and had braved him to
his face. "When Eothiemay heard of the ad-
vance of Frendraught, he left his house, accom-
panied by his eldest son, John Gordon, and
about eight men on horseback armed with guns
and lances, and a party of men on foot with
muskets, and crossing the river Deveron, went
forward to meet Frendraught and his party.
A sharp conflict immediately took place, in
which Eothiemay's horse was killed under him ;
but he fought manfully for some time on foot,
until the whole of his party, with the excep-
tion of his son, were forced to retire. The son,
notwithstanding, continued to support his
father against fearful odds, but was at last
obliged to save himself by flight, leaving his
father lying on the field covered with wounds,
and supposed to be dead. He, however, was
found still alive after the conflict was over, and
being earned home to his house, died within

three days thereafter. George Gordon, brother
of Gordon of Lesmoir, received a shot in the
thigh, and died in consequence ten days after
the skirmish. These were the only deaths
which occurred, although several of the com-
batants on both sides were wounded. John
Meldrum, who fought on Frendraught's side,
was the only person severely wounded.

The Marquis of Huntly was highly displeased
at Frendraught for having, in such a trifling
matter, proceeded to extremities against his
kinsman, a chief baron of his surname, whoso
life had been thus sacrificed in a petty quarrel.
The displeasure of the marquis was still farther
heightened, when he was informed that Fren-
draught had joined the Earl of Murray, and had
claimed his protection and assistance ; but the
marquis was obliged to repress his indignation.
John Gordon of Eothiemay, eldest son of the
deceased laird, resolved to avenge the death
of his father, and having collected a party of
men, he associated himself with James Grant
and other freebooters, for the purpose of laying
waste Frendraught's lands, and oppressing him
in every possible way. Frendraught, who was
in the south of Scotland when this combination
against him was formed, no sooner heard of it
than he posted to England, and, having laid a
statement of the case before the king, his ma-
jesty remitted the matter to the Privy Council of
Scotland, desiring them to use their best endea-
vours for settling the peace of the northern
parts of the kingdom. A commission waa
thereupon granted by the lords of the council
to Frendraught and others, for the purpose of
apprehending John Gordon and his associates ;
but, as the commissioners were not able to
execute the task imposed upon them, the lords
of the council sent Sir Eobert Gordon, tutor
of Sutherland, who had just returned from
England, and Sir William Seaton of Killes-
muir, to the north, with a new commission
against the rebels. As it seemed to be en-
tirely out of the power of the Earl of Murray
to quell the disturbances in the north, the
two commissioners received particular instruc-
tions to attempt, with the aid of the Marquis
of Huntly, to get matters settled amicably, and
the opposing parties reconciled. The lords of
the council, at the same time, wrote a letter to
the Marquis of Huntly to the same effect.

DISPUTE BETWEEN FRENDRAUGHT AND PITCAPLE.

155

Sir Eobcrt Gordon and Sir William Seaton
accordingly loft Edinburgh, on their way north,
in the beginning of May, 1630. The latter
stopped at Aberdeen for the purpose of con-
sulting with some gentlemen of that county,
as to the best mode of proceeding against the
rebels ; and the former went to Strathbogie to
advise with the Marquis of Huntly.

On Sir Eobert's arrival at Strathbogie, he
found that the marquis had gone to Aberdeen
to attend the funeral of the laird of Drum.
By a singular coincidence, James Grant and
Alexander Grant descended the very day of
Sir Robert's arrival from the mountains, at
the head of a party of 200 Highlanders, well
armed, with a resolution to burn and lay
waste Frendraught's lands. As soon as Sir
Robert became aware of this circumstance,
he went in great haste to Rothiemay house,
where he found John Gordon and his associates
in arms, ready to set out to join the Grants.
By persuasion and entreaties Sir Robert, as-
sisted by his nephew the Earl of Sutherland,
and his brother, Sir Alexander Gordon, who
were then at Frendraught on a visit to tho
lady of that place, who was a sister of the earl,
prevailed not only upon John Gordon and his
friends to desist, but also upon James Grant
and his companions-in-arms, to disperse.

On the return of the Marquis of Huntly to
Strathbogie, Rothiemay and Frendraught were
both induced to meet them in presence of the
marquis, Sir Robert Gordon, and Sir William
Seaton, who, after much entreaty, prevailed
upon them to reconcile their differences, and
submit all matters in dispute to their arbitra-
ment. A decree-arbitral was accordingly pro-
nounced, by which the arbiters adjudged that
the laird of Rothiemay and the children of
George Gordon should mutually remit their
father's slaughter, and, in satisfaction thereof,
they decerned that the laird of Frendraught
should pay a certain sum of money to the laird
of Rothiemay, for relief of the debts which ho
had contracted during the disturbances between
the two families, 3 and that he should pay some
money to the children of George Gordon.

* Spalding says that Frendranglit was " ordained to
pay to tho lady, relict of Rothiemay, and the bairns,
fiftie thousand merks, iu composition of tho slaughter. "
- P. 11

Frendraught fulfilled these conditions most
willingly, and the parties shook hands together
in tho orchard of Strathbogie, in token of a
hearty and sincere reconciliation. 4

The laird of Frendraught had scarcely been
reconciled to Rothiemay, when he got into
another dispute with the laird of Pitcaple, the
occasion of which was as follows : John Mel-
drum of Reidhill had assisted Frendraught in
his quarrel with old Rothiemay, and had
received a wound in the skirmish in which the
latter lost his life, for which injury Fren-
draught had allowed him some compensation ;
but, conceiving that his services had not been
fairly requited, he began to abuse Frendraught,
and threatened to compel him to give him a
greater recompense than he had yet received.
As Frendraught refused to comply with his
demands, Meldrum entered the park of Fren-
draught privately in the night-time, and carried
away two horses belonging to his pretended
debtor. Frendraught thereupon prosecuted
Meldrum for theft, but he declined to appear
in court, and was consequently declared rebel.
Frendraught then obtained a commission from
the Privy Council to apprehend Meldrum,
who took refuge with John Leslie of Pitcaple,
whose sister he had married. Under tho com-
mission which he had procured, Frendraught
went in quest of Moldrum, on tho 27th of
September, 1630. He proceeded to Pitcaplo's
lands, on which he knew Meldrum then lived,
where he met James Leslie, second son of the
laird of Pitcaple, who had been with him at
the skirmish of Rothiemay. Leslie then began
to expostulate with him in behalf of Meldrum,
his brother-in-law, who, on account of tho aid
ho had given him in his dispute with Rothie-
may, took Leslie's remonstrances in good part ;
but Robert Crichton of Conland, 5 a kinsman
of Frendraught, grow so warm at Leslie's free-
dom that from high words they proceeded to
blows. Conland, then, drawing a pistol from
his belt, wounded Leslie in the arm, who was
thereupon carried home, apparently in a dying
state.

This affair was the signal for a confederacy
among the Leslies, the greater part of whom

4 Sir R. Gordon, p. 416, et seq. Spalding, p. 14.
8 Sir R. Gordon (p. 419) spoils this Couland and
Coudland.

15G

GENERAL HISTOEY OF TIIE HIGHLANDS.

took up arms against Frendraught, who, a few
days after the occurrence, viz., on the 5th of
October, first went to the Marquis of Huntly,
and afterwards to the Earl of Murray, to express I
the regret he felt at what had taken place, and
to beg their kindly interference to bring matters
to an amicable accommodation. The Earl of
Murray, for some reason or other, declined to
interfere; but the marquis undertook to mediate
between the parties. Accordingly, he sent for
the laird of Pitcaple to come to the Bog of
Gight to confer with him ; but, before setting
out, he mounted and equipped about 30 horse-
men, in consequence of information he had
received that Frendraught was at the Bog.

At the meeting with the marquis, Pitcaple
complained heavily of the injury his son had
sustained, and avowed, rather rashly, that he
would revenge himself before he returned homo,
and that, at all events, he would listen to no
proposals for a reconciliation till it should be
ascertained whether his son would survive the
wound he had received. The marquis insisted
that Frendraught had done him no wrong, and
endeavoured to dissuade him from putting his
threat into execution ; but Pitcaple was so dis-
pleased at the marquis for thus expressing
himself, that he suddenly mounted his horse
and set off, leaving Frendraught behind him.
The marquis, afraid of the consequences, de-

Frendraught House, with the ruins of the old Castle in front. From a photograph taken for this work.

tained Frendraught two days with him in the
Bog of Gight, and, hearing that the Leslies
had assembled, and lay in wait for Frendraught
watching his return home, the marquis sent his
son, John, Viscount of Aboyne, and the laird
of Eothiemay along with him, to protect and
defend him if necessary. They arrived at
Frendraught without interruption, and being
solicited to remain all night, they yielded, and,
after partaking of a hearty supper, went to bed
in the apartments provided for them.

The sleeping apartment of the viscount was
in the old tower of Frendraught, leading off
from the hall Immediately below this apart-
ment was a vault, in the bottom of which was
a round hole of considerable depth. Eobert

Gordon, a servant of the viscount, and his
page, English Will, as he was called, also slept
in the same chamber. The laird of Eothiemay,
with some servants, were put into an upper
chamber immediately above that in which the
viscount slept ; and in another apartment,
directly over the latter, were laid George
Chalmer of Noth, Captain Eollock, one of
Frendraught's party, and George Gordon, an-
other of the viscount's servants. About
midnight the whole of the tower almost
instantaneously took fire, and so suddenly and
furiously did the flames consume the edifice,
that the viscount, the laird of Bothiernay,
English Will, Colonel Ivat, one. of Aboyne's
friends, and two other persons, perished in

BUENIXG OF FRENDRAUGHT HOUSE.

157

the flames. Eobert Gordon, called Sutherland
Gordon, from having been born in that county,
who lay in the viscount's chamber, escaped
from the flames, as did George Chalmer and
Captain Eollock, who were in the third floor;
and it is said that Lord Aboyne might have
saved himself also, had ho not, instead of going
out of doors, which ho refused to do, run sud-
denly up stairs to Rothiemay's chamber for the
purpose of awakening him. While so engaged,
the stair-case and ceiling of Eothiemay's apart-
ment hastily took fire, and, being prevented
from descending by the flames, which filled the
stair-case, they ran from window to window of
the apartment pitcously and unavailingly ex-
claiming for help.

The news of this calamitous event spread
speedily throughout the kingdom, and the fate
of the unfortunate sufferers was deeply deplored.
Many conjectures were formed as to the cause
of the conflagration. Some persons laid the
blame on Frendraught without the least reason ;
for, besides the improbability of the thing,
Frendraught himself was a considerable loser,
having lost not only a largo quantity of silver
plate and coin, but also the title deeds of his
property and other necessary papers, which
were all consumed. The greater number, how-
ever, suspected the Leslies and their adherents,
wlio were then so enraged at Frendraught that
they threatened to burn the house of Fren-
draught, and had even entered into a negotia-
tion to that effect with James Grant the rebel,
who was Pitcaple's cousin -german, for his
assistance. 6

The Marquis of Huntly, who suspected
Frendraught to be the author of the fire, after-
wards went to Edinburgh and laid a statement
of the case before the Privy Council, who,
thereupon, issued a commission to the bishops
of Aberdeen and Moray, Lord Ogilvie, Lord
Carnegie, and Colonel Bruce, to investigate
the circumstances which led to the catastrophe.
The commissioners accordingly went to Fren-
draught on April 13th, 1631, where they were
met by Lords Gordon, Ogilvie, and Deskford,
and several barons and gentlemen, along with
whom they examined the burnt tower and
vaults below, with the adjoining premises, to

* Sit K. Gordon, p. 241. Scalding, p. 13, ct seij.

ascertain, if possible, how the fire had origin-
ated. After a minute inspection, they came to
the deliberate opinion, which they communi-
cated in writing to the council, that the firo
could not have been accidental, and that it
must have been occasioned either by some
means from without, or raised intentionally
within the vaults or chambers of the tower. 7

The matter, however, was not allowed to
rest hero, but underwent thorough investigation
by the Privy Council in Edinburgh, the result
being that John Mcldrum, above mentioned,
was brought to trial and condemned to death
by the Justiciary Court, in August, 1633, as
having been the perpetrator of the fiend-
ish deed. We give below an extract from
the " dittay " or indictment against Meldrum,
showing the manner in which it was thought
he accomplished his devilish task. 8 The
catastrophe roused such intense and wide-
spread excitement among all classes of people
at the time, that the grief and horror which
was felt found an outlet in verse. 9

7 Spalding, p. 24.

8 "Johne Muldrum halting convocat to himsellT
certane brokin men, all fugitiues and rcbellis, his
complices and associattia, upone the audit day of
October, the yeir of God jai vie and threttie yeiris
under silence and clud of niclit, betwix twelff hours at
nycht and twa eftir mydnycht, come to the place of
Frendraucht, and supponeing and certanely persuad-
ing himselff that the said James Creichtoun of Fren-
draucht wes lying within the tourof Frendraucht, quhilk
was the only,strenth and strongest pairt of the said
place, the said Johne Meldrum, with his saidis com-
plices, in maist tresonabill and feirfull maner, haifing
brocht with thame ane hudge quantitie of powder,
pik, bramstone, flax, and uther combustabill matter
provydit be thame for the purpois, pat and convoyit
the samyn in and throw the slittis and stones of the
volt of the said grit tour of Frendraucht, weill knaw-
in and foirseine be the said Johne Meldrum, quha
with his complices at that instant tyme fyret the
samyn pik, powder, brumstone, flax, and uther com-
bustable matter above writtin, at dyuerse places of
the said volt; quhilk being sua fyret and kindlet, did
violentlie Hie to ane hoill in the heiil of the said volt
and tak vent thairat, the whilk hoill of the said volt
and vent thairof being perfytlie knawin to the said
John Meldrum, be reasone he had remained in hous-
hald with the said laird of Frendraucht, as his douie-
full scrvand, within the said lions and place of Fren-
draucht for ane lang tyme of befoir, and knew and was
previe to all the secreitis of the said house. And tho
said volt being sua fyref, the haill tour and houssis
quhairof immediately thaireftir, being foure hous hight,
in les space than ane hour tuik fyre in the deid hour
of the night, and was in maist tresonabill, horrible,
and lamentable maner brunt, blawin up, and con-
suinct." Spalding's Memorialls, Appendix, vol. i.
p. 390.

9 A ballad is still sung in the distiict around
Frcndraugl t, which, says Mothcrwell, " lias a hi^li

158

GENERAL HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

During James Grant's confinement within
the castle of Edinburgh, the north was com-
paratively quiet. On the night of the 15th
October, 1632, he, however, effected his escape
from the castle by descending on the west side
by means of ropes furnished to him by his
wife or son, and fled to Ireland. Proclama-
tions were immediately posted throughout the
whole kingdom, offering large sums for his
apprehension, either dead or alive, but to no

degree of poetic merit, and probably was written
at the time by an eye-witness of the event which it
records." We give a few verses from the version in
Motherwell's Minstrelsy, as quoted in the Appendix
tc Spalding, vol. i. p. 409.

" The eighteenth of October,

A dismal tale to hear,

How good Lord John and Rothiemay

Was both burnt in the fire.

They had not long cast off their cloatlis,
And were but now asleep
When the weary smoke began to rise,
Likewise the scorching heat.

' waken, waken, Rothiemay,
waken, brother dear,
And turn you to our Saviour,
There is strong treason here.'

He did him to the wire-window

Aa fast as he could gang

Says ' Wae to the hands put in the stancheonfi,

For out we'll never win.'

Cried ' Mercy, mercy, Lady Frendraught,
Will ye not sink with sin ?
For first your husband killed my father,
And now you burn his son.'

then out spoke her, Lady Frendraught,

And loudly did she cry

' It were great pity for good Lord John,

But none for Rothiemay.

But the keys are casten in the deep draw well,

Ye cannot get away.'

. While he stood in this dreadful plight,
Most piteous to be seen,
There called out his servant Gordon,
As he had frantic been.

' loup, loup, my dear master,

loup and come to me;

I'll catch you in my arms two,
One foot I will not flee.'

' But I cannot loup, I cannot come,

1 cannot win to thee;

My head's fast in the wire-window,
My feet burning from me.

' Take here the rings from my white fingers,
That are so long and small,
And give them to my Lady fair,
Where she sits in her hall.

' So I cannot loup, I cannot come,
I cannot loup to thee
My earthly part is all consumed,
My spirit but speaks to thee.'

Wringing her hands, tearing her hair,
His Lady she was seen,
And thus addressed his servant Gordon,
Where he stood on the green.

purpose. His wife was taken into custody by
order of the Marquis of Huntly, but after
undergoing an examination, in which she
admitted nothing which, could in the least
degree criminate her, she was set at liberty. 9

James Grant did not remain long in Ireland,
but returned again to the north, where he con-
cealed himself for some time, only occasionally
skulking here and there in such a private man-
ner, that his enemies were not aware of his
presence. By degrees he grew bolder, and at
last appeared openly in Strathdoun and on
Speyside. His wife, who was far advanced in
pregnancy, had taken a small house in Carron,
belonging to the heirs of her husband's nephew,
in which she meant to reside till her accouche-
ment, and in which she was occasionally visited
by her husband. Ballindalloch hearing of this,
hired a person named Patrick Macgregor, an
outlaw, to apprehend James Grant. This em-
ployment was considered by Macgregor and
his party a piece of acceptable service, as they
expected, in the event of Grant's apprehension,
to obtain pardon for their offences from the
lords of the council. Macgregor, therefore, at
the head of a party of men, lay in wait for
James Grant near Carron, and, on observing
him enter his wife's house at night, along with
his bastard son and another man, they im-
mediately surrounded the house and attempted
to force an entry. Grant perceiving Ms danger,
acted with great coolness and determination.
Having fastened the door as firmly as he could,
he and his two companions went to two win-
dows, from which they discharged a volley of
arrows upon their assailants, who all shrunk
back, and none would venture near the door
except Macgregor himself, who came boldly
forward and endeavoured to force it ; but he
paid dearly for his rashness, for Grant, imrne-

' wae be to you, George Gordon,
An ill death may you die,
So safe and sound as you stand there,
And my Lord bereaved from me.'

' I bade him loup, I bade him come,
I bade him loup to me,
I'd catch him in my arms two,
A foot I should not flee.'

And aft she cried, ' Ohon ! alas, alas,
A sair heart's ill to win ;
I wan a sair heart when I married him,
And the day it's well return'd again.' "

8 Spalding, vol. i. \>. 29.

IMPRISONMENT OF GRANT OF BALLINDALLOCII.

15'J

diately laying hold of a musket, shot him
tlirough both his tliighs, when lie instantly
foil to the ground, and soon after expired.
In the confusion which this occurrence ocea-
si jned among Macgregor's party, Grant and his
two associates escaped.

Shortly after this event, on the night of
Sunday, December 7th, 1634, James Grant
apprehended his cousin, John Grant of Ballin-
dalloch, by stratagem. After remaining a few
days at Culquholy, Ballindalloch was blind-
folded and taken to Thomas Grant's house at
Dandeis, about three miles from Elgin, on the
high road between that town and the Spey.
James Grant ordered him to be watched strictly,
whether sleeping or waking, by two strong
men on each side of him. Ballindalloch com-
plained of foul play, but James Grant excused
himself for acting as he had done for two
reasons ; 1st, Because Ballindalloch had failed
to perform a promise he had made to obtain
a remission for him before the preceding Lam-
mas; and, '2dly, That he had entered into a
treaty with the clan Gregor to deprive him of
his life.

Ballindalloch was kept in durance vile for
twenty days in a kiln near Thomas Grant's
house, suffering the greatest privations, without
fire, light, or bed-clothes, in the dead of winter,
and without knowing where he was. He was
closely watched night and day by Leonard
Leslie, son-in-law of Robert Grant, brother of
James Grant, and a strong athletic man, named
M'Grimmon, who would not allow him to leave
the kiln for a moment even to perform the
necessities of nature. On Christmas, James
Grant and his party having gone on some
excursion, leaving Leslie and M'Grimmon be-
hind them, Ballindalloch, worn out by fatigue,
and almost perishing from cold and hunger,
addressed Leslie in a low tone of voice, lament-
ing his miserable situation, and imploring him
to aid him in effecting his escape, and promis-
ing, in the event of success, to reward him
handsomely. Leslie, tempted by the offer,
acceded to Ballindalloch's request, and made
him acquainted with the place of his confine-
ment. It was then arranged that Ballindalloch,
under the pretence of stretching his arms,
should disengage the arm which Leslie held,
and that, having so disentangled that arm, he

should, by another attempt, get his other arm
out of M'Grimmon's grasp. The morning of
Sunday, the 28th of December, was fixed upon
for putting the stratagem into execution. The
plan succeeded, and as soon as Ballindalloch
found his arms at liberty, he suddenly sprung
to his feet and made for the door of the kiln.
Leslie immediately followed him, pretending
to catch him, and as M'Grimmon was hard
upon his heels, Leslie purposely stumbled in
his way and brought M'Grimmon down to tho
ground. This stratagem enabled Ballindalloch
to get a-head of his pursuers, and although
M'Grimmon sounded the alarm, and the pur-
suit was continued by Robert Grant and a
party of James Grant's followers, Ballindalloch
succeeded in reaching the village of Urquhart
in safety, accompanied by Leonard Leslie.

Sometime after his escape, Ballindalloch
applied for and obtained a warrant for the
apprehension of Thomas Grant, and others, for
harbouring James Grant. Thomas Grant, and
some of his accomplices, were accordingly seized
and sent to Edinburgh, where they were tried
and convicted. Grant was hanged, and others
were banished from Scotland for life.

After Ballindalloch's escape, James Grant
kept remarkably quiet, as many persons lay in
wait for him ; but hearing that Thomas Grant,
brother of Patrick Grant of Colquhoche, and
a friend of Ballindalloch, had received a sum
of money from the Earl of Moray, as an
encouragement to seek out and slay James
Grant, the latter resolved to murder Thomas
Grant, and thus relieve himself of one enemy
at least. He therefore went to Thomas's house,
but not finding him at home, he killed sixteen
of his cattle ; and afterwards learning that
Thomas Grant was sleeping at the house of a
friend hard by, he entered that house and
found Thomas Grant and a bastard brother of
his, both in bed. Having forced them out of
bed, he took them outside of the house and
put them immediately to death. A few days
after the commission of this crime, Grant and
four of his associates went to the lands of
Strathbogie, and entered the house of the com-
mon executioner, craving some food, without
being aware of the profession of the host whoso
hospitality they solicited. The executioner,
disliking the appearance of Grant and hia

160

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

companions, went to James Gordon, the bailie
of Strathbogie, and informed him that there
were some suspicious looking persons in his
house. Judging that these could be none other
but Grant and his comrades, Gordon immedi-
ately collected some well-armed horsemen and
foot, and surrounded the house in which Grant
was ; but he successfully resisted all their
attempts to enter the house, and killed two
servants of the Marquis of Huntly. After
keeping them at bay for a considerable time,
Grant and his brother, Robert, effected their
escape from the house, but a bastard son of
James Grant, John Forbes, an intimate associ-
ate, and another person, were taken prisoners,
and carried to Edinburgh, where they were
executed, along with a notorious thief, named
Gille-Roy-Mac-Gregor. This occurrence took
place in the year 1636. The laird of Grant
had, during the previous year, been ordered
by the council to apprehend James Grant, or
to make him leave the kingdom; and they
had obliged him to find caution and surety, in
terms of the general bond 1 appointed by law
to be taken from all the heads of clans, and from
all governors of provinces in the kingdom, but
chiefly in the west and north of Scotland ; but
the laird could neither perform the one nor the
other. 2

By the judicious management of the affairs
of the house of Sutherland by Sir Robert
Gordon, his nephew, the earl, on reaching his

1 The "Common Band" or "General Band," was
the name given in popular speech to an Act of the
Scottish Parliament of the year 1587, which was passed
with the view of maintaining good order, both on the
Borders and in the Highlands and Isles. The plan
on which tins Act chiefly proceeded was, "To make
it imperative on all landlords, bailies, and chiefs of
clans, to find sureties to a large amount, proportioned
to their wealth and the number of their vassals or
clansmen, for the peaceable and orderly behaviour of
those under them. It was provided, that, if a supe-
rior, after having found the required sureties, should
fail to make immediate reparation of any injuries
committed by persons for whom he was bound to
answer, the injured party might proceed at law against
the sureties for the amount of the damage sustained.
Besides being compelled, in such cases, to reimburse
Ids sureties, the superior was to incur a heavy fine to
the Crown. This important statute likewise contained
many useful provisions for facilitating the administra-
tion of justice in these rude districts." Spalding's
Memorialls, vol. i. p. 3, (note). Gregory's Western
Highlands, p. 237.

2 Continuation of the History of the Earls of Suther-
land, by Gilbert Gordon of Sallagh, annexed to Sir K.
Gordon's work, p. 460. Spalding, p. 63.

majority in 1630 and entering upon the man-
agement of his own affairs, found the hostility
of the enemy of his family either neutralised or
rendered no longer dangerous ; but, in the year
1633 he found liimself involved in a quarrel
with Lord Lorn, eldest son of the Earl of
Argyle, who had managed the affairs of his
family during his father's banishment from
Scotland. This dispute arose out of the fol
lowing circumstances.

In consequence of a quarrel between Lord
Berridale, who now acted as sole administrator
of his father's estates, and William Mac-Iver,
chieftain of the Siol-Mhic-Imheair, in Caith-
ness, the former removed the latter from the
lands and possessions he held of him in Caith-
ness. Mac-Iver thereupon retired into Argyle,
and assuming the surname of Campbell, as
being originally an Argyle man, sought the
favour and protection of Lord Lorn. The
latter endeavoured, by writing to the Earl of
Sutherland, Berridale liimself, and others, to
bring about a reconciliation between Mac-Iver
and Bcmdale, but to no purpose. Seeing 110
hopes of an accommodation, Mac-Iver collected
a party of rebels and outlaws, to the number of
about 20, and made an incursion into Caith-
ness, where, during the space of four or five
years, he did great injury, carrying off con-
siderable spoil, which he conveyed through
the heights of Strathnaver and Sutherland.

To put an end to Mac-Ivor's depredations,
Lord Berridale at first brought a legal prosecu-
tion against him, and having got him de-
nounced rebel, sent out parties of his country-
men to ensnare him ; but he escaped for a long
time, and always retired in safety with his
booty, either into the isles or into Argyle.
Lord Lorn, however, publicly disowned Mac-
Iver's proceedings. In his incursions, Mac-
Iver was powerfully assisted by an islander of
the name of Gille-Calum-Mac-Shomhairle, who
had married his daughter, and who was well
acquainted with all the passes leading into
Caithness.

At last Mac-Iver and his son were appre-
hended by Lord Berridale, and hanged, and
the race of the Siol-Mhic-Imheair was almost
extinguished; but Gille-Calum-Mac-Shomhairle
having associated with himself several of the
men of the Isles and Argyle, and some out-

EXECUTION OF EWEN AIRD AND ACCOMPLICES.

1C1

laws of the clan Mhic-Iain-Dhuinn, who wore
dependants of Lord Lorn, continued his incur-
sions into Caithness. Having divided his com-
pany into two parties, 0iJ o.' which, headed by
Gille-Calum himself, went to the higher parts
of Ross and Sutherland, there to remain till
joiiii'd by their companions. The other party
went through the lowlands of Ross, under the
pretence of g"ing to the Lammas fair, then held
at Tain, and thciico proceeded to Sutherland to
meet the rest of their associates, under the pre-
tence of visiting certain kinsmen they said
they had in Strathully and Strathnaver. This
last-mentioned body consisted of 16 or 20 per-
sons, most of whom were of the clan Mhic-Iain-
Dhuinn. They were under the command of
one Ewen Aird ; and as they passed the town
of Tain, on their way to Sutherland, they stole
some horses, which they sold in Sutherland,
without being in the least suspected of the
theft.

The owners of the stolen horses soon came
into Sutherland in quest of them, and claimed
them from the persons to whom they had been
sold. The Earl of Sutherland, on proof being
given of the property, restored the horses to
the true owners, and sent some men in quest of
Ewen Aird, who was still in Strathully. Ewen
was apprehended and brought to Dunrobin.
The Earl of Sutherland ordained him to repay
the monies which Ewen and his companions
had received for the horses, the only punish-
ment he said he would inflict on them, be-
cause they were strangers. Ewen assented
to the earl's request, and remained as a hostage
at Dunrobin until his companions should send
money to relieve liim ; but as soon as his asso-
ciates heard of his detention, they, instead of
sending money for liis release, fled to Gille-
('alum-MaoShomhairle and his party, leaving
their captain a prisoner at Dunrobin. In their
retreat they destroyed some houses in the high
parts of Sutherland, and on entering Ross
they laid waste some lands belonging to
Hutcheon Ross of Auchincloigh. These out-
rages occasioned an immediate assemblage of
the inhabitants of that part of the country,
who pursued the marauders and took them
prisoners. On the prisoners being sent to the
Earl of Sutherland, ho assembled the principal
gentlemen of Ross and Sutherland at Dornoch,

where Ewen Aird and his accomplices were
tried before a jury, convicted, and executed tit
Dornoch, with the exception of two young
boys, who were dismissed.

The Privy Council not only approved of
what the Earl of Sutherland had done, but
also sent a commission to him, the Earl
of Seaforth, Houcheon Ross, and some other
gentlemen in Ross and Sutherland, against the
clan Mliic-Iain-Dhuinn, in case they should
again make any incursion into Ross and Suth-
erland.

Lord Lorn being at this time justiciary of the
Isles, had obtained an act of the Privy Council
in his favour, by which it was decreed that any
malefactor, being an islander, upon being appre-
hended in any part of the kingdom, shotdd be
sent to Lord Lorn, or to his deputies, to be
judged ; and that to this effect he should have
deputies in every part of the kingdom. As
soon as his lordsliip heard of the trial and exe-
cution of the men at Dornoch, who were of the
clan Mhic-Lain-Dhuinn, his dependants and
followers, he took the matter highly amiss, and
repaired to Edinburgh, where he made a com-
plaint to the lords of the council against the
Earl of Sutherland, for having, as he main-
tained, apprehended the king's free subjects
without a commission, and for causing them to
be executed, although they had not been appre-
hended within liis own jurisdiction. The
lords of the council having heard tliis com-
plaint, Lord Lorn obtained letters to charge
the Earl of Sutherland and Houcheon Ross
to answer to the complaint at Edinburgh be-
fore the lords of the Privy Council, and, more-
over, obtained a suspension of the earl's com-
mission against the clan Mhic-Iain-Dhuinn, on
liivoming bound, in the meantime, as surety for
their obedience to the laws.

Sir Robert Gordon happening to arrive at
Edinburgh from England, shortly after Lord
Lorn's visit to Edinburgh, in the year 1G31,
learned the object of his mission, and the suc-
cess which had attended it. He, therefore,
being an eye-witness of every thing which had
taken place at Dornoch respecting the trial,
condemnation, and execution of Lord Loru'a
dependents, informed the lords of the council
of all the proceedings, wliich proceeding on his
part had the effect of preventing Lord Lorn

1(J2

GEXEEAL H1STOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

from going on with his prosecution against the
Earl of Sutherland. He, however, proceeded
to summon Houcheon Ross; hut the earl, Sir
Eobcrt Gordon, Lord Eeay, and all the gentle-
men who were present at the trial at Dornoch,
signed and sent a letter to the lords of the
council, giving a detail of the whole circum-
stances of the case, and along with this letter
he sent a copy of the proceedings, attested by
the sheriff clerk of Sutherland, to be laid
before the council 011 the day appointed for
Eoss's appearance. After the matter had been
fully debated in council, the conduct of the
Earl of Sutherland and Houcheon Eoss was
approved of, and the commission to the earl of
Sutherland again renewed, and Lord Lorn was
taken bound, that, in time coming, the counties
of Sutherland and Eoss should be kept harm-
less from the clan Mhic-Iain-Dhuiiin. The
council, moreover, decided, that, as the Earl
of Sutherland had the rights of regality and
shcrilFship within himself, and as he was ap-
pointed to administer justice within his own
bounds, therefore he was not obliged to send
criminals, though islanders, to Lord Lorn or to
Ids deputies. This decision had the effect of
relieving Sutherland and Eoss from farther
incursions on the part of Lord Lorn's followers. 3
The disaster at Erendraught had made an
impression upon the mind of the Marquis of
Huntly, which notliing could efface, and he
could never be persuaded that the fire had not
originated with the proprietor of the mansion
himself. Ho made many unsuccessful attempts
to discover the incendiaries, and on the arrival
of King Charles at Edinburgh, in the year
1G33, the marquis made preparations for paying
a personal visit to the king, for the purpose of
imploring him to order an investigation into
all the circumstances attending the fire, so as
to lead to a discovery of the criminals. Fall-
ing sick, however, on his journey, and unable
to proceed to Edinburgh, he sent forward his
marchioness, who was accompanied by Lady
Aboyne and other females of rank, all clothed
in deep mourning, to lay a statement of the
case before his majesty, and to solicit the
royal interference. The king received the
marchioness and her attendants most gra-

* Gordon of Sallagli's Continuation, p. 46J, et seq.

ciously, comforted them as far as words could,
and promised to see justice done.

After the king's departure from Scotland,
the marcliioness and Lady Aboyne, both of
whom still remained in Edinburgh, determining
to see his majesty's promise implemented, pre-
vailed upon the Privy Council to bring John
Meldrum of Eeidhill to trial, the result being
as previously recorded. A domestic servant of
Frendraught named Tosh, who was suspected
of having been concerned in the fire, was after-
wards put to the torture, for the purpose of
extorting a confession of guilt from him; but ho
confessed nothing, and was therefore liberated
from prison.

The condemnation and execution of Mel-
drum, in place of abating, appear to have
increased the odium of Frendraught's enemies.
The Highlanders of his neighbourhood, as well
as the Gordons, considering his property to bi
fair game, made frequent incursions upon his
lands, and earned olf cattle and goods. In
1633 and 163i Adam Gordon of Strathdoun,
with a few of liis friends and some outlaws,
made incursions upon Frendraught's lands,
wasted them, and endeavoured to carry off a
quantity of goods and cattle. Frendraught,
however, heading some of his tenants, pursued
them, secured the booty, and captured some of
the party, whom he hanged.

On another occasion, about 600 High-
landers, belonging to the clan Gregor, clan
Cameron, and other tribes, appeared near
Frendraught, and openly declared that they
had come to join Adam Gordon of Park, John
Gordon of Invcrmarkie, and the other friends
of the late Gordon of Eotliiemay, for the pur-
pose of revenging his death. When Fren-
draught heard of the irruption of this body, ho
immediately collected about 200 foot, and 140
horsemen, and went in quest of these in-
truders; but being scattered through the coun-
try, they could make no resistance, and every
man provided for his own safety by flight.

To put an end to these annoyances, Fren-
draught got these marauders declared outlaws,
and the lords of the Privy Council wrote to
the Marquis of Huntly, desiring him to repress
the disorders of those of his surname, and
failing his doing so, that they would consider
him the author of them. The marquis returned

DEPREDATIONS COMMUTED UPON FEEKDRAUQHT.

103

an answer to tliis communication, stating, that
as the aggressors were neither his tenants nor
servants, ho could in no shape be answerable
for them, that he had neither countenanced
nor incited them, and that lie had no warrant
to pursue or prosecute them.

The refusal of the marquis to obey the
orders of the Privy Council, emboldened the
denounced party to renew their acts of spolia-
tion and robbery. They no longer confined

their depredations to Frendraught and his
tenants, but extended them to the property of
the ministers who lived upon Frendraught's
lands. In tliis course of life, they were joined
by some of the young men of the principal
families of the Gordons in Strathbogio, to the
number of 40 horsemen, and GO foot, and
to encourage them in their designs against
Frendraught, the lady of Ilothieinuy gave them
the castle of Ilothicmay, which they fortified,

First Marquis and Alarcliionesa of Huntly. flnnipd !>y permission of His Girace the Duke of
Richmond, from the Originals at Gordon Castle.

the

and from which they made daily sallies upon
Frendraught's possessions; burned his corn,
laid waste his lands, and killed some of his
people. Frendraught opposed them for some
time; but being satisfied that such proceedings
taking place almost under the very eyes of the
Marquis of Huntly, must necessarily be done
with his concurrence he went to Edinburgh,
and entered a complaint against the marquis
to the Privy Council During Frendraught's
absence, his tenants were expelled by the
Gordons from their possessions, without oppo-
sition. 4

When the king heard of these lawless pro-
ceedings, and of the refusal of the marquis to
interfere, he ordered the lords of the Privy
Council to adopt measures for suppressing
them; preparatory to which they cited the

Gordon's Continuation, p. 475.
p 47, el scj.

S[ialiling, vol.

marquis, in tiie beginning ot the following
year, to appear before them to answer for
these oppressions. lie accordingly went to
Edinburgh in the month of February, 1635,
where he was commanded to remain till the
matter should bo investigated. The heads of
the families whose sons had joined the outlaws
also appeared, and, after examination, Letter-
fourie, Park, Tilliangus, Terrisoule, Inver-
markie, Tulloch, Ardlogy, and several other
persons of the surname of Gordon, were com-
mitted to prison, until their sons, who had
engaged in the combination against Fren-
draught, should be presented before the council.
The prisoners, who denied being accessory
thereto, then petitioned to be set at liberty, a
request which was complied with on condition
that they should either produce the rebels, as
tin' pillagers were called, or make them leave
thu kingdom. The marquis, although nothing
could be proved agairst him, was obliged to

164

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

find caution that all persons of the surname
of Gordon within his hounds should keep
the peace ; and that he should he answerable
in all time coming for any damage which
should hefall the laird of Frendraught, or his
lands, hy whatever violent means; and also
that he should present the rebels at Edinburgh,
that justice might be satisfied, or make them
leave the kingdom.

The Marquis of Huntly, thereupon, returned
to the north, and the rebels hearing of the
obligation he had come under, immediately
dispersed themselves. The greater part of
them fled into Flanders, and about twelve of
them were apprehended by the marquis, and
sent by him to Edinburgh. John Gordon,
who lived at Woodhead of Rothiernay, and
another, were executed. Of the remaining
two, James Gordon, son of George Gordon in
Auchterless, and William Ross, son of John
Ross of Ballivet, the former was acquitted by
the jury, and the latter was imprisoned in the
jail of Edinburgh for future trial, having been
a ringleader of the party. In apprehending
these twelve persons, James Gordon, son of
Adam Gordon of Strathdoun, was killed, and
to show the Privy Council how diligent the
marquis had been in fulfilling his obligation,
his head was sent to Edinburgh along with
the prisoners.

The activity with which the marquis pursued
the oppressors of Frendraught, brought him
afterwards into some trouble. Adam Gordon,
ono of the principal ringleaders of the confed-
eracy, and second son of Sir Adam Gordon of
the Park, thinking it " hard to be baneishit
out of his native country, resoluit to cum home"
and throw himself on the king's mercy. For
this purpose he made a private communication
to the Archbishop of St. Andrews, then chan-
cellor of Scotland, in which he offered to sub-
mit himself to the king's pleasure, promis-
ing, that if his majesty would grant him a
pardon, ho would reveal the author of the re-
bellion. The archbishop, eager, it would ap-
pear, to fulfil the ends of justice, readily
entered into Gordon's views, and sent a spe-
cial messenger to London to the king, who
at once granted Adam a pardon. On receiving
the pardon, Gordon accused the Marquis of
Ihuitly as the author of the conspiracy against

Frendraught, and with having instigated him
and his associates to commit all the depreda-
tions which had taken place. The king, there-
upon, sent a commission to Scotland, appoint-
ing a select number of the lords of the Privy
Council to examine into the affair.

As Adam Gordon had charged James Gordon
of Letterfourie, with having employed him and
his associates, in name of the marquis, against
the laird of Frendraught, Letterfourie was cited
to appear at Edinburgh for trial. On being
confronted with Adam Gordon, he denied
everything laid to his charge, but, notwith-
standing this denial, ho was committed a
prisoner to the jail of Edinburgh. The mar-
quis himself, who had also appeared at Edin-
burgh on the appointed day, January 15th,
1636, was likewise confronted with Adam
Gordon before the committee of the Privy
Council ; but although he denied Adam's ac-
cusation, and " cleared himself with great dex-
teritie, beyond admiration," as Gordon of Sal-
lagh observes, he was, " upon presumption,"
committed a close prisoner to the castle of
Edinburgh.

When his majesty was made acquainted with
these circumstances by the commissioners, and
that there was no proof to establish the charge
against the marquis, both the marquis and
Gordon of Lotterfourie were released by his
command, on giving security for indemnify-
ing the laird of Frcndraught for any damage
he might sustain in time coining, from the
Gordons and their accomplices. Having so
far succeeded in annoying the marquis, Adam
Gordon, after collecting a body of men, by
leave of the Privy Council, went along with
them to Germany, where he became a captain
in the regiment of Colonel George Leslie. To
terminate the unhappy differences between the
marquis arid Frendraught, the king enjoined
Sir Robert Gordon, who was related to both,
the marquis being his cousin-gorman, and
chief of that family, and Frendraught the
husband of his niece, to endeavour to bring
about a reconciliation between them. Sir
Robert, accordingly, on his return to Scotland,
prevailed upon the parties to enter into a sub-
mission, by which they agreed to refer all
questions and differences between them to the
arbitrament of friends ; but before the submis-

DEATH AND CHARACTER OF THE MARQUIS OF HUNTLY.

105

sion was brought to a final conclusion, the
marquis expired at Dundee on the 13th
June, (15th according to Gordon), 1636, at
the age o'f seventy-four, while returning to
the north from Edinburgh. Ho was in-
terred in the family vault at Elgin, on the
thirtieth day of August following, " having,"
says Spalding, " above his chist a rich mort-
cloath of black velvet, wherein was wrought
t\vo ivhyte crosses. He had torchh'ghts in
great number carried bo freinds and gentlemen ;
the marques' son, called Adam, was at his
head, the carlo of Murray on the right spaik,
the carle of Seaforth on the loft spaik, the
earle of Sutherland on the third spaik, and Sir
Robert Gordon on the fourth spaik. Besyds
tliir nobles, many barrens and gentlemen was
there, haveing above three hundred lighted
torches at the lifting. Ho is carried to the
east port, doun the wynd to the south kirk
stile of the colledge kirk, in at the south kirk
door, and buried in his own isle with much
murning and lamentation. The like forme of
burriall, with torch light, was not seiii heir tliir
many dayes befor." 6

The marquis was a remarkable man for the
age in which he lived, and there arc no char-
acters in that eventful period of Scottish his-
tory so well entitled to veneration and esteem.
A lover of justice, he never attempted to
aggrandize his vast possessions at the expense
of his less powerful neighbours; a kind and
humane superior and landlord, he exercised a
lenient sway over his numerous vassals and
tenants, who repaid his kindness by sincere
attachment to his person and family. En-
dowed with great strength of mind, invincible
courage, and consummate prudence, he sur-
mounted the numerous difficulties with which
he was surrounded, and lived to see the many
factions which had conspired against him dis-
comfited and dissolved. While his constant
and undeviating attachment to the religion of
his forefathers, raised up many enemies against
him among the professors of the reformed doc-
trines, by whoso cabals he was at one time
obliged to leave the kingdom, his great power
and influence were assailed by another formi-

8 Spalding, vol. i. p. 50, cl seq. Gordon's Contin-
uation, p. 476, cl seq.

dable class of opponents among the turbulent
nobility, who were grieved to see a man who
had not imitated their venality and rapacity,
not only retain his predominance in the north,
but also receive especial marks of his sovereign's
regard. But skilful and intriguing as they
were in all the dark and sinister ways of an
ago distinguished for its base and wicked
practices, their machinations were frustrated
by the discernment and honesty of George
Gordon, the first Marquis of Huntly.

CHAPTER XII.

A.D. 1636 (SEPTEMBER) 1644.
Bnrrisn SOVEREIGN : Charles I., 1025 1G49.

Charles I. attempts to introduce Episcopacy into Scot-
land Meets with opposition Preparations for war
Doings in the North Earl of Montrose Mont-
rose at Aberdeen Arrests the Marquis of Huntly
Covenanters of the North meet at Turrilf The
"Trottof Turray" Movements of the Gordons
Viscount Aboyne lands at Aberdeen " Raid of
Stonehaven " Battle at the Bridge of Dee Pacifi-
cation of Berwick War again Earl of Argyle
endeavours to secure the "West Highlands Harsh
proceedings against the Earl of Airly Montrose
goes over to the king Marquis of Huntly rises in
the North Montrose enters Scotland in disguise
Landing of Irish forces in the West Highlands
Meeting of Montrose and Alexander Macdonald
Atholemen join Montrose Montrose advances into
Strathearn Battle of Tippermuir.

HITHERTO the history of the HigMands has
been confined chiefly to the feuds and con-
flicts of the clans, the details of which, though
interesting to their descendants, cannot be sup-
posed to afford the same gratification to readers
at large. We now enter upon a more impor-
tant era, when the Highlanders begin to play
a much more prominent part in the theatre of
our national history, and to give a foretaste of
that military prowess for which they after-
wards became so highly distinguished.

In entering upon the details of the military
achievements of the Highlanders during the
period of the civil wars, it is quite unnecessary
and foreign to our purpose to trouble the
reader with a history of the rash, unconstitu-
tional, and ill-fated attempt of Charles I. to
introduce Episcopacy into Scotland ; nor, for the
same reason, is it requisite to detail minutely
the proceedings of the authors of the Covenant

1GG

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

Suffice it to say, that in consequence of the
inflexible determination of Charles to force
English Episcopacy upon the people of Scot-
land, the great majority of the nation declared
their determination " by the great name of the
Lord their God," to defend their religion against
what they considered to be errors and corrup-
tions. Notwithstanding, however, the most
positive demonstrations on the part of the
people to resist, Charles, acting by the advice
of a privy council of Scotsmen established in
England, exclusively devoted to the affairs of
Scotland, and instigated by Archbishop Laud,
resolved to suppress the Covenant by open force.
In order to gain time for the necessary prepara-
tions, he sent the Marquis of Hamilton, as his
commissioner, to Scotland, who was instructed
to promise " that the practice of the liturgy and
the canons should never be pressed in any other
than a fair and legal way, and that the high
commission should be so rectified as never to
impugn the laws, or to be a just grievance to
loyal subjects," and that the king would pardon
those who had lately taken an illegal covenant,
on their immediately renouncing it, and giving
up the bond to the commissioners.

When the Covenanters heard of Hamilton's
approach, they appointed a national fast to be
held, to beg the blessing of God upon the kirk,
*ml on the 10th of June, 1638, the marquis
was received at Leith, and proceeded to the
capital through an assemblage of about 60,000
Covenanters, and 500 ministers. The spirit
and temper of such a vast assemblage over-
awed the marquis, and he therefore concealed
his instructions. After making two successive
journeys to London to communicate the alarm-
ing state of affairs, and to receive fresh instruc-
tions, he, on his second return, issued a pro-
clamation, discharging " the service book, the
book of canons, and the high commission court,
dispensing with the five articles of Perth, dis-
pensing the entrants into the ministry from
taking the oath of supremacy and of canonical
obedience, commanding all persons to lay aside
the new Covenant, and take that which had
been published by the king's father in 1589,
and summoning a free assembly of the kirk to
meet in the month of November, and a parlia-
ment in the month of May, the following year."
Matters had, however, proceeded too far for

submission to the conditions of the proclama-
tion, and the covenanting leaders answered it
by a formal protest, in which they gave sixteen
reasons, showing that to comply with the de-
mands of the king would be to betray the cause
of God, and to act against the dictates of con-
science.

In consequence of the opposition made to
the proclamation, it was generally expected
that the king would have recalled the order for
the meeting of the assembly at Glasgow ; but
no prohibition having been issued, that assem-
bly, which consisted, besides the clergy, of one
lay-elder and four lay-assessors from every pres-
bytery, met at the time appointed, viz., in the
month of November, 1638. After the assembly
had spent a week in violent debates, the com-
missioner, in terms of his instructions, declared
it dissolved ; but, encouraged by the accession
of the Earl of Argyle, who placed himself at
the head of the Covenanters, the members de-
clined to disperse at the mere mandate of the
sovereign, and passed a resolution that, in
spiritual matters, the kirk was independent of
the civil power, and that the dissolution by
the commissioner was illegal and void. After
spending three weeks in revising the ecclesi-
astical regulations introduced into Scotland
since the accession of James to the crown of
England, the assembly condemned the liturgy,
ordinal, book of canons, and court of high
commission, and, assuming all the powers of
legislation, abolished episcopacy, and excom-
municated the bishops themselves, and the
ministers who supported them. Charles de-
clared their proceedings null ; but the people
received them with great joy, and testified
their approbation by a national thanksgiving.

Both parties had for some time been prepar-
ing for war, and they now hastened on their
plans. In consequence of an order from the
supreme committee of the Covenanters in Edin-
burgh, every man capable of bearing arms was
called out and trained. Experienced Scottish
officers, who had spent the greater part of their
lives in military service in Sweden and Ger-
many, returned to Scotland to place themselves
at the head of their countrymen, and the Scot-
tish merchants in Holland supplied them with
arms and ammunition. The king advanced as
far as York with an army, the Scottish bishojia

DOLXGS !>; THE SOUTH.

167

making him believe that the news of his ap-
proach would induce the Covenanters to submit
themselves to his pleasure ; but he was disap-
pointed, for instead of submitting themselves,
they were the first to commence hostilities.
About the 19th of March, 1G39, General Les-
lie, the covenanting general, with a few men,
surprised, and without difficulty, occupied the
castle of Edinburgh, and about the same time
the Earl of Traquair surrendered Dalkeith
house. Dumbarton castle, like that of Edin-
burgh, was taken by stratagem, the governor,
named Stewart, being intercepted on a Sunday
as he returned from church, and made to
change clothes with another gentleman and
give the pass- word, by which memis the Cove-
nanters easily obtained possession. The king,
on arriving at Durham, despatched the Marquis
of Hamilton with a fleet of forty ships, having
on board 6,000 troops, to the Frith of Forth ;
but as both sides of the Frith were well forti-
fied at different points, and covered with troops,
he was unable to effect a landing. 6

In the meantime, the Marquis of Huntly
raised the royal standard in the north, and as
the Earl of Sutherland, accompanied by Lord
Reay, John, Master of Berridale and others,
had been very busy in Inverness and Elgin,
persuading the inhabitants to subscribe the
Covenant, the marquis wrote him confidentially,
blaming him for his past conduct, and advising
him to declare for the king ; but the earl
informed him in reply, that it was against the
bishops and their innovations, and not against
the king, that he had so acted. The earl then,
in his turn, advised the marquis to join the
Covenanters, by doing which he said he woul^l
not only confer honour on himself, but much
good on his native country; that in any private
question in which Huntly was personally inter-
ested he would assist, but that in the present
affair ho would not aid him. The earl there-
upon joined the Earl of Seaforth, the Master of
Berridale, Lord Lovat, Lord Eeay, the laird of
Balnagown, the Rosses, the Monroes, the laird
of Grant, Macintosh, the laird of Lines, the
sheriff of Moray, the baron of Kilravock, the
lain! of Altire, the tutor of Duffus, and the
oilier Covenanters on the north of the riverSpey.

1 Gordon's Scab A/airs, vol. ii. p. 209.

The Marquis of Huntly assembled his forces
first at Turriff, and afterwards at Kintore,
whence he marched upon Aberdeen, which he
took possession of in name of the king. The
marquis being informed shortly after his arrival
in Aberdeen, that a meeting of Covenanters,
who resided within his district, was to be held
at Turriff on the 1 4th of February, resolved to
disperse them. Ho therefore wrote letters to
his chief dependents, requiring them to meet
him at Turriff the same day, and bring with
them no arms but swords and " schottis" or
pistols. One of these letters fell into the hands
of the Earl of Montrose, one of the chief cove-
nanting lords, who determined at all hazards
to protect the meeting of his friends, the Cove-
nanters. In pursuance of this resolution, ho
collected, with great alacrity, some of his best
friends in Angus, and with his own and their
dependents, to the number of about 800 men,
he crossed the range of hills called the Grange-
bean, between Angus and Abcrcleenshire, and
took possession of Turriff on the morning of
the 14th of February. When Huntly's party
arrived during the course of the day, they were
surprised at seeing the little churchyard of the
village filled with armed men ; and they were
still more surprised to observe them levelling
their hagbuts at them across the walls of the
churchyard. Not knowing how to act in the
absence of the marquis, they retired to a placo
called the Broad Ford of Towie, about two
miles south from the village, when they were
soon joined by Huntly and his suite. After
some considtation, the marquis, after parading
his men in order of battle along the north-west
side of the village, in sight of Monlrose,
dispersed his party, which amounted to 2,000
men, without offering to attack Montrose, on
the pretence that his commission of licii'
tenancy only authorised him to act on the
defensive. 7

James Graham, Earl, and afterwards first
Marquis of Montrose, who played so pro-
minent a part in the history of the troublous
times on which we are entering, was descended
from a family which can be traced back to tho
beginning of the 12th century. His ancestor,
tho Earl of Montrose, fell at Flodden, and liu

* Spalding, voL i. p. 137.

168

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

grandfather became viceroy of Scotland after
James VI. ascended the throne of England,
lie himself was born in 1G12, his mother being
Lady Margaret Ruthven, eldest daughter of
William, first Earl of Gowrie. lie succeeded
to the estates and title in 1026, on the deatli
of his father, and three years after, married
Magdalene Carnegie, daughter of Lord Car-
negie of Kinnaird. He pursued his studies at
St. Andrews University and Kinnaird Castle
till lie was about twenty years of age, when
he went to the Continent and studied at the
academies of France and Italy, returning an
accomplished gentleman and a soldier. On
his return he was, for some reason, coldly
received by Charles I., and it is supposed by
some that it was mainly out of chagrin on this
account that he joined the Covenanters. What-
ever may have been his motive for joining
them, lie was certainly an important and
powerful accession to their ranks, although, as
will be seen, his adherence to them was but of
short duration.

Montrose is thus portrayed by his contempo-
rary, Patrick Gordon of Ruthven, author of
Britane's Distemper. " It cannot be denied
but he was ane accomplished gentleman of
many excellent partes ; a bodie not tall, but
comely and well compossed in all Ms linia-
mcntes ; his complexion mecrly whiteo, with
il.ixin liaire ; of a stayed, graue, and solide
looke, and yet his eyes sparkling and full of
lyfe ; of speach slowo, but wittie and full of
sence ; a presence graitfull, courtly, and so
winneing vpon the beholder, as it seemed to
claimo reuerence without seweing for it ; for
he was so affable, so courteous, so bening, as
seemed verely to scorne ostentation and the
keeping of state, and therefor he quicklie made
a conquesse of the heartes of all his followers,
so as whan he list ho could hauc lead them in
a chaine to hauo followed him with chearo-
fullnes in all his intorpryses ; and I am ccr-
tancly perswaded, that this his gratious, hu-
mane, and courteous fredomo of behauiour,
being certanely acceptable befor God as well as
men, was it that wanne him so much renovnc,
und inabled him cheifly, in the loue of his
followers, to goe through so great interprysscs,
wheirin his equall had failled, altho they
exceeded him farrc in power, nor can any

other reason be giuen for it, but only this that
followeth. He did not seeme to affect state,
nor to claime reuerence, nor to keepe a dis-
tance witli gentlemen that ware not his domes-
tickes ; but rather in a noble yet courteouso
way lie seemed to slight those vanisheing
smockes of greatnes, affecting rather the real!
possession of mens heartes then the frothie
and outward showo of reuerence ; and therefor
was all reuerence thrust vpon him, because all
did loue him, therfor all did honour him and
reuerence him, yea, haucing once acquired there
heartes, they ware roadie not only to honour
him, but to quarrell with any that would not
honour him, and would not spare there for-
tounes, nor there derrest blood about there
heartes, to the end he might be honoured,
because they saue that he tooke the right
course to obtaine honour. He had fund furtli
the right way to be reuerenced, and thereby
was approued that propheticke maxime which
hath never failed, nor nouer shall faille,
being pronounced by the Fontaine of treutli
(lie that exalteth liimsclfe shall le liimibled) ;
for his winneiug behauiour and courteous
caryago got him more respect then those to
whom they ware bound both by the law of
nature and by good reason to hawc giuen it to.
Nor could any other reason bo giuen for it,
but only there to much keepeing of distance,
and caryeing themselfes in a more statlye and
reserued way, without putteLng a difference
betuixt a free borne gentleman and a seruillo
or base myuded slaue.

" This much I thought good by the way to
signifie ; for the best and most waliant generall
that euer lead ano armie if ho mistake the dis-
position of the nation whom ho commandes,
and will not descend a litle till he meete witli
the genious of his shouldiours, on whose fol-
loweing his grandour and the success of his in-
tcrpryses chiefely dependeth, stryueing tlirougli
a higli soireing and ower winneing ambition to
drawe them to his byas with awe and not
with lowe, that leader, I say, shall neuer pre-
waill against his enemies with ane armie of the
Scotes nation."

Montrose had, about this time, received a
commission from the Tables as the boards of
representatives, chosen respectively by the no-
bility, county gentry, clergy, ami inhabitants of

EARL OF MONTROSE AT ABERDEEN.

1G9

the burghs, were called to raise a body of
troops for the service of the Covenanters, and lie
now proceeded to embody them with extraordi-
nary promptitude. Within one month, lie col-
lected a force of about 3,000 horse and foot,
from the counties of Fife, Forfar, and Perth,
and put them into a complete state of military
discipline. Being joined by the forces under
General Leslie, he marched upon Aberdeen,
which lie entered, without opposition, on the
30th of March, the Marquis of Kuntly having
abandoned the town on his approach. Some
idea of the well-appointed sta'.e of this army
may bo formed from the curious description of
Spalding, who says, that "upon the morne,
being Saturday, they came in order of battell,
weill armed, both on horse and foot, ilk horse-
man having five shot at the least, with ane
carabine in his hand, two pistols by his sydes,
and other two at his saddell toir ; the pikemen
in their ranks, with pike and sword ; the
rausketiers in their ranks, with musket, musket-
stafl'e, bandelier, sword, powder, ball, and
match ; ilk company, both on horse and foot,
had their captains, lieutenants, ensignes, ser-
jeants, and other officers and commanders, all
for the most part in buff coats, and in goodly
order. They had five colours or ensignes,
whereof the Earl of Montrosc had one, have-
ing this motto : ' Fon RELIGION, THE COVE-
NANT, AND THE COUNTRIE ;' the Earle of Maris-
chall had one, the Earle of Kinghorne had
one, and the town of Dundie had two. They
had trumpeters to ilk company of horsemen,
and drummers to ilk company of footmen;
they had their meat, drink, and other provi-
sion, bag and baggage, carryed with them,
all done be advyse of his excellence Felt Mar-
schall Leslie, whose councell Gcnerall Montrose
followed in this busiencss. Now, in seemly
order and good array, this army came forward,
and entered the burgh of Aberdein, about ten
hours in the morning, at the Over Kirkgate
Port, syne came doun throw the Broadgate,
throw the Castlegate, out at the Justice Port
to the Queen's Links directly. Here it is to
be notted that few or none of this hail army
wanted ane blew ribbin hung about his craig,
doun under his left arme, which they called
the Covenanters' Rililin. But the Lord Gor-
don, and some other of the marquess' bairnes
I.

and familie, had ane ribbin when he was
dwelling in the toun, of ane reid flesh cullor,
which they wore in their hatts, and called it
The HoyaU Ribbin, as a signe of their love and
loyalltie to the king. In despyte and derision
thereof this blew ribbin was worne, and called
the Covenanters' Ribbin, be the hail souldiers
of the army, and would not hear of the royall
ribbin ; such was their pryde and malice." 8

At Aberdeen Montrose was joined the same
day by Lord Frascr, the Master of Forbes, the
laird of Dalgettic, the tutor of Pitsligo, the
Eavl Marshal's men in Buchan, with several
other gentlemen and their tenants, dependants,
and servants, to the number of 2,000, an addi-
tion which augmented Montrose's army to 9,000
men. Leaving the Earl of Kinghorn with
1,500 men to keep possession of Aberdeen,
Montrose marched the same day towards Kin-
tore, where he encamped that night. Halting
all Sunday, he proceeded on the Monday to In-
verury, where he again pitched his camp. The
Marquis of Huntly grew alarmed at this sudden
and unexpected movement, and thought it now
time to treat with such a formidable foe for his
personal safety. He, therefore, despatched
Robert Gordon of Straloch and Doctor Gordon,
an Aberdeen physician, to Montrose's camp, to
request an interview. The marquis proposed
to meet him on a moor near Blackball, about
two miles from the camp, with 11 attendants
each, with no arms but a single sword at their
side. After consulting with Field Marshal
Leslie and the other officers, Montroso agreed
to meet the marquis, on Thursday the 4th of
April, at the place mentioned. The parties
accordingly met. Among the eleven who
attended the marquis were his son James,
Lord Aboyne, and the Lord Oliphant. Lords
Elcho and Cowper were of the party who at-
tended Montrose. After the usual salutation
they both alighted and entered into conversa-
tion; but, coming to no understanding, they
adjourned the conference till tho following
morning, when the marquis signed a paper
obliging himself to maintain the king's author-
ity, " the liberty of church and state, religion
and laws." He promised at tho same time to
do his best to make his friends, tenants, and

8 Troubles, vol. i. pp. 107, 108.

170

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

servants subscribe the Covenant. 9 The mar-
quis, after this arrangement, went to Strath-
bogie, and Montrose returned with his army to
Aberdeen, the following clay.

The marquis had not been many days at
Strathbogie, when he received a notice from
Montroso to repair to Aberdeen with his two
sons, Lord Gordon and Viscount Aboyne,
for the ostensible purpose of assisting the
committee in their deliberations as to the
settlement of the disturbances in the north. 1
On Hnntly receiving an assurance from Mon-
trose and the other covenanting leaders that
no attempt should be made to detain himself
and his sons as prisoners, he complied witli
Montrose's invitation, and repairing to Aber-
deen, ho took up his quarters in the laird of
Pitfoddcl's house.

The arrest of the marquis, which followed,
has been attributed, not without reason, to the
intrigues of the Frasers and the Forbeses, who
bore a mortal antipathy to the house of Huntly,
and who were desirous to sec the " Cock of the
North," as the powerful head of that house was
popularly called, humbled. 2 But, be these con-
jectures as they may, on the morning after the
marquis's arrival at Aberdeen, vi/., on the lllli
April, a council of the principal officers of
Montrose's army was held, at which it was
determined to arrest the marquis and Lord
Gordon, his eldest son, and cany them to
Edinburgh. It was not, however, judged ad-
visable to act upon this resolution immediately,
and to do away with any appearance of treach-
ery, Montrose and his friends invited the mar-
quis and his two sons to supper the following
evening. During the entertainment the most
friendly civilities were passed on both sides,
and, after the party had become somewhat
merry, Montrose and his friends hinted to the
marquis the expediency, in the present posture
of affairs, of resigning his commission of lieu-
tenancy. They also proposed that he should
write a letter to the king along with the resig-
nation of his commission, in favour of the
Covenanters, as good and loyal subjects ; and
that he should despatch the laird of Cluny, the
following morning, with the letter and rcsigna-

9 Spalding, vol. i. pp. 157, 160.

1 Gordon of Kothiemay, vol. ii. p. 235.

' Id., vol. ii. p. 235.

tion. The marquis, seeing that his commission
was altogether unavailable, immediately wrote
out, in presence of the meeting, a resignation of
it, and a letter of recommendation as proposed,
and, in their presence, delivered the same to the
laird of Cluny, who was to set off the following
morning with them to the king. It would
appear that Montrose was not sincere in mak-
ing this demand upon the marquis, and that
his object was, by calculating on a refusal, to
make that the ground for arresting him; for
the marquis had scarcely returned to his lodg-
ings to pass the night, when an armed guard
was placed round the house, to prevent him
from returning home, as he. intended to do, the
following morning.

When the marquis rose, next morning, ho
was surprised at receiving a message from
the covenanting general, desiring his attend-
ance at the house of the Earl Marshal; and
he was still farther surprised, when, on
going out, along with his two sons, to the
appointed place of meeting, ho found his
lodging beset with sentinels. The marquis
was received by Montrose with the usual
morning salutation, after which, he proceeded
to demand from him a contribution for liqui-
dating a loan of 200,000 mcrks, which the
Covenanters had borrowed from Sir William
Dick, a rich merchant of Edinburgh. To this
unexpected demand the marquis replied, that
he was not obliged to pay any part thereof, not
having been concerned in the borrowing, and
of course, declined to comply. Montroso then
requested him to take steps to apprehend James
Grant and John Dugar, and their accomplices,
who had given considerable annoyance to the
Covenanters in the Highlands. Huntly ob-
jected, that, having now no commission, he
could not act, and that, although he had,
James Grant had already obtained a remission
from the king ; and as for Jolui Dugar, he would
concur, if required, with the other neighbouring
proprietors in an attempt to apprehend him.
The earl, finally, as the Covenant, he said, ad-
mitted of no standing hatred or feud, required
the marquis to reconcile himself to Crichton,
the laird of Frendranght, but this the marquis
positively refused to do. Finding, as he no
doubt expected, the marquis quite resolute in
i his determination to resist these demands, the

MONTEOSE AREESTS THE MARQUIS OF HUNTLY.

171

earl suddenly changctl his tone, and thus ad-
dressed the marquis, apparently in the most
friendly terms, "My lord, seeing we are all
now friends, will you go south to Edinburgh
with us?" Hunlly answered that ho would
not that he was not prepared for such a
journey, and that ho was just going to set off
for Strathbogie. "Your lordship," rejoined
Montrose, " will do well to go with us." The
marquis now perceiving Montrosc's design,
accosted him thus, " My lord, I came here to
this town upon assurance that I should come
and go at my own pleasure, without molesta-
tion or inquietude; and now I see why my
lodging was guarded, and that ye mean to take
me to Edinburgh, whether I will or not. This
conduct, on your part, seems to mo to be
neither fair nor honourable." He added, " My
lord, give me back the bond which I gave you
at Invcrury, and you shall have an answer."
Montrose thereupon delivered the bond to the
marquis. Huntly then inquired at the earl,
" Whether he would take him to the south as
a captive, or willingly of his own mindl"
" Make your choice," said Montrose. " Then,"
observed the marquis, " I will not go as a cap-
tive, but as a volunteer." The marquis there-
upon immediately returned to his lodging, and
despatched a messenger after the laird of
Cluny, to stop him on his journey." 3

It was the intention of Montrose to take
both the marquis and his sons to Edinburgh,
but Viscount Ahoyne, at the desire of some of
his friends, was released, and allowed to return
to Strathbogie. On arriving at Edinburgh,
the marquis and his son, Lord Gordon, were
committed close prisoners to the castle of
Edinburgh, and the Tables "appointed five
guardians to attend upon him and his son
night and day, upon his own expenses, that
none should come in nor out but by their
sight." 3 On being solicited to sign the Cov-
enant, Huntly issued a manifesto characterized
by magnanimity and the most steadfast loyalty,
concluding with the following words : " For
my oune part, I am in your power; and re-
solved not to leave that foul title of traitor as
ane inheritance upon my posterityo. Yow

5 Spalding, vol. i. p. 188.
Ibid. p. 177.

may tacke niy heado from my shoulders, but
not my heart from my soveraigne." 4

Some time after the departure of Montrose's
army to the sputh, the Covenanters of the north
appointed a committee meeting to be held at
Turriff, upon Wednesday, 24th April, con-
sisting of the Earls Marshal and Seaforth,
Lord Fraser, the Master of Forbes, and somo
of their kindred and friends. All persons
within the diocese, who had not subscribed the
Covenant, were required to attend this meeting
for the purpose of signing it, and failing com-
pliance, their property was to be given up
to indiscriminate plunder. As neither Lord
Aboyne, the laird of Banff, nor any of their
friends and kinsmen, had subscribed the Cov-
enant, nor meant to do so, they resolved to
protect themselves from the threatened attack.
A preliminary meeting of the heads of the
northern Covenanters was held on the 22d of
April, at Monymusk, where they learned of
the rising of Lord Aboyne and his friends.
This intelligence induced them to postpone
the meeting at Turriff till the 26th of April,
by which day they expected to be joined by
several gentlemen from Caithness, Sutherland,
Eoss, Moray, and other quarters. At another
meeting, however, on the 24th of April, they
postponed the proposed meeting at Turriff,
sine die, and adjourned to Aberdeen; but as
no notice had been sent of the postponement
to the different covenanting districts in the
north, about 1,500 men assembled at the place
of meeting on the 2Gth of April, and were
quite astonished to find that the chiefs were
absent. Upon an explanation taking place,
the meeting was adjourned till the 20th of May.

Lord Aboyno had not been idle during this
interval, having collected about 2,000 horse
and foot from the Highlands and Lowlands,
with which force ho had narrowly watched
the movements of the Covenanters. Hearing,
however, of the adjournment of the Turriff
meeting, his lordship, at the entreaty of his
friends, broke up his army, and went by sea to
England to meet the king, to inform him of
the precarious state of affairs in the north.
Many of his followers, such as the lairds of
Gight, Haddo, Uduey, Newton, Pitmedden,

4 Gordon of Rothiemay, ii. 240. Spalding. i 1 "D.

172

GENERAL HISTOHY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

F overan, Tippertie, Hartliill, and others, who
had subscribed the Covenant, regretted his
departure; but as they had gone too far to
recede, they resolved to continue their forces
in the field, and held a meeting on the 7th of
May at Auchterless, to concert a plan of
operations.

A body of the Covenanters, to the number
of about 2,000, having assembled at Turriff as
early as the 13th of May, the Gordons resolved
instantly to attack them, before they should
be joined by other forces, which were expected
to arrive before the 20th. Taking along with
them four brass field-pieces from Strathbogie,
the Gordons, to the number of about 800 horse
and foot, commenced their march on the 13th
of May, at ten o'clock at night, and reached
Turriff next morning by day-break, by a road
unknown to the sentinels of the covenanting
army. As soon as they approached the town,
the commander of the Gordons ordered the
trumpets to be sounded and the drums to be
beat, the noise of which was the first indication
the Covenanters had of their arrival. Being
thus surprised, the latter had no tune to make
any preparations for defending themselves.
They made, indeed, a shoit resistance, but were
soon dispersed by the fire from the field-pieces,
leaving behind them the lairds of Echt and
Skene, and a few others, who were taken
prisoners. The loss on either side, in killed
and wounded, was very trifling. This skirmish
is called by the writers of the period, " the
Trott ofTurray." 5

The successful issue of this trifling affair had
a powerful effect on the minds of the victors,
who forthwith marched on Aberdeen, which
they entered on the 15th of May. They
expelled the Covenanters from the town, and
were there joined by a body of men from the
Braes of Mar under the command of Donald
Farquharson of Tulliegarmouth, and the laird
of Abergeldie, and by another party headed by
James Grant, so long an outlaw, to the num-
ber of about 500 men. These men quartered
themselves very freely upon the inhabitants,
particularly on those who had declared for the
Covenant, and they plundered many gentle-

5 Turray is the old name of Turriff. Gordon of
Kothiemay, vol. ii. p. 254. Gordon of Sallagh, p. 401. |

men's houses in the neighbourhood. The house
of Durris, belonging to John Forbes of Leslie,
a great Covenanter, received a visit from them,
" There was," says Spalding, " little plenishing
left unconveyed away before their conieing
They gott good bear and ale, broke up girnells,
and buke bannocks at good fyrcs, and drank
merrily upon the laird's best drink : syne
carried away with them alse meikle victual
as they could beir, which they could not gett
eaten and destroyed ; and syne removed from
that to Echt, Skene, Monymusk, and other
houses pertaining to the name of Forbes, all
great Covenanters." 6

Two days after their arrival at Aberdeen,
the Gordons sent to Dunnottar, for the purpose
of ascertaining the sentiments of the Earl
Marshal, in relation to their proceedings, and
whether they might reckon on his friendship.
The earl, however, intimated that he could say
nothing in relation to the affair, and that he
would require eight days to advise with his
friends. This answer was considered quite
unsatisfactory, and the chiefs of the army were
at a loss how to act. Robert Gordon of Stra-
loch, and James Burnet of Craigmyllc, a
brother of the laird of Leys, proposed to enter
into a negotiation with the Earl Marshal, but
Sir George Ogilvie of Banff would not listen
to such a proceeding, and, addressing Straloch,
he said, " Go, if you will go ; but pr'ythee, let
it be as quarter-master, to inform the earl that
we are coming." Straloch, however, went not
in the character of a quarter- master, but as a
mediator in behalf of his chief. The earl said
he had no intention to take up arms, without
an order from the Tables ; that, if the Gordons
would disperse, he would give them early
notice to re-assemble, if necessary, for their
own defence, but that if they should attack
him, he would certainly defend himself.

The army was accordingly disbanded on the
21st of May, and the barons went to Aberdeen,
there to spend a few days. The depredations
of the Highlanders, who had come down to
the lowlands in quest of plunder, upon the
properties of the Covenanters, were thereafter
carried on to such an extent, that the latter com-
plained to the Earl Marshal, who immediately

' Spalding, vol. i. p. 188.

VISCOUNT ABOYNE LANDS AT ABEKDEEN.

173

assembled a body of men out of Angus and
the. Mcarns, with which ho entered Aberdeen
on tho 23d of May, causing the barons to
make a precipitate retreat. Two days there-
after tho earl was joined by Montrose, at the
head of 4,000 men, an addition which, with
other accessions, made the whole force assem-
bled at Aberdeen exceed 0,000.

Meanwhile a largo body of northern Cove-
nantors, tinder the command of tho Earl of
Scaforth, was approaching from the districts
beyond the Spey; but the Gordons having
crossed the Spey for tho purpose of opposing
their advance, an agreement was entered into
between both parties that, on the Gordons re-
tiring across the Spey, Seaforth and his men
should also retire homewards.

After spending five days in Aberdeen, Mon-
trose marched his army to Udney, thence
to Kellie, the seat of the laird of Haddo, and
afterwards to Gight, the residence of Sir
Eobert Gordon, to which he laid siege. But
intelligence of the arrival of Viscount Aboyne
in the bay of Aberdeen, deranged his plans.
Being quite uncertain of Aboyne's strength,
and fearing that his retreat might be cut off,
Montrose quickly raised the siege and returned
to Aberdeen. Although Lord Aboyne still
remained on board his vessel, and could easily
have been prevented from landing, Montroso
most unaccountably abandoned the town, and
retired into the Mearns.

Viscount Aboyne had been most graciously
received by the king, and had ingratiated him-
self so much with the monarch, as to obtain
the commission of lieutenancy which his father
held. Tho king appears to have entertained
good hopes from his endeavours to support the
royal cause in the north of Scotland, and be-
fore taking leave he gave the viscount a letter
addressed to the Marquis of Hamilton, request-
ing him to afford his lordship all the assistance
in his power. From whatever cause, all the
aid afforded by the Marquis was limited to a
few officers and four field-pieces: "The king,''
says Gordon of Sallagh, " coming to Berwick,
and business growing to a height, the armies
of England and Scotland lying near one another,
his majesty sent the Viscount of Aboyne and
Colonel Gun (who was then returned out of
Germany) to the Marquis of Hamilton, to

receive some forces from him, and with these
forces to go to Aberdeen, to possess and re-
cover that town. The Marquis of Hamilton,
lying at anchor in Forth, gave them no supply
of men, but sent them five ships to Aberdeen,
and the marquis himself retired with his fleet
and men to the Holy Island, hard by Berwick,
to reinforce tho king's army there against the
Scots at Dunslaw." " On his voyage to
Aberdeen, Aboyne's ships fell in with two
vessels, one of which contained the lairds of
Banff, Foveran, Newton, Crummie, and others,
who had fled on the approach of Montrose to
Gight; and the other had on board some
citizens of Aberdeen, and several ministers
Trho had refused to sign the Covenant, all of
whom the viscount persuaded to return homo
along with him.

On the 6th of June, Lord Aboyne, accom-
panied by the Earls of Glencairn and Tulli-
bardine, the lairds of Drum, Banff, Fedderet,
Foveran, and Newton, .and their followers,
with Colonel Gun and several English officers,
landed in Aberdeen without opposition. Imme-
diately on coming ashore, Aboyne issued a pro-
clamation which was read at the cross of Aber-
deen, prohibiting all his majesty's loyal subjects
from paying any rents, duties, or other debts to
the Covenanters, and requiring them to pay
one-half of such sums to the king, and to
retain the other for themselves. Those persona
who had been forced to subscribe the Cove-
nant against their will, were, on repentance, to
be forgiven, and every person was required to
take an oath of allegiance to his majesty.

This bold step inspired the royalists with
confidence, and in a short space of time a con-
siderable force rallied round the royal standard.
Lewis Gordon, third son of the Marquis ot
Huntly, a youth of extraordinary courage, on
hearing of his brother's arrival, collected his
father's friends and tenants, to the number of
about 1,000 horse and foot, and with these he
entered Aberdeen on the 7th of June. These
were succeeded by 100 horse, sent in by tho
laird of Drum, and by considerable forces led
by James Grant and Donald Farquharson.
Many of the Covenanters also joined tho
viscount, so that liis force ultimately amounted

7 Continuation, p. 102.

174

GENERAL HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

to several thousand men. Spalding 8 gives
a sad, though somewhat ludicrous account
of the way in which Farquliarson's " hie-
land men" conducted themselves while in
Aberdeen. He says, " Thir saulless lounis
plunderit meit, drink, and sclieip quliair ever
they cam. Thay oppressit the Oldtoun, and
brocht in out of the countrie honest mcnis
scheip, and sold at tho cross of Old Abirdein
to sic as wold by, ane scheip upone foot for
ane groat. The poor men that audit tliame
follouit in and coft bak thair awin scheip
agane, sic as wes left unslayno for thair meit."

On the 10th of Juno the viscount left Aber-
deen, and advanced upon Kintore with an
army of about 2,000 horse and foot, to which
he received daily accessions. The inhabitants
of the latter place_ were compelled by him to
subscribe the oath of allegiance, and notwith-
standing their compliance, " the troops," says
Spalding, " plundered meat and drink, and
made good fires: and, where they wanted
peats, broke down beds and boards in honest
men's houses to be fires, and fed their horses
with com and straw that day and night." 9
Next morning the army made a raid upon
Hall Forrest, a seat of the Earl Marshal, and
the house of Muchells, belonging to Lord
Fraser; but Aboyne, hearing of arising in the
south, returned to Aberdeen.

As delay would be dangerous to his cause in
the present conjuncture, he crossed the Dee on
the 14th of June, his army amounting alto-
gether probably to about 3,000 horse and foot, 1
with the intention of occupying Stonehaven,
and of issuing afresh the king's proclamation
at the market cross of that burgh. He pro-
ceeded as far as Muchollis, orMuchalls, the seat
of Sir Thomas Burnet of Leyes, a Covenanter,
where he encamped that night. On hearing of
his approach, the Earl Marshal and Montrose
posted themselves, with 1,200 men, and some
pieces of ordnance which they had drawn from
Dunnottar castle, on the direct road which
Aboyne had to pass, and waited his approach.

8 Spaldiug, vol. i. p. 205.

9 Troubles, vol. i. p. 206.

1 Spalding, vol. i. p. 207. Gordon of Rpthiernay,
vol. ii. p. 268. Gordon of Euthven, in his abridg-
ment of Sritmie'a Distemper (Spald. Club ed.), p. 20ti,
makes the number 5,000.

Although Aboyno was quite aware of tho
position of the Earl Marshal, instead of endea-
vouring to outflank him by making a detour to
the right, he, by Colonel Gun's advice, crossed
tho Meagre hill next morning, directly in tho
face of his opponent, who lay with his forces
at the bottom of the hill. As Aboyne de-
scended the hill, the Earl Marshal opened a
heavy fire upon him, which threw his men into
complete disorder. The Highlanders, unaccus-
tomed to the fire of cannon, were the first to
retreat, and in a short time the whole army
gave way. Aboyne thereupon returned to
Aberdeen with some horsemen, leaving tho
rest of tho army to follow; but the High-
landers took a homeward course, carrying along
with them a largo quantity of booty, which
they gathered on their retreat. Tho disastrous
issue of "the Eaid of Stonehaven," as this
affair has been called, has been attributed, with
considerable plausibility, to treachery on the
part of Colonel Gun, to whom, on account of
Ms great experience, Aboyne had intrusted the
command of tho army. 2

On his arrival at Aberdeen, Aboyne held a
council of war, at which it was determined to
send some persons into the Mearns to collect
the scattered remains of his army, for, with the
exception of about 180 horsemen and a few foot
soldiers, the whole of the fine army which he
had led from Aberdeen had disappeared ; but
although the army again mustered at Leggets-
den to the number of 4,000, they were pre-
vented from recrossing the Dee and joining
his lordship by tho Marshal and Montrose,
who advanced towards tho bridge of Dee with
all their forces. Aboyne, hearing of their ap-
proach, resolved to dispute with them the
passage of tho Dee, and, as a precautionary
measure, blocked up tho entrance to the bridge
of Dee from the south by a thick wall of turf,
beside which ho placed 100 musketeers upon
the bridge, under the command of Lieutenant-
Colonel Jolmstone, to annoy the assailants from
tho small turrets on its sides. Tho viscount
was warmly seconded in his views by the citi-
zens of Aberdeen, whoso dread of another hos-
tile visit from the Covenanters induced them to

5 Spaldiuf!, vol. i. p. 208. Gordon of Rothienmy,
vol. ii. p. 272. Britane's Distemper, p. 2*.

BATTLE AT THE 15KIDGE OF DEE.

175

alford him every assistance in their power, and
it is recorded that the women and children
even occupied themselves in carrying provi-
sions to the army during the contest.

The army of Montrose consisted of about
2,000 foot and 300 horse, and a largo train of
artillery. The forces which Lord Aboyne
had collected on the spur of the occasion
were not numerous, but he was superior in
cavalry. His ordnance consisted only of four
pieces of brass cannon. Montrose arrived at
the bridge of Dee on the 18th of June, and,
without a moment's delay, commenced a furious
cannonade upon the works which had been
thrown up at the south end, and which he
kept up during the whole day without produc-
ing any material effect. Lieutenant-colonel
Johnstone defended the bridge with deter-
mined bravery, and his musketeers kept up a
galling and well-directed fire upon their assail-
ants. Both parties reposed during the short
twilight, and as soon as morning dawned Mon-
trose renewed his attack upon the bridge, with
an ardour which seemed to have received a
fresh impulse from the unavailing efforts of
the preceding day ; but all his attempts were
vain. Seeing no hopes of carrying the bridge
in the teeth of the force opposed to him, lie had
recourse to a stratagem, by which he succeeded
in withdrawing a part of Aboyne's forces from
the defence of the bridge. That force had,
indeed, been considerably impaired before the
renewal of the attack, in consequence of a party
of 50 musketeers having gone to Aberdeen to
escort thither the body of a citizen named John
Forbes, who had been killed the preceding
day ; to which circumstance Spalding attri-
butes the loss of the bridge ; but whether the
absence of this party had such an effect upon
the fortune of the day is by no means clear.
The covenanting general, after battering unsuc-
cessfully the defences of the bridge, ordered
a party of horsemen to proceed up the river
some distance, and to make a demonstration as
if they intended to cross. Aboyne was com-
pletely deceived by this manoeuvre, and sent
the whole of his horsemen from the bridge
to dispute the passage of the river with those
of Montrose, leaving Lieutenant-colonel John-
stone and his 50 musketeers alone to protect
the bridge. Montrose having thus drawn his

opponent into the snare set for him, imme-
diately sent back the greater part of his horse,
under the command of Captain Middletou, with
instructions to renew the attack upon the
bridge with redoubled energy. This officer lost
no time in obeying these orders, and Lieutenant-
colonel Johnstone having been wounded in the
outset by a stone torn from the bridge by a shot,
was forced to abandon its defence, and he and
his party retired precipitately to Aberdeen.

When Aboyne saw the colours of the Cove-
nanters flying on the bridge of Dee, he fled with
great haste towards Strathbogie, after releasing
the lairds of Purie Ogilvy and Purie Fodder-
inghame, whom he had taken prisoners, and
carried witli him from Aberdeen. The loss on
either side during the conflict on the bridge
was trifling. The only person of note who fell
on Aboyne's side was Seaton of Pitmedden, a
brave cavalier, who was killed by a cannon
shot while riding along the river side with
Lord Aboyne. On that of the Covenanters
was slain another valiant gentleman, a brother
of llamsay of Balmain. About 14 persons of
inferior note were killed on each side, including
some burgesses of Aberdeen, and several were
wounded.

Montrose, reaching the north bank of the
Dee, proceeded immediately to Aberdeen,
which he entered without opposition. So ex-
asperated were Montrose's followers at the
repeated instances of devotedness shown by
the inhabitants to the royal cause, that they
proposed to raze the town and set it on fire ;
but they were hindered from carrying their
design into execution by the firmness of Mou-
trose. The Covenanters, however, treated the
inhabitants very harshly, and imprisoned many
who were suspected of having been concerned
in opposing their passage across the Dee ; but
an end was put to these proceedings in conse-
quence of intelligence being brought on the fol-
lowing day (June 20th) of the treaty of paci-
fication which had been entered into between
the king and his subjects at Berwick, upon the
18th of that month. On receipt of this news,
Montrose sent a despatch to the Earl of Sea-
forth, who was stationed with his army on the
Spey, intimating the pacification, and desiring
liiiu to disband his army, with which order he
instantly complied.

17G

GENERAL HISTOKY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

The articles of pacification were preceded by
a declaration on the part of the king, in which
he stated, that although he could not conde-
scend to ratify and approve of the acts of the
Glasgow General Assembly, yet, notwithstand-
ing the many disorders which had of late been
committed, he not only confirmed and made
good whatsoever his commissioner had granted
and promised, but he also declared that all mat-
ters ecclesiastical should be determined by the
assemblies of the kirk, and matters civil by
the parliament and other inferior judicatories
established by law. To settle, therefore, " the
general distractions" of the kingdom, his ma-
jesty ordered that a free general assembly
should be held at Edinburgh on the 6th August
following, at which he declared his intention,
" God willing, to be personally present;" and
he moreover ordered a parliament to meet at
Edinburgh on the 20th of the same month, for
ratifying the proceedings of the general assem-
bly, and settling such other matters as might
conduce to the peace and good of the kingdom
of Scotland. By the articles of pacification, it
was, infer alia, provided that the forces in
Scotland should be disbanded within forty-
eight hours after the publication of the de-
claration, and that all the royal castles, forts,
and warlike stores of every description, should
be delivered up to his majesty after the said
publication, as soon as he should send to
receive them. Under the seventh and last
article of the treaty, the Marquis of Huntly
and his son, Lord Goi'don, and some others
who had been detained prisoners in the castle
af Ediiiburgh by the Covenanters, were set at
liberty.

It has been generally supposed that neither
party had any sincere intention to observe the
conditions of the treaty. Certain it is, that the
ink with which it was written was scarcely dry
before its violation was contemplated. On the
one hand, the king, before removing his army
from the neighbourhood of Berwick, required
the heads of the Covenanters to attend him there,
obviously with the object of gaining them over
to his side ; but, with the exception of three
commoners and three lords, Montrose, Lon-
don, and Lothian, they refused to obey. It
was at this conference that Charles, who ap-
parently had great persuasive powers, made

a convert of Montrose, who from that time
determined to desert his associates in arms,
and to place himself under the royal standard.
The immediate strengthening of the forts of Ber-
wick and Carlisle, and the provisioning of the
castle of Edinburgh, were probably the sugges-
tions of Montrose, who would, of course, be
intrusted with the secret of his majesty's de-
signs. The Covenanters, on the other hand,
although making a show of disbanding their
army at llunse, in reality kept a considerable
force on foot, which they quartered in different
parts of the country, to be in readiness for the
field on a short notice. The suspicious conduct
of the king certainly justified this precaution.

The general assembly met on the day fixed
upon, but, instead of attending in person as ho
proposed, Charles appointed the Earl of Tra-
quair to act as his commissioner. After abolish-
ing the articles of Perth, the book of canons, the
liturgy, the high commission and episcopacy,
and ratifying the late Covenant, the assembly
was dissolved on the 30th of August, and
another general assembly was appointed to be
held at Aberdeen on the 28th of July of the fol-
lowing year, 1640. The parliament met next
day, viz., on the last day of August, and as there
were no bishops to represent the third estate,
fourteen minor barons were elected in their
stead. His majesty's commissioner protested
against the vote and against farther proceedings
till the king's mind should be known, and the
commissioner immediately sent off a letter ap-
prising him of the occurrence. Without wait-
ing for the king's answer, the parliament was
proceeding with a variety of bills for securing
the liberty of the subject and restraining the
royal prerogative, when it was unexpectedly
and suddenly prorogued, by an order from the
king, till the 2d of June in the following year.

If Charles had not already made up his mind
for war with his Scottish subjects, the conduct
of the parliament which he had just prorogued
determined him again to have recourse to aims
in vindication of his prerogative. He endea-
voured, at first, to enlist the sympathies of the
bulk of the English nation in his cause, but
without effect ; and his repeated appeals to his
English people, setting forth the rectitude of
his intentions and the justice of his cause,
being answered by men who questioned the

THREATENED WAR BETWEEN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND.

177

one anil denied the other, rather injured than
served him. The people of England were not
then in a mood to embark in a crusado against
the civil and religious liberties of the north;
and they had too much experience of the arbi-
trary spirit of the king to imagine that their
own liberties would bo better secured by ex-
tinguishing the flame which burned in the
breasts of the sturdy and enthusiastic Cove-
nanters.

But notwithstanding the many discouraging
circumstances which surrounded him, Charles
displayed a firmness of resolution to coerce the
rebellious Scots by every means within his
reach. The spring and part of the summer of
1C40 were spent by both parties in military
preparations. Field-Marshal Sir Alexander
Leslie of Balgony, an old and experienced
officer who had been in foreign service, was
appointed generalissimo of the Scots army by
the war committee. When mustered by the
general at Choicelee, it amounted to about
22,000 foot and 2,500 horse. A council of
war was held at Dunse at which it was deter-
mined to invade England. Montrose, to whose
command a division of the army, consisting of
2,000 foot and 500 horse, was intrusted, was
absent when this meeting was held; but,
although his sentiments had, by this time,
undergone a complete change, seeing on his
return no chance of preventing the resolution
of the council, he dissembled his feelings and
openly approved of the plan. There seems to
be no doubt that in following this course he
intended, on the first favourable opportunity,
to declare for the king, and carry off such part
of the army as should be inclined to follow
him, which he reckoned at a third of the
whole. 3

The Earl of Argyle was commissioned by
the Committee of Estates to secure the west
and central Highlands. This, the eighth
Earl and first Marquis of Argyle, had suc-
ceeded to the title only in 1638, although
he had enjoyed the estates for many years
before that, as his father had been living in
Spain, an outlaw. He was born in 1598,
and strictly educated in the protestant faith as
established in Scotland at the Reformation.

Wishart's Memoirs, Edin. 1819, p. 24.

In 1C26 he was made a privy councillor, and
in 1634 appointed one of the extraordinary
lords of session. In 1638, at the General
Assembly of Glasgow, he openly went over to
the side of the Covenanters, and from that time
was recognised as their political head. Argyle,
in executing the task intrusted to him by the
committee, appears to have been actuated more
by feelings of private revenge than by an
honest desire to carry out the spirit of his
commission. The ostensible reason for his
undertaking this charge was his thorough ac-
quaintance with the Highlands and the High-
landers, and his ability to command the ser-
vices of a large following of his own. " But the
cheefe cause," according to Gordon of Rothie-
may, 4 "though least mentioned, was Argylle,
his spleene that he carryed upon the accompt
of former disobleedgments betwixt his family
and some of the Highland clans: therefore he
was glade now to gett so faire a colour of
revenge upon the publicke score, which he did
not lett slippe. Another reasone he had
besyde; it was his designe to swallow upp
Badzenoch and Lochaber, and some landes
belonging to the Mackdonalds, a numerous
trybe, but haters of, and aeqwally hated by
Argylle." He had some hold on these two
districts, as, in 1639, he had become security
for some of Huntly's debts to the latter's
creditors. Argyle managed to seduce from
their allegiance to Huntly the clan Cameron
in Lochaber, who bore a strong resentment
against their proper chief on account of some
supposed injury done to the clan by the former
marquis. Although they had little relish for
the Covenant, still to gratify their revenge,
they joined themselves to Argyle. A tribe
of the Macdonalds who inhabited Lochaber,
the Macranalds of Keppoch, who remained
faithful to Huntly, met with very different
treatment at the hands of Argyle, who devas-
tated their district and burnt down their chief's
dwelling at Keppoch.

During this same summer (July 1640),
Argyle, who had raised an army of about 5,000
men, made a devastating raid into the district
of Forfarshire belonging to the Earl of Airly.
He made first for Airly castle, about five

4 Scots Affairs, iii. 183.
Z

173

GENERAL HISTORY .OF THE HIGHLANDS.

miles north of Meigle, which, in the absence
of the earl in England, was held by his son
Lord Ogilvie, who had recently maintained it
against Montrose. When Argyle came up,
Ogilvie saw that resistance was hopeless, and
abandoned the castle to the tender rnercy of
the enemy. Argyle without scruple razed the
place to the ground, and is said to have shown
himself so " extremely earnest" in the work of
demolition " that he was seen taking a hammer
in his hande and knocking down the hewed
work of the doors and windows till ho did
sweat for heat at his work." 5 Argyle's men
carried off all they could from the house and
the surrounding district, and rendered useless
what they were compelled to leave behind.

From Airly, Argyle proceeded to a seat be-
longing to Lord Ogilvie, Forthar in Glenisla,
the " bonnie house o' Airly," of the well-known
song. Here lie behaved in a manner for which
it would be difficult for his warmest supporters
to find the shadow of an excuse, even taking
into consideration the roughness of the times.
The place is said by Gordon to have been " no
strength," so that there is still less excuse for
his conduct. He treated Forthar in the same
way that he did Airly, and although Lady
Ogilvie, who at the time was close on her con-
finement, asked Argyle to stay proceedings
until she gave birth to her infant, lie without
scruple expelled her from the house, and pro-
ceeded with his work of destruction. Not
only so, however, but " the Lady Drum, Dame
.Marian Douglas, who lived at that time in
Kelly, hearing tell what extremity her grand-
child, the Lady Ogilvy, was reduced to, did
send a commission to Argyle, to whom the said
Lady Drum was a kinswoman, requesting that,
with his license, she might admit into her own
house, her grandchild, the Lady Ogilvy, who
at that time was near her delivery; but Argyle
would give no license. . This occasioned the
Lady Drum for to fetch the Lady Ogilvie to
her house of Kelly, and for to keep her there
upon all hazard that might follow."

At the same time Argylo " was not forgetful
to remember old quarrels to Sir John Ogilvie
of Craigie." He sent a sergeant to Ogilvie's
house to warn him to leave it, but the sergeant

5 Gordon of Rothievnay, iii. 165.

thought Argyle must have made some mistake,
as he found it no more than a simple unfortified
country house, occupied only by a sick gentle-
womnu and some servants. The sergeant re-

First Marquis of Argyle.

turned and told this to Argyle, who waxed
wroth and told him it was his duly simply to
obey orders, commanding him at the same tiruo
to return and " deface and spoil the house."
After the sergeant had received his orders,
Argylo was observed to turn round and repeat
to himself the Latin political maxim Abscin-
danhtr qui nos pertwbant, "a maximo which
many thought that he practised accurately,
which he did upon the account of the proverb
consequential thereunto, and which is the rea-
son of the former, which Argyle was remarked
likewise to have often in his mouth as a choice
aphorism, and well observed by statesmen,
Quod mortui non mordent."

Argyle next proceeded against the Earl of
Athole, who, with about 1,200 followers, was
lying in Breadalbane, ready to meet him.
Argyle, whose army was about five times the
size of Athole's, instead of giving fight, man-
aged by stratagem to capture Athole and some
of his friends, whom he sent to the Committee
of Estates at Edinburgh.

MONTEOSE GOES OVER TO THE KING.

179

Aigylc, after having thus gratified his private
revenge aiut made a show of quieting the
Highlands, returned to the lowlands.

On the 20th of August General Leslie crossed
the Tweed with his army, the van of which
was led by Montrose on foot. This task,
though performed with readiness and with
every appearance of good will, was not volun-
tarily undertaken, but had been devolved upon
Montrose by lot; none of the principal officers
daring to take the lead of their own accord in
such a dangerous enterprise. There can be
no doubt that Montrose was insincere in his
professions, and that those who suspected Mm
were right in thinking that in his heart ho
was turned Eoyalist, 7 a supposition which his
correspondence with the king and his subse-
quent conduct fully justify.

Although the proper time had not arrived
for throwing off the mask, Montrose im-
mediately on liis return to Scotland, after
the close of this campaign, began to concert
measures for counteracting the designs of the
Covenanters; but his plans were embarrassed by
some of his associates disclosing to the Cove-
nanters the existence of an association which
Montroso had formed at Cumbemauld for sup-
porting the royal authority. A great outcry
was raised against Montrose in consequence,
but his influence was so great that the heads
of the Covenanters were afraid to show any
severity towards him. On subsequently dis-
covering, however, that the king had written
him letters which were intercepted and forcibly
taken from the messenger, a servant of the
Earl of Traquair, they apprehended him, along
with Lord Napier of Mercluston, and Sir
George Stirling of Keith, his relatives and in-
timate friends, and imprisoned them in the
castle of Edinburgh. On the meeting of the
parliament at Edinburgh in July, 1641, which
was attended by the king in person, Montrose
demanded to bo tried before them, but his appli-
cation was rejected by the Covenanters, who
obtained an order from the parliament prohib-
iting him from going into the king's presence.
After the king had returned to England, Mon-
trose and his fellow-prisoners were liberated,

* See Gordon of Rothiemay, iii. 163 ct scq. Spal-

i!, i. 290.

7 Gutbrie's Memoirs, p. 70.

and he, thereupon, went to his own castle,
where ho remained for some time, ruminating
on the course he should pursue for the relief
of the king. The king, while in Scotland at
this time, conferred honours upon several of
the covenanting leaders, apparently for tho
purpose of conciliation, Argyle being raised to
the dignity of a marquis.

Although Charles complied with tho de-
mands of his Scottish subjects, and heaped
many favours and distinctions upon the heads
of the leading Covenanters, they were by no
means satislied, and entered fully into the
hostile views of their brethren in the south,
with whom they made common cause. Having
resolved to send an army into England to join
the forces of tho parliament, which had come
to an open rupture with tho sovereign, they
attempted to gain over Montrose to their side
by offering him the post of lieutenant-general of
their army, and promising to accede to any
demands he might make; but lie rejected all
their offers; and, as an important crisis was at
hand, he hastened to England in tho early part
of the year 1643, in company with Lord
Ogilvie, to lay the state of affairs before the
king, and to offer him his advice and service
in such an emergency. Charles, however,
either from a want of confidence in the judg-
ment of Montrose, who, to the rashness and
impetuosity of youth, added, as he was led to
believe, a desire of gratifying his personal
feelings and vanity, or overcome by the calcu-
lating but fatal policy of the Marquis of Ham-
ilton, who deprecated a fresh war between
the king and his Scottish subjects, declined to
follow tho advice of Montrose, who had offered
to raise an army immediately in Scotland to
support him.

A convention of estates called by the Cove-
nanters, without any authority from the king,
met at Edinburgh on the 22d of June, 1643,
and ho soon perceived from tho character and
proceedings of this assembly, tho great majority
of which were Covenanters, the mistake he had
committed in rejecting tho advice of Montrose,
and lie now resolved, thenceforth, to be guided
in his plans for subduing Scotland by the
opinion of that nobleman. Accordingly, at a
meeting held at Oxford, between the king and
Montrose, in the month of December, 1643,

ISO

GENERAL HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

wlicii tlio Scots army was about entering
England, it was agreed that the Earl of An-
trim, an Irish nobleman of great power and
influence, who then lived at Oxford, should be
sent to Ireland to raise auxiliaries with whom,
he should make a descent on the west parts of
Scotland in the month of April following ;
that the Marquis of Newcastle, who commanded
the royal forces in the north of England, should
furnish Montrose with a party of horse, with
which he should enter the south of Scotland,
that an application should be made to the
King of Denmark for some troops of German
horse; and that a quantity of arms should be
transported into Scotland from abroad. 8

Instructions having been given to the Earl
of Antrim to raise the Irish levy, and Sir
James Cochran having been despatched to the
continent as ambassador for the king, to procure
foreign aid, Montrose left Oxford on his way
to Scotland, taking York and Durham in his
route. Near the latter city he had an inter-
view with the Marquis of Newcastle for the
purpose of obtaining a sufficient party of horse
to escort him into Scotland, but all he could
procure was about 100 horse, badly appointed,
with two small brass field pieces. 9 The Mar-
quis sent orders to the king's officers, and to
the captains of the militia in Cumberland and
Westmoreland, to afford Montrose such assist-
ance as they could, and he was in consequence
joined on his way to Carlisle by 800 foot and
three troops of horse, of Cumberland and
Northumberland militia. With this small
force, and about 200 horse, consisting of noble-
men and gentlemen who had served as officers
in Germany, France, or England, Montrose
entered Scotland on the 13th of April, 1644.
He had not, however, proceeded far, when a
revolt broke out among the English soldiers,
who immediately returned to England. In
spite of this discouragement, Montrose pro-
ceeded on with his small party of horse
towards Dumfries, which surrendered to him
without opposition. After waiting there a few
days, in expectation of hearing some tidings
respecting the Earl of Antrim's movements,
without receiving any, he retired to Carlisle,

6 "Wishart.

9 The Duchess of Newcastle says, in the memoirs of
b.9! husband, that the number was 200.

to avoid being surprised by the Covenanters,
large bodies of whom were hovering about in
all directions.

To aid the views of Montrose, the king had
appointed the Marquis of Huntly, on whose
fidelity he could rely, his lieutenant-general
in the north of Scotland. He, on hearing
of the capture of Dumfries by Montrose,
immediately collected a considerable body of
horse and foot, consisting of Highlanders and
lowlanders, at Kincardine-O'Neil, with the
intention of crossing the Cairn-a-Mount ; but
being disappointed in not being joined by
some forces from Perthshire, Angus, and the
Mearns, which he expected, he altered his steps,
and proceeded towards Aberdeen, which he
took. Thence he despatched parties of his
troops through the counties of Aberdeen and
Banff, which brought in quantities of horses
and arms for the use of his army. One
party, consisting of 120 horse and 300 foot,
commanded by the young laird of Drum and
his brother, young Gicht, Colonel Nathaniel
Gordon and Colonel Donald Farquliarson and
others, proceeded to the town of Montrose,
which they took, killed one of the bailies, made
the provost prisoner, and threw some cannon
into the sea as they could not carry them away.
But, on hearing that the Earl of Kinghorn was
advancing upon them with the forces of Angus,
they made a speedy retreat, leaving thirty of
their foot behind them prisoners. To protect
themselves against the army of the Marquis of
Huntly, the inhabitants of Moray, on the north
of the Spey, raised a regiment of foot and
three companies of horse, which were quartered
in the town of Elgin.

When the convention heard of Huntly's
movements, they appointed the Marquis of
Argyle to raise an army to quell this insurrec-
tion. He, accordingly, assembled at Perth
a force of 5,000 foot and 800 horse out of
Fife, Angus, Mearns, Argyle, and Perthshire,
with which he advanced on Aberdeen. Huntlj',
hearing of his approach, fled from Aberdeen
and retired to the town of Banff, where, on
the day of his arrival, he disbanded his army.
The marquis himself thereafter retired to
Strathnaver, and took up his residence with
the master of Eeay. Argyle, after taking
possession of Aberdeen, proceeded northward

MONTEOSE ENTERS SCOTLAND IN DISGUISE.

181

and took the castles of Gicht and Kcllie, made
tho lairds of Gicht and Haddo prisoners and
sent them to Edinburgh, tho latter being, along
with one Captain Logan, afterwards beheaded. 1

"Wo now return to Montrose, who, after an
ineffectual attempt to obtain an accession of
force from tho army of Prince Rupert, Count
Palatine of the Rhine, determined on again
entering Scotland with his little band. But
being desirous to learn the exact situation of
affairs there, before putting this resolution into
effect, he sent Lord Ogilvie and Sir William
Rollock into Scotland, in disguise, for that
purpose. They returned in about fourteen
days, and brought a spiritless and melancholy
account of the state of matters in the north,
where they found all the passes, towns,
and forts, in possession of the Covenanters,
and where no man dared to speak in favour
of the king. This intelligence was received
with dismay by Montrose's followers, who now
began to think of the best means of securing
their own safety. In this unpleasant conjunc-
ture of affairs, Montrose called them together
to consult on the line of conduct they should
pursue. Some advised him to return to Ox-
ford and inform his majesty of the hopeless
etate of his affairs in Scotland, while others
gave an opinion that he should resign his com-
mission, and go abroad till a more favourable
opportunity occurred of serving the king;
but the chivalrous and undaunted spirit of
Montrose disdained to follow either of these
courses, and he resolved upon the desperate
expedient of venturing into the very heart of
Scotland, with only one or two companions, in
the hope of being able to rally round his per-
son a force sufficient to support the declining
interests of his sovereign.

Having communicated this intention pri-
vately to Lord Ogilvie, he put under his charge
the few gentlemen who had remained faithful
to him, that ho might conduct them to the
king j and having accompanied them to a dis-
tance, he withdrew from them clandestinely,
leaving his servants, horses, and baggage behind
him, and returned to Carlisle. Having pre-
pared himself for his journey, he selected Sir
William Rollock, a gentleman of tried honour,

1 Gordon of Sallagh, p. 519.

and one Sibbald, to accompany him. Dis-
guised as a groom, and riding upon a lean,
worn-out horse, and leading another in his
hand, Montrose passed for Sibbald's servant,
in which condition and capacity he proceeded
to the borders. The party had not proceeded
far when an occurrence took place, which
considerably disconcerted them. Meeting with
a Scottish soldier, who had served under the
Marquis of Newcastle in England,' he, after
passing Rollock and Sibbald, went up to the
marquis, and accosted him by his name. Mon-
trose told him that he was quite mistaken ; but
the soldier being positive, and judging that the
marquis was concerned in some important affair,
replied, with a countenance which betokened
a kind heart, " Do not I know my lord Mar-
quis of Montrose well enough ? But go your
way, and God be with you." 2 When Montrose
saw that he could not preserve an incognito
from the penetrating eve of the soldier, he gave
him some money and dismissed him.

This occurrence excited alarm in the mind
of Montrose, and made him accelerate his
journey. Within four days he arrived at the
house of Tullibelton, among the hills near the
Tay, which belonged to Patrick Graham of
Inchbrakie, his cousin, and a royalist. No
situation was better fitted for concocting his
plans, and for communicating with those clans
and the gentry of the adjoining lowlands who
stood well affected to the king, It formed, in
fact, a centre, or point tfappiii to the royalists
of the Highlands and the adjoining lowlands,
from which a pretty regular communication
could be kept up, without any of those dangers
which would have arisen in the lowlands.

For some days Montrose did not venture to
appear among the people in the neighbourhood,
nor did he consider himself safe even in Tulli-
belton house, but passed the night in an obscure
cottage, and in the day-time wandered alone
among the neighbouring mountains, ruminating
over the strange peculiarity of his situation, and
waiting the return of his fellow-travellers, whom
he had despatched to collect intelligence on tho
state of the kingdom. These messengers came
back to him after some days' absence, bringing
with them tho most cheerless accounts of the

Wishart, p. 61.

182

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

situation of the country, and of the persecu-
tions which the royalists suffered at the hands
of the Covenanters. Among other distressing
pieces of intelligence, they communicated to
Montrose the premature and unsuccessful at-
tempt of the Marquis of Huntly in favour of
the royal cause, and of his retreat to Strath-
naver to avoid the fury of his enemies. These
accounts greatly affected Montrose, who was
grieved to find that the Gordons, who were
stern royalists, should be exposed, by the aban-
donment of their chief, to the revenge of their
enemies ; but lie consoled himself with the
reflection, that as soon as he should be enabled
to unfurl the royal standard, the tide of fortune
would turn.

While cogitating on the course he should
pursue in this conjuncture, a report reached
him from some shepherds on the hills that a
body of Irish troops had landed in the West,
and was advancing through the Highlands.
Montrose at once concluded that these were
the auxiliaries whom the Earl of Antrim had
undertaken to send him four months before,
and such they proved to be. This force, which
amounted to 1,500 men, was under the com-
mand of Alexander Macdonald, son of Coll
Mac-Gillespic Macdonald of lona, who had
been greatly persecuted by the family of Argylc.
Maedonald had arrived early in July, 1644,
among the Hebrides, and had landed and taken
the castles of Meigray and Kinloch Alan. He
had then disembarked his forces in Knoydart,
where ho expected to bo joined by the Marquis
of Huntly and the Earl of Seaforth. As he
advanced into the interior, ho despatched the
fiery cross for the purpose of summoning the
clans to his standard ; but, although the cross
was carried through a large extent of country,
even to Aberdeen, he was joined at first only
by the clan Donald, under the captain of clan
Eanald, and tho laird of Glongary. The Mar-
quis of Argyle collected an army to oppose
the progress of Macdonald, and, to cut off
his retreat to Ireland, he sent some ships of
war to Loch Eishord, where Macdonald's fleet
lay, which captured or destroyed them. This
loss, while it frustrated an intention Macdonald
entertained of returning to Ireland, in conse-
quence of the disappointment lie had met with
in not being joined by the clans, stimulated

him to farther exertions in continuing his
march, in the hope of meeting Montrose.

As Macdonald was perfectly ignorant of
Montrose's movements, and thought it likely
that he might be still at Carlisle, waiting till
he should hear of Macdonald's arrival, ho sent
letters to him by the hands of a confidential
friend, who resided in the neighbourhood of
Inchbrakie's house. This gentleman, who
knew nothing of Montrose's return to Scotland,
having luckily communicated to Mr. Graham
the secret of being intrusted with letters to his
kinsman, Montrose, Graham offered to see them
safely delivered to Montrose, though he should
ride to Carlisle himself. The gentleman in
question then delivered tho letters to Graham,
and Montrose having received them, wrote an
answer as if from Carlisle, in which he requested
Macdonald to keep up his spirits, that he would
soon be joined by a seasonable reinforcement
and a general at their head, and he ordered
him with all expedition to march down into
Athole. In fixing on Athole as the place of
his rendezvous, Montrose is said to have been
actuated by an implicit reliance on the fidelity
and loyalty of the Athole-men, and by a high
opinion of their courage. They lay, besides,
under many obligations to himself, and he cal-
culated that he had only to appear among
them to command their services in the cause of
their sovereign.

When Macdonald received these instructions,
he marched towards Athole; but in passing
through Badenoch he was threatened with an
attack by the Earls of Sutherland and Seaforth,
at the head of some of their people, and by the
Erasers, Grants, Rosses, and Monroes, and
other inhabitants of Moray, who had assembled
at the top of Strathspey; but Macdonald very
cautiously avoided them, and hastened into
Atholc. On arriving in Athole, Macdonald
was coldly received by the people of that as
well as the surrounding country, who doubted
whether ho had any authority from the king ;
and besides, they hesitated to place themselves
under the command of a person of neither
noble nor ancient lineage, and whom they con-
sidered an upstart. This indecision might
have proved fatal to 'Macdonald, who was
closely pressed in his rear by tho army of
Argyle, had not these untoward deliberations

T11K ATHOLE-MEN JOIN MONTKOSE.

183

boon instantly put an. end to by the arrival of
Montrose at Blair, where Macdonakl had fixed
his head-quarters. Montroso had travelled
seventy miles on foot, in a Highland dress,
accompanied by Patrick Graham, his cousin,
as his guide. 3 His appearance was hailed by
his countrymen with every demonstration of
joy, and they immediately made him a spon-
taneous offer of their services.

Accordingly, on the following day, the
Athole-men, to the number of about 800, con-
sisting chiefly of the Stewarts and Robertsons,
put themselves under arms and flocked to the
standard of Montrose. Thus, in little more
than twenty-four hours, Montrose saw himself
at the head of a force of upwards of 2,000 men,
animated by an enthusiastic attachment to his
person and to the cause which he had espoused.
The extraordinary contrast between his present
commanding position, and the situation in
which he was placed a few days before, as a
forlorn wanderer among the mountains, pro-
duced a powerful effect upon the daring and
chivalrous spirit of Montrose, who looked for-
ward to the success of his enterprise with the
eagerness of a man who considered the destinies
of his sovereign as altogether depending upon
lus individual exertions. Impressed with the
necessity of acting with promptitude, he did
not hesitate long as to the course he should
pursue. He might have immediately gone in
quest of Argyle, who had followed the army of
Macdonald, with slow and cautious steps, and
by one of those sudden movements which no
man knew better how to execute with advan-
tage, surprised and defeated his adversary;
but such a plan did not accord with the designs
of Montrose, who resolved to open the cam-
paign at once in the lowlands, and thus give
confidence to the friends and supporters of
the king.

The general opinion which the Lowlanders
of this period entertained regarding their up-
land neighbours was not very respectful. A
covenanting wit, in a poem which he wrote
against the bishops only a few years before,
saya of one whose extraction was from thu
other side of the Grampians,

" A bishop and a Highla'mlman, how oan'st then
honest be ?

' Wishart, ]>. !>

as if these two qualifications were of them-
selves sufficient, without any known vice, to
put a man completely beyond the pale of virtue.
It seems, indeed, to have been a general belief
at the time that this primitive and sequestered
people, as they were avowedly out of the sav-
ing circle of the Covenant, were also out of the
limits of both law and religion, and therefore
hopelessly and utterly given up to all sorts of
wickedness. Not only were murder and rob-
bery among the list. of offences which they
were accused of daily committing, but there
even seems to have been a popular idea that
sorcery was a prevailing crime amongst them.
They were also charged with a general inclina-
tion to popery, an offence which, from the
alarms and superstitions of the time, had now
come, in general phraseology, to signify a con-
densation of all others. Along with this hor-
rible notion of the mountaineers, there was not
associated the slightest idea of their ardent and
chivalrous character; nor was there any general
sensation of terror for the power which they
undoubtedly possessed of annoying the peace-
ful inhabitants, and thwarting the policy of
the Low country, no considerable body of
Highlanders having been there seen in arms
for several generations.

In pursuance of his determination, Montrose
put his small array in motion the same day to-
wards Strathearn, in passing through which he
expected to be joined by some of the inhabitants
of that and the adjoining country. At the
same time he sent forward a messenger with a
friendly notice to the Menzieses of his inten-
tion to pass through their country, but instead
of taking this in good part they maltreated the
messenger and harassed the rear of his army.
This unprovoked attack so exasperated Mon-
trose, that ho ordered his men, when passing
by "Weem castle, which belonged to the clan
Men/ies, to plunder and lay waste their lands,
and to burn their houses, an order which was
literally obeyed. He expected that this exam-
ple of summary vengeance would serve as a
useful lesson to dster others, who might be dis-
posed to imitate the conduct of the Menzieses,
from following a similar course. Notwith-
standing the time spent in making these repri-
sals, Montrose passed the Tay with a part of
his forces the same evening, and the remainder

181

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

followed very early the next morning. He
had. at the special request of the Athole-men
themselves, placed them under the command
of his kinsman, Patrick Graham of Inchbrakie,
and he now sent him forward with a select
party to reconnoitre. Inchbrakie soon returned
with information that he had observed a party
of armed men stationed upon the hill of
Euchanty. On inquiry, Montrose ascertained
that this body was commanded by Lord Kil-
pont, eldest son of the Earl of Menteith, and
by Sir John Drummond, son of the Earl of
Perth, both of whom were his relations. The
force in question, which consisted of about 500
men, was on its way to Perth to join the other
covenanting troops who were stationed there.
Montrose immediately marched up to this
body, with the intention, if he could not pre-
vail on them to join him, of attacking them,
but before he had approached sufficiently near,
Lord Kilpont, who had ascertained that Mon-
trose commanded, sent some of his principal
officers to him to ascertain what his object was
in thus advancing. Montrose having explained
his views and stated that he acted by the king's
authority, and having entreated them to return
to their allegiance, they and the whole of their
party immediately joined him. This new ac-
cession augmented Montrose's army to about
3,000 men.

Montrose now learned from his new allies
that the Covenanters had assembled their forces
in great numbers at Perth, and that they lay
there waiting for his approach. The cove-
nanting army, in fact, was more than double
that of Montrose, amounting to about 6,000
foot and 700 horse, to which were attached
four pieces of artillery. Montrose, on the
other hand, had not a single horseman, and
but three horses, two of which were for his
own use, and the other for that of Sir William
Rollock, and besides he had no artillery. Yet
with such a decided disparity, Montrose re-
solved to march directly to Perth and attack
the enemy. He appears to have been influenced
in this resolution by the consideration of the
proximity of Argyle with his army, and
the danger in which he would be placed by
being hemmed in by two hostile armies : he
could expect to avoid such an embarrassment
only by risking an Immediate engagement.

As the day was too far advanced to proceed
to Perth, Montrose ordered Ids men to bivouac
during the night about three miles from
Buchanty, and began his march by dawn of
day. As soon as Lord Elcho, the commander
of the covenanting army, heard of Montrose's
approach, he left Perth and drew up his army
on Tippernmir, a plain of some extent between
four and five miles west from the town. Re-
serving to himself the command of the right
wing, he committed the charge of the left to
Sir James Scott, an able and skilful officer,
who had served with great honour in the
Venetian army ; and to the Earl of Tullibar-
dine he intrusted the command of the centre.
The horse were divided and placed on each
wing with the view of surrounding the army
of Montrose, should he venture to attack them
in their position. As soon as Montrose per-
ceived the enemy thus drawn up in battle
array, he made the necessary dispositions for
attacking them. To counteract as much as
possible the danger arising to such a small
body of men, unprotected by cavalry, from the
extended line of the Covenanters, Montrose
endeavoured to make his line as extensive as
possible with safety, by limiting his files to
three men deep. As the Irish had neither
swords nor pikes to oppose the cavalry, they
were stationed in the centre of the line, and
the Highlanders, who were provided with
swords and Lochaber axes, were placed on the
wings, as better fitted to resist the attacks of
the cavalry. Some of the Highlanders were,
however, quite destitute of arms of every de-
scription, and it is related on the authority of
an eye-witness that Montrose, seeing their help-
less condition, thus quaintly addressed them :
" It is true you have no arms ; your enemies,
however, have plenty. My advice, therefore, is,
that as there happens to be a great abundance
of stones upon this moor, every man should
provide himself, in the first place, with as
stout a stone as he can well manage, rush
up to the first Covenanter he meets, beat out
his brains, take his sword, and then, I be-
lieve, he will be at no loss how to proceed." 4
This advice, as will be seen, was really acted
upon. As Montrose was almost destitute of

4 Gentleman's Mag., vol. xvi. p. 158.

BATTLE OF TIPPERMUIR.

185

powder, he ordered the Irish forces to husband
their fire till they should como close to the
enemy, and after a simultaneous discharge
from the three ranks, (the front rank kneel-
ing,) to assail the enemy thereafter as they test
could. To oppose the left wing of the Cove-
nanters, commanded by Sir James Scott, Mon-
trose took upon himself the command of his
own right, placing Lord Kilpont at the head
of the left, and Macdonald, his major-general,
over the centre.

During the progress of these arrangements,
Montrose despatched an accomplished young
nobleman, named Drummond, eldest son of
Lord Madeiiy, with a message to the chiefs of
the Covenanters' army, entreating them to lay
down their arms and return to their duty and
obedience to their sovereign. Instead, how-
ever, of returning any answer to this message,
they seized the messenger, and sent him to
Perth under an escort, with an intimation that,
on obtaining a victory over his master, they
would execute him. Indeed, the probability of
a defeat seems never for a moment to have
entered into the imaginations of the Covenant-
ers, and they had been assured by Frederick
Carmichael, a minister who had preached to
them the same day, being Sunday, 1st Septem-
ber, " that if ever God spoke truth out of his
mouth, he promised them, in the name of God,
a certain victory that day." 5

There being no hopes, therefore, of an accom-
modation, both armies, after advancing towards
each other, remained motionless for a short
time, as if unwilling to begin the attack ; but
this state of matters was speedily put an end to
by the advance of a select skirmishing party
under the command of Lord Drummond, sent
out from the main body of the covenanting
army, for the double purpose of distracting the
attention of Montrose, and inducing his troops
to leave their ranks, and thus create confusion
among them ; but Montrose kept his men in
check, and contented himself with sending out
a few of his men to oppose them. Lord Drum-
mond, whom Baillie appears to have suspected
of treachery, and his party were routed at the
first onset, and fled back upon the main body
in great disorder. This trivial affair decided

Wisbart, p. 77.

the fate of the day, for the Covenanters, many
of whom were undisciplined, seeing the unex-
pected defeat of Lord Drummond's party, be-
came quite dispirited, and began to show
symptoms which indicated a disposition for
immediate flight. The confusion into which
the main body had been thrown by the retreat
of the advanced party, and the indecision which
seemed now to prevail in the Covenanters' army
in consequence of that reverse, were observed
by the watchful eye of Montrose, who saw that
the favourable moment for striking a decisive
blow had arrived. He therefore gave orders to
his men to advance, who, immediately setting
up a loud shout, rushed forward at a quick pace
towards the enemy. They were met by a ran-
dom discharge from some cannon which the
Covenanters had placed in front of their army,
but which did little or no execution. When
sufficiently near, Montrose's musketeers halted,
and, as ordered, poured a volley into the main
rank of the Covenanters, which immediately
gave way. The cavalry of the Covenanters,
thereupon, issued from their stations and at-
tacked the royalists, who, in their turn, de-
fended themselves with singular intrepidity.
While the armed Highlanders made ample use
of their Lochaber axes and swords, the Irish
steadily opposed the attacks of the horse with
the butt ends of their muskets ; but the most
effective annoyance which the cavalry met with
appears to have proceeded from the unarmed
Highlanders, who having supplied themselves
with a quantity of stones, as suggested by
Montrose, discharged them with well-directed
aim at the horses and their riders. The result
was, that after a short struggle, the cavalry were
obliged to make a precipitate retreat. While
this contest was going on, another part of
Montrose's army was engaged with the right
wing of the covenanting army, under Sir James
Scott, but although this body made a longer and
more determined resistance, and galled the party
opposed to them by an incessant fire of mus-
ketry, they were at last overpowered by the
Athole-men, who rushed upon them with their
broad-swords, and cut down and wounded a
considerable number. The rout of the Cove-
nanters now became general. The horsemen
saved themselves by the fleetness of their
horses; but during the pursuit, which was kept
2 A

i86

GENEEAL HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

up to a distance of six or seven miles, many
hundreds of foot were killed, and a consider-
able number made prisoners, 6 some of whom
afterwards served in Montrose's army. The
loss on the side of Montrose appears to have been
very trifling. By this victory, and the subse-
quent capture of Perth, which he entered the
same day, Montrose was enabled to equip his
army with all those warlike necessaries of
which it had been so remarkably destitute in
the morning, and of which the Covenanters
left him an abundant supply. 7

CHAPTEE XIII.

A. D. 1644 (SEPTEMBER* 1645 (FEBRUARY).
BRITISH SOVEREIGN : Charles I., 1025 1C49.

Montvose crosses the Tay to Collace Marches through
Angus and Mearns Battle of Aberdeen Supine-
ness of the Gordons Movements of Argyle Mon-
trose retreats through Badenoch Second march of
Montrose to the north Battle of Fyvie Montrose
retreats to Strathbogie Secession from his camp
Montrose enters and wastes Breadalbane and Argyle
Marches to Lochness Argyle enters Lochaber
Battle of Inverlochy.

MONTROSE now entertained confident expecta-
tions that many of the royalists of the sur-
rounding country who had hitherto kept aloof
would join him; but after remaining three days
at Perth, to give them an opportunity of rally-
ing round his standard, he had the mortifica-
tion to find that, with the exception of
Lords Dupplin and Spyiiie, and a few gentle-
men from the Carse of Gowrie, who came to
him, his anticipations were not to be realized.
The spirits of the royalists had been too much
subdued by the severities of the Covenanters
for them all at once to risk their lives and for-
tunes on the issue of what they had long con-
sidered a hopeless cause; and although Mon-
trose had succeeded in dispersing one army
with a greatly inferior force, yet it was well

e There is a great discrepancy between contemporary
writers as to the number killed. Wishart states it at
2,000; Spalding, at 1,300, and 800 prisoners; though
lie says that some reckoned the number at 1,500
killed. Gordon of Sallagh mentions only 300. Gor-
don of Ruthven, in Jiritanc's Distemper, gives the
number at 2,000 killed and 1,000 prisoners. Baillie
sayjj (vol. ii. p. 233, ed. 1841) that no quarter was
given, and not a prisoner was taken.

1 Britain's Distemper, p. 73.

known that that army was composed of raw
and undisciplined men, and that the Covenant-
ers had still large bodies of well-trained troops
in the field.

Thus disappointed in his hopes, and under-
standing that the Marquis of Argyle was fast
approaching with a large army, Moutrose
crossed the Tay on the 4th of September, di-
recting his course towards Coupar-Angus, and
encamped at night in the open fields near Col-
lace. His object in proceeding northward was
to endeavour to raise some of the loyal clans,
and thus to put himself in a sufficiently strong
condition to meet Argyle. Montrose had given
orders to the army to march early next morn-
ing, but by break of day, and before the drums
had beat, he was alarmed by an uproar in the
camp. Perceiving his men running to their
arms in a state of fury and rage, Montrose, ap-
prehensive that the Highlanders and Irish had
quarrelled, immediately rushed in among the
thickest of the crowd to pacify them, but to his
great grief and dismay, he ascertained that the
confusion had arisen from the assassination of
his valued friend Lord Kilpont. He had fall-
en a victim to the blind fury of James Stewart
of Ardvoirlich, with whom he had slept the
same night, and who had long enjoyed his con-
fidence and friendship. According to Wishart,
wishing to ingratiate himself with the Cove-
nanters, he formed a design to assassinate Mon-
trose or his major-general, Macdonald ; and
endeavoured to entice Kilpont to concur in his
wicked project. He, therefore, on the night in
question, slept with his lordship, and having
prevailed upon him to rise and take a walk in
the fields before daylight, pn the pretence of re-
freshing themselves, he there disclosed his hor-
rid purpose, and entreated his lordship to con-
cur therein. Lord Kilpont rejected the base
proposal with horror and indignation, which so
alarmed Stewart that, afraid lest his lordship
might discover the matter, he suddenly drew
his dirk and mortally wounded Kilpont.
Stewart, thereupon, fled, and thereafter joined
the Marquis of Argyle, who gave him a com-
mission in his army. 8

8 Wishart, p. 84. Stewart's descendant, the late
Robert Stewart of Ardvoirlieh, gives an account of
the above incident, founded on a " constant tradition
in the family," tending to show that his ancestor was
list so much a man of base and treacherous character,

K .M.UICHK.S THROUGH ANGUS AND MKAKNS.

187

Montrose now marched upon Dundee, which
refused to surrender. Not wishing to \\asd
his timo upon the hazardous issue of a siege
with a hostile army in his rear, Monlrose pro-
il through Angus and the Mcarns, and in
the course of his route was joined by the Ear]
of Airly, his two sons, Sir Thomas and Sir
David Ogilvie, and a considerable number oi
their friends and vassals, and some gentlemen
from the Mcarns and Aberdcenshire. This wa
a seasonable addition to Montrose's force, which
had been greatly weakened by the absence of
some of the Highlanders who had gone home
to deposit their spoils, and by the departure of
Lord Kilpont's retainers, who had gone to Mon-
teith with his corpse.

After the battle of Tippcrmuir, Lord Elcho
had retired, with his regiment and some fugi-
tives, to Aberdeen, where he found Lord
Burleigh and other commissioners from the
convention of estates. As soon as they heard
of the approach of Montrose, Burleigh, who
acted as chief commissioner, immediately as-
sembled the Forbeses, the Erasers, and the
other friends of the covenanting interest, and
did everything in his power to gain over to his
side as many persons as he could from those
districts where Montrose expected assistance.
In this way Burleigh increased his force to
2,500 foot and 500 horse, but some of these,
consisting of Gordons, and others who were
obliged to take up arms, could not be relied
upon.

When Montrose heard of these preparations,
he resolved, notwithstanding the disparity of
force, his own army now amounting only to

as of "violent passions and singular temper." James
Stewart, it is said, was so irritated at tho Irish, for corn-
In ittinj; some excesses on lands belonging to him, that
he challenged their commander, Macdonald, to single
combat. By advice of Kilpont, Montroso arrested both,
and brought about a seeming conciliation. When
encamped at Collacc, Montrose gave an entertain-
ment to his officers, on returning from which Ardvoir-
lich, " heated with drink, began to blame Kilpont for
the part ho had taken in preventing his obtaining re-
dress, and reflecting against Montrose for not allowing
him what he considered proper reparation. Kilpont,
of course, defended the conduct of himself and his
relative, Montrose, till their argument came to high
words, acd finally, from the state they were both in,
by an easy transition, to blows, when Ardvoirlich, with
his dirk, struck Kilpont dead on the spot." Ho fled,
leaving his eldest eon, Henry, mortally wounded at
Tippermuir, on \iis death-bed. Introd. to Legend of
Montr"".

1,500 foot and H horse, to hasten his march
and attack them before Argylo should come up.
On arriving near tho bridge of Dee, he found
it strongly fortified and guarded by a consider-
able force. He did not attempt to force a pas-
sage, but, directing his course to the west, along
tho river, crossed it at a ford at the Mills of
Drum, and encamped at Crathas that night
(Wednesday, llth September). The Cove-
nanters, the same day, drew up their army at
tho Two Mile Cross, a short distance from
Aberdeen, when) they remained till Thursday
night, when they retired into the town. On
tho same night, Montrose marched down Dee-
side, and took possession of the ground which
tho Covenanters had just left. 9

On the following morning, vi/., Friday, 13th
September, about eleven o'clock, the Covenant-
ers marched out of Aberdeen to meet Montrose,
who, on their approach, despatched a drummer
to beat a parley, and sent a commissioner
along with liim bearing a letter to the pro-
vost and bailies of Aberdeen, commanding and
charging them to surrender the town, promis-
ing that no more harm should be done to it ;
" otherwise, if they would disobey, that then
he desired them to remove old aged men,
women, and children out of the way, and to
stand to their own peril." Immediately on
receipt of this letter, the provost called a meet-
ing of the council, which was attended by Lord
Burleigh, and, after a short consultation, an
answer was sent along with the commissioner
declining to surrender tho town. On their
return the drummer was killed by the Cove-
nanters, at a place called Justice Mills ; which
violation of tho law of nations so exasperated
Montrose, that lie gave orders to his men not
to spare any of the enemy who might fall into
their hands. His anger at this occurrence is
strongly depicted by Spalding, who says, that
" he grew mad, and became furious and im-
patient."

As soon as Moutrose received notice of the
refusal of the magistrates to surrender the town,
ho made tho necessary dispositions for attack-
ing the enemy. From his paucity of cavalry,
he was obliged to extend his line, as he had
done at Tippcrmuir, to prevent the enemy

9 Spalding, vol. ii. p. 405.

188

GENERAL HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

from surrounding or outflanking him with
their horse, and on each of his wings he posted
his small body of horsemen along with select
parties of musketeers and archers. To James
Hay and Sir Nathaniel Gordon he gave the
command of the right wing, committing the
charge of the left to Sir William Eollock, all
men of tried bravery and experience.

The Covenanters began the battle by a can-
nonade from their field-pieces, and, from their
commanding position, gave considerable annoy-
ance to the royal forces, who were very defi-
cient in artillery. After the firing had been
kept up for some time, Lord Lewis Gordon,
third son of the Marquis of Huntly, a young
man of a very ardent disposition, and of a vio-
lent and changeable temper, who commanded
the left wing of the Covenanters, having ob-
tained possession of some level ground where
liis horse could act, made a demonstration to
attack Montrose's right wing ; which being ob-
served by Montrose, lie immediately ordered
Sir William Eollock, with his party of horse,
from the left wing to the assistance of the right.
These united wings, which consisted of only
44 horse, not only repulsed the attack of a
body of 300, but threw them into complete
disorder, and forced them to retreat upon the
main body, leaving many dead and wounded
on the field. Montrose restrained these brave
cavaliers from pursuing the body they had
routed, anticipating that their services might
be soon required at the other wing; and he
was not mistaken, for no sooner did the cove-
nanting general perceive the retreat of Lord
Lewis Gordon than he ordered an attack to be
made upon the left wing of Montrose's army ;
but Montrose, with a celerity almost unex-
ampled, moved his whole cavalry from the
right to the left wing, which, falling upon the
flank of their assailants sword in hand, forced
them to fly, with great slaughter. In this
affair Montrose's horse took Forbes of Craigie-
var and Forbes of Boyndlie prisoners.

The unsuccessful attacks on the wings of
Montrose's army had in no shape affected the
future fortune of the day, as both armies kept
their ground, and were equally animated with
hopes of ultimate success. Vexed, but by no
means intimidated by their second defeat, the
gentlemen who composed Burleigh's horse con-

sulted together as to the best mode of renewing
the attack ; and, being of opinion that the suc-
cess of Montrose's cavalry was owing cliiefly to
the expert musketeers, with whom they were
interlined, they resolved to imitate the same
plan, by mixing among them a select body of
foot, and renewing the charge a third time,
with redoubled energy. But this scheme,
which might have proved fatal to Montrose, if
tried, was frustrated by a resolution he came
to, of making an instant and simultaneous
attack upon the enemy. Perceiving their
horse still in great confusion, and a consider-
able way apart from their main body, he deter-
mined upon attacking them with his foot before
they should get tune to rally ; and galloping
up to his men, who had been greatly galled by
the enemies' cannon, he told them that there
was no good to be expected by the two armies
keeping at such a distance that in this way
there was no means of distinguishing the
strong from the weak, nor the coward from
the brave man, but that if they would once
make a home charge upon these timorous and
effeminate striplings, as he called Burleigh's
horse, they would never stand their attack.
" Come on, then," said he, " my brave fellow-
soldiers, fall down upon them with your swords
and muskets, drive them before you, and make
them suffer the punishment due to their perfidy
and rebellion." 1 These words were no sooner
uttered, than Montrose's men rushed forward
at a quick pace and fell upon the enemy, sword
in hand. The Covenanters were paralyzed
by the suddenness and impetuosity of the
attack, and, turning their backs, fled in the
utmost trepidation and confusion, towards
Aberdeen. The slaughter was tremendous, as
the victors spared no man. The road leading
from the field of battle to Aberdeen was strewed
with the dead and the dying; the streets of
Aberdeen were covered with the bodies, and
stained with the blood of its inhabitants.
" The lieutenant followed the chase into Aber-
deen, his men hewing and cutting down all
manner of men they could overtake, within the
town, upon the streets, or in the houses, and
round about the town, as our men were fleeing,
with broad swords, but (i.e. without) mercy

1 Wishart, p. 89

BATTLE AND SACK OF ABERDEEN.

189

or remeid. Their cruel Irish, seeing a man
well clad, would first tyr (strip) him, and save
Lis clothes unspoiled, syne kill the man." 2
In fine, according to this writer, who was an
eye-witness, the town of Aberdeen, which, but
a few years before, had suffered for its loyalty,
was now, by the same general who had then
oppressed it, delivered up by him to be indis-
criminately plundered by his Irish forces, for
having espoused the same cause which he him-
self had supported. For four days did these
men indulge in the most dreadful excesses,
"and nothing," continues Spalding, was "heard
but pitiful howling, crying, weeping, mourning,
through all the streets." Yet Guthry says
that Montrose " shewed great mercy, both
pardoning the people and protecting their
goods." 3

It is singular, that although the battle con-
tinued for four hours without any determinate
result, Montrose lost very few men, a circum-
stance the more extraordinary as the cannon of
the Covenanters were placed upon advantageous
ground, whilst those of Montrose were rendered
quite ineffective by being situated in a position
from which they could not be brought to bear
upon tha enemy. An anecdote, characteristic
of the bravery of the Irish, and of their cool-
ness in enduring the privations of war, has
been preserved. During the cannonade on the
side of the Covenanters, an Irishman had his
leg shot away by a cannon ball, but which
kept still attached to the stump by means of
a small bit of skin, or flesh. His comrades-in-
arms being affected with his disaster, this bravo
man, without betraying any symptoms of pain,
thus cheerfully addressed them : " This, my
companions, is the fate of war, and what none
of us ought to grudge : go on, and behave as
becomes you ; and, as for me, I am certain my
lord, the marquis, will make mo a trooper, as
I am now disabled for the foot service." Then,
taking a knife from his pocket, he deliberately
opened it, and cut asunder the skin which
retained the leg, without betraying the least
emotion, and delivered it to one of his com-
panions for interment. As soon as this cour-
ageous man was able to mount a horse, his
wish to become a trooper was complied with,

3 Spaldiug, vol. u. 407. 3 Memoirs, p. 131.

in which capacity he afterwards distinguished
himself. 4

Hoping that the news of the victory he had
obtained would create a strong feeling in his
favour among the Gordons, some of whom had
actually fought against him, under the com-
mand of Lord Lewis Gordon, Montrose sent a
part of his army towards Kintore and Inver-
ury, the following day, to encourage the people
of the surrounding country to declare for him ;
but he was sadly disappointed in his expecta-
tions. The fact is, that ever since the appoint-
ment of Montrose as lieutenant-general of the
kingdom, an appointment which trenched
upon the authority of the Marquis of Huntly as
lieutenant of the north, the latter had become
quite lukewarm in the cause of his sovereign ;
and, although he was aware of the intentions
of his son, Lord Lewis, to join the Covenanters,
he quietly allowed him to do so without re-
monstrance. But, besides being thus, in some
measure, superseded by Montrose, the marquis
was actuated by personal hostility to him on
account of the treatment he had formerly
received from him ; and it appears to have been
partly to gratify his spleen that he remained a
passive observer of a struggle which involved
the very existence of the monarchy itself.
Whatever may have been Huntly's reasons foi
not supporting Montrose, his apathy and in-
difference had a deadening influence upon his
numerous retainers, who had no idea of taking
the field but at the command of their chief.

As Montrose saw no possibility of opposing
the powerful and well-appointed army of Ar-
gyle, which was advancing upon him with
slow and cautious steps, disappointed as he had
been of the aid which ho had calculated upon,
he resolved to march into the Highlands, and
there collect such of the clans as were favour-
ably disposed to the royal cause. Leaving
Aberdeen, therefore, on the 16th of September,
with the remainder of his forces, ho joined the
camp at Kintore, whence he despatched Sir
William Bollock to Oxford to inform the king
of the events of the campaign, and of his
present situation, and to solicit him to send
supplies.

Wo must now advert to the progress of

"Wiehart, p. 91

190

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

Argyle's army, the slow movements of which
form an unfavourable contrast with the rapid
marches of Montrose's army. On the 4th of
September, four days after the battle of Tip-
permuir, Argylc, who had been pursuing the
Irish forces tinder Macdonald, had arrived with
his Highlanders at Stirling, where, on the
following day, he was joined by the Earl of
Lothian and his regiment, which had shortly
before been brought over from Ireland. After
raising some men in Stirlingshire, he marched
to Perth upon the 10th, whore he was joined
by some Fife men, and Lord Bargenny's and
Sir Frederick Hamilton's regiments of horse,
which had been recalled from Newcastle for
that purpose. With this increased force, which
now consisted of about 3,000 foot and two
regular cavalry regiments, besides ten troops
of horse, Ai-gylo left Perth on the 14th of
September for the north, and in his route
was joined by the Earl Marshal, Lords Gor-
don, Eraser, and Crichton, and other Covenant-
ors. He arrived at Aberdeen upon the 19th
of September, where he issued a proclamation,
declaring the Marquis of Montrose and his
followers traitors to religion and to their king
and country, and offering a reward of 20,000
pounds Scots, to any person who should bring
in Moutrose dead or alive. 5 Spalding laments
with great pathos and feeling the severe hard-
ships to which the citizens of Aberdeen had
been subjected by these frequent visitations of
hostile armies, and alluding to the present oc-
cupancy of the town by Argyle, he observes
that " this multitude of people lived upon free
quarters, a new grief to both towns, whereof
there was quartered on poor old Aberdeen
Argyle's own three regiments. The soldiers
had their baggage carried, and craved nothing
but house-room and fire. But ilk captain,
with twelve gentlemen, had free quarters, (so
long as the town had meat and drink,) for two
ordinaries, but the third ordinary they furnished
themselves out of their own baggage and pro-
visions, having store of meal, molt and sheep,
carried with them. But, the first night, they
drank out all the stale ale in Aberdeen, and
lived upon wort thereafter." *

Argyle was now within half a day's march

1 Spalding, vol. ii. p. Hi,

6 Idem.

of Montrose, but, strange to tell, he made no
preparations to follow him, and spent two or
three days in Aberdeen doing absolutely
nothing. After spending this time in ingloii
ous supineness, Ajgylo put his army in motion
in the direction of Kintore. Montroso, on
hearing of his approach, concealed his cannon
in a bog, and leaving beliind him some of his
heavy baggage, made towards the Spoy with
the intention of crossing it. On arriving at
the river, lie encamped near the old castle of
Rothiemurchus; but finding that the boats used
in passing the river had been removed to the
north side of the river, and that a large armed
force from the country on the north of the
Spey had assembled on the opposite bank to
oppose his passage, Montrose marched his
army into the forest of Aberncthy. Argyle
only proceeded at first as far as Strathbogie;
but instead of pursuing Moutrose, he allowed
his troops to waste their time in plundering
the properties and laying waste the lands of
the Gordons in Strathbogie and the Enzie,
under the very eyes of Lord Gordon and Lord
Lewis Gordon, neither of whom appears to have
endeavoured to avert such a calamity. Spald-
ing says that it was "a wonderful unnaturalitie
in the Lord Gordon to suffer his father's lands
and friends in his own sight to bo thus wreckt
and destroyed in his father's absence;" but
Lord Gordon likely had it not in his power to
stay these proceedings, which, if not done at
the instigation, may have received the appro-
bation of his violent and headstrong younger
brother, who had joined the Covenanters' stand-
ard. On the 27th of September, Argyle mus-
tered his forces at the Bog of Gicht, when they
were found to amount to about 4,000 men; but
although the army of Montrose did not amount
to much more than a third of that number,
and was within twenty miles' distance, he did
not venture to attack him. After remaining a
few days in Abernethy forest, Montroso passed
through the forest of Rothiemurchus, and follow-
ing the course of the Spey, marched through
Badenoch to Athole, which he reached on 1st
October.

When Argyle heard of the departure of
Montrose from the forest of Abernothy, he
made a feint of following him. Ho accord-
ingly set his army in motion along Spey- side,

MONTEOSK RETREATS TO STRATHBOGIE.

191

and crossing the river liiin.-ii'li' with a few horse,
man-lied up some distance along the north
bank, and recrossed, when he ordered his troops
to halt. Ho then proceeded to Forres to at-
t>'iid a committee meeting of Covenanters to
i't a plan of operations in the north, at
which the Earl of Sutherland, Lord Lovat, the
sheriff of Moray, the lairds of Balnagown,
Inncs and Pluscardine, and many others were
present. From Forres Argyle went to Inver-
ness, and after giving some instructions to Sir
Mungo Campbell of Lawers, and the laird of
Buchanan, the commanders of the regiments
stationed there, he returned to his army, which
he marched through Badenoch in pursuit of
Montrose. From Athole Montrose sent Mac-
donald with a party of 500 men to the Western
Highlands, to invite the laird of Maclean, the
captain of clan Eanald, and others to join him.
Marching down to Dimkeld, Montrose himself
proceeded rapidly through Angus towards
TSrechin and Montrose. 7

Although some delay had been occasioned
in Montrose's movements by his illness for a
fi-w Jays in Badenoch, this was fully compen-
sated for by the tardy motions of Argyle, who,
on entering Badenoch, found that his vigilant
antagonist was several days' march a-head of
him. This intelligence, however, did not in-
duce him in the least to accelerate his march.
1 [earing, when passing through Badenoch, that
Montrose had been joined by some of the in-
habitants of that country, Argyle, according to
Spaldiug, " left nothing of that country un-
destroyed, no not one four footed beast ; " and
Athole shared a similar fate.

At the time Montrose entered Angus, a com-
mittee of the estates, consisting of the Earl
Marshal and other barons, was sitting in Aber-
deen, who, on hearing of his approach, issued
on the 10th of October a printed order, to which
the Earl Marshal's name was attached, ordain-
ing, under pain of being severely fined, all
persons, of whatever age, sex, or condition,
having horses of the value of forty pounds
Scots or upwards, to send them to the bridge
of Dee, which was appointed as the place of
rendezvous, on the 14th of October, by ten
o'clock, A. M., with riders fully equipped and

" Guthry, \<. 231.

armed. With the exception of Lord Gordon,
who brought three troops of horse, and Captain
Alexander Keith, brother of the Earl Marshal,
who appeared with one troop at the appointed
place, no attention was paid to the order of the
committee by the people, who had not yet
recovered from their fears, and their recent
sufferings were still too fresh in their minds to
induce them again to expose themselves to the
vengeance of Montrose and his Irish troops.

After refreshing his army for a few days in
Angus, Montroso prepared to cross the Gram-
pians, and march to Strathbogie to make
another attempt to raise the Gordons ; but,
before setting out on his march, he released
Forbes of Craigievar and Forbes of Boyndlie,
on their parole, upon condition that Craigievar
should procure the liberation of the young laird
of Drum and his brother from the jail of Edin-
burgh, failing which, Craigievar and Boynd
lie were both to deliver themselves up to him
as prisoners before the 1st of November. This
act of generosity on the part of Montrose was
greatly admired, more particularly as Craigievar
was one of the heads of the Covenanters, and
had great influence among them. In pursu-
ance of his design, Montrose marched through
the Mearns, and upon Thursday, the 17th of
October, crossed the Dee at the Mills of Drum,
with his whole army. In his progress north,
contrary to his former forbearing policy, he
laid waste the lands of some of the leading
Covenanters, burnt their houses, and plundered
their effects. He arrived at Strathbogie on the
19th of October, where he remained till the
27th, without being able to induce any con-
siderable number of the Gordons to join him.
It was not from want of inclination that they
refused to do so, but they were unwilling
to incur the displeasure of their chief, who
they knew was personally opposed to Mon-
tiose, and who felt indignant at seeing a man
who had formerly espoused the cause of the
Covenanters preferred before him. Had Mon-
trose been accompanied by any of the Marquis
of Huntly's sons, they might have had influence
enough to have induced some of the Gordons
to declare for him ; but the situation of the
marquis's three sons was at this tinle very pecu
liar. The eldest son, Lord Gordon, a young
man " of singular worth and accomplishments,"

192

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

was with. Argyle, his uncle by the mother's
side ; the Earl of Aboyne, the second son, was
shut up in the castle of Carlisle, then in a state
of siege; and Lord Lewis Gordon, the third
son, had, as we have seen, joined the Cove-
nanters, and fought in their ranks.

In this situation of matters, Montroso left
Strathbogie on the day last mentioned, and
took up a position in the forest of Fyvie,
where he despatched some of his troops, who
took possession of the castles of Fyvie and
Tollie Barclay, in which he found a good sup-
ply of provisions, which was of great service to
his army. During his stay at Strathbogie,
Montrose kept a strict outlook for the enemy,
and scarcely passed a night without scouring
the neighbouring country to the distance of
several miles with parties of light foot, who
attacked straggling parties of the Covenanters,
and brought in prisoners from time to time,
without sustaining any loss. These petty
enterprises, while they alarmed their enemies,
gave an extraordinary degree of confidence to
Montrose's men, who were ready to tmdertake
any service, however difficult or dangerous, if
lie only commanded them to perform it.

When Montrose crossed the Dee, Argyle
was several days' march behind him. The
latter, however, reached Aberdeen on the 24th
of October, and proceeded the following morn-
ing towards Kintore, which he reached the
same night. Next morning he marched for-
ward to Inverury, where lie halted at night.
Here he was joined by the Earl of Lothian's
regiment, which increased his force to about
2,500 foot, and 1,200 horse. In his progress
through the counties of Angus, Kincardine,
Aberdeen, and Banff, he received no accession
of strength, from the dread which the name
and actions of Montrose had infused into the
minds of the inhabitants of these counties.

The sudden movements of Argyle from. Aber-
deen to Kintore, and from Kintore to Inverury,
form a remarkable contrast with the slowness
of his former motions. He had followed Mon-
trose through a long and circuitous route, the
greater part of which still bore recent traces of
his footsteps, and instead of showing any dispo-
sition to overtake his flying foe, seemed rather
inclined to keep that respectful distance from
him so congenial to the mind of one who,

" willing to wound," is " yet still afraid to
strike." But although this questionable policy
of Argyle was by no means calculated to raise
his military fame, it had the effect of throwing
Montrose, in the present case, off his guard,
and had well-nigh proved fatal to him. The
rapid march of Argyle on Kintore and Invcrmy,
in fact, was effected without Montrose's know-
ledge, for the spies he had employed concealed
the matter from him, and while he imagined
that Argyle was still on the other side of the
Grampians, he suddenly appeared within, a very
few miles of Moutrose's camp, on the 28th of
October.

The unexpected arrival of Argyle's army did
not disconcert Montrose. His foot, which
amounted to 1,500 men, were little more than
the half of those under Argyle, while he had only
about 50 horse to oppose 1,200. Yet, with
this immense disparity, he resolved to await the
attack of the enemy, judging it inexpedient,
from the want of cavalry, to become the assail-
ant by descending into the plain where Argyle's
army was encamped. On a rugged eminence
behind the castle of Fyvie, on the uneven
sides of which several ditches had been cut
and dikes built to serve as farm fences, Mon-
trose drew up his little but intrepid host ; but
before he had marked out the positions to be
occupied by his divisions, he had the misfor-
tune to witness the desertion of a small body
of the Gordons, who had joined him at Strath-
bogie. They, however, did not join Argyle,
but contented themselves with withdrawing
altogether from the scene of the ensuing action.
It is probable that they came to the determina-
tion of retiring, not from cowardice, but from
disinclination to appear in the field against
Lord Lewis Gordon, who held a high com-
mand in Argyle's army. The secession of the
Gordons, though in reality a circumstance of
trifling importance in itself, (for had they re-
mained, they would have fought unwillingly,
and consequently might not have had sufficient
resolution to maintain the position which would
have been assigned them,) had a disheartening
influence upon the spirits of Montrose's men,
and accordingly they found themselves unable
to resist the first shock of Argyle's numerous
forces, who, charging them with great impetuo-
sity, drove them up the eminence, of a consider-

BATTLE OF FYVIE.

193

able part of which Argyle's army got possession.
In this critical conjuncture, when terror and de-
spair seemed about to obtain the mastery over
hearts to which fear had hitherto been a
stranger, Montrose displayed a coolness and
presence of mind equal to the dangers which
surrounded him. Animating them by his pre-
sence, and by the example which he showed in
risking his person in the hottest of the fight,
lie roused their courage by putting them fur-
ther in mind of the victories they had achieved,
and how greatly superior they were in bravery
to the enemy opposed to them. After this
emphatic appeal to their feelings, Montrose
turned to Colonel O'Kean, a young Irish gentle-
man, highly respected by the former for his
bravery, and desired him, with an air of the
most perfect sang froid, to go down with such
men as were readiest, and to drive these fel-
lows (meaning Argyle's men), out of the ditches,
that they might be no more troubled with
them. O'Kean quickly obeyed the mandate,
and though the party in the ditches was
greatly superior to the body he led, and was,
moreover, supported by some horse, he drove
them away, and captured several bags of
powder which they left behind them in their
hurry to escape. This was a valuable acquisi-
tion, as Moutrose's men had spent already al-
most the whole of their ammunition.

AVhile O'Kean was executing this brilliant
affair, Montrose observed five troops of horse,
under the Earl of Lothian, preparing to attack
his 50 horse, who were posted a little way up
the eminence, with a small wood in their rear.
He, therefore, without a moment's delay, or-
dered a party of musketeers to their aid, who,
having interlined themselves with the 50 horse,
kept up such a galling fire upon Lothian's
troopers, that before they had advanced half
way across a field which lay between them and
Montrose's horse, they were obliged to wheel
about and gallop off.

Montrose's men became so elated with their
success that they could scarcely be restrained
from leaving their ground and making a gen-
eral attack upon the whole of Argyle's army ;
but although Montrose did not approve of this
design, he disguised his opinion, and seemed
rather to concur in the views of his men, telling
them, however, to be so far mindful of their

duty as to wait till ho should see the fit mo-
ment for ordering the attack. Argyle remained
till the evening without attempting anything
farther, and then retired to a distance of about
three miles across the Ythan; his men passed
the night under arms. The only person of
note killed in these skirmishes was Captain
Keith, brother of the Earl Marshal.

Next day Argyle resolved to attack Mon-
trose, with the view of driving him from his
position. He was induced to come to this de-
termination from a report, too well founded,
which had reached him, that Montrose's army
was almost destitute of ammunition ; indeed,
he had compelled the inhabitants of all the
surrounding districts to deliver up every article
of pewter in their possession for the purpose
of being converted into ammunition ; but this
precarious supply appears soon to have been
exhausted. 8 On arriving at the bottom of
the hill, he changed his resolution, not judg-
ing it safe, from the experience of the pre-
ceding day, to hazard an attack. Montrose,
on the other hand, agreeably to his original
plan, kept his ground, as he did not deem it
advisable to expose his men to the enemy's cav-
alry by descending from the eminence. With
the exception of some trifling skirmishes be-
tween the advanced posts, the main body of
both armies remained quiescent during the
whole day. Argyle again retired in the even-
ing to the ground he had occupied the pre-
ceding night, whence he returned the following
day, part of which was spent in the same man-
ner as the former ; but long before the day had
expired he led off his army, "upon fair day
light," says Spalding, " to a considerable dis-
tance, leaving Montrose to effect Ms escape un-
molested."

Montrose, thus left to follow any course ho
pleased, marched off after nightfall towards
Strathbogie, plundering Turriff and Eothiemay
house in his route. He selected Strathbogie as
the place of his retreat on account of the rugged-
ness of the country and of the numerous dikes
with which it was intersected, which would
prevent the operations of Argyle's cavalry, and
where he intended to remain till joined by
Macdonald, whom he daily expected from the

Wishart, p. 100.

194

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

Higldands with a reinforcement. When Ar-
gyle heard of Montrose's departure on the fol-
lowing morning, being the last day of October,
he forthwith proceeded after him with his
army, thinking to bring him to action in the
open country, and encamped at Tullochbeg on
the 2d of November, where he drew out his
army in battle array. He endeavoured to bring
Montrose to a general engagement, and, in
order to draw him from a favourable position
he was preparing to occupy, Argylo sent out a
skirmishing party of his Highlanders ; but they
were soon repulsed, and Montrose took posses-
sion of the ground he had selected.

Baffled in all his attempts to overcome Mon-
trose by force of arms, Argyle, whose talents
were more fitted for the intrigues of the cabinet
than the tactics of the field, had now recourse
to negotiation, with the view of effecting the
ruin of his antagonist. For this purpose he
proposed a cessation of arms, and that he and
Montrose should hold a conference, previous to
which arrangements should be entered into for
their mutual security. Montrose knew Argyle
too well to place any reliance upon his word,
and as lie had no doubt that Argyle would take
advantage, during the proposed cessation, to
tamper with his men and endeavour to with-
draw them from their allegiance, he called a
council of war, and proposed to retire without
delay to the Highlands. The council at once
approved of this suggestion, whereupon Mon-
trose resolved to march next night as far as
Badenoch ; and that his army might be able to
accomplish such a long journey within the time
fixed, lie immediately sent off all his heavy bag-
gage under a guard, and ordered his men to
keep themselves prepared as if to fight a battle
the next day. 9 Scarcely, however, had the
carriages and heavy baggage been despatched,
when an event took place which greatly dis-
concerted Montrose. This was nothing less
than the desertion of his friend Colonel Sib-
bald and some of his officers, who went over
to the enemy. They were accompanied by Sir
William Forbes of Craigievar, who, having been
unable to fulfil the condition on which he was
to obtain his ultimate liberation, had returned
two or three days before to Montrose's camp.

9 Wishart, p. 102.

This distressing occurrence induced Montrose
to postpone his march for a time, as he was
quite certain that the deserters would commu-
nicate his plans to Argyle. Ordering, there-
fore, back the baggage ho had sent off, lie
resumed his former position, in which he
remained four days, as if he there intended to
take up his winter quarters.

In the meantime Montrose had the mortifi-
cation to witness the defection of almost the
whole of his officers, who were very numerous,
for, with the exception of the Irish and High-
landers, they outnumbered the privates from
the Lowlands. The bad example which had
been set by Sibbald, the intimate friend of
Montrose, and the insidious promises of pre-
ferment held out to them by Argyle, induced
some, whose loyalty was questionable, to adopt
this course ; but the idea of the privations to
which they would be exposed in traversing,
during winter, among frost and snow, the
dreary and dangerous regions of the Highlands,
shook the constancy of others, who, in different
circumstances, would have willingly exposed
their lives for their sovereign. Bad health,
inability to undergo the fatigue of long and
constant marches these and other excuses
were made to Montrose as the reasons for crav-
ing a discharge from a service which had now
become more hazardous than ever. Montrose
made no remonstrance, but with looks of high
disdain which betrayed the inward workings
of a proud and unsubdued mind, indignant at
being thus abandoned at such a dangerous
crisis, readily complied with the request of
every man who asked permission to retire. The
Earl of Airly, now sixty years of age and in
precarious health, and his two sons, Sir Thomas
and Sir David Ogilvie, out of all the Low-
landers, alone remained faithful to Montrose,
and could, on no account, be prevailed upon to
abandon him. Among others who left Mon-
troso on this occasion, was Sir Nathaniel Gor-
don, who, it is said, went over to Argyle's camp
in consequence of a concerted plan between
him and Montrose, for the purpose of detaching
Lewis Gordon from the cause of the Covenant-
ers, a conjecture which seems to have originated
in the subsequent conduct of Sir Nathaniel
and Lord Lewis, who joined Montrose the
following year.

MOXTKOSK MARCHES UPON BREADALHANK AND AliGYI.K.

105

Montroso, now abandoned by all his Low-
land friends, prepared for liis march, prepara-
tory to -which ho sent off his baggage as
formerly ; and after lighting some fires for the
purpose of deceiving the enemy, took his
departure on the evening of the 6th of Novem-
ber, and arrived about break of day at Balveny.
After remaining a few days there to refresh his
men, ho proceeded through Badenoch, and
descended by rapid marches into Atholo, where
ho was joined by Macdonald and John Muid-
artach, the captain of the Clanranald, the latter
of whom brought 500 of his men along with
him. He was also reinforced by some small
parties from the neighbouring Highlands, whom
Macdonald had induced to follow him.

In the meantime Argyle, after giving orders
to his Highlanders to return home, wont him-
self to Edinburgh, where ho " got but small
thanks for his service against Montrose." 1
Although the Committee of Estates, out of
deference, approved of his conduct, which some
of his flatterers considered deserving of praise
because he "had shed no blood;" 2 yet the
majority had formed a very different estimate
of his character, during a campaign which had
been fruitful neither of glory nor victory.
Confident of success, the heads of the Cove-
nanters looked upon the first efforts of Mon-
troso in the light of a desperate and forlorn
attempt, rashly and inconsiderately undertaken,
and which they expected would be speedily
put down ; but the results of the battles of
Tippermuir, Aberdeen, and Fyvie, gave a new
direction to their thoughts, and the royalists,
hitherto contemned, began now to be dreaded
and respected. In allusion to the present
" posture of affairs," it is observed by Guthry,
that " many who had formerly been violent,
began to talk moderately of business, and what
was most taken notice of, was the lukewarm-
ness of many amongst the ministry, who now
in their preaching had begun to abate much of
their former zeal." 3 The early success of Mon-
trose had indeed caused some misgivings in
the minds of the Covenanters ; but as they all
hoped that Argylo would change the tide of war,
they showed no disposition to relax in their

1 SpiUtling, -vol. ii. p. 287. 5 Guthry, p. 134.
3 Memoirs, pp. 1345.

severities towards those who were suspected of
favouring the cause of the king. The signal
failure, however, of Argyle's expedition, and
his return to the capital, quite changed, as we
have seen, the aspect of affairs, and many of
those who had been most sanguine in their
calculations regarding the result of the struggle,
began now to waver and to doubt.

While Argylo was passing his time in Edin-
burgh, Montroso was meditating a terrible
blow at Argyle himself to revenge the cruelties
ho had exercised upon the royalists, and to give
confidence to the clans in Argyle's neighbour-
hood. These had been hitherto prevented from
joining Montrose's standard from a dread of
Argyle, who having always a body of 5,000 or
6,000 Highlanders at command, had kept them
in such complete subjection that they dared not,
without the risk of absolute ruin, espouse the
cause of their sovereign. The idea of curbing
the power of a haughty and domineering chief
whose word was a law to the inhabitants of
an extensive district, ready to obey his cruel
mandates at all times, and the spirit of revenge,
the predominating characteristic of the clans,
smoothed the difficulties which presented
themselves in invading a country made almost
inaccessible by nature, and rendered still more
unapproachable by the severities of winter.
The determination of Montrose having thus
met with a willing response in the breasts of
his men, ho lost no time in putting them in
motion. Dividing his army into two parts,
ho himself marched with the main body, con-
sisting of the Irish and the Athole-men, to
Loch Tay, whence ho proceeded through
Breadalbane. The other body, composed of
the clan Donald and other Highlanders, he-
despatched by a different route, with instruc-
tions to meet him at an assigned spot on tho
borders of Argyle. The country through which
both divisions passed, being chiefly in posses-
sion of Argyle's kinsmen or dependants, was
laid waste, particularly the lands of Campbell
of Glenorchy.

When Argyle heard of the ravages com-
mitted by Montrose's army on tho lands of his
kinsmen, ho hastened home from Edinburgh
to his castle at Inverary, and gavo orders for
the assembling of his clan, either to repel any
attack that might be made on his own country,

196

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

or to protect his friends from future aggression.
It is by no means certain that he anticipated
an invasion from Montrose, particularly at such
a season of the year, and he seemed to imagine
himself so secure from attack, owing to the
intricacy of the passes leading into Argyle, that
although a mere handful of men could have
effectually opposed an army much larger than
that of Montrose, he took no precautions to
guard them. So important indeed did he
himself consider these passes to be, that he
had frequently declared that he would rather
forfeit a hundred thousand crowns, than that
an enemy should know the passes by which an
armed force could penetrate into Argyle. 4

Wliile thus reposing in fancied security in
liis impregnable stronghold, and issuing his
mandates for levying his forces, some shepherds
arrived in great terror from the hills, and brought
him the alarming intelligence that the enemy,
whom he had imagined were about a hundred
miles distant, were within two miles of his
own dwelling. Terrified at the unexpected
appearance of Montrose, whose vengeance he
justly dreaded, he had barely self-possession
left to concert measures for his own personal
safety, by taking refuge on board a fishing
boat in Loch Fyiie, in which he sought his
way to the Lowlands, leaving his people and
country exposed to the merciless will of an
enemy thirsting for revenge. The inhabitants
of Argyle being thus abandoned by their
chief, made no attempt to oppose Montrose,
who, the more effectually to carry his plan for
pillaging and ravaging the country into execu-
tion, divided his army into three parties, under
the respective orders of the captain of clan
Ranald, Macdonald, and himself. For up-
wards of six weeks, viz., from the 13th of
December, 1644, till nearly the end of Janu-
ary following, these different bodies traversed
the whole country without molestation, burn-
ing, wasting, and destroying every thing which
came within their reach. Nor were the people
themselves spared, for although it is men-
tioned by one writer that Montroso " shed
no blood in regard that all the people
(following their lord's laudable example) deli-
vered themselves by flight also," 5 it is evident

4 Wishart, p. 107. ' Guthiy, p. 136.

from several contemporary authors that the
slaughter must have been immense. 6 In fact,
before the end of January, the face of a single
male inhabitant was not to be seen throughout
the whole extent of Argyle and Lorn, the
whole population having been either driven
out of these districts, or taken refuge in dens
and caves known only to themselves.

Having thus retaliated upon Argyle and his
people in a tenfold degree the miseries which
he had occasioned in Lochaber and the adjoin-
ing countries, Montrosc left Argylo and Lorn,
passing through Glencoe and Lochaber on his
way to Lochness. On his march eastwards ho
was joined by the laird of Abergeldie, the Far-
quharsons of the Braes of Mar, and by a party
of the Gordons. The object of Montrose, by
this movement, was to seize Inverness, which
was then protected by only two regiments, in
the expectation that its capture would operate
as a stimulus to the northern clans, who had
not yet declared themselves. This resolution
was by no means altered on reaching the head
of Lochness, where he learned that the Earl of
Seaforth was advancing to meet Mm with an
army of 5,000 horse and foot, which he re-
solved to encounter, it being composed, with
the exception of two regular regiments, of raw
and undisciplined levies.

While proceeding, however, through Aber-
tarf, a person arrived in great haste at Kilcum-
rain, the present fort Augustus, who brought
him the surprising intelligence that Argyle had
entered Lochaber with an army of 3,000 men ;
that he was burning and laying waste the
country, and that his head-quarters were at the
old castle of Inverlochy. After Argyle had
effected his escape from Inverary, he had gone
to Dumbarton, where he remained till Mon-
trose's departure from his territory. While
there, a body of covenanting troops who had
served in England, arrived under the command
of Major-general Baillie, for the purpose of
assisting Argyle in expelling Montrose from
his bounds ; but on learning that Montrosc
had left Argyle, and was marcliing through
Glcncoo and Lochaber, General Baillie deter-
mined to lead his army in an easterly direction

6 Spading, vol. ii. p. 442; Wishart, p. 108 Red
Book of ClanranaJd.

MONTBOSE MARCHES TO INVEELOCHY.

197

through the Lowlands, with tho intention of
intercepting Montrose, should lie attempt a
descent. At the same time it was arranged
between Baillio and Argylo that the latter,
who had now recovered from his panic in con-
sequence of Montrose's departure, should re-
turn to Argyle and collect his men from their
hiding-places and retreats. As it was not im-
probable, however, that Montroso might renew
his visit, the Committee of Estates allowed
Baillio to place 1,100 of his soldiers at the
disposal of Argyle, who, as soon as he was
able to muster his men, was to follow Mon-
troso's rear, yet so as to avoid an engagement,
till Baillie, who, on hearing of Argyle's advance
into Lochaber, was to march suddenly across
the Grampians, should attack Montrose in
front. To assist him in levying and organiz-
ing his clan, Argyle called over Campbell of
Auchinbreck, his kinsman, from Ireland, who
had considerable reputation as a military com-
mander. In terms of his instructions, there-
fore, Argyle had entered Lochaber, and had
advanced as far as Inverlochy, when, as we
Lave seen, the news of his arrival was brought
to Montrose.

Montrose was at first almost disinclined,
from the well-known reputation of Argyle, to
credit this intelligence, but being fully assured
of its correctness from the apparent sincerity of
his informer, he lost not a moment in making
up his mind as to the course he should pursue.
He might have instantly marched back upon
Argyle by the route he had just followed ; but
as tho latter would thus get due notice of his
approach, and prepare himself for the threat-
ened danger, Montrose resolved upon a differ-
ent plan. The design ho conceived could
only have originated in the mind of such a
bold and enterprising commander as Mon-
trose, before whose daring genius difficulties
hitherto deemed insurmountable at once disap-
peared. The idea of carrying an army over
dangerous and precipitous mountains, whose
wild and frowning aspect seemed to forbid the
approach of human footsteps, and in the middle
of winter, too, when the formidable perils of
the journey were greatly increased by the snow,
however chimerical it might have seemed to
other men, appeared quite practicable to Mon-
trose, whose sanguine anticipations of the ad-

vantages to bo derived from such an extra-
ordinary exploit, more than counterbalanced,
in his mind, tho risks to bo encountered.

The distance between tho place where Mon-
trose received the news of Argyle's arrival and
Inverlochy is about thirty miles ; but this dis-
tance was considerably increased by the devious
track which Montrose followed. Marching
along tho small river Tarf in a southerly direc-
tion, ho crossed tho hills of Lairie Thierard,
passed through Glenroy, and after traversing the
range of mountains between tho Glen and Ben
Nevis, he arrived in Glennevis before Argyle
had the least notice of his approach. Before
setting out on his march, Montrose had taken
the wise precaution of placing guards upon the
common road leading to Inverlochy, to prevent
intelligence of his movements being carried to
Argyle, and he had killed sucli of Argyle's
scouts as he had fallen in with in the course of
his march. This fatiguing and unexampled
journey had been performed in little more than
a night and a day, and when, in the course of
the evening, Montrose's men arrived in Glen-
nevis, they found themselves so weary and
exhausted that they could not venture to attack
the enemy. They therefore lay under arms all
night, and refreshed themselves as they best
could till next morning. As the night was
uncommonly clear, it being moonlight, the ad-
vanced posts of both armies kept up a small
fire of musketry, which led to no result.

In the meantime Argyle, after committing
his army to the charge of his cousin, Campbell
of Auchinbreek, with his customary prudence,
went, during the night, on board a boat in the
loch, excusing himself for this apparent pusil-
lanimous act by alleging his incapacity to enter
the field of battle in consequence of some con-
tusions lie had received by a fall two or three
weeks before; but his enemies averred that
cowardice was the real motive which induced
him to take refuge in his galley, from which
he witnessed the defeat and destruction of his
army. This somewhat suspicious action of
Argyle and it was not the only time he pro-
vided for his personal safety in a similar man-
ner is accounted for in the following ( ? iron-
ical) way by the author of Britane's Distemper
(p. 100) :-

" In this confusion, the commanders of there

198

GENERAL HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

armie liglites wpon this resolution, not to hazart
the marquisse owne persone ; for it seems not
possible that Ardgylle himselfc, being a noble-
man of such eminent qualitie, a man of so doepo
and profuncl judgement, one that knew so weell
what bclongeth to the office of a gencrall, that
any basso motion of feare, I say, could make
him so wnsensible of the poynt of honour as is
generally reported. Nether will I, for my owne
pairt, belieuo it ; but I am confident that those
barrones of his kinred, wha ware captancs
and commanderes of the armie, feareing the
cuent of this battelle, for diners reasones ; and
one was, that Allan M'Collduie, ane old fox,
and who was thought to be a seer, had told
them that there- should be a battell lost there
by them that came first to seike battell ; this
was one cause of there importunitie with him
that he should not come to battell that day ;
for they sawe that of necessitie they most feght,
and would not hazart there chcife persone,
urgeing him by force to reteiro to his galay,
which lay hard by, and committo the tryall of
the day to them ; he, it is to be thought, with
great difficultie yeelding to there request,
leaues his cusine, the laird of Auchinbreike, a
most walorous and braue gentleman, to the
generall commande of the armie, and takes with
himselfe only sir James Eollocke, his brother
in lawe, sir Jhono Wachopo of Nithrie, Mr.
Mungo Law, a preacher. It is reported those
two last was send from Edinburgh with liim
to beare witnesse of the expulsion of those
rebelles, for so they ware still pleased to terme
the Eoyalistes."

It would appear that it was not until the
morning of the battle that Argylc's men were
aware that it was the army of Montrose that
was so near them, as they considered it quite
impossible that ho should have been able to
bring his forces across the mountains ; they
imagined that the body before them consisted
of some of the inhabitants of the country, who
had collected to defend their properties. But
they were undeceived when, in the dawn of the
morning, the warlike sound of Montrose's
trumpets, resounding through the glen where
they lay, and reverberating from the adjoining
hills, broke upon their ears. This served as
the signal to both armies to prepare for buttle.
Montrose drew out his army in an extended

line. The right wing consisted of a regiment
of Irish, under the command of Macdonald,
his major-general ; the centre was composed of
the Atholo-men, the Stuarts of Appin, the Mac-
donalds of Glcncoe, and other Highlanders,
severally under the command of Clanranald,
M'Lcan, and Glengary ; and the left wing con-
sisted of some Irish, at the head of whom was the
brave Colonel O'Kean. A body of Irish was
placed behind the main body as a reserve, under
the command of Colonel James M'Donald, alias
O'Neill. The general of Argyle's army formed
it in a similar manner. The Lowland forces
were equally divided, and formed the wings,
between which the Highlanders were placed.
Upon a rising ground, behind this line, General
Campbell drew up a reserve of Highlanders,
and placed a field-piece. Within the house of
Invcrlochy, which was only about a pistol-shot
from the place where the army was formed, he
planted a body of 40 or 50 men to protect the
place, and to annoy Montrose's men with dis-
charges of musketry. 7 The account given by
Gordon of Sallagh, that Argyle had transported
the half of his army over the water at Inver-
lochy, under the command of Auchinbreck,
and that Montrose defeated this division, while
Argylo was prevented from relieving it with
the other division, from the intervening of
"an arm of the sea, that was interjected- betwixt
them and him," 8 is probably erroneous, for the
circumstance is not mentioned by any other
writer of the period, and it is well known, that
Argyle abandoned his army, and witnessed its
destruction from his galley, circumstances
which Gordon altogether overlooks.

It was at sunrise, on Sunday, the 2d of
February, 1645, that Montrose, after having
formed his army in battle array, gave orders to
his men to advance upon the enemy. The left
wing of Montroso's army, under the command of
O'Kean, was the first to commence the attack,
by charging the enemy's right. This was imme-
diately followed by a furious assault upon the
centre and left wing of Argyle's army, by
Montroso's right wing and centre. Argyle's
right wing not being able to resist the attack
of Montrose's left, turned about and fled, which

7 Spalding, vol. ii. p. 444.

8 ContintMlion, p. 522.

BATTLE OF INVERLOCHY.

199

circumstance had such a discouraging effect on
tho remainder of Argyle's troops, that after
discharging their muskets, the whole of them,
including the reserve, took to their heels. The
rout now became general. An attempt was
made by a body of about 200 of the fugitives,
to throw themselves into the castle of Inver-
locliy, but a party of Montrose's horse pre-
vented them. Some of the flying enemy
directed their course along the side of Louh-
l-'.il, but all these were either killed or diowned

in the pursuit. The greater part, however,
fled towards the hills in the direction of Argyle,
and were pursued by Montrose's men, to the dis-
tance of about eight miles. As no resistance
was made by the defeated party in their flight,
tho carnage was very great, being reckoned at
1,500 men. Many more would have been cut
off hud it not been for the humanity of Mon-
trose, who did every thing in his power to save
the unresisting enemy from the fury of his men,
who were not disposed to give quarter to the

Inverlucliy C:i4h>. - - Krnm M'Oulloeh's celebrated picture in the Kdinl>un,'li National Gallery.

unfortunate Campbells. Having taken the
castle, Montrose not only treated the officers,
who were from tho Lowlands, with kindness,
but gave them their liberty on parole.

Among the principal persons who fell on
Argyle's side, were the commander, Campbell
of Auchinbreck, Campbell of Lochnell, the
eldest son of Lochnell, and his brother, Colin ;
M'Dougall of Kara and his eldest son ; Major
Menzies, brother to the laird, (or Prior as he
was called) of Achattens Parbreck ; and the
provost of the church of Kilmun. The loss
on the side of Montrose was extremely trilling.
Tho number of wounded is indeed not stated,
but lie had only three privates killed. He
sustained, however, a severe loss in Sir Thomas
Ogilvie, son of the Earl of Airly, who died a

few days after the battle, of a wound he
received in the thigh. Montrose regretted the
death of this steadfast friend and worthy man,
with feelings of real sorrow, and caused his
body to be interred in Athole with due solem-
nity. 9 Montrose immediately after the battle
sent a messenger to the king with a letter,
giving an account of it, at the conclusion of
which he exultingly says to Charles, " Give me
I leave, after I have reduced this country, and
| conquered from Dan to Beersheba, to say to
I your Majesty, as David's general to his master,
' Come thou thyself, lest this country be called
by my name." When the king received this
letter, the royal and parliamentary commis-

Spalding, vol. ii. p. 445. Wishart, p. Ill, et
seq. Guthry, p. 140.

200

GENEEAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

sioners were sitting at Uxbridge negotiating
the terms of a peace ; but Charles, induced by
the letter, imprudently broke off the negotia-
tion, a circumstance which led to his ruin.

CHAPTER XIV.

A.V. FEBRUARY SEPTEMBER, 1645.
BRITISH SOVEREIGN : Charles I., 1625 1C49.

Montrose marches to Inverness and Elgin, wasting
the lands of the Covenanters Enters and plunders
Banff Deputation from Aberdeen Death of Donald
Farquharson Montrose imposes a tax of 10,000
on Aberdeen Enters and burns Stonehaven De-
feats Hurry's horse at Fettercairn Marches to
Brechin and Dunkeld Storms and captures Dundee
Montrose's retreat from Dundee Movements of
General Baillie Battle of Auldearn Montrose's
after-movements Battle of Alford General Baillie
and the Committee of Estates retreat to Stirling
Montrose inarches to Aberdeen Montrose marches
south Is joined by more Highlanders Threatens
Perth Retreats to Dunkeld Again moves south
Baillie joined by the men of Fife Montrose at
Alloa Maclean burns Castle Campbell Montrose
goes towards Stirling Differences among the Cove-
nanters Battle of Kilsyth Montrose enters Glas-
gow Submission of the nobility and the western
counties Submission of Edinburgh Montrose ap-
pointed Lieutenant-governor of Scotland Deser-
tion of Highlanders Battle of Philiphaugh.

WHEN the disastrous news of the battle of
Inverlochy reached Edinburgh, the Estates
were thrown into a state of great alarm. They
had, no doubt, begun to fear, before that event,
and, of course, to respect the prowess of Mon-
trose, but they never could have been made to
believe that, within the space of a few days,
a well-appointed army, composed in part of
veteran troops, would have been utterly defeated
by a force so vastly inferior in point of num-
bers, and beset with difficulties and dangers to
which the army of Argyle was not exposed.
Not were the fears of the Estates much allayed
by the appearance of Argyle, who arrived at
Edinburgh to give them an account of the
affair, " having his left arm tied up in a scarf,
as if he had been at bones-breaking." 1 It is
true that Lord Balmerino made a speech before
the assembly of the Estates, in which he
affirmed, that the great loss reported to be
sustained at Inverlochy " was but the inven-
tion of the malignants, who spake as they

1 Quthry, p. 141.

wished," and that " upon his honour, not more
than thirty of Argyle's men had been killed;" 2
but as the disaster was well known, this device
only misled the weak and ignorant. Had
Montrose at this juncture descended into the
Lowlands, it is not improbable that his presence
might have given a favourable turn to the state
of matters in the south, where the king's
affairs were in the most precarious situation; but
such a design does not seem to have accorded
with his views of prolonging the contest in
the Highlands, which were more suitable than
the Lowlands to his plan of operations, and to
the nature of his forces.

Accordingly, after allowing his men to re-
fresh themselves a few days at Inverlochy,
Montrose returned across the mountains of
Lochabcr into Badenoch, " with displayed
banner." Marching down the south side of
the Spey, he crossed that river at Balchastel,
and entered Moray without opposition. He
proceeded by rapid strides towards the town
of Inverness, which he intended to take pos-
session of; but, on arriving in the neighbour-
hood, he found it garrisoned by the laird of
Lawers' and Buchanan's regiments. As he did
not wish to consume his time in a siege, ho
immediately altered his course and marched in
the direction of Elgin, issuing, as he went along,
a proclamation in the king's name, calling
upon all males, from 16 to 60 years of age, to
join him immediately, armed as they best
could, on foot or on horse, and that under
pain of fire and sword, as rebels to the king.
In consequence of this threat Montrose was
joined by some of the Moray-men, including
the laird of Grant and 200 of his followers;
and, to show an example of severity, he
plundered the houses and laid waste the estates
of many of the principal gentlemen of the dis-
trict, carrying off, at the same time, a large
quantity of cattle and effects, and destroying
the boats and nets which they fell in with on
the Spcy. 3

Whilst Montrose was thus laying waste part
of Moray, a committee of the Estates, consist-
ing of the Earl of Seaforth, the laird of Innes,
Sir Robert Gordon, the laird of Pluscardine,
and others, was sitting at Elgin; these, on

1 idem. 8 Spalding, vol. ii. p. 447.

ELGIN DESERTED AND BASELY USED

201

hearing of his proceedings, prohibited the
holding of the fair which was kept there
annually on Fasten's eve, and to which
many merchants and others in the north
resorted, lest the property brought there- for
sale might fall a prey to Montrose's army.
They, at the same time, sent Sir Robert Gor-
don, Mackenzie of Pluscardine, and Innes of
Luthers, to treat with Montrose, in name of
the gentry of Moray, most of whom were then
assembled in Elgin; but he refused to enter
into any negotiation, offering, at the same time,
to accept of the services of such as would join
him and obey him as the king's lieutenant. 4
Before this answer had been communicated to
the gentry at Elgin, they had all fled from the
town in consequence of hearing that Montrose
was advancing upon them with rapidity. The
laird of Innes, along with some of his friends,
retired to the castle of Spynie, possessed by
his eldest son, which was well fortified and pro-
vided with every necessary for undergoing a
siege. The laird of Duffus went into Suther-
land. As soon as the inhabitants of the town
saw the committee preparing to leave it, most
of them also resolved to depart, which they
did, carrying along with them their principal
effects. Some went to Inverness, and others
into Ross, but the greater part went to the
castle of Spynie, where they sought and ob-
tained refuge.

Apprehensive that Montrose might follow
up the dreadful example he had shown, by
burning the towu, a proposal was made to, and
accepted by him, to pay four thousand merks
to save the town from destruction; but, on
entering it, which he did on the 19th of Feb-
ruary, his men, and particularly the laird of
Grant's party, were so disappointed in their
hopes of plunder, in consequence of the inhab-
itants having carried away the best of their
effects, that they destroyed every article of
furniture which was left.

Montrose was joined, on his arrival at
Elgin, by Lord Gordon, the eldest son of the
Marquis of Huntly, with some of his friends
and vassals. This young nobleman had been
long kept in a state of durance by Argyle, his
uncle, contrary to his own wishes, and now,
when an opportunity had for the first time
4 Gordon's Continuation, p. 522.

occurred, he showed the bent of his inclination
by declaring for the king.

On taking possession of Elgin, Montrose
gave orders to bring all the ferry-boats on the
Spey to the north side of the river, and he
stationed sentinels at all the fords up and
down, to watch any movements which might
be made by the enemies' forces in the south.

Montrose, thereupon, held a council of war,
at which it was determined to cross the Spey,
march into the counties of Banff and Aberdeen,
by the aid of Lord Gordon, raise the friends
and retainers of the Marquis of Huntly,
and thence proceed into the Mearns, where
another accession of forces was expected. Ac-
cordingly, Montrose left Elgin on the 4th of
March with the main body of his army, towards
the Bog of Gicht, accompanied by the Earl of
Seaforth, Sir Robert Gordon, the lairds of
Grant, Pluscardine, Findrassie, and several
other gentlemen who " had come in to him "
at Elgin. To punish the Earl of Findlater,
who had refused to join him, Montrose sent
the Farquharsons of Braemar before him, across
the Spey, who plundered, without mercy, the
town of Cullen, belonging to the earl.

After crossing the Spey, Montrose, either
apprehensive that depredations would be com-
mitted upon the properties of his Moray
friends who accompanied him, by the two
regiments which garrisoned Inverness, and the
Covenanters of that district, or having received
notice to that effect, he allowed the Earl of
Seaforth, the laird of Grant, and the other
Moray gentlemen, to return home to defend
their estates ; but before allowing them to de-
part, he made them take a solemn oath of
allegiance to the king, and promise that they
should never henceforth take up arms against
his majesty or his loyal subjects. At the same
time, he made them come under an engage-
ment to join him with all their forces as soon
as they could do so. The Earl of Seaforth,
however, disregarded his oath, and again joined
the ranks of the Covenanters. In a letter
which he wrote to the committee of Estates at
Aberdeen, he stated that he had yielded to
Montrose through fear only, and he avowed
that he would abide by " the good cause to
his death." 5

Spalding, vol. il p. 301.
2

202

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS

On Montreal's arrival at Stratlibogie, or
Gordon castle, Lord Graham, his eldest son, a
most promising youth of sixteen, became un-
well, and died after a few days' illness. The
loss of a son who had followed him in. his
campaigns, and shared with him the dangers
of the field, was a subject of deep regret to
Montrose. While Montrose was occupied at
the death-bed of his son, Lord Gordon was
busily employed among the Gordons, out of
whom he speedily raised a force of about 500
foot, and 160 horse.

With this accession to his forces, Montrose
left Stratlibogie and marched towards Banff,
on his route to the south. In passing by the
house of Cullen, in Boyne, the seat of the Earl
of Findlater, who had fled to Edinburgh, and
left the charge of the house to the countess, a
party of Montrose's men entered the house,
which, they plundered of all its valuable con-
tents. They then proceeded to set the house
on fire, but the countess entreated Montroso
to order his men to desist, and promised that
if her husband did not come to Montrose
and give him satisfaction within fifteen days,
she would pay him 20,000 merles, of which
sum she instantly paid down 5,000. Montrose
complied with her request, and also spared
the lands, although the earl was " a great
Covenanter." Montrose's men next laid waste
the lands in the Boyne, burnt the houses,
and plundered the minister of the place of all
his goods and effects, including his books.
The laird of Boyne shut himself up in his
stronghold, the Crag, where ho was out of
danger ; but he had the misfortune to see his
lands laid waste and destroyed. Montrose
then went to Banff, which he gave up to indis-
criminate plunder. His troops did not leave a
vestige of moveable property in the town, and
they even stripped to the skin every man they
met with in the streets. They also burned two
or three houses of little value, but not a drop
of blood was shed.

From Banff Montrose proceeded to Turriff,
where a deputation from the town council of
Aberdeen waited upon him, to represent the
many miseries which the loyal city had suf-
fered from its frequent occupation by hostile
nrmies since the first outbreaking of the unfor-
tunate troubles which molested the kingdom.

They further represented, that such was the
terror of the inhabitants at the idea c f another
visit from his Irish troops, that all the men
and women, on hearing of his approach, had
made preparations for abandoning the town,
and that they would certainly leave it if they
did not get an assurance from the marquis of
safety and protection. Montrose heard the
commissioners patiently, expressed his regret
at the calamities which had befallen their town,
and bade them not be afraid, as he would take
care that none of his foot, or Irish, soldiers
should come within eight miles of Aberdeen :
and that if he himself should enter the town,
he would support himself at his own expense.
The commissioners returned to Aberdeen, and
related the successful issue of their journey, to
the great joy of all the inhabitants.

Whilst Montrose lay at Turriff, Sir Nathaniel
Gordon, with some troopers, went to Aberdeen,
which he entered on Sunday, the 9tli of March,
on which day there had been " no sermon in
either of the Aberdeens," as the ministers had
fled the town. The keys of the churches, gates,
and jail were delivered to him by the magis-
trates. The following morning Sir Nathaniel
was joined by 100 Irish dragoons. After re-
leasing some prisoners, ho went to Torry, and
took, after a slight resistance, 1,800 muskets,
pikes, and other arms, which had been left in
charge of a troop of horse. Besides receiving
orders to watch the town, Sir Nathaniel was
instructed to send out scouts as far as Cowie
to watch the enemy, who were daily expected
from the south. When reconnoitring, a skir-
mish took place at the bridge of Dee, in which
Captain Keith's troop was routed. Finding
the country quite clear, and no appearance of
the covenanting forces, Gordon returned back
to the army, which had advanced to Fren-
draught. No attempt was made upon the
house of Frendraught, which was kept by the
young viscount in absence of his father, who
was then at Muchallis with his godson, Lord
Eraser ; but Montrose destroyed 60 ploughs
of land belonging to Frendraught within the
parishes of Forgue, Inverkeithnie, and Drum-
blade, and the house of the minister of Forgue,
with all the other houses, and buildings, and

8 Spalding, vol. ii. p. 452.

ACCESSIONS TO MONTBOSE FKOM ABERDEEN 1 .

203

their contents. Nothing, in fact, was spared.
All the cattle, horses, sheep, and other do-
mestic animals, were carried oft', and tho whole
of Frondraught's lauds were loft a dreary and
uninhabitable waste.

From Penny burn, Montroso despatched, on
the 10th of March, a letter to the authorities of
Aberdeen, commanding them to issue an order
that all men, of whatever description, between
the ago of sixteen and sixty, should meet him
equipped in their best arms, and such of them
as had horses, mounted on tho best of them, on
tho 15th of March, at his camp at Tnvcrury, un-
der the pain of fire and sword. In consequence
of this mandate he was joined by a considerable
number of horse and foot. On tho 12th of
March, Montrose arrived at Kintore, and took
up his own quarters in tho house of John
Cheyno, the minister of tho place, whence he
issued an order commanding each parish within
tho presbytery of Aberdeen, (with the excep-
tion of the town of Aberdeen,) to send to liim
two commissioners, who were required to bring
along with them a complete roll of the whole
heritors, fcuars, and lifereuters of each parish.
His object, in requiring such a list, was to
ascertain the number of men capable of serving,
and also tho names of those who should refuse
to join him. Commissioners were accordingly
sent from the parishes, and the consequence was,
that Montroso was joined daily by many men
who would not otherwise have assisted him, but
who were now alarmed for the safety of their
properties. While at Kintore, an occurrence
took place which vexed Montrose exceedingly.

To reconnoitre and watch the motions of the
enemy, Montroso had, on the 12th of March,
sent Sir Nathaniel Gordon, along with Donald
Farquharson, Captain Mortimer, and other
well-mounted cavaliers, to the number of about
80, to Aberdeen. This party, perceiving no
enemy in the neighbourhood of Aberdeen,
utterly neglected to place any sentinels at the
gates of the town, and spent their time at
their lodgings in entertainments and amuse-
ments. This careless conduct did not pass
unobserved by some of the Covenanters in tho
town, who, it is said, sent notice thereof to
Major-general Hurry, the second in command
under General Baillie, who was then lying at the
North Water Bridge with Lord Balcarras's and

other foot regiments. On receiving this intelli-
gence, Hurry put himself at tho head of 160
horso and foot, taken from tho regular regi-
ments, and some troopers and musketeers, and
rode off to Aberdeen in great haste, where he
arrived on the 15th of March, at 8 o'clock in the
evening. Having posted sentinels at tho gates
to prevent any of Montroso's party from escap-
ing, ho entered the town at an hour when they
wore all carelessly enjoying themselves in their
lodgings, quite unapprehensive of such a visit.
Tho noise in tho streets, occasioned by the
tramping of the horses, was the first indication
they had of tho presence of the enemy, but it
was then too late for them to defend themselves.
Donald Farquharson was killed in the street,
opposite the guard-house ; " a brave gentle-
man," says Spalding, " and one of tho noblest
captains amongst all the Highlanders of Scot-
land, and the king's man for life and death."
The enemy stripped him of a rich dress he had
put on the same day, and left his body lying
naked in the street. A few other gentlemen
were killed, and some taken prisoners, but
tho greater part escaped. Hurry left the town
next day, and, on his return to Baillie's camp,
entered the town of Montrose, and carried off
Lord Graham, Montrose's second son, a boy of
fourteen years of age, then at school, who,
along with his teacher, was sent to Edinburgh,
and committed to the castle.

The gentlemen who had escaped from Aber-
deen returned to Montrose, who was greatly
offended at them for their carelessness. The
magistrates of Aberdeen, alarmed lest Montrose
should inflict summary vengeance upon the
town, as being implicated in tho attack upon
the cavaliers, sent two commissioners to Kin-
tore to assure him that they were in no way con-
cerned in that affair. Although he heard them
with great patience, he gave them no satisfac-
tion as to his intentions, and they returned to
Aberdeen without being able to obtain any
promise from hivn to spare the town. Montroso
contented himself with making tho merchants
furnish him with cloth, and gold and silver-
lace, to the amount of 10,000 Scots, for the
use of his army, which he held the magistrates
bound to pay, by a tax upon tho inhabitants.
" Thus," says Spalding, " cross upon cross
upon Aberdeen."

204

GENERAL HISTOKY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

When Sir Nathaniel Gordon and the re-
mainder of his party returned to Kintorc,
Montrose despatched, on the same day (March
IGtli), a body of 1,000 horse and foot, the latter
consisting of Irish, to Aberdeen, under the com-
mand of Macdonald, his major-general. Many
of the inhabitants, alarmed at the approach of
lliis party, and still having tho fear of the Irish
before their eyes, were preparing to leave the
town; but Macdonald relieved their apprehen-
sions by assuring them that the Irish, who
amounted to 700, should not enter the town;
he accordingly stationed them at tho Bridge
of Deo and the Two Mile Cross, ho and his
troopers alone entering the town. With the
exception of the houses of one or two " remark-
able Covenanters," which were plundered, Mac-
donald showed the utmost respect for private
property, a circumstance which obtained for
him the esteem of the inhabitants, who had
seldom experienced such kind treatment before.

Having discharged the last duties to the
brave Farquharson and his companions, Mac-
donald left Aberdeen, on March 18th, to join
Montrose at Durris; but he had not proceeded
far when complaints were brought to him that
some of his Irish troops, who had lagged
behind, had entered the town, and were plun-
dering it. Macdonald, therefore, returned
immediately to the town, and drove, says
Spalding, " all these rascals with sore skins
out of the town before him." 7

Before leaving Kintore, the Earl of Airly
was attacked by a fever, in consequence of
which, Montrose sent him to Lethintie, the
residence of the earl's son-in-law, under a guard
of 300 men; but he was afterwards removed
to Strathbogie for greater security. On ar-
riving, March 17th, at Durris, in Kincardine-
shire, where he was joined by Macdonald,
Montrose burnt the house and offices to the
ground, set fire to the grain, and swept away
all tho cattle, horses, and sheep. He also
wasted such of the lands of Fintry as belonged
to Forbes of Craigievar, to punish him for the
breach of his parole; treating in the same way
the house and grain belonging to Abercrombie,
the minister of Fintry, who was "a main
Covenanter." On the 19th, Montrose entered

7 Vol. ii. p. 457.

Stonehavcn, and took up his residence in the
house of James Clerk, the provost of the town.
Hero learning that the Covenanters in the
north were troubling Lord Gordon's lands, he
despatched 500 of Gordon's foot to defend
Strathbogie and his other possessions; but he
still retained Lord Gordon himself with his
troopers.

On the day after his arrival at Stonehaven,
Montrose wrote a letter to the Earl Marshal,
who, along with sixteen ministers, and some
other persons of distinction, had shut himself
up in his castle of Dunottar. Tho bearer of
the letter was not, however, suffered to enter
within the gate, and was sent back, at tho
instigation probably of the carl's lady and
the ministers who were with him, without
an answer. Montrose then endeavoured, by
means of George Keith, the Earl Marshal's
brother, to persuade tho latter to declare for
the king, but he refused, in consequence of
which Montrose resolved to inflict summary
vengeance upon him, by burning and laying
waste his lands and those of his retainers ii.
the neighbourhood. Acting upon this deter-
mination, he, on the 21st of March, set fire to
the houses adjoining the castle of Dunottar,
and burnt the grain which was stacked in the
barn-yards. Even the house of the ministci
did not escape. He next set fire to tho town
of Stonehaven, sparing only tho house of the
provost, in which he resided; plundered a ship
which lay in the harbour, and then set her
on fire, along with all the fishing boats. The
lands and houses of Cowie shared tho same
hard fate. Whilst the work of destruction
was going on, it is said that the inhabitants
appeared before the castle of Dunottar, and,
setting up cries of pity, implored tho earl to
save them from ruin, but they received no
answer to their supplications, and the carl wit-
nessed from his stronghold the total destruction
of the properties of his tenants and dependents
without making any effort to stop it. After
he had effected the destruction of the barony
of Dunottar, Montrose set fire to the lands of
Fetteresso, one-fourth part of which was burnt
up, together with the whole corn in the yards.
A beautiful deer park was also burnt, and its
alarmed inmates were all taken and killed, as
woll as all the cattle in the barony. Montrose

HURKY'S llulIsK DEFEATED AT FETTERCAIEX.

205

Dunnottar Castle in the 17th century. From Slezer's Theatrum Scotice (1693).

next proceeded to Drumlithie and Urie, be-
longing to John Forbes of Leslie, a leading
Covenanter, where he committed similar depre-
dations.

Montrose, on the following day, advanced
to Fettercairn, where he quartered his foot
soldiers, sending out quarter-masters through
the country, and about the town of Montrose,
to provide quarters for some troopers; but, as
these troopers were proceeding on their journey,
they were alarmed by the sudden appearance
of some of Major-general Hurry's troops, who
had concealed themselves within the plantation
of Halkerton. These, suddenly issuing from
the wood, set up a loud shout, on hearing
which the troopers immediately turned to the
right about and went back to the camp. This
party turned out to be a body of 600 horse,
under the command of Hurry himself, who had
left the head-quarters of General Baillie, at
Brechin, for the purpose of reconnoitring Mon-
trose's movements. In order to deceive Hurry,
who kept advancing with his 600 horse, Mon-
troso placed his horse, which amounted only
to 200, and which he took care to line with some
expert musqueteers, in a prominent situation,
and concealed his foot in an adjoining valley.
This i-use had the desired effect, for Hurry
imagining that there were no other forces at

hand, immediately attacked the small body of
horse opposed to him; but he was soon un-
deceived by the sudden appearance of the
foot, and forced to retreat with precipitation.
Though his men were greatly alarmed, Hurry,
who was a brave officer, having placed himself
in the rear, managed to retreat across the
North Esk with very little loss.

After this affair Moutrose allowed his men
to refresh themselves for a few days, and, on
the 25th of March, put his army in motion in
the direction of Brechin. On hearing of his
approach, the inhabitants of the town concealed
their effects in the castle, and in the steeples
of churches, and fled. Montrose's troops,
although they found out the secreted goods,
were so enraged at the conduct of the inhab-
itants that they plundered the town, and burnt
about sixty houses.

From Brechin, Montrose proceeded through
Angus, with the intention cither of fighting
Baillie, or of marching onwards to the south.
His whole force, at this time, did not exceed
3,000 men, and, on reaching Kirriemuir, his
cavalry was greatly diminished by his having
been obliged to send away about 160 horse-
men to Strathbogie, under Lord Gordon and
his brother Lewis, to defend their father's pos-
sessions against the Covenanters. Montrose

206

GENEKAL HISTOIIY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

proceeded with his army along the foot of the
Grampians, in the direction of Dunkeld, where
he intended to cross the Tay in the sight of
General Baillie, who commanded an army
greatly superior in numbers ; but, although
Montrose frequently offered him battle, Baillie,
contrary, it is said, to the advice of Hurry, as
often declined it. On arriving at the water of
Isla, the two armies, separated by that stream,
remained motionless for several days, as if un-
determined how to act. At length Montrose
sent a trumpeter to Baillio offering him battle;
and as the water could not be safely passed by
his army if opposed, Montrose proposed to al-
low Baillie to pass it unmolested, on condition
that he would give him his word of honour
that he would fight without delay; but Baillie
answered that he would attend to his own
business himself, and that lie would fight when
he himself thought proper. The conduct of
Baillie throughout seems altogether extraordi-
nary, but it is alleged that he had no power to
act for himself, being subject to the directions
of a council of war, composed of the Earls
of Crawford and Cassilis, Lords Balmerino,
Kirkcudbright, and others. 8

As Montrose could not attempt to cross the
water of Isla without cavalry, in opposition to
a force so greatly superior, he led his army off
in the direction of the Grampians, and marched
upon Dunkeld, of which he took possession.
Baillie being fully aware of liis intention to
cross the Tay, immediately withdrew to Perth
for the purpose of opposing Montrose's passage ;
but, if Montroso really entertained such an in-
tention after he had scut away the Gordon
troopers, he abandoned it after reaching Dun-
keld, and resolved to retrace his steps north-
wards. Being anxious, however, to signalize
himself by some important achievement before
he returned to the north, and to give confi-
dence to the royalists, he determined to sur-
prise Dundee, a town which had rendered
itself particularly obnoxious to him for the re-
sistance made by the inhabitants after the
battle of Tippermuir. Having sent off the
weaker part of his troops, and those who were
lightly armed, with his heavy baggage, along
the bottom of the hills with instructions to

Spalding, vol. ii. p. 482.

meet him at Brechin, Montroso himself, at the
head of about 150 horse, and GOO expert mus-
keteers, 9 left Dunkeld on April 3d about mid-
night, and marched with such extraordinary
expedition that he arrived at Dundee Law at
10 o'clock in the morning, where he encamped.
Montrose then sent a trumpeter into the town
with a summons requiring a surrender, promis-
ing that, in the event of compliance, he would
protect the lives and properties of the inhabit-
ants,, but threatening, in case of refusal, to set
fire to the town and put the inhabitants to
the sword. Instead of returning an answer to
this demand, the town's people put the mes-
senger into prison. This insult was keenly
felt by Moutrose, who immediately gave orders
to his troops to storm the town in three differ
ent places at once, and to fulfil the threat
which he had held out in case of resistance.
The inhabitants, in the mean time, made such
preparations for defence as the shortness of the
time allowed, but, although they fought brave-
ly, they could not resist the impetuosity of
Montrose's troops, who, impelled by a spirit of
revenge, and a thirst for plunder, which Dun-
dee, then one of the largest and most opulent
towns in Scotland, offered them considerable
opportunities of gratifying, forced the inhabit-
ants from the stations they occupied, and
turned the cannon which they had planted in
the streets against themselves. The contest,
however, continued in various quarters of the
town for several hours, during which the town
was set on fire in different places. The whole
of that quarter of the town called the Bonnet
Hill fell a prey to the flames, and the entire
town would have certainly shared the same
fate had not Montrose's men chiefly occupied
themselves in plundering the houses and filling
themselves with the contents of the wine cel-
lars. The sack of the town continued till tho
evening, and tho inhabitants were subjected to
every excess which an infuriated and victorious
soldiery, maddened by intoxication, coidd in-
flict.

This melancholy state of tilings was, how-
ever, fortunately put an end to by intelligence
having been brought to Montrose, who had
viewed the storming of tho town from the

' Montrose Rcdivivus, p. 61.

Mo.XTIlOSK'S KKTltKAT l-'ROM DUNDEE.

207

neighbouring height of Duiulco Law, thai
Oi'iieral Baillic was marching in great haste
down the Carsc of Gowrio, towards Dundee,
with 3,000 foot and 800 horse. On receiving
this news from his scouts, Montroso gave im
nn-iliate orders to his troops to evacuate Dun-
dee, but so intent were they upon their booty,
that it was with the utmost difficulty they
could be prevailed upon to leave the town,
and, before the last of them could be induced
to retire, some of the enemy's troops were
within gun-shot of them. The sudden appear-
ance of Baillie's army was quite unlooked-for, as
Montrose had been made to believe, from the
reports of his scouts, that it had crossed the
Tay, and was proceeding to the Forth, when,
in fact, only a very small part, which had been
mistaken by the scouts for the entire army of
Baillie, had passed.

In this critical conjuncture, Montrose held
a council of war, to consult how to act under
the perilous circumstances in which he was
now placed. The council was divided between
two opinions. Some of them advised Mon-
trose to consult his personal safety, by rid-
ing off to the north with his horse, leaving
the foot to their fate, as they considered it
utterly impossible for him to cany thorn off in
their present state, fatigued, and worn out as
they were by a march of 24 miles during the
preceding night, and rendered almost incapable
of resisting the enemy, from the debauch they
had indulged in during the day. Besides, they
would require to march 20 or even 30 miles,
before they could reckon themselves secure
from the attacks of their pursuers, a journey
which it was deemed impossible to perform,
without being previously allowed some hours
repose. In this way, and in no other, urged
the advocates of this view, might he expect
to retrieve matters, as he could, by his presence
among his friends in the north, raise new
forces ; but that, if he himself was cut off, the
king's affairs would be utterly ruined. The
other part of the council gave quite an opposite
opinion, by declaring that, as the cause for
which they had fought so gloriously was now
irretrievably lost, they should remain in their
position, and await the issue of an attack,
judging it more honourable to die fighting in
defence of their king, than to seek safety in an

ignominious flight, which would be rendered
still more disgraceful by abandoning their
unfortunate fellow-warriors to the mercy of a
revengeful foe.

Montroso, however, disapproved of both
these plans. He considered the first as unbe-
coming the generosity of men who had fought
so often side by side; and the second ho
thought extremely rash and imprudent. He,
therefore, resolved to steer a middle course,
and, refusing to abandon his brave companions
in arms in the hour of danger, gave orders
for an immediate retreat, in the direction
of Arbroath. This, however, was a mere
manoeuvre to deceive the enemy, as Montrose
intended, after nightfall, to march towards the
Grampians. In order to make his retreat more
secure, Montrose despatched 400 of his foot,
and gave them orders to march as quickly as
possible, without breaking their ranks. These
were followed by 200 of his most expert
musketeers, and Montrose himself closed the
rear with his horse in open rank, so as to
admit the musketeers to interline them, in case
of an attack. It was about six o'clock in the
evening when Montrose began his retreat, at
which hour the last of Baillie's foot had reached
Dundee.

Scarcely had Montrose begun to move, when
intelligence was received by Baillie, from some
prisoners he had taken, of Montrose's inten-
tions, which was now confirmed by ocular
proof. A proposal, it is said, was then made
by Hurry, to follow Montrose with the whole
army, and attack him, but Baillie rejected it ;
and the better, as he thought, to secure Mon-
trose, and prevent his escape, he divided his
army into two parts, one of which he sent off
in the direction of the Grampians, to prevent
Montrose from entering the Highlands ; and
the other followed directly in the rear of
Montrose. He thus expected to be able to
cut off Montrose entirely, and to encourage
his men to the pursuit, he offered a reward
of 20,000 crowns to any one who should bring
him Montrose's head. Baillie's cavalry soon
came up with Montrose's rear, but they were so
well received by the musketeers, who brought
down some of them, that they became very
cautious in their approaches. The darkness of
the night soon put an end to the pursuit, and

208

GENEEAL HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS

Montrose continued unmolested his march to
Arbroath, in the neighbourhood of which he
arrived about midnight. His troops had now
marched upwards of 40 miles, 17 of which
they had performed in a few hours, in the
face of a large army, and had passed two nights
and a day without sleep ; hut as their safety
might be endangered by allowing them to
repose till daylight, Montrose entreated them
to proceed on their march. Though almost
exhausted with incessant fatigue, and over-
powered with drowsiness, they readily obeyed
the order of their general, and, after a short
halt, proceeded on their route in a northwesterly
direction. They arrived at the South Esk
early in the morning, which they crossed, at
sunrise, near Camston Castle.

Montrose now sent notice to the party which
he had despatched from Dunkcld to Brochin,
with his baggage, to join him, hut they had,
on hearing of his retreat, already taken refuge
among the neighbouring hills. Baillie, who
had passed the night at Forfar, now considered
that he had Montrose completely in his power;
but, to his utter amazement, not a trace of
Montrose was to be seen next morning. Little
did he imagine that Montrose had passed
close by him during the night, and eluded
his grasp. Chagrined at this unexpected dis-
appointment, Baillie, without waiting for his
foot, galloped off at full speed to overtake
Montrose, and, with such celerity did he travel,
that he was close upon Montrose before the
latter received notice of his approach. The
whole of Montrose's men, with the exception
of a few sentinels, were now stretched upon
the ground, in a state of profound repose, and,
so firmly did sleep hold their exhausted frames
in its grasp, that it was with the utmost diffi-
culty that they could be aroused from their
slumbers, or made sensible of their danger.
The sentinels, it is said, had even to prick
some of them with their swords, before they
could be awakened, 1 and when at length the
sleepers were aroused they effected a retreat,
after some skirmishing, to the foot of the
Grampians, about three miles distant from their
camp, and retired, thereafter, through Glenesk
into the interior without further molestation.

1 Montrose Redivimis, p. 65.

This memorable retreat is certainly one of
the most extraordinary events which occurred
during the whole of Montrose's campaigns.
It is not surprising, that some of the most
experienced officers in Britain, and in France
and Germany, considered it the most splendid
of all Montrose's achievements. 2

Being now secure from all danger in the
fastnesses of the Grampians, Montrose allowed
his men to refresh themselves for some days.
Whilst enjoying this necessary relaxation from
the fatigues of the field, intelligence was brought
to Montrose that a division of the covenanting
army, under Hurry, was in full march on Aber-
deen, with an intention of proceeding into
Moray. Judging that an attack upon the pos-
sessions of the Gordons would be one of Hurry's
objects, Montrose despatched Lord Gordon with
his horse to the north, for the purpose of assist-
ing his friends in case of attack.

It was not in the nature of Montrose to re-
main inactive for any length of time, and an
occurrence, of which ho had received notice,
had lately taken place, which determined him
to return a second time to Dunkeld. This was
the escape of Viscount Aboyne, and some other
noblemen and gentlemen, from Carlisle, who,
he was informed, were on their way north to
join him. Apprehensive that they might be
interrupted by Baillie's troops, he resolved to
make a diversion in their favour, and, by draw-
ing off the attention of Baillie, enable them the
more effectually to elude observation. Leaving,
therefore, Macdonald, with about 200 men, to
beat up the enemy in the neighbourhood of
Coupar-Angus, Montrose proceeded, with the
remainder of his forces, consisting only of 500
foot and 50 horse, to Dunkeld, whence he
marched to Crieff, which is about 17 miles
west from Perth. It was not until he had ar-
rived at the latter town that Baillie, who, after
his pursuit of Montrose, had returned to Perth
with his army, heard of this movement. As
Baillie was sufficiently aware of the weakness
of Montrose's force, and as he was sure that,
with such a great disparity, Montrose would
not risk a general engagement, he endeavoured
to surprise him, in the hope either of cutting
him off entirely, or crippling him so effectually

* Wishart, p. 127.

MOVEMENTS OF MONTROSE AND BAILLIE.

209

as to prevent him from again taking the field.
He therefore left Perth during the night of the
7th of April, with his whole army, consisting
of 2,000 foot and 500 horse, with the inten-
tion of falling upon Montrose t>y break of day,
before he should be aware of his presence ; but
Montrose's experience had taught him the ne-
cessity of being always upon his guard when
so near an enemy's camp, and, accordingly, he
had drawn up his army, in anticipation of
Baillie's advance, in such order as would en-
able him either to give battle or retreat.

As soon as he heard of Baillie's approach,
Montrose advanced with his horse to recon-
noitre, and having ascertained the enemy's
strength and numbers, which were too formi-
dable to be encountered with his little band,
brave as they were, he gave immediate orders
to his foot to retreat with speed up Strathearn,
and to retire into the adjoining passes. To
prevent them from being harassed in their re-
treat by the enemy's cavalry, Montrose covered
their rear with his small body of horse, sus-
taining a very severe attack, which he warmly
repulsed. After a march of about eight miles,
Montrose's troops arrived at the pass of Strath-
earn, of which they took immediate possession,
and Baillie, thinking it useless to follow them
into their retreat, discontinued the pursuit, and
retired with his army towards Perth. Mon-
trose passed the night on the banks of Loch
Earn, and marched next morning through Bal-
quidder, where he was joined, at the ford of
Cardross, by the Viscount Aboyne, the Master
of Napier, Hay of Dalgetty, and Stirling of
Keir, who, along with the Earl of Nithsdale,
Lord Herries, and others, had escaped from
Carlisle, as before stated.

No sooner had Baillie returned from the
pursuit of Montrose than intelligence was
brought him that Macdonald, with the 200
men wliich Montrose had left with him, had
burnt the town of Coupar-Angus, that he had
wasted the lands of Lord Balmerino, killed
Patrick Lindsay, the minister of Coupar, and
finally, after routing some troopers of Lord
Balcarras, and carrying off their horses and
arms, had fled to the hills. This occurrence,
withdrawing the attention of Baillie from Mon-
trose's future movements, enabled the latter to
proceed to the north without opposition.

Montrose had advanced as far as Loch Kat-
rine, when a messenger brought him intelli-
gence that General Hurry was in the Enzie
with a considerable force, that he had been
joined by some of the Moray-men, and, after
plundering and laying waste the country, was
preparing to attack Lord Gordon, who had not
a sufficient force to oppose him. On receiving
this information, Montrose resolved to proceed
immediately to the north to save the Gordons
from the destruction which appeared to hang
over them, hoping that, with such accessions of
force as he might obtain in his march, united
with that under Lord Gordon, he would suc-
ceed in defeating Hurry before Baillie should
be aware of his movements.

He, therefore, returned through Balquidder,
marched, with rapid strides, along the side of
Loch Tay, through Athole and Angus, and,
crossing the Grampian hills, proceeded down
the Strath of Glenmuck. In his march, Mon-
trose was joined by the Athole-men and the
other Highlanders who had obtained, or rather
taken leave of absence after the battle of Inver-
lochy, and also by Macdonald and his party.
On arriving in the neighbourhood of Auchin-
doun, he was met by Lord Gordon, at the head
of 1,000 foot and 200 horse. Montrose crossed
the Dee on the 1st of May, at the mill of
Crathie having provided himself with ammu-
nition from a ship in Aberdeen harbour con-
tinued his march towards the Spey, and before
Hurry was even aware that the enemy had
crossed the Grampians, he found them within
six miles of his camp. The sudden appear-
ance of Montrose with such a superior force
for Hurry had only at this time about 1 ,000
foot and 200 horse greatly alarmed him,
and raising his camp, he crossed the Spey in
great haste, with the intention of marching
to Inverness, where he would be joined \>y the
troops of the garrison, and receive large rein-
forcements from the neighbouring counties.
Montrose immediately pursued him, and fol-
lowed close upon his heels to the distance of
14 miles beyond Forres, when, favoured by the
darkness of the night, Hurry effected his escape,
with little loss, and arrived at Inverness.

The panic into which Hurry had been thrown
soon gave way to a very different feeling, as he
found the Earls of Seaforth and Sutherland

210

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

with their retainers, and the clan "Eraser, and
others from Moray and Caithness, all assem-
bled at Inverness, as he had directed. This
accession of force increased his army to 3,500
foot and 400 horse. He therefore resolved to
act on the offensive, by giving battle to Mon-
trose immediately.

Montrose had taken up a position at the vil-
lage of Auldearn, about three miles south-east
from Nairn, on the morning after the pursuit.
In the course of the day, Hurry advanced with
all his forces, including the garrison of Inver-
ness, towards Nairn ; and, on approaching
Auldearn, formed his army in order of battle.
Montrose's force, which had been greatly weak-
ened by the return of the Athole-men and
other Highlanders to defend their country from
the depredations of Baillie's army, now con-
sisted of only 1,500 foot and 250 horse. It
was not, therefore, without great reluctance,
that he resolved to risk a battle with an enemy
more than double in point of numbers, and
composed in great part of veteran troops ; but,
pressed as he was by Hurry, and in danger of
being attacked in his rear by Baillio, who was
advancing by forced marches to the north, he
had no alternative but to hazard a general en-
gagement. He therefore instantly looked about
him for an advantageous position.

The village of Auldearn stands upon a height,
behind which, or on the east, is a valley, over-
looked by a ridge of little eminences, running
in a northerly direction, and which almost con-
ceals the valley from view. In this hollow
Montrose arranged his forces in order of battle.
Having formed them into two divisions, he
posted the right wing on the north of the
village, at a place where there was a consider-
able number of dikes and ditches. This body,
which consisted of 400 men, chiefly Irish, was
placed under the command of Macdonald. On
taking their stations, Montrose gave them strict
injunctions not to leave their position on any
account, as they were effectually protected by
the walls around them, not only from the at-
tacks of cavalry, but of foot, and could, with-
out much danger to themselves, keep up a
galling and destructive fire upon their assailants.
In order to attract the best troops of the
enemy to this difficult spot where they could
not act, and to make them believe that Mon-

trose commanded this wing, he gave the royal
standard to Macdonald, intending, when they
should get entangled among the bushes and
dikes, with which the ground to the right was
covered, to attack them himself with his left
wing; and to enable him to do so the more
effectually, he placed the whole of his horse
and the remainder of the foot on the left wing
to the south of the village. The former ho
committed to the charge of Lord Gordon, re-
serving the command of the latter to himself.
After placing a few chosen foot with some can-
non in front of the village, under cover of some
dikes, Montrose firmly awaited the attack of
the enemy.

Hurry divided his foot and his horse each into
two divisions. On the right wing of the main
body of the foot, which was commanded by
Campbell of Lawers, Hurry placed the regular
cavalry which he had brought from the south,
and on the left the horse of Moray and the
north, under the charge of Captain Drummond.
The other division of foot was placed behind
as a reserve, and commanded by Hurry himself*

When Hurry observed the singular position
which Montrose had taken up, he was utterly
at a loss to guess his designs, and though it
appeared to him, skilful as he was in the art of
war, a most extraordinary and novel sight, yet,
from the well known character of Montrose,
he was satisfied that Montrose's aiTangements
were the result of a deep laid scheme. But
what especially excited the surprise of Hurry,
was the appearance of the large yellow banner
or royal standard in the midst of a small body
of foot stationed among hedges and dikes
and stones, almost isolated from the horse
and the main body of the foot. To attack
this party, at the head of which he natu-
rally supposed Montrose was, was his first
object. This was precisely what Montrose
had wished ; his snare proved successful.
With the design of overwhelming at onco
the right wing, Hurry despatched towards
it the best of his horse and all his vet-
eran troops, who made a furious attack
upon Macdonald's party, the latter defending
themselves bravely behind the dikes and
bushes. The contest continued for some time
on the right with varied success, and Hurry,
who had plenty of men to spare, relieved those

BATTLE OF AULDEAEN.

211

who were engaged by fresh troops. Montrose,
who kept a steady eyo upon the motions of
the enemy, and watched a favourable oppor-
tunity for making a grand attack upon them
with the left wing, was just preparing to carry
his design into execution, when a confidential
person suddenly rode up to him and whispered
in his ear that the right wing had been put
to flight.

This intelligence was not, however, quite
correct. It seems that Macdonald who, says
Wishart, " was a brave enough man, but rather
a better soldier than a general, extremely
violent, and daring even to rashness," had been
so provoked with the taunts and insults of the
enemy, that in spite of the express orders lie
had received from Montrose on no account to
leave his position, he had unwisely advanced
beyond it to attack the enemy, and though ho
had been several times repulsed he returned to
the charge. But he was at last borne down
by the great numerical superiority of the
enemy's horse and foot, consisting of veteran
troops, and forced to retire in great disorder
into an adjoining enclosure. Nothing, how-
ever, could exceed the admirable manner in
which he managed this retreat, and the courage
he displayed while leading off his men. De-
fending his body with a large target, he resisted,
single-handed, the assaults of the enemy, and
was the last man to leave the field. So closely
indeed was ho pressed by Hurry's spearmen,
that some of them actually came so near him
as to fix their spears in his target, which he
cut off by threes or fours at a time with his
broadsword. 3

It was during this retreat that Montrose re-
ceived the intelligence of the flight of the right
wing; but he preserved his usual presence of
mind, and to encourage his men, who might
get alarmed at hearing such news, he thus
addressed Lord Gordon, loud enough to bo
heard by his troops, " What are we doing, my
Lord? Our friend Macdonald has routed the
enemy on the right and is carrying all before
him. Shall we look on and let him carry off
the whole honour of the day?" A crisis had
arrived, and not a moment was to be lost.
Scarcely, therefore, were the words out of

3 Wisliart, p. 136.

Montrose's mouth, when he ordered his men to
charge the enemy. When his men were ad-
vancing to the charge, Captain or Major Drum-
mond, who commanded Hurry's horse, made
an awkward movement by wheeling about his
men, and his horse coming in contact with the
foot, broke their ranks and occasioned consid-
erable confusion. Lord Gordon seeing this,
immediately rushed in upon Drummond's horse
with his party and put them to flight. Mon-
trose followed hard with the foot, and attacked
the main body of Hurry's army, which he
routed after a powerful resistance. The vet-
erans in Hurry's army, who had served in
Ireland, fought manfully, and chose rather to
be cut down standing in their ranks than re-
treat ; but the new levies from Moray, Eoss,
Sutherland, and Caithness, fled in great con-
sternation. They were pursued for several
miles, and might have been all killed or cap-
tured if Lord Aboyne had not, by an unneces-
sary display of ensigns and standards, which
he had taken from the enemy, attracted the
notice of the pursuers, who halted for some
time under the impression that a fresh party of
the enemy was coming up to attack them. In
this way Hurry and some of his troops, who
were the last to leave the field of battle, as well
as the other fugitives, escaped from the impend-
ing danger, and arrived at Inverness the fol-
lowing morning. As the loss of this battle
was mainly owing to Captain Dmmmond, he
was tried by a court-martial at Inverness, and
condemned to be shot, a sentence which was
carried into immediate execution. He was
accused of having betrayed the army, and it is
said that ho admitted that after the battle had
commenced he had spoken with the enemy.*

The number of killed on both sides has been
variously stated^ That on the side of the Cove-
nanters has been reckoned by one writer at
1,000, 5 by another at 2,000, and by a third
at 3,000 men. 7 Montrose, on the other hand,
is said by the first of these authors to have lost
about 200 men, while the second says that he
had only " some twenty-four gentlemen hurt,
and some few Irish killed," and Wishart informs
us that Montrose only missed one private man

4 Gordon's Continuation, p. 525. ! Idem.

6 Spalding. ' Wishart.

212

GENEEAL HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

on the left, and that the right wing, commanded
by Macdonald, " lost only fourteen private
men." The clans who had joined Hurry suf-
fered considerably, particularly the Erasers,
who, besides unmarried men, are said to have
left dead on the field no less than 87 married
men. Among the principal covenanting offi-
cers who were slain were Colonel Campbell of
Lawers, Sir John and Sir Gideon Murray, and
Colonel James Campbell, with several other
officers of inferior note. The laird of Lawers's
brother, Archibald Campbell, and a few other
officers, were taken prisoners. Captain Mac-
donald and "William Macpherson of Invereschie
were the only persons of any note killed on
Montrose's side. Montrose took several pri-
soners, whom, with the wounded, he treated
with great kindness. Such of the former as
expressed their sorrow for having joined the
ranks of the Covenanters he released others
who were disposed to join him he received into
his army, but such as remained obstinate he im-
prisoned. Besides taking 16 standards from
the enemy, Montrose got possession of the
whole of their baggage, provisions, and ammu-
nition, and a considerable quantity of money
and valuable effects. The battle of Auldearn
was fought on the 4th of May, according to
"Wishart, 8 and on the 9th according to others, 9
in the year 1645.

The immense disproportion between the
numbers of the slain on the side of the Cove-
nanters and that of the prisoners taken by
Montrose evidently shows that very little quar-
ter had been given, the cause of which is said
to have been the murder of James Gordon,
younger of Ehiny, who was killed by a party
from the garrison of Spynie, and by some of
the inhabitants of Elgin, at Struders, near
Forrcs, where he had been left in consequence
of a severe wound he had received in a skir-
mish during Hurry's first retreat to Inverness. 1
But Montrose revenged himself still farther by
advancing to Elgin and burning the houses of
all those who had been concerned in the mur-
der, at the same time sending out a party 2 to

8 Montrose Redivivus, p. 73.

9 Spalding, vol. ii., p. 473. Britanc's Distemper,
p. 127.

1 Gordon's Conlimiation, p. 525.
' Spalding, vol. ii. p. 474.

treat in a similar way the town of Garmouth,
belonging to the laird of Innes.

While these proceedings were going on.
Montrose sent his whole baggage, booty, and
warlike stores across the Spey, which he him-
self crossed upon the 14th of May, proceeding
to Birkenbog, the seat of " a great Covenanter,"
where he took up his head quarters. He quar-
tered his men in the neighbourhood, and, dur-
ing a short stay at Birkenbog, he sent out
different parties of his troops to scour the coun-
try, and take vengeance on the Covenanters.

"When General Baillie first heard of the de-
feat of his colleague, Hurry, at Auldearn, he
was lying at Cromar, with his army. He had,
in the beginning of May, after Montrose's de-
parture to the north, entered Athole, which he
had wasted with fire and sword, and had made
an attempt upon the strong castle of Blair, in
which many of the prisoners taken at the
battle of Inverlochy were confined; but, not
succeeding in his enterprise, he had, after col-
lecting an immense booty, marched through
Athole, and, passing by Kirriemuir and Fetter-
cairn, encamped on the Birse on the 10th of
May. His force at this time amounted to
about 2,000 foot and 120 troopers. On the fol-
lowing day he had marched to Cromar, where
ho encamped between the Kirks of Coull and
Tarlan till he should be joined by Lord Bal-
carras's horse regiment. In a short time ho
was joined, not only by Balcarras's regiment,
but by two foot regiments. The ministers en-
deavoured to induce the country people also to
join Baillie, by " thundering out of pulpits,"
but " they lay still," says Spalding, " and
would not follow him." 3

As soon as Baillio heard of the defeat of
Hurry, he raised his camp at Cromar, upon .the
19th of May, and hastened north. He arrived
at the wood of Cochlarachie, within two miles
of Strathbogie, before Montrose was aware of
his approach. Here he was joined by Hurry,
who, with some horse from Inverness, had
passed themselves off as belonging to Lord
Gordon's party, and had thus been permitted
to go through Montrose's lines without oppo-
sition.

It was on the 19th of May, when lying at

* Spaldintf, vol. ii. p. 476.

MONTEOSE RETEEATS BEFOEE BAILLIE.

213

Birkenbog, that Montroso received the intelli-
gence of Baillie's arrival in the neighbourhood
of Strathbogie. Although Montrose's men had
not yet wholly recovered from the fatigues of
their late extraordinary march and subsequent
labours, and although their numbers had been
reduced since the battle of Auldearn, by the
departure of some of the Highlanders with the
booty they had acquired, they felt no disinclina-
tion to engage the enemy, but, on the contrary,
were desirous of coming to immediate action.
But Montrose, although he had the utmost con-
fidence in the often tried courage of his troops,
judged it more expedient to avoid an engage-
ment at present, and to retire, in the meantime,
into his fastnesses to recruit his exhausted
strength, than risk another battle with a fresh
force, greatly superior to his own. In order to
deceive the enemy as to his intentions, he ad-
vanced, the same day, upon Strathbogie, and,
within view of their camp, began to make in-
trenchments, and raise fortifications, as if pre-
paring to defend himself. But as soon as the
darkness of the night prevented Baillie from
discovering his motions, Montrose marched
rapidly up the south side of the Spey with his
foot, leaving his horse behind him, with in-
structions to follow him as soon as daylight
began to appear.

Baillie had passed the night in the confident
expectation of a battle next day, but was sur-
prised to learn the following morning that not
a vesligo of Montrose's army was to be seen.
Montrose had taken the route to Balveny,
which having been ascertained by Baillie, he
immediately prepared to follow. He, accord-
ingly, crossed the Spey, and after a rapid
march, almost overtook the retiring foe in
Glenlivet; but Montrose, having outdistanced
his pursuers by several miles before night came
on, got the start of them so completely, that
they were quite at a loss next morning to
ascertain the route he had taken, and could
only guess at it by observing the traces of his
footsteps on the grass and the heather over
which ho had passed. Following, therefore,
the course thus pointed out, Baillie came again
in sight of Moutroso; but he found that he
had taken up a position, which, whilst it almost
defied approach from its rocky and woody situ-
ation, commanded the entrance into Badonoch,

from which country Montroso could, without
molestation, draw supplies of both men and
provisions. To attack Montrose in his strong-
hold was out of the question; but, in the hope
of withdrawing him from it, Baillie encamped
his army hard by. Montrose lay quite secure
in his well-chosen position, from which he
sent out parties who, skirmishing by day, and
beating up the quarters of the enemy during
the night, so harassed and frightened them,
that they were obliged to retreat to Inverness,
after a stay of a few days, a measure which
was rendered still more necessary from the
want of provisions and of provender for the
horses. Leaving Inverness, Baillie crossed the
Spey, and proceeded to Aberdeenshire, arriving
on the 3d of June at Newton, in the Garioch,
" where he encamped, destroying the country,
and cutting the green growing crops to the
very clod." 4

Having got quit of the presence of Baillie's
army, Montrose resolved to make a descent
into Angus, and attack the Earl of Crawford,
who lay at the castle of Newtyle with an army
of reserve to support Baillie, and to prevent
Montrose from crossing the Forth, and carrying
the war into the south. This nobleman, who
stood next to Argyle, as head of the Cov-
enanters, had often complained to the Estates
against Argyle, whose rival he was, for his
inactivity and pusillanimity; and having in-
sinuated that he would have acted a very
different part had the command of such an
army as Argyle had, been intrusted to him,
ho had the address to obtain the command
of the army now under him, which had
been newly raised; but the earl was without
military experience, and quite unfit to cope
with Montrose.

Proceeding through Badenoch, Montrose
crossed the Grampians, and arrived by rapid
marches on the banks of the river Airly, within
seven miles of Crawford's camp, but was pre-
vented from giving battle by the desertion of
the Gordons and their friends, who almost all
returned to their country.

He now formed the resolution to attack
Baillie himself, but before ho could venture on
such a bold step, he saw that there was an

4 Spalding, vol. ii. p. 479.

214

GENERAL HISTOKY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

absolute necessity of making some additions
to liis force. With this view he sent Sir
Nathaniel Gordon, an influential cavalier, into
the north before him, to raise the Gordons and
the other royalists; and, on his march north
tlirough Glensheo and the Braes of Mar, Mon-
troso despatched Macdonald into the remoter
Highlands with a party to bring him, as speedily
as possible, all the forces ho could. Judging
that the influence and authority of Lord Gordon
might greatly assist Sir Nathaniel, he sent him
after him, and Montrose himself encamped in
the country of Cromar, waiting for the expected
reinforcements.

In the meantime, Baillie lay in camp on
Dee-side, in the lower part of Mar, where he
was joined by Crawford; but he showed no
disposition to attack Montrose, who, from the
inferiority, in point of number, of his forces,
retired to the old castle of Kargarf. Crawford
did not, however, remain long with Baillie;
but, exchanging a thousand of his raw recruits
for a similar number of Baillie's veterans, he
returned with these, and the remainder of his
army, through the Mearns into Angus, as if ho
intended some mighty exploit; he, thereafter,
entered Athole, and in imitation of Argyle,
plundered and burnt the country.

Eaising his camp, Baillio marched towards
Strathbogio to lay siege to the Marquis of
Huntly's castle, the Bog of Gight, now Gordon
castle; but although Montroso had not yet
received any reinforcements, ho resolved to
follow Baillie and prevent him from putting
his design into execution. But Montrose had
inarched scarcely three miles when ho was
observed by Baillio's scouts, and at the same
time ascertained that Baillie had taken up a
strong position on a rising ground above Keith,
about two miles off. Next morning Montrose,
not considering it advisable to attack Baillie
in the strong position ho occupied, sent a
trumpeter to him offering to engage him on
open ground, but Baillie answered the hostile
message by saying, that he would not receive
orders for fighting from his enemy. 5

In this situation of matters, Montrose had
recourse to stratagem to draw Baillie from his
stronghold. By retiring across the river Don,

Wishart, p. 145.

the covenanting general was led to believe that
Montroso intended to march to the south, and
ho was, therefore, advised by a committee of
the Estates which always accompanied him,
and in whoso hands ho appears to have been a
mere passive instrument, to pursue Montrose.
As soon as Montroso's scouts brought intelli-
gence that Baillie was advancing, he set off by
break of day to the village of Alford on the
river Don, where ho intended to await the
enemy. When Baillio was informed of this
movement, he imagined that Montrose was in
full retreat before him, a supposition which
encouraged him so to hasten his march, that
he came up with Montrose at noon at the dis-
tance of a few miles from Alford. Montrose,
thereupon, drew up his army in order of battle
on an advantageous rising ground and waited
for the enemy; but instead of attacking him,
Baillie made a detour to the left with the
intention of getting into Montrose's rear and
cutting off his retreat. Montrose then conti
nued his march to Alford, where he passed the
night.

On the following morning, the 2d of July,
the two armies were only the distance of about
four miles from each other. Montrose drew
up Ms troops on a little hill behind the village
of Alford. In his rear was a marsh fidl of
ditches and pits, which would protect him
from the inroads of Baillie's cavalry should
they attempt to assail him in that quarter, and
in his front stood a steep hill, which prevented
the enemy from observing 'his motions. He
gave the command of the right wing to Lord
Gordon and Sir Nathaniel ; the left ho com-
mitted to Viscount Aboyno and Sir William
Eollock ; and the main body was put under the
charge of Angus Macvichalister, chief of the
Macdonells of Glengarry, Drummond younger
of Balloch, and Quarter-master George Graham,
a skilful officer. To Napier his nephew, Mon-
trose intrusted a body of reserve, which was
concealed behind the hill.

Scarcely had Montroso completed his ar-
rangements, when ho received intelligence that
the enemy had crossed the Don, and was mov-
ing in the direction of Alford. This was a
fatal step on the part of Baillie, who, it is said,
was forced into battle by the rashness of Lord
Balcarras, "one of the bravest men of the

BATTLE OF ALFORD.

21ft

kingdom,"* who unnecessarily placed himself
and his regiment in a position of such danger
that they could not be rescued without expos-
ing the whole of the covenanting army. 7

When Baillie arrived in the valley adjoining
the hill on which Montrose had taken up his
position, both armies remained motionless for
some time, viewing each other, as if unwilling
to begin the combat. Owing to the command-
ing position which Montrose occupied, the
Covenanters could not expect to gain any
advantage by attacking him even with superior
forces ; but now, for the first time, the number
of the respective armies was about equal, and
Montrose had this advantage over his adver-
sary, that while Baillie's army consisted in
part of the raw and undisciplined levies which
the Earl of Crawford had exchanged for some
of his veteran troops, the greater part of Mon-
trose's men had been long accustomed to ser-
vice. These circumstances determined Baillie
not to attempt the ascent of the hill, but to
remain in the valley, where, in the event of a
descent by Montrose, his superiority in cavalry
would give him the advantage.

This state of inaction was, however, soon
put an end to by Lord Gordon, who observing
a party of Baillie's troops driving away before
them a large quantity of cattle which they had
collected in Strathbogie and the Enzie, and
being desirous of recovering the property of
his countrymen, selected a body of horse, with
which he attempted a rescue. The assailed
party was protected by some dykes and enclo-
sures, from behind which they fired a volley
upon the Gordons, which did considerable
execution amongst them. Such a cool and
determined reception, attended with a result
so disastrous and unexpected, might have been
attended by dangerous consequences, had not
Montrose, on observing the party of Lord Gor-
don giving indications as if undetermined how
to act, resolved immediately to commence a
general attack upon the enemy with his whole
army. But as Baillie's foot had intrenched
themselves amongst the dykes and fences which
covered the ground at the bottom of the hill,
and could not be attacked in that position
with success, Montrose immediately ordered

' Britane's D'atcmper, p. 129. 7 Wisliart, p. 147.

the horse, who were engaged with the enemy,
to retreat to their former position, in the expec-
tation that Baillie's troops would leave their
ground and follow them. And in this hope
he was not disappointed, for the Covenanters
thinking that this movement of the horse was
merely the prelude to a retreat, advanced from
their secure position, and followed the supposed
fugitives with their whole horse and foot in
regular order.

Both armies now came to close quarters, and
fought face to face and man to man with great
obstinacy for some time, without either party
receding from the ground they occupied. At
length Sir Nathaniel Gordon, growing impa-
tient at such a protracted resistance, resolved
to cut his way through the enemy's left wing,
consisting of Lord Balcarras's regiment of horse;
and calling to the light musketeers who lined
his horse, he ordered them to throw aside their
muskets, which were now unnecessary, and to
attack the enemy's horse with their drawn
swords. This order was immediately obeyed,
and in a short time they cut a passage through
the ranks of the enemy, whom they hewed
down with great slaughter. When the horse
which composed Baillie's right wing, and which
had been kept in check by Lord Aboyne, per-
ceived that their left had given way, they also
retreated. 8 An attempt was made by the
covenanting general to rally his left wing by
bringing up the right, after it had retired, to
its support, but they were so alarmed at the
spectacle or melee which they had just witnessed
on the left, where their comrades had been cut
down by the broad swords of Montrose's
musketeers, that they could not be induced to
take the place of their retiring friends.

Thus abandoned by the horse, Baillie's foot
were attacked on all sides by Montrose's forces.
They fought with uncommon bravery, and
although they were cut down in great numbers,
the survivors exhibited a perseverance and
determination to resist to the last extremity.
An accident now occurred, which, whilst it
threw a melancholy gloom over the fortunes of
the day, and the spirits of Montrose's men,
served to hasten the work of carnage and death.
This was the fall of Lord Gordon, who having

8 Wishart, p. 149.

216

GENERAL H1STOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

incautiously rushed in amongst the thickest of
the enemy, was unfortunately shot dead, it is
said, 9 when in the act of pulling Baillie, the
covenanting general, from his horse, having, it
is said, in a moment of exultation, promised
to his men, to drag Baillie out of the ranks
and present him "before them. The Gordons,
on perceiving their young chief fall, set no
bounds to their fury, and falling upon the
enemy with renewed vigour, hewed them down
without mercy ; yet these brave men still
showed no disposition to flee, and it was not
until the appearance of the reserve under the
Master of Napier, which had hitherto been
kept out of view of the enemy at the back of
the hill, that their courage began to fail them.
When this body began to descend the hill,
accompanied by what appeared to them a fresh
reinforcement of cavalry, but which consisted
merely of the camp or livery boys, who had
mounted the sumpter-horses to make a display
for the purpose of alarming the enemy, the
entire remaining body of the covenanting foot
fled with precipitation. A hot pursuit took
place, and so great was the slaughter that very
few of them escaped. The covenanting general
and his principal officers were saved by the
fleetness of their horses, and the Marquis of
Argyle, who had accompanied Baillie as a
member of the committee, and who was closely
pursued by Glengarry and some of his High-
landers, made a narrow escape by repeatedly
changing horses.

Thus ended one of the best contested battles
which Montrose had yet fought, yet strange as
the fact may appear, his loss was, as usual,
extremely trifling, Lord Gordon being the only
person of importance slain. A considerable
number of Montrose's men, however, were
wounded, particularly the Gordons, who, for a
long time, sustained the attacks of Balcarras's
horse, amongst whom were Sir Nathaniel, and
Gordon, younger of Gicht. l The loss on the
side of the Covenanters was immense ; by far
the greater part of their foot, and a consider-
able number of their cavalry having been slain.

9 This incident is extremely doubtful ; it appears
to be mentioned only in the Red Book of Clanranald,
while no mention is made of it in Gordon of Sallagh,
Wishart, or Gordon of Ruthven.

1 Gordonts Continuation, p. 626.

Some prisoners were taken from them, but
their number was small, owing to their obsti-
nacy in refusing quarter. These were sent to
Strathbogie under an escort.

The brilliant victory was, however, clouded
by the death of Lord Gordon, " a very
hopeful young gentleman, able of mind and
body, about the age of twenty-eight years." 2
Wishart gives an affecting description of the
feelings of Montrose's army when this amiable
young nobleman was killed. " There was," he
says, " a general lamentation for the loss of
the Lord Gordon, whose death seemed to
eclipse all the glory of the victory. As the
report spread among the soldiers, every one
appeared to be struck dumb with the melan-
choly news, and a universal silence prevailed
for some time through the army. However,
their grief soon burst through all restraint,
venting itself in the voice of lamentation and
sorrow. When the first transports were over,
the soldiers exclaimed against heaven and
earth for bereaving the king, the kingdom, and
themselves, of such an excellent young noble-
man; and, unmindful of the victory or of the
plunder, they thronged about the body of their
dead captain, some weeping over his wounds
and kissing his lifeless limbs; while others
praised his comely appearance even in death,
and extolled his noble mind, which was en-
riched with every valuable qualification that
could adorn his high birth or ample fortune :
they even cursed the victory bought at so dear
a rate. Nothing could have supported the
army under this immense sorrow but the pre-
sence of Montrose, whose safety gave them
joy, and not a little revived their drooping
spirits. In the meantime he could not com-
mand his grief, but mourned bitterly over the
melancholy fate of his only and dearest friend,
grievously complaining, that one who was the
honour of his nation, the ornament of the Scots
nobility, and the boldest asserter of the royal
authority in the north, had fallen in the flower
of his youth." 3

The victories of Montrose in Scotland were
more than counterbalanced by those of the
parliamentary forces in England. Under dif-
ferent circumstances, the success at Alford

* Idem.

3 Memoirs, p. 132.

BAILLIE AND BALCAEEAS RECEIVE A VOTE OF THANKS.

217

might have been attended with consequences
the most important to the royal cause; but the
defeat of the king on the 14th of June, at
Naseby, had raised the hopes of the Cove-
nanters, and prepared their minds to receive
the tidings of Baillie's defeat with coolness and
moderation.

Upon the day on which the battle of Alford
was fought, the parliament had adjourned to
Stirling from Edinburgh, on account of a
destructive pestilence which had reached the
capital from Newcastle, by way of Kelso.
Thither General Baillie, Lord Balcarras, and
the committee of Estates, which had accompa-
nied the covenanting army, repaired, to lay a
statement of the late disaster before the par-
liament, and to receive instructions as to their
future conduct. With the exception of Baillie,
they were well received. Balcarras, who had
particularly distinguished himself in the battle
at the head of his horse, received a vote of
thanks, and a similar acknowledgment was,
after some hesitation, awarded to Baillie, not-
withstanding some attempts made to prejudice
the parliament against him. But the fact was,
they could not dispense in the present emer-
gency with an officer of the military talents of
Baillie, who, instead of shrinking from respon-
sibility for the loss of the battle of Alford,
offered to stand trial before a court martial,
and to justify his conduct on that occasion.
To have withheld, therefore, the usual token of
approbation from him, while bestowing it upon
an inferior officer, would have been to fix a
stigma upon him which ho was not disposed to
brook consistently with the retention of the
command of the army; and as the parliament
resolved to renew his commission, by appoint-
ing him to the command of the army then
being concentrated at Perth, they afterwards
professed their unqualified satisfaction with
him.

After the battle of Alford the army of Mon-
trose was considerably diminished, in conse-
quence of the Highlanders, according to cus-
tom, taking leave of absence, and returning
home with the spoil they had taken from the
enemy. This singular, though ordinary prac-
tice, contributed more to paralyze the exertions
of Montrose, and to prevent him from follow-
ing up his successes, than any event which

occurred in the whole course of his campaigns,
and it may appear strange that Montrose did
not attempt to put an end to it; but the tenure
by which he held the services of these hardy
mountaineers being that they should be allowed
their wonted privileges, any attempt to deviate
from their established customs would have been
an immediate signal for desertion. .

As it would have been imprudent in Mon-
trose, with forces thus impaired, to have fol-
lowed the fugitives, who would receive fresh
succours from the south, he, after allowing hia
men some time to refresh themselves, marched
to Aberdeen, where he celebrated the funeral
obsequies of his valued friend, Lord Gordon,
with becoming dignity.

The district of Buchan in Aberdeenshire,
which, from its outlying situation, had hitherto
escaped assessment for the supply of the hostile
armies, was at this time subjected to the sur-
veillance of Montrose, who despatched a party
from Aberdeen into that country to collect all
the horses they could find for the use of hia
army, and also to obtain recruits. About the
same time the Marquis of Huntly, who had
been living in Strathnaver for some time, hav-
ing heard of the death of his eldest son, Lord
Gordon, meditated a return to his own country,
intending to throw the influence of his name
and authority into the royal scale. But as ho
might be exposed to danger in passing through
countries which were hostile to the royal
cause, it was arranged between Montrose and
Viscount Aboyne, who had just been created
an earl, that the latter should proceed to Strath-
naver, with a force of 2,000 men to escort his
father south. This expedition was, however,
abandoned, in consequence of intelligence
having been brought to Montroso that the
Covenanters were assembling in great strength
at Perth.

The parliament which, as we have seen, had
left Edinburgh, and gone to Stirling on account
of the pestilence, had been obliged, in conse-
quence of its appearance in Stirling, to adjourn
to Perth, where it was to meet on the 24th of
July ; but before leaving Stirling, they ordered
a levy of 10,000 foot to be raised in the coun-
ties to the south of the Tay; and to insure duo
obedience to this mandate, all noblemen, gen-
tlemen, and heritors, were required to attend

218

GENERAL HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

at Perth on or before that day, well mounted,
and to bring with them such forces as they
could raise, under a heavy penalty. 4

On leaving Aberdeen, Montrose took up his
quarters at Crabston, situated a few miles from
Aberdeen, between the rivers Don and Dee,
where he remained for some time in the expec-
tation of being joined by reinforcements from
the Highlands under Major-general Macdonald,
who had been absent about two months from
the army in quest of recruits. As, however,
these expected succours did not arrive within
the time expected, Montroso, impatient of
delay, crossed the Dee, and inarching over the
Grampians, descended into the Mearns, and
pitched his camp at Fordoun in Kincardine-
shire.

Proceeding on his march through Angus and
Blairgowrie to Dunkeld, Montroso had the
good fortune to be successively joined by his
cousin, Patrick Graham of Inchbrakie, at the
head of the bravo Athole Highlanders, and by
Macdonald, his major-general, who brought
with him the chief of the Macleans, and
about 700 of that clan, all animated by a
strong feeling of animosity against Argyle and
his partisans. He was also joined by John
Muidartach, the celebrated captain of the
Clanranald, at the head of 500 of his men;
by the Macgregors and Macnabs, headed
by their respective chieftains; by the Clan-
donald, under the command of the uncles of
Glengarry and other officers, Glengarry him-
self, " who," says Bishop Wishart, " deserves
a singular commendation for his bravery and
steady loyalty to the king, and his peculiar
attachment to Montrose," 5 having never left
Montrose since he joined him at the time of
his expedition into Argyle. Besides all these,
the Stewarts of Appin, some of the Farquhar-
sons of Braemar, and small parties of inferior
clans from Badenoch, rallied round the standard
of Montrose.

Having obtained these reinforcements, Mon-
trose now formed the design of inarching upon
Perth, and breaking up the parliament which
had there assembled, and thereafter of pro-
ceeding to the south, and dissipating the levies
which were being raised beyond the Tay.

4 Guthrie's Memoirs, p. 160. B Memoirs, p. 156.

But the want of cavalry, in which he was con
stantly deficient, formed a bar to this plan,
and Montrose was, therefore, obliged to defer
his project till he should be joined by the
Earls of Aboyne and Airly, whom he expected
soon with a considerable body of horse. In
the meantime, Montrose crossed the Tay at
Dunkeld, and encamped at Amulree. The
covenanting army, with the exception of the
garrison of Perth, was then lying on the south
side of the Earn, and a body of 400 horse was
posted near the town, for the protection of the
Estates or parliament.

This movement, on the part of Montrose,
created some alarm in the minds of the Cove-
nanters, which was greatly increased by a
report from their horse, stationed in the neigh-
bourhood of the town, who, seeing some of his
scouts approach it, had fancied that lie was
going to storm it. While this panic was at its
height, Montrose, who had no intention of
attacking the town, raised his camp, and took
up a position in the wood of Methven, about
five miles from Perth. During this movement,
the town was thrown into a state of the greatest
consternation, from an apprehension that Mon-
trose was about to attack it, and the nobility
and the other members of the parliament were
earnestly solicited to secure their safety by a
speedy flight, but the Estates remained firm,
and could not be persuaded to abandon their
posts. In order, if possible, still farther to
increase the panic in the town, Montrose ad-
vanced almost to the very gates of Perth with
his horse the following day, which, although
not exceeding 100, were made to appear for-
midable by the addition of the baggage-horses,
on which some musketeers were mounted.
This act of bold defiance magnified the fears
of those who were in the town, and made them
imagine that Montrose was well provided in
cavalry. The covenanting troops, therefore,
were afraid to venture beyond the gates; and
Montrose having thus easily accomplished his
object, was encouraged,, still farther, to cross
the Earn at Dupplin, when he openly recon-
noitred the enemy's army on the south of that
river, and surveyed the Strath with great deli-
beration and coolness, without interruption.

Both armies remained in their positions for
several days without attempting any thing,

MONTJROSE EETREATS TO DUNK 1.1, 1 >.

219

each waiting for reinforcements. During all
tliis time, the enemy had been deceived re-
specting the strength of Montrose's horse, but
having learned his weakness in that respect,
and the deception which he had practised so
successfully upon them, and being joined by
three regiments from Fife, they resolved to
offer him battle. Montrose, however, from his
great inferiority of numbers, particularly in
horse, was not in a condition to accept the
challenge, and wisely declined it. Accordingly,
when he saw the enemy advancing towards
him, he prepared to retreat among the neigh-
bouring mountains; but to deceive the enemy,
and to enable him to carry off his baggage, ho
drew out his army as if he intended to fight,
placing his horse in front, and securing the
passes into the mountains with guards. While
making these dispositions, he sent off his
baggage towards the hills under an escort; and
when he thought the baggage out of clanger,
gave orders to his army to march off in close
rank ; and to cover its retreat and protect it
from the cavalry of the enemy, he placed his
horse, lined as usual with the best musketeers,
in the rear.

As soon as Baillie, the covenanting general,
perceived that Montrose was in full retreat, ho
despatched General Hurry with the cavalry in
pursuit of him ; but from a most unaccountable
delay on Hurry's part in crossing the Pow so
slow, indeed, had his movements been, that
Baillie's foot overtook him at the fords of the
Almond Montrose had almost reached the
passes of the mountains before lie was over-
taken. Chagrined at his easy escape, and
determined to perform some striking exploit
before Montrose should retire into his fastnesses,
a body of 300 of the best mounted covenanting
cavalry set off at full gallop after him, and
attacked him witli great fury, using at the
same time the most insulting and abusive lan-
guage. To put an end to this annoyance, Mon-
trose selected twenty expert HigMandcrs, and
requested them to bring down some of the
assailants. Accordingly these marksmen ad-
vanced in a crouching attitude, concealing their
guns, and having approached within musket-
ehot, took deliberate aim, and soon brought
down the more advanced of the party. This
unexpected disaster made the assailants more

cautious in their advances, and caused them to
resolve upon an immediate retreat ; but the
marksmen were so elated with their success
that they actually pursued them down into the
plain, " and resolutely attacked the whole party,
who, putting spurs to their horses, fled with
the utmost precipitation, like so many deer
Tjefore the hunters." 7 In this retreat Montrose
did not lose a single man.

After giving over this fruitless pursuit, the
enemy returned to Montrose's camp at Meth-
ven, where, according to Wishart, they com-
mitted a most barbarous act in revenge of their
late affront, by butchering some of the wives of
the Highlanders and Irish who had been left
behind. Montrose took up his quarters at
Little Dunkeld, both because he was there per-
fectly secure from the attacks of the enemy's
cavalry, and because it was a convenient sta-
tion to wait for the reinforcements of horse
which he daily expected from the north under
the Earls of Airly and Aboyne. Although
both armies lay close together for several days,
nothing was attempted on either side. The
covenanting general had become quite disgusted
with the service in consequence of the jealousies
and suspicions which it was too evident the
committee entertained of him. His disgust was
increased by the sudden return to their country
of the Fife men, who preferred their domestic
comforts to the vicissitudes of war, but who
unfortunately were, as wo shall soon see, to be
sacrificed at its shrine.

At length the Earl of Aboyne, accompanied
by Sir Nathaniel Gordon, arrived at Little
Dunkeld, but with a force much inferior in
numbers to what was expected. They only
brought 200 horse and 120 musketeers, which
last were mounted upon carriage horses. The
smallness of their number was compensated,
however, in a great measure by their steadiness
and bravery. The Earl of Airly and his son,
Sir David Ogilvie, joined Montrose at the same
time, along with a troop of 80 horse, consisting
cliiefly of gentlemen of the name of Ogilvio,
among whom was Alexander Ogilvie, son of
Sir John Ogilvie of Innerquharity, a young
man who had already distinguished himself in
the field.

7 Wishart's Memoirs, p. 169.

220

GENEEAL HISTOEY OF TI1E HIGHLANDS.

Never, at any former period of his eventful
career, did the probabilities of ultimate suc-
cess on the side of Montroso appear greater
than now. His army, ardent and devoted to
the royal cause, now amounted to nearly
5,000 foot and about 500 horse, the greater
part of which consisted of brave and experi-
enced warriors whom he had often led to
victory. A considerable portion of his army
was composed of some of the most valiant
of the Highland clans, led by their respective

chiefs, among whom stood conspicuous the re-
nowned captain of clan Eanald, in himself a
host. The clans wore animated by a feeling
of the most unbounded attachment to what
they considered the cause of their chiefs, and
by a deadly spirit of revenge for the cruelties
which the Covenanters under Argyle had exer-
cised in the Highlands. The Macleans and
the Athole Highlanders in particular, longed
for an opportunity of retaliating upon the cove-
nanting partisans of Argyle the injuries which

Perth in the 17th century. From Slezer's Theatrum Scotias (1693).

they had repeatedly received at his hands, and
thereby wiping out the stain which, as they
conceived, had been cast upon them. But for-
tunate as Montrose now was in having such an
army at his disposal, the chances in his favour
wore greatly enhanced by the circumstance, that
whereas in his former campaigns he had to
watch the movements of different armies, and
to fight them in detail, he was now enabled,
from having annihilated or dispersed the whole
armies formerly opposed to him, to concentrate
his strength and to direct all his energies to
one point. The only bar which now stood in
the way of the entire subjugation of Scotland
to the authority of the king, was the army of

Baillie, and the defeat or destruction of this
body now became the immediate object of
Montrose. His resolution to attack the enemy
was hastened by the receipt of information that
the Fife regiments had left Baillie's camp and
returned home, and that the general himself
was so dissatisfied with the conduct of the
covenanting committee, who thwarted all his
plans and usurped his authority, that he was
about to resign the command of the army.

Montrose, therefore, without loss of time,
raised his camp, and descending into the Low-
lands, arrived at Logie Almond, where he
halted his foot. Thence ho went out with his
cavalry to reconnoitre the enemy, and came in

BAILLIE JOINED BY THE MEX OF FIFE.

221

full view of them before sunset. They made
no attempt to molest him, and testified their
dread of this unexpected visit by retiring within
their lines. Early next morning Montrose
again rode out to make his observations, but
was surprised to learn that the enemy had
abandoned their camp at Methven during the
night, and had retired across the Earn, and
taken up a position at Kilgraston, near Bridge-
of-Earn. Montroso immediately put his army
in motion towards tho Earn, which he crossed
by the bridge of Nether Gask, about eight
miles above Kilgraston. He then proceeded
forward as far as the Kirk of Dron, by which
movement ho for the first time succeeded in
throwing open to the operations of his army the
whole of the country south of tho Tay, from
which the enemy had hitherto carefully ex-
cluded him. The enemy, alarmed at Montrose's
approach, made every preparation for defending
themselves by strengthening the position in
wliich they were intrenched, and which, from
the narrowness of the passes and the nature of
the ground, was well adapted for sustaining
an attack.

Montrose was most anxious to bring tho
enemy to an engagement before they should
be joined by a large levy then raising in Fife ;
but they were too advantageously posted to be
attacked with much certainty of success. As
lie could not by any means induce them to
leave their ground, he marched to Kinross for
the double purpose of putting an end to the
Fife levies and of withdrawing the enemy from
their position, so as to afford him an opportu-
nity of attacking them under more favourable
circumstances. This movement had tho effect
of drawing Baillie from his stronghold, who
cautiously followed Montrose at a respectful
distance. In the course of his march, Baillio
was again joined by tho three Fife regiments.
On arriving at Kinross in the evening, Mon-
troso learned from an advanced party ho had
sent out to collect information through the
country, under the command of Colonel Na-
thaniel Gordon, and Sir William Rollock, that
the people of Fife were in arms, a piece of
intelligence which made him resolve immedi-
ately to retrace his steps, judging it imprudent
to risk a battle in such a hostile district. Al-
though the men of Fife were stern Covenanters,

and were ready to fight for the Covenant on
their own soil, yet living for the most part in
towns, and following out tho sober pursuits of
a quiet and domestic life, they had no relish
for war, and disliked the service of the camp.
Hence the speedy return of the Fife regiments
from tho camp at Methven, to their own coun-
try, and hence another reason which induced
Montroso to leave their unfriendly soil, viz.,
that they would probably again abandon Baillie,
should he attempt to follow Montrose in his
progress west.

Accordingly, after remaining a night at Kin-
ross, Montrose, the following morning, marched
towards Alloa, in the neighbourhood of which
he arrived in the evening, and passed the night
in the wood of Tullybody. The Irish plundered
the town of Alloa, and tho adjoining lordship,
which belonged to the Earl of Mar ; but not-
withstanding this unprovoked outrage, the earl
and Lord Erskine gave Montrose, the Earl of
Airly, and the principal officers of the army,
an elegant entertainment in the castle of Alloa.
Montrose, however, did not delay the march
of his army while partaking of the hospitality
of the Earl of Mar, but immediately despatched
Macdonald west to Stirling with the foot,
retaining only the horse to serve him as a body-
guard. In this route the Macleans laid waste
the parishes of Muckart and Dollar, of which
tho Marquis of Argyle was tho superior, and
burnt Castle Campbell, the principal residence
of tho Argyle family in the lowlands, in requital
of similar acts done by the marquis and his
followers in the country of the Macleans. 8

As the pestilence was still raging in the town
of Stirling, Montrose avoided it altogether, lest
his army might catch the infection. He halted
within three miles of the town, where his army
passed tho night, and being apprised next
morning, by one of Baillie's scouts who had
been taken prisoner, that Baillio was close at
hand with the whole of his army, Montrose
marched quickly up to tho fords of Frew, about
eight miles above Stirling bridge, and there
crossed the Forth. Pursuing his march the
following morning in the direction of Glasgow,
ho made a short halt about six miles from
Stirling, to ascertain the enemy's movements,

* Guthry s Memoirs, p. 151.

222

GENEKAL HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

and being informed that Baillie had not yet
crossed the Forth, he marched to Kilsyth,
where he encamped. During the day, Baillio
passed the Forth hy Stirling bridge, and
marching forwards, came within view of Mon-
trose's army, and encamped that evening within
three miles of Kilsyth. 9

The covenanting army had, in its progress
westward, followed exactly the tract of Mon-
trose through the vale of the Devon. The
Marquis of Argyle availing himself of this cir-
cumstance, caused the house of Menstrie, the
seat of the Earl of Stirling, the king's secre-
tary, and that of Airthrie, belonging to Sir
John Graham of Braco, to be burnt. He,
moreover, sent an insolent message to the Earl
of Mar, notifying to him, that, on the return
of the army from the pursuit of Montrose, lie,
the earl, might calculate on having his castle
also burnt, for the hospitality he had shown
Montrose. l

The conjecture of Montrose, that the Fife
regiments would not cross the Forth, was not
altogether without foundation. In fact, when
they arrived near Stirling, they positively
refused to advance further, and excused them-
selves by alleging, that they were raised on the
express condition that they should not lie called
upon to serve out of their own shire, and that,
having already advanced beyond its limits, they
would on no account cross the Forth. But their
obstinacy was overcome by the all-powerful
influence of the ministers, who, in addition to
the usual scriptural appeals, " told them jolly
tales that Lanark, Glencairn, and Eglinton,
were lifting an army to join them, and there-
fore entreated that they would, for only one
day more, go out," until that army approached,
when they should be discharged. 3

While the Fife regiments were thus per-
suaded to expose themselves to the unforeseen
destruction which unfortunately awaited them,
an incident occurred on the opposite bank of
the Forth, which betokened ill for the future
prospects of the covenanting army. This will
be best explained by stating the matter in
General Baillio's own words. " A little above
the park (the king's park at Stirling), I halted
until the Fife regiments were brought up,

9 Wishart, p. 156. " Guthry, p. 15b. Idem.

hearing that the rebels were marching towards
Kilsyth. After the upcoming of these regi-
ments, the Marquis of Argyle, Earl of Craw-
ford, and Lord Burleigli, and, if I mistake not,
the Earl of Tullicbardine, the Lords Elcho and
Balcarras, with some others, came up. My
lord marquis asked mo what next was to be
done. I answered, the direction should come
from his lordship and those of the committee.
My lord demanded what reason was for this t
I answered, I found myself so slighted in
every thing belonging to a Commander-in-chief,
that, for the short time I was to stay with
them, I would absolutely submit to their di-
rection and follow it. The marquis desired mo
to explain myself, which I did in these parti
culars, sufficiently known to my lord marquis
and the other lords and gentlemen then present.
I told his lordship, (1.) Prisoners of all sorts
were exchanged without my knowledge; the
traffickers therein received passes from others,
and, sometimes passing within two miles of
me, did neither acquaint mo with their busi-
ness, nor, at their return, where, or in what
posture they had left the enemy: (2.) While I
was present, others did sometimes undertake
the command of the army : (3.) Without either
my order or knowledge, lire was raised, and
that destroyed which might have been a re-
compense to some good deserver, for which I
would not be answerable to the public. All
which things considered, I should in any tiling
freely give my own opinion, but follow the
judgment of the committee, and the rather be-
cause that was the last day of my undertaking." 3
It is here necessary to state, by way of expla-
nation, that Baillio had, in consequence of the
previous conduct of the committee, resigned
his commission, and had only been induced, at
the earnest solicitation of the parliament, to
continue his services for a definite period,
which, it appears, was just on the point of ex-
piring.

The differences between Baillie and the
committee being patched up, the covenanting
army proceeded on the 14th of August in
the direction of Denny, and having crossed
the Carron at Hollandbush, encamped, as we
have stated, about 3 miles from Kilsyth.

3 General Baillie s Narrative, Baillie 's Letters, vol
ii. pp. 270, 271

BATTLE OF KILSYTII.

223

I'.rt'ore the arrival of Baillio, Montross had
mrivuil iut'unnalion which made him resolve
lo hazard a battle immediately. The intelli-
gence he had obtained was to the effect, that
the Earls of Cassilis, Eglinton, and Glencairn,
and other heads of the Covenanters, were ac-
tively engaged in levying forces in the west of
Scotland, and that the Earl of Lanark had
already raised a body of 1,000 foot and 500
horse in Clydesdale, among the vassals and de-
pendents of the Hamilton family, and that this
force was within 12 miles of Kilsytli.

Having taken his resolution, Montrosc made
the necessary arrangements for receiving the
enemy, by placing his men in the best position
which the nature of the ground afforded. In
front of his position were several cottages and
gardens, of which he took possession. Baillie,
seeing the advantageous position chosen by
Montrose, would have willingly delayed battle
till either the expected reinforcements from the
west should arrive, or till Montrose should be
induced to become the assailant ; but his plans
were over-ruled by Argyle and the other mem-
bers of the committee, who insisted that ho
should immediately attack Montrose. Accord-
ingly, early in the morning he put his army in
motion from Hollandbush, and advanced near
Auchinclogh, about two miles to the east of
Kilsyth, where he halted. As the ground be-
tween him and Montrose was full of quagmires,
which effectually prevented Montrose from at-
tacking him in front, he proposed to take up a
defensive position without advancing farther,
and await an attack. But here again the com-
mittee interposed, and when he was in the
very act of arranging the stations of his army,
they advised him to take a position on a hill
on his right, which they considered more suit-
able. It was in vain that Baillie remonstrated
against what he justly considered an impru-
dent advice the committee were inexorable in
their resolution, and Baillio had no alternative
but to obey. In justice, however, to Lord
Balcarras, it must be mentioned that he disap-
proved of the views of the committee.

When Montrose saw the covenanting army
approach from Hollandbush, he was exceed-
ingly delighted, as, from the excellent state of his
army, the courageous bearing of his men, and
the advantage of his position, he calculated

upon obtaining a decisive victory, which might
enable him to advance into England and re-
trieve the affairs of his sovereign in that king-
dom. But while Montrose was thus joyfully
anticipating a victory which, he flattered him-
self, would be crowned with results the most
favourable to the royal cause, an incident
occurred which might have proved fatal to his
hopes, had he not, with that wonderful self-
possession and consummate prudence for which
ho was so distinguished, turned that very in-
cident to his own advantage. Among the
covenanting cavalry was a regiment of cuiras-
siers, the appearance of whose armour, glitter-
ing in the sun, struck such terror into Mon-
trose's horse, that they hesitated about engag-
ing with such formidable antagonists, and,
while riiling along the lino to encourage his
men and give the necessary directions, Mon-
troso heard his cavalry muttering among them-
selves and complaining that they were now
for the first time to fight with men clad in
iron, whose bodies would be quite impenetra-
ble to their swords. When the terror of a foe
has once taken hold of the mind, it can only
be sufficiently eradicated by supplanting it
with a feeling of contempt for the object of its
dread, and no man was better fitted by nature
than Montrose for inspiring such a feeling into
the minds of his troops. Accordingly, scarcely
had the murmurings of his cavalry broken
upon his ears, when he rode up to the head of
his cavalry, and (pointing to the cuirassiers)
thus addressed his men: " Gentlemen, these
are the same men you beat at Alford, that ran
away from you at Auldearn, Tippermuir, &c. ;
they are such cowardly rascals that their offi-
cers could not bring them to look you in the
face till they had clad them in armour; to
show our contempt of them we'll fight them
in our shirts." 4 No sooner had these words
been uttered, when, to add to the impression
they could not fail to produce, Montrose threw
off his coat and waistcoat, and, drawing his

4 Carte, vol. iv. p. 538. The author of Britane'i
Distemper (p. 139) says that Montrose ordered every
man to put a white shirt above his clothes. It is,
however, highly probable that the narrative in the
text is substantially true. Wishart (Montrose Redivi-
vus, p. 96,) says they were ordered to throw off their
doublets and "affront the enemy all in white, being
naked unto the waist all but their shirts. "

224

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

sword with the air of a hero, stood before his
men, at once an object of their wonder and a
model for their imitation. The effect was in-
stantaneous. The example thus set by Mon-
trose was immediately followed by the whole
army, every man stripping himself to his shirt,
and the cavalry, partaking in the general en-
thusiasm, assured themselves of victory. As
the day was uncommonly hot and oppressive,
the troops found great relief by disburdening
themselves of their clothes, and the infantry
were, in consequence, enabled to display greater
agility in combat. The extraordinary appear-
ance of Montrose's men after they had parted
with their clothes, excited the astonishment of
the Covenanters, and as they could only attri-
bute such a singular preparation for battle to a
fixed determination on the part of the royalists
to conquer or to die, fearful doubts arose in
their minds as to the probable result of the
contest in which they were just about to en-
gage.

In moving to take up the new position
which had been assigned to it by the com-
mittee, the utmost disorder prevailed among
the covenanting army, which the general was
unable to correct. Indeed, so unruly had the
troops become, that some regiments, instead
of taking the stations assigned to them by the
commander, took up, at the suggestion of
Argyle, quite different ground, while others,
in utter disregard of Baillie's instructions, ac-
tually selected positions for themselves. Thus,
at the moment the battle was about to begin,
Baillie found all his plans completely over-
ruled, and as he now saw how utterly impossi-
ble it would be for him to cany any of his
contemplated arrangements into effect, lie was
necessitated to engage Montrose under the
most unfavourable circumstances.

The covenanting general, however, might
have so accommodated himself in the unex-
pected dilemma in which lie had been placed
as to have prevented the disastrous result
which followed, had not his horse regiments,
from an impression that Montrose had begun
a retreat, rashly commenced the action before
all the infantry had come up, by attempting to
carry the cottages and gardens in which the
advanced guard of Montrose was placed. Al-
though they made a violent charge, they were

as warmly received by Montrose's musketeers,
who, being protected by the dikes and enclo-
sures, kept up such a galling fire upon their as-
sailants as to oblige them to retreat with pre-
cipitation and some loss.

A body of about 1,000 Highlanders, who
were posted next to Montrose's advanced
guard, became so suddenly elated with this
success that, without waiting for orders from
Montrose, they immediately ran up that part of
the hill where the main body of the covenant-
ing army was posted. Montrose was highly
displeased with the Highlanders for this rash
act, which seemed to threaten them with in-
stant destruction ; but there was no time for
remonstrance, and as he saw an absolute neces-
sity for supporting this intrepid body, he
stifled his displeasure, and began to consider
how he could most effectually afford support.
Owing to the tardy advance of the enemy's
rear, it was some little time before the cove-
nanting army attacked this resolute body. At
length three troops of horse and a body of
about 2,000 foot were seen advancing against
them, and in a short time both parties closed
upon each other. The Highlanders, as usual,
displayed great intrepidity, and firmly main-
tained their ground; but as it was evident that
they could not long withstand the overwhelm-
ing force opposed to them, the Earl of Aboyne,
who, with a select body of horsemen, had been
placed by Montrose at some distance from the
main army, taking with him 12 horsemen,
rode forward to see if he could render any
assistance. Seeing the critical position in
which the rash Highlanders were placed, he
sent back for the cavalry to advance imme-
diately, at the same time bravely shouting to
the few followers that were with him, " Let us
go, Monsieurs, and assist these our distressed
friends, in so great hazard through the foolish
rashness of their commander. We shall, God
willing, bring them off, at least in some good
order, so as they shall neither be all lost, nor
endanger the army by their sudden flight,
whereto they may be forced." 6 He thereupon
charged the enemy's lancers, who, seeing him
make such a furious onset, retired to the left,
thus putting the foot between themselves and

8 Britane's Distemper, p. 140.

BATTLE OF KILSYTII.

225

Aboyne. Tho latter, without halting, charged
forward upon the foot, until, when within
pistol-shot, he perceived them preparing to re-
ceive him upon their pikes, lie then nimbly
turned n little to the left, and charged with such
impetuosity and suddenness a regiment of mus-
keteers, that although they received him with
three volleys from the three first ranks, he
broke right through them, till ho came out to
where his distressed friends were environed
with horse and foot, and so sorely straightened
as to be crying out for quarter. His presence
caused them to rally, and they took heart as he
cried with a lusty voice, " Courage, my hearts,
follow me, and let them have one sound
charge." " And this he gives with such brave
and invincible resolution, as ho breaks, dis-
perses, and discourages both foot and horse,
who seek no more to pursue, but strive to re-
tire in order, to the which their commanders
often invite them, but in vain." They got
Into complete disorder, and began to run for
their lives. What had been begun by Aboyne,
WBS completed by the Earl of Airly, who, at
the urgent request of Montrosc, now came up
at the head of the Ogilvies to the assistance of
the Highlanders. Montrose had made several
ineffectual attempts to induce different parties
of his army to volunteer in defence of the
brave men who were struggling for their exis-
tence within view of their companions in arms,
and, as a dernier resort, appealed to his tried
friend the Earl of Airly, in behalf of the rash
men who had thus exposed themselves to im-
minent danger. This appeal to the chivalrous
feelings of the venerable earl met with a ready
and willing response from him, and after stat-
ing his readiness to undertake the duty assigned
him, he immediately put himself at the head of
a troop of his own horse, commanded by Colonel
John Ogilvie of Baldavie, who had distinguished
himself in the Swedish service, and rode off
with great speed towards the enemy. He in-
stantly ordered his squadron to charge the
enemy's horse, who were so closely pressed
that they got entangled among the covenant-
ing foot, whom they put into disorder.

As soon as Baillie perceived that his horse
were falling back, he endeavoured to bring up
his reserve to support them ; but this body,
which consisted chiefly of the Fife militia,

became so alarmed at the retreat of the horse,
that they immediately abandoned their ranks
and fled. On the other hand, the rest of
Montrose's men, encouraged by the success of
the Ogilvies, could no longer restrain them-
selves, and rushing forward upon the enemy
with a loud shout, completed the disorder.
The wild appearance of the royalists, added to
the dreadful yells which they set up, created
such a panic among the astonished Covenanters,
that, in an instant, and as if by a simultaneous
impulse, every man threw away his arms, and
endeavoured to secure his personal safety by
flight. In the general rout which ensued, the
covenanting horse, in their anxiety to escape,
galloped through the flying foot, and trampled
many of their companions in arms almost to
death.

In the pursuit which followed, Montrose's
men cut down the defenceless Covenanters
without mercy, and so great waa the carnage,
that, out of a body of upwards of G,000 foot,
probably not more than 100 escaped with
their lives. The royalists were so intent upon
hewing down the unfortunate foot, that a con-
siderable part of the cavalry effected their
escape. Some of them, however, in the hurry
of their flight, having run unawares into a large
morass, called Delator bog, now forming a part
of the bed of the Forth and Clyde canal, there
perished, and, many years afterwards, the
bodies of men and horses were dug tip from
the bog, without any marks of decomposition ;
and there is a tradition still current, that one
man was found upon horseback, fully attired
in his military costume, in the very posture in
which he had sunk." Very few prisoners
were taken, and with the exception of Sir
William Murray of Blebo, James Arnot, brother
to Lord Burleigh, and Colonels Dyce and
Wallace, and a few other gentlemen, who
received quarter, and, after being well treated
by Montrose, were afterwards released upon
parole, all the officers of the covenanting army
escaped. Some of them fled to Stirling, and
took temporary refuge in the castle; others
galloped down to the south shore of the Frith
of Forth. Among the latter, Argyle was the
most conspicuous, who, according to Bishop

Nimmo's General History of Stirlingshire, p. 39(J>
2 V

226

OENEEAL HISTOEY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

Guthry, " never looked over his shoulder until,
after 20 miles' riding, he reached the South
Queensferry, where he possessed himself of a
boat again." 7 Wishart sarcastically observes,
that this was the third time that Argyle had
" saved himself by means of a boat ; and, even
then, he did not reckon himself secure till
they had weighed anchor and carried the vessel
out to sea." 8

The whole of the baggage, arms, and stores,
belonging to the covenanting army were cap-
tured by the royalists. The loss on the side
of Montrose was, as usual, extremely trifling,
amounting, it is said, only to six or eight men,
three of whom were Ogilvies, who fell in the
charge which decided the fortune of the day.

The news of this disastrous and melancholy
defeat, speedily spread throughout the king-
dom and filled it with mourning. The plague,
which had devastated some of the most popu-
lous of the covenanting districts, was still
carrying on its depopulating career, and the
spirits of the people, already broken and sub-
dued under that scourge, were reduced to a
state almost bordering on despair, when they
received the afflicting intelligence of the utter
annihilation of an army on which their only
hopes were placed. No alternative, therefore,
now remained for them but unconditional
submission to the conqueror, and accordingly,
deputies were sent to him from different parts
of the kingdom, to assure him of the return of
the people to their allegiance to the king, to
proffer their obedience to Montrose as his lieu-
tenant, and to offer him assistance in support
of the royal cause. The nobility and other
persons of note who had hitherto kept aloof,
or whose loyalty had been questionable, also
crowded to the royal standard to congratulate
Montrose upon the favourable aspect'of affairs
and to offer their services.

While at Kilsyth, two commissioners, Sir
Eobert Douglas and Mr. Archibald Fleming,
commissary, arrived at Montrose's camp on the
part of the inhabitants of Glasgow, to obtain
favour and forgiveness, by congratulating him
upon his success, and inviting Mm to visit
their city. Montrose received these commis-
sioners and the other numerous deputations

7 Memoirs, p. 154. 8 Memoirs, p. 171.

and individuals who afterwards waited on him,
not merely with courtesy but with kindness,
and promised to bury all past occurrences in
perfect oblivion, but on the condition that they
should return to their allegiance and conduct
themselves in future as loyal subjects. " The
whole country now," says Wishart, "resounded
Montrose's praise. His unparalleled magna-
nimity and bravery, his happiness in devising
his plan of operations, and his quickness in
executing them, his unshaken resolution and
intrepidity, even in the greatest dangers, and
his patience in bearing the severest hardships
and fatigues ; his faithfulness and strict observ-
ance of his promises to such as submitted, and
his clemency towards his prisoners ; in short,
that heroic virtue which displayed itself in all
his actions, was extolled to the skies, and filled
the mouths of all ranks of men, and several
poems and panegyrics were wrote upon this
occasion." 9 It is believed, however, that there
was little sincerity in these professions.

This submission of the people was accelerated
by the dispersion of the Covenant nobility, an
event that put a temporary end to the govern-
ment which they had established. Argyle,
Crawford, Lanark, and others, sought protec-
tion in Berwick, and Glencairn, and Cassilia
took refuge in Ireland.

Montrose might now have marched directly
upon, and seized the capital, where many of
his friends were confined as prisoners; but he
considered it of more importance to march to
the west and disperse some levies which were
there raising. Accordingly, after refreshing
his troops two days at Kilsyth, he dispatched
a strong body under the command of Mac-
donald, his major-general, into Ayrshire to
suppress a rising under the Earls of Cassilis
and Glencairn ; and with the remainder of his
army he proceeded towards Glasgow, which he
entered amidst the general acclamations of the
citizens. Here Montrose immediately com-
menced an inquiry into the conduct of the
leading Covenanters of the city, some of whom
he put to death as a terror to others. Mon-
trose remained only a day in Glasgow, and
encamped the following day on Bothwell moor,
about twelve miles from the city. His object

8 Memoirs, p. 174.

MONTEOSE CONGEATULATED ON HIS VICTOEY.

227

in doing so, was to put an end to some excesses
on the part of his Irish and Highland troops,
whom, from the precarious tenure of their
services, and his inability to pay them, lie
could not venture to control by the severities
cf martial law. 1 And as he was apprehensive
that some of his men might lurk behind, or
visit the city for the purpose of plunder, lie
allowed the inhabitants to form a guard among
themselves to protect it. The citizens, in
gratitude for the favour and clemency thus
shown them, presented Montrose with the sum
of 10,000 merks.

In the meantime, Major-general Macdonald
arrived in Ayrshire, where he was received
with open arms. The levies which had been
raised in the west quietly dispersed; and, as
above mentioned, the Earls of Cassilis and
Glencairn fled to Ireland. The Countess of
Loudon, whose husband had acted a conspi-
cuous part against the king, received Macdon-
ald with great kindness at Loudon castle,
embracing him in her arms, and entertaining
him with great splendour and hospitality ; she
even sent a servant to Montrose to offer her
respects to liim. 2

During Montrose's stay at Bothwell, where
he remained till the 4th of September, he was
waited upon by many of the nobility in person,
to congratulate him upon his recent victory,
and to tender their services. Others sent
similar communications by their friends. The
Marquis of Douglas, the Earls of Linlithgow
and Annandale, Lords Seton, Drummond,
Fleming, Maderty, Carnegie and Johnston,
were among the first who came forward.
Deputations also arrived from the counties of
Linlithgow, Lanark, Eenfrew, and Ayr, and
also from the towns of Grecnock, Ayr, and
Irvine, to implore forgiveness for past offences,
and to give pledges for their future loyalty.
Moiilroso received them all very graciously,
and relying upon their assurances, granted
them an amnesty.

Montrose expected that the city of Edin-
burgh, which had been the focus of rebellion,
would have followed the example of Glasgow
and the other towns; but whether from obsti-

1 Unmet s Memoirs if the Did;'S of Hamilton, p. 276.
* Guthry's Memoirs, p. 155.

nacy or from the dread of a refusal of pardon,,
the authorities did not send commissioners to
Montrose, and it was not until a body of the
royalist horse appeared within four miles of
the city, that they resolved to proffer their
submission, and to throw themselves on tlio
mercy of the conqueror.

After the battle of Kilsyth, Montrose dis-
patched his nephew, Archibald, Master of
Napier, and Nathaniel Gordon, with a select
body of horse, to summon Edinburgh to sur-
render, to secure its obedience and fidelity,
and to set at liberty the royalist prisoners,
many of whom were confined in the Tolbooth.
Should the city refuse to submit, it was to bo
subjected to fire and sword. On his way to
Edinburgh, Napier set at liberty his father and
wife, Stirling of Keir, his brother-in-law, and
sisters, from the prison of Linlithgow. When
four miles from Edinburgh they came to a halt,
and waited to see how the citizens would con-
duct themselves. The inhabitants, so far from
having any intention of resisting the royal
army, were in a state of consternation and
despair lest their submission should not bo
accepted by Montrose, " accusing themselves
as sacrilegious, perjured and ungrateful traitors,
unworthy of that clemency and forgiveness for
which they so ardently prayed." In the most
grovelling and humble manner they besought
the prisoners, whom not long before they had
treated with harshness and contempt, to inter-
cede with Montrose on their behalf, promising
to submit to any conditions.

The citizens, having chosen deputies, selected
from the prisoners two of the most eminent
and stanch royalists, Ludovic Earl of Crawford
and James Lord Ogilvie, the Earl of Airly's
son, to wait upon Montrose and introduce the
deputation, implore Ids pardon, and tender the
city's humble submission. These two noble-
men and the deputies having joined Napier,
the latter returned directly to his uncle Mou-
trosc, who was unfeignedly delighted at the
sight of liis dear friends Crawford and Ogilvie.

The city delegates, on being admitted to
audience, "made a free surrender to him of
the town, and humbly deprecated his vengeance
and implored his pardon and forgiveness, pro-
mising, in name of the whole inhabitants, an
inviolable fidelity and obedience for the future,

228

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

and committing themselves and all their con-
cerns to his patronage and protection, which
they humbly entreated he would grant them.
They promised also, immediately to release all
the prisoners in their custody, and desired him
lo assure himself that any thing else he should
desire of them should be instantly complied
with. The town, they said, had been almost
depopulated by a dreadful plague, so that no
supplies of men could bo expected from it ; but
they were ready to contribute all they could to
defray the expense of what troops he might
raise in other places. Above all, they most
earnestly implored him to intercede for them
with their most gracious and merciful king, to
obtain his pity and pardon, and that he would
not condemn the whole city for the crime of
rebellion, in which they had been involved by
the craft and example of a few seditious men,
armed with power and authority. Montrose
gave them reason to hope for the royal forgive-
ness; and the only conditions ho required of
them, were, sacredly to observe their loyalty
and allegiance to his majesty for the future;
to renounce all correspondence with the rebels,
whether within or without the kingdom: the
castle of Edinburgh, which he well knew was
then in their power, he required they should
surrender to the king's officers ; and that, as
soon as the delegates returned to the city,
all the prisoners should be immediately set at
liberty, and sent to his camp." 3

Although the commissioners agreed to these
conditions, and promised to perform them, the
only one they ever fulfilled was that which
stipulated the release of the prisoners, who
were immediately on the return of the commis-
sioners sent to Montrose's camp. Indeed, it
was scarcely to be expected, from the character
of the times, that the citizens of Edinburgh,
who had all along been warm partisans of the
covenanting interest, would show a readiness
to comply with stipulations which had been
extorted from their commissioners under the
circumstances we have mentioned.

While at Bothwell, Montrose received vari-
ous communications from the king, who was
then at Oxford. The most important of these
were two commissions under the great teal, one

' Wishart.

appointing Montroso Captain-general and Lieu-
tenant-governor of Scotland, and conferring
on him full powers to raise forces, punish
state offenders, and make knights, &c. ; and
the other authorising him to summon a parlia-
ment to meet at Glasgow, to settle the affairs
of the kingdom. The bearer of these impor-
tant documents was Sir Robert Spottiswood,
formerly president of the Court of Session, and
who now acted as secretary of state for Scot-
land. As a person so well known as Sir
Robert could not travel by any of the ordinary
roads without risk of apprehension, he took a
circuitous route from Oxford, passing through
Wales, and thence crossing over to the Isle of
Man, took shipping and landed in the West
Highlands. From Lochaber ho proceeded down
into Athole, whence he was conducted by a
party of Athole-men to Montrose, at Bothwell
Moor.

The instructions brought by Sir Robert
Spottiswood, regarding the holding of a par-
liament and the matters connected therewith,
were in the meantime superseded by orders
from the king of a later date, brought by a
more direct route. By these he was directed
to march immediately to the borders, where he
would, it was said, be joined by the Earls of
Roxburgh, Traquair, and Home, and the other
royalist nobility of the southern counties, at
the head of their numerous vassals and tenants,
as well as by a body of horse which his majesty
would send from England; that, with these
united forces, he should watch the motions of
General David Leslie, who was advancing to
the north with a body of 6,000 cavalry. In
fact, Leslie, who had acquired great celebrity
by his conduct in the battle of Marston Moor,
had reached Berwick in the beginning of Sep-
tember, having been called thither on his road
to Hereford by the covenanting nobility, who
had taken refuge there after the battle of Kil-
syth.

Montrose reviewed his army on the 3d of
September, on which occasion Sir Robert
Spottiswocd delivered to him the commission
appointing him his majesty's Lieutenant-gov-
ernor for Scotland and General of all his ma-
jesty's forces. 4 After this and the other com-

4 Idem.

MONTROSE CHAGRINED BY DESERTIONS.

229

mission had been read, Montroso addressed his
army in a short and feeling speech, in the
course of which ho took occasion to praise
their bravery and loyalty, and expressed great
affection for them. In conclusion, addressing
Macdonald, his major-general, ho bestowed
upon him the tribute of his praise, and, by
virtue of the power with which he had been
invested, conferred upon him the honour of
knighthood, in presence of the whole army.
Little did Montroso imagine, that the man
whose services he was now so justly rewarding
had resolved immediately to abandon him,
and, under the pretence of revenging some in-
juries which his friends had sustained at the
hands of Argyle four years before, to quit for
ever the service of his royal master.

Montrose's ranks had, before the review
alluded to, been thinned by private desertions
among the Highlanders, who carried off with
them all the booty they had been able to collect;
but as soon as Montrose announced his inten-
tion, in terms of the instructions he had received
from the king, to march south, the Highlanders
in a body demanded liberty to return home
for a short time to repair their houses, which
had been reduced to ruins by the enemy, and
to provide a stock of provisions for their wives
and families during the ensuing winter. To
induce Montrose to comply the more readily
with their request, they promised to return to
his camp within forty days, and to bring
some of their friends along with them. As
Montroso saw that the Highlanders were de-
termined to depart, and that consequently
any attempt to retain them would be unavail-
ing, he dissembled the displeasure he felt,
and after thanking them in the king's name
for their services, and entreating them to
return to him as soon as possible, ho granted
them leave of absence with apparent goodwill.
But when Sir Alexander Macdonald also an-
nounced his intention to return to the High-
lands, Montroso could not conceal his chagrin,
and strongly remonstrated against such a step.
" Montrose," says Guthry, " dealt most seri-
ously with him to have staid until they had
been absolute conquerors, promising then to go
thither himself, and be concurring with him
hi punishing them, (Argyle and his party,) as
they deserved ; and withal told him that his

separating ut this time must bo the occasion of
ruin to them both. But all was to no purpose ;
he would needs be gone, and for a reason en-
larged himself in reckoning up the Marquis of
Argylo's cruelties against his friends, who, as
he said, did four years ago draw his father and
brother to Inverary upon trust, and then made
them prisoners ; and since, (his friends having
retired to the isles of Jura and Rachliu for
shelter,) sent Ardkinlass and the captain of
Skipness to the said isles to murder them,
which, (said he,) they did without mercy,
sparing neither women nor children. With
such discourses he justified his departure, and
would not be hindered." Macdonald accord-
ingly, after returning thanks to Montrose in a
formal oration for the favours he had received,
and pledging himself for the early return of the
Highlanders, departed for the Highlands on the
day of the review, accompanied by about 3,000
Highlanders, the elite of Montrose's army, and
by 120 of the best of the Irish troops, whom
he had selected as a body guard.

The desertion of such a large body of men,
consisting of the flower of his army, was a sub-
ject of the deepest concern to Montrose, whose
sole reliance for support against the powerful
force of Leslie, now depended upon the pre-
carious succours he might obtain on his march
to the south. Under such circumstances a
commander more prudent than Montrose would
have hesitated about the course to be pursued,
and wotdd probably have either remained for
some time in his position, till the levies raising
in the south should assemble, or retreat across
the Forth, and there awaited reinforcements
from the north ; but the ardent and chivalrous
feelings of Montrose so blinded him, as to
make him altogether disregard prudential con-
siderations, and the splendour of his victories
had dazzled his imagination so much, as to
induce him to believe that he had only to
engage the enemy to defeat him.

Accordingly, on the day following the depar-
ture of the Highlanders, viz., the 4th of Sep-
tember, Montrose began his march to the
south ; but he had not proceeded far, when
he had the mortification to find himself also
abandoned by the Earl of Aboyne, who not
only carried off the whole of his own men, but
induced the other horsemen of the north, who

230

GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS.

were not of his party, to accompany him. Sir
Nathaniel Gordon appears to have been the
only individual of the name of Gordon who
remained behind. The cause of such a hasty
proceeding on the part of the Earl of Aboyne,
is not very evident ; but it seems probable, that
his lordship had taken some offence at Mon-
trose, who, according to a partisan of the Gordon
family, arrogated to himself all the honour of
the victories which the earl had greatly con-
tributed to obtain. 5

The army of Montrose was now reduced to
a mere handful of men, consisting only of
about 200 gentlemen who had joined him at
Bothwell, and 700 foot, chiefly Irish. Yet he
resolved to proceed on his march, and reached
Cranstoun-Kirk in Mid-Lothian, on Saturday
the 6th of September, where lie received intelli-
gence that General David Leslie had arrived
at Berwick with a great body of cavalry. He
encamped at Cranstoun-Kirk with the inten-
tion of remaining there over the Sunday, and
hearing Dr. Wishart preach ; but having, the
following morning, been put in possession of a
correspondence between Leslie and the heads
of the Covenanters, at Berwick, which de-
veloped their plans, he quickly raised his camp,
without waiting for sermon, and advanced into
the district of the Gala. A more imprudent
step than this cannot be well conceived, as
Montrose threw his little band into the jaws
of Leslie's army, which was lying ready to
pounce upon him. In his march along Gala-
water, he was joined by the Marquis of Douglas
and Lord Ogilvie at the head of a small party,
the remains of a larger body which had been
diminished by desertion. Montrose was waited
upon at Galashiels by the Earl of Traquair,
who professed the most fervent attachment to
the king, and promised to obtain information
foT him respecting Leslie's movements ; and in
proof of his sincerity, sent his son Lord Linton
with a troop of well-mounted horse, who joined
liim the following day.

From Galashiels Montrose marched to Kelso,
where he expected to be joined by the Earls of
Home and Roxburgh, and their vassals ; but
on his arrival there, he was surprised to find

Gordon's Continuilion, p. 528.
6 Guthry's Memoirs, p. 159.

that these two noblemen had taken no measures
to raise the levies they had promised. He,
therefore, resolved to pay them a visit, to
compel them to fulfil their engagements ; but
anticipating such a step, they had allowed
themselves to be made voluntary prisoners by
a party of Leslie's horse and carried to Berwick
Roxburgh, whom Wishart calls "a cunning
old fox," was the contriver of this artful
scheme, which, while it secured him and his
colleague Home the favour of the Covenanters,
was intended to induce the king to believe
that they were suffering for their loyalty.

This act of perfidy opened the eyes of Mon-
trose to the danger of his situation, and made
him instantly resolve to retrace his steps, so as
to prevent his retreat to the north being cut
off by David Leslie, who had by this time
crossed the Tweed. He, therefore, marched
from Kelso westward to Jcdburgh, and from
thence to Selkirk, where he arrived on the 1 2th
of September, and encamped that night in a
wood, called Hareheadwood, in the neighbour-
hood of the town at the head of a long and
level piece of ground called Philiphaugh, on
the north bank of the Ettrick. Montrose him-
self, with his horse, took up his quarters in
the town.

The position thus selected by Montrose was
well calculated to prevent his being taken by
surprise, as Leslie, from the direction in which
he had necessarily to advance, could only
approach it by coming up the open vale of
Philiphaugh ; but unfortunately, Montrose did
not, on this occasion, take those extraordinary
precautions which he had been accustomed to
do. It had always been his practice hitherto,
to superintend in person the setting of the
night watches, and to give instructions himself
to the sentinels, and to the scouts ho sent out,
to watch the motions of the enemy ; but having
important letters to write to the king, which
he was desirous of sending off before the break
of day by a trusty messenger, he intrusted
these details to his cavalry officers, whom he
exhorted to great vigilance, and to take care
that the scouts kept a sharp outlook for the
enemy. Montrose had the utmost confidence
in the wisdom and integrity of his officers,
whose long experience in military affairs he
had many times Avitnessed ; and as there seemed

BATTLE OF PHILirHAUCU.

231

to be no immediate danger, ho thought that,
for one night at least, he could safely leave the
direction of affairs to such men.

While occupied during the night preparing
his dispatches for the king, Montrose received
several loose reports, from time to time, respect-
ing the alleged movements of the enemy, of
which he sent due notice to his officers, "but he
was as often assured, both by the reports of
his officers and of the scouts, that not a vestige
of an enemy was to be seen. Thus the night
passed without any apparent foundation for
the supposition that the enemy was at hand,
and to make assurance doubly sure, some of
the fleetest of the cavalry were sent out at
break of day to reconnoitre. On their return,
they stated that they had examined with care
all the roads and passes for ten miles round,
and solemnly averred, that there was not the
least appearance of an enemy within the range
they had just scoured. Yet singular as the
fact may appear, Leslie was lying at that very
time at Melrose, with 4,000 horse, within six
miles of Montrose's camp.

It appears that on the day of Montrose's
march from Jedburgh, General Leslie, who
had a few days before crossed the Tweed at
Berwick, held a council of war on Gladsmuir
in East Lothian, at which it was determined
that lie should proceed towards Stirling to cut
ofl" Montrose's retreat to the Highlands, whither
it was supposed that he meant instantly to
retire, for the purpose of obtaining reinforce-
ments. But the cou