Full text of "Loyal Lochaber and its associations : historical, genealogical, and traditionary"

HISTORICAL GENEALOQCAL
AND TRADITIONARY

W-DRUMMOND- NORIE

MEMBER OF COMUNN NA

GA1DHLIGANNAN

LUNNA1NN

WITH INTRODUCTORY POEM
BYALICE C MACDONELL

OFKEPPOCH
BARDESS TO THE CLAN

DONALD SOCIETY
WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTR
ATIONS BY LOCKHART
BOGLE-THE AUTHOR-ETC
AND REPRODUCTIONS FROM
OLD AND RARE PRINTS

GLASGOW
MORISON BROTHERS
5* RENF1ELD STREET

MDCCOCCVm

The Edition for Sale is strictly limited to 100 Large Paper Copies
and 500 Ordinary Copies.

V\ ft

LOYAL LOCHABER

AND ITS ASSOCIATIONS

HISTORICAL, GENEALOGICAL, AND TRADITIONARY

BY ^ f

WILLIAM DRUMMOND-NORIE

Member of the Gaelic Societies of London and Glasgow

ILLUSTRATED BY NUMEROUS REPRODUCTIONS OF
OLD AND RARE PRINTS, PHOTOGRAPHS, <5w., &c.

With an Introductory Poem '

BY ALICE C. MACDONELL OF KEPPOCH
Bardess to the Clan Donald Society

GLASGOW

MORISON BROTHERS, 52 RENFIELD STREET

i 898

DONALD CAMERON, E SQl

OF LOCHIEL
XXIVTH CHIEF OF CLAN CAMERON

THE WORTHY REPRESENTATIVE AND DESCENDANT
OF A LONG LINE OF HEROIC ANCESTORS OF WHOSE DEEDS

Cocfyaber

MAY WELL BE PROUD

THIS VOLUME IS BY KIND PERMISSION
RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED

PREFACE.

IF any apology is needed for this unpretentious volume,
it will be found in the recent completion of the
West Highland Railway, and the further opening up
of the country by the new line to Mallaig, great
engineering undertakings which are destined to effect
material changes in the beautiful and romantic district
of Lochaber.

Until recently, the only practical means of communi-
cation between Lochaber and the outer world has been
by steamer from Glasgow, or by coach from Kingussie,
both routes involving a considerable expenditure of time
and money, which, in these days of rapid and econom-
ical travelling, are important considerations, especially
to those who can only afford a brief absence from their
duties.

Much as I dislike the intrusion of the "personally
conducted " into the sublime solitudes of Lochaber, and
to hear the deafening screech of the railway whistle
echoing from the granite sides of Ben Nevis, I cannot
but admit that out of evil good may come.

The student of Nature will have a new field for
meditation among the hills and glens, the lochs and
rivers of this most beautiful spot on God's earth ; the
poet new themes of inspiration in a land teeming with
the legends and traditions of a past age ; the artist
will, among the picturesque scenery of Loch Linnhe
or Loch Eil, find fresh subjects for his brush ; and
the historian and antiquarian will here discover food

viii PREFACE

for reflection and research among the ancient dwellings
and strongholds of departed chieftains, or amid the
dolmens, brochs, and cairns of a prehistoric race.

Apart from these somewhat sentimental reasons, I
believe that the new railway enterprises will prove
important factors in promoting the future welfare of
the Highland crofters and fishermen, who will now
have the opportunity, so long denied them, of disposing
of the produce of land and sea in the great markets of
Edinburgh and Glasgow, which will be brought within
a few hours' journey.

The great alterations that must necessarily ensue
when these undertakings are completed, will, I fear,
obliterate many historic landmarks, and introduce a
foreign element among the Highlanders of the district,
who up till now have retained all the sterling good
qualities of their Celtic ancestors, pure and unadulter-
ated. Proud, reserved, but hospitable to a fault; of
splendid physique and appearance, they fully deserve
the title of " nature's gentlemen " ; and I take this
opportunity of offering my tribute of thanks for the
many acts of kindness and hospitality I have received
at their hands.

It is no small part of my reward in connection with
the task of compiling this volume, to have found so
many willing hands ready to assist me in my under-
taking. I have first to tender my respectful thanks to
Her Majesty the Queen, by whose gracious permission
I have been enabled to insert several extracts of local
interest from her "Highland Journal"; and I cannot pass
over without grateful acknowledgment the very great
help I have received from Mrs MacDonell of Keppoch
and her two talented daughters. Much valuable informa-
tion has been placed in my hands by these ladies, which

PREFACE ix

cannot but prove of interest to my readers, and I am
sure that all Highlanders will appreciate the charming
verses, written specially for this work by Miss Alice
MacDonell (Bardess to the Clan Donald Society), not
only on account of their intrinsic merit, but still more
from the fact that they are composed by a direct
descendant of the famous Alasdair MacDonell of
Keppoch, whose heroic death at Culloden will never
be forgotten by his fellow-countrymen. To Mr Tom
Mac Kay, of Inverness and Glen Nevis, I am indebted
for many curious traditions and stories of by-gone days
which find a place in these pages ; and to Mr Andrew
Scott and Mr Patrick Honeyman, of Glasgow, for several
of the most beautiful photographs with which they are
illustrated.

It has been my endeavour to collect, in the compass
of this volume, all that is of most interest in the
authentic history and traditionary lore of Lochaber,
and to rescue from possible oblivion its many old-world
stories and quaint legends, which another generation
will probably have forgotten amid the inrush of the
questionable civilising influences of Sassenach tourists.

This work does not pretend to any high standard
of literary merit, nor does it by any means exhaust
all that could be written respecting the history and
traditions of the district. Many subjects have been
practically untouched, such, for instance, as the Bards
of Lochaber and their poetry; the detailed history and
genealogy of the various smaller clans and septs of
the district ; and a full account of the progress of the
Christian Church in Lochaber, from the time of St
Columba and the Culdees to the present day, each of
which would fill a volume of no small dimensions.
Much has already been done in this direction by such

X PREFACE

able and scholarly writers as Alexander MacKenzie, the
well-known clan historian, Dr Fraser- Mackintosh, and
Dr Alexander Stewart (" Nether Lochaber"), 1 whose
works are monuments of patient research, well worthy
of careful study by all who are interested in the
Highlands and the Highland people.

My own task has been less ambitious, being merely
an attempt to awaken the interest of the general reader
in the history of a typical Highland district ; and with
that object in view I have approached the subject in
a lighter vein, and have woven into the local narrative

o "

brief descriptions of those great historical events which,
although occurring far beyond the limits of Lochaber,
were yet fated to have a marked effect upon the
destinies of its inhabitants. For my Jacobite sym-
pathies I make no apology. To all honest seekers after
the beautiful in Nature, I say in all sincerity, come to
Lochaber with a reverent spirit and admire the glorious
scenery, and recruit your health with the life-giving
breezes that are wafted over many a league of ocean
and purple moorland, laden with the scent of the
heather and the pungent odour of the seaweed. It is
for you I write ; and if my poor words can lend
additional charm, or add a further interest to this
land of poetry and romance, or help to throw any
light upon its past history, my object will have been
accomplished and my labour will not have been in
vain.

W. DRUMMOND-NORIE.
GLASGOW, 1898.

1 Dr Cameron Lees' book on Inverness-shire has been published since
this work was written.

CONTENTS.

PART I. INVERLOCHY.
CHAPTER I.

Inverlochy in Pictish times The building of the city and stronghold of
Inverlochy by King Ewin II. News of a Roman invasion brought to
King Ethodius at Inverlochy Donald of the Isles usurps the throne,
and is murdered at Inverlochy Assassination of King Gonranus King
Donwald drowned in the Lochy Traditionary visit of the Emperor
Charlemagne to Inverlochy King Eocha (Achaius) receives the Prankish
ambassadors Dress and weapons of the Picts Origin of the royal arms
of Scotland The St Andrew's Cross adopted as the national badge
Ancient dress of the women of Inverlochy Lochaber described by
Boetius Derivation of the name Lochaber Macbeth's castle at Loch
Debhra Chronicle of St Berchan Place-names Banquo, Thane of
Lochaber Revolt of the MacDonalds Origin of the Stuarts Murder
of Banquo by Macbeth Story of Fleance Erection of the castle of
Inverlochy The Comyns in Lochaber The Red Comyn slain at
Dumfries by Robert Bruce Traditional origin of the Camerons The
Mackintoshes Battle of Invernahavon Quarrel between Davidson of
Invernahavon and Cluny MacPheraon Rout of the Camerons,

CHAPTER II.

The Clan Donald and its branches Alasdair Carrach, I Chief of Keppoch
Donald of the Isles claims the Earldom of Ross Battle of Harlaw
James I. of Scotland His captivity in England Alexander of the Isles
invades Lochaber He is summoned before the king at Inverness
Inverness burned by the MacDonalds The Lord of the Isles sues for
pardon at Holyrood Imprisoned at Tantallon Castle Donald Balloch
takes the field First battle of Inverlochy The king takes the field in
person Story of the Earl of Mar and O'Birrin Liberation of Alexander
of the Isles The Cameron lands bestowed upon MacLean of Coll
Ailein nan Creach Battle at Corpach between the Camerons and
MacLeans The MacMasters of Ardgour Ewen of the Feathers Murder
of MacMaster The MacLeans become possessed of Ardgour,

xii CONTENTS

CHAPTER III.

PAGE

Lordship of Lochaber forfeited to the Crown The Gordons in Lochaber
Origin of the family Restoration of Inverlochy Castle Treaties made
with the local chiefs "Ranald of the Hens" Battle of Blar nan leine
Defeat of the Frasers Stories of Ranald " Galda " Capture and
execution of Keppoch and Lochiel "The Black Tailor of the Battle-
axe" Attack on Ruthven Castle by Angus Mackintosh Battle between
the Camerons and Mackintoshes The Earl of Argyll claims the lands
of the Camerons Jealousy of Huntly Dissensions among the Camerons
Lochiel takes vengeance upon the traitors, . 34

CHAPTER IV.

Historical retrospect Charles I. Act of Revocation Attempt to force the
English Liturgy upon the Scottish Presbyterians The National Covenant
Montrose His early history His jealousy of Argyll Character of
Argyll Imprisonment of Montrose Montrose goes over to the king
Argyll raids the West Highlands "The Bonnie Hoose o' Airlie," . 47

CHAPTER V.

Montrose returns to Scotland The Highland army Aberdeen sacked by
the Irish Hatred of the Campbells by the loyal clans Argyll arrives
at Inveraray Castle Descent of Montrose and the Highland army
upon Argyllshire Slaughter of the Campbells Flight of Argyll
Montrose proceeds to Kilcumin Argyll invades Lochaber with a large
army of his clan Montrose determines upon a strategic movement
Arrival of the Highland army in Glen Nevis Description of the rival
forces "Iain Lorn," the bard of Keppoch His genealogy and history
Friendship of Montrose for Iain Lorn The bard prefers the pen to
the sword Poem, " The Battle of Inverlochy," . . . -53

CHAPTER VI.

Description of the battle of Inverlochy Rout of the Campbells "The
Campbell's Stone " Death of Auchenbreck Montrose sends a message
to king Charles Flight of Argyll from Inverlochy Apparent cowardice
Curious explanation from "Britanes Distemper" Future career of
Montrose His capture by the Covenanters The last scene on the
scaffold Present condition of Inverlochy Castle Description of the
surrounding scenery Ben Nevis Probable derivation of the name, . 63

CHAPTER VII.

Charles II. crowned at Scone Cromwell invades Scotland Battle of
Worcester, and escape of Charles to France General Monk endeavours
to force the Highland chiefs to submission Humorous account of
General Dean's expedition to the Highlands Monk determines to build

CONTENTS xiii

PAGE

a fort at Inverlochy The fort completed Description of its position
Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel His early days He joins the Royalist
forces under Glencairn Gallant conduct at Braemar His hatred of
the Sassenach intruders, ....... 72

CHAPTER VIII.

Colonel Bryan sends two sloops of war to Loch Eil Anger of the Cameron
chief He decides to fight the English troops Bravery of Alan Cameron
The fight at Achdalieu Deadly combat between Lochiel and the
English commander Narrow escape of Lochiel Anecdote of Lochiel's
visit to London Lochiel joins the army under General Middleton
Desperate skirmish between the Camerons and the English near Inver-
lochy Lochiel agrees to a treaty of peace with the English Amicable
meeting of Lochiel and the officers of the garrison, . . -77

CHAPTER IX.

Restoration of Charles II. Argyll throws himself upon the king's mercy
His execution The effect of the Restoration upon the Covenanters
Death of Charles II. and accession of James II. The Prince of Orange
The Keppoch Murder Iain Lorn vows vengeance against the murderers
He appeals to the MacDonald chieftains for assistance The bard fulfils
his vow " Tobar nan Ceann," ...... 86

CHAPTER X.

The Clan Chattan Coll of Keppoch His ancestry Mackintosh disputes
Keppoch's right to the Lochaber estates Battle of Mulroy (Meall Ruadh}
Desperate encounter between Mackenzie of Suddy and MacDonald of
Tulloch Death of Mackenzie "The red-haired Bo-man" Defeat of
Mackintosh The fight for the standard Description of the battle by
a tobacco-spinner's apprentice from Inverness His future career
Mackintosh a prisoner Arrival of the Macphersons Mackintosh re-
leased and escorted to Moy Dress of the Highlanders of the period
James II. renders himself obnoxious to the Protestant party Imprisonment
of the bishops Birth of a prince William of Orange lands at Torbay
King James retires to France, ...... 92

CHAPTER XL

Bonnie Dundee His youth and education Supernatural powers attributed
to Dundee Created Viscount Dundee " Iain Dubh nan Cath" Rising
of the Highlanders Coll of Keppoch besieges Inverness Dundee arrives
at Inverness General Hugh MacKay of Scourie Appointed by the Prince
of Orange as Major-General of the forces in Scotland Inverness pays
indemnity to Keppoch Quarrels in the Highland army Advance of
General MacKay to Forres, ...... 104

xiv CONTENTS

CHAPTER XII.

PAGE

Lochaber in 1689 A.D. Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel and king James II.
Characteristic anecdote Lochiel and the Sheriff of Inverness Overtures
made to Lochiel by the rival commanders The gathering of the clans at
Mov Macaulay's description of the muster The Highlanders difficult to
control Lochiel refuses to adopt the new method of warfare, . . 1 1 1

CHAPTER XIII.

Dissensions in the camp at Moy Old feuds break out Quarrel between
Glengarry and Lochiel MacKay advises the Government to establish a
strong garrison at Inverlochy The witch "Gormshuill" The wreck of
the ' ' Florida " Dundee writes to MacLeod Expected arrival of Irish
troops at Inverlochy The character of Dundee Killiecrankie Heroic
death of Dundee The victory largely due to the advice of Lochiel and
Glengarry Narrow escape of Lochiel His contempt for luxury, . 117

PART II. FORT WILLIAM.
CHAPTER XIV.

General MacKay granted permission to build a fort at Inverlochy He proceeds
to Lochaber Iain Lorn Lochiel deplores his inability to attack MacKay
The erection of Fort William, and its effect upon the district The
"Craigs" burial-ground Submission of the Highland chiefs Maclain
of Glencoe remains obstinate Events that led up to the Massacre of
Glencoe The massacre, . . . . . . .127

CHAPTER XV.

Jacobite sympathies of the Lochaber chiefs Breadalbane suggests the employ-
ment of Highlanders as soldiers Death of James II. at St Germains
Proclamation of James III. His recognition by Louis XIV. as king of
Great Britain and Ireland Death of William of Orange Accession of
Anne The Crown settled upon the Electress of Hanover Anger of
the Jacobite party Hunting match in the Highlands Schools in Fort
William Death of Iain Lorn Anecdote of Iain Lorn and the Marquis
of Argyll Death of Anne The Elector of Hanover proclaimed king
as George L, ........ 137

CHAPTER XVI.

Effect of the accession of George I. upon the Lochaber chiefs The Earl of
Mar His overtures to the Elector of Hanover His dismissal from the
Court "The Standard on the Braes of Mar" The chiefs at first refuse
to take up arms Attack on Fort William by the Highlanders under
General Gordon The Lochaber clans join the forces under Mar The
battle of Sheriffmuir Death of the captain of Clanranald Loyal speech

CONTENTS XV

PAGE

of Sir John MacLean Rob Roy at Sheriffmuir Visit of Rob Roy to
Fort William He intercepts the despatches in Glen Dochart John
Cameron of Lochiel unpopular Mar's incapacity as a general, . . 146

CHAPTER XVII.

Landing of James VIII. (The Chevalier) at Peterhead Strange vision of
Lochiel Second-sight Description of Sir Ewen Cameron's appearance
at this period His reply to the English officer Description of the
Chevalier Disappointment of the Highlanders Departure of the
Chevalier and the Earl of Mar, . . . . . 155

CHAPTER XVIII.

End of the Rebellion of 1715 The Highlanders ordered to surrender their
arms Lochiel, Keppoch, and Clanranald remain obstinate They
eventually yield Only worthless arms given up Lochaber in peace
Death of Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel His character Donald
Cameron succeeds his grandfather Sir Ewen's posterity Character of
Donald Cameron of Lochiel General Wade's report on the Highlands
in 1724 The Creach Tasgal money Last feudal execution in Scot-
land "Domhnull donn" and Lochiel Power of the chiefs Lochiel
endeavours to improve the moral status of his clan, . . .160

CHAPTER XIX.

State of the Highlands in 1724 Marshal Wade sent to Inverness by the
English Government His suggestions for improving the condition of
the Highlands He recommends the formation of a Highland militia
Commissions granted to Highland gentlemen Lochiel suspected of
corresponding with the Chevalier Alan Cameron sent to Lochaber
The Black Watch Marshal Wade commences road-making The new
roads disliked by the Highlanders Captain Burt His letters His
description of Fort William Amusing account of an ascent of Ben
Nevis Pathetic story of the famine in Fort William, . . . 167

PART III. THE "FORTY-FIVE."
CHAPTER XX.

Retrospective notes Marriage of the Chevalier Birth and early years of
Prince Charles Edward Alan Cameron's mission to the Highland
chiefs The Chevalier's letter to Lochiel Death of George I. and acces-
sion of George II. The Chevalier dissuaded from attempting a coup
cFttat Coll of Keppoch at the Chevalier's Court His death Friend-
ship of Prince Charles for Alexander of Keppoch Lochaber the cradle
of the "Forty- Five" Lochiel pledged to assist the Jacobite cause
Lochaber expectant, . . . . . . .177

XVi CONTENTS

CHAPTER XXI.

PAGE

The " Forty-five "Arrival of Prince Charles in the Highlands Lochiel
embarrassed Cameron of Fassfern endeavours to dissuade Lochiel from
meeting the prince Lochiel and Prince Charles The rising of the
Lochaber clans The MacDonalds Keppoch strikes the first blow
The skirmish at High Bridge Surrender of Captain Scott, . .183

CHAPTER XXII.

The prince arrives in Glenfinnan His disappointment at the absence of the
Highlanders The Camerons and MacDonalds of Keppoch join the prince
The story of Jenny Cameron. . . .189

CHAPTER XXIII.

The standard raised in Glenfinnan Enthusiasm of the Highlanders Prince
Charles no "Pretender" MacLeod refuses to join the prince The
prince at Fassfern He proceeds to Moy The Highland clans continue
to come in The retreat of General Cope from Corrieyairack The
prince's toast Cluny MacPherson comes in The prince determines to
march to Edinburgh, ... .195

CHAPTER XXIV.

Loyalty of the Lochaber chiefs Lady Mackintosh raises her husband's clan
for the prince's service Prince Charles at Holyrood Prestonpans
Lochaber gentlemen slain News reaches Lochaber of the prince's march
to Derby The garrison at Fort William strengthened by General
Campbell Retreat of the Highland army Battle of Falkirk
MacDonald of Timadris taken prisoner Lochiel and Dr Cameron
wounded Accidental death of young ^Eneas MacDonell The prince
arrives at Moy Hall The rout of Moy Prince Charles at Inverness
Fort Augustus surrenders to the prince Preparations for the siege of
Fort William, ........ 202

CHAPTER XXV.

Description of Glen Nevis The " Clach Shomhairle" Cana grass The
burial-ground of the Camerons of Glen Nevis " Tom-eas-an-t-slinnein "
The septs of Clan Cameron The Camerons of Glen Nevis Glen Nevis
House Highland hospitality, . . . . . .213

CHAPTER XXVI.

The rocking stone The hill of evil counsel The massacres of the MacSorlies
Escape of the young heir His adventures His meeting with Lochiel,
and ultimate restoration to his estates Vitrified fort, . . .221

CONTENTS xvii

CHAPTER XXVII.

PAGE

The legend of Deirdri, ........ 227

CHAPTER XXVIII.

Description of Glen Nevis continued " Acha-nan-con " Achriabhach The
Falls Murder of a chieftain by Iain Beag MacAindrea Further traditions
of Iain MacAindrea Grand scenery of the glen The "Cave of Somerled"
Curious traditions connected with the cave The Upper Falls of Nevis, 236

CHAPTER XXIX.

Detailed account of the siege of Fort William The siege raised Kilmallie,
its history and traditions "Annat," probably of Druidical origin
"Ailein nan Creach" Grant of lands in Lochaber Alan consults the
oracle of the ' ' Tau Ghairm " The Cat's Pool Alan erects the seven
churches Alan starts on a pilgrimage Tor Castle and its traditions
The parish of Kilmallie Corpach "Domhnull nan Ord," . . 241

CHAPTER XXX.

Prince Charles at Inverness Advance of the Duke of Cumberland Lochiel
arrives with his clan The battle of Culloden The Lochaber clans at
Culloden Fatal error of Lord George Murray Anger of the MacDonalds
Desperate charge of the Camerons and Mackintoshes Iain M6r
Macgilvra The MacDonalds refuse to. fight Appeal of Keppoch to
his clan His heroic death "Keppoch's Candlesticks" The curse of
Keppoch Lochiel wounded at Culloden Culloden fatal to the Stuart
cause, ......... 251

CHAPTER XXXI.

Brutality of the Duke of Cumberland after Culloden " The Butcher "Lady
Mackintosh taken prisoner Her meeting with the Duke of Cumberland
in London Flight of Prince Charles to the Highlands The prince and
Lord Lovat He arrives at Invergarry Castle Sufferings of the High-
landers after Culloden Privations of the prince Money sent from France
Meeting of the Highland chiefs at Murlaggan Lord Loudoun ordered
to Fort Augustus The hiding of the treasure Lochiel and Dr Cameron
retire to Badenoch, ....... 260

CHAPTER XXXII.

The Duke of Cumberland marches to Fort Augustus A reign of terror in
Lochaber Burning of the chiefs' houses Brutal treatment of the
unarmed Highlanders English troops in Glen Nevis Disgraceful scenes

xviii CONTENTS

PAGE

at Fort Augustus The duke visits Fort William A tragic incident at
Fort William Mrs Grant of Laggan The wanderings of Prince Charles
Fidelity of the Highlanders Edward Burke Flora MacDonald, . 268

CHAPTER XXXIII.

Prince Charles returns to Lochaber The prince and the farmer's wife
Donald Cameron of Glenpean assists the prince Dugald Roy Cameron's
son murdered by Captain Grant of Cnoc-ceanach Death of Major Munro
of Culcairn Wretched condition of the prince Peter Grant guides
Prince Charles to Achnasaul Lochiel endeavours to communicate with
the prince Dr Archibald Cameron and the Rev. John Cameron start
for Loch Arkaig Dr Cameron meets the prince's messenger and returns
with him to Lochiel He again sets out for Lochaber The prince's
friendship for Lochiel, ....... 274

CHAPTER XXXIV.

Description of Loch Arkaig and its neighbourhood Ach-na-carry The
Mackintosh's Island Prince Charles hides in a cave in the Black Mile
Approach of the redcoats Toilsome flight of the prince Dr Cameron
conducts the prince to Lochiel at Mellaneuir Meeting of the prince and
Lochiel The regret of Cluny Macpherson that his clan was absent from
Culloden Magnanimous speech of Prince CharlesGenerosity of Sir
Stewart Thriepland, ....... 283

CHAPTER XXXV.

Glenaladale watches for the French ships Arrival of two French men-of-war
in Loch-nan-Uamh Glenaladale sets out to convey the intelligence to the
prince The prince and his followers cross the Lochy at Mucomer The
Camerons of Mucomer Prince Charles at Glen Camgharaidh Mrs
Grant's eulogy on Lochiel Character of Dr Archibald Cameron Cameron
of Torcastle Letter of Prince Charles to Cluny Prince Charles's last
night in Lochaber " Lochaber no more" Embarkation of the fugitives
Vain regrets" Will ye no come back again ? " . . . . 289

PART IV. LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE."
CHAPTER XXXVI.

The victims of the rebellion Donald MacDonald of Keppoch His defiant
attitude at his trial Executions at Kennington Common Horrible
barbarities Anecdotes of MacDonald of Tirnadris told by Bishop Forbes
He refuses to plead guilty His loyalty to the cause Execution of
Tirnadris and Kinlochmoidart at Carlisle Bill of Attainder passed
Names of the proscribed chiefs, ...... 299

CONTENTS xix

CHAPTER XXXVII.

PAGE

Lochaber desolate "Rebel hunting" Hugh Cameron of Anoch taken
"Sergeant Mor" His career Treachery detested by the Highlanders
Act of Indemnity passed Lochaber chieftains excluded from the benefits
of the Act Disarming of the Highlanders The Highland dress proscribed
Indignation of the Highlanders Amusing evasions of the Act Act for
the abolition of hereditary jurisdiction The Duke of Argyll receives
^21,000 compensation The estates of the Jacobite chiefs forfeited, . 306

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

The Jacobite exiles The Cameron chieftains at St Germains John Cameron
of Lochiel accompanys Prince Charles to Fontainbleau Reception by the
French king Generosity of the French Government to the exiles Young
Lochiel advises the prince to risk another expedition The treaty of
Aix-la-Chapelle fatal to the Stuart cause Its effect upon Prince Charles
Death of John Cameron of Lochiel Donald Cameron, ' ' the Gentle
Lochiel," succumbs to an attack of brain fever Poem in his praise
Charles Cameron succeeds to the chieftainship of the clan Account of
Dr Archibald Cameron's career, . . . . . 313

CHAPTER XXXIX.

Colin Campbell of Glenure appointed factor on the forfeited estates in Lochaber
and Appin His unpopularity in the district Alan Breck Stewart
Eviction of James Stewart of the Glen Murder of Glenure Alan Breck
suspected of the crime Reward of ^100 offered by the Lords Justices
James Stewart arrested and imprisoned at Fort William His trial at
Inveraray A packed jury The verdict His execution at Ballachulish
Probable guilt of Alan Breck deduced from the evidence "Salm
Sheumais a Ghlinne " Mrs Grant's (of Laggan) account of the crime, . 319

CHAPTER XL.

English garrisons posted in Lochaber General Wolfe at Culloden He
refuses to obey a barbarous order of the Duke of Cumberland Dislike
of the English officers for the Highlands Arrest of Dr Archibald
Cameron at Inversnaid A brave Highland lassie Trial of Dr Cameron
in London Horrible sentence The doctor conveyed to the Tower
His wife pleads for pardon Scene at the execution The doctor's letters
His last message to his son The execution of Dr Cameron an act of
unnecessary severity His last resting-place in the Savoy Chapel
Memorial window, ....... 326

CHAPTER XLI.

John Cameron of Fassfern and Alexander Stewart, W.S., of Banavie arrested
and imprisoned at Fort William Committed to Edinburgh Castle
Fassfern liberated on bail, but afterwards rearrested on a charge of

XX CONTENTS

PAGE

forgery His trial and sentence William Pitt recognises the merits of
the Highlanders Letters of service issued for the raising of Highland
regiments Popularity of military service among the Highlanders Pitt's
tribute to Highland courage Fraser's Highlanders largely officered by
Lochaber gentlemen Uniform of the regiment described Tact of the
War Office authorities in respecting the Highland customs Captain
Donald MacDonald killed at Quebec Ranald MacDonell of Keppoch
Legitimacy of Angus, chief of Keppoch, questioned His parentage and
history He abdicates the chieftainship in favour of Ranald Keppoch
House The story of "A' bhaintigearna bheag"]o}m of Keppoch and
Prince Charles, ........ 335

CHAPTER XLII.

Death of the Old Chevalier (James VIII.) Marriage of Prince Charles to
Louisa of Stolberg Unhappy result Melancholy condition of the prince
His liaison with Clementina Walkinshaw A vindication of the prince's
character His daughter Charlotte attends him in his last illness His
death and burial in St Peter's, Rome Prince' Henry succeeds his brother
His death in 1807 Accession of George III., and its effect upon the
Highlands Loyal Lochaber Lochaber, the nursery of the Highland
regiments Duncan MacPherson of Cluny Story of his birth Lochiel's
return to Lochaber Characteristic remark of an old Highlander Lochiel
receives a captain's commission in the fist Regiment The Camerons
refuse to embark without their chief Death of Charles Cameron of
Lochiel Restoration of the forfeited estates, .... 343

CHAPTER XLIIL

Keppoch's claim to his estates disputed by the Crown He is allowed to reside
at Keppoch on payment of a nominal rent Alan Cameron of Errachd
His ancestry "A' bhannlrach ruadh " Duel between Errachd and
Murshiorlaich Death of Murshiorlaich, and flight of Errachd He joins
the Royal Highland Emigrant Regiment He returns to Lochaber and
raises the Cameron Volunteers Ranald of Keppoch assists in bringing in
recruits History of the Errachd tartan Pibroch of Donald Dhu, . 352

CHAPTER XLIV.

Brief sketch of the history of the "Cameron Highlanders" War Office
interference Indignation of Errachd The Camerons in the West Indies
Deplorable condition of the regiment Recruiting in Lochaber Egmont-
op-Zee The 79th brigaded with the gand Regiment John Cameron of
Fassfern The Camerons in Egypt Proposed abolition of the kilt
lt Am Breacan Uallach" Colonel Cameron's arguments in favour of the
kilt He carries his point Errachd retires from the active command of
the regiment Colonel Philip Cameron Heroic death of Captain
Alexander Cameron at Busaco Colonel Philip Cameron slain at Fuentes

CONTENTS xxi

PAGE

d'Onor Errachd retires from the army with the rank of lieutenant-
general His death His descendants Glorious record of the Camerons
Disbandment contemplated by the authorities A second battalion
wanted, ......... 359

CHAPTER XLV.

The birthplace of John Cameron of Fassfern Inverscadale described Ewen
MacMillan ; John Cameron's early years He joins the army The raising
of the Gordon Highlanders -The Duchess of Gordon's original method of
recruiting Huntly visits Fassfern A captain's commission offered to
John Cameron He joins the Gordons with a hundred of his clansmen, . 369

CHAPTER XLVI.

1815 A.D. Napoleon the would-be dictator of Europe The Powers determine
his overthrow The night before Waterloo Colonel John Cameron at
the Duchess of Richmond's ball The 92nd ordered to the front Quatre
Bras Charge of the 92nd Colonel Cameron mortally wounded The
death scene Impressive funeral at Kilmallie Heraldic honours
Baronetcy conferred upon Ewen Cameron of Fassfern Anecdote of
Colonel Cameron and the Turkish (?) pasha, .... 374

CHAPTER XLVI I.

Famous military heroes of Clan Cameron Sir Alexander Cameron of
Inverailort Sir Duncan Alexander Cameron at the battle of the Alma
" We'll hae nane but Highland bonnets here ! " Death of George III.
George IV. ascends the throne His appearance in Highland dress at
Holyrood A Sassenach Highlander Accession of Queen Victoria
Loyalty denned The Queen visits Lochaber The Prince Consort
The royal party at Ardverikie, . . . . . .381

CHAPTER XLVIII.

Sir Duncan Cameron of Fassfern His philanthropic actions His death in
1863 Mrs Cameron Campbell of Monzie Dr Alexander Stewart
(" Nether Lochaber") Description of Nether Lochaber The road from
Fort William Beautiful scenery Onich " Sliochd a ghamhna mhaoil
Duinn " A quaint lullaby View from Onich Pier Cameron of Callart in
the '45 Curious tradition of the Isle of St Mun The ss. " Chevalier," . 388

CHAPTER XLIX.

The Caledonian Canal James Watt employed to survey the ground Telford's
estimate accepted by Parliament The canal opened for navigation in
1822 Public rejoicings in Lochaber Traffic suspended Reconstruction
of the canal in 1847 The West Highland Railway Its probable effect
upon Lochaber The Crofters Act and the Deer Forest Commission, . 396

XXii CONTENTS

CHAPTER L.

PACK

The present Lochicl and Lady Margaret Cameron The Keppoch lands pass
to the Mackintosh Angus of Keppoch The present representatives of
the MacDonells of Keppoch Lord Abinger purchases the Inverlochy
estates from the Earl of Aboyne Queen Victoria's second visit to
Lochaber Triumphal arch at Keppoch Enthusiastic reception The
Queen at Inverlochy She visits Lochiel at Ach-na-carry Jacobite
sympathies of the Queen A royal speech Conclusion, . . . 402

APPENDIX, . 413

ADDENDA, ... 461

INDKX .479

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Prince Charles Edward Stuart, ...... Frontispiece

Inverlochy Castle at the present day, ...... 5

Charge of Alasdair Carrach and the Keppoch MacDonalds at Inverlochy,

1431 A.D., . . 27

James Graham, Marquis of Montrose, . . . . . -49

The flight of Argyll from Inverlochy, 2nd February 1645, . . .61

Exterior, Inverlochy Castle, ..... .69

Comyns Tower, Inverlochy Castle, . . . . . .69

Summit of Ben Nevis. Cloud Effect, . . . . ' . -75

On Aonach Beag, . . . . . . -75

Sir Ewen Cameron, Chief of the Clan Cameron, . . . -76

John Graham of Claverhouse, Viscount Dundee, .... 104

' Fort William in 1891 before its demolition by the West Highland Railway

Company, ......... 127

Loch Eil, from Upper Achintore, ...... 137

The Ardgour Hills, from Achintore, . . . . . I 37

Ben Nevis, from Banavie, . . . . . . 137

Suspension Bridge over the Lochy, . . . . . . 137

Monument to Iain Lorn, Kill-a-Choireil, Achluacharach, . . . 142

Burial-Ground of Kill-a-Choireil, Glen Spean, ..... 142

James VIII. of Scotland, III. of England, " The Old Chevalier," . .148

Observatory on Ben Nevis, . . . . . . . 175

Summit of Ben Nevis, ........ 175

Precipices, Ben Nevis, . . . . . . . J 7S

The Descent of Ben Nevis, . . . . . . . 175

High Bridge and River Spean, ....... 187

High Bridge, the scene of the first skirmish of the "Forty-Five," . .187

Jenny Cameron at Glenfinnan, . . . . . . .192

Jenny Cameron, ....... *95

Near Fassfem, ....... .198

Fassfern House, Loch Eil, . . . . . .198

Entrance to Glen Nevis, . ... . . .217

Roaring Mill, River Nevis, . . . . . .217

Tom-eas-an-t-Slinnein, Glen Nevis, ... 217

Achriabhach, Glen Nevis, . . . . .217

xxiv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

Glen Nevis House. Headquarters of the Highlanders during the siege of Fort

William, March 1746, . .221

River Nevis at Poll Dubh, ..... .221

Massacre of the Glen Nevis Camerons, ... . . 223

Ach-na-carry Seat of Donald Cameron, Esq. of Lochiel, . . .231

Gairlochy, from the Ach-na-carry Road, . . . . 231

Neptune's Staircase, Banavie, . .231

The Monastery, Fort Augustus, . .231

Lower Falls of Nevis, Achriabhach, ... . 240

Meall an t-Suidhe, from Nevis Bridge, ...... 240

Ben Nevis, from Ben Riabhach, ....... 240

Near Inverlochy Castle, ..... . 240

The Spean, from High Bridge, . . . . . . .291

On the Spean, ......... 291

Spean Bridge, ......... 291

The "Tea Pot" Inn, Gairlochy (Mucomer), . . . . .291

Donald Cameron, XIX Chief of Lochiel, "The Gentle Lochiel," . . 293

" Some 'Forty- Five' Signatures," ...... 298

Falls of Spean, at Achluacharach, ...... 353

Errachd, Glen Laoigh. Birthplace of Colonel Alan Cameron, who raised the

Cameron Highlanders, . . . . . . . 353

Lieutenant-General Sir Alan Cameron of Errachd, K.C.B., the first Colonel of

the 79th or Cameron Highlanders, 1793-1808, .... 357

Colonel John Cameron of Fassfern, commanding the 92nd (Gordon) Highlanders, 378
The Rev. Alexander Stewart, LL.D., "Nether Lochaber," . . .389

Mrs MacDonell of Keppoch, ....... 389

Highland Games at Fort William, ...... 401

West End, Fort William, . . . . . . .401

Tor Castle, River Lochy, . . . . . . .401

Loch Arkaig, near Ach-na-carry, ...... 401

Donald Cameron, Esq. , XXIV Chief of Lochiel, . . . . 404

Lieutenant Donald Walter Cameron, Younger of Lochiel, . . . 404

Ben Nevis, from Corpach, ....... 409

Loch Arkaig, ......... 409

Caims at Achluacharach, ....... 409

Lochaber Weapons, ........ 478

LOCHABAIR GU BRATH.

(LOCHABER FOR EVER. )

IN all thy moods I love thee,

In sunshine and in storm ;
Lochaber of the towering bens,

Outlined in rugged form.
Here proud Ben Nevis, snowy crowned,

Rests throned amidst the clouds ;
There Lochy's deep and silvery wave,

A royal city shrouds ;
Whose waters witnessed the escape
Of coward Campbell's dastard shape,

Disgrace eternal reap :
Whilst fair glen Nevis' rocks resound,
With " Pibroch Donald Dubh " renowned,

From Inverlochy's keep.
Grey ruined walls, in latter years,

That saw the great Montrose,
MacDonell's, Cameron's men led forth,

To victory 'gainst their foes.
Oh ! Lochaber, dear Lochaber,

The rich red afterglow
Of fame that rests upon thy shield,

Unbroken records show.
'' O, Lochabair, mo Lochabair fhein gu brath." 1

Lochaber, on thy heather hills,

The fame of heroes rest ;
Each name in Scotia's annals famed,

Found echo in thy breast :
Historic Keppoch, desert now,

Speak from thy ruined mound,
The days when Claverhouse, noblest chief,

Thine aid and shelter found.

1 Oh, Lochaber, my own Lochaber for ever.

xxvi LOCHABAIR GU BRATH

Tell how the hot MacDonell blood,
Impetuous as the mountain flood,

The first for Charlie bled.
'Tis writ where high o'er Spean spans
The bridge where triumphed first the clans,

Scott's white horse captive led :
Whilst stately Spean, tumbling Roy,

Eternal requiems sing,
For those around whose honoured names,

Both faith and honour cling.
Oh, Lochaber, dear Lochaber,

You played a losing stroke ;
But your failure, oh how greater !

It was lost for honour's sake,
" O, Lochabair, mo Lochab air fhein gu brath."

In all thy moods I love thee,

Thy far off classic days,
When Ossian mused by dark Loch Treig,

The home of prisoned fays.
How green Strath-h-Ossian's fairy saw,

The dark-eyed lad from Skye ;
His stately limbs, his hunter's bow,

In wild confusion fly.
Around her grouped her timid fawns,
Dilated fear upon them dawns,

They feel the snare :
As graceful poised with honeyed speech,
The hunter strove the fay to reach,

Sweet fay beware !
The antlered herd around her grouped,

With quiet and trustful eye,
They knew their queen would ne'er condemn

Her loving friends to die,

For all the dark-eyed lads from Skye.
Oh, Lochaber, dear Lochaber,

Thy wooded glens and braes,
Teem with the tales of chivalry,

That speak of other days.
" O, Lochabair, mo Lochabatr fhein gu brath."

LOCHABAIR GU BRATH XXVli

In all thy moods I love thee,

But I think I love thee best,
When the moon is rising slowly

Behind Beinn Chlinaig's crest ;
To list the plaintive owlet calling,

When the woods are very still,
The gentle plash of waters falling,

Ringing, rhyming, down the hill ;
So rich with flowers the river braes,
Whose honeyed perfume scents the ways,

Sweet lingering on the air.
Wild purple bloom the heather shows,
O'er hanging rocks the rowan grows,
Where scarce a foot may dare :
Enough it is among thy braes,

To dream, to breathe, to live ;
With the soul's repose of trustfulness,

Whate'er the future give ;
Across the hazy distance,

Thy children look and long,
, For thy spell is found resistless,

And their hearts beat true and strong.
" O, Lochabair, mo Lochabair fhein gu brath."

ALICE C. MAcDoNELL

of Keppoch.

INTRODUCTION.

' ' For Lochaber no more, Lochaber no more ;
We'll maybe return to Lochaber no more."

ALLAN RAMSAY.

LOCHABER! Unsympathetic indeed is the man, be he
Highlander or Lowlander, Gael or Sassenach, who does
not experience a thrill of pleasurable emotion, tinged perhaps
with sadness, when this name falls upon his ears ; what visions
of lofty mountains lifting their mighty summits to the clouds
does it not conjure up before the imagination ; we see as in a
dream, stretches of purple moorland, dotted here and there with
snow-white sheep ; blue sparkling lochs embosomed among the
hills, reflecting in their mirrored surface the brown sails of the
fishing boats ; turbulent rivers rushing merrily along over rocks
and pebbles, making sweet music as they go to join the sea ;
foaming cataracts tumbling noisily from deep corries in the
mountain sides, sending up clouds of smoke-like spray, in which
all the colours of the rainbow gleam ; wee murmuring burns,
where the brown trout love to dwell, flowing between banks all
thick with ferns and foxgloves, their tuneful voices helping to
swell the great harmonious Lobgesang to the Almighty.

If this is the vision, how much more beautiful is the reality.
Let us take our stand upon the great green hill of "Meall-an-t-
suidhe" that forms as it were the first step in the toilsome
ascent of giant Ben Nevis, and is appropriately named " the hill
of sitting or resting " ; here let us pause for a few moments and
survey the magnificent prospect that lies before us. The air
around is fragrant with the scent of wild thyme and bog myrtle,
with which the ground at our feet is covered ; great clumps of

2 LOYAL LOCHABER

purple heather, growing here in wild luxuriance, give the one
touch of local colour that is wanted to harmonise with the tints
of the surrounding vegetation. Among the heather the bees go
humming merrily as they extract the honey from its tiny bells.
The sheep are grazing lazily in the shade of the great lichen-
covered boulders, or, perched upon some inaccessible crag,
nibble the short sweet grass they have discovered in the clefts
of the rocks, regardless of the precipice yawning at their feet.
A great silence, like the silence of some immense cathedral, is
all about us, broken only at rare intervals by the shrill scream
of an eagle, as it swoops down from its rocky eyry upon its
unsuspecting prey in the glen beneath ; this and the occasional
harsh crow of the grouse cock among the heather, are the only
sounds that fall upon our ears.

The very air is still on this calm September day, and as we
rest in the shadow of the everlasting hills, far above the turmoil
and strife of the world below, our whole being thrills with the
pleasure of mere existence, and we realise, perhaps for the first
time in our lives, what a great gift is life, and how much we
have to thank our Creator for its possession. Gaze out upon
the splendid panorama that is unfolded before our astonished
eyes, and as we glance from one prospect to another, each one
more beautiful than the last, let us try to learn something of the
history and associations of " the land where Ossian dwelt, and
Coila's minstrel sang," a veritable tir nam beann nan gleanris
nan gaisgeach? full of the romantic myths of a past and nearly
forgotten age, when the world was younger and less prosaic
than in this enlightened nineteenth century. What care the
money-grubbers in our great cities for shadowy legends of the
brave chieftains who lived and died among these mountains ;
or the heroic stanzas of the warrior bard's description of the
mighty battles where Fingalian heroes met in all the glorious
panoply of war, making the hills and glens resound with the
clash of their weapons ? This is indeed an age devoid of poetry
and sentiment, when gold, gold, gold, is the chief aim and

1 Land of mountains, glens, and heroes.

INTRODUCTION 3

object of existence ; the great god Mammon is set up in our
midst like the golden calf of old, and we jostle and struggle
among the ever-surging crowd of humanity to catch some of the
golden pieces thrown among us by those that minister in the
temple of the false god ; crushing and treading under our feet
the weak and the maimed, the widow and the orphan, lest
perchance one coin may slip from our grasp ; feverish and
excited, we pass onward to the goal of our ambitions, to find at
last that the fruit of years of scheming and toil, like Dead Sea
apples, turns to ashes in our mouth.

Here above the struggling multitude, and alone with God's
beautiful creation, we can forget for a few brief moments our
poor mundane affairs, in the contemplation of all that is grand
and soul-stirring in nature ; and while, gentle reader, you are
thus engaged, let me act as your guide, philosopher, and friend,
and with story and verse, while away an hour or so of what I
trust will not be time ill spent.

^v^ A^^iim lETwiyrii iijiaij <n__^ ^

Ii>verlocl>y,

PART I. INVERLOCHY.

' ' Piobaireachd Dhomhnuill Duibh, piobaireachd Dhomhnuill,
Piob agus bratach air faicfi Inbherlochaidh." 1

(Pibroch of Donald Dhu, pibroch of Donald,
The war-pipe and banner are at Inverlochy.)

CHAPTER I.

THE early, history of Lochaber is chiefly centred in and
around the venerable ivy-covered ruin that may be
seen from our point of vantage, almost hidden among the
thick foliage of the trees that surround it. Strange are the
memories and traditions that cluster like the ivy around its
ancient walls, which can just be discerned amid the green
leaves of the sycamores. The erection of this great stronghold
of Inverlochy carries us back to almost prehistoric times,
when the Pictish kings ruled in Albyn (Albatnn), and frequently
visited Lochaber to enjoy the pleasures of the chase, and
doubtless also to subjugate the wild tribes who had their
dwellings among the rocky fastnesses of that district.

In those days the great forest of Mamore extended almost
to the shores of the river Lochy, and was the haunt of wolves

1 The celebrated ' ' Pibroch of Donald Dhu " is commonly supposed to have been
composed in honour of the famous Chieftain of Clan Cameron, who fought at Harlaw
in 1411. This supposition is, however, erroneous, as I have the authority of Mrs
MacDonell of Keppoch in stating that this stirring Piobaireachd undoubtedly belonged
to the clan MacDonald, and was written to celebrate the victory of Donald Balloch at
the first battle of Inverlochy. The fact that this Piobaireachd was adopted by the
79th Cameron Highlanders, when first raised in Lochaber by Cameron of Errachd, as
their march tune, no doubt gave rise to the error. Vide Appendix I.

Dr Fraser Mackintosh of Drummond, a great authority on Highland subjects, I
am told, supports the claim of the MacDonalds to this pibroch.

6 LOYAL LOCHABER

of a ferocious breed, of which some were known to exist as
late as the sixteenth century. Probably the first building
erected on the site of the present ruin was simply a rude hut
or hunting-lodge, where the king and his nobles might find
shelter when they came here deer-stalking; a primitive shooting-
box, in fact. This theory is borne out by the local traditions,
which without this interpretation could only be considered
mythical that the original castle was built by the Picts in a
single night. When, however, we consider that it was the
constant practice of that ancient people to build their houses
of turf and wattles, there is nothing improbable in the story,
as doubtless one of the long summer nights of these latitudes
would amply suffice for the purpose.

The old chroniclers, Fordun and Hector Boetius, have much
to say respecting trie early history of Inverlochy, and although
a great deal that they have written on the subject must be
rejected as pure fable, there is doubtless some probability of
truth underlying the various graphic descriptions they give of
the building of this ancient stronghold. Boetius tells us that
King Ewin, the second of that name, not only built a castle, but
a city at Inverlochy, some years before the commencement of the
Christian era. Hollinshed thus translates from the original
Latin : " After this he (King Ewin) visited the west parts of
his realme, and at the mouth of the Lochtey (Lochy) he builded
a citie, which he named Ennerlochtey, infranchising the same
with a sanctuarie for the refuge of offenders. This citie afterwards
was much frequented with merchants of France and Spain, by
reason of the great abundance of samons, herrings, and other fish
which was taken there. The old ruins of this citie in parte
remaine to be seen to this day."

We hear no more of Inverlochy until the year 180 A.D., when
the same chronicler describes how word was brought to King
Ethodius, who was then living there, that the Romans had
broken down the wall of Adrian, and had made a great raid into
Scotland under their commander Victorine, and were carrying
death and destruction in their wake. Later, in the year 273 A.D.,

INVERLOCHY 7

Donald of the Isles landed in Ross with a large following of
islandmen, and having overthrown the army of King Donald,
the third son of Athires, in a pitched battle, proclaimed himself
king. For a while he held his own by force of arms, but
eventually fell a victim to the conspiracies of his enemies, who,
taking him by surprise, murdered him one night at Inverlochy.

About two centuries and a half after this event, we are told
by Fordun (a more reliable chronicler than Boetius), that King
Gonranus, having completed his thirty-fourth year on the throne,
was ensnared into an ambuscade at Inverlochy by his nephew
Eugenius and put to death. 1 Another catastrophe occurred in
close proximity to the ancient castle in the year 647 A.D., when,
if Boetius may be believed, King Donwald, then in the fifteenth
year of his reign, "being got into a bote to fish in the water
called Lochtaie (Lochy), for his recreation, his chance was to be
drowned, by reason the bote sank under him."

The old stronghold of Inverlochy is brought into special
prominence in connection with the traditionary visit of the
illustrious Carlovingian emperor, Charlemagne, to the Pictish
king Eoghan mac Aodh (Eocha IV., Latinised as Achaius), in
the ninth century, and it is still believed by many that a treaty
was signed here by the two monarchs, and was witnessed by no
less than sixteen members of the great family of Comyn. This
story is now proved to have been a fable ; but there is little doubt
that although InveMochy was not honoured by the presence of
the mighty Charlemagne in person, his ambassadors visited the
place when they came over from France on a mission to King
Eocha, with the purpose of persuading that monarch to enter into
a treaty for the mutual protection of the two nations against the
depredations of the English.

Hollinshed, quoting from Hector Boetius, who flourished in
Dundee in the fourteenth century, writes : " There were sent there-
fore from Charles unto Achaius certaine ambassadors to bring
this matter to pass ; who arriving in Scotland and coming into the
king's presence declared effectualie the sum of their message,

1 Fordun's " Scotichronicon, " lib. iii. cap. xxiv.

8 LOYAL LOCHABER

showing that the conclusion of such a league should be no less
to the wealthe of the Frenchmen, than of the Scots."

The Prankish ambassadors were received with the greatest
honours by Eocha, and after a lengthy discussion, and many
long speeches on the part of the Pictish counsellors, the treaty
was agreed upon and signed with due ceremony. The pro-
ceedings terminated by a great banquet, and the guests were
afterwards invited to take part in a royal deer hunt, during
which they probably visited Lochaber, where game of all kinds
was plentiful.

The contrast between the Prankish nobles and their Pictish
allies must have been striking and picturesque. The former,
clad in all the bravery of rich armour and splendid apparel,
bejewelled and emblazoned with the heraldic devices of their
respective families, and armed with magnificent weapons from
the famous forges of Spain. Fresh from the great conquests
they had helped their sovereign to achieve in Europe, where he
had just founded the kingdom of the Franks, they must have
excited the curiosity and admiration of the warlike tribes among
whom they were now going to enjoy the pleasures of the chase.

Although the Picts 1 could not compare with the Franks in
the splendour of their habiliments, they could yet attract
attention by the quaint picturesqueness of their national garb,
and the muscular development of their limbs. They were clad
for the most part in a parti-coloured garment folded round the
upper part of the body, and fastened at the shoulder by an
ornamental brass pin or brooch of large dimensions. The ends
of this ancient form of breacan an fheilidh were gathered in at
the waist by a leathern belt, and fell in folds as far as the knee,
leaving the lower part of the legs bare ; but as some protection
against the thorns and thick undergrowth of the forests, many

1 I may state here, that I consider the name " Picts " a misleading appellation
as applied to the ancient inhabitants of Caledonia. It is clearly of Latin origin, and
was never adopted by the people themselves, who were then, as they are now,
"Albannach," speaking a language practically identical with modern Gaelic. The
so-called " Pictish " language is, in my humble opinion, a myth.

INVERLOCHY 9

of the Picts wore cuaran, i.e., sandals of cow or deer hide with
the hair inside, and drawn neatly round the foot with thongs of
the same material. Their heads, of shaggy uncombed hair, were
mostly uncovered, but some wore caps or bonnets (boineid) of
woollen cloth, sometimes conical, but more often flat. Those
parts of the body that remained naked were covered with
designs pricked into the skin and stained with some vegetable
dye a national custom which some centuries before had caused
the Romans to give them the name of Pictus or painted, by
which they have always been known to history. Among them-
selves they were simply Albannach, inhabitants of Albyn, a name
still retained by their descendants, the modern Highlanders.

For weapons they carried bows and arrows and the long
double-handed sword (claidheamh mbr), in the use of which they
were thoroughly proficient. Some bore spears (lanri) for use in
hunting the wolf and wild boar, and nearly all had daggers or
dirks (biodag) thrust in the waist-belt. Slung over their backs
were small circular shields or targes of brass, bronze, or leather,
ornamented with metal bosses of a more or less elaborate work-
manship, according to the rank of their owners. 1

The Pictish chieftains could only be distinguished from their
more humble followers by the superior quality of their clothing
and weapons, and by the costly brooch or fibula with which
their mantles or plaids were fastened. Many of these brooches
were very beautifully chased with quaint designs of Celtic
ornament, and were set with crystals and precious stones of
great value. A few of the more important chiefs wore chain
mail of exquisite workmanship, over leather jerkins, and had
flowing mantles of several colours reaching to their feet ; while
for head- gear they wore helmets (clogaid) of brass or bronze
adorned with an eagle's wing.

1 Ossian, describing the shield of the chief of Atha, says, " Seven bosses rose on
the shield ; the seven voices of the king, which his warriors received from the wind
and marked over all their tribes. On each boss is placed a star of night "
("Temora," book vii.). The stars which were represented by the seven bosses,
were, Cean-mathon, Col-derna, Ul-oicho, Cathlin, Reul-durath, Berthin, and
Tonthena, and were doubtless connected with some ancient astrological superstition.

10 LOYAL LOCHABER

After spending some weeks in feasting and other amusements,
the ambassadors returned to France ; and King Eocha, to show
his sense of the importance of the treaty he had just signed,
sent his brother William and four of his nobles, with a con-
siderable retinue, to acquaint Charlemagne of his assent, and, as
the story goes, he " did augment his armes, being a red lion in
a field of gold, with a double trace seamed with fioure delices
(" fleur de lis "), signifying thereby that the lion should thereby
be defended by the aid of the Frenchmen." Boetius also states
that it was during the reign of this monarch that the
St Andrew's Cross was adopted as the badge of Scotland.

There appears to have been a general belief among the older
Scottish historians that a city of some considerable importance
had existed in remote times by the shores of the river Lochy
in Lochaber, where a considerable trade was carried on with
foreign countries. Lesly, Bishop of Ross,- who lived in the
sixteenth century, referring more particularly to the ancient
inhabitants of Lochaber, says that their women " were clothed
with purple and embroidery of most exquisite workmanship,
with bracelets and necklaces on their arms and necks, so as to
make a most graceful appearance." l

" Ad Loucha ostia sita oltm erat opulentisstma civitas Inver-
lothce appellata, ad quam Galli, Hispanique comercii causa
frequentius trajecerant"

Camden in his " Britannia " also refers to this ancient castle
or city, and compares it to Carthage, it having been, like that
place, reduced to ruins. He also quotes some verses by a
contemporary poet, Johnston, as follows :

" Two stately forts the realm's old guardians stood,
The first great walls of royal builders prov'd ;
Their lofty turrets, on the shores were shown,
One to the rising, one the setting sun.
All round, well stock'd with fish, fair rivers lay ;
And one presents a safe, and easy bay."

1 Translation from the Latin by Donald M'Nicol, A.M., Minister of Lismore, in
his " Remarks on Dr Samuel Johnson's Journey to the Hebrides," 1779.

INVERLOCHY I I

The two strongholds here described were the castle of
Inverness on the east and Inverlochy on the west coast, the
" safe and easy bay " having reference to Loch Eil.

A further and more complete account of Lochaber is given
by Hector Boetius, and is thus translated by Hollinshed in
1585 A.D.: " Beyond Lome is Lochquhaber, heretofore a portion
of Murray land (Morayshire), verie riche in mines of iron and
lead, and no less beneficiall to the countrie in all kinds of
cattell. There are likewise manie woods, manie lakes, and
manie rivers ; but two of them are most notable for the plentie
of samons, and other delicate fish, as well of the salt, as the fresh
water, which be there taken and almost without anie travaill ;
neither is there anie where else in all the He such store. The
one of them is named Lochtie (Lochy), and the other Spanze
(Spean), but upon what occasion these names were given to
them, I find as yet no certaintie. ... In the mouth of
Lochtie likewise was sometime a riche toune named Inver-
lochtie, whither the merchants of France and Spain did make
theire dailie resort, till at last it was so defaced by the warres of
the Danes, that it never was able since the said time to recouver
her prestine renoune. But whether the negligence of the due
repaire of the towne, proceedeth of the slouth of our people,
or hatred that some envious persones doe beare to cities and
walled townes in our countrie, as yet is uncertaine."

Boetius's explanation of the meaning of the name Lochaber,
affords conclusive proof that he did not understand the Gaelic
language. He says, according to his translation, " Lochquhaber
took the name of a great meare of water, into which the river of
the Quhaber falleth and passeth through the same." To those
of my readers who, like Hector Boetius, "have no Gaelic," I
will pause to explain, that the name of the beautiful and
historical district of Lochaber is derived from Loch (" lake ")
and Aber^ (" confluence"), i.e., the loch at the confluence of two

1 Some authorities say the word should be Eabar ( " a muddy place "), and certainly
this has some probability of truth, as the place where the loch existed is of that
character. Alexander MacBain, M.A., of Inverness, is of opinion that Lochaber is
derived from Lock, "lake," and A for, an old Gaelic word meaning "marsh."

12 LOYAL LOCHABER

rivers. The rivers in this case being either the Lochy and the
Nevis, or the Lochy and the Spean. The loch itself no longer
exists, but its waters are said to have covered the whole of the
tract of boggy land that extends from the west side of the
Lochy beyond the suspension bridge to Corpach and Banavie,
and which is now known as the Corpach Moss. Some of the
oldest inhabitants say they can recollect the last remnant of
this once large sheet of water disappearing after an abnormally
hot summer. In John Speeds map of Scotland, dated 1630,
Loch Linnhe is not shown, but the arm of the sea which
stretches from the island of Mull to Inverlochy (" Everlothae "
he calls it) appears as Loch-Aber ; and as further bearing
upon the subject, there is a place marked on this map on
the Ardgour or Morven side, called "Quhabyr," which may
perhaps be identified with the small Loch-nan-Gabhar, near
Salachan.

After the reign of Eocha IV., who died in 833 A.D., 1 the
historical references to Lochaber, or Inverlochy, are few and far
between, and it is not until the eleventh century that any
important event worthy of being recorded occurred there. The
unfortunate King Duncan I. ascended the throne of Scotland
1034 A.D., upon the death of his grandfather Malcolm II. At
this time his kinsman Macbeth (or Macbeda) was Maormor of
Moray, and ruled in almost independent state a large portion
of the northern and western Highlands. The Maormordom of
Moray at that period appears to have extended to the borders of
Lochaber, and probably comprised some portion of that district.
There is a tradition still extant, that Macbeth had a stronghold
on an island in the centre of Loch Lundavra,? a small lake which
lies between Fort William and Callart on Loch Leven, and that
it was at this place that he was murdered in 1057.

Mrs MacKellar, late bardess to the Gaelic Society of Inverness,
in proof of this story, quotes the Chronicle of St Berchan 3

1 These dates are of course approximate.

2 This loch gives its name to a family of Camerons, called the Camerons of
Lundavra.

3 See Appendix II.

INVERLOCHY 13

(Trans. Gaelic Society, vol. xvi. p. 267), which states that Macbeth
was killed at his habitation of Deabhra; and Skene says this
was a lake in the forest of Mamore, on an island of which there
was a castle of Mamore, and refers in support of this theory to
the names of the places in the immediate neighbourhood, viz.,
Gleann Righ ("The King's Glen"), Abhainn Righ ("The King's
River"). Following up this line of reasoning, Mrs MacKellar
makes the name of the loch Loch-da-rath, and the castle Dun-
da-rath, and mentions there being two apparently artificial
islands still remaining. From personal investigation I must
admit there is every probability of truth in this statement.
Further evidence as to the identity of Dun-da-rath with
Lundavra will be found in the " Scots Acts of Parliament," vol.
ii. pp. 241-249, when James IV. grants a life-rent of Mamore
and castle on the island of Dundavray to one of the Stewarts
of Appin. The whole of this district teems with interest to the
antiquarian, and much may be learnt from the local place-names,
many of which are clearly of Druidical, or at least clerical,
origin.

Blarmachfhuildaich, as it appears on the maps, but pronounced
Blar-mac-Cuilteach, means " the field of the son of the Culdee ";
Blar-nan-Cltirach and Meall-nan-Cl&irach, respectively "the
field of the Clerks " and " the hill of the Clerks " ; Blar-mac-
Druidheachd, " the field of the son of the Druid." There is no
more conclusive evidence of the antiquity of the Gaelic language
than is afforded by such names as these.

While Macbeth was Maormor of Moray, the government
of Lochaber was in the hands of his kinsman Banquo, and,
if the old chroniclers are to be believed, he found his vassals
somewhat unruly. We are told that having aroused their ire
by the severe punishments he had inflicted, they broke out
into open rebellion against his authority, under the leadership of
one MacDonald ("the merciless MacDonwald" 1 of Shakespeare).
A severe fight ensued, in which Banquo was wounded, and,
finding himself completely overpowered, he fled from Lochaber

1 "Macbeth," Act i. Scene 2.

14 LOYAL LOCHABER

to lay his grievances before King Duncan, and implore his
assistance. The king, having heard the story, despatched one
of his officials to the disaffected district to summon the
insurgent chief to appear before him, and answer for his crime.
Instead of obeying the royal command, MacDonald treated it
with scorn, and slew the messenger. The king, enraged at
this insult to his authority, ordered Macbeth and Banquo to
proceed at once into Lochaber at the head of a strong body
of men-at-arms, and enforce obedience among his rebellious
Highland subjects. The two nobles therefore departed on
their errand, and, arriving in Lochaber, gave battle to the
insurgents. MacDonald, seeing that he was likely to be
overcome, sought shelter with his family within the walls of
a castle, and when he found that the day was lost, he slew
his wife and children, and lastly himself. Upon Macbeth
entering, he found the heap of slain, and so cruel was his
nature that he ordered the dead man's head to be cut off
and sent to the king, and put a great number of the rebels
to the sword without mercy.

It has been claimed for Banquo, Thane of Lochaber, that
he was the progenitor of the great Stuart dynasty ; and
although grave doubts have been cast upon the authenticity
of the tradition by many of the leading Scottish historians,
it is worthy of a place in any work that professes to give a
full account of the historic district over which he ruled, and
its appearance in these pages, therefore, needs no apology.

After the murder of Duncan, Macbeth's guilty conscience
made him afraid lest the prophecy of the weird sisters should
come true, and that Banquo might supersede him.

" Our fears in Banquo
Stick deep ; and in his royalty of nature
Reigns that which would be fear'd : 'tis much he dares ;
And, to that dauntless temper of his mind,
He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valour
To act in safety. There is none but he
Whose being I do fear ; and, under him,
My genius is rebuked."

INVERLOCHY 1 5

These are the words that Shakespeare puts into the mouth of
the regicide, and in the end Macbeth determined to put his rival
to death, and with that object invited him, together with his son
Fleance, to a supper. The unsuspecting Banquo accepted the
invitation, and was slain by the hired assassins of the un-
scrupulous king; but Fleance escaped into Wales, where he made
his abode, and being a youth of noble bearing, and gifted with
many knightly accomplishments, he soon attracted the attention
of the prince of that country. Becoming enamoured of the
prince's daughter, he got her with child, and thus brought
down upon himself the wrath of her father, who slew him and
cast off his erring daughter, who "had loved not wisely, but
too well."

The fruit of this fatal amour proved to be a boy, who received
the name of Walter, and grew up of great strength and courage,
and developed many qualities worthy of his noble lineage. The
circumstances of his birth were unfortunately known to his
companions, who took a cowardly delight in taunting the
unprotected lad with his illegitimate origin. So keenly did he
feel these insults that he fled to Scotland, where, having attained
to man's estate, he performed great deeds of valour, and was
afterwards appointed Steward of Scotland, and became the
progenitor of that remarkable family who for centuries ruled
the destinies of Britain. For other and more authentic accounts
of the origin of the royal House of Stuart, I must refer my
readers to one of the many histories of that brave but
unfortunate race.

The probable period of the erection of the castle we now see
in ruins before us, was the latter end of the thirteenth century,
during the stormy times of the wars between Bruce and Baliol,
the latter, as all readers of history know, being supported by the
powerful assistance of King Edward I. of England. At this
time the great family of Comyns were Lords of Lochaber and
the neighbouring district of Badenoch. Originally an English
family of Norman descent from Northumberland, they ac-
quired great power in Scotland, and flourished in strength from

1 6 LOYAL LOCHABER

1080 A.D. to 1330 A.D. Sir John Comyn, who was appointed
ambassador from Alexander II. to Louis IX. of France, was the
first of his name known as the Lord of Badenoch ; his son John
was one of the nobles who swore to support Queen Margaret,
daughter of Alexander III., on her succession to the throne, and
was one of the six regents who arranged her marriage with the
eldest son of the English king, Edward I., and upon her death,
in 1290 A.D., became one of the competitors for the Scottish
Crown by right of his descent from Donald III. He was known
and feared as the Black Lord of Badenoch, and lived in regal
state among the mountains of Lochaber. To this chieftain
may be ascribed the building of Inverlochy Castle j 1 and he was
doubtless assisted in the task by the English king, who had
erected many similar fortresses in Wales to keep in awe his
troublesome Welsh subjects. As we survey the scene, a
brilliant shaft of sunlight rests for a moment upon the crumbling
masonry of the two remaining towers, the more prominent of
them still bearing the name of the Comyns Tower, and thus
handing down to the present time the name of the once powerful
rulers of this beautiful district. It was the son of the Black Lord
of Badenoch, by his wife the sister of Baliol, who became famous,
or infamous, under the name of the Red Comyn, and it was he
who incurred the wrath and animosity of Robert Bruce, which
ended in his violent death in the Greyfriars Church in Dumfries.
History relates that they met before the high altar of the church,
and high words were given on both sides, until the fiery temper
of Bruce could stand the insults no longer, and in a sudden burst
of passion he drew his dagger and stabbed the Comyn, and
without waiting to see if the wound was mortal, rushed to
the door of the sacred building ; here he met Kirkpatrick
of Closeburn, and James de Lindsay, two powerful barons,
who, astonished at seeing their leader with a bloody weapon
in his hand, asked Bruce what had occurred. Scarcely

1 It is stated that he had two galleys, larger than any to be seen in the Isles,
anchored near his castle : quod juxta castrum Johannes Cumin in Lochaber dua
magna galea fuerunt etc. (Stevenson's "Hist. Doc.," vol. ii. p. 190), quoted by
Lady Middle ton.

INVERLOCHY 17

able to speak, owing to the excitement he was labouring
under, Bruce answered, " Bad tidings, I doubt I have slain
Comyn."

" Doubtest thou ? " said Kirkpatrick, " I'll mak siccar " (i.e.,
sure), and with these words the two barons hastily disappeared
through the door and dispatched the dying Comyn, as he lay
drenched in his blood at the foot of the great altar. From this
act the Kirkpatricks assumed as a crest a hand holding a
dagger, and as motto the words " I mak siccar." It is to
this incident that Sir Walter Scott makes reference in the song,
" The Brooch of Lorn," viz. :

" Vain was then the Douglas brand,
Vain the Campbell's vaunted band,
Vain Kirkpatrick's bloody dirk,
Making sure of murder's work."

After the slaughter of their chieftain, the Comyns of
Lochaber took up arms to avenge his death, and after a
desperate battle at Barra in 1308, they were defeated by
Bruce, their estates forfeited, and their chief outlawed.
Tradition states that the last of the Comyns of Lochaber
fled from Inverlochy along the shores of Loch Lochy and
Loch Oich to where Fort Augustus now stands, and the place
where he was buried is still known as " Cille - Chuimein"
Thus a great name faded away from Lochaber, the place
knows it no more, and, with the solitary exception of the
tower before mentioned, there is nothing to call to mind the
days when the name of Comyn made the land tremble.

Among the more important Celtic tribes or clans that
dwelt in Lochaber at this period were the Camerons and the
Mackintoshes, the latter clan forming part of the great
Highland confederacy known as the Clan Chattan. According
to their own written tradition, the Camerons traced their
descent from one of the Danish kings who had visited Scotland
in the time of Fergus, and who, from a malformation of the
nasal organ, had been nicknamed "Camshron," or "crooked

1 8 LOYAL LOCHABER

nose." This story is purely mythical, and cannot be supported
by any trustworthy evidence. It is more probable that the
Camerons were directly descended from the ancient Picts,
and had dwelt in Lochaber from prehistoric times. In the
eleventh century Angus Cameron, one of the chiefs of the
clan, had married Marion, the daughter of Kenneth, Thane of
Lochaber, and sister of Banquo, and this event may be taken
as the first authentic record we have of the early ancestors of
this distinguished family, whose deeds will occupy considerable
space in these pages.

The Mackintoshes were not originally a Lochaber clan, if
their own MS. history is to be taken as correct, as they are
there stated to have been descended from Shaw or Seach, one
of the sons of MacDuff, Earl of Fife, and held lands in
Strathearn. It was by the marriage of Angus MacFerquhard,
sixth chief of Mackintosh, with Eva, only child of Dougal Ball
MacGillechattan, in 1291, that the Mackintoshes acquired with
the chieftainship of Clan Chattan their Lochaber estates, among
which were the lands of Glenlui and Loch Arkaig ; and it was in
connection with these lands that the sanguinary feud arose in
1370 between the Camerons and the Clan Chattan, which con-
tinued with more or less vigour until the seventeenth century.
Many traditions exist respecting the origin of the quarrel, but
the one most generally accepted as correct by the best
authorities is as follows.

Sometime during the reign of Robert II., probably between
the years 138090, William, chief of Mackintosh, after many
fruitless attempts to collect his rents from the Camerons, who
had possessed themselves of a large portion of his territory in
Lochaber during the absence of his father Angus in Badenoch,
became exasperated at their utter disregard of his rights, and
determined to levy them by force. He therefore mustered a
strong body of his clansmen, and placing himself at their head,
made a sudden descent upon the Camerons, 1 and carried off a

1 The chief of Clan Cameron at this period was Allan IX. of Lochiel, known as
MacOchtery (Mac ochdamh triath, son of the eighth chief).

INVERLOCHY 19

large number of their cattle in lieu of payment. This method
of rent collection did not at all suit the warlike Camerons, and
they very shortly took steps to wipe out the indignity they
had suffered. Headed by one of their chieftains, Charles
MacGillonie (of the Strone or Invermailie branch), the clan, to
the number of about four hundred, marched into Badenoch,
hoping to take the Mackintoshes by surprise. The foray was,
however, of too important a nature to be kept a secret, and
Mackintosh got wind of the approach of the attacking party
sometime before they reached Badenoch. On receiving this
intelligence, he called upon the other septs of the Clan Chattan
to assist him in defending his property against the invading
Camerons, and fixed a place named Invernahavon (Inbher na-
h-abhainn), at the junction of the rivers Spey and Truim, for
the rendezvous. On the appointed day, the powerful clan
MacPherson, and the smaller sept of Davidsons (Clan Dhaibhidli),
arrived with a numerous following, and proceeded to take up
their position in battle array, and hold themselves in readiness
for the expected attack.

And here one of those foolish and injudicious quarrels for
precedence took place, which so often have to be recorded by
the chronicler of Highland history. These disputes (of which
the fatal one on Culloden field furnished a striking example)
arose in the first instance from an inordinate pride of birth,
and intolerance of any superior authority on the part of the.
Highland chieftains. Their independent spirits could not brook
the least restraint, and any interference with their prerogatives
or hereditary privileges, however much the force of circum-
stances demanded it, was considered in the light of a serious
insult, which only blood could avenge. In this instance the
quarrel arose between the chiefs of MacPherson and Davidson
on a question of precedency. Mackintosh, as captain of Clan
Chattan, assumed, as a matter of course, the command of the
centre of the line, but upon Davidson of Invernahavon forming
up his clan on the right wing of the army, Cluny MacPherson
uttered an indignant protest, asserting that the position

2Q LOYAL LOCHABER

belonged to him by prescriptive right, and appealed to
Mackintosh to support his claim. Mackintosh refused to do
so, and decided in favour of Invernahavon, 1 much to the
annoyance of Cluny, who was so offended at the slight, that
he withdrew his clan from the field just as the Camerons were
seen approaching. The defection of the MacPhersons at this
critical moment was most unfortunate, as the Camerons now
outnumbered their opponents by nearly two to one ; but it
was too late to patch up the quarrel now, and the Mackintoshes
and Davidsons had to withstand the onset of MacGillonie and
his bold warriors as well as they could.

The battle now began, and the consequences were most
disastrous for the Davidsons, as we are told that they were
nearly all slain by the Camerons. Mackintosh and his clan
were hard pressed, and would probably have met the same fate
as their comrades, had not Cluny, forgetting in the excitement
of the moment all that had taken place, joined in the conflict.
This considerable accession of numbers completely turned the
scale, and in a few moments the Camerons were utterly routed,
and few escaped the swords of the MacPhersons. MacGillonie
fled towards Ruthven, and was killed on a hill a few miles
from that place, which still bears his name.

Many writers assert that the remarkable combat which
took place at the North Inch of Perth, before King Robert III.
and his Court, in 1396, so quaintly described by Andrew
Wyntoun, was the outcome of the dispute at Invernahavon ;
but whether this be so or not, there is very little doubt that
some of the contending clans in 1370 were also among the
combatants in 1396.

1 This historical fact appears to me to afford very strong evidence in support of
the claim of Mackintosh to the chieftainship of Clan Chattan. Although Cluny
objected to Mackintosh's decision at Invernahavon, why was that chieftain called
upon to settle the dispute if he was not acknowledged to be the head of the clan ?

INVERLOCHY 21

CHAPTER II.

AMONG the staunchest supporters of Bruce during his struggle
for the Crown was the powerful Lord of the Isles, Angus
Og, who, with his MacDonald clansmen, had helped in no
small degree to win the day at Bannockburn. 1 In return
for such valuable assistance, Bruce bestowed upon him the
Lordship of Lochaber, and from this period down to the
present day, the great Celtic family of Clan Donald have
been closely associated with the beautiful district which forms
the subject of this history. Angus Og was succeeded by his
son John, who was fourth in succession from Somerled. By
a special papal dispensation in the year 1342, John was
permitted to marry his cousin Amy (Ami nic Ruari) of the
Siol Cuinn, the wealthy heiress of the North Isles. This lady
bore him four children, (i) John, who predeceased his father;
(2) Godfrey of Uist and Garmoran ; (3) Ronald, from whom
are descended the families of Clanranald and Glengarry ; and
(4) a daughter Mary, who first married one of the MacLeans
of Duart, and afterwards MacLean of Coll. About the year
1357, John of the Isles divorced his wife Amy, and married
Lady Margaret Stewart, daughter of Robert, High Steward
of Scotland, who, after the death of David II. in 1370,
ascended the throne as Robert II. The children of this
marriage were (i) Donald, who succeeded his father in the
Lordship of the Isles ; (2) John, usually known as John
Mor Tanastair, ancestor of the Earls of Antrim ; and (3)
Alexander, commonly called Alasdair Carrach (or Crafty), to
whom was granted the Lordship of Lochaber. This famous
chieftain became the progenitor of the family of Keppoch in
the Braes of Lochaber, of whom much will have to be written
in the course of this work.

1 Bannockburn, as all Scotsmen know, was fought on 24th June 1314, and here, as
elsewhere, the Highlanders of Lochaber distinguished themselves by their courage.
In addition to the MacDonalds mentioned above, large contingents of the clans
Cameron, Mackintosh, and MacPherson, under their respective chiefs, were present,
and materially assisted the cause of Bruce on that memorable day.

22 LOYAL LOCHABER

Donald of the Isles had united himself in marriage with
Margaret, daughter of Sir John Lesley, by his wife Euphemia
Ross, sole heiress to the Earldom of Ross, owing to the
failure of the male line. At her decease, Margaret's brother
Alexander succeeded to the title. He married a daughter of
the Duke of Albany, and had issue one daughter, Euphemia,
who, upon her father's death, became a nun, and renounced
all claims to the earldom and estates in favour of her uncle
John Stewart, Earl of Buchan. When this became known to
the Lord of the Isles, he immediately laid claim both to the
title and estates in right of Margaret his wife. The Duke of
Albany, who was Governor of Scotland, naturally objected to
the pretensions of the Highland potentate, and supported the
Earl of Buchan. Donald, whose wrath was now aroused,
determined to assert his rights by the sword, and ordered his
brother, Alasdair Carrach, to lay waste the valley of the

Ness ; these instructions were faithfully carried out, and miles

i
of country were devastated by the Lochaber men. So serious

was the outbreak, that the Earl of Moray, who governed the
district, found it necessary to make terms with Alasdair Carrach,
and on 5th September 1 394, a treaty was signed between them,
in which they "bind themselves to support each other"; and
all the Church lands and possessions of the Regality of Moray
were put under the Lochaber chiefs protection for seven years.

Long before that period had expired, Alasdair had claimed
rights of ownership, and had even gifted some of the Church
lands to his friends, and the keeping of the Castle of Urquhart,
with the possession of certain lands in the parish, to his
faithful follower, Charles MacLean, a son of Lochbuie. The
bishop of Moray complained to the Crown, and Parliament
made a feeble show of authority by imprisoning Alasdair
Carrach, and appointing Donald of the Isles his warder. This
punishment was of course a mere farce, and it was not long
before we hear of Alasdair committing fresh depredations in
the north. He robbed the canonry of Elgin, and destroyed the
town by fire, and shortly after was fighting by the side of his

INVERLOCHY 23

brother Donald, at Dingwall, against Angus Dubh MacKay and
the Sutherlandshire clans. He was again successful, Angus
Dubh being taken prisoner 1 and hi5" brother Roderic slain.

After this victorious progress, the Lord of the Isles, flushed
with success, resolved to carry war into the eastern counties,
and after halting at Inverness to muster his army, marched
through Moray, accompanied by his brother, Alasdair Carrach.
No opposition was met with here, and they proceeded through
Strathbogie and Garioch, which were laid waste with fire
and sword. Donald had often threatened to burn the town
of Aberdeen, and he would undoubtedly have done so' on
this occasion, had it not been protected by a powerful army
under the Earl of Mar, officered by some of the bravest
noblemen and gentlemen from Angus and the Mearns.
Finding, therefore, the town too strong to assail, Donald, with
his Highlanders and Islesmen, halted at the village of Harlaw,
on the water of Ury, and waited the arrival of Mar. On the
eve of St James, 25th July 1411, the two forces arrived
within fighting distance, and with a terrific shout the
Highlanders, who had eagerly watched the approach of their
enemies, rushed forward with tremendous impetuosity, and
for a time carried everything before them ; but they had to
face a magnificently equipped force, well armed and disciplined,
and led by such stout warriors as Sir James Scrymgeour, Sir
Alexander Ogilvy, Sir Alexander Irving of Drum, and hosts of
steel-clad knights. The fight went on until nightfall, when,
after fearful slaughter, both forces withdrew, leaving over four-
teen hundred dead on the field, among whom were the chiefs
of Mackintosh and MacLean, who fought under the standard
of the Lord of the Isles ; whilst on the side of the Earl of
Mar, Sir James Scrymgeour, Sir Alexander Ogilvy, Sir Thomas
Murray, Sir Alexander Irving of Drum, Sir William Abernethy
of Salton, and many other gentlemen of rank met a similar
fate. The battle was a drawn one, but the result was, if

1 Angus Dubh MacKay afterwards married a sister of the Lord of the Isles. Iain
Abrach MacKay was a natural son of this chief.

24 LOYAL LOCHABER

anything, in favour of Donald ; he, however, did not follow
up his advantage, and it is idle to speculate on what might
have been had he done so. The actual outcome was, that
Donald of the Isles had to swear fealty to the Scottish Crown,
and give up his claim to the Earldom of Ross. Alasdair
Carrach returned to his stronghold of Tor Castle in Lochaber,
where we hear of him from time to time as a staunch supporter
of his brother in his various difficulties, political and otherwise.
Donald died in 1425, and was succeeded by his son Alexander,
who was but a lad at the time of his father's death.

James I., the third Stewart, son of Robert III. and Annabella
Drummond, is now on the throne. Taken prisoner at an early
age by the English in 1405, he had, when confined in Windsor
Castle, received all the advantages of the society of princes
and nobles of his own age, and doubtless vied with them in
all their knightly sports and occupations. Naturally of a
pensive and studious disposition, he had every opportunity
while at Windsor of gratifying his craving for literature, and
it is greatly to the credit of the English monarchs, Henry IV.
and V., that no trouble or expense was grudged to provide
the education befitting one who was to rule the Scottish people.
To beguile the weary hours of his captivity, he read and
re-read the poems of the first of English poets, Chaucer, and
soon, with boyish ambition, began to write verse himself, and
this of no mean order ; inspired by the charms of the noble
damsel who was afterwards to share his throne in the rude
north, and to take her part as an unwilling witness in that
last tragic scene at the Abbey of Blackfriars at Perth. All
this is matter of history and outside the scope of my present
purpose, which is to deal with Scottish history so far only as
it touches Lochaber.

It is now the year of our Lord 1429 ; James I. has sat on
the throne of Scotland for twenty-three years, ruling justly
and wisely, and finding a few hours to spare, when not occupied
by the affairs of state, to follow his favourite pursuit of verse
making. His rest is rudely disturbed by the news that the

INVERLOCHY 2$

Highland caterans under Alexander, Lord of the Isles, and
Earl of Ross, are laying waste Lochaber with fire and sword,
and he must perforce leave his poetry and gird on his armour
and go forth to chastise these troublesome Highlanders who
set his kingly authority at defiance. A parliament is hastily
summoned at Inverness, which the king attends in person,
and Alexander is summoned before him. The wily chieftain
promises to reform, and, after a nominal punishment of a few
days, is set free ; but as an example to others, several of the
lesser chiefs are summarily executed. Justice having been
done, the king returns to Perth, and before the last struggling
remnants of his retinue are out of the town, Alexander,
forgetful of his promises of amendment, returns with a large
body of MacDonalds, and destroys the town by fire. We may
imagine the wrath of James at this proceeding, and vowing
vengeance against the clan and its chieftain in particular,
he plans an expedition for his destruction. Alexander,
feeling now assured that he has aroused the lion, and seeing
no chance of escape, has recourse to that mother wit with
which every Highlander, ancient or modern, is well provided.

It is now Easter, the king and queen are at Holy rood
engrossed in those devotions which the Catholic Church
imposes upon her followers at this holy festival. While the
ceremony of the mass is in progress, a noise is heard without,
and, like an apparition, the figure of a Highland chieftain
appears, clad in the picturesque garb of his race, and pushing
aside the kneeling courtiers, throws himself at the king's feet,
and implores pardon in the name of Him who died upon the
Cross ; and such is the superstition of the age, and the glamour
of the sacred surroundings, that, in the presence of the Host
held aloft by the hands of the officiating priest, James grants
the life of his inveterate enemy. A few days later the great
gates of the castle of Tantallon close upon Alexander, and
he troubles the king no more.

" Le roi est mort, vive le roi." Alexander is secure in

Tantallon, but his young cousin, Donald Balloch, son of

26 LOYAL LOCHABER

John Mor Tanastair, with a brave determination to protect
the hereditary rights of his clan and family, immediately raised
the standard of his chief at Carnich, a small island in Loch
Sunart, and called upon the neighbouring clans to join him in
attacking the forces sent by the king under the command of
the Earls of Mar and Caithness, which were encamped around
the castle of Inverlochy. Maclain of Ardnamurchan, Allan,
son of Allan of Moidart, and his brother, Ranald Ban, promptly
answered the summons, and brought in over six hundred
followers, mostly daoine-uaisle or gentlemen, many coming in
their own galleys and biorlinns. With this force, Donald Balloch
set sail for Inverskippinish, two miles south of Inverlochy,
where he awaited a favourable moment for a descent upon
the king's army, meanwhile sending word to his uncle, Alasdair
Carrach, to hold himself in readiness for a combined attack
upon a preconcerted signal.

On the king's side Mar had not been idle, having
strengthened his force by a large accession of Highland chiefs
and Lowland noblemen, among the former being Huntly,
Fraser of Lovat, Malcolm Mackintosh (Calum Beag), captain
of Clan Chattan, Donald Cameron (Domhnull Dubh MacA ileiri),
chief of Clan Cameron, Grant, and MacKay of Strathnaver ;
but at the time of the battle, Lovat was away collecting men
and provisions in Sunart and Ardnamurchan. Upon the
approach of Donald Balloch and his Islesmen, Alasdair Carrach,
with two hundred archers and the remainder of his clan, took
up a position upon the steep hill overlooking the castle of
Inverlochy, and awaited the moment when the king's army
being engaged with his nephew, he could swoop down upon
the unprotected flank. So little did Mar comprehend the
dangerous position in which he was placed, that he was actually
playing a game of cards in his tent with Mackintosh whilst
Donald Balloch was disembarking his men but a short distance
away. Huntly, however, with keener military instinct, fully
realised the necessity of immediate action, and expostulated with
the players at their folly in wasting time at such an important

l-ockhart Bogle.

Charge of Alasdair Carrach and the Keppoch MacDonalds at Inverlochy, 1431 A.D.

Page 27.

INVERLOCHY 27

juncture. Mackintosh is said to have exclaimed : " We will play
this game out, and do with the enemy what we please afterwards,
for I know very well the doings of the big-bellied carles of the
Isles," and even went out of his way to insult Huntly, by saying
that though he (Huntly) should assist the enemy, he would
defeat them both ; an insult which caused Huntly to withdraw
his clansmen and become a mere spectator of the fight.

Whilst these foolish boasters were sowing discord in the
ranks of the Royalists, Donald Balloch and his followers had
landed from their galleys, and taken up a strong position in
front of the king's forces, which had now been put into some
sort of order. The front of the Islesmen was commanded by
Maclain of Ardnamurchan, John MacLean of Coll, and his
kinsman, Lachlan Bronneach ; the main battle by Ranald Ban
and Allan, son of Allan of Moidart ; whilst other important
posts were assigned to MacDuffie of Colonsay, MacQuarrie of
Ulva, and MacGee (MacKay) of the Rhinns of Isla.

At a given signal, Alasdair Carrach and his gallant
MacDonalds poured down the hill like an impetuous torrent,
driving everything before them with irresistible fury, hacking
and slashing with claidheamh mbr and Lochaber axe, whilst
showers of arrows from his archers carried death and devasta-
tion into the massed body of the enemy farther afield. Donald
Balloch and his Islesmen had meanwhile attacked the Royalists
in front with such tremendous ferocity, that resistance was
unavailing, and in spite of all the efforts of the old chief of
Clan Cameron, who had fought at Harlaw, and the vigorous
protests of Mar, the king's army was completely routed, leaving
nearly a thousand dead upon the field, amongst them being
the Earl of Caithness, with sixteen of his personal retinue,
and many knights and barons from the Lowlands.

Donald Balloch followed up his victory by a descent upon
the lands of the Camerons and Clan Chattan, which he ravaged
with fire and sword, but news reaching him that king James
was advancing in person to Lochaber at the head of a powerful
army, he fled to Ireland, where he married the daughter of

28 LOYAL LOCHABER

Conn O'Neill (son of Hugh Bhuidhe O'Neill). The king, after
a triumphal progress through Lochaber, proceeded to Dun-
staffnage, on Loch Etive, and held a trial of as many of the
insurgent leaders as he had been able to secure ; several were
executed, and the lands of others forfeited. Alasdair Carrach,
for the share he had taken in the rebellion, was dispossessed
of his estates in Glen Roy and Glen Spean, which were
bestowed upon Malcolm Mackintosh, captain of Clan Chattan,
as some compensation for the loss he had sustained. It was
this circumstance that led to the great feud between the
Keppoch MacDonalds and Mackintoshes, which continued until
the end of the seventeenth century.

There is still extant in Lochaber an interesting story in
connection with the flight of the Earl of Mar from Inverlochy
after the death of his colleague, the Earl of Caithness. Weary
and footsore, almost dead from want of food, he got as far as
Glen Roy, where he met a poor Highland woman, who, taking
pity on his destitute condition, and of course quite ignorant
of his identity, charitably shared with him the small portion
of meal she had ; the earl, having no utensil to mix it in, took
off his shoe, and going to a small burn known as Allt-acha-na-
beithe, he filled his shoe with water, and having stirred the meal
into it, ate the mixture with a degree of pleasure that astonished
the poor woman, saying at the same time in Gaelic,

"Is math an cocaire an-t-acras,
'S mairg ni tailleas air biadh ?
Fuarag corn a sail mo bhroige
Biadh is fhearr a fhuair mi riamh."

Which may be expressed in English as " Hunger is the best
of cooks ; who would despise the most frugal meal. I never
had anything so good as barley crowdie in my shoe."

After partaking of this simple food, which temporarily
assuaged the pangs of hunger, he reached a place some
distance up the glen named Beggich, where resided an Irish-
man by the name of O'Birrin (possibly O'Brian), who, with
the hospitality for which his race is celebrated, welcomed the

INVERLOCHY 29

wounded stranger, and, having no food to offer him, killed
his solitary cow, and having cooked a portion of the flesh,
gave it to the earl. After eating heartily of the good fare
provided for him, the earl, overcome with fatigue, fell into a
sound sleep, and his kind host covered him as he slept with
the warm hide of the recently slaughtered animal. Whether
from the virtue in the hide, or the effects of the nourishing
food of which he had partaken, the earl arose from his slumbers
refreshed and strong, and shortly after took his departure,
previously informing his host of his name and rank, and
promising that in the event of danger or difficulty he would
come to his assistance.

O'Birrin soon had an opportunity of proving the earl's good
faith, as, shortly after his noble guest had departed, some of
the neighbouring MacDonalds having heard of the occurrence,
and enraged that their foe should have escaped their clutches
at Inverlochy, threatened him with violence. Fearing they
would take his life, O'Birrin bethought him of his friend the
earl, and decided to flee to him for succour. He reached the
earl's residence at Kildrummie at an inopportune time, as that
nobleman was entertaining his friends at a banquet. For a long
time the servants resisted O'Birrin's entreaties to be allowed to
see their master, but at length he prevailed upon one of them
to take his message to the earl, who immediately left the table,
excusing his absence to his friends in Gaelic verse, thus

" S' ionmhuinm learn na bheil a muigh,
O'Birrin's a Bhaggach ;
Thug mi oidche na thigh,
Air mhoran bidh's air bheagan aodach."

Which being interpreted, is

" Dear unto me is O'Birrin of Beggich,
Who stands at my threshold ;
I stayed a night at his dwelling,
With plenteous food and scanty clothing."

Taking him by the hand, he led him into the castle, where he
was amply provided for during the remainder of his lifetime.

3O LOYAL LOCHABER

Notwithstanding the flight of Donald Balloch, the Camerons
had yet to discover that their misfortunes had only just begun,
for upon the restoration to liberty of Alexander, Lord of the
Isles, from the dungeons of Tantallon, who, having sworn
fealty to king James, had been appointed Justiciar of the
kingdom north of the Forth, they found themselves deprived
of their lands by their feudal superior as a punishment for
their desertion from his standard at Inverlochy.

His first step on regaining his freedom was to bestow the
lands of the Camerons upon his staunch adherent, MacLean
of Coll. This chieftain was the son of Lachlan MacLean of
Duart in Mull, and had obtained the Island of Coll and the
lands of Quinish from the Lord of the Isles, as a reward for
his services. Upon proceeding to take possession of his newly
acquired property in Lochaber, he experienced considerable
opposition from the Camerons, who offered every resistance
in their power to the intruder, but without success, and for
some years MacLean usurped the place of the exiled
Donald Dubh.

At length the day of reckoning came, for Alan (Mac-
Dhomhnuill Dutbh], the Cameron chief (better known as Ailein
nan Creacli), having sworn to support the cause of Celestine of
the Isles, Lord of Lochalsh, received from that chief a charter
of the lands of Loch Arkaig and Loch Eil, with remainder to
the heirs male procreated between him and his wife Mariot,
daughter of Angus (Aongas na Feairte), second chief of
Keppoch. 1 He at once commenced hostilities against the
MacLeans with such energy that he soon regained the
possession of most of his patrimony.

A decisive battle was fought between the Camerons and
MacLeans at Corpach on Loch Eil, in -which the latter clan
were utterly routed, and their chief (John, the son of John
Garbh) slain. 2

1 Appendix III.

2 The spot where he fell is pointed out on the Ardgour shore of Loch Eil, near a
large boulder known locally as "Clack Mhic Iain."

INVERLOCHY 31

The exact date of this conflict is not known, but there is
little doubt that it took place during the reign of James III.
(1460-1488 A.D.), and from that period until the " Forty- Five,"
the Camerons of Lochiel remained in secure possession of
their ancestral territory, and furnished a long line of redoubtable
chieftains to the whole clan. In a later chapter I shall have
occasion to refer to the different branches of Clan Cameron,
and the origin of the assumption of the chieftainship by the
Lochiel family.

Although the MacLeans had suffered defeat and been driven
from the Cameron lands by the rightful owners of the property,
they still retained considerable influence in the immediate
neighbourhood, owing to the territory they had recently
appropriated in Ardgour (Ard-gobhar, "Height of the Goats"),
on the opposite side of Loch Eil. This beautiful and extensive
district, which stretches from Drumsallie, near the head of
Loch Eil, to a short distance beyond Corran on Loch Linnhe,
had for generations belonged to the MacMasters, a small clan
or sept of obscure origin, who had held it from the Lords of
the Isles. Tradition states that the chief of the MacMasters
at this period (anterior to 1480 A.D.) had given offence to his
feudal lord by the use of an insulting epithet on the occasion
of an interview that had taken place between them, and that
the Lord of the Isles had threatened to punish MacMaster for
his temerity by expelling him from the lands of Ardgour.
For some reason or another, no immediate steps were taken,
and MacMaster returned to his dwelling at Clovullin (Cladh a
Mhuillin), in the fond belief that his crime had been overlooked
or forgotten. This, however, was not the case, as we shall see.

At the great battle of Harlaw in 1411, Hector MacLean
(Eachann Ruadh nan Cath, " Red Hector of the Battles ") had
commanded the right wing of the Highlanders and Islesmen
under Donald, Lord of the Isles, and was slain by Sir Alexander
Irving of Drum. He had married a daughter of the Earl of
Douglas, who bore him several sons, among whom was one
named Ewen. At the time of his father's death, Ewen was an

32 LOYAL LOCHABER

infant, and the Earl of Douglas constituted himself the guardian
and protector of his fatherless grandchild, and brought him up
with his own family. As soon as he could handle weapons,
young Ewen was trained in the art of war and other manly
exercises, in which he soon became proficient. His first
military exploit occurred at Dunbarton, where he greatly
distinguished himself under the leadership of the Duke of
Albany, and young as he was he challenged the leader of the
royal forces to single combat, and after a desperate struggle
overcame and slew him. Owing to the fact that Ewen MacLean,
after having killed his opponent, appropriated the head-covering
of the dead warrior, which was ornamented by three feathers,
he was dubbed by his Highland comrades Eobhan nan iteag
(" Ewen of the Feathers "). After this event, Ewen sought his
fortune in Ireland, but returned later to Ardtornish when he
heard that the Lord of the Isles was engaged in making grants
of lands to those chiefs who had supported his cause during
the late troubles. Young MacLean is said to have crossed from
Ireland in a galley with sixteen followers, among whom were
some bearing the names of Boyd and Livingstone. Upon his
arrival at Ardtornish, Ewen sought an interview with Lord
MacDonald, which, having been granted, he boldly asserted
his claim to a share in the division of property. The great
chieftain, pleased though he was at the bold spirit displayed
by MacLean, was somewhat embarrassed, as all the available
land had already been divided among the earlier claimants,
and he reluctantly had to admit his inability to grant the
request, but added that if Ewen wanted land, he had a good
sword and a stout arm, and could take it, and, moreover, offered
to lend him the assistance of a body of men to aid him in the
enterprise. The idea seemed to please the dauntless Ewen, but
he refused the proffered help of the chiefs warriors, stating
that the men he had with him were quite sufficient for the
purpose, provided the Lord of the Isles would tell him where
to go, and grant him permission to retain the lands when he
had won them.

INVERLOCHY 33

Suddenly calling to mind the insult he had received from
MacMaster of Ardgour, and glad of the opportunity of
inflicting condign punishment upon a rebellious vassal, Mac-
Donald turned graciously to Ewen and said, "the spirit of
your brave father is in you, and you deserve a reward ; go
therefore and take the lands of 'Ftuch!' l Fiuck!'" (Anglice,
"pshaw!") 1 this being the objectionable interjection used
by MacMaster which had aroused the wrath of the proud
Hebridean potentate. A little further explanation followed,
and Ewen and his bold followers set sail for Loch Linnhe,
filled with the most sanguine expectations of success in their
somewhat questionable expedition.

Late at night they arrived at Clovullin, and having landed,
proceeded to the dwelling of MacMaster, where Ewen knocked
loudly, and demanded food and lodging for himself and men.
The Chief of Ardgour, having been probably awakened from
his slumbers, was in anything but a conciliatory mood, and
he refused the request in most insulting terms. These words
were the last he was to utter, for they had scarcely left his
lips when Ewen, drawing his sword, decapitated him on the
spot. Thus Eobhan nan iteag became possessed of the lands
of Ardgour, and his descendants from that time have taken
the patronymic of Mac ic Eobhamn. The son and heir of the
slain chief was known as " the Fox," and after the murder of
his father, he sought the shelter of a wood in the neighbourhood,
where he remained all night, but was afterwards captured by
MacLean and slain. The spot where he was buried is still
known as Cam an t-sionnaich (" the Cairn of the Fox "). The
rest of the MacMasters fled across Corran Ferry to Inverlochy,
where many of the name may still be found, while their places
were filled in Ardgour by the Boyds and Livingstones, who
had come from Ireland with MacLean, and to this day several
families of their descendants flourish in that district.

1 Another version is "Falbh! nach hum tAu'n garradh far is iosaile" ("Off!
canst thou not leap the fence where it is lowest "), and the hero, instead of Ewen,
is said to have been Donald, son of Lachlan Bronneach.

34 LOYAL LOCHABER

CHAPTER III.

AFTER the events just chronicled we hear little of Lochaber
and its turbulent inhabitants for some time. The campaign
of Alexander of the Isles, in which he was assisted by his
Keppoch kinsmen, resulted most disastrously, and in the
year 1493 the historic Lordship of the Isles was forfeited
to the Crown, and Donald (III. of Keppoch) was thus
deprived of all legal claim to his Lochaber lands. 1 During
the next twelve years the country was the scene of local
feuds and clan dissensions, in which MacDonalds, Camerons,
and Mackintoshes were all involved ; but the most serious event
that disturbed the peace of the district was the insurrection
of Donald Dubh of the Isles, in order to recover his lost
inheritance. Donald Glas (VI. of Keppoch) supported his
kinsman, and carried fire and sword into the lands of Clan
Chattan; Badenoch was laid waste, and the town of Inverness
destroyed by fire. The king (James IV.), now thoroughly
alarmed, raised a powerful army, and called upon the Earls
of Argyll, Huntly, Crawford, and Marshall, with Lord Lovat
and many other noblemen of note, to lead it against the
rebellious islanders. For two years the war went on, and
for part of the time the king led his army in person. At
length Donald Dubh was made prisoner, and confined in
Edinburgh Castle, where he remained for a period of nearly
forty years. These energetic measures broke the back of the
rebellion, and for a time at least peace reigned in Lochaber.

In the year 1505 2 Alexander Gordon, third Earl of Huntly,
was invested with full power in the disaffected district; and
as From thenceforward the family of Gordon were closely
associated with Lochaber, a brief account of their origin may
not be out of place.

The family is undoubtedly of very considerable antiquity,

1 Appendix IV.

2 The deed of grant is dated Edinburgh, 22nd March 1505, vide Appendix V.

INVERLOCHY 35

for as far back as the reign of Malcolm III. (1058-1093 A.D.)
we hear of one Richard Gordon, who was said to have slain
an enormous wild boar near the forest of Huntly, for which
deed he was rewarded with a grant of lands by the king,
and was empowered to carry arms, viz., three boar's heads,
or, on a field azure ; and later, in 1 199 A.D., tradition states
that Bertram de Gordon, at Chalons, shot the fatal arrow
that mortally wounded the English king, Richard Cceur
de Lion.

In the reign of Alexander III., Adam Gordon married his
cousin Alicia, who was heiress to an immense fortune which
she brought to her husband, who, however, did not live long
to enjoy it, as shortly afterwards he went to the Crusades
with Louis of France, where he was slain. It is from his
grandson Sir Adam, that all the Gordons were descended.
In 1402 A.D., another Sir Adam Gordon fought, and was
slain at Homildon, and the male line became extinct : his
only daughter married a Seton, and their son Alexander
assumed the name of Gordon, and became a favourite of
James I. and James II., and was created Earl of Huntly
by the latter monarch in 1449 A.D. The Gordons were now
as powerful in Lochaber as their predecessors the Comyns
had been in earlier times, and about 1511 A.D. the then Earl
of Huntly, by the king's instructions, set to work to restore
Inverlochy Castle, which had at this period fallen into decay.
A moat 40 feet broad was dug around it, the massive towers
were strengthened, and a strong force of armed Gordons with
their chief took up their abode within the fortress, ready for
any service that the unsettled state of the district might
demand of them. Treaties offensive and defensive were
entered into with the neighbouring clans ; and among other
chiefs of Lochaber who signed documents of this character
we find Ewen M'Alan Cameron (Eobhan MacAilein), XIII.
of Lochiel, binding himself to the Earl of Huntly to be
"his leill, trew, ane fald man and servand," and with his kith
and kin to take part with the earl in all his just actions and

36 LOYAL LOCHABER

quarrels with all men. 1 This was in May 1543, and it is
evident that Lochiel did not consider the bond as binding
on his conscience, as one year later, in 1544, he was in arms
against Huntly at the battle of Bl&r nan leine. Here he fought
on the side of the MacDonalds of Clan Ranald against the
Erasers, headed by their chief, Hugh, fifth Lord Lovat, whose
cause Huntly supported. The origin of the dispute which
led to this sanguinary battle was as follows : Alexander
Alanson (Alasdair MacAileiri), second son of Alan MacRuari
(IV. of Clan Ranald), dying in 1530, left a natural son,
commonly known as Iain Moidartach (John of Moidart),
who having arrived at man's estate, obtained by false represent-
ations a charter of his father's estates from the Crown to
the exclusion of the legitimate heir, Ranald, son of Alan
MacRuari by his wife Isabella, daughter of Fraser of Lovat.
Ranald had been brought up by his grandfather among the
Frasers, and was hence called Galda ("stranger") by his
own clan.

When Ranald came of age, he went with a few of his friends
to take possession of Castle Tioram and assert his rights to
the chieftainship. Great preparations were made for his
reception, and many bullocks were slaughtered to provide a
feast worthy of the occasion. Observing the unwonted excite-
ment, and being told its cause, he remarked, "There is no
necessity for so much extravagance ; a few fowls might serve
us." These harmless words were at once taken up by his
clansmen, instigated by Iain Moidartach, and misconstrued into
a reflection upon the hospitality of the clan. So indignant
were they, that all sorts of insulting epithets were hurled at
the unfortunate lad, among which was Raonuill nan cearc
(" Ranald of the Hens "), a name which stuck to him as long as
he lived. Deeming it useless to remain, Ranald departed with
his friends to report the insult to his grandfather and take
steps for punishing his rebellious vassals. Immediately upon

1 Several charters of land were granted to Eobhainn MacAttein and his son
Donald about this period, -vide Appendices VI. and VII.

INVERLOCHY 37

his departure, Iain Moidartach was unanimously elected chief,
and preparations were made to protect the clan from the
vengeance of the Frasers.

Maclain of Ardnamurchan and his son, Raonuill Mbr 1
(VII. chief of Keppoch), and Eobhan MacAilein of Lochiel,
who were friendly to Iain, were asked for their support,
which was willingly given. Hearing that the Frasers were
on the move, Iain and his allies spread themselves through
Stratherrick and Abertarff, wasting and destroying every-
thing that came in their way : they raided Glenmoriston and
took possession of Urquhart Castle on Loch Ness. News
of the disturbance soon reached Huntly, and he at once
proceeded against the insurgents, accompanied by nearly the
whole of the Frasers ; the Grants of Strathspey and Glen-
moriston, and a strong contingent of the Clan Chattan. The
MacDonalds of Keppoch and Glengarry made a show of
submission, and Urquhart Castle was given up to Huntly.
Ranald Galda was put in possession of his patrimony, and
everything being apparently happily settled, Huntly departed
with the Clan Chattan, whilst the Frasers and Grants marched
northwards. They had to pass up the Great Glen, through
which the Caledonian Canal now runs, and when near the
Church of Kilfinnan, at the southern end of Loch Lochy, they
found themselves face to face with the whole forces of the
enemy. The month was July, and the heat was so intense
that the combatants stripped to their shirts before commencing
the action, from which circumstance the battle is known as
Bl&r nan leine, or "Battle of the Shirts." The fight was a
desperate one, and continued all through the long summer day
until nightfall, when sheer exhaustion on the part of the
victorious MacDonalds and Camerons brought it to an end.
The Frasers were nearly exterminated by their relentless foes,
and we are told that Lord Lovat, with his eldest son and over
eighty gentlemen of the clan were slain. Utter recklessness

1 It is from this chief the MacDonalds (or MacDonells) of Keppoch derive their
patronymic of "Mac Mhic Raonuill"

38 LOYAL LOCHABER

of life was shown on both sides, and many prodigies of valour
were performed. Two gigantic Highlanders challenged each
other to single combat with their huge double-handed swords ;
both fought magnificently for a long time, and neither gained
any advantage. At length one cried out, "Am bheil thu an
gobha?" ("Art thou the smith?") " Tha mil Am bheil thu
an gobha ? " (" I am ! Art thou the smith ? "), queried the man
addressed, to which the other replied, "Tha mi" ("I am").
Instantly throwing away their weapons, they grasped each
other in a grip of iron, with brawny limbs intertwined, the
muscles standing out like cords ; for a few moments they stood
thus, gradually drawing near to the edge of the loch, until at
last, locked in a deadly embrace, they fell over into the deep
water and perished.

The young heir, Ranald Galda, greatly distinguished himself
by his conspicuous bravery during the battle, he having engaged
in a hand to hand fight with a famous old swordsman called Iain
Ruadh Beag (" little Red John "). As they were fighting, Iain's
son passed by, and the old man finding himself hard pressed
by Ranald, he called out, "Is coma learn suaicheantas duine og 's
e teicheadh" ("I hate to see the badge of the young fugitive").
" Ceum air aghaidh d an t-sean duine, mac an air aite an athar "
(" Step forward, old man "), replied the lad (" let the son take
the place of the father "), at the same time placing himself in
front of Ranald Galda, who soon had him at his mercy. Seeing
this, the father, thinking to alarm his son's antagonist, cried
out, " Cha bhi mu'r brath foille dhuit, sin iad air do chul
thaobh " (" Take warning, young man, behind you "). The ruse
succeeded, for Ranald turned his head for a moment and
was cut down by his assailant, who left him for dead on the
field. The wound was not mortal, but owing to weakness,
due to loss of blood, he was unable to escape, and fell into
the hands of his enemies, who carried him to a small inn at
Laggan, where he was laid upon a rough bed, and his wounds
tended by one of the MacDonalds, who professed a knowledge
of surgery. While he lay here suffering intense pain from

INVERLOCHY 39

his wounds, he could hear the MacDonalds and Camerons in
their cups, boasting of their exploits on the field of battle, and
making mocking allusions to the vanquished Erasers. Ranald
could stand these taunts no longer, and in spite of the pain
the movement caused him, he sat up in his bed, his head all
swathed in a bloody bandage, and addressing his foes, who,
at the sound of his voice became sobered, he scornfully
remarked that if he were only as well and strong as he had
been in the morning, he would rather encounter the whole of
those in the room in mortal combat than the one brave man
he had fought with that day. At this remark the MacDonalds
were exceedingly irritated, and vowed speedy vengeance against
the wounded lad. On the pretence of bringing about his
recovery, they called in one of their clansmen who had some
knowledge of medicine, and, having given him secret instructions,
sent him to the young chiefs bedside. Ranald appears to
have been suspicious of the man's intentions, and at first
forbade his proffered assistance, but the pain, which was now
becoming unbearable, caused him to yield himself to the
doctor, who at once proceeded to dress his wounds. Whilst
apparently engaged in this merciful occupation, the treacherous
MacDonald thrust a needle into Ranald Galda's brain, but,
quick as the action was, Ranald had time to snatch his dirk
from his belt and stab the villain to the heart before he died.

There is a totally different version of this story current in
the Highlands, which is to the effect that Ranald Galda was
killed in fair fight by young Ranald MacDonell of Strontian,
who, seeing his father in danger of being worsted by that
hero, and being called upon for his assistance, shouted out,
" So -mar bu choir a bki, am mac a dot 'an ionad an athar "
(" This is as it ought to be, the son in the place of the father "),
rushed into the fray and attacked Ranald Galda, and soon
overcame him.

Huntly, upon hearing the news of the defeat, was greatly
enraged, and having called in the assistance of the powerful
Earl of Argyll, they obtained a decree of outlawry against

4O LOYAL LOCHABER

Iain Moidartach, and then proceeded to attack him by sea
and land. By a ruse he was captured and imprisoned, but
soon after made his escape and retired to his mountain fastness,
from whence he laughed at all attempts to secure him. Lochiel
and Keppoch were less fortunate, for, owing to the treachery
of Mackintosh, both were taken prisoners and executed at Elgin,
in the year 1547, by order of the Earl of Huntly, and their
heads stuck over the gate of the town.

For some years after the battle of Bl&r nan letne, comparative
peace reigned in Lochaber, save for an occasional skirmish
between the rival clans of that unsettled district, who were
continually raiding each other's territory on some slight
pretext or other, and affording Huntly plenty of employment
in settling their disputes and inflicting punishment upon the
more unruly members of his troublesome neighbours.

Sometimes he came into direct collision with them, as in
1591 or 1592, when Angus Mackintosh, the chief of that unique
confederation the Clan Chattan, at the head of a great
number of his followers, attempted to surprise the garrison
of Ruthven Castle in Badenoch, belonging to Huntly, but
without success : and we read in an old MS. history of the
Gordons, still preserved in the Advocates' Library, how Angus,
" finding this attempt could neither by force nor fraud have
successe, he retires a little to consult how to compass his
intent. In the meantime one creeps out under the shelter
of some old ruins, and levels with his piece at one of the
Clanchattan cloathed in a yellow war coate (which amongst
them, is the badge of the Cheiftaines or heads of Clans), and
piercing his body with the bullet, stricks him to the ground and
retires with gladness into the castle. The man killed was Angus
himself, whom his people carry away, and conceille his death
for manie yeirs, pretending he was gone beyond the seas."

Upon the execution of Ewen Cameron of Lochiel (Eobhan
MacAileiri), the chieftainship of the clan passed to his
grandson Ewen Beg (Eobhan Beag), owing to the death
of his eldest son Donald. Ewen died or was assassinated

INVERLOCHY 41

about 1554, and was succeeded by his uncle Donald (Domhnull
Dubh MacDhomhnuill}, who only lived to command the clan
for ten years, and died about the year r 564. John (Iain Dubh\
Donald's brother, married a daughter of the Chief of Mac-
kintosh, with issue two sons, the eldest of whom, Alan (Ailein
Maclain Duibh}, became the sixteenth chief of Lochiel. 1

It was during the early years of Alan's chiefship that we
first hear of the famous Taillear Dubh na Tiiaige (" the Black
Tailor of the Battle Axe "), whose doughty deeds are renowned
throughout Lochaber. He was a natural son of Eobhan
Beag the fourteenth chief, by a daughter of MacDougall of
Lome ; and the tradition still extant is, that MacDougall,
enraged at the seduction of his daughter, surprised and
captured the father of her child, and after confining him for
some time in the castle of Inch Connel, Loch Awe, put him
to death with the assistance of one MacArthur. The child,
then known as Donald MacEwen {Domhnull MacEobhainn
Bhig), was sent to Blar na Cleireach, near Loch Lundavra,
where he was nursed by a tailor's wife, from which circum-
stance he was called An Taillear Dubh. He grew up a
powerful man, with limbs and sinews of iron, and during
the many battles and skirmishes with the Mackintoshes proved
himself a splendid warrior.

Many stories are told of his prowess, of which the following
is one. Mackintosh, who was still hard at work trying to bring
the Camerons under his subjection, had invaded Lochiel's
territory with a force of two hundred chosen men of Clan
Chattan, and had reached the head of Loch Eil without meeting
any opposition. Here he rested for the night, and on the
following morning crossed the side of Beinn an t-Sneachda,
and proceeded in the direction of Loch Arkaig. He had
not gone far on the road when Lochiel, with a hundred and
twenty Camerons, was seen occupying a strong position on
the brae side, prepared to defend his property at all* costs.

1 Appendices VIII., IX., and X. throw some interesting light on Lochaber
history at this period.

42 LOYAL LOCHABER

There was a few moments hesitation, and then the Camerons
swept down upon their foes like an avalanche of destruction,
shouting their war cry, and dealing such terrible blows with
their huge swords, that in a few moments the beautiful green
sward was red with blood, and strewn with the bodies of
dead and dying Mackintoshes. The Black Tailor stood on a
small knoll and swung a gigantic axe, which clove skulls
and sheared off heads as though they had been thistles, until
he could no longer move for the heaps of slain that were
piled around him ; then, leaping from the hillock, he rushed
among the Chattan men and mowed a path clean through
their ranks until he regained his clansmen. The Mackintoshes,
brave as they were, turned and fled from the ferocious
Camerons and their invincible champion, who now pursued
them round the head of Loch Eil to the Ardgour shore,
where Mackintosh halted, and, standing upon a great boulder
by the water's edge, formed his men around him in a position
of defence. The Camerons, headed by Lochiel and the Black
Tailor, soon came up with them, and once more the slaughter
began. With dauntless courage Mackintosh, who was armed
with an immense double-handed sword, stood his ground,
cutting down every man who came within the reach of his
weapon, and hurling derisive taunts at his enemies. At
length the Black Tailor cut his way to where the Mackintosh
was defending himself so bravely, and faced him. ' In an
instant the Clan Chattan chief aimed a mighty blow at his
adversary, but it was deftly avoided by the Cameron warrior,
who, raising his great axe, struck Mackintosh to the ground.
The wound, however, was not mortal, and with fearful
execrations against the Camerons, the Chattan men raised
their injured chief on their shoulders, and, still pursued by
their relentless foes, retreated with him to Bun Garbhain,
where, overcome with fatigue, they had to halt. Again the
deadly strife was renewed, until few of the Mackintoshes were
left alive, and these few fled across the hills to Cona Glen.
The chief and his son were taken prisoners and left in

INVERLOCHY 43

charge of some women, whilst the Camerons still pressed on
after the fugitives, determined that if possible not one should
escape their vengeance. Night was now coming on, and the
wretched remnant of Mackintosh's men, thinking they had
outstripped their enemies, lay down in a small hollow called
Cuil nan Cuileag, where they fondly hoped to sleep. It was
a vain hope, for they had scarcely time to throw themselves
on the ground when the Black Tailor with his terrible
weapon leapt into their midst, followed by a party of
Camerons. The Mackintoshes sprang to their feet and made
a last desperate stand, but it was of no avail, and they were
cut down one by one until not a man remained alive.

The Camerons, satisfied with their bloody work, returned
to Bun Garbhain, where they had left their wounded prisoners.
There they spent the night, and early the next morning
started for their homes, carrying their wounded with them.
Lochiel was now in a dilemma, for his mother was a
Mackintosh, and had a character for being a woman of
ungovernable temper, who hated her son's clan with a
deadly hatred ; it was therefore no pleasant task to face her
with the story of the Mackintosh defeat. The Black Tailor,
however, cared nought, and Lochiel dispatched him to
Achnacarry with the tidings. Upon arrival he presented
himself to the lady, who welcomed him heartily and asked
his news. He replied, " Gun robh bian cait an diugh air plang,
agus rogha 's taghadh air peighinn" ("A cat's skin might be
had that day for a plack, and the choicest for a penny ").
Understanding his meaning, but dissembling her anger, she
bade him enter and take some refreshment, but first requested
him to leave his axe outside. ''Far am bi mi fhein bidh mo
thuagh " (" Where I am myself, there will be my axe "), replied
the Tailor. This remark so irritated her, that taking her
young child from the cradle she threw it into the fire,
showing by this action her hatred even of her own Cameron
offspring. Horrified by this fearful deed, the Black Tailor
raised his axe and shouted, "A bhean a rug an leanabh, tog

44 LOYAL LOCHABER

an leanabh" ("Woman who bore the child, take up the
child "). So terrible was his aspect that she caught up her
child, who was but slightly burned, and made her peace with
the Tailor. When Lochiel returned he found his mother in
a reasonable frame of mind, and handed over his wounded
prisoners to her care. When they had fully recovered they
were allowed to depart, after giving Lochiel a written promise
not to invade his territory again. 1

A more serious outbreak of feudal hostilities disturbed
the peace of Lochaber in 1613 A.D., 2 and was productive of
far-reaching consequences to Clan Cameron. The trouble
arose, in the first instance, from the arbitrary attempt made
by the Earl of Argyll to possess himself of the lands of
Ailein Maclain Duibh, sixteenth chief of Lochiel, with a view
to weakening the power and influence of his rival the Earl
of Huntly. He based his claim to this property upon the
fact that one of his ancestors, who lived in the reign of
James V., had received from that monarch a grant of the
territory in question. The dispute was not in this instance
settled by the argumentum baculinum, but rather by the
argumentum ad ignorantiam ; for the crafty Argyll, being
assured that an armed invasion of the Cameron district
would probably end in disaster, adopted the less heroic but
safer course, of instituting legal proceedings in Edinburgh
for the recovery of his alleged rights, trusting to the ignorance
of Lochiel whose acquaintance with the tortuous course of
an action at law would necessarily be limited to enable
him to bring his action to a successful issue. The result
showed that he was right in his surmise ; for upon Lochiel's
arrival in Edinburgh to defend his property from the clutches
of Mac Cailean Mbr, he very unwisely allowed himself to
accept the suggestion of his opponent, and agreed to submit

1 Between this period and 1613 there are many entries in the Register of the
Privy Council of Scotland relating to the efforts of the Government to extirpate the
Clan Gregor by the assistance of the Lochaber chiefs. That the task was not a
congenial one may be judged from Appendices XL and XII.

2 Appendix XIII.

INVERLOCHY 45

the dispute to arbitration. In the end, the arbiters decided
in favour of Argyll, and Lochiel, making the best of a bad
bargain, consented to hold his ancestral estates as a vassal
of the earl. This arrangement was resented by Huntly, who
clearly saw that unless he could break up this new and
unexpected alliance, his power in Lochaber would be merely
an empty name. He therefore endeavoured by every possible
means at his disposal to induce the chieftains of the other
branches of Clan Cameron to refuse allegiance to Lochiel,
now that he had allied himself with the enemy of their race.
By dint of insidious arguments and other more question-
able methods of persuasion, Huntly was so far successful
that he won over the Camerons of Glen Nevis, Errachd, and
Kinlocheil to his side, and they agreed to support him in
any hostilities that might ensue between the Gordons and
the Campbells.

When Lochiel heard of the disloyal behaviour of his clans-
men, his annoyance was extreme, and after a vain attempt
to enforce their submission, he returned to Edinburgh to take
counsel with his lawyers, and learn from them the extent
of his legal authority over his mutinous kinsmen and tenants.
Before he had been many days in that city, news reached
him that a plot was in course of formation against him, and that
his life was in danger. This intelligence caused him to set out
at once for Lochaber, with the stern determination of punishing
the conspirators, and rooting out the germs of sedition from
among his clan.

The Camerons of Strone, Letterfinlay, and Callart were
as yet loyal to their chief, and to these faithful adherents
Lochiel now appealed, to aid him in breaking up the conspiracy.
The would - be assassins, the better to carry out their fell
purpose, had appointed a rendezvous in a remote spot, where
they had invited Lochiel to meet them, and discuss terms
of reconciliation. They had, however, reckoned without their
host, for Lochiel, getting wind of their murderous plans, had
proceeded early to the place of meeting, attended by a large

46 LOYAL LOCHABER

body of well-armed Camerons, and after having concealed
them behind rocks and clumps of heather, awaited alone the
approach of the traitors. They were not long in coming,
and as the leader of the party came up, Lochiel suggested
that the conference should be held farther up the glen.
Ignorant of the fate that was in store for them, the whole
body of rebellious Camerons followed Lochiel into the deep
recesses of the ravine, their coward hearts rejoicing as they
saw in this movement only a better opportunity of effecting
their bloody purpose. But as they drew near the spot where
the loyal Camerons lay in ambush, Lochiel gave the signal
whistle, and

" Instant, through copse and heath, arose
Bonnets and spears and bended bows ;
On right, on left, above, below,
Sprung up at once the lurking foe." l

Caught in the snare they had laid for their chief, the con-
spirators received a well - merited punishment ; twenty of
their number being slain in the first few minutes, and eight
taken prisoners. Justice having been satisfied, Lochiel did
not follow up his advantage, but allowed the fugitives to
escape to their homes without further molestation. For his
share in this affair, 2 and also for the part he took in conjunction
with Alexander, chief of Keppoch (Alasdair nan C/eas), in the
rebellion of Sir James MacDonald of Islay in 1615, he, together
with his son Allan, were outlawed by the Privy Council at
the instigation of Huntly, who was authorised to pursue and
arrest him ; and a few years later Mackintosh obtained a com-
mission for himself and several other chiefs against Lochiel, 3
but before it could be put in execution, Mackintosh died.
Eventually the earl of Argyll came to the rescue, and, owing
to his powerful influence, the sentence of outlawry was recalled
and the Cameron chiefs pardoned. Keppoch, having previously
submitted, escaped without punishment.

1 Scott's "Lady of the Lake," Canto V. ix.

2 Appendix XIV. 3 Appendix XV.

INVERLOCHY 47

CHAPTER IV.

WHILE these petty hostilities are disturbing the peace of the
remote West Highlands, stirring events are occurring in the
great world without, destined to leave their marks on the
pages of the history of Scotland for all time. The romantic
tragedy of the life of Mary Stuart has been played out to its
bitter end at Fotheringay Castle ; one continual succession of
heart-stirring incidents, from that first scene at the old palace
of Linlithgow, to the last scene of all at Westminster Abbey,
when, with all the pomp and circumstances that became her
royal position, she is laid to rest beside her implacable cousin,
Elizabeth of England. The years roll by, the son of Mary
Stuart, James VI., has in his person united the kingdoms of
Scotland and England, and after a reign of fifty-eight years,
sleeps by his mother's side at Westminster, and his son,
Charles I., reigns in his place. And now once again the dogs
of war are let loose in Lochaber, and the old castle is, as of
yore, the centre of the conflict.

To understand the circumstances that again brought the tide
of battle surging around the grim old fortress, we must take a
hasty glance at the history of the period, and learn something of
the great personages who took an active share in this memorable
engagement. When in 1625 A.D. Charles I. succeeded to the dual
throne of Scotland and England, he had not forgotten his father's
favourite project of effecting the same reforms in the Church
of Scotland that had already been brought about in the Church
of England, viz., the restoration of the Episcopacy, with all
the dignity and honour that belonged to it in times past. The
mass of the Scottish people had no objection to bishops as
their spiritual rulers, and even the Presbyterian clergy could
give no logical reasons for refusing to serve under them, as, by
another name, they formed part of John Knox's original scheme
of church government. But with the proud Scottish nobles it
was quite another matter; they certainly had no wish to see

48 LOYAL LOCHABER

the establishment of a powerful ecclesiastical hierachy in
the realm, that might eventually despoil them of the estates
that many of their number had acquired by questionable
means at the time of the Reformation. Since that period the
principal noblemen had received the tithes formerly given to
the Church, on the understanding that they were to support
the Reformed clergy. This privilege was of course grossly
abused, even during John Knox's lifetime, and he is said to
have observed, " I see two parts given to the devil, and the
third must be divided betwixt God and the devil." Charles
now determined by one vigorous measure to sweep away
these abuses, and an Act of Revocation was passed before he
had been a year on the throne, which practically gave the
entire control of the tithes to the Crown, and, with the funds
thus placed at his disposal, Charles decided to endow the
new bishoprics. We may imagine the nobles would not stand
quietly by and see their ill-gotten gains slipping from their
grasp without a struggle, and a deputation was immediately
sent to the king, who, now becoming aware of the powerful
opposition he had aroused, must needs dissemble, and agreed
to modify the obnoxious Act, and in its stead issued a
commission known as the Commission of Surrender of
Superiorities and Tithes, which for a time quieted the
slumbering discontent of the aristocracy, and gave satisfaction
to a large number of the small landowners, who had for years
past suffered severe exactions at the hands of their temporal
rulers. Had Charles stopped here all might have gone well,
as he was affectionately regarded by the majority of his
Scottish subjects ; but the ill-advised action of his favourite
prelate, Archbishop Laud, in endeavouring to force the
Liturgy of the English Church upon the Presbyterian clergy,
served to arouse the slumbering discontent of the extreme
section of the Reformed Church, which was soon fanned into
action by the intrigues of the nobility, who were only too glad
of the opportunity afforded them to foment a quarrel which
could only lead to their further aggrandisement. The storm

JAMES GRAHAM, MARQUIS OF MONTROSE.
From a painting by Vandyck.

Page 49.

INVERLOCHY 49

soon broke, and within a year of the abortive attempt to read
the new form of service at St Giles, Edinburgh, 23rd July 1637,
the Presbyterians had bound themselves by a solemn oath to
eradicate Prelacy and to defend their Church, with their lives
if need be, against all her enemies. This bond was known
as the National Covenant, and was signed by rich and poor
alike throughout the realm of Scotland.

It is outside the scope of this work, interesting though
the subject may be, to describe all the great events which
followed on the signing of the Covenant ; suffice it to say,
that the whole kingdom was soon in arms against its rightful
king, who, by his obstinacy and procrastination, had brought
matters to this pass. And now, like a meteor flashing brilliantly
across the sky on a winter's night, leaving a train of shining
sparks in its wake, so across the dim pages of history we see,
as it were, written in characters of fire, the name of Montrose,
a name feared by king and Covenanters alike ; for true to his
convictions, both parties in the State had felt the strength of
his iron hand, and had used his military skill and intrepid
courage to good purpose.

It may here be worth while to digress from our narrative
for a few moments to glance rapidly at the part that Montrose
played in Scottish history, and, as after events will show,
Lochaber has every reason to be interested in all that pertains
to the Great Marquis, who left his mark upon the traditions of
that district for ages.

Born in the year 1612 at Montrose, James Graham inherited
all the traditional qualities of his heroic ancestry. His father,
the fourth earl, was not greatly distinguished in the service of
the State, and appears to have preferred a quiet country life,
and the peaceful pursuits of golfing, reading, and archery,
devoting much of his time to the care of his children. As is
often the case, Montrose more nearly resembled his celebrated
grandfather, who had held, under James VI., the important
offices of treasurer, chancellor, and viceroy, and whose fiery

spirit had frequently led him into serious brawls and feuds with

5O LOYAL LOCHABER

his neighbours. Montrose's mother was Lady Margaret Ruthven,
daughter of the earl of Gowrie, and granddaughter of that old
Lord Ruthven who was a grim actor in the terrible scene at
Holyrood, when Rizzio fell at his mistress' feet, wounded unto
death by the daggers of the jealous nobles. The early days
of Montrose were passed at Glasgow, where he acquired his
knowledge of the classics under the supervision of his tutor,
William Forrett, and it is interesting to notice, as bearing upon
his after life, that his favourite books were Xenophon's
" Hellenics," " Seneca," and Raleigh's " History of the World."
His father died in 1626, and the young earl, then in his
fifteenth year, became a student at St Andrews, and, after the
usual course of studies, in which he showed great proficiency,
left the university, and shortly afterwards, loth November 1629,
married Magdalene, daughter of Lord Carnegie of Kinnaird.
A description of his personal appearance at this period of his
life, portrayed by the hand of Patrick Gordon of Ruthven,
cannot but prove of interest. We learn that he was possessed
of "a bodie not tall, but comely and well compossed in
all his lineamentes ; his complexion meerly whitee, with flaxin
haire ; of a stayed, graue, and solide looke, and yet his eyes
sparkling and full of lyfe ; of speache slowe, but wittie and
full of sence ; a presence graitfull, courtly, and so winneing
upon the beholders, as it seemed to claime reuerence without
seweing for it. ... He did not seeme to affect state nor
to claime reuerence, nor to keep a distance with gentlemen
that ware not his domesticks ... for his winneing behauior
and courteous caryage got him more respect than those to
whom they ware bound both by the law of nature, and by
goode reason to haive gieun to it." Such was James Graham,
Earl of Montrose, when he takes his place in the forefront of
the history of these troublous times as the champion of the
Covenanting body, at whose hands he was eventually to suffer
an ignominious death.

It would be quite impossible, in the small compass of this
work, to give anything approaching a detailed account of the

INVERLOCHY 51

romantic and adventurous life of the Great Marquis, whose
brilliant achievements would fill a volume ; the subject has
already been most ably and exhaustively treated by
Mr Mowbray Morris in his recent book, to which I am
indebted for several of the facts given here.

Although Montrose had thrown in his lot with the
Covenanters, and had been placed by them in supreme
command of all the military forces at their disposal, his fiery
and independent spirit could not long brook the noticeable
preference shown by the heads of his party to his feudal
enemy, the Earl of Argyll, who was at this time probably
the most powerful noble in Scotland, and had only recently, at
the age of forty, succeeded to the immense estates of his father
in Argyllshire. Up to the present Argyll had been careful
not to identify himself with either party, but now, seeing the
opportunities the approaching hostilities would afford him of
taking summary vengeance upon his enemies under the guise
of patriotism, he determined to join the Covenanters, who, of
course, received such a puissant ally with open arms. Of a
cool and crafty disposition, he took every opportunity of
forwarding his own ends, while apparently devoted to the
interests of his party.

Montrose, on the other hand, was frank and open, and
although he had a somewhat arrogant bearing when in the
society of his equals in rank, he was most courteous and
affectionate to his inferiors. Skilled in the art of war and
all the latest improvements in military science, and possessed
of an unyielding purpose when once his mind was made up,
he maintained the honour of his party at every engagement
with the enemy. Notwithstanding these brilliant victories
over the Royalist forces, the Estates, influenced by Argyll,
were only lukewarm in their praise, and Montrose, fretful
under the supposed insult, and indignant at his treatment by
Argyll, who had now assumed almost dictatorial powers,
placed himself in communication with the king, who, with
little effort, induced him to promise his support in the future.

52 LOYAL LOCHABER

Shortly afterwards a document was signed by Montrose and
several other noblemen, among whom were Mar, Almond, and
Erskine, pledging themselves to unite in the royal cause.
The knowledge of this having reached the ears of Argyll,
Montrose was arrested and imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle,
where he remained during King Charles's visit to that city, in
August 1641. It was doubtless a source of bitter mortification
to the king to have to admit his powerlessness to liberate
Montrose from the clutches of Argyll, but such was the power
of that crafty noble, that it would have been madness to
attempt it ; he, however, found means to communicate with
the imprisoned earl, who informed the king that a plot had
been formed against the royal person, in which both Argyll
and Hamilton were implicated. Charles at once resolved to
arrest the two noblemen mentioned, but having heard of his
purpose they both fled. Eventually they were recalled to court,
and, as an act of policy, the king advanced the Earl of Argyll
to the dignity of marquis. Meanwhile, Montrose obtained his
freedom, and now went boldly over to the king and joined
his army in England, accompanied by several loyal Scottish
noblemen, among whom were Crawford, Nithsdale, Reay,
Ogilvie, and Aboyne. Montrose was hastily commissioned as
Lieutenant-General of the Royal forces in Scotland, and a
few months later, in May 1644, received his patent of
marquis.

Events followed rapidly ; the Marquis of Argyll had taken
full advantage of the powers conferred upon him by the
Committee of Estates, and after raiding the West Highlands
as far as Lochaber, where he found ample opportunities of
inflicting severe punishment upon his ancient enemies, the
MacDonalds of Keppoch, he returned to Forfarshire, and
learning that Lord Ogilvie was still absent in England,
destroyed the " bonnie hoose o' Airlie" under circumstances
of almost fiendish brutality.

INVERLOCHY 53

CHAPTER V.

MONTROSE having returned to Scotland by circuitous paths,
and carefully disguised, arrived at Blair in Athole, where he
was soon joined by Alasdair MacDonell, son of Coll Mac
Gillespie MacDonell (Colla Ctotach}, chief of Clann Iain
Mhoir, or MacDonalds of Isla, Kintyre, and Antrim, who was
at the head of a body of fifteen hundred Irish, sent by the
Earl of Antrim to support the royal cause. The men of
Athole did not at first take kindly to their Irish allies, and
but for the presence of Montrose, would probably have come
into collision with them. Such, however, was the influence and
tact of their great leader, and such the enthusiasm with which
they regarded him, that all differences were soon forgotten in
the excitement of the preparations for the march into the
enemy's country. The royal army in Scotland now consisted
of a body of untrained Highlanders and half-savage Irishmen,
and accompanied with all the impedimenta of women and
children. Badly armed, without cavalry or ammunition,
success would have seemed impossible to anyone but
Montrose, whose sanguine temperament and inflexible purpose
nothing could daunt. As time went on, and victory after
victory was assured to him, his little army grew in strength
and efficiency, and, after the fall of Perth, he found himself at
the head of a substantial force, well armed and equipped, with
plenty of ammunition, and a welcome addition in the shape
of fifty well-mounted troopers under the command of their
leader, Nathaniel Gordon. Aberdeen was the next city to
feel the power of the Great Marquis, and terrible were the
scenes enacted on that awful I3th September 1644, when,
owing to a promise made by Montrose in the earlier part of
the day, on seeing a drummer boy wantonly slain by the
Covenanters in cold blood, the city was given over to the
tender mercies of the wild Irishmen, who slew and plundered
all they could lay hands upon, regardless of age or sex.

54 LOYAL LOCHABER

And now Argyll was to learn by bitter experience what
it was to have made an enemy of the relentless Montrose, who
was now in a position to pay back with interest all the
indignities that had been heaped upon him during the last
few years. The race of Diarmid had few friends in the
Highlands, and their chief, Mac Cailean Mor (the Gaelic
name for the Marquis of Argyll), had incurred the enmity of
the most powerful of the clans by his double dealing and
treachery, and now his territory was at their mercy, and they
were not slow to wreak their vengeance upon their hereditary
foe. From all sides the clans hastened to the banner of
Montrose, thirsting for the blood of the hated Campbell.
The MacDonalds of Clanranald, Keppoch, Glengarry, and
Glencoe ; the Stewarts of Appin ; Camerons from Loch Eil and
Glen Nevis, in Lochaber ; Farquharsons, MacLeans, and many
others who had suffered from the rapacity of Argyll, now
eagerly joined the royal forces, determined to carry fire and
sword into the very heart of their enemy's country, and, if
possible, surprise Mac Cailean Mor in his stronghold of
Inveraray, by the shores of Loch Fyne. Argyll, who was in
Edinburgh when he heard of Montrose's meditated descent
upon the Campbell country, hastened to Inveraray, and feeling
assured that at this inclement season of the year, it being then
the month of December, the mountain passes would be
inaccessible, took no active steps to place himself in a state of
defence, relying upon the great natural bulwarks with which
his territory was surrounded to afford him all the protection
that was necessary. He reckoned without his host : Montrose's
hardy Highlanders, inured from their birth to all the rigours
of the climate in which they had been reared, thought nothing
of facing the biting blasts that howled through the desolate
passes of Argyllshire. Like a mountain torrent in spate, they
poured down from the hills, and with resistless force carried
everything before them, burning and destroying all that came
in their way ; so that within the space of six weeks, from
1 3th December 1644 till the end of January 1645, tne whole

INVERLOCHY 55

male population of Argyll and Lorn were either driven out or
slain, and the country entirely devastated. On the first news of
the near approach of Montrose, Argyll had, with a degree of
cowardice which it is difficult to realise, incontinently fled to
Dunbarton, leaving his country to the mercy of his foes.
And now having, as he believed, thoroughly shattered the power
of his old enemy, and taken his fill of vengeance upon the
detested Campbell race, Montrose collects his straggling army,
who, flushed with victory, and laden with the spoils they
have accumulated, are reluctant to leave the land they have
conquered, and anxious that the grass should not grow under
his feet, marches rapidly through the wild pass of Glencoe
and the braes of Lochaber with the intention of seizing the
town of Inverness, which was at that time protected with only
two regiments. Arriving at Kilcumin (or Cille-Chuimein), at
the head of Loch Ness, he hears that the Earl of Seaforth
is advancing to meet him at the head of a considerable
force of men and horse. Montrose immediately determines
to attack the earl, when other and more surprising intelli-
gence is brought him, which entirely alters his plans. He
now learns that his implacable foe, Argyll, has collected an
army of three thousand men, and having reached Inverlochy,
has taken up his headquarters at the old castle, from whence
he is harrying Lochaber with fire and sword, and slaughtering
its defenceless inhabitants in retaliation for the late raid on
his own country.

The position of Montrose would now appear hopeless,
hemmed in as he is on all sides by the enemies of the king.
From the north, Seaforth is approaching with his army of five
thousand men ; from the east, a considerable body of
Covenanting troops, under Major-General Baillie, are advancing
across the Grampians, with instructions to fall upon Montrose
as soon as he is engaged with Argyll, who now, having
entrenched himself in the old fortress of Inverlochy, bars the
road to the south with three thousand armed Campbells, sworn
to revenge their slain kinsmen, and the great galley of Mac

56 LOYAL LOCHABER

Cailcan Mor ("An Dubh Lmdneack"} 1 lies on the bosom of
Loch Eil, under the shadow of the Ardgour hills, affording a
safe retreat in case of disaster. It was under such circumstances
as these that we are to see the stuff James Graham is made of.
The news that Argyll has occupied Lochaber reaches him
sometime on the eve of Friday, 3 1st January, and with that
promptitude of action with which his name is associated, he
immediately decides upon a bold plan to surprise his enemy, of
such a nature that it appears almost incredible, and reads more
like some fabulous event of ancient legend than a prosaic
historical fact. The place where Montrose was resting when he
determined to attack Argyll was about thirty miles from Inver-
lochy by the road he had lately traversed along the shores of
Loch Oich and Loch Lochy ; but it was not part of his scheme
to return by this route, and so let Argyll know of his approach.
Such an idea might have entered the puny brains of some of
the Covenanting leaders, but Montrose was nothing if not
original, and he had conceived the daring idea of leading his
army by almost untrodden paths across the gigantic range of
mountains that lay between Kilcumin and Inverlochy, and
which terminate with the mighty Ben Nevis, at whose base his
adversaries lay in fancied security. With Montrose to think
was to act; and after communicating his bold plan to the chief-
tains who served under his banner, he started for Inverlochy,
determined once and for all to root out the Clan Campbell or
perish in the attempt. He marched his army by the most
devious route across the river Tarff, through Glen Roy, and
after traversing the precipitous mountains over which Ben
Nevis reigns supreme (at this time of the year covered deeply
with snow), he found himself late at night in Glen Nevis, within
touch of the advanced outposts of Argyll, who had not the
faintest idea of his proximity, deeming him still at Kilcumin.
Weary and exhausted with their forced march through the
trackless snows of the mountain passes, the army of Montrose,
by command of their leader, lay under arms all night in the

1 This was the name of Argyll's galley, meaning the " Black Drenched One.''

INVERLOCHY 57

glen, husbanding their strength for the coming conflict, which
all knew would be a desperate one. The night is magnificent,
the moon being nearly full, and illuminating the whole scene
with picturesque grandeur. Above the sleeping Highlanders,
who lie in groups all around wrapped in their plaids, towers the
massive bulk of Ben Nevis, snow-crowned and majestic in the
clear moonbeams ; now and again upon the frosty air rings out
the challenge of the Campbell sentries, as they stop some way-
farer or camp follower who tries to pass through their lines ;
the river Nevis, now almost frost-bound, runs babbling along
chanting a lullaby to the slumbering warriors who line its
banks; here and there the ghost-like figure of an officer clad in
Highland garb moves noiselessly among the sleepers, as he goes
with some important orders from one portion of the encamp-
ment to the other; and now, while the two armies sleep in
peace under the starry firmament of heaven, waiting for the
dawn that will herald in a day of mortal strife, let us consider
for a few moments the component parts of the forces that are to
so soon engage in deadly combat.

Argyll's army at Inverlochy consisted mainly of members
of his own clan who had escaped from the hands of Montrose's
men during the late raid in Argyllshire. The most important
of his officers was his cousin, Duncan Campbell, the Laird of
Auchenbreck (Ach-na-breac], who had been recalled by Argyll
from Ireland, where he had been staying, to help in the military
organisation of the clan, and was now, next to his chief, its
principal leader. The other officers were Campbell of Lochnell,
the eldest son of Lochnell, and his brother Colin. MacDougall
of Kara was also a combatant on the side of Argyll. Turning
now to the force under Montrose, we find it of a more complex
nature, and composed of so many incongruous elements that
nothing but the consummate tact and skilful generalship of the
Great Marquis could have kept them harmoniously together.
The chief command was given to Alasdair MacDonell of Antrim,
who had proved himself a most able leader, and it may be said

without exaggeration that many of Montrose's successes were

58 LOYAL LOCHABER

largely due to his Major-General's good advice and skilful
generalship. The Highland clans that formed the most
important part of the force were the MacDonalds of Keppoch,
under their chief, Donald Glas ; the MacDonalds of Clan
Ranald, under the Captain of Clanranald ; the MacDonalds of
Glengarry, under their chief, ^Eneas MacDonald 1 (IX. of
Glengarry), and his two sons, Iain Mbr (I. of Scotus) and
Iain Beag; the MacDonalds of Glencoe, and a large contingent
of MacLeans, MacPhersons, MacGregors, Robertsons (Clann
DonnachaidK), and Stewarts of Appin. Clan Cameron sent
three hundred men by command of their old chief, Alein
Mac Iain Duibh, who was too old and infirm to take any
active part in the combat. The acknowledged chief of the clan
was Eobhan Dubh ("Black Ewen," XVII. of Lochjel), grandson
of Alein, who at this time was a mere stripling of sixteen, and,
by the irony of fate, was now at Inveraray Castle, under the
guardianship of the very nobleman who was to shortly engage
in battle with his fellow-clansmen, almost within bowshot of
his ancestral home on the shores of Loch Arkaig. Of Sir Ewen
Cameron of Lochiel I shall have more to say in another
chapter.

There was one other personage among the followers of
Montrose who deserves notice here ; this was the bard, Iain
" Lorn " MacDonell, known locally as the " Bard of Keppoch."
It was he who had first carried the news of the occupation of
Inverlochy by the Campbells to the camp of Montrose, and
had afterwards guided the king's army through the trackless
wilds of Lochaber, the land of his birth, whose sublime scenery
of mountain, moor, and loch, abounding in legendary traditions
of Ossianic heroes, had inspired him with true poetic instinct,
and lent to his stanzas all the weird and picturesque charm that
is associated with Gaelic verse. Little is known of his history
prior to the wars of Montrose, except that he was descended
from Donald, who was a son of Iain "Aluinn" fourth chief of

1 The old chief, Domhnull MacAonghais mhic Alasdair, grandfather of
died on the day of the battle, over a hundred years old.

INVERLOCHY 59

Keppoch. There is a story existing that Iain had been sent
at an early age to Spain, to be educated for the priesthood,
and that he had served his novitiate at the great ecclesiastical
seminary of Valladolid.

Owing to some youthful indiscretion, he was expelled
from the college and sent back to his native Lochaber, where
he soon developed a taste for poetry, and employed his leisure
time in composing some of the most powerful odes in the
Gaelic language. He was a master of satire and pungent
sarcasm, and in the expressive phraseology of his mother
tongue he found ample scope for gratifying that love of
caustic utterance which distinguished in a more or less degree
all his compositions, and gained for him the respect of many of
his superiors, who feared to offend the bard, lest some of the
barbed arrows of his verses might be directed against them.

Montrose, with his usual insight into the character of
those among whom his lot was cast, soon discovered that
Iain Lorn possessed a keenness of intellect, and was gifted
with talents of a far higher order than were to be found
among the majority of the Highlanders at that period, and
he was not slow to hold out the hand of friendship to the
bard, whose services he rightly -concluded would be of great
assistance to him in the enterprise he was now engaged upon.
Iain readily responded to these friendly overtures, for he also
saw that in Montrose he would possess a powerful ally,
whose aid he might look for in helping him to inflict severe
punishment upon his old enemies the Campbells; and so it
came about that, between these two men of apparently diverse
natures, the one a great and victorious soldier, the other a
peaceful and studious poet, a strong , friendship sprung up
which lasted to the end. In a letter written by Montrose
to Iain Lorn from the camp near Kilsyth, we find him
subscribing himself "Your very loving and true friend to
command," thus showing the amicable feeling that existed
between them. Some years after the events now related, the
bard was appointed poet laureate to Charles II., for Scotland,

6O LOYAL LOCHABER

and I shall have occasion to refer to him later in connection
with the part he played in avenging the atrocious murder of
his young chieftain in the year 1663.

On the eve of the battle of Inverlochy, he was requested
by Alasdair MacDonell to arm himself with a claymore, and
fight for King Charles against his enemy Argyll, but Iain
prudently refused the proffered sword, remarking, " If I fall
in the field to-day, who is to sing your praises to-morrow?"
Such an argument was unanswerable, and so the bard, instead
of wielding the sword, took up the pen, which we know is
far mightier, and composed a triumphant ode descriptive of
the achievements of his clan in the great battle that was raging
all around him. 1 This poem, " Latha Inbher-Lochaidh" is a
masterpiece of word-painting, and is quite Homeric in some
of its descriptions, but as no translation (even if I were able
to give it) would adequately convey the sense of the idioms
and metaphors of the original Gaelic, I have taken the bold
course of describing the fight at Inverlochy in unpretentious
verse of my own, which I trust my readers will not criticise
too harshly.

THE BATTLE OF INVERLOCHY,
2ND FEBRUARY 1645.

THE winter's sun has sunk to rest behind the Morven hills,

The wintry blast blows keen and sharp o'er Lochy's murm'ring rills,

It stirs the pine trees quiv'ring leaves, by Loch Eil's rocky shore,

It fans the slumb'ring warrior's cheek, who dreams of far Lochawe.

Darker and darker grows the night, and deeper falls the gloom,

The air is filled with ghostly sounds, like voices of the tomb ;

By Inverlochy's ivied keep, the night-hawks screaming fly,

Startling the hinds that in the depths of Mamore forest lie.

" Why sleep the sons of Diarmid, by the waters of Loch Eil ?

Why come ye armed to Lochy's bank, with target and with steel ?

Why leave your herds untended, by far Inveraray's shore ?

Where dwells the chieftain of your race, the proud Mac Cailean Mdr."

1 Iain Loin is said to have viewed the battle from one of the towers of Inverlochy
Castle, from whence he amused himself by hurling insulting epithets at the
vanquished Campbells.

INVERLOCHY 6 1

But far from Inveraray's towers, false Argyll slumb'ring lies,

His galleys ride on fair Loch Eil, beneath the dark'ning skies ;

His clansmen sleep around him, wrapped in their tartan plaids,

Dreaming of home, of wives, and bairns, and dark-eyed Highland maids.

For six weeks past the northern clans, led by the great Montrose,

With fire and sword had ravaged all the country of their foes ;

Clan Diarmid felt their vengeance sore, and swore by Cruachan Ben,

To give their foeman's flesh to feed the eagles of the glen.

And now on plund'ring thoughts intent, they rest by Lochy's shore

Three thousand Campbells, sworn to serve their chief Mac Cailean Mbr;

Little they dreamt the great Montrose, with all his loyal men,

A thousand gallant Highland hearts, lay hidden in the glen.

Glengarry, Keppoch, Hay, Glencoe, all eager wait the morn,

With sword in hand, for God and King, to smite the traitor, Lome ;

Ben Nevis rears his snow-crowned head, above the sleeping host

Stern and immovable he stands, like sentry at his post.

The eagles from their rocky crags, are circling thro' the air,

They scent the battle from afar, and for the feast prepare.

******
Now from the east, the first faint blush of dawn spreads o'er the sky,
The mountain tops blush rosy red, the glens in shadow lie,
The Ardgour hills are tipped with gold, the waters of Loch Eil
Seem tinged with blood, as o'er their face the mists of morning steal.
Proud Argyll sleeps, nor wots not of the presence of his foes,
Until from glen and corrie comes the war cry of Montrose.
Startled he wakes, and with a shout of mingled wrath and scorn,
He bids his pipers answer with the gathering tune of Lome.
" Now, sons of Diarmid, by the love ye bear Mac Cailean Mbr,
I charge ye fight, as fought your sire who slew the great wild boar. 1
Think of your smould'ring homesteads, by many a strath and glen ;
Think of your wives and children dear, ye ne'er may see again.
Fain would I lead ye on the foe, my good claymore in hand,
And meet the Graham face to face, upon Lochaber's strand ;
Alas ! my hand is helpless now to aid my loyal clan ;
I needs must watch ye from afar, while others lead the van.
My kinsman Duncan, now to you, I give the chief command,
Be yours the sword to Venge our race against this hated band."
He turned, and slowly gained the bank of Lochy's foaming stream,

1 One of the Gaelic designations of Clan Campbell is Siol Diarmid an Tuirc
(the race of Diarmid of the Boar), derived from the ancient tradition that the
Campbells are descended from Diarmid of Ossianic legend, who slew the Wild Boar.

62 LOYAL LOCHABER

While right athwart his pale, cold face, the morning's sunbeams gleam ;

His galley bears him from the shore, far from the battle's din,

While from his foeman's ranks goes up a shout, " God save the King."

With flashing eye, and scornful lip, Montrose speaks to Glencoe,

" See how the traitor, like a hound, flees from his ancient foe,

But by the good sword in my hand, and by the Holy Rood,

This day shall many a Campbell bold provide the ravens food ;

Do you Glengarry lead the right, and with your gallant band

Drive back the rebels, where they rest by Lochy's silver strand.

And you, brave Cameron, on the left, will rush upon the foe,

With all your trusty clansmen true, and deal them blow for blow ;

Charge as ye love Lochaber and fair Ach-na-carry's towers,

While your war-pipes sound the onset, and the storm of battle lowers.

And you, my noble chieftains, Clanranald, Stewart, Hay,

Will share with me the honour of this great and glorious day ;

You, Alasdair MacDonell, with your loyal Irish host,

Will wait my signal for the charge, whene'er I need ye most ;

And now for God and country, for our honour and our king,

We'll fight this day that all your bards our valour oft shall sing."

******
As when a foaming mountain stream, stemmed by some mighty rock,
Bursts its strong banks asunder, with a sound like thunder shock,
So with a shout that rends the air, and echoes thro' the glen,
The loyal clans, with headlong rush, charge on false Argyll's men ;
The Campbell's make a gallant stand, with musket and claymore,
And many a Cameron bites the dust, beside his native shore ;
The virgin whiteness of the snow is stained with heroes' blood,
It crimsons all the crystal tide of Lochy's rushing flood.
Fiercer and fiercer grows the strife, the clash of -steel on steel
Rings out upon the frosty air, as back the Campbells reel ;
Like leaves before an autumn blast, borne swiftly on the wind,
They turn and flee, in one mad rout, nor give one glance behind,
" Now on them, brave MacDonell," the noble Marquis cries,
And with a yell of mortal hate the Irish host replies
Swift as an arrow from the bow, all eager for the fray,
They leave the cover of the rocks, and rush upon their prey ;
The men of Keppoch, staunch and true, all mingle in the fight,
And strike for king and country, for their honour and the right.

******
And now a shout of triumph loud resounds from hill to hill,
From mountain peak and granite crag it echoes loud and shrill ;
It thunders down the Ardgour shore, to Cona's lonely glen,

INVERLOCHY 63

It scares the eagles from their nests on mighty Nevis Ben ;
It floats upon the wintry breeze, and o'er the water glides,
Where on the bosom of Loch Eil Argyll's fair galley rides.
Full well he knows the meaning of those shouts that rend the skies,
He sees his clansmen backward reel, he hears their piercing cries ;
He sees them like a rabble rout rush downward to the shore,
He sees the chieftains of his clan slain 'mid the battle's roar.
Backward, and ever backward, to the banks of blue Loch Eil,
Borne down by the impetuous foe, they stumble and they reel ;
Hard on the flying Campbell host Montrose's horsemen ride,
Till hundreds find a watery grave 'neath Loch Eil's flowing tide.
Argyll stands on his vessel's prow, with glance of cruel hate ;
He sets his galleys to the breeze, nor heeds his kinsman's fate.
His fleet, impelled by sails and oars, flies swift before the wind,
As curses loud go up to heaven from those he leaves behind ;
False to his country and his king, his race and ancient name,
Saved from Montrose's vengeance, but to die a death of shame.

The words of Iain Lom's poem will be found in the
Appendix, 1 as written by him in the seventeenth century, and
will, I am sure, prove of interest to those of my Gaelic
readers who are unacquainted with his works.

CHAPTER VI.

YES, incredible as it may appear, the mighty chieftain of Clan
Campbell had fled from the vengeance of his victorious enemy,
leaving the wretched remnant of his army exposed to all the
fury of the relentless MacDonalds and Camerons, who had old
scores to pay off for many an act of cruelty and barbarous
treatment they had received at the hands of Mac Cailean Mor.
The carnage was terrific, and claymore and dirk did their bloody
work only too well. Two hundred Campbells, with a desperate
rush, endeavoured to find a safe retreat within the walls of the
old castle ; but the attempt was futile, and being observed by
Montrose, a body of horse was sent to intercept them, and they
were put to the sword, or, seeking to escape along the shores of

1 Appendix XVI.

64 LOYAL LOCHABER

Loch Eil, were driven into the sea and drowned. A large number
fled along the Achintore road to a spot near where Fort William
now stands, followed closely by their hereditary enemies, the
MacDonalds, and having reached a meadow at the base of the
Cow Hill, made a last gallant effort to shake off their remorseless
foes. Forming up in battle array, the miserable remnant of the
great Campbell host awaited the arrival of their pursuers, and,
with sword in hand, determined to sell their lives dearly.
Flushed with the excitement of victory, the MacDonalds
charged across the river Nevis, and with irresistible force
threw themselves upon their enemies, who, quite unable
to resist the vigour of the onset, were cut down where they
stood. While the slaughter was proceeding, MacDonell of
Antrim placed his banner on a small hill to encourage his men
to action. The spot is still known as Torran-na-brataich, or
the "Knoll of the Banner"; and the field where the fight took
place is called to this day Acha-a-chatha^ the " Field of Battle."
Some few of the Campbells, more active than the rest, managed
to escape from the scene of bloodshed, and were not observed
by the MacDonalds until they had proceeded some distance.
Enraged that any of the race of Diarmid should evade the fate
that had been meted out to their fellows, MacDonell gave chase
along what is now the upper Achintore road; but the Campbells
having had a good start, he could not come up with them, and
reluctantly had to give up the pursuit near Loch Lundavra. In
accordance with the custom of the Highlanders, he placed a
huge stone near the place at which he halted, which may yet be
seen, and is known locally as Clock nan Caimbeulach, " The
Campbell's Stone."

It is said that even now, when some enthusiastic member of
the Clan Campbell passes along the road, he throws down
the stone from its exalted position, and there it lies until a
descendant of one of the loyal clans that fought under Montrose
comes by the spot, and mentally consigning the whole of the
race of Diarmid to the nether regions, he replaces the boulder
in its old situation, and goes on his way rejoicing.

INVERLOCHY 65

The Campbells are said to have lost no less than fifteen
hundred men at Inverlochy, and among the most notable of
the slain were Duncan Campbell of Auchenbreck, Campbell ot
Lochnell, Colin MacDougall of Kara, and Major Menzies, brother
to the laird of Ardchattan Barbreck.

Auchenbreck was made prisoner by Alasdair MacDonell, and
given the choice of dying by the sword or the rope. His reply
was characteristic, and has become proverbial, "Dha dhiu gun
aon roghainn " (" Two evil alternatives that give no room for
choice"). Scorning the degradation of death by hanging, he
elected to meet a soldier's fate by the sword ; and MacDonell,
drawing his huge double-handed weapon, instantly beheaded
him. Another remark which was made on this day has also
passed into a proverb. One of the Robertsons, a smith or
tinker by trade, had greatly distinguished himself in the battle,
and MacDonell, who had watched his deeds of valour, compli-
mented him by saying, "Is truagh nach bu cheaird sinn gu leir
an diugh " (" 'Tis a pity we were not all tinkers to-day ").

The loss on the side of Montrose was trivial ; the only officer
of any note who was fatally wounded was Sir Thomas Ogilvie,
son of the Earl of Airlie. He was badly injured in the leg, and
died a few days after the battle, greatly regretted by his illustrious
leader, who had lost in him a staunch friend and able officer.

The following remarkable dispatch was penned by Montrose
on the field of battle, and sent by a special messenger to King
Charles : " Give me leave, after I have reduced this country,
and conquered from Dan to Beersheba, to say to your Majesty,
as David's general to his master, ' Come thou thyself, lest this
country be called by my name.'" Possibly the scriptural phrases
used by Montrose in this letter to his royal master were intended
as covert sarcasms on the Covenanting slang of the period.

The victory was a brilliant one ; the king's cause was
triumphant, and his enemies had met the fate they merited
as traitors to their rightful monarch. It is true the arch-
traitor Argyll had escaped, but his punishment was yet to
come, as all readers of history know ; for the present, he was

66 LOYAL LOCHABER

safe in his castle of Inveraray, brooding over his disasters,
and hatching fresh schemes of vengeance against Montrose.

The flight of Argyll from Inverlochy has never been satis-
factorily explained, although many excuses have been offered
for his extraordinary conduct in leaving his clan to face their
hereditary foes without his presence at their head. There is a
story that a few days previous to the battle he had sprained
his right arm, and was thus prevented from using his sword.
There may be some truth in this tradition, so far as the
accident is concerned, but it is impossible to believe that such
a cause as this would prevent a great Highland chieftain
from leading his clan into action. Seen by the light of
other events, Argyll's behaviour is, to say the least, suspicious,
and certainly savours of cowardice, and it is easy to understand
that his enemies made the most of what to them must have
seemed a dastardly act. There is a quaint explanation of
Argyll's flight given by the author of " Britanes Distemper "
which is worth repeating. He says : " In this confusion, the
commanders of there armie lightes wpon this resolution, not to
hazart the marquiss owne persone; for it seemes not possible
that Ardgylle himselfe, being a nobleman of such eminente
qualitie, a man of so deepe and pro fund judgement, one that
knew so weel what belongeth to the office of a generall, that
any basse motion of feare, I say, could make him so wnsensible
of the poynt of honour as is generally reported. Neither will
I, for my owne pairt believe it ; but I am confident that those
barrones of his kinred, wha ware captanes and commanderes of
the armie, feareing the euent of this battelle, for divers reasones;
and one was, the 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 must feght and would not hazart there chiefe
persone, urgeing him by force to reteire to his galay, which lay
hard by, and committe the tryall of the day to them, he, it is

INVERLOCHY 67

to be thought, with great difficultie yeelding to there request,
leaves his cusine, the laird of Auchinbreike, a most walorous
and braue gentleman, to the generall commande of the armie."

Whatever may have been the real cause of Argyll's pre-
cipitate flight, we cannot imagine that a man of his arrogant
and overbearing disposition could have been coerced by his
kinsman into such a questionable action at a time when his
presence was of the greatest importance to his clansmen. The
Highland chieftain of the fifteenth century was no mere figure-
head, as some of his degenerate descendants are at the present
day. He lived among his people, and acquainted himself with
their wants and necessities, and exercised an almost paternal
authority over them ; in return for his protection, their lives and
what little property they possessed were at the chiefs absolute
disposal in times of feudal war with neighbouring clans, or in
the numerous creachs or forays that were of common occurrence
among the Highlanders of that age. At such periods the chief
was expected to take his place at the head of his clan, and
share with them the dangers of the fight and the honours of the
victory. The conduct of Mac Cailean Mbr, judged by this
standard of Highland custom, must have seemed inexplicable
to his followers, and it is certain that he lost considerable
prestige among them after the events just related.

" Palmam qui meruit ferat" the laurels of victory now
crowned the brow of Montrose, who by sheer determination
and pluck had overcome all obstacles, and shown himself
worthy of the confidence his royal master had placed in him.

It is beyond my province to follow in detail the events
of Montrose's campaign in the Highlands, or trace the fortunes
of the brave chieftains and loyal gentlemen who were attached
to the cause he represented. After Inverlochy came the
engagements of Auldearn, Alford, and Kilsyth, in all of which
the royal army was successful, and then the fickle goddess
forsook her favourite, and the tide of war was changed. The
disaster at Philiphaugh on I3th September 1645, in which,
after a hardly fought battle, Montrose was defeated by the

68 LOYAL LOCHABER

Covenanting general Leslie, was followed by an order from
the king to disband the army. Montrose reluctantly com-
plied with the royal command, and after saying farewell to
his devoted Highlanders, embarked on board ship for Norway.
The end was soon to come. After the execution of Charles I.,
Montrose sailed for the north of Scotland, and having again
collected a small army, he came into collision with the enemy
(who were commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Strachan) at
a place called Carbisdale, on the borders of Ross-shire. Here,
on the morning of 2/th April 1650, his force was completely
routed, and though Montrose escaped immediate capture, he
shortly after fell into the hands of the Covenanters, and was
conveyed to the castle of Edinburgh. All students of history
know the details of the heroic end of James Graham, first
Marquis of Montrose, so tragically and pathetically described
by Aytoun in his " Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers " ; he tells

us how

" He mounted up the scaffold,

And he turn'd him to the crowd ;
But they dared not trust the people,

So he might not speak aloud ;
But he looked upon the heavens,
And they were clear and blue,
And in the liquid ether
The eye of God shone through ; "

and then, after having bent his knee to his Maker in humble
contrition for his shortcomings, while the black-robed Coven-
anting clergy stood scowling by,

" A beam of light fell o'er him,

Like a glory round the shriven,
And he climb'd the lofty ladder

As it were the path to heaven.
Then came a flash from out the cloud,

And a stunning thunder roll,
And no man dared to look aloft,

For fear was on every soul ;
There was another heavy sound,

A hush, and then a groan ;
And darkness swept across the sky

The work of death was done ! "

Exterior, Inverlochy Castle.

Comyns Tower, Inverlochy Castle.

Page 69.

INVERLOCHY 69

An ending such as this was a worthy conclusion to a life
of devotion to king and country, and Lochaber may well be
proud of its associations with the Great Marquis, whose name
will live in the memory of his fellow-countrymen as long as
Scotland exists ; and if any apology is needed for my having
devoted so much space to this subject, it will be found in
the fact that even to this day the men of Lochaber cherish
every tradition and legend that pertains to the gallant
Montrose.

The old castle of Inverlochy still stands, a grim and silent
witness of that terrible Sabbath morning, nearly two hundred
and fifty years ago, when the might of the great Clan Campbell
was broken, and the bodies of its slain chieftains left on the field
for the eagles of Ben Nevis to quarrel over. Little now remains
of this once great stronghold. A few crumbling fragments of
masonry, held together by a thick growth of ivy, the vivid
green of which serves to accentuate the gloomy recesses of
the ruins. Yawning chasms, black as night, leading to fearful
unexplored dungeons below, from whence at dusk issue weird
bat-like creatures, easily transformed by the superstitious High-
landers into the forms of daoine sith (literally, " men of peace,"
fairies), or other supernatural and uncanny beings peculiar to
the district. The great Comyns Tower still remains almost
intact, and part of the winding stone staircase can yet be seen
within it, up which we may ascend and look forth from the
opening in the massive walls (here ten feet thick), where a
window has once been, over a glorious prospect of mountain
and lake, moor and pasture, where the shaggy Highland
cattle are contentedly grazing among the heathery knolls, in
picturesque groups, worthy of the brush of a Landseer or Rosa
Bonheur. The tinkle of the sheep-bell breaks harmoniously
upon the silence, followed by the short, sharp bark of the collie,
who we may see rushing wildly here and there intelligently
driving his fleecy charges from one pasture to another, his
black-and-tan, or sable and white coat, shining like silk in the
sun, "his gaucie tail" wagging with the very exuberance of his

7O LOYAL LOCHABER

high spirits and the mere joy of existence. I love the Highland
collie, with his mild sad eyes that altogether belie the excitable
nature that lies beneath his glossy coat. Keen and of the
highest intelligence, he is almost human, and whole volumes
might be filled with anecdotes of his wonderful sagacity.

" His honest, sonsie, baws'nt face,
Aye gat him friends in ilka place,"

wrote Burns of one of the race, and all who have studied
the habits of the collie can appreciate the lines of the
ploughman poet.

Within a few feet of the western side of the castle, the river
Lochy (here of considerable width) flows swiftly by, and as we
rest in the cool shade of the great walls, we may hear the plash
of a salmon as it rises to take some passing insect, and catch a
glimpse of the silvery sheen of its flashing scales

" Tha bradan tana-gheal 'sa choire gharbhlatch,
Tha tig 'n tfnfhairge bu ghailbheach tonn " J

as for one moment a ray of sunshine transforms it into a
resplendent jewel ; or we can watch the never-ending flight of
the swallows, as with graceful twists and turns they glide over
the face of the water.

It is a place to come and while away an hour or so in
communion with our own thoughts, and muse over the great
historical events that happened in the neighbourhood of the old
fortress ; and as the glamour of the surroundings sinks into our
soul, we can repeople the ancient walls with the ghostly shapes
of the great warriors who fought and died under their shadow.
The shades of evening begin to close in around us, and the
sun, with all the glorious splendours of transcendent colouring,
slowly disappears behind the great peak of Sgor-a-ghuisachain,
that guards the head of Loch Eil, which, like a se of molten
gold, blazes in the distance. With reluctant footsteps we turn
from the scene, and as we retrace our homeward way the stars
come out one by one in the pale green and amber of the autumn

1 Duncan B&n Maclntyre, " Coire Cheat hatch."

INVERLOCHY 71

twilight, and one great planet scintillates brilliantly above the
dark outlines of the Ardgour hills " with mild benignant ray,"
shining bright and clear in the afterglow. Upon the summit of
old Ben Nevis 1 the sunbeams still lovingly linger, as though
loth to leave him to the mists and clouds that gather round his
hoary brow as the darkness of night approaches. " Soft falls
the eventide" in these northern latitudes, no rapid transition
from day to night, but a gradual and imperceptible fading away
of the daylight amidst such wonderful changes of colouring that
not even a Claude or Turner could depict ; delicate half tints of
pale rose, blending harmoniously with an indescribable hue that
is neither green nor yellow, forming a background fongreat bars
of purple and gold clouds, against which the mountain masses
stand out boldly, their every peak and ridge sharply denned in
the clear atmosphere. And so night comes on, stealing upon
us before we are aware of its presence ; the reds and greens of
the sky have changed into a curious luminous grey, and the
purple cloud shapes are now of inky blackness, and can hardly
be distinguished from the mountains they so nearly resemble.

Looking across Loch Eil, we can see the lights in the cottage
windows at Corpach; and the white obelisk at Kilmallie, erected
to the memory of noble John Cameron (who fell at Quatre Bras
at the head of his gallant Highlanders), stands out weird and
ghost-like against the hill of Cnoc-nam-Faobh. Far away down
Loch Linnhe the flash of the Corran lighthouse pierces the
gloom with intermittent brightness, and we may perchance
see the lights of the great steamer, and hear the throb of its

1 There is considerable diversity of opinion among Lochaber folk as to the
derivation of the name of this famous mountain. The most usually accepted theory is
that Ben Nevis is a phonetic contraction of the Gaelic "Beinn-ne&mh-bhathais" i.e.,
" the mountain with its summit in the sky"; from beinn, " mountain "; nedmA, " heaven
or sky " ; and bhathais, ' ' forehead or summit. " The pronunciation of this compound
word is almost identical with the English " Ben Nevis." The late Mrs MacKellar,
a competent local authority, gives it as her opinion that the name is derived from
' ' Beinn-nimh-uisg," literally, "the mountain of the biting cold water," from the fact
that the torrents that continually pour down its granite sides have their source in the
snow-filled crevasses of the summit, and are in consequence intensely cold. There
are probabilities of truth in both theories, but personally I lean to the one first stated.

72 LOYAL LOCHABER

paddles as it ploughs its way to its resting-place for the night at
Corpach, bearing a freight of humanity from many climes, who
have come here to see something of the " land of brown heath
and shaggy wood," far from the noise and bustle of the great
cities of the world, where nature is forgotten in the struggle for
wealth and position. Surely the everlasting mountains, the
glorious ocean, and the ever-changing landscape, with all its
varied colouring and romantic associations, must have a soften-
ing influence for good, even upon the most frivolous and cynical
minds, and tend to raise them to a higher level.

CHAPTER VII.

AFTER this deviation from my narrative, for which I trust my
readers will pardon me, I must return to the state of affairs in
Lochaber after the battle of Inverlochy and the execution of
Montrose. The realm of Scotland was now plunged in all the
miseries of civil war, and again the Highlanders of Lochaber
were called upon to take an active part in the strife. The
young king, Charles II., who had fled to the Continent a short
time previously to the execution of his father, had accepted the
offer of the Scottish Parliament, and had given his kingly word
that he would conform to the principles of the Presbyterian
body, and accept the Solemn League and Covenant in its
entirety, and further its tenets by every means in his power.
On these terms he returned to Scotland, and received the crown
from the hands of the Marquis of Argyll at the old palace
of Scone. While these events were occurring, Cromwell had
mustered a large army of sixteen thousand men for the invasion
of Scotland, determined at all hazards to prevent a union between
the Covenanters and the English Presbyterians, which he knew
would prove disastrous to his own ambitions. Advancing
rapidly by forced marches, and with that untiring energy which
distinguished this great commander, he crossed the Border on
22nd July 1650, and in an almost incredible space of time had

INVERLOCHY 73

made himself master of the lowlands south of the Clyde and
Forth, with the exception of Stirling, which held out for
some time later, and only succumbed to the English after a
terrible bombardment. Crossing the Forth at Queensierry,
exactly at the spot where the Forth Bridge now stands,
Cromwell reached Perth only to find the king had fled into
England at the head of a considerable force of about fourteen
thousand men, two thousand of whom were English, and had
attached themselves to their royal leader at various points along
the line of march. Leaving one of his most tried officers, Monk,
behind, Cromwell hastily followed the king into England, and,
overtaking him at Worcester, engaged him in battle, and after
a desperate fight of five hours' duration, the king's army was
entirely routed, and Charles had once again to seek safety in
flight.

Meanwhile the Cromwellian general, Monk, was not idle in
the north, and as his name is so closely associated with the civil
war in Lochaber, I will give a short account of his history and
antecedents.

He appears to have been of gentle birth and of good
education, and was for some time an officer in the army of
Charles I., but having been made prisoner by the Roundheads,
he abjured his Royalist principles, and, having accepted a com-
mission in the Parliamentary forces, soon raised himself to the
position of general by his high courage and military accom-
plishments, and, at the time of which I write, was the most
trusted of Cromwell's officers in Scotland. Placed in supreme
command of the English troops in the north, he lost no time,
during his leader's absence, in erecting forts and planting
garrisons in all the disaffected districts, and his attentions were
very soon directed to the Western Highlands, and Lochaber in
particular, where dwelt, in the security of their native moun-
tains, those troublesome Highlanders whom no amount of
persuasion or bribery could bring to his side. Determined to
punish their pride and insolence, he sent three separate detach-
ments of soldiers into Lochaber, under General Dean and

74 LOYAL LOCHABER

Colonels Lilburn and Overton, in order to overawe the recal-
citrant chieftains. The result was ludicrous, and is humorously
described by Balfour in the following quaint language :

" The Frassers came in to them and condiscendit to pay
them cesse ; bot Glengarey stood out, and in effecte the heigh-
landmen fooled them home again to the lowlandes ; some with
faire wordes, others stoode to the defence ; and the Inglishe
finding nothing amongst them save hunger and strokes, were
glad (ther bisquet and cheesse being all spent, and ther clothes
worne, with ther horsses out-tyred,) to returne, cursing the
heighlandes, to ther winter quarters, . . . General Dean lost
some few men and horsses in viewing of the heighlanders."

We also hear, on the same authority, that Colonel Overton
had every reason to congratulate himself on his escape from
the clutches of the "heighlanders," as we are told that "If
my Lord Marquesse of Argyle had not protected him, he
and all that wer with him had gottin ther throttes cutte.
So, weill laughin at by the heighlanders, he wes forced to
returne with penurey aneuche, werey glad all of them that ther
lives were saved."

Not a very dignified retreat, certainly, and we may well
imagine the amusement the appearance of these Sassenach
intruders in full flight must have caused the kilted High-
landers.

The result of this expedition was anything but satisfactory
to General Monk, who now came to the conclusion that a strong
permanent garrison must be established in the heart of the
rebellious district of Lochaber, and selected a projecting point
of land at the confluence of the river Nevis and Loch Eil,
about a mile from the old Castle of Inverlochy (now fast falling
into decay), to erect his new fort. The position, from a
strategic point of view, was, on the whole, a good one, and
being of a triangular form, only one side was exposed to a land
attack, the other two sides being unassailable except by water.
Material for its construction was brought rapidly by sea, and in
a very short space of time the fort was completed, and several

INVERLOCHY 75

hundred men were landed and installed under the command of
Colonel Bryan.

The following 'account of the new garrison and its environs
is given in the MS. " Memoirs of Sir Ewan Cameron of
Locheill " :

" The scituation of this Garrison is so singular and currious,
that it deserves to be described. ... It stands upon the South
syde of a small gulf of that arm of the sea called Locheill,
when by the turn of the mountains, it forms itself into an angle,
and receives the rush of the great and rapid river of Lochy,
which from the North, or opposite side rushes into it with such
force and violence, that it preserves its stream intire, without
any mixture, for a long way. The fort is scituated upon a plain
almost level with the sea. . . .

" Behind the fort there arises a huge mountain, of prodigeous
hight, called Beniviss, at that time addorned with a variety of
trees and bushes, and now with a beautiful green. Its ascent is
prety steep, though smooth. The top or summit is plain,
covered with perpetwall snow, and darkened with thick clouds.
On the East, the prospect opens into a glen or valley betwixt
two mountains, beawtified with diversity of trees, shrubs, and
bushes, besides many lovely greens, with a river at the bottom ;
which after being brocken by a heap of misscheapen stones ;
glides away in a clear stream, and wandering through woods,
vales, and rocks in many windings, looses itself in the sea.

" On the West the Lake or arm of the sea, called Locheill,
extends itself five long miles, through two ridges of hills, riseing
on both sides, with many woods, greens, mosses, and torrents,
falling doun with great noise and force from the rocks and
precipices ; and terminates the view by another mountain,
which appears like a vast cloud in a distant region." . . .

There is little doubt that Monk's primary object in plant-
ing a garrison on this spot was to keep in check the powerful
Clan Cameron, whose chief, Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel, he
had vainly tried to bribe or threaten into submission.

I have already had occasion to mention this chieftain in

76 LOYAL LOCHABER

a previous chapter, when, as a lad of sixteen, he was living at
Inveraray Castle under the guardianship of the Marquis of
Argyll, and I will now proceed to give a more detailed account
of this remarkable man, who is inseparably connected with
the history of Lochaber.

Born in February 1629 A.D., at Kilchurn Castle, Loch Awe, 1
Ewen Cameron of Lochiel (or, as he was known among the
Highlanders, Eobhan Dubti} was, at the age of ten, sent to
Inveraray to receive his education as a ward of the Marquis
of Argyll, who, crafty and calculating as we know him to
have been, doubtlessly used all the influence he possessed to
persuade his youthful charge to embrace those views which he
himself had decided to adopt. He succeeded only partially,
as the high spirits of the boy chief could not tolerate the
gloomy and morose teaching of the Covenanting clergy. His
conversion to his guardian's political and religious creed was
in name only, and we have every reason to believe that young
Lochiel was always at heart a staunch Royalist. Sir Walter
Scott states that Lochiel was converted to the side of the
king by the exhortations of Sir Robert Spottiswood, who
was executed for his adherence to Montrose. Whether this
was the case or not, we find him at the age of eighteen
declaring for the king, and it was his intention to have joined
the army of Montrose, but by the time he had left Inveraray,
the brave Marquis was a prisoner in the hands of his enemies.
Burning with an ardent desire to draw his sword in the cause
of his royal master, he joined the Earl of Glencairn in 1652,
who, after the execution of Montrose, had endeavoured to
maintain the honour of King Charles in Scotland.

Shortly after, we hear of Lochiel fighting bravely at the
head of his clan in a skirmish with Colonel Lilburn at
Braemar. A mountain pass had to be held during the retreat
of the royal army, and Glencairn had offered the difficult and
dangerous post to Lochiel. Accepting it with alacrity, he took
up his positioin, and held it bravely against considerable odds

1 His mother was a daughter of Breadalbane.

Sf EweaCamerrm t/ix/J/tfie Can-Cameron

CA-X

t rts/iorn

tt/l fSi

From an old print in the possession of the Author.

Page 76.

INVERLOCHY 77

for some time, but by a strategic movement a party of
Lilburn's men made a detour, and Lochiel found himself
attacked in flank. The Camerons under their chief made a
gallant stand, but finding themselves completely outnumbered
by their assailants, they retreated slowly and in good order
up the side of the hill, showing their front to the enemy.
This exploit saved Glencairn's men from being cut to pieces,
and added fresh laurels to the fame of Lochiel.

Having thus won his spurs in the king's service, he returned
to Lochaber, and had the mortification of finding, on his arrival
at Ach-na-carry, that Monk had forestalled him, and had built
a fort in the very centre of his territory, with the evident
intention of overawing his loyal clansmen. He also received
the unwelcome tidings that all the other important Highland
chiefs had submitted to Cromwell, and that he was now entirely
isolated, and could hope for no support from the neighbouring
clans. This news, of grave import to himself and his faithful
Camerons, so far from inducing him to follow the example
of his brother chiefs, only made him all the more determined
to avenge this insult to his name and race, the mere thought
of which made the blood of his ancestors boil in his veins.
His undaunted spirit could not brook the idea of the presence
of the Sassenach red-coats in Lochaber, and he resolved that
they should find in him no pleasant neighbour.

CHAPTER VIII.

CROMWELL'S recent experiences in Ireland, where his troops
had frequently come in contact with the natives among the
woods and mountains of that wild, and, at that time, uncultivated
country, had taught him a lesson of prudence, and he had
while in Scotland impressed upon his officers the importance
of cutting down the forests and underwood in the proximity
of any fort or garrison, in order that the enemy should not
take advantage of the natural cover they afforded. In pursuit

78 LOYAL LOCHABER

of this policy, which he fully appreciated, Colonel Bryan, a
few days after his arrival, decided to commence operations
among the wooded shores of Loch Eil. Fearing an attack
from the Camerons, he sent the major portion of his men
(it is said about three hundred) to engage in the work of
destruction, and having embarked them in two sloops of war,
they sailed across the loch to a place called Achdalieu, where
they landed ; and while one vessel remained there to afford
them a means of retreat in case the necessity should arise,
the other anchored under the hills of Ardgour on the
opposite side. While these movements were proceeding, Ewen
Cameron, who had been informed by spies of all that was
taking place, arrived on the scene, and leisurely watched the
actions of the English soldiers from behind the shelter of a
clump of trees on the hillside, accompanied by thirty-eight
picked men of his clan armed with muskets and bows, and
with their trusty claymores slung at their backs. In the
hearing of his followers, Lochiel vowed that the red soldiers
should pay dearly for every tree they destroyed, and for every
bullock they carried off from the black soldier's property
(alluding probably to his own swarthy complexion, which
had gained for him the name of Eobhan Dubh, or " Black
Ewen"). With calm deliberation he counted the English as
they landed, and informed those around him that they
numbered one hundred and fifty men, exclusive of workmen,
who, armed with bill-hooks and axes, had begun the work of
devastation.

Devoted as the Camerons were to their young chief, and
enraged at the intrusion of the hated Cromwellian soldiers
into Lochaber, they were nevertheless disinclined to attack
the English on the present occasion, as, owing to their limited
numbers, defeat was almost a certainty. Lochiel probably
guessed their thoughts, and asked those among them who
had fought with the clan under Montrose whether they
recollected any occasion on which that great leader had
encountered a force so disproportionate to his own. The

INVERLOCHY 79

reply was that at no time could they remember such an
occurrence. This answer only fired the ambition of the
intrepid Lochiel, who was burning to avenge his wrongs, and
turning to the kilted warriors, who were anxiously awaiting
his decision, he said : " We will fight nevertheless, and if each
of us kill a man, which is no mighty matter, I will answer
for the result."

This courageous speech was received with acclamations
and enthusiasm, especially by the younger and more inex-
perienced of his followers, who could hardly be restrained
from at once dashing among the foe. The older members of
his little band were more prudent, and would at first only agree
to attack the English on the condition that their chief and his
younger brother, Alan Cameron, should absent themselves from
the fight; for they feared that if both were killed the chieftain-
ship would pass out of the direct line of succession. Such a
condition as this was of course out of the question so far as
Lochiel himself was concerned his chivalric and fearless nature
scorned to accept any stipulation which might possibly affect
his honour ; but with regard to his brother Alan, he was only
too glad to avail himself of the opportunity the occasion offered,
to forbid him to risk his life in such a mad enterprise. Knowing
how nearly the lad's spirit was akin to his own, and feeling
assured that he would disregard any commands he might give
him to abstain from joining in the approaching conflict, he
had him tied to a tree in a place of safety, and stationed a
boy with him in case any of the enemy should come near
the spot. This treatment did not at all suit the fiery temper
of young Alan Cameron, and he soon found means, by per-
suasion or threats, to induce his youthful guardian to release
him from his ignominious position. Shaking himself free from
his severed bonds, he hastened to his brother's side, who, finding
it useless to attempt his recapture at this critical moment, and
doubtless feeling a just pride in Alan's intrepidity, he allowed
him to take his part in the action which was now impending.

Lochiel, although only twenty-five years of age at the time

80 LOYAL LOCHABER

of which I write, had already received some instruction in
the art of war at the hands of Glencairn, and having had
some experience of English military tactics in the previous
engagements already referred to, was assured that his only
hope of success on the present occasion was by creeping on
his foes unawares under the cover of the thick undergrowth
of the dense forest that came down almost to the water's
edge. Instructing his men to reserve their fire until they
were close to the enemy, they advanced slowly among the
trees until within a few feet of the English, who were totally
unprepared for the attack, many of them having laid aside
their weapons so that they might be the better able to capture
the bullocks with which they intended to replenish their larder.
At a signal from Lochiel, the Camerons discharged their
muskets and let fly their arrows, with so deadly a result that
no less than thirty Englishmen were placed hors de combat,
and before the remainder could recover from the panic this
unexpected attack had thrown them into, the Highlanders,
with a terrific shout and with the war-pipes sounding the
onset, charged into their midst, dealing death and destruction
on every side, as with claymore and Lochaber axe in hand
they clove their way through the ranks of the red soldiers,
driving them with irresistible force, all wounded and bleeding,
into the blue waters of Loch Eil, whose placid surface was
soon lashed into fury and stained crimson with the blood of
the combatants.

A considerable body of the English, under an officer of
splendid physique and distinguished valour, had become
detached from the others, and were retiring in good order
towards their ships, which now stood close inshore to take
the fugitives on board. Lochiel, observing this movement,
determined to intercept their retreat, and sent a small party
of his men, with a piper, to attack them in rear, with orders
to make as much noise as possible, so that the English might
think that another body of Highlanders had arrived to assist
the Camerons. The plan answered as he had anticipated.

INVERLOCHY 8 I

With fearful yells, and with the piper blowing his loudest the
pibroch of the Clan Cameron (the words of which are addressed
to the wolves and birds of prey " A chlanna nan con ! a
chlanna nan con! thigibh a so 's gheibh sibh feoill" "Children
of the dogs ! come to me and I will give you flesh ! "), the
Highlanders rushed from the wood upon the retreating soldiers,
who, imagining that escape was now hopeless, turned bravely
round and faced their former assailants ; but before they had time
to rally, the Camerons were upon them, hacking and hewing
with axe and claymore, until in sheer desperation they fled along
the shore, closely pursued by the Highlanders, and plunged
headlong into the sea. Reckless with excitement, the Camerons
followed until both parties were chin deep in the water, and
still the fight went on, amid the shrieks and groans of the
wounded and drowning men, and the victorious shouts of the
Highlanders, who saw their mortal enemies perishing before
their faces. An incident now occurred which it is impossible
to avoid mentioning, although it has been described over and
over again by many abler pens than mine. While the fight
was at its height, the English officer before mentioned, noticing
that Lochiel had been separated from his companions, sprang
forward and engaged him in single combat. The superior
strength and stature of the Englishman gave him considerable
advantage over the young Highland chief, and for a time it
seemed that nothing but a miracle could save Lochiel from
destruction. It was now that his early training among the
hills of his native country stood him in good stead ; with the
keenness of sight and activity of limb engendered by many
a day spent among the mountains in pursuit of the red deer,
he watched his opportunity, and with a rapid and dexterous
movement he suddenly disarmed his antagonist. In a moment
the powerful Englishman closed with Lochiel, and after a
desperate struggle both fell to the ground clasped in a deadly
embrace. It chanced that the officer was uppermost, and seeing
his sword lying within a few paces, he made a frenzied effort
to obtain possession of it. While in the act of stretching his

82 LOYAL LOCHABER

arm in the direction of his weapon, he left his throat unpro-
tected, and Lochiel, with the desperation of a man in mortal
peril, immediately fastened his teeth in it, and, almost mad
with passion, bit right through the windpipe, and did not let
go until his enemy's hold loosened, and he died where he lay.

It is said by some historians, Sir Walter Scott among
others, that Lochiel, so far from being ashamed of this episode,
frequently boasted of it, and was even known to have said
that the Englishman's flesh was the sweetest morsel he had
ever tasted.

Having thus rid himself of his opponent, Lochiel hurried to
the shore, where the fight was still raging, and joining his
men, who were now fast obtaining the mastery over the red-
coats, he sprang into the sea to their assistance ; he had not
proceeded far, when he noticed that a soldier on board one
of the ships was in the act of levelling his piece at him ; to
duck his head was the work of an instant, and he narrowly
escaped death, as the bullet grazed his head and carried away
a lock of his dark hair. Surely Sir Ewen must have borne
a charmed life that day, for his hairbreadth escapes were
miraculous. A few moments after the first bullet had nearly
ended his existence, another was fired at him, and would
certainly have proved fatal had not his foster-brother observed
the danger, and with heroic self-devotion flung himself in front
of his chief, and received the missile in his own body.

In connection with the events of this day, Mrs MacKellar
(who was a Cameron of the Camerons), in her very interesting
guide to Fort William and neighbourhood, tells an amusing
story of an incident that occurred during Sir Ewen Cameron's
visit to London many years later. He had occasion to go
into a barber's shop to get his beard and hair dressed. The
garrulous barber having fixed him in position, and probably
guessing from his accent that he was not born south of the
Tweed, remarked : " You are from the north, sir, I believe ? "
" Yes," answered Lochiel, " I am ; do you know people from
the north ? " " No," shouted the angry barber, " nor do I wish

INVERLOCHY 83

to ; they are savages there. Would you believe it, one of
them tore the throat out of my father with his teeth, and
I only wish I had the fellow's throat as near me as I have
yours just now." We may imagine that Lochiel's emotions
at this juncture must have been the reverse of pleasant, and
we may be sure he breathed more freely when the operation
was over and he was again in the open air. We are told he
never afterwards entered a barber's shop.

After the defeat of the English at Achdalieu, there were
continued skirmishes between the Camerons and the soldiers
of the new garrison ; the Highlanders in nearly all instances
coming off the victors. Thinking that the English would
not again molest his territory, Lochiel attached himself to
the small remnant of the loyal army in Scotland under
General Middleton; but he was shortly afterwards recalled to
Lochaber by the news that the garrison at Inverlochy were
once more destroying his property, and harassing those of his
clan who had not followed him to the field. Taking with him
one hundred and fifty Camerons, and obtaining leave of absence
from Middleton, he marched with great haste and secrecy, and
upon his arrival in the neighbourhood of Inverlochy, he posted
his men in the woods to which the English soldiers came every
morning to cut fuel for the garrison. The day following his
return to Lochaber, he was informed by spies that four hundred
of his enemies intended making a great raid in the forest with
a view to destroying a possible ambush. This was gratifying
news to Lochiel, who now saw a swift means of revenging
himself upon the detested Sassenachs, who were quite unaware
of the trap laid for their destruction. Crouching among the
thick growth of heather and bracken, the Camerons awaited
in perfect silence the appearance of the foe. They had not
long to wait, as in a few minutes the tramp, tramp of the
English was heard, and they were seen approaching. Like
famished wolves the enraged Highlanders sprang from their
hiding-place, and the rapidity and vigour of the assault was so
great, that at least a hundred Englishmen were killed within

84 LOYAL LOCHABER

the first few minutes : the remainder fled and were pursued
right up to the walls of the fort, and no further opposition was
made except by the officers, who bravely made a last effort to
retrieve their honour. It came too late, however ; overpowered
by Lochiel's men, they were slaughtered where they stood, and
not one survived.

After this severe lesson the garrison became more cautious,
and only ventured out when they knew the Camerons were
engaged elsewhere. From time to time, however, Lochiel
made his presence unpleasantly felt, and took every oppor-
tunity of harassing and annoying the Cromwellian soldiers,
who began to find their existence in such a remote locality
anything but an enjoyable one.

Occasionally the Highlanders would swoop down un-
expectedly upon the detached hunting parties of Englishmen,
who sought the pleasures of the chase as some relief to the
monotony of their lives. In this guerilla warfare numbers
were slain, till at last the garrison was almost depleted ; and
the authorities, seeing the futility of trying to coerce Lochiel
into submission by the means they had up till now adopted,
and not seeing their way at the present juncture to send a
strong military force into Lochaber, decided to see what could
be done by more peaceful and diplomatic measures, to make
terms with the troublesome chieftain. The services of the
astute Argyll were called into requisition, as it was concluded
that he would have some influence with his late ward ; and
so it proved, as the politic marquis offered such honourable
terms to Lochiel, in the name of the Commonwealth, that he
found little difficulty in accepting them. The treaty was simple
and concise, and very much in Lochiel's favour. He had merely
to give fris word of honour to live in peace with his neigh-
bours, and on this condition he and his clansmen were not
only allowed to retain their arms, but he was to receive an
indemnity in money for all the losses he had sustained at the
hands of the garrison.

The official acceptance of the treaty was made the occasion

INVERLOCHY 85

of a dramatic spectacle, quite in keeping with the romantic
scenery which formed the background of the tableau. Muster-
ing the whole of the Clan Cameron, in all the glory of their
picturesque attire of tartan kilt and plaid, Lochiel placed
himself at their head and marched them down to the level
ground at the rear of the fort. Armed with the terrible
Lochaber axe, and with claymore and dirk at their sides, the
Camerons formed up in military array, the bright sunlight of
a May morning flashing from their weapons as they stood on
the green sward, eyeing with glances of suspicion and curiosity
their late foes, while the pipers, with vigorous lungs, skirled
out the gathering tune of the clan. The English garrison,
headed by the commander of the fort, was drawn up in line,
facing the Highlanders at a few paces distant, their drums
beating the assembly, while over their heads the standard of
the Commonwealth floated in the breeze. After a brief
interval, Lochiel, with noble and dignified bearing, stepped
forward, and having saluted the English officer with a courtly
bow, laid his sword on the ground, stating, in the hearing of
the assembled forces, that he did so in the name of king
Charles, and at the same time motioning his followers to do
likewise. This order was carried out with some reluctance by
the Camerons, but they eventually followed the example of
their chief, and with many invectives in forcible Gaelic, which
were anything but complimentary to the English, they laid
their arms upon the grass and stood waiting to see what
would happen next. Lochiel now stooped down, and picking
up his trusty weapon, replaced it in its sheath in the name
of the Commonwealth, and again saluting the commander
rejoined his men, who had by this time recovered their own
arms.

Thus the honour of both sides was satisfied, and peace
secured to Lochaber for some time at least 1

1 Appendix XVII.

86 LOYAL LOCHABER

CHAPTER IX.

FOR some years after the occurrences recorded in the preceding
chapter, there is little of importance to relate in connection
with the Western Highlands of Scotland, but in the great world
without, events pregnant with the fate of the realm were
occurring every day, and to follow the sequence of history it
will be necessary to slightly touch upon them here.

On 29th May 1660, Charles II., after an enforced absence from
his kingdom of nine years, entered the City of London amid the
joyful acclamations of the populace, and once again sat upon
the throne of his Stuart ancestors. The days of the Common-
wealth were at an end ; the same mob which had surged round
the scaffold of the unfortunate Charles I. at Whitehall, on that
bleak January morning eleven years before, and with their ribald
jest and blasphemous religious cant had endeavoured to drown
their dying monarch's last words, now shouted themselves hoarse,
as they welcomed his son on his entry into the metropolis.

There was one nobleman in London at this time who could
not but feel some misgivings as to the treatment he was likely
to receive from the recently returned king ; this was Argyll,
who, upon hearing of the restoration of the monarchy, hastened
to London to make the best terms he could with his sovereign,
and hoping that in the general amnesty granted to political
offenders, his own traitorous actions during the late civil war
might be overlooked. However ready Charles might have been
to forgive and forget past injuries, his cavalier advisers took
care that Argyll should not benefit by any clemency their
royal master might extend to those that had taken up arms
against him. Almost immediately upon his arrival in London,
Argyll was arrested and conveyed to the Tower, and shortly
afterwards sent a prisoner to Scotland, where he was tried
for high treason, and being found guilty, was beheaded at
Edinburgh on 27th May 1661. It is only just to say that
he met his fate with the greatest fortitude, as became the

INVERLOCHY 8?

descendant of the race of Diarmid. By a curious coincidence,
his head was placed after his execution on the same spike, on
the Tolbooth, that had been occupied by the head of Montrose.

The years immediately following the Restoration were years
of grave import to the realm of Scotland, sad, mournful years
of trial and suffering to those staunch Covenanters who still
held to the oath they or their fathers had sworn in the days
of Montrose. The history of that terrible period is yet in-
delibly stamped upon the minds of the descendants of those
brave men, who, however mistaken their ideas may have been,
had the courage to suffer martyrdom for the faith they loved
better than life itself. It would be quite impossible here to
attempt the task of describing the many tragic events that
followed upon the return of the Royalists into power, and
happily the district of Lochaber, by its very inaccessibility,
was spared the scenes of bloodshed that were now of common
occurrence in the lowlands, engendered by the intense hatred
with which the Royalists regarded the Covenanters, at whose
hands they had suffered so much during the last few years,
and whom they looked upon as morally responsible for the
murder of their beloved monarch.

Charles II. died suddenly on 6th February 1685, his end
being doubtless hastened by the habits of dissipation which he
had indulged in since his restoration to the throne. Upon his
death, his brother, the Duke of York, succeeded to the crown of
the two kingdoms as James II. of England and James VII. of
Scotland ; but owing to his having embraced the Roman Catholic
faith, he was regarded with suspicion by a very large number
of his subjects, both in England and Scotland, who foresaw that
the privileges and benefits conferred upon the realm at the time
of the Reformation were now in danger of being withdrawn,
a prospect which they could only look forward to with feelings
of grave apprehension. The next in succession to the throne
was the king's eldest daughter, Mary, who had espoused Prince
William of Orange, the Statholder of the Dutch Provinces.
This young prince was already distinguished for his courage

LOYAL LOCHABER

and military prowess, and his well-known staunch adherence
to the Protestant faith rendered him an object of considerable
interest to the supporters of that creed in England, who looked
upon him as a possible saviour of their country from the Popish
thraldom under which it was now beginning to suffer.

Having thus briefly explained the state of affairs in the
world beyond the Highland mountains, we will return to
Lochaber, and see what had been happening there.

Shortly after the restoration of Charles II., probably about
the year 1663, an event occurred in Lochaber of tragic interest,
known to history as " The Keppoch Murder." Allusion has
already been made to this incident in a previous chapter when
describing the career of " Iain Lorn," the " Bard of Keppoch."
It is an old and well-worn story of a barbarous crime and
its well-merited punishment, but having been perpetrated in
Lochaber, it must find a place here.

Donald Glas, the eleventh chief of the MacDonalds of
Keppoch, who had fought on the side of king Charles at
Inverlochy, died a few years after that celebrated victory,
leaving two sons, Alexander and Ranald. At the time of
their father's decease the two boys were at school in France,
whither they had been sent to receive such education as
would befit them for the position they were to fill as heads of
a great and powerful clan. Immediately upon the death of
Keppoch, seven cousins of the absent heirs assumed the manage-
ment of the estates, and appropriated the revenues to their own
use, exercising at the same time all the privileges of chieftainship
over the clan, and enjoying with full zest the pleasures of their
newly acquired power and increased wealth. The arrival of the
young chiefs from France put an end to their short-lived
aggrandisement, and it was with feelings of bitter jealousy
rankling in their hearts that they welcomed the two brothers to
Keppoch. Taking counsel together, they determined to rid
themselves of their young kinsmen at the first opportunity that
presented itself. The evil day was not far off, as shortly after
the return of the two Keppoch chieftains to their ancestral

INVERLOCHY 89

home, they invited their seven cousins to dine with them. At
first all went well, but after dinner, when the wine began to flow
freely, the catastrophe took place. Young Ranald of Keppoch,
by way of a joke, presented one of his cousins with a French
cap which he had brought with him from the Continent.
Spurning the proffered gift, which he threw angrily from him,
he drew his dirk and stabbed Ranald to the heart. In an
instant all was confusion, chairs and tables were overturned,
and Alexander, enraged at his brother's death, sprang at the
murderer, and, young as he was, would probably have slain him
had he not been overpowered by the others. Mortally wounded
he fell to the ground, and breathed his last over the body of his
dead brother.

Some presentiment of evil seems to have entered into the
mind of the sister of the two lads, for at the conclusion of the
repast she left the house in search of her old friend and kinsman,
" Iain Lorn." Taking him into her confidence, she told him
her suspicions, and asked his counsel in the event of a quarrel
taking place. Comforted by the sympathy and advice of the
venerable bard, she returned home to find her brothers foully
slain, and the wretches who had done the deed escaped.

When the news of the outrage reached " Iain Lorn," he vowed
a terrible oath of vengeance against the assassins, and swore
never to rest until he had brought them to justice. Strange as
it may appear, the clansmen of Keppoch seem to have had no
great desire to punish the murderers of their chiefs. This was
probably due to the fact of their long absence from the property,
and doubtless the usurpers had taken every opportunity of
ingratiating themselves with the people they had hoped to rule.

" Iain Lorn," finding he could not arouse them from their
apathy, applied to MacDonald of Glengarry, who, being allied
by ties of blood to the murdered lads, he doubted not would
assist him in his efforts to avenge their death. Glengarry,
however, could not be persuaded to interfere with the affairs of
another branch of the clan, notwithstanding the passionate

entreaties of the bard. Indignant at his reception by Glengarry,

00 LOYAL LOCHABER

" Iain Lorn " turned to another chieftain of Clan Donald, Sir
Alexander MacDonald of Sleat, and composed some very fine
verses in his praise which are still extant. The meeting with
Sir James MacDonald of Sleat, the son of the chief, is thus
described by a well-known writer on Highland affairs: 1

" Where are you come from ? " asked Sir James.

" From Laodicea," replied the bard.

" Are they cold or hot, now, in that place ? " asked Sir James.

"Abel is cold," cried the bard, "and his blood is in vain
crying for vengeance. Cain is hot and red-handed, and the
hundreds around are lukewarm as the black goat's milk."

The bard's importunities were at last crowned with success ;
MacDonald of Sleat promised he would send sufficient men
into Lochaber to assist " Iain Lorn " in fulfilling his vow. A
message was at once sent to Archibald MacDonald of Uist 2 to
proceed to Keppoch with fifty well-armed men, and place them
at the disposal of the bard. Upon the arrival of this force " Iain
Lorn " proceeded to the house of the murderers at Inverlair,
which he found strongly fortified and barricaded, and it was
some time before an entrance could be effected. Resistance,
however, was useless, and notwithstanding a gallant defence,
the seven brothers were surrounded on all sides, and met their
fate beside their own hearthstone.

The day of reckoning had arrived, the blood of the murdered
lads no longer cried out for vengeance, but the wrath of " Iain
Lorn " was not yet appeased. The dirk with which Ranald of
Keppoch had been stabbed had been carefully preserved by
Iain, and he now found a use for it. Drawing it from its sheath,
he cut off the heads of the seven brothers, and making a rope
of heather, tied them to it by the hair. Slinging the ghastly
burden over his shoulder, he departed from the scene of
slaughter, and after washing the heads in a well close to the

1 Mrs MacKellar.

2 Archibald MacDonald, known among his people as " Ciaran Mabach" was an
illegitimate son of Sir Alexander. Like his friend Iain Lom, he was a bard of some
pretensions, and several of his compositions have come down to us, his "Marbhrann
do Shir Sheumas Mac Dhonuill" being the best known.

INVERLOCHY 91

side of Loch Oich, he presented them to Glengarry, and finally
sent them to Sir Alexander MacDonald of Sleat as evidence
that justice had been done. The well may still be seen, and is
known locally by the Gaelic name oi"Tobar nan Ceann" ("the
Well of Heads "). A gruesome monument has been erected by
the side of the well, representing seven human heads rudely
carved in stone, with a long inscription in four languages, which
will be found in the Appendix. 1 Some years ago the reputed
grave of the murderers was opened, and the seven headless
skeletons discovered, proving beyond doubt the truth of the story.
The "Bard of Keppoch" composed a mournful lament to
commemorate the tragedy, entitled " Mort-na-Ceapach?* and the
sister of the murdered boys, who was also a gifted poetess, wrote
some pathetic verses, known in Gaelic as " Marbhrann ni'n
Mhic Raonuill" Of more interest to English readers will be
the beautiful poem by Mrs Ogilvy, which will be found in her
book on " Highland Minstrelsy," of which the following is an

extract :

" All is completed,
The wicked defeated,

Conquered and slain ;
Gory heads seven,
From traitor heads riven,

We bring o'er the main.

" The murderers are quiet now,
Calm is each lifeless brow

Tranquilly sleeping;
Over the graves at night
Hovers no more the sprite,

Watching and weeping.

" All is fulfilled now,
Murmurs are stilled now,
Once more the Bard sings,
Once more the heart rings,
Once more I'll look on thee,
Child of the Sennachie,
Marsali, Marsali ! "

1 Appendix XVIII.

2 Another lament for the murdered chiefs, by Iain Lorn, will be found in
Appendix XIX.

92 LOYAL LOCHABER

CHAPTER X.

AFTER the Camerons, the two most important clans in the
district of Lochaber were the MacDonalds of Keppoch 1 and
the Mackintoshes ; the latter clan, as I have before mentioned,
occupying a leading position in that powerful Highland associa-
tion, the Clan Chattan, which comprised among others the
MacPhersons, the Davidsons, the Farquharsons, the Shaws,
and the MacBeans.

A long standing feud had existed between the MacDonalds
of Keppoch and the Mackintoshes respecting the possession
of certain lands in Glenroy, which were now held by Coll
MacDonald, the fifteenth chief of Keppoch, a man of fearless
courage, and well able to maintain the honour and reputation
of his name and clan against his hereditary foes. He was the
grandson of Alasdair Buidhe, the thirteenth leader of the clan,
who had succeeded to the chieftainship of Keppoch after the
murder of his nephews, Alexander and Ranald, in 1663.
Alasdair of Keppoch had married twice ; his first wife, who
was a daughter of MacDonald of Bohuntine, was accidentally
drowned in the river Roy, on Christmas night, while she was
returning from a visit to some friends at Loch Treig. 2 After
the usual period of mourning had expired, he espoused a
daughter of Glengarry, who bore him two sons, Allan and
Archibald. In the usual course Allan would have become
chief upon his father's death, but owing to a suspicion that
he had taken part in the " Keppoch murder," he was not
allowed by the clan to assume the eagle's feathers, and his
brother was elected chief in his stead.

1 The chiefs of the Keppoch branch of the Clan MacDonald have always spelt
their name MacDonell or M'Donell, but as we so frequently find them associated
with the MacDonalds of Glengarry, Clanranald, and Glencoe, I have throughout
this work adopted the customary method of spelling.

2 The spot where the fatal occurrence took place is still known as " Linne na-h
igknean."

INVERLOCHY 93

Archibald, who thus assumed the chieftainship of Keppoch
as fourteenth in descent from Alasdair Carrach, was a man of
considerable parts, and exhibited in a marked degree the talent
for versification which seemed to be hereditary in the Keppoch
family, and which is still possessed by one at least of the modern
descendants of that famous Lochaber chief, as the introductory
poem with which this volume commences amply proves.
Archibald married a daughter of MacMartin of Letterfinlay, the
representative of the oldest branch of the Clan Cameron; by
this lady he had issue, Coll, Ronald (of Tirnadris), Alexander,

Signature of MacDonell of Keppoch to an Address to George I. on his Accession
to the Throne, 1714 ; in the Museum at Edinburgh.

Angus, and nine daughters, the eldest of whom, Juliet (or
Cicely), was a poetess of some repute in Lochaber. 1

Coll of Keppoch, descended as he was from the MacDonalds
on one side and the Camerons on the other, could scarcely
fail to prove a formidable opponent to the claims of Mackintosh,
to the lands that his ancestors had held with the strong hand
for centuries.

It would appear that Mackintosh had undoubtedly a pre-
scriptive right to the territory in question, it having been
granted to one of the ancient chieftains of his clan by the
Lord of the Isles, 1447 A.D., in return probably for some

1 This lady is known in Gaelic as Sile, or Silts Nighean Mhic Raonuill.

94 LOYAL LOCHABER

military service. This charter had been more recently con-
firmed by the Crown ; but as in the Highlands, more espe-
cially, "possession was nine points of the law," Mackintosh
found it no easy matter to assert his rights to the property
while it was actually occupied by Keppoch, who, when asked
by what authority he held it, boldly stated that his charter
was not a paltry sheepskin, but his trusty sword, and that if
Mackintosh wanted it, he must come and take it. This proud
boast so enraged Mackintosh, that he determined that now or
never he would chastise his presumptuous rival, and endeavour
by every means in his power to regain his lost possessions.
The fiery cross (crois tara) was sent round Badenoch,
and in a short time the Clan Mackintosh, to the number
of a thousand, gathered round the yellow banner of their
chief. This force was considerably augmented by a body
of Government troops, under the command of Captain Mac-
Kenzie of Suddy, sent by order of king James, and we
have no doubt the assistance was very welcome to Mackintosh,
whose resources were strained to the uttermost. 1 With the
most sanguine hopes of success they marched into Lochaber
through Glen Spean, with the idea of attacking MacDonald
in his house at Keppoch, never doubting that he would
make that place his principal point of resistance. They
were surprised on arrival there to find the place entirely
deserted, 2 and Mackintosh, concluding that the presence of
the Government soldiers had decided Keppoch to avoid
a collision with a force so considerably outnumbering
his own, fondly imagined that victory was his without a
struggle. For his better protection, however, he decided to
strengthen his position by the construction of a fort on the
side of a steep hill above the river Roy; and it was while
employed in this manner that news was brought him that
Keppoch with about five hundred MacDonalds, strengthened
by detachments of their kinsmen from Glengarry and Glencoe,
were lying in ambush within a short distance, with the purpose

1 Appendix XX. 2 Appendix XXI.

INVERLOCHY 95

of surprising the Mackintoshes at daybreak. This purpose
he decided to anticipate, and hastily mustering his clan, marched
them over the intervening hills that lay between him and his
enemies.

Arriving just as the dawn was breaking in the eastern sky,
upon the slope of a hill known as Mulroy (Meall Ruadh],
which attains an elevation of about 800 feet, he discerned
among the mists which shrouded its summit a large body of
MacDonalds, with Keppoch 1 at their head. With shouts of
derision the rival clans descried each other, and with indescrib-
able fury the battle commenced. From the heights above, the
MacDonalds swept down upon their foes like an avalanche of
destruction, shouting their war-cry, " Dia 's Naomh Aindrea"
with deafening clamour, to which the Mackintoshes replied with
" Loch-na-Mao idk" the slogan of the clan, and stood firmly
awaiting the onset

Amid this terrific din the fight raged, the rocks and
mountains re-echoing the fearful sounds, as steel met steel,
and the great war-pipes (JPiob mor) of the opposing clans
sounded the ancient pibrochs which had rung out on many
a field of slaughter such as this. Notwithstanding their dis-
advantageous position, the Mackintoshes stood the onset
without wavering, and it at first appeared that they would
come off the victors. The presence of the soldiers under
MacKenzie was a matter of considerable anxiety to Keppoch,
as he was well aware that if any important officer among
them was injured or slain, the Government would hold him
responsible, and make the circumstance an excuse for reprisals
of the greatest severity. Fully comprehending the importance
of avoiding a direct collision with MacKenzie's men, he gave
orders to his clansmen that, except they were in peril of their
lives, they were to refrain as much as possible from attacking
the redcoats, and to reserve their weapons for their feudal
enemies, the Mackintoshes. It was a difficult matter, in the

1 This famous chieftain of the Keppoch MacDonalds was known throughout
Lochaber as "Coll of the Cows."

96 LOYAL LOCHABER

heat of the conflict, to carry out these instructions, as events
soon proved.

Among the ranks of the MacDonalds was a young chieftain,
a cadet of Keppoch, named MacDonald of Tulloch, who, by
the chances of war, found himself opposed by the commander
of the Government troops, MacKenzie of Suddy. MacKenzie
came of a bold and fearless race, and was not the sort of
man to shirk a personal encounter with a foe worthy of his
steel ; levelling his pistol at the head of Tulloch, he fired, but
the bullet, instead of striking his antagonist, passed within an
inch of his head, and killed one of Tulloch's brothers, who
was by his side. The blood of his slain relative cried aloud
for vengeance, but Tulloch, bearing in mind the direct orders
of his chief, and knowing what disastrous consequences to
his clan would follow the death of an officer of MacKenzie's
rank, called out, " Avoid me, avoid me ! " and would have
sought some other part of the field in which to avenge his
brother's death ; but MacKenzie, not understanding the meaning
of the words addressed to him, and probably attributing them
to cowardice, answered with a sneer, "The MacDonald was
never born that I would shun," rushed at Tulloch with his
pike. Stung by the implied insult, Tulloch threw a pistol
which he had in his hand at his adversary's head, with such
deadly effect that MacKenzie's skull was split open, and he
died within a few hours.

Maddened by the sight of their wounded leader, the soldiers
now joined the ranks of the Mackintoshes, and the combined
strength of these two powerful bodies of men would probably
have soon driven Keppoch from the field, had not a curious
incident occurred, which entirely changed the course of events.
While the fight was at its thickest, one of Keppoch's herdsmen,
a half-witted fellow of great muscular strength, made his appear-
ance among his brother clansmen, armed with a gigantic club.
He had been left by Keppoch in charge of the cattle, which had
been driven some distance from the scene of conflict Keppoch
being fully cognisant of the predatory instincts of his foes in the

INVERLOCHY 97

matter of live stock. Evidently the peaceful occupation of
bullock-minding was not to the taste of "the red haired Bo-man"
(as he was called), and hearing from afar the skirl of the pipes
sounding the pibroch of the MacDonalds, he seized the first
weapon that came to hand, and with his red hair and tattered
plaid streaming in the wind, hurried to the hill of Mulroy, just
in time to see his clan almost overwhelmed by the enemy.
With the frenzied excitment of a madman, he leapt among the
Mackintoshes, wielding his enormous club above his head, and
shouting at the same time, " They fly, they fly ! upon them,
upon them ! " dealt such awful blows with his improvised
weapon, that he soon stood alone in a circle of dead or dying
men. The Mackintoshes were quite paralysed by this sudden
attack, and before they had time to fill up the gaps made in
their ranks by this murderous onslaught, Keppoch and his
MacDonalds were among them, slashing and hewing with axe
and claymore, and driving them over the steep banks of the
river Roy, to meet a terrible fate among the great boulders
forty feet below.

During the stampede, a special effort was made by the
MacDonalds to capture the standard of the Mackintosh, which
was being borne from the field of battle by a duine-hasal
(" gentleman ") of the clan, to whose care it had been entrusted.
Hotly pursued by his foes, he reached the precipitous banks
of the Roy, at a spot where it seethes and foams like a boiling
cauldron among the jagged rocks that here form its bed.
Grasping his sacred charge firmly in his hands, and mentally
measuring the distance to the opposite side, he made a running
leap across the awful chasm, and landed safely upon the other
bank, and thus escaped, as the MacDonalds, brave as many of
them were, dared not follow him. The place is still known
as " The Leap of Mackintosh."

A vivid description of the engagement has been handed
down to us from the lips of a tobacco-spinner's apprentice of
Inverness, who, apparently to escape the daily drudgery and

monotony of his existence, enlisted in the force under

98 LOYAL LOCHABER

MacKenzie of Suddy, and was present on the hill of Mulroy
on the occasion of which I write. He says : " The MacDonalds
came down the hill upon us, without either shoe, stocking, or
bonnet on their heads ; they gave a shout, and then the fire
began on both sides, and continued a hot dispute for an
hour (which made me wish I had been spinning tobacco).
Then they broke in upon us with sword and target, and
Lochaber axes, which obliged us to give way. Seeing my
captain severely wounded, and a great many men lying with
heads cloven on every side, and having never witnessed the
like before, I was sadly affrighted. At length a Highlandman
attacked me with sword and target, and cut my wooden-handled
bayonet out of the muzzle of my gun. I then clubbed my
gun and gave him a stroke of it, which made the butt end
to fly off, and seeing the Highlandman come fast down upon
me, I took to my heels, and ran thirty miles before I looked
behind me, taking every person whom I saw or met for my
enemy."

Donald MacBane (this was the lad's name), having thus
served his apprenticeship to war, and tasted blood for the first
time, could no longer submit to the tame and uneventful
existence that awaited him in Inverness at the shop of his
worthy master. Enlisting in the army, he served with dis-
tinction in the wars in Flanders, under the great Duke of
Marlborough, and upon his return to Scotland became one
of the most expert swordsmen of his day. At the age of
sixty-seven, a report reached him that an Irishman named
O'Brien was in Edinburgh, boasting of his prowess with the
sword, and assuming the title of champion of Great Britain.
This was too much for MacBane, and he at once set out for
Edinburgh, with the determination of punishing the braggart
who had dared to set his countrymen at defiance. Upon
arrival in that city he at once made his way to the house of
Field-Marshal John, Duke of Argyll, in whose regiment he
had served. The Duke gave him every encouragement, and
promised to be present at the encounter.

INVERLOCHY 99

When the day arrived, a platform was erected, and a large
crowd of spectators were attracted to the unusual spectacle,
among whom were large numbers of the Scottish nobility. The
fight was long and severe, but in the end Donald came off
victorious, amid the plaudits of the assembled multitudes; and
thus having saved the honour of his country, he returned to the
Highlands. He died some years later, and was buried in the
Craigs Cemetery at Fort William, where a stone was erected
to his memory, recording, among other things, that "he died
in his bed at home, and was graced with a decent funeral by
his surviving wife."

Keppoch was now entirely master of the situation, and
Mackintosh was a prisoner in his hands. Sir Walter Scott
states that " when the captive heard the MacDonalds greeting
their chieftain with shouts of ' Lord of Keppoch ! Lord of
Keppoch ! ' he addressed them boldly, saying, ' You are as far
from being lord of the lands of Keppoch at this moment as you
have been all your life.' ' Never mind,' answered the victorious
chieftain, with much good humour, 'we'll enjoy the good
weather while it lasts.' Accordingly, the victory of his tribe
is still recorded in the pipe-tune called 'MacDonald took the
brae on them.' "

While this conversation was taking place, both chieftains
were surprised to hear the sound of the pipes in the distance,
heralding the approach of another body of Highlanders, but
whether friends of Keppoch or Mackintosh, it was impossible
for the moment to determine. All doubts were, however, set
aside when shouts of " Creig dubh Clann Chattan " were heard,
as the newcomers arrived within earshot. This was the war-cry
of the MacPhersons, and it at once became evident that they
had for the nonce decided to forget the long-standing dis-
agreement that had existed between their chief, Cluny, and the
Mackintosh, in connection with the disputed chieftainship of
Clan Chattan, and were now come to offer him the assistance
of their arms in his struggle with Keppoch.

Mackintosh watched the arrival of the MacPhersons with

100 LOYAL LOCHABER

mingled feelings of pride and humiliation pride, because he
knew that the MacDonalds in their present weakened condition
could not hazard another engagement with a new and powerful
enemy, and he would have the satisfaction of seeing them beat
an undignified retreat ; and humiliation, for he was sure that
the MacPhersons would take advantage of his defenceless
position, and carry him before their chief, Cluny. He was
nearly right in his surmises, for as soon as Keppoch became
aware that he would now have to stand the brunt of a fresh
attack, he decided to retire. While he was in the act of giving
orders to the MacDonalds to this effect, a flag of truce was
sent to him from the MacPhersons, demanding that he should
give up his prisoner, or, .in default of so doing, they would
immediately engage him in battle. Discretion being the better
part of valour, he reluctantly handed over Mackintosh to the
party of MacPhersons who had accompanied the flag of truce,
and, assembling his clan, marched back to his house at Keppoch,
secure for the present in the possession of the disputed estates.

The proud chief of Mackintosh experienced the bitterest
mortification upon finding himself a captive among his rivals
the MacPhersons, although he was treated by them with the
greatest respect, and received every attention at their hands.

The proposal that he should return with them to Cluny
Castle, to have an audience with their chief, was indignantly
rejected as a direct insult, and he threatened that if force were
used to conduct him thither, he would plunge his dirk into his
heart, rather than appear before Cluny MacPherson so ignomini-
ously. These noble sentiments were applauded by the brave
MacPhersons, who now declared that Mackintosh was a worthy
member of Clan Chattan, and with pipers playing and banners
flying, they escorted him to his castle at Moy. Such was the
last clan battle fought in Scotland, and it is well worthy of
being recorded, as showing that even in those warlike times the
Highlanders were imbued with the same noble and generous
instincts as will be found among their descendants at the
present day.

INVERLOCHY IOI

As some of my readers may like to know how the High-
landers of this date (1688 A.D.) were clothed and equipped, I will
give an extract from an account given by William Sacheverell,
Governor of the Isle of Man, who visited the Western Highlands
in 1688, with a view to recovering the treasure of one of the
galleons of the Spanish Armada that was sunk in the harbour
of Tobermory, in Mull. He writes : " The usual outward habit
of both sexes is the pladd ; the women's much finer, the colours
more lively, and the squares larger than the men's, and put me
in mind of the ancient Picts. This serves them for a veil, and
covers both head and body. The men wear theirs after another
manner, especially when designed for ornament : it is loose and
flowing, like the mantles our painters give their heroes. Their
thighs are bare, with brawney muscles. Nature has drawn all
her stroakes bold and masterly ; a thin brogue on the foot, a
short buskin of various colours on the legg, tied about the calf
with a striped pair of garters. What should be concealed is hid
with a large shot pouch (sporan), on each side of which hangs a
dagger and a pistol, as if they found it necessary to keep those
parts well guarded. A round target on their backs, a blew
bonnet on their heads, in one hand a broadsword and a musquet
in the other. Perhaps no nation goes better armed ; and I
assure you they will handle them with bravery and dexterity,
especially the sword and target."

A very graphic picture this of the Gael of the seventeenth
century, and interesting as proving conclusively that the tartan
plaid and kilt {feilebeag) was the universal dress of the High-
landers of that epoch ; a fact which is now often disputed by
English writers, who go so far as to maintain that the tartan is
of quite modern invention.

About the time that these hostilities were in progress in
Lochaber, alarming news from England reached the chiefs of
the Western Highlands, and they were soon called upon to
take their share in a struggle which was destined to produce
important and far-reaching results, not only in the Highlands of
Scotland, but throughout the length and breadth of the realm.

102 LOYAL LOCHABER

James II., by his ill-judged attempts to subvert the Pro-
testant religion by every means in his power, had altogether
alienated from himself the reverence and affection of his
subjects. The crisis came when he endeavoured to re-establish
the obnoxious Court of High Ecclesiastical Commission, by
which he sought to punish the clergy for the independent spirit
they had shown in the pulpit, where they had made frequent
protests against the king's papistical tendencies, in powerful and
scathing language.

The refusal of six of the most distinguished English bishops
(among whom was Sancroft, Archbishop of Canterbury) to
read the king's Declaration of Indulgence in their cathedrals,,
was immediately followed by their arrest and committal to
the Tower. After a short interval they were brought before
the Bar of Westminster Hall, and, after a trial famous in the
annals of history, were acquitted amid the acclamations of the
assembled multitude. The imprisonment of the bishops was
the death-knell of the Stuart dynasty, for now all eyes were
turned to Holland, and messengers were constantly passing
between the heads of the Protestant party and William,
Prince of Orange, with important despatches, urging him
to cross the channel and accept the crown, which they
promised to assist him in obtaining by every means at their
disposal.

On loth June 1688, the queen gave birth to a son, of
whom we shall hear more hereafter ; but such were the
suspicions with which everything connected with the Court
were regarded by the people, that it was believed on all sides
that the infant was fraudulently thrust upon the nation by
the Popish advisers of the king, with a view to establish an
impediment to the claim of William of Orange, and that the
queen had not been confined at all. All students of history,
of course, are aware that there were no grounds for this
belief, and the legitimacy of the young prince has been fully
established. The immediate result of this event was the
renewed effort on the part of the Protestants in England,

INVERLOCHY IO3

and Covenanters in Scotland, to induce the Prince of Orange
to at once set sail for England, where he was assured that a
hearty welcome awaited him. The birth of a son and heir
to James decided him to take this step, and having had a
fleet of five hundred ships and an army of fifteen thousand men
placed at his disposal by the States of Holland, he put to sea,
and, after some little delay caused by rough weather, landed
at Torbay on 5th November 1688.

Upon the news of William's arrival reaching the army of
king James, disaffection commenced with extraordinary
rapidity, and one by one the officers and men went over
to the invader, the most celebrated of the deserters being
the great Duke of Marlborough, who had only recently been
raised to the peerage.

To king James the tidings of his rival's bloodless successes
were gall and wormwood, and feeling the utter impotence of
his position, and also realising the personal danger he was
exposed to from his rebellious subjects, he resolved to escape
while there was yet time, lest the fate that befell his royal
father might overtake him. His mental sufferings at this time
were increased by the news that the Princess Anne had gone
over to the enemy, and, under the cover of night, had left
London for Nottingham. Deserted by all save a few faithful
attendants, the unhappy monarch, dejected and forlorn, fled
from the metropolis, and reaching a small seaport on the
south coast of England, was just about to embark for France
when he was captured and brought back to London, where
the Prince of Orange was now installed in royal state. Fearing
that public opinion might change in favour of the deposed
sovereign if he remained in the capital, William decided that
it would be more politic to remove James to some secluded
provincial town, and having selected Rochester (Kent), he
gave orders that the king should at once proceed there.
James, who was not now in a position to refuse, obeyed the
injunction, and after a few days residence in the old cathedral
city of Rochester, found means of escaping on board a fishing

104 LOYAL LOCHABER

boat, and landed at Ambleteuse, in France, on 23rd December
1688.

With the flight of king James from his kingdom, the
glory of the Stuarts departed, to return at intervals in flashes
of lurid brilliancy, burning deeply upon the open scroll of
history, marks that the hand of time will never efface.

CHAPTER XL

"BONNIE DUNDEE."

" There are hills beyond Pentland, and lands beyond Forth,
If there's lords in the south, there are chiefs in the north;
There are brave Duinnewassals three thousand times three,
Will cry ' Hey, for the bonnets of Bonnie Dundee ! ' "

THE accession of William, Prince of Orange, to the throne of
Great Britain, although favourably regarded by a large portion
of the Scottish people, headed by the Dukes of Hamilton and
Argyll, was exceedingly distasteful to the majority of the
Highland clans, and more especially to those of Lochaber,
whose loyalty to the Stuarts was proverbial. They now only
needed a bold and spirited leader, in whom they could place
implicit confidence, and they were ready to follow him to the
death in defence of the rights of their legitimate sovereign,
king James. Such a leader was at hand in the person of
John Graham, Viscount Dundee, in whose veins ran the heroic
blood of his famous kinsman, Montrose. Proud of his descent
from the Great Marquis, and never weary of listening to stories
of his brilliant achievements, Dundee was rejoiced at the oppor-
tunity that now presented itself of gathering under his standard
the loyal clans, by whose aid he trusted to be able to emulate
the victories of Montrose. By the marriage of one of his
ancestors, William, Lord Graham of Kincardine, with Mary, the
second daughter of king Robert III., Dundee could trace
descent from the royal line of Stuarts, and he doubtlessly felt a
personal interest in supporting their cause against the usurper.

.JOHN f<KAMAM,

1688.

From an old print in the possession of the Author

Page 104.

INVERLOCHY IO5

His father was Sir William Graham of Claverhouse, a nobleman
of estimable qualities, but of no striking individuality, and
famous only on account of the actions of his celebrated son.

Of the early years of Dundee we know but little. Born in
1643 A.D., he received the usual training and education that his
rank in life demanded. At the age of twenty-three he entered
the University of St Andrews, where he attained considerable
proficiency in mathematics and other subjects, and after pur-
suing his studies there for about ten years, he left Scotland for
France, where he attached himself to the army as a volunteer,
but shortly afterwards quitted the service of the French king for
that of the Prince of Orange. By the strange irony of fate, he
was instrumental in saving the life of the Prince at the battle
of Seneffe in 1674, and otherwise distinguished himself by
his bravery in the field, and his skill in all matters connected
with military affairs. Annoyed by the refusal of the Prince
of Orange to grant him the coveted command of one of the
Scottish regiments then serving in Holland, he returned to his
native land in the year 1677.

Upon his arrival in Scotland, he received a captain's com-
mission in one of the new regiments that Charles II. was raising
to aid him in suppressing the Covenanting Whig party, and
his zeal in carrying out his orders in that direction, and the
relentless severity with which he treated all prisoners that fell
into his hands, earned for him the sobriquet of " the bloody
Clavers " ; and he shared with General Dalziel the distinction of
being credited with supernatural powers and the assistance of
his satanic majesty, who was said to have made his body proof
against leaden bullets, and as an additional mark of his favour,
had presented him with a coal-black steed, possessed of
magical powers. When mounted on this Pegasus, Claverhouse
was popularly believed to perform prodigies of equestrianism,
such as scaling inaccessible mountains or crossing fordless
rivers ; in fact, no story, however absurd or improbable,
was called into question, if only Claverhouse was the hero

of it.

106 LOYAL LOCHABER

On the death of Charles II. we find Claverhouse high in
favour with king James, who advanced him rapidly by suc-
cessive steps to the rank of major-general, and seven days after
the arrival of William of Orange the title of Viscount Dundee
was bestowed upon him by his grateful sovereign. Dundee,
from his earliest youth, had always shown great partiality for
the Highlanders, and everything connected with their past and
present history. He had studied their language, and become
acquainted with their ancient poetry and traditions, and by his
proved loyalty to the royal house of Strart had gained the
entire confidence of their chieftains, as Montrose had done in
the past ; and they were equally ready, as their fathers had been
in 1645, to follow one of the bold Grahams, and aid him with
their claymores in re-establishing king James on his throne.

The long flowing wig of black ringlets worn by Dundee,
and his brilliant military exploits, gained for him the Gaelic
appellation of "Iain Dubh nan Cath " (" Black John of the
Battles"), and it was by this name he was generally known
among his Highland friends.

Such, in brief outline, was the career of Dundee up till the
year 1689, when we find him supporting the cause of the exiled
king against his rebellious subjects in Scotland, aided by a large
number of the Highland clans of Lochaber and Badenoch, who,
attracted by his persuasive eloquence and military ardour, had
flocked to his standard. While Dundee was employed in the
congenial task of organising the forces he had raised, and
endeavouring to patch up, for a time at least, the many feuds
that existed between the Highland chiefs, Coll of Keppoch had,
after his victory over Mackintosh, advanced with a considerable
body of his clan to the walls of Inverness, which he threatened
to destroy unless a large sum of money was handed over to him.

At this period the town of Inverness consisted of a few
hundred houses of the most primitive description, with thatched
roofs and walls composed of stones and mud, few of them
having any glass in the windows. There were two churches,
and rows of booths where such luxuries as knives, horn spoons,

INVERLOCHY IO7

tin kettles, etc., were to be had by those who had the money to
pay for them. The arrival of a vessel of any size in the port
was an event of the greatest rarity, and on such occasions the
whole population would assemble on the shore to watch its
progress. Fortifications there were none, unless a ruined castle
and a tumble down wall could be termed such.

To the Highlanders, however, reared in the midst of
mountain solitudes, Inverness was looked upon as an object
of wonder and a prize worth the taking. For many years
feelings of enmity had existed between the worthy burghers of
Inverness and the MacDonalds, and it was only a few years
previous to this date that the town had been similarly threatened
with an assault by this powerful clan. So extraordinary were
the terms offered by the MacDonalds on that occasion to grant
the town an immunity from plunder, that they are worthy of
record, as showing to what lengths the Highland chiefs could go
in their total disregard of all authority but their own. We are
told that the MacDonalds demanded the payment of a heavy
indemnity, and that the magistrates should bind themselves by
oath to hand over to the vengeance of the clan any citizen who
should shed the blood of a MacDonald ; and further, that every
inhabitant of Inverness, irrespective of rank or quality, meeting
a Highlander clad in the MacDonald tartan, should ground
arms in token of submission.

And now once again the burghers of Inverness were called
upon to submit to the demands of the bold MacDonalds, who,
under Keppoch, surrounded the town, which he threatened to
destroy if the money he demanded was not instantly forth-
coming.

Such was the state of affairs on Sunday, 28th April 1689,
and we may imagine the worshippers in the churches did not
pay much attention to the ministrations of their clergy while the
Philistine, in the shape of Keppoch, was at their gates. The
two following days passed without the expected attack being
made, and on the third relief arrived from a most unexpected
quarter, and in the person of the redoubtable Dundee.

108 LOYAL LOCHABER

To understand the reason of Dundee's appearance at
Inverness, we must return to the progress of events beyond
the Highlands, and in a few words explain the state of
affairs in Scotland incident upon the change of monarchy.
The Prince of Orange was now established on the throne of
Britain under the title of William III., his regal state being
equally shared by his wife Mary, who, as we know, was the
eldest daughter of the exiled monarch. 'Soon after William's
arrival in London, the Duke of Argyll, Sir James Montgomery,
and Sir John Dalrymple were despatched to London to offer
the crown of Scotland to the victorious Prince and his spouse,
on the condition that he would support the Covenant and put
down Episcopacy. William demurred at first, as he had no
wish to commence his reign in the character of a religious
persecutor ; but as Argyll informed him that the oath was
merely formal, he eventually consented, and the Scottish noble-
men returned to Scotland, their task being accomplished, and
immediately took upon themselves the vigorous enforcement
of the royal oath, and marked out the Earl of Balcarras and
Viscount Dundee for their first victims. Balcarras was at
once arrested at his country house and conveyed to Edinburgh,
where he was imprisoned. Dundee was, however, too quick
for his enemies, and having heard that warrants had been
issued against him, he fled across the river Dee to the friendly
Gordons, where he was joined by the Earl of Dunfermline with
fifty mounted men.

And here I must pause to introduce another important
actor in the stirring events of the year 1689, to whose enter-
prise (although on the wrong side) Lochaber has some cause
to be grateful, as I shall have occasion to show. This
was General Hugh MacKay, who was now in command of
William's troops in Scotland. He' was the son of Colonel
Hugh MacKay of Scourie, on the west coast of Sutherland-
shire. The Scourie MacKays were descended from Donald
MacKay of Scourie and Eriboll, elder son of Y. MacKay,
third chief of the clan, by his first wife, who was a daughter

INVERLOCHY IOQ

of Hugh MacLeod of Assynt. General MacKay was born in
1640, and shortly after the Restoration he received an ensign's
commission in the Royal Scots Regiment, and accompanied
it to France. He then appears to have served in the Venetian
army, and this not proving to his taste, he again went to
France and fought under Marshall Turenne in the Netherlands.
We next hear of him in Holland, as a major in a Scots
regiment in the service of the Prince of Orange, but after
attaining the rank of colonel, he transferred his allegiance
to James II., who in 1685 made him major-general of the
royal forces in Scotland, where he became a member of the
Privy Council. The service of king James was evidently
distasteful to MacKay, as it only lasted a year. After resigning
his commission, he crossed the sea to Holland, and once more
attached himself to the army of his old commander, William,
Prince of Orange, who was now preparing to invade England.
MacKay was at once made major-general, and was put in
command of the British troops which were to assist the Prince
in obtaining the throne. Upon William's arrival in London,
he issued a warrant, dated 4th January 1689, in which MacKay
was appointed " Major-General of all forces whatever, within
our ancient kingdom of Scotland."

It was the rapid advance of this officer from Edinburgh
that had induced Dundee to depart for Inverness, where he
hoped to attach Keppoch and his clan to the cause of king
James. Arriving in the camp of the MacDonalds on the
morning of ist May, he found them about to make a raid on
the town, but by his offer to settle the dispute without recourse
to arms, he prevented what would probably have developed into
a desperate battle. The arbitration of Dundee appears to have
been remarkably one-sided, as we learn that the town of Inver-
ness had to hand over the sum of two thousand dollars before the
peaceful inhabitants could get rid of their Highland neighbours.

This tangible result of Dundee's intervention raised him
high in the estimation of the MacDonalds, and he found no
difficulty in persuading them to join him, while the spoil was

110 LOYAL LOCHABER

yet heavy in their sporans ; he soon learnt, however, that it
was quite another matter to reconcile Keppoch with his old
feudal enemies, the Mackintoshes and MacPhersons. The
rival clans could not assimilate, and both Mackintosh and
MacPherson decided to remain neutral rather than fight by
the side of Keppoch.

These clan feuds were a constant source of annoyance
and irritation to Dundee, and he adopted every means he
could think of to pour oil on the troubled waters, but without
success : the wounds, caused by centuries of recrimination and
bloodshed, could not be healed by a few soft words, and he
found, to his great disappointment, that many of the Highland
chiefs, who were among his greatest personal friends, could
not be induced to join an army to which their old enemies
were attached.

Meanwhile, MacKay had advanced as far as Forres, and
the news of his proximity reaching Dundee, he decided to
intercept him with all the force he could command ; but here
again his intentions were frustrated by his Highland allies.
With the MacDonalds there were a considerable body of
Camerons, who, hoping to share the plunder, had marched with
them to Inverness, and having received their portion of the
two thousand dollars, were anxious to return to their homes in
Lochaber, to deposit it in a place of safety. When the order
for the march to attack MacKay reached them, they informed
Dundee that, much as they should like to assist him, it was
against the custom of the Highlanders to engage in battle
without their chief, and as Lochiel was at Ach-na-carry, Dundee
had no alternative but to let them depart. To engage MacKay
with the men that were left him, could only result in disaster,
and after having arranged with Keppoch for a gathering of
the loyal clans in Lochaber on i8th May, he marched for
Perthshire, to raise the men of Athole.

It has been my endeavour in this work to centralise the
interest of my narrative as far as possible around the district
which is its raison d'etre, but so closely is the history of Lochaber

INVERLOCHY III

interwoven with the history of Scotland, and even England, that
I have found it sometimes impossible to avoid introducing, what
to some of my readers may seem extraneous matter, in order
to elucidate the many ramifications which dynastic changes
necessarily produce in the government of a country.

CHAPTER XII.

THE Lochaber of 1689 differed little from the Lochaber of
1652. Monk's fort still stood, although in a dilapidated
condition, on the small point of land at the confluence of
the river Nevis, beneath the shadow of the great Ben. A
few huts had been built around it by the natives, who had
been attracted to the spot by the presence of the garrison,
with whom they sought to trade. Lochiel, now sixty years
of age, but strong and active as ever, had, since the
death of his old enemy Cromwell, remained in comparative
peace at Ach-na-carry, among his turbulent Camerons.

Shortly after the accession of James II., Lochiel paid a
visit to the Court, with the object of paying his devoirs to
his sovereign, and to obtain a pardon for one of his clan,
who had unwittingly caused the death of several Atholemen by
firing on them in mistake. The king received him graciously,
and with every mark of distinction, and at once granted the
boon he asked. The great services Lochiel had rendered to
the Stuart cause demanded some recognition at the royal
hands, and the king took the opportunity of Lochiel's visit
to offer him knighthood, and, as a special honour, asked Lochiel
for his own sword with which to perform the ceremony. Un-
fortunately, during the long ride from Scotland, the rain had
caused the sword to rust. Lochiel found it quite impossible
to withdraw it from its sheath. Mortified by this untoward
event, and annoyed beyond measure that the English courtiers
should think him unequal to the task of drawing his own
sword, he could scarcely refrain from tears.

112 LOYAL LOCHABER

The king, observing his confusion, said in a kindly voice :
" Do not regard it, my faithful friend, your sword would have
left the scabbard of itself had the royal cause required it."
The sympathetic words of his beloved sovereign restored
Lochiel to his wonted composure, and, kneeling at the king's
feet, he received the honour of knighthood with the monarch's
own jewelled rapier, which he afterwards received from the
royal hands as a gift ; and the staunch old chieftain returned
to Lochaber a greater Jacobite than ever. It was shortly
after Lochiel's return to his native land that an incident
occurred which served to temporarily alienate his loyalty,
and for a time, at least, produced in his mind a feeling of
resentment against his sovereign.

Keenly sensitive to any interference with their ancient
prerogatives, the Highland chieftains of that period could
not, or would not, understand that the altered state of affairs
in the realm demanded a severer discipline among their law-
less clansmen, and that the bloody feuds and predatory
expeditions of a previous and less enlightened age could no
longer be countenanced by the government of a Christian
monarch. King James had on more than one occasion
expostulated with Lochiel on the disorderly condition of
Lochaber, and the thieving propensities of the Highlanders,
and had often chaffed him good humouredly on the subject,
hoping by that means to bring the Cameron chieftain to a
sense of the shortcomings of his unruly vassals. Once when
Lochiel entered the royal presence at Whitehall, the king
remarked jestingly to his attendant nobles, " Gentlemen, take
care of your pockets ; here comes the king of the thieves."
We are not told Lochiel's reply to this sally, but it is evident
from the following story, that the royal remonstrances had
produced little effect.

Shortly after Lochiel's return to Ach-na-carry, he was
informed that king James had commanded the sheriff of Inver-
ness to proceed to the fort at Inverlochy, and hold a commission
of inquiry into the state of the district, with full powers to inflict

INVERLOCHY 113

punishment upon any Highlanders found guilty of disturbing
the peace, or who had in any other way offended the majesty
of the law. This action on the part of his royal master was
bitterly resented by the proud Lochiel, who saw in it a covert
attempt to weaken his authority among his own people, and an
insidious endeavour to wrest from him those prerogatives and
rights that had been enjoyed by his ancestors for many
centuries. Annoyed by the unwelcome news, he carefully
planned a scheme to render the sheriffs visit as unpleasant as
possible, while at the same time outwardly professing the
greatest respect for that august representative of the law. The
better to show his loyalty and reverence for the royal commis-
sion, he arrived at the fort attended by four hundred fully armed
Camerons, whom he had previously taken into his confidence
and instructed how to act.

The sheriff having taken his seat, was about to read the
king's mandate, when a tremendous uproar commenced among
the Highlanders, who, with well-counterfeited ferocity, proceeded
to lay about them with their weapons, uttering at the same time
the most unearthly yells, to which the discordant notes of the
bagpipes gave terrible emphasis. Cries of murder were heard
above the clash of steel, and bloody faces were uplifted among
the tumultuous crowd, striking terror into the soul of the
unhappy sheriff, who expected every minute would be his last.
With face blanched white with terror, and trembling in every
limb, he frantically appealed to Lochiel to quell the howling
mob of bloodthirsty Camerons, who appeared ready to murder
him outright. Assuming a voice of authority, Lochiel ordered
his clansmen to desist from further strife, and in a few moments
peace was restored, and the sheriff, thanking his lucky stars that
he had escaped alive out of this den of wolves, hastily quitted
Lochaber, under an escort provided by the thoughtful Lochiel,
who thus gained for himself the credit of having done good
service for the Crown.

Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel had married, in 1657, the sister
of Sir James MacDonald of Sleat, and had been blessed by

114 LOYAL LOCHABER

Providence with a large family, mostly girls. In those days of
almost constant warfare, a female child was regarded as some-
what in the light of an encumbrance, and a man whose quiver
possessed more than one or two of them was regarded by his
neighbours as unfortunate. Lochiel, however, with his usual
gallantry, remarked to the nurse who had announced the advent
of his twelfth daughter by saying that another " lady" had been
presented to him, " Yes," said he, " a real lady, and every one
of them will bring me a lad." Whether this prophecy came
true or not, I am unable to discover ; but most of Sir Ewen's
daughters were married to the chiefs of neighbouring clans,
and there is little doubt that he found himself plentifully
supplied with grandsons as time went on.

The year 1689 was not far advanced when tidings of war
reached Sir Ewen Cameron in the seclusion of his castle by the
shores of Loch Arkaig, and aroused the old warrior to action.
Both MacKay and Dundee were fully alive to the importance of
securing the assistance of Lochiel and his clan. Overtures had
been made early in the year by MacKay, who had attempted to
open a correspondence with Sir Ewen, and by the suggestions
of Viscount Tarbat, a nobleman of great tact and diplomatic
ability, had offered, with the sanction of the English Govern-
ment, to discharge all the claims which Argyll had upon the
Cameron estates, provided he would support the cause of the
Prince of Orange. To such an insulting epistle Lochiel
vouchsafed no reply, and MacKay, irritated at finding that
his generous (?) offers met with no response, swore that Lochiel
should have cause to regret his decision. Similar bribes were
offered to MacDonald of Glengarry and other Highland chiefs,
but, to their honour be it recorded, one and all of the western
clans indignantly refused to take up arms against their king.

The 1 8th May 1689 was a red-letter day in the annals of
Lochaber, and worthy of the powerful language in which Lord
Macaulay describes the mustering of the loyal clans on that
occasion. He says, after giving an account of Dundee's actions
after he left Inverness : " The fiery crosses had been wandering

INVERLOCHY 1 15

from hamlet to hamlet over all the heaths and mountains
thirty miles round Ben Nevis ; and when he (Dundee) reached
the trysting-place 1 in Lochaber, he found that the gathering
had begun. The headquarters were fixed close to Lochiel's
house, a large pile built entirely of fir wood, 2 and considered
in the Highlands as a superb palace. Lochiel, surrounded by
more than six hundred broadswords, was there to receive his
guests. MacNaughten of MacNaughten and Stewart of Appin
were at the muster with their little clans. MacDonald of
Keppoch led the warriors who had, a few months before,
under his command put to flight the musketeers of king
James. MacDonald of Clanronald was of tender years, but
he was brought to the camp by his uncle, who acted as
regent during the minority. The youth was attended by a
picked body-guard, composed of his own cousins, all comely
in appearance, and good men of their hands. MacDonald of
Glengarry, conspicuous by his dark brow and his lofty stature,
came from that great valley where a chain of lakes, then
unknown to fame, and scarcely set down in maps, is now the
daily highway of steam vessels passing and repassing between
the Atlantic and the German Ocean. None of the rulers of
the mountains had a higher sense of his personal dignity, or
was more frequently engaged in disputes with other chiefs.
He generally affected in his manners and in his housekeeping
a rudeness beyond that of his rude neighbours ....
but on this occasion he chose to imitate the splendour of
the Saxon warriors, and rode on horseback before his four
hundred plaided clansmen, in a steel cuirass and a coat
embroidered with gold lace. Another MacDonald, destined
to a lamentable and horrible end, led a band of hardy free-
booters from the dreary pass of Glencoe. Somewhat later
came the great Hebridean potentates. MacDonald of Sleat,

1 The place fixed for the rendezvous was Moy, on the west bank of the river
Lochy.

2 This is an error ; the old castle of Ach-na-carry, of which some slight vestige
yet remains, was built of granite and stone, and was of great antiquity even at this
period.

Il6 LOYAL LOCHABER

the most opulent and powerful of all the grandees who had
laid claim to the lofty title of Lord of the Isles, arrived at
the head of seven hundred fighting men from Skye. A fleet
of long boats brought five hundred MacLeans from Mull,
under the command of their chief, Sir John of Duart A far
more formidable array had in old times followed his forefathers
to battle ; but the spirit of the clan had been broken by the
arts and arms of the Campbells. Another band of MacLeans
arrived under a valiant leader, who took his title from
Lochbuy."

Such a gallant array must have filled the soul of Dundee
with pleasurable emotions, as, mounted on his black steed, he
watched the gradually increasing strength of his Highland
army. He had long looked forward to the day when, like
his noble kinsman Montrose, he should find himself at the
head of a large body of these hardy mountaineers; and now,
within a few miles of the spot where the Great Marquis gained
his famous victory over Mac Cailean Mbr, the wish of his
heart was accomplished ; and as clan after clan arrived at the
rendezvous with pipers playing and banners flying, he felt the
satisfaction that a brave general must always experience who
knows that he possesses the confidence of those who serve
under him.

Dundee had, however, yet to learn that it was no easy
matter to curb the fiery spirits that were assembled under
his banner. To these independent Highland chieftains restraint
of any kind was irksome and unbearable, and to impose any
rigid military discipline on their followers Dundee soon found
to be impossible. Each clan looked to its own chief for orders,
and would acknowledge no superior command. Much as they
admired Dundee for his courage and audacity, traits of char-
acter which went straight to their bold Highland hearts, they
nevertheless would not submit to his authority, unless his
instructions reached them through their own chiefs. As an
officer who had served in some of the finest and most dis-
ciplined armies of the Continent, Dundee could not but deplore

INVERLOCHY 117

the laxity and insubordination which he saw all around him,
and which he felt himself powerless to prevent. Chafing under
his inability to instil the rudiments of military organisation
into the minds of his unruly Highlanders, he took counsel
with Lochiel, and urged upon him the necessity of instructing
his men in the art of war as practised among the armies of
Europe. In this proposal he was supported by the lowland
officers who had attached themselves to the Jacobite cause.
James Seton, Earl of Dunfermline, Lord Dunkeld, and several
others spoke strongly in favour of Dundee's suggestion, but
their eloquence was wasted on Lochiel, who, while admitting
that the Highland mode of warfare might not be the best,
explained to the assembled officers that it would be unwise,
at the eleventh hour, to introduce a new system which it would
take years to make his men proficient in. Better to let them
fight as their ancestors had done, with all the mad impetuosity
that from the time of Fingal and his mythical battles, down
to the great fight at Inverlochy, had so often struck terror
into the hearts of their enemies.

This line of argument, coming from the lips of the veteran
warrior, and borne out as it was by indisputable historic facts,
carried conviction to the minds of Dundee and his officers,
and so the matter dropped.

CHAPTER XIII.

THE enforced idleness of their life in the Lochaber camp was
demoralising to the Highlanders, as they now had ample time
to brood over real or imaginary insults. Quarrels, more or less
serious, were of everyday occurrence, and it required all the tact
of Dundee to prevent a serious outbreak, the result of which it
would be impossible to foresee. Hardly a day passed without
some raid being made upon the territories of the neutral clans.
' Keppoch, who had not forgotten the hard blows he had received
at Mulroy, now took the opportunity of burning and destroying

Il8 LOYAL LOCHABER

the property of his enemy, Mackintosh, in the neighbouring
district of Badenoch. The Camerons, who had old scores to
pay off with the Grants, invaded their country, and carried off
large numbers of cattle. This foray was like to have had
disastrous results, as we are told that in the defence of their
homes some of the Grants were killed. It so happened that
among the slain there was a MacDonald of Glengarry, who had
probably married a Grant and taken up his abode with that clan.
When the news of his clansman's death reached the ears oT
Glengarry, he flew into a desperate passion, and seeking the
presence of Dundee, demanded instant vengeance on the Clan
Cameron.

Dundee attempted to pacify the raging chieftain by explain-
ing that the man who had been slain was a traitor both to his
king and clan, and was not worthy of commiseration. The
Grants were in arms against king James, and the MacDonald
had fallen in fair fight at the hands of a body of the royal forces.
These remarks, sensible as they were, only served to still further
inflame the wrath of Glengarry, who threatened that if Dundee
did not inflict condign punishment upon the slayer of his
clansman, he would take the law into his own hands, and fall
upon the Camerons with the whole strength of his clan at his
back. Dundee pointed out that such a rash action could only
result in defeat, as the Camerons under Lochiel were more than
double the strength of the MacDonalds. " That is no matter,"
replied Glengarry ; " one MacDonald is worth two Camerons."
It was fortunate for Dundee that Lochiel did not take Glengarry
at his word, and submit the dispute to the ordeal of battle ; had
he done so, Glengarry would have had cause to regret his idle
boast, and Dundee's army would have been minus some
hundreds of claymores. As it was, the anger of Glengarry
was at length appeased, and for a short time at least harmony
reigned in the camp.

The time slipped quickly away, without any incident of
importance beyond a few skirmishes with MacKay's troops, in
which Dundee's men were victorious. This desultory mountain

INVERLOCHY 119

warfare was little to the taste of General MacKay, and finding
it impracticable to attack Dundee in his stronghold in Lochaber
with any chance of success, he marched to Inverness. While
there he despatched an urgent letter to the Duke of Hamilton,
who was now Lord High Commissioner, impressing upon him
the importance of establishing a strong garrison at Inverlochy,
from whence he could control the troublesome Highlanders, who
now set William's authority at defiance.

No heed appears to have been taken of this appeal, and
MacKay, disappointed at receiving no reply to his letter, made
up his mind to lay his scheme for the erection of the fort
before the Government in person, and with that intention set out
for Edinburgh, where he arrived early in July. Immediately
upon reaching the capital he had an audience of Hamilton, to
whom he explained in detail the suggestions he had to make
regarding the proposed garrison. Hamilton listened with
apparent interest to the unfolding of the scheme, which was
to levy a body of fifteen hundred men from the northern
counties, and arm them with spades and pickaxes, and provide
them with sufficient food for a month's rations. To carry these
supplies a large number of horses would be necessary, and for
protection while work was going on four hundred soldiers would
have to be attached to the expedition. Whether Hamilton was
convinced of the necessity of doing as MacKay suggested or
not, we are not told ; but nothing came of the interview, and
MacKay had the mortification of finding that his vigorous
arguments had fallen upon deaf ears, and for the time, at least,
the fort at Inverlochy was " a castle in the air."

Dundee still remained at his camp at Moy, 1 in Lochaber.
This place, beautifully situated near the banks of the river
Lochy, among the most romantic scenery, was associated with
weird stories and gruesome traditions of a noted witch named
" Gormshuill" ("Blue-eyed "), who had taken up her abode there
in the sixteenth century, and had rendered the spot notorious

1 Our old friend Iain Lorn was greatly concerned at the long delay in com-
mencing hostilities, and composed a song to rouse the chiefs to action.

I2O LOYAL LOCHABER

by her sorceries and incantations. 1 When, in the year 1588,
the battered and storm-tossed remnants of the great Spanish
Armada, driven by the tempest round Cape Wrath, were dashed
to pieces among the rocky islands of the Hebrides, it is said
that " Gormshuill" joined by others of her devilish sisterhood
from the island of Mull, rode upon the wings of the storm,
and aided by their spells the work of destruction. One great
galleon, "The Florida," detached from the rest, reached the
bay of Tobermory in Mull, and tradition states that " Gorm-
shuill" and her uncanny crew, by dint of unholy rites, sank
the vessel with all on board. Many attempts were made to
recover the lost treasure that went down with " The Florida,"
but I am unable to say whether they were successful or not.

The inactivity of camp life palled upon Dundee, and he
longed to be up and doing. Had it not been for the delay
in the arrival of his expected Irish reinforcements, he would
probably have moved out of Lochaber and precipitated an
action with MacKay before this. His force, during his pro-
longed stay at Moy, had gradually diminished, many of the
chiefs having with their clans returned to their homes when
they learnt that MacKay had left the Highlands, and Dundee
feared that some of them might fail to put in an appearance
when the critical time arrived.

We find him, on 23rd June 1689, inditing a letter to
MacLeod of MacLeod, in which he says : " I shall only tell
yow, that if you heasten not to land your men, I am of opinion
yow will have little occasion to do the king great service ;
for if he land in the west of Scotland, you will come too
late, as I believe yow will thinck yourself by the news I have
to tell yow." He then goes on to explain the probable chances
of success if king James were to land on the west coast, as
it was expected at that time he would do, and concludes

1 Tradition states that it was Gormshuill who cautioned Sir Ewen Cameron of
Lochiel against meeting the Earl of Athole unattended, when proceeding to Lochan a
Chlaidheamh (" Loch of the Sword "), on the moor of Rannoch, to discuss a question
regarding the boundaries of the Cameron lands. Taking the witch's advice, Lochiel
saved himself from falling into a treacherous ambuscade prepared for him by the earl.

INVERLOCHY 121

by giving the names of those chiefs who were either still
with him at Moy or in close proximity. " Captain of Glen-
rannald is near us these severall days ; the laird of Barro
is there with his men. I am persuaded Sir Donald is there
by this. M'Clean lands in Morven to-morrow certainly. Apen,
Glenco, Lochell, Glengaire, Keppoch 1 are all raidy. Sir
Alexander and Largo have been here with there men all
this while with me, so that I hope we will go out of Lochaber
about thre thousand. . . . My L Seaforth will be

in a few dayes from Irland to rais his men for the King's
service. Now I have layd the whole business before yow,
you will easily know what is fitt for yow to do. All I
shall say further is, to repeat and renew the desyre of
my former letter, and assure yow that I am, Sir, your most
humble servant, DUNDIE."

"You will receave the king's letter to yow."
The Irish troops mentioned in the letter were being raised
by the Earl of Melfort on behalf of king James, and Dundee
fully anticipated that at least five thousand men would be
sent over to his assistance. He had written to Melfort
recommending Inverlochy as the safest and most convenient
place for disembarkation, and he now impatiently awaited
tidings of their approach.

MacKay still remained in Edinburgh, where he lost no
opportunity of laying before the Council his favourite project
of garrisoning Lochaber, but finding his importunities of no
avail, and disgusted at the apathetic and off-handed manner
in which the Government treated his proposals, he decided to
reassemble his army and again take the field against his formid-
able opponent. The circumstances that led up to the famous
battle of Killiecrankie are of too complex a nature to explain
here, and are irrelevant to the purpose of this work, which con-
cerns Lochaber only ; but for those of my readers who are

1 From papers in the possession of Mrs MacDonell of Keppoch, I find that
Dundee had previously held a meeting of loyal chiefs at Keppoch, and it was
then that the whole plan of the campaign was arranged.

122 LOYAL LOCHABER

interested in the career of this gallant soldier of king James,
the pages of Scott and Macaulay are open for their perusal.

The memory of "Ian Dubh nan Cath" will ever remain
associated with the traditions of Lochaber, among whose
mountains he learnt to know and admire the noble qualities
of his Highland friends and allies. His chivalrous and dignified
bearing, his frank and generous behaviour to those with whom
he was brought in contact, endeared him to the Highlanders
who served under his command. Devoted to the Stuart cause
with all the ardour of his impulsive and passionate nature, he
infused the same loyal spirit into the breasts of his companions
in arms, by his irresistible energy and indomitable will, and
there is little to be wondered at in the fact that such men
as Lochiel and Glengarry should have been attracted to one
who was so much en rapport with their own daring and cour-
ageous natures. The character of Dundee has been much
maligned by his enemies, and an unjust stigma attached to
his name by the inveterate hatred of the Covenanters, who
firmly believed that he was in league with the powers of
evil. Doubtless they had some cause for fearing the man
who regarded all traitors to his royal master as worthy
of death.

It was no part of Dundee's duty as a military officer to
inquire into the religious tenets of the king's enemies ; it
was sufficient evidence of guilt in his eyes to find them dis-
obeying the direct orders of their sovereign, and, orthodox or
unorthodox, it was his business to punish them. It is impossible
to believe that this accomplished nobleman should have taken
delight in inflicting suffering and torture on the poor defenceless
wretches who fell into his hands. Severe examples had doubt-
less to be made in order to prevent the spread of the rebellion,
and it must not be forgotten that the brutal murder of the
venerable Archbishop Sharp of St Andrews by a band of
Covenanting assassins, and the barbarous treatment of the
Royalist prisoners after the battle of Philiphaugh in the time
of Montrose, had exasperated the soldiery to such a pitch,

INVERLOCHY 123

that when the means of vengeance were placed within their
reach, they were only too eager to take advantage of them.
To brand Dundee as a bloodthirsty tyrant because he did his
duty as a loyal and honourable soldier, is to perpetrate an
injustice that is altogether inexcusable. Faults he had
without doubt, but they are altogether overshadowed by his
life of noble devotion to the waning fortunes of the Stuart
dynasty. Faithful unto the end, he died like a knight of old
with sword in hand, righting against the enemies of his king
and country. It is time that Scotsmen of all denominations
and creeds should realise that in Dundee they have a hero
worthy of a pedestal in the national Pantheon side by side
with Bruce, Wallace, and Montrose.

The following tribute to his memory, written by one of
his contemporaries, should be sufficient refutation to the
arguments of those who, only ready to exaggerate his faults,
fail to applaud his virtues. The writer describes him as
" one who was stainless in his honour, pure in his faith, wise in
council, resolute in action, and utterly free from that selfish-
ness which disgraced many of the Scottish statesmen of
the time."

Killiecrankie might justly be called the Thermopylae of
Scotland, for never was ancient battle fought with so much
heroism as was displayed by the victorious Highlanders on
that terrible 2/th June 1689. The sublime scenery of the
magnificent Pass served as a fitting background for deeds of
valour, such as Homer might have described in the " Iliad "
with glowing colours, or the Celtic bard, Ossian, in sonorous
Gaelic verse.

" The foes met by Turthor's stream ;
They heaved like ridgy waves.
Their echoing strokes are mixed.
Shadowy death flies over the hosts.

They were clouds of hail, with squally winds in their skirts.
Their showers are roaring together.
Below them swells the dark rolling deep."

Cath. Loda, Duan ii.

124 LOYAL LOCHABER

With the shouts of victory ringing in his ears, the soul
of Dundee fled ; struck by a bullet in the early part of the
action, he fell to the ground mortally wounded. An officer
named Johnstone attempted to staunch the blood that was
flowing from the wound, and while engaged in this merciful
task, Dundee, with eyes fast glazing in death, murmured,
" How goes the day ? " " Well for king James, but I am
sorry for your Lordship," replied Johnstone, " If it is well
for him," answered Dundee, " it matters less for me." Loyal
to the last, he had the satisfaction of knowing that the
Highlanders he loved so well had faithfully fulfilled their
promise, and with their good broadswords had won the day
for the king.

The men of Lochaber played their part in the great fight
with the same heroism that their fathers had shown at Inver-
lochy in 1645. Camerons and MacDonalds 1 vied with each
other in personal acts of bravery, and many a traitor Sassenach
and renegade Scot fell by their hands as they charged down
the steep hillside, driving the foe before them into the river
Garry, which foams and tumbles among the boulders through
the whole length of the Pass. It was due to Lochiel's advice
that the battle was fought on this day, as the majority of
Dundee's lowland officers were opposed to the idea of attack-
ing MacKay in the defile of Killiecrankie. Lochiel, however,
confident of success, and knowing that his men were all eager
for the fray, addressed Dundee in energetic language : " Fight,
my Lord, fight immediately ; fight, if you have only one to
three. Our men are in heart. Their only fear is that the
enemy should escape. Give them their way : and be assured
that they will either perish or gain a complete victory. But
if you restrain them, if you force them to remain on the
defensive, I answer for nothing. If we do not fight, we had
better break up and retire to our mountains."

1 James II. wrote a letter to Keppoch upon receipt of the news of the
victory at Killiecrankie, thanking him for his loyal adhesion to the cause of
the Stuarts. Vide Appendix XXII.

INVERLOCHY 12$

The old chieftain was seconded by MacDonald of Glen-
garry, who spoke in the same strain, and so contagious was
the intrepid spirit displayed by these two Highlanders, that
Dundee at once determined to hazard a battle. Previous to
going into action, Lochiel had mingled freely among his men,
encouraging them with his presence, and addressing a few
inspiriting words to each. The Camerons idolised their chief,
and one and all promised to maintain the honour of the
clan in the approaching conflict, and we know how well
they kept their word.

It is said that Lochiel was the only member of the Clan
Cameron who possessed the luxury of shoes, and that upon
the order being given to charge, he threw them away, and led
his men to the attack barefooted. During the battle, Lochiel
was attended by a son of his foster brother, and as at the
skirmish at Inverlochy, so again at Killiecrankie, his life was
saved by an act of unselfish heroism on the part of a devoted
clansman. Missing his attendant at an early part of the battle,
Lochiel turned round, and discovered to his intense grief that
the poor fellow had been pierced with an arrow, and was
now lying on the ground wounded unto death. Gazing into
the tearful eyes of his beloved chief, the lad told Lochiel how
he had seen one of MacKay's Highlanders taking aim at him
with his bow and arrow from behind, and that he had only
just time to interpose his body between Lochiel and his
assailant, when the arrow flew from the bow and struck
him to the heart.

Such was the love that Lochiel inspired in the breasts of
his fellow-clansmen. Brave and generous himself, and pos-
sessed of all the many noble and distinguished qualities that
characterised the true Highland gentleman, he was always
ready to share the perils and hardships to which his men
were exposed during the constant skirmishes in which they
were engaged.

He had a dignified contempt for luxury or effeminacy,
as became one who had been born and bred among the bleak

126

LOYAL LOCHABER

mountains of Lochaber, and hunted the few remaining wolves
among the dense forest that covered the shores of Loch
Arkaig and Loch Eil. On one of these hunting expeditions
during the winter months, Lochiel was accompanied by one
of his sons, and being overtaken by night some distance from
home, the party had to sleep in the snow, wrapped in their
plaids. Noticing that his son had rolled a large ball of snow
under his head for greater comfort, he exclaimed : " Are you
become so luxurious that you cannot sleep without a
pillow ! "

Highland Weapons in the possession of the Author's friend,
W. Jex Long, Esq., Moffat.

TKffift*

PART II. FORT WILLIAM.
CHAPTER XIV.

THE year following the battle of Killiecrankie was destined
to prove an important one in the history of Lochaber.
MacKay had at length persuaded the Government of the
necessity of erecting a strong fort at Inverlochy, with a view
to the total subjugation of the Highlanders in that district.
After his defeat at Killiecrankie, MacKay was more than
ever convinced that if William's authority was to be main-
tained in Scotland, some powerful check would have to be
put upon the actions of the bold warriors who dwelt among
the hills and glens of Lochaber, and who were always ready
to lend their powerful aid to any attempt to restore the
exiled king. Loyal to the core, these hardy mountaineers
disdained to accept any favours from the usurper William,
and, notwithstanding the many tempting bribes that had been
repeatedly offered them, they still remained staunch Jacobites.
The part that the Camerons and Mac Donalds had played in
the late warfare had doubtless drawn the attention of the
Council to MacKay's repeated demands for men and money,
with which to build a stronghold in the very heart of the
district in which these turbulent and unruly clans had their
abode. Fully realising now the soundness of the advice,
permission was given MacKay to organise a strong and
well-equipped expedition, and a subsidy of money was granted
for the erection of the proposed fort.

128 LOYAL LOCHABER

MacKay's disastrous retreat after Killiecrankie was, as all
readers of history are a^are, followed by the successes of
William's army at Dunkeld and Cromdale, and for the moment
king James's prospects in Scotland were not of the most
flourishing description. Finding themselves powerless in the
face of the large and well -trained army that was now
opposed to them, the Highlanders returned to their homes
to await further developments, and it was while in this dis-
organised condition that the news of MacKay's approaching
expedition reached them.

On the 3rd July 1690, MacKay, with a force of about three
thousand men and horse, arrived at Inverlochy after a tedious
march through the wilds of Badenoch and the desolate mountains
of Glen Spean. It was forty-five years since such an imposing
army had camped beside the shores of Loch Eil, and awakened
with their martial music the echoes of Ben Nevis. The memory
of the Great Marquis was still green in Lochaber : many of the
older inhabitants remembered the great fight at Inverlochy,
and some had probably taken their share in the gallant deeds
of that day. Old Iain Lorn, the "Bard of Keppoch," still lived
among his people, and had only recently invoked his muse to
lend him her aid in the composition of a biting satirical ode on
the usurper William and his wife. The poem is still extant in
the original Gaelic, and expresses in the most scathing language
the detestation in which the bard held the unfilial conduct of
Mary in allowing her unhappy father to be expelled from
his throne and kingdom. The presence of the Sassenach in
Lochaber was a bitter pill for the old bard to swallow, but, like
his brother Highlanders, he recognised the utter futility of any
open attempt being made to drive out the intruders. They
would bide their time, and use every means at their disposal to
harass the garrison. 1 Lochiel, remembering how he had punished
the red-soldiers in the time of Monk, deplored his inability to

1 It is common belief in Lochaber that Iain Lorn was present at the battle of
Killiecrankie ; his poem descriptive of that event certainly bears evidence of having
been composed by a spectator of that famous Highland victory.

FORT WILLIAM 1 29

adopt the same tactics now that old age was creeping upon him,
sapping his energies and rendering him physically incapable
of taking an active part in any hostile demonstration against
MacKay and his expeditionary force. To render his position
even more helpless, he was now confined to his bed, suffering
from the effects of a severe and dangerous wound which he
had accidentally received whilst acting the part of peacemaker
between the fiery Glengarry and a lowland gentleman who had
the temerity to speak disparagingly of his Jacobite sympathies.

Glengarry was not the man to brook a real or implied insult,
especially from a lowlander, and in an instant weapons were
drawn, and had not Lochiel, who happened to be present,
interfered between the contending swordsmen, a fatal result
would probably have ended the struggle. As often occurs, the
mediator got no thanks for his interference, and Lochiel not
only received the abuse of the thwarted duellists, but an
inadvertent sword cut as well, which nearly ended his days.

MacKay 's most inveterate enemy was thus placed hors de
combat, and while the old chief lay fretting at his enforced
idleness at Ach-na-carry, no time was lost in erecting the fort,
and by the time Lochiel had regained his strength it was a fait
accompli. The old fortification built by Monk was still in
existence, but, as I have before mentioned, in a ruinous con-
dition. Its position did not commend itself to the keen eye of
MacKay, whose military experience taught him that a battery
constructed by a possible enemy on the heights of the Cow Hill
(which immediately overlooked the garrison at the rear) would
render it quite untenable. As, however, the other suggested
sites had even greater disadvantages, MacKay decided to
demolish all that was left of the old structure, and erect a
thoroughly substantial fort, with all the most recent improve-
ments. The actual date of the commencement of this work was
the 5th July, and in about eleven days the principal part of the
building was accomplished, and the walls raised to their full
height of twenty feet. A fosse or moat was dug, into which the

waters of Loch Eil could be made to flow by an arrangement

130 LOYAL LOCHABER

of sluices ; strong palisades were fixed ; and the defences
strengthened by a glacis Ltid ravelin. 1 A battery of twelve
twelve-pounders was mounted on the parapets, taken from one
of the warships that had accompanied the expedition ; and for
greater security a bomb-proof magazine was constructed for the
storage of gunpowder and arms. For creature comforts the
garrison was well provided, as we are told that among other
articles of diet " there was no lack of oatmeal, red herrings, and
beef, and rather a superabundance of brandy." Barracks were
built with accommodation for 2 field officers, 2 captains, 4 sub-
alterns, and 96 privates, the whole being placed under the
command of an officer named Hill. Upon the completion of
the work the standard of William of Orange was hoisted from
the battlements, and it received the name of Fort William, a
name which has stuck to it until the present day. 2

With the erection of Fort William a new era was to com-
mence in Lochaber, and, anomalous as it may appear, it is
nevertheless certain that the day the usurper's standard first
floated on the breeze from the walls of the newly built fortress,
is a day to be remembered with satisfaction by the present
inhabitants of the thriving and populous town which has
gradually grown around the frowning walls of MacKay's fort,
and which, now the railway has been brought to it by the
perseverance and skill of the engineers entrusted with the
construction of the West Highland Railway, bids fair to
become a rival to Oban as a tourist centre. Yes, had it not
been for General MacKay and his pet scheme, Inverlochy and
its neighbourhood would probably have remained as little
known to this day as some of the remote places on the west
coast. The presence of a considerable body of soldiers in their
midst (MacKay having left a garrison of at least one thousand
men behind him when he departed) encouraged the inhabitants
to bring their farm produce from the surrounding districts
several times a week, and a steadily increasing trade was

1 The original plans of the fort are to be found in the British Museum Library.

2 Appendix XXIII.

FORT WILLIAM 131

the result. It became quite a common expression among
the Lochaber folk, when asked where they were going with
poultry, eggs, or milk, as the case might be, to say "An
gearasdan " " the garrison " and to this day the name is
frequently used by the Gaelic-speaking population.

Houses of turf and wattles began to spring up like mush-
rooms around the fort, and extended along the sea-shore for
some distance, and thus the nucleus of the present town was
formed. The piece of level ground at the rear was used by
the garrison as a parade ground, and it was here that the
troops went through their military evolutions, to the amuse-
ment of the Highlanders, who regarded the precise system of
English drill and discipline with feelings of undisguised
contempt. Though more than two hundred years have elapsed
since Fort William was built, the ground on which these
exercises were performed is still known as "The Parade."

A more melancholy memento of the existence of the
English garrison in Lochaber is the " Craigs " burial-ground,
in which many a Sassenach soldier lies buried, far from his
home and kindred. It is probable that, previous to the erection
of the fort, no cemetery existed here ; and it may be assumed
that the first graves dug were to receive the bodies of those
English soldiers who died while in the performance of their
duties at Fort William. Some of the graves are very old,
and the inscriptions cannot be deciphered, owing to the
ravages of time and the destructive action of the sea air.
There is one, dated 1708, which has so far escaped obliteration
that the letters can still be seen and read, although with some
difficulty. The lines are as follows : " Here lies Ludovick
Muirhead, who spent the most of his life from his youth in
military service, with honour and bravery. He was descended
from the ancient family of British-holm. He died on
23rd February 1708, aged 49 years."

Situated on the slope of a grassy hill through which great
masses of rock protrude in picturesque confusion, the Craigs
burying-ground is one of the most beautiful spots in the

132 LOYAL LOCHABER

vicinity of Fort William. Seated here, the eye may wander
at will over a wide prospect -of magnificent Highland scenery,
and take in at one glance one of the most charming and
interesting views in Lochaber. The peaceful dead sleep
beneath the daisy-spangled turf, heedless alike of the soft
summer breezes and the howling blasts of winter. The mur-
muring river flowing swiftly by, chants a requiem to the
silent ones who rest from their labours beside its verdant
banks. Gael and Sassenach, antagonistic in life, mingle their
dust in God's Acre, and await together the last great muster
before the mighty Chieftain of the universe.

The year following the erection of Fort William was an
annte terrible, and the inhabitants of Lochaber were to
stand appalled before such an act of fiendish cruelty and
horrible barbarity, that the mind shrinks from the mere recital
of its ghastly details. Perpetrated beyond the limits of Loch-
aber, I shall only refer to the massacre of Glencoe in so far
as it affected the district of which I write.

When MacKay departed from the new garrison that he
had at last succeeded in planting in the Western Highlands,
he left the military command of the district to Colonel Hill,
who became the first governor of Fort William. Hill appears
to have exercised his powers with discretion, as we hear of
no collision between the Highlanders and the garrison during
his regime, and had it not been for the part he had to play
in the terrible tragedy of Glencoe, history would probably
have had little to say of him.

When the English Government, for the better pacification
of the Highlands, decided to entrust the immense sum of
fifteen thousand pounds to John Campbell, Earl of Breadal-
bane, for distribution among the disaffected chiefs of the
Western Highlands, they could not have found an agent less
likely to succeed in conciliating those bold and independent
supporters of king James. " Cunning as a fox, wise as a
serpent, but as slippery as an eel," Breadalbane had every-
thing to gain and nothing to lose in the event of the chiefs

FORT WILLIAM 133

refusing the offer of the Government, and thus necessitating
harsh measures being taken against them. The result of his nego-
tiations is a matter of history, and need not be recorded here.

Lochiel was one of the last to give in, and narrowly
escaped the same fate as Glencoe ; as we find Sir John
Dalrymple writing to Breadalbane on 2nd December 1691 :
" The Clan Donald must be rooted out, and Lochiel" The old
chieftain, even at this most trying moment in his career, main-
tained the honour and dignity of his name and clan. " I will
not," said he, " break the ice. That is a point of honour with
me. But my tacksmen and people may use their freedom."

Maclain of Glencoe, with even greater obduracy, defied the
orders of the British Government till the last possible moment,
and as we know it cost him dear. Finding that all his brother
chiefs had submitted, the staunch old Jacobite found himself
completely isolated, and feeling assured that nothing could be
gained by holding out any longer, he decided to make the
best of his way over the snow-clad mountains to Fort William,
there to tender his oath of allegiance to Colonel Hill, the
governor of the district. Unfortunately for Glencoe and his
clan, his tardy submission came too late; the time at which
the terms of the proclamation expired was ist January 1692,
and it was not until 3ist December 1691 that Maclain of
Glencoe arrived at Fort William. Hastily seeking out Colonel
Hill, he requested him to administer the oath, which he was
now prepared to take, but a difficulty arose that Maclain had
not foreseen. The proclamation distinctly stated that the oath
was to be taken before a civil magistrate ; Colonel Hill was
a military officer, and was consequently not empowered to
receive it, but being a man possessed of humane feelings, and
sympathising with Maclain in his embarrassment, good-naturedly
advised him to proceed with all speed to the Sheriff of Argyll-
shire at Inveraray. To assist him in making his peace with
the Government, Hill gave Maclain a letter addressed to Sir
Colin Campbell of Ardkinglass, who was at that time Sheriff
of Argyllshire, requesting him to receive the " lost sheep."

134 LOYAL LOCHABER

As considerable obloquy has been heaped upon the head
of Colonel Hill on accoint of the order he issued on I2th
February 1692, to Lieutenant-Colonel James Hamilton, which
resulted in the awful massacre, it is only fair to say that he
did what he could to assist Maclain in his desire to submit
himself to the Government ; and there is no valid reason for
believing that he shared the vindictive spirit of his superiors.
He was a soldier, and it was not for him " to reason why " ;
the orders given to him were clear and precise, and it was his
duty to obey them, however distasteful they may have been.
Let the onus of the whole disgraceful business fall upon the
shoulders of the dastardly wretches who planned the murderous
outrage in the security of their luxurious homes Stair, Breadal-
bane, Dalrymple these were the real butchers of Glencoe.
Branded for ever with the mark of Cain, execrated by their
fellow-countrymen, their names will go down to posterity
linked with such a crime as even the brutal Nero in all the
excesses of his bloodthirsty reign could not have surpassed.

The miserable tools of these unnatural assassins, Campbell
of Glenlyon, Duncanson, Hamilton, and Lindsay, have deserved
all the odium and infamy with which their names will ever be
associated ; but let it not be forgotten that they were mere
soldiers carrying out the orders of the Government in whose
service they were enlisted, and whose pay they were receiving.
Criminal as they doubtless were, the real responsibility of the
awful deeds of that sanguinary I3th February must rest to all
eternity with the Judas trio by whose instructions they were
carried out to the bitter end.

It was fortunate for the MacDonalds of Glencoe that,
owing to the storm of wind and snow which prevailed at the
time, Major Hamilton, who had left Fort William early in the
morning with a force of four hundred men, was unable to
cross the ferry, which affords the only means of access to the
glen from Lochaber. This delay afforded an opportunity for
many MacDonalds to escape from the scene of carnage,
and hide themselves among the stupendous mountains that

FORT WILLIAM 135

block in Glencoe on all sides, and which, at that inclement
season of the year, were impassable by any but those to whom
every glen and corrie were known from childhood. Alas !
many a poor creature only escaped the sword of the assassin,
to perish with cold and hunger amid the blinding snow-drifts
that impeded the progress of the fugitives. Exposed to the
full force of the icy blast, without food, and with only a few
rags to cover their nakedness, delicate women, some with newly
born babes at their breasts, young children, and the aged and
infirm of both sexes, suffered all the rigours of the pitiless storm,
and many sunk exhausted in the snow, and perished where they
lay; others crept into holes and clefts in the rocks, and died
of exposure and starvation, their bleached skeletons being dis-
covered from time to time many years afterwards, ghastly
mementoes of that direful tragedy.

Scotsmen of the present day are too ready to throw the
whole blame of the massacre of Glencoe upon the English
Government ; that they should do this is evidence that they
have not made themselves acquainted with the real facts of
that diabolical outrage. The Government of William of
Orange has much to answer for in this connection, but the
fact stares us in the face, that with very few exceptions the
whole of the actors associated with the awful tragedy were
Scottish to the backbone.

History must be just and impartial, and however distaste-
ful it may be to make such an admission, it is certain that had
it not been for the counsel and advice of his Scottish ministers
who had their own wicked ends in view William's reign
would not have been disgraced by one of the foulest crimes
that the world has ever seen.

The day of the massacre was an exciting one for Fort
William, and the inhabitants of the small town * that had grown
up around it.

1 This small assemblage of houses was originally called Gordonsburgh, from
their having been erected on the estates of the Duke of Gordon, but about this
time it was renamed Maryburgh, in honour of the consort of the Prince of Orange.

136 LOYAL LOCHABER

Early in the morning the bugle call to arms had awakened
them from their slumber.l Ignorant of the terrible import of
these warlike sounds, but suspicious of evil, they had looked
from the doors and windows of their huts, and peering through
the showers of thick falling snow-flakes, had seen the troops
of the garrison assembling, to the number of four hundred, on
the parade ground, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel
Hamilton. The lurid light of the flickering torches lit up the
scene with a weird and uncanny effect ; it flashed upon the
arms and accoutrements of the soldiers as they fell into their
places in the ranks, and steeped them in a blood-red glare. As
the intermittent and tremulous radiance fell upon the men's
faces, it transformed and distorted their features, and rendered
them hideously grotesque, and cast their gigantic, spectre like
shadows upon the walls of the fort, where they reeled and
danced like demons at a witches' sabbath. It was a fitting
prelude to a day of fiendish cruelty, and surely some of the
Highlanders whom alarm and curiosity had drawn to the
spot, must, with that gift of second-sight (Taibhsearachd) for
which the Celtic race is famous, have seen something in the
ominous surroundings to have aroused their suspicions that
some dire calamity was portending.

In the darkness of that February morning, amid blinding
showers of snow and hail, and pierced to the very marrow
by the freezing blast that howled down upon them from the
heights of Ben Nevis, the troops departed on their merciless
errand, the very elements conspiring to prevent a crime at
which hell itself might stand aghast Later in the day tidings
of the massacre reached Fort William, as one by one stragglers
arrived from the scene of blood, and horrified the inhabitants
with descriptions of the awful scenes they had witnessed in
Glencoe.

Incredible at first, they received the news with hesitation, as
beyond belief; but when night fell confirmatory evidence was
forthcoming in the approach of great droves of cattle, sheep,
and goats along the Achintore road, and the village was soon

FORT WILLIAM 137

filled with a great crowd of animals that had been driven from
Glencoe by the soldiers, and which were now destined for the
use of the garrison. Nine hundred cows, two hundred horses,
and immense numbers of sheep and goats were the spoil of the
murderers, and these, we are told, were divided among the
officers at Fort William as their share of the plunder.

CHAPTER XV.

FOR some years after the massacre of Glencoe peace reigned
in the Highlands, and Lochaber shared in this happy state of
things. The presence of the strong garrison at Fort William
restrained the fiery chieftains of the Camerons and MacDonalds
from making any open attempt to take up arms for the king
over the water, whose chances of regaining his kingdom must
now have appeared to them almost hopeless. Still their hearts
and sympathies were with the exiled monarch, and found voice
in many a spirited ballad, such as the one written by Lady
Mary Drummond, daughter of the Earl of Perth :

" I may sit in my wee croo house,

At the rock and the reel to toil fu' dreary ;
I may think of the day that's gane,

And sigh and sab till I grow weary.
I ne'er could brook, I ne'er could brook,

A foreign loon to own or flatter ;
But I will sing a ranting sang,

The day our king comes o'er the water.

" O gin I live to see the day

That I ha'e begged, and begged frae heaven,
I'll fling my rock and reel away,

And dance and sing frae morn till even ;
For there is ane I winna name

That comes the reigning bike to scatter;
And I'll put on my bridal gown

That day our king comes o'er the water."

That happy day now seemed farther off than ever, and there
was little prospect of Lady Mary donning bridal array in honour

138 LOYAL LOCHABER

of king James for the present. About this period we first hear
of a proposal being made ti3 William of Orange, by Breadalbane,
to make use of the military strength of the Highlanders "in
case of any insurrection at home or invasion from abroad," and
a list of the chieftains and the estimated strength of their clans
were laid before him. Breadalbane credits himself with 250
men, Lochiel's clan is represented by 150, MacDonald of
Keppoch's with 50, Glengarry's with 100, Clanranald's with 100,
and Mackintosh's with 100 ; the strength of the other clans not
connected with Lochaber bring up the total to 4000 men. It
was suggested that this force should be commanded by some
important Highland gentleman, who should receive the rank
and pay of a general officer. There is little doubt that
Breadalbane intended this position for himself, as he proposed
that Lochiel should be the second in rank, and falsely stated that
he (Lochiel) was favourably disposed to the existing Government,
and was anxious to prove his loyalty by taking up arms in its
service. Although nothing came of Breadalbane's scheme, it is
worthy to be placed on record as being probably the first time
that any intentions of utilising the Highlanders for the military
service of the State had been taken into serious consideration
by the Government.

The time was not yet ripe for any such project as this
to commend itself to the minds of such men as Lochiel or
Keppoch, imbued as they were with strong Jacobite sym-
pathies, and eager for the time which they hoped would not
be long in coming, when, by the aid of their good claymores,
the king should enjoy his own again.

" Uhomme propose, mats Dieu dispose" James II. (VII.
of Scotland) was never again to .set foot on British soil.
While worshipping in his chapel at St Germains on Good
Friday 1701, and listening to the solemn words of the anthem
(" Remember, O Lord, what is come upon us ; consider and
behold our reproach. Our inheritance is turned to strangers,
our houses to aliens ; the crown is fallen from our head.
Wherefore dost Thou forget us for ever?"), which produced,

FORT WILLIAM 139

as they well might, a visible effect upon the fallen sovereign,
he was attacked with a paralytic stroke, from which he
never thoroughly recovered. This was followed on i$th
September of the same year by a second stroke, which proved
fatal.

Shortly before the end came, the French king, Louis XIV.,
arrived at St Germains, and hastening to the bed-chamber
of the dying monarch, informed him that he had important
news to communicate. The courtiers, assuming that their
presence would not be required, were about to leave the
apartment, when Louis, who had observed the movement,
said in commanding tones, " Let nobody withdraw. I come
to tell your Majesty that, whenever it shall please God to
take you from us, I will be to your son what I have been to
you, and will acknowledge him as king of England, Scotland,
and Ireland."

It is doubtful whether these words of comfort reached
the ears of king James, as, beyond a murmur, he gave
no sign of comprehending their purport. He died on
i6th September 1701, and was buried in the Chapel of
the English Benedictines at Paris.

The French king kept his promise, and proclaimed and
recognised the son of the deceased monarch as James III.
(VIII. of Scotland), king of Great Britain and Ireland, and
received him in audience with royal honours.

The death of Mary, the consort of William of Orange,
on 28th December 1694, was followed in the year 1700 by
the death of the Duke of Gloucester, the only surviving child
of Anne. This catastrophe raised the hopes of the Jacobite
party to the highest pitch, and, notwithstanding the death of
James II. in the following year, they were still sanguine that
success would attend their efforts to restore the Stuart
dynasty. Four months later, on 8th March 1702, William
of Orange paid the penalty of nature, and followed his father-
in-law to the grave, and was succeeded on the throne of Great
Britain by Anne, the second daughter of James II. Thus

140 LOYAL LOCHABER

chance played into the hands of the loyal Jacobites, and they
hailed the accession of Anne with feelings of the greatest
satisfaction and delight first, because she was a Stuart ;
and secondly, because they fully anticipated she would use
all her power and influence to obtain a repeal of the Act
of Succession, in favour of her brother James, and thus secure
the crown for the Stuarts in the direct line. This contingency
had of course been foreseen by the Whig ministers of William
of Orange, and as there was little probability that Anne
would bear any more children, they had to provide a successor
who would satisfy the requirements of their party, and uphold
the Protestant faith. Passing over the claims of the whole
of the direct descendants of James II., of whom at that time
there were fifty-three in existence, they selected the Princess
Sophia, Electress and Dowager Duchess of Hanover, grand-
daughter of James I. (VI. of Scotland), and passed an Act of
Parliament in June 1701, settling the crown upon her and
her descendants.

This most arbitrary and unjust proceeding gave great
offence to the Jacobites, who thus saw the hopes of their
party ruthlessly dashed to the ground in one fell swoop.
It was for this reason that they regarded the accession of
Anne with undisguised pleasure, feeling assured that they
would shortly be able to turn the tables on their enemies
the Whigs. Had Anne remained true to her race, all might
have gone well; but she succumbed to the machinations and
intrigues of the celebrated Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough,
and threw in her lot with the enemies of her own kindred,
to the disgust and indignation of her Scottish subjects.

" Let us think with what blood and what care

Our ancestors kept themselves free ;
What Bruce; and what Wallace could dare !
If they did so much, why not we?

" Let Montrose and Dundee be brought in,

As later examples before you ;
And hold out but as you begin,

Like them, the next age will adore you."

FORT WILLIAM 141

These were the sentiments expressed in an old ballad of the
period, entitled, " On the Act of Succession," and fairly reflect
the feeling in Scotland at that time. The only real advantage
that the Jacobites had derived from the change of monarchy
had been an act of indemnity, which had been granted by
Anne to such of the exiled supporters of king James II. as
chose to return by a certain stipulated time, and take the
oath of allegiance. Many of the Highland chieftains availed
themselves of this opportunity to return to their native land,
among them being Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat, Sir John
MacLean, Robertson of Struan, Captain John Murray, and
Captain James Murray.

The arrival of these notorious Jacobites created something
like alarm among the more timid of the Whigs, and they
now began to regret that they had not more strenuously
opposed an Act, the consequences of which, they feared,
would lead to another outbreak of civil war. The following
letter, written by Captain Hamilton from Inverness, and
addressed to Brigadier-General Maitland, who was then
governor of Fort William, did not help to allay their fears.
The letter commences by informing Maitland that an im-
portant hunting-match was about to take place in the High-
lands, and a large attendance of the clans and their chiefs
was anticipated.

"The Duke of Hamilton is to be there, the Marquis of
Athol ; and our neighbour the Laird of Grant who has
ordered 600 of his men in arms, in good order, with
tartane coats all of one colour and fashion. This is his
order to his people in Strathspey. If it be a match of
hunting only I know not, but I think it my duty to acquaint
you, whatever may fall out of any such body of men in arms,
particulary in our northern parts."

Maitland, on receipt of this despatch, took steps to
strengthen his position, in case the "suspicious hunting
match" should develop into an eighteenth-century "Chevy
Chase." Whatever may have been the outcome of that early

142 LOY ( AL LOCHABER

Inverness meeting, it did not result in any attempt being
made to surprise the garrison at Fort William, and for the
present they were left undisturbed.

It may interest some of my English readers to learn that
even at this period there was a good school at Fort William,
towards the maintenance of which the Government gave an
annual grant of .30 sterling. This sum was paid over to
Maitland, who was " to be accountable for the right using
and applying of the said sum for the use aforesaid." This
grant was believed to have been made as some sort of com-
pensation for the massacre of Glencoe. Whether this was so
or not, it is satisfactory to know that education, even in the
year 1700, was thus placed within the reach of the High-
landers of Lochaber, who, we are told, were not slow to take
advantage of it. Fort William has always been celebrated
for its good schools, and many a child of humble parentage
has gone forth from them to make his mark in the world of
literature or science.

Nothing of interest occurred in Lochaber during the reign
of Anne, save the death of our old friend " Iain Lorn." After
the avengement of his kinsman's death, the bard employed
his time in the congenial employment of versification, and
many beautiful compositions were the result of his leisure.
His death took place in the year 1709, when, honoured and
respected by all who knew him, "he was gathered to his
fathers." He sleeps among his native hills of Brae Lochaber,
on an eminence named Dun Aingeal ("Angel Hill") in Kill
a Choireil (" Church of St Cyril ") ; and it has been left to a
modern Highlander, Dr Fraser Mackintosh of Drummond, to
raise a cairn to the memory of the old Lochaber bard. It is
in the form of one of the ancient Celtic monumental stones, and
has the following inscription engraved upon it in Gaelic:

" An so'n Dun-Aingeal a'm Braigh-Lochabar,
Tha Bard na Ceapaich gu trom na chadal ;
Se Iain Lorn Mac Dhomhnuill b'ainm dha,
Iain Lorn ! ach theireadh cuid Iain Manntach;"

Monument to Iain Lorn, Kill-a-Choireil, Achluacharach.

Burial-Ground of Kill-a-Choireil, Glen Spean.

FORT WILLIAM 143

translated into English as follows by the Rev. Dr Alexander
Stewart (" Nether Lochaber ") :

" Here in Dun-Aingeal, in the Braes of Lochaber,
The Bard of Keppoch is very sound asleep ;
His name was John MacDonald, John the Bare
John the Bare and Biting\ but by some called
John the Stammerer."

Before closing my brief account of this remarkable man, I will
recount one incident in his career which is often passed over
by his biographers.

After the battle of Inverlochy in 1645, the vanquished
Marquis of Argyll, stung by the ridicule to which he and his
clan were subjected owing to the scornful verses of Iain Lorn,
offered a large reward to anyone who would bring him the head
of the offender. So far from being frightened by this threat-
ened danger, Iain looked upon Argyll's anger merely as another
tribute to his skill as a poet, and in a spirit of sheer bravado,
he determined to beard the lion in his den, and set out for
Inveraray on a visit to the outraged Mac Cailean Mbr. At first
blush this action on the part of the bard appears nothing short
of madness ; but no one knew better than the cautious Iain,
that among the Highlanders the office of bard was considered
sacred, and he was perfectly well aware that though Argyll
might storm and threaten, he dared not injure one hair of his
head. Having arrived at Inveraray, he made his way to the
castle of the Campbell chieftain and demanded an audience.
Argyll must have been heartily surprised to see his implacable
foe within his gates ; but he dissembled his anger, and with
studied courtesy conducted his unexpected, and, without doubt,
unwelcome visitor through the various places of interest in
the castle. At length they came to a room in which was
hung a trophy of the chase, consisting of an immense number
of black-cock heads. Turning to Iain, the marquis asked him
if he had ever seen so many black-cocks together.

"Yes," answered the bard.

" Where did you see them ? " inquired Argyll.

144 LOYAL LOCHABER

" At Inverlochy," replied Iain, unable, even when in the
stronghold of his inveterate enemy, to refrain from giving vent
to his stings of satire.

"Ah, John," said the marquis, concealing his annoyance,
"will you never leave off gnawing the Campbells?"

" I only regret," returned the undaunted Iain, " that I could
not swallow them."

A characteristic and probably true account of what really
took place, and interesting as showing to what length the
bards of that era could presume without fear of punishment.

While Anne was on the throne Lochaber was at peace,
and Lochiel and Keppoch could only bide their time and
await the day, which they foresaw must soon come, when their
clans would have to take up arms in the cause of James III.
(and VIII.), the title by which the son of James II. was
commonly known. Lochiel, now too old to exercise the
duties of chieftainship, had after the 'battle of Killiecrankie
placed the entire control of the clan into the hands of his son
John, who was a most ardent and zealous Jacobite, and deeply
implicated in every scheme to restore the exiled family. 1

On the ist August 1714, Anne succumbed to a lethargic
disorder, and thus "the crown that came with a lass, went
with a lass," for never again was a Stuart to sit on the throne
of Great Britain, though much blood was yet to be shed in the
endeavour to restore that unfortunate dynasty to its old exalted
position in the realm. While Anne lived there was always a
possible chance that she might repeal the unjust Act of
Succession, and so, at least, atone for her unfilial conduct in
respect to her father, and place the crown within reach of
her royal brother; but with her death the last hopes of the
Jacobites vanished, and they now saw that only by the sword
could they hope to restore their rightful sovereign to his throne
and dignities.

On 5th August, "the High and Mighty Prince George,
Elector of Brunswick, Luneburg," was proclaimed king of

1 "Memoirs of Sir Ewen Cameron."

FORT WILLIAM 145

Great Britain, France, and Ireland at the cross of Edinburgh, and
on 1 8th September the "wee, wee German lairdie" set foot for
the first time on the shores of his newly acquired kingdom.

" And he's clappit doun in our gudeman's chair,
The wee, wee German lairdie !
And he's brought fouth o' foreign trash,
And dibbled them in his yardie ;
He's pu'd the rose o' English loons,
And brake the harp o' Irish clowns,
But our Scot's thristle will jag his thumbs,
The wee, wee German Lairdie ! "

Such were the sentiments awakened in the breasts of
Geordie's Scotch subjects upon his arrival in Britain, and he
was soon to discover that the national emblem was a most
appropriate one, and that though it might be possible to find
a rose without thorns, a thistle without prickles was a
botanical impossibility.

" Coot peoples, vy do you wrong us ? Ve be come for all
your goots," was the remark addressed to the English mob
by the Countess of Darlington, one of Geordie's Hanoverian
female importations, as they crowded round the royal carriage.

" Yes, d n ye ! " shouted one of the crowd, " and for all

our chattels, too, I think."

Truer words were never spoken. Luxurious as the courts
of the last Stuart monarchs had undoubtedly been, the people
had not suffered to any appreciable extent ; in fact, the very
prodigality of Charles II. had given an impetus to trade,
owing to the increased demand for articles of luxury, that
employed thousands of hands in their manufacture. But
with the advent of the Hanoverian usurpers all was changed.
The refined sybaritism of the Stuarts, with its accompanying
lavish expenditure of mdney, was exchanged for the repulsive
debauchery and sordid greed of a race of boorish Teutonic
adventurers, who, to supply the funds necessary for their
drunken orgies, reduced the nation to beggary, and besmirched
her fair fame with the ineffaceable stains of their shameless
immorality.

146 LOYAL LOCHABER

The Stuarts, with all their faults and they were many-
were at least kingly and dignified, and maintained their royal
office with courtly munificence and becoming state. But what
good word can be said for the German intruders who displaced
them vulgar, mean, avaricious, without a single redeeming
quality, their sole aim being to gratify their sensual natures and
to enrich themselves at the expense of their starving subjects.
So contemptible a spectacle do they present, that we can
only stand amazed at the forbearance of our ancestors, who
suffered them to rule the destinies of our country.

CHAPTER XVI.

IT is refreshing to turn from the contemplation of such unpleasant
topics, and get back to our Highland mountains. The news of
the Hanoverian accession caused some consternation among our
Lochaber friends, who had been waiting the turn of Fortune's
wheel that would put king James on his throne again. Sir
Ewen Cameron of Lochiel received the tidings of the proclama-
tion of George I. with apparent unconcern, but at heart the
staunch old Jacobite looked forward wistfully to the day
when he might see his king, and sing his " Nunc dimittis "
before leaving the scenes of his earthly prowess. John
Cameron shared his father's loyal spirit, and saw that his
gallant Camerons were kept in a state of preparation for the
service of king James. His brother Alan was in close attend-
ance upon his sovereign in France, and sent all the latest news
from St Germains to his kinsmen in Lochaber, who were
thus closely posted up in the course of events.

It is not my purpose to give a detailed account of the
rebellion of 1715 ; but as it certainly concerned Lochaber to a con-
siderable extent, I must necessarily record the main outlines of
that heroic but unfortunate attempt to restore the fallen dynasty.

The leader of this forlorn hope was John, Lord Erskine,
eleventh Earl of Mar, who, during the reign of Anne, had filled

FORT WILLIAM 147

the office of Secretary of State, His knowledge of Highland
affairs had led to his being selected by the Privy Council as the
most suitable person to distribute the considerable sums of
money that had been voted by Oxford's Administration as
peace offerings to the Highland clans.

Although a Jacobite at heart, Mar had, for political reasons,
supported the Treaty of Union, and had in consequence lost
popularity in Scotland, where he was regarded with suspicion.
Upon the arrival of the Elector of Hanover, Mar was one of
the first to seek an interview, with the intention, no doubt, of
securing his position as Secretary of State for Scotland, and
the income of ^5000 per annum which went with the office.
Probably Mar's professed loyalty to the Elector was only part
of a deep-laid Jacobite scheme to place a spy in the very heart
of the enemy's camp, who could warn them of any intended
hostile movement, and advise them of the most propitious
moment for a rising in favour of the royal exile. This theory
is borne out by the fact that Mar was in possession of an
address from the principal Highland chieftains, expressing their
readiness to follow the direction of the Earl of Mar in faithfully
serving <l king " George. The chiefs who subscribed their names
to this document were Cameron of Lochiel, MacDonell of
Keppoch, MacDonell of Glengarry, Mackintosh of Mackintosh,
MacLean of MacLean, MacKenzie of Fraserdale, MacLeod
of Contulick, MacPherson of Cluny, Grant of Glenmoriston,
Chisholm of Comar, and Sir Donald MacDonald.

It is quite impossible to believe that all these staunch
supporters of James III. (VIII. of Scotland) could have been
sincere in their protestations of loyalty to the enemy of their
cause, and we can only imagine that the whole thing was a
plot to throw the Whigs off the scent. Whether this was so
or not, George declined to receive either Mar or his address,
and that nobleman, instead of receiving the welcome he had
anticipated, found himself not only dismissed from Court, but
also from his office of Secretary of State.

Vowing vengeance against the house of Hanover, and the

148 LOYAL LOCHABER

Elector in particular, he departed secretly for the north to
raise the standard of rebellion against the usurper. Upon his
arrival in Scotland he proceeded to his estates of Braemar, in
Deeside, where he collected a considerable number of the
adherents of the exiled Stuarts.

On 6th September 1715 the standard was raised in the
presence of about two thousand men, and the Chevalier de
St George proclaimed as king James VIII. of Scotland and
James III. of England and Ireland. The spirited song, so well
known to all Scotsmen, "The Standard on the Braes of Mar,"
gives a nearly complete muster roll of the loyal Jacobites who
were either present on this occasion or joined the force under

Mar shortly afterwards.

i
" Wha wadna join our noble chief,

The Drummond and Glengarry :
MacGregor, Murray, Rollo, Keith,
Panmure and gallant Murray ;
MacDonald's men,
Clanranald's men,
MacKenzie's men,
MacGilvray's men,
Strathallan's men,
The Lowland men
Of Callander and Airlie."

Although the words of this song are modern, having first
seen the light of day in Smith's " Scottish Minstrel," published
in 1824, the air to which the martial words are wedded is said
to have been the gathering tune of the clans to which they
marched on the morning of the battle of Sheriffmuir, I3th
November 1715.

The invitation to join Mar's army was not immediately
responded to by the clans of Lochaber and the adjoining
district. Cameron of Lochiel and Stewart of Appin, both
loyal to the core, made no movement, and the Campbells of
Breadalbane, whose chief had promised Mar his support,
were still waiting among the hills of Argyllshire, apparently
disinclined to take an active part in the coming strife.

JAMES VIII. OF SCOTLAND, III. OF ENGLAND,

"The Old Chevalier."
From a rare print in the Author's possession.

Page 148.

FORT WILLIAM 149

This seeming indifference on the part of such enthusiastic
Jacobites as Lochiel and Appin, was due either to some
lingering suspicion of Mar's sincerity, or more probably to
the fact that their close proximity to the territory of the
powerful Duke of Argyll, whose Whig propensities were fully
known and understood, rendered an open outbreak of rebellion
on their part both foolish and impolitic. Circumstances, how-
ever, which they were unable to foresee or control, forced
them into activity. To Lochaber and its brave Highlanders
belongs the honour of opening the campaign of 1715 on
behalf of king James VIII., for now a desperate effort was
to be made to surprise the garrison of Fort William, and
drive out the Sassenach redcoats, whose hated presence had
been a standing insult to Lochiel and his brother chieftains.

Mar had, shortly after unfurling the standard in Braemar,
despatched one of his principal officers, General Gordon, with
instructions to raise the western clans, and march with them
upon Glasgow. Gordon was an officer of considerable experi-
ence, and possessed of great personal courage. The mission
was a congenial one to this gallant soldier, and the difficulties
he encountered only served to increase his ardour for the cause
in which he had embarked. Having secured the assistance
and support of Glengarry, the other chiefs came in one by
one. Clanranald brought with him the MacDonalds of Moidart
and Arisaig, and Sir John MacLean arrived with a strong
following of his clan from Mull. Gordon's force now amounted
to between four thousand and five thousand men, consisting
of the above-mentioned clans and a small body of Camerons,
who had taken the field with the acquiescence of their chief.

With this body of men under his command, Gordon
attempted a bold attack on Fort William, with only partial
success ; for though he managed by sheer impetuosity to carry
some of the outworks and take several prisoners, the main
body of the garrison made such a stubborn defence, and
were so well protected by the fortifications which MacKay
had erected, that he had reluctantly to withdraw his men, and

ISO LOYAL LOCHABER

retire towards Argyllshire, where he took up a position close
to Inveraray, with a view to overawing the Campbells, and
giving an opportunity for any of the Jacobite clans in the
neighbourhood to join his army.

After this incident the tide of battle flowed away from
Lochaber, and although many of her brave sons followed the
fortunes of Mar in the field, and paid the penalty of their
loyalty with their lives on the field of Sheriffmuir, it would
be inconsistent with the purport of this work to follow step
by step the events of the rebellion of 1715, interesting though
they are to all who love to hear of the noble deeds of their
fellow-countrymen.

Shortly after the attack on Fort William, John Cameron
of Lochiel, with the consent of his venerable father Sir Ewen,
mustered the Clan Cameron, and placing himself at their head,
hastened to join the army under Mar. The other neighbour-
ing chieftains, Glengarry, Clanranald, Keppoch, Glencoe, and
Appin, had already attached themselves to the Jacobite force,
and now only waited the command of their leader to pre-
cipitate an action with the Hanoverian army commanded by
the Duke of Argyll, who, like his ancestors, was to be
found on the side of his country's enemies.

The battle of Sheriffmuir was fought on I3th November
1715, and though many were slain on both sides, and great
prodigies of valour performed, victory hung in the balance,
and neither side gained any material advantage, and, as the
old ballad says,

" There's some say that we wan,
And some say that they wan,
And some say that nane wan at a', man ;
But one thing I'm sure,
That at Shirra-muir,
A battle there was, that I saw, man ;
And we ran, and they ran,
And they ran, and we ran,
But Florence x ran fastest of a' man."

1 Florence was the name of the Marquis of Huntly's horse.

FORT WILLIAM 151

Among the slain was the young and gallant Ailein
Moidartach, captain of Clanranald, chief of the MacDonalds
of that ilk, who fell in the commencement of the action,
stricken to the heart by a bullet. 1 His kinsman Glengarry,
observing that the sad end of their chief had so depressed
the clansmen of Clanranald that they stood disconsolate
around his dead body, instead of joining in the charge, ran
in among the mournful group, excitedly waving his bonnet
above his head, and shouting, " Revenge, revenge ! To-day
for revenge, and to-morrow for mourning!" with so great an
effect that, aroused from the absorption of their grief, they
hurled themselves upon the enemy with such impetuosity and
fury that Argyll's left gave way under the terrible blows of
the claymores and axes of the enraged Highlanders, and
incontinently fled.

The sad death of Clanranald was a severe loss, to the
Stuart cause. Young, brave, and generous, he had endeared him-
self to all, and was adored by his clan. His military experience
was considerable, he having served for some years in the French
Guards, and while in their ranks had applied himself with all
the ardour of youth to the study of the profession of arms,
and had at the same time taken the opportunity his residence
in France offered of making himself personally acquainted with
his sovereign at St Germains. His reply to Mar's letter of
invitation to take up arms and assemble his clan in the
king's service was worthy of the stock from whence he had
sprung. " My family," he wrote, " have been on such occasions
ever wont to be the first on the field, and the last to leave it."

Another gallant Highlander was Sir John MacLean, who
had come with his clan from Mull to help forward the
cause. Forming his men in line previous to the commence-
ment of the battle, he addressed them in the following forcible
and characteristic language : " Gentlemen, this is a day we
have long wished to see. Yonder stands Mac Cailean Mor

1 The well-known Gaelic song, " Tha tighinn fodham eirich" was composed in
honour of this popular young chief.

152 LOYAL LOCHABER

for king George. Here stands MacLean for king James.
God bless MacLean and king James ! Charge, gentlemen ! "

The celebrated Rob Roy was also present at SherifTmuir
with a following of his clan, but from some unexplainable
cause held aloof from actual conflict, and coolly surveyed the
battle from a slight eminence in the neighbourhood.

" Rob Roy then stood watch
On a hill for to catch
The booty, for aught that I saw, man ;
For he ne'er advanced,
From the place he was stanced,
Till no more was to do there at a', man."

Possibly the explanation of Rob Roy's behaviour on this
occasion will be found in the above lines. Had he allowed
his MacGregors to have lent their assistance to the almost
victorious army of Mar, the day might have been won for
king James. Unfortunately, the ruling passion for plunder
was too strong in the heart of the old cearnach, and he could
not let slip such a splendid opportunity of enriching himself
and his clan ; and we are told that after the battle was over
friends and foes were alike despoiled by his rapacious followers
without distinction.

Although Rob Roy had little or no connection with
Lochaber, there is one incident in his adventurous career that
caused his appearance at Fort William under extraordinary
circumstances, which may interest those of my readers who
have not heard the story.

When Mar unfurled the banner of his king at Braemar, in
the presence of a large number of noblemen and chiefs of
proved fidelity to the exiled Stuarts, a bond was signed by
those present on that memorable occasion, by which they bound
themselves to support their rightful sovereign, king James VI I L,
and also to give mutual assistance to each other should necessity
arise. Among the signatories to this dangerous document was
the redoubtable Rob Roy, whom Mar, with a view of securing
his powerful aid, had invited to the hunting match (?). By

FORT WILLIAM 153

some mischance this important paper had fallen into the hands
of a zealous Whig officer, Captain Campbell, who was then at
Fort William, and it was feared that he would at once take steps
to place it in the hands of the Government. The consequences
of such an action would have been disastrous to Mar and his
Jacobite friends, and it was determined at any cost to obtain
possession of the document before it could reach the hands of
the Privy Council. The question was, who was to beard the
lion in his den, and make him deliver up the precious bond ?

Rob, with his usual intrepidity, threw himself into the
breach, and promised by hook or by crook to recover what
had been so carelessly lost. Disguising himself so cleverly
that his own followers could not recognise him, he set out for
Fort William, and upon reaching the garrison, boldly asked to
speak with Captain Campbell. This request being granted, he
made himself known to him, and being related to the Captain
by ties of blood, gained the desired information as to the
whereabouts of the document.

It appears that, upon coming into possession of the paper,
Campbell had at once been convinced of its importance, and,
after perusing it, had handed it over to Governor Hill of Fort
William, who decided to forward it to the Privy Council without
a moment's delay. Fortunately Rob had not taken long on
his journey, and he now had the satisfaction of learning that
he had not arrived too late, for the bond was still in Hill's
keeping, and was to be despatched in the course of a few days
to the Government, under an escort from the garrison.

Finding out the probable strength of the escort and the
route they proposed to take, Rob returned to his home, and
collecting about fifty of his clan, awaited in Glendochart the
arrival of the soldiers with their valuable charge. As soon as
the troops came in sight, Rob and his MacGregors sprang from
their hiding-place and barred the way, and shouted to the
officer in command to halt and deliver up his despatches. The
officer at first refused, but Rob was not the sort of man to take

no for an answer, and told the officer, in language more forcible

154 LOYAL LOCHABER

than polite, that he meant having their lives and despatches
together, or their despatches alone.

Surrounded on all sides by these ferocious Highlanders,
armed at all points, the officer came to the conclusion that
in this instance discretion was the better part of valour, and
without further parley handed over the despatches to Rob
Roy, who quietly undid the bundle, and after abstracting the
document he had taken so much trouble to obtain, gave back
the remaining papers to the astonished officer, and apologising
for having delayed his journey in so unceremonious a fashion,
took his departure in triumph. It is probable that but for this
bold act on the part of Rob Roy many lives would have been
forfeited and many estates confiscated.

Of the deeds of the Camerons at Sheriffmuir history says
but little, but we may be sure they sustained the honour of
the clan as their ancestors had done of yore, although their
leader was personally deficient in military skill. Previous to
taking up arms for king James, John Cameron of Lochiel had
prudently made over the estates to his son Donald, who was
thus placed in possession of his patrimony while his grandfather
and father were still alive. John Cameron was for some reason
or another unpopular with his clan, and had in addition given
serious offence to his father Sir Ewen, who had forbidden him
to return to his estates. Shortly after the period of which I
am now writing, he retired to France, and died at Boulogne
in 1747.

The utter incapacity for military generalship shown by
Mar at Sheriffmuir lost him the confidence of the Highland
chiefs ; and those of their number who had fought under
the banner of Dundee at Killiecrankie, gave vent to their
vain regrets that he was not now alive to lead them to victory.
Tradition says that during the battle, an old Highlander,
impatient at Mar's delay in giving the order to charge,
cried out, " Oh for one hour of Dundee ! " and doubtless his
sentiments were shared by many of those present.

FORT WILLIAM 155

CHAPTER XVII.

AFTER Sheriffmuir, many of the Highlanders returned to their
homes to await a more auspicious occasion, and the advent
of a more competent leader, before again risking their lives
in the service of the king. James VIII., commonly known
as the Chevalier de St George, landed at Peterhead on 22nd
December 1715, with the hope that his presence in Scotland
would assist in keeping alive the waning energies of his loyal
adherents, and provoke them to fresh action on his behalf.
A curious incident in connection with the arrival of the king
on Scottish ground occurred at Ach-na-carry, where old Sir
Ewen Cameron of Lochiel was lying on a bed of sickness,
to which age, with its consequent infirmities, had brought
him.

On the morning of the 22nd December, Sir Ewen, who
had been sleeping soundly, awoke with a start, and calling
loudly to his wife, who slept in an adjoining apartment, told her
the king had landed, and commanded a bonfire to be made
and the best liquors in the house to be brought out for his lads
to drink the king's health. Lady Cameron at first imagined
that her husband was in a delirium, and took no notice of his
instructions ; but he was so persistent that they were eventually
carried out, and feasting and mirth reigned supreme among the
Camerons of Lochiel. 1

This strange gift of second-sight has been attributed to the
Celtic race from time immemorial, and many are the weird stories
and legends of celebrated seers that still linger among the
inhabitants of Lochaber and the western islands. Dr Johnson,
in his " Journey to the Hebrides," devotes considerable space to
an account of this mysterious faculty, and remarks, in his usual
sapient and dictatorial manner, that second-sight "seems to mean
a mode of seeing, superadded to that which nature generally
bestows," and consists of "an impression made either by the mind

1 "Memoirs of Sir Ewen Cameron.'

156 LOYAL LOCHABER

upon the eye, or by the eye upon the mind, by which things
distant or future are perceived, and seen as if they were present."

The wish of the old chieftain's heart was now fulfilled ; his
loved sovereign had come to claim his own, and although his
aged eyes had not seen him in the flesh, it had been vouchsafed
to him to perceive as it were in a vision the features of his king;
and his old heart must have rejoiced with exceeding gladness
when the tidings reached Lochaber that his second son, Alan
Cameron, had been accorded the honour of accompanying king
James on the voyage to Scotland, and had been selected as one
of that monarch's personal attendants during his hazardous
enterprise to recover his lost kingdom.

An account of Sir Ewen's appearance at this period has
been copied from the Balhadie MS. by a Miss Cameron of
Lochiel, and runs thus :

" His eyes retained their former vivacity, and his sight was
so good in his ninetieth year that he could discern the most
minute object, and read the smallest print ; nor did he so
much as want a tooth, which to me seemed as white and
close as one would have imagined they were in the twentieth
year of his age. In the state when I had the good fortune
to see him in 1716, and so great was his strength at that
time that he wrung some blood from the point of my fingers,
with a grasp of his hand ; his bones big, his countenance fresh
and smooth, and he had a certain air of greatness about him,
which struck the beholder with awe and respect."

Although the Camerons fought with their wonted bravery
at Sheriffmuir, they were unfortunately placed on the Earl
of Mar's left wing, and thus sustained the whole brunt of the
onset, and, overpowered by numbers, had to give way and
beat a retreat. It is possible that the estrangement that
existed between John Cameron and his father had its origin
in this circumstance, as we know the old chief was keenly
sensitive to anything that affected in the slightest degree the
honour of his clan, and he may have thought that had he
been physically capable of leading them himself on the day

FORT WILLIAM 157

of the battle, that the result might have been a victory for
king James.

There is a footnote in Sir Walter's Scott's "Tales of a
Grandfather" bearing on the subject, which may be read
with interest. Referring to Sir Ewen's state of health at
this period, it runs as follows : " He (Sir Ewen) was in per-
fect possession of his faculties during the year 1715, and
expressed great regret that his clan, the Camerons, being in
the Earl of Mar's left wing, had been compelled to fly on that
occasion." "The Camerons," he said, "were more numerous
than they were in his day, but they were become less warlike."

The same authority goes on to narrate the following
anecdote, viz. : " An English officer, who came from Fort
William on a visit, having made use of some words which
the old chief took amiss, he looked on him sternly, and said,
' Had you used that expression but a few months since, you
would not have lived to repeat it.'" Consistent to the last,
the old Highland warrior, who had fought at Achdalieu and
Killiecrankie, resented the slightest reflection upon the
behaviour of his clan from Sassenach lips, although, on the
occasion referred to, his position as host debarred him from
doing more than make a dignified protest.

The news of the arrival of king James in Scotland was
hailed with satisfaction by his brave subjects in Lochaber, for
they now anticipated that a determined effort would be made
by the Jacobites throughout the three kingdoms to oust the
" wee, wee German lairdie " from the throne he filled with
so little credit to himself and so little honour to the nation.
Unfortunately the ill-fortune that, like a black cloud, hung over
the destinies of the Stuarts, once more asserted itself, and the
representative of that fated race found himself quite unable
to assemble a force of sufficient proportions to warrant a
serious campaign against the large and well-disciplined army
of the Elector. Had he arrived in Scotland earlier, when the
enthusiasm of his party was at its highest, and before the
incompetency of Mar had disgusted many of his principal

158 LOYAL LOCHABER

supporters, James's presence at the head of what was then
a considerable army might have been productive of some
good result, and would at least have encouraged his devoted
followers to persist in their endeavours to win back the
crown for his family. But now his presence in Scotland was
embarrassing, as, after Sheriffmuir, his army had melted away,
and it would be a task of great difficulty to remuster it.

His personal appearance, too, was not calculated to inspire
confidence in the minds of his Highland friends, who regarded
physical strength and manly vigour as two important charac-
teristics in their beau ideal of the chief who was to lead them in
the field. It cannot be said with truth that king James VIII.
possessed either of these qualifications, for we are told that
" his person was tall and thin, seeming to incline to be lean
rather than to fill as he grows in years. His countenance was
pale, but perhaps looked more so than usual by reason he had
three fits of ague, which took him two days after his coming on
shore. Yet he seems to be sanguine in his constitution, and
there is something of a vivacity in his eye that perhaps would
have been more visible if he had not been under dejected
circumstances. . . . His speech was grave, and not very
expressive of his thoughts nor over much to the purpose ; but
his words were few, and his behaviour and temper seemed
always composed."

Such was the appearance of the king whose coming had
been so long looked for, and it can hardly be said that it was of
such a nature as to favourably impress the impartial beholder ;
certain it is that the Highland chiefs, who, by the king's special
request, were brought before him during his stay in Perth, were
not unnaturally disappointed on discovering that their hero had
not one single quality to render him, in their estimation, a fit
person to command them in an enterprise which could not but
prove a difficult and dangerous one. Their idol proved but clay
after all ; and although it would be unjust to the memory of the
throneless monarch to impute to him any want of courage, or lack
of interest in the preparations for war which were being made

FORT WILLIAM 159

on his behalf, it is nevertheless true that his apparent indifference,
whether due to the weak state of his health or to a natural antipathy
to military displays of any kind, produced a feeling of apprehen-
sion and suspicion among the loyal clans, who had already
suffered considerably owing to the bad generalship of Mar.

These fears were not allayed by the news that shortly after
spread like wildfire through the camp, that the king intended
to desert them in the hour of need, without striking a blow or
risking an engagement with Argyll, who was advancing rapidly
on their position at Perth. To the Highlanders such faint-
heartedness was incomprehensible, and at first they utterly
refused to credit the rumours that came to their ears. Bold
and fearless themselves, and altogether reckless of the con-
sequences of a collision with such a force as Argyll had under
his command, they could not bring themselves to believe that
their king was less brave than their own chiefs. Accustomed as
they had always been to fight against overwhelming odds, they
had learned to disregard mere numbers, and trusted to their
own good broadswords to hew a path to the throne for the son
of James VII. Bitter, indeed, was their chagrin when, on the
4th February 1716, they learnt that the king, accompanied by
the Earl of Mar, Lord Drummond, Alan Cameron of Lochiel,
and a few other gentlemen, had embarked on board a small
French vessel at Montrose, and set sail for France.

In justice to Mar, it should be said that he had strongly
objected to seek safety in flight, and had requested the
king that he might be allowed to remain behind with the
remnants of the army he had raised ; but he could not refuse
to obey the direct command of his sovereign, and reluctantly
consented to accompany him to the Continent, where for the
next few years he acted as the principal minister in attendance
upon the royal exile, and took an active part in the many
intrigues of the Court at St Germains. In 1725, being suspected
by his party of having entered into communication with the
Government of the Elector of Hanover, he was dismissed
from his office, and died in retirement in 1752.

160 LOYAL LOCHABER

CHAPTER XVIII.

WITH the departure of the Chevalier from Scotland, the
rebellion -of 1715 came to an inglorious end, and the Jacobite
clans, indignant at the timidity of their leaders, threw down
their arms in disgust and retreated to their native hills.
The effect of the flight of the Chevalier and his officers was
soon felt in Lochaber by the renewed activity of the garrisons
at Fort William and Ruthven in Badenoch. Orders had been
issued by the Government that the Highlanders who had fought
under the standard of Mar were to surrender their arms to
officers appointed to receive them at various places throughout
the Highlands and Isles. Upon the condition that this was done
by a certain date, a free pardon was promised to all. General
Cadogan was selected for the duty of receiving the submission
of the Lochaber chieftains and their clans, a task that he found
of considerable difficulty. Lochiel had decided to resist to
the utmost, and, if necessary, resort to force in opposing the
obnoxious order to disarm. In this bold resolve he was supported
by Keppoch and Clanranald. On hearing of the obstinate
refusal of these chiefs to deliver up their arms, General
Cadogan, who was then at Inverness, where he had just received
the submission of MacDonald of Glengarry, - sent instructions
to Colonel Clayton at Fort William, to take a strong detach-
ment of soldiers and march to Lochiel's house at Ach-na-carry,
and disarm the refractory Camerons, who, as usual, treated the
orders of the English Government with contempt.

The news of the meditated assault on Ach-na-carry having
reached Lochiel, he was induced to alter his determination, out
of regard for his devoted clansmen, whom he knew would be the
sufferers in the event of an engagement with the well-armed troops
under Colonel Clayton. Weakened by their losses at Sheriff-
muir, and by the hardships they had encountered in the long
and demoralising campaign of 1715, the Clan Cameron was in no
fit condition to withstand an attack from such a well-organised

FORT WILLIAM l6l

force as the garrison at Fort William could now send against
it. None knew better than Lochiel the reckless valour of his
followers, and he was fully aware that there was not one of
them, from the young gillie of fourteen to the veteran duine-
hasal of eighty, who would not have defended his property
with their lives had he but spoken the word.

As no real advantage could be gained by refusing to
obey the orders of the Government, Lochiel resorted to
strategy, and leaving instructions to his clan to deliver up
their arms peaceably, he retired from the district until the
general had departed. Keppoch and Clanranald followed his
example with little delay, and the Camerons and MacDonalds,
collecting all the old and useless weapons they could lay their
hands upon, laid them, with many a grim smile and emphatic
utterance in guttural Gaelic, at the feet of the English officers ;
while safe within their dwellings, in many a nook and corner,
lay hidden the trusty claymore, the dirk and sgian dubh, that
were destined to play havoc with the Sassenach redcoats at
Prestonpans and Culloden.

The majority of the arms collected from the West High-
landers were deposited at Fort William, while those of the
lowland clans were sent to Edinburgh Castle. The apparent
submission of the disaffected clans having been thus effected,
they were left in comparative peace, and for the next few
years the historian of Lochaber has little to record.

An event of melancholy interest occurred in 1719, which
cannot be passed over without comment. In the month of
February of that year the old chief, Sir Ewen Cameron of
Lochiel, then in his ninetieth year, was taken suddenly ill
of a high fever, which rapidly proved fatal, and, amid the
lamentations of his sorrowful people, the war-worn spirit of
the aged warrior passed peacefully away.

" Exegi monumentum cere perennius" The deeds of Sir
Ewen Cameron needed no sculptured memorial to record them.
Engraved deeply upon the tablets of the history of his
country, and enshrined in the hearts of his compatriots, they

162 LOYAL LOCHABER

will ever be remembered with a glow of pride. For nearly
a century the striking personality of this remarkable man
had been before the world, and successive Governments had
wondered what this terra incognita of Lochaber could be
like, that could produce such gallant sons. Its very remote-
ness invested it with a halo of mystery; and as from time to
time the tidings of some more than ordinary deed of heroism
reached the ears of the English ministers, they must have
thought that the Arthurian age still existed among the moun-
tains of Ultima Tkule, and that the Sir Lancelots and Sir
Galahads of the Round Table had left their favourite hunting-
grounds in extinct Lyonesse, only to reappear in the unknown
glens of the distant north, in quest of further adventures.

There is something peculiarly romantic in the career of Sir
Ewen Cameron, his interesting surroundings, his many hair-
breadth escapes, his knightly valour, his bold and dignified
bearing in times of danger and difficulty, his staunch and
devoted adherence to a fallen dynasty, and, above all, his
unblemished honour, which remained untarnished to the end,
notwithstanding the many attempts that had been made by
his enemies to subvert it all these traits in his character
merit for him the title of the " Bayard " of the seventeenth
century, sans peur et sans reproche}-

I cannot here refrain from quoting the sublime language
of Ossian, whose description of the death of the Irish chieftain
Cathmor, is so applicable to the event I have just recorded.

" I hear the call of years ; they take my spear as they pass along. . . .
My fathers, Ossian, trace my steps ; my deeds are pleasant to their eyes.
Wherever I come forth to battle, on my field, are their columns of mist.
But mine arm rescued the feeble ; the haughty found my rage was fire.
Never over the fallen did mine eye rejoice.
For this, my fathers shall meet me, at the gates of their airy halls, tall,

with robes of light, with mildly kindled eyes.

But, to the proud in arms, they are darkened moons in heaven, which
send the fire of night, red-wandering over their face."

1 The old chieftain sleeps in the burying-ground of Kilmallie, surrounded by
the mortal remains of his distinguished descendants.

FORT WILLIAM 163

The mantle of the departed chief fell upon the shoulders
of his grandson Donald, who, it will be remembered, had been
left in charge of the estates upon the departure of his father
to join the army of Mar in 1715. John Cameron had never
been popular with his kinsmen, and although, upon the death
of Sir Ewen, he became the titular head of the clan, he did
not attempt to assert his position, and remained in France
while his son Donald took upon himself all the duties and
responsibilities in connection with the property, and was
looked upon by the Camerons as their chief in everything
but name.

To avoid confusion in the description of the events that
are to follow, in which the Camerons took an active share,
I will give a brief account of the various members of Lochiel's
family who were living at this period (1719).

Sir Ewen left three sons John, Alan, and Ludovick.
John Cameron, the titular chief, was in exile, and of his after
career we know but little. He had five sons : (i) Donald,
who now commanded the clan, and was known as the Young
Lochiel, and later by the title of the " Gentle " Lochiel, on
account of his lovable disposition; (2) John of Fassfern, who,
although taking no active part in the '45, suffered great
injustice at the hands of the Government, and being exiled,
became a merchant and settled in the West Indies, but
returned to Lochaber and died at Fassfern ; (3) Archibald
Cameron, who was educated for the medical profession, and
known to history as Doctor Archibald Cameron ; (4) Alexander,
who became a priest; and (5) Ewen, who emigrated to
Jamaica, and died a sugar-planter.

Of the two other sons of Sir Ewen, Alan Cameron had
embarked for France with the Chevalier, and was now in close
attendance upon him at St Germains ; and Ludovick Cameron
of Torcastle was living on his estate of that name in Lochaber,
watching the interests of his nephew Donald, and assisting
him in the military organisation of the clan.

In Donald Cameron of Lochiel, the Camerons had found a

1 64 LOYAL LOCHABER

worthy successor to their departed chieftain. Although his
disposition was gentle, and without the brusqueness of manner
that distinguished his grandfather, his notions of honour and
justice were in every way as keen, and he was quite as ready to
resent an insult or injury to his name or clan. Having been
born in a more enlightened age than his celebrated grandsire,
and having received the advantages of a more liberal education,
he endeavoured, upon his accession to the chieftainship, to
discourage as much as possible the periodical creachs, or forays,
which the Camerons, in common with most of the other High-
land clans, had been wont to indulge in from time immemorial.
General Wade, of whom we shall hear more anon, in making
his report on the state of the Highlands in 1724, says: "The
clans, in the Highlands, the most addicted to rapine and plunder,
are the Camerons, on the west of the shire of Inverness ; the
Mackenzies and others in the shire of Ross, who were vassals
to the late Earl of Seaforth ; the M'Donalds of Keppoch ;
the Broadalbin men, and the M'Gregors on the borders of
Argileshire." Thus we find that two of the principal Lochaber
clans, the Camerons and the MacDonalds of Keppoch, were
specially pointed out as being the worst offenders in this
respect.

The creach, or foray, was peculiarly a Highland institution of
questionable morality, and the cause of innumerable feuds and
quarrels. If a chief thought himself insulted by a neighbour,
he mustered his clan in secrecy, and placing himself at their
head, raided the offender's territory, carrying off all the cattle
he could lay hands upon, and seeing nothing derogatory to his
honour in what was then considered a justifiable act of reprisal.
As a general rule, few lives were lost in these predatory excur-
sions, as orders were usually given by the chiefs engaged in
them to avoid personal encounters as much as possible. So
great was the secrecy with which these expeditions were
planned and carried out, that the unfortunate owner of the
stolen cattle was often quite ignorant of his loss until some
days after the creach had taken place. In some cases a reward

FORT WILLIAM 165

was offered for the restitution of the stolen beasts. This was
called tasgal money, and although it was sometimes accepted
and the cattle returned to their rightful owner, it was more
often indignantly refused ; and we are told that the Camerons
especially had bound themselves by oath never to receive it, as
they considered the acceptance of such money so dishonourable
an action that their chiefs had made it a capital offence, and
any of the clan who were known to have done so were put
to death.

The cultivated mind of Young Lochiel revolted at this
barbarous custom, which he could not distinguish from mere
vulgar robbery, and although quite a lad he took active
steps to put a stop to these cattle-lifting forays among
his people, and inflicted the most severe punishment upon
any member of his clan who was found guilty of taking part
in them.

There is a tradition, the truth of which I cannot vouch for,
that the last execution in Scotland under the old feudal laws
took place during the time that Young Lochiel was in command
of the Clan Cameron, as a punishment for this very crime. The
story runs that one of the clan having lifted a bull from the
property of a dutne-iiasal of the name of Ewen Cameron, he
was promptly followed, and having been secured, was brought
before the chief at Ach-na-carry. Determined to stamp out the
offence which brought so much discredit on his clan, and justly
enraged that one of his vassals should have dared to disobey
his direct orders, Lochiel, after having heard the evidence on
both sides, and being fully assured of the man's guilt, con-
demned him to death. Some writers say that the unfortunate
victim of feudal justice was hanged immediately after the
sentence was pronounced on the chiefs "gallows tree" at
Ach-na-carry; but a more authentic account states that the
prisoner was removed to the jail at Fort William. While the
thief was lying there under sentence of death, a petition to
stay the execution was sent to Lochiel, and great pressure was
brought to bear upon him to remit the punishment, but without

1 66 ^ LOYAL LOCHABER

avail, as he considered it necessary that a terrible example
should be made in order that other unruly members of the clan
should be deterred from a similar crime by the fate of their
comrade. The execution was carried out at a spot known
as Tom-na-faire ("The Watch Hill"), close to the ruins of
Inverlochy Castle, in the presence of the wife and family of the
unfortunate man. Previous to his execution, the condemned
man composed a Gaelic song of several verses, in which he
describes himself as being bound with ropes, and having no
food save a bottle of beer and a piece of cake, and calling upon
his kinsmen to avenge his death.

Shortly after this tragic incident, we are told that one
of the Camerons, named " Domhnull donn a bhrollaich"
(" Brown-haired Donald of the beautiful breast "), went to
the chief and persuaded him to swear on his dirk that in
future no Cameron should suffer capital punishment without
a full trial.

This narrative is of great interest, as proving that as late as
the eighteenth century the old feudal privileges of "pit and
gallows " were still in force in the Highlands, and that, notwith-
standing all the changes that had taken place in the government
of the country, the despotic power of the Highland chiefs over
the lives and property of their vassals was in no wise diminished ;
and, strange as it may appear, it is nevertheless true that they
possessed more absolute control and authority in their little
kingdoms among the mountains than the de facto monarch of
the realm could boast of.

Young Lochiel found it no easy matter to wean his followers
from a custom which they had come to look upon as a perfectly
legitimate way of enriching their pockets at the expense of their
enemies, and it was long before they could be persuaded to
devote their energies to agricultural pursuits and other kindred
industries as a means of earning a livelihood. It may be truly
said of young Donald Cameron of Lochiel, that he was the
pioneer of civilisation in Lochaber, and that, while maintaining
all the dignity and authority that his position entitled him to,

FORT WILLIAM l6/

he brought the influence of a well-educated and refined mind to
bear upon his actions, thus setting a noble example before his
clansmen, who could not but follow in the footsteps of their

chief.

The other Lochaber chiefs did what they could to assist
Lochiel in his endeavours to improve the morale of the clans ; l
but such radical changes were not to be effected all at once, and
for a time the old creachs went on as merrily as ever.

CHAPTER XIX.

BY the year 1724 the state of affairs in the Highlands was
so bad, that the Government was importuned to take active
steps to enforce order among the troublesome clans of the
north and west ; who, now that the army had been disbanded,
formed themselves into gangs and went about the country
committing all sorts of depredations without interference.
Roused to action by these repeated representations, the
Government of the Elector of Hanover issued a warrant
under the sign manual, authorising Field-Marshall Wade, an
engineer officer of considerable skill and experience, to
thoroughly investigate and report upon the condition of the
Highlands ; and after having made himself acquainted with
the country, he was to offer suggestions as to the best
methods for remedying the lawless state into which it had
fallen, and gain any other information that might prove
useful in bringing about the submission of the Jacobite
chieftains. He was also instructed to devise means for the
better opening up of the country by roads or other modes
of communication, in order to make it more accessible for the
passage of troops in the event of another rising on behalf of
the House of Stuart.

Marshall Wade departed on his errand with ample authority,

1 Appendix XXIV.

1 68 LOYAL LOCHABER

and it may here be said that he executed his commission with
the greatest humanity and tact ; and although, in the discharge
of his duty, he was necessarily brought into contact with many
whose politics differed widely from his own, he made few
enemies, and was regarded with sentiments of respect even
by those who held in detestation the Government by whom
he was employed.

Wade reached Inverness in the month of August 1725, and
shortly after forwarded a long and intelligent report to the
Government, recommending, among other necessary reforms,
the nomination of suitable persons for the office of sheriffs,
the establishment of justices of the peace and constables with
small salaries, and the periodical holding of quarter sessions
at Killyhuimen (Fort Augustus), Ruthven, and Fort William.
He also suggested, "That companies of such Highlanders as
are well affected to His Majesty's Government be established
under proper regulations, and commanded by officers speaking
the language of the country, subject to martial law, and under
the inspection of the governors of Fort William, Inverness, and
the officer commanding different garrisons and castles in North
Britain."

The immediate result of Wade's activity in the Highlands
was the cessation of lawlessness and disorder in the neighbour-
hood of Inverness; the bands of Highland marauders who
had infested the districts of Lochaber and Badenoch, carrying
terror into the hearts of the more peaceful members of the
community, now refrained from open depredations, and con-
tented themselves with an occasional night raid upon the
cattle of an unpopular chief, or the more portable property
of some lowland laird, as Sir Walter describes in his
humorous ballad :

" Donald Caird finds orra things
Where Allan Gregor fand the tings ;
Dunts of kebbuck, taits o' woo,
Whiles a hen and whiles a sow,
Webs or duds frae hedge or yard
'Ware the wuddie Donald Caird."

FORT WILLIAM 169

The " wuddie " was, alas ! to claim many a victim from among
the brave Highland hearts of Lochaber before many years were
over, for more serious crimes in the eyes of the Government
than the abstraction of webs and duds from the auld wives'
drying-grounds, or the surreptitious removal of dunts d kebbuck
from the farmer's aumrie.

The proposal of Wade to raise a force of armed Highlanders
for the service of the State was carried into effect about 1729,
when six strong companies were formed, and, after having been
instructed in their military duties by the regular officers, were
despatched to their respective stations under the command of
Highland gentlemen of Whig proclivities, who were in receipt
of commissions from George I. These were Lord Lovat, Sir
Duncan Campbell of Lochnell, Colonel Grant of Ballindalloch,
John Campbell of Carrick, Colonel Alexander Campbell of
Fonab, and George Munro of Culcairn. Their companies were
stationed at various strategic points among the mountain passes
from the Isle of Skye in the west to Dunkeld in the east, with
a view to suppress any attempt that might be made at armed
rebellion by the Jacobite chieftains, who were known to be in
correspondence with the Court at St Germains.

Lochiel was a notorious suspect, and the fact that his father
and uncle had both distinguished themselves on the side of
the Chevalier in the recent campaign, caused his every move-
ment to be closely watched. Lochiel's uncle, Alan Cameron,
was at this time in the Highlands, whither he had been sent
by his royal master to gain what information he could as to the
prospects of another rising on his behalf, and he was instructed
to open up a correspondence with the loyal chiefs in order to
learn what force they could place in the field in the event of
a landing being effected. The arrival of Alan Cameron was
known to Wade, and, as an additional precaution against
surprise, one of the new companies was despatched to Fort
William, under the command of Campbell of Fonab, with
instructions to keep a sharp look-out for any movement among
the Camerons, who, it was feared, were planning mischief.

I/O LOYAL LOCHABER

To the Lochabrians the appearance in their midst of a
body of well-disciplined Highlanders, wearing a semi-military
uniform, and charged with the enforcement of the obnoxious
orders of a foreign government, must have come as a surprise.
They could not associate the wearing of the national garb
with a want of sympathy for the national sentiment. The
" heart that beat beneath the tartan plaid " could not, they
thought, be untrue to the traditions of the race that had worn
it since the days when their great ancestors ruled the land, now
desecrated by the presence of the Sassenach soldiery. And
they were right : the hearts that throbbed in the breasts of
the Government soldiers were Highland hearts after all brave,
noble hearts, that in the years to come were to inspire heroic
actions on many a well-fought field, and earn for their regi-
ment the laurels of an imperishable fame. Gallant "Freiceadan
Dubh " ! (" Black Watch.") Your country may well be proud of
you and your achievements. The colours that float so bravely
over your nodding plumes, as you march with stately stride
through old Dunedin's crowded streets, or across the scorch-
ing sands of the Egyptian desert, bear upon their silken folds
such a record of splendid victories that cannot fail to kindle
a glow of pride and enthusiasm in the soul of even the most
unemotional observer. Corunna, Peninsula, Waterloo, Alma,
Sebastopol, Lucknow, the links in a chain of soul- stirring
associations; what memories of noble deeds are called up by
the sight of these glorious names, as, in all the splendour of
golden embroidery, they flash upon our vision. More than a
century of the history of our nation is written there, a century
of honourable warfare in defence of the rights and liberties
of a free and unconquered people. Tyrants have trembled
before the irresistible onset of your kilted heroes, and the
skirl of your pibrochs have sounded in their ears as the funeral
dirges of their vanished armies. " Clanna nan Gaidheil ri
guaillibh d cheile " 1 has been your war-cry in the past ; let it

1 ' ' Highlanders, shoulder to shoulder ! "

FORT WILLIAM 171

be your watchword in the future. Whether in peace or war,
at home or abroad, show the world the reality of Highland
clanship by your fidelity to your name and race !

Sanguine as Marshal Wade was with regard to the newly
formed Highland companies, and the effect they would have in
overawing the disaffected clans, it is doubtful whether the
Government derived any material advantage from their employ-
ment for this purpose. Quis custodiat ipsos custodes? The
guards were in this instance of the same flesh and blood, the
same race and sympathies, as those over whom they were to
keep strict watch and ward ; and in many instances the privates
were closely related by ties of kinship to the suspected
cearnachs and freebooters whose depredations they had been
sent to prevent and punish. Blood is proverbially thicker
than water, and Private Angus MacDonald, of the Freiceadan
Dubh, was very often to be found conveniently looking in
another direction while cousin Donald Cameron was engaged
in a little harmless cattle-driving in a neighbouring glen.
However, Wade was satisfied, and that was the main point ;
for we find him writing a long congratulatory letter to his
employers, in which he says that "robberies and depredations
formerly complained of, are less frequently attempted than
has been known for many years past, there having been but
one single instance where cattle have been stolen without
being recovered and returned to their owners."

Having thus, as he thought, tamed the Highland wolves,
the energetic marshal turned his attention to the much-needed
work of road-making, and it is principally owing to his efforts
in this direction that his name is even to this day respect-
fully regarded by the Highlanders of Lochaber, in whose
district some of his greatest engineering feats were carried
out. The splendid road from Fort William that crosses the
river Spean at High Bridge, and follows the shores of Loch
Lochy, Loch Oich, and Loch Ness to Fort George, traversing
the entire length of the Great Glen (Gleann Mor nan Albin),
is in itself a lasting memorial of his skill and perseverance.

I ?2 LOYAL LOCHABER

Another of Wade's roads proceeds from the rear of Fort
William, and runs nearly due south over the hills to Glencoe,
and from thence to Inveraray, where it communicates with
the main road from Callander.

In the work of constructing these great highways Wade
employed large numbers of the soldiery, and both Highlanders
and Englishmen might have been seen working side by side in
this peaceful occupation. To render the labour popular, Wade
granted extra pay to all the soldiers who were engaged in the
laborious task ; and though the difficulties to be surmounted
must have seemed almost insuperable, the prospect of additional
pay infused a spirit of cheerful determination in the minds of
the troops to overcome all obstacles, and so the work went
merrily on, and by the year 1737 the roads were completed.
At first these new highways were regarded with anything but
favour by those who were eventually to derive great benefit
from their construction. Pennant, writing some years later,
says : " These public works were at first very disagreeable to
the old Chieftains and lessened their influence greatly ; for by
admitting strangers among them their clans were taught that
the Lairds were not the first of men."

It was, of course, only natural that this should be so. The
Highlanders who were loyal to their exiled- king could not but
see that these roads were specially designed for the more rapid
movements of the Hanoverian troops, and they feared what
might be the result of the opening up of their hitherto
impregnable strongholds among the mountains should they
be again called upon to take the field in the cause of the
Stuarts.

Associated with Marshal Wade in his various undertakings
was an officer named Burt, a captain of engineers, who, while
serving in his official capacity at Inverness, found time to study
the manners and customs of the people among whom his lot
was cast. The result of his self-imposed task was a series of
very interesting letters, descriptive of various incidents that
occurred during his residence in the Highlands, and written in

FORT WILLIAM 173

a quaint, humorous style that is highly amusing to the modern
reader. These letters were eventually published in London in
book form, under the title of " Letters from a Gentleman in the
North of Scotland to His Friend in London."

Containing as they do much valuable information as to the
state of the Highlands in the years 1725-1727, they have been
repeatedly quoted by various writers on the subject. The
majority of the letters refer to Inverness and its immediate
surroundings, but there are several in which the gallant captain
recounts his adventures among the wilds of Lochaber, which I
think should find a place here.

He writes with reference to Fort William : " The Fort is
situate in Lochaber, a country, which, though bordering upon
the Western Ocean, yet is within the shire of Inverness. Oliver
Cromwell made there a settlement, as I have said before, but
the present Citadel was built in the reign of King William and
Queen Mary and called after the name of the King. It was in
great measure originally designed as a check upon the chief of
the Camerons, a clan which in those days was greatly addicted
to plunder, and strongly inclined to rebellion. It stands in a
most barren, rocky country, and is washed on one of the faces
of the fortification by a navigable arm of the sea. It is almost
surrounded on the land sides, with rivers not far distant from it,
which though but small, are often impassible from their depth
and rapidity. And lastly, it is near the foot of an exceeding
high mountain, called Benevis, of which I may have occasion to
say something in some future letter, relating particularly to the
High Country. The Toun was erected into a Barony in favour of
the governor of the Fort, for the time being, and into a Borough
bearing the name of Queen Mary. It was originally designed
as a Sutlery to the garrison in so barren a country, where little
can be had for the support of the troops.

" The houses were neither to be built with stone or brick, and
are to this day composed of timber, boards, and turf. This was
ordained to the end they might the more suddenly be burnt, or
otherwise destroyed, by order of the governor, to prevent any

174 LOYAL LOCHABER

lodgment of an enemy that might annoy the Fort, in case of
rebellion, or invasion."

In a further letter we find a very diverting account of an
attempted ascent of Ben Nevis by a party of brother officers ;
and it is evident that the expedition was looked upon as a
daring feat of plucky endurance by those in the garrison, who
had probably never ascended any eminence of greater altitude
than Richmond Hill. Captain Burt did not himself take part
in this hazardous enterprise, but contented himself with playing
the part of an eighteenth-century reporter, and chronicled the
event in the following words :

"As a specimen of the height of these mountains I shall
here take notice of one in Lochaber called Benevis; which from
the level below to that part of the summit only, which appears
to view has been several times measured by different artists
and found to be three quarters of a mile of perpendicular height
It is reckoned seven Scots miles to that part where it begins to
be inaccesible. Some English officers took it in their fancy
to go to the top, but could not attain it for bogs, and huge
perpendicular rocks ; and when they got as high as they
could go, they found a vast change on the quality of the air,
saw nothing but the tops of other mountains, and altogether
a prospect of one tremendous heath, with here and there, spots
of craggs and snow. This wild expedition in ascending round
and round the hills ; in finding inaccesible places, helping one
another up the rocks, in disappointments, and then returning to
the foot of the mountain, took 'em up a whole Summer day
from five in the morning."

This "wild expedition" occurred during the summer months,
when the track is in fairly good condition, and was undertaken
by a party of presumably athletic young men. What would
Captain Burt have thought had he been told that in another
century the ascent of the great mountain would be made in the
coldest month of the year by three Highland lasses, in spite
of the intense frost that prevailed at the time. The Oban
Times, under date I4th January 1893, records the successful

FORT WILLIAM 175

attempt of three ladies of Fort William to reach the summit
of Ben Nevis on the second of the month to "first foot" the
benighted beings who sacrifice the comforts of home and
.the company of their fellow-mortals to the cause of science,
at an elevation of 4400 feet above the sea-level. The advent
of the lasses, laden with creature comforts in the shape of cake
and uisge-beatha (a well-known Highland temperance beverage),
must have gladdened the hearts of the hermits of the mountain,
and they were doubtless reluctant to let their fair visitors
depart ; but as the summit of Ben Nevis on a January night is
hardly the place for even Highland young ladies, the deoch-an-
doruis was drunk, and the plucky mountaineers departed on
their perilous descent, and arrived safely in Fort William,
after an absence of nine hours.

" Comparisons are odious," and Burt's graphic account of the
Sassenach officers floundering about among the bogs that sur-
round the lower levels of the mountain, and eventually returning
tired and discomforted to their quarters, makes but a sorry
picture when placed side by side with the one just described.

When in Fort William, Burt was told a pathetic story by
the governor's wife of an incident that had happened a short
time before his visit, during a temporary dearth of food, owing
to the provision ships having been delayed by stress of weather.
Food of all kinds was so scarce, that many of the poorer people
were in a state of starvation, and they had to beg the governor
to let them buy meal from the stores in the garrison. At length
these supplies began to run short, and orders were given that
no more meal was to be sold. A poor Highland woman, who
had a large family of children, had managed to scrape together
a shilling (a large sum in those days), with which she hoped to
keep the wolf from her door. Finding the granary of the
garrison closed against her, she sought out the governor's
wife, and entreated her to persuade the governor to sell a
measure of meal for the shilling she had saved ; but being
informed that it was impossible to do this, the woman
vehemently flung the coin on the table, saying, " My children

1/6

LOYAL LOCHABER

cannot eat this!" and burst into a flood of passionate tears.
It is satisfactory to learn that the sympathies of the governor's
wife were aroused at the grief of the poor creature, who could
not realise that her treasured money was useless, and she
humanely provided food for the hungry children, until the
famine was put an end to by the arrival of the vessels.

PART III. THE "FORTY-FIVE."
CHAPTER XX.

IT will now be necessary to retrace our steps a few years, in
order that we may the better understand the circumstances
that led up to those remarkable events which were to form one
of the most romantic and stirring chapters of Scottish history,
and called forth, in the highest degree, all that was chivalrous,
all that was noble and self-sacrificing, in the Celtic nature, and
directed the attention of the whole of Europe to the struggle
for right against might, of undisciplined courage against brutal
strength, which was to be fought out to the bitter end on
Culloden's fatal field.

The Chevalier (James VIII.) had married in the year 1720
the wealthy and accomplished Princess Clementina Sobieski,
granddaughter of the famous John Sobieski, king of Poland,
whose brilliant victory over the Turks in Austria had made his
name celebrated throughout the length and breadth of Europe.
On 3 ist December of the same year the princess presented
her royal husband with a son and heir to his crown and
kingdom, a crown which, unhappily, he was never to wear, and
a kingdom he was destined never to rule. Born in exile, and
surrounded by the unwholesome atmosphere of Court intrigue,
Prince Charles Edward became imbued with an exaggerated
sense of his position, an idea which was continually being
fostered by the unwise flattery of his father's courtiers, who saw
in the young prince an object worthy of their affection and

178 LOYAL LOCHABER

loyal enthusiasm, both on account of his lovable disposition
and as the future hope of their party. This adulatory environ-
ment was not the best school for the education of a prince who
was to suffer all the disappointments and indignities that his
father's dependent position rendered likely, if not inevitable.
Fortunately nature had endowed Prince Charles with a sanguine
temperament and a strong physical constitution, gifts which
were to stand him in good stead during the adventurous career
that fate had in store for him. As he grew in years he
developed many pleasing traits of character, which endeared
him to all those in whose society he was thrown. Courteous
and affable in manner, and possessed of an amiable and
generous disposition, he completely won the hearts of the
Highland gentlemen who had followed the exiled family to
France after the affair of 1715, and they swore to assist him in
the recovery of his father's kingdom when he should attain a
sufficient age to make the attempt. The blood of two heroic
families mingled in the veins of the young prince, and filled him
with a desire to emulate the great example of his progenitors.

Consecrating his life to the task of restoring the ancient
dignities of his royal house, he infused into his dispirited party
something of the animation of his youthful and impetuous
spirit, and raised the most sanguine hopes in their minds as
to the speedy prospect of a successful invasion of Scotland.
During the Prince of Wales's childhood, Alan Cameron, the
nephew of young Lochiel, had, as we are aware, been employed
by king James in the dangerous mission of visiting the loyal
Highland chieftains, and endeavouring to obtain from them
some definite promise of support in the event of a favourable
opportunity for an invasion occurring. Beyond a general
protestation of devoted loyalty to their king across the water,
the chiefs were unable to enter into any engagements, as their
clans had scarcely recovered from the effects of the last abortive
rising, and were, besides, assured that the times were not pro-
pitious for such a rash enterprise. Finding it useless to remain
longer in Scotland, Cameron returned to his sovereign with the

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 179

intelligence that the country was not at present ripe for any
such desperate undertaking as had been premeditated. This
news, though disappointing to the Chevalier, was rendered less
unwelcome by the many messages of devoted loyalty that
Cameron had brought with him from the Jacobite chiefs,
who, while deploring their inability to take the field at the
present juncture, promised to use their utmost endeavours to
put their respective clans on a sound military footing, so that
when the struggle came they should not be found unprepared.
Alan Cameron appears to have directed the Chevalier's special
attention to the exertions that his nephew Lochiel was making
on his behalf, for we find James writing a letter to that chief on
nth April 1727, which runs as follows :

" I am glad of this occasion to let you know how well
pleased I am to hear of the care you take to follow your
father's and uncle's example in their loyalty to me, and I
doubt not of your endeavours to maintain the true spirit of
the clan. Alan is now with me, and I am always glad to
have some of my brave Highlanders about me, whom I value
as they deserve. You will deliver the enclosed to its address,
and doubt not of my particular regard for you, which I am
persuaded you will always deserve.

(Signed) "JAMES R."

"You will tell Mr MacLachlan that I am very sensible
of his zeal in my service."

This gracious letter was enclosed in a long epistle from
Alan Cameron, who, fearing that Lochiel would be unable
to read the king's writing, explained its contents, and im-
pressed upon his nephew the very great honour that had
been rendered to the house of Cameron by such friendly
sentiments as were expressed in the royal missive.

A few months later, on nth June 1727, the Elector of
Hanover was called to his account, and his son was proclaimed
king of Great Britain and Ireland, under the title of George II.
This news reached king James at Bologna, and once again

180 LOYALfLOCHABER

his hopes of recovering his lost kingdom were raised to the
highest pitch. His first impulse was to at once set sail for
England, and trust to Providence and the exertions of his
supporters to effect a coup d'etat, which, in the confusion
attending a change of rulers, he fondly hoped might place
him upon his throne. Had such a rash project been
carried out, it could only have resulted in utter disaster, as
the great mass of the people of England and Scotland were
utterly indifferent to the claims of the Stuarts, whom they
had long been taught to regard as Popish monsters, and sub-
verters of the Protestant religion, and whose only aim was to
introduce into Britain all the horrors of the stake, and the
tortures of the Inquisition.

It was fortunate that the king possessed friends who saw
that any such reckless attempt to win back the crown would
have been fatal to the cause for which they had suffered so
much, and who were sufficiently bold to dissuade their royal
master from risking his life in such a fruitless adventure.

A letter written to Lockhart of Carnwath one of his
most staunch supporters about this time, shows the bent
of his thoughts, and how strongly his mind was set upon a
visit to England. The letter is too long to insert here, but
the last few sentences will show its purport. He says, " I
desire, therefore, you may think seriously on this matter, and
let me have your opinion as soon as possible ; and if my
going into England be not advisable, whether my going to
the Highlands of Scotland might not be found proper."

The trusty Alan Cameron was the bearer of this important
dispatch to Lockhart, who was then residing at Liege, whither
he had fled on learning that a warrant for his arrest had
been issued by the English Government.

After mastering the contents of the letter, he took Cameron
into his confidence, and together they discussed the situation,
and resolved to frame such a reply that would deter the king
from carrying out his bold scheme.

Upon receipt of the sensible advice contained in Lockhart's

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 181

diplomatic reply, king James decided to give up the idea of
visiting his rebellious subjects for the present, and withdrew
to Avignon, to take counsel of the Pope.

Among the chiefs who had followed the king to France
after the abortive rising in 1715, was Coll of Keppoch, who,
after the disarmament of his clan, rightly thought that he
could be of more service to his sovereign by personally
attending his Court, and being ready to offer sound practical
advice in connection with the meditated plan for a further
attempt to overthrow the House of Hanover. His thorough
acquaintance with the Highlands, and his well-tried courage
in the field, gave force to his counsel, and he became a valued
friend to the exiled monarch, who found in the old hero of
Mulroy, Killiecrankie, and Sheriffmuir, an object worthy of
his affectionate regard.

Coll of Keppoch was, however, not destined to take part
in the final struggle for supremacy that he had helped to plan.
Sometime during the year 1730, the cold hand of death was
laid upon his brow, and the spirit of the brave MacDonald
chieftain passed quietly away, amid the gathering clouds of
approaching battle.

He had married Barbara, a daughter of Sir Donald
MacDonald of Sleat, by whom he had three sons, viz.,
Alexander, Donald, and Archibald; and a daughter, who
afterwards married Cameron of Errachd. Alexander, who
succeeded his father as the sixteenth chief of Keppoch, had
been educated in France, and at the time of his father's
death was an officer in the French army. Between the young
prince and Keppoch a strong friendship existed, fostered by
the close relations into which they were continually thrown.
There were few secrets between them, and when the expedition
to the Highlands was finally decided upon, Keppoch received
early intimation of it. I am unable to give the exact date
that Alexander of Keppoch returned to Lochaber, but he was
certainly there at the time of the prince's landing, as he was
one of the first to take up arms for his sovereign.

I 82 LOYAL LOCHABER

It would be out of place in such a work as this to follow
the chain of circumstances that brought about the rising of
1745, and I shall endeavour to confine myself as much as
possible to those incidents that occurred in Lochaber and its
immediate neighbourhood during that eventful period. It
may be truly said of this romantic and beautiful district, that it
was the cradle of the '45. Ever staunch to the royal house of
Stuart, the brave Highlanders of Lochaber were now to prove
that their loyalty was no empty name, but a real and self-
sacrificing devotion to a cause they loved as life itself. These
noble sentiments had been fostered by their gallant chieftains,
Lochiel, Keppoch, Clanranald, and Glengarry, all of whom had
set such an example of unselfish fidelity to their unfortunate
sovereign, that they had imbued their clansmen with the same
spirit, and it was now to bear fruit in the approaching struggle,
and afford the world a spectacle of true heroism such as it had
rarely seen. Young Lochiel, ever ready to further the cause in
which his ancestors had fought and suffered, had in 1740 formed
one of the seven associates, who, at Edinburgh, had entered into
an engagement to risk life and fortune in another attempt to
restore the Stuart monarchy, provided the French king would
lend them the support of a portion of his army ; and he had
despatched his nephew, Drummond of Balhadie, to the Chevalier
at Rome, with full particulars of the efforts that were being
made on his behalf. Drummond afterwards went to Paris to
advocate the cause there, but the French ministers were too
much engaged at that time, owing to the death of the emperor,
Charles VI., to listen to his importunities.

Meanwhile, the Lochaber men remained expectant, and
waited patiently for the day that was to bring their prince to
their shores. Tidings reached them from time to time that he
was busily engaged in fitting out an expedition in one of the
French ports, and everything was held in readiness for his
arrival; but as year after year passed, and no sign came of
the ships that were to bear their hero across the main, they
began to lose interest, and their intrepid spirits commenced to

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 183

droop at " hope deferred that maketh the heart sick." The
chiefs themselves, better acquainted with the tortuous course
of foreign politics than their followers, regarded the delay as
providential, for they were able to see that the landing of
Prince Charles in Scotland, unless at the head of a powerful
army, would only precipitate a war of extermination, in which
they and their clans would be the principal sufferers.

CHAPTER XXL

ABOUT the month of June 1/45, it was whispered from mouth
to mouth that at last the prince was coming, but nothing certain
was known of his movements, until shortly after the 25th of
July, when a messenger arrived at Ach-na-carry with the
long expected tidings that at last the heir of the Stuarts had
set foot on British soil. Devoted as Lochiel was to his beloved
prince, the news, though partly anticipated, was embarrassing ;
and for some time after the receipt of the royal summons his
breast was wrung with the conflicting emotions of loyalty to
his king, and compassion for his brave Camerons, who, he
knew, would follow where he led, were it into the jaws of
death. He was fully convinced of the madness of the
enterprise, and foresaw that only disaster could attend an
attempt to commence hostilities without either men, arms, or
money.

Determined to use all his powers of persuasion to prevent
Prince Charles from risking his life and those of his followers
in so reckless a manner, Lochiel set out for Borodale, a wild,
desolate region on the shores of Loch-nan-uamh, where he
had been told he would find the prince. To reach Borodale,
Lochiel had to pass the house of his brother, John Cameron
of Fassfern, which was situated on the slope of a hill, within
a short distance of the beautiful Loch Eil, and surrounded
by some of the most magnificent and picturesque scenery in
the Highlands. Here Lochiel paused to consult his brother

1 84 LOYAL LOCHABER

as to the best method of dissuading the rash prince from
proceeding further with his ill-advised undertaking. Fassfern,
aware of his brother's sensitive and impressionable nature,
saw at once that if he was allowed to come within the sphere
of the powerful influence, and listen to the passionate eloquence
of the prince, all his resolutions would be abandoned, and he
would be utterly unable to refuse acquiescence. " Brother,"
said Fassfern, "I know you better than you know yourself;
if this prince once sets his eyes upon you, he will make you
do whatever he pleases."

Fassfern strongly advised Lochiel to put his objections
into writing and forward the letter by special messenger to
the prince, but this suggestion did not meet with Lochiel's
approval, as he considered it his duty to wait upon the royal
visitor in person. The result of that historic interview, fraught
with the gravest consequences to Scotland, is well known ; the
respectful arguments of Lochiel, the dignified pleading and
firm determination of Prince Charles to persist in trying
his fortune by the sword, and the ultimate yielding of the
Cameron chieftain, need no recapitulation here. The die" was
cast, the one man whose yea or nay contained in their single
syllable the destiny of a royal race, had uttered the noble
words that will ever linger in the traditions of his country :
" I will share the fate of my prince, and so shall every man over
whom name or fortune has given me any power." Fassfern
had spoken truly, the fascinating presence and chivalrous
bearing of Prince Charles Stuart had overcome all the
scruples of Lochiel, who, having put his hand to the plough,
would not look backwards.

Taking leave of the prince, Lochiel hastened back to
Ach-na-carry to raise the Camerons, and send the fiery cross
through the mountains and glens of Lochaber, with instruc-
tions that all able-bodied men of the clan were to arm
themselves with all possible speed, and be ready to march
with him to Glenfinnan on iQth August, the day that Prince
Charles had fixed for raising the royal standard. The other

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 185

Lochaber chieftains followed the example of Lochiel, and
proceeded to prepare their men for the service of their
prince. Clanranald had been one of the first to tender his
allegiance to his royal highness on board the " Doutelle "
(the vessel that had brought the prince from France), and
was now engaged in collecting a body of MacDonalds to
join the forces of his brother chiefs, Glengarry and Keppoch.
The Lochaber MacDonalds, like their kinsmen of the Isles
and Glencoe, had always been devoted to the House of
Stuart, and had proved their loyalty on many a hard fought
field. Above the din of battle their war cries of "Craig an
Fitheach" and "Fraoch Eilean" had rung out with terrible
clamour, where the fight was the thickest, and the strife the
most bloody. Their good claymores had done excellent
service for the Stuarts in the glorious times of Montrose
and Dundee, and were now to be unsheathed in the same good
cause. From all quarters they came to assist their gallant
prince to claim his own, and drive out the Hanoverian
usurpers.

" Gather, gather, gather,

Gather from Lochaber glens ;

Mac-ic-Rannail calls you ;

Come from Taroph, Roy, and Spean,

Gather, brave Clan-Donuil,

Many sons of might you know,

Lenochan's your brother,

Auchterechtan and Glencoe."

The honour of opening the campaign, and of striking the
first blow on behalf of king James, was reserved for MacDonald
of Keppoch' 1 and his brave men, who, by the force of circum-
stances, were brought into collision with the English troops

1 After this portion of my work was completed, Miss MacDonell of Keppoch
placed in my hands some MS. notes relating to the '45 which had been taken down
during the lifetime of Prince Charles by John MacDonell, the grandson of the hero
of Culloden. These notes, which I believe have never been published before, are
of considerable historic value, and from them we gather that the chief of Keppoch
played a more prominent part in the preliminary events of that stirring period than
he has been usually credited with. Those of my readers who are interested in the
subject will find a copy of the MS. in Appendix XXV.

2 A

1 86 LOYAL LOCHABER

before any official declaration of war had been made by the
prince, who was then lying concealed at the house of MacDonald
of Kinlochmoidart. The unusual activity of the Highlanders in
the neighbourhood of Fort Augustus had aroused the suspicions
of the governor, and having learnt that large bodies of Camerons
and MacDonalds had been observed marching in the direction
of Fort William, he determined to despatch two companies of
the Scots Royals to strengthen the garrison there, and gain
information as to the meaning of this apparently hostile
movement on the part of the clans. The command of the
detachment was given to Captain John Scott, an officer of
undoubted courage, but, as the event proved, quite ignorant of
the military tactics of the Highlanders.

Leaving Fort Augustus at an early hour on the morning of
August 1 6th, in order that his men might traverse the twenty-
eight miles that lay between that place and Fort William before
night came on, Captain Scott marched his detachment along the
great military road that General Wade had completed some
eight or nine years previously, and which has been described in
a former chapter. After about twenty miles had been covered
without incident, and just as the soldiers were approaching the
bridge that crosses the river Spean, which at this spot rushes
tumultuously through a narrow gorge of precipitous rocks,
the wild notes of a pibroch were heard, and to the surprise
and alarm of the captain a body of well-armed and powerful
Highlanders was observed in possession of the bridge, while
others were to be seen moving about among the rocks and trees
on either side of the road they would have to pass. A, halt was
called, and Captain Scott held a brief consultation with his
brother officers as to the best course to be adopted. Scott
himself was strongly in favour of carrying the bridge by force ;
but this opinion was not shared by his colleagues, who pointed
out the foolhardiness of engaging an enemy of whose strength
they were entirely ignorant, and who were protected from attack
by the cover the rocks and shrubs afforded. To lend force
to these arguments the Highlanders commenced a series of

High Bridge and River Spean.

High Bridge, the scene of the first skirmish of the "Forty-Five."

Page 187.

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 187

energetic movements, leaping from crag to crag, and uttering
unearthly cries, and as the English soldiers watched them with
some trepidation, they could see the glint of steel weapons
among the trees, and imagined that a considerable force was
mustering to overwhelm them. Captain Scott was in a dilemma,
and knew not whether to advance or retreat. The counsel his
friends gave certainly appeared prudent, but it was repugnant
to his feelings as an officer to flee from the face of the foe
without firing a shot, and he decided to send out a couple of
scouts to reconnoitre, and if possible learn the strength and
position of the enemy. A sergeant and one man (the captain's
own servant) were thereupon ordered to cross the bridge and
gain, if possible, the desired information, but before they had
proceeded far, a couple of Highlanders dashed out from behind
some rocks and made them prisoners before their comrades had
time to protect them.

Believing it useless to attempt a rescue, Captain Scott gave
the word to retreat, and in a few moments the soldiers turned
their backs to the invisible foe, and commenced their homeward
march. Ridiculous as it may seem, the formidable enemy that
had thus caused two companies of the Scots Royals to fly from
before them consisted of ten or twelve Keppoch MacDonalds,
commanded by a cousin of Keppoch, Donald MacDonald of
Tirnadris, who, by a clever display of strategy, had led Captain
Scott and his officers to believe that they were opposed by a
numerous body of Highlanders. By placing the men at
intervals among the trees and boulders that line the banks of
the Spean, and by constantly changing their position so that
they were continually on the move, Tirnadris created an illusory
army, which, to the eyes of the English soldiers, assumed
immense proportions, on the principle that " Omne ignotum pro
magnifico"

The result of this manoeuvre raised the spirits of the High-
landers, and they could hardly be restrained from dashing from
their ambuscade upon the retreating Sassenachs ; but as such an
action would have at once betrayed their strength, Tirnadris

1 88 LOYAL LOCHABER

bade them wait until they were joined by the reinforcements
that he anticipated would arrive from Keppoch and Lochiel,
he having despatched messengers to both chieftains, upon first
catching sight of the redcoats, with a request for assistance.

Allowing Captain Scott and his party to proceed about two
miles, and feeling assured that his friends could not be far off,
Tirnadris cautiously followed in pursuit, keeping his men as
much out of sight as possible, and avoiding every means of
attracting the attention of the fugitives. By the time the
soldiers had reached the road that runs along the north-eastern
end of Loch Lochy, near Laggan-ach-drum, where it is over-
hung by a steep wooded acclivity, the Highlanders had caught
up with them, and having left the road, had gained the heights
above, some distance in front of the line of march, and waited,
muskets in hand, for the detachment to approach. Immediately
Captain Scott and his men came within range of their weapons,
the MacDonalds opened a destructive fire from behind the
shelter of the rocks, which, besides doing considerable execution
among the unfortunate soldiers, alarmed the whole country, and
brought numbers of armed Highlanders to the scene of conflict.

The retreat now became a disordered rout, sauve qui peut!
was the cry, and breaking into a run, the whole body of troops
fled in the direction of Loch Oich, amid the fierce yells of the
pursuing Highlanders and the discordant notes of the war pipes.
Rapidly crossing the neck of land that divides Loch Lochy from
Loch Oich, Captain Scott found himself confronted by another
body of hardy mountaineers, who appeared determined to bar
his progress. This fresh enemy proved to be a band of about
fifty Glengarry MacDonalds, who had been hastily summoned
to arms, and were now about to join hands with their kins-
men of Keppoch. This further accession of strength to the
ranks of his enemy did not deter Captain Scott from making
a bold effort to proceed. Forming his men into square, he
marched steadily on ; but at this juncture MacDonald of Kep-
poch arrived on the scene with a further contingent of his clan,
and taking in the position of affairs at a glance, he advanced

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 189

alone in front of the now exhausted and' dispirited soldiers, and
called upon Captain Scott to surrender or take the consequences
of his refusal, which could only mean the signal for a general
massacre.

" Of two evil alternatives it is always best to choose the least,"
and Captain Scott, now convinced that any further resistance on
his part would be useless, ordered his men to lay down their
arms, which, in their present fatigued condition, they were not
loth to do. While the terms of surrender were being discussed,
Lochiel, who had received intelligence of the skirmish, arrived
from Ach-na-carry with a large body of Camerons. The
prisoners were placed in his charge, and shortly afterwards
conveyed under an escort of Highlanders to his house on the
shores of Loch Arkaig, where they were treated with the
greatest kindness and humanity.

In this affair two soldiers were killed and five or six
wounded, among the latter being Captain Scott, who, upon
reaching Ach-na-carry, was permitted by Lochiel to send to Fort
Augustus for a surgeon to dress his wounds. As, however, the
governor of the fort would not allow the doctor to leave the
garrison, Lochiel humanely gave the captain permission to
proceed there on parole, in order that he might receive the
attention he required.

CHAPTER XXII.

THE news of this victory over the Elector's soldiers soon
reached Prince Charles in his retreat at Glenaladale, on Loch
Shiel, whither he had removed after leaving Kinlochmoidart,
and filled his mind with the most sanguine hopes of ultimate
success, and he set out for the rendezvous at Glenfinnan, on the
morning of August iQth, in the highest spirits, surrounded by a
little band of devoted followers, whose paucity of numbers he
anticipated would be largely augmented when he reached the
spot fixed for the muster of the loyal clans.

190 LOYAL LOCHABER

It would have been impossible to have selected a more
suitable place for the assembly than the sequestered vale of
Glenfinnan. Shut off from the outer world by stupendous
mountains that rise almost perpendicularly from the level of the
blue surface of Loch Shiel, it forms a natural amphitheatre
of soft green turf, intermixed with great masses of heather,
which at that season of the year would be clothed in all the
glory of purple raiment, and afford a carpet of nature's own
weaving worthy of being trodden by the feet of the gallant
young prince, whose name, from that August morning in
1745, will always be associated with the peaceful solitudes of
this lovely glen.

It was about eleven o'clock when Prince Charles and his
party disembarked from the boat that had brought them from
Glenaladale, and, to his surprise and chagrin, he found on arrival
at Glenfinnan that the vast concourse of armed Highlanders he
had expected would have been there to receive him with their
acclamations were conspicuous by their absence ; and save for a
few shepherds, who wished him " God speed " in Gaelic as he
passed, not a human being was to be seen throughout the whole
length and breadth of the glen. The disappointment of Prince
Charles upon finding himself thus isolated was intense, and he
suffered all the revulsion of feeling that his sanguine tempera-
ment rendered possible. Not all the reassuring utterances of
his friends could cheer his despondency, and he retired into
one of the small shielings to brood over his misfortunes, and
endeavour to think of some excuse for the absence of those who
had promised to support him.

Thus he waited two long, weary hours until about the hour
of noon, when, borne upon the summer breeze, at first faint and
scarcely audible, and then gradually swelling in volume as it
approached nearer, came the welcome sound of the pipes, and
those who were near informed the prince that the tune he could
not recognise was the war pibroch of Clan Cameron " Sounding,
sounding, deep over mountain and glen ; " and as every eye
scanned the distant hills, they were soon able to see the brave

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 191

Camerons descending the slope of a mountain in all the pride of
military array, with pipes playing and banners flying, to the
number of about eight hundred. This sight brought the colour
to the cheeks of Prince Charles, and he at once resumed his
wonted cheerfulness, as with proud and dignified mien he took
up his position to receive his loyal Highlanders.

With the Camerons came a body of about three hundred
MacDonalds of Keppoch, commanded by their celebrated
chieftain, 1 bringing with them as proof of their valour the
prisoners they had taken a few days previously in the skirmish
at Loch Lochy ; and they also brought the horse recently ridden
by Captain Scott, which they concluded would prove an accept-
able present for their prince.

Advancing in two long lines, each of three men deep, with
the disarmed prisoners in their midst, the Camerons and
MacDonalds made a brave display as they approached the
spot where Prince Charles stood, surrounded by the chiefs who
had come with him from Glenaladale, and we may be sure that
the sight of these kilted warriors, of whose gallant deeds he had
so often heard, must have kindled his enthusiasm and filled his
soul with delight.

There was another person present on this historical occasion
whose future career has given rise to much speculation and
controversy, and I must admit that after taking considerable
trouble to sift the truth from the falsehood, and having consulted
every available authority on the subject, I have to acknowledge
that there still remains considerable doubt in my own mind as
to the truth of the story I am going to relate ; but as almost
every writer on the subject of the '45 has referred to it, and as it
is intimately connected with Lochaber, I feel it is due to my
readers that it should not be omitted in a work specially treating
of that district.

1 Most historians of the '45 erroneously state that Keppoch did not arrive until
late in the evening, but I am informed by his descendant, Mrs MacDonell of
Keppoch, that the above version is correct, and I have had the privilege of perusing
documents in proof of the assertion that Keppoch arrived in Glenfinnan at the same
time as the Camerons.

192 LOYAL LOCHABER

The story runs that among those summoned by Lochiel to
assist the prince with men was Allan Cameron of Glendessary,
at the head of Loch Arkaig, a cadet of the clan, but who at the
time was a minor, and had little or no experience as a military
leader, and when the news of the prince's arrival reached him, he
was quite incapable of performing the duty of organising and
arming his followers for the service required of them. This task
was willingly undertaken by his aunt, Miss Jenny Cameron of
Glendessary, a woman of considerable spirit and courage, and
who was determined that whoever else might fail in their duty
to the brave youth who had come so far to regain his royal
father's throne, it should never be said that any Cameron was
left behind when the clan was to the fore. Throwing herself
vigorously into the work of raising the Glendessary Camerons,
she was soon able to muster a very presentable force of two
hundred and fifty well-armed Highlanders. On the morning
of August i pth she mounted a bay gelding, gorgeously
arrayed in trappings of green and gold, and placing herself
at the head of her men, and holding a drawn sword in her
hand, she started for the rendezvous at Glenfinnan. Dressed
in a green riding-habit, with scarlet lappets and gold trimming,
and with a velvet cap and scarlet feathers on her head, from
beneath which her hair escaped in loose curls, she presented a
very extraordinary spectacle ; and upon arriving in the prince's
camp all eyes were turned upon this remarkable woman, who,
like a second Joan of Arc, had come to fight for her king, sword
in hand.

The prince's attention being directed to this fair Amazon, he
went out to meet her, and offer his thanks in person for this
unexpected addition to his forces. Saluting Prince Charles
without the least embarrassment, Miss Cameron informed him
that the youth of her nephew having prevented him from being
present, she had thought it her duty to raise the men and bring
them to his royal highness, feeling assured that there was not
one among them who would not be ready to hazard his life in
his behalf; and that though they were now commanded by a

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 193

woman, it would be found that they had nothing womanly
about them, for so noble was the cause that had brought her
there, that it had filled her breast with such manly thoughts
and aspirations as to quite exclude the more tender feminine
emotions usually attributed to her sex. " If that is so with
me, what an effect then must it have on those who have
no womanly fear to combat, and are free from the encumbrance
of female dress ? These men, sir, are yours ; they have devoted
themselves to your service ; they bring you hearts as well as
hands. I can follow them no farther, but I shall pray for
your success."

These gallant words impressed the prince greatly, and
after having inspected the men and complimenting them
upon their appearance, he conducted their fair commander
to his tent, and treated her with the courtesy that so well
became him.

Some accounts state that she remained with the prince's
army until it marched into England, and that she rejoined
it at Annandale, and being present at. the battle of Falkirk
Muir, was taken prisoner and confined in the castle of
Edinburgh.

That there was a lady of this name attached to the
prince's army is certain, as we find a Miss Jeannie Cameron
frequently mentioned in the papers of the period. It was
only natural that the English writers of the years 1745 and
1746 should seize upon this incident as a means of reviling
the character of the noble lad, whose only crime was that he
had come to claim his father's rights, and thrust out the
rapacious Hanoverian horde who defiled with their drunken
revelry the palaces of his ancestors.

I find in " James Ray's Compleate History of the Rebellion,"
published in 1754, the following passage referring to the retreat
of the Highland army from Stirling in February 1746:
" From thence the Mock Prince fled with so much precipita-
tion that he neglected to carry off his Female Colonel Cameron,

who was taken and, some time after, sent to Edinburgh Castle ; "

2 B

194 LOYAL LOCHABER

and in the Scots Magazine for November 1746 we read : " Miss
Jeannie Cameron was admitted to bail on the I5th, the Duchess
of Perth on the i/th, the Viscountess Strathallan on the 22nd
November. They had lain in the castle of Edinburgh (whither
Miss Jeannie Cameron was brought from Stirling) since the
beginning of February."

It is therefore evident that a person styling herself Jeannie
Cameron was with the prince's army, but there is absolutely
nothing to prove that she and Miss Cameron of Glendessary
were one and the same individual.

In Chambers's " History of the Rebellion of 1745," an extract
is given from " The Lyon in Mourning," MS., with reference to
this matter : " It has been already stated, on the authority of
Mr ^Eneas MacDonald, that Mrs Jean Cameron witnessed the
setting up of the standard at Glenfinnan. The whole passage
respecting her in Mr MacDonald's narrative is as follows :
' Here a considerable number of both gentlemen and ladies met
to see the ceremony ; among the rest the famous Miss Jeany
Cameron, as she is commonly, but very improperly called,
for she is a widow, nearer fifty than forty years of age.
She is a genteel, well-looked, handsome woman, with a pair
of pretty eyes, and hair as black as jet. She is of a very
sprightly genius, and is very agreeable in conversation. She
was so far from accompanying the prince's army, that she
went off with the rest of the spectators as soon as the army
had marched. Neither did she ever follow the camp, nor was
ever with the prince but in public, when he had his Court
in Edinburgh.' "

This account is probably the correct one, although Sir Ewen
Cameron of Fassfern (nephew of Lochiel of the '45) is stated to
have said that although the lady in question sent the prince a
present of cattle on the occasion of the muster of the clans at
Glenfinnan, she never saw him herself. These various state-
ments are certainly very conflicting, and the identity of the
lady taken prisoner at Stirling, and imprisoned in Edinburgh
Castle, still remains a mystery for the curious to solve. The

JENNY CAMERON.

Reproduced from a very rare print in the Author's possession, probably imaginative, and entitled " Miss
Jenny Cameron of Lochiel, one of the most numerous clans in the Highlands of Scotland."

" If to her Share some female Errors fall ;
Look on her Face and you'll forget them all."

By some authorities this print is said to be a portrait of Flora MacDonald.

Page 195.

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 195

portrait shown here is from an old print in my possession, but
whether authentic or not I have been unable to discover. 1

CHAPTER XXIII.

UPON the arrival of Lochiel and Keppoch, with their respective
clans, the prince at once proceeded to raise his standard, and
declare war against the Elector of Hanover and his adherents,
with all the ceremony that the time and place would allow.

" Then raise the banner, raise it high,
For Charles we'll conquer or we'll die :
The clans a' leal and true men be,
And shaw me wha will daunton thee !
Our gude King James shall soon come hame,
And traitors a' be put to shame ;
Auld Scotland shall again be free :
O that's the thing wad wanton me ! "

The honour of unfurling the banner was allotted to the
Marquis of Tullibardine, who had accompanied Prince Charles
in his voyage from France on board the " Doutelle." Selecting
a slight eminence in the centre of the glen on which to stand,
the marquis raised aloft the standard of his king ; 2 and as its
silken folds of red, white, and blue slowly spread out upon the
summer breeze that was wafted from the mountain tops, the

1 An extraordinary work, purporting to be a faithful biography of Jeannie Cameron,
was published in the year 1746, entitled " Memoirs of the Remarkable Life and
surprising Adventures of Miss Jenny Cameron, A Lady who, by her Attachment to
the Person and Cause of the Young Pretender, has render'd herself famous by her
Exploits in his Service, and for whose Sake she underwent all the Severities of a
Winter's Campaign," by the Rev. Archibald Arbuthnot, one of the Society for
Propagating the Christian Knowledge, and Minister of Kiltarlity, in the Presbytery
of Inverness. Although written by a minister of the gospel, the contents of this
book are of so gross and obscene a nature that extracts would be impossible. From
beginning to end it is a purely imaginary account of the amours and adventures of a
loose woman, dubbed by the name of Jeannie Cameron by its author, for the purpose
apparently of giving it an air of probability, as the arrest of a person of that name at
Stirling would have been fresh in the mind of the public at the time of publication.
The book is extremely curious and of great rarity.

2 The MS. notes of John MacDonell, already referred to, give a somewhat different
account of this event. Vide Appendix XXV.

196 LOYAL LOCHABER

whole assembled multitude sent up to heaven a deafening
shout of welcome, that was echoed and re-echoed from hill to
hill and resounded from glen to glen, startling the deer in the
seclusion of the dense , thickets of Drumsallie, where, cowering
among the bracken, they lay trembling at this unwonted dis-
turbance of their peaceful retreat. Loud and long were the
acclamations of the Highlanders, as they now realised for the
first time that the prince they had long hoped for was at last
to take his place at their head and lead them on to victory.
Every extravagant form of enthusiastic devotion was exhibited
on this occasion. Bonnets were hurled into the air in clouds ;
claymores were unsheathed and held aloft by brawny arms,
where they flashed and scintillated in the rays of the noontide
sun ; pipers, clad in all the glory of tartan bravery, and with the
great drones of their pipes over their shoulders, strutted proudly
over the heather, vying with each other in the execution of the
pibrochs of their respective clans. The whole scene was one of
bustle and animation, and full of vivid interest to Prince Charles.
Then, if ever, he must have felt the blood of his great ancestor,
Robert Bruce, stir in his veins and prompt him to action ; then,
if ever, he must have felt the pride of royal descent kindle
within his breast, and fire him with a fervent desire to regain all
the lost honours which were his by right of birth. Pretender,
forsooth ! by what fallacy of reasoning could such an opprobrious
and lying epithet be bestowed upon the legitimate heir to the
throne of Britain. Here was no vulgar impostor, no Lambert
Simnel or Perkin Warbeck, over whose well-merited fate sym-
pathy would be wasted ; but a gallant, noble, and chivalrous
prince, possessed of all the qualities that should have gained for
him the love and devotion of his countrymen. Descended in
the direct line from the Stuart kings, without a flaw in his
pedigree or the slightest taint of illegitimacy in his blood, the
great-grandson of the martyred Charles I. was to be dubbed
Pretender, and by whom ? Surely the servile and sycophantic
parasites who battened in the corrupt atmosphere of the Court
of St James, and basked in the oleaginous smiles of Teutonic

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 197

demi-mondaines, picking up the crumbs that fell from the rich
man's table, and wallowing in the noxious slough of Hanoverian
debauchery ; surely such as these had no right to cast the stone
of bastardy at the inoffensive head of a prince, whose shoe latchet
they were unworthy to unloose.

There was no bar-sinister in his escutcheon, no stain on his
honour ; like Theseus of old he went forth on his adventurous
quest to slay the Minotaur, and rid the fair land of Britain of its
voracious progeny. Let those who sneer at modern Jacobitism
read and study the true history of the Georgian period as told
by that master of satire, William Makepeace Thackeray, and
they will no longer wonder that, notwithstanding the hundred
and fifty -three years that have passed since that August
afternoon when Bonnie Prince Charlie raised his royal father's,
standard in Glenfinnan, there are still some among us who
fondly cherish the memory of the gallant lad, and treasure as
sacred every relic, every song, and every place with which his
name is associated.

All honour to that staunch Jacobite, the late Alexander
MacDonald of Glenaladale, for erecting a lasting memorial of
the historic event on the spot where it occurred, and thus
preserving for future generations an imperishable testimony to
" the generous zeal, the undaunted bravery, and the inviolable
fidelity of his forefathers, and the rest of those who fought and
bled in that arduous and unfortunate enterprise." l

At the conclusion of the ceremony, and after king James's
manifesto had been duly read, the Marquis of Tullibardine,
with a guard of fifty Camerons, escorted the standard to the
prince's quarters in the glen. Later in the day a body of
MacLeods arrived in the camp, and offered their apologies to
Prince Charles for the absence of their chief, whom they could
not persuade to come with them. Lochiel, upon hearing of
MacLeod's reluctance to join the Highland army, wrote him a
persuasive letter, but instead of producing the desired result, it
only served to widen the breach, as the proud spirit of MacLeod

1 Transcribed from the inscription on the monument. Vide Appendix XXVI.

198 LOYAL LOCHABER

resented the impeachment of his honour, and he refused to be
coerced.

Notwithstanding the defection of MacLeod and his neigh-
bour, Sir Alexander MacDonald of Sleat, Prince Charles found
himself, on the evening of August ipth, at the head of an army
of about twelve hundred devoted followers. From Glenfinnan
he removed, a day or two later, to Kinlocheil, and on the 22nd
August issued the celebrated proclamation offering a " reward
of thirty thousand pounds sterling to him, or those, who shall
seize and secure till our further orders the person of the Elector
of Hanover."

From Kinlocheil the prince went to the house of Lochiel's
brother, John Cameron of Fassfern, and slept there on the
night of the 23rd ; but he did not prolong his stay at Fassfern,
as shortly after his arrival tidings reached him that a sloop
of war had been observed cruising off Fort William, and that
the garrison of that place was on the alert. The proximity of
Fort William was a source of danger, and it was thought
advisable by the prince's officers to remove the camp to Moy,
a small clachan on the banks of the river Lochy, which I have
described in a former chapter as having been the place fixed
by Viscount Dundee for his camp during the civil'war of 1689.
The baggage and other impedimenta was given in charge of a
force of two hundred Camerons, and leaving Fassfern on the
morning of the 24th, they proceeded along the road that skirts
the shores of Loch Eil, passing within sight of Fort William.
The prince, however, for greater safety, took the road over the
hills, and reached Moy on the 25th August.

The news of his arrival had now spread far and wide
throughout Lochaber, and every day brought a fresh accession of
strength to the resolute band of Highlanders who rallied round
the royal standard. From dark Glencoe came MacDonald of
that ilk, bringing with him one hundred and fifty men of his
clan. Keppoch, not satisfied with the force he had led to
Glenfinnan, had collected a further body of MacDonalds, and
brought them to his prince ; but an unfortunate dispute having

Near Fassfern. The road in foreground was the one taken by Prince Charles on his
march to Moy, 24th August 1745.

Fassfern House, Loch Eil. Prince Charles slept here on the night of 23rd August 1745.

Page 198.

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 199

arisen between him and his clan on a question of religion, a
large number of his men refused to come out. The Keppoch
MacDonalds were Catholics, and wished a priest to accompany
them on the march, but this their chief, who was a Protestant,
would not allow. The refusal produced considerable friction
and ill-feeling among the members of the clan, and many
absented themselves from the muster on this account.

Leaving Moy on the 26th August, Prince Charles crossed the
river Lochy, and upon arriving at Low Bridge his army was
further augmented by the welcome addition of two hundred and
sixty Stewarts of Appin, commanded by Ardshiel. The march
was then continued along the shores of Loch Lochy to Letter-
finlay, where it was decided to bivouac for the night, but
before the men were settled down, news reached the prince
that caused him to alter his plans. A messenger had come
into the camp with tidings that General Sir John Cope, with
a large body of troops, had appeared in Badenoch, and intended
to cross the great hill of Corrieyairack by Wade's military
road, and attack the Highland army on the following morning.
Upon receipt of this piece of intelligence, Prince Charles
struck his camp at Letterfinlay, and in the darkness of night,
and amid a hurricane of wind and rain, proceeded to Inver-
garry Castle, the stronghold of MacDonald of Glengarry, on
the shores of Loch Oich, where he stayed the night.

Before setting out for Invergarry, a strong party of
Highlanders had been ordered to make a forced march to
Corrieyairack and secure the pass before Cope and his Sassenach
redcoats could reach it. Before daybreak on the morning of
the 27th, Prince Charles left Invergarry at the head of his
brave mountaineers, rejoicing in the hope of a speedy encounter
with the English general. At Aberchalder he was joined by
a large body of Glengarry MacDonalds, about six "hundred
strong, under the leadership of Lochgarry, and by a numerous
party of Grants from Glenmoriston. This further increase of
strength raised the spirits of the whole army, which now
numbered about two thousand, and so exultant was Prince

200 LOYAL LOCHABER

Charles, and so confident of success, that he observed while
putting on a new pair of Highland brogues, "that he would
be up with Mr Cope before they were unloosed."

Upon arrival at the foot of the mountain, Lochgarry and
Murray (the prince's secretary) were ordered to ascend the
northern side, and report the position and strength of the
enemy, but on reaching the summit they could see no sign
of Cope or his army. This astonishing information was soon
conveyed to the prince, and no explanation was forthcoming,
until, shortly afterwards, a Cameron who had been pressed
into Cope's service arrived in the camp with the news that
the dauntless general had considered " discretion the better
part of valour," and was now fleeing, as fast as his legs would
carry him, along the main road to Inverness, leaving the road
to the south open to the prince's army.

Shouts of derision greeted this intelligence. That an
English general, with a well-armed force at his back, should
fly from their approach without so much as firing a shot,
seemed to the brave Highlanders almost incredible, and con-
trary to all their preconceived notions of honourable warfare.
The fact is, as Home says, " Cope was one of those men who
are fitter for anything than the chief command in war, especially
when opposed, as he was, to a new and uncommon enemy," and,
as the prince was afterwards to discover on the memorable
field of Prestonpans, he was quite incapable of withstanding
the impetuous military tactics adopted by the tartan-clad
Highlanders, the mere sight of whose peculiar costume and
weapons terrified him into an ignominious retreat.

" But when he saw the Highland lads
Wi' tartan trews and white cockades,
Wi' swords and guns, and rungs and gauds,
O Johnnie he took wing in the morning ; "

and, as another version of the same old song runs,

" ' I' faith,' quo' Johnnie, ' I got sic a fleg
Wi' their claymores and philabegs ;
If I face them again, deil break my legs !
So I wish you a very gude morning." "

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 201

Elated at the joyful tidings of the flight of the English
troops, Prince Charles called for a glass of brandy, and drank
" To the health of good Mr Cope, and may every general in
the usurper's service prove himself as much our friend as he
has done ; " a sentiment which was heartily endorsed by every
one present. Bumpers of usquebaugh were served out to the
men by the express wishes of the prince, and merriment
became the order of the day.

Two courses were now open to Prince Charles. The one
was to follow the fugitive army and hazard an engagement
with Cope before he could reach Inverness, and the other
was to march with all speed into the lowlands while the
road was clear of Government troops. The first idea was
the one that commended itself to the exultant Highlanders
and their courageous leader, but the advantages of an un-
opposed descent upon the lowlands so far outweighed the
more hazardous scheme of pursuit, that it was unanimously
agreed by the assembled chiefs that Cope should be left free
to march to John o' Groats if he pleased, while they took
the opportunity he had so kindly afforded them of making
a diversion in a contrary direction.

This council of war was held at Garvamore, a few miles from
the foot of Corrieyairack, and as soon as the prince had signified
his approval of the decision of his officers, he despatched
Dr Cameron (the brother of Lochiel), Lochgarry, and O'Sullivan
to surprise, and, if possible, destroy the fort at Ruthven in
Badenoch. The garrison offered a stubborn resistance, and as
neither side was possessed of artillery, the storming party had to
retire without having effected an entrance, and with the loss of
one man. From Ruthven they proceeded to Cluny Castle, the
seat of Cluny MacPherson, the chief of the powerful clan of that
name. For politic reasons, Cluny had recently accepted the
command of an independent company in the service of the
Government, but his sympathies were with the Stuarts, and he
only waited a favourable opportunity to attach himself to the
side of his youthful prince. This opportunity was now within his

2 C

202 LOYAL LOCHABER

reach, but, with shrewd good sense, he did not seize it too readily.
Feigning reluctance to accompany Dr Cameron to the prince's
presence, he allowed himself to be conveyed to the Highland
camp as a prisoner on parole, and, as we know, he shortly after-
wards avowed his allegiance to king James VIII., and raised
the whole of his clan for the service of his royal master.

The prince was at Dalwhinnie when Cluny was brought
in, and being assured of the fidelity of this famous chieftain,
he determined to lose no time in pressing on to Edinburgh.
To follow the adventurous march of the Highland army in
their journey southwards is no part of my intention. I have
already strayed beyond the confines of Lochaber and must
now return thither, leaving to my readers the pleasant task of
referring to one or other of the many histories of the '45 for
further information as to the progress of Bonnie Prince Charlie
in his bold attempt to wrest the throne of his forefathers
from the brow of the usurper.

CHAPTER XXIV.

LOCHABER was deserted, from clachan and shieling, from strath
and glen, her brave sons had gone forth to fight under the
standard of their prince, and do battle in the cause for which their
ancestors had wielded the claymore in the days of old Sir Ewen.
Right gallantly had the men of Lochaber responded to the call of
duty. Foremost in the van were the chiefs of Clan Cameron and
MacDonald. Young Lochiel, with his uncle, Cameron of Tor-
castle, and his brother, Dr Archibald Cameron, worthily supported
the honour of their name ; and side by side were their neighbours
and kinsmen MacDonald of Keppoch, 1 and his relatives Tirnadris,
Clanranald, Lochgarry, and ^Lneas MacDonell of Glengarry.

Cameron of Fassfern, wise in his generation, had refused
to come out, but while taking no active part in the campaign,

1 Keppoch's younger brother Donald and his son Angus were also with the
prince's army.

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 203

he looked after his brother's estates and kept him supplied with
money. Angus Mackintosh, who had succeeded his brother
William in 1741 as chief of the clan, professed loyalty to the
Elector of Hanover, and had been appointed to a command
in the newly raised regiment of Lord Loudoun's Highlanders ;
his wife, however, who was a daughter of Farquharson of
Invercauld, was strongly attached to the House of Stuart,
and scorned allegiance to the usurper. Being a woman of
considerable spirit, and of somewhat masculine disposition,
she so far overcame the scruples of her husband, that he
placed no obstacle in her way when she proceeded to raise
the clan for the prince's service. Her military ardour and
energetic action were so far successful, that she not only
brought out her husband's clan, but added to it over three
hundred Farquharsons, and placed the whole under the com-
mand of MacGillivray of Dunmaglass. Her zeal in the cause
gained for her the title of "Colonel Anne," an appellation by
which she will always be remembered in Lochaber.

Prince Charles had thus attracted to his side the whole
of the important clans of Lochaber. Camerons, MacDonalds,
Mackintoshes, and MacPhersons 1 had all- flocked to his
standard, leaving their flocks and herds to the charge of
their women folk, who, with tearful eyes and saddened hearts,
tended the sheep on the mountain sides, anxiously awaiting
tidings of their dear ones in the unknown south. News came
at last of valorous deeds, in which their Donalds and Duncans
had rendered a good account of themselves, and worthily
upheld the old traditions of their ancestors. Perth and
Dundee had been captured for king James, and later in the
month of September all Lochaber rang with the joyful
intelligence that Dunedin, the impregnable, had succumbed
to the victorious arms of the Highlanders, and that Bonnie
Prince Charles held his father's Court in the old palace of

1 The MacPhersons, although, strictly speaking, not a Lochaber clan, are so
intimately connected with that district, that they may fairly be mentioned in that
category.

2O4 LOYAL LOCHABER

Holyrood, surrounded by a brilliant crowd of loyal chieftains
and noble ladies, eager to do him homage and swear fealty
to James VIII. Then messengers arrived bringing tidings of
the glorious victory of the Highland army at Prestonpans,
and the almost ludicrous retreat of Johnnie Cope. There, as
at Killiecrankie and Sheriffmuir, the Lochaber men, by their
desperate valour and fearless courage, proved that they were
more than a match for the disciplined troops of the Elector,
who flew from before the vigorous strokes of their broad-
swords and axes like chaff before the wind.

" The brave Lochiel, as I heard tell,
Led Camerons on in clouds, man ;
The morning fair, and clear the air,
They loosed with devilish thuds, man ;
Down guns they threw, and swords they drew,
And soon did chase them off, man ;
On Seaton's crafts they buff 'd their chafts,
And gart them rin like daft, man."

The fight had been brief but bloody ; out of a force of two
thousand five hundred men whom Cope had led into action,
only two thousand escaped death or wounds. Among the slain
was the gallant Colonel Gardiner, whose conspicuous bravery
on this occasion offered a striking contrast to the poltroonery
of his commanding officer. While making a last desperate
effort to rally his panic-stricken men, he received a terrible
blow from a Lochaber axe wielded by one of the Clan
Cameron, 1 from the effects of which he shortly afterwards died.

Although victorious, the Highland army suffered consider-
able loss, thirty-four of their number being killed and seventy-
six wounded. The Lochaber men had, as usual, borne the full
brunt of the fighting, and the proportion of their slain Vas in
consequence very heavy. Three out of the four officers who
had met their death at Prestonpans were from Lochaber. They
were Captain Alan Cameron of Lundavra, Captain Archibald
MacDonald, of Keppoch's, and Ensign James Cameron, of

1 The slayer of Colonel Gardiner was Samuel Cameron, a native of Kilmallie, in
Lochaber. His grandson was in 1835 an elder of Kilmallie church, and always said
that his grandfather killed the colonel in self-defence.

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 205

Lochiel's ; the other unfortunate gentleman being a near neigh-
bour, Captain Robert Stewart, of Ardshiel's clan.

Thus, amid the pibrochs of victory that resounded through the
glens of Lochaber, was heard the wild and mournful wailings of the
coronach, as some poor stricken Highlander was committed to
the earth among his native hills, which he had left only a few
short months before in all the pride and strength of manhood.

Week followed week, and news of the prince's movements
reached Lochaber only at long intervals. It was known that
Carlisle had fallen, and that at the head of his bold Highlanders
he was marching rapidly on London ; but the distance was too
remote for accurate details, and those who were left behind
could only wait patiently for information of their kinsmen who
had given up all to follow Prince Charlie. Sometime during
December the incredible intelligence arrived that the Highland
army, having proceeded as far south as Derby without a check,
was now retreating before the English troops under the Duke
of Cumberland ; and as time wore on the news was confirmed
by stragglers who, believing all hopes of the prince's success
gone for ever, returned to their homes among the mountains
while there was yet time to escape the vengeance they knew
would be meted out to all who had supported the Stuart cause.
Fort William was at this time under the command of General
Campbell, and as he anticipated that an attack would be made
upon the garrison by the Highland forces, he took active steps
to strengthen his position and provide for emergencies. Three
hundred Argyllshire men, with a good engineer, were drafted
into the fort, and twp sloops of war, " The Serpent " and " The
Baltimore," were ordered to cruise in the waters of Loch Linnhe
and Loch Eil. Fifty men of Guise's regiment, who had been
gathered together at Edinburgh under the command of the
captain-lieutenant, and some other troops, were also sent thither,
and, as we shall see, these precautions came to be of use.
Retreating rapidly by the way they had come, the prince's
army, after a skirmish with the Duke of Cumberland's troops
at Clifton, in which Cluny and his MacPhersons distinguished

206 LOYAL LOCHABER

themselves by their gallant behaviour, passed through Carlisle,
and thence into Scotland via Annan and Ecclefechan.

On the day following Christmas day 1745, Prince Charles
arrived in Glasgow, and immediately set about the task of pro-
viding clothing and stores for his troops at the expense of the
worthy citizens of that flourishing town,and, in addition,demanded
payment of a levy of ; 10,000, which the magistrates had to
supply under military compulsion. From Glasgow the prince
retired to Bannockburn, and shortly afterwards, on 1 7th January
1746, he engaged the English army under General Hawley at
Falkirk Muir, and gained a complete victory over that officer,
who shared the fate of his colleague Sir John Cope, of Preston-
pans fame. Owing to the confusion into which the conflicting
forces were thrown, it was at first impossible to ascertain which
side had the advantage, and a storm of wind and rain that
prevailed at the time added to the difficulty ; but when it was
seen that large bodies of English cavalry were fleeing in wild
disorder towards the town of Falkirk, there was no longer any
doubt as to the side on which victory rested. An old Jacobite
song of the period thus describes Hawley's discomfiture :

" Gae dight your face, and turn the chase,
For fierce the wind does blaw, Hawley,
And Highland Geordie's at your tail,
Wi' Drummond, Perth, and a', Hawley.
Had ye but staid wi' lady's maid
An hour, or may be twa, Hawley,
Your bacon bouk, and bastard snout,
You might have saved them a', Hawley.

Up and rin awa', Hawley,

Up and scour awa', Hawley ;

The Highland dirk is at your doup,

And that's the Highland law, Hawley.

" Says brave Lochiel, ' Pray, have we won ?
I see no troops, I hear no gun:'
Says Drummond, ' Faith, the battle's done :
I know not how or why, man ;
But my good lads, this thing I crave,
Have we defeat these heroes brave ? '
Says Murray, ' I believe we have,
If not, we're here to try, man.' "

THE " FORTY-FIVE " 2O?

The allusion in the first verse of this song to the " lady's
maid" is in reference to the fact that on the morning of the
battle Hawley had accepted the invitation of the Countess of
Kilmarnock to breakfast with her at Callander House ; an
artful ruse on the part of the loyal Jacobite lady which was
entirely successful, as Hawley was so infatuated by her beauty
and fascinating manner, that he spent the whole of the forenoon
in her society.

The losses of the English were very heavy, over two
hundred and eighty being officially returned as killed, wounded,
or missing, a large proportion of officers being among the slain.
Prince Charles lost thirty-two men, and one hundred and twenty
wounded. MacDonald of Tirnadris, the cousin of Keppoch,
who, it will be remembered, had been the first Highlander to
open the campaign in Lochaber, when he attacked and defeated
the two companies of Scots Royals at Loch Lochy, fell into the
hands of General Hawley by a curious accident. In the dusk
of the evening he had perceived a body of men standing under
arms, apparently indifferent to the flight of the English troops.
Their apathy did not at all commend itself to the excited
Tirnadris, and he ran towards them shouting at the top of his
voice, " Gentlemen, why do you stand here ? Why don't you
pursue the dogs?" He soon realised the fatal error he had
made ; the soldiers he had taken to be a portion of Lord
Drummond's regiment proved to be the right flank of Hawley 's
army, who had kept the field. Immediately upon observing
Tirnadris, they raised a cry of " Here is a rebel ! here is a
rebel ! " and in a few moments the unhappy MacDonald was
a prisoner. He was afterwards taken to Edinburgh, and
eventually executed at Carlisle. Lochiel and his brother, Dr
Archibald Cameron, were both slightly wounded in this action,
but their wounds did not deter them from following the prince
in his march northwards.

After the battle the Highland army occupied Falkirk,
and here a most unfortunate accident happened, which
resulted in the desertion of a considerable number of the

2O8 LOYAL LOCHABER

prince's followers. One of the MacDonalds of Clanranald,
having appropriated a musket from the battlefield, was
amusing himself in his quarters by removing the charge
with which it was loaded. Having extracted the bullet, he
placed the weapon to his shoulder, and fired from the window
into the street. As ill-luck would have it, the piece had been
loaded with a double charge, and the remaining ball struck
yEneas MacDonell of Glengarry, 1 who was standing in the
street with some brother officers discussing the events of the
late engagement. Pierced to the heart, he fell into the arms
of his friends, and died in a few minutes, requesting with his
last breath that the unhappy man who had unwittingly caused
his death should not be punished.

So exasperated were the clansmen of Glengarry at the
sad fate of their leader, that, notwithstanding his last com-
mands, they proceeded to take summary vengeance against the
unlucky man whose carelessness had produced such a dire
result. He was conducted by the enraged MacDonalds to
a wall outside the town and shot. Having lost their leader,
the Glengarry men ceased to take interest in the prince's
cause, and the majority of them returned to their homes,
where they spread abroad the alarming intelligence of the
failure of the Highland army to reach London, and the prob-
able approach of a powerful force under the Elector's son,
the Duke of Cumberland.

Meanwhile Prince Charles, after wasting three weeks in an
attempt to reduce the fortress of Stirling, reluctantly consented
to adopt the advice tendered by the chiefs and officers of his
army, and retreat northwards upon Inverness, and not hazard
another engagement with the English troops until the spring
months, when it was hoped an army of at least ten thousand
effective Highlanders could be brought together for his service.
Proceeding through Doune, Dunblane, and Crieff, Prince
Charles and his dispirited followers marched rapidly in the
direction of the northern capital. On 4th February he reached

1 Second son of John MacDonell, XII. of Glengarry.

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 2OQ

Blair in Athole, and from there went to Ruthven in Badenoch,
where he destroyed the fort and made prisoners of the garrison.
By the i6th he had arrived at Moy Castle, 1 the ancestral
home of the chiefs of the Clan Mackintosh, and the abode
of his fair adherent, Lady Anne Mackintosh, who was delighted
at the honour of having the prince under her hospitable roof.
In these comfortable quarters, which must have seemed doubly
pleasant after the hardships and disappointments he had
encountered on his arduous march, Prince Charles decided
to remain until he could muster a sufficient force to enable
him to attack the Earl of Loudoun, who was then at Inver-
ness at the head of an army of two thousand men. Lady
Mackintosh, fearing that Lord Loudoun would hear of the
prince's arrival at Moy, endeavoured by every means in her
power to keep his visit a secret, but all her exertions were futile,
and the news leaked out. Someone played the unenviable part
of traitor, and the tidings of the prince's proximity to Inverness
was whispered into the ears of Lord Loudoun, who immediately
conceived a plan to surround Moy and arrest him. Fortunately
for the prince's safety, the Dowager Lady Mackintosh, who
resided in Inverness, got wind of Loudoun's scheme, and at
once took steps to communicate the intelligence to her
daughter-in-law ; but as Loudoun had given strict orders
that no one should be allowed to leave Inverness on the
night in question without a pass, she found some difficulty in
carrying out her intentions. However, by the aid of a daring
lad named Lachlan Mackintosh, she succeeded in informing the
prince of the danger that threatened him. Young Lachlan,
finding he could not pass the sentries without risk of arrest,

1 The night before the prince's arrival at Moy Hall he had stayed at Keppoch,
and while there the wife of the chief gave birth to a daughter, who was named
Charlotte, in honour of the royal guest. It was during this visit that Mrs MacDonell
presented the prince with a tartan plaid that she had spun and dyed with her own
hands. This plaid was left at Moy, and for many years afterwards was laid over the
bed in which the prince had slept. This interesting relic was given by Sir ^Eneas
Mackintosh to Miss Jane Abernethy in 1817, and is now in the possession of Miss
Boyle, by whom it was lent to the Stuart Exhibition. Portions of the plaid are also
held by the Farquharsons of Invercauld.

2 D

210 LOYAL LOCHABER

hid himself in a ditch until the soldiers who were on their way
to capture the prince had passed. He then ran off at the top
of his speed by a road across the hills, and reached Moy in a
fainting and breathless condition about five o'clock on the morn-
ing of i/th February. Scarcely able to speak, he panted out
the alarming news to the Highland guard who kept watch over
the sleeping prince, that Loudoun's men were close at hand.

In a few moments the prince was unceremoniously awakened
from his slumbers, and realising the importance of haste, he
instantly dressed and joined his men in the courtyard below.
Lady Mackintosh, who had also been aroused by her maids,
did not allow herself time to don her ordinary attire, but hastily
descended the stairs en dfehabiltt, to take her place by the
prince's side and direct his course to a place of security. Had
she known what had meanwhile happened to the expeditionary
force, she would have laughed outright, and, instead of distress-
ing herself with anxious fears for her hero's safety, would have
drained a bumper to the gallant fellows who had, by a ludicrous
and clever ruse, thrown the enemy into confusion, and rendered
Loudoun's carefully matured plan of no avail. Although this
incident, known as the " rout of Moy," can hardly be considered
as relating to Lochaber, it is of interest as showing the inherent
shrewdness of character possessed by the Highlanders, who
were thereby often enabled to gain material advantage over
their English opponents, even when outnumbered, as on this
occasion, to the extent of over two hundred to one.

The Dowager Lady Mackintosh, having despatched the
messenger to Moy, took the double precaution of mustering a
small party of five staunch Highlanders headed by a blacksmith
named Fraser, known as the "smith of Moy." Having explained
the object she had in view, Lady Mackintosh sent them forth
on their errand, with instructions to proceed along the road from
Inverness and lie in wait for the Government troops, who,
they were informed, numbered about fifteen hundred men.
At first blush the enterprise in which they had embarked
seemed a mad one ; but so confident were they in that native

THE "FORTY-FIVE 211

wit with which Dame Nature had endowed her hardy sons
of the North, that the desperate nature of the undertaking
rendered it all the more attractive to their resolute hearts.
Upon arriving at a spot where they could await, under the
cover of the bushes, the approach of Loudoun's men, Fraser,
with all the skill of a general, placed his men at intervals
along the roadside among the trees, and had hardly finished
this operation when the sound of the advancing soldiers
reached his ears. As soon as they came within gunshot, he
raised his musket and shot the chief of MacLeod's piper, 1 who
was in front, through the heart. At the same time the
others opened fire from behind the bushes and shrubs upon
the startled troops, who, finding themselves shot at from all
sides, imagined they had a large force to deal with. To add
to this impression, the clever blacksmith shouted out the war-
cries of the Camerons and MacDonalds, and called loudly
upon those clans to advance. This artful manoeuvre produced
the desired effect, and in a few moments the terror-stricken
soldiers, thinking they had the whole of the prince's army
lying in ambush for them, took to their heels and fled to
Inverness in the wildest confusion. The occurrence afforded
considerable amusement to Prince Charles, when the news of the
blacksmith's exploit reached him in the security of his retreat
by Loch Moy; and being assured that all immediate danger was
over, he returned to the house of his hospitable hostess.

On the 1 8th February the prince entered Inverness without
any resistance being offered by the citizens ; the regiment
commanded by Lord Loudoun having retired into Ross-shire.
Early in March a strong force of Irish, under Brigadier
Stapleton, was despatched from Inverness by Prince Charles
to besiege Fort Augustus, which was garrisoned by three

1 This was Donald Ban MacCrimmon, one of the most celebrated of the hereditary
pipers of the MacLeods of Dunvegan, who composed the celebrated pibroch, "Cha
till mi tuille, " on the occasion of his leaving Skye with his chief to join Lord Loudoun's
force. His sympathies were said to have been with Prince Charles, and his presenti-
ment that he would never return was expressed in the lament, now so well known
through Sir Walter Scott's verses.

212 LOYAL LOCHABER

companies of Guise's regiment. Owing to a heavy fall of
snow, Stapleton could not bring up his artillery in time for
the attack, but nevertheless succeeded in driving the defenders
from the barracks into the fort. On the 5th of March the
powder-magazine blew up and forced the garrison to surrender.

General Campbell, who commanded at Fort William, having
received intelligence of the fall of Fort Augustus, became
alarmed for his own safety, and instructed one of his officers
to despatch a letter to the Duke of Cumberland, informing
him of the desperate strait they were in. Accordingly the
following letter was penned and sent off by special messenger
to the duke, who was then at Aberdeen : " We have advice
here, that a party of the rebels amounting to one thousand
men is at Glennevis, within two miles of us, and that their
train of artillery is to be to-morrow at Highbridge, which is
six miles from the Fort. We have heard of the taking of
Fort Augustus, and expect to be attacked ; but General
Campbell is determined to defend the place to the utmost
of his power. For some days past there have been some
small parties of rebels posted on each side of the narrows of
Carron (Corran), in which on Sunday last they took one of the
boats belonging to the ' Baltimore ' sloop, as she was coming
from Scallestall (probably Inverscaddle) Bay, and sent the
crew prisoners to their headquarters. ... In consequence
thereof, Captain Askew of the ' Serpent ' sloop sent his
boat with twenty -seven men in it, another boat of the
'Baltimore's' with twenty-four men, and a boat belonging to
Fort William with twenty men, down to the narrows, where
they all arrived by daylight. Captain Askew's men were
landed first, and were immediately attacked by a party of
eighty rebels who fired upon them, but without doing any
damage, and upon the rest of the men belonging to the boats
coming up the rebels fled. Our people pursued them, burnt
the ferry-houses on both sides of the water, and a little town
(? Onich) with about twelve houses in it, a quarter of a mile
distant from the ferry- house, and destroyed or brought off

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 213

all the boats. Two of the rebels were killed in this affair and
several wounded."

General Campbell's next step, after sending off this
despatch to the commander - in - chief, was to barbarously
destroy the adjacent village of Maryburgh by fire, a wanton
act of cruelty, which called forth the wrath of the "gentle"
Lochiel, and caused him to pen, in conjunction with Keppoch,
a remarkable and characteristic letter, dated 2Oth March 1746,
from Glen Nevis House, where he was then staying, he having
been ordered by Prince Charles to take command of the detach-
ment that had been sent from Inverness to lay siege to Fort
William, and which was to act in conjunction with the force
of Irish under Brigadier Stapleton, who, having reduced Fort
Augustus, had marched via High Bridge, and were now engaged
in prosecuting the siege of Fort William. The letter referred to
above will be found in the Appendix, 1 and should be read by
all who wish to learn something of the chivalrous and noble
nature of the much maligned Highlander of the '45. This
humane epistle will be found to afford a striking contrast to
the cruel orders of " the butcher " Cumberland and the brutal
Hawley.

CHAPTER XXV.

BEFORE proceeding to describe the siege of Fort William, I
will ask my readers' permission to make a slight digression,
in order to give some account of the lovely spot that Lochiel
had selected for his headquarters.

Glen Nevis may fairly lay claim to share with its rivals
Glencoe, Glenorchy, and Glenogle the honour of being one of
the most magnificent in Scotland. Throughout its whole
length of about seven miles, every variety of Highland scenery
may be observed ; at each turn of the road new scenes of
surpassing beauty unfold themselves before the gaze of the

1 Appendix XXVII.

214 LOYAL LOCHABER

pedestrian who is fortunate enough to have penetrated into
this unfrequented wonderland. The mighty Ben Nevis,
monarch of British mountains, dominates the landscape with
regal splendour, its stupendous bulk occupying almost the
entire length of the glen on the north-east side, and forming
an immense natural barrier to the bitter winds that blow from
that quarter, and affording shelter to the numerous flocks of
sheep that from time immemorial have grazed on the grassy
lower slopes that form its base. The entrance to the glen is
unsurpassed for sylvan beauty; great spruce firs and sycamores
spread their boughs above the road, and form a glorious canopy
of green, through which the hottest rays of a June sun can
hardly penetrate. The music of murmuring water falls upon
the ear with gentle cadence, and we catch a glimpse of the
crystal Nevis rushing over its bed of pebbles, that glisten white
and sparkling as a stray sunbeam, piercing through the inter-
laced branches of the rowan trees, falls upon the water and
reveals the mysteries of its translucent depths, where the
speckled trout, hardly distinguishable from the stones, may
be seen by the keen observer lazily basking in the warm
sunshine. Here, "when Phcebus 'gins to rise," we may hear
"the mavis singing his love song to the morn," or we may
watch the amusing antics of the little brown squirrels, leaping
from bough to bough as if unconscious of our presence, but
all the while regarding us with their bright eyes, as we
shall discover if we make the slightest movement in their
direction, when, with a whisk of their bushy tails, they will
vanish among the trees overhead. As we penetrate farther
down the glen the character of the landscape changes, the
avenue of trees comes to an end, and we emerge into a more
open stretch of country, with the heather-covered slopes of the
Cow Hill on our right, and the great green eminence of Meall-
an-t-Suidhe towering 2300 feet above us on the left.

At this part of the glen is the remarkable moss-covered
boulder known as the " Clock Shomhairle" or " stone of
Somerled." Local tradition states that in the days of old a

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 215

chieftain of the " Sliochd Shomhairle Ruaidh " (" the children of
Somerled the Red "), the patronymic of the Camerons of Glen
Nevis, gained a victory over a rival clan on this spot, and
placed the stone there as an imperishable memorial of the
event. Another reading makes the name to be " Clack
Chomhairle " ("the stone of advice or counsel "), and this has
some countenance in two stories still current. On one occasion
a party of enemies, stated variously to be Camerons of Lochiel
(who were often at feud with their kinsmen of Glen Nevis),
MacDonalds, or Campbells, were on their way to make an
attack on Glen Nevis, and stopped a little to the west of the
stone to consider the plan of attack. For some reason or
other (one story being that it was due to the second- sight of
their seanachie) a precipitate flight was determined upon, and
next morning the Camerons of the glen, on coming out, found
the traces and most of the belongings of the invaders, but no
sign of the foes themselves. Yet another story has it that,
with the ostensible purpose of cementing a truce, some members
of either the Lochiel or Glengarry families were invited to dine
with the Glen Nevis men, and were to come without a following,
as the errand was of so peaceful a nature. This stipulation
sufficed to arouse the suspicions of the guests, and before pro-
ceeding to the house of MacSorlie, they stopped at the big
stone to review matters, and came to the wise decision that
it would be better to return the way they had come than
accept the questionable hospitality of the chief of Glen Nevis.
Whether this resolution was due to the influence of the magic
stone or to the wisdom of their leaders, it is impossible to say ;
but certain it is that had they entered the door of MacSorlie
they would never have returned alive, for it was afterwards
discovered that their murder had been cunningly planned,
and the invitation was merely a lure to destruction.

The auld wives say that on a certain night of the year (the
exact date they keep to themselves, for obvious reasons) the
boulder turns round three times, and that any one fortunate
enough to find it on the move will get answers to any three

2l6 LOYAL LOCHABER

questions he may put before it finally settles to rest again.
I am sorry I am unable to vouch for the truth of this legend
from personal experience. Many a time and oft, by day and
by night, have I passed this venerable relic, and have even
had the reckless audacity to knock out my pipe ashes on its
moss-covered surface; but it has never honoured me with so
much as a tremor, and I have come to the conclusion that it
reserves its gymnastic exhibition only for the Highland lasses
who may wish to have proof of its oracular powers, and will
not be stirred into action by mere male creatures like myself.
There is a tradition that the Clack Shomhairle marks the last
place of sepulture of Somerled himself, while another says that
it was his putting-stone.

After passing the boulder, the glen opens out considerably,
and the ground becomes of a swampy nature, and is covered
with a rank growth of bog-myrtle (Roid\ which, when trodden
under foot, exhales a strong aromatic perfume. This plant,
which is common throughout the Highlands, was the chosen
badge of Clan Campbell, and in the days of the old feuds
was regarded with detestation by those clans who had been
subjected to the tyrannies of Mac Cailean Mbr. Among the
great clumps of heather, rushes, and myrtle, the curious cotton-
like tufts of the canach grass attract attention as they flutter in
the breeze. The ancient bards frequently introduced the canach
into their poems as a metaphor when describing the charms
of their heroines. Ossian, in his beautiful poem of " Cath-
Loda," makes use of the simile

" If on the heath she moved, her breast was whiter than the down of

Cana ; . . .
Her eyes were two stars of light ; her face was heaven's bow in showers ;

her dark hair flowed round it like streaming clouds,
Thou wert the dweller of souls, white-handed Strina-dona ! "

Following the road a short distance farther, we come to
the cultivated land belonging to the farm of Glen Nevis, and
may observe the house itself nestling among the trees immedi-
ately in front. A few paces from the path on our right is a

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 2I/

noticeable tree-covered eminence, rising abruptly from the
level ground at the foot of the Cow Hill. This grassy mound
is called in descriptive Gaelic phraseology Tom-eas-an-t-slinnein
("knoll of the waterfall of the shoulder "), and possesses a pathetic
interest as being the last resting-place of the now (I believe)
extinct branch of Clan Cameron, the Camerons of Glen Nevis.
To sit here, as I have often done, on a calm summer after-
noon, when all nature seems hushed in slumberous repose, and
nought disturbs the ear but the faint rustling of the leaves and
the distant murmur of the rippling Nevis, is to experience
something of that " peace which passeth all understanding " ;
the noisy, bustling, crowded world, where vice is rampant and
virtue can scarce raise its head, is shut out from us by the
everlasting hills. Here, indeed, is rest, a haven of sweet
repose, where we may commune with Nature amid her most
glorious handiwork, and with the peaceful dead sleeping
beneath our feet. A few lines composed on the spot may
not be out of place here, and may perhaps assist the reader
to imagine the scene I have tried to depict.

TOM-EAS-AN-T-SLINNEIN.

GLEN NEVIS.
Upon a fir-crown'd knoll, sun kissed at morn,

And where at eve the length'ning shadows creep,
God's Acre lies, of weary souls the bourne,
Who, tired of life's brief fever, calmly sleep.

No sound disturbs their peaceful slumbers deep,
Save when an eagle from its rocky height

Sweeps screaming down upon the tremb'ling sheep,
Making the glen resound with their affright.

The foxgloves nod upon their slender stems,
The pine trees whisper in the noontide breeze ;

From flower to flower, like ever-flashing gems,
All honey-laden, flit the humming bees.

A vanished race lie here, an ancient clan,
Sprung from the loins of Somerled the Red ;

Who in Glen Nevis, so the legend ran,

Ruled long and wisely, of his foes the dread.

2 E

2l8 , LOYAL LOCHABER

Cradled among the hills that saw their birth,

Where giant Ben Nevis lifts his cloud-crown'd head;

They rest in peace beneath the kindly earth,

While o'er their graves the verdant branches spread.

Forgotten of the world, unwept, uncared,
The gallant soldier, the fair Highland maid,

The tender infant death might well have spared,
Lie here together, 'neath the larches' shade.

Strew scented wild flowers o'er the silent dead,
As soft your footsteps tread the hallow'd sod ;

Far from our ken th' immortal spirit's fled,

Their day on earth is done, they rest with God.

The history of the "vanished race" is shrouded in fable
and doubt, and the various writers who have touched upon
the subject do not all agree as to the origin of the Sliochd
Shomhairle Ruaidh. Skene, whose researches in the interesting
field of Celtic history have done so much to throw a light upon
the genealogy of the Highland clans, gives in his valuable
work on the Highlanders a succinct account of the various
branches of Clan Cameron, among which he mentions the
Camerons of Glen Nevis. " Originally," he writes, " the Clan
Cameron consisted of three septs the Clan ic Mhartin, or
MacMartins of Letterfinlay; the Clan ic Ilonobhy, or Camerons
of Strone ; and Sliochd Shoirle Ruaidh, or Camerons of Glen
Nevis." He gives it as his opinion that the MacMartins were
the oldest chiefs of the clan, and the family of Lochiel the
oldest cadets. He accounts for the chieftainship falling into
the hands of the Lochiel branch by the reasonable hypothesis
that the MacMartin Camerons, having adhered to the successful
faction in the dispute between the Mackintoshes and the
MacPhersons in 1396 respecting the right to the chieftainship
of the Clan Chattan, became absorbed into that great con-
federacy, and the Camerons of Lochiel having declared
themselves independent, remained neutral, and thus gained
the position they have held ever since.

According to MacKenzie, the progenitor of the Glen Nevis

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 219

sept was John de Cambrun, who appears as witness to a deed
in the year 1230 A.D., but admits that this is open to doubt,
and states that it has been maintained the Glen Nevis men
were not Camerons originally, but MacDonalds ; and, as sup-
porting this view, Dr Fraser Mackintosh cites (Transactions
of the Gaelic Society of Inverness, vol. xvii. p. 34) a charter
of 2oth April 1466, in which John, Lord of the Isles, grants
to Somerled a davoch of Glen Nevis, and considers this refers
to the Somerled known as Shoirle " Ruaidh." Certainly there
were many feuds between the Glen Nevis and the Lochiel
families. In 1577 Lochiel grants a deed of assurance of safety
to Mackintosh of Dunachton on behalf of the Clan Soirle ;
and again, towards the beginning of the seventeenth century,
Alastair Cameron of Glen Nevis was killed while assisting
the Earl of Huntly's son against Lochiel in an attempt to
oust the latter from the lands taken by him under a charter
from the king to the Argyll family in i6oS. 1

MacKenzie says that a new charter was granted to Glen
Nevis and others in 1618 by Huntly, but this is doubted by
Fraser Mackintosh, who states ( Trans, Gael. Soc. of Inverness]
that the lands passed from Somerled to John, his son, and
Donald, his grandson, and that on I5th September 1522 Donald
resigned Glen Nevis into the queen's hands as superior, to
hold afterwards of the Earl of Huntly, who had got a crown
grant of the greater part of Lochaber. Donald was infeft in
1553, during the reign of the unfortunate Mary, and no further
title was made up till 1712, when Alan Cameron is entered
by the superior as great-great-great-grandson of Donald.

Such are the meagre details that have been handed down
to us of the history of this now extinct clan. Their name will
ever be associated with the traditions of the beautiful glen
which was their home in the days that are gone, and in which
their mortal remains now find rest.

Regaining the road and following the course of the river,
we now approach Glen Nevis House, a small but substantial

1 MacKenzie's "History of the Clau Cameron."

220 s LOYAL LOCHAUER

dwelling of considerable antiquity, built of stone, partly covered
with cement to keep out the winter storms. The house is
almost surrounded by trees, and on one side is a splendid
avenue of fine beeches, which is associated with several curious
legends. Local authorities assert that this building is not the
ancient home of the chieftains of the MacSorlies, which they
say stood on a small knoll called Dun Dige, three or four
hundred yards farther up the glen. Certainly this knoll bears
very distinct traces of having been surrounded by a ditch or
moat, and the mould contains a large quantity of burned wood.
There is a remarkable story extant connecting this now
demolished dwelling-place with the capture of the last of
the seven MacDonalds who were concerned in the Keppoch
murder, which has been described fully in an earlier chapter.
The presence of the assassin in Glen Nevis is accounted for
by the fact that a marriage connection of some sort existed
between Glen Nevis and the chief of the murderers. In the
Gaelic Society's Transactions (p. 40) there is a paper by Dr
Fraser Mackintosh which seems to substantiate this tradition.

I can get no definite information as to when the present
house was built, but it was certainly anterior to 1745, and
was without doubt the headquarters of the Highland force
commanded by Lochiel, who, to the number of fifteen hundred,
invested Fort William, and caused General Campbell some
alarm, and, as we shall afterwards learn, considerable trouble.
Lochiel and Keppoch were both residing here in March 1746,
during the time the siege was in progress, and it was from
this place that the letter I have referred to was dated. Like
many other old houses in the Highlands, it possesses its familiar
spirit, the ghost in this instance taking the form of a little old
woman clothed in grey, whose raison d'etre I have been unable
to discover.

It has been my privilege on many a well - remembered
occasion to receive a hearty Highland welcome and pass
many a pleasant hour under the hospitable roof of the old
house of Glen Nevis, in the genial society of its worthy

Glen Nevis House. Headquarters of the Highlanders during the siege of Fort William,

March 1746.

River Nevis at Poll Dubh.

Page 221.

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 221

tenants and their friends. By its cosy ingle I have sat,
after the fatigues of a long day's fishing excursion " doon
the glen," and listened to weird stories of water kelpies, urisks,
and other supernatural monsters peculiar to the Highlands, told
by a famous raconteur and jolly fellow, whose mind is a very
storehouse of Highland anecdote. Air 'ur slainte Tom MacKay
in a bumper of f\or dhruchd nam beann; I hope to have many
a good day's fishing with you yet, and listen to a few more
of your inimitable yarns under the old roof-tree.

CHAPTER XXVI.

MAIS " revenons a nos moutons" and proceed to explore the
further beauties of the glen. Noticing as we pass along the
famous " Clach-an-turramain " or rocking stone, which we may
see in a meadow a short distance beyond the house. The
ravages of time, or an act of vandalism on the part of some
brainless tourist, has altered the poise of the upper boulder,
and it no longer rocks. The hill immediately at the rear of
the stone is called in the vernacular " Cnocan-na-mi-chomhairle"
or " the hill of evil counsel," from the following circumstances.
Sometime after the great fight at Invernahavon in 1386, the
then chief of the Glen Nevis Camerons was desirous of making
peace with his old enemies, the powerful Clan Chattan, and
in order that some mutual agreement should be arrived at,
he invited them to a friendly conference in Glen Nevis, to
discuss the terms of the proposed treaty. These peaceful
overtures on the part of their chief did not please the more
warlike spirits among the Camerons, and although they
attended the meeting at the bidding of MacSorlie, they did
so with the greatest reluctance, and with the spark of hatred
smouldering within their breasts. In this inflammable con-
dition it is not to be wondered at that a quarrel should arise,
as arise it did, with terrible consequences to the race of
Somerled the Red. At first all went well, the assembled

222 LOYAL LOCHABER

warriors feasted and were merry under the hospitable roof of
MacSorlie, and as quaigh after quaigh of usquebaugh went
round, their hearts were warmed by the generous spirit, and
mirth and song prevailed in Glen Nevis. At last the hour
for the departure of the Clan Chattan arrived, and the " deoch
an doruis" having been drunk, MacSorlie ordered his piper to
play a pibroch in honour of his guests. This was the oppor-
tunity the old piper had waited for; his warlike spirit had
fretted within him while the ancient foes of his race sat at
the table of his chief, and he had remained silently brooding
over the many insults and wrongs his clan had sustained in
the days of old at the hands of the men in whose honour he
was now asked to play. Ay, he would give them a tune to
speed them on their way; a tune they had often heard swelling
on the blast amid the din of battle. Throwing the great drones
of the pipes over his shoulders, and grasping the chanter with
hands all trembling with emotion, he filled the bag with the
breath of his powerful lungs, and, to the horror of MacSorlie
and the more peacefully disposed of his chieftains, struck up
the war pibroch of Clan Cameron, "Tkigibh an so, chlannabh
na'n coris gheibh sibh feoil" (" Come here, children of the dogs,
and you'll get flesh ").

It was useless for MacSorlie to offer an apology to his
insulted guests ; the mischief was done ; nothing but blood
could wipe out the indignity that had been put upon them,
and they took their leave with a fierce determination to return,
when opportunity should serve, and take summary vengeance
upon the implacable Camerons.

Proceeding on their homeward way, they reached the brow
of the hill I have mentioned, and which may be easily dis-
tinguished from the rest by the clump of fir trees with which
it is crowned. From this elevation they could discern their
enemies in the glen beneath, and hear the faint strains of the
detested pibroch wafted to their ears on the evening breeze.
Maddened at the sound, they halted and took counsel with
one another ; and it is said that the MacPhersons, conceiving

THE " FORTY-FIVE " 223

that the insult had been specially directed against them,
decided to remain where they were until nightfall, and then
fall upon their sleeping foes sword in hand and utterly destroy
them. Thus the hill upon which this fearful vengeance was
planned is called until this day "the hill of evil counsel."
The threat was, alas ! no idle one. At midnight, when the
inhabitants of the peaceful glen were wrapped in slumber, the
murderous band swept down upon them like an avalanche of
destruction, sparing neither man, woman, or child who came
within reach of their swords. MacSorlie and most of his
household were slain in cold blood by the pitiless assassins,
but a special providence watched over his infant son, who
miraculously escaped the fate of the rest of his kindred. The
child was asleep in his cradle when the murderers entered, and
was apparently unnoticed by them while the bloody work went
on. In the midst of the deadly struggle that ensued upon the
entrance of the MacPhersons, one of the Camerons, named
" Iain Mac Dhon 'ic Raoil," disengaging himself from the
clutches of his antagonist, seized the sleeping infant, and fled
with it into the darkness of the night. With rapid steps he
sped along the glen, clasping his precious burden in his arms,
until he came to a great cavern, probably formed by volcanic
agency, in the rocky bank of the river Nevis. Here he hid
his young chieftain for some weeks, keeping the secret even
from his wife, who lived a short distance off at Achriabhach,
At length the hiding-place was discovered by the aid of
Iain's dog, who, having shared the privations of his master, was
reduced to a state of semi-starvation. The natural instinct of
self-preservation prompted the faithful animal to seek food in
the place where it was most likely to be found, and one
day, much to the surprise of Iain's wife, the dog made his
appearance at Achriabhach, and having satisfied the pangs
of hunger, departed to rejoin his master. The suspicions of
the good woman being aroused by the strange behaviour of
the dog, she determined to follow him, and learn, if possible,
the fate of her husband, whom she had given up all hopes of

224 LOYAL LOCHABER

seeing again. When Iain discovered the dog's absence, he
feared that his secret would be discovered, and he took up
his position at the mouth of the cave, ready to defend his
young charge in the event of an enemy approaching. The
enemy proved to be his own wife, who, upon catching sight
of her husband, rushed forward to embrace him in the first
impulse of her joy at seeing him alive. Stern in the discharge
of his duty as guardian of the heir of MacSorlie, Iain forbade
his wife to come nearer, feeling assured that the secret would
be a secret no longer if it was confided to female ears, and
upon her attempt to disregard his injunction, he threatened to
kill her if she made another step in the direction of the cave.
His wild, unkempt appearance and ferocious gestures had the
desired effect upon the wretched woman, who, thinking her
husband bereft of his senses, fled from the painful scene.

This occurrence produced a feeling of insecurity in the
mind of Iain, and he began to think that the cave was no
longer a safe hiding-place, as he knew his wife would inform
her friends of what had taken place. He therefore took young
Somerled in his arms, and set out for a distant part of the
Highlands where the story was unknown. Here they dwelt
in peace for some years, until it became necessary that the
youthful chief should receive the education that his rank
required. Before leaving Glen Nevis House, on the night of
the massacre, Iain had prudently possessed himself of certain
documents that proved the lad's title to the estates of his
murdered father, and had also brought with him a silver
spoon, which was an heirloom of the chief of the Glen Nevis
Camerons. These precious articles he had carefully preserved
during his wanderings, and they were now to be of service in
restoring the exile to his position as head of the clan.

Returning to Lochaber with the young heir, Iain presented
himself in the guise of a beggar at the house of Inverlair, where
the sister of the unfortunate MacSorlie resided, and demanded
some food for the boy. This request having been granted by
the charitable lady, some porridge was brought out by the

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 225

servant, who was startled to see the seeming beggar produce a
silver spoon from his sporan, and proceed to feed the hungry
lad. So strange did this circumstance appear, that she went
to inform her mistress, who immediately came out to see the
unwonted sight of a beggar child being fed with a silver spoon.
As soon as she saw young Somerled, she perceived the remark-
able resemblance he bore to her dead brother, and at the same
time catching sight of the family heirloom, began to suspect
the truth. A few inquiries cautiously made, satisfied her that
her suspicions were well founded, and she no longer doubted
that the beggar child was her own nephew ; but as enemies
might be lurking in the neighbourhood, it was decided between
her and Iain that the secret of the lad's birth should for the
present be withheld from him. Under his aunt's care he
received all those limited educational advantages which the age
and place could offer; and he was trained in all manly pursuits
and athletic exercises by the faithful Iain, whom he regarded
as his father. Under this kindly tuition the young chief
developed all the noble characteristics of his ancestors, and
at the age of seventeen, being thought by his guardians fitted
in every way to take his rightful place at the head of his clan,
they disclosed to him the story of his adventurous career, and
bade him attend the gathering of the Camerons which was
shortly to take place at Mucomer, by command of Lochiel.
When the day arrived, young Somerled set out for the spot
attended by his devoted friend, and upon arrival proceeded
to take his place among the assembled chieftains. This bold
behaviour on the part of an entire stranger excited the sur-
prise of all present, and Lochiel, turning to his clansmen, said,
" Whence comes this forward lad ? " With ready wit the young
chief replied in Gaelic verse, which may be Anglicised
thus

" I am not a stranger in the land ;
My ancestors oft followed the ' totr' (chase).
Nor did an arrow ever wound my step
When taking cattle off Tor-nan-cor?

2 F

226 LOYAL LOCHABER

The allusion to the hill of Tor-nan-cor, which was close to
the home of the chieftain of Glen Nevis, was at once com-
prehended by Lochiel and those who stood round him : the
recollection of the terrible massacre was still fresh in their
minds, although more than fifteen years had passed since that
awful event. The lad's noble presence and resolute bearing
gave some force to his pretensions, and caused Lochiel to
regard him with favour; and he listened patiently, and with
considerable interest, to the long story that Iain Mac Dhon
'ic Raoil unfolded. The production of the title-deeds removed
any remaining doubts in Lochiel's mind as to the validity of
the claim of young MacSorlie to his father's estates in Glen
Nevis, and before the close of that auspicious day the chief
of the ancient race of Sliochd Shomhairle Ruaidh found himself
in full possession of his patrimony.

MacKenzie, in his " History of the Clan Cameron," refers
to two other branches, or rather families, of Camerons, whose
place of abode was far removed from their ancestral district
of Lochaber, and whose connection with the parent clan
it is difficult to discover. One of these families was to
be found in Strathspey and the other in Cowal, the latter
calling themselves "Mac an Taillear," or " sons of the tailor,"
and who were probably descended from the famous Donald
" Taillear dubh na tuaigke" (whose history has already
been given in an earlier chapter), who shares with Iain
Mac Dhon 'ic Raoil the honour of having been the saviour
of the young heir of MacSorlie from the hands of the
assassins.

The story runs that the foster-brother of the chief was
called Sorlie or Samuel, and during the assault on the house
managed to break his way through the attacking party, carrying
with him the infant son of his chief, the sole surviving member
of the family. He hid for some time in Samuel's Cave, and
then made his way to the Earl of Huntly, in whose charge
the child was left. To avoid suspicion, he theri travelled down
to Cowal, where he supported himself by working as a tailor,

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 227

and from this circumstance his descendants were known as
" the sons of the tailor."

It is evident that this story is merely another version of
the former one ; but from the fact that the Earl of Huntly is
named as being the guardian of MacSorlie's heir, it would
make the massacre of the Glen Nevis Camerons occur at a
later date than the story of Iain Mac Dhon 'ic Raoil, as it
was not until the early part of the sixteenth century that the
Earls of Huntly had any influence in Lochaber.

A short distance from " the hill of evil counsel," on the same
side of the glen, is a remarkable green hill, rising about a
thousand feet above the road, and crowned with the remains
of one of those peculiar relics of a prehistoric age known as
vitrified forts, of which several may yet be found in the
northern and western Highlands. The one in Glen Nevis
forms a link in the chain of these structures which extends
from Strathpeffer to Oban, and is especially interesting on
account of its association with the name of the unfortunate
Irish princess " Deirdre," the wife of Naisi or Nathos, son of
Uisnach. The sad story of the untimely fate of this unhappy
pair is to be found in an ancient Gaelic MS., dated 1238,
and known as " Dan Chloinn Uisneachain," and may be told
briefly as follows :

CHAPTER XXVII.

IN the days of old, when Conor was king of Ulster in Erin,
he came to the dwelling of Felim, the Seanachie, to take counsel
with him. And it fell out that after the king had entered
into the house, in the time of lateness, the wife of the Seanachie
was delivered of a daughter of whom Cathbad, the Druid,
prophesied evil, saying that disaster should fall upon the land
of Ulster because of the child who was born. And the stream
of years flowed on, and the maid grew in beauty and comeli-
ness, and the name that was upon her was Deirdre. Her

228 LOYAL LOCHABER

eyes were as the stars of heaven, her arms were white as the
foam of streams, like the shades of dusky night her dark hair
fell upon her heaving breasts, her teeth were as a river of
pearl between banks of rowan, like the rose her cheeks, and
her soul was a beam of light. Who among the maids of
Erin was as fair as she?

And the fame of her beauty was spread abroad through
all the land of Ulster, so that knowledge of it was at the
king ; and he took a thought that he would make Deirdre his
wife when she had attained to womanhood.

Now when Conor had determined thus, fear was upon him
lest others should be tempted by the maid's exceeding loveli-
ness to steal her from him, so he called Lavarcam, one of his
maidservants, and laid his commands upon her. Said the
king, " On the morning of the morrow's day, go to the house
of Felim, the Seanachie, and give him my blessing, and say
that it is his daughter that I would have for wife. Use thy
cunning and speak soft, flowing peaceful words of wisdom so that
he will give his daughter into thy hands. Do this and I will
set it to thy gain, for great will be the reward thou shalt get."

And on the morning of the morrow's day, Lavarcam went
to the house of the Seanachie, and spoke to him in the fisnicfo
faisniche} soft, flowing, peaceful words of wisdom, and laid the
king's commands upon him, so that he delivered his daughter
Deirdre into her hands. At the mouth of night Lavarcam
brought Deirdre to Conor, and great joy was on the king when
he saw the white-bosomed maid trembling like a young fawn
by the side of his servant ; but her years were yet tender, so
he commanded Lavarcam to take Deirdre to a place without
the city, where he had built a dun of great strength, and
dwell with her there for a space of two years in secret, and
at the end of that time he would take her to wife. So
Lavarcam hasted herself and went away with Deirdre to the
dun, and the black clouds of night were going and the white

1 Obsolete Gaelic expression often used in old Highland stories, probably meaning
"soothsaying."

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 229

clouds of day were coming when they got there. And
Deirdre dwelt with Lavarcam in the king's dun, and saw no
one, save only those women whom Conor had sent to wait upon
her ; and her life was blacksome and desolate, for love was not
with her for the king.

It happened that Naisi, the son of Uisnach, chief of Etha
in Albyn, dwelt with his brothers Ainli and Ardan, in the
land of Ulster, and the fame of Deirdre's beauty having
reached his ears, he became enamoured of her, and took a
thought how he could behold her loveliness, which was as the
silver moon in the blue firmament of heaven.

Now Naisi was comely and well favoured, his steps were
like the bounding roe, his stature like the fir trees of his
native hills, soft were his cheeks and ruddy, and from his eyes
of blue looked out his fearless soul.

From her window in the dun Deirdre had marked the
youth as with stately stride he passed to hunt the boar.
The great white-breasted dogs leaped at his side, his mighty
spear gleamed like a beam of light in his grasp ; upon his
back, broad as the young oak, hung the bossy shield of car-
borne Cuchullin, hero of a hundred fights. And the soul of
the maid went out to Naisi, son of Uisnach, and she stretched
out her arms to him, and he saw her, and it was gladness that
was in his heart, for he knew that love was with her for him.

But the heart of Deirdre was sad, and fear was on her for
the anger of the king. So she called Lavarcam and took
counsel with her, for Lavarcam was friendly, and hate was
with her for the king her master.

Now Deirdre had a winning tongue, and the words dropped
from her lips as honey from the honeycomb, so that she pre-
vailed with Lavarcam to bring Naisi to her, for her soul was
desolate. Said Lavarcam, "The kindness that thou gavest
thyself to me I will give it to thee ; morsel I will not eat,
draught I will not drink, sleep there will not come on my
eyes until I have brought the youth to thee." And in the
night and lateness Lavarcam went secretly to Naisi, the son

230 LOYAL LOCHABER

of Uisnach, chief of Etha, and said, " Failtel (Hail !) Naisi of
Albyn, fortunate indeed art thou among thy fellows, thrice
happy shalt thou be, son of Uisnach, for the love of my
mistress, the dark-eyed daughter of Felim, is with thee ; so take
haste to thyself, gird thyself quickly and follow me, for Deirdre
desireth to have speech with thee, and not a cloud of sleep shall
go on mine eye this night until I have brought thee to her."

So Naisi arose and hasted himself, for great joy was on
him at the tidings that Lavarcam had brought ; and he clothed
himself in rich apparel and girded on his sword, and went forth
with Lavarcam, and they came to the dun that the king had
built without the city.

Thus came the young chief of Etha to the daughter of
Felini, the Seanachie, as a bridegroom came he unto her,
speaking soft, flowing words of love such as delighted her
heart, so that she desired nothing better than to dwell with
him wheresoever he would take her. And Naisi gave a kiss
to her mouth and a caress to her flowing locks, and called
her his belov&d, so that sorrow was no longer in her breast,
for the desire of her heart was accomplished.

But fear was on Naisi lest the anger of Conor should be
kindled against him and against Deirdre his beloved, so on a
night of nights he fled secretly with her to the land of his
fathers, Albyn of the lakes, and made her his wife, and dwelt
with her in the dun he had built for her in the vale of
Etha ; and Naisi with his brothers Ainli and Ardan, sons of
Uisnach, became famous in the land of Albyn, and lifted the
spear and struck the echoing shield, so that the enemies of
the king of Albyn fled from before the nephews of car-borne
Cuchullin, Tura's mighty chief. And Naisi built many duns
of strength throughout the land of Albyn, and the name
that was on them was the name of Deirdre his beloved.

If it was happiness with Deirdre, it was rage and anger
on Conor, king of Ulster, when knowledge came to him of what
Naisi had done. "Adversity and calamities be upon thee,
Naisi of Albyn,'' said the king ; " bad is the thing that thou

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 231

hast done, and it is thyself that will be ill off; for I will
take thy head out of thy neck, and thy body shalt be riven
on the deadly points ere the space of a day and a year be
passed." Thus spake the king in his wrath, and at the mouth
of night he went to the house of Cathbad the Druid, the same
who had prophesied evil of the daughter that was born to
Felim the Seanachie, and took counsel with him how he
should compass the death of Naisi.

And the wisdom of the serpent and the cunning of the fox
were on Cathbad, and he let out his speech to the king, and
said : " Hearken, O king, to the words of thy Druid, and the
thing thou wisheth shall befall. Send to Naisi, the bold hero,
son of Etha's chief, a message of peace ; and say that sadness is
upon thee because of his absence ; for he was ever as a brother
to thee, and Deirdre ever as a daughter whom thou lovest ;
promise great things to him : that he shall be a valiant high
champion among thy warriors of the Red Branch 1 (Craobh
RuadJi) ; that he shall rule in thy council ; that honours and
riches shall be showered upon him ; and that he and his wife
shall dwell in a house that thou hast prepared for them. It is
thus thou shalt persuade him to leave the land of Albyn
and take up his abode in Erin ; so that thou can do with
him that which is in thine heart." So the king departed
from the house of Cathbad, and sent Fergus MacRoy, with his
sons Ulan and Buine, across the sea to the land of Albyn of
the lakes, where Naisi dwelt in peace with his wife Deirdre.

And Fergus sought out Naisi; and when he found him, told
him the words of Conor, and how he had promised him great
honours in the land of Ulster, and that he should be a valiant
high champion among the warriors of the Red Branch, and
should dwell with his wife in the house that the king had
built. Thus Fergus reasoned with Naisi and prevailed with
him, so that he consented to do what Conor wished, for
belief was on him that the words of the king were true.

1 The Red Branch was an Irish order of chivalry, founded by Conor, king of
Ulster, somewhat akin to king Arthur's Knights of the Round Table in Britain.

232 LOYAL LOCHABER

And Naisi gave a great feast to Fergus MacRoy, and to
his sons Ulan the Fair and Buine the Ruthless Red, by the
shores of Loch Eitche (Loch Etive) ; and meat was set in
the place for eating, drink in the place for drinking ; music
was raised and lament laid down ; and they were at eating
and drinking, and at singing and the telling of tales, until
the white day should come.

But Deirdre suspected evil, and belief was not on her
that the promises Conor had made to Naisi her husband, or
the words Fergus had spoken, were true, and would have
persuaded him to remain in the dun he had raised for her
in Etha's lovely vale. With tears and entreaties spake she
to him, but hardness was on his heart, and he would not
listen to her pleadings, having promised Fergus that he would
return with him to Ulster. So, on a day of days, Naisi
and his wife Deirdre, with his brothers Ainli and Ardan,
departed from Albyn and from the home that they loved.
And the soul of Deirdre was sad, and she wept bitterly ; and
as she wept she sang,

" Beloved land, that eastern land,
Albyn, with its wonders.

that I might not depart from it,
But that I go with Naisi.

" Beloved is Dunfidhga and Dun Finn ;
Beloved is the dun above them ;
Beloved is Innisdraighende, 1
And beloved Dun Suibhne. 2

" Coillchuan ! O Coillchuan !
Where Ainli would, alas ! resort ;
Too short, I deem, was then my stay
With Ainli in Oirir Albyn.

" Glenlaidhe ! O Glenlaidhe ! 3

1 used- to sleep by its soothing murmur ;
Fish, and flesh of wild boar and badger,
Was my repast in Glenlaidhe.

1 Inistryinch, Loch Awe. ' 2 Castle Sween. 3 Glenlochy.

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 233

" Glenmasan ! O Glenmasan ! l
High its herbs, fair its boughs.
Solitary was the place of our repose
On grassy Invermasan.

" Glen Eitche ! O Glen Eitche ! 2
There was raised my earliest home.
Beautiful its woods on rising,
When the sun struck on Glen Eitche.

" Glen Urchain ! O Glen Urchain ! 3
It was the straight glen of smooth ridges.
Not more joyful was a man of his age
Than Naisi in Glen Urchain.

- " Glendaruadh ! O Glendaruadh ! 4
My love each man of its inheritance.
Sweet the voice of the cuckoo on bending bough,
On the hill above Glendaruadh.

" Beloved is Draighen 5 and its sounding shore ;
Beloved the water o'er pure sand.
O that I might not depart from the east,
But that I go with my beloved ! " 6

Thus sang Deirdre as she crossed the sea with Naisi, her
husband ; and those that stood by marvelled at her voice,
which was as the murmuring waters of love, sounding through
Selma's echoing halls ; and Naisi was silent, and looked out
upon the faint gleaming deep. The sky grew dark, the moon,
like a dim shield, rolled through the grey-bosomed mists, the
form of ghosts were in their dusky skirts, they gathered on
every side borne on the winds of heaven. Naisi saw them
as they beckoned unto him, and the darkness of night closed
round about him, and his soul grew sad, for he knew that he
had done unwisely in hearkening not to the words of his wife.

So they came to the land of Ulster ; and the king dissembled
his wrath and received them with kindness, and put honours
upon Naisi and his brothers Ainli and Ardan, so that they

1 Glen Masan (Head of the Holy Loch). 2 Glen Etive. 3 Glen Orchy.
4 Glendaruel (Cowal). 5 Rudha nan Draighnean, near Bunawe, Loch Etive.
6 Skene's translation from the "Dean of Lismore's Book," Introduction, p. Ixxxvii.

2 G

234 LOYAL LOCHABER

thought they had done well in coming thither. But Deirdre,
the wife of Naisi, suspected evil of the king, and her heart
was troubled because her husband would take no heed to her
words. And in dreams by night, and in visions by day, the
spirits of her fathers spake unto her, and warned her that the
hour of her husband's death was at hand. The pale forms of
ghosts overshadowed her, and on the eddying winds arose
the voice of death. High above the storm Deirdre heard the
dreadful sound of the echoing shield, and from the hill of Mora
came the song of woe. " Who comes through the night to the
dwelling of Naisi in the season of his repose? Bring'st thou
tidings of war that thou wakest him so rudely? Who art
thou, son of the dusky night ? "

And Naisi awoke from his sleep, and he heard the clanging
shields and the death song of the bards, and the spirit of his
uncle Cuchullin arose within him. Dark was his brow, and
anger raged in his heart. He girded on his terrible sword, and
in his hand gleamed the spear of his father Uisnach. Tall
strode he in his wrath, and he called unto his brothers Ainli
and Ardan, and told them the treachery of the king. And
the sons of Uisnach laughed aloud, for they delighted in the
strife of battle, and dear unto their hearts was the music of
the clashing spears.

Like the bursting of a torrent rushed forth the sons of
Etha's chief; forth went they in their strength to meet the
foe at their gates. Thrice along the vale rolled the song of
death ; thrice hath the king struck with his spear the sounding
shield. The sons of Ullin answer with shouts of war, and press
onward like the foaming waves on Morven's rock-girt shore.
Above the rushing throng towers the eagle crest of Naisi.
Ainli and Ardan are by his side, tall as young fir trees; in
their hands are gleaming swords. Mighty are the blows of the
sons of Uisnach ; death is in each stroke of their strong arms.
Dreadful is the strife and bloody ; the ghosts of heroes flee on
every side ; the clash of broken steel rises on the blasts of night.

The sons of Ullin fall in heaps before the swords of the

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 235

brothers ; red are their feet in the blood of the slain, and the
groans of the wounded are in their ears. Unequal grows the
fight, and the arm of Naisi is weary of slaughter. Ainli falls
by Ardan, and the waters of death close round about them.
Naisi is pierced by the spear of Conor; his clustering locks
are wet with blood; stricken he falls to the earth; the noise of
battle is no longer sweet in his ears ; no more shall his fearless
soul look out from his eyes of blue ; no longer shall he go forth
to the chase with the white- breasted dogs bounding at his side;
never again shall his voice be heard in Etha's lovely vale.

Deirdre saw her beloved fall, and the blackness of death
compassed her round about. "Where dwellest thou, O my
beloved ? the light of my soul has departed, O Naisi, my
husband ! I hear thy voice calling me from the shadowy
mist. Look forth from thy cloud upon me, for I am lonely
in the midst of woe. Call me, and I will come unto thee ;
through the darkness of the valley of ghosts will I come unto
thee, O my beloved ! " And the spirit of Deirdre went out
from her, and the land of Erin knew her no more ; but her
fame, and the fame of her husband Naisi, spread through all
the land of Erin and the country of Albyn of the lakes, and
the words of the song that she sang are with us unto this day.

The name of this unhappy lady is still preserved in the
curious structures which her husband Naisi is said to have
built, and which are known as Dundearduils. 1 The one in Glen
Nevis has suffered much from the hand of time, and only a
few stones are left to mark the place where it once stood
erect. There is, however, a much better preserved specimen
on a hill overhanging Loch Ness, to which peculiar interest
attaches from the fact that the loch itself is said to derive
its name from Deirdre's husband. If this is so, it of course
follows that the town of Inverness takes its name from the
same mythical personage.

1 Philologists are of opinion that the name is a corruption of Dun-dearrsach,
"Shining Hill," or Dun-dearg-shuil, "Hill of the Red Eye," from the fact that
these structures were undoubtedly used as beacons.

236 LOYAL LOCHABER

CHAPTER XXVIII.

AFTER passing the hill of Dundearduil (as it is called locally),
the road becomes rough and uneven, and covered with loose
stones washed down from the mountain sides. The scenery,
like the road, also changes its character, and in place of the
pastoral beauty of the first few miles, it becomes grand and
awe-inspiring in its rugged magnificence. We are here some
distance above the river Nevis, which may be seen winding
like a thread of silver through the glen. Immediately in front
rises the extraordinary peaked mountain of Sgbr a' Mhaim,
3600 feet high, its bleached summit glistening white against
the blue sky, and appearing as if covered with snow. From
this point we may also obtain a fine view of the hoary head
of the great Ben, which rises 4400 odd feet from the sea-level.
Its massive proportions dwarf the surrounding hills into insig-
nificance, high though they be, and the great fir trees which
clothe its lower slopes look like whin bushes or bracken.
Enormous fissures or corries appear on its granite sides, due,
probably, to the great volcanic upheaval which took place at
the birth of the mountain, or to the shrinkage that must have
occurred when the molten granite began to cool. From these
dark recesses issue forth streams of water which rush down
the scarred sides of the mountain with ceaseless murmur,
and help to swell the crystal Nevis in the vale beneath.

At the foot of the great corrie, which almost cleaves in
twain the stupendous Cam Dearg (" Red Cairn "), is another of
those peaceful resting-places of the forgotten dead. It is
known as " Acha-nan-con" ("the field of dogs"), and if the
local tradition is to be believed, it was here that the Pictish
kings kept their celebrated deer-hounds and trained them for
the chase. A short distance farther, and we come to the small
farm-house of Achriabhach, which I have mentioned before as
having been the dwelling-place of Iain Mac Dhon 'ic Raoil,
the faithful preserver of the heir of MacSorlie. The roar of

THE " FORTY-FIVE " 237

water tells of the proximity of a fall, and as we cross the
wooden bridge which here spans the river, we may see the
tumultuous Nevis rushing between its rocky banks, and fall-
ing in two foaming streams among the boulders some forty
feet below, throwing into the air clouds of glistening silver
spray, in which miniature rainbows gleam with resplendent
colours.

A little above the fall is pointed out the spot where one of
the chiefs was murdered. He had gone to see his cattle, and
was in the act of drinking from a large cog, when an arrow,
shot by a man concealed in a bundle of heather or hay accord-
ing to one account, behind a large stone according to another,
nailed cog and head together. Before help could be summoned
the murderer escaped. Tradition gives his name as "Iain
beag MacAindrea" ("little John Mac Andrew"), a very cunning
and malevolent dwarf, and many tales are recorded of how he
baffled his pursuers. On one occasion a party of the murdered
chief's friends came to his house as he was sitting at the fire :
his wife bade him rise and tell his father he was wanted.
Iain departed to seek the non-existent father, and, possessing
himself of his bow, climbed a tree commanding the house, called
out that Iain was waiting outside, and as each man appeared
at the door, an arrow from Iain's bow laid him low. At
another time he was cutting peats, and, not suspecting attack,
had laid his sword and dirk on the ground, when two men
came up, saying they had got him this time. He affected
to be fairly caught, but suddenly he stopped, gazed earnestly
in another direction, and said, as if to himself, " Who in the
world can that be coming ? " His captors, taken off their
guard by this remark, turned to see what the dwarf was
looking at, when he instantly secured his weapons, and two
more Camerons went to their account

In the " New Statistical Account of Elginshire," Iain beag
MacAindrea is said to have been a tacksman of Dalnahatnich,
near Carr Bridge, and the story as to his killing the men
from the tree is referred to another incident. The son of

238 LOYAL LOCHABER

Achluacharach, in the Braes of Lochaber, had made a foray
on the lands of Rose of Kilravock, and was on his way home
by way of Strathdearn, when he was overtaken by a large
party of Rose's friends, including Iain beag, who surprised the
reivers feasting on part of the booty, and protected, as they
fondly imagined, by a sentinel, who had, however, fallen asleep
at his post. The hut they occupied was surrounded, and all
the Lochaber men slain, save the sentinel. Achluacharach
himself was leaning on a beam of the house, and Iain beag,
who had singled him out, pinned him to the beam with an
arrow, killing him on the spot. The wife of the unfortunate
chief composed a very beautiful lament on his death.

Another version of the same story is, that the man who
escaped with his life had looked through the shoulder-blade l
of one of the beasts that had been eaten, and repeatedly
pointed out to his friends the steadily lessening number of
burns that intervened between them and their pursuers ; and
at last, finding that no heed was taken of his warning, and
observing that only one burn now separated his party from
the avenging Roses, he left them and hid himself in a clump
of heather, and so avoided the terrible fate that overtook the
others. I have been unable to ascertain what became of the
redoubtable Iain beag.

After leaving Achriabhach, the glen becomes one vast
solitude, and the feeling of absolute isolation produced in the
mind is almost painful in its intensity and impressiveness.
Immense masses of misshapen rocks are strewn around in all
directions, suggesting the de'bris of some awful Cyclopean
combat, in which they had been used as missiles. Towering
high above our heads, the mountains rise in lofty grandeur,
like walls of granite, and shut us in on every side, their serrated
summits silhouetted against the intense blue of the sky.
Seamed with torrents, and shattered into all kinds of fantastic
shapes by centuries of storms, they present an awe-inspiring

1 The shoulder-blade of animals was a favourite means of divination among
the ancient Highlanders.

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 239

spectacle calculated to fill the soul with wonder, and cause the
most unreflective to ponder on the works of the Creator.

The river Nevis at this part of the glen is lost to view, but
its music may be heard as it flows madly on in the rocky
channel it has worn for itself many feet below the level of the
road. Here is the " Uamh Shomhairle" or " cave of Somerled,"
to which the infant chief of the Camerons of Glen Nevis was
brought by his devoted clansman on the night of the massacre
at Glen Nevis House. Although the entrance is very narrow,
and it is necessary to crawl in on hands and knees, the interior
is of considerable dimensions, being in some places nearly
fourteen feet high and eleven wide. The author, on his last
attempt to explore its mysteries, unfortunately left his lantern
behind at Fort William, and finding that the air currents blew
out the wax-vestas as soon as lighted, thought it advisable to
postpone the adventure until a more favourable occasion.
Many of the inhabitants of the district firmly believe that one
of the passages of this extraordinary cave extends five miles
or so in the direction of Kinlochleven, at which place there is
an exit. And to prove the truth of this theory, they say that
many years ago a body of Camerons, who had been surprised
in a cattle - lifting expedition, found themselves surrounded
and their retreat cut off; but the piper who, as usual, accom-
panied them on these predatory excursions, marched the
Camerons into the cave, and was heard playing in the remote
distance by the pursuers, who were unable to come up with
him, and therefore came to the conclusion that the reivers
had found an exit which they were unaware of.

There is another tradition told by Mrs MacKellar, of a
piper who, with some friends, had taken refuge in the cavern ;
but after they had been there some time a she-wolf of ferocious
aspect entered, and, taking up its position at the cave's mouth,
prevented their escape in that direction. Having heard that
" music hath charms to soothe the savage breast," the piper struck
up his most stirring pibroch, which had the effect he desired.
The wild notes of the piob mhor rendered the wolf docile, and,

240 LOYAL LOCHABER

under the influence of the music, it lost all its fierce animal
instincts, and made no attempt to carry out its original
intentions. Taking advantage of the beast's dazed condition,
the fugitives proceeded along the underground passage, the
piper slowly following, with his pipes in full blast, com-
posing as he went words describing his position, to the music
he was playing

" A choin a righ's mi gun tri lamhan,
Da lamh's a piob's lamb's a chlaidheamh,"

that is to say, that his only regret was that he had not two
hands for the pipes and one for the sword.

In this story the party who had taken refuge in the cave
were not so fortunate as the Camerons, for we are told that
they perished in the bowels of the earth, and were never seen
again ; but it is said that the wailing of that last pibroch is
sometimes heard by the chance wayfarer who passes the
entrance to the cave after nightfall.

The scenery here is indescribably magnificent, and the
verdure with which the bases of the mountains are covered
affords some relief to the eye, although it also serves to
emphasise the barrenness of their summits. All is wild con-
fusion, as if Dame Nature had been disturbed in her operations
and left her work unfinished. Trees, shrubs, bracken, and
heather mingle in a tangled luxuriant growth, which the moist
atmosphere engenders, and afford a splendid cover for the red
deer, descendants of the primeval herds for which the great
forest of Mamore has always been celebrated, and from
which the ancient kings of Scotland drew their supplies of
venison.

Penetrating a few miles farther, our progress is barred by a
tremendous precipice, rising perpendicularly some thousands
of feet into the clouds, which usually veil its awful height.
From the summit of this wall of granite issues a rill of water,
which, after running a tortuous course among the crevices of
the rocks, falls in a continuous stream five hundred feet into

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 241

the valley beneath, affording a spectacle of great beauty, and
well worth the trouble of a visit. This waterfall is called in
Gaelic "An Steall" but is usually known as "The Upper Falls
of Nevis."

Here our pleasant excursion comes to an end ; and after
this flight into the realms of tradition and romance, the author
must rein in his Pegasus, and descend to the equally romantic
province of authentic history, of which no page contains more
incidents of engrossing interest than that on which is inscribed
the story of the " Forty- Five."

CHAPTER XXIX.

THE force commanded by Lochiel, which had been despatched
from Inverness to prosecute the siege of Fort William, con-
sisted mostly of men of his own clan ; but, in addition to these,
he had with him a large body of the Stewarts of Appin
and the MacDonalds of Keppoch and Glencoe. As early as
24th February, the Lochaber men, who were not with the
prince's army at Inverness, had commenced hostilities in an
intermittent and desultory manner, and, as we learn from
General Campbell's despatch, had given the garrison a con-
siderable amount of trouble ; but it was not until Brigadier
Stapleton came up with his Irish piquets, which was about
I4th March, that the siege began in real earnest. On that
day the garrison began to heighten the parapet of the fort, and
raised .the two faces of the bastions seven feet. The following
day the governor took the offensive, and gave orders for the
men of the "Baltimore" sloop to proceed to sea in armed
boats and attack a detachment of Highlanders who had en-
trenched themselves at Kilmallie (or Corpach), on the opposite
shore of Loch Eil. Captain Richard of the " Baltimore " was
in command of the attacking party, and commenced operations
by firing several shots from the swivel guns with which his

boats were provided ; but the attempt to land was abortive, as

2 H

242 LOYAL LOCHABER

the tide failed and the scheme miscarried. In this skirmish
one sailor was killed and three wounded.

A more determined attack was made by Captain Richard
on 1 8th March. The "Baltimore" was run as close inshore
as the tide would allow, and her 44-pounders were brought to
bear upon the Jacobite position, and opened fire with shot and
shell while an attempt was being made to land the troops.
The Highlanders, secure behind the stone walls of the byres
and crofts of Kilmallie, could afford to laugh at the
desperate efforts made by the enemy to dislodge them.
Having loopholed the walls, they were enabled to pour a
deadly fire upon the landing party, who soon found the
reception too warm for them, and hastily retreated to their
boats. The casualties in this instance were on the side of the
defenders of Kilmallie, for we are told they lost four men
killed and several wounded, among the latter being their
engineer-in-chief.

After this second failure, General Campbell gave up the
idea of effecting a landing on the Argyllshire shore, and con-
centrated his attention upon the besieging force which was
now hemming him in on the land side.

By 2Oth March Stapleton had, after great difficulty, brought
up his train of artillery, and having constructed a battery on
the Sugar-Loaf Hill, a conical eminence about eight hundred
yards in rear of the fort, commenced a vigorous bombardment ;
but, finding the distance too great, he threw up a new battery
at the foot of the Cow Hill, and from this advantageous
position opened a heavy fire, which did considerable damage
to the fortifications, and demolished the roofs of the houses
in the enclosure. On the 22nd Stapleton sent a French
drummer with a message to Captain Scott (who was then in
command of the garrison) demanding a surrender ; but this
he indignantly refused, stating that he " would make no terms
with rebels." The natural consequence of this bold reply was
the immediate reopening of hostilities, and a further destruc-
tive cannonade from the Cow Hill battery, which lasted for

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 243

some hours. The guns in the fort replied to the fire of the
Highland force, and in the end succeeded in rendering
Brigadier Stapleton's battery untenable ; but, nothing daunted,
he set to work and erected a fresh one about three hundred
yards off, from which he pounded away with renewed energy
all Sunday morning, the 23rd, until three o'clock in the after-
noon, when some ships arrived in Loch Linnhe with supplies
and reinforcements for the besieged garrison.

Taking in the position of affairs at a glance, the captains
of the newly arrived vessels weighed anchor in front of the
Cow Hill, and discharged a broadside against Stapleton's new
redoubt with disastrous results, many of his men being killed,
and the battery itself beaten down. This reverse necessitated
the withdrawal of the artillery from the exposed position it
occupied on the Cow Hill (where it offered a splendid mark
for the ship's guns) to the natural shelter afforded by the
peculiar geological formation which has been before described,
and which is known as the Craigs. Here the cannon were
placed behind the cover of the projecting rocks, from which
the place takes its name, and once again the roar of artillery
echoed from hill to hill, and reverberated through the quiet
Lochaber glens, where the cattle lay in peaceful repose,
causing them to tremble at the unwonted sound, which they
were unable to comprehend.

So the long days of the siege wore on, and the fort which
General MacKay had built stood bravely against the storm
of shot and shell which the guns of Brigadier Stapleton rained
upon it. The garrison gave no signs of yielding, and, since
the arrival of the ships of war, there had been no dearth of
food. These vessels were employed in taking foraging parties
to various places on the shores of Loch Linnhe, Loch Eil,
and Loch Leven, and many head of cattle were forcibly taken
from the unoffending peasantry by the voracious soldiery of
Hanoverian George, who, not satisfied with robbing them of
their possessions, murdered them in cold blood, and destroyed
their habitations by fire.

244 LOYAL LOCHABER

On 25th March a party of soldiers was sent to a place
five or six miles off to bring in cattle, and in the afternoon
they returned with twenty-nine bullocks and cows. Another
band of " forty thieves," of equal ferocity to their eastern
namesakes of Arabian Nights' fame, was despatched to raid
the estates of the Stewarts of Appin, in the country of
Ardshiel, during their owner's absence with the Highland
army. In this expedition two villages were burnt, and
several inoffensive herdsmen were killed while defending
the property of their chief. Four of their number were
taken prisoners, and brought with the cattle and sheep to
Fort William.

At length, on 3ist March, the beleaguered garrison deter-
mined to make a desperate attempt to shake off the enemy,
who had harassed them for nearly a month. The sally and
its consequences are thus described in the Scots Magazine of
1746:

"The men who sallied out on the 3 1st were in two
parties, one commanded by Captains Foster and MacLachlan,
the other by Captains Paton and Whitway ; that the former
attacked and took the battery at the back of the Craigs ;
that in another attack, made upon a four-gun battery at the
foot of the hill, the king's troops were repulsed, with the loss
of two men killed and a few wounded ; that their retreat was
made in good order under the guns of the fort ; that they
carried in two prisoners, one an Englishman, the other a
Frenchman, or rather Spaniard ; that this last gave an account
that the besiegers were half- starving, and beginning to run
short of ammunition ; that the rebels lost a considerable
number of men, not only in their flight from the Craigs, but
in the second attack ; that the governor was wounded, but not
dangerously ; that the town of Maryburgh and garden walls
was levelled to the ground ; that the garrison were 600 in
number, all in good spirits, and were reinforced on the ist
April by 70 of Johnson's regiment ; that the roofs of the fort
were exceedingly damaged ; and the old pile of barracks

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 245

almost quite beat down, both roof and walls ; that there were
not six panes of glass remaining in the windows; and that
Captain Scott had been indefatigable, both by night and
day, in erecting new works."

The loss of his artillery, the increasing scarcity of
provisions, and the knowledge that the prince required his
services at Inverness, decided Stapleton to raise the siege of
Fort William, and retire northward with his Irish contingent,
the Highlanders being left behind, with orders to join the
camp at Inverness as soon as possible. On 3rd April (some
authorities say the 4th) the investing army dispersed, the
Highlanders to their homes to prepare themselves afresh for
the coming struggle, while Brigadier Stapleton and his brave
Irishmen hastened to Inverness to help swell the force that
Prince Charles was assembling to oppose the advance of the
Duke of Cumberland.

With reference to this siege, a contemporary Whig writer,
Ray (" Compleate History of the Rebellion," p. 305), says :
"The Siege of Fort William by the Rebels (of all their
Undertakings) was the most regularly carried on from the
1 4th of March to the 3rd of April with 1500 Men, 8 Pieces
of Cannon, and 7 Mortars under the command of Brigadier
Stapleton, and under him Cameron of Lochiel, and Clan-
ronald, with three or four more Chiefs of the Mackdonalds,
Stewarts and Camerons : The Garrison being bravely defended
by Capt. Scott, having several Reinforcements sent him and
it being not in the Power of the Rebels to cut off the
Communications by Sea, on the I4th (evidently an error,
should be the 4th) they raised the Siege and left the
Garrison in Possession of all their Artillery."

Having had occasion to mention the village of Kilmallie,
I will take this opportunity of giving a short account of its
history and traditions. The origin of the name is evidently
derived from the Gaelic words " Kil " or " Cill" meaning
"chapel" or " burying-ground," and " Maltte" the diminutive
form of Mary. Kilmallie therefore means the chapel of

246 LOYAL LOCHABER

St Mary, and was doubtless the spot selected by one of the
followers of St Coluniba, to whom the mission of converting
the inhabitants of Lochaber to Christianity had been
entrusted. The period of the erection of the first ecclesias-
tical edifice would therefore be sometime during the sixth
century. However this may be, we get no authentic informa-
tion until a later period, when one "An gille dubh MacGille
Chnamhaich" ("the black son of the bones"), so called from
a curious legend respecting his mysterious origin, erected a
church on this spot and dedicated it to Saint Mary, and from
that period the place has been known as Kilmallie (or
Kilmalie ; and sometimes, as in John Speed's map of Scot-
land dated 1630, Culmally).

The extraordinary story of the parentage of MacGille
Chnamhaich is known to all readers of Sir Walter Scott's
" Lady of the Lake," and will be found as a note to the
fifth stanza of Canto III., which, to save the trouble of
reference, I have included in the Appendix. 1 It will be noted
that mention is made in this tradition of a place called Unnatt ;
it should be Annat, and still exists under that name, and is
remarkable as being one of several villages in the Highlands
with a similar appellation, which they all derive in common
from the heathen goddess of victory, Andat or Andate; and
it is probable that in Druidical times stones were erected
at these places, where the worship of this deity was performed.
In the Isle of Skye there still exists one of these stones
known as the "Clack na h-Annait? clearly showing the origin
of the name. The second church of Kilmalliex was built by
the famous Ailein MacDhomhnuill Duibh, XII. chief of
Lochiel, commonly known as "Ailein nan Creach? to whom
reference has been made in a previous chapter. He lived
during the fifteenth century, and had in the years 1492 and
1495 procured various charters from the Crown as rewards
for "good and faithful service," to unite the whole of his
estates into a free barony to be called the "Barony of

1 Appendix XXVIII.

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 247

Lochiell." The village of Banavie is declared the principal
messuage. He is said to have formerly possessed the lands of
Knoydart in Argyllshire, and the ten merk land of Gleneveiss
(Glen Nevis) in Lochaber, with the estate of Mamore in the
same country.

Alan was a bold and reckless man, fearing neither God,
man, or devil, and so rapacious was he, and so desirous of
extending his already immense estates, that he made seven
great forays upon the territories of his weaker neighbours,
and put all that opposed him to the sword without mercy.
Terrible tales are told of his cruelty and oppression, and by
many of his victims he was thought to have had dealings with
the evil one. For years he was the scourge of the district,
but at last advancing age caused him to desist from his wicked-
ness, and he began to experience some feelings of remorse
for his sins ; and with a view to making his peace with his
soul, he decided, by the advice of the witch Gormshuil, to
consult the oracle of the " Tau Ghairm " l (" the Invocation of
Tau"), and undergo the uncanny ordeal that the ceremony
demanded. His first proceeding was to build a small hut on
the Corpach Moss, near the river Lochy, to which, accompanied
by one faithful follower, he retired to carry out the unholy rites
according to the instructions he had received from Gormshuil.
Having procured a cat (this animal, so tradition states, was
selected for some obscure reason in connection with the Clan
Chattan, or " children of the cats "), he ran a spit through the
wretched creature, and handed it to his servant to roast alive
before a huge fire he had made, while he took up his position
before the door of the hut, with sword in hand, to keep off
intruders. The cries of the suffering animal, which resounded
far and wide, attracted all the cats in the neighbourhood.
Cats of all colours, black, white, and grey, poured into the hut,

1 This remarkable superstition was undoubtedly of Eastern origin, a fact which is
of considerable interest when we remember that the Scottish Gaels have ever traced
their descent from the East, through Gomer, eldest son of Japheth. The Tau Ghairm
was performed by one of the MacLeans of Mull as late as the beginning of the
seventeenth century.

248 LOYAL LOCHABER

regardless of the vain attempts of Alan to keep them out,
and added their voices to the shrieks of their tortured relation.
Each cat as it entered exclaimed, " S' olc an carabh cait sin ! "
(" This is bad treatment of a cat ! ") and Alan replied, " It
will not be better just now," and told his servant to keep on
turning the spit whatever happened. 1

All the feline race of Lochaber seemed gathered together
under the roof of the hut Alan had erected, and so fierce
was their appearance that even the bold spirit of the reckless
Cameron chieftain quailed before the angry flashing green eyes
that gazed upon him from every side. The din was appalling,
and to the frightened servant it seemed as if hell itself had
broken lose, and that Satan and all his imps had taken the
form of cats. While the noise was at its height, and Alan
was expecting every minute to be torn to pieces by the
infuriated animals, a gigantic black cat with one eye (Camdubh)
entered, and after silencing his noisy brethren, turned upon
Alan and remonstrated with him for his cruelty, and told him
that unless he desisted at once from his present amusement,
he would call his brother, "Cluasan leabhra mo bhrathair"
(" long ears, my brother "), who would tear him limb from
limb, and he would never see his Maker's face in mercy.
Alan promised he would at once order his servant to cease
his cruel employment, if Camdubh would tell him how he
could obtain forgiveness for his past misdeeds. This Camdubh
proceeded to do, by informing him that his only chance of
securing the salvation of his soul was to build seven churches
without delay. Upon this Alan told his follower to loose
the cat from the spit, when, with a fearful yell, the whole
crowd of cats, headed by their king Camdubh, fled helter-

1 The command given by Alan to his attendant took the form of the following
couplet, which is still used by Lochaber folk, who are probably quite unaware of
its origin, viz.,

' ' Ciod air bith a chi, no 1 chual thu,
Cuir mu 'n cuairt an cat.'''

" Hear you this, or see you that,
Round the spit, and turn the cat."

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 249

skelter from the hut and disappeared in the waters of the
river Lochy, and the place where this occurred is known to
this day as the Cats' Pool.

The result of this night's work was, that Alan erected the
seven churches required of him, viz., Kilmallie, Kildonan,
Kilcoral (Kill a Choireil, near Achluacharach) ; three dedicated
to St Choan, viz., Kilchoan in Knoydart, Arisaig, and Morven ;
and one called Kilkillen, Loch Laggan.

Some authorities say that Kilmun (the chapel of St Mungo)
on Loch Leven was one of the seven.

In the " Memoirs of Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel," a
more likely story is given, "that Ailein nan Creach performed
a penance for his crimes, and started on a pilgrimage to
Rome ; but arriving in Holland, he found himself unable to
bear up against the fatigue of so long a journey, and there-
fore sent one M'Phail, a priest, who was his chaplain and
confessor, to doe that job for him with the Pope." This account
bears the stamp of truth, and is, besides, strongly characteristic
of the man. 1 In addition to the seven churches, Alan Cameron
built, or rebuilt, the castle of Tor by the shores of the river
Lochy. I say rebuilt, because there is a tradition that a castle
stood on the same spot at a much earlier period, and was the
residence of Banquo, thane of Lochaber. In proof of this
assertion it is only necessary to note the names of the places
in the immediate vicinity. "Meall Bhainbhe" ("the hill of
Banquo") is the hill with the gently rounded summit that
rises a short distance away on the west side of the Lochy ;
"Dail Bhainbhe" ("the field of Banquo") is the local name
of a field near the castle; and there can be little doubt that
the village of Banavie derives its appellation from the same
source.

1 Still another tradition is, that Ailein nan Creach was presented with a small
silver shoe, which was to be put on the left foot of every son born to the chief.
This magic shoe fitted all but John Cameron, eldest son of Sir Ewen, whose conduct
at Sheriffmuir was not in accordance with the traditions of the clan, a fact which the
superstitious did not fail to note. It is said this shoe was lost when Ach-na-carry
was burnt by the English soldiers in 1746.

2 I

250 LOYAL LOCHABER

Of the old church of Kilmallie, built by "Ailein nan Creach"
there is no vestige remaining ; but it may interest some of my
readers to know that it stood in the ancient burying-ground,
and the site is marked by a low wall which was erected a
few years ago. Of the sleeping occupants of this most
beautiful God's acre I shall have something to say in a later
chapter.

The parish of Kilmallie is of considerable extent, and
contains within its boundaries the burgh of Fort William,
and the hamlets of North Ballachulish and Onich, Ardgour,
Banavie, Blaich, Clovullin, Corpach, Duisky, and Garvan, and,
with the sister parish of Kilmonivaig, which comprises the
villages of Spean Bridge, Bunroy, and Invergarry, may be
said to include the whole of Lochaber.

Adjoining Kilmallie is the small hamlet of Corpach,
delightfully situated on the shores of Loch Eil, and immedi-
ately facing Ben Nevis, whose majestic outline is nowhere
seen to better advantage than from this place. The whole
range of enormous mountains, stretching from Glencoe to
Ben Nevis, offers a magnificent coup d'ceil such as Switzerland
may equal but can hardly beat. It is strange that this lovely
spot should be associated with death, but so it is, the name
Corpach meaning literally " the dead," or rather the " field
of the dead." The reason for this lugubrious title is due to
the fact that, in remote times, the whole of the great forest
that covered both shores of Loch Eil was the lair of a ferocious
breed of wolves, who, like the tigers of India" at the present
day, took an annual toll of human life from among the inhabi-
tants of the locality. The dead were interred in the adjoining
islands, and hence the place received the name by which it is
still known.

A celebrated smith is said to have lived here, and became
famous throughout the Highlands for the weapons he forged.
Corpach broadswords were among the most cherished treasures
of the warlike chieftains of Lochaber, and they were as much
coveted as had been the swords of Luno of Lochlin in the

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 251

days of Fingal. It was at a smithy in Corpach that " Domhnull
nan Ord" (" Donald of the Hammer"), the son of Stewart of
Invernahyle, forged the claymore with which he took a terrible
vengeance upon " Cailein Uaine " (" Green Colin "), the chief of
Dunstaffnage on Loch Etive, the murderer of his father. A
long account of this tradition will be found in Sir Walter
Scott's "Tales of a Grandfather."

Directly in front of Corpach, on the opposite shore of
Loch Eil, is the bay of "Camus nan Gall" ("Bay of the
Strangers"), backed by the wooded hills of Ardgour. Here
the fleet of Argyll anchored during the battle of Inverlochy
in 1645, while that wary nobleman watched, from the prow
of his great galley, the progress of the fight which proved so
disastrous to his clan.

CHAPTER XXX.

THE month of April 1746 was destined to prove a disastrous
and fatal month in the annals of the unfortunate House of
Stuart. From the time of the ill-advised retreat from Derby,
when the great metropolis of London was almost within his
grasp, Prince Charles had lost all heart in the great project
he had undertaken, at so much personal risk to himself, and
which up to that period he had pushed forward with so much
vigour and ability. What the consequences of his nearer
approach to London would have been it is, of course, impos-
sible to say; but it is not outside the bounds of probability
to imagine that the presence of the rightful heir to the crown
of Britain among his royal father's subjects, at the head of a
small but loyal army, might have induced them to throw off
the oppressive yoke of Hanoverian tyranny, and declare their
allegiance to king James VIII. (III. of England). Fate,
however, decreed otherwise ; the die was cast ; the golden
opportunity had been suffered to pass, and now, cooped up
in a remote northern town, the gallant prince awaited with

252 LOYAL LOCHABER

comparative indifference the approach of his inveterate foe, the
Duke of Cumberland, who, having vacated his headquarters
at Aberdeen on 8th April, was now advancing as rapidly as
the nature of the force under his command, and the roads he
had to traverse, would allow.

The I4th of the month saw the Elector's army at Nairn,
a small town on the Moray Firth, about sixteen miles from
Inverness, which they occupied after a slight skirmish with a
body of Highlanders under Lord John Drummond. On the
evening of the same day Prince Charles marched from
Inverness at the head of about six thousand men, and having
proceeded as far as Culloden House, four miles from the
town, called a halt, and prepared to encamp in the wooded
park that surrounded the mansion. Late at night Lochiel
arrived from Lochaber with his clan ; but Keppoch and
his MacDonalds had been detained, and it was feared they
would not be in time for the battle which was now hourly
expected.

The Keppoch MacDonalds were not the only clan that
had failed to put in an appearance. The Frasers, the
MacPhersons, the MacGregors, and several other important
bodies of Highlanders were among the absentees ; but it was
known they were mostly, if not all, on the march to join the
prince's standard, and it could only be a question of a few
hours before they arrived in camp.

The excitement of the warlike preparations that were
going on all around him awakened in the mind of Prince
Charles something of the enthusiasm he had felt on the
memorable 2Oth August, when his father's banner had been
unfurled in Glenfinnan ; but he could not forget all that had
happened in the eight months that had passed since that
eventful day. The zeal he displayed then in the organisation
of his small army he exhibited now with the larger force
under his command ; but repeated disappointments, and the
continual anxiety and mental worry caused by the daily
quarrels among his officers, produced a feeling of bitter

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 253

resentment in his heart, and he became at times listless and
dejected, as if the presentiment of coming disaster was
present in his mind. It is much to the prince's credit that,
notwithstanding his own troubles, he did not forget the poor
half-starved Highlanders who had left all to follow him, and
who now, far from their own homes, were almost perishing
with hunger and fatigue. He did what he could to relieve
their necessities, and before partaking of his own frugal meal
of bread and a little whisky at Culloden House, he gave orders
that foraging parties should be sent out, and food collected
for the use of his loyal men. The provisions thus procured
were sent to Inverness to be cooked, but, before they could
be returned to- the camp, the great battle had been fought
and lost, and the grim hand of death had assuaged the pangs
of hunger for ever.

Although " Culloden's fatal day " was productive of terrible
consequences to Lochaber and its people, it was not fought
within its bounds, and consequently does not come within the
compass of this work. I shall therefore merely give an
account, as far as I am able, of the individual part played
in this last heroic struggle against the might of the disciplined
and well-fed English army by those clans who had their abode
in that historic district.

As every Scotsman knows, the battle of Culloden, or
Drummossie Muir, was fought on i6th April 1746. The
action commenced about one o'clock, in the midst of a torrent
of rain and sleet, which, unfortunately for the Highland army,
blew right in their faces, numbing their limbs and obscuring
their vision, so that their leaders could hardly discern the
movements of the enemy. By far the greater portion of the
prince's force were Lochaber men, Lochiel having 600 men of
his clan present, Keppoch 300, the clan Mackintosh, under
Alexander MacGillivray of Dunmaglass (Alasdair Ruadh na
Feile), about 200, and, if the clans of the MacDonalds of
Glengarry and Clanranald may be included in this category,
another 750 men should be added to the list.

254 LOYAL LOCHABER

For the first time in the history of Highland warfare, the
Camerons found themselves placed on the right of the line,
the extreme flank being occupied by the men of Athole.
This circumstance, as every reader of the history of the
"Forty-Five" is aware, was due to the fatal error of judg-
ment on the part of Lord George Murray, who, regardless
of all the military traditions of the Highlanders, insisted
that the MacDonalds should waive their pretensions to
fight on the right flank, an honourable position the clan
had always filled since Robert Bruce had conferred it upon
Angus MacDonald, Lord of the Isles, at Bannockburn.
Prince Charles, to whom the matter was referred, pleaded
ignorance of the question in dispute, and refused to offer an
opinion as to its merits ; but as time was precious, he persuaded
the several MacDonald chieftains to allow the controversy to
stand over for the present, and he would make it his business
to adjust the difficulty later. Although the chiefs unwillingly
acquiesced in this arrangement, their clansmen were far from
satisfied. Their ancestors had always maintained the honour
of their* clan in every engagement, why were they now to be
relegated to a secondary position, when the fate of their king
was at stake? The imagined insult rankled in their breasts,
and loud and bitter were their protestations of indignation at
the unmerited slight. Apart from these natural feelings of
wounded pride, the latent superstition in' their Celtic nature
was awakened by this breaking through of an established
custom, and they regarded their altered positions as ill-omened
and full of dire possibilities, and, as we know, these prognosti-
cations of evil were fully verified. Thus it came about that
Lochiel with his Camerons shared the position of honour with
the Athole men, and his neighbours the Stewarts of Appin,
who were placed on his immediate left, in the front rank of
the prince's army.

For some time they stood the galling fire of the English
artillery unmoved, although many of their number were
wounded and lay in the agonies of death on the heather. The

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 255

sight of their dying kinsmen was too much for the fiery
spirits of the Camerons, and before the order to charge
reached them, they fixed their bonnets firmly on their heads,
and giving one terrific shout of vengeance, left their position
in the ranks, and threw themselves with desperate impetuosity
upon the serried ranks of the duke's left flank, which con-
sisted of the two strong regiments of Barrel and Munroe.
With the Camerons came the Athole men, and such was
the force of their onset that the front line of the English
army gave way after a stout resistance, which cost them
about two hundred men killed and wounded. Simultaneously
with the advance of the Camerons (some historians say before),
the Mackintoshes, with MacGillivray of Dunmaglass at their
head, engaged the centre of the duke's position with reckless
courage, regardless of the awful hail of bullets and grape-shot
which mowed them down in scores; madly they rushed on
through smoke and fire, until they joined their comrades in
front of the second line of the English troops. A barrier of
steel, from behind which murderous volleys of musketry fire
were poured incessantly, barred their further progress, and they
fell in heaps in front of the bayonets of Bligh's and Sempil's
regiments. One of the MacGillivrays performed prodigies of
valour, and killed at least twelve of the enemy with his own
claymore. In sheer disregard of danger he advanced a gun-
shot past the English cannon, but was then surrounded and
cut down. This remarkable man was known as Iain Mbr
MacGilvra ("big John MacGillivray") by the Mackintoshes, and
the fame of his intrepidity having reached the ears of the Duke
of Cumberland, he is said to have remarked that he would
have given a large sum of money to have saved his life. 1
While the right and centre of the Highland army were thus
engaged in mortal combat with their Sassenach foes, the
MacDonalds on the left flank refused to stir from their
position, and remained in apparent indifference to all that
was going on. Neither the fire of the enemy nor the repeated

1 Letter of Bishop Mackintosh, 1810.

256 LOYAL LOCHABER

entreaties of the Duke of Perth could induce them to join
in the general onset. One volley they fired into the regiments
immediately in front of them, and then, seeing that the clans
on the other flank were retreating, they turned about and fled
from the pursuing cavalry, without having struck a single blow
on behalf of their prince. With impassioned gestures and voice
broken with emotion, Alexander, chief of Keppoch, besought his
followers to make one last effort to retrieve their honour by a
bold stand against the advancing enemy. His earnest words
were, alas ! unheeded, and the retreat became general all along
the line. The brave spirit of the MacDonald chief groaned within
him at the sight of his retreating kinsmen, and in the bitter-
ness of his soul he exclaimed, " My God, have the children of
my tribe forsaken me!" For himself he preferred death to
dishonour, and advanced alone to meet the English soldiers
with his trusty claymore in one hand and a pistol in the other,
determined to strike at least one blow for king and country.
A clansman, Donald Roy MacDonald, 1 moved by the despair-
ing cry of his chief, followed him at a short distance, but he
had not proceeded far when a bullet struck Keppoch, and he
fell to the ground badly wounded, though not mortally.
Running up to the fallen chieftain, Donald entreated him
not to risk his life further, but Keppoch refused to listen,
and staggering to his feet rushed on to certain death. He
had only time to advance a few yards, when he received
another shot which ended his mortal career. Thus, with his
face to the foe, died one of Lochaber's bravest sons, and it is
sad to think that his last moments were embittered by the
knowledge that those upon whom he had relied to support
the honour of his race had deserted him in the hour of
peril.

There are many traditions in Lochaber concerning the
Keppoch chieftains, who occupy, with the Camerons, a pro-
minent place in the history of that country. Some of my

1 Mrs MacDonell of Keppoch thinks this must have been the chieftain's brother
already referred to.

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 257

readers may have come across a very curious book, entitled
" A Keppoch Song," by John Paul MacDonald, private teacher
in Stonehaven, and published in the year 1815 at Montrose.
It was written with the object of bringing the claims of one
of the family to the forfeited estates in Lochaber before
George III., with a view to their restoration. It. contains a
metrical history of the Keppoch MacDonalds from the
earliest times. The verse is execrable but quaint, and there
are many notes of considerable value to the historian and
antiquarian. It is here we find the story of "Keppoch's
Candlesticks."

Keppoch, 1 having occasion to visit England, was invited to
the mansion of a nobleman of great wealth, who was possessed
of a magnificent service of plate, which was somewhat osten-
tatiously displayed on the dinner-table. Among the various
articles was a fine pair of silver candlesticks, which attracted
the attention of the guests and evoked their enthusiastic
admiration. Keppoch, somewhat annoyed at certain whispered
remarks as to the proverbial poverty of the Scots which met
his ears, affected utter indifference to the lavish praise that
was bestowed on the candlesticks from all sides, and hinted
that he could produce a better pair in his Highland home.
This was too much for the equanimity of the assembled
Englishmen, who regarded the Highlanders as poor half-
savage creatures, who dwelt in hovels and lived on porridge,
in a land as little known as Kamtschatka is now. Bets for
large amounts were freely offered that he could not do as he
said, and, to the surprise of all, Keppoch accepted the wager,
which amounted to a large sum of money ; and not only did
this, but invited two of the gentlemen present to his house in
Lochaber to decide who should be the winner.

After a few weeks had elapsed, the two Englishmen set out
for Lochaber, and upon arrival proceeded to the house of the

1 The chieftain of whom this story is told was probably Alexander, tenth chief
of Keppoch, known as "A/asdatr nan Cleas" on account of his sleight-of-hand
tricks. He ruled the clan from about 1591 to 1640 A.D.

2 K

258 LOYAL LOCHABER

MacDonald chieftain. Instead of the castle they had expected
to find, they saw only a large, barn-like structure, where they
were told Keppoch dwelt. Upon entering this rude dwelling
they were met by Keppoch himself, who received his guests
with all the warmth of Highland hospitality, and having wel-
comed them to his table, set before them a profusion of the
most delicate food that the country could produce. Immense
salmon fresh from the Lochy or Spean, great haunches of
venison from the forests of Glen Roy, grouse, blackcock, caper-
cailzie, ptarmigan, and joints of the delicious Highland mutton,
graced the rough deal board which served for a table. Nor
was good wine and usquebaugh wanting to cheer the hearts
of the Sassenach strangers. Provisions of all kinds covered
the table ; but the vaunted candlesticks were conspicuous by
their absence. Keppoch, noting the unspoken inquiry of his
guests, informed them that the subject of the wager would
shortly appear ; and, on a given signal, two gigantic High-
landers, clad in their picturesque garb of kilt and plaid,
entered, bearing enormous torches of resinous pine wood, and
marching with stately pace round the table, placed themselves
one on each side of their chief. The Englishmen admitted
that their host had fairly won the bet ; but Keppoch, with
that free-handed generosity which distinguished him, refused
to accept the money he was entitled to^ and explained that
the amusement he had derived from the success of the ruse
he had planned, and the pleasure he had experienced from
their visit, more than recompensed him. His guests stayed
some days longer, and returned to their homes in the south
delighted at the hospitality they had received among the
mountains of Lochaber. This story has been immortalised
by the splendid painting of the late John Pettie, R.A.

The author of "A Keppoch Song" mentions a strange
tradition in connection with the Mackintosh family, which is
worth recording as an instance of the superstition of the
Highlanders.

The successor of the Mackintosh who fought against

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 259

Keppoch at Mulroy renewed that chieftain's grant to the
estates. This overture of peace was satisfactory to Keppoch,
and he offered, in order that the friendly feeling might be
strengthened, to wed his son to one of the near female
relatives of Mackintosh. This proposal was rejected with
scorn by Mackintosh in insulting terms ; and the wrath of
Keppoch being aroused, he prophesied that neither the chief
who had insulted him, or any future one, should beget an
heir, a prophecy which, the writer remarks, " remained correct
until the present time " ; and he invokes his muse with the
following result :

" Keppoch th' peace with Toshach (Mackintosh) to keep,
That discord may for ever sleep,
Craves Toshach t' give his son a wife,
And begin a new scene of life ;
But he th' offer treats with disdain,
Hence sterility with him doth remain." l

Keppoch's barn, which has been mentioned as the place
to which the English guests were invited, was the largest in
the Western Highlands, and upon all extraordinary occasions
was used as a place of assembly and feasting, " the humble
representative of the once great Lord of the Isles having no
castle in which to receive his numerous descendants and
vassals."

The Camerons and the Mackintoshes having, with the
Erasers, the Athole men, the MacLeans, and the Stewarts of
Appin, borne the brunt of the fighting, suffered severe losses
in consequence, nearly the whole of their leaders and front-
rank men being slain. Lochiel narrowly escaped the fate of
Keppoch, for, while charging the enemy at the head of his

1 This curious story is partially confirmed in the MS. history of the chief
of Keppoch, kindly lent me by Miss MacDonell of Keppoch. The circum-
stances and date of the prophecy are, however, referred to the sixteenth century,
when Raonuill Mor was chief of the clan. He had married a sister of Mackintosh,
but when she learnt, after her husband's execution at Elgin in IS47> tnat n ^ s
capture, and consequently his death, was due to her brother's treachery, she
uttered the curse which tradition states has remained with the Mackintosh
family ever since.

200 LOYAL LOCHABER

clan, he was struck in both ankles by a discharge of grape-
shot from the English cannon while in the act of drawing his
sword. Fortunately his brother, Dr Archibald Cameron, and
his uncle, Ludovick Cameron of Torcastle, who acted as his
major, were close at hand. Raising the fallen chief in their
arms, they carried him from the field, and, placing him on
horseback, conveyed him to Ach-na-carry :

" Lochiel, Lochiel, my brave Lochiel,
Beware o' Cumberland, my dearie !
Culloden field this day will seal
The fate o' Scotland's ain Prince Charlie.

" The Highland clans nae mair are seen
To fight for him wha ne'er was eerie,
They fallen are on yon red field,
An' trampled doun for liking Charlie."

So ran an old ballad of the period ; and true indeed it
was that Culloden's field sealed the fate, not only of the
gallant prince himself, but of the royal house of Stuart, of
which he was so worthy a scion. From that disastrous April
day the historic family, that for centuries had ruled the
destinies of Scotland, and later of the whole of Britain, ceased
to exist as a power in the land, and the prince, from whom
so much had been expected by the loyal Jacobites, became,
like Ishmael of old, a wanderer and outcast in the land of
his fathers.

CHAPTER XXXI.

I WILL spare my readers a description of the awful carnage
that ensued after the battle by the victorious English soldiery,
who were encouraged in their murderous task by the brutal
duke and the ferocious Hawley. Suffice it to say, that the
deeds that were done that day branded for ever the brow
of Cumberland with disgrace and infamy. There can be
no excuse, no palliation for the savage butchery of the poor

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 261

defenceless wretches, who, sorely wounded and without arms,
fled along the road to Inverness, or who had fallen on the
field of battle, and crawled into places of fancied security
amoner the bushes. The mind recoils from the enormities

committed by civilised (?) men on this occasion ; and while
reading the details given by historians of these barbarous
atrocities, it is hard to realise that we are not perusing an
account of some frightful orgie of bloodthirsty savages.
For his share in the slaughter the duke received a vote of
thanks from parliament, and blood-money to the extent of
25,000 per annum, in addition to his already large income ;
but all this enormous wealth could not prevent the infamy
which will ever be attached to his name. As " the Butcher "
he will always be known while the history of that terrible
day remains in the traditions of our people.

Among the prisoners of note taken after Culloden was
the brave Lady (" Colonel ") Anne Mackintosh, who was in
Inverness when the victorious army entered it. Ray says :
" The Ladies, after Tea, were preparing to dress for a Ball in
the Evening, expecting the Rebels had gain'd a Victory; but
the King's Red-Coats were so rude as to interrupt them, and
lead them up a Dance they did not expect"; a vulgarly
expressed, but probably correct account of what happened.
Lady Mackintosh was conveyed to London, where she was
afterwards released; and there is a story that while in that
city Cumberland gave a ball to which she was invited. During
the evening he requested her to dance with him to the tune
of " Up and waur them a', Willie." Accepting his offered
hand, she trod the measure with some reluctance, and upon
its conclusion said, that having danced to his tune, would he
favour her by dancing to one she should select ? This request,
coming from so fair a dame, he could not refuse, and the ill-
assorted couple were soon gyrating to the strains of "The
auld Stuarts back agen," a tune hateful to Whig ears.

Prince Charles witnessed the defeat of his army from a
small eminence in rear of the position he had selected for

262 LOYAL LOCHABER

withstanding the attack of the duke's forces, and it required
all the powers of persuasion possessed by his officers to prevent
him risking his life by a reckless attempt to rally the retreating
Highlanders. Better perhaps had he been allowed to do so,
for had he died sword in hand at the head of his army, his
admirers would have been spared the painful history of his
maturer years, when a long life of disappointments and blighted
hopes had rendered him morose and melancholy, and, what
was far worse, had produced in him habits of intemperance
which were degrading in their ultimate consequences.

He was led from the field by General O'Sullivan, who, seeing
the day was hopelessly lost, seized the bridle of the prince's
horse and hurried him away in the direction of Loch Ness.
About sunset the party arrived at Gortuleg, the residence of
Thomas Fraser, Lord Lovat's steward. His lordship was
himself present on this occasion, and is said to have received
the prince with expressions of sincere loyalty and affection,
and urged him not to abandon his enterprise, reminding
him of his "great ancestor Robert Bruce, who lost eleven
battles and won Scotland by the twelfth." Not deeming it
safe to remain at Gortuleg for the night, Prince Charles
merely partook of a hasty meal, and, after changing his
habiliments, rode rapidly on with a small party of his officers
past Fort Augustus, which was then in ruins, to Invergarry,
the castle of MacDonald of Glengarry, on the shores of
Loch Oich, arriving there about four o'clock in the morning
of 1 7th April.

Thus, after a campaign of eight months' duration, the
prince found himself once more in loyal Lochaber ; but
how different were his circumstances now to what they had
been on 2/th August 1745, when he last visited Invergarry
at the head of an army of eighteen hundred men, and been
received by Glengarry with the lavish hospitality common to
the Highlands. Where were all the devoted men who had
followed him from the Lochaber glens, from the green hills
of Appin, from the wilds of Badenoch, from dark Glencoe,

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 263

and the fir-clad braes of Athole ? Ay ! where were they now ?
Lying stark and bloody on Drummossie's fatal moor, hacked
and mutilated by Sassenach butchers; torn limb from limb
by English grape-shot ; their ghastly features distorted beyond
all recognition, with staring eyes fixed upon the sky above,
as if invoking heaven itself to avenge their brutal murder.
These were the dead, where were the living? Hiding in
caves among their native glens, into which they had crawled,
dragging their wounded limbs mile after mile over rough moun-
tain paths, and suffering uncomplainingly the most intense
agony ; skulking in the trackless wilds of the great forests of
Mamore or Loch Eil, with only the red-deer as companions, or
among the ruins of some disused stronghold of a dead and
gone chieftain, where the owl and the night-hawk made the
night hideous with their screams. Many poor stricken
creatures had toiled painfully up steep mountains, and died
from their wounds among the boulders, where years after-
wards a few bleached bones told to a future, and, thank
God, a more humane generation, the mute story of their
sufferings.

And now Prince Charles himself was to drain the bitter
cup of misfortune to the dregs, and endure in silence all the
agony of mind and fatigue of body that his naturally buoyant
and sanguine temperament rendered all the more poignant.
"AujourcThui rot, demain rzen" the bold scheme had failed,
the crown of his ancestors had slipped phantom-like from his
grasp, and the prince of yesterday, the hero of a thousand
gallant Highland hearts, was now a fugitive fleeing for his life
before his merciless antagonist.

" On hills that are by right his ain,

He roams a lonely stranger,
On ilka hand he's pressed by want,

On ilka side by danger.
Yestreen I met him in a glen,

My heart near bursted fairly,
For sadly changed indeed was he

Oh ! wae's me for Prince Charlie ! "

264 LOYAL LOCHABER

The bare walls of Invergarry, deserted by its owner, its
rooms destitute of furniture, its aumrie empty of provisions,
afforded but a poor shelter for a king's son ; but had he known
what was to come later, its tenantless chambers and draughty
corridors would have been deemed magnificent. Tired and
worn out with hunger and the physical exertion of the forty-
mile ride from Culloden, Prince Charles and his party, upon
entering the castle, threw themselves upon the uncarpeted floor
in their travel-stained garments, and slept soundly until mid-day.
It was fortunate for the famished wayfarers that the river Garry,
famous then as it is now as being the earliest salmon river in
Scotland, flowed in close proximity to their place of refuge,
and yielded them a substantial meal, in the shape of two
fine fish, which were providentially captured by the Highland
guide, Edward Burke, who had conducted the fugitives from
the battle-field. Having finished their much-needed repast,
it was decided that the prince, with O'Sullivan, O'Neil, and
Burke, should seek the shelter of the dense forest that clothed
the shores of Loch Arkaig, while the remainder of the party
fled in a contrary direction. Before setting out, Prince Charles
disguised himself as well as he could by donning some of the
clothing of his guide, a wise precaution, when it is considered
that they were likely to be intercepted^y some of the Fort
William garrison, who were now probably cognisant of the
result of the battle, and would be on the look-out for fugitives.
Avoiding the main roads, the prince and his attendants pursued
their course by the most unfrequented paths of the beautiful
Glen Garry, and striking across country, arrived about nine
o'clock at night at the house of Donald Cameron of Glen
Pean, near the head of Loch Arkaig, in the territory of Lochiel.
Here they spent the night of the I7th, and on the following
morning proceeded farther westward to a small farmhouse at
Meoble, where comfortable quarters and good food were
obtained.

To follow the wanderings of this unhappy prince and
his devoted companions among the islands of the west

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 265

coast would be to undertake a congenial, but altogether
superfluous task in connection with a work professing to deal
only with Lochaber.

The work of recording this romantic chapter in the career
of Prince Charles has been ably and intelligently done by
Robert Chambers in his "History of the Rebellion of 1745-46,"
a most exhaustive history of that eventful period, and, on the
whole, written with a just impartiality which renders it all the
more valuable. While the hope of the Jacobite party was
suffering all the hardships which an unkind fate had meted
out to him, the scattered remnants of the Highland army
were gradually making their way into Lochaber, whither most
of their leaders had fled. Lochiel, notwithstanding his crippled
condition, was far from being subdued : no one knew better
than he the desperate state they were in, and that it was only
a question of a few weeks, possibly only a few days, before
the Duke of Cumberland would follow up his victory by a
determined effort to dislodge the remaining supporters of the
fallen dynasty from their ancestral strongholds among the
mountains of Lochaber. No mercy could be expected at
the hands of the "butcher of Culloden"; intoxicated with
blood, he would fall upon the now helpless Highlanders
and commence a bellum intercinum which would render
the land desolate. The only way of preventing such a
disaster was by making a united stand against the invading
force.

Lochiel was greatly encouraged by the welcome arrival of
38,000 sterling in louis d'ors, which had been brought to
Borrodale on the west coast by two French ships of war. This
considerable sum of money had been placed in charge of
Dr Cameron and Sir Thomas Sheridan, and was conveyed by
them to Callich, on the north side of Loch Arkaig, where it
appears to have been handed over to Secretary Murray. The
sinews of war having thus been provided, Lochiel invited all
the proscribed chiefs that were within hail to meet him at

Callich (or Murlaggan) on 8th May, to discuss plans for a

2 L

266 LOYAL LOCHABER

continuance of the war, which he was sanguine enough to
think could now be carried on successfully. On the day
appointed for the gathering, several important chieftains put
in an appearance. Lochiel and his brother, Dr Archibald
Cameron, were of course present. Young Clanranald, Mac-
Donald of Barrisdale, MacDonald of Lochgarry, MacDonald,
nephew of Keppoch, John Roy Stewart, Glenbucket, the
Laird of MacKinnon, Alexander MacLeod of Neuck, Major
Kennedy, Captain MacNab, and last, but not least, the crafty
Lord Lovat, who, by some accidental circumstances, found
himself one of the party.

Having reviewed the position of affairs, the whole of those
assembled signed an agreement by which they bound them-
selves to afford each other mutual support ; and the chiefs
promised to proceed at once to their respective estates and
raise every available man for the prince's service, and assemble
them at Ach-na-carry on the I5th of the month.

The clans who had not sent representatives to the meeting
were to be immediately informed of the resolution that had
been made, so that they might not fail to join the others
on the day fixed for the general muster. Secretary Murray,
assisted by one of his clerks, Charles Stewart, then distributed
some of the money among the chiefs to assist them in
raising their men, and the party dispersed to their various
hiding-places.

While the leaders of the prince's army were thus engaged
in concerting measures for carrying on the campaign, Lord
Loudoun, who was in command of the newly formed High-
land militia at Inverness, 1 received orders from the Duke of
Cumberland to march into Lochaber with seventeen hundred
men and take up his quarters at Fort Augustus, in order to
stamp out the dying embers of the rebellion, and, if possible,
secure the person of Prince Charles, who was believed to be
lurking among the fastnesses of that district. This action on

1 Lord Loudoun was in the Isle of Skye, with an army of thirteen hundred men,
when he received the duke's orders to proceed to Lochaber.

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 267

the part of Lord Loudoun effectually prevented the pre-
meditated rising on the part of the Jacobite clans, and nearly
resulted in the capture of Lochiel, who, mistaking a party of
the militia for Barrisdale's men, advanced to welcome them,
but being informed of his error by one of his clan, had just
time to jump into a boat and row to the other side of Loch
Arkaig and so escape.

Lochaber being now invested with the troops of the
English Government, it was thought advisable to place the
French gold in a place of security, and Secretary Murray,
assisted by Dr Cameron, Alexander MacLeod of Neuck, Sir
Stewart Threipland, and Major Kennedy, having placed
15,000 louis d'ors in three parcels, proceeded to the head of
Loch Arkaig, and at a spot opposite Callich, where a small
burn runs down the hillside, they deposited one of the
precious parcels under a boulder in the stream ; the other two
being buried in holes a short distance off. A further sum of
12,000 was taken from Ach-na-carry a few days later, upon
receipt of intelligence that an attack upon the place was
meditated by a detachment from Fort Augustus, and deposited,
under cover of night, in a hole that was dug by Dr Cameron
and MacLeod of Neuck, near the foot of the loch. The hiding-
place of this treasure still remains an unsolved mystery.

Here is a story worthy the attention of our writers of fiction.
" The Mystery of the Prince's Gold " would make a good title
for a tale of thrilling interest, and would, moreover, possess the
advantage of being founded on actual fact. Lochaber folk still
have a saying which has a distinct reference to the buried
money, and which seems to imply that some of their ancestors
knew more about the matter than they cared to tell. When
a man acquires wealth by means which are unknown to his
neighbours, he is said to have discovered " Sporrain ghobhlach
do dk'or a Phrionnsa" i.e., " forked purses of the prince's gold."

Having accomplished the task of hiding the treasure, Dr
Cameron and MacLeod of Neuck returned to Ach-na-carry,
and early on the following morning the whole party, headed

268 LOYAL LOCHABER

by Lochiel on horseback, quitted the shores of Loch Arkaig,
and proceeded by a circuitous route into Appin, and from
thence into Badenoch, where Lochiel took up his abode in
a small hut at Mellaneuir, near Loch Ericht, with his kinsman
Cluny MacPherson, young MacPherson of Breakachie, and two
or three clansmen, who acted as servants and kept a faithful
watch over their chiefs.

CHAPTER XXXII.

WHILE Lochiel was thus making good his escape, the Duke
of Cumberland, annoyed at the reluctance on the part of the
Highlanders to deliver up their arms and submit their persons
to his clemency, resolved to march with his army into Loch-
aber, and put the inhabitants who had dared to resist his
authority to the sword. Leaving Inverness on the 23rd of
May, he reached Fort Augustus on the following day, and
pitched his camp near the ruins of that once important place.
And now commenced a reign of terror such as would have
disgraced a Nero. Hell itself was let loose among the beautiful
glens and fir- clad hills of this land of heroes. The smoke of
hundreds of burning dwellings ascended into the blue vault or
heaven, so that the sun itself was obscured, and darkness, like
a pall, hung over the fair country of Lochaber. The ancient
dwellings of the proscribed chiefs were the first to feed the
flames kindled by the English incendiaries. Ach-na-carry, the
home of the gentle Lochiel ; Invergarry Castle, the ancestral
seat of the MacDonalds of Glengarry ; the houses of gallant
Keppoch, Cluny, Kinlochmoidart, Glengyle, and Ardshiel were
destroyed, after being plundered of their contents by the
rapacious soldiery. 1

1 Among the houses plundered by the English soldiery after Culloden was the
old house of Glen Nevis, but by the timely flight of Mrs Cameron of Glen Nevis,
with all the portable property she could lay hands upon, the robbers did not get
much for their pains. The more bulky valuables which could not be conveniently
carried away, including all the silver-plate and china, were buried deep outside the

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 269

Not content with this holocaust, the invaders next turned
their malign attentions to the humble shielings of the poor
Highlanders, many of whom had not even been present at
Culloden, and had taken no active part in the campaign.
With brutal disregard of the commonest feelings of humanity,
the soldiers set fire to the huts and barns, and murdered the
inmates with every species of fiendish ingenuity. One instance
is recorded of a whole family being shut up in a barn and
burnt to death, for no apparent reason other than the wanton
cruelty of their inhuman enemies. Other inoffensive men, who
had offered no resistance and who carried no arms, were shot
down upon the hillsides or in their native glens, and their wives
and children subjected to all kinds of nameless outrages by
the licentious troops.

So far from endeavouring to put a stop to these excesses,
the duke and his officers openly encouraged them, and the
vicinity of the English camp became a veritable pandemonium.
Revolting scenes of gross indecency were of daily occurrence,
and formed the chief amusement of libertine officers and
vicious men. Races of a disgusting character were instituted,
in which semi -nude women took part, riding like men on
bare-backed horses, and exposed to the coarse jokes and filthy
gestures of the drunken soldiery. These disgraceful doings are
thus described by Ray, who attempts to excuse them on the
ground that the troops were suffering from melancholia and
needed entertainment : " This sad state of things," he says,
" might have been still worse, had it not been for the Duke's
Presence, which afforded Pleasure to every Soldier as often

garden wall. Mrs Cameron, with her infant son, remained hidden in " Uamh
Shomhairle" (" Samuel's Cave") for some days, but were at last discovered by a
body of soldiers, who had been amusing themselves by burning and destroying the
houses in the glen. One of these ruffians, noticing that she had something hidden
under her plaid, which was fastened by a silver brooch, attempted to grasp it, and
upon the lady resisting, he drew his weapon and cut open the plaid, disclosing the
baby nestling by its mother's breast. Finding no treasure, the soldiers departed
with the brooch and plaid, and left Mrs Cameron to make her way back to her
ruined dwelling. The child had been wounded in the neck by the sword thrust,
and bore the scar of the wound until he died. He became the father of Mrs
MacDonald of Achtriachtan, in whose family the silver-plate is still preserved.

270 LOYAL LOCHABER

as they beheld him ; and to divert their Melancholy, his
Royal Highness and Officers frequently gave Money to be
run for by Highland Horses sometimes without Saddles or
Bridles ; both Men and Women riding : Here were also many
Foot Races, perform'd by both Sexes, which afforded many
Droll Scenes. It was necessary to entertain Life in this
Manner, otherwise the People were in Danger of being
affected with hypocondrical Melancholy."

The fulsome flattery of this writer is nauseating in the
extreme, and I only quote from his writings to give my
readers some idea of the lengths to which the duke's obsequious
parasites could go. Some interest attaches to Ray's " History"
from the fact that he was present as a volunteer throughout
the whole campaign, and gives an account of those historical
events which came under his own observation; the work is,
however, on the whole, unreliable and full of flagrant errors.

While at Fort Augustus, the Duke of Cumberland ex-
pressed a wish to visit the neighbouring garrison at Fort
William, and compliment the officers and men for their defence
of the place during the recent siege. On 3Oth May the wish
was carried into effect, and at three o'clock in the morning of
that day the duke left Fort Augustus, with an escort of one
hundred men of Kingston's horse, and reached Fort William
a little before nine. Having partaken of some refreshment,
the duke held an informal levee, at which the officers of the
garrison were presented. As a reward for their services
during the investment of the fort by the force under Brigadier
Stapleton, they received the honour of kissing the ducal hand ;
and after listening to the congratulations of the commander-
in-chief, they were ordered to acquaint the private men that
he gave them thanks for their good behaviour on that occasion.
After a close inspection of the barracks and fortifications, the
duke departed for his camp at Fort Augustus, where he arrived
before nightfall. On the following day Houghton's battalion
marched into Fort William to relieve the defenders, who were
mostly composed of men of Guise's regiment.

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 271

Shortly after the new garrison had settled down in their
quarters, a tragic incident occurred at the fort, through the
criminal carelessness of the officer in command. In the
absence of the governor, the control of the garrison was vested
in a major of Houghton's regiment, who, like most army men
of his time, indulged freely in the bottle. A free pardon
having been offered by the English Government to all those
of the lower classes who would deliver up their arms, many
poor hunted Highlanders availed themselves of the oppor-
tunity to make their peace with the enemy, and Fort William,
being in the centre of the disaffected district, it was selected
by large numbers of the fugitives as the most convenient place
for tendering their submission. Late one night, while the
major and his brother officers were engaged in a drinking bout,
the sergeant on duty entered the room and informed the major
that three men were brought in with their arms what should
be done with them ? " Why, hang them ! " shouted the
intoxicated officer, enraged at the interruption. The sergeant
immediately retired to carry out the barbarous order, and,
before an hour had elapsed, the unfortunate Highlanders
suffered an ignominious death. Fuddled with the fumes of
the wine he had drunk, the major thought no more of the
matter, and retired to rest without so much as a pang of
remorse for the men he had doomed to die. In the morning
he rose from his bed, and, looking out of the window as was
his wont, saw with some surprise the bodies of three men
dangling from one of the beams of a mill a short distance
off. Calling his servant, he demanded an explanation of the
ghastly sight, and was horrified to find, when the details of
the tragedy had been explained to him, that he, and he alone,
was responsible for the awful crime which had hurried three
fellow-men into the presence of their Maker. It is said that
this intelligence threw him into a profound and lasting
melancholy.

This story is culled from the very interesting " Letters from
the Mountains," written by Mrs Grant of Laggan about the

272 LOYAL LOCHABER

year 1773. She was the wife of the chaplain to the forces
at Fort Augustus, and during her residence in the Highlands
collected a vast amount of information relating to Celtic tradi-
tion, and having mastered the Gaelic, wrote many beautiful
poems in that expressive language. Referring to the story
just related, she says : " My father, though of all Whigs the
bluest, speaks with horror of the transaction, and says he saw
a very pretty young widow, whose father, brother, and husband
had been the sufferers." It was some such bereaved woman as
this that Cunningham had in mind when he wrote

" O dreary laneliness is now
'Mang ruined hamlets smoking !
Yet the new-made widow sits and sings,
While her sweet babe she's rocking.

" On Darien think, on dowie Glencoe,
On Murray, traitor ! coward !
On Cumberland's blood-blushing hands,
And think on Charlie Stuart."

Sad indeed was the lot of that unhappy prince, as, with his
few devoted followers, he fled before his merciless pursuers
like a hunted deer, hiding in wretched hovels that would have
been despised by the poorest wayfarer; skulking in caves by
the sea- shore or amid the desolate recesses of some unin-
habited glen ; exposed to the inclemency of the weather on
bleak hillsides, with scarce sufficient clothing to cover his tired
limbs and shelter his delicately-nurtured body from the biting
easterly winds which prevail during the spring months in the
regions of the north ; enduring the pangs of hunger with un-
complaining stoicism and unselfish consideration for those who
suffered with him, and offering, through all his misfortunes, an
example of princely heroism that gained for him the regard
of all those with whom he was brought in contact.

The old adage that "Adversity makes strange bedfellows"
was never more truly exemplified than in the case of Prince
Charles during this period of his life, and might be varied
with equal truth to " Adversity makes unexpected friends."

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 273

Certain it is, that during the whole of his wanderings among
the Highlands and Isles, notwithstanding the immense reward
(30,000) offered for his capture, the royal fugitive discovered
that, beneath the rough and uncouth exterior of the poor
uncultivated mountaineers with whom his lot was cast, there
beat hearts true as steel, that no reward could tempt from the
path of duty, that no bribe could turn from loyal allegiance to
the prince they loved. Think what one tithe of such a sum
of money would have meant to these poor Highlanders, who
hardly knew what golden guineas were like. With it they
could have purchased land, cattle, boats, and become great
men in the land of their fathers ; no more toil, no more priva-
tions; a comfortable croft, or well-stocked farm, full byres,
and sufficiency of meal and usquebaugh to comfort the inner
man during the long months of winter. These and many more
things dear to the Highland heart would come to the man who
spoke the word that betrayed his prince. Thank God ! for the
lasting honour of the Highlanders of the '45, that word was
never uttered. There was no Judas among these hardy sons
of the north to accept the blood -money of the usurper of
Britain's throne, no false-hearted traitor to disgrace his name
and race by divulging the secret of the prince's hiding-place
to the "butcher" of Culloden. 1

Among these devoted adherents of Prince Charles, who
attended to his wants and shared his hardships and dangers,
the name of Edward Burke, the Edinburgh sedan -carrier,
who guided him from the fatal field of Culloden, and of the
faithful old Donald MacLeod of Gualtergill, who piloted him
across the dangerous current of the Sound of Sleat and the

1 Since these words were written, Mr Andrew Lang, raking among the musty
Stuart papers, has discovered "Pickle the Spy," and with his characteristic, but quite
unaccountable eagerness to fasten any charge of treachery upon the Jacobite chiefs
of the '45, has endeavoured to identify Alasdair MacDonell, eldest son of John
MacDonell, XII. of Glengarry, as the traitor. I have had no time to examine the
evidence carefully, but whether Mr Lang's assumption is true or not, the accuracy
of my statement is not affected ; for the historical fact remains, that notwithstanding
the immense reward offered for the prince's capture, no one could be found to betray
the secret of his hiding-place.

2 M

274 LOYAL LOCHABER

tempestuous Minch to the island of Benbecula, and afterwards
assisted the prince to escape the clutches of the English
man-of-war off the coast of Harris, should not be forgotten.
These men were real heroes, although the part they played
in securing their prince's safety has been somewhat obscured
by the romantic and self-sacrificing devotion of the brave
girl whose name will always be associated with the history
of Bonnie Prince Charlie. There is little doubt that had it
not been for the cool presence of mind displayed by Flora
MacDonald during the time the prince was hiding in Skye,
and the clever stratagem by which she transformed a king's
son into an Irish serving-maid, his capture would have been
effected by the blood -hounds of Cumberland, and one more
victim would have been sent to the shambles of Tower Hill
or Kennington Common.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

AFTER many hairbreadth escapes and thrilling adventures by
land and sea, the gallant prince once again sought a sanctuary
among those beautiful Lochaber glens where, less than twelve
months before, he had been received with shouts of welcome
from lips now silent beneath the blood - stained heather of
Drummossie. On July the 23rd, Prince Charles, attended by
Glenaladale, Lieutenant John MacDonald, and John MacDonald
of Borodale, arrived in Lochiel's country, and having despatched
Lieutenant MacDonald with instructions to ascend the moun-
tain of Sgor-nan-Coireachan, which overlooked the head of
Loch Arkaig, and gain, if possible, some information as to
the movements of the English troops, the prince with the
other chiefs climbed to the summit of a hill near Glenfinnan,
known as Fraoch Bheinn, with the same purpose. From this
elevation the surrounding country was clearly visible, and
Glenaladale noticed with some surprise a large drove of
cattle moving rapidly along the road at the base of the

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 275

mountain, while a number of men were running in the same
direction, as if fleeing from an enemy. On inquiring the reason
of the commotion, he received the alarming intelligence that
the redcoats were at Kinlocharkaig, a few miles off, whither
they had come to intercept the prince.

This news caused an alteration in the plans of the fugitive
party, and Glenaladale immediately sent word to apprise
Lieutenant MacDonald of the danger he was in, and asked
him to return at once. He also sent a messenger to Donald
Cameron of Glen Pean to inform him of the prince's arrival
in Lochaber, and requested his good offices to guide him
to a place of security.

During the time they were awaiting the return of the
messengers with anxious hearts and empty stomachs, the
wife of one of Glenaladale's tenants, having by some chance
discovered that her landlord was near at hand and lacked
food, set out for Fraoch Bheinn, where she had been told
he would be found, with a pail of new milk, which her kind
heart told her would be welcome to the tired chief. Prince
Charles, seeing the woman approach, became somewhat alarmed,
as he feared recognition. Hastily taking a handkerchief from
his pocket, he tied it round his head, to convey the idea that
he was suffering from headache. This ruse, and the tattered
condition of his garments, gave him the appearance of a servant,
and no suspicion of his rank was aroused in the mind of the
charitable dame. The assumed character of the prince pre-
vented Glenaladale from offering him some milk before he
partook of it himself, and he endeavoured to persuade his*
garrulous friend to leave the pail in his possession, which at
last she reluctantly did, and Prince Charles was then able to
indulge in his humble meal without fear of detection. 1

In the course of the day the man who had been despatched
to the house of Glenpean returned with the alarming news
that a large body of the Argyll militia, about a hundred strong,
were advancing along the road at the foot of the hill upon

1 Appendix XXIX.

2j6 LOYAL LOCHABER

which they now stood, with the evident intention of ascending
it. To have waited for the arrival of Glenpean would have
been to risk almost certain capture, and it was therefore
decided by the prince and his attendants to make good their
retreat while there was yet time. Hastily descending the hill,
they proceeded cautiously through the trackless wilds of the
braes of Loch Arkaig, where, by a stroke of good fortune, they
fell in with Donald Cameron of Glen Pean, who was on his way
to meet the prince. He had thoughtfully provided himself
with all the food he could lay hands upon, and although it
amounted altogether only to a few measures of oatmeal and a
small quantity of butter, it was nevertheless of great service to
the famished travellers, to whom even such meagre fare as this
was a rarity.

Glenpean was a valuable addition to the party, as, from
his intimate acquaintance with the district, he was able to
take them by the most unfrequented tracks, that to anyone
but himself would have been found impassable. A native of
Lochaber, he knew every hill, every mountain, every glen, and
almost every sheep-track in the land of his birth, and he was
now able to put his knowledge to some advantage. Consti-
tuting himself as guide, he conducted his unlucky prince and
his devoted friends by a safe but circuitous route, which took
them all night to traverse, to the summit of a mountain known
as Mam-nan-Callum, near Loch Arkaig, from whence they were
able to discern the camp of the militia, which was about a mile
off. As this place had been searched the day previously, a
circumstance which had influenced Glenpean in selecting it as
a safe retreat, it was not thought likely that any further attempt
would be made to explore it, and the foot-sore and fatigued
wanderers were able to take the rest they so much needed
without fear of disturbance. Here the prince and his followers
remained until the morning of 25th July, when, having eaten
their slender stock of provisions, they were compelled to retire
in the direction of the west coast, where it was hoped they
might fall in with some of the Highlanders who had fled

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 277

with their cattle from their farms on the approach of the
redcoats.

It is remarkable that, notwithstanding the inhuman atrocities
that were perpetrated by the English troops in Lochaber after
Culloden, there is only one l authenticated instance of personal
revenge being taken by the injured peasantry upon their brutal
oppressors. The local account, which I believe is the true
one, differs slightly from the usually received version, and is
as follows : When the order had gone out from the duke's
camp at Fort Augustus that any Highlander found carrying
arms would be condemned to instant death, many of those
against whom this severe and cruel edict was directed went
with their weapons to one or other of the detached garrisons
to deliver them up to the officer in charge. Among those who
decided to accept the arbitrary terms offered by Cumberland
was Dugald Roy Cameron, one of Lochiel's tenants, who, not
feeling disposed to abase himself before the jeering Sassenachs,
sent his son, a lad of sixteen years of age, to give up his
musket to the officer in command of the troops, who were
stationed near Ach-na-carry. The poor lad, on reaching the
camp, was received with every species of insult from the soldiers,
and upon proceeding to lay down his weapon, he was instantly
seized by the blood-thirsty wretches, bound to a tree, and shot
dead by the commanding officer's own hand. 2 When the news
of his son's cruel murder reached the ears of Dugald Cameron,
he vowed never to rest until he had slain the inhuman monster

1 Since writing the above, I am reminded of a second instance of retaliation
which took place at Appin, mentioned by Dr Alexander Stewart ("Nether
Lochaber"). It was the act of a young Highland woman, whose cow had been
wantonly shot by an English sergeant and herself abused. Whilst trying to escape
from her persecutor she picked up a stone, and throwing it with considerable force,
struck the soldier on the head, and he died from the effects of the blow the same
night. His body was buried at Airds, but it was afterwards exhumed by the
exasperated Highlanders and thrown into the sea. The brother of Silas Nic-Cholla
(this was the girl's name) flayed the skin from the arm of the corpse, and, after
subjecting it to a tanning process, made a dirk sheath with it. This has been seen
and handled by Dr Stewart.

2 The officer who perpetrated this dastardly outrage was Captain Grant of
Cnoc-ceanach.

278 LOYAL LOCHABER

who had committed the atrocious crime; and having heard that
he always rode a white horse, and could thus be distinguished
from the other officers, Cameron procured another musket, and
lay in ambush for the murderer among the dense thickets
that line the roadsides near Ach-na-carry. For some weeks
the bereaved father waited for his victim, till at length a day
arrived when, being in the vicinity of the "Mz7e Dubh " (" Dark
Mile"), an avenue of magnificent trees on the north side of
Loch Arkaig, opposite the mansion of Lochiel, he saw the man
he wanted, riding on the fatal white horse at the head of a
small party of officers. Vengeance was now within his grasp,
and he was not long in availing himself of the opportunity
fate had thrown in his way. Levelling his piece, he took a
steady and deliberate aim at the supposed slayer of his child,
and as the report of the discharge rang out upon the still air,
and went echoing along the rocky shores of the loch, the officer
fell from his horse mortally wounded, and expired in a few
minutes. Having avenged his son's death, Cameron fled,
satisfied that he had accomplished his vow. But it was not
so. The unfortunate man whose life-blood stained the verdant
turf of the Mile Dubh proved to be Major Munro of Culcairn,
the brother of Sir Robert Munro of Foulis, who had recently
met a soldier's death at Falkirk. Chance had led the major to
exchange horses with the officer who had perpetrated the foul
crime, and thus it happened that the bullet that was intended
for his friend pierced his own heart. To this day the place
where he fell is known as " Culcairn's Brae."

Prince Charles, after a series of remarkable adventures
among the desolate mountains of the west coast, and in the
society of the famous " Seven Men of Glenmoriston," returned
to Lochaber on the 2Oth of August, where he expected to meet
Cameron of Clunes, a kinsman of Lochiel's, from whom he
hoped to obtain some information as to the whereabouts of
that brave chieftain. The place appointed for the meeting was
Achnasaul, near the foot of Loch Arkaig, and here the prince
waited in the pouring rain for the arrival of Clunes. Drenched

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 279

to the skin, and without food of any kind, his condition was
miserable indeed. His clothing, torn and soiled by the rough
usage it had undergone, consisted of a dirty shirt, over which
he wore a black Highland doublet much the worse for wear,
and an old tartan kilt and plaid frayed and battered by the
briars and thorns which had obstructed his path through the
forest. For arms he carried a musket, and in his belt were
thrust a pair of pistols and a dirk. His personal appearance
was in keeping with his dress, and it would have been difficult
to recognise in the rough-looking lad, with unkempt locks and
red beard of a few weeks' growth, the gallant prince who, a
few months before, had won the love and admiration of the
bonnie lasses of old Dunedin who had attended his brief but
brilliant court at Holyrood.

For some reason or another Clunes was unable to keep
his appointment, and sent word by Peter Grant (one of the
Glenmoriston men with whom the prince had stayed) that
he would come in the morning, and suggested that the fugitives
should find shelter for the night in the adjoining wood. This
they proceeded to do, and while following the path that led
through a thick undergrowth of trees and bracken, a fine hart,
startled at their approaching footsteps, bounded across the road
and was promptly shot by Grant and converted into venison for
the supper of the hungry prince and his half-starved followers.
Upon arrival at Achnasaul, Glenaladale had despatched a
messenger .to MacDonald of Lochgarry, who was known to
be hiding in the neighbourhood, to acquaint him with the
news that the prince was close at hand and would be glad to
see him. Immediately upon receipt of this welcome intelligence,
Lochgarry started off in quest of the wanderers, and reached
the wood where they lay concealed about nightfall. In the
morning Clunes came in, and by his advice the party shifted
their quarters to another part of the forest, where they were
less likely to be observed by the military patrols from Fort
Augustus or Fort William. On the evening of 2ist August
the heroes of Glenmoriston bade farewell to the "lad they

280 LOYAL LOCHABER

should ne'er see again," and departed to their native glens,
with the exception of their leader, Peter Grant, who was
left behind in order that he might receive a sum of money
Prince Charles had promised to pay for their services.

About this time Lochiel, in the seclusion of his retreat
among the mountains of Badenoch, received tidings of the
prince's arrival in Lochaber, and he at once determined to
open up communications with the royal fugitive. Sending
for his brother Dr Archibald Cameron, and his kinsman the
Rev. John Cameron, 1 he informed them of what he had heard,
and expressed a wish that they should start off at once for
Ach-na-carry, and endeavour to gain some reliable intelligence
as to the prince's movements, and, if possible, obtain a personal
interview, when plans for a suggested flight to France could
be discussed.

In the hope of intercepting any messengers from the
prince, it was thought advisable that Dr Cameron should
proceed into Lochaber by one route, and the Rev. John
Cameron by another; and the wisdom of this course was soon
apparent, as before Dr Cameron had gone more than a few
miles, he met one of his brother's tenants named MacCoilveen,
who had been entrusted with a message from Prince Charles
to Lochiel. As a proof of the fidelity of character possessed
by the poor untutored Highlanders of that period, we are
told that although MacCoilveen was perfectly well aware of
the near relationship that existed between Dr Archibald
Cameron and Lochiel, he could not be persuaded to give the
doctor the slightest hint as to the nature of the communication,
which he had been told was to be conveyed to none other
than Lochiel himself. While Dr Cameron had been questioning
the prince's messenger two strangers had approached, and as

1 Although most histories of the '45 refer to the Rev. John Cameron as the
brother of Donald Cameron, the younger of Lochiel, he does not appear in the
list of the children of John Cameron, the titular chief, as given in " The Memoirs of
Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel." There were five sons only, viz., Donald (of the
'45), John of Fassfern, who certainly was not a minister, Dr Archibald, Alexander
(afterwards a priest), and Ewen. Should it not be Alexander ?

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 281

their appearance denoted'their nationality, Dr Cameron stopped
them, and after a few words had passed, extracted from them
the information that they were two French officers who had
been sent over from France with several others to assist the
prince, and that, having landed at Poolewe in June, they had
been wandering about ever since hoping to fall in with him,
but had altogether failed to discover the whereabouts of the
object of their search.

This unexpected occurrence caused Dr Cameron to alter
his plans, and instead of proceeding farther on his way, he
retraced his steps to Mellaneuir, where his brother was still
residing, accompanied by the two officers and the trusty
MacCoilveen. Lochiel, on being apprised of the arrival of
the French officers, seems to have entertained some suspicions
that they might be foes in the guise of friends, and had them
conveyed to the abode of a neighbour, with injunctions that a
strict watch was to be kept over their movements. The message
that had been brought from the prince by MacCoilveen having
been confided to Dr Cameron, he set off once more on his
perilous errand, and making rapid progress, soon overtook his
kinsman, the Rev. John Cameron, near the shores of Loch
Lochy. Here they secured a boat in which they crossed the
loch, and proceeded to explore the neighbourhood of Clunes,
hoping they might secure the service of Cameron of that ilk
to guide them to the prince's retreat. Fortune favoured them
in their quest, for while rowing slowly near the mouth of the
river Arkaig, they perceived two of Clunes's children ; and
shortly afterwards Cameron himself, having probably recog-
nised the occupants of the boat, came down to the water's
edge, and was soon in communication with his friends.
Dismissing their servants, the three loyal Camerons made
haste to gain the cover of the wood, in case their movements
should be watched by some lurking enemy. With cautious
footsteps they approached the rude hut which willing hands
had erected to shelter the prince from the rain, and afford
him some cover while he slept at night.

2 N

282 LOYAL LOCHABER

And here a strange contretemps happened, which might
have proved fatal to Dr Cameron and his companions. The
prince, not expecting to receive any visitors, had fallen asleep,
and one of Clunes's sons shared his siesta, while the faithful
Peter stood sentry over them by the door of the hut.
Whether Peter had been imbibing too freely of the spirit that
Clunes had provided, or whether the heat of the sultry August
day had rendered him drowsy we know not, but certain it is
that the usually alert Highlander slumbered at his post. He
awoke, however, at the sound of the breaking twigs and moving
branches, that betokened the approach of some intruders.
Rushing into the hut, he unceremoniously awakened the prince
and young Cameron, and implored them both to betake them-
selves to the hills while there was yet time. This the prince
refused to do, as he considered it safer to remain in the hut
and fire upon the party as they came within range of their
weapons. Placing themselves under cover, with muskets
primed and loaded, they awaited with some trepidation the
arrival of the enemy, ready to fire at a signal from the prince.
Fortunately for all concerned, Clunes was recognised the
moment he emerged from the _ wood, and thus a terrible
catastrophe was providentially averted.

Prince Charles was delighted to see Dr Archibald Cameron,
and to hear from him that his brother's wounds were fast healing.
A strong affection had sprung up between the young prince
and his devoted friend and follower Lochiel, from that first
eventful day when at Borrodale the young chieftain, with the
spirit of his celebrated grandfather stirring in his breast, had
enthusiastically declared that he would share the fate of the
fearless lad who had come to win back his inheritance from
the ravenous clutches of a German adventurer. The bonds
of this friendship had been drawn closer by the sufferings and
privations both had experienced during the long campaign,
in which the devotion of Lochiel to the cause he had promised
to support had never been known to waver. And now,
like his prince, the " Gentle " Lochiel was an outcast and a

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 283

wanderer among his own people. The blackened pile of his
ancestral home stood gaunt and spectre-like amid the leafy
shades of Ach-na-carry, a grim and silent witness to the reality
of his loyalty to a fallen dynasty, and a standing memorial of
English barbarism. Well might Prince Charles thank God
that the life of his friend had been spared. Never was he in
greater need of his advice than at the present juncture, and
he could scarcely be restrained from setting out at once for
Badenoch in order to join the crippled chieftain. But wiser
counsels prevailed, and the attempt to reach Lochiel's hiding-
place was postponed until a more favourable opportunity
offered.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

THE lovely spot where Prince Charles was now lying hidden
merits some description, not only for its historical associations
but on account of the natural beauty of its surroundings. At
the present day, and notwithstanding its close proximity to
the great tourist route by which thousands of all nationalities
on pleasure bent pour northwards every year, Loch Arkaig and
its vicinity is almost as little known as if it were in Central
Africa. Solitude reigns supreme among its mountains and
glens, where the red-deer roam at will in undisturbed posses-
sion of Lochiel's great forest, and the eagle perches unmolested
among the rocky crags of Glas Bheinn, watching with its
cruel yellow eyes the unsuspecting rabbits, as they frisk and
play among the heather, all unconscious of the doom that
awaits some of their number. Here the Scots fir attains its
highest altitude, and the heather flourishes luxuriantly, its
gnarled and twisted stems affording splendid cover for all
kinds of game. Between thickly wooded banks, o'erhung
with fern and bracken, the noisy Arkaig flows with unceasing
murmur. Hoary trunks of ancient oaks and alders mingle with
the delicate silver and black branches of the birch, and the long

284 LOYAL LOCHABER

grey saplings of the ash trees crabbed age and sprightly youth
in picturesque contrast. Near this lovely spot the chieftains
of Clan Cameron built their stronghold of Ach-na-carry, 1 and
had dwelt there from the time that Ailein MacDhomhnuill
Duibh, son of the famous Domhnull Dubh, had acquired the
estates of Lochiel and Loch Arkaig by his adhesion to the
cause of Celestine of the Isles, Lord of Lochalsh, nephew of
John, Lord of the Isles, in 1491. At the present time nothing
remains of the old castle but a few fragments of ivy-clad
masonry, fast crumbling into decay. The dungeon to which
the chief consigned his prisoners was hewn out of the steep
bank of the loch, and was secured by a massive iron gate,
which could only be approached by water. At the time of
the construction of the Caledonian Canal, the waters of Loch
Lochy increased in volume, and submerged not only the prison
but also an island known zs"Eilean Mhic-an Toistck" ("The
Mackintosh's Island"), upon which stood some ancient ruins.
The burial-place of the Cameron chieftains may still be seen
on the small islet near the foot of Loch Arkaig.

Bitter indeed must have been the feelings of Dr Cameron
when he surveyed the melancholy spectacle of his brother's
devastated home, the cradle of his race. Here had lived and
died his celebrated grandsire Sir Ewen, and it was doubtless
some consolation to think of the severe punishment that bold
chieftain had inflicted on a former generation of Sassenach
intruders. The sight of the roofless walls, within which he had
played when a child, must have caused a pang of sorrow to
penetrate his soul, and stir up a spirit of intense hatred against
the ruthless destroyers who had invaded the sylvan glades of
Ach-na-carry, and left a path of desolation in their wake.

On 26th August another move was made by Prince Charles
and his faithful attendants to the wood of Torr ct Ghallain,
through which runs the beautiful avenue of the Mile Dubh.
Here, in a cave, the fugitives found shelter for some days,
while Dr Cameron and Lochgarry made several excursions

1 "Achadk-na-Cairidk " ("Field of the Weir").

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 285

along the shores of Loch Lochy and Loch Linnhe, at imminent
risk of capture, in order to make themselves acquainted with
the movements of the troops which were quartered at Fort
William and the temporary barracks that had been erected
in the neighbourhood after Culloden. Glenaladale, who had
remained with the prince since i6th July, was despatched to
the west coast to watch for the arrival of some French ships
which were daily expected.

As the month of August drew to a close, alarming news
was brought to Prince Charles of the approach of a body of
two hundred men of Lord Loudoun's Highlanders, commanded
by Captain Grant of Cnoc-ceanach. These troops had been
sent from Fort Augustus, with orders to search the shores of
Loch Lochy in the neighbourhood of Clunes, as it was believed
that the prince himself, or some of his principal officers, was
in hiding there. This unwelcome intelligence was communi-
cated by a little Highland lassie to the Rev. John Cameron
while he was engaged in trying to obtain information, in
company with one of Clunes's sons. The girl had seen the
redcoats in the distance, and knowing only too well from her
recent experiences that the presence of the Saighdearan Dearg
portended evil, she hastened to the place where her friends were
resting, and acquainted them with what she had seen. The
minister immediately conveyed the news to Prince Charles, who
was then sleeping in a hut on Torr a Mhuilt in Glen Ciaig,
about a mile from Clunes, and advised a speedy flight to the
surrounding hills. Acting on this suggestion, the prince and his
attendants, eight in all, armed themselves as rapidly as possible,
and proceeded cautiously to the summit of Meall-an-Tagraidh,
a mountain about 2000 feet high, and very difficult of access on
account of its almost perpendicular ascent and the masses of
pointed rocks which form its sides. Here they remained all
day, almost dead with fatigue, and without a morsel of food to
satisfy the cravings of hunger. At midnight one of Clunes's
sons brought word that his father had set out with a supply of
provisions to a remote spot some miles distant, where pursuit

286 LOYAL LOCHABER

was well-nigh impossible, as the paths were inaccessible except
to those who knew the locality. Tired as he was, the prince
descended the mountain and started off in quest of the loyal
Clunes. With indomitable pluck, and a dauntless courage which
no amount of physical suffering could restrain, he pursued his
toilsome way over rocks and stones, wading knee-deep through
swift mountain torrents, traversing thick woods where the
thorns and brambles tore his clothing and wounded his un-
covered limbs, ascending and descending steep hillsides where
a goat could scarce retain a foothold, and undergoing all this
exertion without so much as a murmur of discontent.

" The hills he trode were a' his ain,
And bed beneath the birken tree ;
The bush that hid him on the plain
There's nane on earth can claim but he."

What real pathos is contained in the words of this old
Jacobite ballad ! The heart bleeds for the bonnie lad trudging
footsore and hungry through the beautiful land that was his
own rightful inheritance. Every mountain, every hill, every
glen were his by Divine right ; the blue lochs sparkling in the
bright autumn sunbeams ; the glorious pine woods scenting the
air with resinous fragrance ; the shaggy moors, clothed at this
season in a regal robe of purple all were his ; but the relent-
less fate that had pursued his Stuart ancestors withheld the
cup from his lips before he could taste of its contents. The
land of promise was before him, but he could only enter it as
an outcast and a fugitive.

After struggling on uncomplainingly for some hours,
exhausted nature gave way, and the prince found himself
unable to proceed further without assistance. Stalwart arms
soon came to his aid, and, supported on either side by a
muscular Highlander, Prince Charles was enabled to reach
the place that Clunes had selected for a retreat among the
recesses of the wild region that lies between Loch Arkaig
and Loch Garry. Food was now plentiful, for the thoughtful

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 287

Ciunes had driven in a cow which, with the help of his son,
he had killed, and was soon engaged in cooking a portion for
the use of the famished wayfarers. A hearty meal and a much
needed rest soon restored the prince's drooping spirits, and he
became quite cheerful and even merry in the society of his
friends.

A day or two after his arrival at this place Dr Archibald
Cameron and Lochgarry returned from their expedition of
reconnaissance, and informed Prince Charles that he might
now safely carry out his intention of joining hands with Lochiel
and Cluny MacPherson in their retreat by the shores of Loch
Ericht in Badenoch. This was welcome news to the prince.
He had long wished to meet his faithful Lochiel, who had
suffered so much in his cause ; and so impatient was he to start
at once, that he could not be persuaded to wait the arrival of
Cluny, that chieftain having sent a message by Dr Cameron
that he would meet the prince in the wood of Ach-na-carry,
and conduct him to their hiding-place in Badenoch. Glad as
Prince Charles would have been to welcome the brave Cluny,
he was yet more eager to see and consult Lochiel, whose advice
he much needed in the present emergency. Hoping to meet
Cluny by the way, the prince set out for Mellaneuir attended
by Dr Cameron, Lochgarry, and two servants ; and such was
the dilapidated condition of his clothing at the time of his
journey into Badenoch, that we are told that while passing
through Tullochcroam, near Loch Laggan, he was glad to
accept from a gentleman of the name of MacDonald, who
resided there, several articles of dress, among which were a
coarse brown coat, a shirt, and a pair of shoes.

On 3oth August the long looked forward to meeting with
Lochiel took place in the small hut at Mellaneuir, near Loch
Ericht. Lochiel, still lame from the effects of the wounds he
received at Culloden, welcomed the prince with a most affec-
tionate greeting, and was about to throw himself upon his knees
with courtly reverence, when Prince Charles restrained him.
" My dear Lochiel," he said, " you don't know who may be

288 LOYAL LOCHABER

looking from the top of yonder hills ; if any be there, and if
they see such motions, they will conclude that I am here, which
may prove of bad consequence."

A few days afterwards Cluny returned from Ach-na-carry,
and was overjoyed to once more gaze upon the face of his
gallant young prince, whom he had not seen for a long time.
Owing to some unfortunate delay the Clan MacPherson had
been unable to take part in the battle of Culloden. This
unavoidable absence frqm the side of the prince on that
fatal day was a matter of bitter regret to Cluny and his
brave men, and he was almost ashamed to approach the royal
presence, fearing he would be reproached for his apparent
dereliction of duty. Probably Prince Charles guessed the
thoughts that were troubling him, and with true magnanimity
took him in both arms, and kissing him affectionately, said,
" I'm sorry, Cluny, that you and your regiment were not at
Culloden. I did not hear till lately that you were so near
us that day." These thoughtful words put the chieftain's
mind at rest, and he set to work to provide his guest with
clothing and provisions.

All thoughts were now turned in the direction of effecting
an escape into France, and many were the anxious discussions
upon that all-important subject by the small band of faithful
Jacobites. It was fully realised among them that for the time
at least any further attempt at restoring the Stuart monarchy
in Britain was out of the question, and that the only hope of
ultimate success lay in the assistance they might be able to
procure from the French king. Every day the prince remained
in Scotland was fraught with the gravest risk to his person. The
English blood-hounds were everywhere hunting down all those
to whom attached the faintest suspicion of having taken part
in the late rebellion, and if it was discovered in Fort William
that the prince was in the locality, the whole country would be
scoured to effect his capture. Terrible stories of the sufferings
of his tenants in Lochaber reached the ears of Lochiel in his
retreat in Badenoch. Atrocities of every description were

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 289

daily perpetrated in the name of law ; whole families were
rendered homeless, and wandered through the depopulated
glens of their native land in a starving and emaciated condi-
tion. The gentle heart of Lochiel was wrung by these
harrowing accounts of the melancholy condition of his people,
and so generous was his nature that he emptied his scanty
purse of its contents and sent the money for distribution in
Lochaber. This good example was followed by others, and
among those who contributed to help the poor homeless
creatures was Sir Stewart Threipland, who was for some
time with Lochiel in Badenoch. With kindly sympathy he
undid his purse strings and subscribed five guineas, saying
as he did so, " I am sure I have not so much to myself, but
then if I be spared I know where to get more, whereas these
poor people know not where to get the slightest assistance."
Noble words, and worthy of the cause in which he had embarked,
and the heroes with whom he will ever be associated.

CHAPTER XXXV.

WHILE Prince Charles was enjoying the rude hospitality of his
friends in Badenoch, Glenaladale was searching the horizon on
the west coast for the sails of the French vessels which were
to carry off the fugitives ; nor had he long to wait. On 6th
September two foreign ships sailed into Loch- nan -Uamh,
and proved to be " La Princesse de Conti " and " L'Hereux,"
two well - armed sloops that had been despatched by king
James to bring off the prince and his followers. Captain
Sheridan was in command of the expedition, and upon
landing he waited upon Glenaladale, and together they con-
certed measures for communicating the news to Prince Charles,
who was supposed to be still lying hidden in the neighbour-
hood of Ach-na-carry.

As secrecy was of the utmost importance, Glenaladale set

out himself for the hut of Cameron of Clunes, who, he naturally

2 o

290 LOYAL LOCHABER

anticipated, would be able to direct him to the prince's retreat.
Greatly to his disappointment, he found, on approaching the
place where he expected to find that chieftain, that nothing
was left of the hovel but a few charred fragments. Perplexed
in mind, and fearing that some disaster had overtaken the
prince and his party, Glenaladale wandered about the place in
an aimless manner, not knowing what to do in order to obtain
some tidings of the fugitives. Fortune, however, favoured him,
and threw an old woman in his way who was able to tell him
where Clunes was living. Proceeding hastily thither, Glen-
aladale communicated the news of the arrival of the French
ships to Clunes, who, without the loss of an instant, despatched
a message to Prince Charles by the trusty MacCoilveen, through
the intermediation of Cluny MacPherson.

By a curious coincidence, on the very day that MacCoilveen
departed on his errand, Cluny and Dr Archibald Cameron had
been sent by the prince to Loch Arkaig, possibly for some
of the buried treasure to replenish their now empty purses.
Luckily, although the night was exceedingly dark, they met
and recognised Clunes's messenger, and thus avoided a delay
which might have proved fatal to the prince ; for had
MacCoilveen passed without being observed, he would, upon
reaching Cluny's abode, have refused to deliver his message in
the absence of the chief, and, by the time Cluny had returned
from Lochaber, the French ships would probably have sailed.
Thus, for once in his career, fortune smiled upon the un-
fortunate prince, and enabled him to avail himself of the
opportunity offered of escaping from the clutches of his
father's undutiful subjects. Immediately upon receipt of the
welcome intelligence a start was made for Lochaber, and
on i $th September Prince Charles, accompanied by Lochiel,
Cluny, Lochgarry, John Roy Stuart, Dr Archibald Cameron,
and several others, arrived on the east side of the river Lochy,
near Mucomer.

It was at this place that the last battle was fought between
the Camerons and Mackintoshes at the time of the ancient feud

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 291

between those clans in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Close by is the place of sepulture of the MacMartin Camerons
of Letterfinlay, the oldest branch of that great Lochaber family.
The burying-ground is remarkable, among other reasons, for
the curious fact that, with only two exceptions, the names
inscribed upon the tombstones are all of departed Camerons.
So numerous were the members of that clan who lived in this
locality, that there is a tradition that on one occasion a be-
nighted traveller, who had dragged his weary way for many
miles in the pouring rain, came late at night to Mucomer, and
seeing a light in the window of a small bothy, knocked at the
door and craved for shelter. Either the place was full, or
the owner resented the intrusion of a stranger at such an
unseasonable hour, for without further parley he proceeded to
close the window he had opened to see who disturbed his
repose. Dreading to be again exposed to the fury of the
elements while shelter was within his reach, the tired way-
farer piteously entreated to be admitted, and cried, " Oh, if
there is one Christian in the house, he will let me in ! " This
was too much for the owner of the bothy. Camerons he
knew, MacDonalds he knew, Mackintoshes he knew, MacLeans
and MacPhersons he was familiar with ; but Christians were
a clan of which he had no cognisance, and were probably
hostile. Shutting the window with a bang, he shouted, " There
are no Christians here ; we are all Camerons ! "

The prince and his adherents having reached the banks of
the Lochy were in a dilemma : between them and Ach-na-carry
the river flowed swift and wide, and they had no means of
crossing. At this juncture the faithful Clunes appeared and
informed the prince that he had managed to secure a boat
for his service; but so dilapidated and leaky did it appear,
that the cautious Lochiel hesitated to risk the life of his
beloved prince in so frail a craft. Clunes, however, was
satisfied that there was no danger, and promised to cross first
with some of the least important of the party, and then
return for the prince and the other chiefs. Previous to

292 LOYAL LOCHABER

embarking he produced six bottles of brandy which had been
brought from the garrison at Fort Augustus ; and amid much
merriment, and many jokes at the expense of the enemy who
had so kindly supplied the liquor, Prince Charles and his friends
consumed the contents of three out of the six bottles, reserving
the others for a future occasion. The ferrying was then proceeded
with, Clunes going over first with some of the attendants, and
having got safely to the other side, came back for the prince,
and again for Lochiel and the remainder of the devoted band.
The last crossing was attended with considerable danger, as the
water came in so fast that it was only by dint of incessant
bailing that the leaky old tub could be kept afloat. During
this passage the remaining bottles of brandy were inadvertently
smashed, and mingled with the water in the bottom of the boat,
so that Lochiel and his servants were half-immersed in a pool
of brandy and water. Such liquor was too good to be wasted,
and by the time the opposite shore was reached most of it
had found its way down the throats of the thirsty rowers.
Ach-na-carry was reached on the morning of the i6th, and
here, among the blackened ruins of Lochiel's ancient dwelling,
the prince remained all that day,_and at nightfall set out for
Glen Camgharaidh, a small farmstead about two miles from
Kinlocharkaig, where Dr Cameron and Cluny were awaiting
his arrival with a good store of provisions.

The last night that Bonnie Prince Charlie was to spend
in Lochaber was a memorable one ; the brief drama in which
he had played so conspicuous and noble a part had reached its
termination ; the curtain of destiny was about to descend upon
the last tableau. Grouped around him were the principal
actors in the thrjlling scenes which had formed a terrible
denouement in the great tragedy of Culloden.

Foremost among the loyal band stood the "Gentle" Lochiel,
his crippled limbs affording tangible evidence of the reality of
his devotion. Attainted by the Government, his estates
forfeited, the home of his ancestors a heap of ruins, his wife
a fugitive, his tenantry dispersed or sleeping beneath Drum-

DONALD CAMERON, XIX Chief of Lochiel.

" The Gentle Lochiel."
From the portrait in the possession of Mrs Cameron Campbell of Monzie.

Page 293.

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 293

mossie's fatal moor, and all that made life dear torn from his
grasp, he stood there by his prince's side without a murmur,
ready to follow him to the death if need be.

Mrs Grant of Laggan, writing twenty -eight years later,
bears an honourable tribute to this gallant chief in the follow-
ing words : " I call him gentle, because he really was so. His
disposition was milder, his manners softer, and his mind more
cultivated than those of his companions in misfortune, to use
a soft word. He was like Brutus among the conspirators. No
man sacrificed more domestic comfort to mistaken principle.
No man had clearer views of the fatal result."

These traits of character were reflected in a marked degree
in the mind of Lochiel's brother, Dr Archibald Cameron : the
same unselfish devotion to the prince he had sworn to support ;
the same gentle consideration for all his suffering kinsmen ;
and to these qualities was added a strong religious feeling,
which was to support and comfort him in the hour of his
great need, when the snares of the enemy had compassed him
about. Like his brother, he had lost all his cherished posses-
sions, and had nought to look forward to but a life of poverty
in a foreign land.

With the two brothers was their uncle Ludovick Cameron
of Torcastle, the youngest son of Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel.
His military experience had been of great service to his
nephew Donald, to whom he had acted in the capacity of
major throughout the whole campaign, and was now about
to share his exile. Few facts are recorded respecting this
important member of Lochiel's family, but we know that
he was a brave and capable officer, worthily fulfilling the
traditions of his race.

Here also was the bold Ewen MacPherson of Cluny, whose
good claymore, though absent from Culloden, had done good
execution among the prince's enemies at Falkirk. " Touch not
the cat but a glove" was the characteristic motto of his clan,
and many Sassenach heads had received practical illustration
of its truth. Cluny had determined to seek safety among his

294 LOYAL LOCHABER

native hills of Badenoch with his kinsman Breakachie, and bade
farewell to the prince on the next morning. Before he took
his leave, Prince Charles gave him the following letter, which
is still preserved in Cluny Castle. It runs as follows :

" MR M C PHERSON OF CLUNIE, As we are sensible of your and
clan's fidelity and integrity to us during our adventures in Scotland
and England in the years 1745 and 1746, in recovering our just
rights from the Elector of Hanover, by which you have suffered very
great losses in your interest and person, I therefore promise, when
it shall please God to put it in my power, to make a grateful
return suitable to your sufferings. CHARLES P.R.

" Diralagich in Glencamgier of Lockarkaig,
"18 September 1746."

This letter was lent by Colonel MacPherson of Cluny to the
Stuart Exhibition of 1889, where probably some of my readers
had the privilege of seeing it.

The only representative of the great MacDonald clan
present at Glen Camgharaidh on the night of the i8th was
Lochgarry, 1 who had joined the prince's army with six hundred
men at the hill of Corrieyairack -more than a year before, and
had fought by his side ever since. Glengarry himself took
no active part in the " Forty- Five," and his eldest son Alasdair,
who had been in France, was captured by the English when
returning to Scotland, and imprisoned in the Tower of London
until after the rebellion was over. The sad death of his second
son ^Eneas after the battle of Falkirk has already been described.

With well-tried friends around him, with abundance of
good food to supply his wants, and with the prospect of a
speedy escape from the clutches of his foes, Prince Charles
spent his last evening in Lochaber in a happy frame of mind,
such as he had long been a stranger to. His physical and
mental sufferings were all forgotten in the congenial society of

1 It was Lochgarry who uttered the famous curse upon the occasion of his son
John embarking from Calais for Scotland. " My curse on any of my race who puts
his foot again on British shore ; my double curse on he who of my race may submit
to the Guelph ; and my deadliest curse on he who may try to regain Lochgarry. "

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 295

the Highland gentlemen who on the morrow were to escort
him to the friendly shores of France.

As the flowing bowl was handed round, the spirits of
the party rose, and mirth and jollity prevailed in the humble
farmhouse, which was for the nonce transformed into a royal
palace. But with the dawn of the day that was to see
that last farewell to their native shores, mirth gave way to
sorrow ; the Lochaber they loved with all the intensity of
their Highland hearts was to be thenceforth but a memory,
the land of their infancy, their childhood, their manhood, was
to be theirs no more. Never again were they to see the
sun dispelling the morning mists from the mighty summit of
Ben Nevis ; never again were they to hear the music of the
rippling waters of Loch Arkaig, or the roar of the cataracts that
fall with headlong rush down the steep sides of the mountains
of Loch Eil. No more would the evening breeze bring to their
nostrils the sweet fragrance of the heather and the odour of the
pine-groves. The lovely glens, where as youths they had often
wandered with the maidens of their choice, and culled the
scarlet rowan berries, or plucked the snowy blossoms of the
hawthorn, were henceforth only to be seen in dreams. The
great hills, among the crags of which they had, in boyish days,
climbed to secure the prize of a callow brood of young eaglets,
would still rear their everlasting pinnacles into the clouds,
would still catch the last golden rays of the setting sun in the
beautiful western land of old Albyn, while those who had been
born under their shadows would gaze with yearning hearts
across the main, and think what might have been.

" Cha till mi tuille " ran the words of the lament of Donald
MacCrimmon, the hereditary piper of MacLeod of Dunvegan,
when he started upon the dangerous expedition from which he
was destined never to return. " Cha till sinn tuille " (" We return
no more") must have been the refrain of the thoughts of the
assembled exiles as they bade a last adieu to the land of their
birth. " Lochaber no more, it's maybe we'll return to Lochaber
no more," sung Allan Ramsay, the " Gentle Shepherd," in

296 LOYAL LOCHABER

1725, and the sweet words of this pathetic ballad may well
have occurred to the minds of the fugitives as they proceeded
on their way to join the French ships at Loch-nan-Uamh. 1

On September ipth (or 2Oth) 1746 Prince Charles em-
barked on board " L'Hereux," accompanied by Lochiel and
Dr Archibald Cameron, Lochgarry, young Clanranald, Glen-
aladale, John Roy Stewart, and many other gentlemen who
had assembled on the west coast upon hearing of the arrival
of the French vessels. 2 As the ship stood out to sea, and the
coast-line of the land they all loved so well receded from their
gaze, sorrow fell upon the hearts of all, and strong men, who
had stood the brunt of many battles, were seen to weep like

children.

" Hame, hame, hame, hame fain wad I be,
O hame, hame, hame tae my ain countrie."

Prince Charles must have experienced something of the
mournful emotions that wrung the breasts of his faithful
Highlanders. If they had lost a home, he had lost a crown.
The high ambitions and aspirations which had filled his soul
when, rather more than twelve -short months before, he had
first placed his foot upon the rock-girt shore of his father's
kingdom, were dead within him. Misfortunes, disappointments,
sufferings, had seared his heart and had left an ineffaceable
scar, which time might heal but could never obliterate. The
cherished dream of his early youth, when he first began to
realise the splendid inheritance to which he had been born,
had vanished like a phantom of the imagination before the
stern realities of inexorable fate. He must have felt, as he
stood upon the deck of the vessel that was bearing him away
from that Scotland which from earliest infancy he had learned
to love, all the sorrows of a young bridegroom from whose

1 Dr Fraser Mackintosh, in his "Antiquarian Notes," p. 230, states that this
beautiful song was composed originally by Drummond of Balhaldie in honour of Jean
Cameron, one of the many daughters of Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel.

" Twenty-three gentlemen, and a hundred and seven men of common rank, are
said to have sailed with the prince in the two ships. "Chambers's History of the
Rebellion of 1745-46."

THE "FORTY-FIVE" 297

arms his newly- wedded wife had been torn. But he did not
repine. His mission had failed, crown and kingdom had' slipped
from his outstretched hands, but honour remained untarnished.
Worthily had he supported the dignity of his royal ancestors
in defending his birthright against the brutal might of Cumber-
land's serried battalions. His chivalrous bearing, his patience
under adversity, his generous sympathy for those who had
shared his perils and privations, had gained for him far more
lasting honour than the perishable laurels that now decked
the brow of the " butcher " of Culloden.

Deep in the hearts of thousands of the descendants of those
brave men who fought by his side on Culloden's bloody field
the memory of Bonnie Prince Charlie still lingers, notwith-
standing all the long years that have passed since he dwelt
among the mountains and glens of Lochaber, and added a
glowing chapter to its already romantic history. Think of the
poetry his deeds have inspired ; and, anti-Jacobite though you
may be, you must admit that to remove from our Scottish
minstrelsy the many beautiful ballads which were the outcome
of the " Forty- Five " would be to take away its very life-blood.
Scotsmen are mostly Jacobite at heart, although they may
not be members of the League of the White Rose ; and in
whatever part of the world they congregate, whether amid the
eternal snows of the far north, or under the vertical sun of the
tropics, there will you hear the praise of Bonnie Charlie sung
with all the enthusiasm that is the outward sign of this latent
racial sentiment which pervades all classes Highlanders,
Lowlanders, rich and poor alike.

For years after the escape of Prince Charles to France, the
poorer and more illiterate Highlanders looked for his return
to their shores with a sanguine expectancy which was only
heightened by the cruel outrages committed every day in their
midst by the English soldiery, who were quartered in forts and
temporary barracks throughout the disaffected districts. They
could not at first realise that all hope was gone, and that never

again would they see the bonnie lad from whom so much had

2 P

298

LOYAL LOCHABER

been expected. The disaster at Culloden, terrible though it
was, had not altogether crushed their proud and independent
spirits. They knew the prince had escaped the snares of his
enemies, and they rejoiced heartily ; they knew also that many
of their chiefs were with him in enforced exile ; but with life
there was hope, and with the help of their old ally France, the
auld Stuarts would soon be back again. Even after his death
in 1788, many of the more superstitious believed that he would,
in some mysterious way, appear among them and regain the
crown for his descendants. This longing for the return of their
hero is pathetically expressed in the following verses of the old
ballad, with which I will conclude the chapter :

" Bonnie Charlie's noo awa,

Safely owre the friendly main ;
Mony a heart will break in twa,
Should he ne'er come back again.

" Sweet the lav'rock's note and lang,

Lilting wildly up the glen ;
And aye the o'ercome o' the sang
Is, ' Will ye no come back again ? ' "

"SOME 'FORTY-FIVE' SIGNATURES/

Prince Charles Edward.

Donald MacDonell of Lochgarry.

Alexander MacDonell, XVI Chief of Keppoch. Killed at Culloden.

Angus MacDonell of Greenfield.

Donald Cameron of Lochiel. (The "Gentle" Lochiel.)

Donald Cameron, Adjutant of Lochiel's Regiment.

John MacDonell, XII Chief of Glengarry.

Page 25

PART IV. LOCHABER AFTER THE
" FORTY-FIVE."

CHAPTER XXXVI.

WITH the departure of Prince Charles and his adherents
from Scotland, all hopes of restoring the Stuart
dynasty in Britain vanished, and even the most sanguine
supporters of the cause foresaw that only disaster could attend
any further attempt (at least for some years to come) to
recover the lost crown for James VIII. and his heroic son.
For the present, much as they regretted the fact, the House
of Hanover was in the ascendant, and there was nothing to
be done but bide their time with patient resignation, until the
French king could be persuaded to furnish them with an army
of sufficient strength to successfully withstand any force that
Cumberland could place in the field.

The news that Prince Charles had escaped to France
soon reached London, and the Government, enraged that the
principal offender should have thus evaded their clutches, took
immediate steps to revenge themselves upon the unfortunate
prisoners who had fallen into their hands.

Among those who suffered death by the hand of the
executioner for their loyal adhesion to the cause of their
beloved prince, were many brave Highlanders from Lochaber
and its vicinity, whose conspicuous gallantry at Preston, Carlisle,
Falkirk, and Culloden had marked them out for destruction
by their enemies. The first to suffer the extreme penalty

300 LOYAL LOCHABER

was Donald MacDonald of Keppoch, the brother (or nephew)
of the chieftain whose death at Culloden has been previously
described. I have been unable to discover any account of his
capture, but from the MS. notes in the possession of Mrs
MacDonell of Keppoch, I find that both Donald 1 and his
nephew Angus are stated to have been present at Culloden,
and that Angus, escaping the fate of his brave father Alexander,
who was slain before his eyes, succeeded to the chieftainship
upon the field of battle, at the age of twenty-one.

Donald, after his capture, was taken to London, and tried
before a grand jury at the Session House, St Margaret's Hill,
Southwark, on 2nd August 1746. He was at the time of his
trial a robust and good-looking young fellow of twenty-five
years of age, full of youthful vivacity and of intrepid courage.
When taken prisoner, he expressed his bitter regret that he
had not been slain in battle. Upon being brought to the bar
of the court to take his trial, he assumed an air of contemptuous
disregard for the gravity of the situation, and the serious nature
of the offence with which he was charged, and answered the
questions put to him by the judge with humorous effrontery.
When asked if his name was not Donald MacDonald, he
replied, " I can't tell my name ; I don't know I ever was
christened." To the question, if he was not a captain of
Keppoch's regiment ? he saucily answered, " I can't tell what I
was, nor will I say any more ; for if you want to know my
name, you may go ask my mother." Disdaining to plead for
mercy, he was condemned to death, and conveyed to Newgate.
While in prison his high spirits did not desert him, and he
often tried to dance in his fetters. On one occasion he
remarked to his jailers that, if they would only release him
from his bonds and furnish him with bagpipes, he would give
his comrades in prison a Highland fling. On 22nd August

1 Most historians of the '45 state that Donald MacDonald of Keppoch was taken
at Carlisle, and certainly this is corroborated by the fact that there is undoubtedly
an officer of that name and clan among the list of prisoners who fell into the hands
of the English there.

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 3<DI

he was informed that his last hour had come, and, in company
with two other Highlanders, Walter Ogilvie and James Nicolson,
who had served in the prince's army, he was bound to a sledge,
clad in his Highland dress of kilt and plaid, and dragged
through the streets of London, surrounded by a strong escort
of horse-grenadiers and a detachment of foot-guards.

The place fixed for the execution was Kennington Common,
a large open space on the Surrey side of the Thames, where,
about a month previously, several other unfortunate Jacobites
had suffered the last penalty of the law. Upon arrival at the
scaffold, MacDonald and his companions were allowed an hour
in which to perform their devotions and prepare themselves
for their dreadful fate. The allotted time having expired, they
were seized by the executioner, and in a few brief moments the
lifeless bodies of the unhappy men were dangling in the air.
But Hanoverian justice was not yet satisfied, and the souls
of the gallant Highlanders having fled, their poor clay still
remained, upon which further vengeance could be wreaked.
With horrible brutality the bodies were cut down and disem-
bowelled, the heart and entrails taken out and burnt, and the
heads struck from the still quivering trunks. This revolting
spectacle was witnessed by thousands of men, women, and even
children ; and it is some satisfaction to read that many expres-
sions of sympathy for these victims of judicial barbarism were
heard on all sides, and that the ribald jeers, so common on the
occasion of an execution, were in this instance conspicuous by
their absence. The mutilated bodies of the three Jacobites
found their last resting-place in the Bloomsbury burying-
ground of St Giles -in -the -Fields, 1 and I would draw the
attention of the members of the Jacobite League to the fact
that there is at present no memorial stone in the church to
record the sad end of these l9yal defenders of their prince.

The bloody work that was begun at Kennington Common
was renewed at Tower Hill and Carlisle with relentless severity.
All the world knows with what heroism the two Jacobite noble-
1 The details of this execution are taken from the Gentleman's Magazine for 1746.

302 LOYAL LOCHABER

men, the Lords Kilmarnock and Balmerino, met their fate on
the spot where, in a previous age, the fair Anne Boleyn, the
gentle Lady Jane Gray, and the accomplished Earl of Surrey
had perished by the axe. To the shambles at Carlisle were
brought many Lochaber men, among whom was MacDonald
of Tirnadris, while the adjoining country of Moidart furnished
another victim in the person of MacDonald of Kinlochmoidart.

The Assizes for the trial of these prisoners and 128 others
were opened at Carlisle in September, and at the completion
of the proceedings 91 received sentence of death. About the
1 5th of October a warrant was sent to Carlisle for the
execution of ten of the condemned men, the list including
the two MacDonalds.

The circumstances of the capture of Tirnadris 'will be
fresh in the minds of my readers, and it will also be remem-
bered that he had been the first to strike a blow in the
campaign which had ended so disastrously. After being taken
prisoner at Falkirk, he had been conducted to Edinburgh Castle
and imprisoned in the same room as the Rev. Robert Forbes,
afterwards Bishop of Orkney, whose MS. memoirs of the
" Forty- Five " have been brought to light by Mr Robert
Chambers, of Edinburgh, in his " History of the Rebellion
of 1745."

Bishop Forbes appears to have taken an affectionate interest
in the young Highland chieftain, and the chance acquaintance,
made under such peculiar circumstances, ripened into a close
friendship. The kindly minister thus describes the appearance
and character of MacDonald of Tirnadris : " He was," he
writes, " a brave, undaunted, honest man, of a good countenance,
and of a strong, robust make. He was much given to pious
acts of devotion (being a Roman Catholic), and was remarkably
a gentleman of excellent good manners. He bore all his
sufferings with great submission and cheerfulness of temper."

Upon the removal of Tirnadris to Carlisle, during the
summer of 1746, a correspondence was kept up between the
two friends, and in a letter of August the 24th, Tirnadris,

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 303

after informing Forbes that his trial comes on on the Qth of
September, and expressing a hope that God will stand by
the righteous, proceeds as follows : " The whole gentlemen
who came from Scotland are all together in one floor, with
upwards of one hundred private men, so that we are much
thronged. They have not all got irons as yet, but they have
not forgot me, nor the rest of most distinction; and the whole
will be soon provided. You'll make my compliments to Lady
Bruce and Mr Clerk's family, but especially to Miss Molly
Clerk, and tell her that, notwithstanding my irons, I could
dance a Highland reel with her."

Like his kinsman whose fate at Kennington I have just
described, MacDonald of Tirnadris possessed the same fund
of animal spirits and the same reckless daring as that un-
daunted fellow-clansman had exhibited while in a similar
situation. When his trial came on, he was strongly urged
to plead guilty, and offer an humble submission to the usurper
of his sovereign's throne; but his MacDonald blood would
not permit such a traitorous act, and the suggestion was scorn-
fully rejected. " Rather than do so, I would submit to be
taken and hanged at the bar before the face of those judges
by whom I am soon to be tried," were the words uttered by
this loyal follower of the prince.

He seems to have thought much of his sorrowing wife, and
makes frequent reference to her in his correspondence. On
October the I7th he penned a sad farewell letter to a friend
in Edinburgh : " My dear sir, I received yours yesterday, and
as I am to die to-morrow, this is my last farewell to you.
May God reward you for your services to me from time to
time, and may God restore my dear prince, and receive my
soul at the hour of death."

On the morning of the i8th of October 1746, in company
with eight others, among whom was Kinlochmoidart, he paid
with his life the penalty of his devoted fidelity to the House
of Stuart. Consistent to the last, he uttered with his latest
breath words of noble and affectionate loyalty, which are well

304 LOYAL LOCHABER

worthy of record. " It was principle," he said, " and a
thorough conviction of its being my duty to God, my injured
king, and oppressed country, which engaged me to take up arms
under the standard and magnanimous conduct of his Royal
Highness Charles, Prince of Wales. I solemnly declare I had
no by-views in drawing my sword in that just and honour-
able cause." Thus died the hero of High Bridge, having
worthily fulfilled the traditions of his race,, and proved himself
a true son of loyal Lochaber.

Kinlochmoidart, who suffered at the same time, had never
drawn his sword in the late rising, and his execution was a
judicial murder for which no excuse can be offered. He was
a cool-headed and plain-spoken gentleman, and although his
sympathies were undoubtedly with the Jacobite party, he
would probably have held aloof from active participation in
the movement, had he not, like his neighbour Lochiel, come
under the fascinating influence of Prince Charles. To a
friend who visited him whilst a prisoner in Edinburgh Castle,
and who had expressed some surprise at his engaging in so
desperate an enterprise, he~ replied, " I myself was against
it; but, Lord, man, what could I do when the young lad
came to my house ? "

So it happened that, in spite of his own better judgment,
the cautious and far-seeing chieftain, having been drawn by
fate into the sphere of the prince's attraction, found himself
involved in an undertaking the issue of which was, to say the
least, doubtful. He had been sent by Prince Charles, in the
early part of the campaign, on an embassy to MacDonald of
Sleat and the chief of MacLeod, with the object of trying to
induce them to raise their clans for the service of king James.
His persuasions were, however, of no avail, and it was while
returning through Lesmahagow, in Lanarkshire, to join the
Highland army in England, that he fell into the hands of a
religious fanatic, who waylaid and captured him.

The executions at Carlisle were attended with the same
unspeakable barbarities that had disgraced the previous ones at

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 305

Kennington, and the paid butchers of the English Government did
their work with a callous indifference, begotten of constant prac-
tice. It was a poor revenge, and worthy of the inhuman wretches
who planned it, to mutilate the inanimate bodies of these brave
men, whose unselfish devotion to the rightful king had been their
only crime. It is a lasting stain on the fair fame of England
that such atrocities should have been committed in her midst.
Where was her vaunted civilisation, her boasted magnanimity,
her refinement, her religion, if such deeds could be tolerated by
those who ruled the State ? Surely the humane and generous
treatment by Prince Charles of the prisoners taken by the
Highland army at Prestonpans merited some return at the hands
of the English, now that they were in a position to requite it.
But it was not to be, and the fiat went forth that the unfortunate
Highlanders were to be hunted down like beasts of prey, driven
from their native glens, persecuted, slain, exterminated.

In the month of May 1746, a Bill of Attainder had been
laid before the House of Commons, and many witnesses were
examined to prove the guilt of the suspected Jacobites. After
having passed the Lords, the Royal (?) assent was given on
Wednesday, the 4th of June, and the persons mentioned in
the Act were given until the I2th of July in which to surrender
themselves, and if after the expiration of that period they had
not done so, their estates were to be forfeited and themselves
attainted of high treason.

Among those who ignored this unjust Act were all the
Lochaber chiefs who had held posts in the prince's army, and
who are thus named, Donald Cameron, the younger of Lochiel ;
Dr Archibald Cameron, brother of Lochiel; Ludovick Cameron
of Torcastle ; Alexander Cameron of Dungallon ; Donald
MacDonald, the younger of Clanranald ; Donald MacDonald
of Lochgarry, Alexander MacDonald of Keppoch ; l and of
neighbouring chiefs we find Archibald MacDonald of Barris-

1 From the fact that the name of Alexander of Keppoch appears in the list of
attainted chiefs, it is probable that the Government were not aware that he had
been slain at Culloden.

306 LOYAL LOCHABER

dale, Alexander MacDonald of Glencoe, Ewen MacPherson
of Cluny, and Charles Stewart of Ardshiel. Only one member
of the Mackintosh clan appears in the Act, viz., Lauchlan
Mackintosh, merchant of Inverness.

Most of the proscribed chiefs had escaped with their prince
to France, or followed him there as opportunity offered, but
Cluny MacPherson remained behind in the security of his Cage
(as his hiding-place was called) on the slopes of Ben Alder ; and
Keppoch, as we know, was beyond the reach of his foes.

CHAPTER XXXVII.

THE state of affairs in Lochaber immediately following the
departure of Prince Charles and the chiefs was melancholy in the
extreme, and to those of its inhabitants who had survived the
massacre at Culloden, and the brutal outrages of the English
soldiery during their frequent " rebel hunting " expeditions, the
calm that succeeded the howling tempest of the battlefield must
have seemed strange and unnatural. The wings of the Angel
of Death were outspread over the land, and a great silence
brooded in their shadow. By strath and glen, by moor and
mountain, by clachan and shieling, the only sound that broke
the mournful stillness was the wail of the newly-made widow,
and the cry of her fatherless children, making their moan
among the pile of blackened ruins that was once "home." It
was as if some fearful whirlwind of destruction had passed over
the country, some great convulsion of Nature which had swept
the land bare of its inhabitants and devastated their dwellings
making a wilderness of what was once a smiling landscape, and
creating a vast solitude where but a short time before had
resounded the mirthful sounds and joyous voices of a happy
and contented people.

"Bliadhna Thearlaich " (" Charles's year "), which had
begun so propitiously, had ended in disaster and misery, and
it was perhaps only natural that the district of Lochaber,

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 307

where first the spark of disaffection had been fanned into the
flame of rebellion, should have been specially singled out by
the Whig Government for their severest and most vindictive
punishments. It is certain that no part of the Highlands
suffered more from the effects of the Jacobite rising of 1745
than the beautiful and historic country which forms the
subject of this work ; and even at this day we are forcibly
reminded by the ruined Invergarry Castle, and the few frag-
ments of masonry which are all that now remain of the old
castle of Ach-na-carry, and the once great stronghold of the
MacDonalds of Keppoch, how terrible was the vengeance of
the merciless Elector and his cruel son.

Although by the end of the year 1746 most of those
Jacobites who had been so unfortunate as to fall into the
hands of the English had perished on the scaffold, the blood-
hounds of the Government were still as active as ever in
hunting down any poor Highlander to whom the slightest
suspicion attached of having carried arms for Prince Charles ;
and from time to time a capture was effected among the
deep recesses of some scarce-trodden glen, or amid the thick
underwood of some unfrequented forest, where the fugitives
had made their abode after Culloden, hoping that by and by
the wrath of their enemies would be appeased, and that they
would then be able to return to what remained of their homes,
unmolested.

The Scots Magazine of the period gives many instances of
these later arrests and executions. In the month of December
1746, we are told that one Hugh Cameron of Anoch was
taken prisoner by a party of soldiers from Fort William.
Cameron had been an officer in Lochiel's regiment at Culloden,
and, after the escape of his chief, had taken refuge in a small
hut in a wood not far from the Fort. He is said to have
been a man of great stature, being six feet seven inches high,
and possessed of immense muscular strength. His capture was
due to strategy, for, fearing to tackle the giant when fully
armed the soldiers proceeded to the hut in the early hours of

308 LOYAL LOCHABER

the morning, hoping to find Cameron in bed. The plan was
so far successful, that when the redcoats arrived at the retreat
of the fugitive, they found him just awakened from his slumbers,
and in a state of complete nudity. He had, however, time
to arm himself with pistols and claymore, and made a most
desperate defence before he could be taken. Eventually he
was overpowered and bound with ropes, all naked as he was,
and taken to Inverness, where I believe he was afterwards
hanged.

Early in the following year (1747) Alexander Cameron,
who with others was on parole at Inveraray, was cited to appear
at Edinburgh before the Lord Justice-Clerk, and was confined
in the Castle, but was liberated in June at the time of the
general indemnity.

Angus Cameron, brother to Glen Nevis, was also taken
prisoner at his house near Rannoch on 27th April, and brought
to Edinburgh, but after having been imprisoned for some time
regained his freedom.

It was about this time that the famous Sergeant Mor made
his appearance in Lochaber, with his band of daring free-
booters, and for some years effectually resisted all attempts
to capture him. He was the Rob Roy of Lochaber; and
although he has not had the magic pen of the "Wizard of
the North " to record his many bold adventures, his fame still
remains among the mountains where his name once struck
terror into the hearts of those who had cattle to lose, or
property to be stolen.

Iain Dubh Cameron, commonly known as " Sergeant Mor,"
had seen service in the French army, where he had been pro-
moted to the rank of sergeant. While in France the news
of the Jacobite rising reached him, and he determined to
return to his native land and try his fortune in the army of
Prince Charles. Probably he joined the ranks of his clansmen
under the command of Lochiel, but of this I have no proof.
After Culloden he appears to have skulked among the moun-
tains of Inverness-shire, Perthshire, and Argyll, where he

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 309

attached to his side several other reckless spirits of his own
countrymen, and commenced a series of systematic cattle-
lifting expeditions, or creachs, on a considerable scale, on the
lands of all those who refused to pay him blackmail,
or otherwise purchase their exemption from his midnight
raids.

Robber though he was, his notions of honour remained
unblunted, and he was never known to have betrayed a trust,
or to have divulged a secret which had been committed to
his charge. Many anecdotes are told of "Sergeant Mor," in
which these traits of character are conspicuous, as, for instance,
the humorous story, recorded in General Stewart's interesting
book, of the rencontre between the Sergeant and an officer
of the garrison at Fort William, among the mountains of
Lochaber.

The officer, who was proceeding to Fort William in charge
of a considerable sum of money for the use of the garrison,
had lost his way, and fearing that he might fall in with the
dreaded freebooter, asked a stranger whom he met to accompany
him to Fort William. The stranger assented ; and as they pro-
ceeded on their way the conversation turned upon the Sergeant
and his plundering proclivities, the officer describing him in
no measured terms as murderer and thief. " Stop there,"
interrupted his companion, "he does indeed take the cattle
of Whigs and you Sassenach s, but neither he nor his cearnachs
ever shed innocent blood ; except once/' added he, " that I was
unfortunate at Braemar, when a man was killed, but I immedi-
ately ordered the creach (' the spoil ') to be abandoned, and left
to the owners, retreating as fast as we could after such a
misfortune ! " " You," says the officer, " what had you to do
with the affair?" "I am John Du Cameron, I am the
sergeant Mor; there is the road to Inverlochy, you cannot
now mistake it. You and your money are safe. Tell
your governor to send a more wary messenger for his gold.
Tell him also, that although an outlaw, and forced to live
on the public, I am a soldier as well as himself, and would

310 LOYAL LOCHABER

despise taking his gold from a defenceless man who confided
in me."

Sergeant Mor continued to be the scourge of the district
until the year 1753, when he was surprised while sleeping in
a barn at Dunan in Rannoch, by a detachment of soldiers
commanded by Lieutenant Hector Munro. He was brought
before the Court of Justiciary at Perth, and tried for the
murder of the man he had inadvertently slain at Braemar.
His guilt having been proved to the satisfaction of the
Court, he was condemned to death, and executed shortly
afterwards.

It is a remarkable fact that, notwithstanding the losses
many of the inhabitants of Lochaber had suffered at the hands
of this notorious cattle-lifter, the news of his capture was followed
by quite a storm of indignation against the person who, it
was believed, had betrayed him. There was no crime so
universally detested among the Highlanders as treachery, and
the man who abused the confidence reposed in him, or who
accepted a bribe for the betrayal of a fellow-man, was held
worthy of expatriation and death. The ties of blood were
very strong in the Highlands, and had been rendered even
more binding by recent events. Fidelity to race was the
summum bonum of the Highlander's creed, and had been
instilled into his mind from earliest infancy : a thief he might
be, a perverter of the truth he very often was, but a traitor,
rarely. And so it happened, that when the stealer of his cattle
and the disturber of his nightly repose was brought to justice,
the knowledge that treachery was at the bottom of it pro-
duced a strong feeling of resentment against the man who had
so far forgotten his national instincts as to play the unusual
part of a Highland Judas ; and it is said that from that time
he was shunned by his neighbours, and that later, when poverty
overtook him and he had to leave his native land, it was the
general belief that his misfortunes were sent by heaven as a
judgment for his deceit.

The vindictive spirit exhibited by the Government of the

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 311

Elector in their merciless treatment of the Jacobite prisoners
soon began to create a feeling of disgust among the more
humane of the Whig party, and it was felt that enough blood
had been spilt to vindicate the outraged majesty of the law. By
the month of June 1747, sufficient pressure had been brought
to bear upon the Government to induce them to pass an
Act of Indemnity, which granted a pardon to a large number
of the proscribed noblemen and chiefs who had been previously
named in the Act of Attainder. It was a step in the right
direction, but it did not go far enough, for more than eighty
persons were excluded from the provisions of the Act, and
among them were the whole of the Lochaber chieftains who
had taken an active part in the late rising.

This Act was supplemented by another, in which it was
made penal for any Highlander to be found in the possession of
arms after the ist of August 1747. For a first offence against
the Act the penalty was fifteen pounds, or, in default of pay-
ment, transportation to America as a private soldier.

At the same time, a further Act was passed, by which the
distinctive dress that had been worn by the Highland race,
with but slight alteration, for centuries, was proscribed, under
the severest penalties. The preamble of this most arbitrary
statute sets forth that "any person within Scotland, whether
man or boy (excepting officers and soldiers in his majesty's
service), who should wear the plaid, philibeg, trews, shoulder-
belts, or any part of the Highland garb, or should use for great-
coats, tartans, or parti-coloured plaid, or stuffs, should without
the option of a fine, be imprisoned for the first conviction for
six months, without bail, and on the second conviction be
transported for seven years." The object of this Act is not
very apparent ; it was probably an ingenious effort on the
part of the Government to abolish that national distinction
which the Highland dress largely assisted in maintaining, while
at the same time it offered a gratuitous insult to a large
number of their late enemies, and afforded an excuse for the
infliction of still further punishment.

312 LOYAL LOCHABER

This tyrannical enactment served to arouse the most intense
feeling of shame and indignation among the Highlanders as
soon as its clauses became known ; and it would hardly be too
much to say that nothing the Government had hitherto done
in the way of reprisal was so keenly felt or so bitterly resented
as this, their last, piece of spiteful legislature. To be forced to
don the trews of the hated Sassenach was a degradation the
proud Celt could not stomach, and many were the amusing
methods he adopted to evade the obnoxious Act. Stewart tells
us, in his " Sketches of the Highlanders," that " some wore
pieces of a blue, green, or red thin cloth, or coarse camblet,
wrapped round the waist, and hanging down to the knees " ;
others, we are told, " who were fearful of offending, or wished
to render obedience to the law, which had not specified on
what part of the body the breeches were to be worn, satisfied
themselves with having in their possession this article of legal
or loyal dress, which, either as the signal of their submission,
or more probably to suit their own convenience, when on
journeys, they often suspended over their shoulders on sticks."
The utter impossibility of enforcing obedience to the Act
brought it into ridicule, and in less than ten years it was
practically a dead letter, although it was not actually repealed
until 1782.

Another measure of the greatest importance to the High-
lands, and Lochaber in particular, was an Act for the abolition
of hereditary jurisdiction, passed in March 1747. It would take
too long to explain here the various clauses and ramifications
of a statute which was to revolutionise the whole system of
judicature and civil government in the Highlands of Scotland,
and break up for ever the last remnants of feudalism in Britain.
In a few words, this Act was devised for the purpose of putting
an end to the almost absolute power of the Highland chieftains
over their vassals and clansmen, a power which had enabled
them to set at nought for so long a period the authority
of the pseudo - monarch who now sat on the throne of the
Stuarts.

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 313

As several of the chiefs who would be affected by the
provisions of this Act were friendly to the Government, some
compensation had to be offered in return for the emoluments
of the offices they were now called upon to resign. The
principal of these was the Duke of Argyll, who, like his
ancestors, preferred the loaves and fishes provided by his
country's enemies to the frugal, but honourably earned, repasts
of his more patriotic fellow-countrymen. The Duke of Argyll
held the important office of Hereditary Justiciar of Scotland,
and was also Sheriff of the county. As compensation for his
resignation of the former post he demanded 15,000, and for
the latter 5000, his total claim reaching the large sum of
25,000, of which a grateful Government paid him 21,000.
The Duke of Gordon had the next largest claim of 22,300,
part of which only was paid. In all, the sum granted by
Parliament for the purchase of the whole of the heritable
jurisdictions amounted to 150,000; and, as Chambers very
truly remarks, the transaction was "one of the cheapest
purchases of patronage and power ever made." The
attainted Jacobite chiefs, having lost all their privileges
and forfeited their estates, could make no claim for com-
pensation ; and so, without their being able to raise a finger
in defence of their ancient rights, they were deprived of them
for ever.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

CcELUM non animum, mutant, qui trans mare currunt. Under
the blue skies of sunny France, the thoughts of the little band
of loyal exiles who had accompanied their prince across the
sea turned with a yearning longing to the mist - wreathed
mountains and the wind-swept moorlands of Lochaber. Amid
the palaces of the luxurious French nobles, and surrounded
by all the gaiety and splendour of pleasure-loving Paris, their

hearts were sad, and, like the Hebrews of old by the waters

2 R

314 LOYAL LOCHABER

of Babylon, they mourned when they remembered the land of
their birth.

" On Gallia's shore we sat and wept
When Scotland we thought on,
Robbed of her bravest sons, and all
Her ancient spirit gone.

/
" If thee, O Scotland, I forget,

Even with my latest breath,
May foul dishonour stain my name,
And bring a coward's death." l

The career of Prince Charles, subsequent to his escape from
Scotland, is too well known to need description here ; but the
purpose of this work would not be satisfactorily fulfilled if I
omitted to give some account of the exiled Lochaber chieftains
during their residence in France, in the years immediately
following the "Forty-Five."

John Cameron of Lochiel, the son of the famous Sir Ewen,
had dwelt in France for thirty years, subsisting partly on a
pension allowed him by the French king, and partly on the
income derived from his estates in Scotland. He frequently
visited king James VIII. at St Germains, and was one of the
most valued friends and counsellors of that monarch. Although
the titular chief of the clan, he had, as we are aware, vested
all authority in his son Donald, who now shared his father's
exile, in company with his brother Dr Archibald Cameron and
his uncle Ludovick Cameron of Torcastle. Alan Cameron, the
other brother of the chief, after taking an active share in the
preliminary intrigues that led up to the disastrous "Forty-Five,"
did not live to see the result of his labours. He died in France
a short time before the prince departed for Scotland, and was
thus spared the reverse of fortune which overtook his family
after Culloden.

One of Prince Charles's first acts on reaching Paris was to

1 From a parody on the T37th psalm, written about this period by William
Hamilton of Bangour.

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 315

seek out his old friend, the elder Lochiel, and discuss with him
the chances in favour of another expedition. It was, of course,
impossible to make any further movement in this direction
without some substantial assistance from the French king, and
Charles determined to lose no time in seeking an interview, in
order to lay before Louis the scheme upon which he had set
his heart, and entreat his aid in providing men, ships, and
money. Lochiel was invited by the prince to accompany him
to Fontainbleau, where the king was then holding his court ;
and when the day arrived that had been fixed for the reception,
Prince Charles arrayed himself in magnificent attire, such as
he had long been a stranger to, and set out from the castle
of St Antoine, surrounded by a numerous following of his
friends, riding in splendid equipages, or mounted on gaily
caparisoned steeds.

Over a waistcoat of gold brocade, upon which glittered the
orders of St George and St Andrew in diamonds, he wore a
coat of rose-coloured velvet, ornamented with a profusion of
silver embroidery, and lined with silver tissue. Diamonds of
great lustre gleamed in the cockade of his hat and in the
buckles of his shoes, and his whole appearance was noble and
distinguished, as became his royal birth and high pretensions.
His principal attendants on this occasion were Lochiel, the
Lords Elcho and Ogilvie, and his secretary Mr Kelly. The
king received him with an outward show of most effusive
affection, and addressed him in the most flattering language,
but this was all. The discussion of the one great topic that
was uppermost in the mind of the impetuous prince was
indefinitely postponed ; and notwithstanding the magnificent
entertainment that was provided in his honour, he must have
felt that his chances of obtaining any tangible assistance in
furtherance of his bold enterprise were remote.

It is very much to the credit of the French Government
that they should have so generously provided for the pecuniary
wants of the unfortunate Highland gentlemen whom the
adverse winds of fate had driven to their shores. The con-

316 LOYAL LOCHABER

siderable sum of sixty-two thousand livres was distributed
among the Scottish fugitives : John Cameron of Lochiel
received three thousand ; his son Donald, four thousand ;
Lochgarry, three thousand ; and John Roy Stuart, three
thousand ; while all the others received various amounts in
proportion to their rank and the services they had rendered
to the Jacobite cause.

The brutal treatment of the Highland prisoners at the hands
of their captors, and the melancholy accounts that reached
young Lochiel of the state of Lochaber and its unhappy in-
habitants, called forth his utmost indignation, and he chafed
and fretted at his inability to shield his poor suffering clansmen
from the vengeance of the Government. He had been offered
the command of a regiment in the French service, and eventu-
ally accepted it ; but in a letter that he wrote to king James on
the i6th January 1747, he avowed his determination of sharing
the fate of his people, and if they were sacrificed, to fall along
with them.

In February of the same year he endeavoured, by every
argument that he could command, to persuade Prince Charles
to risk another expedition to Scotland, and gave it as his
opinion that unless the attempt was made at once, while the
clans were still thirsting for revenge on their cruel oppressors,
it would probably fail, as, when once the Highlanders had
been effectually disarmed and their spirits broken, it would be
a task of the greatest difficulty to rouse them to further effort
on behalf of the Stuarts. Prince Charles was only too ready
to admit that he was fully convinced of the sound sense of
Lochiel's reasoning, and that he was as anxious as his friend
to try once more his fortune in Scotland among his brave
mountaineers ; but, eager though he was, he saw clearly that
without the active support of the French king a successful
issue of any such expedition could not be looked for. The
death-blow to his hopes came during the early months of
1748, when the much-discussed treaty of peace between
France and England had at last reached the preliminary

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 317

stage of friendly negotiation between the two countries, with
a proposal to hold a congress at Aix-la-Chapelle during
the summer, at which it was expected the treaty would be
formally ratified.

The noble and dignified protest made by the prince against
the usurpation of his rights by the Elector George of Hanover
is a matter of history, and redounds much to his credit ; but
it was of no avail. This was the end of all his cherished
hopes and lofty ambitions ; from henceforth his career was
blighted by the freezing blasts of a pitiless fate, before
which he succumbed both in body and mind. Repeated
disappointments, the cold neglect and indifference of the
French king, the life of forced inaction to which he was
now doomed, all conspired to transform the bold, high-
spirited prince of the " Forty - Five " into a morose and
gloomy hypochondriac.

John Cameron of Lochiel died at Boulogne sometime during
the year 1747, and was shortly followed to the grave by his
brave son Donald, whose magnanimity and lovable disposi-
tion had earned for him the honourable appellation of the
" Gentle " Lochiel. While in command of his regiment,
military duty called him to Borgue, where he contracted
a severe attack of brain fever, which proved fatal, and he
expired on 26th October 1748.

Mrs Grant of Laggan tells us that when his estates were
forfeited " his tenants paid the usual rent to the Crown, and
besides this, they voluntarily paid a rent to support Lochiel's
family abroad. When the demesne was taken by some friends
for their behoof, the tenants stocked it with cattle of all kinds,
and to this," she says, "my grandfather, one of that faithful
band, amply contributed."

Even his political opponents bore tribute to his worth,
for we find a poetical effusion of some merit in the Scots
Magazine of 1748, evidently the work of a Whig poet who was
honest enough to admit that one at least of the Jacobite
leaders was worthy of admiration. The following extract from

318 LOYAL LOCHABER

the verses in question will convey an idea of the sentiment
which pervades the whole.

" Mistaken as he was, the man was just,
Firm to his word, and faithful to his trust :
He bade not others go, himself to stay,
As is the pretty, prudent, modern way ;
But, like a warrior, bravely drew his sword,
And rear'd his target for his native lord;
Humane he was, protected countries tell ;
So rude an host was never ruled so well.
Fatal to him, and to the cause he lov'd,
Was the rash tumult which his folly mov'd ;
Compell'd by hard necessity to bear,
In Gallicts bands, a mercenary spear!
But heav"n in pity to his honest heart,
Resolv'd to snatch him from so poor a part.
The mighty mandate unto death was given,
And good Lochiel is now a Whig in heaven."

Donald Cameron of Lochiel had two sons, John and
Charles. The former, who was a youth of delicate health,
served as an officer in his father's regiment, and died shortly
after attaining the chieftainship. He was succeeded by his
brother Charles, a youth of considerable promise, who had in-
herited a large share of his father's nobleness of character, and,
as after events showed, was a worthy son of a worthy sire.

Dr Archibald Cameron had been appointed physician to
his brother's regiment, and upon Lochiel's death in 1748
was transferred to Lord Ogilvie's regiment, stationed at Lille,
in Flanders, where his skill in medicine, and his many amiable
qualities, gained him the friendship of the French officers of
the garrison. Dr Archibald was a man of many parts, and
thoroughly competent to fill the post allotted to him in the
French army. He had studied at the University of Glasgow,
where he had read moral philosophy under the "ingenious"
Mr Hutchinson, and mathematics with Mr Simpson. Having
distinguished himself in these branches of knowledge, he was
sent to the University of Edinburgh to undergo a course of
instruction in medicine. Here he was placed under the charge

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 319

of Dr Alexander Munro, one of the most clever surgeons of
his day, who soon found that in young Archibald Cameron
he had a pupil of more than average intelligence and ability.
After acquiring a sufficient skill in anatomy and surgery, he
commenced the study of physic with Dr Sinclair, a man of
some eminence in his profession, under whose direction he
made great progress. His education was completed by a tour
on the Continent, where he probably made the acquaintance
of his sovereign and prince. Upon returning to Lochaber,
he had married a lady of the name of Campbell, who bore
him several children, and at the time of which I write was
residing with her husband in Lille.

In a later chapter I shall have occasion to describe the
sad end of this brave gentleman, whose devotion to his young
prince, and whose affection for his distinguished brother were
the causes that produced a catastrophe such as neither he
nor they had ever contemplated.

CHAPTER XXXIX.

THE estates of the attainted chiefs having been forfeited to the
Crown, it became necessary to appoint persons of undoubted
Whig proclivities to collect the rents and direct the agricultural
operations on the various properties affected by the Act of
Parliament, as it was feared by the Government, and not
without reason, that the clansmen and tenants of the rightful
owners of the land would endeavour, by every means in their
power, to keep back a portion of the rent for the service of
their exiled chiefs.

In the month of February 1748, Colin Campbell of Glenure,
a brother of Campbell of Barcaldine, whose daughter Lucy was
married to Ewen Cameron, son of Fassfern, was appointed by
the Barons of Exchequer factor on the forfeited estates of
Ardshiel, Mamore, and Callart. These agents of the Crown
were naturally unpopular, and were subjected to many insults

320 LOYAL LOCHABER

in the discharge of their objectionable duties. Glenure seems
to have rendered himself especially odious to the tenants of
Ardshiel, some of whom had been heard to threaten his life
should he attempt any evictions on the property in question.
One of these reckless individuals was named Alan Breck
(Breac] Stewart, 1 son of Donald Stewart of Inverchromie, who
had made himself conspicuous by his oft-repeated abuse of
the obnoxious factor.

On Whitsunday 1751, Glenure evicted James Stewart, 2
known locally as " James Stewart of the Glen," from his farm
in Glen Duror on the estate of Ardshiel in Appin, and it was
known that he had taken measures for removing several other
tenants in that locality. This action engendered much bitter-
ness of feeling in the neighbourhood, and is thought to have
incurred the special resentment of James and Alan Breck
Stewart. The former is said to have exclaimed that he would
go miles on his knees to slay the destroyer of his home.

On Monday, the nth of May 1752, Glenure left his house
in order to ride over to Fort William, where he had some
business to transact. The same day Alan Breck Stewart went
to the dwelling of his friend James, and exchanged the clothes
that he was wearing, and which he had brought with him from
France, for a dark-coloured short coat with silver buttons, and
a blue bonnet. On the I4th of the same month, GJenure, having
concluded his visit to Fort William, started on his homeward
journey, attended by Donald Kennedy, sheriff - officer, and
Mungo Campbell, writer, of Edinburgh, and his servant John
MacKenzie. The party followed the road that leads from Fort
William along the shores of Loch Linnhe, through the lovely
wood of Coire-Chaorackan, past Corran, and the small clachan
of Onich, till they arrived at Ballachulish ferry on Loch Leven.
Here they crossed, and about five o'clock in the afternoon,
just as they reached the gloomy shades of Leitir Mhor, on the

1 This is the Alan Breck made famous in Louis Stevenson's story " Kidnapped."

2 James Stewart was a natural son of Stewart of Appin, and was therefore related
by ties of blood to Ardshiel.

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 321

Appin side of Loch Leven, the report of a musket rang out
with startling effect upon the still air, and reverberated from
hill to hill until the sound died away in the distance. The
report was followed by another in rapid succession, and in the
same instant Glenure was seen by his frightened companions
to fall to the ground, apparently wounded. Upon coming up
to the prostrate factor, they discovered that he had been shot
right through the body by two musket balls, and was sinking
fast. Assistance was sent for, but no medical skill could avail
to staunch the life-blood that was flowing fast from those two
terrible wounds, and in less than an hour from the time he
was struck Glenure expired.

Suspicion fell at once upon Alan Breck Stewart, and im-
mediate steps were taken by the authorities for his apprehension.
All attempts to capture the supposed murderer were, however,
fruitless, as he had absconded directly after the crime had been
committed, and every effort to trace his whereabouts failed.

In a report from Captain Walter Johnstone, of Lord Bury's
regiment, dated Invercomry, 7th June 1/52, the following lines
bearing on the subject appear : " Next day Captain Campbell
of Glen Lyon came here, and showed me two warrants from
the Sheriff- Depute of Perthshire for apprehending Charles
Stewart of Ardshiel, an attainted rebel, and Alan Breck
Stewart, the supposed murderer of Mr Campbell of Glenure,
upon which I gave the description of the two persons to all
my parties, with orders to apprehend them."

A proclamation was issued by the Lords Justices on 28th
May, offering a reward of 100 and a free pardon to any
person concerned in the murder, other than the actual murderer,
who would come forward with such information as might lead
to the capture of the criminal. Twelve persons were arrested
on suspicion, and among them was James Stewart, whose
heedless words in connection with Glenure were now urged
as evidence against him by his enemies, the Campbells. He
was taken to Fort William on 2nd June, and examined before
the sheriff, George Douglas, and committed for trial at Inveraray.

2 S

322 LOYAL LOCHABER

The proceedings in this cause cdlebre were opened on Thurs-
day, 2ist September 1752, before a court composed almost
entirely of Stewart's adversaries and political opponents. On
the bench sat the Duke of Argyll and Lords Elchies and
Kilkerran ; the counsel for the prosecution were the Lord
Advocate, Mr John Carmichael, Mr Simon Fraser, Master of
Lovat, Mr James Erskine, Sheriff-Depute of Perthshire, Mr
John Campbell, younger of Stonefield, and Mr Robert Camp-
bell of Asknish, while the jury were Campbells almost to a man.
The defence of the prisoner was undertaken by Mr George
Brown, Sheriff-Depute of Forfar, Mr T. Millar, Mr Walter
Stewart, and Mr R. Mackintosh. With such an array of legal
talent against him, with a packed jury and partial judge,
Stewart's conviction was a foregone conclusion. The evidence
adduced, by the prosecution was of the flimsiest description, and
consisted principally of a reiteration of the foolish threat said
to have been uttered by the prisoner against the murdered
man ; and, in addition to this, witnesses spoke to the fact that
on the day following the murder the prisoner, had sent
Alexander Stewart, a packman of Appin, to William Stewart,
merchant of Maryburgh (Fort William), with instructions to
get from him the sum of five guineas, which he told the pack-
man he wanted for his friend Alan Breck, who was, he said,
about to leave the country.

The trial lasted from the Thursday until seven o'clock on
the following Sunday morning, when the jury retired to con-
sider their verdict, and were enclosed until twelve o'clock noon.
Although the decision had been arrived at on Sunday, the formal
verdict of "Guilty" was not pronounced until Monday morning.
On 5th October, Stewart was bound to a horse and conducted
to Fort William, guarded by a party of eighty soldiers.

He was carried from Fort William on /th November, under
a guard of one hundred men of Bockland's regiment, to the
ferry of Ballachulish, but the night was so stormy that they
could not cross until the following morning. Stewart was
attended by Mr William Caskill, minister of Kilmallie, and

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 323

Mr Couper, minister of Fort William, and a few of his friends.
A little after twelve o'clock, they arrived at the place of
execution, which had been fixed at a spot close to the ferry
at Ballachulish, where the murder was supposed to have been
committed. Here a small tent had been erected, into which
the prisoner was led attended by the two clergymen. After
spending a short time in devotion, the unhappy man pro-
duced three copies of a speech he had prepared, one of
which he gave to the Sheriff of Argyllshire, who was
present in his official capacity, another to Captain Welsh,
the commanding officer, and begged leave to read the third.
The permission having been granted, he, with an audible and
distinct voice, began to read a very extraordinary speech, in
which he stoutly affirmed his innocence of any participation
in the crime. " I positively deny," he said, " directly or
indirectly being accessory to Glenure's murder, nor do I
know who was the actor, further than my suspicion of Alan
Breck Stewart, founded upon circumstances that have cast
up since the murder happened." He complained bitterly of
his treatment while in custody at Fort William, and suggested
that his having taken part in the rising of 1745 was the cause
of his unwarrantable arrest and unjust sentence. "When my
trial came on, I found it was not only Glenure's murder I had
to answer for, of which, I thank God, my conscience could
easily clear me ; but the sins and follies of my forefathers were
charged against me, such as the rebellion of 1715, of 1719, and
1745 ; so could not be allowed the character of an honest man."
He concluded this passionate harangue by commending his
soul to his Creator in the following pious language : " I die
in full hopes of mercy; not through any merit of myself, as
I freely own I merit no good at the hand of my offended
God ; but my hope is through the blood, merits, and mediation
of the ever-blessed Jesus, my Redeemer and glorious Advocate,
to whom I recommend my spirit. Come Lord Jesus, come
quickly." He then took affectionate leave of his friends,
mounted the ladder with the greatest composure and resolu-

324 LOYAL LOCHABER

tion, and read a short written prayer, together with the 35th
Psalm, in a firm and audible voice. The storm all the time
was raging furiously, so that the spectators could hardly
stand on the hillside, and thus, amid the howling of the
wind and the groans and tearful ejaculations of the assembled
multitude, the spirit of James Stewart of the Glen sped to
its Maker.

There is little doubt that Alan Breck Stewart was the
real murderer of Glenure, and that James Stewart had been
sacrificed, as he himself had truly said, on account of his
connection with the Jacobite rising of 1745. The trial was a
mere farce from beginning to end, and the arrest and execution
of the unfortunate man was entirely due to the machinations
of the Campbells, who, enraged at the escape of the guilty
Allan, must needs make a scapegoat of his innocent namesake,
as a blood-offering for their murdered clansman.

The following evidence, produced at the trial, will, I think,
prove conclusively that Alan Breck was the criminal.

First. On the morning of the murder, Alan Breck was
at the house of Alexander Stewart of Ballachulish, and left
there about twelve o'clock, under the pretence of going fishing,
having, as I have already described, changed his showy French
clothes for less conspicuous ones on nth May.

Second. On I5th May (the day following the murder) he
arrived at the house of MacDonald of Glencoe at Carnach very
early in the morning, before the family were up ; and upon
Glencoe and Alan's step-mother, Isabel Stewart, coming to
the door, he told them that Glenure had been shot, and that
he would have to leave the country. Glencoe asked him to
take some refreshment, but he said he could not stop.

Third. On i6th May, while John MacColl, Appin's bo-man,
was cutting firewood at Corrienakiegh, 1 near the farm of Caolas-
nacon, Alan Breck came up and asked him to go to Duror for
some money, and to Glencoe's house for meal. He also wrote
a letter to William Stewart of Fort William, with the quill of a

1 Probably Corrie-na-Ciche.

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 325

wood-pigeon he had found, requesting him to give bearer some
money.

Fourth. On I7th May Alexander Stewart, the packman,
met MacColl, and requested him to seek out Alan, and deliver
to him the parcel he was carrying, which contained the French
clothes, and also give the fugitive the sum of five guineas, which
he handed to MacColl with the bundle. That same evening,
Alan Breck Stewart knocked at the window of MacColl's
dwelling, and asked for the money and clothes, which were given
him, and after partaking of some milk he departed, and was never
again seen in that part of the country, although he was known
to have visited some relatives in Rannoch.

These facts, sworn to by witnesses at the trial at Inveraray,
speak for themselves.

Lochaber folk still speak of the 35th Psalm as " Salm
Sheumais a Ghlinne " (" the Psalm of James of the Glen "),
and the spot where the gallows stood is pointed out on the
small fir-clad knoll of Cnap-a-Chaolais. For many years the
mortal remains of this unfortunate victim of political injustice
and clan hatred swayed to and fro above the dark waters of
Loch Leven, a grim and ghastly spectacle, bearing silent
witness to man's inhumanity to man, and helping to emphasise
with their gruesome presence the gloomy traditions of drear
Glencoe. The removal of the gallows and its burden was the
work of a local character called Donnachadh, an t-Sheana-Chinn,
who, with a dim perception in his half-witted brain that he
was performing some heroic action, cut down the "wuddie,"
and threw it, together with the bones of James Stewart, into
the loch.

Mrs Grant of Laggan visited the scene of the execution
in the month of May 1773, and was shown the cairn that
marked the spot where Glenure was murdered, upon which,
she says, "every passenger throws a stone." In a letter
written from Fort William, dated I4th May 1773, describing
her visit, the following passage appears : " I can't convey to
you the impression which this assemblage of gloomy images

326 LOYAL LOCHABER

made at once on my mind, aided by the recollection that a
worthy and innocent gentleman related to my mother, suffered
death in consequence ; though it appeared afterwards the
murder was committed by a soldier in the French service,
who lurked in the country since the year 1745 for that purpose."
The soldier referred to was evidently Alan Breck, who, as I
have already stated, had served in the French army. The
Scots Magazine of June 1752, from which I have taken the
main facts of the trial and execution of James Stewart, has
a short account of the execution of a notorious thief at Perth,
on 5th June of that year, and gives his name as Alan Breck
Stewart : there is, however, no reason for connecting him with
the murderer of Glenure.

The prefix Breck (Gaelic breac) is common in the High-
lands, and means literally spotted or speckled, and is often
given as a nickname to a person pitted with small-pox.

CHAPTER XL.

THE year 1752 was marked in Lochaber by an increase of
military activity in connection with the enforcement of the
"Rebellion Statutes," as the new Acts of Parliament were
called, and strong garrisons of soldiers were posted at Laggan-
ach-Drom, between Loch Lochy and Loch Oich, and at various
places along the shores of Loch Arkaig. Captain A. Trapaud,
of Lord Bury's regiment, commanded at the former post, and
Captain John Beckwith, of the same regiment, at the latter.

Trapaud, who was afterwards governor of Fort Augustus,
was a great friend of General Wolfe, the hero of Quebec, and
it may interest some of my readers to know that this famous
officer had served as captain in General Barrel's regiment at
the battle of Falkirk, and having been promoted to the rank of
brevet-major, acted as aide-de-camp to the infamous Hawley
at Culloden, at which time Wolfe was but eighteen years
of age. Although he despised the Highlanders (vide his

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 327

letters 1 ), and looked upon them as mere rebels, his mind
recoiled from the butcheries that took place after the battle,
and, as the following incident will show, he was able to ad-
minister a just reproof to rio less a person than the commander-
in-chief.

Whilst engaged in riding over the battle-field in attendance
upon the Duke of Cumberland and his staff, a wounded man
was seen lying on the ground, who proved to be the young
chief of the Fraser regiment. The supercilious glance of
Fraser annoyed the duke, and turning to Wolfe, he said,
" Wolfe ! shoot me that Highland scoundrel who thus dares
to look on us with so insolent a stare." Disgusted at the
wanton barbarity thus displayed by his commander, Wolfe
replied, with something of hauteur in his tone, that his com-
mission was at his royal highness's disposal, but that he
would never consent to become an executioner.

Surely it was something more than a strange coincidence
when, after his last brilliant victory over the French on the
heights of Abraham (a victory largely due to the courage
and intrepidity of the despised Highlanders), the fatal bullet
had struck him to the heart, that the strong arms which
supported him as he breathed his last should have been
those of a Fraser.

The reports of the officers in command of the military posts
on Loch Arkaig and Loch Lochy are full of interesting details,
and we may learn much from them of the state of Lochaber
in the years following the " Forty-Five." 2 The harrying of
the Highlands appears from these despatches to have afforded
considerable sport to the ennuied subalterns of Lord Bury's
regiment, and they seem to have regarded the occasional arrest
of some offender against the new Act prohibiting the Highland
dress much in the same light as their modern representatives
do the capture of a notorious Burmese dacoit or troublesome

1 Appendix XXX.

2 A selection of the most interesting reports from the English officers stationed
in Lochaber during the years 1752-1755 will be found in Appendix XXXI.

328 LOYAL LOCHABER

Indian hill chief. These young English officers, habituated as
they were to the dissipated and luxurious life of London, where
they were able to enjoy to the utmost those questionable
pleasures which were to be found amid the fashionable haunts
of the great metropolis, resented bitterly their forced seclusion
among the mountains of Lochaber, far away from the amorous
glances of their Celias and Phyllises, and the almost equally
seductive attractions of their favourite coffee-houses. Wolfe, in
a letter written from Banff in 1751, says: "When I am in
Scotland I look upon myself as an exile with respect to the
inhabitants I am so, for I dislike 'em so much." The dislike
was mutual ; but later Wolfe had reason to alter his opinion,
and we know that before he died he had learned to admire and
appreciate the character of his former enemies.

By far the larger number of the Highlanders arrested by
the patrolling parties were poor men, of little influence in the
country; but in the early months of the year 1753 two im-
portant captures were made, whereby two innocent Lochaber
gentlemen were made to suffer all the indignities that a
tyrannical and vindictive Government could heap upon
them.

The first to fall into the clutch.es of the Elector's troops
was the amiable Dr Archibald Cameron, who, probably thinking
that the hue and cry was at an end, ventured to leave the safe
seclusion of his retreat at Lille, and unwisely set out for his
native Highlands, with the object, it is said, of recovering the
remaining portion of the French gold that he had hidden by
the shores of Loch Arkaig. In 1747 Dr Cameron had accom-
panied Prince Charles on his journey from Avignon to Madrid ;
and two years later, in 1749, he is believed to have paid a visit
to Scotland, at the special request of the prince, in order to
receive from Cluny MacPherson a large sum of money that
had been left in his charge during the prince's wanderings.
The first visit, risky though it undoubtedly was, appears to
have been unattended with any unpleasant contretemps, and
the doctor returned safely to France, having accomplished his

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 329

mission. Whatever may have been the reason that prompted
Dr Cameron to attempt another journey to the land of his
birth we have no certain knowledge, but that it was fatal in its
consequences we know, alas ! only too well. The story of his
capture, taken from a rare contemporary pamphlet, entitled
" The Life of Dr Archibald Cameron, Brother to Donald
Cameron of Lochiel, Chief of that Clan," and published in
London at the time of his execution, is as follows :

" He (Dr Archibald) was taken by a Party of Lord George
Beauclerk's Regiment, who was detached from the Fort at
Inversnaid in Search of him ; this Detachment was commanded
by one Capt- Graven : They had Information of the House
where he was to stay some Days, but in their March to it,
were obliged to pass through two small Villages ; at the end
of the first they saw a little Girl, who, as soon as she perceived
Soldiers, ran as fast as she could ; a Sergeant and two or three
Men pursued her, but she reached the other Village before they
could overtake her ; and there she sent off a Boy, who seemed
to be placed there to give Intelligence of the Approach of the
Soldiers. The Soldiers then pursued the Boy, but finding they
were not able to come up with him, the Sergeant called out to
his Men to present their Pieces, as if they intended to shoot
him. The Boy on this, turning round, begg'd his Life ; they
secured him, and then went to the House where the Doctor
was, which they beset on all Sides. The Disposition the
Captain made was admirable ; he with some of his Men
marched up to the Front of the House, but (Dr Cameron)
was soon discovered from the Window, where he was immedi-
ately secured by the Sergeant who was placed there, as the
Captain very judiciously suspected the Doctor might attempt
to Escape from that Part of the House."

Brave little lassie ! She did what she could to protect the
good Highland doctor, whose kindness of disposition had
doubtless touched the hearts of the children in the neighbour-
hood of the house in which he was residing. Unfortunately

her efforts to draw the English redcoats off the scent were

2 T

330 LOYAL LOCHABER

unavailing, and the doctor fell an easy prey to the " admirable
Dispositions " of the " judicious " Captain Graven.

The arrest of Dr Cameron took place at the latter end
of March, and on the 26th of that month he was conveyed
to Edinburgh Castle. It was during an interview he had while
there with Lord-Justice Clark, that he indignantly denied
having come to Scotland with any political object. " I did
not come over with a political design," he said, "but only to
transact some affairs relating to Lochiel's estate." About a
month later the unlucky Doctor was removed to London and
imprisoned in the Tower ; and on i/th May was conducted
by a strong detachment of Foot Guards, and several of the
Tower warders, to the Court of King's Bench, where he was
arraigned upon the Act of Attainder, for having taken part in
the late rebellion, and not surrendering himself within the
stipulated time. Dr Cameron made no attempt to deny his
identity, but reiterated his previous statement that his visit to
Scotland had no political significance ; and he urged as a reason
why sentence should not be pronounced against him, that he
was a non-combatant in the rebellion, and had no military
standing whatsoever ; he also informed the Court that his
medical skill had been used on many occasions to allay the
sufferings of the English soldiers who had fallen into the hands
of the Highland army at Prestonpans, Carlisle, and Falkirk,
and also that it was partly due to his counsels that the City
of Glasgow was not sacked by the Highlanders when it lay at
their disposal.

Dr Cameron might as well have pleaded for mercy to a
stone wall, as to have wasted his eloquence upon the adaman-
tine hearts of English judges in the pay of a Whig Government.
Mercy, indeed! mercy to a Highland rebel perish the thought!
Guilty or not guilty, he must hang, and so the atrocious
sentence was pronounced by Lord Chief-Justice Lee, in terms
that would have disgraced the tribunal of an Eastern despot :
"You, Archibald Cameron of Lochiel, in that part of Great
Britain called Scotland, must be removed from hence to His

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 331

Majesty's prison of the Tower of London, from whence you
came, and on Thursday, the /th of June next, your body to
be drawn on a sledge to the place of execution, there to be
hanged, not till you are dead; your bowels to be taken out,
your body quartered, and your head cut off, and affixed at
the king's disposal, and the Lord have mercy on your soul."

Dr Cameron heard this barbarous sentence with calm
equanimity, and merely requested, in the most courteous
language, that he might be allowed to send for his wife, who
was then residing at Lille, in order that she might receive
his last messages. This favour having been granted by his
judges, Dr Cameron was again conveyed to the Tower to
await his awful doom. His heart-broken wife, upon reaching
London, strained every nerve to obtain a pardon for her
unhappy husband, and is said to have personally petitioned
the Elector and his son, but without effect.

The last terrible scene in the life of Dr Archibald Cameron
is thus described in the Scots Magazine of May 1753: "On
Thursday, /th June, about ten o'clock, Sir Charles Asgill and
Sir Richard Glynn went to the Tower, and William Runford,
Esq., the Deputy-Lieutenant, delivered the Doctor into the
custody of Mr Missin, Deputy-Sheriff of the county of Middle-
sex. Being put into the sledge, he requested of the Governor
to speak to his wife, which being granted, and he being informed
that she had left the Tower at eight that morning, he said
he was sorry for it. On which the sledge drew away, among
a great number of spectators, who all pitied his unfortunate
circumstances. Sir Charles Asgill left the prisoner at the
Tower, but Sir Richard Glynn followed the sledge, in his
chariot, to Tyburn. The sledge was drawn by four horses,
with black feathers on their head ; and the Doctor was dressed
in a light-coloured coat, red waistcoat and breeches, and a
new bag-wig, without a hat. About a quarter past twelve he
arrived at the place of execution, and having spent about ten
minutes in devotion he was turned off. After hanging twenty-
four minutes, he was cut down, his head cut off, and his heart

332 LOYAL LOCHABER

taken out and burnt, but his body was not quartered. His
body and head were afterwards put into a hearse, and carried
to Mr Stephenson's, undertaker. On his way to the place of
execution, he behaved himself with great composure and
decency, and spoke often, with a manly cheerfulness and
confidence. ... A non-juring clergyman of the Episcopal
Church of Scotland attended him, and he lived and died in
that communion."

After the execution, we are told Dr Cameron's remains
were carried from the undertakers on Saturday, Qth June, at
twelve at night, and interred in the large vault in the Savoy
Chapel. " Several gentlemen attended the funeral, who seemed
greatly to lament his unhappy fate."

While imprisoned in the Tower, Dr Cameron employed his
time in writing several interesting letters on any odd scraps
of paper he could find, which he intended to have delivered
to the Sheriff of Middlesex at the place of execution, but
afterwards placed in the hands of his wife. In one of them
he says : " Being denied the use of pen, ink, and paper, except
in the presence of one or more officers, who always took away
the paper from me whenever I began to write my complaints,
and not even allowed the use of a knife with which I might
cut a poor blunted pencil that had escaped the diligence of
my searchers, I have, notwithstanding, as I could find oppor-
tunity, attempted to set down on some slips of paper, in as
legible characters as I was able, what I would have my country
satisfied of in regard to myself, and the cause in which I am
now going to lay down my life. As to my religion, I thank
God I die a member (though unworthy) of that church in
whose communion I have always lived, the Episcopal Church
of Scotland, as by law established, before the l
1688. And I firmly trust to find, at the most awful and
impartial tribunal of the Almighty King, through the merits
of my blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, that mercy
(though undeserved) to my immortal part, which is here
] Blank space in text ; probably the Doctor's writing was indecipherable.

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 333

denied to my earthly, though it be well known I have been
the instrument of preventing the ruin and destruction of many
of my poor deluded countrymen, who were in the Government
service, as I shall make appear before I have done, if oppor-
tunities of writing fail me not."

Alas ! the " poor blunted pencil " could not be sharpened,
and in the middle of a noble and pathetic letter to his son
it gave out, and the words he wished to write were never
written.

After the execution some other letters were found among
his personal effects, and one, in which he asks a friend to give
the steel shoe-buckles he was wearing to his wife, to be con-
veyed by her to his eldest son, is especially interesting, as
showing that to the last moment of his life he never wavered
in his loyalty to his rightful sovereign, and endeavoured, in
his last farewell message, to instil the same sentiments into
the breast of his son and heir. The letter runs as follows:
" These I send by you to my wife, as my last present to my
son, and bid her tell him from me that I send these, and not
my silver ones ; and that if I had gold ones, I would not send
him the gold, but these steel ones I wore when I was skulking;
for as steel is hard and of small value, it is therefore an emblem
of constancy and disinterestedness ; so I would have him con-
stant and disinterested in the service and defence of his king,
prince, and country, and neither be bribed or frightened from
his duty,"

The execution of Dr Archibald Cameron was a wanton
act of unnecessary severity on the part of the English Govern-
ment, for which it is impossible to find the slightest excuse.
That a benevolent and accomplished gentleman, whose noble
profession was to alleviate the pains of suffering humanity,
and whose only offence was that he had dutifully obeyed the
commands of his chief and brother, should have been dragged
to the scaffold and butchered with every detail of ingenious
brutality, under the warrant of a ruler professing Christianity,
is an ineffaceable stigma upon English justice. Eight years

334 LOYAL LOCHABER

had passed since the Jacobite rising, and, secure behind the
bayonets of his soldiers, the usurper of the throne of the
Stuarts had no cause to fear any further attempt on the
part of his royal rival to wrest the sceptre of Britain from
his grasp. That he felt some qualms of conscience when
signing the death warrant of Dr Cameron is certain, for we
are told that when the fatal document was laid before him,
he remarked, "Surely there has been too much blood spilt
upon this account already." He, however, lacked sufficient
moral courage to exercise his prerogative of mercy in opposi-
tion to the wishes of his inexorable ministers, and although,
like Pontius Pilate of old, he saw no guilt in the person of the
condemned man, he nevertheless signed the warrant and washed
his hands of the responsibility.

In Dr Archibald Cameron, Lochaber men have a hero of
whom they may well be proud, and it may interest them to
know that in the heart of the great city of London, and within
a few feet of one of its most noisy thoroughfares, the ashes of
the good doctor rest in peace, beneath the altar of the ancient
Chapel Royal of the Savoy. Here, in the year 1846, his
grandson placed a small marble tablet inscribed with the
date of burial and other particulars, but this was destroyed
by the fire which occurred in 1864. Since the restoration of
the building, a more worthy, and, I trust, more permanent
memento of Dr Archibald Cameron has replaced the monu-
mental stone. This has taken the shape of a magnificent
stained - glass window, designed, I am told, by Rossetti and
Burne-Jones. It is divided into six panels, the three upper
ones containing representations of St Peter, St Philip, and
St Paul ; and the lower, St John, St James, and St Andrew.
The inscription is as follows: "In memory of Archibald
Cameron of Lochiel, who having been attainted after the battle
of Culloden in 1746 escaped to France, but returning to Scot-
land in 1753 was apprehended and executed. He was buried
beneath the Altar of this Chapel. The window is inserted by
Her Majesty's permission in place of a sculptured Tablet which

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 335

was erected by his grandson, Charles Hay Cameron, in 1846,
and consumed by the fire which partially destroyed the Chapel
in 1864." The Register with the entry of the burial may still
be seen.

CHAPTER XLI.

A MONTH after the capture of Dr Archibald Cameron at
Inversnaid, his brother John of Fassfern was arrested by
order of the Government, on a charge of having corresponded
with attainted persons. The actual date of his apprehension
was 28th April; and about the same time Alexander Stewart
of Banavie, a Writer to the Signet, who had been employed
by the late Lochiel, and who had been associated with Fassfern
in various legal matters in connection with the estate, was
also arrested and imprisoned with Fassfern in the jail at Fort
William.

On 6th May these two innocent gentlemen were committed
to the castle of Edinburgh, and on 3rd July Fassfern was
liberated on bail, but was afterwards rearrested on a most
unjust suspicion of having forged some documents relating to
the property of his deceased brother Donald of Lochiel.
Although there were not the slightest grounds for such a
charge, Fassfern was subjected to every indignity that his
enemies could heap upon him, and after a long period of
imprisonment, he was brought up for trial at Edinburgh and
acquitted of the charge of forgery ; but on the other count, of
having been in communication with the late Lochiel and other
attainted chiefs, he was found guilty and sentenced to ^3. term
of exile.

After some years' residence in the West Indies, he was
allowed to return to his beloved Fassfern, where he died. His
son Ewen, who was married to Lucy Campbell, daughter of
Campbell of Barcaldine, succeeded to the estates, and became the
father of a large family. John, the eldest son, entered the army,

336 LOYAL LOCHABER

and won honour and fame as Colonel John Cameron, 92nd
Highlanders, of whose career I shall have more to say later.

The insulted majesty of the Whig Government having been
appeased by the innocent blood of their latest victim, they
began to relax their severity, and beyond the occasional arrest
of some bold Highland reiver, who defied the provisions of the
Act which forbade the wearing of the kilt, no further steps were
taken to inflict punishment upon the unfortunate adherents of
the Stuarts. This improved state of affairs was primarily due
to the advice of the celebrated William Pitt, afterwards Earl of
Chatham. Pitt had been one of the first English statesmen to
recognise the martial spirit inherent in the Highlanders, and
to perceive the immense advantage that would accrue to the
British army by the infusion of their heroic blood into its
somewhat effete ranks. With admirable sagacity he foresaw
also that there could be no better antidote to their disaffection
than honourable military service, under the command of officers
who had accepted their commissions at the hand of that
monarch against whose authority they had recently been in
open rebellion.

With the splendid example of the Black Watch to point to,
Pitt found little difficulty in persuading George II. to issue
letters of service for the raising of several new regiments, whose
ranks were to be exclusively filled with Highlanders, to whom
special permission was granted to wear the proscribed High-
land dress. The immediate outcome of this action on the part
of the sagacious prime minister was the formation, in January
1757, of Montgomery's Highlanders, or the 77th Regiment of
Foot ; and, a little later in the same month, the Fraser High-
landers, or 78th Regiment, were raised, and a lieutenant-colonel's
commission given to the Hon. Simon Fraser, son of old Lord
Lovat, whose double-dealing in connection with the late rising
had been expiated on the scaffold at Tower Hill.

The opportunity thus afforded to the Highlanders for
indulging their love for military exercises was eagerly taken
advantage of, and the call to arms was responded to with an

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 337

enthusiasm which was a source of wonder to the authorities, who
were unable to understand the cause. The success of the policy
that Pitt had inaugurated was due to the fact that the men
who were to form the rank and file of the new regiments were
given to understand that their commanding officers would be
their own chiefs, and thus the ancient bonds of clanship were
to be drawn closer, rather than loosened, by the change. Had
the chiefs refused to accept the proffered commissions, the
Highland regiments could never have been raised, and history
would have many a blank page that is now filled with the
glorious records of more than a century and a half of heroic
actions, in which Highlanders have taken a lion's share.

It was only just that the man who called these regiments
into being should be the first to sound their praise, and this
he did in no measured terms during one of those splendid
oratorical efforts with which he was wont to electrify the House
of Commons, and strike terror into the hearts of his political
opponents. " I sought for merit wherever it could be found,"
he said. "It is my boast that I was the first minister who
looked for it, and found it, in the mountains of the north. I
called it forth, and drew into your service a hardy and intrepid
race of men men who, when left by your jealousy, became a
prey to the artifices of your enemies, and had gone nigh to
have overturned the State, in the war before the last. These
men in the last war were brought to combat on your side ;
they served with fidelity, as they fought with valour, and
conquered for you in every quarter of the world." This noble
tribute to the heroism of the Highland soldiers was uttered in
the year 1766, and, to the honour of our Highland regiments,
it is as true to-day as it was then.

The first list of officers commissioned in Eraser's High-
landers, dated 5th January 1757, contains the names of many
gentlemen from Lochaber and its vicinity, among whom we find
Captains Donald MacDonald, brother of Clanranald (killed at
Quebec in 1760) ; John MacDonald of Lochgarry (afterwards
Colonel of the 76th Regiment); Alexander Cameron of Dun-

2 u

338 LOYAL LOCHABER

gallon ; and John MacPherson, brother of Cluny. Lieutenants
Ranald MacDonell, brother of Angus, XVII. of Keppoch ;
Charles MacDonell, son of John MacDonell, XII. of Glengarry
(killed at St Johns); Hector MacDonald, brother to Boisdale
(killed 1759) ; Alexander MacDonald, son of Barrisdale (killed
on the heights of Abraham, 1759); Ewen Cameron, of the
Glen Nevis family (wounded at Quebec) ; Donald Cameron,
son of John Cameron of Fassfern (died 1817); Alan Cameron
(? of Errachd); and Hugh Cameron. The total number of men
enlisted was fifteen hundred, of whom Colonel Fraser raised-
eight hundred, mostly of his own clan.

The uniform adopted by the regiment was the full Highland
dress of kilt and belted plaid (breacan-an-fheilidJi), and tartan
or diced hose ; for arms they carried muskets and the formidable
claymore or broadsword ; and those who could afford the expense
were allowed to add to their equipment the dirk and sporran of
badger skin. The headgear was a bonnet ornamented with
two or three black feathers drooping over it, and decorated with
the distinguishing badge of the clan to which the wearer
belonged. Eagles' feathers were worn by the officers, as was
the custom among the Highland chieftains. 1 Nothing could
be more politic than the measures adopted by the authorities
for rendering service in the army popular ; Highland sentiment
and tradition was respected ; the wearing of the national garb
was made a privilege which any able-bodied man could enjoy
by joining the ranks of his comrades in the service of the State ;
due consideration was given to the antipathy that still existed
between various clans, by the exclusion as far as possible of
the elements of future discord ; and, in fact, everything was done
to avoid wounding in the slightest degree the susceptibilities
of the newly-made soldiers.

The result was to popularise the army, and attract from
every part of the Highlands a steady flow of recruits eager to
take part in their country's service, and fight the French under
the direction of their own' chiefs.

1 "Stewart's Sketches."

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 339

It would be well if some of our War Office authorities of
the present day would study the early history of those gallant
Highland regiments whose existence they periodically threaten,
because, forsooth, they are utterly unable, owing to their crass
ignorance of Celtic peculiarities, to obtain sufficient recruits
to fill up .the gaps that occur in the ranks. Let them but
take a lesson from the book of England's greatest statesman,
William Pitt, and they will find no difficulty in maintaining
these historic battalions at full strength.

Fraser's Highlanders saw some hard fighting in Canada
under General Wolfe, and were present at the taking of
Quebec, where their courage and intrepidity contributed in no
small degree to the brilliant victory of the British forces.
The regiment was disbanded at the conclusion of hostilities
in 1763; and many of the officers and men having expressed
a wish to remain in America, the Government generously
provided them with a grant of land, upon which they settled.

Captain Donald MacDonald, who was unfortunately slain at
the taking of Quebec, was an officer of considerable ability,
and had he lived would doubtless have attained high rank in
his profession. His military career was begun in France
sometime previous to 1745, and during that fatal year he had
followed the fortunes of his prince in the ill-omened campaign
which ended with Culloden. Like many other of his associates
in that bold but fruitless effort to restore the Stuarts to power,
he had suffered imprisonment, but was fortunate enough to
regain his freedom without the ordeal of a trial. Returning
to France after his liberation from captivity, he again sought
to win fresh laurels amid the din of battle. In 1756 he returned
to his native land, and in the following year received a captain's
commission in Fraser's Highlanders. His keen military instincts
and approved courage gained for him the confidence of General
Wolfe, who rarely made any important strategical movement
without first consulting Captain MacDonald.

Another officer of Fraser's Highlanders who merits some
description was Ranald MacDonell, brother to Angus, seven-

340 LOYAL LOCHABER

teenth chief of Keppoch. Alexander, the sixteenth chief, who
fell at Culloden whilst endeavouring to rally his retreating
clansmen, had married Jessie, a daughter of Stewart of Appin,
by whom he had several children; but it is said that Angus,
who succeeded to the chieftainship, was not one of them, and
it is therefore assumed that he was illegitimate. That Angus
was the son of Alexander of Keppoch there is no possible
doubt, and it is also known that his mother was a native of
Skye, of humble parentage, whom Keppoch had met while
staying in the island at the house of his kinsman, Sir Alexander
MacDonald of Sleat, but no record exists of any marriage
having taken place.

It was during the period that Keppoch was serving in the
French army that Angus was born in Skye, and his mother
died shortly after bringing him into the world. Upon
Keppoch's return to Lochaber, he brought his son home, and
shortly afterwards married Miss Stewart. It is of course
possible that Keppoch had married Angus's mother whilst
he was living in Skye, but that, owing to her humble origin,
he had refrained from publishing the news abroad. This view
is the one taken by the present representatives of the family,
and is certainly not altogether an improbable or unreasonable
one, when looked at by the light of Keppoch's conduct to his
son, and the care he bestowed upon his education and up-
bringing. Angus was always treated as the heir and future
chief, and even after his father's second marriage, no distinc-
tion was made between him and his half-brothers, nor was
he in anyway slighted by his step-mother, which would most
certainly have been the case had he been illegitimate. It does
not seem at all probable that Keppoch, who was one of the most
polished and accomplished men of his day, the very soul of
honour and refinement, should have imposed upon his wife
the obligation of putting an illegitimate child upon the same
footing as her legitimate offspring. This, and the fact that
Angus's step -mother, so far from exhibiting any feelings of
aversion and resentment at his presence, was absolutely devoted

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 34!

to him, and regarded him with a sincere affection which Angus
cordially reciprocated, appears to me strong proof that he was
not regarded as illegitimate. We have, moreover, the certain
knowledge that upon Alexander of Keppoch's death at
Culloden, Angus succeeded to the chieftainship as a matter
of course, .and was accepted by the clan as their head with-
out the slightest hesitation ; nor do we hear of any reference
or suggestion of illegitimacy being made at the time.

It is now, I fear, too late in the day to arrive at a satisfactory
settlement of the question, but after a close personal investiga-
tion of the various arguments pro and con, I lean to the belief
that Alexander of Keppoch legally married the mother of
Angus, and have little doubt that the child of the union was
legitimate. The circumstance of Angus's abdication of the
chieftainship to his half-brother Ranald in my opinion proves
nothing, as it was probably only a politic move to secure
the estates, for Angus, having been out in the '45, was
excluded from his patrimony by the Act of Attainder.

Ranald of Keppoch joined the ranks of Eraser's High-
landers upon their formation in 1757, and was at once
appointed lieutenant. He appears on the list of officers as
the son of Keppoch, a fact which tends to strengthen the
evidence in favour of the legitimacy of Angus. Ranald served
with distinction throughout the Canadian War, and was
wounded on the same day that saw the defeat of the French
under Montcalm and the death of the gallant Wolfe.

At the close of the war Ranald returned to his native
Lochaber, and occupied his time in superintending the erec-
tion of the present Keppoch House, a substantial building by
the side of the river Roy, and overlooked by the hill of Mulroy,
where his grandfather, the famous Coll of Keppoch, fought
the last clan battle against his old enemies the Mackintoshes.
Within a short distance is the dark wood of Coille Diamhain,
said to be haunted by the wraith of the wife of Alexander,
the fifth chief, 1497-1499. He was the second son of Angus,
the second chief, and succeeded his nephew Iain Aluinn, who

342 LOYAL LOCHABER

was deposed by the clan. Before being elected chief, Alexander
lived with his family at Coille Diamhain on the banks of Allt
lonndrainn, a small burn that runs into the river Roy. He had
married a lady of Irish descent, the daughter of Donald Gallach
of Sleat by his wife, who was a daughter of MacDonell of
Antrim. When the lady came to Skye, she brought with her
a certain number of the Irish clans as a marriage portion ; and
when her daughter married Keppoch, some of these wild
Irishmen came with her to Lochaber and settled there, some
taking the name of MacDonald, while others retained their
original surnames of Burke and Boyle ; and to this day there
are families of these names in the neighbourhood of Glen Roy.
This lady disappeared in a mysterious manner, and her fate
has never been satisfactorily explained. Some thought she was
drowned in Allt lonndrainn when it was in spate, and others
believed she had been foully murdered ; but whatever may
have been the cause of her death, her spirit has haunted the
wood ever since, and even to this day many of the natives of
the locality fear to pass the place after nightfall, lest they should
see the ghastly form of "A* bhaintigearna bheag" ("the little
lady "), the name by which she was known among her people.
After building his house and being formally accepted as chief
of the clan in place of his brother Angus, Ranald rejoined
the army in Jamaica, where, about the year 1781, he married
a Miss Cargill, who bore him two sons and two daughters ;
one of the daughters married a Mr Stewart, W.S., and their
family (I believe) are now in Edinburgh. Some years later
Keppoch retired from the army, and took up his residence at
Keppoch House* where, as we shall see later, he materially
assisted Cameron of Errachd in raising the 79th Regiment, or
Cameron Highlanders.

Angus of Keppoch married a daughter of MacDonell of
Achnacoichean, and had several children, one of whom, John,
wrote the MSS. notes that I have already referred to, and which
have proved of great value in connection with this work. When
a young man he visited Prince Charles Edward in Rome. The

LOCHABER AFTER THE " FORTY-FIVE " 343

prince was at that time an old man, and nearly blind ; but,
notwithstanding his afflictions, he received young MacDonell
with great cordiality, and presented him with a piece of the
ribbon of his orders as a memento.

CHAPTER XLII.

THE death of Britain's second Hanoverian ruler, in the year
1760, was followed, in the month of December 1766, by the
decease at Rome of king James VIII. (commonly known as
the Old Chevalier). The exiled monarch of Britain had long
ceased to take more than a languid interest in the various
chimerical and visionary schemes for his restoration to the
throne of his ancestors. On the battle-field of Culloden the
ambitions and aspirations of his early years lay buried, without
hope of resurrection. He saw, what his impetuous and fearless
son would not or could not see, that the British people, as a
whole, were satisfied to endure the ills they had to suffer under
the rule of their Teutonic idol and his voracious parasites,
rather than flee for relief to the legitimate but papistical
Stuarts. 1 After suffering for many years from a chronic com-
plaint, which was aggravated by the disappointments he had
so often experienced in his chequered career, king James
passed peacefully away, leaving to his two sons, Charles and
Henry, the mere insignia of royalty, unaccompanied by its
realities of throne and kingdom a phantom legacy which
eluded, with a tantalising persistency, the hands that were
outstretched to grasp it.

Prince Charles, who, upon the death of his royal father,

1 It has been often stated by the biographers of Prince Charles that he had
abjured Roman Catholicism, but there appears to be no absolute proof of this.
In a postscript to one of Dr Archibald Cameron's letters, written just before his
execution, he says : "I likewise declare, on the word of a dying man, that the
last time I had the honour to see his Hoyal Highness Charles, Prince of Wales,
he told me from his own mouth, and bade me assure his friends from him, that he
was a member of the Church of England."

344 LOYAL LOCHABER

became the titular king of Great Britain as Charles III.,
married, in the year 1772, the beautiful young Princess Louisa
of Stolberg. This union, which was purely a marriage de
convenance, contracted with the sole object of perpetuating the
male line of the House of Stuart, was most unfortunate in its
consequences. Unsanctified by the affections, it was a union
only in name, and ended, as such alliances invariably do, in
mutual recriminations and unseemly strife. Not only was the
marriage an unhappy one, but it failed altogether to effect its
purpose of providing an heir to the throne of Britain. The
matrimonial fetters became so strained that, in the year 1780,
they were broken asunder, and the youthful princess, whose
happiness had been sacrificed upon the altar of political
intrigue, left her royal spouse and sought shelter under the
roof of her brother at Rome.

The spectacle presented by Charles at this period is
melancholy in the extreme. Deserted by his wife, and almost
forgotten by those who, but a few years before, would have
been ready to lay down their lives in his service ; afflicted in
body, and troubled in mind ; the companions of his youth
dead, or living far beyond the reach of his call ; with pre-
mature old age creeping slowly upon him, and the valley of
the shadow of death looming dark across his path his figure
stands out against the background of history, eloquently
speaking to the present and future ages in mute language
the pathetic story of a disappointed and wasted life.

There is one touch of brightness in the gloomy picture of
these later years of Bonnie Prince Charlie which must appeal
to all hearts, whether Whig or Jacobite. To the side of that
solitary figure, standing upon the brink of the grave, there
comes, like a ministering angel, the form of a fair woman to
soothe with her gentle presence the declining years of the
lonely exile. With womanly tenderness and reverent care she
attends to his many wants, and solaces his hours of ennui and
suffering with words of comfort and affection. Father and
daughter, they stand together united in a common bond of

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 345

sympathy, for both had felt the bufferings of remorseless fate,
and the sneers of an unkind and indifferent world.

The story of Prince Charles's liaison with Clementina
Walkinshaw has been made the reason for much flinging of
mud and pharisaical censure on the part of the "unco guid,"
who are always ready to perceive the mote in the eyes of their
fellow-mortals, forgetting altogether the beam that obscures
their own narrow field of vision. Looked at from the stand-
point of strict morality, the guilty love of the prince for his
mistress can only receive condemnation ; but it must not be
forgotten that the circumstances of his royal birth and princely
position precluded him from choosing a consort at will, and,
as the event proved, he was practically forced into a marriage
with a woman who, beautiful and accomplished as she was,
failed to kindle in his breast the slightest spark of the tender
passion, without which the married state becomes the veriest
hell upon earth. " Let him that is without guilt among you
cast the first stone " was the stern rebuke of the God-man to
the sanctimonious Jewish mud-throwers of eighteen centuries
ago, and it would be well if the self-constituted judges of the
erring prince had taken the Divine reproof to heart before
seeking to blacken and defame his character. It was his
daughter Charlotte, 1 by Clementina Walkinshaw, who watched
by his bedside during those last terrible three weeks in
January 1788, when, stricken by paralysis, he lay half-uncon-
scious in his darkened room, within sound of the bells of the
great cathedral of St Peter's ; and when the last dread
messenger came to bid him leave his shadowy earthly
kingdom for an eternal and heavenly one, it was she who
performed the last sad offices for her dead king and father.

The honours that were denied to him in life were showered
upon the coffin that contained all that remained of what had
once been Bonnie Prince Charlie. All the wealth and magni-
ficence of the impressive Roman ceremonial were called into

1 Before he died Charles legitimatised his daughter Charlotte, and created her
" Duchess of Albany."

2 X

LOYAL LOCHABER *

requisition, to render solemn impressiveness to his obsequies,
and amid the chanting of white-robed priests, and the clouds
of ascending incense, the body of Britain's legitimate king
was laid to rest by the side of his royal father, under the
shade of the mighty dome of St Peter's at Rome.

Upon the death of Charles, his only brother Henry, who
had received the dignity of Cardinal from the hands of the
Pope in the year 1747, succeeded to the empty title, but
beyond having a medal struck, bearing the inscription, " Henry
IX., King of England, by the grace of God, but not by the
will of man," he did nothing to push forward his claim to
the throne, being apparently too well satisfied with the high
ecclesiastical position he filled, and the princely emoluments
of the office, to embark in any risky political enterprise, such
as had proved so fatal to his brother. He died in the year
1807, having attained the venerable age of eighty-two years,
and was buried in the same vault that contained the mortal
part of his father and brother. With Henry IX. the direct
Stuart line came to an end, 1 and Jacobitism became merely
a sentiment, a strong and lasting one nevertheless, and one
that may yet bear fruit in the ages that are to come.

The accession of the third George to the throne that his
great grandsire had wrested from the Stuarts, marked the
commencement of a new and more enlightened policy on the
part of the English Government towards the Highlanders, and
Lochaber, in common with the other proscribed districts,
benefited by the change. By the year 1760 militant Jacobitism
was to all intents and purposes dead, and even the most fiery
spirits among the adherents of the exiled Stuarts saw that it
was useless to attempt to resuscitate it. Might had conquered
right, as it always has done in the world's history, and all
that the Jacobite chieftains could now do was to bow to the
inevitable with as good a grace as possible, and outwardly,
at least, to acknowledge George the Third as king.

A great deal of the prejudice that had existed against his
1 Appendix XXXII.

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 347

Hanoverian predecessors had by this time died out ; the fact
that, unlike them, he had been born in the land he was to
rule, materially assisted to add popularity to his name. " Born
and educated in this country," said George, in his first speech
to Parliament, " I glory in the name of Briton " ; and it is
much to his credit that he should have inaugurated his reign
with such noble and patriotic words. Doubtless the gallant
deeds performed during the Canadian war by the newly-raised
Highland regiments had a great deal to do with the revulsion
of public feeling in favour of the Highlanders, and the gradual
relaxation by the authorities of those stringent and unjust
measures which had been adopted at the close of the late
rising of 1745.

Loyal as Lochaber had proved to the Stuarts, her sons
were able to show, now that all hopes of a restoration of
that ancient dynasty were at an end, that they could con-
sistently, and without loss of dignity, help with their good
claymores to fight the battles of their late enemies, and defend
with their lives the honour of the United Kingdom, of which
they formed a small but none the less important part. Under
the folds of that standard, upon which was emblazoned not
only the leopards l of England and the harp of Ireland, but
the ruddy lion of Scotland, "ramping in a field of gold,"
they could, take their stand, shoulder to shoulder, and perform
prodigies of valour, as their ancestors had done in the days
of Montrose and Dundee.

As Lochaber had been the birthplace of that last gallant
effort to throw off the yoke of Hanoverian tyranny, so was
it, by a strange coincidence, to be the nursery of those
magnificent Highland battalions which were to add by their
glorious victories over Britain's enemies a brilliant lustre to
the reigns of the Elector of Hanover's descendants. The
notable military successes of Eraser's Highlanders during the
war in Canada, induced the Government, upon the outbreak

1 Heraldically and originally leopards, but transformed by time and sentiment
into lions.

348 LOYAL LOCHABER

of the American War of Independence in 1775,10 repeat the
experiment ; and letters of service were issued authorising
Colonel Fraser of Lovat to raise two fresh battalions for the
service of George III. Colonel Fraser, whose exertions in
connection with the formation of the regiment in 1757 had
been rewarded by a grant of the family estates, threw himself
vigorously into the congenial task of enlisting recruits, and
was ably seconded in his efforts by Duncan MacPherson of
Cluny, John MacDonald of Lochgarry, Charles Cameron of
Lochiel, Charles Cameron of Fassfern, and ^Eneas Mackintosh
of Mackintosh.

Duncan MacPherson of Cluny was a son of the famous
Cluny of the '45, who, having skulked among the fastnesses
of Ben Alder for some years after Culloden, escaped to France
in 1755, and died at Dunkirk a year later. Duncan was born
in 1750, at a time when the English redcoats were actively
engaged in their efforts to capture his father. Upon the
destruction of Cluny Castle, Duncan's mother, who was then
daily expecting her confinement, sought shelter in a kiln used
for drying corn, and here it was that Duncan was born. 1 His
uncle, John MacPherson, who had received a commission in
the 78th regiment, acted as guardian during the minority of
the young chief, and it was probably due to his influence that
Duncan was appointed major to the 7ist. Some years later
Duncan became lieutenant-colonel of the 7$rd Foot (afterwards
the 7 ist Highland Light Infantry), and his ancestral estates
were restored to him as a reward for meritorious service.
He married, in 1798, Catherine, the daughter of Sir Ewen
Cameron of Fassfern, and sister of the brave John Cameron
who fell at Quatre Bras. Cluny died in 1820, and was
succeeded in the chieftainship by his son Ewen.

John MacDonald of Lochgarry, who had been given a
captain's commission in the old 78th, was now promoted to the
rank of major in the 7ist. Later, in 1777, he was appointed to

1 From this circumstance, Colonel MacPherson was known as ''Duncan of
the Kiln."

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 349

the command of a regiment known as MacDonald's Highlanders,
and, after a distinguished military career, died in 1789.

Charles Cameron of Lochiel was the second son of the
"Gentle" Lochiel, and had succeeded to the chieftainship of
Clan Cameron on the death of his brother John. Although
the estates had been forfeited to the Crown under the Act
of Attainder, Lochiel found little difficulty in obtaining leases
of portions of the property on easy terms. Mrs MacKellar
tells us that when the news of Lochiel's home-coming reached
Lochaber, an aged clansman, who had probably taken part
in the risings of 1715 and 1745, and who lay dying in his
hut at high Achintore, near Fort William, was so elated at
the joyful tidings that, notwithstanding his feeble condition,
he raised himself in bed, " whilst his dim eye brightened and
his shaking voice waxed strong as he shouted, l Tha dia mbr
nan Camshronach againnfhein tighinn dachaidh agus toisichidh
a mheirle mar a bha i riamh'' ('Hurrah! our own great god
of the Camerons is coming home, and the theft (forays) will
begin again, as it always was before')."

Lochiel did come back, but instead of leading his bold
clansmen in a marauding creach^ as his ancestors oft had
done, he enlisted them in the regiment he was helping Colonel
Fraser to raise, and taught them to fight, not against their
own kith and kin, but against the enemies of Britain. About
one hundred and twenty of Lochiel's tenantry volunteered their
services, and a company having been thus formed, their chief
received a captain's commission, which was destined to be
the indirect cause of his premature death.

The circumstances which led to that unhappy result were
as follows: In the month of April 1776, the men of the
7ist Regiment, now numbering about 2300, were ordered
to muster at Glasgow previous to embarkation for America,
but Lochiel, who had been attacked by a severe and
dangerous illness while in London, found himself totally
unable to attend. When his clansmen arrived in Glasgow
and discovered the absence of their chief, they one and all

350 LOYAL LOCHABER

refused to embark without him. Fortunately for themselves,
the refractory Camerons had Highland officers to deal with,
who could not fail to respect the spirit of devotion and love
which prompted an action which, in an English regiment,
would have been considered rank mutiny. Threats of punish-
ment would have been quite useless under the circumstances,
and recourse was therefore had to persuasion, in the art of
which Colonel Fraser was an adept. By a promise that
Captain Charles Cameron of Fassfern, who had been appointed
to the command of a company in the 2nd Battalion, should
take the place of their invalided chief, Colonel Fraser succeeded
in removing their objections, and they willingly consented to
join their comrades on board the transport.

As soon as the tidings of his clansmen's mutinous
behaviour reached Lochiel in London, he became alarmed
for the consequences, and ill as he was, he started immedi-
ately for Glasgow, in order to induce them to return to their
duty, and to plead for mitigation of any punishment they
might have laid themselves open to. The long and fatiguing
journey to the north caused a relapse, which proved fatal in the
course of a few weeks. Lochiel had married a Miss Marshall,
by whom he had a large family, but only two survived, viz.,
Donald, born in 1769 (to whom the estates were restored),
and a daughter, Ann, who married Vaughan Foster, Esq.

It is no part of my scheme to include in this volume a
history of the Highland regiments : the pleasant task of
recording the gallant deeds of the hardy mountaineers of the
north has been ably performed by other and more capable
hands than mine. My self-imposed duty rests with Lochaber
and Lochaber only; but as the history of a country is the
history of its people, I have frequently to digress from the
straight course of my narrative to follow the fortunes of those
of Lochaber's distinguished sons who have made their mark
in the world beyond the mountains, and added fresh honours
to the annals of the land of their birth.

Captain Mackintosh of the 7 1st (the twenty-third chief of

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 351

the clan) narrowly escaped capture on the voyage out, for
the ship which he and his company were in, having been
detached from the rest of the fleet during a severe gale, was
attacked by an American privateer carrying eight guns. The
superior sailing powers of the British vessel, however, enabled
her to get clear away, and after a short pursuit the enemy
gave up the chase. Captain Cameron of Fassfern, who had
by his bravery in action won the applause of his superior
officers, met a soldier's death in a bold attack on a strong
advanced post of the insurgent army at Sandy Hook, some-
time during the month of December 1777. Lieutenant- Colonel
MacPherson of Cluny had the honour of commanding the
regiment at the affair of Boston Creek in 1779, in which the
British forces gained a complete victory over a body of nearly
three thousand of the enemy. After the close of the American
War in 1783, the 7ist returned to Scotland, and was dis-
banded at Perth 1 in the same year.

The heroism displayed by the Highland regiments in every
campaign in which they had taken part, merited some recogni-
tion at the hands of the monarch they had so faithfully served,
and it was felt on all sides that nothing the Government could
offer in the shape of a reward would be so grateful to the
brave officers and their intrepid clansmen, as the restoration
of the estates their immediate ancestors had forfeited under
the Act of Attainder. The thirty-seven years that had passed
since Culloden had done much to heal the physical and mental
wounds inflicted by English barbarism and Hanoverian tyranny,
but the scars still remained, and often throbbed painfully, as
those who bore them contemplated with tearful eyes the
blackened ruins of a once happy home, or called to mind
the act of cruel injustice which had driven them from their
native land in sorrow and poverty. But brighter days were
in store, and once again the sounds of mirth, which had been

1 The old 7ist Regiment must not be confounded with the present 7ist, or
Highland Light Infantry. The H.L.I, were originally the 73rd Regiment, or
"MacLeod's Highlanders."

352 LOYAL LOCHABER

silent for more than a quarter of a century, resounded among
Lochaber's romantic glens, and echoed from the sides of her
ancient mountains, as with all the accompaniments of martial
music and loyal acclamations, the chiefs returned to take their
place at the head of their respective clans, in full possession
of their ancestral estates. An old ballad thus describes the
return of Lochiel :

" As o'er the Highland hills I hied,

The Camerons in array I spied,
4 Lochiel's proud standard waving wide,

In all its ancient glory.
The martial pipe loud pierced the sky,
The song arose, resounding high
Their valour, faith, and loyalty,
That shine in Scottish story.

" No more the trumpet calls to arms,
Awaking battle's fierce alarms,
But every hero's bosom warms

With songs of exultation ;
While brave Lochiel at length regains,
Through toils of war, his native plains,
And won by glorious wounds attains
His high paternal station."

CHAPTER XLIII.

THE restoration of the forfeited estates took place in the
year 1784, and, with the solitary exception of MacDonald of
Keppoch, all the descendants of the attainted chiefs shared in
the general amnesty. The fact that the chiefs of Keppoch
had never had a charter from the Crown for the lands they
had held by the sword for so many centuries was a stumbling-
block in the way of their restitution, as no documentary
evidence of legal ownership could be produced to support
Ranald of Keppoch's claim to the property his ancestors had
enjoyed. Had it not been for the influence of the Duke of
Gordon, it is more than probable that Keppoch would have

Falls of Spean, at Achluacharach.

Errachd, Glen Laoigh. Birthplace of Colonel Alan Cameron, who raised the
Cameron Highlanders.

Pose 353.

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 353

been altogether dispossessed of his patrimony ; but having, by
the advice of his brother Angus, applied to the Crown for a
grant of the Keppoch lands, in which application he had the
powerful support of the friendly duke, he was allowed, on
payment of a nominal rent, to take up his residence in the
land of his fathers, where, as I have already stated, he erected
the mansion that still bears his name, by the side of the
tumultuous Roy. Here, in 1793, he actively assisted Alan
Cameron of Errachd (afterwards Sir Alan Cameron) in raising
that splendid regiment of Cameron Highlanders, whose
military achievements during the last hundred years have
added additional prestige to our arms, and gained for the
name of Cameron a deathless renown. Before proceeding to
describe the circumstances attendant upon the formation of
this essentially Lochaber regiment, I will give a brief account
of the origin and history of its gallant founder.

The Camerons of Errachd (or Erracht) trace their descent
from Ewen Cameron (Eobhan MacAilein\ the tenth chief of
Lochiel, by his second wife Marjory Mackintosh, and were
known in Lochaber by their patronymic of " Stiochd Eobhaitm
ic Eobhainn." The ancestral home of this sept of Clan Cameron
was among the densely-wooded slopes of the beautiful Gleann
Laoigh (" Glen of the Calf"), on the east bank of the river bear-
ing the same name, and within a short distance of the Lochy.
Here, under the shadow of the Monadh Uisge Mhuillinn,
a hill of about 1500 feet in height, stands the house of
Errachd, nestling amid the trees, which almost hide it from
view, and here, a few months previous to the Earl of Mar's
rising in 1715, Donald, the second Laird of Errachd, was born.
Donald's father joined the Highland force under Mar, and
was slain at Sheriffmuir. When Lochiel mustered the clan
for service under Prince Charles, Errachd was selected by his
chief to take the second place in command of the Camerons, as
Fassfern (the Tainistear, or next heir to the chief), to whom the
position belonged by ancient precedent, had decided not to join

an enterprise which he considered both reckless and ill-timed.

2 Y

354 LOYAL LOCHABER

Donald of Errachd had married the only daughter of Coll,
the fifteenth chief of Keppoch (" Coll of the Cows "), who was
sister to the gallant Alexander of Keppoch slain at Culloden. 1
This lady had, a short time before the prince's arrival, presented
her husband with a son and heir ; and when he started with
the clan for the rendezvous at Glenfinnan, she went out to
the bridge of Laoigh, with her baby in her arms, to see the
Camerons pass in all their martial array, and wave a sad adieu
to her beloved husband. This child was Alan, who was thus
early in his career an involuntary participator in a military
parade.

For some time after Culloden, Alan's father was a fugitive
among the hills of Lochaber, but upon the passing of the
Act of Indemnity, he returned to his home in Glen Laoigh,
and ended his days there in peace. As the young laird grew
up he gave evidence that he possessed all the spirit and
courage of his Cameron and MacDonald ancestors. With the
blood of the Lochiels and Keppochs coursing wildly through
his veins, he found himself unable to brook an insult or forgive
an injury, and before he had attained to years of discretion
he became involved in a serious quarrel with a neighbouring
chieftain which led to a fatal termination.

The innocent cause of the dispute was the young widow of
Cameron of Strone, a lady to whose many attractive qualities
and great personal charms the impressionable Alan had early
fallen a victim. From the ruddy hue of her tresses, the object
of the young chieftain's affectionate regard was called by her
neighbours "A' bhanntrach ruadh" or the "auburn-haired widow."
This lady lived under the guardianship of one of her deceased
husband's relatives, a tacksman of the adjoining clachan of
Murshiorlaich, who belonged to that sept of Clan Cameron
known as the MacGillonies (Mac gille Onnaidti) of Strone. This
gentleman had been " out " in the " Forty- Five," and had after-

1 I base this assertion on the MS. pedigree in the possession of Mrs MacDonell
of Keppoch. Other authorities state that the Laird of Errachd married Marjory,
daughter of MacLean of Drimnin.

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 355

wards escaped to Holland, where he had dwelt for some years.
For reasons that do not appear, the continual visits of Alan of
Errachd to the house of Murshiorlaich's fair kinswoman were
distasteful to that chieftain, and high words ensued, which
resulted in Errachd challenging his neighbour to meet him on
the banks .of the river Lochy, and there settle the dispute with
the sword. At first Murshiorlaich refused to fight his boyish
antagonist, whom he knew to be only an indifferent swordsman ;
but the taunts of that fiery youth were of such a nature that
his anger was aroused, and he agreed to meet him when and
where he chose, with the stipulation that the fight should cease
as soon as one or the other drew blood from his opponent.

Alan confided the arrangements to an old retainer of his
late father, who at once proceeded to instruct his young master
in the use of an old claymore, with which Donald, the late Laird
of Errachd, had done good service at Culloden and elsewhere.
With this powerful weapon in his grasp, Alan started for the
spot by the banks of the river that had been appointed for
the rencontre. Here he found Murshiorlaich waiting for him,
and in a few moments the fight began. The superior skill
of the elder combatant was soon apparent, as, notwithstanding
the vigorous strokes with which young Errachd endeavoured
to break down his guard, he received no hurt, and contented
himself with merely parrying the blows which were aimed at
him, without seeking to inflict a wound on his youthful
adversary. They fought thus for a long time without result,
until Murshiorlaich, wishing to bring the duel to a conclusion,
made a thrust at Errachd's hand, and succeeded in drawing
blood. This should have ended the combat, but the smart
of the wound and the sight of blood so infuriated the
impetuous Errachd that, regardless of the stipulation he had
agreed to, he renewed the attack with such desperate strength
that he quickly overcame the now fatigued tacksman, and,
regardless of consequences, slew him with a terrible blow of
his great claymore.

Now that it was too late, he gave way to bitter regrets,

356 LOYAL LOCHABER

and cursed the violent temper that had led him into such a
scrape ; and fearful lest the vengeance of the kinsmen of the
dead man should fall upon his head, he fled to some relatives
in Mull. Shortly afterwards we find him occupying the un-
congenial position of clerk in the Greenock Custom House,
an employment thoroughly unsuited to the lad who had never
known restraint, and whose wild life among the heather-clad
hills of Lochaber had quite unfitted him for the drudgery of
an office. Military service was more to his taste, and vacating
his stool in the Custom House, he started for America, and
upon arrival joined the Royal Highland Emigrant Regi-
ment (the old 84th), commanded by Colonel Alan MacLean
of Torloisg. After serving for some years with this regiment,
he unfortunately fell into the clutches of the enemy, and was
imprisoned for two years in the prison of Philadelphia. Upon
his release he was placed on half-pay, with the rank of lieutenant
of Tarleton's Dragoons, and shortly afterwards returned to the
home of his ancestors by the banks of the romantic Laoigh.

Alan Cameron was not the man to remain long inactive,
and shortly after his return to Lochaber he conceived the idea
of following the example of Fraser of Lovat by raising a
regiment of Highlanders among the eligible men of his own
clan. 1 Strife was in the air, France, Spain, and Holland had
all declared war against Great Britain, and George III. stood
greatly in need of soldiers to fight his battles and defend the
honour of his kingdom. Errachd's offer to increase the military
forces of the realm came at a most opportune time, and was
eagerly accepted by the Government, who at once granted
letters of service empowering him to raise a regiment for the
king, but refused any pecuniary assistance. Undeterred by
this ungenerous and scurvy treatment of his patriotic sugges-
tion, Alan Cameron, with the assistance of several Lochaber
gentlemen, among whom was Ranald, chief of Keppoch,
succeeded in enlisting a fine body of Highlanders, who were
recruited and equipped entirely at the expense of their chiefs

1 Copy of Errachd's original recruiting poster will be found at Appendix XXXIII.

Facsimile of a Silhouette,
the only existing Portrait of Lieutenant-General SIR ALAN CAMERON of Errachd, K.C.B.,

the first Colonel of the jgth or Cameron Highlanders, 1793-1808.

Recently presented to the Officers of the Regiment by Mrs Elderton de Coigney,

granddaughter of Sir Alan.

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 357

and officers. Keppoch, although he did not join the regiment
himself, induced two or three hundred of his clan to swell
the ranks of the 79th, or " Cameron Volunteers," as they were
then called. It is one hundred and five years since this
gallant regiment was raised, as Alan Cameron's commission
of Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant is dated August the i/th,
1793, and it was probably shortly after this date that the first
muster took place.

This notable event in the history of Lochaber was made
the occasion of much festivity in the neighbourhood of Errachd.
Highland games were held, and the newly appointed officers
offered prizes for competition to the men and youths who took
part in the various feats of skill. Among those who were
fortunate enough to win prizes was Keppoch's valet, who,
notwithstanding his very inappropriate costume of livery and
top-boots, managed to secure the first prize for running and
leaping. This man was Angus MacDonell (Aonghas Mac-
Raonuill\ and he was still living at Keppoch, as gardener,
during the early married life of the present Mrs MacDonell of
Keppoch, to whose husband, the late chief, he related the
circumstances connected with the raising of the Cameron
Highlanders ; and it is from this source that I can give my
readers an authentic account of the origin of the Errachd tartan,
which was not long ago described by Mr Campbell-Bannerman
in the House of Commons as a "spurious tartan of the
MacDonald clan." There is a grain of truth in this assertion,
but it was surely quite unnecessary for a Secretary of State for
War to go out of his way to stigmatise a tartan as "spurious"
that has been worn by one of Britain's most distinguished
regiments during a century of honourable and gallant warfare.

Cameron or MacDonald, it is an historic garb, identified
with many a brilliant victory and heroic action, and it would
be a contemptible act of official vandalism to relegate it to
the limbo of obscurity. The reason of its adoption by the
Cameron Highlanders is as follows: When the question of
uniform was first discussed by the officers, it was, of course,

358 LOYAL LOCHABER

a foregone conclusion that the Highland dress in its entirety
of kilt, plaid, and bonnet would be unanimously selected, but
the question as to which tartan should be worn presented
some difficulty, as neither the Cameron or Keppoch varieties
(being composed largely of red) looked well with the regula-
tion scarlet tunics which were adopted by the regiments of
the line.

The matter was at last settled by old Mrs Cameron of
Errachd, Alan's mother, who suggested that by blending the
tartan of the Clan MacDonald (which contains more green
than that of Keppoch) with the yellow lines of the tartan of
Clan Cameron, the difficulty would be solved, and that not
only would the kilt and plaid harmonise better with the
doublet, but the sentiment of both clans would be respected.
Mrs Cameron's ingenious idea was warmly approved by the
officers, and an experimental kilt and plaid were made (I
believe, by the lady herself), which proved a complete success,
and from that day the tartan now so familiar to our eyes
has been worn by the 79th Cameron Highlanders. 1

It was thus left to the daughter of Alexander of Keppoch
(who died fighting against a British regiment at Culloden) to
be the inventor of a dress with which another British regiment
will always be associated. From that day in August 1793 this
tartan has been known as the Cameron of Errachd, and has
probably greater claims to be considered authentic than the
majority of the modern clan tartans, many of which appear
to have no authority whatever for their existence, other than
the imagination of the manufacturer who benefits by their sale.

It was at this early period of the regiment's existence that
the Piobaireachd Dhomhnuill Duibh (" Pibroch of Donald Dhu ")
was first used as a march tune, 2 and it is probably owing to
this circumstance that the Camerons have since, claimed the

1 The original contract for the manufacture of this tartan was placed with
Messrs Holms of Paisley.

2 When the Cameron Highlanders started on their march to Stirling from
Fort William, the tune played by the pipers of the regiment was the old High-
land air, " Gabhaidh sinn an Rathad Mor" ("We will take the high road").

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 359

tune as the pibroch of their clan. I have stated elsewhere
that this ancient pipe-tune was probably composed at the
time of the first battle of Inverlochy, in honour of the victory
gained by Donald Balloch, cousin of MacDonald of the Isles,
over the royal forces. Whether this was so or not, it is an
undoubted fact that this stirring old piobaireachd has for many
centuries been in common use among the MacDonalds, especi-
ally those of Lochaber.

CHAPTER XLIV.

As a history of the " Cameron Highlanders " would fill a
volume in itself, I can only give my readers a very brief
account of the many brilliant campaigns in which that splendid
regiment took so conspicuous and so honourable a part.

By January 1794, when the /9th was inspected at Stirling,
it mustered nearly one thousand strong, and was composed
almost entirely of Lochaber men, officered by gentlemen who
were mostly cadets of clans belonging to the same locality.
For a few months the regiment was quartered in Ireland, but
returned in the autumn of the same year, and embarked in
August for the seat of war in Flanders. In this most disastrous
campaign the 79th lost nearly two hundred men, the majority
of whom succumbed to the privations they were forced to
undergo during the long and severe winter of 1794-95.

In April 1795 the Camerons were recalled to England,
with a view to their joining the force about to be despatched
to India, where Tippoo Sahib, with the assistance of his French
allies, was waging war against Great Britain. Whilst Waiting
to embark, the regiment experienced its first taste of War
Office interference, which, unfortunately, was only the com-
mencement of a long series of vexatious official meddling and
injudicious treatment that has not yet ceased.

This first grievance was the result of an order that was
conveyed to Colonel Cameron from the military authorities,

360 LOYAL LOCHABER

by which he was instructed to break up the 79th into four
companies, and hold them in readiness for drafting into other
regiments of the line. Such an order was a direct insult
to Errachd and his brave Highlanders, and his pride of race
was touched in its most tender place. Angered beyond
measure, and with his temper at boiling-point, he sought an
interview with the commander-in-chief, and with Highland
boldness told him that "to draft the 79th is more than you
or your royal father dare do." This blunt speech nettled the
royal duke, and he expressed his opinion that the king would
certainly send the regiment to the West Indies if they con-
tinued obstinate. Still further incensed by this threat, Errachd
defiantly replied, "You may tell the king, your father, from
me, that he may send us to hell if he likes, and I'll go at
the head of them, but he dare not draft us."

This remarkable interview was so far successful that no
further attempt was then made to draft the 79th, but as the
commander-in-chief had intimated, an order soon reached
Colonel Cameron to proceed with his regiment to Martinique,
in the West Indies, a station rendered unpopular in the army
on account of its unhealthy climate. For two years the 79th
remained in this island of malaria and yellow fever, and so
terrible were the effects of its prolonged stay in such an
unwholesome atmosphere, that hundreds of the men were
altogether incapacitated from further service, and many found
an early grave under a tropical sky, far from the breezy hills
and lofty mountains of their beloved Lochaber.

To remain longer in this death-trap would have meant
annihilation, and now that the mischief was done, the
authorities gave a tardy permission to those men who wished
to leave the island, to join the ranks of their countrymen in
the Black Watch. Over two hundred availed themselves of
this offer, while the remnant of this once fine regiment, with
their officers, returned to England, where they arrived in
August 1797. The condition of the 79th was now deplor-
able, but Colonel Cameron was not disheartened, and took

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 361

immediate steps upon his arrival to fill the ranks that had
been thinned so sadly. Once again Lochaber responded to
the call for loyal men to serve in the army of Britain, and
by the month of June 1798, recruits to the number of 780
were enlisted to fill up the gaps that had been caused by
death and removal.

The next destination of the Cameron Highlanders was
Helder, in Holland, where it was brigaded with several other
regiments, amongst which were the newly-raised 92nd Gordon
Highlanders. The ranks of the 92nd were swelled by a fine
company of Lochaber men, under the command of Captain
John Cameron of Fassfern, a kinsman of Cameron of Errachd,
and doubtless the meeting of the two chieftains in a foreign
land was cordial in the extreme. On 2nd October 1799, the
79th and the 92nd, with the other battalions forming the fourth
division of the army under Sir Ralph Abercromby, attacked
and carried at the point of the bayonet an entrenched position
of the enemy near Egmont-op-Zee, and, at the close of the
engagement, both regiments were highly commended by the
general commanding for their valour in the field. Among
the list of wounded on this occasion, we find the names of
the two gallant Camerons, Colonel Alan of the 79th, and
Captain John of the 92nd, the former only slightly, but the
latter severely, he having been struck by a bullet in the knee,
which incapacitated him from further service for some
time.

The Cameron Highlanders were quartered in England from
November 1799 until August of the following year, when they
were despatched to Ferrol in Spain, and after a few insignificant
engagements with the Spanish troops, departed for the scene
of Sir Ralph Abercromby's operations against the French in
Egypt. In this campaign, which was destined to effect a total
revolution in the government of the land of the Pharaoh's, the
79th played an important part, and shared with their comrades
of the 42nd and 92nd in all the honours of the glorious victory

of Alexandria. The great battle was fought on 2ist March

2 z

362 LOYAL LOCHABER

1 80 1, and resulted in the complete overthrow of French authority
in the affairs of Egypt, an authority which they are now striving
hard to regain.

The splendid behaviour of the brave Camerons in Egypt
was rewarded by the thanks of George III. and the British
Parliament, and, as a lasting memorial of the services they
had rendered to their country, they were allowed to inscribe
the word "Egypt" on their colours, and use a figure of the
Sphinx on their arms and accoutrements.

At the close of the Egyptian War of 1801, the regiment,
after a short stay in the island of Minorca, returned to Scot-
land, where it remained until the early months of 1803, when
it was ordered to Ireland. About a year later a second
battalion was formed as a feeder for the first battalion, but
for some cause or another its existence was a brief one, as
in the year 1815 it was disbanded. During the time the 7Qth
was stationed in Ireland, the authorities, for lack of something
better to do, recommenced their meddlesome interference with
the affairs of the regiment, and began an organised attack upon
the kilt, which they considerately suggested should be abolished
in favour of the trews. With this object, a letter was addressed
to Colonel Cameron, dated I3th October 1804, in which he
was asked to give his " private opinion as to the expediency
of abolishing the kilt in Highland regiments, and substituting
in lieu thereof the tartan trews."

We may imagine the amazement and disgust with which
Alan of Errachd perused this practical illustration of War
Office imbecility. Abolish the kilt ! preposterous ! absurd !
suppress the ancient garb in which his ancestors and their
descendants had fought with distinction for centuries, ridiculous!
Never would Alan Cameron of the 79th give his consent to
hide the individuality of the Highlander in the trews of the
Sassenach, tartan though they might be. Doubtless he knew
by heart the lines in which Alexander MacDonald (Alasdair
MacMhaighstir Alasdair}, the bard of Moidart, expresses so
forcibly his regard for the kilt and "Am Breacan Uallach"

LOCIIABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 363

("the noble plaid"); and it is 'more than probable that the
following verses ran in his head as he penned his able reply
to the official letter :

" Eilidh cruinn nan cuachan,
Gur buadhach an-t-earradh gaisgeach ;
Shiubhlainn leat na fuarain,
Feadh fhuar-bheann ; 's bu ghasd 'air faich thu.

" Flor chulaidh an-t-saighdear,
'S neo-ghloiceil ri uchd na caismeachd ;
'S ciatach 's an adbhans thu,
Fo shranntraich nam piob 'nam bratach.

" Cha mhios anns an dol slos thu,
'Nuair sgriobar a duille claiseach ;
Fior earradh na ruaige,
Gu luaths a chuir anns na casan ! "

Thus literally translated by my friend Mr Lockhart
Bogle :

" The circular kilt of the pleats,
It's the dress of a victorious hero ;
In you I'd walk the bleak hills, full of springs,
And you're fine on the plain too.

" True garb of the soldier,
Not useless to breast the alarm ;
You're beautiful in the advance,
Amid the humming of the pipes and banners.

" You're not worse in the going down,
When the grooved sword is torn from the scabbard ;
True dress for the pursuit,
You put swiftness into the feet."

Colonel Cameron's characteristic letter is too long for
insertion here, but I cannot refrain from giving a few extracts
from this most powerful defence of the national dress, which
may be read to some advantage by its modern detractors.
The letter is dated Glasgow, 27th October 1804, and after
a preliminary statement that he will offer his sentiments upon
the subject without prejudice either way, and from actual
experience of over twenty years in all climates, the gallant

364 LOYAL LOCHABER

officer goes on to say : " I have to observe progressively, that
in the course of the late war several gentlemen proposed to
raise Highland regiments, some for general service, but chiefly
for home defence ; but most of these corps were culled from all
quarters, and thereby adulterated with every description of
men, that rendered them anything but real Highlanders, or
even Scotsmen (which is not strictly synonymous), and the
colonels themselves being generally unacquainted with the
language and habits of Highlanders, while prejudiced in
favour of, and accustomed to wear breeches, consequently
averse to that free congenial circulation of pure wholesome
air (as an exhilarating native bracer), which has hitherto so
peculiarly befitted the Highlander for activity, and all the
other necessary qualities of a soldier, whether for hardship
upon scanty fare, readiness in accoutring, or making forced
marches, etc.; besides the exclusive advantage, when halted,
of drenching his kilt, etc., in the next brook, as well as washing
his limbs, and drying both, as it were, by constant fanning,
without injury to either, but on the contrary, feeling clean
and comfortable, while the buffoon tartan pantaloon, etc., with
all its fringed frippery (as some mongrel Highlanders would
have it) sticking wet and dirty to the skin, is not very easily
pulled off, and less so to get on again in case of alarm or any
other hurry, and all this time absorbing both wet and dirt,
followed up by rheumatism and fevers, which ultimately make
great havoc in hot and cold climates.

" I feel no hesitation in saying that the proposed alteration
must have proceeded from a whimsical idea, more than from
the real comfort of the Highland soldier, and a wish to lay
aside that national martial garb, the very sight of which has,
upon many occasions, struck the enemy with terror and
confusion."

The colonel concludes as follows : " I sincerely hope His
Royal Highness will never acquiesce in so painful and degrading
an idea (come from whatever quarter it may) as to strip us of

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 365

our native garb (admitted hitherto our regimental uniform),
and stuff us into a harlequin tartan pantaloon, which, composed
of the usual quality that continues as at present worn, useful
and becoming for twelve months, will not endure six weeks
fair wear as a pantaloon, and when patched makes a horrible
appearance, besides that the necessary quantity to serve
decently throughout the year, would become extremely ex-
pensive, but above all take away completely the appearance
and conceit of a Highland soldier, in which case I would
rather see him stuffed in breeches and abolish the distinction
at once."

A most logical and unanswerable letter, and one that all
who have worn the kilt can thoroughly appreciate. Speaking
from personal acquaintance with the national garb, having
worn it during twenty-two years' service in the ranks of the
London Scottish Volunteers and Glasgow Highlanders, as well
as in private life, in all seasons and in all weathers, I can add
my testimony to that of the brave colonel of the 79th, and
stoutly affirm that for comfort, freedom of action, warmth in
winter (owing to the continual chafing of the knees in walking,
which circulates the blood and warms the whole body) and
coolness in summer, there is no dress equal to it, and this
apart altogether from the sentiment which necessarily attaches
to an ancient and historical garment.

Colonel Cameron's arguments in favour of the kilt con-
vinced the " auld wives " at the War Office that any attempt
to abolish it would be the signal for a mutinous outbreak
among the officers and men of the regiments interested, and
so the " whimsical idea " was allowed to drop.

In August 1808 the 7Qth joined the army in Portugal, and
in the following January were present at the battle of Corunna,
but took no part in the actual engagement. It was during
the time that the regiment was in Portugal that its founder
and colonel retired from active command, upon his appoint-
ment to the post of Commandant of Lisbon. He was succeeded
in the colonelship by his son, Lieutenant Philip Cameron, who

366 LOYAL LOCHABER

faithfully followed in the steps of his gallant father, and gained
for himself the love and admiration of his men and the regard
of his brother-officers.

On the 2$th of July 1810 Colonel Alan Cameron was
promoted to the rank of major-general, and commanded a
brigade under the Duke of Wellington at the action of Busaco,
in which his old regiment distinguished itself by its usual in-
trepidity, and lost one of its bravest officers, Captain Alexander
Cameron, who, being surrounded by a numerous body of the
enemy whilst in charge of a picket, refused to surrender, and
was instantly bayoneted. No less than seven wounds were
afterwards discovered on his body.

After the battle of Busaco the health of Major-General
Cameron began to fail, and misfortunes fell thick upon him.
His second son, who was a major in his father's regiment,
contracted a severe illness during the campaign, and died
from its effects. Later, at the engagement of Fuentes d'Onor,
on 5th May 1811, his eldest son, Lieutenant-Colonel Philip
Cameron, who was then in command of the 79th, was struck
by a bullet fired by a French soldier with the deliberate inten-
tion of slaying that brave officer. The wound proved mortal,
and the heir of Alan of Errachd died, as his father would have
had him die, amid the shouts of victory, and surrounded by
his sorrowing clansmen.

In Colonel Philip Cameron, Wellington lost a gallant and
capable officer; and to show his feeling of respect for the dead
warrior, he attended the funeral with a brilliant staff, and
having assisted at the last sad rites, which were, by his orders,
conducted with all the military honours that time and place
would permit, he penned a most kindly and sympathetic letter
to Major-General Cameron, condoling with him on the great
loss he had sustained, and eulogising in noble and eloquent
language the character of the son whose death he was then
mourning. The words with which the great duke concludes
his letter are as follows : " I cannot conceive a string of
circumstances more honourable and glorious than these, in

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 367

which he lost his life in the cause of his country" words
which should still find an echo in the breasts of Philip of
Errachd's countrymen who now serve in the ranks of the grand
old regiment which he commanded.

This second bereavement was a severe blow to Major-
General Cameron, and finding his health growing gradually
worse, he retired from the army with the rank of Lieutenant-
General, and received the honour of Knight Commander of
the Bath from the hands of George III. He died at Fulham
on 9th March I828, 1 having attained an age of over eighty
years, and leaving behind him only one son, Lieutenant-Colonel
Nathaniel Cameron of Errachd, who had commanded the 2nd
Battalion of the 79th, and who, upon the death of his father,
became the fourth Laird of Errachd. He married Lcetitia
Pryce, the daughter of the Rev. John Curry, a lady descended
from the ancient family of the Pryces of Glamorgan. She
bore him ten children, the eldest of whom, Nathaniel Pryce
Cameron, fifth of Errachd, born in 1814, is the living represen-
tative of this old Lochaber family.

The history of the 7Qth from the day on which Colonel
Philip Cameron of Errachd fell mortally wounded at Fuentes
d'Onor, is one glorious record of successive victories over the
foes of Britain. Burgos, Toulouse, Peninsula, Waterloo, Alma,
Sebastopol, Lucknow, Ashanti, Tel-el-Kebir, 2 are but a few of
the names inscribed on the colours of the Cameron High-
landers, telling of great deeds and gallant actions performed
amid the smoke of battle and in the face of death and danger. 3
By the indomitable pluck and dauntless courage of its officers
and men, displayed in every action in which the regiment has

1 The nickname of "Cia mar tha" given to Sir Alan Cameron by the men
of the 79th, was due to his always using the Gaelic language when addressing
his men.

2 On I4th July 1893 Donald Cameron of Lochiel unveiled a beautiful monument
at Inverness, erected in honour of the officers and men of the Cameron High-
landers who fell at Tel-el-Kebir.

3 As these sheets are going through the press, I hear with sincere gratification
how splendidly the Camerons maintained the honour of the regiment at Atbara
and Omdurman.

368 LOYAL LOCHABER

been engaged, it has gained for itself immortal fame, and added
fresh honours to the name of Cameron.

With such a history, it is incredible that in the very year
of the centenary of the first muster of this magnificent regiment
beneath the shadow of mighty Ben Nevis, there should have
existed uncontradicted rumours that the War Office authorities
had in contemplation its disbandment and utter annihilation
as a distinctive battalion. 1 The mere suggestion of such an
act of insensate officialism produced, I am glad to say,
such an outcry of indignation from Highlanders and Low-
landers, and even from Englishmen, that for the moment the
matter has dropped, but we are promised a recurrence of it
in the near future, and it behoves every one who has the
welfare and honour of this historic regiment at heart to strive
heart and soul to preserve it in its entirety. Lochiel, Lord
Archibald Campbell, and many others have set a good example
in this respect, and it is without doubt largely due to their
efforts that the 79th is as yet untampered with. Upon the
slightest symptoms of further meddlesome interference by
that abstract entity, " the authorities," with the status of the
Cameron Highlanders, the agitation must recommence with
renewed energy, and be continued until the threatened catas-
trophe is averted.

The 79th is now " The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders,"
and it would be strange indeed if Her Majesty, who perhaps
understands Highland sentiment and Highland people better
than any sovereign who has ruled the destinies of Britain,
should allow a regiment whose career she has always followed
with the greatest interest, and to whom, in the year 1873, she
presented with her own royal hands the colours it now carries,
to be effaced from her army at the will of unsentimental and
unpatriotic ministers. It has been urged that the 79th is no
longer a Highland, or even a Scotch regiment. If this is so,
it is a disgraceful reflection upon the recruiting department

1 I am glad to say that, since writing the above, a second battalion has been
added to the gallant Cameron regiment.

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 369

of the War Office. If Highland regiments are to be recruited
in Whitechapel or Portsmouth, better abolish them at once ;
but there can be no real necessity for this. Let the military
authorities establish a properly organised recruiting depot for
Highland regiments in Glasgow, and offer sufficient induce-
ments to attract the numerous eligible young lads who are
daily pouring into that city from the west coast in search of
employment, and they will find ample material of the right
sort for filling up the gaps in the ranks caused by the short-
service system.

CHAPTER XLV.

WHILST Alan Cameron of Errachd was winning fame and
honour at the head of the gallant regiment he had raised in
Lochaber, his kinsman John Cameron, son of Ewen Cameron
of Fassfern, was, as we have already seen, commencing his
military career in the ranks of the Q2nd Gordon Highlanders.
This distinguished man was born at Inverscadale, a beautiful
but lonely spot on the Ardgour shore of Loch Linnhe, over-
shadowed by the fine conical - shaped mountain of Beinn-
na-cille, 1 which rises from the plain to a height of about
2300 feet, between Inverscadale and Corran.

This property, which is now held by Lord Morton, whose
residence of Conaglen House is close by, had in recent times
belonged to MacLean of Ardgour, in common with the rest
of that district ; but at the time of which I am writing, it
formed part of the Cameron estates, and was the abode of
Ewen Cameron (afterwards Sir Ewen), the son of John
Cameron of Fassfern, brother to the "Gentle" Lochiel of the
'45. It is a wild, desolate place, well suited to be the birth-
place of such a man as John Cameron. Seen in the cold, pale

1 This mountain is a striking feature in the landscape as viewed from Fort
William, and is regarded in the light of a barometer by the country folk, who
foretell good or bad weather from the appearance of its summit. If enveloped in
mist, rain may be expected ; and if clear, a fine day is certain.

3 A

370 LOYAL LOCHABER

dawn of an autumn morning, when the huge hills loom through
the grey-skirted mists with ghostly indistinctness, Inverscadale
is gloomy in the extreme ; but when the sun arises in his
splendour from behind the giant shoulders of the Glencoe
mountains, with his quiver full of golden beams, the phantom
cloud-forms disperse before the shafts of brilliant light that
are discharged among them from the celestial bow of Phoebus
Apollo, and, as they roll along the rugged hillsides in fleecy
masses, looking as though a herd of Brobdignagian sheep had
passed and left portions of their woolly covering entangled
among the jagged rocks and boulders, the sombre landscape
is transfigured, as if by the wand of an enchantress, into a
scene of surpassing loveliness. Often have I sat beneath
the leafy shades of Coire-Chaorachan, on the opposite shore
of Loch Linnhe, and watched with calm enjoyment the
glorious changes of sunshine and shadow among the hills of
Ardgour, the while I listened to the music of the rippling
wavelets, as, with ceaseless rhythm, they kissed the pebbly
beach at my feet. From this point Inverscadale may be seen
to advantage, and presents to the gaze a picture of typical
Highland scenery, its harsher features softened by the distance
from which we survey it. 1

Here then, in the month of August 1771, John Cameron
was born, and here he spent the first few years of his life.
As was the common practice in the Highlands, a foster-
mother was selected from among the tenantry to rear the
young heir, and for this duty Mrs MacMillan was selected.
I mention this fact as her son, Ewen MacMillan, became
John Cameron's devoted personal attendant, and followed him
through the whole of his distinguished military career, which
ended at Quatre Bras. Before young Cameron was many
years old his father removed to Fassfern, the ancestral home
of the younger branch of the Lochiels, and here, under the

1 On the Ardgour shore, a short distance from Inverscadale, the rock may be
seen upon which the unfortunate Glengarry met his death when jumping ashore
from the wrecked steamer "Stirling Castle" on I7th January 1828.

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 371

immediate supervision of his grandfather, John Cameron grew
to manhood, surrounded by all the stirring associations of the
'45 which yet clung to the district where Bonnie Prince Charlie
had raised the standard of his royal father amid the shouts of
the loyal clans.

At a very early age John Cameron displayed a love for
outdoor exercises of all kinds, and showed a marked prefer-
ence for those sports which demanded a quick eye and steady
hand. Fishing in the blue waters of Loch Eil, or stalking the
deer among the heather-clad hills that surrounded Fassfern,
were his favourite amusements, and he excelled in both.
He had been sent for a short time to the Grammar School
at Fort William, and afterwards received some private tuition
at his grandfather's house ; but study was not to his taste, and
although he was by no means slow in attaining knowledge, he
was glad when the time came for books to be thrown aside,
and he could escape from his tutor into the open air, and,
with rod or gun in hand, follow those congenial pursuits which
strengthened his muscles and fitted him for the life he was
destined to lead. John Cameron's educational career was
completed at the University of King's College, Aberdeen,
where he applied himself to more serious study, and acquired
the tastes of a cultivated and polished gentleman.

Upon leaving the University he was apprenticed (articled
we now call it) to Mr James Fraser of Gortuleg, a Writer to
the Signet at that time practising in Edinburgh. The law
had, however, no charms for John Cameron, and after a very
short experience of its intricacies, he persuaded his father to
purchase a commission for him in the army, where he hoped
to emulate the gallant deeds of his famous ancestors and
kinsmen. The regiment selected as the military seminary for
young Cameron was the 26th, or Cameronians, but for some
reason or another he preferred to join an independent company
which had been recently raised by Campbell of Ardchattan.
John Cameron's commission as Lieutenant was dated in the
year 1793, and from this fact we gather that he was only

372 LOYAL LOCHABER

twenty-two when he started on that brilliant career of military
service which brought fame to his name, and added one more
hero of the Cameron clan to Britain's roll of honour.

The year following John Cameron's entry into the army,
the Marquis of Huntly applied to the Government for per-
mission to raise a Highland regiment from among his father's
tenantry in Aberdeenshire and Lochaber, in which latter district
my readers will remember the Gordons had considerable pos-
sessions. Letters of service were granted on loth February
1794, and Huntly immediately proceeded to enlist recruits,
aided by his mother, the beautiful Duchess of Gordon, who,
with a Highland bonnet on her head, and wearing a regimental
doublet over her dress, rode through the country, offering a
"gowden guinea and a kiss o' her bonnie mou," to any bold
fellow who would promise to join. Such a tempting offer
could not be resisted by the impulsive Highlanders, and
whether it was the kiss, or the guinea, or both, the result
proved that the Duchess's original method of recruiting was
a complete success, and men flocked in from all quarters.
Huntly journeyed to Lochaber to use his personal influence
among his tenants there, and endeavour to persuade them
to enlist in the new regiment. Knowing the esteem and
reverence all Camerons had for the members of the family
of Fassfern, he determined, if possible, to get young John
Cameron to accept a commission in the Gordon Highlanders,
feeling assured that if he did so, there would be no difficulty
in securing a large body of Lochaber men for the regiment.
With this object Huntly called upon Fassfern, and having laid
the matter before him, ended by offering a captain's commis-
sion to his son. The offer was a flattering one, and Fassfern
admitted that it was an honour he had not at all anticipated,
but as he doubted John's ability to raise sufficient men to
form a company, he reluctantly declined the proffered com-
mission on that ground. Disappointed at the refusal, Huntly
exclaimed that he "would be glad to have John Cameron a
captain in his regiment, although he brought not a single man."

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 373

This kindly speech so pleased Fassfern, that he not only gave
his consent to his son's acceptance of the captainship, but made
personal efforts to enlist the necessary complement of recruits,
efforts in which he was warmly assisted by his chief Lochiel,
who, as we know, had only recently obtained possession of the
family estates.

The result of these patriotic exertions was that, in the
words of Dr Clerk of Kilmallie, " Cameron joined the regiment
with a hundred men, as brave and true as any who ever fought
under the British banner." l

To those of my readers who wish to follow in detail the
career of John Cameron of Fassfern, from the day the Gordon
Highlanders mustered at Aberdeen in June 1794, to its fatal
but glorious termination at the battle of Quatre Bras in June
1815, I cannot do better than refer them to the excellent work
on the subject, written in 1863, by the reverend Lochaber
gentleman above-mentioned, who had exceptional facilities
for obtaining information from Sir Duncan Cameron of Fass-
fern, the brother of the hero of Quatre Bras. It is a splendid
record of meritorious service and knightly deeds of prowess
in the face of the enemy, performed with all the traditional
valour of his famous ancestor, Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel,
but under very different circumstances, and with a totally
diverse object.

The recital of these military episodes would fill a volume of
some bulk, and any attempt to recapitulate them here would
be to increase beyond all reasonable limits a work which is only
intended to place before those interested in the subject, a brief
outline of the history of a district comparatively unknown to the
outer world. Leaving, therefore, the details of John Cameron's
adventurous life to his talented biographer, I will proceed to
give a short account of the fatal event which brought it to a
close.

1 "Memoirs of Colonel Cameron," by the Rev. A. Clerk, minister of Kilmallie.

3/4 LOYAL LOCHABER

CHAPTER XLVI.

THE year 1815 will ever be remembered by the British people
as an annte celebre, a year which will be associated for all time
with two great historical names Wellington and Waterloo.
This was the year that saw the total downfall of the Napoleonic
despotism, which, having overspread almost the whole of the
Continent of Europe, threatened to crush the fair land of
Britain under its giant heel. At this period John Cameron
was Lieutenant-Colonel of the regiment, having been promoted
to that rank, on 23rd June 1808. He had been thrice wounded
at Egmont-op-Zee, at Arroyo, and at Maya, the latter
action having won the following flattering compliment from
Sir William Napier : " The stern valour of the 92nd," he writes,
"would have graced Thermopylae."

In March 1815 the startling news reached Britain that
Napoleon Buonaparte, who, after his forced abdication at
Fontainbleau in 1814, had been imprisoned on the island of
Elba, had effected his escape, and after repossessing himself
of the imperial throne temporarily occupied by Louis XVIII.,
was engaged in the formation of an immense army to aid
him in his ambitious schemes. The allied Powers at once
determined to declare war against the would-be dictator of
Europe, and with that object immense sums of money were
voted by the British Parliament in order to assist in over-
throwing the obnoxious tyrant who had for so long disturbed
the public peace.

The great struggle for supremacy took place in June 1815,
and ended, as we all know, in the complete destruction of the
power of Napoleon. The night of I5th June of that celebrated
year found Colonel John Cameron at Brussels, where the Q2nd
were quartered in expectation of the approaching conflict which
all knew would be most serious in its consequences. On this
night the last which he was to spend on earth Colonel
Cameron formed one among that brilliant company who graced

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 375

with their presence the historic ball given in honour of the
allied army by the Duchess of Richmond.

" The lamps shone o'er fair women and brave men ;
A thousand hearts beat happily; and when
Music arose with its voluptuous swell,
Soft eyes look'd love to eyes which spake again,
And all went merry as a marriage bell.
But hush ! hark ! a deep sound strikes like a rising knell." 1

At ten o'clock, when the festivity was at its height, Colonel
Cameron, by a preconcerted arrangement with the Duke of
Wellington, quietly slipped from the ball-room and proceeded
to his quarters, having received orders to march with his
regiment early on the following morning to the farmhouse of
Ouatre Bras, that stood at the junction of four roads (hence
its name) about ten miles from Waterloo, and was consequently
a position of considerable importance, as it commanded the
direct route to Brussels, or Nivelles, and opened a line of
communication with the Prussian allies under Blucher.

At daybreak on the morning of the i6th June, amid
torrents of blinding rain, Colonel Cameron started from
Brussels at the head of his brave men of the 92nd, with a
stern determination to conquer or die. "The war note of
Lochiel, which Albyn's hills have heard," skirled out with
shrill and piercing sound from the great war-pipes of the
regiment, and awakened the echoes of Brussels' deserted
streets, as the " Gordons " marched out to do battle with
the formidable army that Napoleon had placed in the field.
Shortly after their arrival at the position assigned to them,
the Duke of Wellington and his staff rode up, and having
complimented Colonel Cameron on the appearance and
bearing of his men, dismounted, and stationed himself on
a small elevation in the rear of the regiment, and waited
the attack of the enemy.

In front of the farmhouse was a ditch, which Colonel
Cameron directed his men to line, their rear being protected

1 Byron's "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage," Canto III., stanza xxi.

376 LOYAL LOCHABER

by the walls and outhouses of the building. They had hardly
got into position before the attack began, and the British
force under General Sir Thomas Picton (to which the 92nd was
attached) found itself confronted by the flower of the French
army, led by the redoubtable Ney. For some time at the
commencement of the action the Highlanders were subjected
to a galling fire of shot and shell from the French artillery,
which caused much havoc in their ranks, and exasperated the
men beyond endurance. This was followed up by a series
of desperate cavalry charges by the French dragoons, but they
were unable to make any impression upon the 92nd, who,
with their front rank kneeling with bayonets fixed, and their
rear rank pouring volley after volley of well-directed fire into
the advancing masses of the enemy, forced them to retreat
with heavy losses. The blood of the Highlanders was now
up, and it was only with the greatest difficulty that Colonel
Cameron could restrain them from pursuing the Frenchmen.

Fearing that they would disobey his orders in the desire
to inflict punishment on the slayers of their kinsmen, who now
lay dead and dying in all directions, Cameron requested the
duke for permission to charge the enemy. " Have patience,"
replied Wellington, "and you will have plenty of work by
and by." The French infantry were now rapidly advancing,
and began a simultaneous attack upon the right and front
of the position, and a few of their number succeeded in
obtaining a footing in the farmhouse. The duke observing
this, and seeing the necessity for a bold effort, shouted, amid
the din of the incessant musketry fire, " Now, Cameron, is
your time take care of that road ! " This was sufficient for
Colonel Cameron. In an instant he gave the order to charge,
and with one tremendous shout the 92 nd leaped the ditch
and rushed with ungovernable fury among the enemy, driving
them before them at the point of the bayonet, and hewing
them down with the claymore. The French were quite unable
to withstand the terrible onset, and gave way in all directions,
and left the Highlanders masters of the field.

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 3/7

The victory had been won, but at what a cost ! Thirty-
nine of their number were lying dead where they fell, among
whom were four officers; and one other and he their brave
leader had received a wound which was known to be mortal.
Almost in the act of giving the command to charge, Colonel
Cameron had been shot through the body by a bullet fired
from one of the upper windows of the farmhouse, while at
the same instant the horse he was riding was struck and
fell dead under its wounded master. The death of Colonel
Cameron has been immortalised by Sir Walter Scott in the
following lines :

" Through steel and shot he leads no more,
Low laid 'mid friend's and foeman's gore
But long his native lake's wild shore,
And Sunart rough, and high Ardgour,
And Morven long shall tell,
And proud Ben Nevis hear with awe,
How upon bloody Quatre Bras,
Brave Cameron heard the wild hurrah
Of conquest as he fell."

The faithful Ewen MacMillan saw his chief fall, and im-
mediately rushed, to his side to render what assistance he
could to the master he loved so well. But although Colonel
Cameron still lived, he was beyond human aid ; and as
MacMillan saw the crimson life-blood flowing fast from the
terrible wound the bullet had caused, he realised that in a
few short hours he would be bereft of his best friend. Lifting
the dying colonel from the sodden and blood-stained earth,
with the help of a comrade of the Q2nd he carried him to
a sheltered spot out of range of the French bullets, and then
set out to find a conveyance in which to carry the wounded
officer to Brussels.

After some little difficulty a rough country cart was
procured, and in this Colonel Cameron was tenderly placed,
with his head supported on the breast of his devoted foster-
brother, and, after jolting over the miry roads for ten miles,
the village of Waterloo was reached. Feeling certain that

3 B

378 LOYAL LOCHABER

if he proceeded farther his master would die on the road,
MacMillan halted and carried him into a small cottage by
the roadside, where he made up a bed for him on the floor.
Here the stricken man was laid, and for a short time regained
consciousness, and spoke of the events of the day with heroic
disregard of his own sufferings. The news of the great victory,
which his brave Highlanders had done so much to gain, was
as balm to his soul, and he forgot his pain in the pleasure
the intelligence gave him. He lingered for a brief space,
surrounded by a few faithful clansmen, and attended by the
sorrowing MacMillan. As death approached he bade the
pipers play the tunes he loved, and which had been familiar
to his ears from infancy. To the mind of the dying High-
lander they brought tender memories of those boyish days
when he had wandered, gun in hand, through the forests and
over the mountains of his native Lochaber, free as the young
roebuck he was stalking ; or perchance there came a vision
of the old home of Fassfern, standing amid the trees by the
shores of blue Loch Eil, where as a lad he had listened
with breathless interest to the tales his grandfather told of
the gallant young prince who had slept benpath its roof. The
weird and mournful music of the pipes was a fitting accom-
paniment to the scene that was being enacted in that obscure
hut by the Charleroi road, where the Highland chief lay
peacefully awaiting the call which was to summon him to
his Creator. It came at last, and as the eyes of the valiant
Fassfern closed for ever, he was heard to murmur by those
who stood around, " I die happy, and I trust my dear country
will believe that I have served her faithfully."

Lochaber did believe ; and when, in the spring of the
following year, the honoured remains of her brave son were
disinterred from the temporary grave in the Allee Verte, and
brought to Fassfern in a vessel specially lent for that purpose
by the Government, such a funeral was seen as Lochaber has
never witnessed before or since. Led by Sir Duncan Cameron,
the brother of the deceased chieftain, as chief mourner, no less

Colonel JOHN CAMERON of Fassfern, commanding the gznd (Gordon) Highlanders.

Page 378.

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 379

than three thousand Highlanders followed the remains of
Colonel John Cameron to their last resting-place in the
ancient burying-ground of Kilmallie, where they were laid
to rest side by side with those of his famous ancestor Sir
Ewen Cameron of Lochiel, and his grandfather, John of
Fassfern. Among the kinsmen of the deceased officer who
attended on this occasion were Lochiel, MacDonald of Glencoe,
MacNeill of Barra, and Campbell of Barcaldine, besides many
others of more remote consanguinity, who came from all parts
of the Highlands to be present at the mournful ceremony, and
honour with their presence the obsequies of their distinguished
fellow-countryman.

To the wailing of the pipes, and amid the tears and
lamentations of sorrowing relatives, the coffin, which contained
all that remained of John Cameron's mortal part, was rever-
ently lowered into the kindly earth of that beautiful God's
acre by Loch Eil's silver shore, where, about a year later, a
fine obelisk was raised to his memory at the expense of the
officers of the Gordon Highlanders, and still stands a pro-
minent object in the surrounding landscape.

The epitaph was composed by Sir Walter Scott, and may
still be read by those who can spare a few moments from
their hurried journey north to pay a visit to the spot where
the hero of Quatre Bras lies quietly sleeping. " Reader, call
not his fate untimely, who, thus honoured and lamented, closed
a life of fame by a death of glory." 1

The distinguished services rendered by Colonel John
Cameron to his king and country had been inadequately
rewarded during his lifetime by a grant of certain armorial
bearings, "that is to say on a wreath, a demi-Highlander of
the Q2nd Regiment armed and accoutred, and up to the
middle in water, grasping in his dexter hand a broadsword,
and in his sinister a banner inscribed Q2nd, within a wreath
of laurel, and in an escrol above ' Arriverete,' in allusion to

1 Concluding sentence of the inscription on the obelisk. The whole of Sir Walter
Scott's sculptured panegyric will be found in Appendix XXXIV.

380 LOYAL LOCHABER

the signal intrepidity displayed by him at the passage of the
river Gava de Moulino ; " l and, in addition, he was authorised
to use two figures of Highlanders as supporters to the Cameron
arms, and the name Maya as a motto, in recognition of his
gallant behaviour in holding the Pass of Maya against an over-
whelming number of French troops. The honour that should
have been his guerdon while he lived, was now somewhat
tardily bestowed upon his venerable father, who was created
a Baronet of the United Kingdom in 1817. Sir Ewen enjoyed
the title for eleven years, and died in 1828, leaving his son
Duncan to succeed him.

There is an amusing story told by Dr Clerk of a meeting
between Colonel Cameron and a Lochaber man, near Mar-
morice Bay, during the Egyptian expedition of 1801. Cameron
and a brother officer, while taking a stroll in the country, saw
coming towards them a Turkish officer of apparently high rank,
surrounded by a considerable following of servants, who were
most obsequious in their attendance, and were in evident fear
of offending their master. The Pasha was dressed in the usual
Eastern costume of flowing robe and costly finery, which to
the eyes of the Highland officers appeared ludicrous in the
extreme, and caused one of them to exclaim in contemptuous
tones : " Do you see the fellow with the tail ? it is easy telling
who his mother was, the lazy dog." This remark was made
in the Gaelic language, and we may therefore imagine the
surprise of Cameron and his friend when the Turkish Pasha
replied in the same language : " Ay, my man, and what sort
of mother may own you for a cub ? " Had this reply been
uttered in any other tongue than the Gaelic, it is more than
probable that blows would have ensued, but the mere sound
of their ancient language instantly quelled all thoughts of
retaliation. Explanations and apologies followed, and Cameron
discovered that the Turkish officer was a native of Lochaber
named Campbell, he having been born at Fort William.
Dr Clerk made some inquiries among the old people at that

1 Extract from the grant of arms, dated 2Oth May 1815.

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 381

place, and elicited the fact that, when a boy, Campbell had
quarrelled with a schoolfellow, and in the fight which followed,
managed to injure his antagonist so seriously that the lad
died soon afterwards. This sad occurrence caused Campbell
to flee across the sea, and having reached Turkey, he secured
a commission in the army of the Sultan, and was rapidly
advanced to the important post he was holding when Cameron
met him under such extraordinary circumstances.

Ewen MacMillan, Colonel Cameron's foster-brother and
faithful servant, procured a discharge from the army after
his master's death, and turned his attention to agricultural
pursuits on the farm of Carnas, belonging to Sir Ewen.
Upon the death of that nobleman, he was generously pro-
vided for by Sir Duncan Cameron of Fassfern on his estate
at Callart, where he died in the year 1840, and was buried
near his old colonel in Kilmallie churchyard. 1

CHAPTER XLVII.

THE early years of the present century saw a constant
succession of military heroes bearing the name of Cameron
in the ranks of the British army, men of fearless spirit and
indomitable will, who, by their splendid loyalty of service at
a time of great national peril, helped to build up and con-
solidate that magnificent empire over which our beloved
Queen now holds benignant sway.

To recount the deeds of these famous soldiers would be a
task of considerable magnitude, and I shall not attempt it here ;
but before closing the subject I cannot refrain from mentioning
the names of two brave members of the Cameron clan, whose

1 The MacMillans may be considered as a Lochaber clan, as, although little is
known of their origin, it is certain that for many centuries they held possession of
lands on both sides of Loch Arkaig, but eventually became absorbed in the Clan
Cameron. There are, however, still many of the name in Lochaber. Skene con-
siders it probable that the MacMillans were connected with the Clan Chattan.

382 LOYAL LOCHABER

deeds not only Lochaber but Britain should hold in honoured
remembrance.

First in chronological order stands Major- General Sir
Alexander Cameron, K.C.B., K.C.H., of Inverailort, near Fort
William. He joined the army in 1799, and was appointed
Colonel of the 74th Highlanders on 22nd July 1830. His
service record is a splendid one, and shows that he was
present at all the most important engagements in which the
British army took part during those years that he was on the
active list. It includes the campaign in Holland, 1799; Ferrol,
1800; Egypt, 1801 (he was severely wounded at the battle
of Alexandria); Vimeira and Corunna, 1808; Peninsula, 1809
(received a severe .wound at Vittoria, which incapacitated him
for some time) ; and he concluded his military career by sharing
the dangers and glorious victories of Quatre Bras and Waterloo.
More fortunate than a great many of his comrades, who left
their bones on the field of Waterloo, it was permitted him to
return to his native land and end his days in peace among
his kinsfolk in Lochaber. He died on 26th July 1850, and
was buried near his relative, Colonel John Cameron, in the
cemetery of Kilmallie, where a small monument has been
erected to his memory.

Sir Alexander Cameron married Christina, a daughter
of MacDonald of Barrisdale, by whom he had a son, Duncan,
who afterwards accepted a commission in the Black Watch,
and was appointed Adjutant to that distinguished regiment
in 1838. Duncan retired from the army in 1840, and died
on 24th June 1874. He married twice, his second wife being
a daughter of Thomas Gillespie of Ardachy. The fruit of
this marriage was a daughter, who is now Mrs Head of
Inverailort.

The other brave Cameron, whose birthplace was among
those giant mountains over which Ben Nevis reigns as
monarch, was General Sir Duncan Alexander Cameron, G.C.B.,
who commanded the Black Watch for some years. He was
born in 1807, an< ^ joined the regiment as ensign in 1825, and

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 383

served with distinction through the Eastern campaign of
1854-55. At the famous battle of the Alma, it was Duncan
Cameron's (then Colonel) glorious privilege to lead his regiment
up the slopes of the steep hillside that was crowned by the
great Russian redoubt, and gain immortal fame for himself
and his countrymen. " We'll hae nane but Highland bonnets
here ! " was the proud exclamation that broke from the ranks
of the 42nd, as with stately stride the kilted warriors swept
onwards to victory with Cameron at their head, and were
watched with feelings of mingled pride and admiration by
the renowned Sir Colin Campbell, who commanded the
Highland Brigade on that memorable 2Oth of September
1854. Later, Colonel Cameron was made Brigadier, and was
present in that capacity at Balaclava and Sebastopol. After
the conclusion of the Crimean War he returned to the High-
lands, and in the year 1 860 was appointed to the important post
of Commander -in -Chief of Her Majesty's forces in Scotland.
He afterwards filled several military positions of high rank,
and commanded the British troops in New Zealand during
the campaign of 1863-65 ; and when, later, he returned to
his native land, he was made Governor of the Royal Military
College at Sandhurst. Sir Duncan Cameron died on 8th
June 1888 at Blackheath.

Whilst the sons of Lochaber had been fighting the battles
of Britain in Spain, Belgium, and the Crimea, and earning
fame for themselves and honour for the land of their nativity,
changes of considerable moment had taken place in the
government of the realm. Poor old George III. ("Farmer"
George, as he was often called), after ruling the destinies of
Britain for half a century, lost his reason and had to yield
the reins of power to his son George, and retire to the obscurity
of Windsor, where he died in 1820.

" Of kings the best and last not least in worth,
For graciously begetting George the Fourth." l

1 Byron, "The Waltz."

384 LOYAL LOCHABER

The prince regent ascended the throne as George IV.,
and was remarkable for nothing in particular, except that he
arrogated to himself the grandiloquent title of "the first
gentleman in Europe." Highlanders will be amused and
interested to learn that his Celtic predilections were so strong
that, at a levee at Holyrood Palace in the month of August
1822, he appeared in full Highland costume of Stuart tartan.
Upon entering the reception-room to receive the homage of
his Scottish subjects, 1 he was annoyed to find that he was
not the only Englishman who had donned the kilt and plaid ;
for immediately in front of him stood the bulky figure of
a corpulent city alderman, Sir William Curtis, his fat loins
encircled by a kilt of startling tartan, in front of which hung
a gorgeous sporan. A doublet and belted plaid covered
his huge body, and his waist (if waist it could be called) was
enclosed with a belt, from which hung various weapons which
are usually associated (not always correctly) with the stalwart
mountaineers of the north. The dress was completed by
hose of a choice pattern, in which the " sgian dubh" was
ostentatiously thrust. So satisfied was the worthy alderman
with his appearance, that he had the cool insolence to ask
the king if he did not think him well dressed. " Yes ! " replied
His Majesty, with sly allusion to the proverbial fondness of
aldermen for turtle, "only you have no spoon in your hose."
Byron thus humorously describes the scene :

" My muse 'gan weep, but ere a tear was spilt,
She caught Sir William Curtis in a kilt !
While throng'd the chiefs of every Highland clan
To hail their brother, Vich Ian Alderman !

" Guildhall grows Gael, and echoes with Erse roar,
While all the Common Council cry ' Claymore ' !
To see proud Albyn's tartans as a belt
Gird the gross sirloin of a city Celt." 2

1 Glengarry was present on this occasion with his brother, Colonel MacDonell
and twelve stalwart followers.

2 Byron's "The Age of Bronze," stanza xviii.

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 385

George IV. reigned but ten years, and was succeeded by
his brother William, Duke of Clarence, who took the title
of William IV. He died in 1837 without issue, and thus
the succession devolved upon our present gracious sovereign
Queen Victoria, who was the daughter of Edward, Duke of
Kent, the fourth son of George III.

Some of my anti - Jacobite readers, while perusing the
earlier chapters of this work, may have taken exception to
the prefix "loyal" which I have used in the title as a dis-
tinguishing adjective to the name of the district whose history
and associations are here chronicled. The objection, at first
sight, appears reasonable enough, when looked at from the
standpoint of those who have been taught to call the last
three Stuart's pretenders and impostors, and whose definition
of the word " loyal " is biased by unreasonable prejudice and
ignorance of historic facts. To such as these I would say that
loyalty does not necessarily mean devotion to any particular
ruler or dynasty, but fidelity to plighted faith, whether religious
or political. The brave cavaliers of king Charles L, who were
brutally murdered in cold blood after the battle of Philiphaugh,
were every whit as loyal as those unfortunate Covenanters who
perished by the stern orders of Dundee. Loyalty may quite
as justly be claimed for the gallant Highlanders who fell at
Culloden in defence of their rightful prince, or who were
wantonly butchered by Cumberland because they would not
swear allegiance to the Elector of Hanover, as for the English
redcoats who were slain at Prestonpans by the claymores of
their resistless foemen. In the past Lochaber had been
loyal to the Stuarts, and only transferred her devotion to the
House of Hanover when the last Stuart in the direct line of
succession had passed away. Nearly a century elapsed before
those brave Highlanders of Lochaber, whose ancestors had
suffered exile and death at the hands of the Elector's
Government, could quite forget all the cruelties of the '45 ;
but having done so, they gave the same unswerving loyalty
to their Hanoverian monarchs that their fathers had previously

386 LOYAL LOCHABER

given to those of the Stuart dynasty. The splendid heroism
exhibited by such men as Colonel John Cameron of Fassfern,
and his kinsmen of Lochiel, Errachd, and Inverailort, in the
ranks of the British army, and the equally meritorious though
less prominent military services of Ranald MacDonell of
Keppoch, John MacDonell of Lochgarry, ./Eneas Mackintosh
of Mackintosh, and Duncan MacPherson of Cluny, fairly
entitle the country that produced such illustrious soldiers to
the honourable prefix of " loyal."

It has been left for our present beloved Queen to call
forth in the highest degree those sentiments of loyalty and
devotion on the part of her subjects in Lochaber which their
forefathers had entertained for her Stuart ancestors ; for it
must not be forgotten that in the veins of Queen Victoria,
by her descent from Elizabeth, the daughter of James VI.
of Scotland (I. of England), runs the blood of Robert the
Bruce. By a long residence among her Highland people, she
has learned to appreciate their true worth, to admire their
many sterling qualities, and to understand something of their
language and customs ; and in return for her kindly sympathy,
her more than queenly benevolence to the poor and suffering
among her tenantry, and her generous support of Highland
institutions and charities, she has gained for herself and her
sons and daughters the enduring affections of a warm-hearted
and loyal people.

It was a proud day for Lochaber when, on Saturday the
2 1st August 1847, the gentle Ban-righ^ Victoria first set foot
on its classic shores, welcomed by the acclamations of a great
gathering of Highlanders in tartan array, with Lord Lovat and
Mr Stuart MacKenzie at their head. More than three hundred
years had passed away since James I., the poet-king of Scot-
land, had come to Lochaber with sword in hand, to punish
his proud vassal Donald Balloch for his contempt of the
royal authority. This was in 1429, and from that time no
sovereign of Britain had honoured Lochaber with his presence.
1 Gaelic for "Queen."

LOCHABER AFTER THE " FORTY-FIVE " 387

The Queen's stay on the occasion of her first visit was a brief
but happy one ; for by her side, in all the pride of his early
manhood, was her dear husband and consort, Albert " the
Good," upon whom she had lavished all that wealth of
affection that is inherent in the nature of our illustrious
sovereign. Fate was indeed unkind when it severed the tie
that bound together those two loving hearts, that seemed
formed only for each other. The high intellectual gifts
which distinguished the Prince Consort were reflected in a
marked degree by his royal spouse. Each was the comple-
ment of each. The tastes, the accomplishments, the
amusements of the one were shared in by the other. Love
of nature and the arts were deeply-rooted sentiments which
were mutually appreciated ; and religion, which to many is
but an empty name, was to them a living reality, which gave
comfort and support in hours of trial and suffering. Is it to
be wondered at that, when the bolt of inexorable fate fell
from the blue sky that had up till that hour canopied their
lives with serene brightness, and tore from the arms of our
Queen the husband she loved as life itself, is it to be
wondered at that she should withdraw herself from public
gaze, and, in the quiet of her Highland home, mourn for her
beloved dead amid those scenes which will for ever be
associated with his presence ? On this, the Queen's first visit
to the Highlands, there were no painful memories to dim her
enjoyment of the romantic and sublime scenery which she
had come to see. " The scenery in Loch Linnhe was
magnificent such beautiful mountains," writes Her Majesty
in the " Journal " which records her tour. The day following
the arrival at Fort William (described as " a very small place "),
the royal party drove to Ardverikie, Loch Laggan, occupied
at that time by Lord Abercorn, and was very much struck
with the wild picturesqueness of the road through Glen Spean.
Unfortunately for the comfort of the party, the weather was
extremely wet, and I fear that Her Majesty's first impressions
of Lochaber were not of the most pleasant.

388 LOYAL LOCHABER

CHAPTER XLVIII.

AT the time of the Queen's visit to Lochaber in 1847, the
venerable Sir Duncan Cameron of Fassfern was still living at
his house at Callart, by the shores of the beautiful Loch Leven,
near North Ballachulish. Unlike his famous brother, Colonel
John Cameron, Sir Duncan was a man of peace, and lived
among his people in true patriarchal style, fulfilling his duties
of landlord with bountiful munificence, and devoting his time
and money to the improvement of the social condition of those
whom circumstances had placed under him. He was born in
the year 1775, and on attaining an age when it became
necessary to choose a profession, he selected the law, and
after a course of legal education, in which he greatly distin-
guished himself, passed his examination as Writer to the Signet
in the year 1799. Upon the death of his father Sir Ewen,
the first baronet of Fassfern, in 1828, he succeeded to the title
and estates, and added to the latter the fine property of Glen
Nevis, and became superior of the village of Maryburgh, adjoin-
ing Fort William, to which he gave the name of Duncansburgh
a name which now only exists as a parochial division of the
flourishing town of Fort William.

Sir Duncan was a generous supporter of all the local
charities, and among other philanthropic actions he built and
endowed a church at a cost of ^2000, which still stands. He
filled the office of Deputy-Lieutenant for the counties of Argyll
and Inverness, and several others of less importance. When
Her Majesty visited Lochaber, Sir Duncan was growing old,
and I believe his health would not allow him to be present
to receive her when she landed at Fort William. He lived for
sixteen years longer, and died at Callart on I5th January 1863,
at the age of eighty-eight, but left no male issue, and so the
title became extinct ; his brother Peter, who commanded the
"Balcarras" East Indiaman, having predeceased him.

By the death of Sir Duncan the male line of the historic

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 389

family of Fassfern came to an end, but fortunately it was not
extinct, for a daughter was left to support the honour and
dignity of the race, and prevent the ancestral estates passing
into the hands of strangers. This lady married, in the year
1844, Alexander Campbell of Monzie, a cadet of the ducal
family of Argyll (since deceased), and became known through-
out Lochaber as Mrs Cameron Campbell of Monzie, a name
which will ever be associated with deeds of charity and bene-
volence. She is the " Lady Bountiful " of the district that owns
her for superioress, and in the discharge of those duties and
responsibilities that her large possessions impose upon her, sets
an example which other Highland ladies might do well to
copy. I trust she may long be spared to carry on the good
work so well begun by her amiable and large-hearted father. 1
Her eldest daughter, Christina, married in 1865 Henry Spencer
Lucy, Esq. of Charlecote (a name famous in Shakespearian
history), who died in 1890; their daughter, who married in
1892, is Mrs Ramsay Fairfax Lucy of Charlecote Park, and
will, in all probability, succeed to the great Lochaber in-
heritance now enjoyed by her venerable grandmother.

Having thus brought the history of the Camerons of
Fassfern up to the present day, I will pause in my genea-
logical ramblings, to describe in a few words that most
interesting and picturesque district where old Sir Duncan
ended his days, and which has been immortalised in the
writings of the genial Dr Alexander Stewart, who takes his nom
de plume of " Nether Lochaber " from the locality over which
he exercises a spiritual authority of the most paternal kind.
It is an unthankful task to follow after such a man as Dr Stewart,
who knows and understands better than any living person the
legends and traditions of his native country; and were it not
that I have reason to believe that some of my English readers
of the present and younger generation are unacquainted (to their
loss be it said) with his writings, I should not attempt it.

1 This hope was, I regret to say, not fulfilled. Mrs Cameron Campbell passed
away on 28th July of this year (1898).

390 LOYAL LOCHABER

The district known as " Nether " Lochaber is that portion
of Lochaber which is washed by the waters of Loch Leven,
and comprises the villages or clachans of Corran, Onich, North
Ballachulish, and Callart. It is approached from Fort William
by one of two routes, both of which are distinguished by rare
beauty of scenery, and the sublime environment of majestic
mountains. The most frequently used road is the one that follows
the coast-line of Loch Linnhe, and passes through the verdant
shades of Coire-Chaorachan, a lovely wood of considerable
extent that clothes the side of steep Beinn Bhan with its
fresh verdure, and which is the haunt of a variety of feathered
songsters, whose harmonious notes fill the air with melody,
while the rills of sparkling water that come splashing down
from the heights above, murmur a sweet accompaniment.
The sonorous voices of the ocean billows rolling on the
beach below help to swell Nature's grand symphony, and
lend an additional charm to the sublime surroundings. The
banks on either side of the road are covered with dense
thickets of hazel,, rowan, and birch, the branches of which
meet overhead and form a perfect tunnel of greenery, through
which the sunbeams stream in long shafts of quivering light.
Great clumps of feathery ferns cover the ground beneath the
trees, shooting up their delicate fronds from the emerald
green turf, through which the tiny rivulets trickle with cease-
less flow, keeping the soil moist and cool.

The yellow St John's Wort ("Lus Chaluim-Chille? as it is
here called) trails among the brambles, and lights up the gloomy
depths of the wood with its brilliant blossoms. Mosses of all
kinds and colours thrive in the damp atmosphere, and form a
soft carpet on which the tired wayfarer may rest his weary
feet Here that botanical curiosity the Sundew (Gaelic,
" Lus-na-f&arnaick"} may be found with its deadly red leaves
covered with sticky hairs, expanded to catch the passing
insects, that are attracted by the sweet honey-like substance
exuded from its petals. Bog-myrtle (Gaelic, "Roid"}, Wild
Cress (Gaelic, "Biolaire "), and many other shade and moisture

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 391

loving plants have their habitat in this sheltered spot, where
the cushat dove coos to his mate the livelong day, and the
mavis makes the very air melodious with his amorous trilling.
As we pass along the road we may catch an occasional glimpse,
through the interlaced branches of the trees on our right hand,
of the blue sea and the mountains of Ardgour on the opposite
shore of Loch Linnhe, with great Beinn-na-Cille towering above
the white lighthouse at Corran, and the hills of ancient Morven
looming grey and indistinct through the summer haze. A
little farther on we get clear of the wood and emerge into
the open road that is here close to the beach, and is protected
by a substantial sea-wall, built of granite blocks, all yellow
with stone-crop and lichen.

The high rocky cliff on our left is " Druim-na-Birlinn " (" the
ridge of the Biorlinn, or galley "), and as we round the point we
come in sight of Corran with its comfortable inn, where we may
appease our hunger with a substantial meal of delicious High-
land mutton than which there is no daintier fare and quench
our thirst from a foaming jug of sparkling ale. Having refreshed
the inner man, we proceed on our way, and upon regaining the
road we pass Cuilchenna House, formerly the residence of Dr
Norman MacLeod. A short distance farther is the picturesque
village of Onich (an abbreviation of the Gaelic word "Ockanaich"
which has reference to the lamentations for the dead), made
famous by its talented minister Dr Alexander Stewart, who
has his abode in the manse we may see among the trees.

There are many curious traditions extant respecting the
ancient inhabitants of Onich, of which the following is one :
Many years ago one of the dairymaids of the chieftain of
Sliochd Shomhairle Ruaidh became the mother of an illegiti-
mate son, whose father was the aforesaid chief of the Glen
Nevis Camerons. From this circumstance the boy was nick-
named by his companions . of more legitimate origin, " the
hornless brown stirk," and when he grew up and took unto
himself a wife, his children were known as "Sliochd a ghamhna
mhaoil Duinn" and to this day the descendants of MacSorlie's

392 LOYAL LOCHABER

milkmaid are distinguished by that appellation, and their
children are rocked to sleep to the sound of a quaint lullaby
which has its origin in the same story, and runs thus:

" Pru dhe Mic a' Ghamhna.
Pru dhe* Mic a' Ghamhna chean-fhionn,
Pru dhe" Mic a' Ghamhna.
Bhrist 'thu 'm braidein 's dh' 61 thu 'm bainne,
Pru dhe Mic a' Ghamhna.
'S dh' fhalbh thu 'n oidhche ris a' ghealaich,
Pru dhe" Mic a 3 Ghamhna.

Ach ma dh' fhalbh 's ann duit nach b' aithreach,
Pru dhe" Mic a' Ghamhna.
S' boidheach air lianaig ar n'aighean,
Pru dhe Mic a' Ghamhna.
S' boidheach balg-fhionn ar crodh-bainne,
Pru dhe" Mic a' Ghamhna.
Chuala tu an damh donn ri langan,
Pru dhe" Mic a' Ghamhna.
Ach ma chuala fhuair e'n t-saighead ;
Pru dhe Mhic a' Ghamhna chean-fhionn." 1

The view from the end of Onich pier is simply unsur-
passable in its sublime grandeur. I recall one glorious
September evening a few years ago, when, as the sun was
sinking behind the dark mountains of Morven, I waited for
the steamer that was to take me home to Fort William.
The whole of the western horizon was one blaze of yellow
light, suffused nearer the zenith with a flush of roseate pink ;
the sky was perfectly clear, except for one or two fantastic
masses of indigo clouds that stretched their weird uncanny
shapes across the path of the setting sun. Immediately in
front, across the calm, unruffled surface of Loch Leven, rose,
in all the beauty of their symmetrical outline, the green hills of
Appin, all aglow with luminous colour of ethereal radiance,
emphasised by the deep purple shadows that crept higher and
higher up their sides as the day waned. Far away in the south
the mountains of Mull were clearly visible, apparently rising from
the bosom of Loch Linnhe, which stretched like a pathway of

1 I have not inserted a translation, as the lines are merely intended to lull a child
to sleep, and are more or less nonsensical though pretty.

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 393

metallic green light into the remote distance. A faint line of
black cloud lying between earth and heaven betokened the
approach of the red - funnelled steamer, but as yet the vessel
herself was invisible to my unassisted vision.

Turning to the east, the scene was indescribably grand, and
even awesome, in its superb magnificence ; for there, towering
into the sky, the great Glencoe mountains reared their stately
summits, all crowned and glorified with diadems of golden
sunbeams which yet lingered upon them, while their bases were
shrouded in Cimmerian gloom. Mountains piled upon moun-
tains in stupendous masses of extraordinary configuration
entirely shut out the view in that direction, and formed a
background for the majestic Pap of Glencoe (Gaelic, "Sgor-na-
Ciche"}, which, with its sister "Sgor nam Fiann" guards the
entrance to that wild pass, whose dark and blood - stained
history is a blot upon our national records, which time and
eternity can never remove.

Sir Duncan Cameron's house of Callart is invisible from
Onich pier, as the projecting point of North Ballachulish, with
its wooded slopes, hide it from view; but it is not far, and a
short walk of a few miles will take the inquisitive pedestrian to
its historic walls. The Camerons of Callart, like their kinsmen
of Loch Eil, had fought on the side of the Stuarts, and had felt
the yoke of English tyranny. - Bishop Forbes, in his description
of the brutalities that occurred after Culloden, writes : "Among
the wounded I pitied none more than one Cameron of Callort,
who was a gentleman : he had his arm broke, a great many
friends in the place (Inverness), even in our army; notwithstand-
ing all, he could not have a surgeon to dress him for ten days."

In front of Callart, Loch Leven, which is very narrow at the
ferry (Gaelic, "Caolas mhic Phadruig"}, widens considerably, and
is studded with beautiful green islands, the two largest of which
are Kenneth's Isle (Gaelic, "Eilean Choinmch"} and the Isle of St
Mun (Gaelic, "Etlean Munde"} ; the latter being the ancient place
of sepulture of the Camerons of Callart and the MacDonalds of
Glencoe. I was once told a curious story relating to this island,

394 LOYAL LOCHABER

which I have since seen in print, but slightly altered in detail.
The tale, as I heard it, was as follows:

In the days of old, the son of one of the chieftains who
dwelt at Callart became enamoured of a maiden of the adjoin-
ing clan of Mac Mhic Iain, or the MacDonalds of Glencoe. The
girl was passionately fond of her handsome lover, but fearing
that his good looks might attract others of her sex, she requested
him to bind himself by a sacred oath to remain faithful. This
he promised to do, and on the occasion of their next meeting
swore that while his head remained upon his neck he would
never swerve from his fidelity to the maiden of his choice. The
vow was, however, soon broken, and the fickle Cameron trans-
ferred his affections to a girl of his own clan, in utter disregard
of his solemnly-pledged word. A few months afterwards he
died suddenly, and was buried in the island, but was not allowed
to rest in peace while his vow remained unfulfilled.

Some time after the burial, a boatman passing the spot at
night heard piercing shrieks as of a soul in agony, but dared
not land to ascertain their cause. These heartrending cries
were now repeated every night, greatly to the terror of the
frightened inhabitants of the surrounding district At last they
became quite unbearable, and one man, braver than the rest,
determined to visit the island and unravel the mystery. Taking
a boat, he rowed cautiously round the sacred spot upon which
stood the chapel built by " Ailein nan Creach" as a peace-
offering for his sins. With trembling steps he landed, and, with
his heart in his mouth and sword in hand, proceeded to the place
from which the blood-curdling sounds issued. As the moon broke
through the drifting clouds, he saw with horror that the head of
the recently-buried man was protruding from the earth, and from
its cold, clammy lips came the awful wailings that had terrorised
the neighbourhood. Approaching nearer, he was able to distin-
guish the meaning of the supplications that rent the air, which
were to the effect that the uneasy spirit of the perjurer could not
rest until his head was taken from his shoulders, in accordance
with the terms of the vow he had so recklessly made while in

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 395

the flesh. Emboldened by this extraordinary request, the bold
intruder raised his great claymore high in air, and with one sweep-
ing blow of his strong arm cut off the head of the deceased
Cameron ; and as the grisly object rolled away among the long,
dank grass, its glassy eyes gleaming in the cold moonlight, the
earth closed over the body, and the cries were heard no more.

While I thought on the strange traditions associated with
this beautiful corner of Lochaber, the sun had set behind a
great bank of clouds that now obscured the whole of the
western sky, presaging a wet and stormy night. The shadows
which had been stealthily creeping up the hillsides had now
gained their summits, wrapping them in a mantle of gloom,
save where, high above all, the peak of Creag Ghorm flamed
out with ruddy glow. The thud, thud, thud of the "Chevalier's"
paddles echoed loudly from the opposite shore as she glided
swiftly over the bosom of the loch, her masthead light glim-
mering like a star amid the black smoke that belched out from
her red funnels. And now, where silence had reigned supreme,
all was bustle and noise. Piermaster Cameron shouted direc-
tions to his men in guttural Gaelic; Cockney tourists strutted
about in suits of fearful and wonderful pattern, and discoursed
in even more wonderful language of the relative merits of
the various brands of whisky they had sampled since they
left " Hoban," or of their many hairbreadth escapes in this
land of barbarians. Groups of Highland lasses waited on the
pier, gossiping merrily in their native tongue, their heads and
shoulders enveloped in tartan plaids, from under which shone
eyes of lustrous black.

Leaning against the small shed which serves to shelter
passengers from the rain was a typical Highland shepherd and
his shaggy collie, in charge of a small flock of mountain sheep
with great curled horns, that he was taking home to Fort
William. As the steamer approached, it became evident that
mirth and revelry prevailed on board, for surely that was the
" Reel of Tulloch " I could hear the pipers playing to the
accompaniment of dancing feet. Soon the vessel was along-

396 LOYAL LOCHABER

side and the ropes made fast to the pier; and while the
passengers went on shore, those who, like myself, wished
to proceed to Fort William took their place on the steamer.
Cheery Captain MacMillan, a true son of Lochaber, stood on
the bridge, giving his orders in stentorian tones, and welcoming
his friends from Onich with a hearty hand-shake, as he uttered
the Gaelic greeting of "Ciamar tha sibh an dingh?" (" How are
you to-day ? ") ; to which came the reply, " Tha gu math, ciamar
tha sibh fbin?" ("I am well; how are you?"). Down by the
gangway, genial Mr Lawson was prominently visible, scrutinising
through his inevitable eye-glass (which, rumour says, is a fixture,
and is worn sleeping and waking) the faces of the incoming
passengers as they filed on board, with an eye to tickets. Mr
"Purser" Lawson is an important personage on the "Chevalier,"
and all those who have travelled frequently by the West High-
land route must have learned to appreciate the bluff heartiness
of manner which is his distinguishing characteristic, and will, I
am sure, bear a willing tribute to those excellent qualities which
have gained for him the respect of Mr MacBrayne's patrons. 1

Night is fast closing in as we leave Onich, and to the sound
of the pipes and the shouts of the dancers among whom I
noticed MacColl, from Oban, and poor MacLennan, whose sad
death in Canada all Highlanders deplore we steam out into
the darkness, with the threatening storm-clouds lowering over-
head, and thread our way through the narrows of Corran to
our destination of Fort William.

CHAPTER XLIX.

MY pleasant task now draws to its conclusion, but before
finally laying down my pen and saying farewell to my patient
readers, it will be necessary to glance briefly at some of the
more important events that have occurred in Lochaber during

1 This chapter was written some time ago. I am not aware whether Mr Lawson
still retains his post on the "Chevalier."

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 397

the last half decade, events which, though not possessing that
romantic interest that attaches to her earlier history, are yet
of sufficient consequence to arrest the attention of all who can
appreciate the more prosaic records of those great commercial
undertakings and social improvements which have so materially
assisted in revolutionising the West Highlands, and bringing
them in touch with the centres of civilisation and culture.
To the skill and perseverance of the celebrated engineer
Telford, in successfully carrying out the oft- discussed project
of cutting a canal from Loch Linnhe on the west coast to the
Moray Firth on the east, is due much of Lochaber's modern
prosperity; and although the Caledonian Canal can hardly be
classified as a recent undertaking, seeing that it was commenced
as far back as the year 1803, and had been taken into considera-
tion by the Government as early as 1773, it was not until April
of the year 1847, a few months before the Queen's first visit to
Lochaber, that the canal became available for continuous traffic.

Mrs Grant of Laggan, in a letter dated 24th May 1773,
makes reference to the scheme that was then engaging the
attention of no less a person than James Watt, whose inven-
tions in connection with the application of steam as a motive-
power have rendered his name immortal. Mrs Grant, in
describing the beauties of Glen More, writes as follows :
"What gives it interest is that when you arrive at the end
of it (Loch Lochy), you see and feel yourself in the centre
betwixt the two seas, and see at once the Lochy and the Oich
on each side of you, running in different directions ; one
making its way through Loch Linnhe to the west sea, and
the other through Loch Ness into the Moray Firth on the
east. It is these fast following lakes, linked by filial streams,
that form the opening which the three forts were meant to
guard, and which they say invites art to the aid of Nature
in forming a canal that should in a manner divide Scotland,
but that will be the business of a wiser and richer century."

James Watt was employed by the trustees oj" the forfeited
estates to survey the ground and furnish a report and estimate of

398 LOYAL LOCHABER

the cost of a canal with a uniform depth of ten feet. This he
did after some months of careful investigation, and gave it as his
opinion that such a canal would cost 1 65,000. Whether the
estimate was considered excessive, or the necessary funds were
not forthcoming, I am unable to say, but until 1803 the matter
remained dormant. In that year a Parliamentary commission
empowered Messrs Telford & Jessop, civil engineers, to make a
series of careful surveys on a much more important scale than
those of their predecessor Watt. The canal was to be deeper
and wider than he had suggested, and was to be made to carry
a frigate of thirty-two guns throughout its whole length. A
much larger expenditure of money was of course demanded
by the contractors for the additional labour which the increased
size would necessitate, and the result of Telford's survey was
an estimate of .474,531 ; and this did not include the purchase
of any lands or proprietary rights, as it was thought that the
benefits resulting from the canal would more than compensate
the owners of the property which it would traverse, for any
loss they might sustain during its construction. This estimate
was accepted by Parliament, and the work commenced under
the entire control and superintendence of Telford, who, not-
withstanding the many almost insuperable natural obstacles
he had to contend against in this stupendous undertaking, was
entirely successful, though not before many years of incredible
toil had been gone through. The poet Southey, who was a
personal friend of Telford's, thus bears metrical testimony to his
skill in overcoming the many physical difficulties that stood
in his way. The lines were written at Banavie in 1819.

" When these capacious basins, by the laws
Of the subjacent element receive
The ship, descending or upraised, eight times 1
From stage to stage with unfelt agency
Translated ; fitliest may the marble here
Record the architect's immortal name
TELFORD it was by whose presiding mind
The whole great work was plann'd and perfected."

1 This refers to the eight locks at Banavie, known as "Neptune's Staircase."

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 399

The Caledonian Canal was opened for navigation on the
24th October 1822, and the event was made the occasion for
much rejoicing in Lochaber and the adjacent districts which
were traversed by it. At the invitation of Charles Grant, Esq.,
who represented Inverness in the House of Commons, and
who was one of the most energetic and zealous of the canal
commissioners, a number of the local gentry met on board a
small , steamer, which started from the Muirtown locks at
Inverness, and proceeded down the canal to Fort William,
where a substantial dinner and unlimited supplies of the
national beverage were provided at the expense of Mr Grant.
This triumphal excursion took two days, Fort Augustus being
the first stage of the journey. Salutes were fired as the
steamer passed the house of any chief or nobleman, and the
pipers on board struck up appropriate tunes. Glengarry went
on board at Invergarry, and joined heartily in the festivities,
whilst the ladies on shore waved their handkerchiefs, and the
male portion of the MacDonalds made the welkin ring with
their cheers as the little craft continued its journey to Fort
William. Thus joyfully was this important waterway opened
to the world ; and it is not too much to say that from that
day Lochaber saw the commencement of a new era, which
was destined to transform an almost trackless and unknown
country into an important and flourishing district, and wipe
out, as it were, the scars of the terrible "Forty-Five."

The transition was not rapid, as, although the much-looked-
forward-to canal was at last an accomplished fact, unlocked
for difficulties soon began to appear, and want of adequate
funds rendered their removal impossible. In the first place,
the expenses exceeded the revenue by a considerable amount,
and in consequence the works were allowed to fall into
premature decay, a state of things that soon rendered the
canal unnavigable except by vessels of the smallest tonnage.
So bad was the condition of Telford's great work in 1838,
that Mr Walker, the president of the Institute of Civil
Engineers, who had been deputed by the Government to

400 LOYAL LOCHABER

examine the canal, reported that nothing short of its entire
renovation would be of any use. Money at this period was
scarce, and the ministry of the day did not feel justified in
recommending the large expenditure of public money that
such a scheme demanded ; so the subject was allowed to drop,
and the navigation of the canal practically ceased.

From time to time surveys were made with a view to com-
mencing the partial reconstruction of the canal, but beyond
an Admiralty investigation, which was carried out by Sir
Edward Parry of Arctic fame, nothing was done until 1843,
when the Government at last awoke to the importance of
maintaining in an efficient condition this great national high-
way of commerce, and provided the funds required for the
purpose. Mr Walker was instructed to prepare plans,
specifications, and estimates according to his original survey,
with the result that a contract was made with Messrs Jackson
and Bean, by which they were bound to execute the necessary
repairs in three years. Work was at once begun, and within
four years the canal was put into thorough repair, at a cost
of about ; i, 200,000 to the nation. Traffic was resumed in
April 1847, and now not a day passes without an almost
continuous stream of vessels, many of large size and heavy
tonnage, finding their way through its narrow channel, while
many thousands of tourists are by its aid enabled to survey
from the decks of one or other of Mr MacBrayne's comfortable
steamers some of the finest and most sublime scenery in the
Highlands, without the slightest inconvenience or fatigue.

Fort William has to thank the Caledonian Canal for its
present thriving condition, for had it not been for the existence
of that important work, few visitors would have found their way
to its hospitable shores. One can hardly realise that within the
memory of living persons the only regular communication by
sea with Fort William was that afforded by a small sailing
vessel named " The Kitty and Lucy," that plied at stated
intervals between that place and Glasgow, carrying goods
and an occasional passenger or two.

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 401

Probably before this book is published the Caledonian
Canal will have a powerful rival in the West Highland
Railway, which will bring Fort William within a few hours'
journey of Glasgow and Edinburgh, and will, I have little
doubt, in the course of a few years entirely change the
character of Lochaber. The historic fort of which I have
had so much to tell has already fallen a victim to the en-
croachments of the iron horse, and nothing now remains of it
but part of the old barracks, where the Highland games were
annually held, and where, but a few years ago, I saw poor
MacLennan dancing a reel with inimitable grace, in all the
exuberance of vigorous health and gaiety of spirit. It is sad
to think that he has passed away, and that his cheery presence
and the sound of his pipes will enliven us no more.

The new line, which is to do so much for the West High-
lands, branches off from the Caledonian system at Crianlarich,
and after traversing the desolate moor of Rannoch, reaches
Fort William via Loch Laggan, Loch Treig, and Spean Bridge,
passing quite close to the old ruin of Inverlochy Castle, and,
proceeding along the sea-shore in front of the Alexandra Hotel,
finds its terminus near the pier. The work has been well and
ably carried out by the famous firm of contractors, Messrs
Lucas & Aird, who, in spite of the arduous nature of the
task, due to the mountainous character of the country through
which the railway passes, have succeeded in bringing their
engineering labours to a satisfactory conclusion. The line is
now to be extended to Mallaig on the west coast, and open
up direct communication with Skye.

, Such a railway cannot but prove of immense advantage to
the islanders, as by its means they will be enabled to transport
their fish and other native products to the markets of Glasgow
and Edinburgh in much quicker time than they can do now by
the Strome Ferry route. I do not hesitate to prophesy great
things of the West Highland Railway both socially and com-
mercially, as not only will the outer islands be brought into

closer communication with the great educational centres, and

3 E

402 LOYAL LOCHABER

thus enable the inhabitants of those remote portions of Great
Britain to share with their more fortunate brethren of the main-
land in the many facilities offered in this enlightened century
for self-improvement, but they will also attract to their shores
many visitors who are at present deterred from visiting them on
account of the long and tedious journey involved ; and thus
money will circulate freely, and much of the misery caused
by poverty be removed.

As far as Fort William itself is concerned, I have every
reason to believe that, in the course of a few years, it will rival
Oban as a tourist resort : and although it is with some regret I
make this statement of my convictions for I like not the genus
I nevertheless feel that advantages will accrue from the presence
of the stranger that will go far to outweigh any objections that
can be raised to his national peculiarities and prejudices.

Of those two important legislative measures which have
recently engaged the attention of Parliament, viz., the Crofters
Act and the Deer Forest Commission, it will be unnecessary to
speak. They are fresh in the minds of all, and until some
years have passed the results will not become apparent; but
that they will effect a radical change in Lochaber and the whole
of the district affected by their operations is certain. It behoves
landlord and tenant alike to see that the clauses of the new
Acts are carried out in a conciliatory spirit, so that neither the
pride of the one nor the susceptibilities of the other will be
wounded. If this is not done, bad feelings will be engendered
and deplorable consequences ensue: a state of things which
God forbid !

CHAPTER L.

AND now I must hasten on to an ending, bearing in mind the
old Greek proverb, "Mya /3i/3A.i'ov, //.eya x a X v " ("A great book is
a great evil "), a maxim which, I fear, we slaves of the pen are
too apt to forget when riding our favourite hobbies roughshod

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 403

over the necks of a much-enduring public, and altogether over-
looking the fact that topics which to us possess a real and
engrossing interest do not necessarily awaken the same sym-
pathies in the minds of our readers. It will be remembered that
this volume commenced with an account of a royal visit to Inver-
lochy in those almost prehistoric days when the Pictish kings
ruled the destinies of ancient Caledonia. It will therefore be
quite in keeping with the fitness of things if I conclude it with a
short description of another royal visit to the modern castle of
Inverlochy, in the year of our Lord 1873; but before proceeding
with the narration of that event, a few words are necessary to
explain the more important changes that had taken place
among the landed proprietors in Lochaber since the restoration
of the forfeited estates in 1784.

I have already stated that the lands which from time
immemorial had been held by the chiefs of Clan Cameron,
and which had been forfeited to the Crown after the " Forty-
Five," had been restored to Donald, the son of Charles
Cameron of Lochiel, and grandson of the " Gentle Lochiel."
Donald married the Hon. Anne Abercromby, and at his death
the chieftainship devolved upon his eldest son, also named
Donald, who held a captain's commission in the Grenadier
Guards, and afterwards married Lady Catherine Vere Louisa
Hobart, daughter of the Hon. George Vere Hobart, and sister
of the fifth Earl of Buckingham. In the year 1835 this lady
gave birth to a son, who was christened Donald, and who, when
his father died in 1858, succeeded to the chieftainship of Clan
Cameron, being twenty-first in direct descent from Angus, the
first chief.

Donald Cameron of Lochiel received an English education
at the famous public school of Harrow, and at the age of
seventeen entered the diplomatic service, and subsequently
received an appointment as first attach^ to the Earl of Elgin's
special mission to China in 1856-58, and afterwards to Her
Majesty's Legation at Berlin. His father's death in 1858
caused him to resign his appointment, but he continued to

404 LOYAL LOCHABER

serve his sovereign by fulfilling the duties of Deputy-Lieutenant
for Inverness-shire, and as a magistrate for the counties of
Argyll and Buckinghamshire.

Lochiel married in 1875 the amiable and accomplished
Lady Margaret Scott, second daughter of the Duke of
Buccleuch, a lady who shares with Mrs Cameron Campbell
of Monzie the love and respect of all Lochaber. Many are
the acts of unostentatious charity performed by Lady Margaret
Cameron that are unheard of beyond the confines of her
husband's estates ; many are the poor widows, the aged men,
the young children, who have received benefits at her hands.
Wherever want and suffering exists in Lochaber, there will
Lady Margaret be found, ministering to the one and relieving
the other, with kindly words of comfort and the more sub-
stantial assistance of money, food, and clothing. Schools,
Bible-classes, Dorcas societies, hospitals, all find a supporter
in the lady who brightens with her presence the gloomy shades
of Ach-na-carry. It is a great name she bears, and she bears
it nobly; and with such a mother, the sons she has brought
into the world cannot but prove themselves worthy of the
great name of Lochiel.

Lochiel himself is at one with his wife in all her charitable
schemes, and finds both time and money to help them forward.
A good landlord and chivalrous gentleman, the present chief
of Clan Cameron is generally beloved and respected by his
tenants and fellow-clansmen, and in all things bears him-
self as becomes the representative of a glorious line of
heroic ancestors. It is sad to think that, although Lochiel
still holds in undisputed possession the estates of his fore-
fathers by the shores of Loch Arkaig, and maintains with
quiet dignity his position as head of his clan, the lands of those
ancient neighbours and allies of his clan, the MacDonells of
Keppoch, no longer own as lord any descendant of that bold
and fearless race who for centuries had held them by the
sword against all claimants.

When Ranald, the eighteenth chief of Keppoch, died, some-

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 405

where about the year 1798-99, the grant of lands which he
had obtained from the Crown, by the assistance of the Duke
of Gordon, was not renewed, and the estates gradually passed .
into the hands of Mackintosh of Mackintosh, whose family, it
will be remembered, had always laid claim to them. Ranald
was succeeded in the chieftainship by his nephew Donald,
the son of Angus the seventeenth chief, by his wife, who was
a daughter of MacDonell of Achnacoichean. Donald married
a granddaughter of Alexander, of Culloden fame, and thus,
whatever may have been his father's origin, there can be no
question as to the legitimacy of his descendants. The blood
relationship was still further strengthened when Donald's son
Angus chose for his wife Christina MacNab of Innisewan,
whose mother was a granddaughter of Charlotte, daughter of
Alexander of Keppoch. Angus was therefore related in every
way to his brave ancestor ; for not only was he a great-
grandson, both on his father's and his mother's side, to the
hero of Culloden, but by his marriage with Miss MacNab he
forged another link in an almost unique pedigree, which
removed once and for all any possibility of disputed succes-
sion to the barren but honourable title that was all he had
to leave his children. His married life was spent at Keppoch,
which, by the cruel irony of fate, he had to rent from a
descendant of the old enemies of his race; but "autres temps
autres mceurs" the Mackintoshes of the nineteenth century
have little in common with their progenitors who fought -at
Mulroy, and so, until he died in February 1855, Angus of
Keppoch lived on the best of terms with his neighbour
Mackintosh, and brought up his family in the old house by
the side of the rushing Roy, whose turbulent waters had often
run red with the blood of heroes, and whose rocky banks had
echoed the shrill notes of the war-pipes of Mac Mhic Raonuill
in the days that were gone for ever. And now, in the peaceful
retirement of a quiet London suburb, far away from the
Lochaber she loves so well, dwells the venerable widow of the
last chief of Keppoch, contentedly spending the evening of

406 LOYAL LOCHABER

her life in the society of two of her accomplished daughters,
and surrounded by the relics and mementos of a glorious
past.

It may be as well to state here that the Sir John
MacDonald of Dunalastair, Perthshire, who styled himself
chief of Keppoch, had no real claim to that honour, although
he was to a certain extent connected with the family, owing
to his descent from an illegitimate son of Ranald Mor, the
seventh chief, who fought at Blar-nan-leine, and who was after-
wards executed at Elgin. This son was called Iain Dubh,
and his descendants (many of whom still exist in Lochaber)
were known as the Black Tribe.

Another change of importance that had taken place in
the landed proprietorship of Lochaber, after the restoration
of the forfeited estates, was the transfer of the Duke of
Gordon's property of Inverlochy to the first Lord Abinger,
about the year 1837-38. When the duke died without issue
in 1836, his cousin, the Earl of Aboyne, purchased this portion
of the Gordon estates from the duke's trustees, with the right
of salmon fishing in all the rivers of Lochaber ; but, owing to
financial difficulties, he found himself unable to retain posses-
sion of the property, and after about a year's occupation, sold
it, together with the valuable fishing rights, to Lord Abinger
(the representative of the English family of Scarlett), who had
been raised to the peerage in 1835. The other portion of the
duke's Lochaber estates, Inverlair, Loch Treig, and Strath-
ossian, were sold to Colonel Walker of Crawfordton, but were
afterwards purchased by Lord Abinger, and now form part
of the immense property owned by the young lord, who has
only recently succeeded to his inheritance. Thus it came
about that the lands which had formed part of the territory
over which the mighty Lord of the Isles once held sway fell
under the subjection of a stranger.

1 The next in succession to the chieftainship of the MacDonells of Keppoch is a
cousin of the Miss MacDonells, now residing in India. The Marchioness D'Oyley,
who is a daughter of Alexander Angus MacDonell, is also closely connected with
the family of Keppoch.

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 407

It was to the fine residence built by Lord Abinger under
the western slopes of Ben Nevis, and called by him Inverlochy
Castle, from its close proximity to the ancient ruin of that
name, that the Queen came on the Qth September 1873, when
she paid her second visit to Lochaber. Accompanied by
Princess Beatrice and a small suite of attendants, Her
Majesty drove from Kingussie station on the Highland
Railway, whither she had come from Balmoral, taking the
same route she had traversed in a contrary direction in 1847
with her beloved husband. Tender recollections of that
happy journey must have passed through the Queen's mind
as familiar objects were passed on the road, which were now
rendered sadly interesting from the fact that he had noticed
them on that last memorable occasion. A rock, a mountain,
a waterfall that had been pointed out for her admiration ;
the tiny burns, the rushing rivers, the mighty granite crags
frowning from their dizzy height upon the road beneath
all were sacred because they had attracted his attention, and,
inanimate though they were, they became living memorials
of him who slept.

There is something peculiarly touching in the many pathetic
allusions made by the widowed sovereign in her "Journal" to that
former visit, when, with her noble consort by her side, she drove
along the same road from Ardverikie on her return to Balmoral.
Twenty-six years had passed since then, a quarter of a century
of a nation's history, and now once again Lochaber welcomes
with enthusiastic loyalty the sovereign of Britain to its hospi-
table and romantic shores. Entering this most picturesque
portion of her realms by Glen Spean, Her Majesty passed
under a triumphal arch erected by Mrs MacDonell of Keppoch,
who was at that time residing at Keppoch House. The arch
was composed almost entirely of heather, and bore as an
inscription the words " Loyal Highlanders welcome their
Queen" on one side, and on the other the same phrase in
Gaelic. A considerable concourse of people were assembled at
this spot to catch a glimpse of their royal visitor, and as the

408 LOYAL LOCHABER

Queen passed the pipers struck up their most joyful tunes, and
shouts of welcome resounded through the pine wood which here
lines the road. " Unfortunately," says Her Majesty, " we drove
past them too quickly." At Spean Bridge Lord and Lady
Abinger met their distinguished guests, and accompanied them
to Inverlochy, where rooms had been prepared for Her Majesty's
accommodation.

As on her previous visit, so on this occasion, the Queen's
pleasure was marred considerably by bad weather. "Mist on all
the hills and continuous rain ! Most disheartening," is the first
sentence in Her Majesty's "Journal" of loth September; but
with a plucky determination not to let the disloyal state of
the elements interfere with h,er arrangements, carriages were
ordered to be got ready, and a start was made for an excursion
to Fassfern. The Queen was delighted with the beautiful
scenery of Loch Eil and the lovely woods that clothe its
banks, at that time in all the beauty of their autumn foliage,
and as the sun came out at intervals, everything was seen to
the best advantage. Two days later Her Majesty and Princess
Beatrice drove over to Ach-na-carry via Banavie and Gairlochy,
on a visit to Lochiel. This was the first occasion on which
the Queen had set foot on the ancestral estates of the chief
of Clan Cameron, and it was with a feeling akin to reverence
that she approached the spot so intimately associated with
the name of her unfortunate kinsman Prince Charles, in
whose melancholy history she had always taken a warm and
sympathetic interest. Lochiel, dressed as became a Highland
chieftain in the picturesque tartan of his clan, received Her
Majesty with courteous dignity, and conducted her on board
his steam launch, which was to take the royal party on a
short voyage up Loch Arkaig. For once the sun deigned to
gladden Lochaber with his presence, and lit up the glorious
scenery with golden radiance as the tiny vessel with its
precious freight glided over the sparkling waters of the loch.
The hidden beauties of Coille a Ghiubhais, that clothes, with
a garment of leafy verdure, the southern shore, were revealed

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 409

in all their entrancing loveliness, while high over all rose
majestic mountains, their rugged peaks standing out clearly
against the celestial blue of the sky.

The Queen, with that innate love of the beautiful which
has always distinguished her, found here much to admire, and
her interesting " Journal " is full of graphic descriptions of the
charming environs of Ach-na-carry. But there was something
that filled her soul with a deeper emotion than the mere natural
beauty of the surroundings could awaken within her royal
breast, something that thrilled every nerve and stirred every fibre
of the gentle heart of Britain's Queen, something that is reflected
in the mind of every true-born Briton, be he Highlander, Low-
lander, Gael, or Sassenach, who has the true love of his country
at heart, and who rejoices to hear of the great deeds, the noble
actions, the gallant exploits of those of his fellow-countrymen
who have gained honour and prestige for the land of their
birth among the nations of the world. It is the spirit of
patriotism that forms the connecting link between sovereign
and people, and binds them together in a union more sacred
than the marriage tie. It is the spirit of patriotism that
creates a national bulwark a thousand times more effective
than mighty armaments and costly ironclads, a bulwark from
behind which Britain can regard without apprehension all
attempts to undermine her greatness or destroy her influence.
It was the spirit of patriotism that welled up in the Queen's
mind when, standing on the deck of Lochiel's steamer, she
surveyed the beauteous scene of mountain and moorland, of
loch and stream, that was spread out like a vision before
her. Proud, indeed, might she be to govern such a land and
such a people ; " Tir nam beann, nan gleanns, nan gaisgeach "
("land of mountains, glens, and heroes") it truly was, as
these pages bear witness, and no one was more ready to
acknowledge this than she who now ruled its destinies.

Modern Jacobites, and members of the League of the White
Rose, may scoff if they will (I respect their sentiments, while dis-
agreeing with many of their theories and modes of procedure),

410 LOYAL LOCHABER

but I boldly maintain that there exists in the whole of Britain
no such ardent Jacobite as the Queen herself. Interested in
everything that appertains to that stirring period of Scottish
history known as "The Forty -Five," and openly admitting
her sympathy for Bonnie Prince Charlie and his ill-starred
undertaking, Her Majesty has won the hearts of her High-
land subjects ; for Jacobitism as a sentiment is not yet dead
among them ; and there still lingers in many a remote clachan
and in many a quiet Lochaber glen, a strong feeling of rever-
ence for the old House of Stuart, and for the memory of the
gallant young prince who strove bravely to restore its ancient
glories.

The Queen's own sentiments are summed up in the
following touching words, which I take by permission from
her "Journal," describing the visit to Ach-na-carry. They
were called forth by a remark made by one of her suite, who,
struck by the historical association of ideas that the Queen's
presence as the guest of Lochiel engendered in his mind, said
that " it was a scene one could not look on unmoved." " Yes,"
writes Her Majesty, when describing in her " Journal " the day's
proceedings, " and / feel a sort of reverence in going over these
scenes in this most beautiful country, which I am proud to
call my own, where there was such devoted loyalty to the
family of my ancestors for Stuart blood is in my veins, and
I am now their representative, and the people are as devoted
and loyal to me as they were to that unhappy race." What
better testimony can there be to the loyalty of Lochaber
than these noble and patriotic words of our beloved sovereign,
words with which I am proud to conclude this work.

Reader, farewell ! I have rambled with you over Lochaber's
heather-clad braes, by moorland and river, by strath and glen. I
have trod with you the classic ground upon which her ancient
heroes fought and bled in their struggle for freedom against
the might of the oppressor. I have endeavoured, I trust not
unsuccessfully, to awaken your interest in her history, her people,
her traditions. I have conducted you to lands beyond the seas,

LOCHABER AFTER THE "FORTY-FIVE" 4! I

where her sons have gained a deathless renown in the ranks
of the gallant defenders of Britain's honour. I have told you
something of those great chieftains whose valorous deeds are
writ large upon the scroll of fame ; and of their faithful clans-
men, who followed them with unquestioning obedience and
staunch devotion even unto death itself. And now I have
come to my journey's end, having fulfilled my long meditated
task of adding a page to the history of the beautiful Lochaber
I love so well. Vale.

Monument to, Colonel John Cameron of Fassfern at Kilmallie.

APPENDIX.

ORIGINAL GAELIC VERSION OF
PlOBAIREACHD DHOMNUILL DUIBH.

Piobaireachd Dhomnuill duibh, piobaireachd, Dhomhnuill,
Piobaireachd Dhomnuill duibh, piobaireachd, Dhomhnuill ;
Piobaireachd Dhomnuill duibh, piobaireachd, Dhomhnuill,
Piob agus bratach air faich' Inbhirlochaidh.

Chorus Piobaireachd, piobaireachd, piobaireachd, Dhomhnuill,
Piobaireachd, piobaireachd, piobaireachd, Dhomhnuill,
Piobaireachd, piobaireachd, piobaireachd, Dhomhnuill,
Piob agus bratach air faich' Inbhirlochaidh.

Chaidh an diugh, chaidh an diugh, chaidh an diugh oirnne,
Chaidh an diugh, chaidh an diugh, chaidh an diugh oirnne,
Chaidh an diugh, chaidh an diugh, chaidh an diugh oirnne,
O, chaidh an diugh, 's chaidh an de' le Clann-donuill.

Theich gu'n do theich iad, O, theich Clann-an-Toisich,
Theich gu'n do theich iad, O, theich Clann-an-Toisich ;
Theich gu'n do theich iad, O, theich Clann-an-Toisich,
Dh' fhalbh Clann Mhuirich, 's gu'n d'fhuirich Clann-dortuill.

Theid 'us gu'n teid sinn, O, theid sinn Shrath-Lochaidh,
Theid 'us gu'n teid sinn, O, theid sinn Shrath-Lochaidh;
Theid 'us gu'n teid sinn, O, theid sinn Shrath-Lochaidh,
Choinneamh Mhic Dho'uill duibh, choinneamh Mhic Dhonuill.

416 APPENDIX

II.

EXTRACT FROM SKENE'S VERSION OF "THE PROPHECY OF

ST BERCHAN."

Fiche l bliadhna is deich m- bliadhna
For Albain in airdri riaghla
For lar Scoine sceithfidh fuile
Fescur oidhche iar n- iomargain.

lar sin nos geabha Tairbidh 2
Mac laidh as aedhidh
Bu lana fir domhain de
'S co Loch Debhra a librine.

Translation.

Twenty years and ten years

Over Alban the sovereign reigned ;

On the middle of Scone it will vomit blood,

The evening of a night in much contention.

Afterwards the Tairbith will possess
Son of death and slaughter,
The men of the world were full of him,
And at Loch Deabhra his habitation.

III.

EDINBURGH, Octr. 2/\tk 1495.

Rex confirmavit cartam Celestini de Insulis domini de
Lochalch (qua concessit consang suo Alano Donaldi Duff
[Attez'n Mac DKbrnhnuill Duibh, XII Chief of Lochiel], capitaneo
de Clan Camroun, constabulariam castri de Strome, et terras

1 Fiche, which might be taken for fichead ("twenty"), is probably seachd
("seven"), as seachd bliadhna diag would be seventeen years, the length of
Macbeth's reign ; the is being an abbreviation of agus.

2 Skene thinks this refers to Macbeth's son, Lulach.

APPENDIX 417

12 mere, de Kysryner in dominis et comitatu Rossie vie Invernes,
pro sustentatione ac fideli custodia dicti (castri) Tenend. dicto
Alano Donaldi et heredibus ejus masculis inter ipsum et
Mariotam Angusii de Insulis legitime procreatis, quibus de-
ficientibus heredibus aliis quibuscunque ipsius Alani, viz.,
masculis de corpore ejus legitime procreatis, quibus def.,
heredibus masculis Eugenii Donaldi prefati Alani fratris
germani quondam legitime procreatis, et eorum heredibus
masculis procreatis :

Reddend. relevium diet terrarum tantum : Insuper voluit
quod deficientibus dicto Alano, etc., dicto constabularia et
terre sibi reverterentur :

Test. Lachlano juvene Makgilleoun magistro de Doward,
Eugenio Donaldi Lachlani de Ardgoir, Hectore Torquelli
Negelli constabulario castri Swyne, Donaldo Cristini Makduff,
Jacobo de Weik rectore de Kilmure secretario dom. comitis
Rossie domini et fratris dicti Celestini :

Apud Inverlocha, 29 Novr. 1472):

Necnon cartam Alexandri de Insulis de Lochalche, (qua,
unacum consensu concilii sui, concessit consang. suo Eugenio
Alani capitaneo de Clan Camroun, heredibus ejus et assignatis,
terras hereditarias 14 mercarum in dominio de Lochalche, viz.
Achenadariache et Lunde, estimatas ad duas mercas ex antiqua
consuetudine, Fairnamore ad duas mere, Culwoyr et Achemoir
ad duas mere, Fayrinneagveg et Fudanamine et Acheache ad
duas mercas, Achechoyuleith et Brayeintraye ad duas mercas,
Culthnok et Achenacloich et Blaregarwe et Acheae ad duas
mere, Awnernis et Wochterory ad duas mere., in dominio de
Lochalche; ac etiam in Strome, Carranache 20 sol, Slomba
20 sol, quarterium de Doun ad 10 sol, Achinche cum tribus
quarteriis ad 30 sol., in dominio Locharran, vie Rossie :

Tenend. a dicto Alex, pro fideli servitio :

Test. Rodrico Alexandri M'Aleod, Colino Nigelli Gewa,
Angusio Mertini, Duncano Mertini et Joh. Duff Duncani :
Apud Collensay 29 July 1492.): Necnon aliam cartam dicti
Alexandri de Insulis de Lochalche ac de Lochheil, qua

41 8 APPENDIX

concessit Eugenic Alani Donaldi, capitaneo de Clan Camroun,
heredibus ejus et succesoribus, terras 30 mere, de Lochheil, viz.,
Cray, Salachan, Banwe, Corpoch, Kilmalyhe, Achedo, Anat,
Aychetilay, Drumfermalach, Fanmoyrmell, Fassefarne, Corebeg,
Owechane, Aychetioldown, Chanlaycheil, Kowilknap, Drum-
nasall, Clachak, et Clachfyne in Lochheil ; et terras unius marse
de Gastomoir, terras 3 mere de Clanyn, 3 mere de Mescherleith,
3 mere de Thomecarech, in dominio de Lochabria, vie Invernes:
Test. Joh. Alani Donaldi, Alex. Hectoris, Martinio Duncani,
Angusio Duncani, et M. Alex. Auchinlek notario publico :
Apud Insulam de Hie 26 Aug. 1492.

IV.

GRANT OF LANDS IN LOCHABER TO DUNCAN MACKINTOSH, 1
Captain of Clan Chattan, by James IV., 5th January 1493.

Rex confirmavit cartam Johannis de Ila comitis Rosse et
domini Insularum, qua concessit consang. suo Duncano
Makkintoische, capitaneo de Clanchattane et heredibus ejus,
terras de Keppach, Inverroygur, Achnacrose, duas Bointynnis,
Bohene, Murvalgane, Tullach, Daildonedarg, Achderre, Inver-
royg- minor, Mischoralich, Achynnellane, Leyndale, Cloynis,
Glastormore, Mucomer, Leachturynnich, Cloynkallich, Stron-
enbay, Tornessa, Blarrobhir, duas Ratullichys, Achmesk,
Inverglie, et Achrone, in dominio de Lochabhria, vie. Invernes
unacum officio ballivatus dictarum terrarum necnon officio
ballivatus terrarum dicti comitio sibi reservatarum, viz.,
Achdrome, Glengarre, Lettirfinlai et duarum villarum de
Lanachynnis ; proipsius heredumque ejus homagio et servitio
fideli, etc., etc.

Vide also a similar grant by James III., dated 4th July 1476.
Registrum Magni Sigilli Regum Scotorum.

1 The original grant of these lands by the Lord of the Isles to Malcolm
Mackintosh was in the year 1447, when he was also appointed bailie or steward
of the lordship of Lochaber, an office which descended to his son Duncan.

APPENDIX 419

GRANT OF THE CASTLE OF INVERLOCHY TO ALEXANDER
GORDON, Third Earl of Huntly, by James IV.,
22nd March 1505.

Rex pro bono servitio, concessit Alexandro Comiti de
Huntlie, et heredibus ejus, Castrum et locum Castri de
Inverlochy, cum antiquis bondis, fossis, stagnis ortis, clausuris
et viridi, viz., le grene ejusdem castri vie. Invernes ; cum
potestate reformandi in altum erigendi et edificandi dictum
castrum cum propugnaculis vectibus ferreis, la machcolmg,
drawbriggis, etc., et capitaneos, constabularies, janitores, etc.,
ordinandi : Reddend. annuatim unum denarium nomine albe
firme. Registrum Magni Sigilli Regum Scotorum.

VI.

GRANT OF LANDS IN LOCHABER, ETC., TO EWEN M'ALLAN
CAMERON (Eobhan MacAilein, XIII Chief of Lochiel),
9th January 1527.

Rex cum avisamento thesauraii, confirmavit Eugenio
Alansoun de Lochiell, et ejus heredibus, 12 marcatus terrarum
de Kysyrn, cum constabularia castri de Stroime, in comitatu
Rossie, vie. Invernes ; 14 marcat antiqui extentus in dominio
de Lochalche, viz., Achenadariach et Lundy estimat, ad 2
marcat Cuylohir et Achmoir ad 2 marcat, Fayrnaegveg, et
Fynimain, et Acheachye ad 2 marcat ; Achchonelyth et
Brayeyntrahe ad 2 marcat Culthnok et Achnacloich, Blare-
garrewe et Achiae ad 2 marcat, Awnarnys et Ochtertere ad
2 marcat in dominio de Lochalche : ac in Strome-Carranache
20, solidatas Slomba 20 solidat quartrium de Doune, 10 solidat,
cum tribus de Locharrane, vie. Ros ; 30 marcatas de Lochiell,
viz., Creiff, Salachan, Banwye, Corpoch, Kilmalye, Achedo,
Annat, Achetilye, Drumfermalach, Fainmormeyll, Fassefarne,

420 APPENDIX

Correbeg, Owechan, Achtyeldown, Chanlochiell, Knowilknap,
Drumnasallye, Clachak, et Clachfyn, in Lochiell ; i marcat
de Glastirmore, 3 marcat, de Cloynyn 3 marcat, de Moyscher-
alich, et 3 marcat, de Thomacherech, in dominio de Lochabria,
vie. Invernes ; quas idem Eug ; personaliter resignavit, et
quas rex pro bono servitio univit in liberam baroniam de
Lochiell.

GRANT OF LANDS ON LOCH ARKAIG same date.

Rex pro servitio impenso et impendendo et pro composi-
tione thesaurario persoluta concessit Eugenio Alani heredibus
ejus assignatis; 40 marcatas terrarum de Glenlie et Lochirbaig
(Loch Arkaig?) cum dimedietate ballivatus de Lochaber, vie.
Invernes que fuerunt quondam Alani Donaldi patris dicti
Eug ; et in manibus regis per 50 annos ratione nonintroitus
per decessum dicti Alani exiterunt Registrum Magni Sigilli
Regum Scotorum.

VII.

Novr. %th 1537.

Rex concessit Donaldo Cameroun (Domhnull Dubh Mac
Dhomhnuill, XV Chief of Lochiel), filio et heredi apparenti
Ewgenii Alansoun capitanei de Clancameroun 60 denariatas
terrarum de Knokdert (extenden ad 10 libras annuatim), 20
denariar. de Glenneves (ad 10 marcus annuatim) vie Invernes;
que (de rege tente per servitum warde) fuerunt in manibus
regis, viz. Knokdert per 70 annos, Glenneves per 42 annos, a
tempore obitus postremi legitimi possessoris nonintroitu
earundem dicto Don. donate : et (bonus mobilibus per Andream
Pap serjantum perquisitis et non compertis), 4 Maii 1537 coram
Johanne Cuthbert vicecomite deputato de Invernes appreciate
sunt et dicto Donaldo vendite pro 700 lib. et 420 marc.
Faciend. jura et servitia debita et consueta : et voluit rex
quod domini veteres dictarum terrarum, heredes regressum
quandocumque diet, summas persolverent infra septennium.
Registrum Magni Sigilli Regum Scotorum.

APPENDIX 421

VIII.

AGREEMENT BY SORLE M'CONILL MAKLANE, TUTOR OF

GLEN NEVIS.

Apud Edinburgh primo die mensis Novembris anno Ixiiijo.

The quhilk day in presence of the Lordis of Secreit
Counsall comperit Donald Dow M'Conill M'Ewin of Locheld
(Domhnull Dubh Mac Dkbmhnuill, XV Chief of Lochiel),
capitane of the Clanchamroun on that ane part ; and Sorle
M'Conill Maklane, tutour of Gleneves for himself and in name
of Alester M'Alester, oy and apperand air of umquhile Alester
M'Alester M'Donald of Gleneves, on that uther part ; ather of
thame having divers actionis and causis to persew aganis
utheris as thai allegeit, and wer contentit and consentit to
ansuer uther befoir the Lordis of Counsall and Sessioun,
summarlie, but diet or tabill upoun summondis of sex dayis
warning. And in consideratioun, that thai bayth dwell in the
far Hielandis, and may nocht await of ony lang continewance
upoun pley, quhilk forme and ordour thai acceptit and allowit
to be als sufficient in all respectis as gif thair saidis actionis wer
intentit upoun xxi or xv dayis warning, and baid the course of
tabill as utheris dois ; and this consent to be extendit to all
and quhatsumevir actionis to be intentit be ony of the saidis
personis aganis utheris, for quhatsumevir caussis or occasionis
bipast. Register of the Privy Council.

IX.

OBLIGATION OF LAUCHLAN MACKINTOSH OF DUNAUCHTANE
TO RANNALD M'RANNALD (IX Chief of Keppoch) OF
KEPPOCH, 1569 A.D.

At Invernes the xx day of Junii, the yeir of God j m v c lxix
yeris, in presence of my Lord Regentis Grace and Lordis of
ecreit Counsale, comperit Lauchlane M'Yntosche of Dun-

422 APPENDIX

nauchtane and gaif in his obligatioun following subscrivit with
his hand . . .

" I, Lauchlane M'Yntosche of Dunnauchtane, be the tennour
heirof bindis and obleissis me and my airis, that I sail mak
securitie to Rannald M'Rannald of Keppach of sic landis and
rowmes as he hes of me, at the sicht of my Lord Regentis Grace
according as his Grace sail think ressonabill and equitabill ;
and quhatevir his Grace willis me to do in that behalf I sail
fulfill the samyn without contradictioun." Signed, etc.

COMPLAINT BY JOHNNE DUNBAR OF MOYNES, GEORGE
DUNBAR IN CLUNE, AND WILLIAME FALCOUNER IN
LETHINBAR, as follows :

William Ros of Kilraak, Hutcheoun Ros, his son and
apparent heir, David Ros of Holme, at least Johnne Ros of
Cantray, Johnne Ros of Ballivat, David Ros in Lyne, David
Ros Williamestoun, Lauchlan Ros in Leanuraddich, Hutcheoun
Big, Ros his brother, Alexander Ros in Ardrie, Johnne Watt,
and David Rossis his brothers, etc., etc. ... as also Allane
Camroun of Locheldy, Allaster M'Allaster V c Coneill of Glen-
neves, Ewene M'Coneill V c Ewene V c Coneill of Blarmascylach,

Johnne Badach M'V c Ewene of Errach, his brother, Ewne ,

Duncane M'Mertine of Letterfindlay, his brother, Donald
M'Mertine, Ewne M'Mar M'Martine, Donald M'Anduy V c Ewne,
Allan M'Anduy V c Ewne, Allane M'Ane of Innerloch, Johnne
Moir M'Allane V c Eane of Callardy, Allaster Dow M'Allane
V c Eane of Culchinny, etc., etc., with convocation of the lieges
to the number of. 200 " broken hieland men and sorneris, all
bodin in feir of weir, with bowis, darlochis and tua handit
swordis, steilbonnettis, haberschonis, hacquebutis and pistolettis,"
came upon 8th October last, "undir cloude and silence of
nicht, be way of briggancie, to the said George Dunbaris
duelling house in Clune, pertening heretablie to the said Johnne

APPENDIX 423

Dunbar of Moynes, and thair tressonablie rased fyre in the
said house, and in ane uther cotter house of the said George
Dunbaris, brynt and distroyit the same, putt violent handis in
Marjorie Dunbar spous of the said George Dunbar, and in
Issobell Dunbar spous to the said Williame Falcouner, tirvit
thair claiths af thame, and schoit thame naiked furth of thair
houssis, the said Issobell Dunbar being then lyand bedfast in
grit disease and dolour, scho being bot tuellf dayis befoir
delyverit of a bairne ; quhilk bairne thay maist barbarouslie, but
pitie or compassioun, threw oute of hir arme and kaist furth in
the midding. And not satisfeit thairwith, thay at the same
tyme reft and awaytuke fra the said George, furth of his
houssis, his haill insicht, plennesching movabilis, guidis and
geir, togidder with thre scoir ten hors and nolt ; and sa mony
of the same nolt as wald not dry ve, to the nowmer of auchtene,
thay barbarouslie hocht and slew ; committing heirthrow oppin
and manifest tressoun, concovatioun of his Hienes leigis, reiff
and brigancie, and hocheing of oxin, besydis the beiring and
weiring of hacquebutis and pistollettis. Register of the Privy
Council, James VI .^ 1598.

XI.

ORDER DENOUNCING JOHN CAMERON OF ERRACHD AND
OTHERS for refusing to assist the Government in their
Action against the Clan Gregor.

EDINBURGH, 25//& Feby. 1612.

Although Allan Camroun of Lochyell (Ailein Mac Iain
Duibk, XVI Chief of Lochiel) and Allaster M'Donald (Alasdair
nan Cleas, X Chief of Keppoch) of Gargavach, who have been
employed by his Majestic against the "rebellious thevis and
lymmaris of the Clan Gregour," and in some other services
concerning the " peace and quietnes of the Heylandis " had
expected that their kin and friends would have joined them
with their forces for prosecuting that service, yet Johnne
Camroun M < V c Ewne in Errache, Ewne Camroun his brother,

424 APPENDIX

Donald M'En (duy?) Vic Donnald Camroun, Allaster M'Allaster
V c Donald Camroun of Gleneves, Donald and Angus Camronis,
his sons, Donald M'Sourle Camroun in Auchintourmoir, Ewne
M'Donnald V c Ewne Camroun in Blairniscalloch, Donald
M'Martyne and Duncane M'Martyne, all of the Clan Chamroun,
and Ronnald M'Donald of Insche, and Donald M'Donnald in

, both brothers of the said Allaster M'Donald of Gargavach,

said persons having been formerly assisters of the said Allan
and Allaster in all their private affairs but now " being offendit
with thame becaus thay have randerit thair obedience to his
Majestic and tane upoun thame the executioun of some of his
Majesteis directionis aganis the Clan Gregour and some uther
brokin men of the Heylandis " and being " loath that ony suche
course sould tak effect in thair personis, bot that rather the
saidis Allane and Allaster M'Donnald sould have followit the
wicked and unhappie trade of the rebellious lymairis of the
Heylandis and Illis, that thairby thay micht have bene the
more able undir thair patrocinie and protection to have con-
tinewit in thair iniquitie and wickednes, fra the quhilk thay feir
now to be reclamed be thame " have not only refused to assist
the said Commissioners in his Majesty's service, but avowedly
oppose them, declaring themselves to be friends of the Clan
Gregour and of all broken men, so that the execution of the
said service is frustrated. Charge has been given to the said
defenders to answer ; and, none of them now appearing, they
are all to be denounced rebels. Register of the Privy Council
of Scotland.

XII.

EDINBURGH, May igth 1613.

For attempting to reset and encourage the proscribed Clan
Gregor in the year 1613, the Privy Council issued a proclamation
in which those persons who had done so were fined, among the
names are " Allaster Camroun Laird of Glenneveis in the soume
of fyve hundreth merkis; Allane M'Inteoch in Inverlochie in the
soume of ane hundreth merkis ; Ronnald M'Ronnald in Inche

APPENDIX 425

of Loichquhaber, in the soume of ane hundreth merkis," etc., etc.
Register of the Privy Council of Scotland.

XIII.

TROUBLES IN LOCHABER IN SEPTEMBER 1613, from in-
formation given by James Primrose, Clerk of the Council.

"The haill continent adjacent to the His is lykewayes
peacable except Lochquhaber ; quhair thair is a grite dis-
sessioun and trouble now arissin amangis the Clanchamroun
thameselffis, and preceding upoun this occasioun ; The Erie of
Ergyle at the sighting of his chartour kist, findis some evidentis
whairby his umquhile fader, uncle and utheris his predicessoris
were infeft, retourit, and seasit in a twentie merk land in
Lochquhaber possist to Allane M'Coneill Duy. Having advisit
heirupoun with his procuratoris he uses a wairning aganis
Allane for removing frae the landis ; and upoun the wairning
he intentis ane actioun of removing befoir the Sessioun.

" Allane, being twitcheit with this unlooked for proces, come
to this burgh to advise with his procuratoris quhat course he
sould tak thairin ; and meeting with the Erie of Ergyle the Erie
shew to him that, althoght to his opinion he had the undoubtit
right to the landis, yitt he wes content, for eschewing of con-
testatioun and proces, that both thair rightis sould be judgeit
be thair aune procuratoris. Allane yeilding heirunto, and thair
procuratoris haveing sene the writtis produceit, thay fand that
the Erll had the best right. Whairupoun Allane aggrees with
the Erll and takis ane new right halding of him.

" The Marques of Huntlie being informit heirof, and taking
offence that Allane sould acknowledge ony superiour within
Lochquhaber bot him, he delt with Allane to renunce the
securitie he had tane of the Erll of Ergyll, and to tak ane new
right and securitie of the same landis fra him. Allane refusit
this conditioun with mony protestations that althoght he held
that xic merk land of the Erll of Ergyll, yitt that sould be no

prejudice to his obedience and service to the Marques of Huntley,

426 APPENDIX

hot that he sould continew als loyall to the house of Huntley as
him self and his foirbearis had formarlie bene. This ansuer
nowayes contentit the Marques ; who, haveing some uther
miscontentmentis agains Allane, resolved altogeddir to undo
him. And, finding that thair wald be sum difficultie in the
executioun of his resolution so lang as Allane and his frendis
stoode in termes of love and friendschip, he thoght that the
nixt expedyent wes to mak some dissensioun amangis thame
by making offer of Allanes haill landis to the speciallis of his
freindis. Quhilk offer thay imbraceit ; and the Erll of Enyce at
his laite being in Lochquhaber possest thame thairintill, alsweill
in the landis quhilkis Allane held of the Marques as in the xx
merk land quhilk he had tane of the Erll of Ergyll. When the
Erll of Enyce left Badyenauch (Badenoch), Allane appointit a
meeting and tryist with his freindis ; and seameing to tak no
offence aganis thame for taking of his land over his heade, he
shew to thame that he undirstoode perfytelie that thay wer
induceit thairunto aganis thair willis be the Marques, and
thairfoir he desyrit of thame that thay wald gif over thair landis
agane to him ; and he doubtit not bot shortlie he sould gif unto
the Marques satisfactioun. At the first thay maid ane verball
promeis ; bot, when he urgeit thame with write, thay refuisit, and
desirit Allane that he wald go with thame to the Marques, and
thay wald reconsile him to the Marques, and then thay sould
gif over the land. Allane, lyke ane auld subtile fox, persaving
thair drift, and being als cairfull to preserve his heade as thay
wer curious to twyne him frome it, he tooke the matter to
advysement, pairtit with thame in outward showe of goode
termes, and come to this burgh to advise what course he sould
follow oute to come be his land agane. Being in this burgh,
he gettis advertisement that his frendis had appointit a meeting
for resolveing by what meanis they might haif his lyfe and sua
secure thame selffis in the land. Upoun this advertisement he
addresis himself home in all haist, sendis prevey wairning to
samony of his frendis as had not abandonit him, to meete him
at ane place appointit; whilk thay did, to the nomber of sax

APPENDIX 427

scoir men, that same very day of the meeting of his adverse
freindis, and within half a myle to the place of meeting.

" Allane, when he mett with his company, tauld thame that
that day he wald haif his freindis to renounce his landis, or then
he wald tak his advantage the best way he might of thame ; and
for this effect desyrit thame to derne thame selfis in a wode
neirby, and that he him self accompanyit with sax personis
allanerlie, wald go agaitward to the place quhair his freindis
keept tryist, and desyre thame to send sax of thair nomber to
confer with him upoun all materis contravertit betuix thame ;
and gif thay aggreit, he bad his company keepe thame quiet; yf
thay aggreit not, and that thay intendit ony harme to him, he
tauld thame that he sould tak the flight hard by the wode
quhair thay lay, and desyrit thame, quhen his enemeyis in the
chaise come by the wode, that then they sould ishe oute and
persew thame on thair bakis. According to this appointment,
Allane and sax with him in company gois fordwart, and sendis
ane of thair nomber to his freindis, desiring thame to send sax
of thair company to confer with him. Thay persaving Allane
so single accompanyed, thinking that he had bot new come in
the cuntrey, and that he had no mo company bot the sax that
wer with him, they all brak at him, resolveing then to haif his
lyfe. He flees hard by the wode quhair his ambusche lay. Thay
follow him that same way with schouteing and shoiting of
arrowis, and when thay ar all by the ambusche comes furthe.
Allane, persaveing, he turnis, and thay upoun the bak, and he
upoun the face, makis ane cruell and bloodie onsett upon thame,
slayis tuentie of the chief and principallis of thame, takis aucht
prisonarris, and sufferis the rest to eschaip. And then he
possessis him self of his haill landis agane, learneing ane
lessone to the rest of his kin who ar alyve in quhat forme thay
sail carye thame selffis to thair Cheif heirefter."

N.B. The Erll of Enzie mentioned was George Gordon,
Earl of Enzie, son of the Marquis of Huntly, and brother-in-law
to the Earl of Moray.

428 APPENDIX

XIV.

PROCLAMATION AGAINST ALAN, XVI CHIEF OF LOCHIEL
(Ailein Maclain DuibJi}.

EDINBURGH, gtk Deer. 1613.

Forasmekle as Allan Camroun of Lochyell haveing of laite
committit most detestable and cruell murthouris and slauchteris
upoun diverse of his Majesteis peciable and good subjectis, and
haveing treasounablie rissin fyre, brynt houssis, cornis, and
barnis, besydis diverse utheris insolencyis and villannyis com-
mittit be him, to the offence of God, contempt of his Majestic,
and misregaird of law and justice, for the quhilk he is denunceit
rebell and put to the home. . . .

Forasmekle as Allan Camroun of Lochyell being unmynd-
full and ungrait of the mony benefiteis and favouris quhilkis he
has ressavit frome the Kingis Majestic, especialie by ressaveing
of him into favour and mercy quhenas he stood in dainger of
the lawis for diverse haynous crymes and offenceis comittit be
him, and he haveing maid shipwraik of his faith and promisit
obedience, shaiking af all feir of God and his prince and
reverence of the law, and preferring the mishevous and un-
happie course of his bypast wicked lyff, to godlines, civilitie,
good reule and quietnes, he and the persons underwrittin,
thay are to say : Ewne Camroun in Culdoir ; Allane Dow
in Cluishepharnie (here follows a long list of names,) hes in a
most cruell detestable and schamefull maner, yockit with hes
awne kynnismen and friendis, and hes barbarouslie murdreist
and slayne umquhill Johnne Camroun alias Bodache Allaster
Camroun of Glenneves and utheris his Majesteis good subjectis,
to the nombir of twenty personis or thairby : hes treasounablie
reased fyre, brynt diverse housis and barnis with a grite quantitie
of cornis being in the barnis and barnyairdis, and hes committit
diverse stouthis, reiffis and utheris insolencyis. For the quhilkis
crymes he and his compliceis foirsaidis being callit to thair
tryall before his Majesteis Justice, thay, takand upoun thame

APPENDIX 429

the ignominie and guylt of the saidis crymes, absentit thame
selffis frome thair tryall, and are thairfore lauchfullie and
ordourlie denuncit rebellis and put to the home ; quhair thay
remaine as yit unrelaxt, in heich contempt of cure Soverane
Lord, his auctoritie and lawis ; lykeas, to the fordir contempt of
his Majestic, thay have associate unto thame selffis diverse
utheris disordourit and brokin men, by whose concurrence and
assistance they intend ane oppin rebellioun within the cuntrey
of Lochquhaber, to the encouragement of uther Heyland people
to brek louse, and sua to disturb the policie and quiet of the
Heylandis. From the Register of the Privy Council of Scotland.

This proclamation, which is very long, finishes by the offering
a reward of " ane thousand poundis " for the capture or slaying
of Alan Cameron of Lochiel, and " fyve hundreth poundis " for
the " taking, exhibitioun, or slauchter " of any of the other
persons mentioned. Letters of fire and sword are granted to
George, Marquis of Huntly, with full power to take summary
vengeance upon Lochiel and his adherents.

XV.

COMPLAINT BY THE KING'S ADVOCATE AND LAUCHLANE
M'lNTOSCHE OF DuNNAUCHTANE, Heritable Bailie and
Steward of the Lordship and Stewartry of Lochaber,

as follows :

June loth 1617.

In July last the said Lauchlane proclaimed courts to be held
for the administration of justice to the inhabitants within the
bounds of the said Lordship. On July he went to his house
of Keppache on the water of Spean, where he stayed till the day
fixed for the holding of the Courts. Meanwhile Allan Camroun
of Lochyell (Ailein Mac Iain Duibh, XVI Chief of Lochiel)
assembled together Duncane Camroun alias M'Mertene, Dougall
Camroun, Dougall Camroun alias M'Allaster M'Coull, Donald
Camroun alias M'Martene, Ewne Camroun alias M'Martene,

430 APPENDIX

M'Condochie M'Ewne, Johnne V c Coull, Camroun, son

of Ewne V c Condochie V c Ewne, and Allan Moir M'Invich, with
others to the number of 200 armed with "bowis, darlocheis,
durkis, Lochaber aixis, tua handit swordis, haberschonis," and
hagbuts and pistollets ; and, " concurring togidder in a most
wicked and rebellious societie," they resolved to withstand the
holding of the said courts. They understanding that the said
Lauchlane must cross the water of Lochy at the ordinary fords,
resolved to guard the same and stay his passage. " And for this
effect thay be the haill space of aucht dayis togidder preceiding
the day foirsaid appointit for halding of the saidis courtis, causit
a nomber of thair saidis compliceis cast and dig up trinsches and
strong fortis of stone and feall alongis the fuirdis of the said
watter of Lochy upon the syde thairof, and placeit and plantit
the name (nomber ?) of fyftie muscataris in the saidis trinsches.
And the said Allan Camroun ranked the remanent of his saidis
compliceis in battall array outwith the said trinsches and fortis.
And thair, upoun the day foirsaid appointit for halding of the
saidis courtis as said is, howsoone the saidis personis persavit the
said Lauchlane M'Intosche approtcheing agaitward toward the
said watter, and the fuirdis thairof, of purpois to haif corsit the
same for halding of the saidis courtis, thay schote and dis-
chargit the haill nomber of thrie hundreth schote of muscat and
hagbute over the said watter ; and the said Lauchlane haveing
come unto the watter syde of Lochy and being entiring in the
fuirdis thairof, the saidis personis of new agane schote and
dischargit at him and his saidis compliceis and servandis the
haill nomber of four hundreth schote of muscat and hagbute,
of purpois to haif schote and slane him thairwith ; and thairby
violentlie stayit the said Lauchlane M'Intosche fra passing
throw the saidis fuirdis and fra halding the said courtis."

Pursuers appearing and defenders not appearing the Lords
find the charges proven, and order the said defenders to enter
their persons within the Tolbooth of Edinburgh within fifteen
days, and to remain there at their own expense until further
order be taken. Register of the Privy Council, James VL

APPENDIX 431

XVI.

LATHA INBHER-LOCHAIDH

(Battle [literally " day "] of Inverlochy).

FOUGHT 2ND FEBRUARY 1645.

Hi rim h-o-rb, h-b-rb leatha
H-i rim h-b-rb, h-b-rb leatha

>j >>
Chaidh an latha le Clann-Dbmhnuill.

An cuala 'sibhse 'n tionndadh duineil,
Thug an camp bha 'n Cille-Chuimein ;
'S fad chaidh ainn air an iomairt,
Thug iad as an naimhdean iomain.

H-i rim, etc.

Dhirich mi moch madainn dhomhnaich,
Gu barr caisteil Inbher-Lochaidh,
Chunna 'mi 'n t-arm a dol an ordugh,
'S bha buaidh an 1& le Clann-Domhnuill.

Direadh a mach glun Chuil-eachaidh,
Dh' aithnich mi oirbh surd 'ur tapaidh ;
Ged bha mo dhuthaich na lasair,
'S eirig air a chus mar thachair.

Ged bhiodh larlachd a bhraghaid,

An seachd bliadhna so mar tha e,

Gun chur, gun chliathadh, no gun aiteach,

'S math an riadh bho 'm beil sinn paighte.

Air do laimhse Thighearna Lathair,
Ge mor do bhosd as do chlaidheamh ;
'S ioma oglaoch chinne t-athar
Tha 'n Inbher Lochaidh na laidhe.

432 APPENDIX

'S ioma fearr goirseid agus pillein,
Cho math 'sa bha riamh dheth d' chinneadh,
Nach d' fhoad a bhotann thoirt tioram,
Ach faoghlum snamh air Bun-Neimheis.

Sgeul a b'&ite 'nuair a thigeadh,

Air Caim-beulaich nam beul sligneach,

H-uile dream dhiu mur a thigeadh,

Le bualadh lann an ceann ga 'm bristeadh.

'N latha sin shaoil leo dhol leotha,

'S ann bha laoich ga'n ruith air reothadh,

'S ioma slaodanach mor odhar,

Bha na shineadh air ach'-an-tothair.

Ge be dhireadh Tom-na-h-aire,

Bu Honor spog ur ann air dhroch shailleadh,

Neul marbh air an suil gun anam,

'N deigh an sgiursadh le lannan.

Thug sibh toiteal teith ma Lochaidh,

Bhi ga 'm bualadh ma na sronan,

Bu lion 'or claidheamh clais-ghorm comhnard,

Bha bualadh an lamhan Chlann Domhnuill.

Sin 'nuair chruinnich mor dhragh na fhalachd,
'N am rusgadh na 'n greidlein tana,
Bha iongnan nan Duimhneach ri talamh,
An deigh an luithean a ghearradh.

'S lionmhor corp nochte gun aodach,
Tha na 'n sineadh air chnocain fhraoiche,
O'n bhlar an greaste na saoidhean,
Gu ceann Leitir blar a Chaorainn.

Dh' innsinn sgeul eile le firinn,

Cho math' sa ni cleireach a sgriobhadh ;

Chaidh na laoich ud gu'n dicheall.

'S chuir iad maoim air luchd am mi-ruin.

APPENDIX 433

Iain Mhuideartaich nan seol soilleir,
Sheoladh an cuan ri la doillear,
Ort cha d' fhuaradh briste coinnidh,
'S ait' learn Barra-breac fo d' chomas.

Cha b' e sud siubhal cearbach,
A thug Alasdair do dh' Albainn,
Creachadh, losgadh, agus marbhadh ;
'S leagadh leis coileach Strath-bhalgaidh.

An t-eun dona chaill a cheutaidh,
An Sasunn, an Albainn, 's 'n Eirinn
Is it e curr na sgeithe
Cha miste learn ged a gheill e.

Alasdair nan a geur lann sgaitheach,
Gheall thu 'n d a bhi cuir as daibh,
Chuir thu 'n retreuta seach an caisteal,
Seoladh gle mhath air an leantuinn.

Alasdair nan geur lann guineach.
Na 'm biodh agad armuinn Mhuile ;
Thug thu air na dh' fhalbh dhiu fuireach,
'S retreut air prabar an duileisg.

Alasdair Mhic Cholla ghasda
Lamh dheas a sgoltadh nan caisteal ;
Chuir thu 'n ruaig air Ghallaibh glasa,
'S ma dh-ol iad cal gun chuir thu asd' e.

'M b' aithne dhuibse 'n Goirtean-odhar,
'S math a bha e air a thothar,
Cha 'n inneir chaorach no ghobhar ;
Ach fuil Dhuimhneach an deigh reothadh.

Bhur sgrios mu 's truagh learn 'ur caradh
'G eisdeachd an-shocair 'ur paistean
Caoidh a phannail bh' ann 's 'n araich
Donnalaich bhan Earraghael.

From MacKenzie's Beauties of Gaelic Poetry.

434 APPENDIX

XVII.

LETTER FROM GENERAL MONK TO SIR EWEN CAMERON
OF LOCHIEL, subsequent to the Treaty of Peace with
the Garrison of Fort William.

DALKEITH, ^th June 1655.

SIR, I have received your letter, dated the 26th May, by
which I perceive you have confirmed the Articles concluded
upon your part by Lieutenant Collonel Duncan Campbell, and
I have spoken to Captain Bryan to examine the business that
hath happened between Collonell Allen and some of your
friends. I hope that you will see your people to live orderly
and peaceably, and to pay their cess as the rest of the countrey
does, and to be careful that your Clans keep no broken people
among them, nor disturb the peace of the countrey. This is all

at present from, etc.,

(Subscribed) GEORGE MONK.

XVIII.

INSCRIPTION ON THE MONUMENT AT TOBAR NAN CEANN,

LOCH OICH.

As a Memorial of the ample and summary Vengeance
which in the swift course of Feudal Justice, inflicted by the
orders of the Lord MacDonnell and Aross, overtook the per-
pretrators of the foul Murder of the Keppoch Family, a branch
of the Powerful and Illustrious Clan of which his Lordship was
the Chief, this Monument is erected by Colonel MacDonnell
of Glengarry XVII Mac-mhic Alastair, his Successor and
Representative, in the year of our Lord 1812. The heads of
the Seven Murderers were presented at the feet of the Noble
Chief in Glengarry Castle, after having been washed in this
Spring, and ever since that event, which took place early in
the Sixteenth Century, it has been known by the name of
" Tobar nan Ceann," or " The Well of Heads."

I
APPENDIX 435

XIX.

CUMHA DO MHAC MHIC RAONAILL NA CEAPICH AGUS A
BHRATHAIR, A CHAIDH A MHORT 'SA BHLIADHNA
1663. (Lament for the two murdered Chiefs of
Keppoch, who were assassinated in the year 1663.)

'S mi am shuidh' air bruaich terrain
Mu 'n cuairt do Choire-na-cleithe ;

Ged nach h-'eil mo chas crubach,
Tha lot na 's mu orm fo m' leine ;

Ged nach h-eil mo bhian scracte,
Tha fo m' aisne mo chreuchdan ;

'S cha n e curam na h-imrich,
No iomagain na spreidhe ;

No bhi gam chur do Cheann-taile,

'S gun fhios cia 'n t-aite do 'n deid mi ;

Ach bhi 'n nochd gun cheann-cinnidh ;
'S trie 's gur minig learn fein sin ;

Ceann-cinnidh nam Braigheach
'Chuireadh sgath air luchd-Beurla.

Tha mo choill air a maoladh,
Ni a shaoil learn nach eireadh.

Tha mo chnothan air faoisgneadh,
'S cha bu chaoch iad ri 'm feuchinn.

Cha n fheil ann diu ach tuaileas,

Dh' fhan iad bhuam am barr gheugan.

Cha b 'e fuaim do ghreigh lodain
'Gheibht 'a sodrich gu feilltean ;

No geum do bha tomain

'Dol an coinnimh a ceud laoigh ;

436 APPENDIX

No uisge nan sluasid
Bharr druablas na feithe.

'S e be mhiann le d' luchd-taighe,
'Bhi gan tathich le beusan ;

Mu dha thaobh Garbh-a-chonnidh,
Far 'm biodh na sonnanich gle mhor.

Le am morgha geur, sgaiteach,
Frith bhacach, garbh leumnach,

'S beag an t-ionghnadh learn t' uaisle
'Thigh 'nn an uachdar ort 'eudail ;

Is a liuthad sruth uaibhreach

As 'n do bhuaineadh thu 'n ceud uair.

Ceist nam fear thu bho 'n Fhearsit
Is bho Cheapich nam peuran ;

Bho Loch-Treig an fheoir dhosrich,
'S bho Shrath-Oisein nan reidhlean

'S bho cheann Daile-na-mine
Gu Sron na h-iolaire leithe.

Sliochd an Alasdair Charrich
'Rachadh allail 'na eideadh ;

Sar mhac an larl Ilich
Ceannard mhiltean is cheudan.

'S ro mhath shloinninn do shinnsreadh,
Fuil dhireach Chuinn-Cheud-chathich ;

Bho mhac an righ Spaintich,
A rinn tamh ann an Eirinn.

Siol Mhilidh nan cathan
A bha grathun 'san Eiphait.

B' e mo chreach is mo ghonadh
Nach d' fhuair thu cothram na Feinne.

APPENDIX 437

Gun tigh 'nn ort 's tu 'nad chadal
Ann an leaba gun eirigh,

'S ann air maduinn Di-domhnaich
'Rinn na meirlich do reubadh ;

Da mhac brathair t' athar
Gum bu scrathail learn fein sud.

Agus seachd de shiol Dughaill
Luchd spuilleadh nan ceudan.

Ach thig Sir Seumas nam bratach

'S bheir e 'm mach dhuinn bhur n eirig ;

Agus Aonghus bho Ghairidh
Leoghann fathramach gleusta

'S gun a choimeas air thalamh
An am tarruinn nan geur-lann

Thig na cinn dibh a chonaibh

'S ann learn 'bu torlicht 'an sgeula.

From the Rev. A. MacLean Sinclair's
edition of the Bard's Poems > 1895.

XX.

A PROCLAMATION ANENT SOME REBELS, ROBERS, AND
THIEVES who are, or have been lately in arms in the
Braes of Lochaber.

August \yh, 1688.

James by the Grace of God, King of Great Britain, France and
Ireland, Defender of the Faith. To all and sundry our loving
Subjects to whose knowledge these presents shall come Greeting.

Forasmuch as we have granted a Commission of Fire and
Sword to the Laird of M'intosh for recovering possession of his
Lands of Keapoch and others, detained from him illegally by
Coll M'donald and his Adherents; and having joyned with' the
Laird of M'intosh a Company of our Forces under the Command

438 APPENDIX

of Captain M'kenzie of Suddy, the said Coll having associate to
himself all the Outlaws and other desperate Thieves and Robers
bearing the Sirname of M'donald, and others their Associates
and Accomplices, to the number of Seven or Eight Hundred
men ; they did in a most Treasonable and Rebellious manner,
dare to Invade and Suprize such as were cloathed with Our
Authority, and to Murder and Assasinat many of them. And
We being fully Resolved in all Cases to Defend and Maintain
our Subjects in their just Rights, Properties and Possessions,
and to punish severely such as either oppose Our Authority or
injure them, We have thought fit and necessary to Com-
missionat others of Our Forces, under the Command of Captain
Charles Straiton to repair to the said place and to reduce by all
possible means and methods the said Rebels, and to require the
Chiefs of all the Neighbouring Clanns to be ready with such
numbers of their Clanns, Friends, and Followers, as shall be
desired and required to assist them in the way and manner
exprest in Our respective Letters to them.

And for the more speedy and effectual suppressing of the
said Rebels, We do hereby declare, that whoever shall Maintain,
Harbour, or Resett them, by themselves or others, give the least
Assistance, by Meat, Drink, Money, or other supply, or shall
omit to do their utmost endeavour for apprehending them, or
shall any manner of way Intercommune with them, shall be
punished as accessaries to their Crimes and Accomplices thereof,
with the utmost severity of Our Laws. We do also hereby
Order and Command all the said Chiefs of Clanns, Heretors,
Woodsetters, Liferenters, Tacksmen, Chamberlains and others,
Bordering upon any part of Our Seas, Firths, or Isles; to secure
all their Boats and Passages, to the end that none of the said
Traitors be ferried over, and that, as they shall be answerable
upon their highest peril.

And for the better Prosecution of all the said ends and
designs, We hereby discharge any of our Subjects to Travel in
the Highlands without Passes from their Landlords and Masters,
and that ay and while the said Rebels be fully reduced : Im-

APPENDIX 439

powering hereby any having Commission from Us, or any under
their Command, to seize and apprehend such as want Passes,
ay until they be able to give a sufficient account of themselves.

Expecting that all Our good Subjects will concurr in sup-
pressing and rooting out the said Barbarous and Inhuman
Traitors, to their utmost power, which We will look upon as
most acceptable Service ; Indemnifying all such who shall act
or concurr in the prosecution of this Our Proclamation. And
to the end, Our Royal Pleasure in the Premises may be made
publick and known, Our Will is, and We Charge you strictly,
and Command that incontinent, these Our Letters seen, ye pass
to the Mercat Cross of Edinburgh, and whole remanent Mercat
Crosses of the Head Burghs of the Shires of the Kingdom, and
other places needful, and there, in Our Name and Authority
make Publication of Our Royal Pleasure in the Premises, that
none pretend Ignorance.

Given under Our Signet at Edinburgh, the Fifteenth day of
August, one thousand six hundred, eighty eight Years, and of
our Reign the Fourth Year.

Per Actum Dominorum Secreti Concilii.

(Signed) COLIN M'KENZIE,

Cls. Sti Concilii.
God Save the King.

[Copied from an original printed Proclamation in the British
Museum Library.]

XXI.

LETTER FROM J. MACKINTOSH OF TORCASTLE TO THE EARL
OF PERTH complaining of the behaviour of Keppoch
and his Associates, previous to the battle of Mulroy.

KEPPOCH, August 3, 1688.
My Lord,

I came to this place six dayes agoe, and the
first two nights these rebells in this countrey lay darned and
did not appear, but since, they, with ther wicked accomplices

440 APPENDIX

and ther broken relations from all the countreyes about, have
convocate themselves to a great number, and doe behave them-
selves most contemptuously, insomuch that this same day, they
have seased on some of the King's souldiers, and his Messenger
at Arms, disarmed, threatened and ffettered them. My friends
and I are here making up a little fort in which we are to leave
some men for secureing me in my possessione, this being the
only most probable means for reduceing the rebells, and had it
not been for this, we had been at them ere now ; 'besides that
the spates here are impassible ; but how sone as the waters fall,
we hope to make some accompt of them. All my concurrence
from the severall shyres, allowed by the Councell did faill me,
except such of my own relations as are with me, and Captain
Mackenzie of Siddy and his company.

The M'Phersones in Badinoch after two citationes disobeyed
most contemptuously. I thought it my duty to acquaint you
heirof, quhairby your Lordship may tak any course your Lord-
ship pleases, by making it knowen to the Councill and I am
Your Lordship's most humble and obedient servant

(Signed) J. MACINTOSHE
(Addressed) of Torcastell.

For the Earle of Perth

Lord Rich Chancellor
off Scotland

These."

XXII.

LETTER IN ANTIQUARIAN MUSEUM, EDINBURGH.

Addressed on Back " To our Trustie and well beloved M'Donell

of Cappagh."
" James R.

" Trustie and well beloved, Wee .greet you well,
The behaviour of your selfe and family since th malise of our
unaturall enemies have prevailed against us, shews us that in
supporting you and doeing you Justice against the oppression

APPENDIX 441

of Anti-monarchiall and ill men, wee shall add a lasting prop to
the hereditary succession of our Crowne, and that as Innate
Loyalty cannot be Debotched soe a Rebellious race by noe
faire or Gentle means can be reclaimed, You may therefore
Reckon upon it, That as soon as God shall please to putt itt in
our power we will putt the experience wee have at so cleare a
Rate acquired into practice and that you shal be one of the first
that shall find th effects of it. The news we have recieued of
the Brave Viscount Dundees death has mos sinseably afflicted
us, Butt as he has perpetuated his Memorie by falling in soe
Just a Cause, Soe wee are resolued by extraordinarie marks of
our favour to make his family conspicuos, that th world may see
Lasting Honnor and Happiness are to be acquired, by th Brave
and Loyall onely ; What he has soe happily begun and you soe
Successfully maintained by a Thorough defeat of our Enemies,
wee shall not doubt a Generous prosecution of, when wee consider
that th Highland Loyaltie is inseparably annexed to th person
of their Hereditary King : nor noe wayes feare the Event whilst
the Justice of our Cause shal be seconded by soe many bold and
dareing Asserters of our Royall Right. If their Couradge and
your and th rest of th Commanders conduct were not Steddy
th loss you had in a Generall you loved and confided in, at
your verie entrance into action with so great inequality were
enough to Boffle you Butt you have shewed your selves above
surprize and given us proofe that wee are in a great measure like
to owe you th Reestablishment of th Monarchy to your vallour,
Wee are therefore resolued to send imediately our R l Trustie
and R l well beloved the Earle of Seafort to head his friend and
followers and (as soone as th season will permitt th Shipping of
Horse) our R* Trusty and intirely beloved naturall sone th
Duke of Berwicke with considerable succors to your assistance,
w ch the present good posture of our affaires here will allow us to
spare, ffor th Immediate hand of God appeares Signally to bess
th Justice of our Cause, there haveing already fallen above tenn
thousand of our Enemies by distemper and want, Wee must

*bove all things recommend unto you a thorough union amongst

442 APPENDIX

yourselves and due obedience to your Superior officers and that
you look with the greatest indignation upon any body that
under any pretence whatsoever shall goe about to disunite you,
Such an one being a more dangerous enemie to our interest,
then those that appeare in open Armes against us, Wee refer
to the bearer to give you a full accompt of our fforce and the
present condition of our Enemies w ch is such as will putt our
affaires here soone out of all doubt, and soe wee bidd you
heartily farewell, Given at our Courte at Dublin Castle th Last
day of November 1689 and in the fifth yeare of our Reigne.

"By His Ma ties Command.
" Duplicat to M'Doniell of Cappagh."

XXIII.

EXTRACT FROM A LETTER WRITTEN BY MAJOR-GENERAL
MACKAY TO THE DUKE OF PORTLAND, dated from
Perth, 26th July 1690.

" J'ay a presant dans le sud nos trois regimens entiers, celluy
de Leslie, et neuf compagnies fort foibles d' Argyll et autant
d' Angus, les autres quatre de chacun ayant este laiss^es a
Inderlochy nomm^ Fort William, avec neuf compagnies de
Grant, et deux cent montaignards, qui se sont deja mis au solde
du Roi."

XXIV.

COPY OF AN AGREEMENT ENTERED INTO BY LOCHIEL,
GLENGARRY, AND KEPPOCH, in the year 1744, for the
Prevention of Crime among their Dependents.

"We Donald Cameron of Lochiel, John M'Donnell of
Glengarry, and Alexander M'Donnell of Keapoch taking to
consideration that severals of our Dependents and followers are
too guilty of theft, and depredations, and being sensible of the
bad effects and consequencies of such pernicious praticis, and ii\

APPENDIX 443

order to put an entire stop to such villany, as far as ly in our
power, Have jointly agreed and resolved upon the following
articles which we faithfully promise upon honour to observe and
fulfil.

jmo. That any of our Dependents, Tenants, or followers
guilty of such thefts as by law may be capitally punished, we
hereby oblidge ourselves jointly to contribute a sum of money
necessary to prosecute such person, or persons, and to convey
him, or them, to the next and most convenient county goall
within whose jurisdiction he resides, and their adduce such
evidence against him as may legally convict him, or be assolized
in course of process.

" 2 do - That any of our Dependents, Tenants, or followers,
guilty of theft receipting, or outhounding, so far as we judge the
same may infer a corporall punishment, are to be confined, and
incarcerate by us respectively within a lockfast and secure ward,
when we think most convenient to appoint, and such a criminall
be publickly at sight of a number of the neighbouring tenants,
so often as is thought sufficient to punish him for his crime.

3 tio - That we appoint sufficient and sponsall persons, or men
of authority within proper districts of our estates (or where our
authority among our followers and Dependents will extend and
reach), to apprehend and incarcerate any person or persons
guilty of the above crimes, and impowering our respective
Deputes, to use such criminalls, by scourging, jugging, stocks,
and other punishments in as rigorous a manner as any of us
their constituents might have done ourselves, and this power to
continue no longer with any of those our Deputes than he duly
puts to execution this our authority committed to him.

" 4 to - That any notorious and infamous villain guilty of the
above crimes, flying from, and deserting any of us, to the protec-
tion of any of the other two of us, or privately lurking within
any part of our estates, any one of us in whose estate such a
fugitive resides, is hereby oblidged, upon proper application, to
deliver him up to the one of us who has a right and title to
punish him.

444 APPENDIX

" 5 to - and lastly. We hereby consent and agree that these our
articles and resolutions are to be lodged in the custody of Sir
Alexander M'Donald of M'Donald, Baronet, with power to him
to severely reprimand upon the most publick occasion, one and
all of us failing in the strict observance of all and every the
above articles ; in witness whereof, we subscribe these presents
at Keappoch, the thirteenth day of October, one thousand seven
hundred and fourty four years.

" DONALD CAMERON

" JOHN M'DONELL, of Glengary

" ALEXR. M'DONELL.

" Follows a list of deputies appointed in the following
districts

" By Lochiel : John Cameron of Fasfern, for the lands of
Lochiel ; Dr Archibald Cameron, for Locharkaig, Glenluy, and
Stralochy ; Glenevis and Callart, for Mamore, Glenevis, and
Garghaick ; Dungallon, for Suinart and Ardnamurchan ; John
M'Evan-ic-Allan, and John Ban M'lan for Morven ; John
Cameron of Kinlochliven, and Donald Cameron of Clunis, for
Dochinassie ; Torcastle, for Ardgour.

" DONALD CAMERON.

" By Glengary :' Donald M'Donnell of Scothouse, and Coll
M'Donnell of Barrisdale, for Knoydart, equally betwixt them ;
Allan and John McDonnells, sons to Scothouse, for Morror ;
Donald M'Donnell of Lochgary, John M'Donnell of Amabel,
Angus M'Donell of Leeak, and Angus M'Donell of Greenfield,
for Glengary and Abertarph.

" JOHN M'DONELL of Glengary.

" By Keappoch : Donald M'Donnell, brother to Keappoch,
Donald M'Donnell of Tirnadrish, Donald M'Donnell of Crain-
ichan, and Alexander M'Donnell of Tulloch for the Braes of
Lochaber ; Ronald M'Donell of Aberador for the Braes of
Badenoch.

"ALEXR. M'DONELL."

APPENDIX 445

N.B. The document from which the foregoing is a copy is
in the possession of Lord Macdonald, and was lent with others
to Mr Lachlan Macdonald of Skaebost for the purpose of a very
interesting paper, read before the Gaelic Society of Inverness on
December 7th, 1887, entitled " Gleanings from Lord Macdonald's
Charter Chest." Gaelic Society's Transactions, vol. xiv. p. 75.

XXV.

FROM INFORMATION NOTED DOWN BY JOHN MACDONELL OF
KEPPOCH, which he had obtained from his father Angus,
who had fought at the battle of Culloden with his father
Alexander, Chief of Keppoch, who was killed there.

I. " As soon as Prince's landing was known council held at
Keppoch amongst the Chiefs friends. Keppoch said, ' That
as Prince Charles had risked his person among them and
generously thrown himself into the hands of his friends, they
were bound in duty at least to raise men instantly for the pro-
tection of his person, whatever might be the consequences.'
He departed to join him at once with a few followers, while he
left his brother Donald and his cousin Donald of Tirnadris to
raise men and watch movements of the enemy. On his way
Keppoch took an English officer (who was on his way to inspect
the garrison at Fort William) prisoner, and took him along with
him to Glenfmnan."

II. "A plan between the Highlanders and Low Country
Royalist going on in '43. Stewart of Appin and M'Donell of
Keppoch attend meeting, were both sent to France with pro-
posals to the Prince and Court of France in '43 or '44 (I do not
know which of these years). I do not know any of the stipu-
lated conditions, but the Prince should land on the Western
Coast attended with at least five thousand regular troops.
Murray of Broughton comes to Highlands in Summer '45, and
I have cause to imagine that he was employed to prepare the
Chieftains, and his coming was then known. The Prince lands
in South Uist, accquaints his friends ; Sir Alexr. MacDonald of

446 APPENDIX

Sleat advises him not landing without the stipulated number of
troops from France. But the Prince seemed determined to try
his fortune. Young Clanranald accompanies him to Borrodale.
The preconcerted signal of his landing the firing of one gun.
Nothing known about the invasion by any but the Chiefs until
Murray's arrival in the country. The signal commanded the
leaders then prepare their followers. All engage in the cause.
The landing at Arisaig. The affairs of the two companies from
Fort Augustus. Twelve men and a piper sent to Highbridge
to stop their gaining Fort William until a sufficient force could
be gathered first ; an express sent to Lochiel. Capt Scott
retreats from Tornessj and pursued, overtaken near Laggan
Achdrom, a party having got before him on the military road
on the north side of Loch Oich. Scott's party formed ; fired
one platoon. The Highlanders, after firing, attacked with their
swords. Their attempt to go by Invergarry ; are obliged to lay
down their arms. The Brae Lochaber men joined at Low
Bridge only by a few men of the Camerons of Dochanassie.
After the surrender Lochiel and some of his men joined. The
Prisoners were then placed in the centre between the Mac-
Donell's and Camerons, and conducted back to Achnacarry,
Lochiel's place of residence. Lochiel took charge of the
prisoner ; allowed his friends to return home in order to
prepare for marching immediately to join the Prince. Lochiel
conducts prisoner to Glenfinnan. The M'Donells arrive without
any regular form. The Prince meets (them ?) at Glenfinnan ;
attended by Clanranald, Glenaladale, and a few more gentle-
men without any men. The two small parties passed the night
at Dalnieu ; killed some cows, made belts of raw hides ; the
two leaders formed their men opposite to one another. The
Royal Standard displayed at the small hut of Slatach, and
delivered to Donald MacDonell, Brother to Keppoch, and
carried to Dalnive. Prince made his appearance among the
men, and distributed some broadswords to such as wanted
them. Clanranald returns from Glenfinnan in order to bring
forward his men. The Prince in the meantime, with the small

APPENDIX 447

body of MacDonells and Camerons, began his march to the
head of Lochiel. Second night at Fassiferne. Third Stage,
Erracht, passing by the Moss of Corpach a few guns were fired
from the garrison of Fort William ; from Erracht marched
to the west end of Loch Lochy, passed over Gairlochy,
and passed the night at Low Bridge ; from Low Bridge the
Prince arrives at Laggan Achdrom. H.ere the Stewarts of
Appin, commanded by Ardshiel ; Clanranald and his men,
Glengarry men, commanded by Angus Og M'Donell, second son
of John of Glengarry, the eldest son being in France. Here
information was received that General Cope with the army was
in the Braes of Badenoch, and intended to cross Corriegherraig.
Then set off with his men through the night for Corriegherraig ;
arrives next day at Garvamore. General C. marches down
through Badenoch and by Aviemore to Inverness. In Badenoch
M'Pherson of Cluny joins with his followers. From Badenoch
they march to Dalwhinnie ; to Dalnacardoch to Blair in Athole.
The Marquis of Tulliebardine rose the Athole men, and plenti-
fully treated the army. From Blair they march to Dunkeld;
here the Prince was proclaimed Regent from Dunkeld to Perth."

III. "After the battle of Falkirk it was resolved to march
north and establish their headquarters at Inverness, with the
intention of securing the supplies of money sent from

in the "Hazard" sloop of war. ... In the meantime the
siege of Fort William and Fort Augustus was undertaken.
Clanranald, Earl of Cromarty, Barisdale, and several others
were sent to Sutherland and Caithness with a very strong
detachment. The attempt on Fort William failed ; what else
could be expected without experience, engineers, or proper
artillery ? Le Despair money Fort William."

IV. "The march to England was conducted in a very
regular manner. From the reception the army met with in
England it was evident that a great number wished well to the
cause, tho' few had the courage or resolution to join."

" At the battle of Preston Pans the Highlanders were allowed
to charge with their usual impetuosity."

448 APPENDIX

XXVI.

INSCRIPTION ON PRINCE CHARLES'S MONUMENT,
LOCH SHIEL.

" On this spot, where Prince Charles Edward first raised
his standard, on the iQth day of August, 1745 : when he made
the daring and romantic attempt to recover a throne lost by
the imprudence of his ancestors ; this column is erected by
Alexander M'Donald, Esq. of Glenalladale, to commemorate
the generous zeal, the undaunted bravery, and the inviolable
fidelity of his forefathers, and the rest of those who fought and
bled in that arduous and unfortunate enterprise."

XXVII.

COPY OF A LETTER WRITTEN BY LOCHIEL IN CONJUNC-
TION WITH KEPPOCH, from the Headquarters of the
Highland Army in Glen Nevis, to STEWART OF
INVERNAHAYLE, protesting against the action of the

Campbells.

"GLEN NEVIS, zoth March, 1746.

" Yesterday we received a letter from Clunie, giving an
account of the success of the party sent by His Royal Highness,
under the command of Lord George Murray, a copy of which
we think proper to send you enclosed. And as you happen
for the present to be stationed contiguous to the Campbells, it
is our special desire that you instantly communicate to Airds,
the sheriff, and other leading men among them, our sentiments,
which, God willing, we are determined to execute, by trans-
mitting this our letter and the enclosed copy to any most
convenient to you. It is our own opinion that, of all men in
Scotland, the Campbells had the least reason of any to engage
in the present war against His Royal Highness's interest, con-
sidering that they have always appeared against the royal family
since the reign of James the Sixth, and have been guilty of so
many acts of rebellion and barbarity during that time, that no

APPENDIX 449

injured prince but would endeavour to resent it when God was
pleased to put the power into his hand.

" Yet his present Majesty and His Royal Highness the
Prince Regent were graciously pleased, by their respective
declarations, to forgive all past miscarriages to a most violent
and inveterate enemy, and even bury them in oblivion, provided
they return to their allegiance; and though they should not
appear personally in arms to support the royal cause, yet their
standing neutral should entitle them to the good graces of
their sovereign.

" But in spite of all the clemency that a prince could show
or promise, the Campbells have openly appeared, with their
wonted zeal, for rebellion and usurpation in the most oppressive
manner. Nor could we form a thought to ourselves that any
men endowed with reason or common sense could use their
fellow- creatures with such inhumanity and barbarity as they
do ; of which we have such daily proofs, by their burning
houses, stripping of women and children, and exposing them
in the open field to the severity of the weather, houghing of
cattle, and killing of horses ; to enumerate the whole would be
too tedious at this time. They must naturally reflect that we
cannot but look on these cruelties with horror and detestation,
and with hearts full of revenge, and we will certainly endeavour
to make reprisals, and are determined to apply to His Royal
Highness for an order to enter their Country, with full power
to act at discretion.

" And if we are lucky enough to obtain it, we will show
them that we do not make war against women and the brute
creation, but against men. As God was pleased to put so many
of their people into our custody, we hope to prevail upon his
Highness to hang a Campbell for every house that will hereafter
be burned by them. Notwithstanding the many scandalous and
malicious aspersions industriously contrived by our enemies
against us, the world never hitherto since the commencement
of the war could impeach us with any acts of hostility that
had the least tendency to such cruelty as they exercise against

3 L

450 APPENDIX

us, though often we had it in our power, if barbarous enough
to execute them. When courage fails against men, it always
betrays cowardice to a degree to vent spleen against women
and children, brutes and houses, who cannot resist them. We
are not ignorant of their villainous intentions ! The intercepted
letters of the Sheriff Airds, etc., will plainly discover that it
was on their application that their General Cumberland granted
orders for burning, etc., which he could not be answerable for
to any British Parliament, it being most certain that such bar-
barities could never be countenanced by any Christian senate.
We are, etc.,

(Signed) " DONALD CAMERON, of Lochiel.

" ALEXANDER MACDONELL, of Keppoch.

"PS. I cannot omit taking notice that my people were the
first to feel the cowardly barbarity of my pretended Campbell
friends. I shall desire to live to have the opportunity of thank-
ing them for it in the open field.

(Signed) " D. C."

XXVIII.

FOOTNOTE TO SIR WALTER SCOTT'S "LADY OF THE LAKE,"
CANTO III., STANZA V., referring to the building of
the Church of Kilmallie by "An Gille dubh Mac Gille
Chnamhaich," taken from " Macfarlane's Geographical
Collections."

" There is bot two myles from Inverloghie (Inverlochy), the
church of Kilmalee, in Loghyeld (Loch Eil). In ancient tymes
there was ane church builded upon ane hill, which was above
this church, which doeth now stand in this toune ; and ancient
men doeth say, that there was a battell foughten on ane litle
hill not the tenth part of a myle from this church, be certaine
men which they did not know what they were. And long tyme
thereafter, certaine herds of that toune, and of the next toune,
called Unnatt (Annat), both wenches and youthes, did on a
tyme conveen with others on that hill ; "and the day being

APPENDIX 451

somewhat cold, did gather the bones of the dead men that were
slayne long tyme before in that place, and did make a fire to
warm them. At last they did all remove from the fire, except
ane maid or wench, which was verie cold, and she did remaine
there for a space. She being quyetlie her alone, without anie
other companie, took up her cloathes above her knees, or
thereby, to warm her ; a wind did come and caste the ashes
upon her, and she was conceived of ane man-chyld. Severall
tymes thereafter she was verie sick, and at last she was knowne
to be with chyld. And then her parents did ask at her the
matter heiroff, which the wench could not weel answer which
way to satisfie them. At last she resolved them with ane
answer. As fortune fell upon her concerning this marvellous
miracle, the chyld being borne, his name was called ' Gili-doir
Maghrevollich' 1 that is to say, the ' Black Child, Son to the
Bones.' So called his grandfather sent him to schooll, and so
he was a good schollar, and godlie. He did build this church
which doeth now stand in Lochyeld, called Kilmallie."

XXIX.

PRINCE CHARLES AND FLORA MACDUGALD, daughter of

"Ailean Ball."

"Flora Macdugald, a daughter of 'Ailean Dall' the poet,
told me that she spoke often to an old woman who had given a
drink of milk from her cog to the beloved but unfortunate
Prince Charles Stuart the ' Bonnie Prince Charlie ' of song and
story. She was a young girl at the time, and in her return
from the ' buaile ' she had to walk over a plank that bridged a
foaming burn. The plank was unsteady, and a gallant-looking
gentleman, who stood on the opposite bank, jumped into the
water and held it firmly until she had passed over. He had wet
his feet, and she felt ashamed and sorry, and when she got

1 Note by the Author. Macfarlane either did not understand Gaelic or is making
fun of the legend ; for the Gaelic name he gives to the lad of such questionable
parentage, means something quite different to his translation of it.

452 APPENDIX

near him, after he came out of the burn, she offered him her
cog that he might have a drink. He took it freely, and, having
unbonneted, he shook hands with her, and they parted. She
saw him again when he was in hiding, and knew that it was
Bonnie Prince Charlie who had stepped into the foaming brook
to steady the plank for her. She spoke of it always until her
death in old age. She could never forget his kind face and
smiling eyes, when, regardless of his wet hose, he took off
his bonnet, and shook hands with her." Transactions Gaelic
Society of Inverness, Vol. XIV., p. 136. Extract from a paper
by Mrs Mackellar, entitled " The Sheiling : its Traditions and
Songs."

XXX.

EXTRACTS FROM LETTER OF GENERAL WOLFE TO HIS
FRIEND CAPTAIN RICKSON, of Colonel Lascelles's
Regt., stationed at Fort Augustus.

" EXETER, yth March 1755.

"MY DEAR FRIEND,

" Just as I received your letter, the

drum beat to arms, and we have been in a bustle ever since.
Now that it has become a little calm again I will gather my
wits together, and collect my friendly sentiments (a little dis-
persed with the sound of war) to answer it. Be so good, for
the time to come, to presume with yourself that you have a
right to correspond with me whenever you please, and as often ;
and be persuaded that you cannot do me a greater favour than
by writing to me. . . .

" Since I began my letter to you, yesterday, there's a fresh
and loud report of war. More ships are ordered to be fitted
out ; and we must expect further preparations, suited to the
greatness of the occasion. You in the north will be now and
then alarmed. Such a succession of errors, and such a strain
of ill behaviour as the last Scotch war (1745-46) did produce,
can hardly, I believe, be matched in history. Our future annals
will, I hope, be filled with more stirring events.

APPENDIX 453

"What if the garrisons of the forts had been under the orders
of a prudent, resolute man (yourself for instance), would not
they have found means to stifle the rebellion in its birth?
and might not they have acted more like soldiers and good
subjects than it appears they did ? What would have been
the effects of a sudden march into the middle of that clan that
was the first to move? What might have been done by means of
hostages of wives and children, or the chiefs themselves ? How
easy a small body united prevents the junction of a distant
corps; and how favourable the country where you are for
such a manoeuvre. If notwithstanding all precautions they
get together, a body of troops may make a diversion by laying
waste a country that the male inhabitants have left to prosecute
rebellious schemes.

" How soon must they return to the defence of their
property (such as it is), their wives, their children, their
houses, and their cattle? But above all, the secret, sudden
night march into the midst of them ; great patrols of 50, 60,
or 100 men each to terrify them ; letters to the chiefs, threat-
ening fire and sword, and certain destruction if they dare to
stir ; movements that seem mysterious, to keep the enemy's
attention upon you, and their fears awake ; these and the like,
which your experience, reading, and good sense would point
out, are means to prevent mischief. . . .

" If there's war, I hope the General in the north will not
disperse the troops by small parties, as has been practised
hitherto ; but rather make choice of certain good stations for
bodies that can defend themselves, or force their way home
(to the forts), if occasion require it. At Laggan Achadrum,
for example, they should build a strong redoubt, surrounded
with rows of palisades and trees, capable to contain 200 men
at least. This is a post of great importance, and should be
maintained in a most determined manner, and the MacDonalds
might knock their heads against it to very little purpose. Mr
M'Pherson (Cluny) should have a couple of hundred men in
his neighbourhood, with orders to massacre the whole clan,

454 APPENDIX

if they show the least symptom of rebellion. They are a
warlike tribe, and he is a cunning fellow himself. They
should be narrowly watched ; and the party there should be
well commanded.

" Pray ask Trap. (Genl. Trapaud, Governor of Fort
Augustus) if he knows anything of Lady Culloden, how she
is in health ? for I have a particular esteem for her, am
obliged to her for civilities shown me, and interest in my
welfare. She seemed, poor lady, to be in a very ill state' of
health when I was in that country.

" I could pass my time very pleasantly at Fort Augustus,
upon your plan, and with your assistance. There is no solitude
with a friend. . . .

" Your faithful and affectionate servant,

"JAMES WOLFE."

XXXI.

EXTRACTS FROM REPORTS ADDRESSED BY MILITARY
OFFICERS STATIONED IN THE HIGHLANDS TO LIEUT.-
GENERALS CHURCHILL AND BLAND, Edinburgh Castle,
after the " Forty-five," the principal stations in the
Lochaber district being at Laggan Achadrum (between
Loch Lochy and Loch Oich) and on an island at the
east end of Loch Arkaig.

Captain Walter Johnstone, of Lord Bury's Regiment, reports
on 7th June 1752 : " Soon after my coming here (Invercomrie,
Loch Rannoch) I had a letter sent me by Lord Breadalbane,
wrote by Colonel Lafaupille, to the Serjeant of the King's
Regiment, who was here before I came, ordering him to give
assistance when required in apprehending such persons as he
should be directed; and next day Captain Campbell of Glen
Lyon came here, and showed me two warrants, from the Sheriff
Depute of Perthshire, for apprehending Charles Stewart of

^APPENDIX 455

Ardshiel, an attainted rebel, and Allan Breck Stewart, the
supposed murderer of Mr Campbell of Glenure : upon which I
gave the description to all my parties, with orders to apprehend
them, or give their assistance in apprehending them when
required."

Captain John Beckwith, of Lord Bury's Regiment, stationed
at Loch Arkaig, reports on nth June 1752: "Having, con-
formable to my orders, made the detachments to Bonarkaig,
head of Loch Arkaig, Glen Dissery, Glenfinnon, head of Loch
Yeal (Loch Eil), Strontian, Inversanda, Glen Scaddle, and the
four posts under the command of the officers at Tray, the South
Moyrer detachment marched from and received my orders at
Fort Augustus.

" I quartered the moving patrol at Moy, and took post
myself at Erroch (Erracht) with a sergeant and three men.
This house belongs to Ewin Cameron, head of a tribe, and a near
relation of the late Lochiel. This glen runs pretty nearly north
and south about seven miles. The post is a quarter of a mile
from the river Lochy, exactly opposite to the Long Ford, on
the south of which is the Duke of Gordon's lands, possessed by
Allan Cameron. On the east side of my post is the mountain
Bennane (probably Beinn Bhan) ; on the west Draenfatch
Glenlee (probably Druim Fada, Glen Laoig/i), and it's five miles
from Fort William."

The same officer reports from Strontian, that he had
patrolled to Glenscaddle (Ardgour), and that on the 26th
May he had sent a patrol to Achason, where the corporal
took up a man of the name of Cameron (servant to Mrs Jane
Cameron), with a piece of tartan wrapped round him like a
philabeg. " This man I sent to the Sheriff Substitute at Fort
William, who confined him." From Inversanda the corporal
reports that the party had been well supplied with milk, butter,
and cheese ; but at a great price. The milk twopence the Scots
pint, the butter sixpence per lb., and cheese in proportion.

From Laggan Achadrum Captain A. Trapaud reports on
25th June 1752 : " William Cameron, taken up on the 6th June

456 APPENDIX

by the Glenmorriston party for wearing the Highland dress, is
sentenced to six months' imprisonment by the Sheriff of Inver-
ness-shire. The sergeant commanding at Knockfin reported
that on the i/th inst he had an information of four thieves
driving cattle within two miles of his post that they were well
armed and in Highland dress. He immediately pursued them,
and recovered four cows and one horse, and followed the track
of the thieves several miles. . . . On the i6th inst. I had an
information given to me, by Alex. M'Marten in Glencog, that
Donald Burk and Angus Campbell were concerned with some
others in stealing some of the battlement stones from High
Bridge. I had the two fellows apprehended and sent to Mr
Douglass, the Substitute Sheriff at Fort William. The corporal
stationed at High Bridge, who received the prisoners, reported
to me that when he came to the gates of Fort William they
were shut, and as he was stepping forward to call the sentry,
Donald Burk slipped to one side and made his escape, and took
the chance of the three men firing upon him."

Report from Captain Walter Johnstone, dated Invercomrie,
22nd June 1752: "On the 8th inst. I received a letter from
Colonel Crawford telling me that when the bearer pointed out any
man to me I might be sure that there was something very material
against him. Upon my asking him what he designed, he told
me he knew where there was a thief who had fled from Lochaber,
and desired a party to apprehend him, so I gave him a sergeant
and six men, who marched that night, and returned to me on
the nth with t>ne Cameron a prisoner, whom they took in a
shieling near Crieff. On the I2th I sent a fresh party with him
to Colonel Crawford, who writes rne that he is a most notorious
plunderer, and that he used to leave Lochaber and fly into the
low country when the troops went to their summer stations."

On 1 3th July the same officer reports : " On the 28th June,
Colonel Crawford, to whom I had wrote as reported in my last,
sent me Allan Cameron and Angus M'Donald. The first, he
tells me, was living very quietly within two miles of Fort
William, and the other near Fort Augustus. So he sent to

APPENDIX 457

Captain Trapaud at Laggan to apprehend him, which he did.
I sent them both to Perth on the 29th, and it seems they are of
consequence, for the Sheriff writes me a letter of thanks for
apprehending them."

Report from Captain Trapaud, dated Laggan-Achadrum, Qth
October 1752: "On the 28th of September, having received
intelligence that the famous thief, John Brec Kennedy was in
Glen Glye, 'twixt Nine Mile Bridge and Glenroy, the party at
this post met in said glen and took Kennedy. The serjeant
from this post cut him through the skull in two different places
before he could take him. He is now confined in the hospital
at Fort Augustus, and likely soon to recover from his wounds."

Report from Captain-Lieutenant George Sempill in Lord
George Beauclerck's Regiment, dated Locharkaig, ijth
October 1755 : "I have a report from the officer command-
ing in North and South Morer, that the inhabitants of those
countries begin to wear instead of breeches, stuff trousers, much
after the form of those the seamen use, but not longer than the
kilt or philabeg. I am at a loss whether to look upon that as
part of the Highland dress, and take notice of such people as
offenders against the law."

XXXII.

THE HEIRESS OF KING CHARLES I., AND THE HEIRESS OF
THE ROYAL HOUSE OF PLANTAGENET AND STUART.

James II. died at St Germain-en-Laye, i6th September
1701. By his second wife, Mary of Modena, he left a son,
James Francis Edward, and a daughter, Louisa Maria, who
died unmarried in 1712. The son James III. as he styled
himself, the Chevalier de Saint Georges, or the " Old Pretender,"
as others styled him married Clementina, grand-daughter of
John Sobieski, King of Poland, by whom he left at his decease,
ist January 1766, two sons. Charles Edward, the elder, known

as the "Young Pretender" and "Young Chevalier," whose hopes

458 APPENDIX

of becoming King of England were shattered by his defeat at
Culloden in 1746, died without legitimate issue, 3ist January
1788. His brother, Henry Benedict, was raised to the purple
in 1747, and subsequently bore the designation of Cardinal of
York. His death at Rome, in June 1807, extinguished the
descendants of James II. The legitimate succession then
opened to the descendants of James II.'s sister, the Princess
Henrietta Maria, wife of Philip, Duke of Orleans ; she died in
1670, leaving two daughters. Mary, the eldest daughter, married
Charles II., King of Spain, but died without issue ; her sister,
Anne, married Victor Amadeus, King of Sardinia, from whom
was descended Francis V., Duke of Modena, who married, 3Oth
March 1842, Adelgonde, daughter of Louis I., King of Bavaria,
and died without issue, 2oth November 1875. His younger
brother, Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria, had married, 4th
October 1847, Elizabeth, daughter of the Archduke Joseph of
Austria, and left at his death, I5th December 1849, an only
daughter, Mary Theresa, who, born 2nd July 1849, an< ^ married
2oth February 1868, to Louis, Prince of Bavaria, eldest son of
Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria, is now the unquestionable
heiress of the House of Stuart. Extract from Whitaker's
Almanack for 1887, pp. 86 and 87.

With Cardinal York expired all the descendants of King
James II., and the representation of the Royal Houses of
Plantagenet, Tudor, and Stuart thereupon vested by inheritance
in Charles- Emanuel IV., King of Sardinia, who was eldest son
of Victor-Amadeus III., the grandson of Victor-Amadeus, King
of Sardinia, by Anne, his wife, daughter of Henrietta, Duchess
of Orleans, daughter of King Charles I. of England. Charles-
Emanuel IV, died s.p. in 1819, and was succeeded by his
brother, Victor-Emanuel I., King of Sardinia, whose eldest
daughter and co-heiress, Beatrice, Duchess of Modena, was
mother of Francis V, Duke of Modena, present Heir of the
Royal House of Stuart. From "The Royal Stuarts" by the
late Sir Bernard Burke, Ulster King of A rms, author of " The
Peerage" etc., 1859 Edition.

APPENDIX 459

XXXIII.

LXXIX. REGIMENT.

OR,

CAMERON VOLUNTEERS.

All VOLUNTEERS, who wifh to Serve his Majefty
KING GEORGE THE THIRD,

Have now an opportunity of entering into prefent Pay, and free Quarters, by Enlifting into

The LXXIX Regiment, or, Cameron Volunteers.

COMMANDED BY

Major ALLAN CAMERON of ERCHT.

Who has obtained his Majefty 's Permiffion to raife a
Regiment of Highlanders; which he does at his own
private Expence having no other View connected with
the undertaking, except the Pride of Commanding a
Faithful and Brave Band of his Warlike Countrymen,
in the Service of a King, whofe greateft Happinefs is to
reign as the Common Father and Protector of his People.

ALL ASPIRING YOUNG MEN

Who wifh to he ferviceable to their King and Country by Enlifting into the 79th
Regiment, or, Cameron Volunteers, will be Commanded by the Major in Perfon, who
has obtained from his Majefty, that they fhall not be draughted into any other
Regiment ; and when the Reduction is to take place, they fhall be marched in to
their own Country in a Corps, to be therein difembodied.

The paft and well known Generofity of Major Cameron to all his Countrymen who
have applied to him on former occafions, is the ftroiigeft Pledge of his future Goodnefs
to such as fhall now ftep forward and Enlift under his Banner.

Any Young Man who wifhes to Enlift into the Cameron Volunteers, will meet with
every Encouragement by applying to the Major in Person, or, to any of the Officers,
Recruiting for his Regiment.

GOD SAVE THE KING

AND

CONSTITUTION AMEN

[I have to thank Lieut. Angus Cameron, Acting Adjutant, Depot, Cameron
Highlanders, Inverness, for the above. Owing to the absence of the Battalion
in the Soudan, I was unable to procure a photographic reproduction of this
interesting poster.]

460 APPENDIX

XXXIV.

INSCRIPTION ON THE MONUMENT ERECTED AT KILMALLIE
IN MEMORY OF COLONEL JOHN CAMERON OF FASSIE-

FERN.

"Sacred to the Memory of Colonel John Cameron, eldest
son of Ewen Cameron of Fassiefern, Bart., whose mortal remains,
transported from the field of glory where he died, rest here with
those of his forefathers. During twenty years of active military
service, with a spirit which knew no fear and shunned no danger,
he accompanied, or led, in marches, sieges, and battles, the 92nd
Regiment of Scottish Highlanders, always to honour, and almost
always to victory ; and at length, in the forty-second year of his
age, upon the memorable i6th of June 1815, was slain in com-
mand of that corps, while actively contributing to achieve the
decisive victory of Waterloo, which gave peace to Europe.
Thus closing his military career with the long and eventful
struggle, in which his services had been so often distinguished,
he died, lamented by that unrivalled General, to whose long
train of success he had so often contributed ; by his country,
from which he had repeatedly received marks of the highest
consideration ; and by his Sovereign who graced his surviving
family with those marks of honour which could not follow, to
this place, him whom they were designed to commemorate.
Reader, call not his fate untimely, who, thus honoured and lamented,
closed a life of fame by a death of glory ! " J

1 The above epitaph was composed by Sir Walter Scott.

ADDENDA.

CAMERON GENEALOGY, FROM GAELIC MSS. OF 1450.

Genelach Clann Maclanfhaig z. Eoghan ic Domnaill dubh
me Ailin Macilanfaig ic Foil ic Gillapatruig me Gillamartain ic
Foil ic Maclanfaig me Gillroid agus Clann Gillcamsroin agus
Clann Maclanfaig o fuilid Clann . . . z. Clann Maclanfaig
. . . sron ic Gillaanfaig ic Gillamartun og ic Gilla . . .
ic Gillamartan moir ic Gilla camsroin.

Translation.

Genealogy of Camerons (Siol ic 'Malonoy or ic Gillonoy]
Cameron of Strone, a sept) Ewen son of Donald du son of
Alan the servant of the Prophet, son of Paul son of Patrick son
of Martin son of Paul son of Mullony son of Gillroid from whom
descended Clan Cameron and Clan Millonay the Clan . . .
or children of Millonay of Stron son of Gillony son of Martin
Og son of ... son of Martin M6r son of Gilla Cameron.

II.

NAMES IN THE BRAES OF LOCHABER BESIDES MACDONALDS
AND MACKINTOSHES.

Mac Arthurs, about whom there is a saying,

" Cnoic's uillt's Alpanaic
Ach cuin a thainig Artairaic

seem to have been long in Braes.

464 ADDENDA

MacKillops, several in Braes, but I do not know if they are old
inhabitants.

MacKerracher, supposed to be M'Donalds, but kept patronymic
of some Farquhar from whom they came.

MacGillivantaig, from Mac Gille Mhanntaich (or the Stutterer),
originally M'Donalds.

Burke, \ AH came over with Lord M' Donald's daughter, who
Boyle, > married Alasdair, Vth of Keppoch ; her mother
Kelly ) brought them from Ireland as her tocher.

Kennedey, long in Lochaber. Buchanan says the first of them
came from Ireland with Robert the Bruce. Buchanan
says that the Lochaber Kennedys are descended from
an Ulrick Kennedy of the family of Dunures, who for
slaughter fled to Lochaber many years ago ; his progeny,
from the proper name of their ancestor, deriving their
surnames of MacWalricks, the principal person of whom
is MacWalrick of Lismachan in Lochaber, who with his
sept are dependents on the family of Keppoch.

MacMasters, originally proprietors of Ardgour.

Stewarts came with Stewart of Appin's daughter, who married
Ronald, IXth of Keppoch.

Campbells, a sept of them who fought under Keppoch.

Boyds, came from Ardgour.

Grants,

M'Innes,

Stray individuals who settled there in later times,
Camerons,

M'Phersons^

M'Phee, were originally proprietors of Colonsay, but being
expelled from there by the MacNeils, some took refuge

in Lochaber, and fought under the banner of Lochiel.

[Information furnished by Miss Josephine MacDonell of

Keppoch.]

ADDENDA 465

III.
POETS BELONGING TO KEPPOCH FAMILY.

Alasdair-nan-Cleas, made witty and sarcastic verse, but I have
no trace of any.

A daughter of Bohuntine, married to Alasdair Buidhe of Keppoch
(no trace of any extant).

Archibald, Chief of Keppoch, son to above (I hope to get trace
of some of his).

A ngus, 3rd son of above Archibald ; his songs said to be in
" Leabhar Raonuill Duibh," but I don't know where to
find it

Silts, daughter of Archibald, married Gordon Wardhouse.

Catharine, daughter of Archibald, married at Strathmasie her
grandson Lauchlan MacPherson, a poet (no trace of her
poems).

The Sister of murdered chiefs composed lament. I have a
short piece, but do not know if it is complete.

A granddaughter of Angus, youngest son of Alasdair-nan-Cleas
(Achnancoicheari}. I have one poem of hers.

Donald Donn, son of Bohuntine of Keppoch descent (I have two
short ones of his contemporary of Iain Lorn).

Domhnuill MacFhionnlaidh (a MacKillop) was of the followers
of Keppoch, and composed the well-known song the
" Comhachag," and lived at Fersit. He is buried at
Cill a' Choireil, and it is over his grave Dr Fraser
Mackintosh erroneously placed a tombstone to Iain
Lorn.

[Information furnished by Miss Josephine MacDonell of

Keppoch.]

466 ADDENDA

IV.

LIST OF THE CAMERON CHIEFS.

I. ANGUS, married Marion, daughter of Kenneth, Thane
of Lochaber, and sister of Banquo.

II. GILLESPICK, eldest son of Angus, assisted in the
restoration of Malcolm Canmore, 1057 A.D.; said
to be the progenitor of the MacMartins of Letter-
finlay. Created " Lord Baron," 25th April 1057.

III. JOHN, eldest son of Gillespick ; lived in the reign of

David I.

IV. ROBERT, son of John, died early. Tempus, reign of

Alexander II.

V. SIR JOHN DE CAMERON, eldest son of Robert ; said
to be the progenitor of the Camerons of Glen
Nevis. Died during the reign ,of Alexander II.

VI. SIR ROBERT DE CAMERON, eldest son of Sir John ;
lived during part of the reign of Alexander III.

VII. JOHN, son of Sir Robert; lived during the time of
Bruce, and probably led the clan at Bannockburn.

VIII. JOHN (Ochtery], son of John ; lived during the reign of
David II.; fought at Halidon Hill. Married Ellen
de Montcalto.

IX. ALAN (MacOchtery), son of John. It was during his
chiefship that the feud with Mackintosh began,
and the battle of Invernahavon fought. Married
a 'daughter of Drummond of Stobhall, whose sister
was Annabella, Queen of Robert III. and mother
of James I.

X. EWEN, son of Alan. He was chief at the time of the
battle of the North Inch, 1396.

XI. DONALD (Domhnull Dubh MacAilein), brother of
Ewen. This was the famous Donald Dubh, who

ADDENDA 467

fought at Harlaw in 1411. Married the heiress
of the MacMartins of Letterfinlay.

XII. ALAN (Ailein MacDhomhnuill Duibh}, eldest son of
Donald Dubh. Married Mariot, daughter of Angus
MacDonell (Aongas na Feairte}, II Chief of
Keppoch ; known in Lochaber as "Ailein nan
Creach" ("Alan of the Forays"). Tempus, James III.

XIII. EWEN (Eobhan Mac Ailein}, son of Alan. Rebuilt

Torcastle, fought at Blar-nan-Leine, 1544. Married,
first, a daughter of Celestine of Lochalsh, and second,
Marjory, daughter of Lauchlan, chief of Mackintosh.
He was outlawed and executed at Elgin in 1547.

XIV. EWEN (Eobhan Beag}, grandson of Ewen ; said to have

been assassinated by order of MacDougal of Lome
in 1554. His illegitimate son, by MacDougal's
daughter, was the renowned "Taillear Dubh na
Tuaige?

XV. DONALD (Domhnull Dubh MacDhomhnmll}, uncle of
Ewen Beg ; died about 1 564, reign of Queen Mary.

XVI. ALAN (Ailein Maclain Dubh}, nephew of Donald. He
married a daughter of Stewart of Appin. Lived to
a great age.

XVII. SIR EWEN (Eobhan Dubh}, grandson of Alan. He
was born at Kilchurn Castle in February 1629, his
mother being a daughter of Robert Campbell
of Glenfalloch, afterwards Lord Glenorchy. He
married in 1657 the sister of Sir James MacDonald
of Sleat.

XVIII. JOHN, eldest son of Sir Ewen; fought at Sheriffmuir,
but was not popular with the clan. Died in France.

XIX. DONALD ("The Gentle Lochiel"), eldest son of John;
supported Prince Charles, and fought in all the
battles of the " Forty-Five." Died in France.

468

ADDENDA

XX. JOHN, eldest son of Donald.
XXI. CHARLES, eldest surviving brother of John.
XXII. DONALD, eldest surviving son of Charles.

XXIII. DONALD, eldest son of Donald.

XXIV. DONALD, the present Lochiel, eldest son of Donald.

V.
LIST OF THE CHIEFS OF KEPPOCH, from the Family MS.

JOHN MARGARF/T STFWART

LORD OF THE ISLES,
died about 1386.

daughter of Robert II., who
founded the Stuart dynasty.
Margaret was his second wife,
his first being Amy nic Ruari,
sister of Ranald of the Isles, by
whom he had issue (i) John,
who died without issue ; (2)
Godfrey of Uist and Garmoran,
whose descendants are said to
be extinct ; (3) Ranald, progeni-
tor of the MacDonalds of Clan
Ranald ; (4) Mary, who married
twice, first to one of the MacLeans
of Duart, and secondly, to
MacLean of Coll.

DONALD,

2nd LORD OF THE ISLES,
married Lady Mary
Leslie, only daughter
of the Countess of
Ross, by right of
which union he
claimed the Earldom
of Ross. Died be-
tween 1420-1423.

JOHN

(Mbr Tanastatr),
ancestor of the
Earls of Antrim.
Father of Donald
Balloch.

ALEXANDER

(Alasdair CarracK),
ist Chief of Keppoch.

DONALD,

a natural son ;
one of the
hostages
mentioned in
the Treaty of
1369.

I. ALEXANDER (Alasdair Carrach}, married daughter of the
Earl of Lennox. Fought at Harlaw, 1411; first
battle of Inverlochy, 1431. Burnt Inverness, for
which his lands were forfeited.

ADDENDA 469

II. ANGUS (Aongas na Feairte], son of Alexander. Fought
on the side of the Lord of the Isles. Seized the
Castles of Inverness, Ruthven, and Urquhart. Was
present with Donald Balloch at the raid upon the
Ayrshire coast. Stormed Brodick and Rothesay
Castles, and was with Angus of the Isles at the
Battle of Bloody Bay. Married a daughter of
MacPhee of Glen Pean. His daughter Mariot
married Alan Cameron, XII Chief of Lochiel
(A Hem nan Creacli).

III. DONALD, son of Angus. Supported Alexander of

Lochalsh. Took the castle of Inverness, and
plundered the lands of Urquhart. Made his peace
with James IV. at Mingarry, 1495. Married a
daughter of Lochiel.

IV. JOHN, son of Donald, called Iain Aluinn, was deposed

by his clan because he delivered one of them to the
Chief of Mackintosh, who had him hanged. John
left a son, Donald, from whom descended the famous
bard, Iain Lorn. Tempus, 1496-1498.

V. ALEXANDER, uncle of John, selected by the clan upon
the deposition of his nephew. Married a daughter
of Donald Gallach of Sleat. Her mother was a
daughter of MacDonnell of Antrim, and brought to
Skye some Irish clans, some of whom her daughter
took with her to Keppoch, and their descendants
are still in Lochaber. Of this stock come the Burkes
and Boyles, who took the surname of MacDonell.
Tempus, 1498-1500.

VI. DONALD (Glas\ son of Alexander. Built Keppoch
Castle on Tom Beag. Aided Donald Dubh of the
Isles. Huntly sent against him, and peace was
restored after two years. Married a daughter of
Lochiel. Tempus, 1500-1513.

4/0 ADDENDA

VII. RANALD (Raonuill Mbr), son of Donald. From this
chief the family of Keppoch take the patronymic
of "Mac Mhic Raonuill" Fought at Blar-nan-Leine
on the side of Iain Moydartach against Ranald
Gallda and the Frasers. Was captured owing to
the treachery of Mackintosh, who handed him over
to Huntly. Was executed at Elgin along with
Lochiel. He married a sister of Mackintosh.

VIII. ALEXANDER (Alasdair), son of Ranald, was killed at
Boloinne. Never married. Tempus, 1547-1549.

IX. RANALD, brother of Alexander. Fought under the
banner of James V., who promised to restore the
lands of Keppoch, but was prevented by death from
doing so. The Regent Murray commenced negotia-
tions for the same purpose, and would probably have
carried them through had he not met an untimely
fate by assassination. Ranald married a daughter
of Stewart of Appin.

X. ALEXANDER (Alasdair-nan-Cleas}^ eldest son of Ranald.
Supported Sir James MacDonell of Islay in his
rebellion. Fled to Spain, but was afterwards
pardoned and received a pension from the king.
He was constantly embroiled in feuds and wars
during the many years of his chieftainship. He
married a daughter of MacDougall of Lorn, by
whom he had several sons. The story of the
" Chieftain's Candlesticks " is associated with this
Keppoch. Tempus, 1591-1640.

XI. DONALD (G/as), second son of Alexander; his eldest
brother Ranald was living in exile in Spain, and
never became chief. Assisted his father in the
Islay rebellion, and later joined the army of
Montrose, and fought at the battle of Inverlochy,
February 1645. His name appears among the

ADDENDA 471

Colonels of Foot in the army of Charles II. Took
part in Glencairn's rising. He married a daughter
of Forrester of Kelbeggie. Tempus, 1640-1656.

XII. ALEXANDER, son of Donald, minor at his father's death,
the command of the clan being held by his uncle
Alexander. It was this young chief and his brother
Ranald who were so treacherously murdered at
Keppoch. There is a tradition in the family that
Alexander's father Donald (Glas) had warned the
Government of the intended Spanish invasion of
Britain, and that as a reward for the information the
Keppoch lands were to have been legally restored to
the family, but owing to the murder the matter fell
through. Tempus, 1656-1663.

XIII. ALEXANDER (Alasdair Buidhe), uncle to the murdered

chiefs. He married first a daughter of MacDonald
of Bohuntine, who was drowned on Christmas night
in the river Roy, at a place still called Linne na
h-ighnean, whilst she was returning from Loch Treig.
He then married a daughter of Glengarry. Tempus,
1663-1670.

XIV. ARCHIBALD, second son of A lasdair Buidhe. His elder

brother was not allowed to assume the chiefship, as
he was suspected of having taken part in the murder
of his cousins Alexander and Ranald. This chief
was a celebrated poet and famous warrior. He
fought under Viscount Dundee when he raised the
clans for Charles II., and is said to have been
present at Killiecrankie (Raon Ruari) with his son
Coll. He married a daughter of MacMartin of
Letterfinlay ; with issue Coll, Ranald (of Tirna-
dris), Alexander, Angus, and nine daughters, the
eldest of whom, Juliet, was a poetess of some
repute.

4/2 ADDENDA

XV. COLL (" Coll of the Cows "), son of Archibald. He was
only twenty-one years of age when he led the clan
at Mulroy (Meall RuadJi) against Mackintosh and
the Government troops. Laid siege to Inverness
to punish the inhabitants for aiding Mackintosh ;
compelled them to ground their arms before any
man wearing the MacDonald tartan, and exacted a
heavy fine from them. When Dundee arrived, Coll
joined him, and fought at Killiecrankie. Dundee was
at Keppoch before this, when the plan of his campaign
was arranged. Iain Lorn composed a song at the
time to try to rouse the chiefs to prompter action,
as he thought they were loitering too long idle in
Lochaber. Received letter from James II. after
Killiecrankie, commending the devotion of the
Keppochs to the Stuart cause ever since their greatest
misfortunes began. Coll joined Colonel Cannon,
Dundee's successor ; but with the other chiefs, who
lost confidence in him, Coll retired after signing
the agreement to meet together to concert other
measures. He signed the letter of the chiefs in
answer to MacKay's offer to lay down their arms,
in which they refused to do so. When Cannon
was succeeded by Buchan, there was a meeting
at Keppoch of the chiefs to decide what course
they would pursue. It was unanimously decided to
continue the war. Coll was outlawed for Mulroy,
did not make his peace for seven years ; was
marked for destruction before massacre of Glencoe,
but made his peace before. In 1715 Coll joined Earl
of Mar ; was at Sheriffmuir, where the MacDonells
particularly distinguished themselves on the right.
After the clansmen were compelled to deliver their
arms, the chiefs retired, Coll going to France, where
he remained a year in the service of James VI 1 1.,
and was one of the principal movers in planning the

ADDENDA 473

last final struggle of the Stuarts, which was under-
taken in the '45. Coll married Barbara, daughter
of Sir Donald MacDonald of Sleat ; her mother was
daughter of the Earl of Morton. He had issue Alex-
ander, Donald (executed at Kennington Common in
1746), and Archibald. A daughter married to
Cameron of Errachd, whose son raised the 79th
Cameron Highlanders.

XVI. ALEXANDER, succeeded his father, was ten years in the
French army. In 1743 went to France with proposal
to Prince Charles's French Court ; was one of the
first to join the prince at Glenfinnan. On hearing
of prince's arrival, held council at Keppoch, and gave
it as his opinion that their duty was to raise men
instantly for the protection of his person, whatever
might be the consequences. He was the attached
friend as well as the devoted follower of his prince,
whom he had known from his childhood. About
an hour after standard was raised in Glenfinnan,
the remainder of Keppoch clan arrived. It was
by Keppoch's advice battle was given to General
Cope at Prestonpans (see Home's " Works "). After
Falkirk, Tirnadris taken, then executed at Carlisle.
When it was found necessary to retreat north, as
the army was much diminished by desertion after
Falkirk, Prince Charles would not consent, and it was
Keppoch who was sent to persuade him, because
of the prince's confidence in his judgment and tried
affection, and to Keppoch he yielded where others
had failed (see note, Home's "Works"). Prince
Charles spent a night at Keppoch before the
attempt to surprise him at Moy Hall, and that
night Keppoch's youngest daughter was born, and
named Charlotte after the royal guest. It was on
this occasion that the prince received the tartan

474 ADDENDA

plaid which had been spun and dyed by Mrs
MacDonell of Keppoch. He left it at Moy Hall,
and it was always kept over the bed on which he
slept by the late Lady Mackintosh. He married
Jessie, daughter of Stewart of Appin. The manner
of his death at Culloden is well known. Was suc-
ceeded by Angus.

XVII. ANGUS, his son, who had fought at Culloden with his
. father, took his place at the head of the clan. He was
only twenty-one. He was not the son of Miss Stewart
of Appin. Some have doubted his legitimacy, on
account of his resigning the chieftainship later, but
there is no proof that such was the case, and he was
always treated as the chiefs eldest son, and remained
at the head of the family when he died. At the
meeting held on the 8th May 1746 by the chiefs, who
entered into a bond for their mutual defence never
to lay down their arms or make a general peace
without the consent of the whole, Angus was present
as representative of his clan. By this bond they
1 solemnly promised to raise, on behalf of their
prince, as many able-bodied men as they could
on their respective estates, and agreed that the
following chiefs, viz., Lochiel, Glengarry, Clanranald,
Stewart of Appin, Keppoch, Barisdale, MacKinnon,
and MacLeod, should assemble on Thursday, I5th
May, at Ach-na-carry in Lochaber, etc., etc., and that
anyone engaged in the association making terms for
himself would be looked upon as a traitor to his
prince, and treated as an enemy by his associates
(see Appendix, Home's " Works "). The chiefs had
been too sanguine, for not one of them, for various
reasons, was able to meet on the appointed day.
Lochiel later wrote a circular to his brother chiefs,
advising them, under existing circumstances, to

ADDENDA 475

disperse their people ; but as expectation of assist-
ance from France was still entertained, he requested
them to preserve their arms as long as possible.
Angus then was in hiding near Loch Treig. Then
he and MacNab of Innisewen were with the prince
through some of his perilous wanderings. It was
the relation of some of these adventures then, that
awakened the prince's memory to those times which
he had completely forgotten, when Angus's son
John (writer of MSS. notes), as a young man, went
to see his prince at Rome, when the latter was an
old man and almost blind. He gave John a piece
of the ribbon off his orders. Angus married a
daughter of MacDonell (Achnancoichean). Their son
Donald married the daughter of Barbara (the eldest
daughter who left issue, of Keppoch of Culloden's
six daughters) ; and their son Angus, who married
the granddaughter of Charlotte, Keppoch's youngest
daughter, was the late chief of Keppoch. Angus
resigned the chieftainship to his brother Ronald, who
was between nine and ten years old at Culloden.
By Angus's advice his brother applied for a grant
of the Keppoch lands through the Duke of Gordon,
as Angus's life being under attainder for his share
in the rising of '45, he could not do so himself.
His brother having the lands, he also gave up his
place as chief.

XVIII. RANALD, second son of Keppoch of Culloden, succeeded
as chief about 1759, after he had been serving in the
1st battalion of the /8th or Fraser's Highlanders,
which he entered as lieutenant when it was raised in
1757. His name is entered as son of Keppoch, not
as chief. He built the present Keppoch House about
this time ; returned to active service in Jamaica and
America later on. In Jamaica he married a Miss

476 ADDENDA

Cargill about 1780-82; had two sons who left no
issue, and one daughter unmarried. One daughter
married, whose family are now in Edinburgh. She
was married to a Mr Stewart, W.S. After Ranald
retired from the army, the 79th Cameron Highlanders
were raised in 1793, principally by Alan Cameron
of Errachd (Keppoch's first cousin), who was colonel
of the regiment. Keppoch did not join himself, but
raised about two hundred of the Keppoch clan to
swell the ranks. Athletic sports were held on the
occasion, and the first prize for running and leaping
was won by Keppoch's valet, though he wore his livery
and top boots. This man was called Angus Mac-
Donell, known as Aonghas Mac-Raonutll, and was
still alive and gardener at Keppoch during the early
married life of Angus MacDonell (my father), to
whom he related the circumstances. The tartan for
the regiment was designed by Mrs Cameron of
Errachd (sister of Keppoch of Culloden), as the
Cameron tartan or the Keppoch tartan did not look
well with the scarlet jacket. The tartan designed
was a blend of ordinary MacDonald tartan with a
yellow stripe taken from the Cameron tartan. The
march of the regiment was " Piobaireachd DhomknuiU
Duibh" composed for Donald Balloch at the first
battle of Inverlochy. From the patronymic of the
Camerons being " Mac Dhomhnuill Duibh" and the
Cameron regiment having the tune as their march,
many people lately have thought it was a Cameron
pipe tune ; but it is, and always has been, a Mac-
Donald piobaireachd. Ranald's two sons were in
the army (Gordon Highlanders, Richard's regiment;
Alexander, I am not sure which regiment), and were
in the Peninsular war wounded several times ; both
died unmarried. The youngest son of Keppoch
of Culloden, Alexander, was major in the army;

ADDENDA 477

married daughter of Tirnadris. His son Chichester
left two sons, who were both killed in the war in
Canada ; both unmarried. The son John and two
daughters never married. Major Alexander emi-
grated to Canada, where he died. He has no
descendants extant.

ANGUS was great grandson of Keppoch of Culloden
twice over, as his father was son to Angus,
Keppoch's son, and his mother was daughter to
Barbara, Keppoch's daughter (the eldest who left
issue). He was next in succession. He married
Christina M'Nab, whose mother was the daughter of
Charlotte, Keppoch of Culloden's youngest daughter.
The old man, who related about the raising of the
79th, was their gardener for some years after they
married. The lands of Keppoch had passed finally
to Mackintosh of Mackintosh at the death of Ranald,
the chief who was at the raising of the 79th, as
the grant he had obtained was not renewed, as
the Duke of Gordon, through whom it had been
obtained, had lost his hold of Lochaber and his
influence. So they lived at Keppoch as Mackin-
tosh's tenants.

DONALD, their son, three times descended from
Keppoch of Culloden, was the next Keppoch, and
died in 1879 unmarried. He was our only living
brother. A cousin in India is the next in succes-
sion.

[This MS. was kindly furnished by Miss Josephine Mac-
Donell of Keppoch, and was copied by herself from an original
MS. in possession of her mother, Mrs MacDonell of Keppoch
(nee M'Nab), wife of Angus, chief of Keppoch.]

Lochaber Weapons.

INDEX.

PAGE

A' bhaintigearna bheag, , . . . . . . 342

A 1 bhanntrach ruadh, ........ 354

Abinger, Lord, ......... 406

Achdalieu, ......... 83

Ach-na-carry, . . . . . . . . .115

Act of Attainder, . . . . . . . 305

Act of Indemnity, . . . . . . . .311

Ailein Muideartach, . . . . . . . .151

Ailein nan Creach^ ...... 30, 246, 249, 394

Alasdair Carrach, . . . . . .21, 22, 23, 26, 93

Alasdair nan Cleas, ....... 46, 470

Albannach, ......... 9

Alford, .......... 67

Antrim, Earl of, ...... 40, 44, 51, 54

Aonghas Mac-Raonuill, . . . . . . . 357

Aonghas no, Ftairte (Angus of Keppoch), .... 30, 469

Aonghas Og, . . . ' . . . .21

Argyll, Earl of, ...... 39. 44, S 1 . 54

Argyll in 1715, .... . . 150

Argyll, John, Duke of, ....... 99

Argyll's Flight from Inverlochy, ...... 65

Auldearn, . . . . . , . . . .67

Baillie, Major-General, .... 55

Balloch, Donald, . . . . . . 25, 26, 415, 476

Banavie, ...... . . 12

Bannockburn, . . . . . . .21

Banquo, . . . . . *3

Bard of Keppoch see Iain Lorn, . . .- 5^

Battle of the Shirts, ....... 3^, 37

480 INDEX

PAGE

Ben Nevis the name, . . . . . . . 71, 174

Berchan, St, ... 12, 416

Bill of Attainder, . . ..... 305

Black Lord of Badenoch, . . . . . . .16

Black Tailor of the Axe, The, . . . . . 41, 43

"Black Watch," 170

Blarmachfhuildaich, . , . . . . . .13

Bl&r nan leine, ....... 36, 37

Boyds of Ardgour, ....... 33, 464

Brae Lochaber names, ........ 463

Bruce, Robert, . . . . . . . 15, 16

Burt's Letters, Captain, . . . . . . 172, 173

Cailein Uaine, . . . . . . . . .251

Caithness, Earl of, . . . . . . . .27

Caledonian Canal, ........ 397

Callart, ..... .... 12

Cameron Origin of Name, . . . . . 17, 18

Genealogy, . . . . . . 218, 463, 466

Pibroch, ........ 81

Cameron, Alan, ........ 79

Cameron, Angus, . . . . . . . .18

Cameron, Charles, ........ 349

Cameron, Donald, the "Gentle" Lochiel, . 154, 163, 184, 265, 268, 287

Death of, . . . . . . . 317

Present Chief, ........ 403

Cameron, Dr Archibald, .... 201, 202, 293, 328, 335

Cameron, Ewen, of Lochiel, ....... 40

Cameron, John, . . . . . . . 154, 163

Cameron, John, of Fassfern, ....... 369

Death of, ....... 377, 406

Cameron, Lady Margaret, ....... 404

Cameron, Ludovick, of Torcastle, ..... 163, 293

Cameron, Major-General Sir Alexander, ..... 382

Cameron, Miss Jenny, ........ 192

Cameron of Errachd, Alan, ...... 353, 354

Cameron, Sir Duncan, ....... 388

Cameron, Sir Ewen, . . 58, 75, 76, 82, 113, 146, 155, 156, 161, 434

Cameron Highlanders, Sketch of, ..... 359, 459

Cameron Volunteers, ....... 357, 459

Camerons of Glen Nevis, . . . . . . .218

Campbell-Bannerman on Tartan, ...... 357

INDEX 481

PAGE

Campbell, Mrs Cameron, ....... 389

Campbell of Ach-na-breac, . . . . . 57, 65

Campbell of Fonab, . . . . . . . .169

Campbell of Glenure, Murder of, . . . . .321

Campbell of Monzie, ........ 389

Camus nan Gall, . . . . . . . .251

Caolas mhic Phadruig, ....... 393

Carnich, ......... 26

Castle Tioram, ......... 36

Charlemagne, . . . . . . . . . 7, 10

Charles II., Death of, ...... 87, 145

Chronicle of St Berchan, . . . . . 12, 416

" Cia mar (ha?" ........ 367

Cille-Chuimein, . . . . . . . .17

Clach-an-turr amain ) . . . . . . ... 221

Clach na h-Annait, ........ 246

Clack nan CaimbeulacJt, ....... 64

Clack Shomhairle, .' . . . . . , .214

Clan Battle, The last, . ..... 100

Clan Chattan, ......... 17-18

Clanranald, Origin of, . . . . . . . .21

Claverhouse, . . . . . . ... 106, 115

Death of, . . . . . . . 124

Clayton, Colonel, . . . . . . . .160

Cluny, . . . . . . . . . 201

Cnocan-na-mi-chomhairle, . , . . . .221

Coll of the Cows, . . . . . . .95, 354, 472

' ' Colonel Anne " Mackintosh, ..... 203, 261

Comyn, Black and Red, . . . . . . .16

Comyn, Sir John, . . . . . . .16

Comyns of Lochaber and Badenoch, . . . . . 15, 17

Cope, Sir John, ........ 199

Corpach, . . . . . . . . 12, 30

Craigs, The, ......... 131

Cromwell, ........ 72, 73

Culloden, Battle of, . . . . . . 253

Cumberland, Duke of, . . . . 252, 261, 265

D&n Chloinn Uisneachain, ....... 227

Davidsons, . . . . - . . . .19

Deirdre, Legend of, . . . . . . . 228

Disarming Act, . . .. . . . . .311

Dbmhnull nan Ord, . . . . . . . .251

INDEX

PAGE

Donald Glas, ..... go

Donald, King, .... 7

Donald of the Isles, ..... 7

Druim-na-Birlinn, ..... ^q!

Drummond, Lady Mary, .... 137

Drummossie Muir, ...... 2

Duncan I., . . . . I2

Eilean Mhic-an Toisich, ...... 284

Eobhan MacAilein, .... ^e^ 410

Eocha, King, IV., . 7, 8, 10, 12

Errachd Camerons, .... -ic-i

Ethodius, King, ..... 6

Ewin, King, .... 6

Falkirk, Battle of, ....... 2o6

Farquharson of Invercauld, ..... 203

Fassfern, John Cameron of, . . . . yj 335 377

"Florida," The, .... I2O

Fordun, 6> 7

Fort Augustus, ....... ^

Fort William, . . . 12, 64, 127, 130, 134

Burning of, . . . . . t .213

Railway to, ........ 401

School, , 42

Sie g e of . .... 241, 245

Fraser Highlanders, ..... 337 347

Frasers ' ... - 36, 37

Freiceadan Dubh, The, .... 170

Gardiner, Colonel, . . . . . 2O4

George III., . 34 g

George IV., . 3 g 5

George, Prince, . . . . . ' . .144

Glenaladale, ....... I n O 275

Glencoe, Massacre of, ..... j, 2

Glenfinnan, ...... iox>

Glengarry, Origin of, .... 2I

Glen Nevis, ...... 213

Glen Roy, ......... 56

Gonranus, King, ...... 7

INDEX 483

PAGE

Gordon, Duchess of, . . . . . . . 373

Gordon Highlanders, ....... 369, 372

Gordons of Huntly their Origin, . . . . . .34

Gormshuill, . . . . . . . .120

Graham, James (Montrose), ....... 49

Graham of Claverhouse see Viscount Dundee, .... 104

Harlavv, Battle of, . . . . . . .23

Head, Mrs, of Inverailort, ....... 382

Henry IX., ......... 346

Hereditary Jurisdiction, Abolition of, . . . . . .312

High Bridge, . . . . . . ' . . 186

Highland Garb in 1688, The, . . ' . . . . 101

Hollinshed, . . . . . . . . 6, 7, u

Huntly, ........ 27, 34

Iain Aluinn, ......... 58

Iain Dubh Cameron, ........ 308

Iain Garbh, . . . . . . . . .30

Iain Lom, Bard of Keppoch, . . . .58, 98, 119, 128, 142, 435

Inveraray, ......... 54

Inverlochy, . . . . . . . 5, 12, 26

Battle of, ...... 26, 55, 57, 60, 69

Garrison, . . . . . . . 75, 112

Newport, ...... 129, 143, 431

Inverlochy Castle, . . . . . . . 16, 69

Invernahavon, Battle of, . . . . . . .19

James I., . . . . . . . .24

James II. and VII., ........ 139

James III. and VIII., . . 139, 147, 148, 155, 158, 177, 298, 343

Keppoch Chiefs, . . . ' . . . .468

Keppoch Family Poets, ....... 465

Keppoch Murder, The, . . . . . . 58, 88, 91

Keppoch, Origin of Family, . . . . . . .21

Keppoch's Candlesticks, ....... 257

Kill a Choireil, . . . . , . . . 249

Killiecrankie, . . . . . . . 121, 122, 123

484 INDEX

PAGE

Kilmallie, . . . . . . . . 71, 250

Kilsyth, ......... 67

Kilt, Defence of, ........ 363

Knox, John, ........ 47, 48

Last execution in Scotland under feudal laws, .... 165

Latha Inblier-Lochaidh, . . . . . . .431

Laud, Archbishop, ........ 48

Lesly, Bishop of Ross, . . . . . . .10

Livingstones at Ardgour, ....... 33

Lochaber, meaning of name, . . . . . . . i, n

In 1689, '. . . . . . . .in

"Lochaber no more," ....... 295

Lochan a Chlaidheamh, . . . . . . .120

Lochgarry, ......... 294

Lochiel's family in 1719, . . . . . . .163

Loch-nan-uamh, ....... 183, 289

Lochy, River, . . . . . . . . . 5, 12

Lords of the Isles, ........ 21

Lundavra, meaning of name, . . . . . . 12, 13

MacAindrea, Iain beag, ....... 237

Macaulay, Lord, . . . . . . . 114, 122

MacBane, Donald, . . . . . . . .98

Macbeth, . . . . . . . . 12, 13, 14

Mac Cailean M6r, . . . . 44, 54, 56, 63, 116, 143, 151

MacCrimmon, . . . . . . . . .211

Mac-Dhomhnuill Duibh, ....... 30

MacDonalds of Keppoch their Origin, . . -37, 92, 95, 405

Alexander, . . . - . . . .46

Cicely, the poetess, ....... 93

Coll, ......... 92

Ranald, . . . 339, 341, 352, 421

MacDonald, Alasdair, of Antrim, "Mac Colla Ciotach" . . 53, 57

MacDonald, Flora, ........ 274

MacDonald of Glenaladale, Alexander, . . . . .197

MacDonald of Glengarry, Alexander, ...... 89

MacDonald of Tirnadris, ....... 302

MacDonald of Tulloch, ....... 96

MacDonalds of Isla, ........ 53

MacDonald, Strontian, ... . . . . -39

MacDonwald, The Merciless, . . . . . . . 13, 14

INDEX 485

PAGE

MacDougall of Lome, . . . . . . .41

Macdugald, Flora, . . . . . . . .451

MacGille Chnamhaich, ....... 346

MacGillivray of Dunmaglass, ....... 203

MacGillonies, . . . . . . . . 19, 20, 354

Maclain of Ardnamurchan, ....... 26

Maclain of Glencoe, . . . . . . 133, 394

Mac ic Eobhainn, . . . . . . -33

MacKay, Angus Dubh, ....... 23

MacKay, General Hugh, ..... 108, 119, 127, 243

MacKellar, Mrs Mary, . . . . 12, 82, 90, 239, 349

Mackintosh, ......... 17

Origin, ... .... 1 8, 92

Tradition, ........ 259

Mackintosh, Captain, ........ 350

Mackintosh, Dr Fraser, . . . . . -5) 142, 219

MacLean, Charles, ........ 22

MacLean, Ewen, ........ 32

MacLean of Ardgour, . . . . . . . .31

MacLean of Coll, Lachlan, ....... 30

MacLean of Duart, . . . . . . .30

MacLean, Red Hector, . . . . . . .31

MacLeans at Harlaw, The, ....... 23

MacLeod of MacLeod, ....... 120

MacMartins of Letterfinlay, ...... 218, 291

MacMasters, . . . . . . . 31, 32, 33

MacMillans, . . .... . . . . 381

M'Nicol, Rev. Donald, ....... 10

MacPhersons, . . . . . . . 19, 99

Cluny, . . ... . . . .19

Duncan, of Cliiny, . . . . . . 348

Ewen, of Cluny, . . . . . . . 293

Malcolm II., . . . . . . . . .12

Mamore, . . . . . . . . 5, 12, 13

Mar, . . . . 26, 28, 147, 154, 157

Mary Queen of Scots, ........ 47

Meall-an-l-suidhe, , . . . . . . i

Mile Dubh, . . . . . . / . . 284

Monk, General, . . - . - . . . . -73

Montrose, Marquis of, . . . . . . . 49, 50, 68

Morris, Mowbray, . . . - . . . . . 51

Mort-na-Ceapach, . . . . . . . .91

Moy Castle, . . . . . . . . 209

Rout, . . . . . . . 210

486

INDEX

Nether Lochaber,

Nevis, Ben, see Ben Nevis,

389
71

O'Birrin,

Ogilvie, Sir Thomas, .

Onich, .

Orange, William, Prince of,

28, 29

- 65

392
138, 139

Perth, North Inch of, .

Philiphaugh,

Pibroch of Donald Dhu,

"Pickle the Spy,"

Picts' name and dress,

Piper story,

Pitt, William, .

Prestonpans,

Prince Charlie, .

Prince of Orange, The,

Queen Victoria at Lochaber, .

Ranald Galda, ....

Ranald of the Hens, .

Recruiting in Highlands,

Recruiting poster of Cameron Volunteers,

Robert II.,

Rob Roy, ....

Ruthven Castle,

Scott, Captain, .

Seaforth, Earl of,

Sheriffinuir, . . .

Silver Shoe, Ailein nan Creach's,

Skene, Dr,

Sliochd a ghamhna mhaoil Duinn,

Sliochd Eobhainn ic Eobhainn t

Sliochd Shomhairle Ruaidh,

. . 6 7

5, 358. 415. 476

. 273

. 8, 9

. 239

336-337
204

117, 272, 275, 283, 297, 343
. 103

386, 407

36
369
356

18
152

. 186

55
150

. 249
218, 233

39i

353
218, 226, 391

INDEX 487

PAGE

Sons of Uisnach, ........ 227

Speed, John, ......... 12

St Andrew's Cross Badge of Scotland, ..... 10

Stapleton, ......... 242

Stewart, Alan Breck, . . . . . . ... 320

Stewart, James, of the Glen, . . . . . 320, 324, 325

Stewart ("Nether Lochaber"), Dr, ...... 143

Taillear Dubh na Tuaige, ...... 41, 226

Tartan, Cameron of Errachd, . . . ' . . 358, 476

Tau Ghairm, . . . . . . . . . . 247

Telford, . 397, 398

Thane of Lochaber, ........ 14

The "Forty-Five," ........ 177

Tobar nan Ccann, ........ 91

Tom-eas-an-t-slinnein, . . . . . . . .217

Tor Castle, ......... 24

Tor-nan-cor t . . . . . . . . . 226

Torran-na-brataich, ........ 64

Tullibardine, Marquis of, . . . . . 195

TJ
Urquhart Castle, ....... 22, 37

Viscount Dundee see Claverhouse, . . . ' . 104, 105, 115

Wade, General, ........ 167

Walkinshaw, Clementina, ....... 345

Walter, Steward of Scotland, . . . . . . '15

Well of Heads, ........ 91

White Rose League, . . . . . . . 297, 409

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SEP 27 1983

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