Gairloch In North-West Ross-Shire Part 6

The stories of the various contests, extending over more than a century, during which the M'Leods were gradually expelled from Gairloch, fill a large page in the traditional history of the parish.

We have seen how Allan M'Leod, laird of Gairloch, was a.s.sa.s.sinated (along with his two little boys) by his jealous brothers, and how this led to the commission of fire and sword being granted by the king about the year 1480, directing Hector Roy Mackenzie to exterminate the Gairloch M'Leods. It must have been in Hector Roy's time that Ruaridh M'Leod was driven from the island in Loch Maree which bears his name, for we find that before Hector Roy's death, and after the fight at Beallach Glasleathaid and other skirmishes, the M'Leods were restricted to one-third of Gairloch, being the parts to the east and south-east of the hill called the Crasg, so that they must from that time have only retained the two strongholds known as the Dun of Gairloch and the Uamh nam Freiceadain (Part I., chaps. vii. and ix.).

The following incident seems to have occurred during the struggles in which Hector Roy took part, and before the M'Leods had been ousted from the islands of Loch Maree.

At this time a Mackenzie, known as Murchadh Riabhach na Chuirce, or Brindled Murdo of the Bowie-knife, lived at Letterewe. The M'Leods still held the fortalice or crannog called Eilean Grudidh, in Loch Maree, about a mile distant from Letterewe. One of these M'Leods, named MacIain Dhuibh, or Black John's son, crossed over one day in his boat to the house of Brindled Murdo at Letterewe, when the latter was away on an expedition among the hills. Only the women had stayed at home, and M'Leod is charged with a foul deed. He remained at Letterewe over night.

Next day Brindled Murdo returned home, and finding what had happened, attacked M'Leod, who, becoming disabled, fled up the hills behind Letterewe. Seeing that Murdo was outrunning him, and knowing that his end had come, M'Leod stopped, and, as his pursuer approached, entreated that he might die in sight of his beloved Loch Maree. Brindled Murdo of the Bowie-knife refused his pet.i.tion, and slew him where he stood, and there they buried him. The place is called to this day Feith Mhic Iain Dhuibh, _i.e._ "the bog of Black John's son." On the six-inch ordnance map it is called Glac Mhic Iain Dhuibh, or "the dell of Black John's son."

During the time of John Gla.s.sich Mackenzie and his two elder sons, there are no records of the warfare with the M'Leods. It seems possible that both Hector and Alastair Roy, sons of John Gla.s.sich, were slain by M'Leods of Gairloch, though some suppose that their deaths were the result of the continued hostility of their relatives of Kintail.

About the time that John Roy Mackenzie, youngest son of John Gla.s.sich, came to Gairloch, Ruaridh MacAllan M'Leod, head of the M'Leods of Gairloch, who had the _soubriquet_ of Nimhneach, or "venomous,"

committed a fearful crime. It will be remembered that John Roy's deceased brother, Alastair Roy, had married the daughter of Iain MacGhille Challum M'Leod, laird of Raasay (called Iain na Tuaighe, or John of the Axe), by his marriage with Janet, daughter of John Mackenzie, lord of Kintail. Iain MacGhille Challum had given great offence to his clan, the Siol Mhic Ghille Challum, by marrying his daughter to a Gairloch Mackenzie. After the death of Janet Mackenzie, his first wife, Iain MacGhille Challum had married a sister of his relative, the before-named Ruaridh MacAllan M'Leod. There were sons by both marriages. Ruaridh MacAllan, taking advantage of the discontent of the Siol Mhic Ghille Challum, plotted the destruction of MacGhille Challum and his sons by his first marriage, hoping that his own nephew, the eldest son of MacGhille Challum's second marriage, would then inherit Raasay. Ruaridh MacAllan induced MacGhille Challum, and his sons by the first marriage, to meet him at the island of Isay, in Waternish, on the pretence that he desired to consult them on matters of importance. After entertaining them at a feast he retired to another room, and then caused them to be summoned singly to his presence. As each came forward he was a.s.sa.s.sinated. The eldest son of the second marriage, then a young boy, who was in an inner apartment, hearing the dying screams of one of his half-brothers, called out in an agony, "That's my brother's cry!" "Never mind," said the ruthless Ruaridh MacAllan, "his screams will make you laird of Raasay." Donald Gregory, in his history, says that the Mackenzies of Gairloch pursued Ruaridh Mac Allan, in revenge for the murder of Iain Mac Ghille Challum's sons, whose mother had been Janet Mackenzie, and whose sister had been the wife of John Roy's brother. At this time there was a great feud between Ruaridh M'Leod of the Lews, a.s.sisted by Neil Angusson M'Leod of a.s.synt and by the blood-stained Ruaridh Mac Allan of Gairloch on the one hand, and Colin Mackenzie, lord of Kintail (a.s.sisted by other chiefs), fighting on behalf of his cousin Torquil Connanach M'Leod, on the other hand. It is unnecessary in these pages to state the origin and course of this dispute. Donald Gregory tells us that John Roy Mackenzie, impelled no doubt by the motive of revenge already mentioned, was most active on the side of his relative of Kintail. In June 1569 the Regent Murray and his council sat at Inverness, and put a stop for the time being to the feud so far as the leaders were concerned, but their intervention did not make an end of John Roy's vengeful proceedings against Ruaridh Mac Allan M'Leod of Gairloch. The warfare between these chieftains is said to have been long and fierce. Ultimately Ruaridh Mac Allan was slain--probably shot--by the great MacRae archer, Domhnull Odhar Mac Iain Leith, of whom more anon. It seems to have been nearly the end of the sixteenth century before John Roy finally expelled the M'Leods from Gairloch. They had long since abandoned the Dun of Gairloch, and were now driven from the Uamh nam Freiceadain, their last stronghold in the parish.

The savage nature of this prolonged struggle is ill.u.s.trated by the tradition, that a number of M'Leods were hung on gallows erected on a hillock a little to the north of the Free Church at Kenlochewe. The hillock is called to this day Cnoc a Chrochadair, or "the hangman's hillock." They say that Domhnull Odhar took part in the capture of the M'Leods who were executed here.

It was after the expulsion of the M'Leods that the affair of Leac nan Saighead occurred. Many of the M'Leods who had been driven from Gairloch had settled in Skye. A number of young men of the clan were invited by their chief to pa.s.s Hogmanay night in his castle at Dunvegan. There was a large gathering. In the kitchen there was an old woman, who was always occupied in carding wool. She was known as Mor Ban, or Fair Sarah, and was supposed to be a witch. After dinner was over at night the men began to drink, and when they had pa.s.sed some time thus they sent into the kitchen for the Mor Ban. She came, and sat down in the hall with the men. She drank one or two gla.s.ses, and then she said it was a poor thing for the M'Leods to be deprived of their own lands in Gairloch and to live in comparative poverty in Skye. "But," says she, addressing the whole party, "prepare yourselves and start to-morrow for Gairloch, sail in the black birlinn, and you shall regain Gairloch. I shall be a witness of your success when you return." The men being young, and not over-burdened with wisdom, believed her, because they thought she had the power of divination. They set sail in the morning for Gairloch, and the black galley was full of the M'Leods. It was evening when they came into the loch, and they dare not risk landing on the mainland, for they remembered that the descendants of Domhnull Greannach (a great Macrae) were still there, and they knew their prowess only too well. They therefore turned to the south side of the loch, and fastened their birlinn to Fraoch Eilean, in the shelter opposite Leac-nan-Saighead, between s.h.i.+eldaig and Badachro. They decided to wait there till morning, then disembark and walk round the head of the loch. But all the movements of the M'Leods had been well watched. Domhnull Odhar MacIain Leith and his brother Iain Odhar MacIain Leith, the celebrated Macrae archers (sons of Iain Liath, mentioned in Part I., chap. xi.) knew the birlinn of the M'Leods, and they determined to oppose their landing.

They walked round by s.h.i.+eldaig and posted themselves before daylight at the back of the Leac, a protecting rock overlooking Fraoch Eilean. The steps on which they stood at the back of the rock are still pointed out.

Donald Odhar, being a short man, took the higher of the two steps, and Iain the other. Standing on these steps they crouched down in the shelter of the rock, whence they commanded a full view of the island on which the M'Leods were lying here and there, while the Macrae heroes were invisible from the island. They were both celebrated shots, and had their bows and arrows with them. As soon as the day dawned they opened fire on the M'Leods; a number of them were killed before their comrades were even aware of the direction whence the fatal arrows came. The M'Leods endeavoured to answer the fire, but not being able to see their foes, their arrows took no effect. In the heat of the fight one of the M'Leods climbed the mast of the birlinn, for a better sight of the position of the foe. Iain Odhar took his deadly aim at him when near the top of the mast. The shaft pierced his body and pinned him to the mast.

"Oh," says Donald, "you have sent a pin through his broth." So the slaughter continued, and the remnant of the M'Leods hurried into the birlinn. They cut the rope and turned her head seawards, and by this time only two of them were left alive. So great was their hurry to escape that they left all the bodies of their slain companions on the island. The rumour of the arrival of the M'Leods had spread during the night, and other warriors, such as Fionnla Dubh na Saighead and Fear s.h.i.+eldaig, were soon at the scene of action, but all they had to do was to a.s.sist in the burial of the dead M'Leods. Pits were dug, into each of which a number of the dead bodies were thrown, and mounds were raised over them, which remain to this day as any one may see. The name Leac-nan-Saighead means "the flat stone of the arrows."

Donald Odhar is credited with a similar feat to that performed by his brother Iain at Leac-nan-Saighead. It was probably before the affair at that place that a birlinn, manned by M'Leods, came in to the bay, now called the Bay of Charlestown, to reconnoitre Gairloch. Donald Odhar was on the hill behind Flowerdale, called Craig a Chait, and as usual carried his bow and arrows. He saw the Macleods enter the bay; one of them climbed the mast of the vessel for a better view, when Donald Odhar, taking advantage of the comparatively distinct mark thus presented, let fly an arrow with unerring aim, and pinned the unfortunate M'Leod to the mast. The distance traversed by the arrow cannot have been less than half a mile.

Fionnla Dubh na Saighead was a relative of Donald Odhar and Iain Odhar, and was also of the Macraes of Kintail. Finlay usually lived at Melvaig.

As a marksman he was on a par with Donald Odhar. In his day young M'Leod, laird of a.s.synt, came to Gairloch in his birlinn to ask for a daughter of John Roy in marriage. He was refused, and set off northwards on his return voyage in his birlinn, which was manned with sixteen oars.

They rowed quite close to the land round Rudha Reidh, the furthest out headland of the North point; Rudha Reidh was then known as Seann Rudha, a name which is still sometimes given to it. Fionnla Dubh na Saighead sat on a rock as the birlinn pa.s.sed. He called out, "Whence came the heroes?" They replied, "We came from Gairloch." "What were you doing there?" said Finlay. "We were asking in marriage the daughter of Mackenzie of Gairloch for this young gentleman." "Did you get her?" said Finlay. They replied, "Oh, no." Finlay dismissed them with a contemptuous gesture and an insulting expression. They pa.s.sed on their way without molesting him, because they had no arms with them. Young M'Leod brooded over the insult he had received from Finlay Macrae, who was well known to him by repute. He soon returned with his sixteen-oared birlinn, manned by the choicest warriors of a.s.synt, to take vengeance on Finlay, who noticed the galley and guessed who were its occupants. He called for one Chisholm, his brother-in-arms, and the two of them proceeded to a leac, or flat stone, close to the edge of the low cliff about a mile north of Melvaig; the leac is still pointed out. They reached this place before the Macleods could effect a landing. On the way the Chisholm said to Finlay, "You must leave all the speaking to me." As the birlinn drew near Chisholm called out, "What do you want?"

"We want Fionnla Dubh na Saighead." "You won't get him, or thanks," said Chisholm; "go away in peace." The M'Leods began to threaten them. "If that is the way," said Chisholm, "let every man look out for himself."

The contest (_cath_) began. Finlay and Chisholm were well sheltered at the back of the leac. A number of the M'Leods were killed by the arrows of the two heroes on sh.o.r.e, whilst they themselves remained uninjured.

The M'Leods, finding their losses so severe, soon thought that discretion was the better part of valour, and, turning their birlinn northwards, departed for their own country. They never again molested Finlay.

There is an elevated place on the north point of Gairloch, called Bac an Leth-choin, or "the hillock of the cross-bred dog." About mile to the east, and much lower, is a ridge called Druim Carn Neill, or the "ridge of the cairn of Neil." Fionnla Dubh na Saighead one day spied a man named Neil M'Leod near his own house at Melvaig, at the south-west corner of the North Point. Finlay fired an arrow at the man and wounded him. Neil, who was a swift runner, fled eastwards over the high ground.

Finlay gave chase, accompanied by a cross-bred dog, a sort of lurcher, which followed on the track of Neil. When Finlay reached the Bac an Leth-choin he caught sight of Neil, and shot him dead at the Druim Carn Neill. Neil was buried where he fell, and a cairn was raised over his grave. Both the Bac an Leth-choin and the Druim Carn Neill are shown to the north of Inverasdale on the six-inch ordnance map. Some remains of Neil's cairn are still pointed out.

It would seem that the Gairloch M'Leods did not soon give up all hope of regaining their former territory, for we find that in 1610 a severe engagement took place between Mackenzies and M'Leods at Lochan an Fheidh (sometimes wrongly spelt Lochan a' Neigh), on the west side of Scoor Dubh, above Glen Torridon, just past the southern corner of Gairloch.

The Mackenzies, under the leaders.h.i.+p of Alastair Breac, John Roy's second son, and a.s.sisted by Donald Odhar and other MacRaes, completely routed the M'Leods, who were commanded by Iain MacAllan Mhic Ruaridh (now the representative of Allan M'Leod, formerly laird of Gairloch), accompanied by his uncle John Tolmach M'Leod. Iain MacAllan was taken prisoner; many of his followers were killed, seventeen or eighteen taken prisoners, and the few who escaped with John Tolmach were pursued out of the district. The slain M'Leods were buried on the field of battle, where their graves are still pointed out; nettles are growing about them to-day.

In August 1611 Murdo Mackenzie, third son of John Roy, with a party of Gairloch men, set sail for the Isle of Skye in a vessel well stocked with wine and provisions, with the object of carrying off the daughter of Donald Dubh MacRuaridh, a cousin of Iain MacAllan. A marriage between John Roy's son and Donald Dubh's daughter would have vested the ancient rights of the Gairloch M'Leods in the Mackenzies. Some say that Murdo's intention was also to seize John Tolmach M'Leod, who had escaped from Lochan an Fheidh. The s.h.i.+p was driven by a storm into a sheltered bay off Kirkton of Raasay, where young M'Leod, the laird of Raasay, at that time resided. Here Murdo Mackenzie cast anchor. Young Raasay hearing that Murdo was on board, resolved to attempt to secure him by stratagem, in order to get him exchanged for his relative Iain MacAllan Mhic Ruaridh, still a prisoner in Gairloch. Raasay, with Gille-challum Mor and twelve men, started for the s.h.i.+p, leaving orders for all the men in Raasay to be in readiness to go out to their a.s.sistance in small boats as soon as the alarm should be given. Murdo Mackenzie received his visitors in the most unsuspecting manner, and hospitably entertained them with as much wine and other viands as they could consume, sitting down with them himself. All his men joined in the revelry, except four heroes, who, feeling a little suspicious, abstained from drinking.

Ultimately most of the party became so drunk that they retired to sleep below deck. Murdo Mackenzie remained sitting between Raasay and Gillie-challum Mor, when Raasay suddenly started up and told him he must become his prisoner. Murdo in a violent pa.s.sion threw Raasay down, exclaiming, "I would scorn to be your prisoner." In the struggle which ensued one of Raasay's men drew his dirk and stabbed Murdo Mackenzie through the body, and he fell overboard. Being a good swimmer, he was making for Sconser on the opposite sh.o.r.e of Skye, when the Raasay men, who had heard the row, coming out in their small boats, pelted Murdo with stones and drowned him. The four heroes who had abstained from drink now fought n.o.bly for their lives. The other members of Mackenzie's party were all slain, but not a soul of the Raasay men ultimately escaped alive from the dirks of the four abstaining Mackenzies. The small boats surrounded the vessel, and the Raasay men attempted to board her, but were thrown back, and slain without mercy by her four gallant defenders, one of whom, Hector MacKenneth, was however killed by a chance shot or arrow from one of the boats. The other three managed to cut their anchor cable, hoist their canvas, and sail away before a fresh breeze, with their horrible cargo of dead bodies lying about the deck.

As soon as they were out of danger they threw the bodies of Raasay and his men overboard. It is said that none of the bodies were ever found except that of Gille-challum Mor, which came ash.o.r.e on Raasay. The bodies of the dead Mackenzies, and of Bayne of Tulloch who had accompanied them, were taken to Lochcarron and buried there. The three heroes who survived were Iain MacEachainn Chaoil, Iain MacCoinnich Mhic Eachainn, and Coinneach MacSheumais; the first named lived for thirty years after, dying in 1641, the second died in 1662, and the third in 1663--all very old men. This seems to have been the last conflict between Mackenzies and M'Leods, and the Mackenzies have ever since held undisputed possession of Gairloch.

Chapter XIII.

ALASTAIR BREAC, AND HIS SON AND GRANDSON.

Alexander, second son of John Roy Mackenzie, succeeded his father in 1628 as chief of Gairloch, his elder brother having died without male issue during the father's lifetime. Alexander was known as Alastair Breac; the _soubriquet_ "breac" means "pock-pitted," and had reference to traces of smallpox, then a terrible scourge in the Highlands. He was fifty years of age when he succeeded his father. He was a very tall man, being as we saw in Part I., chap. xi., a head above all his brothers, who were themselves fine men. Not only was he mighty in stature, but he was also a renowned warrior. It was he who led the Mackenzies in the battle at Lochan an Fheidh in Glen Torridon, described in our last chapter, when the M'Leods were completely routed; and he is said to have been his father's princ.i.p.al a.s.sistant and agent in finally expelling the M'Leods from Gairloch. He is described as having been "a valiant worthy gentleman."

He was twice married, and had twelve children. He added by purchase or arrangement to the family estates. He seems to have mostly resided on Eilean Suainne in Loch Maree, where he died; his father's house and garden on Eilean Ruaridh were still in existence in his days, and he certainly used at times the old Temple house at Flowerdale.

In the days of Alastair Breac, Gairloch was still subject to raids, especially by cattle-lifters from Lochaber. The Loch Broom men used often to a.s.sist the people of Gairloch in repelling invaders. The trysting-place of the Gairloch and Lochaber men was at the spring or well just below the present road at the head of Glen Dochartie. The present road has buried the well, but the water is still there.

There lived a man in Lochaber in those days called Donald, the son of Black Donald. He was a cross man, and a choice thief. He had a brother known as Iain Geal Donn, or White-brown John, and there was only one other man in all Scotland who was a better "lifter" of cattle than these two. Donald sent word to Alastair Breac, laird of Gairloch, that he would "take spoil of him, and no thanks to him." On a previous occasion Donald had been foiled in an attempt to rob Gairloch. Alastair Breac sent for Alastair Buidhe Mackay, from Strath Oykell in Sutherlands.h.i.+re, who was the strongest and most valiant man he could hear of in the three counties, and him he appointed captain of his guard. Iain Geal Donn came with his men to An Amilt, in Easter Ross, and there they "lifted" eleven cows and a bull. They came with their spoil through Strath Vaich and Strath Conan to a place called Sgaird-ruadh, or Scardroy, where they stayed the night. It was they who gave this name to the place, because they had pushed the beasts so hard that blood came from them there in the night. Alastair Buidhe Mackay had a Lochaber lad for his servant, and it was this lad who told him for certain that the thieves were stopping that night at a s.h.i.+eling bothie at Scardroy. Mackay and his servant hurried away to Scardroy. There he put the muzzle of his gun to the lad's body, and made him swear to be faithful to him. They moved on to the bothie, and there Mackay again made the lad swear to be true to him, and not to let any of the thieves come out alive. The Lochaber thieves were in the bothie quite unsuspicious, roasting a portion of the bull. Mackay posted his servant at the door, whilst he himself climbed on the other end of the bothie. He quietly lifted the lower edge of a divot on the roof, and peeped in to see what was going on. He saw Iain Geal Donn looking very jolly, and warming the backs of the calves of his legs at the fire. Iain suddenly turned round, and said to his men who were about the fire roasting the meat, "Look out! I am getting the smell of powder." Before he could say another word, the charge from Mackay's gun was lodged in the small of his back. The instant he had fired the shot, Mackay rushed to the door to a.s.sist his servant, and the two of them slew all the Lochaber men as they came to the door, except one who got off by a fluke, and he had the heel cut off one foot! They followed him a little way, but were too tired to catch him. They returned to the dead bodies at the bothie, and ate their fill of the meat that was roasting. They sewed up the body of Iain Geal Donn in the bull's hide, and put the roasting spit across his mouth. Then they went away, leaving the dead in the bothie. Alastair Buidhe Mackay returned west to Gairloch, and told the laird what he had done. Alastair Breac was so pleased with the account, that he sent a running gillie at once to Brahan with a letter to tell Lord Mackenzie of Kintail what had occurred. Who should happen to be dining with Lord Mackenzie but Cameron of Lochiel! When his lords.h.i.+p had read the letter, he threw it over to Lochiel, saying, "There is blood on you over there, you thieves."

Lochiel was so stung that he left the dinner untouched, and went straight home to Lochaber. He sent gillies to Scardroy, and they brought away the body of Iain Geal Donn. They buried him in Corpach in Lochaber, where his memorial cairn stands to this day. Soon after this, Lochiel meditated a raid on Gairloch; he thought he would make it hard for Alastair Breac, in revenge for the slaughter of the Lochaber men. When Alastair Breac heard of this, he collected four score men to keep back the Lochaber invaders. They were with the laird all night in the old house called the Temple, now the head-gardener's house at Flowerdale.

They were a ragged crew, but they were strong and they were brave. In the morning they went away, and soon reached the Great Black Corrie of Liathgach. There were s.h.i.+eling bothies at the foot of the glen, and the Gairloch men thought their Lochaber foes might be lying in ambush in the bothies. Alastair Ross from Lonmor volunteered to go and see if the Lochaber men were in the bothies, which were not in use at that time of the year; he was not much in his clothing, but he did not lack pluck. He went to the bothies, and in a loud voice challenged the Lochaber men to come out. But he got no answer. The Lochaber men, fortunately for themselves, had not come forward, having heard of Alastair Breac's preparations to resist them. The Gairloch men got the news of the retreat of the Lochaber men from the people of Coire Mhic Cromail in Torridon, who at the same time a.s.sured them they would have a.s.sisted them against the invader had they come. Our ragged rabble, without pride or fear, returned to Gairloch, and spent the night with Alastair Breac in the Temple house, with music, drinking, and revelry. It was on their tramp homewards that they met at Kenlochewe Ruaridh Breac, son of Fair Duncan, the old bard who lived at Cromasaig, and he composed the celebrated song to the "Guard of the Black Corrie."

The story of the watch at Glac na Sguithar belongs to the same period.

The dell bearing that name is to the east of the head of Glen Dochartie.

Then almost all the proprietors in the Highlands paid blackmail to Colla Ban; consequently he made no raids upon their territories; and if others made raids upon them, Colla made good the loss. The laird of Gairloch refused to pay blackmail to Colla, and he sent him word that he had many brave men in Gairloch, therefore he would give blackmail to no one.

Colla replied, "He would soon make a raid upon Gairloch, and before driving away the spoil he would sleep a night in the laird of Gairloch's bed." Upon hearing this Mackenzie called out the bravest and strongest of the Gairloch men, and he sent them to keep guard in the pa.s.ses through which the Lochaber men were most likely to advance northward.

There were thirty picked men in the Coire Dubh, and an equal member in Glac na Sguithar. In each guard Mackenzie had his own near relations and kinsmen. At this time there was an inn at Luib, at the Gairloch end of Loch Rosque; it was on the green at the head of the loch, below where the present Luibmhor inn stands; the innkeeper was called Iain Caol.

While the guard of Glac na Sguithar were on duty, late on a Sat.u.r.day night, four of the Lochaber men, who had been sent on in advance to spy the land, took up their quarters in Iain Caol's hostelry. On Sabbath morning they sat round the fire in the one public room in the house, and Iain himself went out for a walk. He was not long away, but soon returned to the Cameron spies from Lochaber. Addressing them he said, "I see four of the Gairloch men from the watch at Glac na Sguithar coming this way. I am sure they will call in for their 'morning.' Go to the other end, where you slept last night, and remain there quietly for a little. They will soon be off again." This request displeased the Camerons, for they answered rather tartly, "Where did we ever see four from whose face we would turn away?" "Be that as it may," said Iain, "take my advice just now. You can see and hear all that may go on; and, when you do so, if you think it prudent to go among them, you can join them before they leave the house." They took his advice and retired. The four came in, each of them a scion of the Gairloch family, except one who was a Chisholm. Big Murdo, son of the good man of s.h.i.+eldaig, sat at the far end of the bench next the part.i.tion; beside him Iain Gearr Mac Mhurchaidh Mhic Iain took up his position. The third was Murdo Roy; and Chisholm occupied the other end of the bench. Big Murdo of s.h.i.+eldaig called for a bottle of whisky; they drank it. Iain Gearr called for another bottle, and they drank it. Murdo Roy called for a third bottle; they got it also, and drank it. Then Chisholm called for a bottle. "You have enough," said Iain Caol. "Is it because I am not one of the gentry that you refuse me?" said Chisholm, with rising ire: "Give me my bottle of your own good will, or I will have it against your will." They got the fourth bottle, and while they were discussing it Murdo of s.h.i.+eldaig said to Iain Caol, "Do you ever see any of those braggarts from Lochaber who are troubling us, keeping us on guard away from home? I wish a few of them came, till we would have some sport with them." "Not a man of them ventures this way," said Iain Caol. The Gairloch men went away, and Iain accompanied them over the hill. Here they sat and drank Iain's bottle, which he had concealed under his arm. Then Iain returned, and found the Lochaber men sitting again at the fire. "Have I here the heroes who never saw men from whom they would retreat?" said Iain Caol to them. One of them replied, "We saw only two of them, but we never saw such men before. If one of them caught any of us, he could easily crush every bone of the body in his hand." So the Lochaber spies quietly returned home. The Camerons never again attempted to make a raid upon Gairloch, and Alastair Breac heard no more of their menaces.

Alastair Breac died 4th January 1638, aged sixty, and was buried in the chapel he had erected in the Gairloch churchyard.

He was succeeded by his eldest son Kenneth, sixth laird of Gairloch, who was a strong royalist during the wars of Montrose and the Covenanters, and commanded a body of Highlanders at Balvenny, under Thomas Mackenzie of Pluscardine, and his own brother-in-law the Earl of Huntly, but when the royalist army was surprised and disarmed he managed to escape. As a malignant he was fined by the Committee of Estates for his adherence to the king (see Appendix F).

Kenneth added to the family property. He was three times married, and had eleven children. He built the Stankhouse, or "moat-house," on the site of the old Tigh Dige, and made his Gairloch home there. He died in 1669, and was buried in Beauly Priory, where his great-grandfather, John Gla.s.sich Mackenzie, had been interred.

Alexander, eldest son of Kenneth, became the seventh laird of Gairloch.

He also added to the family estates. He was thrice married, and had six children. He seems to have lived a quiet life; he died in 1694, aged forty-two, and was buried in the burial-place in the Gairloch churchyard.

Chapter XIV.

THE BARONETS OF GAIRLOCH, AND SOME OTHER GAIRLOCH MACKENZIES.

Sir Kenneth Mackenzie, eldest son of Alexander, seventh laird of Gairloch, was created a baronet of Nova Scotia by Queen Anne on 2d February 1703. These baronetcies were frequently conferred upon proprietors who a.s.sisted in peopling Nova Scotia, then an object of great solicitude with the crown, so that it is possible the first baronet of Gairloch, or his father, may have promoted emigration among the Gairloch people. He was educated at Oxford, and represented Ross-s.h.i.+re in the Scottish Parliament, where he strongly opposed the Union. When in Gairloch he lived at the Stankhouse. He had six children.

He died in December 1703, aged only thirty-two, and was buried in Gairloch in the old chapel within the churchyard, which was the burial-place of the family. This old chapel was roofed in 1704. The sum of thirty merks was then expended in "harling, pinning, and thatching Gairloch's burial place." At his death Sir Kenneth was deeply involved in debt.

Sir Alexander, eldest son of the first baronet, became the ninth laird of Gairloch when only three years of age. For want of means he and his sister Anne had to be brought up in tenants' houses. During his long minority some of the debts were paid off. In 1712 he was sent to the school at Chanonry, and after six years there he went to Edinburgh to complete his education. He afterwards made a foreign tour, and on his return in 1730 married his cousin Janet of Scatwell, by whom he had nine children. He was called by his people Seann Tighearna, and seems to have resided mostly in Gairloch, for latterly his lady lived alone at Kinkell. In 1738 he pulled down the Stankhouse, which stood in a low marshy situation on the site of the old Tigh Dige, and built the present Flowerdale House on a raised plateau surrounded by charming woods and rugged hills, and with a southern aspect. The glen here was a perfect jungle of wild flowers before the introduction, long after this time, of sheep farming, and so Sir Alexander appropriately gave the name of Flowerdale to his new chateau.

The attempt of the unfortunate Prince Charlie to regain the throne of his ancestors occurred in the time of Sir Alexander. This prudent cautious baronet kept out of the "Forty-five," though some of his people fought with their fellow Highlanders at the fatal battle of Culloden.

It was shortly after that battle, when Prince Charlie was hiding on the west coast, that two vessels came to Sgeir Bhoora, the small island rock near Poolewe at the head of Loch Ewe, and remained there a short time waiting for a messenger, who was expected to bring gold sent by the court of France for Prince Charlie's use. Whether afraid of being caught in a corner by an English man-of-war, or impatient of the delay in the arrival of the messenger, the two vessels sailed away a few days before the occurrence of the incident about to be related.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BEINN LAIR FROM FIONN LOCH.]

There were at this time three brothers of the name of Cross, who were sons of one of the last of the Loch Maree ironworkers. One of them was a bard, who built a house at Kernsary, still called Innis a bhaird, or "the oasis of the bard." One of the bard's brothers, named Hector, who had become a crofter at Letterewe, was at a s.h.i.+eling at the Claonadh (or Slopes), at the back of Beinn Lair, above Letterewe, where he and other crofters grazed their cattle in summer. One day after the battle of Culloden a stranger, a young Highlander, with yellow hair and clad in tartan, came to Hector's bothie and asked for shelter and refreshment.

When the girl gave him a bowl of cream, he drank it off, and returned it to her with a gold piece in it. The news quickly spread among the s.h.i.+eling bothies that the stranger had gold about him. Soon after his departure from Hector's hospitable roof next morning, a shot was heard, and on a search being made the dead body of the young man was found, robbed of all valuables. The murder and robbery were ascribed to a crofter, whose name is well remembered, and whose descendants are still at Letterewe, for from that time the family had money. It is almost superfluous to add that no steps were taken to bring the murderer to justice; the unsettled state of the Highlands at the time would alone account for the immunity of the offender. It afterwards transpired that the murdered stranger had been a valet or personal servant to Prince Charlie, and that he had gone by the name of the "Gille Buidhe," or "yellow-haired lad." He was conveying the gold to his master, which had been sent from France, and it was to meet him that the two vessels had come to Sgeir Bhoora, near Poolewe. It seems he carried the gold in one end of his plaid, which had been formed into a temporary bag, an expedient still often resorted to in the Highlands. A portion of the Gille Buidhe's plaid formed the lining of a coat belonging to an old man at Letterewe in the nineteenth century. Kenneth Mackenzie, an old man living at Cliff (now dead), told me he had seen it.

The Gille Buidhe was not the only one to whom gold sent from France was entrusted in order that it might be taken to Prince Charlie. Duncan M'Rae, of Isle Ewe, who had been with the prince in his victorious days in Edinburgh, and had there composed a song ent.i.tled "Oran na Feannaige," received a small keg or cask of gold pieces for the use of the prince. It was soon after the date of the murder of the Gille Buidhe, that Duncan M'Rae and two other men brought the keg of gold across Loch Ewe from Mellon Charles to Cove, and then hid it in the Fedan Mor above Loch a Druing, where Duncan M'Rae, by means of the "sian," caused the cask to become invisible. In Part II., chap, xiv., the superst.i.tion ill.u.s.trated by this incident will be described. They say the cask of gold still remains hidden in the Fedan Mor. Duncan M'Rae was one of the faithful Highlanders who did all that could be done to secure the prince's safety and serve his interests. It seems the incident must have occurred after the prince had fled to Skye.

About the same time as the murder of the Gille Buidhe, one of the men-of-war cruising in search of the prince came into the bay at Flowerdale, and the captain sent word to Sir Alexander Mackenzie to come on board. The latter thought he was quite as well ash.o.r.e among his people, so he sent his compliments to the captain, regretting he could not accept his invitation, as he had friends to dine with him on the top of Craig a chait (the high rocky hill behind Flowerdale House), where he hoped the captain would join them. The reply was a broadside against the house as the s.h.i.+p sailed off. One of the cannon b.a.l.l.s, "apparently about an 18 lb. shot," was sticking half out of the house gable next to the sea in the youth of Dr Mackenzie (a great-grandson, still living, of Sir Alexander's), who adds, that "had the cannon ball hit but a few feet lower, it might have broken into a recess in the thickness of the gable, the admittance to which was by raising the floor at a wall press in the room above, although this had been forgotten, till masons, cutting an opening for a gable door to the kitchen, broke into the recess, where were many swords and guns. Then it was recollected that Fraser of Foyers was long concealed by our ancestor, and, of course, in this black hole."