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Part I
A Sketch of the
Moral and Physical Character, and of the Institutions and Customs of the
Inhabitants of the Highlands of Scotland
Sketches of the Highlanders
Section II
System of Clanship—Consequences of this system—Effects of the want of
Laws on the Manners and Character of the People.
The division of the people
into clans and tribes, under separate chiefs, whose influence remained
undiminished till after the year 1748, constitutes the most remarkable
circumstance in their political condition, and leads directly to the
origin of many of their peculiar sentiments, customs, and institutions.
The nature of the country, and the motives which induced the Celts to make
it their refuge, almost necessarily prescribed the form of their
institutions. Unequal to contend with overwhelming numbers, who drove them
from the plains, and, anxious to preserve their independence, and their
blood uncontaminated by intermixture with strangers, they defended
themselves in those strong holds, which are, in every country, the
sanctuaries of national liberty, and the refuge of those who resist the
oppression and domination of a more powerful neighbour. Thus, in the
absence of their monarchs, and defended by their barrier of rocks, they
did not always submit to the authority of a distant government, which
could neither enforce obedience, nor afford protection. The division of
the country into so many straths, valleys, and islands, separated from one
another by mountains or arms of the sea, gave rise, as a matter of
necessity, to various little societies; and individuals of superior
property, courage, or talent, under whose banners they had fought, or
under whose protection they had settled, naturally became their chiefs.
Their secluded situation rendered general intercourse difficult, while the
impregnable ramparts with which they were surrounded made defence easy.
Every small society had
arms sufficient for its own protection, artisans skilful enough to furnish
the rude manufactures required within their own territory, pasture for
their cattle, wood for every purpose, moss and turf for fuel, and space
for their hunting excursions. As there was nothing to tempt them to change
their residence, to court the visits of strangers, or to solicit the means
of general communication, every society became insulated. The whole race
was thus broken into many individual masses, possessing a community of
customs and character, but placed under different jurisdictions. Thus
every district became a petty independent state. The government of each
community, or clan, was patriarchal, [The feudal system, which had
obtained such general influence over all the east and south of Europe, did
not extend to the inaccessible districts, where the remains of the Celts
had taken shelter. In Wales, in Ireland, in the western and middle borders
of Scotland, and in the Highlands, the patriarchal government was
universal. Opposed to this was the feudal system of their Saxon invaders,
who established it as far as their power extended. It was long the policy
of the Scottish legislature to oppose the feudal government, and support
the power exercised by the chief, jure sanguinis, over the obedience and
service of his clan, while the power assumed by the feudal superior of his
freehold was disregarded. In this manner the Duke of Gordon, feudal
superior of the lands and estates held by the Camerons, Macphersons,
Macdonells of Keppoch, and others, had no vassalage or command over these
clans, who always followed the orders of their patriarchal chiefs, Lochiel,
Clunie, Keppoch, &c.] a sort of hereditary monarchy, founded on custom,
and allowed by general consent, rather than regulated by laws. Many
members of each clan considered themselves, and actually were, branches
and descendants of the same family. The central stem of this family was
the chief. But the more these connections of blood and friendship tended
to preserve internal harmony, the more readily the clans broke out into
violence on occasion of any external injury or affront. The laws of the
state affording no protection, clans and individuals, when oppressed or
insulted, were obliged to revenge, or seek for redress in their own
persons, and thence turbulence, aggressions, and reprisals necessarily
resulted. In this state of agitation, all knowledge of letters was lost,
except among a few; but a kind of traditionary lore, scarcely less
efficient, was preserved by means of the Bards and Senachies, or the
Elders of Clans and Tribes. With very few laws, and no controlling power
to enforce the execution of the few they had, they presented the rare
spectacle of a people so beneficially influenced by the simple
institutions and habits which they had formed for themselves, that, with
all the defects consequent on such a state, they were prepared, with a
little cultivation, to become valuable members of society.
In this insulated state, with a very limited
admission of strangers, intermarriages and consanguinity were the natural
consequence; and many members of the clan bore the same name with the
chief.
[A supposition has been
entertained, that many changed their names, and assumed names different
from that of the clan or family. This was not frequent, and proceeded from
a custom, (very necessary where so many were of the same name), of adding
a distinguishing denomination to the Christian name; and sometimes when a
man, from respect or gratitude, named his child after a friend, it was
continued to the descendants. But instances abound of the wide extension
of the same name and clan by lineal descent. Of these the following is one
: James Stewart, son of Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan and Badenoch,
commonly called the Wolf of Badenoch, second son of King Robert II., first
of the Stewarts, is said to have built the Castle of Garth, and settled
there some time after the year 1390. (In the Cathedral of Dunkeld, there
is a statue in armour of this "Wolf of Badenoch," or Alaster Mor Mac-in-Righ,
"Alexander the King's son," as he is called in the Highlands. The statue
seems to have been designed as part of a tomb, but is now greatly
mutilated. The Earl of Buchan died in 1394. His descendants, now resident
in Athole, are so numerous, that if each subscribed one shilling, this
tomb and statue of their common ancestor might be completely repaired and
restored to its original state, and would form an elegant, and interesting
ornament to the magnificent ruin, in which it has lain up. wards of four
hundred years.) There are now living in the district of Athole, within its
ancient boundary, 1937 persons of the name of Stewart, descendants of this
man, in the male line, besides numbers in other parts of the kingdom. The
descendants through the female line being considerably more numerous, as
few women leave the country, in proportion to the number of men who enter
the army, and resort to different parts of the world, we have thus upwards
of 4000 persons now living in one district, descended of this individual.]
In this manner a kind and
cordial intimacy, and a disposition towards mutual support, were
preserved, in a manner totally unknown in modern times. To all, the chief
stood in the several relations of landlord, leader, and judge. He could
call out the young men to attend him at the chase, or to fight under his
banners—a mandate which generally met with ready obedience.
[Facts of this nature are easily ascertained
in the Highlands, where descent from honourable ancestors is not forgotten
or neglected by the poorest individual. It may therefore be believed,
that, in former times, the bond of friendship was close and strong, in
societies where so much importance was attached to consanguinity. It has
likewise been alleged, that the more ancient names and people roust have
been removed by violence, or extirpated to make room for the more recent
clans. This opinion seems founded on conjecture rather than fact. Such
changes often. occur from natural causes. The name of Cunnison or Mac-conich
was prevalent in Athole in the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth
centuries ; yet not an individual of that name now remains. All died out
without violence or expulsion. In the same period there were twenty-four
small landed proprietors, {or wadsetters, as they were called), of the
name of Macair-bre in Breadalbane; but not a man of that name is now to be
found, nor is there even a tradition of one of them having ever been
extirpated, or their lands taken from them by force. All became extinct by
natural causes. One of these M'Cairbres, probably their chief, possessed
Finlarig Castle, afterwards one of the principal seats of the family of
Glenorchy. The following communication, from Archibald Fletcher, Esq.
advocate, exhibits a more recent instance of the extinction of clans and
names without violence. ' About fifty years ago I visited my cousin,
Donald Fletcher of Bernice, who then lived at Baravou-rich in Glenorchy,
the original country of the Fletchers, and who, in the figurative language
of the country, are said to be the first " that raised smoke or boiled
water " in that district. On the two farms of Baravourich and Achalader,
there were at that time eighty persons of my own name and descent, but
when I went there two years ago, there was not a human being of my name
remaining.' In the
former editions M'Cairbre was by mistake spelt M'Rabie. Great antiquity is
given by tradition to the M'Cairbres; they are said to be descended from
Cairbre Rua, frequently mentioned by Ossian. Archibald Fletcher Esq.,
advocate, is descended from the M'Cairbres in the female line, and in
failure of the male line, may be considered as their representative.]
[It may he proper to mention, that many
families of the same descent had two names, one common to the whole clan,
as Macdonald, Macleod, &c. the other to distinguish a branch, which last
was called the bun sloine, or genealogical surname, taken from the
Christian name, or whatever designation marked the first man who branched
off from the original family. In this manner, Campbell of Strachur is
always called Macarslair or Macarthur, Campbell of Asknish, Macivor, and a
tribe of the Robertsons in Perthshire, descendants from Strowan, are also
called Clanivor; a tribe descended from Stewart of Garth are Clan Duilach,
from their immediate ancestor, who was so denominated from his black eyes.
Another tribe of the same family are called Cama-chas, or Crookshanks,
from a bend or deformity in his leg, by which their ancestor was
distinguished from others of his name. A class of the Stewarts of Appin
are called Combich; and in this manner, through nearly all the clans,
tribes, and families in the Highlands ; never, at the same time,
forgetting the proper surname of their chief, or stem of their family.
Thus, all the Macar-thurs of Strachur (There is a very ancient clan of
this name, quite distinct from the branch of the Campbells. The Chief's
estate lay on the side of Loch-owe in Argyleshire,) are Campbells, as are
all the Macivors of Argyleshire; while the Macivors of Athole and
Breadalbane are Robertsons, and the Duilach, Camachas, and Combich, are
Stewarts, and so sign their names, and are designated in all writings,
while in common conversation the bun sloine, or genealogical surname, is
their usual appellation. To a stranger, the accuracy with which these
genealogical connections were preserved may appear ridiculous, but the
people filled up many idle hours very innocently with matters of this
kind, never failing to bring forward the best traits in the character of
their relations. Few men disclaim a relationship to persons of honour,
worth, or high station. No claims of this nature were allowed by the
Highlanders to sleep ; and it is to be wished their conduct would
continue, as formerly, to be influenced by the dread of disgracing the
honourable race whose blood they believed filled their veins.]
The zeal and courage which the Highlanders
displayed in the cause of the Stuart princes, particularly in 1715,
excited such alarm, and produced such extraordinary effects, as to give an
exaggerated idea of their numbers. The peculiarity of their situation, and
the sources of their power, which could no longer be despised, were
minutely examined, and a Memorial, said to have been drawn up by the Lord
President Forbes of Culloden, was transmitted to Government, detailing the
force of every clan, the tenures of every chieftain, and the amount of
retainers which he could bring into the field. This enumeration proceeds
on the supposition that the chieftain calculated upon the military
services of the youthful, the most hardy, and the bravest of his
followers, omitting those who were infirm from age, those who, from tender
years, or natural inability, were unable to carry arms, and those whom it
was found necessary to leave at home, for conducting the business of the
country. Besides the clans enumerated in this curious document, there were
a number of independent gentlemen, who had many followers, as also several
small clans, or "tribes" as they are commonly called, which have been
omitted in the Lord President's report.
After treating of the general character of the
Highlanders, the Memorial particularizes each clan, and subjoins
statements of their respective forces, as under.
In the enumeration below, the reader will find
exhibited in one view the power by which this mixture of patriarchal and
feudal government was supported. When the kindred and followers of the
chief saw him thus surrounded by a body so numerous, faithful, and brave,
they could conceive no power superior to his; and how far soever they
looked back into the history of their tribe, they found his progenitors at
their head. Their tales, traditions, and songs, continually referred to
the exploits or transactions of the same line of kindred and friends,
living under the same line of chiefs; and the transmission of command and
obedience, from one generation to another, thus became, in the eye of a
Highlander, as natural as the transmission of blood, or the regular laws
of descent.
In this statement the President has not
included his own family of Cul-loden, and his immediate neighbours Rose of
Kilravock, and Campbell of Cal-der ; nor has he noticed Bannatyne of
Kaimes, the Maccallasters, Macquarries, and many other families and names.
As an instance of uninterrupted lineal descent, through a series of
turbulent ages, that of the family of Kilravock is remarkable. Colonel
Hugh Rose is the twenty-sixth Laird, and the nineteenth of the name of
Hugh in regular succession, since the estate came into the possession of
his family. [When the
first Marquis of Huntly waited upon King James VI. in Edinburgh, on being
created Marquis, in the year 1590, be stood in the presence chamber with
his head covered; and on being reminded of his seeming want of respect, he
humbly asked pardon, assigning as an excuse, that as he had just come from
a country where all took off their bonnets to him, he had quite forgotten
what he owed to his present situation.]
The long unbroken line of
chiefs [Twenty-one Highland chiefs fought under Robert Bruce at
Bannockburn. The number of their direct descendants now in existence, and
in possession of their paternal estates, is remarkable. The chiefs at
Bannockburn were, Stewart, Macdonald, M'Kay, Mackintosh, Macpherson,
Cameron, Sinclair, Drummond, Campbell, Menzies, Maclean, Sutherland,
Robertson, Grant, Fraser, Macfarlane, Ross, Macgregor, Monro, Mackenzie,
and Macquarrie. dimming, Macdougall of Lorn, and a few others, were also
present, but unfortunately in opposition to Bruce.—In consequence of the
distinguished conduct of the chief of the Drummonds in this battle, the
King added the calthropes to his armorial bearings, and gave him an
extensive grant of lands in Perthshire. It is said to have been by Sir
Malcolm Drummond's recommendation that the calthropes, which proved so
destructive to the English cavalry, were made use of on that day.
When we consider the state of turbulence, and
misrule which prevailed in the Highlands, an unbroken succession, for five
hundred years, of so great a proportion of the chief agitators and
leaders, is the more remarkable, as there has been a greater change of
property within the last forty years of tranquillity, abundance, and
wealth, than in the preceding two hundred years of feuds, rapine, and
comparative poverty.] is as great a proof of the general mildness of their
sway, as of the fidelity of their followers; for the independent spirit
displayed on various occasions by the people, proves that they would not
have brooked oppression, where they looked for kindness and protection.
"This power of the chiefs is not supported by interest, as they are
landlords, but by consanguinity, as lineally descended from the old
patriarchs or fathers of their families; for they hold the same authority
when they have lost their estates, as may appear from several instances,
and particularly that of one who commands his clan, though at the same
time they maintain him, having nothing left of his own. " [Letters from an
Officer of Engineers to his friend in London.]
This was the late Lord Lovat, who, with all
his good and bad qualities, possessed, in a singular degree, the art of
securing the love and obedience of his clan. Though attainted and
outlawed, and though his estate was forfeited, and given to Mackenzie of
Fraserdale, as next heir in the female line, his mother being eldest
daughter of a former Lord Lovat; yet such was the fidelity of the clan to
their real •chief, that they flocked to his standard at the first summons,
quitting his rich rival, who, being possessed of the estate, had the power
of rewarding his friends and supporters. The individuals might change, but
the ties that bound together one, were drawn more closely, though by
insensible degrees. around the succeeding; and thus each family, in all
its various successions, retained something like the same sort of re-lation
to the parent stem, which the renewed leaves of a tree in spring preserve,
in point of relative position, to those which dropped off in the preceding
autumn.
[The attachment and
friendship of kindred, families, and clans, were confirmed by many ties.
It has been an uniform practice in the families of the Campbells of
Melford, Duntroon, and Dunstaffnage, that, when the head of either family
died, the chief mourners should be the two other lairds, one of whom
supported the head to the grave, while the other walked before the corpse.
In this manner friendship took place of the nearest consanguinity ; for
even, the eldest sons of the deceased were not permitted to interfere with
this arrangement. The first progenitors of these families were three sons
of the family of Argyll, who took this method of preserving the
friendship, and securing the support of their posterity to one another.
In a manner something similar the family of
Breadalbane had their bonds of union and friendship, simple in themselves,
but sufficient to secure the support of those whom they were intended to
unite. The motto of the armorial bearings of the family is "Follow me."
This significant call was assumed by Sir Colin Campbell, Laird of
Glenorchy, who was a Knight Templar of Rhodes, and is still known in the
Highlands by the designation of Caillain Dhu na Roidh, "Black Colin of
Rhodes." Several cadets of the family assumed mottos analogous to that of
this chivalrous knight, and when the chief called "Follow me," he found a
ready compliance from Campbell of Glenfalloch, a son of Glenorchy, who
says, "Thus far," that is, to his heart's blood, the crest being a dagger
piercing a heart;—from Achlyne, who says, "With heart and hand;"—from
Achallader, who says, "With courage;"—and from Barcaldine who says,
Paratus sum: Glenlyon, more cautious, says, Quae recta sequor. A knight
and baron, neighbours but not followers, Menzies of Menzies, and Flemyng
of Moness, in token of friendship say, "Will God I shall," and "The deed
will show," An ancestor of mine, also a neighbour, says, "Beware."]
Many important consequences, regarding the
character of the Highlanders, resulted from this division of the people
into small tribes, and from this establishment of patriarchal government.
The authority of the king was rendered feeble and inefficient. His
mandates could neither arrest the depredations of one clan against
another, nor allay their mutual hostilities. Delinquents could not, with
impunity, be pursued into the bosom of a clan which protected them, nor
could his judges administer the laws, in opposition to their interests or
their will. Sometimes he strengthened his arm, by fomenting animosities
among them, and by entering occasionally into the interest of one, in
order to weaken another. [This was acting on the old maxim, "Divide et
impera."] Many instances of this species of policy occur in Scottish
history, which, for a long period, was unhappily a mere record of internal
violence. The consequence of this absense of general laws was an almost
perpetual system of aggression, warfare, depredation, and contention.
These little sovereignities touched at so many points, yet were so
independent of one another; they approached so nearly, in many respects,
yet were, in others, so distant; there were so many opportunities of
encroachment on the one hand, and so little of a disposition to submit to"
it on the other; and the quarrel of one individual of the tribe so
naturally involved the rest, that there was scarcely ever a profound
peace, or perfect cordiality between them. Among their chiefs the most
deadly feuds frequently arose from opposing interests, or from wounded
pride. These feuds were warmly espoused by the whole clan, and were often
transmitted, with aggravated animosity, from generation to generation.
It would be curious to trace all the
negotiations, treaties, and bonds of amity, (or Manrent, as they are
called,) with which opposing clans strengthened themselves, and their
coalitions with friendly neighbours, against the attacks and encroachments
of their enemies or rivals, or to preserve the balance of power. [It is
rather a humiliating consideration for the votaries of ambition, who have
made war and politics their sole study, to find, from the history of past
ages, that no less art, sagacity, address, and courage, have been
displayed in the petty contests of illiterate mountaineers, than in their
most refined schemes of policy and their most brilliant feats of arms.
That they should be able, by intrigue and dexterity, to attach new allies,
and detach hostile tribes from their confederates, is a still more
mortifying proof how nearly the unassisted powers of natural talent,
approach to the practices of the most profound politicians.] By these
bonds, [As a curious document of this nature, I may mention a bond of
amity and mutual defence entered into by a number of gentlemen of the name
of Stewart in Athole, Monteith, and Appin, to which each affixed his seal
and signature, binding himself to support the others against all attacks
and encroachments, especially from the Marquis of Argyll, who had sided
with the Covenanters. This bond is dated at Burn of Keltney, 24th June
1654. The long continued feuds between the Argyle and Atholemen, which
were latterly much embittered by political differences, were the cause of
many skirmishes and battles. The last of these was a kind of drawn battle,
in the reign of Charles II., each party retiring different ways. When the
Atholemen heard that the Argylemen were on their march to attack them,
they immediately flew to arms, and, moving forward, encountered their foes
in Breadalbane, near the east end of Lochtay. The conflict was most
desperate. The dead were carried to a considerable distance and buried in
a small knoll, now included in the parks of Taymouth, where their bones
were found in great numbers in 1816, when Lord Breadalbane cut down a
corner of this knoll in the formation of a road.] they pledged themselves
to assist each other; but, however general their internal insurrections
and disputes might be, however extended their cause of quarrel with rivals
or neighbours, they invariably bound themselves to be loyal and true to
the king: "always, excepting my duty to our Lord the King, and to our
kindred and friends," was a special clause. [Of these bonds of Manrent,
the instances are too many to be enumerated. One in possession of Lord
Bannatyne, is a bond between his ancestor the Laird of Kames, chief of the
Bannatynes or Maccamelyne, as they are called in Gaelic, and Sir John
Stewart, ancestor to the Marquis of Bute, dated 20th May 1547, in which
they engage to stand by and support each other, against all persons except
the King and the Earl of Argyll; this latter reservation being to enable
the chief of the Bannatynes to fulfil a bond of Manrent, he had previously
come under to Argyll. This latter bond is dated 14th April 1538.
Nor were these engagements confined to chiefs
and heads of families: humbler individuals thus bound themselves; but a
particular exception never to be forgotten or infringed, was their
fidelity to the chief of their own blood and family.]
In these treaties of mutual
support and protection were included smaller clans, unable to defend
themselves, and such families or clans as had lost their chiefs. Those of
the name of Stewart, for instance, whose estates lay in the district of
Athole, and whose chiefs by birth, being at one period Kings of Scotland,
and afterwards of Great Britain, were latterly in exile, ranged themselves
under the family of Athole, though they were themselves sufficiently
numerous to raise 1000 fighting men. When such unions took place, the
smaller clans followed the fortunes, engaged in the quarrels, and fought
under the chiefs of the greater, [In this manner the M'Raes followed the
Earl of Seaforth, the Gunns and Mathiesons the Earls of Sutherland, the
M'Colls, the Stewarts of Appin, and the M'Gillivrays and M'Beans, the
Laird of Mackintosh, &c. &c.] but their ranks were separately marshalled,
and led by their own subordinate chieftains and lairds, who owned
submission only when necessary, for the success of combined operations.
From these, and other causes, the Highlands were for ages, as constant a
theatre of petty warfare, as Europe has been of important struggles. The
smaller the society, and the more closely connected together, the more
keenly did it feel an injury, or resent an insult offered by a rival
tribe. A haughty or contemptuous expression uttered against a chief, was
considered by all his followers, in the light of a personal affront;
["When a quarrel begins in words between two Highlanders of different
clans, it is esteemed the very height of malice and rancour, and the
greatest of all provocations, to reproach one another with the vices or
personal defects of their chiefs, or that of the particular branch whence
they sprung; and, in a third degree, to reproach the whole clan or name,
whom they will assist, right or wrong, against those of any other tribe
with which they are at variance, to whom their enmity, like that of
exasperated brothers, is most outrageous. "— Letters from a Gentleman in
the North of Scotland.] and the driving away the cattle of one clansman,
was looked upon as an act of aggression against the whole. The rage for
vengeance, and the desire of reprisals, spread throughout the little
community, like the violence of an insult offered to an individual,
heightened by the sympathy of numbers. Submission to insult would have
been present disgrace, and would have invited future aggression. Immediate
hostility was therefore the result, and the gathering word of the clan
found an echo in every breast. [See Appendix, D.]
If no immediate opportunity of obtaining
complete satisfaction occurred; if the injured party was too weak to repel
attack, and to vindicate their honour in the field, or to demand
compensation for their property, still the hostile act was not forgotten,
nor the resolution of avenging it abandoned. Every artifice by which
cunning could compensate the want of strength was practised; alliances
were courted, and favourable opportunities watched. Even an appearance of
conciliation was assumed, to cover the darkest purposes of hatred; and as
revenge is embittered in all countries where the laws are ill executed,
and where the hand of the individual must vindicate those rights which
public justice does not protect, so this feeling was cherished and
honoured when directed against rival tribes. [In the present enlightened
times, were the laws unable to afford protection, and were individuals, or
collective bodies, forced to arm in order to redress their own
wrongs,—would murder, turbulence, and spoliation of property, be less
prevalent than they were in the Highlands when unprotected by the general
laws of the realm? Were the return of such scenes of license and rapine a
probable occurrence, I fear much the warmest advocate of modern
civilization would hardly venture to anticipate, that they would be
blended with those frequent and softening traits of honourable feeling
which distinguished the inroads of the wild mountaineers.]
To such a pitch were those feelings carried,
that there are instances, both in tradition and on record, in which these
feuds led to the most sanguinary conflicts, and ended in the extermination
of one of the adverse parties. [See Appendix, E.]
The spirit of opposition and rivalry between
the clans perpetuated a system of hostility, encouraged the cultivation of
the military at the expense of the social virtues, and perverted their
ideas both of law and morality. Revenge was accounted a duty, the
destruction of a neighbour a meritorious exploit, and rapine an honourable
occupation. Their lave of distinction, and a conscious reliance on their
own courage, when under the direction of these perverted notions, only
tended to make their feuds more implacable, their condition more agitated,
and their depredations more rapacious and desolating. Superstition added
its influence in exasperating animosities, by teaching the clansmen, that,
to revenge the death of a relation or friend, was a sacrifice agreeable to
his manes; thus engaging on the side of implacable hatred, and vengeance,
the most amiable and domestic of all our feelings,—reverence for the
memory of the dead, and affection for the virtues of the living. [Another
custom contributed to perpetuate this spirit of lawless revenge. Martin,
who studied, and understood the character and manners of the Highlanders,
says, "Every heir or young chieftain of a tribe was obliged in honour to
give a specimen of his valour before he was owned or declared governor or
leader of his people, who obeyed and followed him on all occasions. This
chieftain was usually attended with a retinue of young men, who had not
before given any proof of their valour, and were ambitious of such an
opportunity to signalize themselves. It was usual for the chief to make a
desperate incursion upon some neighbour or other, that they were in feud
with, and they were obliged to bring, by open force, the cattle they found
in the land they attacked, or to die in the attempt. After the performance
of this achievement, the young chieftain was ever after reputed valiant,
and worthy of government, and such as were of his retinue acquired the
like reputation. This custom being reciprocally used among them, was not
reputed robbery; for the damage which one tribe sustained by the
inauguration of the chieftain of another was repaired when their chieftain
came in his turn to make his specimen; but I have not heard of an instance
of this practice for these sixty years since." Martin's Description of the
Western Islands. London, printed 1703.]
As the general riches of the country consisted
in flocks and herds, the usual mode of commencing attacks, or of making
reprisals, was by an incursion to carry off the cattle of the hostile
clan. A predatory expedition was the general declaration of enmity; and a
command given by the chief to clear the pastures of the enemy, constituted
the usual letters of marque. Such inroads were frequently directed to the
Lowlands, where the booty was richest, and where less vigilance was
exercised in protecting it. Regarding every Lowlander as an alien, and his
cattle as fair spoil of war, they considered no law for his protection as
binding. The Lowlanders, on the other hand, regarded their neighbours of
the mountains as a lawless banditti, whom it was dangerous to pursue to
their fastnesses, in order to recover their property, or to punish
aggressions. Yet, except against the Lowlanders, or a hostile clan, these
freebooters maintained, in general, the strictest honesty towards one
another, and inspired confidence in their integrity. In proof of this, it
may be mentioned, that instances of theft from dwelling-houses scarcely
ever occurred, and highway robbery was totally unknown, except in one case
so recent as the year 1770, when a man of education, and of respectable
family, but of abandoned character, formed and headed a gang of robbers.
[His name was Mackintosh. He was a man of education, and knowledge of the
world, who disgraced the respectable family from which he was descended,
and the community to which he belonged. He was bred in a school such as
the Highlands had rarely witnessed. His father, who, by a base stratagem,
had usurped possession of an estate to which he had no right, lived, after
the death of his wife, in a kind of seraglio, despised and shunned by the
neighbouring gentry, though his abilities were good, and his manners
prepossessing. He was the Colonel Charteris of his district, with this
honourable distinction in favour of the Highlanders, that he was shunned
as much as the other was countenanced. This example accounts too well for
the bold profligacy of his heir, who excelled in all personal
accomplishments, possessed engaging and elegant manners, and was
remarkably handsome. The last exploit of this man was an attempt to rob
Sir Hector Munro on his journey to the North, after his return from India
in 1770. Mackintosh escaped to America, and afterwards joined Washington's
army. One of his accomplices was taken and executed at Inverness in 1773.]
In the interior of their own society, all property was safe, without the
usual security of bolts, bars and locks. [A late scientific tourist gives
an unintentional testimony to the probity and honesty of the people
towards one another. Noticing the wretched dwellings of the inhabitants of
St Kilda, with an interior dark and smoky, he adds, "Each house has a door
with a lock and key, a luxury quite unknown in other parts of the
Highlands." It were well that this luxury should long continue unknown,
and that the people should remain ignorant of the necessity of securing
their houses. If the progress of civilization, as the change of manners is
called, compel the Highlanders to lock their doors against nightly
depredators, it may create a question, whether ignorance and integrity, or
knowledge and knayery, be preferable ; or whether people can indeed be
called ignorant, who are attentive to their religous duties,—who exercise
the moral virtues of integrity and filial reverence,—who are loyal to
their king, brave and honourable in the field, and equally firm in
opposing an enemy and in supporting a friend. If these traits of character
are exhibited by a people called ignorant and uncivilized, the terms may
have perhaps been misapplied. On this subject Martin says of the
Highlanders of the seventeenth century, "I am not ignorant that foreigners
have been tempted, from the sight of so many wild hills, to imagine that
the inhabitants, as well as the places of their residence, are equally
barbarous, and to this opinion their habit as well as their language has
contributed. The like is supposed by many that live in the south of
Scotland ; but the lion is not fierce as he is painted, neither are the
people here so barbarous as people imagine. The inhabitants have humanity,
use strangers hospitably and charitably. I could bring several instances
of barbarity and theft by stranger seamen in the Isles, but there is not
one instance of any injury offered by the islanders to any seaman or
stranger. For the humanity and hospitable temper of the islanders to
sailors I shall only give two instances." (See Appendix F.)] An open barn,
or shed, was the common summer receptacle of their clothes, cheese, and
every thing that required air; and although iron bars and gates were
necessary to protect the houses and castles of the chiefs and lairds from
hostile inroads, when at feud, no security was required in time of peace,
and while the castle gates were open, the dwellings of the people had no
safeguard. [My father, still adhering to old customs, does not lock his
doors to this day. I know not how long this custom may with safety be
continued : recent symptoms of a deplorable change in morals will
undoubtedly compel people to guard their property with more care. It will
then be no longer, as I have known it, that gentlemen have been half their
lives in the commission of the peace, without having occasion to act
against a criminal, unless in issuing warrants to recover the fines of
Excise Courts, or on account of assaults on Excise officers, and
accidental frays. Clothes and linens will no longer be seen drying and
bleaching in all parts of the country, and at all hours, without guard or
protection; nor open sheds hung round with all the Sunday's apparel of the
lads and lasses. The rude Highlanders are undergoing a process of
civilization by new manners, new morals, and new religion, the progress of
which is at once rapid and deplorable. An inquiry into the cause of this
loss of principle and morals in an age when so much is done to enlighten
and educate, would certainly be extremely interesting.] But on the other
hand, open depredations were carried on with systematic order, and they
saw no greater moral turpitude in levying a creach, [Creach is a very
appropriate term, and means, to impoverish. If there was much resistance
in these forays, and if lives were lost, great destruction frequently
ensued in revenge for the loss sustained; but in common incursions, either
against the Lowlanders, or rival tribes, personal hostilities were avoided
except in retaliation of some previous death or insult. The creachs of the
Highlanders, though sufficiently calamitous, were trifling when compared
with the raids or forays on the borders of England and Scotland. The
following account of the devastation committed by the English upon the
Scotch, in the year 1544, will serve as a specimen of the miseries to
which the border countries were exposed. The sum-total of mischief done in
different forays, from the 2d of July to the 17th of November of that
year, is thus computed:—"Towns, towers, steads, parish churches, castle
houses, cast down and burnt, 192; Scots slain, 405; prisoners taken, 816;
nolts, i. e. horned cattle, taken, 10,386; sheep, 12,498; nags and
geldings, 1296; goats, 200; bolls of corn, 850 ; insight gear, (i. e.
household furniture,) not reckoned." In another inroad by the Earl of
Hertford, in the year 1545, he burnt, rased, and destroyed in the counties
of Berwick and Roxburgh, "Monasteries and friars' houses. 7; castles,
towers, and piles, 16; market towns, 5; villages, 243; milns, 13;
hospitals, 3. All these were cast down and burnt." As the Scots were
equally ready and skilful in this irregular warfare, we have many similar
instances of the damage done in their wasteful and destructive raids or
inroads into England.] heading a foray, or in "lifting" the cattle which
"cropped the grass of an enemy," than we now discover in the reprisals and
exploits of our men of war and privateers, or in the killing of deer and
game, the latter of which subjects the offenders to punishment, if
detected, while no shame or disgrace attaches to the deed, whether
discovered or not. In
a country in which the ablest and most active of the people despised the
labour necessary to raise their subsistence from the soil, and in which
the use of arms was thought the most honourable occupation, every excuse
was eagerly seized for commencing hostilities. If overtaken in their
depredations, the plunderers were generally prepared for resistance, and
for ennobling an act of robbery, by the intrepidity of their defence. Such
an event, however, was rather avoided than courted ; and the rapidity of
their retreat, joined to the acuteness of their vision, formed generally
their best security, as well as one of their readiest means for recovering
their cattle. It is said, that habit had rendered their sight so acute,
that, where a common observer could perceive nothing, they could trace the
cattle, by the yielding of the heath over which they had passed. If cattle
were thus traced to a man's property, without any marks of their having
proceeded beyond his boundary, he was held responsible, and an immediate
quarrel ensued, unless he agreed to make ample restitution, or
compensation for the loss.
Besides those persons who committed occasional
spoliations, which they did not regard as dishonourable, and which they
exercised at times as the means of weakening or punishing their enemies,
there was a peculiar class, called Kear-nachs. This term, originally
applied to the character of soldiers, was equivalent to the catherons of
the Lowlands, the kernes of the English, and the catervae of the
Romans,—denominations, doubtless, of the same import. [It has been
suggested by a learned author, that the Lake, celebrated in the Poem of
the " Lady of the Lake," and known by the name of Loch Katrine, derives
its name from the word above mentioned, and is the Loch of Kearnachs, or
Catherons.—Some of these kearnachs died in my remembrance. They had
completely abandoned their old habits, and lived a quiet domestic life,,
but retained much of the chivalrous spirit of their youth, and were
respected in the country. One man was considered an exception to this
general description, as it was supposed that he was not altogether
convinced of the turpitude of cattle-lifting. However, as he had the
character of being a brave soldier, these suspicions against his moral
opinions were less noticed. His name was Robert Robertson, but he was
called in the country Rob Bane. He was very old when I knew him, but he
had not lost the fire and animation of earlier years.—In autumn 1746, a
party, consisting of a corporal and eight soldiers, marching north to
Inverness, after passing Tummel Bridge, halted on the road-side, and
placed their arms against a large stone some yards behind them. Robert
Bane observed the soldiers, and the manner in which they disposed of their
arms. This, as he said, was a good opportunity to make a dash at his old
friends the Seidaran dearag, or red coat soldiers, whom he had met at
Gladsmuir, Falkirk, and Culloden. None of his neighbours were at home to
assist him; but he sallied out by himself, armed with his gun, pistols,
and broadsword, and, proceeding with great caution, got close to the party
undiscovered, when he made a sudden spring, and placed himself between the
soldiers and their arms. Brandishing his sword in one hand, and pointing
his gun with the other, he called out to them in broken English, to
surrender instantly, or he would call his party, who were in the wood
behind, and would kill them all. The soldiers were so taken by surprise,
that they permitted the kearnach to carry off their arms for the purpose
of delivering them, as he said, to his companions in the wood. He quickly
returned, however, and desiring the soldiers to follow him quietly, else
those in the woods would be out, he conducted them to Tummel Bridge inn,
where he left them, and repairing to the wood, took possession of the arms
as fair spoil of war. The soldiers soon discovered the truth, and hurried
back to recover their arms, and get hold of the man who, by his address
and courage, had thus disgraced them; but the kearnach had taken care to
place himself and his prize out of danger. When the soldiers reached
Inverness, they were tried and punished for the loss of their arms. In the
course of the following year, Bane went to Inverness, not expecting that
he would be recognised; but he was mistaken. The day he arrived he met one
of the soldiers who knew him, and instantly laying hold of him, called for
assistance, secured, and sent him to jail. While he lay there, three men
who were confined in the same room, broke through the prison wall and made
their escape. He refused to accompany them, saying that he took nothing
from his prisoners but their arms, which he considered as no crime, and,
therefore, had no occasion to fear or to escape from punishment. The
circumstance coming to the knowledge of his Clansman, Mr Robertson of
Inches, who lived in the neighbourhood, he made so favourable a
representation of his case, that the kearnach was liberated without trial,
and allowed to return home as a reward for his conduct in not availing
himself of such an opportunity of escaping the intended punishment, which
in those days was sometimes very summary.]
In their best days, the
kearnachs were a select band, and were employed in all enterprises where
uncommon danger was to be encountered, and more than common honour to be
acquired. Latterly, however, their employments were less laudable, and
consisted in levying contributions on their Lowland neighbours, or in
making them pay tribute, or Black Mail [See Appendix, G.] for protection.
The sons of the tacksmen, or second order of gentry, frequently joined
these parties, and considered their exploits as good training in the manly
exercises proper for a soldier.
The Highlanders of the counties of Perth,
Stirling, and Dumbarton, inhabiting chiefly a border country, had the most
frequent encounters with their southern neighbours, and also skirmishes
with the Lochaber, Badenoch, and northern kearnachs, whom on their return
from their expeditions to the south, they sometimes attacked, with an
intention of stripping them of their booty, either on their own account,
or for the purpose of restoring it to the owners.
The borderers being thus placed in the centre
of agitation, and having arms always ready, were prepared to turn out
whenever their services might be required. The clan Farquharson, and the
Highlanders of Braemar, placed in the same circumstances with regard to
the Lowlands of the counties of Banff, Aberdeen, and Kincardine, as the
Athole Highlanders were in regard to those of Perth, Stirling, and Angus,
acquired similar habits; and both of them being actuated by similar
political principles, they generally took the field together on all
important occasions. An instance of the warlike disposition thus
cherished, appeared in the rebellion during the reign of Charles I., when
the Marquis of Montrose always found "his brave Atholemen " his
never-failing support, both in his numerous victories, and under his
greatest reverses. At his call they were always ready. On one occasion,
being dressed in the common Highland garb, and attended only by the Laird
of Inchbrakie and one servant, he came among them so unexpectedly, that
some Irish soldiers who had been sent over by the Earl of Antrim, under
Macdonnell, [This brave loyalist, and able partisan, was a native of the
county of Antrim. The Marquis of Montrose placed the utmost confidence in
his talents and intrepidity, intrusting to his command the most difficult
enterprises. To this day his memory is held in the highest veneration by
the Highlanders, who retain many traditional anecdotes of him.] (or
Alister M'Colla, as he was called by the Highlanders,) "could hardly be
persuaded the man they saw was the Marquis of Montrose, till he was
saluted by the Atholemen, who knew him perfectly, and almost paid him the
honours of a guardian angel;" [Bishop Wishart's Memoirs of Montrose.] and
the following day, "the Atholemen, to the number of eight hundred, put
themselves in arms, and offered their services most cheerfully to
Montrose. " In the same manner we find (as will be afterwards noticed),
that "fifteen hundred men of Athole, as reputable for arms as any in the
kingdom," [General Mackay's Memoirs.] joined Lord Dundee to support King
James. The storming of the town of Dundee, and the skilful and masterly
retreat effected by Montrose and his Atholemen in the face of a greatly
superior force, affords another instance in point, and is the only further
example of the same kind which I shall adduce. In the year 1645, Montrose,
being deceived by false information from his spies, mistook the motions of
the enemy, and resolving to punish the town of Dundee, "a most seditious
town, being the securest haunt and receptacle of the rebels in those
parts, and a place that had contributed as much as any other towards the
rebellion," marched from Dunkeld, at twelve o'clock at night, with one
hundred and fifty horse, six hundred Atholemen, and a detachment of Irish,
and reaching Dundee at ten o'clock next morning, instantly stormed and
carried the town; but he had scarcely taken possession, when he received
information that General Baillie and Colonel Hurry, two veteran and
experienced officers, with eight hundred horse, and three thousand
infantry, were on their march towards him, and within little more than a
mile of the town. Montrose immediately recalled his men, and marched off
pursued by. the enemy, who, dividing their force, sent one part to
intercept, and the other to pursue him. During the retreat he occasionally
halted, and opposed their successive attacks, and by a circuitous route
regained the Grampians through the pass of Glen Esk, with a trifling
loss.—"And this was that so much talked-of expedition to Dundee, infamous
indeed for the mistakes of the scouts, but as renowned as any for the
valour, constancy, and undaunted resolution of the General; and admirable
for the hardiness of the soldiers in encountering all extremities with
patience: for threescore miles together (Scotch miles, equal to ninety
English), they had been often in fight, always upon their march, without
either meat or sleep, or intermission, or the least refreshment; which,
whether foreign nations or aftertimes will believe, I cannot tell; but, I
am sure, I deliver nothing but what is most certain of my own knowledge:
And truly, amongst expert soldiers, and those of eminent note, both of
England, Germany, and France, I have not seldom heard this expedition of
Montrose preferred to his greatest victory." [Dr Wishart, Bishop of
Edinburgh's Memoirs of the Marquis of Montrose.]
The endless feuds between the Argyle and
Atholemen assisted in preserving the military spirit and the use of arms.
In the charter-chest of Stewart of Ballechin there is a commission to bis
ancestor, the Laird of Ballechin, from the Marquis of Atholl, then
Lord-Lieutenant of Argyleshire, dated in 1685, authorizing him to march
with a strong body of Atholemen into that county, and to take possession
of the property of the Marquis of Argyll, and of several gentlemen then
attainted for rebellion. In what spirit these orders were carried into
effect, will appear from the circumstance that eighteen gentlemen, of the
name of Campbell, were executed at Inverary. The commission granted to
Ballechin is highly curious, and prescribes all the intended operations
and proposed plans with great accuracy and precision.
[I am informed by my friend
Mr Stewart of Ballechin, that, in the preceding editions, I had
misapprehended the nature of this document; and that it was a commission
from, the Marquis of Atholl as Lord Lieutenant of Argyleshire to his
ancestor, under the authority of which he marched into that county, and,
taking possession of Inverary, held courts there. Many were tried on a
charge of rebellion, and refusing to take the Test Oath; and eighteen men
were executed. I find also that Ballechin got a charter from the Crown in
1685, containing a grant of a considerable portion of lands in Argyleshire.
Having only had a cursory glance of these documents a number of years ago,
it is probable I may not have had a proper recollection of their real
import. But in whatever view this transaction is considered, whether as a
feudal inroad, or a proceeding under authority, it equally proves the
object for which I introduced the subject;—namely, to show, in a strong
light, the fatal effects which may be expected when a weak and inefficient
government is unable to execute an important measure, except by employing
the inhabitants of one district to coerce and punish those of another;
thus adding fresh matter of irritation and hostility to former feuds, and
exciting a spirit of revenge and retaliation—a feeling which would not
have existed, at least in the same degree, had a sufficient force, front a
distant country, been employed. Were the weavers of Glasgow sent to quell
a riot or insurrection among the weavers of Paisley, and were they to hang
a number of the rioters, the heart-burnings, jealousies, and spirit of
revenge, which such rencounters would occasion, may easily be imagined.]
How little the Highlanders were accustomed to
attach any ideas of moral turpitude to such exploits, may be learned from
the conduct and sentiments of several of those freebooters, who, at no
very distant period, became the victims of a more regular administration
of the laws, and who were unable to comprehend in what their criminality
consisted. After the troubles of 1745, many who had been engaged in. them,
afraid to return to their own country, over which the king's troops were
dispersed, and having no settled residence or means of support, formed
several associations of freebooters, which laid the borders of the
Highlands under contribution.
An active leader among these banditti, Donald
Cameron, or Donald Bane Leane, was tried in Perth for cattle stealing, and
executed at Kinloch Rannoch in 1752, in order to strike terror into his
band in that district. At his execution he dwelt with surprise and
indignation on his fate. He had never committed murder, nor robbed man or
house, or taken any thing but cattle off the grass of those with whom he
was at feud; why therefore punish him for doing that which was a common
prey to all? Another freebooter, Alexander Stewart, (commonly called
Alister Breac, from his being marked with the small pox), was executed in
1753. He was despised as a pitiful thief, who deserved his fate, because
he committed such acts as would have degraded a genuine Kearnach.
But they were not the actors alone who
attached no criminality, or at least disgrace, to the "lifting of cattle,"
as we find from a letter of Field Marshal Wade to Mr Forbes of Culloden,
then Lord Advocate, dated October 1729, describing an entertainment given
him on a visit to a party of Kearnachs. The Marshal says, "The Knight and
I travelled in my carriage with great ease and pleasure to the feast of
oxen which the highwaymen had prepared for us, opposite Lochgarry, where
we found four oxen roasting at the same time, in great order and
solemnity. We dined in a tent pitched for that purpose. The beef was
excellent; and we had plenty of bumpers, not forgetting your Lordship's
and Culloden's health; and, after three hours' stay, took leave of our
benefactors, the highwaymen, [The Marshal had not at this period been long
enough in the Highlands to distinguish a kearnach, or "lifter of cattle,"
from a highwayman. No such character as the latter then existed in the
country; and it may be presumed he did not consider these men in the light
which the word would indicate;—for certainly the Commander-in-Chief would
neither have associated with men whom he supposed to be really highwaymen,
nor partaken of their hospitality.] and arrived at the hut at
Dalnachardoch before it was dark." [Culloden Papers.]
The constant state of warfare, aggression, and
rapine, in which the clans lived, certainly tended to improve their
ingenuity, and inured them to hardships and privations, which, indeed,
their abstemious mode of living, and their constant exposure to all
varieties of weather in their loose and light dress, enabled them to bear
without inconvenience.
[Habituated as the people
were, from the nature of the country, and their pastoral employment, to
traverse extensive tracts exposed to tempests and floods, and to cross
rapid torrents, and dangerous precipices, the young Highlander acquired a
presence of mind which prepared him for becoming an active and intelligent
soldier, particularly in that independent species of warfare practised in
the woods of America, and lately so much in use with our light troops, in
which men must depend upon their own resources and personal exertions.
These habits are not so readily acquired in a level country, where there
are few natural obstructions or difficulties, and these few easily
surmountable by art.
In Mr Jamieson's excellent edition of Burt's Letters, the following
instance is given of presence of mind in a Highland lad, who, with a
Lowland farmer, was crossing a mountain stream, in a glen, at the upper
end of which a waterspout had fallen. The Highlander had reached the
opposite bank, but the farmer was looking about and loitering on the
stones over which he was stepping, wondering at a sudden noise he heard,
when the Highlander cried out, " Help, help, or I am a dead man, " and
fell to the ground. The farmer sprung to his assistance, and had hardly
reached him when the torrent came down, sweeping over the stones, with a
fury which no human force could have withstood. The lad had heard the
roaring of the stream behind the rocks, which intercepted its view from
the farmer, and fearing that he might be panic struck if he told him of
his danger, took this expedient to save him. A young man like this might
have been trusted on an out-post in front of an enemy ; and, possessing
such presence of mind, would have been equally capable of executing his
own duties, and of observing the movements and intentions of the enemy.]
On the other hand, this
incessant state of warfare gave a cast of savage ferocity to their
character, while their quarrels and hereditary feuds kept them in a state
of alarm and disquietude, and obliged them to have recourse to stratagems
and intrigues. These naturally gave rise to habits of duplicity, which had
a baneful influence on their morals. Whilst a summary and arbitrary course
of proceeding was sanctioned by ideas of honour, passion had no check from
legal control, and retaliation must have frequently been accompanied by
licentious cruelty, and a disregard of all moderation and justice.
[An old historian has drawn
the following picture of the state of Scotland after the murder of James
I., and during the minority of his son, James II., under the
administration of Livingston of Callander, the governor, and the Lord
Chancellor Crichton, the imbecillity of whose government was such as to
leave the turbulence of the nobility without control. The strong arm of
the law had never been felt in the Highlands, and hence arose the summary
modes of avenging private wrongs, to which the people had recourse in the
absence of judicial redress. Yet they may be said to have lived in a state
of peace and repose, compared with the distractions and turbulence of the
south, whenever the laws and the executive authority were for a time
suspended. "Through this manner," says the author, "the whole youth of
Scotland began to rage in mischief; for as long as there was no man to
punish, much herships and slaughter was in the land and boroughs, great
cruelty of nobles among themselves, for slaughters, theft, and murder,
were there patent; and so continually, day by day, that he was esteemed
the greatest man of renown and fame that was the greatest brigand, thief,
or murderer. But they were the cause of this Mischief that were the
governors and magistrates of the realm. And this oppression and mischief
reigned not only in the south-west parts, but also the' men of the Isles
invaded sundry parts of Scotland at that time, both by fire and sword, and
especially the Lennox was wholly overthrown. Traitors became so proud and
insolent, that they burned and herried the country wherever they came, and
spared neither old nor young, bairn or wife, but cruelly would burn their
houses and them together if they made any obstacles. Thus they raged
through the country without any respect either to God or man."
Of the reign of James V. the same author
writes, " the King went to the south with 12,000 men, and after this
hunting he hanged Johnnie Armstrong, Laird of Kilnocky, over the gate of
his castle, and his accomplices, to the number of thirty-six persons, for
which many Scotchmen heartily lamented, for he was the most redoubted
chieftain that had been for a long time on the borders of Scotland or of
England. It is said, that, from the borders to Newcastle, every man of
whatsoever estate paid him tribute to be free of his trouble. This being
done, the king passed to the Isles, and there held justice courts, and
then punished both thief and traitor, according to their deserts; syne
brought many of the great men of the Isles captive with him, such as
Macconnells, Macleod of the Lewis, Macneils, Maclean, Macintosh, John
Muidart, Mackay, Mackenzie, with many others that I cannot rehearse at
this time, some of them to be put in wards, and some had in courts, and
some he took in pledges for good rule in time coming; so he brought the
Isles in good rule and peace both north and south, whereby he had great
profit, service, and obedience of people a long time thereafter ; and as
long as he had the heads of the country in subjection, they lived in great
peace and rest, and there was great riches and policy by the king's
justice." (Lindsay of Pitscottie's History of Scotland.)]
To avoid the disorders
produced by perpetual strife, a plan was adopted for compensating injuries
by a composition in cattle. The amount of the reparation to be made was
generally determined by the principal men of the tribes, according to the
rank and wealth of the parties, and the nature of the injury. Thus the
aggressions of the rich could not escape with impunity; and, complete
redress being the object of the arbiters, the composition was considered
more honourable, as well as affording greater security against future
encroachments, in proportion to the largeness of its amount. These
ransoms, or compensations, were called Erig. |
