|
HOWEVER much the Jacobites
may say (as they seldom want words true or false to cover their wickedness)
in their own vindication for their conduct during the time of their
Rebellion; yet, I presume any who read the following, and like account of
their management, will readily not be at a loss to make a Judgement anent
them.
Among other places that
smarted under their cruelty, this poor place and paroch was one that
suffered not a little, as will appear by the following account.
Upon Saturday, the 28th
January, 1715-16, about five a clock at night, Lord George Murray with the
regiment of Rebells under his command, consisting of about 300 men, came to
the village called Duning, lying about six miles south-west of Perth, in the
Lord Rollo's interest, to execute a barbarous order geven him by the
Pretender and his Generall, the E. of Mar. Haveing disposed of his men into
barns and ether waste houses prepared for them beforehand by their
quartermasters, he ordered a certain quantity of meall for each company, of
the meall that had been exacted from the country about by way of tax, and
had been laid up in my Lord Rollo's house of Duncrub, where a company of
this regiment had for some time bygone keept garrison. The souldiers having
spent about the space of four hours in prepareing the meall and refreshing
themselves therewith, and what all they could find in the town, about nine
the drums began to beat, and, according to orders formerly given them, they
all appeared in arms in the midst of the town, where their Collonell intimat
to them the order he had for burning the village, and commanded them
immediately to begin the execution thereof, and so a melancholly and dismal!
tragedy commenced. They in a moment were scattered in files through the
whole town, and began to kindle the houses, lofts, and corn-yards.
While employed in this piece
of horrid barbarity and inhumanity, they were very carefull to have their
scouts watching at some distance without the village, being under great
terror and fear of the approach of the King's Army, the only reason,
together with the avarice of these wretches who much wanted money, why some
few houses escaped the flames. Heart cannot conceive, nor can it be written
in letters what a dolefull prospect it was to see the whole village in a
moment putt in a flame, while men, women, and children were exposed to the
injury of the weather and the rigour of that severe and stormy season, it
being in the midst of a terrible storm of frost and snow, such as was not in
Scotland these many years bygone. It would have pierced a heart in which
there remained the very least spark of humanity to have heard the rnournfull
screechs and frightfull cryes of poor women while rocking their infants in
cradles upon the snow in the open fields, and looking on their houses, the
sanctuaries appointed by God for their protection from the injury of such a
season, and their corns, the provision and means of their subsistence
crumbling in a moment into ashes. Such was the fear and terror of this
cruell action struck to the poor people's hearts, that many of them did not,
for a considerable time thereafter, recover themselves to any composure of
mind, and some of them dyed in a few hours thereafter, particularly one man
and two women, who had formerly been weak and tender, and thereby the less
able to bear up under such a terrible surprisall, and to endure the sharp
and cold air, the people about them being obliged to carry them out and lay
them on the open fields, dyed that nixt day and day thereafter: and, indeed,
a wonder of God's goodness it was that many more had not the same fate,
especially young ones, considering what a season it was, and that they were
oblidged to stand the whole long winter night, some of them almost, if not
altogether, naked and hungry, people being in such confusion that they got
not time to feed their young ones: and also considering in what hard
circumstances they were afterwards in for want of houses to lodge in, the
most of them haveing nothing left them to put on them or in them.
Such was the cruelty of these
inhumane wretches, that if any poor thing endeavoured so much as to pluck a
sheaf of corn from the flames, perhaps to preserve the life of a perishing
brute, they were sure to take it from them and throw it into the fire; yea,
not only the rude and rascally soldiers did so, but even their officers, of
whom better things might have been expected, particularly when one poor
man—namely, Thomas Annan, was throwing some sheaves over a dyke from the
burning stacks in his yard, Lord George Murray threw them in over the dyke
again with his own hand, and ordered a kill in the bottom, wherein the poor
man had hid some sheaves, to be put all on fire together.
The number of families that
had their houses burnt that night within this little and small village and
the confines thereof were thirty-three, besides barns, byres, and stables.
Amongst other houses that were burnt was that of Mr William Reid, minister.
He had, because of his age arid infirmity, not left his house and paroch,
and all the time of the Rebellion continued not only to pray for his Majesty
King George, but exhorted the people in a most pathetick manner to stand
firm in their duty and alleadgeance to his Majesty. He dyed not many hours
before the Rebell party came to burn that place, and his parishioners out of
their duty and affection to him bury'd him after almost the party was in
sight, which some of their leaders regreted, wishing he had been burnt in
it.
Their partiality appeared
here as well as in other places, for they did not burn the house of Robert
Stewart, the best and largest in that town, because he had been very active
during all the time of the Rebellion in putting in execution the orders of
the Comittee of Provisions (so was a company of gentlemen called who satt at
Perth all the time of the Rebellion and laid on the countrey contributions
of money, fforage, and other necessaries for their army, in the most
unequall and arbitrary manner, and levyed them by the outmost severetyes of
military execution).
Some who were covetous
capitulated, and saved some houses for money to their own privat pockets.
The chief of these who managed this scandalous merchandise was Mungo
Campbell, son to Collin Campbell, in Corymuchloch, who for a certain surnrn
of money pass'd the house of George Kally and some others. |
