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1. ABERARDER (Gaelic,
Obar-ardair, the confluence of the high waters).—Aberarder was once the seat
of a family of Macphersons of whom were descended the late John Macpherson,
long so well known and respected as factor for Lord Macdonald in Skye, and
latterly for Lord Lovat. His son, Dr Macpherson, rose to high rank as a
medical officer in the army, and acquired reputation as the author of
several excellent works on medical subjects. Aberarder was also noted as the
residence of the Rev. Robert Macpherson, for several years chaplain of the
78th Regiment (Fraser’s Highlanders), long so well known in Badenoch as
“Parson Robert,” who died in 1791, and was buried at Perth. Of his four sons
three entered the army, one of whom attained the rank of Lieutenant-General.
It is related of one of the Lairds of Aberarder that he insisted upon
entertaining every stranger that passed his way, and that on one occasion he
followed a traveller for a considerable distance, urging him to accept his
hospitality, which the stranger flatly declined to do. The Laird on his
return was heard to say, “D—n the loon! I’m sure he is a bad fellow at
home.”
2. Ardverikie (Gaelic, Ard-Mheirgidh, the height for rearing the
standard).—Some suppose the name to be derived from Airdfhearghuis— that is,
the high ground of Fergus, “the first of our kings,” who is said to have had
his hunting-lodge here, and to have formed the parallel roads of Glen Roy
for the enjoyment of the chase. “An old topographer remarks with much
simplicity that they could not have been executed but by the influence of
some of the first consequence and power in the State.’ ”On the walls of the
principal room of the old Lodge of Ardverikie, as it existed prior to 1873,
there were some exquisite sketches of the Children of the Mist, traced by
the masterly hand of Landseer, such as ‘The Challenge” and “The Stag at
Bay,” the engravings of which are well known, but these were unfortunately
destroyed in the conflagration of the Lodge in October 1873. In the garden
attached to the Lodge a mound is pointed out, adorned by the foxglove and
thistle, in which the ashes of King Fergus and four other monarchs are said
to repose. In trenching a piece of ground near it, in forming the garden, a
silver coin was discovered, about the size of a sixpence, belonging to the
time of Henry II. Ardverikie is now the property of Sir John William
Rams-den, Bart., by whom the Lodge was rebuilt with excellent taste after
the old Lodge was burned in 1873.
3. Blaragie (Gaelic, Bldragaidh, said to indicate the windy moor. It is
related of a Skyeman who was smearing at Blaragie that he exclaimed, “Well,
they have given this place its proper name, sure enough—it is a real
Bldr-na-gaoithe”—i.e., windy moor).—Blaragie was the birthplace of Captain
John Macpherson, who was orderly sergeant of General Wolfe the day he was
killed, and received him in his arms when that famous General fell at
Quebec. Blaragie was also the birthplace of Captain Donald Macpherson of the
g2d Regiment. The remains of Captain John Macpherson are interred in the old
churchyard of Kingussie.
4. Breakachy (Gaelic, Breacachaidh, speckled field).—Breakachy was for a
long period the seat of a distinguished family of Macphersons who were
closely allied to the family of the Chief, and took an active part in the
many conflicts of the Clan down to the ’45. To the family of Breakachy
belonged Samuel and Malcolm Macpherson, who figured so prominently in
connection with what has been so well termed “A Romance of Military
History,” of which the following account is given:—
“Early in the last century the Government raised six companies of Highland
soldiers, as a local force to preserve the peace and prevent robberies in
the northern parts of Scotland. These companies—the famous Black Watch of
Scottish song and story—were formed into a regiment in 1739, and four years
after were marched to London on their way to join the British army, then
actively serving in Germany. Many of the men composing this regiment,
believing that their terms of enlistment did not include foreign service,
felt great dissatisfaction on leaving Scotland; but it being represented to
them that they were merely going to London to be reviewed by the king in
person, no actual disobedience to orders occurred. About the time, however,
that the regiment reached London, the king departed for the Continent, and
this the simple and high-minded Highlanders considered as a slight thrown
upon either their courage or fidelity. Several disaffected persons, among
the crowds that went to see the regiment in their quarters at Highgate,
carefully fanned the flame of discontent; but the men, concealing any open
expression of ill-feeling, sedulously prepared for a review announced to
take place on the king’s birthday, the 14th of May 1743. On that day Lord
Sempill’s Highland regiment, as it was then termed, was reviewed by General
AVade on Finchley Common. A paper of the day says: ‘The Highlanders made a
very handsome appearance, and went through their exercise and firing with
the utmost exactness. The novelty of the sight drew together the greatest
concourse of people ever seen on such an occasion.’
“The review having taken place, the dissatisfied portion of the regiment,
considering that the duty for which they were brought to London had been
performed, came to the wild resolution of forcing their way back to
Scotland. So immediately after midnight on the morning of the 18th of May,
about one hundred and fifty of them, with their arms and fourteen rounds of
ball-cartridge each, commenced their march northwards. On the men being
missed, the greatest consternation ensued, and the most frightful
apprehensions were entertained regarding the crimes likely to be perpetrated
by the (supposed) savage mountaineers on the peaceful inhabitants of English
country-houses. Despatches were sent off to the officers commanding in the
northern districts, and proclamations of various kinds were issued : among
others, one offering a reward of forty shillings for every captured
deserter. The little intercourse between different parts of the country, and
the slow transmission of intelligence at the period, is remarkably
exemplified by the fact that the first authentic news of the deserters did
not reach London till the evening of the seventh day after their flight.
“The retreat was conducted by a corporal Samuel Macpherson, who exhibited
considerable military skill and strategy. Marching generally by night, and
keeping the line of country between the two great northern roads, they
pushed forward with surprising celerity, carefully selecting strong natural
positions for their resting-places. When marching by day they directed their
course from one wood or defensive position to another, rather than in a
direct northern line—thus perplexing the authorities, who never knew where
to look for the deserters, as scarcely two persons agreed when describing
their line of march.
“General Blakeney, who then commanded the north-eastern district, specially
appointed Captain Ball, with a large body of cavalry, to intercept the
Highlanders.
On the evening of the 21st Ball received intelligence that about three
o’clock on the same day the fugitives had crossed the river Nen, near
Wellingborough in Northamptonshire. Conjecturing that they were making for
Rutlandshire, he placed himself in an advantageous position at Uppingham on
the border of that county; Blakeney with a strong force being already posted
at Stamford on the border of Lincolnshire. But the Highlanders encamped for
the night in a strong position on a hill surrounded by a dense wood, about
four miles from Cundle in Northamptonshire. Early on the following morning a
country magistrate named Creed, hearing of the Highlanders’ arrival in his
neighbourhood, went to their camp and endeavoured to persuade them to
surrender.
“This they refused to do without a grant of pardon, which Creed could not
give. After considerable discussion both parties agreed to the following
terms : Creed was to write to the Duke of Montagu, Master-General of the
Ordnance, stating that the deserters were willing to return to their duty on
promise of a free pardon; they engaging to remain in the place they then
occupied till a reply arrived from the Duke. Creed was also to write to the
military officer commanding in the district, desiring him not to molest the
Highlanders until the Duke’s wishes were known. At five o’clock in the
morning the letters were written by Creed in the presence of the
Highlanders, and immediately after despatched by special messengers to their
respective destinations. In that to the military officer Creed says: ‘These
Highlanders are a brave, bold sort of people, and are resolved not to submit
till pardon comes down.’
“In the meantime a gamekeeper of Lord Gainsborough having reported the
position of the Highlanders to Captain Ball, that officer arriving on the
ground on the forenoon of the same day, demanded their immediate surrender.
They replied that they were already in treaty with the civil authorities,
and referred Captain Ball to Mr Creed. At the same time they wrote the
following letter to Mr Creed, then attending church at Cundle :—
“‘Honoured Sir,—Just now came here a captain belonging to General Blakeney’s
regiment, and proposed to us to surrender to him, without regard to your
honour’s letter to the Duke of Montague, which we refused to do; wherefore
he has gone for his squadron, and is immediately to fall on us. So that, if
you think they can be kept off till the return of your letter, you’ll be
pleased to consider without loss of time.’
“With this letter they also sent a verbal message stating that they were
strongly posted, and resolved to die to a man rather than surrender on any
other terms than those they had already proposed. Creed replied, advising
them to surrender, and offering his good offices in soliciting their pardon.
Ball, finding the position of the deserters unassailable by cavalry, rested
till the evening, when General Blakeney’s forces arrived. The Highlanders
then sent out a request for another interview with Ball, which was granted.
He told them he could grant no other terms than an unconditional surrender.
They replied that they preferred dying with arms in their hands. They took
him into the wood and showed him the great strength of their position, which
from Ball’s military description seems to have been one of those ancient
British or Roman earthworks which still puzzle our antiquaries. They said
they were soldiers, and would defend it to the last. Ball replied that he,
too, was a soldier, and would kill the last, if it came to the arbitrament
of arms. They then parted, a guard of the Highlanders leading Ball out of
the wood. On their way, Ball, by offering an absolute pardon to the two by
whom he was accompanied, succeeded in inducing them to return to their duty.
One went with him to the General; the other, returning to the wood,
prevailed upon a number of his comrades to submit also; these persuaded
others, so that in the course of the night the whole number surrendered to
General Blakeney.
“As the Highlanders in their retreat conducted themselves in the most
unexceptionable manner, none of the fearful anticipations respecting them
were realised. So on their surrender, the public fright resolved itself into
the opposite extremes of public admiration. The flight of the deserters was
compared to the retreat of the Ten Thousand; and Corporal Macpherson was
regarded as a second Xenophon. But the stern exigencies of military
discipline had to be satisfied. By sentence of a court-martial, two
corporals, Macpherson and his brother, and one private named Shaw, were
condemned to be shot. The execution took place on the 12th of July; a
newspaper of the day tells that ‘the rest of the Highlanders were drawn out
to see the execution, and joined in prayer with great earnestness.’ The
unfortunate men behaved with perfect resolution and propriety. Their bodies
were put into three coffins by three of their clansmen and namesakes, and
buried in one grave near the place of execution.
“General Stewart, in his ‘Sketches of the Highlanders,’ says there must have
been something more than common in the case or character of these
unfortunate men, as Lord John Murray, who was afterwards colonel of the
regiment, had portraits of them hung up in his dining-room. I have not at
present the means of ascertaining whether this proceeded from an impression
on his lordship’s mind that they had been victims to the designs of others,
and ignorantly misled rather than wilfully culpable, or merely from a desire
of preserving the resemblances of men who were remarkable for their size and
handsome figure.”
“It is impossible,” adds General Stewart, “to reflect on this unfortunate
affair without feelings of regret, whether we view it as an open violation
of military discipline on the part of brave, honourable, and well-meaning
men, or as betraying an apparent want of faith on the part of the
Government. The indelible impression which it made on the minds of the whole
population of the Highlands laid the foundation of that distrust in their
superiors which was afterwards so much increased by various circumstances.”
In an interesting pamphlet published after the execution of the unfortunate
men, the following particulars are given of the parentage and character of
Samuel and Malcolm Macpherson:—
“Samuel Macpherson, aged about twenty-nine, was born in the parish of Laggan,
in Badenoch; his father, still living, is brother to Macpherson of Breachie
[Breackachy], a gentleman of considerable estate in that country, and is
himself a man of unblemished reputation and a plentiful fortune. Samuel was
the only son of a first marriage, and received a genteel education, having
made some progress in the languages, and studied for some time at Edinburgh
with a writer, until about six years ago he enlisted as a volunteer in Major
Grant’s company, where he was much respected both by the officers and
private men, and was in a short time made a corporal.
“Malcolm Macpherson, aged about thirty years, and unmarried, was born in the
same parish of Laggan, was son of Angus Macpherson of Druminard, a gentleman
of credit and repute, who bestowed upon Malcolm such education as that part
of the country would afford. He enlisted about seven years ago in my Lord
Lovat’s company, where his behaviour recommended him to the esteem of his
officers, and he was soon made a corporal.”
A brother of Samuel Macpherson was General Kenneth Macpherson, of the East
India Company’s Service, who died in 1815. Breakachy was the birthplace of
another distinguished soldier of the same family— General Barclay
Macpherson—of whom a sketch is given on page 174. The last of a succession
of soldiers possessing the farm of Breakachy was Captain Evan D. Macpherson,
of the 93d Highlanders (a son of Colonel Macpherson, Kerrow), who died in
1866.
5. Catlodge (Gaelic, Caitleag, the hollow of the cat, or, perhaps, the
hollow of the sheep-cote).—Catlodge was possessed for some years by
Major-General Frederick Towers, who was born on 16th August 1797, and died
on 13th October 1859. General Towers was noted as the best deer-stalker of
his day in the Highlands. There is a marble tablet to his memory in the
parish church of Laggan. Catlodge was subsequently possessed by Colonel
Fraser Macpherson, of the Madras Army, a grandson of Cluny of the ’45.
6. Cluny (Gaelic, Cluainidh, a gentle sloping field).—Cluny for many
generations has been the seat of the Chiefs of Clan Chattan. Of Ewen of the
’45 a sketch is given on pages 162 -171. His son, Colonel Duncan of the 71st
Regiment (Fraser’s Highlanders), who succeeded him in the chiefship of the
clan, was a gallant officer, and distinguished himself in the American War
of Independence. Born in 1750, he was married in 1798 to Catherine, daughter
of Sir Ewen Cameron of Fassifern, by whom he had four sons and four
daughters. In an interesting letter addressed by him within two months of
his death to Colonel Stewart of Garth, dated 9th June 1817, he thus
describes the raising of the regiment in which he served for many years:—
“With regard to the 71st Highlanders, they were raised in the year 1775, and
in the short space (if I recollect right) of three months, and consisted of
two battalions of 1000 rank and file each. The men were all from Scotland,
and chiefly from the Highlands, and that is not surprising when I inform you
that there were no less than seven chiefs in the regiment—viz., Lovat,
Lochiel, Macleod, Mackintosh, Chisholm, Lamont of Lamont, and your humble
servant, most of whom brought 100 men to the regiment. They got no drilling
before they embarked, but they got a little while on the voyage to America,
particularly in firing ball at a mark, at which they were very expert before
they landed. They had only one fortnight’s drilling on Staten Island before
they were engaged with the enemy; and upon all occasions, whether battle,
skirmish, or rencounter, from the day they were first engaged till the
last—that is to say, whatever the general success or fate of the day was,
that part of the enemy opposed to the 71st always gave way. The next year
after they went abroad they had 200 recruits sent them, and out of the 2200
men, only 175 men came home alive, and I got the out-pension for most of
them, being at that time a colonel in the 3d Regiment of Guards, and had,
fortunately for them, every opportunity of attending the Chelsea Board.
There is another circumstance worth mentioning, when the regiment was
inspected on the Green of Glasgow they had 150 supernumeraries that were
obliged to be left behind, and, what is a little extraordinary, most of the
companies had three or four men who stole on board ship unknown to their
officers, and did not discover themselves until we were out of the sight of
land for fear of being sent on shore again. These men followed the regiment
merely out of attachment to their officers and comrades. Lochiel brought 100
fine Highlanders from Lochaber; and Mrs Macpherson tells me that the Clan
Cameron remitted Lochiel’s rents to him while in France, which is certainly
much to their credit.
“I am clearly of your opinion,” continues Colonel Macpherson, “that much of
the attachment of the people to their superiors is unnecessarily lost,
though I cannot impute the whole blame to proprietors. In many instances the
people themselves are entirely in the fault, and in other cases factors
abuse the trust reposed in them, and of course the proprietor gets the whole
blame of their oppressions. You have given two very striking and opposite
instances, which may serve to illustrate the situation of landlord and
tenant all over the nation. I mean Sir George Stewart and the Earl of
Breadalbane. The one has well-paid rents and the offer of a large sum of
money besides, for his accommodation, while the other with difficulty gets
one-tenth of his. If a tenant has a fair bargain of his farm it is an
absurdity to suppose that one bad year will distress him ; but when the rent
is so racked that he is only struggling in the best of times, a very little
falling off in prices or seasons will totally ruin him, and I am sorry to
say that much of the present distress is to be attributed to that cause. I
am happy to have it in my power to tell you that my rents were all paid—that
is, to a mere trifle, and even that trifle due by a few improvident
individuals who would be equally in arrear in the best of times. The Duke of
Gordon has not received more than one-half his rents either in Lochaber or
Badenoch, and I have reason to believe his Grace’s rents were better paid in
the Low country. Belville has not exceeded one-tenth, and though I do not
exactly know in what proportion the Invereshie rent was paid, yet I know
that it was a bad collection. The conduct of the family of Stafford is
certainly unaccountable, for I am credibly informed that the old tenants
offered a higher rent than those that came from England, consequently they
are losers in every respect. I know it will be said by those who are
advocates for depopulating the country that they could not stand to their
offer, but neither could their successors; for a very large deduction has
already been given them, and one man in particular has got five
hundredpounds down. Upon the whole it is clear that the Marquis of Stafford
was led into those arrangements (so disgraceful to the present age) by
speculative men that wish to overturn the old system at once, without
considering that their plans were at least only applicable to the present
moment, and that such changes, even if necessary, should be done gradually
and with great caution. I cannot dismiss this subject without making a few
remarks on the conduct of Lady Stafford, and you will be astonished to learn
that when her old and faithful adherents, who had given her such repeated
proofs of their attachment, were cruelly oppressed by a factor, that she
should refuse to listen to their complaints; and when that factor was tried
for his life on charges of cruelty, oppression, and murder, it is most
unaccountable that her Ladyship should exert all her influence to screen him
from the punishment which he so richly deserved. I have only to add that as
far as my own observations extend, much of the evil complained of arises
from the absence of proprietors from their properties, by which they are in
a great measure unacquainted with the real state of their tenants, and
consequently open to every species of advice and misrepresentation.”
Browne, in his ‘History of the Highlands,’ relates that the 71st Highlanders
were in 1779 “employed in an enterprise against Boston Creek, a strong
position defended by upwards of two thousand men, besides one thousand men
occupied in detached stations. The front of this position was protected by a
deep swamp, and the only approach in that way was by a narrow causeway: on
each flank were thick woods nearly impenetrable, except by the drier parts
of the swamps which intersected them; but the position was more open in the
rear. To dislodge the enemy from this stronghold, which caused considerable
annoyance, Lieutenant-Colonel Duncan Macpherson, with the first battalion of
the 71st, was directed to march upon the front of the position ; whilst
Colonel Prevost and Lieutenant-Colonels Maitland and Macdonald, with the 2d
battalion, the light infantry, and a party of provincials, were ordered to
attempt the rear by a circuitous route of many miles. These combined
movements were executed with such precision that, in ten minutes after
Colonel Macpherson appeared at the head of the causeway in front, the fire
of the body in the rear was heard. Sir James Baird, with the light infantry,
rushing through the opening in the swamps, on the left flank, the enemy were
overpowered after a short resistance.”
On a marble tablet in the Cluny burial-place, erected to the memory of
Colonel Duncan, there is the following inscription :—
“Sacrcti to the Memory of COLONEL DUNCAN MACPHERSON OF CLUNY,
WHO, ON THE 1ST OF AUGUST 1817, DIED AT THE AGE OF 69,
RESPECTED AND BELOVED AS A HIGHLAND CHIEF.
HE SERVED HIS COUNTRY FOR UPWARDS OF THIRTY YEARS, DURING SIX OF WHICH HE
COMMANDED, ON ACTIVE SERVICE IN AMERICA, A BATTALION OF THE THEN 7IST OR
FRASER REGIMENT.
This Monument to the Memory of an affectionate Husband and Father has been
erected by his Widow and Children.”
Of Colonel Duncan’s eldest son, Ewen of Cluny, who succeeded to the
chiefship on the death of his father in 1817, and was long so popularly
known all over the Highlands, a sketch is given on pages 282-302. One of
“Old Cluny’s” brothers—Colonel John Cameron Macpherson —sometime of the 42d
Highlanders, distinguished himself at the battle of the Alma, proving
himself “a true representative of the warrior race of Clan Chattan.” Another
brother—Colonel Archibald Fraser Macpherson of the Madras army—saw much
service and acquired distinction for signal gallantry in India. “On his
return to his native land he received a gratifying demonstration of the
respect and admiration of his clansmen and countrymen in the shape of a
splendid Highland banquet, characterised- by a true display of just,
generous, and patriotic feelings and sentiments on the part of all
concerned.”
On the death of “Old Cluny” on nth January 1885, he was succeeded in the
chiefship by his eldest son, Colonel Duncan, C.B., sometime commanding the
42d Royal Highlanders. Worn out by the hardships of active service, Colonel
Duncan did not long survive his succession to the chiefship and the Cluny
estates, having died on October 3, 1886. The following appreciative sketch
of his life and military career appeared in the ‘Dundee Advertiser’ of 6th
October 1886 :—
“The intelligence of the death on Sunday, after a lengthened illness, of
Colonel Duncan Macpherson, will be received by scores of military friends,
and by many in civil life, with feelings of the deepest regret. The regret
will be intensified by the knowledge that he has passed away war-worn and
exhausted in the service of his country at fifty-three—an age when men of
his class have hardly lost the elasticity and robustness of manhood’s prime.
Colonel Macpherson was the representative of an honourable line of chiefs
whose influence was perhaps unsurpassed in the Highlands. It is only a few
months since he left Perth to take up his residence in Cluny Castle, and
personal possession of the Cluny estate, to which he had a few months before
succeeded on the death of his father, the late Cluny Macpherson, C.B. His
health was at that time far from robust—indeed, he had just partially
recovered from a severe illness; but it was fondly hoped that he would
recover in the bracing air of the North, and that he would be long spared to
reside in his ancestral home, as the worthy successor of a father who in a
conspicuous manner united in himself the noble and generous qualities
associated with the typical Highland Chief.
“Colonel Macpherson had been a soldier all his life, and had seen many years
of that hard campaigning which too often saps the strength of those
compelled to engage in its vicissitudes. He was born on the 9th October
1833, and had joined the Black Watch as ensign before his nineteenth year
was completed. All through his military career till he resigned its command
in 1882 he served under the colours of this famous old regiment. In April
1855 he obtained his captaincy, and, holding that rank, took part in the
trying Indian Mutiny campaign. The Black Watch arrived on the scene of
action at Cawnpore at a time when Sir Colin Campbell sorely needed its help,
and Captain Macpherson was engaged with it in the terrible conflict with
Nana Sahib’s Bithoor rebels and in the subsequent pursuit and battle at the
Kalee Bridge. Arrived at Lucknow, the Highland regiments were brigaded under
Adrian Hope, and the 426 was detailed to open the crucial contest by an
attack in force on the Martiniere College. By the side of the Black Watch,
when ready for action, stood the 93d; but the latter regiment was not to be
engaged that day. In its ranks was Lieutenant Ewen Macpherson, the brother
of the deceased; and just before the bugle sounded the advance an incident
occurred which the late Colonel himself narrated to the writer. Things
looked doubtful in front. The enemy, who were in strong force, looked
stubborn, and the engagement seemed likely to be stiff and stern. Many men
were marshalled there who would never again answer the muster-roll, and
Duncan Macpherson, turning to his brother Ewen, took from his fingers his
rings, removed his watch, chain, and trinkets, and, handing them to the
latter, said, ‘Here, Ewen, you take these; if I come out of this all right
I’ll get them from you; if not, they are yours.’ Ewen took the articles, and
had the pleasure of handing them back to his brother when he came out of the
conflict alive and well. He led his company with such dash against the
Martiniere that Sir David Baird, watching the movements from the rear with a
field-glass, exclaimed, ‘Well done, Cluny!’ He also accompanied his regiment
through the Rohilcund campaign, and took part in the severe engagements at
Fort Rooyah, Allygunge, and Bareilly. In July 1865 he was promoted to be
Major, and with that rank commanded the Black Watch in the famous advance on
Amoaful and Coomassie. He led his regiment in superb style through the bush,
from which the Ashantees poured showers of slug-shot at but a few paces
distant. Macpherson was hit twice, if not oftener, one shot passing through
his leg; but he would not go to the rear, although requested by Sir
Archibald Alison to do so. Supported by a stick he pluckily held on with his
advancing men, and finally led them in triumph into Amoaful. ‘Nothing,’ said
Sir Garnet Wolseley in his official report, ‘could have exceeded the
admirable conduct of the 426 Highlanders, on whom fell the hardest share of
the work. As Colonel M'Leod was in command of the left column, this regiment
was led by Major Macpherson, who was twice wounded.’ For his share in this
campaign the deceased officer was rewarded with a Companionship of the Bath,
a medal and clasp, and was promoted to the rank of Brevet-Colonel. His
latest campaign was in Egypt in 1882, when, holding the full rank of
Lieutenant-Colonel in command of the Royal 42d Highlanders, he led his
regiment over the trenches of Tel-el-Kebir. It was a proud position. The 42d
is a regiment whose glorious traditions can never fail to challenge
attention to its deportment in whatever enterprise it may be engaged. His
long connection with the corps had forged strong the links of mutual
confidence and esteem between the leader and the led. He was come of a long
line of men accustomed to command, and behind him marched in majestic
strength a regiment which had ever responded with loyalty and devotion to
the call for action. The conduct of commander and men on this occasion
equally confirmed the trust reposed in them. The success of the long
night-'march and the brilliant daybreak-assault were not a little due to the
splendid discipline and valour of the old Black Watch and its gallant
leader.
“His period of service up, he shortly after retired from the regiment, and
was appointed to the command of the 42d Regimental District at Perth—a post
which still kept him in close touch with his old comrades. There he
discharged his duties with energy, promptitude, and ability. He was a
careful inspector and strict disciplinarian, but withal a kind-hearted and
generous officer; and many an old, broken-down ‘British hero’ who had
belonged to his company in the Crimea or India, or who had followed him in
Ashantee, made long and not unsuccessful pilgrimages to Perth to see ‘the
Colonel.’ This command he relinquished early in the present year before
retiring to his ancestral home at Cluny. He has thus been but a short time
out of harness, and his death has come at a time when the prospect of a long
period of profitable and healthful rest seemed before him. In politics he
was a Conservative; in private life he was cheery, affable, and
entertaining—a man not to be respected only, but to be admired and beloved.
In 1867 he married a daughter of Major-General Harris, of the Bengal Army,
but there is no issue. The estate of Cluny therefore devolves upon his
younger brother, Ewen Macpherson.”
Some years previous to his death a pension was conferred upon Colonel Duncan
for distinguished and meritorious service. The following is the inscription
on a beautiful marble tablet erected to his memory in the burial-place of
the family:—
“In Loving Memory of COLONEL DUNCAN MACPHERSON OF CLUNY, C.B.,
CHIEF OF CLAN CHATTAN,
SON OF EWEN AND SARAH JUSTINA MACPHERSON.
BORN 9TH OCTOBER 1833. DIED 3D OCTOBER 1886.
SERVED FOR UPWARDS OF THIRTY YEARS IN THE 42D ROYAL HIGHLANDERS (THE BLACK
WATCH). WAS PRESENT WITH THE REGIMENT IN THE INDIAN MUTINY, 1857-58, AND
ASHANTI CAMPAIGNS, 1874. SEVERELY WOUNDED. COMMANDED THE REGIMENT IN
EGYPTIAN CAMPAIGN, 1882. MENTIONED IN DESPATCHES. RECEIVED REWARD FOR
DISTINGUISHED SERVICES IN THE FIELD.
Erected by his Widow.”
Like his deceased brother,
Colonel Ewen Henry Davidson Macpherson, now the Chief of the clan, has had a
long and distinguished military career. With the 93d Highlanders, which he
joined shortly after Duncan joined the Black Watch, he has seen most of the
campaigning since 1854, and eventually rose to command the famous regiment
in which he had so long served. The following is the record of Colonel
Ewen’s military services as given in ‘ The Historical Records of the 93d,’
published in 1883 :—
“Ensign, 3d of November 1854; lieutenant, 9th of February 1855. Served with
the regiment in the Crimea from 14th of July 1855, including the siege and
fall of Sebastopol; also in the Indian Mutiny, including the relief of
Lucknow by Lord Clyde, operations at Cawnpore and battle of the 6th of
December 1857; pursuit to Serai Ghat; action of the Kala Nuddee; siege and
fall of Lucknow, campaign in Oude, and attack on Fort Mittowlie. Became
captain, 13th of May 1859; was aide-de-camp to the Lieutenant-Governor of
Bengal from 1st of June 1859 to 31st of May 1862. Served in the Eusofzai
campaign of 1863, under Sir John Garvock. Brevet-major, 5th of July 1872;
major, 29th of October 1873; and Lieutenant-Colonel commanding, 1st of
January 1879. Lieutenant-Colonel E. H. D. Macpherson has the Crimean medal
and clasp, Turkish medal, Indian medal with two clasps, and the Frontier
medal with clasp for Umbeyla.”
Colonel Ewen has naturally taken the greatest interest in the 93d, and it
was under his direction that the ‘ Records ’ of the regiment, written by
Captain Burgoyne, were prepared and published. After relinquishing the
command of the 93d, Colonel Ewen commanded the 1st Regimental District, “
The Royal Scots,” and he is now Brigadier-General commanding the Highland
Volunteer Brigade. The following extract from a letter addressed to him by
Field-Marshal His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge, K.G., &c.,
Commander-in-Chief of her Majesty’s Forces, speaks for itself:—
“Horse Guards, War Office, 24^ August 1892.
“Sir,—I have the satisfaction to acquaint you that her Majesty the Queen has
been pleased to approve of your receiving from the grant for Distinguished
and Meritorious Service an allowance of ^jioo per annum, from the 20th July
1892 inclusive......—I am, sir, yours, George.
“Colonel E. H. D. Macpherson, Half-pay,
Coming. Highland Voir. Infy. Brigade.”
7. Crathie (Gaelic, Craichidh. The derivation is very obscure, but some
suppose it to be from the Gaelic word Creigg, signifying rocky or abounding
with stones).—Crathie was the birthplace of Colonel Andrew Macpherson of the
14th Indian Native Infantry—“a near relation of the Chief of Macpherson—who
died in the command of the regiment in 1804, a distinguished officer, who
was more than once publicly thanked by Government for his meritorious
services, and whose private character was equally estimable.”
8. Crubinmore and Crubinbeg (according to old natives the proper Gaelic name
of Crubinmore is Cro beinn mhor, or binnean mor—i.e., the fold of the big
hill; and of Crubinbeg, Cro beinn bheag, or binnean beag —i.e., the fold of
the little hill, representing respectively two conicalshaped hills in the
immediate neighbourhood, the one considerably higher than the other).—Crubinmore
was long the seat of a family of Macphersons, from whom Mr L. A. Macpherson
of Corrimony is descended. The Tore, a high conical hill in Drumuachdar, was
in olden times regarded by the Macphersons of Crubin as their future
inheritance or Hill of Spirits. The admixture of Christianity with the
ancient religion of the Gael created infinite confusion of ideas with
respect to the state of departed souls. Heaven and hell were sometimes
mentioned from the pulpit; but the nurse spoke daily of Flath-innis,3 and
the hills of their departed kindred, to the children at her knee, and
ancient tales of those who had been favoured with visions of the state of
the dead prevented the Christian idea of heaven and hell from ever being
properly established. It was supposed that only the souls of the supremely
good and brave were received into Flathinnis, and those only of the very
base and wicked were condemned to the torments of Ifrinn.4 The hills of
their fathers were in an intermediate state, into which the common run of
mankind were received after death. They had no notion of an immaterial
being; but supposed that each spirit, on departing from this mortal
habitation, received a body subject to no decay, and that men in a future
state enjoyed such pleasures as had been most congenial to their minds in
this world, without being subject to any of the ills “that flesh is heir
to.”
9. Dalchully (Gaelic, Dail-chuilidh, or perhaps Dail-a’-chulaidh, the
well-conditioned dale, or otherwise Dail-a'-chuilinn, the dale of the
holly). —Dalchully was once the seat of John Macpherson, Esq., on which
possession a jointure-house is said to have been built for the Honourable
Lady Jane, daughter of Simon Lord Lovat, who was married to Cluny of the
’45.
10. Gallovie (Gaelic, Geal-agaidh, supposed to signify white field).—
Gallovie was possessed for some time by a family of the name of Macdonald,
of whom was Captain Ronald Macdonald.
Here also resided for many years Ian Ruadh Ghcal-agaidh, the last tacksman
of Gallovie—the place after he gave it up being turned into a deer-forest.
In a letter dated 19th January 1892, received from William J. McPherson, a
distinguished counsellor-at-law in Rochester, New York (a grandson of Ian
Ruadh), one of the most enthusiastic and patriotic members of the clan now
living, and well known as one of the most gifted and prominent citizens and
leading public speakers in that part of the state, he gives the following
interesting account of the family:—
“My dear Sir,—As stated in a previous letter to you, I cannot well make up
the notice you asked for concerning my family. Aside from the fact that I do
not know the scope that would be allowed, or that your available space would
permit, my innate modesty—a modesty peculiar to our people as a race—would
prevent me from preparing such a notice, personal as it would be in some
measure to myself. My father died when I was a child, and being since
separated, except when on short visits, from those most familiar with the
history of my ancestors, I have not that more complete record that otherwise
I would have ; but I submit the following points that have come to me from
my parents and others concerning my ancestors, and also some other matters
relating to the family.
“My paternal great-grandfather was Murdoch Macpherson, long known in the
native vernacular as Muireach Ruadh, or Red Murdoch. Tradition describes him
to have been a strong, athletic, and active man; a man of few words, stern
and courageous, and of great decision of character; ‘ a man who was
trustworthy and trusted.’
“Murdoch joined the standard of ‘ Prince Charlie ’ on or shortly after the
arrival of the Prince in Scotland in 1745, and followed the fortunes of the
Prince to the failure of his cause, and the fortunes of Cluny until the
latter left Scotland for France. He was in hiding with the Prince, and with
Cluny until Cluny left for France, when he accompanied him to the coast.
“The following are among the traditions that have come down in the family
from the days of Red Murdoch.
“On a cold night when the Prince and his little party were in hiding, and
were watching from a hill-top the enemy’s troops who were in search of him,
the Prince was dressed in a light-weight tartan, and was suffering from the
cold and inclement weather. One of the party asked Murdoch in Gaelic to give
his plaid, which was a large and heavy one, to the Prince. Murdoch replied
in Gaelic that he would not give his plaid to the best man in the kingdom.
The Prince asked what they were talking about, and being told of Murdoch’s
answer, the Prince laughed, and stated that he would be glad to share it
with him. This statement being translated to Red Murdoch, he and the Prince
shared the plaid together.
“At another time, when the party were more than usually anxious and gloomy,
the Prince remarked that he would give a guinea to see a smile on Murdoch’s
face; and this being translated to Murdoch by one of their number, Murdoch,
struck by the novelty of the expression, laughed, and the Prince tossed the
coin to him.
“Murdoch and two other persons were each intrusted with a backload of gold
(that had been sent by France to the Prince) to conceal it in the mountains
or some out-of-the-way place. They concealed it in a place where they
thought it was securely hidden, but when they afterwards went for it it was
not there, and it was never recovered.
“Another story that has come down in the family from Murdoch’s time is, that
on one occasion the Prince stated, either in earnest, jest, or to give
strength to his expression of regard for Murdoch (most probably the latter),
that if the crown were restored to his family he would make Murdoch the
second man in the kingdom.
“After the Prince left Scotland, Murdoch remained with Cluny, and
accompanied him to the coast when he left for France. The last night they
were together was at an inn or other place provided for their secret
entertainment, and where they had beds near one another. Far in the night
Cluny came to Murdoch’s bedside, awakened him, and told him that just before
getting up he dreamed that three red swine were tearing his bed to pieces,
and that he was going to fly immediately. He left the place, and before his
bed was fairly cold, three soldiers, ‘red-coats,’ hunting for him overhauled
the bed.
“Many years ago I saw a letter, written by a Perthshire Macpherson of the
early part of this century, in which it was stated that Murdoch was in some
way a companion of the Prince, probably an attache of his person. From my
early childhood days I have understood that Murdoch died in Badenoch at the
great age of 103. He had a son, William Macpherson, who was born in Badenoch
in 1753. He married Margery Macpherson, a sister of Ian Ruadh Macpherson,
Gallovie. In 1798 he moved to Stanley, Perthshire, where he resided until
his death in 1851 at the age of ninety-eight. His remains, with those of
other members of the family, rest in the little old burial-ground across the
Tay from Stanley. His regard for ancient Highland customs was evidenced by
his provision for a granite boulder at the foot of his grave.
“In early life AVilliam was engaged as a drover, and in the purchase of live
stock in the Highlands and its sale in the southern markets. He retired
early in life from all active pursuits. Margery, his wife, died in 1838.
They had five children—Gillies, who was born in Badenoch, Ann, Margaret, and
Thomas, who was my father, and an earlier child named Thomas, who was
drowned in the Tay, and all except Gillies were born in Perthshire. Margaret
died in 1828 at Stanley, and Ann died there a few years ago. My father died
at Caledonia, N.Y., in 1841, at the age of thirty-three; and Gillies died
several years ago, at Warwick, Ont., Canada, at the age of eighty-three.
“The family were all well educated. Ann was known as one of the greatest
Biblical scholars of her section of the country. She had committed to memory
the Old and New Testaments and the Paraphrases, and in her advanced years,
woe to her opponent in discussion in which Scriptural illustrations or
expressions could be used as weapons by her; from Genesis to Revelation,
both inclusive, she would hurl them at him. She was, however, one of the
most canny of her race.
“My uncle, Gillies Macpherson, was educated at Edinburgh for the ministry,
spending eleven years there prosecuting his studies. During all that time he
was under engagement of marriage with Miss Ann Pullar, of the well-known
Pullar family of Perthshire, and married her at the close of his studies.
Instead of entering the ministry and preparing people for the spirit world,
he took the Milton farm and distillery, near Stanley, worked the farm and
manufactured spirits for the use of people in this world. About 1837 he came
to the United States, where his brother Thomas (my father) then resided. He
engaged in contract work in the States and in Canada, until in 1844, when he
moved with his family to Warwick, which was then almost a wilderness, and
set to work clearing away the forest. About sixty of his descendants now own
and occupy large farms in what is termed the ‘ Eden of the Dominion.’ His
good judgment and advice did much to form public opinion as to matters of
interest to that section of the country. People went from long distances to
counsel with him, and often matters of contention between parties were
submitted to him instead of the courts for his decision. He was known far
and near as ‘Lord McPherson.’ He had six children— William, John, Joseph,
Ann (who married a Munro), Gillies, and Margery. Margery died many years
ago, unmarried, and John died in 1891. All the living descendants of my
uncle, Gillies McPherson, reside in and about Warwick, Ont.
“Thomas was educated at Edinburgh as a physician and surgeon, and was
noticed in the annals of the Royal College of Surgeons for an important and
difficult surgical operation performed by him. After his graduation he
married his cousin, Jane Macpherson, a daughter of Ian ruadh Macpherson,
Gallovie, and settled down to the practice of his profession in Kingussie,
where I, their first child, was born January 18th, 1831. In the spring of
that year a deaf-mute fortune-teller came to the house of my parents, and
taking a tub of water, pointed out to them that they would soon cross a
great body of water, and would encounter a great storm. Even in those days
intelligent Kingussians honoured fortunetellers. At that time my parents had
no intention to come to America. In the summer of that year, under pressing
invitations from their relatives and other Highland people who, a few years
before, had made a large settlement at and about Caledonia, N.Y., they moved
to and settled in Caledonia. In crossing the ocean, they passed through a
great storm in which the hatches were nailed down over them.
“My father became eminent and widely known as a surgeon, his practice
extending over nearly the west half of the state. His fame was such that
graduates of medical colleges of other states came to and remained with him
a year or more to perfect themselves the more in their profession. As an
illustration of the faith the people generally had in his professional skill
I will relate an incident.
“A Mrs M'Kercher, a Highland lady, to give her children the advantages of a
higher education, with them removed from the vicinity of Caledonia to Lima,
the seminary at which I was then attending. On the invitation of the good
lady and her family I was spending my birthday evening with them at their
pleasant home. During the evening she spoke of my father’s ‘wonderful skill’
in his profession, and related a story which she said he had told to her and
to a Mrs Deacon M'Pherson. The story was, that in the Peninsular War he was
the surgeon of a British regiment; that during a battle with the French, the
French cavalry broke through the lines of his regiment, behind which he was
standing with his assistant surgeon; that a French officer by a sabre-stroke
cut the head from the body of the assistant surgeon, the head falling to the
ground; that he raised the head, and caught the body while it was yet
standing, and fixed the head, as he supposed, properly on it; that under the
circumstances he was labouring under considerable excitement, and that when
the assistant surgeon walked away he discovered that he had fixed the head
on the body wrong side foremost. I suggested to Mrs M'Kercher, that in
telling such a story my father was only trying their credulity and meeting
their flattering remarks; that he disliked flattery, and that no such thing
ever occurred. The good old lady said to me, ‘Do you doubt your father’s
words?’ ‘In that matter, I do,’ I replied. She then said, ‘I believe it
happened just as he told it, and I will not permit any person to remain in
my house who doubts his word; so you will please take your leave.’ Of course
I did not leave the pleasant circle, but the incident well illustrates the
great faith the people had in his professional skill.
“He was a man of fine literary taste, a good writer, and something of a
poet. It is something to his credit in that direction that N. P. Willis, one
of the noted American poets, and the proprietor and editor of the finest
literary paper ever published in America, ‘The New York Mirror,’ away back
in the ‘thirties,’ went by stage from New York to Caledonia, a distance of
over five hundred miles, to visit him.
“When Gillies left Edinburgh he could read eleven languages, and recite from
memory five hundred Scotch and English songs and poems. When he was over
seventy years of age I heard him recite at the dinner-table ‘Tam o’ Shanter,’
without a break that he did not correct. I think that there were but few men
living at the time of his death who had more of the traditions of our clan
and people, and of the neighbouring clans, than he had; and those traditions
were gleaned by him in his early years, and from people bordering on the
time that marked the commencement of the changes which have so much affected
the people of Badenoch and of other parts of the Highlands.
“My father could read seven languages. I have several of the text-books used
by my uncle and father in their studies in Edinburgh.
“Although my father held title to real estate, his home in Caledonia, and
knew that it would be subject to escheat to the state in case of his death
without becoming a citizen, or filling his Declaration of Intention to
become a citizen of the United States, he would not do either. He always
asserted that his allegiance belonged to Great Britain, and his intention to
return to his native land. My uncle Gillies was equally devoted to the land
of his nativity. It can, at least, be said of them and of their paternal
ancestors, that if in nothing else they were illustrious, they were
illustrious examples of allegiance and devotion to their mother country, and
of pride of their name, of their race, and of their clan. Some degree of
that weakness, if weakness it can properly be called, is charged as
pertaining to the nature of your humble servant. I have in my possession the
large dirk—skean dhitbh—carried by Red Murdoch in the affair of 1745-46. It
descended from Red Murdoch, and it never has been out of our family. John
and Agnes Macpherson, now or lately at Blairgowrie, and some of their kin
there, and others now or lately in Calcutta, are descendants of Red Murdoch.
“I do not know who was the father of Ian ruadh Macpherson, Gallovie. For
many years—for nearly half a century, I think—he was a tenant of Cluny,
holding the great cattle and sheep farm or land known as Gallovie, about
eight by twelve miles in extent, embracing about seventy-six thousand acres
of land, and described by Logan in his ‘Antiquities, &c., of the Highlands,’
as one of the largest sheep-farms in Scotland. He had seven children—John,
Jessie, Alexander (known as ‘Sandy’), Jane, Ann, Duncan, and Jane, my
mother. To them all he gave a good education, mostly under tutors away from
home.
“Jessie—a beautiful and accomplished girl—was known as the ‘Belle of
Inverness-shire.’ I often heard my parents speak thus of her; and up to a
few years ago there were many aged people in this country and in Canada who
knew her in her younger days, and thus spoke of her and her accomplishments.
I visited her in London, England, as late as 1867, and then, in her old age,
she was tall, erect as a statue, a beautiful and accomplished woman. An
English general, going to the shootings in the Highlands, met her in
Badenoch and wooed her. Her father, descended from an old Jacobite stock,
and thoroughly imbued with a spirit of dislike towards the Sassenachs,
opposed their meeting. Going to the shootings the year following, the
General won her, and Ian Ruadh being much opposed to such an alliance, they
went away and were married, and her home afterwards was in London. The
General was stationed in India many years, and died there. She had six
children by him, and in her various visits to him, one after the other died,
and were all buried at sea.
“After the death of the General she married Professor Hawkins, one of her
Majesty’s tutors. He died of a broken heart within two weeks after the
unexpected failure of a great manufacturing company in which all his estate
was invested. In the legal trouble which followed, her Majesty acted towards
his widow the part of a warm personal friend. By her second marriage Mrs
Hawkins lost her pension. Some time after the death of Mr Hawkins, a lady (I
think Lady Stewart) called on her and invited her to attend a gathering at
her London residence. Mrs Hawkins having attended the gathering, the lady
introduced to her General Macpherson Neil of the Horse Guards. She and the
General were of kin ; had been at school together when children ; had parted
when they were about sixteen years of age, and had not met before through
all the years that had intervened. The story of the life of each was told by
the one to the other. A few days subsequently the General was riding in Hyde
Park, when the Duke of Wellington, the “Iron Duke,” rode up to him, and they
rode along together. In the conversation between them the General told to
the Duke the story of Jessie’s life. The Duke had known her first husband.
With a pencil the Duke made a memorandum on the pommel of his saddle. Within
about two weeks afterwards her pension was restored to her, and when I was
with her in 1867 she was enjoying her pension, and living a life of ease and
comfort.
“Her father soon became reconciled to her marriage with the General. I have
some beautiful presents, and among them a snuff-box that she brought from
the East Indies to her father. After his death they were returned to her,
and in 1867 she gave them to me. The snuff-box has in it yet snuff that was
in it at the time of his death. I have understood that in her early years in
London she did much to form or build up a school or seminary for girls.
“Ann married a Mr Stevenson, who, I think was a store-keeper at Laggan, and
died there. I believe that Mrs Stevenson died there, although I have heard
that she removed to Australia, where some of her family had gone. I have a
large photograph of her taken but a short time before her death. It
represents a woman of good Highland features, of strong form, and of strong
and womanly traits of character—a Macpherson through and through.
“Some years before my father’s death ‘ Sandy ’ paid my father and mother a
long visit at Caledonia, N.Y. A Mrs M'Gregor, whom I met by chance near the
top of Birnam Hill, Dunkeld, informed me that he died at Gallovie, and that
she assisted in preparing his remains for burial.
“I have heard that Duncan went to Van Diemen’s Land, and had there a large
sheep-farm; and that afterwards he removed to Australia.
“John graduated as a physician and surgeon at Edinburgh, and, I understand,
in the same class with my father. I do not know whether he ever went into
the general practice of his profession. He was, I have understood, for some
years connected with the East India Company, and probably as surgeon. J.
Macpherson, a grandson of Ian Ruadh, was for many years connected with, and
died in, the British Civil Service at Hong-kong; and a grandson, Stevenson,
was for many years, and still may be, in the same service at Hong-kong.
“I believe that Dr John Macpherson died at Kingussie. He was the same Dr
John Macpherson named in the abstract of title that lately came into your
hands, and from which you quoted to me, of a property in Kingussie. Ian
ruadh Macpherson died in 1844, and his remains were interred under the
wide-spreading branches of a fine tree in the churchyard of Laggan, and at
the head of the grave there is a marble slab with the following inscription
:—
“In Memory of JOHN MACPHERSON,
LATE TACKSMAN OF GALLOVIE,
WHO DIED ON THE 9TH NOVEMBER 1844, AGED 82 YEARS,
AND OF HIS WIFE
ISABELLA MACKAY,
WHO DIED ON THE 22D APRIL 1811, AGED 32 YEARS.
ALSO OF THEIR CHILDREN
JANE,
WHO DIED 1ST JANUARY 1839, AGED 34;
JOHN
SURGEON, HONBLE. E.I.C.S.,
WHO DIED 8TH JANUARY 1847, AGED 42 YEARS;
AND
ISABELLA,
RELICT OF THE LATE CAPT. DUNCAN MACPHERSON, 92D REGIMENT,
WHO DIED JUNE 1848, AGED 38 YEARS.”
“My mother was always noted for her fresh and womanly beauty, a freshness
and beauty that are characteristics of so many Highland women. She was well
educated by her father, and for a year before her marriage he kept her at
Fort William, learning to do needle-work and to cook. She died on the family
estate in Kendall, N.Y., in the sixty-fourth year of her age. She had
experienced vicissitudes in life and of fortune, and her life-work having
been well done, she calmly and courageously passed to the great and ever ‘
Unknown Beyond.’ My parents had six children—two sons and four daughters. My
brother John went through the first battle at ‘Bull Run,’ in our late civil
war. He Married Mary E. Shattuck, an authoress and writer of some merit. He
died here a few years ago, leaving his wife and one child, Helen L.
Macpherson, who is now a teacher at Montclair, N.J. One sister, Margaret, is
the wife of E. D. W. Parsons of Rochester, N.Y., who was a lieutenant of the
U.S. navy during the same war.
Another sister, Margery, is the wife of Z. Aldrich of Grand Rapids, Mich. He
was the colonel of a Michigan regiment in that war, and for a time
experienced the horrors of the Andersonville prison-pen. Another sister,
Jessie, now of Salt Lake City, Utah, is the widow of the late John D.
Robins, who was major in, and adjutant of, the Fifth N.Y. Heavy Artillery,
and went through the same war, and than whom a cooler and braver officer
never lived. At the annual reunions of the survivors of that regiment songs
of praise are sung to his memory. The other sister, Thomasina, is the widow
of Almarin Martin, and with her two children, daughters, resides at Salt
Lake City.
“About four years after the death of my father, my mother married William
Ross, who was from Dundee. Mr Ross’s first wife was a Macpherson of our kin.
My father was her attending physician at the time of his death, and in what
proved to be her final illness. She died within a few days after the death
of my father. Mr Ross became a large landowner in Kendall and Carlton, N.Y.,
and devoted the remainder of his life to farming. He was killed accidentally
on a railway, a train striking him. He was a deacon of the Presbyterian
Church. He left four children by my mother. Jane, a daughter, is dead; and
the three other children—Winfield S. and James Ross; and Susan, wife of J.
Langton—are all at Salt Lake City. All of my kin at Salt Lake City are
Gentiles!
“I have before me some memorandums that were given to me by my aunt Jessie
in London in 1867. One of them is, ‘Kingussie.—Call on Mr Macpherson, the
banker; he is a distant relation of ours.’ Another is, ‘Call on John
Macpherson, Lag Catlodge, a little south of Balgowen.’ I called at the
humble home of Lag. A short elderly man met me at the door, and bade me
‘come ben.’ When I reached the middle of the room his wife exclaimed, ‘The
great and good God! that man looks like Dr John.’ She referred to the Dr
John Macpherson already mentioned. I was an utter stranger to these people
neither had seen me unless before I was eight months old; nothing had been
said by me as to who I was; and no one in that section knew that I was in
Scotland. On the occasion of my first visit to Mrs Hawkins, who had never
previously seen me, and had no reason to expect to see me, she remarked,
after looking at me for some little time, ‘I do not know who you are, but
you belong to my family.’ While I am represented as resembling my father and
his family, I have referred to these incidents as showing that I take also
from Ian Ruadh’s ‘side of the house,’ and that family features and traits
descend even to the third and fourth generations. When I was in Badenoch
(1867) several middle-aged and older men and women came to me and gave me
some of their pleasant recollections of Ian Ruadh and his family, and so of
some of the men on the grounds of Cluny Castle when I passed through them. I
cannot avoid stating, in this connection, that when I alighted from my
carriage at one of the lodges of the castle I was met there by a kind, hale,
hearty, and strongly built old lady of the name of Mackintosh. By some
questioning on her part, combined with a little Highland tact, she learned
who I was, where I was from, &c., and told me that when my parents were on
their way from Ian Ruadh’s to America (thirty-six years before) they stopped
at the castle to bid their Chief good-bye; that I was then passed from the
carriage to her arms at the same lodge, and carried by her to the castle and
back to the carriage. A similar illustration of long service (thirty-six
years) to one person would be difficult to find in this country. Truly,
‘Ewen Macpherson of Cluny Macpherson, Chief of Clan Chattan, C.B.,’ was ‘a
Chief who delighted in old servants, in old services, and in old kindly
usages of all kinds.’
“With the blood of ‘Red John Macpherson, Gallovie,’ and the blood of ‘Red
Murdoch Macpherson’ coursing my veins, I think it can fairly be said of me
that I am of the ‘red Macphersons.’
“In 1860 I married Miss R. Anna Burr, a daughter of the late Colonel Riley
Burr of Broadalbin, N.Y., son of Reuben Burr, who was of near kin to Aaron
Burr, the third Vice-President of the United States, and who with Alexander
Hamilton fought the duel in which the latter met his death at Weehawken
Heights, N.J. We have three children — Maud, who is the wife of Mr Cyrus H.
Polley of Rochester, N.Y.; Jane McPherson; and May McPherson.—Yours
sincerely, Wm. J. McPherson.”
11. Garvamore (Gaelic, Garbhamor, the big rough ford).
In days long since gone by, the Macphersons of the house of Garva believed
that their spirits would inhabit Tom-Mor, a hill in the immediate
neighbourhood. On the entrance of every new inhabitant, Tom-Mor was seen by
persons at a certain distance in a state of illumination. It is related that
it was seen on fire for the last time about the end of last century, and it
was confidently asserted that some member of the house of Garva was passing
from this into a better state of existence. But no deaths being heard of in
the neighbourhood for some days, an opinion, beginning to decline, was on
the eve of being consigned into oblivion, when, to the confusion of the
sceptics, news arrived that the daughter of a gentleman of the house of
Garva had expired at Glasgow at the very moment Tom-Mor had been seen in a
blaze. But into whatever state the departed spirit passed, it had for a time
to return to perform a sacred duty on earth. It was the duty of the spirit
of the last person interred to stand sentry at the churchyard gate from
sunset until the crowing of the cock, every night, until regularly relieved.
In thinly inhabited parts of the country this sometimes happened to be a
tedious and severe duty; and the duration of the Faire Cladh—i.e., graveyard
watch—gave the deceased’s surviving friends sometimes much uneasiness. About
the beginning of the present century a young man, we are told, had an
interview with the ghost of a neighbour’s wife, while she watched at the
gate of the old churchyard of Laggan. She was clothed in a comfortable
mantle of snow-white flannel, adorned with red crosses, and appeared at the
time—though a very old woman when she died—in the full bloom of youth and
beauty. She told him that she enjoyed the felicity of Flath-innis, and they
exchanged snuff-mulls. She directed him to a hidden treasure she had
hoarded, and desired it might be added to the fortune of her daughter, who,
she said, was to be married on a certain day, which she named, and, strange
to say, though the girl was not then even courted, she became a wife on the
day foretold.
Garvamore was long possessed by a true Highlander of the old school, Mr John
M‘Donald, noted for his hospitality and genuine kindness. As an illustration
of the bodily strength of the Badenoch men of the time, Dr Longmuir gives
the following anecdote relating to M‘Donald:—
“A Mr Lumsden of Aberdeenshire laid a bet with Glengarry that there was not
a Highlander on his estate that could jump, put the stone, or throw the
hammer with him. The challenge was accepted, and the contest was to take
place on Corryarrick. Glengarry attended at the time with a numerous retinue
of his tenantry; but Lumsden sent a message that he would not come to such a
place unless his life was insured for £3000. The Marquess of Huntly bantered
him that he was afraid of losing his bet, and told him that his life was as
safe in Badenoch as at home. Lumsden then challenged any one on the
Marquess’s estate—the parties being restricted to seven throws of the
hammer. The Marquess wrote to John M‘Donald of Garvamore to come and enter
the lists with Lumsden. M‘Donald requested Captain M'Donald to take care of
his wife and children, as he declared he would never return to Badenoch were
he unsuccessful! He then proceeded to Huntly, and arrived there three days
before the competition. On that day Lumsden, for the first four throws, took
the lead; but M‘Donald was ahead of his antagonist for the next three, and
beat him by twenty inches. The Marquess rewarded him with a silver jug of
considerable value, and sent him home happy in having worthily maintained
the honour of the district.”
Garvamore was the last stage in former times on the road over Corryarrick to
Fort-Augustus. So mountainous and wild is the district, that the very spring
after the formation of the road eleven soldiers perished together, and many
since at different times. It is related that, about the time the last
Mackintosh of Borlum made his escape, the inn at Garvamore “was occupied by
the tenant of Aberarder. He and his brother, Black Ranald of Tullochroam,
happened to be in a room upstairs when Borlum arrived, and begged them to
save his life, as he was pursued by Captain Macpherson. Ranald is said to
have secured the door, while Alexander, tying two pairs of sheets together,
enabled Borlum to escape by the window, so that when the Captain arrived his
search for the fugitive was in vain.”
12. Garvabeg (Gaelic,
Garbhabeag, the little rough ford).—Garvabeg was long possessed by a family
of the name of Macdonald, from whom the late Mr D. P. Macdonald of Ben Nevis
was descended. Mrs Macpherson of Corrimony is also descended on the maternal
side from the same family. During the French war this family, like every
other family of note in Badenoch, gave several brave officers to the British
army.
13. Gaskbeg (Gaelic, Gasgbheag. The word Gask is now obsolete in Gaelic, and
the derivation is uncertain, but apparently the prefix was applied to the
flat meadows in Laggan which bear the name).—At Gaskbeg was situated the old
manse of Laggan, rendered so famous as the residence for many years of the
celebrated Mrs Grant, of whose husband, who was minister of Laggan from 1775
down to the date of his death in 1801, a brief sketch is given on pages 238,
239, and glimpses of Mrs Grant on pages 102-108.
14. Gaskmore (Gaelic, Gasgmhor. See Gaskbeg).—Gaskmore was the birthplace of
Colonel Ronald Macdonald, Adjutant-General, Bombay. Commencing his career as
an officer in the 92d Regiment, his gentlemanly manners and talents
attracted the notice of the friend of the Highland soldier, the Marquis of
Huntly, while Colonel of that regiment. In 1833, as Major of the 92d and
while still a young man, he was through the influence of his Grace the Duke
of Gordon nominated Military Secretary to General Sir John Keane, the
Commander-in-Chief, Bombay Presidency, afterwards Lord Keane of Afghanistan
celebrity, through whose influence and high recommendations Colonel
Macdonald succeeded to the post of Adjutant-General to that Presidency. Soon
after his death in 1848 the following obituary notice of Colonel Macdonald
appeared in the 4 Inverness Courier
“We regret to perceive that the Bombay papers announce the death, on 31st
May last, of this gallant officer. Colonel Macdonald was a native of the
parish of Laggan, and his services were long and meritorious. He joined the
expedition to Sweden in 1808, and was subsequently in Portugal and Spain,
where he was engaged in several battles and severely wounded. He was also in
the campaign of 1815, and was wounded severely at Waterloo. He afterwards
served on the Staff in the West Indies ; and in 1834 accompanied Lord Keane
to India as Adjutant-General of the Queen’s troops, and officiating Military
Secretary to his Lordship in 1838 and 1839. He was at the capture of
Candahar, Ghuznee (for which he received a medal), and Cabul. In India he
was greatly beloved and esteemed. A gentleman in Colonel Macdonald’s native
parish of Laggan informs us that a more excellent man in every relation he
never knew. He was devotedly attached to his native country, and sent a sum
of money annually for the poor of Laggan. His loss will be deeply felt in
the district, and also by all who knew him. His relations now alive are
three sisters and a brother, the former in the neighbourhood of Cluny, and
the latter in Australia. The Colonel’s death was caused by apoplexy. He was
fifty-four years of age, and it is supposed he must have left a considerable
fortune.”
There is an admirable portrait of Colonel Macdonald in the diningroom at
Cluny Castle.
15. Glentruim (the derivation of the name is involved in obscurity. Mr
MacBain supposes it to mean the Glen of the Elder-tree).—Glentruim is now
the seat of Lieutenant-Colonel Lachlan Macpherson of Glentruim, of the Ralia
Macphersons, who were closely allied to the family of the Chief. See pp.
324, 325. Colonel Macpherson entered the army in 1853 as ensign in the 30th
Regiment, and embarked for the Crimea in May 1854. He landed with the
regiment at Old Fort in September following as lieutenant, and was present
at the battle of Alma, where he received a slight contusion. On the captain
of the Grenadier Company being severely wounded, he succeeded to the command
of the company, and brought it out of action. Colonel Macpherson was present
also at the powerful sortie from Sebastopol on 26th October, and at the
battle of Inkerman, where his regiment came out of action with only five
officers uninjured. He served throughout the siege in the trenches up to
August 1855, when he was invalided to England. He is in possession of the
Crimean war-medal with three clasps, the 5th Class of the Order of the
Medjidie, and the Turkish medal. Succeeding to the estate of Glen-truim on
the death of his brother in 1868, Colonel Macpherson has displayed so much
taste in improving the amenity of the mansion-house, that it is now one of
the most beautiful and attractive residences on the whole run of the Spey.
16. Ovie (Gaelic, Ubhaidh, awful or awe-inspiring; or perhaps the name may
be derived directly from uaimh, a hollow or den).—Ovie was the birthplace of
Captain Ewen Macpherson of the 79th Regiment, sometime of Culachy (mentioned
in Mrs Grant of Laggan’s correspondence), afterwards Major of the g2d
Regiment, Colonel of the 6th Royal Veteran Battalion, and Governor of
Sheerness. He died in 1823.
17. Shirrabeg (Gaelic, Siorra-beag. Siorradh signifies a deviation, and the
name taken in this sense would exactly indicate the position of Shirrabeg
and Shirramore, each lying within loops or windings of the river Spey.
Shirra -mdr would thus mean the great bend, and Shirra-beg the little
bend).—Shirrabeg was long possessed by a family of Macphersons sometime
represented by Lieutenant-Colonel John Macpherson.
18. Shirramore (Gaelic, Siorra-mdr. See Shirrabeg).
“Sherramore,” says Dr Longmuir, “reminds us of those ‘Bonds of black-mail’
or contracts by which certain Highland gentlemen undertook to protect their
Lowland neighbours against the freebooting of their countrymen of the glens,
which the law was unable to repress. The parties granting these Bonds
undertook to protect the places specified from ‘thieves and soarners,’ and
to pay the price of such goods as should be stolen, were the goods
themselves not recovered within two months of the robbery, provided notice
was given within forty-eight hours after the robbery had been committed. In
a Bond of this kind granted by ‘John M'Pherson of Shero-more and William
M'Pherson, lawful son of Murdoch M'Pherson of Clem,’ notice of any
depredation is to be given at the dwelling-house of ‘ William M'Conchy of
Duldavoch.’ The Bond is written by ‘Andrew M'Pherson, son to Andrew
M'Pherson, Clerk of Badenoch at Kingussie,’ and the date is ‘ sixt day of
Jun, 1688 ’—John of Sheromore subscribing by a notary.”
19. Strathmashie (Gaelic, S’rathmhathaisidh, the strath of the slow-moving
or sluggish-going stream).—The Mashie, from which the place derives its
name, is a small rivulet rising within a few miles of the head of Loch
Erricht, flowing into the Spey a short distance above Laggan Bridge, and is
thus described by Mrs Grant:—
“Deep in a narrow vale, unknown to song,
Where Maishy leads her lucid stream along,
Then turns, as if unwilling to forsake
The peaceful bosom of her parent lake,
While her pure streams the polished pebbles show,
That through the native crystal shine below.”
Strathmashie was the residence for many generations of a Macpherson family.
Of this family was Lachlan Macpherson, long so well known in Badenoch, “an
accomplished Gaelic poet and scholar, who accompanied James Macpherson in
his researches in the Western Highlands in quest of Ossian’s poems, and
assisted him in the translation and publication of that great national
work.” Strathmashie was subsequently possessed by the gallant Colonel
Mitchell, who distinguished himself on the memorable day of Waterloo ; and
more recently by Lieutenant-Colonel D. Macpherson of the 39th Regiment, “a
gallant soldier, who had seen much service in India, where he was
universally beloved and respected by all who knew him, and particularly by
the sons of the Highland mountains, who found in him a father and a friend.”
In the parish church of Laggan there is a marble tablet with the following
inscription to Colonel Macpherson’s memory:—
“In Memory of COL. DONALD MACPHERSON, K.H., 39TH Regt.,
WHOSE REMAINS ARE INTERRED IN THE VAULT OF HIS ANCESTORS IN THE OLD CHURCH
OF LAGGAN.
HE DIED AT BURGIE HOUSE ON THE 28TH DECEMBER 1851, AGED FOR THE LONG PERIOD
OF FORTY YEARS HE WAS ENGAGED IN ACTIVE SERVICE, SHARING IN THE GLORIES AND
DANGERS OF THE PENINSULAR WAR. HE WAS HONOURED AND BELOVED BY HIS
COMPANIONS-IN-ARMS, AND IN PRIVATE LIFE HE NO LESS ENJOYED THE RESPECT AND
ATTACHMENT OF ALL WHO KNEW HIM.
As a Memorial of his loss and affection this Tablet is erected by his
Widow.”
“Lord, while for all mankind
we pray,
Of every clime and coast,
O hear us for our native land,—
The land we love the most.
Our fathers’ sepulchres are here,
And here our kindred dwell;
Our children, too;—how should we love
Another land so well?” |
