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THE distinguished
philosopher, Sir David Brewster (the son-in-law of the translator of
Ossian’s poems), while resident at Belleville in 1835, made a careful
exploration of this remarkable cave, and in a communication to the Society
of Antiquaries in 1863 (when he was Principal of the University of
Edinburgh) he thus describes it:—
“This cave is situated on the brow of a rising ground in the village of
Raitts, on the estate of Belleville. It is about two miles from Kingussie,
and about half a mile to the north of the great road from Perth to
Inverness. In 1835, when it was first pointed out to me, it was filled with
stones and rubbish taken from the neighbouring grounds. Upon removing the
rubbish I was surprised to find a long subterraneous building, with its
sides faced with stones, and roofed in by gradually contracting the side
walls and joining them with very large flattish stones. The form of the cave
was that of a horse-shoe. Its convex side was turned to the south, and the
entrance to it was at the middle of this side by means of two stone steps,
and a passage of some length. The part of the cave to the left hand was a
separate apartment with a door. A lock of an unusual form, almost destroyed
by rust, was found among the rubbish. The formation of the roof by the
gradual contraction of the side walls is shown in the drawing. There is no
tradition among the people respecting the history of this cave, and, so far
as I know, it had not been previously noticed.”
In stating that there was no tradition among the people at the time
regarding the cave, Sir David must have been misinformed. “Old Biallid’s”
account of it appears to have been written prior to 1835, and in a quaint
diary in my possession, which belonged to the Rev. William Blair, who was
minister of Kingussie from 1724 to 1786, there is the following reference to
the cave in a description of a journey from Edinburgh to Inverness:—
“We visited the Cave of Clan Ichilnew, which is not far from the side of the
highroad. We descended into it, and found the greater part of it fallen in,
and could only perceive a dark hole through which we could not see the
farther end. The stones that support the roof are of an enormous size—in
length about twelve feet. The accounts given of this subterranean mansion
are various. The people there give this account: That in primitive ages,
when anarchy prevailed throughout the island, the country was infested with
men of a gigantic stature who had often made fruitless attempts to conquer
the island. Being repulsed at a time when they made their last and most
formidable attack, such as were not either killed in the flight or escaped
by sea fled into the mountains, and being closely pursued by the enemy until
night stopt the pursuit, they advanced so far as the Spay, and in a night’s
time finished the said cave, and lived there for some time, till, by the
continual searches of the conquerors, they were at last discovered and every
man killed.”
Here is “Old Biallid’s” account of the cave, under the title of “The
Macnivens’ Cave”:—
“This artificial cave is on the farm of Raitts in Badenoch, and is still
nearly entire. Its history is as follows: When the Clan Chattan lost their
patrimony in Lochaber by the marriage of the heiress of the clan to the son
of the Thane of Fife, the Macphersons, who opposed the pretensions of the
husband to the chieftainship, were gradually expelled their possessions, and
found an asylum in Badenoch, then occupied by the Macnivens, as vassals of
Comyn Earl of Badenoch. The emigration from Lochaber continued for several
years, but it was not until the restoration of Robert Bruce and the downfall
of the Comyns that the Chief of the Macphersons made a purchase of the lands
of Cluny, &c., and came to reside there. In consequence of that event the
Macnivens became alarmed, and took every opportunity of insulting Cluny, who
was not then sufficiently strong to resent or punish their conduct. An
occurrence, however, happened which brought matters to a crisis. The Chief
of the Macnivens, who resided at Breakachy, and was Cluny’s next neighbour,
poinded Cluny’s cattle, and as there was much bad blood between the parties,
it was considered dangerous that the men should come in contact. It was
therefore resolved to send Cluny’s daughter to relieve the cattle; but
instead of paying that deference due to the rank and sex of the young lady,
she was treated in the most brutal manner: her petticoats were cut off, and
in that state she was sent home to her family. The cattle were also sent
home, but the bull’s tongue was cut out, which in these times was considered
as a direct challenge. Such a gross outrage could not but inflame the
Macphersons to the highest pitch, and as they were not equal to their
adversaries in point of numbers, one called Allaster Caint collected a band
of one hundred resolute men, with whom he set out at night, and before the
sun rose next morning there was not a living male Macniven in the lordship
of Badenoch except eighteen that contrived to conceal themselves in the
woods of Raitts. These men managed to elude the vengeance of Allaster Caint
until they constructed a cave under the floor of their dwelling-house, and
which they did with such skill and secrecy that they were enabled to keep
possession of the place for several years. They slept securely in the cave
at night, and in the daytime they kept so good a look-out that their enemies
could never get them into their power until the cave was discovered by the
following stratagem: Allaster Caint concealed himself under pretence of
sickness until his beard grew to a great length. He then disguised himself
in the habit of a beggar, and came in that character to the house of the
Macnivens late of an evening, when he was kindly treated by the women, but
refused lodgings for the night. He begged hard to be allowed to remain, and
when they attempted to remove him by force, he pretended to be afflicted
with gravel, and uttered such piercing shrieks that they had pity on him,
and allowed him to lie at the fireside, where, after a great deal of mock
moaning, he pretended to fall sound asleep, and by this artifice discovered
the cave; for, believing him to be really asleep, the door was opened to
give the men their supper. He left the house early in the morning, and in a
few days thereafter he returned with a strong party, and beheaded every one
of the unfortunate Macnivens upon the stump of a tree before the door. The
most singular circumstance connected with this tragic affair is, that every
one of the descendants of Allaster Caint to this very day has been afflicted
with gravel.”
The cave was well known to the old natives of Badenoch under the name of An
Uaimh Mhoir—i.e., the Great Cave. It is now generally known in the district
as The Robbers' Cave, but it is evidently of a much older date than common
tradition assigns to it. I am indebted to Mr David MacGibbon, architect,
Edinburgh, one of the accomplished authors of ‘The Castellated Architecture
of Scotland,’ for the following particulars and for the plan of the cave
given at page 407.
It is curved as shown on the plan. The side walls are built with large
stones, those towards the top being pushed inwards so as to diminish the
space, and the top covered in with a long stone, as shown in section. The
entrance is very narrow, and has apparently sloped down from the surface to
the doorway, which is composed of massive stones, the jambs of which incline
inwards towards the top. This doorway has been defended either by a stone or
wooden door strengthened by a strong sliding-bar on the inside, the holes or
slots for which are still visible. The portion of the roof next the entrance
has fallen in, but the greater part of the stone roof still exists.
A cave or earth-house most closely resembling the one at Raitts was found in
1869 at Crichton Mains, in Mid-Lothian, as described by Lord Rosehill in the
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries, vol. viii. p. 105, of which
sketches are given by Dr Joseph Anderson in his learned and able work on
‘Scotland in Pagan Times.’
“Whatever,” says Dr Anderson, “may have been the actual purpose or purposes
to which they were applied, the fact which is of importance in our
investigation is that these earth-houses, though ranging in area from
Berwickshire to the north coast of Sutherland, are all of one special
character, long, low, narrow galleries, always possessing a certain amount
of curvature, sometimes greatly and at other times doubly curved, always
widening and increasing in height from the low and narrow entrance inwards,
usually built with convergent walls and roofed with heavy lintels, which are
always lower than the surrounding level of the ground, so that the whole
structure is subterranean. Occasionally they present variations in
structure, as in the case of one at Murroes in Forfarshire, which, instead
of being built, has its walls constructed entirely of flagstones set on
edge. Similarly, the example at Kinord, in Aberdeenshire, has its walls
constructed of single boulders set on edge or on end; and it presents the
further peculiarity of the chamber being divided into two branches at the
farther end. One at Pirnie, in the parish of Wemyss, in Fife, and another at
Elie, had steps leading down to the entrance.
“Like the Scottish examples, the earth-houses of Cornwall are long narrow
galleries of dry-built masonry, but they are not so strongly marked by the
peculiar feature of single or double curvature which distinguishes the
Scottish group. They are comparatively few in number, and any indications of
the period of their occupation that have been observed point also to a time
not far distant from the close of the Roman occupation of the country. No
other group of such underground structures is known in any other part of
Europe, or indeed anywhere else in the world. These excavated chambers,
possessing the characteristics which have been described, are peculiar to
the Celtic area, and the specially typical form with the strongly marked
curvature is found only in Scotland.
“Of the culture and civilisation of the people who constructed these strange
subterranean cells it may be impossible, in the present condition of our
knowledge, to form an adequate estimate; but we can say this of them with
certainty, that whatever may have been the special motives and circumstances
that induced them to give this peculiar expression to their architectural
efforts, they exhibit in other respects evidences of culture which, though
it may be held to be inferior in range and quality to the culture of the
Christian time, compares not unfavourably (so far as it goes) with that
which is exhibited in connection with the superior architecture of the
brochs.
“And while on all these lines of investigation we have traced the
manifestations of these early forms of culture and civilisation up to points
at which they seem to touch the culture and civilisation of the Roman
empire, it is to be observed that they do no more than touch it—they are not
merged in it. In all their distinctive features they are still Celtic, and
Celtic exclusively. There is nothing Roman in the forms of the prevailing
types; there is nothing Roman in the art that decorates these forms; there
is nothing Roman in the typical character of the structures in which they
are found. The forms, the art, and the architecture are those of Scotland’s
iron age—the Pagan period of the Celtic people.”
III.—THE BATTLE OF THE NORTH INCH OF PERTH.
According to Shaw, the historian of Moray, a quarrel regarding precedency
between the Macphersons and Davidsons in connection with the battle of
Invernahaven in 1386 gave rise to such strife and fatal discord as
ultimately led to the memorable conflict of the North Inch of Perth ten
years later. Here is “Old Biallid’s” account of that conflict—
“There are a great many versions of this battle in circulation, but none of
them strictly correct. It was fought in the reign of Robert III., and the
belligerents were the Macphersons and the Davidsons. George Buchanan says
that it was fought between the Clan Chattan and the Mackays, and he has been
copied by almost every individual that wrote on the subject; but this is
evidently an error, for the Clan Chattan and the Mackays were at such a
distance from each other that it was almost impossible they could come in
contact. The substituting the Clan Chattan for the Macphersons can hardly be
called a mistake, for it is well known that the Macphersons are the senior
branch of that clan ; but the error with regard to the Mackays was owing to
the similarity of that name to Davidson in the Gaelic language (Mackays —
Clanichcaic, Davidsons (Clandai), and the grounds of the quarrel were as
follows:
On the marriage of the heiress of Clan Chattan, although the husband
succeeded to the whole of her property, yet the bulk of the clan refused to
acknowledge him as chief. He therefore commenced upon a new foundation, and
took the name of Mackintoashich (which signifies a beginner), a very
applicable name for one in his situation; and the modern definition
attempted to be given to it, as signifying first or foremost, is quite
absurd, and will be scouted by every unprejudiced person possessing a
competent knowledge of the Gaelic language. The ancestor of the laird of
Cluny (although admitted to be the senior branch in the male line) also
changed his name to Macmurdoch, and afterwards to Macpherson, and both names
are given to the clan indiscriminately to this day. A third party took the
name of Macgillivray from their ancestor, and a fourth that of Davidson, as
descendants of David dubh, who was brother to Macgillivray, and both of them
were the younger brothers of the ancestor of Cluny Macpherson. Thus the Clan
Chattan was all at once split into at least four clans, and under
circumstances, as may be supposed, that left very little cordiality among
them. Such as did not adopt the name of Macintosh were ejected from
possessions, and the Macphersons and Davidsons took possession of Badenoch
on the ruin of the Comyns. Macintosh having admitted Camerons in their
place, soon learned that he had to deal with refractory tenants, and it was
not long before his authority was set at defiance. He was therefore obliged
to have recourse to arms for the recovery of his rents; but his own
followers were quite inadequate to the task, and he was compelled to implore
the assistance of the very clans his ancestors had expelled from their
ancient patrimony. Nor did he implore in vain; for although they regretted
that the clan estates should devolve on a stranger, and felt indignant at
their own expulsion, yet they considered (the then) Macintosh in some degree
as their relation, and could not stand by and see him trampled upon by a
clan with whom they had no connection whatever. The Macphersons and
Davidsons agreed to join him in his expedition to Lochaber; but Lochiel had
intimation of their plans, and resolved to anticipate them by assembling his
clan and marching straight to Badenoch. By this movement he would preserve
his own country from the ravages of war, and it is very probable that he had
also in view to attack the enemy in detail, and to overpower the Macphersons
before they could be joined by Macintosh. In this, however, he was
disappointed ; for Macintosh was in Badenoch before him, and awaiting his
arrival at Invernahaun, the place of Davidson the chief of that branch of
the Clan Chattan. When the Camerons made their appearance and the order of
battle was about to be formed, Cluny, as a matter of course, claimed the
post of honour, and was very much surprised to find his claim disputed by
Davidson, and still more so when Macintosh pronounced in Davidson’s favour,
and added, that as the battle was to be fought on his (Macintosh’s) account,
none but Davidson should take the right. Upon this Cluny indignantly marched
off his men, and crossing the river Spey below Craig Dhu, they halted and
stood on a small hill at the river-side as unconcerned spectators. The
battle was short but bloody. Macintosh was beaten with great slaughter.
Davidson and his seven sons were killed, and those that fled were only saved
by crossing the Spey directly where the Macphersons stood, and the Camerons
did not consider it prudent to follow them. After this the contention
between the Davidsons, supported by Macintosh and the Macphersons (with
regard to precedency), was carried on with such rancour and so much
bloodshed as to attract the notice of Government, and accordingly
commissioners were sent to endeavour to effect a conciliation. These
commissioners, finding that both parties were obstinate and bent on carrying
their point at whatever sacrifice, proposed that the dispute should be
settled by thirty men on each side—the fight to take place on the North Inch
of Perth, before umpires chosen by his majesty, and the combatants to use no
other weapon but broadswords. This proposition was eagerly accepted by both
parties, and the men destined to be sacrificed appeared on the North Inch on
the appointed day. The result of the battle is well known. The Davidsons
were all killed except one, who fled and swam across the river Tay, and the
Macphersons had nineteen killed. Tradition ascribes the decided superiority
of the Macphersons to the extraordinary valour of the Gobhainn-crom (or
stooping Blacksmith), whom they engaged as a substitute for one of their own
men who fell sick, and which was rendered necessary as the Davidsons refused
to withdraw one of theirs.”
IV.—THE BATTLE OF GLENFRUIN.
In an account of this battle, which was fought in 1603, it is stated that
early in that year Allaster Macgregor of Glenstra, followed by 400 men,
chiefly of his own clan, but including also some of the Clans Cameron and
Anverich (?), armed with “halberschois, pow-aixes, twa-handit swordis, bowis
and arrowis, and with hagbutis and pistoletis,” advanced into the territory
of Luss. Alexander Colquhoun, under his royal commission, granted the year
before, had raised a force which some writers state to have amounted to 300
horse and 500 foot. In Sir William Fraser’s interesting work, ‘ The Chiefs
of Colquhoun and their Country,’ published in Edinburgh in 1869, the
following description of the battle is given :—
“On 7th February the Macgregors were in Glenfruin in two divisions, one of
them at the head of the glen, and the other in ambuscade near the farm of
Strone, at a hollow or ravine called the Crate. The Colquhouns came into
Glenfruin from the Luss side, which is opposite Strone—probably by Glen Luss
and Glen Mackurn. Alexander Colquhoun pushed on his forces in order to get
through the glen before encountering the Macgregors; but, aware of his
approach, Allaster Macgregor also pushed forward one division of his forces,
and entered at the head of the glen in time to prevent his enemy from
emerging from the upper end of the glen, whilst his brother, John Macgregor,
with the division of his clan, which lay in ambuscade, by a detour took the
rear of the Colquhouns, which prevented their retreat down the glen without
fighting their way through that section of the Macgregors who had got in
their rear. The success of the stratagem by which the Colquhouns were thus
placed between two fires seems to be the only way of accounting for the
terrible slaughter of the Colquhouns and the much less loss of the
Macgregors. The Colquhouns soon became unable to maintain their ground, and
falling into a moss at the farm of Auchingaich, they were thrown into
disorder and made a hasty and disorderly retreat, which proved even more
disastrous than the conflict, for they had to force their way through the
men led by John Macgregor, whilst they were pressed behind by Allaster, who,
reuniting the two divisions of his army, continued the pursuit. All who fell
into the victor’s hands were instantly slain; and the chief of the
Colquhouns barely escaped with his life after his horse had been killed
under him. Of the Colquhouns 140 were slain, and many more wounded, among
them a number of women and children.”
Here is “Old Biallid’s” account of the battle, written, it is believed,
about fifty years ago:—
“It is rather singular that so little should be known of the particulars of
the battle of Glenfruin, and the causes that led to it, when it is
considered that it is comparatively of a late date, having been fought
between the Clan Gregor and the Colquhouns in the reign of James VI.
No correct account has, however, been published, from which it may be
inferred that the true history is lost among the Macgregors, for every
version of the affair is more unfavourable for them than the facts would
have been. One account says that it was an accidental rencontre, and another
that the Macgregors were treacherously waylaid by the Col-quhouns. These
statements are both unfounded. The battle was deliberately resolved upon,
for it was fought in the heart of the Colquhoun country, which of itself is
a proof that it was not an accidental rencontre ; but what places the matter
beyond a doubt is, that Macgregor applied for and obtained assistance from
the Clan Macpherson (with whom he had a treaty of alliance offensive and
defensive) for the very purpose of invading the Colquhouns. There were fifty
picked men sent from Badenoch to assist the Clan Gregor; but the action was
over a few hours before their arrival, which perhaps was rather a fortunate
circumstance, for had they taken part in the battle, it is more than
probable that they would also share in the proscription. Another account
states that the massacre of the boys was unintentional—that a house in which
they took shelter was accidentally set on fire. That the massacre of the
boys was unintentional on the part of the Macgregors is very true; but still
it was the deliberate act of one individual, and no doubt the Clan Gregor
were in a certain degree responsible for the conduct of that individual, for
although he was not of their name, yet he was under their banner at the
time. He was a man, or rather a monster, of the name of Cameron, and
foster-brother to Macgregor, who was sent to take charge of the boys in
order to keep them out of harm’s way; and strange and unnatural as it may
appear, he massacred the whole of them to the number of forty, some say
sixty.
“The origin of the quarrel with the Colquhouns was as follows: A party of
twelve Macgregors entered the Colquhoun country in quest of stolen or
strayed cattle, and in a dreadful stormy night came to a sequestered
farmhouse, the landlord of which refused them admittance, although it was
quite evident that they must perish in the event of attempting to reach any
other inhabited place. They, however, acted with extraordinary temper and
forbearance; for in place of using force (which under the circumstances
would be quite justifiable), they merely took possession of an outhouse,
where they lighted a fire, and having in vain applied for provisions, for
which they offered payment, they had no alternative but to take a sheep from
the churl’s flock, which they killed, and handed its value in at a window.
Having thus provided themselves with food, they were sitting round a large
fire and broiling the mutton, when the savage landlord stole quietly to the
top of the house and dropped a large stone into the fire through the
vent-hole, which burned several of the Macgregors severely. One of them,
smarting with pain, made a spring to the door, and when the landlord was in
the act of descending from the house he shot him dead. After this accident
(for it cannot be called by any other name) the Macgregors returned home,
but the Colquhouns having seized several of that clan (who were on their own
lawful business and knew nothing of the other affair), they hanged them like
so many dogs. So gross an outrage could not be overlooked, but still the
Macgregors acted with the greatest coolness, and sent a regular embassy to
demand satisfaction; but every proposition was rejected by the Colquhouns,
and after much negotiation Macgregor intimated to Colquhoun of Luss that he
must hold him and his whole clan responsible for the slaughter of the
Macgregors, and he accordingly prepared to put his threat in execution. The
Clan Gregor entered the Colquhoun country with fire and sword, and when they
came to Glen-fruin, and in sight of the enemy, they fell in with a number of
boys who came out from Dumbarton to see the fight. They were principally
schoolboys, and many of them of good families that probably had no
connection whatever with either of the belligerents. Macgregor, in order to
keep them out of harm’s way, directed that the boys should be confined in a
church or meeting-house that happened to be close by, and sent his
foster-brother (one of the name of Cameron) to take charge of them, who,
from what motive it is impossible to divine, massacred the whole of them as
soon as he found the armies engaged. The battle of Glenfruin was soon over.
The Colquhouns were defeated with great slaughter. Their chief was killed,
and the Macgregors scarcely lost a man. When they returned from the pursuit
Macgregor’s first inquiry was for the boys, whom he intended to liberate and
dismiss with kindness; but learning the horrid fact that they were all
butchered, he struck his forehead and exclaimed, ‘The battle is lost after
all.’ The fate of the Dumbarton scholars was so very revolting to the
feelings of every person possessing any share of humanity, that it is no
wonder that it created a deep and powerful prejudice against the Clan Gregor;
and yet they were, at least, morally innocent, and it must for ever be a
matter of regret that such heavy calamities should be heaped upon the
bravest clan in the Highlands for the act of one madman.
“The Clan Gregor, however, were doomed to be unfortunate, as will appear by
continuing their history a little further. Gregor Our, or Gregor the
Swarthy, was the second in rank to the chief, but in deeds of arms he had no
superior nor perhaps an equal in all the Highlands. Argyle was his maternal
uncle, and his valour in defence of his clan and country, when outlawed and
assailed by multitudes of foes, would appear more like romance than real
facts. After various desperate actions, in which the Clan Gregor displayed
incredible prowess, but which considerably reduced their number, they
learned with amazement that Argyle, at the head of an overwhelming force,
was advancing to attack them. Upon the receipt of this intelligence Gregor
Our proposed to stop his uncle’s progress, and having communicated his plan
to his chief, he set out alone and in disguise. After several narrow escapes
he succeeded in making his way into Argyle’s tent at midnight (by telling
the sentry that he was the bearer of despatches from Government, the
delivery of which admitted of no delay), and after upbraiding him for his
cruelty and injustice, told him plainly that his life was forfeited unless
he instantly agreed to relinquish the expedition. Argyle knew the determined
character of his nephew, and it is also possible that he might be influenced
by affection towards a relative of whom he might very justly be proud; but
be his motives what they may, he at once agreed to the proposed terms, and
conducted Gregor safely out of the camp, and soon after disbanded his
troops. Nor did his good offices cease there, for he became an advocate of
the Clan Gregor at Court, and obtained an armistice for them as well as a
protection to Gregor Our, with instructions to him to appear before the
Privy Council to explain every circumstance relating to the battle of
Glenfruin and the massacre of the scholars. Gregor Our accordingly set out
for Edinburgh with the concurrence of his chief, but he was no sooner gone
than suspicions began to arise as to the purity of his intentions. Dark
hints were first thrown out, and afterwards stated boldly as a fact, that
Gregor, through the interest of his uncle and his own address, had obtained
a royal grant of the chieftainship, as well as of the estates of Macgregor
for himself. By these insinuations and reports (which no doubt had great
plausibility in them) Macgregor was driven to a state of absolute
distraction, and having learned that Gregor Our was on his way back from
Edinburgh, he went to meet him, and without the least inquiry or
explanation, shot him through the heart with a pistol. On examining his
papers it was discovered that there was not a vestige of truth in these
reports. The pardon to the Clan Gregor was addressed to Macgregor. His
estates were restored to himself, and Gregor Our did not secure a single
benefit to himself but what he got in common with every individual of the
clan. This discovery drove Macgregor to madness, and he actually became
deranged. The pardon was recalled, and the proscription was enforced with
greater rigour than before, nor is it at all surprising that Argyle should
become their bitter (as he was their most powerful) enemy.” |
