The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Scottish Highlands, Highland Clans and Highland Regiments, Volume II (of 2), Edited by Sir John Scott Keltie This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. Title: The Scottish Highlands, Highland Clans and Highland Regiments, Volume II (of 2) Editor: Sir John Scott Keltie Release Date: May 18, 2019 [eBook #59469] Language: English Character set encoding: UTF-8 ***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS, HIGHLAND CLANS AND HIGHLAND REGIMENTS, VOLUME II (OF 2)*** E-text prepared by Brian Coe, John Campbell, Jane Robins, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org) Note: This volume originally was printed as four separate books (see transcriber's note below). Images of the original pages are available through Internet Archive. Book 5, pages 1-192: https://archive.org/details/historyofscottis005kelt Book 6, pages 193-384: https://archive.org/details/historyofscottis006kelt Book 7, pages 385-592: https://archive.org/details/historyofscottis007kelt Book 8, pages 593-818: https://archive.org/details/historyofscottis008kelt TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE This is Volume II of a two-volume set. The first volume can be found at: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/59468 . This 1875 edition originally was published in eight separate books as a subscription publication. The Preface, Title pages, Tables of Contents and Lists of Illustrations (the Front Matter) were published in the final eighth book, and referenced books 1-4 as Volume I, and books 5-8 as Volume II. This etext follows the same two-volume structure. The relevant Front Matter has been moved to the front of each volume, and some illustrations have been moved to where the two Lists of Illustrations indicate they should be. No text was added or changed when the books were seamlessly joined to make Volume I and Volume II. When reading this book on the web, the Index has active links to pages in both volumes. When reading on a handheld device only the internal links within this volume are active. Footnote anchors are denoted by [number], and the footnotes have been placed at the end of each chapter. Basic fractions are displayed as ½ ⅓ ¼ etc; other fractions are shown in the form a/b, for example 1/12 or 1/16. Regimental designations of the form a/b are unchanged, for example ‘1/4th Native Infantry’. In Chapter XLV the English translation of Gaelic text is usually positioned side by side with that text, just as it was printed in the original book. If the window size does not allow this, the English translation follows the Gaelic passage. On handheld devices choose a small or medium size font to view these passages, to avoid a possible truncation of the column of text. Several of these passages are quite long. Many tables in the original book (between pages 562 and 802) had } or { bracketing in some cells. These brackets are not helpful in the etext tables and have been removed to improve readability and save table space. The two tables on page 755 were very large in width and each has been split into two parts; the left-side ‘Names’ column has been duplicated in the second part. Many other minor changes to the text are noted at the end of the book. original cover View Larger Image Here. MAP SHOWING THE DISTRICTS OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS OF SCOTLAND. A H I S TO RY OF THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS HI GHLAND CLANS AND HI GHLAND REGI MENTS WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE GAELIC LANGUAGE, LITERATURE, AND MUSIC BY THE REV. THOMAS MACLAUCHLAN, LL.D., F.S.A. SCOT. AND AN ESSAY ON HIGHLAND SCENERY BY THE LATE PROFESSOR JOHN WILSON EDITED BY JOHN S. KELTIE, F.S.A. Scot. Illustrated WITH A SERIES OF PORTRAITS, VIEWS, MAPS, ETC., ENGRAVED ON STEEL, CLAN TARTANS, AND UPWARDS OF TWO HUNDRED WOODCUTS, INCLUDING ARMORIAL BEARINGS VOL. II. A. FULLARTON & CO. EDINBURGH AND LONDON 1875 CONTENTS OF VOLUME II. Chapter Page Part First continued.—GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS 1 XLII. Social Condition of the Highlands—Chiefs—Land Distribution—Agriculture—Agricultural Implements—Live Stock—Pasturage—Farm Servants—Harvest Work—Fuel—Food—Social Life in Former Days—Education— Dwellings—Habits—Wages—Roads—Present State of Highlands, 1 XLIII. State of Highlands subsequent to 1745—Progress of Innovation—Emigration—Pennant’s account of the country —Dr Johnson—Wretched condition of the Western Islands—Introduction of Large Sheep Farms—Ejection of Small Tenants—The Two Sides of the Highland Question—Large and Small Farms—Depopulation—Kelp —Introduction of Potatoes into the Highlands—Amount of Progress made during latter part of 18th century, 31 XLIV. Progress of Highlands during the present century—Depopulation and Emigration—Sutherland clearings—Recent State of Highlands—Means of Improvement—Population of chief Highland Counties—Highland Colonies— Attachment of Highlanders to their Old Home—Conclusion, 54 XLV. Gaelic Literature, Language, and Music. By the Rev. Thomas Maclauchlan, LL.D., F.S.A.S., 66 Part Second.—HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAND CLANS. I. Clanship—Principle of Kin—Mormaordoms—Traditions as to Origin of Clans—Peculiarities and Consequences of Clanship—Customs of Succession—Highland Marriage Customs—Position and Power of Chief— Influence of Clanship on the People—Number and Distribution of Clans, &c., 116 II. The Gallgael or Western Clans—Lords of the Isles—The various Island Clans—The Macdonalds or Clan Donald —The Clanranald Macdonalds—The Macdonnells of Glengarry, 131 III. The Macdougalls—Macalisters—Siol Gillevray—Macneills—Maclachlans—MacEwens—Siol Eachern— Macdougall Campbells of Craignish—Lamonds, 139 IV. Robertsons or Clan Donnachie—Macfarlanes—Argyll Campbells and offshoots—Breadalbane Campbells and offshoots—Macleods, 169 V. Clan Chattan—Mackintoshes—Macphersons—Macgillivrays—Shaws— Farquharsons—Macbeans— Macphails—Gows—Macqueens—Cattanachs, 197 VI. Camerons—Macleans—Macnaughtons—Mackenricks—Macknights—Macnayers— Macbraynes—Munroes— Macmillans, 217 VII. Clan Anrias or Ross—Mackenzies—Mathiesons—Siol Alpine—Macgregors—Grants—Macnabs—Clan Duffie or Macfie—Macquarries—Macaulays, 235 VIII. Mackays—Macnicols—Sutherlands—Gunns—Maclaurin or Maclaren—Macraes—Buchanans— Colquhouns— Forbeses—Urquharts, 265 IX. Stewarts—Frasers—Menzies—Chisholms—Stewart Murray (Athole)—Drummonds—Grahams— Gordons— Cummings—Ogilvies—Fergusons or Fergussons, 297 Part Third.—HISTORY OF THE HIGHLAND REGIMENTS. INTRODUCTION.—Military Character of the Highlands, 321 42nd Royal Highland Regiment (Am Freiceadan Dubh, “The Black Watch”), 324 Appendix.—Ashantee Campaign, 803 Loudon’s Highlanders, 1745–1748, 451 Montgomery’s Highlanders, or 77th Regiment, 1757–1763, 453 Fraser’s Highlanders, or Old 78th and 71st Regiments— Old 78th, 1757–1763, 457 Old 71st, 1775–1783, 465 Keith’s and Campbell’s Highlanders, or Old 87th and 88th Regiments, 475 89th Highland Regiment, 1759–1765, 478 Johnstone’s Highlanders, or 101st Regiment, 1760–1763, 479 71st Highland Light Infantry, formerly the 73rd or Lord Macleod’s Highlanders, 479 Argyle Highlanders, or Old 74th Regiment, 1778–1783, 519 Macdonald’s Highlanders, or Old 76th Highland Regiment, 520 Athole Highlanders, or Old 77th Regiment, 1778–1783, 522 72nd Regiment, or Duke of Albany’s Own Highlanders, formerly the 78th or Seaforth’s Highlanders, 524 Aberdeenshire Highland Regiment, or Old 81st, 1777–1783, 565 Royal Highland Emigrant Regiment, or Old 84th, 1775–1783, 565 Forty Second Royal Highland Regiment, Second Battalion, now the 73rd Regiment, 566 74th Highlanders, 571 75th Regiment, 616 78th Highlanders or Ross-shire Buffs, 617 79th Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders, 697 91st Princess Louise Argyllshire Highlanders, 726 92nd Gordon Highlanders, 756 93rd Sutherland Highlanders, 777 Appendix to the 42nd Royal Highland Regiment (Black Watch), 1873–1875 (Ashantee Campaign), 803 Fencible Corps, 807 Index, 808 [Pg iii] [iv] LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. VOLUME II. Subject. Painted by Engraved by Page Map Showing the Districts of the Highland Clans, Edited by Dr Maclauchlan, J. Bartholomew, To face title. View of Castle Urquhart, Loch Ness, J. Fleming, W. Forrest, 296 Colonels of the 42nd Royal Highlanders, From Original Sources, H. Crickmore, 325 (1.) John, Earl of Crawford. (2.) Sir George Murray, G.C.B., G.C.H. (3.) Sir John Macdonald, K.C.B. (4.) Sir Duncan A. Cameron, K.C.B. Lord Clyde (Sir Colin Campbell), H. W. Phillips, W. Holl, 409 Monument in Dunkeld Cathedral to the 42nd Royal Highlanders, 434 Colonels of the 71st and 72d Highlanders, From Original Sources, H. Crickmore, 479 (1.) John, Lord Macleod. (2.) Sir Thomas Reynell, Bt., K.C.B. (3.) Kenneth, Earl of Seaforth. (4.) Sir Neil Douglas, K.C.B., K.C.H. Colonels of the 78th and 79th Highlanders, From Original Sources, H. Crickmore, 617 (1.) F. H. Mackenzie, Lord Seaforth. (2.) Sir Patrick Grant, G.C.B., G.C.M.G. (3.) Sir Ronald Craufurd Ferguson, G.C.B. (4.) Sir James Macdonell, K.C.B., K.C.H. The Princess Louise, From Photograph by Hill and Saunders, W. Holl, 726 The Marquis of Lorne, From Photograph by Elliot and Fry, W. Holl, 726 Colonels of the 91st, 92d, and 93d Highlanders, From Original Sources H. Crickmore, 756 (1.) General Duncan Campbell of Lochnell. (2.) George, Marquis of Huntly. (3.) Major-General W. Wemyss of Wemyss. (4.) Sir H. W. Stisted, K.C.B. Map—Crimea, with Plan of Sebastopol, J. Bartholomew, 777 TARTANS. Macdonald, 136 Mackintosh, 201 Macnab, 258 Macdougall, 159 Farquharson, 215 Mackay, 266 Maclachlan, 165 Macnaughton, 229 Gunn, 278 Argyll Campbell, 175 Macgregor, 243 Forbes, 290 Breadalbane Campbell, 186 Grant, 250 Menzies, 306 WOODCUTS IN THE LETTERPRESS. 74. Old Scotch plough, and Caschroim, or crooked spade, 9 75. Quern, ancient Highland, 18 76. A Cottage in Islay in 1774, 25 77. Music, ancient Scottish, scale, 106 78. Macdonald coat of arms, crest, and motto, 136 79. Clanranald ” ” ” 153 80. Macdonnell of Glengarry ” ” 156 81. Macdougall ” ” 159 82. Macneill ” ” 162 83. Maclachlan ” ” 165 84. Lamond ” ” 168 85. Robertson ” ” 169 86. Macfarlane ” ” 173 87. Argyll Campbell ” ” 175 88. Breadalbane Campbell ” ” 186 89. Macleod ” ” 191 90. Mackintosh ” ” 201 91. “Mackintosh’s Lament,” bagpipe music, 204 92. Dalcross Castle, 209 93. Macpherson coat of arms, crest, and motto, 210 94. James Macpherson, editor of the Ossianic poetry, 211 95. Farquharson coat of arms, crest, and motto, 215 96. Cameron ” ” ” 217 97. Maclean ” ” ” 223 98. Sir Allan Maclean, 227 99. Macnaughton coat of arms, crest, and motto, 229 100. Munro of Foulis ” ” ” 231 101. Ross ” ” ” 235 102. Mackenzie ” ” ” 238 103. Sir George Mackenzie of Rosehaugh, 240 104. Macgregor coat of arms, crest, and motto, 243 [v] 105. Rob Roy, 245 106. Grant coat of arms, crest, and motto, 250 107. Castle Grant, 254 108. Mackinnon coat of arms, crest, and motto, 256 109. Macnab ” ” ” 258 110. The last Laird of Macnab, 261 111. Macquarrie coat of arms, crest, and motto, 262 112. Mackay ” ” ” 266 113. Sutherland ” ” ” 272 114. Dunrobin Castle, 277 115. Gunn coat of arms, crest, and motto, 278 116. Maclaurin (or Maclaren) ” ” 279 117. Macrae ” ” 280 118. Buchanan ” ” 281 119. Colquhoun ” ” 284 120. Old Rossdhu Castle, 289 121. Forbes coat of arms, crest, and motto, 290 122. Craigievar Castle, 294 123. Urquhart coat of arms, crest, and motto, 296 124. Lorn ” ” ” 299 125. Fraser ” ” ” 302 126. Bishop Fraser’s Seal, 302 127. Sir Alexander Fraser of Philorth, 303 128. Menzies coat of arms, crest, and motto, 306 129. Chisholm ” ” ” 307 130. Erchless Castle (seat of “the Chisholm”), 308 131. Stewart Murray (Athole) coat of arms, crest, and motto, 309 132. Blair Castle, as restored in 1872, 312 133. Drummond coat of arms, crest, and motto, 313 134. Graham ” ” ” 314 135. Gordon ” ” ” 316 136. Gordon Castle, 318 137. Cumming coat of arms, crest, and motto, 318 138. Ogilvy ” ” ” 319 139. Crest and motto of 42nd Royal Highlanders, 324 140. Farquhar Shaw of the “Black Watch” (1743), 330 141. Plan of the Siege of Ticonderoga (1758), 338 142. British Barracks, Philadelphia, in 1764, 354 143. Sir Ralph Abercromby in Egypt, Portrait, 372 144. } Regimental Medal of the 42nd Royal Highlanders, 145. } issued in 1819, 374 146. Medal to the officers of the 42nd Royal Highlanders for services in Egypt, 374 147. Colonel (afterwards Major-General Sir) Robert Henry Dick, 396 148. Vase presented to 42nd Royal Highlanders by the Highland Society of London, 400 149. Col. Johnstone’s (42nd) Cephalonian medal, 407 150. “Highland Pibroch,” bagpipe music, 446 151. View of Philadelphia, U.S., as in 1763, 455 152. Sir David Baird, 482 153. Monument in Glasgow Cathedral to Colonel the Hon. Henry Cadogan (71st), 498 154. Major-General Sir Denis Pack, K.C.B., 504 155. Monument erected by the 71st Highlanders in Glasgow Cathedral, 517 156. Crest of the 72nd, Seaforth Highlanders, 524 157. General James Stuart, 530 158. “Cabar Feidh,” bagpipe music, 533 159. Major-General William Parke, C.B., 557 160. Map of Kaffraria, 564 161. Crest of the 74th Highlanders, 571 162. Major-General Sir Archibald Campbell, Bart., K.C.B. (74th), 572 163. Plan of Assaye, 23rd Sept. 1803, 574 164. Lieutenant-Colonel the Hon. Sir Robert Le Poer Trench (74th), 583 165. Medal conferred on the non-commissioned officers and men of the 74th for meritorious conduct during the Peninsular campaign, 591 166. Waterkloof, scene of the death of Lieutenant-Colonel Fordyce (74th), 598 167. Crest of the 78th Highlanders, 617 168. Facsimile of a poster issued by Lord Seaforth in Ross and Cromarty in raising the Ross-shire Buffs (78th), 618 169. Plan of the Battle of Assaye, 631 170. Major-General Alexander Mackenzie-Fraser, 642 171. Colonel Patrick Macleod of Geanies (78th), 650 172. Major-General Sir Henry Havelock, K.C.B., 664 173. Suttee Chowra Ghât, scene of the second Cawnpoor Massacre, 15th July 1857, 668 174. Plan of the action near Cawnpoor, 16th July 1857, 669 [vi] 175. Map of the scene of Havelock’s operations in July and August, 1857, 671 176. Mausoleum over the Well of the Massacre at Cawnpoor, 672 177. Plan of the operations for the relief of Lucknow in September and November, 1857, 677 178. Monument to the memory of the 78th Highlanders, erected on Castle Esplanade, Edinburgh, 689 179. Centre Piece of Plate presented by the counties of Ross and Cromarty to the 78th, Ross-shire Buffs, 691 180. Crest of the 79th Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders, 697 181. Major-General Sir John Douglas, K.C.B., 711 182. Richard James Mackenzie, M.D., F.R.C.S., 715 183. Lieutenant-Colonel W. C. Hodgson (79th), 719 184. Monument erected in 1857 in the Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh, in memory of the 79th who fell in action during the campaign of 1854–55, 722 185. Crest of the 91st Princess Louise Argyllshire Highlanders, 726 186. The 91st crossing the Tyumie or Chumie River, 737 187. Brass Tablet erected in 1873 in Chelsea Hospital to the memory of Colonel Edward W. C. Wright, C.B. (91st), 742 188. Lieutenant-Colonel Bertie Gordon (91st), 744 189. Major-General John F. G. Campbell (91st), 746 190. Biscuit-Box presented by the men of the 91st Princess Louise Argyllshire Highlanders to the Princess Louise on the occasion of her marriage, 752 191. Crest of the 92nd Gordon Highlanders, 756 192. General Sir John Moore, 758 193. Coat of Arms of Col. John Cameron (92nd), 762 194. Colonel John Cameron (92nd), 764 195. Sir John Macdonald, K.C.B., of Dalchosnie, 768 196. Major-General Archibald Inglis Lockhart, C.B. (92nd), 770 197. Badge of the 93rd Sutherland Highlanders, 777 198. Sir Duncan M’Gregor, K.C.B., 782 199. The Hon. Adrian Hope (93rd), 788 200. The Secunder Bagh, 791 201. Lieutenant-Colonel Wm. M’Bean, V.C. (93rd), 800 202. Centre Piece of Plate, belonging to the Officers’ Mess of the 93rd Sutherland Highlanders, 801 203. Map of Ashantee Country and Gold Coast, 803 204. Sir Garnet J. Wolseley, K.C.M.G., C.B., 804 205. Sir John C. M’Leod, K.C.B. (42nd), 805 PART FIRST—Continued. GENERAL HISTORY OF THE HIGHLANDS. CHAPTER XLII. Social condition of the Highlands—Black Mail—Watch Money—The Law—Power of the Chiefs—Land Distribution—Tacksmen—Tenants—Rents— Thirlage—Wretched State of Agriculture—Agricultural Implements—The Caschroim—The Reestle—Methods of Transportation—Drawbacks to Cultivation—Management of Crops—Farm Work—Live Stock—Garrons—Sheep—Black Cattle—Arable Land—Pasturage—Farm Servants—The Bailte Geamhre—Davoch-lands—Milk—Cattle Drovers—Harvest Work—The Quern—Fuel—Food—Social Life in Former Days—Education— Dwellings—Habits—Gartmore Papers—Wages—Roads—Present State of Highlands. As we have already (see ch. xviii.) given a somewhat minute description of the clan-system, it is unnecessary to enter again in detail upon that subject here. We have, perhaps, in the chapter referred to, given the most brilliant side of the picture, still the reader may gather, from what is said there, some notion of what had to be done, what immense barriers had to be overcome, ere the Highlander could be modernised. Any further details on this point will be learned from the Introduction to the History of the Clans. As might have been expected, for some time after the allaying of the rebellion, and the passing of the various measures already referred to, the Highlands, especially those parts which bordered on the Lowlands, were to a certain extent infested by what were known as cattle-lifters—Anglicé, cattle-stealers. Those who took part in such expeditions were generally “broken” men, or men who belonged to no particular clan, owned no chief, and who were regarded generally as outlaws. In a paper said to have been written in 1747, a very gloomy and lamentable picture of the state of the country in this respect is given, although we suspect it refers rather to the period preceding the rebellion than to that succeeding it. However, we shall quote what the writer says on the matter in question, in order to give the reader an idea of the nature and extent of this system of pillage or “requisition:”— “Although the poverty of the people principally produces these practices so ruinous to society, yet the nature of the country, which is thinnely inhabitate, by reason of the extensive moors and mountains, and which is so well fitted for conceallments by the many glens, dens, and cavitys in it, does not a little contribute. In such a country cattle are privately transported from one place to another, and securely hid, and in such a country it is not easy to get informations, nor to apprehend the criminalls. People lye so open to their resentment, either for giving intelligence, or prosecuting them, that they decline either, rather than risk their cattle being stoln, or their houses burnt. And then, in the pursuit of a rogue, though he was almost in hands, the grounds are so hilly and unequall, and so much covered with wood or brush, and so full of dens and hollows, that the sight of him is almost as soon lost as he is discovered. “It is not easy to determine the number of persons employed in this way; but it may be safely affirmed that the horses, cows, sheep, and goats yearly stoln in that country are in value equall to £5,000; that the expences lost in the fruitless endeavours to recover them will not be less than £2,000; that the extraordinary expences of keeping herds and servants to look more narrowly after cattle on account of stealling, otherways not necessary, is £10,000. There is paid in blackmail or watch-money, openly and privately, £5,000; and there is a yearly loss by understocking the grounds, by reason of theifts, of at least £15,000; which is, altogether, a loss to landlords and farmers in the Highlands of £37,000 sterling a year. But, besides, if we consider that at least one-half of these stollen effects quite perish, by reason that a part of them is buried under ground, the rest is rather devoured than eat, and so what would serve ten men in the ordinary way of living, swallowed up by two or three to put it soon out of the way, and that some part of it is destroyed in concealed parts when a discovery is suspected, we must allow that there is £2,500 as the value of the half of the stollen cattle, and £15,000 for the article of understock quite lost of the stock of the kingdom. “These last mischiefs occasions another, which is still worse, although intended as a remedy for them—that is, the engaging companys of men, and keeping them in pay to prevent these thiefts and depredations. As the government neglect the country, and don’t protect the subjects in the possession of their property, they have been forced into this method for their own security, though at a charge little less than the land-tax. The person chosen to command this watch, as it is called, is commonly one deeply concerned in the theifts himself, or at least that hath been in correspondence with the thieves, and frequently who hath occasioned thiefts, in order to make this watch, by which he gains considerably, necessary. The people employed travell through the country armed, night and day, under pretence of enquiring after stollen cattle, and by this means know the situation and circumstances of the whole country. And as the people thus employed are the very rogues that do these mischiefs, so one-half of them are continued in their former bussiness of stealling that the busieness of the other half may be necessary in recovering.”[1] This is probably a somewhat exaggerated account of the extent to which this species of robbery was carried on, especially after the suppression of the rebellion; if written by one of the Gartmore family, it can scarcely be regarded as a disinterested account, seeing that the Gartmore estate lies just on the southern skirt of the Highland parish of Aberfoyle, formerly notorious as a haunt of the Macgregors, affording every facility for lifters getting rapidly out of reach with their “ill-gotten gear.” Still, no doubt, curbed and dispirited as the Highlanders were after the treatment they got from Cumberland, from old habit, and the assumed necessity of living, they would attempt to resume their ancient practices in this and other respects. But if they were carried on to any extent immediately after the rebellion, when the Gartmore paper is said to have been written, it could not have been for long; the law had at last reached the Highlands, and this practice ere long became rarer than highway robbery in England, gradually dwindling down until it was carried on here and there by one or two “desperate outlawed” men. Long before the end of the [Pg 1] [2] century it seems to have been entirely given up. “There is not an instance of any country having made so sudden a change in its morals as that of the Highlands; security and civilization now possess every part; yet 30 years have not elapsed since the whole was a den of thieves of the most extraordinary kind.”[2] As we have said above, after the suppression of the rebellion of 1745–6, there are no stirring narratives of outward strife or inward broil to be narrated in connection with the Highlands. Indeed, the history of the Highlands from this time onwards belongs strictly to the history of Scotland, or rather of Britain. Still, before concluding this division of the work, it may be well to give a brief sketch of the progress of the Highlands from the time of the suppression of the jurisdictions down to the present day. Not that after their disarmament the Highlanders ceased to take part in the world’s strife; but the important part they have taken during the last century or more in settling the destinies of nations, falls to be narrated in another section of this work. What we shall concern ourselves with at present is the consequences of the abolition of the heritable jurisdictions (and with them the importance and power of the chiefs), on the internal state of the Highlands; we shall endeavour to show the alteration which took place in the social condition of the people, their mode of life, their relation to the chiefs (now only landlords), their mode of farming, their religion, education, and other points. From the nature of clanship—of the relationship between chief and people, as well as from the state of the law and the state of the Highlands generally—it will be perceived that, previous to the measure which followed Culloden, it was the interest of every chief to surround himself with as many followers as he could muster; his importance and power of injury and defence were reckoned by government and his neighbours not according to his yearly income, but according to the number of men he could bring into the field to fight his own or his country’s battles. It is told of a chief that, when asked as to the rent of his estate, he replied that he could raise 500 men. Previous to ’45, money was of so little use in the Highlands, the chiefs were so jealous of each other and so ready to take advantage of each other’s weakness, the law was so utterly powerless to repress crime and redress wrong, and life and property were so insecure, that almost the only security which a chief could have was the possession of a small army of followers, who would protect himself and his property; and the chief safety and means of livelihood that lay in the power of the ordinary clansman was to place himself under the protection and among the followers of some powerful chief. “Before that period (1745) the authority of law was too feeble to afford protection.[3] The obstructions to the execution of any legal warrant were such that it was only for objects of great public concern that an extraordinary effort was sometimes made to overcome them. In any ordinary case of private injury, an individual could have little expectation of redress unless he could avenge his own cause; and the only hope of safety from any attack was in meeting force by force. In this state of things, every person above the common rank depended for his safety and his consequence on the number and attachment of his servants and dependants; without people ready to defend him, he could not expect to sleep in safety, to preserve his house from pillage or his family from murder; he must have submitted to the insolence of every neighbouring robber, unless he had maintained a numerous train of followers to go with him into the field, and to fight his battles. To this essential object every inferior consideration was sacrificed; and the principal advantage of landed property consisted in the means it afforded to the proprietor of multiplying his dependants.”[4] Of course, the chief had to maintain his followers in some way, had to find some means by which he would be able to attach them to himself, keep them near him, and command their services when he required them. There can be no doubt, however chimerical it may appear at the present day, that the attachment and reverence of the Highlander to his chief were quite independent of any benefits the latter might be able to confer. The evidence is indubitable that the clan regarded the chief as the father of his people, and themselves as his children; he, they believed, was bound to protect and maintain them, while they were bound to regard his will as law, and to lay down their lives at his command. Of these statements there can be no doubt. “This power of the chiefs is not supported by interest, as they are landlords, but as lineally descended from the old patriarchs or fathers of the families, for they hold the same authority when they have lost their estates, as may appear from several, and particularly one who commands in his clan, though, at the same time, they maintain him, having nothing left of his own.”[5] Still it was assuredly the interest, and was universally regarded as the duty of the chief, to strengthen that attachment and his own authority and influence, by bestowing upon his followers what material benefits he could command, and thus show himself to be, not a thankless tyrant, but a kind and grateful leader, and an affectionate father of his people. Theoretically, in the eye of the law, the tenure and distribution of land in the Highlands was on the same footing as in the rest of the kingdom; the chiefs, like the lowland barons, were supposed to hold their lands from the monarch, the nominal proprietor of all landed property, and these again in the same way distributed portions of this territory among their followers, who thus bore the same relation to the chief as the latter did to his superior, the king. In the eye of the law, we say, this was the case, and so those of the chiefs who were engaged in the rebellion of 1715–45 were subjected to forfeiture in the same way as any lowland rebel. But, practically, the great body of the Highlanders knew nothing of such a tenure, and even if it had been possible to make them understand it, they would probably have repudiated it with contempt. The great principle which seems to have ruled all the relations that subsisted between the chief and his clan, including the mode of distributing and holding land, was, previous to 1746, that of the family. The land was regarded not so much as belonging absolutely to the chief, but as the property of the clan of which the chief was head and representative. Not only was the clan bound to render obedience and reverence to their head, to whom each member supposed himself related, and whose name was the common name of all his people; he also was regarded as bound to maintain and protect his people, and distribute among them a fair share of the lands which he held as their representative. “The chief, even against the laws, is bound to protect his followers, as they are sometimes called, be they never so criminal. He is their leader in clan quarrels, must free the necessitous from their arrears of rent, and maintain such who, by accidents, are fallen into decay. If, by increase of the tribe, any small farms are wanting, for the support of such addition he splits others into lesser portions, because all must be somehow provided for; and as the meanest among them pretend to be his relatives by consanguinity, they insist upon the privilege of taking him by the hand wherever they meet him.”[6] Thus it was considered the duty, as it was in those turbulent times undoubtedly the interest, of the chief to see to it that every one of those who looked upon him as their chief was provided for; while, on the other hand, it was the interest of the people, as they no doubt felt it to be their duty, to do all in their power to gain [3] [4] the favour of their chiefs, whose will was law, who could make or unmake them, on whom their very existence was dependent. Latterly, at least, this utter dependence of the people on their chiefs, their being compelled for very life’s sake to do his bidding, appears to have been regarded by the former as a great hardship; for, as we have already said, it is well known that in both of the rebellions of last century, many of the poor clansmen pled in justification of their conduct, that they were compelled, sorely against their inclination, to join the rebel army. This only proves how strong must have been the power of the chiefs, and how completely at their mercy the people felt themselves to be. To understand adequately the social life of the Highlanders previous to 1746, the distribution of the land among, the nature of their tenures, their mode of farming, and similar matters, the facts above stated must be borne in mind. Indeed, not only did the above influences affect these matters previous to the suppression of the last rebellion, but also for long after, if, indeed, they are not in active operation in some remote corners of the Highlands even at the present day; moreover, they afford a key to much of the confusion, misunderstanding, and misery that followed upon the abolition of the heritable jurisdictions. Next in importance and dignity to the chief or laird were the cadets of his family, the gentlemen of the clan, who in reference to the mode in which they held the land allotted to them, were denominated tacksmen. To these tacksmen were let farms, of a larger or smaller size according to their importance, and often at a rent merely nominal; indeed, they in general seem to have considered that they had as much right to the land as the chief himself, and when, after 1746, many of them were deprived of their farms, they, and the Highlanders generally, regarded it as a piece of gross and unfeeling injustice. As sons were born to the chief, they also had to be provided for, which seems to have been done either by cutting down the possessions of those tacksmen further removed from the family of the laird, appropriating those which became vacant by the death of the tenant or otherwise, and by the chief himself cutting off a portion of the land immediately in his possession. In this way the descendants of tacksmen might ultimately become part of the commonalty of the clan. Next to the tacksmen were tenants, who held their farms either directly from the laird, or as was more generally the case, from the tacksmen. The tenants again frequently let out part of their holdings to sub-tenants or cottars, who paid their rent by devoting most of their time to the cultivation of the tenant’s farm, and the tending of his cattle. The following extract from the Gartmore paper written in 1747, and published in the appendix to Burt’s Letters, gives a good idea of the manner generally followed in distributing the land among the various branches of the clan: — “The property of these Highlands belongs to a great many different persons, who are more or less considerable in proportion to the extent of their estates, and to the command of men that live upon them, or follow them on account of their clanship, out of the estates of others. These lands are set by the landlord during pleasure, or a short tack, to people whom they call good-men, and who are of a superior station to the commonality. These are generally the sons, brothers, cousins, or nearest relations of the landlord. The younger sons of famillys are not bred to any business or employments, but are sent to the French or Spanish armies, or marry as soon as they are of age. Those are left to their own good fortune and conduct abroad, and these are preferred to some advantageous farm at home. This, by the means of a small portion, and the liberality of their relations, they are able to stock, and which they, their children, and grandchildren, possess at an easy rent, till a nearer descendant be again preferred to it. As the propinquity removes, they become less considered, till at last they degenerate to be of the common people; unless some accidental acquisition of wealth supports them above their station. As this hath been an ancient custom, most of the farmers and cottars are of the name and clan of the proprietor; and, if they are not really so, the proprietor either obliges them to assume it, or they are glaid to do so, to procure his protection and favour. “Some of these tacksmen or good-men possess these farms themselves; but in that case they keep in them a great number of cottars, to each of whom they give a house, grass for a cow or two, and as much ground as will sow about a boll of oats, in places which their own plough cannot labour, by reason of brush or rock, and which they are obliged in many places to delve with spades. This is the only visible subject which these poor people possess for supporting themselves and their famillys, and the only wages of their whole labour and service. “Others of them lett out parts of their farms to many of these cottars or subtennants; and as they are generally poor, and not allways in a capacity to stock these small tenements, the tacksmen frequently enter them on the ground laboured and sown, and sometimes too stocks it with cattle; all which he is obliged to redeliver in the same condition at his removal, which is at the goodman’s pleasure, as he is usually himself tennent at pleasure, and for which during his possession he pays an extravagantly high rent to the tacksman. “By this practice, farms, which one family and four horses are sufficient to labour, will have from four to sixteen famillys living upon them.”[7] “In the case of very great families, or when the domains of a chief became very extensive, it was usual for the head of the clan occasionally to grant large territories to the younger branches of his family in return for a trifling quit-rent. These persons were called chieftains, to whom the lower classes looked up as their immediate leader. These chieftains were in later times called tacksmen; but at all periods they were considered nearly in the same light as proprietors, and acted on the same principles. They were the officers who, under the chief, commanded in the military expeditions of the clans. This was their employment; and neither their own dispositions, nor the situation of the country, inclined them to engage in the drudgery of agriculture any farther than to supply the necessaries of life for their own families. A part of their land was usually sufficient for this purpose, and the remainder was let off in small portions to cottagers, who differed but little from the small occupiers who held their lands immediately from the chief; excepting that, in lieu of rent, they were bound to a certain amount of labour for the advantage of their immediate superior. The more of these people any gentleman could collect around his habitation, with the greater facility could he carry on the work of his own farm; the greater, too, was his personal safety. Besides this, the tacksmen, holding their lands from the chief at a mere quit-rent, were naturally solicitous to merit his favour by the number of their immediate dependants whom they could bring to join his standard.”[8] [5] [6] Thus it will be seen that in those times every one was, to a more or less extent, a cultivator or renter of land. As to rent, there was very little of actual money paid either by the tacksmen or by those beneath them in position and importance. The return expected by the laird or chief from the tacksmen for the farms he allowed them to hold, was that they should be ready when required to produce as many fighting men as possible, and give him a certain share of the produce of the land they held from him. It was thus the interest of the tacksman to parcel out their land into as small lots as possible, for the more it was subdivided, the greater would be the number of men he could have at his command. This liability on the part of the subtenants to be called upon at any time to do service for the laird, no doubt counted for part of the rent of the pendicles allotted to them. These pendicles were often very small, and evidently of themselves totally insufficient to afford the means of subsistence even to the smallest family. Besides this liability to do service for the chief, a very small sum of money was taken as part of the rent, the remainder being paid in kind, and in assisting the tacksmen to farm whatever land he may have retained in his own hands. In the same way the cottars, who were subtenants to the tacksmen’s tenants, had to devote most of their time to the service of those from whom they immediately held their lands. Thus it will be seen that, although nominally the various tenants held their land from their immediate superiors at a merely nominal rent, in reality what was actually given in return for the use of the land would, in the end, probably turn out to be far more than its value. From the laird to the cottar there was an incessant series of exactions and services, grievous to be borne, and fatal to every kind of improvement. Besides the rent and services due by each class to its immediate superiors, there were numerous other exactions and services, to which all had to submit for the benefit of their chief. The most grievous perhaps of these was thirlage or multure, a due exacted from each tenant for the use of the mill of the district to convert their grain into meal. All the tenants of each district or parish were thirled or bound to take their grain to a particular mill to be ground, the miller being allowed to appropriate a certain proportion as payment for the use of the mill, and as a tax payable to the laird or chief. In this way a tenant was often deprived of a considerable quantity of his grain, varying from one-sixteenth to one-eighth, and even more. In the same way many parishes were thirled to a particular smith. By these and similar exactions and contributions did the proprietors and chief men of the clan manage to support themselves off the produce of their land, keep a numerous band of retainers around them, have plenty for their own use, and for all who had any claim to their hospitality. This seems especially to have been the case when the Highlanders were in their palmiest days of independence, when they were but little molested from without, and when their chief occupations were clan-feuds and cattle raids. But latterly, and long before the abolition of heritable jurisdictions, this state of matters had for the most part departed, and although the chiefs still valued themselves by the number of men they could produce, they kept themselves much more to themselves, and showed less consideration for the inferior members of the clan, whose condition, even at its best, must appear to have been very wretched. “Of old, the chieftain was not so much considered the master as the father of his numerous clan. Every degree of these followers loved him with an enthusiasm, which made them cheerfully undergo any fatigue or danger. Upon the other hand, it was his interest, his pride, and his chief glory, to requite such animated friendship to the utmost of his power. The rent paid him was chiefly consumed in feasts given at the habitations of his tenants. What he was to spend, and the time of his residence at each village, was known and provided for accordingly. The men who provided these entertainments partook of them; they all lived friends together; and the departure of the chief and his retinue never fails to occasion regret. In more polished times, the cattle and corn consumed at these feasts of hospitality, were ordered up to the landlord’s habitation. What was friendship at the first became very oppressive in modern times. Till very lately in this neighbourhood, Campbell of Auchinbreck had a right to carry off the best cow he could find upon several properties at each Martinmas by way of mart. The Island of Islay paid 500 such cows yearly, and so did Kintyre to the Macdonalds.”[9] Still, there can be no doubt, that previous to 1746 it was the interest of the laird and chief tacksmen to keep the body of the people as contented as possible, and do all in their power to attach them to their interest. Money was of but little use in the Highlands then; there was scarcely anything in which it could be spent; and so long as his tenants furnished him with the means of maintaining a substantial and extensive hospitality, the laird was not likely in general to complain. “The poverty of the tenants rendered it customary for the chief, or laird, to free some of them every year, from all arrears of rent; this was supposed, upon an average, to be about one year in five of the whole estate.”[10] In the same letter from which the last sentence is quoted, Captain Burt gives an extract from a Highland rent-roll, of date probably about 1730; we shall reproduce it here, as it will give the reader a better notion as to how those matters were managed in these old times, than any description can. “You will, it is likely,” the letter begins, “think it strange that many of the Highland tenants are to maintain a family upon a farm of twelve merks Scots per annum, which is thirteen shillings and fourpence sterling, with perhaps a cow or two, or a very few sheep or goats; but often the rent is less, and the cattle are wanting. “In some rentals you may see seven or eight columns of various species of rent, or more, viz., money, barley, oatmeal, sheep, lambs, butter, cheese, capons, &c.; but every tenant does not pay all these kinds, though many of them the greatest part. What follows is a specimen taken out of a Highland rent-roll, and I do assure you it is genuine, and not the least by many:— Scots Money. English. Butter. Oatmeal. Muttons. Stones.Lb.Oz. Bolls.B.P.Lip. Donald mac Oil vic ille Challum £3 10 4 £0 5 10⅛ 0 3 2 0 2 1 3 ⅛ and 1/16 Murdoch mac ille Christ 5 17 6 0 9 9⅛ 0 6 4 0 3 3 3 ¼ and 1/16 Duncan mac ille Phadrick 7 0 6 0 12 3½ 0 7 8 1 0 3 0½ ¼ and ⅛ I shall here give you a computation of the first article, besides which there are seven more of the same farm and rent, as you may perceive by the fraction of a sheep in the last column:— The money £0 5 10⅛ Sterling. The butter, three pounds two ounces, at 4d. per lb 0 1 1½ Oatmeal, 2 bushels, 1 peck, 3 lippys and ¼, at 6d. per peck 0 4 9¼ and ½ Sheep, one-eighth and one-sixteenth, at 2s 0 0 4½ [7] [8] —————— The yearly rent of the farm is £0 12 1½ and 1/12.” It is plain that in the majority of cases the farms must have been of very small extent, almost equal to those of Goldsmith’s Golden Age, “when every rood maintained its man.” “In the head of the parish of Buchanan in Stirlingshire, as well as in several other places, there are to be found 150 families living upon grounds which do not pay above £90 sterling of yearly rent, that is, each family at a medium rents lands at twelve shillings of yearly rent.”[11] This certainly seems to indicate a very wretched state of matters, and would almost lead one to expect to hear that a famine occurred every year. But it must be remembered that for the reasons above given, along with others, farms were let at a very small rent, far below the real value, and generally merely nominal; that besides money, rent at that time was all but universally paid in kind, and in services to the laird or other superior; and that many of the people, especially on the border lands, had other means of existence, as for example, cattle-lifting. Nevertheless, making all these allowances, the condition of the great mass of the Highlanders must have been extremely wretched, although they themselves might not have felt it to be so, they had been so long accustomed to it. In such a state of matters, with the land so much subdivided, with no leases, and with tenures so uncertain, with so many oppressive exactions, with no incitements to industry or improvement, but with every encouragement to idleness and inglorious self-contentment, it is not to be supposed that agriculture or any other industry would make any great progress. For centuries previous to 1745, and indeed for long after it, agriculture appears to have remained at a stand-still. The implements in use were rude and inefficient, the time devoted to the necessary farming operations, generally a few weeks in spring and autumn, was totally insufficient to produce results of any importance, and consequently the crops raised, seldom anything else but oats and barley, were scanty, wretched in quality, and seldom sufficient to support the cultivator’s family for the half of the year. In general, in the Highlands, as the reader will already have seen, each farm was let to a number of tenants, who, as a rule, cultivated the arable ground on the system of run-rig, i.e., the ground was divided into ridges which were so distributed among the tenants that no one tenant possessed two contiguous ridges. Moreover, no tenant could have the same ridge for two years running, the ridges having a new cultivator every year. Such a system of allocating arable land, it is very evident, must have been attended with the worst results so far as good farming is concerned. The only recommendation that it is possible to urge in its favour is that, there being no inclosures, it would be the interest of the tenants to join together in protecting the land they thus held in common against the ravages of the cattle which were allowed to roam about the hills, and the depredations of hostile clans. As we have just said, there were no inclosures in the Highlands previous to 1745, nor were there for very many years after that. While the crops were standing in the ground, and liable to be destroyed by the cattle, the latter were kept, for a few weeks in summer and autumn, upon the hills; but after the crops were gathered in, they were allowed to roam unheeded through the whole of a district or parish, thus affording facilities for the cattle-raids that formed so important an item in the means of obtaining a livelihood among the ancient Highlanders. As a rule, the only crops attempted to be raised were oats and barley, and sometimes a little flax; green crops were almost totally unknown or despised, till many years after 1745; even potatoes do not seem to have been at all common till after 1750, although latterly they became the staple food of the Highlanders. Rotation of crops, or indeed any approach to scientific agriculture, was totally unknown. The ground was divided into infield and outfield. The infield was constantly cropp...