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Title: An Historical Account of the Settlements of Scotch Highlanders in America

Author: J. P. MacLean

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Language: English

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[Illustration: _Painted by Captn. W McKenzie_ BATTLE OF CULLODEN.]




An Historical Account

OF THE

Settlements of Scotch Highlanders

IN

America

PRIOR TO THE PEACE OF 1783

TOGETHER WITH NOTICES OF

Highland Regiments

AND

Biographical Sketches

BY

J.P. MACLEAN, PH.D.


Life Member Gaelic Society of Glasgow, and Clan MacLean Association of
Glasgow; Corresponding Member Davenport Academy of Sciences, and Western
Reserve Historical Society; Author of History of Clan MacLean, Antiquity
of Man, The Mound Builders, Mastodon, Mammoth and Man, Norse Discovery
of America, Fingal's Cave, Introduction Study St. John's Gospel, Jewish
Nature Worship, etc.

_ILLUSTRATED_.

THE HELMAN-TAYLOR COMPANY, CLEVELAND.

JOHN MACKAY, GLASGOW.

1900.

[Illustration: HIGHLAND ARMS.]




TO

COLONEL SIR FITZROY DONALD MACLEAN, Bart., C.B.,

President of The Highland Society of London,


An hereditary Chief, honored by his Clansmen at home and abroad, on
account of the kindly interest he takes in their welfare, as well as
everything that relates to the Highlands, and though deprived of an
ancient patrimony, his virtues and patriotism have done honor to the
Gael, this Volume is

   Respectfully dedicated by the

   AUTHOR.




   "There's sighing and sobbing in yon Highland forest;
   There's weeping and wailing in yon Highland vale,
   And fitfully flashes a gleam from the ashes
   Of the tenantless hearth in the home of the Gael.
   There's a ship on the sea, and her white sails she's spreadin',
       A' ready to speed to a far distant shore;
   She may come hame again wi' the yellow gowd laden,
       But the sons of Glendarra shall come back no more.

   The gowan may spring by the clear-rinnin' burnie,
       The cushat may coo in the green woods again.
   The deer o' the mountain may drink at the fountain,
       Unfettered and free as the wave on the main;
   But the pibroch they played o'er the sweet blooming heather
       Is hushed in the sound of the ocean's wild roar;
   The song and the dance they hae vanish'd thegither,
    For the maids o' Glendarra shall come back no more."




PREFACE.


An attempt is here made to present a field that has not been
preoccupied. The student of American history has noticed allusions to
certain Scotch Highland settlements prior to the Revolution, without any
attempt at either an account or origin of the same. In a measure the
publication of certain state papers and colonial records, as well as an
occasional memoir by an historical society have revived what had been
overlooked. These settlements form a very important and interesting
place in the early history of our country. While they may not have
occupied a very prominent or pronounced position, yet their exertions in
subduing the wilderness, their activity in the Revolution, and the wide
influence exercised by the descendants of these hardy pioneers, should,
long since, have brought their history and achievements into notice.

The settlement in North Carolina, embracing a wide extent of territory,
and the people numbered by the thousands, should, ere this, have found a
competent exponent. But it exists more as a tradition than an actual
colony. The Highlanders in Georgia more than acted their part against
Spanish encroachments, yet survived all the vicissitudes of their
exposed position. The stay of the Highlanders on the Mohawk was very
brief, yet their flight into Canada and final settlement at Glengarry
forms a very strange episode in the history of New York. The heartless
treatment of the colony of Lachlan Campbell by the governor of the
province of New York, and their long delayed recompense stands without a
parallel, and is so strange and fanciful, that long since it should have
excited the poet or novelist. The settlements in Nova Scotia and Prince
Edwards Island, although scarcely commenced at the breaking out of the
Revolution, are more important in later events than those chronicled in
this volume.

The chapters on the Highlands, the Scotch-Irish, and the Darien scheme,
have sufficient connection to warrant their insertion.

It is a noticeable fact that notwithstanding the valuable services
rendered by the Highland regiments in the French and Indian war, but
little account has been taken by writers, except in Scotland, although
General David Stewart of Garth, as early as 1822, clearly paved the way.
Unfortunately, his works, as well as those who have followed him, are
comparatively unknown on this side the Atlantic.

I was led to the searching out of this phase of our history, not only by
the occasional allusions, but specially from reading works devoted to
other nationalities engaged in the Revolution. Their achievements were
fully set forth and their praises sung. Why should not the oppressed
Gael, who sought the forests of the New World, struggled in the
wilderness, and battled against foes, also be placed in his true light?
If properly known, the artist would have a subject for his pencil, the
poet a picture for his praises, and the novelist a strong background for
his romance.

Cleveland, O., October, 1898.




TABLE OF CONTENTS.


CHAPTER I.

THE HIGHLANDERS OF SCOTLAND.

Division of Scotland--People of the Highlands--Language--Clanship--Chiefs
Customs--Special Characteristics--Fiery-Cross--Slogan--Mode of Battle
Forays--Feasts--Position of Woman--Marriage--Religious Toleration
Superstitions--Poets--Pipers--Cave of Coire-nan-Uriskin--The
Harp--Gaelic Music--Costume--Scotland's Wars--War with Romans--Battle
of Largs--Bannockburn--Flodden--Pinkie--Wars of Montrose--Bonnie
Dundee--Earl of Mar--Prince Charles Stuart--Atrocities in the
Wake of Culloden--Uncertainty of Travellers' Observations--Kidnapping
Emigration                                                              17


CHAPTER II.

THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.

Origin of the name of Scotland--Scoto-Irish--Ulster--Clandonald--Protestant
Colonies in Ireland--Corruption of Names--Percentage of in
Revolution--Characteristics--Persecuted--Emigration from Ulster--First
Scotch-Irish Clergyman in America--Struggle for Religious Liberty
Settlement at Worcester--History of the Potato--Pelham--Warren and
Blandford--Colerain--Londonderry--Settlements in Maine--New York--New
Jersey--Pennsylvania--The Revolution--Maryland--Virginia--Patrick
Henry--Daniel Morgan--George Rogers Clark--North Carolina--Battle
of King's Mountain--South Carolina--Georgia--East Tennessee--Kentucky
Canada--Industrial Arts--Distinctive Characteristics                    40


CHAPTER III.

CAUSES THAT LED TO EMIGRATION.

Results of Clanship--Opposed to Emigration--Emigration to Ulster
Expatriation of 7000--Changed Condition of Highlanders--Lands Rented
Dissatisfaction--Luxurious Landlords--Action of Chiefs in Skye--Deplorable
State of Affairs--Sheep-Farming--Improvements--Buchanan's
Description--Famine--Class of Emigrants--America--Hardships and
Disappointments                                                         60


CHAPTER IV.

DARIEN SCHEME.

First Highlanders in America--Disastrous Speculation--Ruinous
Legislation--Massacre of Glencoe--Darien Scheme Projected--William
Paterson--Fabulous Dreams--Company Chartered--Scotland Excited
Subscriptions--List of Subscribers--Spanish Sovereignty over
Darien--English Jealousy and Opposition--Dutch East India Company--King
William's Duplicity--English and Dutch Subscriptions Withdrawn--Great
Preparations--Purchase of Ships--Sailing of First Expedition--Settlement
of St. Andrews--Great Sufferings--St. Andrews Abandoned--The Caledonia and
Unicorn Arrive at New York--Recriminations--The St. Andrews--The
Dolphin--King Refuses Supplies--Relief Sent--Spaniards Aggressive--Second
Expedition--Highlanders--Disappointed Expectations--Discordant
Clergy--How News was Received in Scotland--Give Vent to Rage--King
William's Indifference--Campbell of Fonab--Escape--Capitulation of Darien
Colony--Ships Destroyed--Final End of Settlers                          75


CHAPTER V.

HIGHLANDERS IN NORTH CAROLINA.

On the Cape Fear--Town Established--Highlanders Patronized--Arrival
of Neil McNeill--Action of Legislature--List of Grantees--Wave of
Emigration--Represented in Legislature--Colony Prosperous--Stamp
Act--Genius of Liberty--Letter to Highlanders--Emigrants from Jura--Lands
Allotted--War of Regulators--Campbelton Charter--Public Road--Public
Buildings at Campbelton--Petition for Pardon--Highland Costume--Clan
Macdonald Emigration--Allan Macdonald of Kingsborough--American
Revolution--Sale of Public Offices--Attitude of Patriots--Provincial
Congress--Highlanders Objects of Consideration--Reverend John
McLeod--Committee to Confer with Highlanders--British Confidence--Governor
Martin--Provincial Congress of 1775--Farquhard Campbell--Arrival of the
George--Other Arrivals--Oaths Administered--Distressed Condition--Petition
to Virginia Convention--War Party in the Ascendant--American
Views--Highlanders Fail to Understand Conditions--Reckless Indifference
of Leaders--General Donald Macdonald--British Campaign--Governor
Martin Manipulates a Revolt--Macdonald's Manifesto--Rutherford's
Manifesto--Highlanders in Rebellion--Standard at Cross Creek--March
for Wilmington--Country Alarmed--Correspondence--Battle of Moore's
Creek Bridge--Overthrow of Highlanders--Prescribed Parole--Prisoners
Address Congress--Action of Sir William Howe--Allan Macdonald's Letter--On
Parole--Effects His Exchange--Letter to Members of Congress--Cornwallis
to Clinton--Military at Cross Creek--Women Protected--Religious Status 102


CHAPTER VI.

HIGHLANDERS IN GEORGIA.

English Treatment of Poor--Imprisonment for Debt--Oglethorpe's
Philanthropy--Asylum Projected--Oglethorpe Sails for Georgia--Selects
the Site of Savannah--Fort Argyle--Colonists of Different
Nationalities--Towns Established--Why Highlanders were Selected--Oglethorpe
Returns to England--Highland Emigrants--Character of--John
Macleod--Founding of New Inverness--Oglethorpe Sails for Georgia--Visits
the Highlanders--Fort St. Andrews--Spaniards Aggressive--Messengers
Imprisoned--Spanish Perfidy--Suffering and Discontent in 1737--Dissension
Increases--Removal Agitated--African Slavery Prohibited--Petition and
Counter Petition--Highlanders Oppose African Slavery--Insufficient Produce
Raised--Murder of Unarmed Highlanders--Florida Invaded--St. Augustine
Blockaded--Massacre of Highlanders at Fort Moosa--Failure of
Expedition--Conduct of William MacIntosh--Indians and Carolinians
Desert--Agent Reprimanded by Parliament--Clansmen at Darien--John MacLeod
Abandons His Charge--Georgia Invaded--Highlanders Defeat the Enemy--Battle
of Bloody Marsh--Spaniards Retreat--Ensign Stewart--Oglethorpe
Again Invades Florida--Growth of Georgia--Record in Revolution--Resolutions
Assault on British War Vessels--Capture  of--County of Liberty--Settlement
Remained Highland                                                      146


CHAPTER VII.

CAPTAIN LACHLAN CAMPBELL'S NEW YORK COLONY.

Lachlan Campbell--Donald Campbell's Memorial--Motives Controlling
Royal Governors--Governor Clarke to Duke of Newcastle--Same to
Lords of Trade--Efforts of Captain Campbell--Memorial Rejected--Redress
Obtained--Grand Scheme--List of Grantees--A Desperado--Township
of Argyle--Records of--Change of Name of County--Highland Soldiers
Occupy Lands--How Allotted--Selling Land Warrants--New Hampshire
Grants--Ethan Allan--Revolution--An Incident--Indian Raid--Massacre
of Jane McCrea--Religious Sentiment                                    176


CHAPTER VIII.

HIGHLAND SETTLEMENT ON THE MOHAWK.

Sir William Johnson--Highlanders Preferred--Manner of Life--Changed
State of Affairs--Sir John Johnson--Highlanders not Civic Officers--Sir
John Johnson's Movements Inimical--Tryon County Committee
to Provincial Congress--Action of Continental Congress--Sir John to
Governor Tryon--Action of General Schuyler--Sir John's Parole--Highlanders
Disarmed--Arms Retained--Highland Hostages--Instructions for Seizing
Sir John--Sir John on Removal of Highlanders--Flight of Highlanders
to Canada--Great Sufferings--Lady Johnson a Hostage--Highland Settlement
a Nest of Treason--Exodus of Highland Women--Some Families
Detained--Letter of Helen McDonell--Regiment Organized--Butler's
Rangers--Cruel Warfare--Fort Schuyler Besieged--Battle of Oriskany--Heroism
of Captain Gardenier--Parole of Angus McDonald--Massacre of
Wyoming--Bloodthirsty Character of Alexander McDonald--Indian
Country Laid Waste--Battle of Chemung--Sir John Ravages Johnstown--Visits
Schoharie with Fire and Sword--Flight from Johnstown--Exploit
of Donald McDonald--Shell's Defence--List of Officers of Sir John Johnson's
Regiment--Settlement in Glengarry--Allotment of Lands--Story of
Donald Grant--Religious Services Established                           196


CHAPTER IX.

GLENALADALE HIGHLANDERS OF PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND.

Highlanders in Canada--John Macdonald--Educated in Germany--Religious
Oppression--Religion of the Yellow-Stick--Glenaladale Becomes
Protector--Emigration--Company Raised Against Americans--Capture of
American Vessel--Estimate of Glenaladale--Offered Governorship of
Prince Edward Island                                                   231


CHAPTER X.

HIGHLAND SETTLEMENT IN PICTOU, NOVA SCOTIA.

Emigration to Nova Scotia--Ship Hector--Sails from Lochbroom--Great
Sufferings and Pestilence--Landing of Highlanders--Frightening of
Indians--Bitter Disappointment--Danger of Starvation--False Reports--Action
of Captain Archibald--Truro Migration--Hardships--Incidents of
Suffering--Conditions of Grants of Land--Hector's Passengers--Interesting
Facts Relative to Emigrants--Industries--Plague of Mice--American
Revolution--Divided Sentiment--Persecution of American Sympathizers
Highlanders Loyal to Great Britain--Americans Capture a
Vessel--Privateers--Wreck of the Malignant Man-of-War--Indian
Alarm--Itinerant Preachers--Arrival of Reverend James McGregor         235


CHAPTER XI.

FIRST HIGHLAND REGIMENTS IN AMERICA.

Cause of French and Indian War--Highlanders Sent to America--The
Black Watch--Montgomery's Highlanders--Fraser's Highlanders--Uniform
of--Black Watch at Albany--Lord Loudon at Halifax--Surrender of
Fort William Henry--Success of the French--Defeat at Ticonderoga--Gallant
Conduct of Highlanders--List of Casualties--Expedition Against
Louisburg--Destruction French Fleet--Capture of Louisburg--Expedition
Against Fort Du Quesne--Defeat of Major Grant--Washington--Name
Fort Changed to Fort Pitt--Battalions of 42nd United--Amherst Possesses
Ticonderoga--Army at Crown Point--Fall of Quebec--Journal of Malcolm
Fraser--Movements of Fraser's Highlanders--Battle of Heights of
Abraham--Galling Fire Sustained by Highlanders--Anecdote of General
Murray--Retreat of French--Officers of the Black Watch--Highland Regiments
Sail for Barbadoes--Return to New York--Black Watch Sent to
Pittsburg--Battle of Bushy Run--Black Watch Sent Against Ohio Indians--Goes
to Ireland--Impressions of in America--Table of Losses--Montgomery
Highlanders Against the Cherokees--Battle with Indians--Allan
Macpherson's Tragic Death--Retreat from Indian Country--Return to
New York--Massacre at Fort Loudon--Surrender of St. Johns--Tables of
Casualties--Acquisition of French Territory a Source of Danger         252


CHAPTER XII.

SCOTCH HOSTILITY TOWARDS AMERICA.

Causes of American Revolution--Massacre at Lexington--Insult to
Franklin--England Precipitates War--Americans Ridiculed--Pitt's Noble
Defence--Attitude of Eminent Men--Action of Cities--No Enthusiasm in
Enlistments in England and Ireland--The Press-Gang--Enlistment of
Criminals--Sentiment of People of Scotland--Lecky's Estimate--Addresses
Upholding the King--Summary of Highland Addresses--Emigration
Prohibited--Resentment Against Highlanders--Shown in Original
Draft of Declaration of Independence--Petitions of Donald Macleod      292


CHAPTER XIII.

HIGHLAND REGIMENTS IN AMERICAN REVOLUTION.

Eulogy of Pitt--Organizing in America--Secret Instructions to Governor
Tryon--Principal Agents--Royal Highland Emigrants--How Received--Colonel
Maclean Saves Quebec--Siege of Quebec--First Battalion in
Canada--Burgoyne's Doubts--Second Battalion--Sufferings of--Treatment
of--Battle of Eutaw Springs--Royal Highland Emigrants Discharged--List
of Officers--Grants of Land--John Bethune--42nd or Royal
Highlanders--Embarks for America--Capture of Highlanders--Capture of
Oxford Transport--Prisoners from the Crawford--British Fleet Arrives at
Staten Island--Battle of Long Island--Ardor of Highlanders--Americans
Evacuate New York--Patriotism of Mrs. Murray--Peril of Putnam--Gallant
Conduct of Major Murray--Battle of Harlem--Capture of Fort
Washington--Royal Highlanders in New Jersey--Attacked at
Pisquatiqua--Sergeant McGregor--Battle of Brandywine--Wayne's Army
Surprised--Expeditions During Winter of 1779--Skirmishing and
Suffering--Infusion of Poor Soldiers--Capture of Charleston--Desertions
Regiment Reduced--Sails for Halifax--Table of Casualties--Fraser's
Highlanders--Sails for America--Capture of Transports--Reports of Captain
Seth Harding and Colonel Archibald Campbell--Confinement of Colonel
Campbell--Interest in by Washington--Battle of Brooklin--Diversified
Employment--Expedition Against Little Egg Harbor--Capture of
Savannah--Retrograde Movement of General Prevost--Battle of Brier
Creek--Invasion of South Carolina--Battle of Stono Ferry--Retreat to
Savannah--Siege of--Capture of Stony Point--Surrender of Charleston--Battle
of Camden--Defeat of General Sumter--Battle of King's Mountain--Battle of
Blackstocks--Battle of the Cowpens--Battle of Guilford Court-House--March
of British Army to Yorktown--Losses of Fraser's Highlanders--Surrender of
Yorktown--Highlanders Prisoners--Regiment Discharged at Perth--Argyle
Highlanders--How Constituted--Sails for Halifax--Two Companies at
Charleston--At Penobscot--Besieged by Americans--Regiment Returns to
England--Macdonald's Highlanders--Sails for New York--Embarks for
Virginia--Bravery of the Soldiers--Highlanders on Horseback--Surrender
of Yorktown--Cantoned at Winchester--Removed to Lancaster--Disbanded
at Stirling Castle--Summary--Estimate of Washington--His Opinion
of Highlanders--Not Guilty of Wanton Cruelty                           308


CHAPTER XIV.

DISTINGUISHED HIGHLANDERS WHO SERVED IN AMERICA IN THE INTERESTS
OF GREAT BRITAIN.

General Sir Alan Cameron--General Sir Archibald Campbell--General
John Campbell--Lord William Campbell--General Simon Fraser of
Balnain--General Simon Fraser of Lovat--General Simon Fraser--General
James Grant of Ballindalloch--General Allan Maclean of Torloisk--Sir
Allan Maclean--General Francis Maclean--General John Small--Flora
Macdonald                                                              377


CHAPTER XV.

DISTINGUISHED HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICAN INTEREST.

General Alexander McDougall--General Lachlan McIntosh--General
Arthur St. Clair--Serjeant Macdonald                                   398


APPENDIX.

Note A.--First Emigrants to America                                    417

Note B.--Letter of Donald Macpherson                                   417

Note C.--Emigration during the Eighteenth Century                      419

Note D.--Appeal to the Highlanders lately arrived from Scotland        422

Note E.--Ingratitude of the Highlanders                                426

Note F.--Were the Highlanders Faithful to their Oath to the Americans  426

Note G.--Marvellous Escape of Captain McArthur                         430

Note H.--Highlanders in South Carolina                                 442

Note I.--Alexander McNaughton                                          443

Note J.--Allan McDonald's Complaint to the President of Congress       444

Note K.--The Glengarry Settlers                                        445

Note to Chapter VIII                                                   448

Note L.--Moravian Indians                                              448

Note M.--Highlanders Refused Lands in America                          450

Note N.--Captain James Stewart commissioned to raise a company of
Highlanders                                                            453

List of Subscribers                                                    456




ILLUSTRATIONS.


Battle of Culloden                                     Frontispiece

Coire-nan-Uriskin                                                26

House of Henry McWhorter                                         52

View of Battle-Field of Alamance                                 55

Scottish India House                                             90

Barbacue Church, where Flora Macdonald Worshipped               144

Johnson Hall                                                    204

View of the Valley of Wyoming                                   218

Highland Officer                                                256

Old Blockhouse Fort Duquesne                                    281

General Sir Archibald Campbell                                  397

Brigadier General Simon Fraser                                  382

General Simon Fraser of Loval                                   387

Sir Allan Maclean, Bart                                         391

Flora Macdonald                                                 394

General Alexander McDougall                                     398

General Lachlan McIntosh                                        402

General Arthur St. Clair                                        405

Sergeant Macdonald and Colonel Gainey                           413




PARTIAL LIST OF PRINCIPAL AUTHORITIES CONSULTED.


American Archives.

Answer of Cornwallis to Clinton. London, 1783.

Bancroft (George.) History of the United States. London, N.D.

Burt (Captain.) Letters from the North of Scotland, London. 1815.

Burton (J.H.) Darien Papers, Bannatyne Club. 1849

Burton (J.H.) History of Scotland. Edinburgh, 1853.

Celtic Monthly, Inverness, 1876-1888.

Georgia Historical Society Collections.

Graham (James J.) Memoirs General Graham, Edinburgh, 1862.

Hotten (J.C.) List of Emigrants to America, New York, 1874.

Johnson (C.) History Washington County, New York, Philadelphia, 1878.

Keltie (J.S.). History of the Highland Clans, Edinburgh, 1882.

Lecky (W.E.H.) History of England. London, 1892.

Lossing (B.J.) Field-Book of the American Revolution. New York, 1855.

Macaulay (T.B.) History of England, Boston, N.D.

McDonald (H.) Letter-Book, New York Historical Society, 1892.

Macdonell (J.A.) Sketches of Glengarry, Montreal. 1893.

McLeod (D.) Brief Review of the Settlement of Upper Canada, Cleveland,
1841.

Martin (M.) Description Western Isles, Glasgow, 1884.

National Portrait Gallery of Distinguished Americans, Philadelphia, 1852.

New York Documentary and Colonial History.

North Carolina Colonial Record.

Paterson (J.) History Pictou County. Nova Scotia, Montreal. 1893.

Proceedings Scotch-Irish American Congress. 1889-1896.

Rogers (H.) Hadden's Journal and Orderly Book, Albany, 1884.

Scott (Sir W.) Lady of the Lake, New York, N.D.

Scott (Sir W.) Tales of a Grandfather, Boston, 1852.

Smith (William) History of New York, New York, 1814.

Smith (W.H.) St. Clair Papers, Cincinnati, 1882.

Sparks (Jared) Writings of Washington, Boston. 1837.

Stephens (W.B.) History of Georgia, New York. 1859.

St. Clair (Arthur.) Narrative, Philadelphia, 1812.

Stewart (David.) Sketches of the Highlanders, Edinburgh, 1822.

Stone (W.L.) Life of Joseph Brant, New York. 1838.

Stone (W.L.) Orderly Book of Sir John Johnson, Albany, 1882.

Tarleton (Lieut. Col.) Campaigns of, 1780-1781. London, 1787.

Washington and his Generals, Philadelphia, 1848.




CHAPTER I.

THE HIGHLANDERS OF SCOTLAND.


A range of mountains forming a lofty and somewhat shattered rampart,
commencing in the county of Aberdeen, north of the river Don, and
extending in a southwest course across the country, till it terminates
beyond Ardmore, in the county of Dumbarton, divides Scotland into two
distinct parts. The southern face of these mountains is bold, rocky,
dark and precipitous. The land south of this line is called the
Lowlands, and that to the north, including the range, the Highlands. The
maritime outline of the Highlands is also bold and rocky, and in many
places deeply indented by arms of the sea. The northern and western
coasts are fringed with groups of islands. The general surface of the
country is mountainous, yet capable of supporting innumerable cattle,
sheep and deer. The scenery is nowhere excelled for various forms of
beauty and sublimity. The lochs and bens have wrought upon the
imaginations of historians, poets and novelists.

The inhabitants living within these boundaries were as unique as their
bens and glens. From the middle of the thirteenth century they have been
distinctly marked from those inhabiting the low countries, in
consequence of which they exhibit a civilization peculiarly their own.
By their Lowland neighbors they were imperfectly known, being generally
regarded as a horde of savage thieves, and their country as an
impenetrable wilderness. From this judgment they made no effort to free
themselves, but rather inclined to confirm it. The language spoken by
the two races greatly varied which had a tendency to establish a marked
characteristic difference between them. For a period of seven centuries
the entrances or passes into the Grampians constituted a boundary
between both the people and their language. At the south the Saxon
language was universally spoken, while beyond the range the Gaelic
formed the mother tongue, accompanied by the plaid, the claymore and
other specialties which accompanied Highland characteristics. Their
language was one of the oldest and least mongrel types of the great
Aryan family of speech.

The country in which the Gaelic was in common use among all classes of
people may be defined by a line drawn from the western opening of the
Pentland Frith, sweeping around St. Kilda, from thence embracing the
entire cluster of islands to the east and south, as far as Arran; thence
to the Mull of Kintyre, re-entering the mainland at Ardmore, in
Dumbartonshire, following the southern face of the Grampians to
Aberdeenshire, and ending on the north-east point of Caithness.

For a period of nearly two hundred years the Highlander has been an
object of study by strangers. Travellers have written concerning them,
but dwelt upon such points as struck their fancy. A people cannot be
judged by the jottings of those who have not studied the question with
candor and sufficient information. Fortunately the Highlands, during the
present century, have produced men who have carefully set forth their
history, manners and customs. These men have fully weighed the questions
of isolation, mode of life, habits of thought, and wild surroundings,
which developed in the Highlander firmness of decision, fertility in
resource, ardor in friendship, love of country, and a generous
enthusiasm, as well as a system of government.

The Highlanders were tall, robust, well formed and hardy. Early
marriages were unknown among them, and it was rare for a female of puny
stature and delicate constitution to be honored with a husband. They
were not obliged by art in forming their bodies, for Nature acted her
part bountifully to them, and among them there are but few bodily
imperfections.

The division of the people into clans, tribes or families, under
separate chiefs, constituted the most remarkable circumstance in their
political condition, which ultimately resulted in many of their peculiar
sentiments, customs and institutions. For the most part the monarchs of
Scotland had left the people alone, and, therefore, had but little to do
in the working out of their destiny. Under little or no restraint from
the State, the patriarchal form of government became universal.

It is a singular fact that although English ships had navigated the
known seas and transplanted colonies, yet the Highlanders were but
little known in London, even as late as the beginning of the eighteenth
century. To the people of England it would have been a matter of
surprise to learn that in the north of Great Britain, and at a distance
of less than five hundred miles from their metropolis, there were many
miniature courts, in each of which there was a hereditary ruler,
attended by guards, armor-bearers, musicians, an orator, a poet, and who
kept a rude state, dispensed justice, exacted tribute, waged war, and
contracted treaties.

The ruler of each clan was called a chief, who was really the chief man
of his family. Each clan was divided into branches who had chieftains
over them. The members of the clan claimed consanguinity to the chief.
The idea never entered into the mind of a Highlander that the chief was
anything more than the head of the clan. The relation he sustained was
subordinate to the will of the people. Sometimes his sway was unlimited,
but necessarily paternal. The tribesmen were strongly attached to the
person of their chief. He stood in the light of a protector, who must
defend them and right their wrongs. They rallied to his support, and in
defense they had a contempt for danger. The sway of the chief was of
such a nature as to cultivate an imperishable love of independence,
which was probably strengthened by an exceptional hardiness of
character.

The chief generally resided among his clansmen, and his castle was the
court where rewards were distributed and distinctions conferred. All
disputes were settled by his decision. They followed his standard in
war, attended him in the chase, supplied his table and harvested the
products of his fields. His nearest kinsmen became sub-chiefs, or
chieftains, held their lands and properties from him, over which they
exercised a subordinate jurisdiction. These became counsellors and
assistants in all emergencies. One chief was distinguished from another
by having a greater number of attendants, and by the exercise of
general hospitality, kindness and condescension. At the castle everyone
was made welcome, and treated according to his station, with a degree of
courtesy and regard for his feelings. This courtesy not only raised the
clansman in his own estimation, but drew the ties closer that bound him
to his chief.

While the position of chief was hereditary, yet the heir was obliged in
honor to give a specimen of his valor, before he was assumed or declared
leader of his people. Usually he made an incursion upon some chief with
whom his clan had a feud. He gathered around him a retinue of young men
who were ambitious to signalize themselves. They were obliged to bring,
by open force, the cattle they found in the land they attacked, or else
die in the attempt. If successful the youthful chief was ever after
reputed valiant and worthy of the government. This custom being
reciprocally used among them, was not reputed robbery; for the damage
which one tribe sustained would receive compensation at the inauguration
of its chief.

Living in a climate, severe in winter, the people inured themselves to
the frosts and snows, and cared not for the exposure to the severest
storms or fiercest blasts. They were content to lie down, for a night's
rest, among the heather on the hillside, in snow or rain, covered only
by their plaid. It is related that the laird of Keppoch, chieftain of a
branch of the MacDonalds, in a winter campaign against a neighboring
clan, with whom he was at war, gave orders for a snow-ball to lay under
his head in the night; whereupon, his followers objected, saying, "Now
we despair of victory, since our leader has become so effeminate he
can't sleep without a pillow."

The high sense of honor cultivated by the relationship sustained to the
chief was reflected by the most obscure inhabitant. Instances of theft
from the dwelling houses seldom ever occurred, and highway robbery was
never known. In the interior all property was safe without the security
of locks, bolts and bars. In summer time the common receptacle for
clothes, cheese, and everything that required air, was an open barn or
shed. On account of wars, and raids from the neighboring clans, it was
found necessary to protect the gates of castles.

The Highlanders were a brave and high-spirited people, and living under
a turbulent monarchy, and having neighbors, not the most peaceable, a
warlike character was either developed or else sustained. Inured to
poverty they acquired a hardihood which enabled them to sustain severe
privations. In their school of life it was taught to consider courage an
honorable virtue and cowardice the most disgraceful failing. Loving
their native glen, they were ever ready to defend it to the last
extremity. Their own good name and devotion to the clan emulated and
held them to deeds of daring.

It was hazardous for a chief to engage in war without the consent of his
people; nor could deception be practiced successfully. Lord Murray
raised a thousand men on his father's and lord Lovat's estates, under
the assurance that they were to serve king James, but in reality for the
service of king William. This was discovered while Murray was in the act
of reviewing them; immediately they broke ranks, ran to an adjoining
brook, and, filling their bonnets with water, drank to king James'
health, and then marched off with pipes playing to join Dundee.

The clan was raised within an incredibly short time. When a sudden or
important emergency demanded the clansmen the chief slew a goat, and
making a cross of light wood, seared its extremities with fire, and
extinguished them in the blood of the animal. This was called the _Fiery
Cross_, or Cross of Shame, because disobedience to what the symbol
implied inferred infamy. It was delivered to a swift trusty runner, who
with the utmost speed carried it to the first hamlet and delivered it to
the principal person with the word of rendezvous. The one receiving it
sent it with the utmost despatch to the next village; and thus with the
utmost celerity it passed through all the district which owed allegiance
to the chief, and if the danger was common, also among his neighbors and
allies. Every man between the ages of sixteen and sixty, capable of
bearing arms, must immediately repair to the place of rendezvous, in his
best arms and accoutrements. In extreme cases childhood and old age
obeyed it. He who failed to appear suffered the penalties of fire and
sword, which were emblematically denounced to the disobedient by the
bloody and burnt marks upon this warlike signal.

In the camp, on the march, or in battle, the clan was commanded by the
chief. If the chief was absent, then some responsible chieftain of the
clan took the lead. In both their slogan guided them, for every clan had
its own war-cry. Before commencing an attack the warriors generally took
off their jackets and shoes. It was long remembered in Lochabar, that at
the battle of Killiecrankie, Sir Ewen Cameron, at the head of his clan,
just before engaging in the conflict, took from his feet, what was
probably the only pair of shoes, among his tribesmen. Thus freed from
everything that might impede their movements, they advanced to the
assault, on a double-quick, and when within a few yards of the enemy,
would pour in a volley of musketry and then rush forward with claymore
in hand, reserving the pistol and dirk for close action. When in close
quarters the bayonets of the enemy were received on their targets;
thrusting them aside, they resorted to the pistol and dirk to complete
the confusion made by the musket and claymore. In a close engagement
they could not be withstood by regular troops.

Another kind of warfare to which the Highlander was prone, is called
_Creach_, or foray, but really the lifting of cattle. The _Creach_
received the approbation of the clan, and was planned by some
responsible individual. Their predatory raids were not made for the mere
pleasure of plundering their neighbors. To them it was legitimate
warfare, and generally in retaliation for recent injuries, or in revenge
of former wrongs. They were strict in not offending those with whom they
were in amity. They had high notions of the duty of observing faith to
allies and hospitality to guests. They were warriors receiving the
lawful prize of war, and when driving the herds of the Lowland farmers
up the pass which led to their native glen considered it just as
legitimate as did the Raleighs and Drakes when they divided the spoils
of Spanish galleons. They were not always the aggressors. Every evidence
proves that they submitted to grievances before resorting to arms. When
retaliating it was with the knowledge that their own lands would be
exposed to rapine. As an illustration of the view in which the _Creach_
was held, the case of Donald Cameron may be taken, who was tried in
1752, for cattle stealing, and executed at Kinloch Rannoch. At his
execution he dwelt with surprise and indignation on his fate. He had
never committed murder, nor robbed man or house, nor taken anything but
cattle, and only then when on the grass, from one with whom he was at
feud; why then should he be punished for doing that which was a common
prey to all?

After a successful expedition the chief gave a great entertainment, to
which all the country around was invited. On such an occasion whole deer
and beeves were roasted and laid on boards or hurdles of rods placed on
the rough trunks of trees, so arranged as to form an extended table.
During the feast spirituous liquors went round in plenteous libations.
Meanwhile the pipers played, after which the women danced, and, when
they retired, the harpers were introduced.

Great feasting accompanied a wedding, and also the burial of a great
personage. At the burial of one of the Lords of the Isles, in Iona, nine
hundred cows were consumed.

The true condition of a people may be known by the regard held for
woman. The beauty of their women was extolled in song. Small eye-brows
was considered as a mark of beauty, and names were bestowed upon the
owners from this feature. No country in Europe held woman in so great
esteem as in the Highlands of Scotland. An unfaithful, unkind, or even
careless husband was looked upon as a monster. The parents gave dowers
according to their means, consisting of cattle, provisions, farm
stocking, etc. Where the parents were unable to provide sufficiently,
then it was customary for a newly-married couple to collect from their
neighbors enough to serve the first year.

The marriage vow was sacredly kept. Whoever violated it, whether male or
female, which seldom ever occurred, was made to stand in a barrel of
cold water at the church door, after which the delinquent, clad in a wet
canvas shirt, was made to stand before the congregation, and at the
close of service, the minister explained the nature of the offense. A
separation of a married couple among the common people was almost
unknown. However disagreeable the wife might be, the husband rarely
contemplated putting her away. Being his wife, he bore with her
failings; as the mother of his children he continued to support her; a
separation would have entailed reproach upon his posterity.

Young married women never wore any close head-dress. The hair, with a
slight ornament was tied with ribbons; but if she lost her virtue then
she was obliged to wear a cap, and never appear again with her head
uncovered.

Honesty and fidelity were sacredly inculcated, and held to be virtues
which all should be careful to practice. Honesty and fair dealing were
enforced by custom, which had a more powerful influence, in their mutual
transactions, than the legal enactments of later periods. Insolvency was
considered disgraceful, and _prima facie_ a crime. Bankrupts surrendered
their all, and then clad in a party colored clouted garment, with hose
of different sets, had their hips dashed against a stone in presence of
the people, by four men, each seizing an arm or a leg. Instances of
faithfulness and attachment are innumerable. The one most frequently
referred to occurred during the battle of Inverkeithing, between the
Royalists and the troops of Cromwell, during which seven hundred and
fifty of the Mac Leans, led by their chief, Sir Hector, fell upon the
field. In the heat of the conflict, eight brothers of the clan
sacrificed their lives in defense of their chief. Being hard pressed by
the enemy, and stoutly refusing to change his position, he was supported
and covered by these intrepid brothers. As each brother fell another
rushed forward, covering his chief with his body, crying _Fear eil
airson Eachainn_ (Another for Hector). This phrase has continued ever
since as a proverb or watch-word when a man encounters any sudden danger
that requires instant succor.

The Highlands of Scotland is the only country of Europe that has never
been distracted by religious controversy, or suffered from religious
persecution. This possibly may have been due to their patriarchal form
of government. The principles of the Christian religion were warmly
accepted by the people, and cherished with a strong feeling. In their
religious convictions they were peaceable and unobtrusive, never arming
themselves with Scriptural texts in order to carry on offensive
operations. Never being perplexed by doubt, they desired no one to
corroborate their faith, and no inducement could persuade them to strut
about in the garb of piety in order to attract respect. The reverence
for the Creator was in the heart, rather than upon the lips. In that
land papists and protestants lived together in charity and brotherhood,
earnest and devoted in their churches, and in contact with the world,
humane and charitable. The pulpit administrations were clear and simple,
and blended with an impressive and captivating spirit. All ranks were
influenced by the belief that cruelty, oppression, or other misconduct,
descended to the children, even to the third and fourth generations.

To a certain extent the religion of the Highlander was blended with a
belief in ghosts, dreams and visions. The superstitions of the Gael were
distinctly marked, and entirely too important to be overlooked. These
beliefs may have been largely due to an uncultivated imagination and the
narrow sphere in which he moved. His tales were adorned with the
miraculous and his poetry contained as many shadowy as substantial
personages. Innumerable were the stories of fairies, kelpies, urisks,
witches and prophets or seers. Over him watched the Daoine Shi', or men
of peace. In the glens and corries were heard the eerie sounds during
the watches of the night. Strange emotions were aroused in the hearts of
those who heard the raging of the tempest, the roaring of the swollen
rivers and dashing of the water-fall, the thunder peals echoing from
crag to crag, and the lightning rending rocks and shivering to pieces
the trees. When a reasonable cause could not be assigned for a calamity
it was ascribed to the operations of evil spirits. The evil one had
power to make compacts, but against these was the virtue of the charmed
circle. One of the most dangerous and malignant of beings was the
Water-kelpie, which allured women and children into its element, where
they were drowned, and then became its prey. It could skim along the
surface of the water, and browse by its side, or even suddenly swell a
river or loch, which it inhabited, until an unwary traveller might be
engulfed. The Urisks were half-men, half-spirits, who, by kind
treatment, could be induced to do a good turn, even to the drudgeries of
a farm. Although scattered over the whole Highlands, they assembled in
the celebrated cave--_Coire-nan-Uriskin_--situated near the base of Ben
Venue, in Aberfoyle.

[Illustration: COIRE-NAN-URISKIN.]

   "By many a bard, in Celtic tongue,
   Has Coire-nan-Uriskin been sung;
   A softer name the Saxons gave,
   And call'd the grot the Goblin-cave,

          *       *       *       *       *

   Gray Superstition's whisper dread
   Debarr'd the spot to vulgar tread;
   For there, she said, did fays resort,
   And satyrs hold their sylvan court."--
                     _Lady of the Lake_.

The Daoine Shi' were believed to be a peevish, repining race of beings,
who, possessing but a scant portion of happiness, envied mankind their
more complete and substantial enjoyments. They had a sort of a shadowy
happiness, a tinsel grandeur, in their subterranean abodes. Many persons
had been entertained in their secret retreats, where they were received
into the most splendid apartments, and regaled with sumptuous banquets
and delicious wines. Should a mortal, however, partake of their
dainties, then he was forever doomed to the condition of shi'ick, or Man
of Peace. These banquets and all the paraphernalia of their homes were
but deceptions. They dressed in green, and took offense at any mortal
who ventured to assume their favorite color. Hence, in some parts of
Scotland, green was held to be unlucky to certain tribes and counties.
The men of Caithness alleged that their bands that wore this color were
cut off at the battle of Flodden; and for this reason they avoided the
crossing of the Ord on a Monday, that being the day of the week on which
the ill-omened array set forth. This color was disliked by both those of
the name of Ogilvy and Graham. The greatest precautions had to be taken
against the Daoine Shi' in order to prevent them from spiriting away
mothers and their newly-born children. Witches and prophets or seers,
were frequently consulted, especially before going into battle. The
warnings were not always received with attention. Indeed, as a rule, the
chiefs were seldom deterred from their purpose by the warnings of the
oracles they consulted.

It has been advocated that the superstitions of the Highlanders, on the
whole, were elevating and ennobling, which plea cannot well be
sustained. It is admitted that in some of these superstitions there were
lessons taught which warned against dishonorable acts, and impressed
what to them were attached disgrace both to themselves and also to their
kindred; and that oppression, treachery, or any other wickedness would
be punished alike in their own persons and in those of their
descendants. Still, on the other hand, it must not be forgotten that the
doctrines of rewards and punishments had for generations been taught
them from the pulpit. How far these teachings had been interwoven with
their superstitions would be an impossible problem to solve.

The Highlanders were poetical. Their poets, or bards, were legion, and
possessed a marked influence over the imaginations of the people. They
excited the Gael to deeds of valor. Their compositions were all set to
music,--many of them composing the airs to which their verses were
adapted. Every chief had his bard. The aged minstrel was in attendance
on all important occasions: at birth, marriage and death; at succession,
victory, and defeat. He stimulated the warriors in battle by chanting
the glorious deeds of their ancestors; exhorted them to emulate those
distinguished examples, and, if possible, shed a still greater lustre on
the warlike reputation of the clan. These addresses were delivered with
great vehemence of manner, and never failed to raise the feelings of the
listeners to the highest pitch of enthusiasm. When the voice of the bard
was lost in the din of battle then the piper raised the inspiring sound
of the pibroch. When the conflict was over the bard and the piper were
again called into service--the former to honor the memory of those who
had fallen, to celebrate the actions of the survivors, and excite them
to further deeds of valor. The piper played the mournful Coronach for
the slain, and by his notes reminded the survivors how honorable was the
conduct of the dead.

The bards were the _senachies_ or historians of the clans, and were
recognized as a very important factor in society. They represented the
literature of their times. In the absence of books they constituted the
library and learning of the tribe. They were the living chronicles of
past events, and the depositories of popular poetry. Tales and old poems
were known to special reciters. When collected around their evening
fires, a favorite pastime was a recital of traditional tales and poetry.
The most acceptable guest was the one who could rehearse the longest
poem or most interesting tale. Living in the land of Ossian, it was
natural to ask a stranger, "Can you speak of the days of Fingal?" If the
answer was in the affirmative, then the neighbors were summoned, and
poems and old tales would be the order until the hour of midnight. The
reciter threw into the recitation all the powers of his soul and gave
vent to the sentiment. Both sexes always participated in these meetings.

The poetry was not always of the same cast. It varied as greatly as were
the moods of the composer. The sublimity of Ossian had its opposite in
the biting sarcasm and trenchant ridicule of some of the minor poets.

Martin, who travelled in the Western Isles, about 1695, remarks: "They
are a very sagacious people, quick of apprehension, and even the vulgar
exceed all those of their rank and education I ever yet saw in any other
country. They have a great genius for music and mechanics. I have
observed several of their children that before they could speak were
capable to distinguish and make choice of one tune before another upon
a violin; for they appeared always uneasy until the tune which they
fancied best was played, and then they expressed their satisfaction by
the motions of their head and hands. There are several of them who
invent tunes already taking in the South of Scotland and elsewhere. Some
musicians have endeavored to pass for first inventors of them by
changing their name, but this has been impracticable; for whatever
language gives the modern name, the tune still continues to speak its
true original. * * *. Some of both sexes have a quick vein of poetry,
and in their language--which is very emphatic--they compose rhyme and
verse, both which powerfully affect the fancy. And in my judgment (which
is not singular in this matter) with as great force as that of any
ancient or modern poet I ever read. They have generally very retentive
memories; they see things at a great distance. The unhappiness of their
education, and their want of converse with foreign nations, deprives
them of the opportunity to cultivate and beautify their genius, which
seems to have been formed by nature for great attainments."[1]

The piper was an important factor in Highland society. From the earliest
period the Highlanders were fond of music and dancing, and the notes of
the bag-pipe moved them as no other instrument could. The piper
performed his duty in peace as well as in war. At harvest homes,
Hallowe'en christenings, weddings, and evenings spent in dancing, he was
the hero for the occasion. The people took delight in the high-toned
warlike notes to which they danced, and were charmed with the solemn and
melancholy airs which filled up the pauses. Withal the piper was a
humorous fellow and was full of stories.

The harp was a very ancient musical instrument, and was called
_clarsach_. It had thirty strings, with the peculiarity that the front
arm was not perpendicular to the sounding board, but turned considerably
towards the left, to afford a greater opening for the voice of the
performer, and this construction showed that the accompaniment of the
voice was a chief province of the harper. Some harps had but four
strings. Great pains were taken to decorate the instrument. One of the
last harpers was Roderick Morrison, usually called Rory Dall. He served
the chief of Mac Leod. He flourished about 1650.

Referring again to Gaelic music it may be stated that its air can
easily be detected. It is quaint and pathetic, moving one with intervals
singular in their irregularity. When compared with the common airs among
the English, the two are found to be quite distinct. The airs to which
"Scots wha hae," "Auld Langsyne," "Roy's Wife," "O a' the Airts," and
"Ye Banks and Braes" are written, are such that nothing similar can be
found in England. They are Scottish. Airs of precisely the same
character are, however, found among all Keltic races.

No portraiture of a Highlander would be complete without a description
of his garb. His costume was as picturesque as his native hills. It was
well adapted to his mode of life. By its lightness and freedom he was
enabled to use his limbs and handle his arms with ease and dexterity. He
moved with great swiftness. Every clan had a plaid of its own, differing
in the combination of its colors from all others. Thus a Cameron, a Mac
Donald, a Mac Kenzie, etc., was known by his plaid; and in like manner
the Athole, Glenorchy, and other colors of different districts were
easily discernible. Besides those of tribal designations, industrious
housewives had patterns, distinguished by the set, superior quality, and
fineness of the cloth, or brightness and variety of the colors. The
removal of tenants rarely occurred, and consequently, it was easy to
preserve and perpetuate any particular set, or pattern, even among the
lower orders. The plaid was made of fine wool, with much ingenuity in
sorting the colors. In order to give exact patterns the women had before
them a piece of wood with every thread of the stripe upon it. Until
quite recently it was believed that the plaid, philibeg and bonnet
formed the ancient garb. The philibeg or kilt, as distinct from the
plaid, in all probability, is comparatively modern. The truis,
consisting of breeches and stockings, is one piece and made to fit
closely to the limbs, was an old costume. The belted plaid was a piece
of tartan two yards in breadth, and four in length. It surrounded the
waist in great folds, being firmly bound round the loins with a leathern
belt, and in such manner that the lower side fell down to the middle of
the knee joint. The upper part was fastened to the left shoulder with a
large brooch or pin, leaving the right arm uncovered and at full
liberty. In wet weather the plaid was thrown loose, covering both
shoulders and body. When the use of both arms was required, it was
fastened across the breast by a large bodkin or circular brooch. The
sporan, a large purse of goat or badger's skin, usually ornamented, was
hung before. The bonnet completed the garb. The garters were broad and
of rich colors, forming a close texture which was not liable to wrinkle.
The kilted-plaid was generally double, and when let down enveloped the
whole person, thus forming a shelter from the storm. Shoes and stockings
are of comparatively recent times. In lieu of the shoe untanned leather
was tied with thongs around the feet. Burt, writing about the year 1727,
when some innovations had been made, says: "The Highland dress consists
of a bonnet made of thrum without a brim, a short coat, a waistcoat
longer by five or six inches, short stockings, and brogues or pumps
without heels * * * Few besides gentlemen wear the truis, that is, the
breeches and stockings all of one piece and drawn on together; over this
habit they wear a plaid, which is usually three yards long and two
breadths wide, and the whole garb is made of checkered tartan or
plaiding; this with the sword and pistol, is called a _full dress_, and
to a well proportioned man with any tolerable air, it makes an agreeable
figure."[2] The plaid was the undress of the ladies, and to a woman who
adjusted it with an important air, it proved to be a becoming veil. It
was made of silk or fine worsted, checkered with various lively colors,
two breadths wide and three yards in length. It was brought over the
head and made to hide or discover the face, according to the occasion,
or the wearer's fancy; it reached to the waist behind; one corner
dropped as low as the ankle on one side, and the other part, in folds,
hung down from the opposite arm. The sleeves were of scarlet cloth,
closed at the ends as man's vests, with gold lace round them, having
plate buttons set with fine stones. The head-dress was a fine kerchief
of linen, straight about the head. The plaid was tied before on the
breast, with a buckle of silver or brass, according to the quality of
the person. The plaid was tied round the waist with a belt of leather.

The Highlanders bore their part in all of Scotland's wars. An appeal, or
order, to them never was made in vain. Only a brief notice must here
suffice. Almost at the very dawn of Scotland's history we find the
inhabitants beyond the Grampians taking a bold stand in behalf of their
liberties. The Romans early triumphed over England and the southern
limits of Scotland. In the year 78 A.D., Agricola, an able and vigorous
commander, was appointed over the forces in Britain. During the years
80, 81, and 82, he subdued that part of Scotland south of the friths of
Forth and Clyde. Learning that a confederacy had been formed to resist
him at the north, during the summer of 83, he opened the campaign beyond
the friths. His movements did not escape the keen eyes of the
mountaineers, for in the night time they suddenly fell upon the Ninth
Legion at Loch Ore, and were only repulsed after a desperate resistance.
The Roman army receiving auxiliaries from the south, Agricola, in the
summer of 84, took up his line of march towards the Grampians. The
northern tribes, in the meantime, had united under a powerful leader
whom the Romans called Galgacus. They fully realized that their
liberties were in danger. They sent their wives and children into places
of safety, and, thirty thousand strong, waited the advance of the enemy.
The two armies came together at _Mons Grampius_. The field presented a
dreadful spectacle of carnage and destruction; for ten thousand of the
tribesmen fell in the engagement. The Roman army elated by its success
passed the night in exultation. The victory was barren of results, for,
after three years of persevering warfare, the Romans were forced to
relinquish the object of the expedition. In the year 183 the Highlanders
broke through the northern Roman wall. In 207 the irrepressible people
again broke over their limits, which brought the emperor Severus,
although old and in bad health, into the field. Exasperated by their
resistance the emperor sought to extirpate them because they had
prevented his nation from becoming the conquerors of Europe. Collecting
a large body of troops he directed them into the mountains, and marched
from the wall of Antoninus even to the very extremity of the island; but
this year, 208, was also barren of fruits. Fifty thousand Romans fell a
prey to fatigue, the climate, and the desultory assaults of the natives.
Soon after the entire country north of the Antonine wall, was given up,
for it was found that while it was necessary for one legion to keep the
southern parts in subjection two were required to repel the incursions
of the Gael. Incursions from the north again broke out during the year
306, when the restless tribes were repelled by Constantius Chlorus. In
the year 345 they were again repelled by Constans. During all these
years the Highlanders were learning the art of war by their contact with
the Romans. They no longer feared the invaders, for about the year 360,
they advanced into the Roman territories and committed many
depredations. There was another outbreak about the year 398. Finally,
about the year 446, the Romans abandoned Britain, and advised the
inhabitants, who had suffered from the northern tribes, to protect
themselves by retiring behind and keeping in repair the wall of Severus.

The people were gradually forming for themselves distinct
characteristics, as well as a separate kingdom confined within the
Grampian boundaries. This has been known as the kingdom of the Scots;
but to the Highlander as that of the Gael, or Albanich. The epithets,
Scots and English, are totally unknown in Gaelic. They call the English
Sassanachs, the Lowlanders are Gauls, and their own country Gaeldach.

Passing over several centuries and paying no attention to the rapines of
the Danes and the Norse, we find that the power of the Norwegians, under
king Haco, was broken at the battle of the Largs, fought October 2d,
1263. King Alexander III. summoned the Highlanders, who rallied to the
defence of their country and rendered such assistance as was required.
The right wing of the Scottish army was composed of the men of Argyle,
Lennox, Athole, and Galloway, while the left wing was constituted by
those from Fife, Stirling, Berwick, and Lothian. The center, commanded
by the king in person, was composed of the men of Ross, Perth, Angus,
Mar, Mearns, Moray, Inverness, and Caithness.

The conquest of Scotland, undertaken by the English Edwards, culminated
in the battle of Bannockburn, fought Monday, June 24, 1314, when the
invaders met with a crushing defeat, leaving thirty thousand of their
number dead upon the field, or two-thirds as many as there were Scots
on the field. In this battle the reserve, composed of the men of Argyle,
Carrick, Kintyre, and the Isles, formed the fourth line, was commanded
by Bruce in person. The following clans, commanded in person by their
respective chiefs, had the distinguished honor of fighting nobly:
Stewart, Macdonald, Mackay, Mackintosh, Macpherson, Cameron, Sinclair,
Drummond, Campbell, Menzies, Maclean, Sutherland, Robertson, Grant,
Fraser, Macfarlane, Ross, Macgregor, Munro, Mackenzie, and Macquarrie,
or twenty-one in all.

In the year 1513, James IV. determined on an invasion of England, and
summoned the whole array of his kingdom to meet him on the common moor
of Edinburgh. One hundred thousand men assembled in obedience to the
command. This great host met the English on the field of Flodden,
September 9th. The right divisions of James' army were chiefly composed
of Highlanders. The shock of the mountaineers, as they poured upon the
English pikemen, was terrible; but the force of the onslaught once
sustained became spent with its own violence. The consequence was a
total rout of the right wing accompanied by great slaughter. Of this
host there perished on the field fifteen lords and chiefs of clans.

During the year 1547, the English, under the duke of Somerset, invaded
Scotland. The hostile armies came together at Pinkie, September 18th.
The right and left wings of the Scottish army were composed of
Highlanders. During the conflict the Highlanders could not resist the
temptation to plunder, and, while thus engaged, saw the division of
Angus falling back, though in good order; mistaking this retrograde
movement for a flight, they were suddenly seized with a panic and ran
off in all directions. Their terror was communicated to other troops,
who immediately threw away their arms and followed the Highlanders.
Everything was now lost; the ground over which the fight lay was as
thickly strewed with pikes as a floor with rushes; helmets, bucklers,
swords, daggers, and steel caps lay scattered on every side; and the
chase beginning at one o'clock, continued till six in the evening with
extraordinary slaughter.

During the reign of Charles I. civil commotions broke out which shook
the kingdom with great violence. The Scots were courted by king and
parliament alike. The Highlanders were devoted to the royal government.
In the year 1644 Montrose made a diversion in the Highlands. With
dazzling rapacity, at first only supported by a handful of followers,
but gathering numbers with success, he erected the royal standard at
Dumfries. The clans obeyed his summons, and on September 1st, at
Tippermuir, he defeated the Covenanters, and again on the 12th at the
Bridge of Dee. On February 2nd, 1645, at Inverlochy, he crushed the
Argyle Campbells, who had taken up the sword on behalf of Cromwell. In
rapid succession other victories were won at Auldearn, Alford and
Kilsyth. All Scotland now appeared to be recovered for Charles, but the
fruit of all these victories was lost by the defeat at Philiphaugh,
September 13th, 1645.

Within the brief space of three years. James II., of England, succeeded
in fanning the revolutionary elements both in England and Scotland into
a flame which he was powerless to quench. The Highlanders chiefly
adhered to the party of James which received the name of Jacobites.
Dundee hastened to the Highlands and around him gathered the Highland
chiefs at Lochabar. The army of William, under Hugh Mackay, met the
forces of Dundee at Killiecrankie, July 29th, 1689, where, under the
spirited leadership of the latter, and the irresistible torrent of the
Highland charge, the forces of the former were almost annihilated; but
at the moment of victory Bonnie Dundee was killed by a bullet. No one
was left who was equal to the occasion, or who could hold the clans
together, and hence the victory was in reality a defeat.

The exiled Stuarts looked with a longing eye to that crown which their
stupid folly had forfeited. They seemed fated to bring countless woes
upon the loyal hearted, brave, self-sacrificing Highlanders, and were
ever eager to take advantage of any circumstance that might lead to
their restoration. The accession of George I, in 1714, was an unhappy
event for Great Britain. Discontent soon pervaded the kingdom. All he
appeared to care about was to secure for himself and his family a high
position, which he scarcely knew how to occupy: to fill the pockets of
his German attendants and his German mistresses; to get away as often
as possible from his uncongenial islanders whose language he did not
understand, and to use the strength of Great Britain to obtain petty
advantages for his German principality. At once the new king exhibited
violent prejudices against some of the chief men of the nation, and
irritated without a cause a large part of his subjects. Some believed it
was a favorable opportunity to reinstate the Stuart dynasty. John
Erskine, eleventh earl of Mar, stung by studied and unprovoked insults,
on the part of the king, proceeded to the Highlands and placed himself
at the head of the forces of the house of Stuart, or Jacobites, as they
were called. On September 6, 1715, Mar assembled at Aboyne the noblemen,
chiefs of clans, gentlemen, and others, with such followers as could be
brought together, and proclaimed James, king of Great Britain. The
insurrection, both in England and Scotland, began to grow in popularity,
and would have been a success had there been at the head of affairs a
strong military man. Nearly all the principal chiefs of the clans were
drawn into the movement. At Sheriffmuir, the contending forces met,
Sunday, November 13, 1715. The victory was with the Highlanders, but
Mar's military talents were not equal to the occasion. The army was
finally disbanded at Aberdeen, in February, 1716.

The rebellion of 1745, headed by prince Charles Stuart, was the grandest
exhibition of chivalry, on the part of the Highlanders, that the world
has ever seen. They were actuated by an exalted sense of devotion to
that family, which for generations, they had been taught should reign
over them. At first victory crowned their efforts, but all was lost on
the disastrous field of Culloden, fought April 16, 1746.

Were it possible it would be an unspeakable pleasure to drop a veil over
the scene, at the close of the battle of Culloden. Language fails to
depict the horrors that ensued. It is scarcely within the bounds of
belief that human beings could perpetrate such atrocities upon the
helpless, the feeble, and the innocent, without regard to sex or age, as
followed in the wake of the victors. Highland historians have made the
facts known. It must suffice here to give a moderate statement from an
English writer:

   "Quarter was seldom given to the stragglers and fugitives, except to
   a few considerately reserved for public execution. No care or
   compassion was shown to their wounded; nay more, on the following day
   most of these were put to death in cold blood, with a cruelty such as
   never perhaps before or since has disgraced a British army. Some were
   dragged from the thickets or cabins where they had sought refuge,
   drawn out in line and shot, while others were dispatched by the
   soldiers with the stocks of their muskets. One farm-building, into
   which some twenty disabled Highlanders had crawled, was deliberately
   set on fire the next day, and burnt with them to the ground. The
   native prisoners were scarcely better treated; and even sufficient
   water was not vouchsafed to their thirst. **** Every kind of havoc
   and outrage was not only permitted, but, I fear, we must add,
   encouraged. Military license usurped the place of law, and a fierce
   and exasperated soldiery were at once judge--jury--executioner. ****
   The rebels' country was laid waste, the houses plundered, the cabins
   burnt, the cattle driven away. The men had fled to the mountains, but
   such as could be found were frequently shot; nor was mercy always
   granted even to their helpless families. In many cases the women and
   children, expelled from their homes and seeking shelter in the clefts
   of the rocks, miserably perished of cold and hunger: others were
   reduced to follow the track of the marauders, humbly imploring for
   the blood and offal of their own cattle which had been slaughtered
   for the soldiers' food! Such is the avowal which historical justice
   demands. But let me turn from further details of these painful and
   irritating scenes, or of the ribald frolics and revelry with which
   they were intermingled--races of naked women on horseback for the
   amusement of the camp at Fort Augustus."[3]

The author and abettor of these atrocities was the son of the reigning
monarch.

Not satisfied with the destruction which was carried into the very homes
of this gallant, brave and generous race of people, the British
parliament, with a refined cruelty, passed an act that, on and after
August 1, 1747, any person, man, or boy, in Scotland, who should on any
pretense whatever wear any part of the Highland garb, should be
imprisoned not less than six months; and on conviction of second
offense, transportation abroad for seven years. The soldiers had
instructions to shoot upon the spot any one seen wearing the Highland
garb, and this as late as September, 1750. This law and other laws made
at the same time were unnecessarily severe.

However impartial or fair a traveller may be his statements are not to
be accepted without due caution. He narrates that which most forcibly
attracts his attention, being ever careful to search out that which he
desires. Yet, to a certain extent, dependence must be placed in his
observations. From certain travellers are gleaned fearful pictures of
the Highlanders during the eighteenth century, written without a due
consideration of the underlying causes. The power of the chiefs had been
weakened, while the law was still impotent, many of them were in exile
and their estates forfeited, and landlords, in not a few instances,
placed over the clansmen, who were inimical to their best interests. As
has been noticed, in 1746 the country was ravaged and pitiless
oppression followed. Destruction and misery everywhere abounded. To
judge a former condition of a people by their present extremity affords
a distorted view of the picture.

Fire and sword, war and rapine, desolation and atrocity, perpetrated
upon a high-spirited and generous people, cannot conduce to the best
moral condition. Left in poverty and galled by outrage, wrongs will be
resorted to which otherwise would be foreign to a natural disposition.
If the influences of a more refined age had not penetrated the remote
glens, then a rougher reprisal must be expected. The coarseness, vice,
rapacity, and inhumanity of the oppressor must of necessity have a
corresponding influence on their better natures. If to this it be added
that some of the chiefs were naturally fierce, the origin of the sad
features could readily be determined. Whatever vices practiced or wrongs
perpetrated, the example was set before them by their more powerful and
better conditioned neighbors. Among the crimes enumerated is that some
of the chiefs increased their scanty incomes by kidnapping boys or men,
whom they sold as slaves to the American planters. If this be true, and
in all probability it was, there must have been confederates engaged in
maritime pursuits. But they did not have far to go for this lesson, for
this nefarious trade was taught them, at their very doors, by the
merchants of Aberdeen, who were "noted for a scandalous system of
decoying young boys from the country and selling them as slaves to the
planters in Virginia. It was a trade which in the early part of the
eighteenth century, was carried on to a considerable extent through the
Highlands; and a case which took place about 1742 attracted much notice
a few years later, when one of the victims having escaped from
servitude, returned to Aberdeen, and published a narrative of his
sufferings, seriously implicating some of the magistracy of the town. He
was prosecuted and condemned for libel by the local authorities, but the
case was afterwards carried to Edinburgh. The iniquitous system of
kidnapping was fully exposed, and the judges of the supreme court
unanimously reversed the verdict of the Aberdeen authorities and imposed
a heavy fine upon the provost, the four bailies, and the dean of guild.
*** An atrocious case of this kind, which shows clearly the state of the
Highlands, occurred in 1739. Nearly one hundred men, women and children
were seized in the dead of night on the islands of Skye and Harris,
pinioned, horribly beaten, and stowed away in a ship bound for America,
in order to be sold to the planters. Fortunately the ship touched at
Donaghadee in Ireland, and the prisoners, after undergoing the most
frightful sufferings, succeeded in escaping."[4]

Under existing circumstances it was but natural that the more
enterprising, and especially that intelligent portion who had lost their
heritable jurisdiction, should turn with longing eyes to another
country. America offered the most inviting asylum. Although there was
some emigration to America during the first half of the eighteenth
century, yet it did not fairly set in until about 1760. Between the
years 1763 and 1775 over twenty thousand Highlanders left their homes to
seek a better retreat in the forests of America.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 1: "Description of the Western Islands," pp. 199, 200.]

[Footnote 2: "Letters from the North," Vol. II., p. 167.]

[Footnote 3: Lord Mahon's "History of England," Vol. III, pp. 308-311.]

[Footnote 4: Lecky's "History of England," Vol. II, p. 274.]




CHAPTER II.

THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA.


The name Scotland was never applied to that country, now so designated,
before the tenth century, but was called Alban, Albania, Albion. At an
early period Ireland was called Scotia, which name was exclusively so
applied before the tenth century. Scotia was then a territorial or
geographical term, while Scotus was a race name or generic term,
implying people as well as country. "The generic term of _Scoti_
embraced the people of that race whether inhabiting Ireland or Britain.
As this term of Scotia was a geographical term derived from the generic
name of a people, it was to some extent a fluctuating name, and though
applied at first to Ireland, which possessed the more distinctive name
of Hibernia, as the principal seat of the race from whom the name was
derived, it is obvious that, if the people from whom the name was taken
inhabited other countries, the name itself would have a tendency to pass
from the one to the other, according to the prominence which the
different settlements of the race assumed in the history of the world;
and as the race of the Scots in Britain became more extended, and their
power more formidable, the territorial name would have a tendency to fix
itself where the race had become most conspicuous.... The name in its
Latin form of Scotia, was transferred from Ireland to Scotland in the
reign of Malcolm the Second, who reigned from 1004 to 1034. The 'Pictish
Chronicle,' compiled before 997, knows nothing of the name of Scotia as
applied to North Britain; but Marianus Scotus, who lived from 1028 to
1081, calls Malcolm the Second 'rex _Scotiae_,' and Brian, king of
Ireland, 'rex _Hiberniae_.' The author of the 'Life of St. Cadroe,' in
the eleventh century, likewise applies the name of _Scotia_ to North
Britain."[5]

A strong immigration early set in from the north of Ireland to the
western parts of Scotland. It was under no leadership, but more in the
nature of an overflow, or else partaking of the spirit of adventure.
This was accelerated in the year 503, when a new colony of Dalriadic
Scots, under the leadership of Fergus, son of Eric, left Ireland and
settled on the western coast of Argyle and the adjacent isles. From
Fergus was derived the line of Scoto-Irish kings, who finally, in 843,
ascended the Pictish throne.

The inhabitants of Ireland and the Highlands of Scotland were but
branches of the same Keltic stock, and their language was substantially
the same. There was not only more or less migrations between the two
countries, but also, to a greater or less extent, an impinging between
the people.

Ulster, the northern province of Ireland, is composed of the counties of
Antrim, Armagh, Cavan, Donegal, Down, Fermanagh, Londonderry, Monaghan
and Tyrone. Formerly it was the seat of the O'Neills, as well as the
lesser septs of O'Donnell, O'Cahan, O'Doherty, Maguire, MacMahon, etc.
The settlements made by the earlier migrations of the Highlanders were
chiefly on the coast of Antrim. These settlements were connected with
and dependent on the Clandonald of Islay and Kintyre. The founder of
this branch of that powerful family was John Mor, second son of "the
good John of Islay," who, about the year 1400, married Majory Bisset,
heiress of the Glens, in Antrim, and thus acquired a permanent footing.
The family was not only strengthened by settling cadets of its own house
as tenants in the territory of the Glens, but also by intermarriages
with the families of O'Neill, O'Donnell, and others. In extending its
Irish possessions the Clandonald was brought into frequent conflicts and
feuds with the Irish of Ulster. In 1558 the Hebrideans had become so
strong in Ulster that the archbishop of Armagh urged on the government
the advisability of their expulsion by procuring their Irish neighbors,
O'Donnell, O'Neill, O'Cahan, and others, to unite against them. In 1565
the MacDonalds suffered a severe defeat at the hands of Shane O'Neill,
earl of Tyrone. The Scottish islanders still continued to exercise
considerable power. Sorley Buy MacDonald, a man of great courage, soon
extended his influence over the adjacent territories, in so much so that
in 1575-1585, the English were forced to turn their attention to the
progress of the Scots. The latter having been defeated, an agreement
was made in which Sorley Buy was granted four districts. His eldest son,
Sir James MacSorley Buy, or MacDonell of Dunluce, became a strenuous
supporter of the government of James on his accession to the British
throne.

In the meantime other forces were at work. Seeds of discontent had been
sown by both Henry VIII, and his daughter Elizabeth, who tried to force
the people of Ireland to accept the ritual of the Reformed Church. Both
reaped abundant fruit of trouble from this ill-advised policy. Being
inured to war it did not require much fire to be fanned into a flame of
commotion and discord. Soon after his accession to the English throne,
James I caused certain estates of Irish nobles, who had engaged in
treasonable practices, to be escheated to the crown. By this
confiscation James had at his disposal nearly six counties in Ulster,
embracing half a million of acres. These lands were allotted to private
individuals in sections of one thousand, fifteen hundred, and two
thousand acres, each being required to support an adequate number of
English or Scottish tenantry. Protestant colonies were transplanted from
England and Scotland, but chiefly from the latter, with the intent that
the principles of the Reformation should subdue the turbulent natives.
The proclamation inviting settlers for Ulster was dated at Edinburgh,
March 28, 1609. Great care was taken in selecting the emigrants, to
which the king gave his personal attention. Measures were taken that the
settlers should be "from the inward parts of Scotland," and that they
should be so located that "they may not mix nor intermarry" with "the
mere Irish." For the most part the people were received from the shires
of Dumbarton, Renfrew, Ayre, Galloway, and Dumfries. On account of
religious persecutions, in 1665, a large additional accession was
received from Galloway and Ayre. The chief seat of the colonization
scheme was in the county of Londonderry. The new settlers did not mix
with the native population to any appreciable extent, especially prior
to 1741, but mingled freely with the English Puritans and the refugee
Huguenots. The native race was forced sullenly to retire before the
colonists. Although the king had expressly forbidden any more of the
inhabitants of the Western Isles to be taken to Ulster, yet the blood
of the Highlander, to a great degree, permeated that of the Ulsterman,
and had its due weight in forming the character of the Scotch-Irish. The
commotions in the Highlands, during the civil wars, swelled the number
to greater proportions. The rebellions of 1715 and 1745 added a large
percentage to the increasing population. The names of the people are
interesting, both as illustrating their origin, and as showing the
extraordinary corruptions which some have undergone. As an illustration,
the proscribed clan MacGregor, may be cited, which migrated in great
numbers, descendants of whom are still to be found under the names of
Grier, Greer, Gregor, etc., the _Mac_ in general being dropped;
MacKinnon becomes McKenna, McKean, McCannon; Mac Nish is McNeice,
Menees, Munnis, Monies, etc.

The Scotch settlers retained the characteristic traits of their native
stock and continued to call themselves Scotch, although molded somewhat
by surrounding influences. They demanded and exercised the privilege of
choosing their own spiritual advisers, in opposition to all efforts of
the hierarchy of England to make the choice and support the clergy as a
state concern.

From the descendants of these people came the Scotch-Irish emigrants to
America, who were destined to perform an important part on the theatre
of action by organizing a successful revolt and establishing a new
government. Among the early emigrants to the New World, although termed
Scotch-Irish, and belonging to them we have such names as Campbell,
Ferguson, Graham, McFarland, McDonald, McGregor, McIntyre, McKenzie,
McLean, McPherson, Morrison, Robertson, Stewart, etc., all of which are
distinctly Highlander and suggestive of the clans.

On the outbreak of the American Revolution the thirteen colonies
numbered among their inhabitants about eight hundred thousand Scotch and
Scotch-Irish, or a little more than one-fourth of the entire population.
They were among the first to become actively engaged in that struggle,
and so continued until the peace, furnishing fourteen major-generals,
and thirty brigadier generals, among whom may be mentioned St. Clair,
McDougall, Mercer, McIntosh, Wayne, Knox, Montgomery, Sullivan, Stark,
Morgan, Davidson, and others. More than any other one element, unless
the New England Puritans be excepted, they formed a sentiment for
independence, and recruited the continental army. To their valor,
enthusiasm and dogged persistence the victory for liberty was largely
due. Washington pronounced on them a proud encomium when he declared,
during the darkest period of the Revolution, that if his efforts should
fail, then he would erect his standard on the Blue Ridge of Virginia.
Besides warring against the drilled armies of Britain on the sea coast
they formed a protective wall between the settlements and the savages on
the west.

Among the fifty-six signers of the Declaration of Independence, nine
were of this lineage, one of whom, McKean, served continuously in
Congress from its opening in 1774 till its close in 1783, during a part
of which time he was its president, and also serving as chief justice of
Pennsylvania. The chairman of the committee that drafted the
constitution of the United States, Rutledge, was, by ancestry,
Scotch-Irish. When the same instrument was submitted, the three states
first to adopt it were the middle states, or Delaware, Pennsylvania and
New Jersey, so largely settled by the same class of people.

Turning again specifically to the Scotch-Irish emigrants it may be
remarked that they had received in the old country a splendid physique,
having large bones and sound teeth, besides being trained to habits of
industry. The mass of them were men of intelligence, resolution, energy,
religious and moral in character. They were a God-fearing,
liberty-loving, tyrant-hating, Sabbath-keeping, covenant-adhering race,
and schooled by a discipline made fresh and impressive by the heroic
efforts at Derry and Enniskillin. Their women were fine specimens of the
sex, about the medium height, strongly built, with fair complexion,
light blue or grey eyes, ruddy cheeks, and faces indicating a warm
heart, intelligence and courage; and possessing those virtues which
constitute the redeeming qualities of the human race.

These people were martyrs for conscience sake. In 1711 a measure was
carried through the British parliament that provided that all persons in
places of profit or trust, and all common councilmen in corporations,
who, while holding office, were proved to have attended any
Nonconformist place of worship, should forfeit the place, and should
continue incapable of public employment till they should depose that for
a whole year they had not attended a conventicle. A fine of £40 was
added to be paid to the informer. There were other causes which assisted
to help depopulate Ulster, among which was the destruction of the woolen
trade about 1700, when twenty thousand left that province. Many more
were driven away by the Test Act in 1704, and in 1732. On the failure to
repeal that act the protestant emigration recommenced which robbed
Ireland of the bravest defenders of English interests and peopled
America with fresh blood of Puritanism.

The second great wave of emigration from Ulster occurred between 1771
and 1773, growing out of the Antrim evictions. In 1771 the leases on the
estate of the marquis of Donegal, in Antrim, expired. The rents were
placed at such an exorbitant figure that the demands could not be met. A
spirit of resentment to the oppressions of the landed proprietors at
once arose, and extensive emigration to America was the result. In the
two years that followed the Antrim evictions of 1772, thirty thousand
protestants left Ulster for a land where legal robbery could not be
permitted, and where those who sowed the seed could reap the harvest.
From the ports of the North of Ireland one hundred vessels sailed for
the New World, loaded with human beings. It has been computed that in
1773 and during the five preceding years, Ulster, by emigration to the
American settlements, was drained of one-quarter of the trading cash,
and a like proportion of its manufacturing population. This oppressed
people, leaving Ireland in such a temper became a powerful adjunct in
the prosecution of the Revolution which followed so closely on the
wrongs which they had so cruelly suffered.

The advent of the first Scotch-Irish clergyman in America, so far as is
now known, was in 1682, signalled by the arrival of Francis Makemie, the
father of American Presbyterianism. Almost promptly he was landed in
jail in New York, charged with the offense of preaching the gospel in a
private house. Assisted by a Scottish lawyer from Philadelphia (who was
silenced for his courage), he defended the cause of religious liberty
with heroic courage and legal ability, and was ultimately acquitted by a
fearless New York jury. Thus was begun the great struggle for religious
liberty in America. Among those who afterwards followed were George
McNish, from Ulster, in 1705, and John Henry, in 1709.

Early in the spring of 1718, Rev. William Boyd arrived in Boston as an
agent of some hundreds of people who had expressed a desire to come to
New England should suitable encouragement be offered them. With him he
brought a brief memorial to which was attached three hundred and
nineteen names, all but thirteen of which were in a fair and vigorous
hand. Governor Shute gave such general encouragement and promise of
welcome, that on August 4, 1718, five small ships came to anchor at the
wharf in Boston, having on board one hundred and twenty Scotch-Irish
families, numbering in all about seven hundred and fifty individuals. In
years they embraced those from the babe in arms to John Young, who had
seen the frosts of ninety-five winters. Among the clergy who arrived
were James McGregor, Cornwell, and Holmes.

In a measure these people were under the charge of Governor Shute. He
must find homes for them. He dispatched about fifty of these families to
Worcester. That year marked the fifth of its permanent settlement, and
was composed of fifty log-houses, inhabited by two hundred souls. The
new comers appear to have been of the poorer and more illiterate class
of the five ship loads. At first they were welcomed, because needed for
both civic and military reasons. In September of 1722 a township
organization was effected, and at the first annual town meeting, names
of the strangers appear on the list of officers. With these emigrants
was brought the Irish potato, and first planted in the spring of 1719.
When their English neighbors visited them, on their departure they
presented them with a few of the tubers for planting, and the
recipients, unwilling to show any discourtesy, accepted the same, but
suspecting a poisonous quality, carried them to the first swamp and
threw them into the water. The same spring a few potatoes were given to
a Mr. Walker, of Andover, by a family who had wintered with him. He
planted them in the ground, and in due time the family gathered the
"_balls_" which they supposed was the fruit. These were cooked in
various ways, but could not be made palatable. The next spring when
plowing the garden, potatoes of great size were turned up, when the
mistake was discovered. This introduction into New England is the reason
why the now indispensable succulent is called "Irish potato." This
vegetable was first brought from Virginia to Ireland in 1565 by
slave-trader Hawkins, and from there it found its way to New England in
1718, through the Scotch-Irish.

The Worcester Scotch-Irish petitioned to be released from paying taxes
to support the prevalent form of worship, as they desired to support
their own method. Their prayer was contemptuously rejected. Two years
later, or in 1738, owing to their church treatment, a company consisting
of thirty-eight families, settled the new town of Pelham, thirty miles
west of Worcester. The scandalous destruction of their property in
Worcester, in 1740, caused a further exodus which resulted in the
establishing the towns of Warren and Blandford, both being incorporated
in 1741. The Scotch-Irish town of Colerain, located fifty miles
northwest of Worcester was settled in 1739.

Londonderry, New Hampshire, was settled in April, 1719, forming the
second settlement, from the five ships. Most of these pioneers were men
in middle life, robust and persevering. Their first dwellings were of
logs, covered with bark. It must not be thought that these people,
strict in their religious conceptions, were not touched with the common
feelings of ordinary humanity. It is related that when John Morrison was
building his house his wife came to him and in a persuasive manner said,
"Aweel, aweel, dear Joan, an' it maun be a log-house, do make it a log
heegher nor the lave;" (than the rest). The first frame house built was
for their pastor, James McGregor. The first season they felt it
necessary to build two strong stone garrison-houses in order to resist
any attack of the Indians. It is remarkable that in neither Lowell's
war, when Londonderry was strictly a frontier town, nor in either of the
two subsequent French and Indian wars, did any hostile force from the
northward ever approach that town. During the twenty-five years
preceding the revolution, ten distinct towns of influence, in New
Hampshire, were settled by emigrants from Londonderry, besides two in
Vermont and two in Nova Scotia; while families, sometimes singly and
also in groups, went off in all directions, especially along the
Connecticut river and over the ridge of the Green Mountains. To these
brave people, neither the crown nor the colonies appealed in vain. Every
route to Crown Point and Ticonderoga had been tramped by them time and
again. With Colonel Williams they were at the head of Lake George in
1755, and in the battle with Dieskau that followed; they were with Stark
and lord Howe, under Abercrombie, in the terrible defeat at Ticonderoga
in 1758; others toiled with Wolfe on the Heights of Abraham; and in
1777, fought under Stark at Bennington, and against Burgoyne at
Saratoga.

A part of the emigrants intended for New Hampshire settled in Maine, in
what is now Portland, Topsham, Bath and other places. Unfortunately soon
after these settlements were established some of them were broken up by
Indian troubles, and some of the colonists sought refuge with their
countrymen at Londonderry, but the greater part removed to
Pennsylvania,--from 1730 to 1733 about one hundred and fifty families,
principally of Scotch descent. In 1735, Warren, Maine, was settled by
twenty-seven families, some of whom were of recent emigration and others
from the first arrival in Boston in 1718. In 1753 the town received an
addition of sixty adults and many children brought from Scotland.

The Scotch-Irish settlement at Salem in Washington county, New York,
came from Monaghan and Ballibay, Ireland. Under the leadership of their
minister, Rev. Thomas Clark, three hundred sailed from Newry, May 10,
1764, and landed in New York in July following. On September 30, 1765,
Mr. Clark obtained twelve thousand acres of the "Turner Grant," and upon
this land he moved his parishioners, save a few families that had been
induced to go to South Carolina, and some others that remained in
Stillwater, New York. The great body of these settlers took possession
of their lands, which had been previously surveyed into tracts of
eighty-eight acres each, in the year 1767. The previous year had been
devoted to clearing the lands, building houses, etc. Among the early
buildings was a log church, the first religious place of worship erected
between Albany and Canada. March 2, 1774, the legislature erected the
settlement into a township named New Perth. This name remained until
March 7, 1788, when it was changed to Salem.

The Scotch-Irish first settled in Somerset county, New Jersey, early in
the last century, but not at one time but from time to time.

These early settlers repudiated the name of Irish, and took it as an
offense to be so called. They claimed, and truly, to be Scotch. The term
"Scotch-Irish" is quite recent, but has come into general use.

From the three centers, Worcester, Londonderry and Wiscasset, the
Scotch-Irish penetrated and permeated all New England; Maine the most of
all, next New Hampshire, then Massachusetts, and in lessening order,
Vermont, Connecticut and Rhode Island. They were one sort of people,
belonging to the same grade and sphere of life. In worldly goods they
were poor, but the majority could read and write, and if possessed with
but one book that was the Bible, yet greatly esteeming Fox's "Book of
Martyrs" and Bunyon's "Pilgrim's Progress." Whatever their views, they
were held in common.

The three doors that opened to the Scotch-Irish emigrant, in the New
World, were the ports of Boston, Charleston and New Castle, in Delaware,
the great bulk of whom being received at the last named city, where they
did not even stop to rest, but pushed their way to their future homes in
Pennsylvania. No other state received so many of them for permanent
settlers. Those who landed in New York found the denizens there too
submissive to foreign dictation, and so preferred Pennsylvania and
Maryland, where the proprietary governors and the people were in
immediate contact. Francis Machemie had organized the first Presbyterian
church in America along the eastern shore of Maryland and in the
adjoining counties of Virginia.

The wave of Quaker settlements spent its force on the line of the
Conestoga creek, in Lancaster county. The Scotch and Scotch-Irish
arriving in great numbers were permitted to locate beyond that line, and
thus they not only became the pioneers, but long that race so continued
to be. In 1725, so great had been the wave of emigration into
Pennsylvania, that James Logan, a native of Armagh, Ireland, but not
fond of his own countrymen who were not Quakers, declared, "It looks as
if Ireland were to send all her inhabitants hither; if they continue to
come they will make themselves proprietors of the province;" and he
further condemned the bad taste of the people who were forcing
themselves where they were not wanted. The rate of this invasion may be
estimated from the rise in population from twenty thousand, in 1701, to
two hundred and fifty thousand in 1745, which embraced the entire
population of that colony. Between the years 1729 and 1750, there was an
annual arrival of twelve thousand, mostly from Ulster. Among the vessels
that helped to inaugurate this great tide was the good ship "George and
Ann," which set sail from Ireland on May 9th, 1729, and brought over the
McDowells, the Irvines, the Campbells, the O'Neills, the McElroys, the
Mitchells, and their compatriots.

Soon after the emigrants landed at New Castle they found their way along
the branches of various rivers to the several settlements on the western
frontier. The only ones known to have come through New York was the
"Irish settlement" in Allen township, Northampton county, composed
principally of families from Londonderry, New Hampshire, where, owing to
the rigid climate, they could not be induced to remain. It grew but
slowly, and after 1750 most of the descendants passed on towards the
Susquehanna and down the Cumberland.

As early as 1720 a colony was formed on the Neshaminy, in Bucks County,
which finally became one of the greatest landmarks of that race. The
settlements that commenced as early as 1710, at Fagg Manor, at Octorara,
at New London, and at Brandywine Manor, in Chester County, formed the
nucleus for subsequent emigration for a period of forty years, when they
also declined by removals to other sections of the State, and to the
colonies of the South. Prior to 1730 there were large settlements in
the townships of Colerain, Pequea, and Leacock, in Lancaster County.
Just when the pioneers arrived in that region has not been accurately
ascertained, but some of them earlier than 1720. Within a radius of
thirty-five miles of Harrisburgh are the settlements of Donegal,
Paxtang, Derry, and Hanover, founded between 1715 and 1724; from whence
poured another stream on through the Cumberland Valley, across the
Potomac, down through Virginia and into the Carolinas and Georgia. The
valley of the Juniata was occupied in 1749. The settlements in the lower
part of York County date from 1726. From 1760 to 1770 settlements
rapidly sprung up in various places throughout Western Pennsylvania.
Soon after 1767 emigrants settled on the Youghiogheny, the Monongahela
and its tributaries, and in the years 1770 and 1771, Washington County
was colonized. Soon after the wave of population extended to the Ohio
River. From this time forward Western Pennsylvania was characteristically
Scotch-Irish.

These hardy sons were foremost in the French and Indian Wars. The
Revolutionary struggle caused them to turn their attention to
statesmanship and combat,--every one of whom was loyal to the cause of
independence. The patriot army had its full share of Scotch-Irish
representation. That thunderbolt of war, Anthony Wayne,[6] hailed from
the County of Chester. The ardent manner in which the cause of the
patriots was espoused is illustrated, in a notice of a marriage that
took place in 1778, in Lancaster County, the contracting parties being
of the Ulster race. The couple is denominated "very sincere Whigs."

It "was truly a Whig wedding, as there were present many young gentlemen
and ladies, and not one of the gentlemen but had been out when called on
in the service of his country; and it was well known that the groom, in
particular, had proved his heroism, as well as Whigism, in several
battles and skirmishes. After the marriage was ended, a motion was made,
and heartily agreed to by all present, that the young unmarried ladies
should form themselves into an association by the name of the 'Whig
Association of Unmarried Young Ladies of America,' in which they should
pledge their honor that they would never give their hand in marriage to
any gentleman until he had first proved himself a patriot, in readily
turning out when called to defend his country from slavery, by a
spirited and brave conduct, as they would not wish to be the mothers of
a race of slaves and cowards'"[7]

Pennsylvania was the gateway and first resting place, and the source of
Scotch-Irish adventure and enterprise as they moved west and south. The
wave of emigration striking the eastern border of Pennsylvania, in a
measure was deflected southward through Maryland, Virginia, the
Carolinas, reaching and crossing the Savannah river, though met at
various points by counter streams of the same race, which had entered
the continent through Charleston and other southern ports. Leaving
Pennsylvania and turning southward, the first colony into which the
stream poured, was Maryland, the settlements being principally in the
narrow strip which constitutes the western portion, although they never
scattered all over the colony.

[Illustration: BUILT BY HENRY MCWHORTER IN 1787, AT JANE LEW, WEST
VIRGINIA, PHOTOGRAPHED IN 1893]

Proceeding southward traces of that race are found in Virginia east of
the Blue Ridge, in the latter part of the seventeenth and early in the
eighteenth century. They were in Albemarle, Nelson, Campbell, Prince
Edward, Charlotte and Orange counties, and even along the great valley
west of the Blue Ridge. It was not, however, until the year 1738 that
they entered the valley in great numbers, and almost completely
possessed it from the Pennsylvania to the North Carolina line. During
the French and Indian wars the soldiers of Virginia were mainly drawn
from this section, and suffered defeat with Washington at the Great
Meadows, and with Braddock at Fort Duquesne, but by their firmness saved
the remnant of that rash general's army. In 1774 they won the signal
victory at Point Pleasant which struck terror into the Indian tribes
across the Ohio.

The American Revolution was foreshadowed in 1765, when England began her
oppressive measures regardless of the inalienable and chartered rights
of the colonists of America. It was then the youthful Scotch-Irishman,
Patrick Henry, introduced into the Virginia House of Burgesses, the
resolutions denying the validity of the Act of the British parliament,
and by Scotch-Irish votes he secured their adoption against the combined
efforts of the old leaders. At the first call for troops by congress to
defend Boston, Daniel Morgan at once raised a company from among his own
people, in the lower Virginia valley, and by a forced march of six
hundred miles reached the beleaguered city in three weeks. With his men
he trudged through the wilderness of Maine and appeared before Quebec;
and later, on the heights of Saratoga, with his riflemen, he poured like
a torrent upon the ranks of Burgoyne. Through the foresight of Henry, a
commission was given to George Rogers Clark, in 1778, to lead a secret
expedition against the northwestern forts. The soldiers were recruited
from among the Scotch-Irish settlements west of the Blue Ridge. The
untold hardships, sufferings and final success of this expedition, at
the Treaty of Peace, in 1783, gave the great west to the United States.

The greater number of the colonists of North Carolina was Scotch and
Scotch-Irish, in so much so as to have given direction to its history.
There were several reasons why they should be so attracted, the most
potent being a mild climate, fertile lands, and freedom of religious
worship. The greatest accession at any one time was that in 1736, when
Henry McCulloch secured sixty-four thousand acres in Duplin county, and
settled upon these lands four thousand of his Ulster countrymen. About
the same time the Scotch began to occupy the lower Cape Fear. Prior to
1750 they were located in the counties of Granville, Orange, Rowan and
Mecklenburg, although it is uncertain when they settled between the Dan
and the Catawba. Braddock's defeat, in 1755, rendered border life
dangerous, many of the newcomers turning south into North Carolina,
where they met the other stream of their countrymen moving upward from
Charleston along the banks of the Santee, Wateree, Broad, Pacolet,
Ennoree and Saluda, and this continued till checked by the Revolution.
These people generally were industrious, sober and intelligent, and with
their advent begins the educational history of the state. Near
Greensborough, in 1767, was established a classical school, and in 1770,
in the town of Charlotte, Mecklenburg county, was chartered Queen's
College, but its charter was repealed by George III. However, it
continued to flourish, and was incorporated as "Liberty Hall," in 1777.
The Revolution closed its doors; Cornwallis quartered his troops within
it, and afterwards burned the buildings.

Under wrongs the Scotch-Irish of North Carolina were the most restless
of all the colonists. They were zealous advocates for freedom of
conscience and security against taxation unless imposed by themselves.
During the administration of acting Governor Miller, they imprisoned the
president and six members of the council, convened the legislature,
established courts of justice, and for two years exercised all the
functions of government; they derided the authority of Governor
Eastchurch; they imprisoned, impeached, and sent into exile Governor
Sothel, for his extortions, and successfully resisted the effort of lord
Granville to establish the Church of England in that colony. In 1731,
Governor Burrington wrote: "The people of North Carolina are neither to
be cajoled or outwitted; * * * always behaved insolently to their
Governors. Some they imprisoned, others they have drove out of the
country, and at other times set up a government of their own choice."
In 1765, when a vessel laden with stamp paper arrived, the people
overawed the captain, who soon sailed away. The officers then adopted a
regular system of oppression and extortion, and plundered the people at
every turn of life. The people formed themselves into an association
"for regulating public grievances and abuse of powers." The royal
governor, Tryon (the same who later originated the infamous plot to
poison Washington), raised an army of eleven hundred men, and marched to
inflict summary punishment on the defiant sons of liberty. On May 16,
1771, the two forces met on the banks of the Great Alamance. After an
engagement of two hours the patriots failed. These men were sturdy,
patriotic members of three Presbyterian churches. On the field of battle
were their pastors, graduates of Princeton. Tryon used his victory so
savagely as to drive an increasing stream of settlers over the mountains
into Tennessee, where they made their homes in the valley of the
Watauga, and there nurtured their wrongs; but the day of their vengeance
was rapidly approaching.

[Illustration: VIEW OF BATTLE FIELD OF ALAMANCE.]

The stirring times of 1775 found the North Carolinians ready for revolt.
They knew from tradition and experience the monstrous wrongs of tyrants.
When the people of Mecklenburg county learned in May, 1775, that
parliament had declared the colonies in a state of revolt, they did not
wait for the action of congress nor for that of their own provincial
legislature, but adopted resolutions, which in effect formed a
declaration of independence.

The power, valor and uncompromising conduct of these men is illustrated
in their conduct at the battle of King's Mountain, fought October 7,
1780. It was totally unlike any other in American history, being the
voluntary uprising of the people, rushing to arms to aid their distant
kinsmen, when their own homes were menaced by savages. They served
without pay and without the hope of reward. The defeat of Gates at
Camden laid the whole of North Carolina at the feet of the British.
Flushed with success, Colonel Furguson, of the 71st Regiment, at the
head of eleven hundred men marched into North Carolina and took up his
position at Gilbert Town, in order to intercept those retreating in that
direction from Camden, and to crush out the spirit of the patriots in
that region. Without any concert of action volunteers assembled
simultaneously, and placed themselves under tried leaders. They were
admirably fitted by their daily pursuits for the privations they were
called upon to endure. They had no tents, baggage, bread or salt, but
subsisted on potatoes, pumpkins and roasted corn, and such venison as
their own rifles could procure. Their army consisted of four hundred
men, under Colonel William Campbell, from Washington county, Virginia,
two hundred and forty were under Colonel Isaac Shelby, from Sullivan
county, North Carolina, and two hundred and forty men, from Washington
county, same state, under John Sevier, which assembled at Watauga,
September 25, where they were joined by Colonel Charles McDowell, with
one hundred and sixty men, from the counties of Burke and Rutherford,
who had fled before the enemy to the western waters. While McDowell,
Shelby and Sevier were in consultation, two paroled prisoners arrived
from Furguson with the message that if they did not "take protection
under his standard, he would march his army over the mountains, hang
their leaders, and lay waste their country with fire and sword." On
their march to meet the army of Furguson they were for twenty-four hours
in the saddle. They took that officer by surprise, killed him and one
hundred and eighty of his men, after an engagement of one hour and five
minutes, the greater part of which time a heavy and incessant fire was
kept up on both sides, with a loss to themselves of only twenty killed
and a few wounded. The remaining force of the enemy surrendered at
discretion, giving up their camp equipage and fifteen hundred stand of
arms. On the morning after the battle several of the Royalist (Tory)
prisoners were found guilty of murder and other high crimes, and hanged.
This was the closing scene of the battle of King's Mountain, an event
which completely crushed the spirit of the Royalists, and weakened
beyond recovery the power of the British in the Carolinas. The
intelligence of Furguson's defeat destroyed all Cornwallis's hopes of
aid from those who still remained loyal to Britain's interests. The men
oppressed by British laws and Tryon's cruelty were not yet avenged, for
they were with Morgan at the Cowpens and with Greene at Guildford Court
House, and until the close of the war.

In the settling of South Carolina, every ship that sailed from Ireland
for the port of Charleston, was crowded with men, women and children,
which was especially true after the peace of 1763. About the same date,
within one year, a thousand families came into the state in that wave
that originated in Pennsylvania, bringing with them their cattle, horses
and hogs. Lands were allotted to them in the western woods, which soon
became the most popular part of the province, the up-country population
being overwhelmingly Scotch-Irish. They brought with them and retained,
in an eminent degree, the virtues of industry and economy, so peculiarly
necessary in a new country. To them the state is indebted for much of
its early literature. The settlers in the western part of the colony,
long without the aid of laws, were forced to band themselves together
for mutual protection. The royal governor, Montague, in 1764, sent an
army against them, and with great difficulty a civil war was averted.
The division thus created reappeared in 1775, on the breaking out of the
Revolution. The state suffered greatly from the ravages of Cornwallis,
who rode roughly over it, although her sons toiled heroically in defence
of their firesides. The little bands in the east gathered around the
standard of Marion, and in the north and west around those of Sumter and
Pickens. They kept alive the flame of liberty in the swamps, and when
the country appeared to be subdued, it burst forth in electric flashes
striking and withering the hand of the oppressor. Through the veins of
most of the patriots flowed Scotch-Irish blood; and to the hands of one
of this class, John Rutledge, the destinies of the state were committed.

Georgia was sparsely settled at the time of the Revolution. In 1753 its
population was less than twenty-four hundred. Emigration from the
Carolinas set in towards North Georgia, bringing many Scotch-Irish
families. The movement towards the mountain and Piedmont regions of the
southeast began about 1773. In that year, Governor Wright purchased from
the Indians that portion of middle Georgia lying between the Oconee and
the Savannah. The inducements he then offered proved very attractive to
the enterprising sons of Virginia and the Carolinas, who lived in the
highlands of those states. These people who settled in Georgia have thus
been described by Governor Gilmer: "The pretty girls were dressed in
striped and checked cotton cloth, spun and woven with their own hands,
and their sweethearts in sumach and walnut-dyed stuff, made by their
mothers. Courting was done when riding to meeting on Sunday, and walking
to the spring when there. Newly married couples went to see the old
folks on Saturday, and carried home on Sunday evening what they could
spare. There was no _ennui_ among the women for something to do. If
there had been leisure to read, there were but few books for the
indulgence. Hollow trees supplied cradles for babies."

A majority of the first settlers of East Tennessee were of Scotch-Irish
blood, having sought homes there after the battle of Alamance, and hence
that state became the daughter of North Carolina. The first written
constitution born of a convention of people on this continent, was that
at Watauga, in 1772. A settlement of less than a dozen families was
formed in 1778, near Bledsoe, isolated in the heart of the Chickasaw
nation, with no other protection than a small stockade enclosure and
their own indomitable courage. In the early spring of 1779, a little
colony of gallant adventurers, from the parent line of Watauga, crossed
the Cumberland mountain, and established themselves near the French
Lick, and planted a field of corn where the city of Nashville now
stands. The settlement on the Cumberland was made in 1780, after great
privations and sufferings on the journey. The settlers at the various
stations were so harassed by the Indians, incited thereto by British and
Spanish agents, that all were abandoned except Elatons and the Bluffs
(Nashville). These people were compelled to go in armed squads to the
springs, and plowed while guarded by armed sentinels. The Indians, by a
well planned stratagem, attempted to enter the Bluffs, on April 22d,
1781. The men in the fort were drawn into an ambush by a decoy party.
When they dismounted to give battle, their horses dashed off toward the
fort, and they were pursued by some Indians, which left a gap in their
lines, through which some whites were escaping to the fort; but these
were intercepted by a large body of the enemy from another ambush. The
heroic women in the fort, headed by Mrs. James Robertson, seized the
axes and idle guns, and planted themselves in the gate, determined to
die rather than give up the fort. Just in time she ordered the sentry to
turn loose a pack of dogs which had been selected for their size and
courage to encounter bears and panthers. Frantic to join the fray, they
dashed off, outyelling the savages, who recoiled before the fury of
their onset, thus giving the men time to escape to the fort. So
overjoyed was Mrs. Robertson that she patted every dog as he came into
the fort.

So thoroughly was Kentucky settled by the Scotch-Irish, from the older
colonies, that it might be designated as of that race, the first
emigrants being from Virginia and North Carolina. It was first explored
by Thomas Walker in 1747; followed by John Finley, of North Carolina,
1767; and in 1769, by Daniel Boone, John Stewart, and three others, who
penetrated to the Kentucky river. By the year 1773, lands were taken up
and afterwards there was a steady stream, almost entirely from the
valley and southwest Virginia. No border annals teem with more thrilling
incidents or heroic exploits than those of the Kentucky hunters, whose
very name finally struck terror into the heart of the strongest savage.
The prediction of the Cherokee chief to Boone at the treaty at Watauga,
ceding the territory to Henderson and his associates, was fully
verified: "Brother," said he, "we have given you a fine land, but I
believe you will have much trouble in settling it."

The history of the Scotch-Irish race in Canada, prior to the peace of
1783, is largely that of individuals. It has already been noted that two
settlements had been made in Nova Scotia by the emigrants that landed
from the five ships in Boston harbor. It is recorded that Truro, Nova
Scotia, was settled in 1762, and in 1756 three brothers from Ireland
settled in Colchester, same province. If the questions were thoroughly
investigated it doubtless would lead to interesting results.

It must not be lost sight of that one of the important industrial arts
brought to America was of untold benefit. Not only did every colony
bring with them agricultural implements needful for the culture of flax,
but also the small wheels and the loom for spinning and weaving the
fibre. Nothing so much excited the interest of Puritan Boston, in 1718,
as the small wheels worked by women and propelled by the foot, for
turning the straight flax fibre into thread. Public exhibitions of skill
in 1719 took place on Boston common, by Scotch-Irish women, at which
prizes were offered. The advent of the machine produced a sensation, and
societies and schools were formed to teach the art of making linen
thread.

The distinctive characteristics which the Scotch-Irish transplanted to
the new world may be designated as follows: They were Presbyterians in
their religion and church government; they were loyal to the conceded
authority to the king, but considered him bound as well as themselves
to "the Solemn League and Covenant," entered into in 1643, which pledged
the support of the Reformation and of the liberties of the kingdom; the
right to choose their own ministers, untrammeled by the civil powers;
they practiced strict discipline in morals, and gave instruction to
their youth in schools and academies, and in teaching the Bible as
illustrated by the Westminster Assembly's catechism. To all this they
combined in a remarkable degree, acuteness of intellect, firmness of
purpose, and conscientious devotion to duty.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 5: Skene's "Chronicles of the Picts and Scots," p. 77.]

[Footnote 6: Stille, Life of Wayne, p. 5, says he was not Scotch-Irish.]

[Footnote 7: Dunlap's "Pennsylvania Packet," June 17, 1778.]




CHAPTER III.

THE CAUSES THAT LED TO EMIGRATION.


The social system of the Highlanders that bound the members of the clan
together was conducive to the pride of ancestry and the love of home.
This pride was so directed as to lead to the most beneficial results on
their character and conduct: forming strong attachments, leading to the
performance of laudable and heroic actions, and enabling the poorest to
endure the severest hardships without a murmur, and never complaining of
what they received to eat, or where they lodged, or of any other
privation. Instead of complaining of the difference in station or
fortune, or considering a ready obedience to the call of the chief as a
slavish oppression, they felt convinced that they were supporting their
own honor in showing their gratitude and duty to the generous head of
the family. In them it was a singular and characteristic feature to
contemplate with early familiarity the prospect of death, which was
considered as merely a passage from this to another state of existence,
enlivened by the assured hope that they should meet their friends and
kindred in a fairer and brighter world than this. This statement may be
perceived in the anxious care with which they provided the necessary
articles for a proper and becoming funeral. Even the poorest and most
destitute endeavored to save something for this last solemnity. It was
considered to be a sad calamity to be consigned to the grave among
strangers, without the attendance and sympathy of friends, and at a
distance from the family. If a relative died away from home, the
greatest exertions were made to carry the body back for interment among
the ashes of the forefathers. A people so nurtured could only
contemplate with despair the idea of being forced from the land of their
nativity, or emigrating from that beloved country, hallowed by the
remains of their kindred.

The Highlander, by nature, was opposed to emigration. All his instincts,
as well as training, led him to view with delight the permanency of home
and the constant companionship of those to whom he was related by ties
of consanguinity. Neither was he a creature of conquest, and looked not
with a covetous eye upon the lands of other nations. He would do battle
in a foreign land, but the Highlands of Scotland was his abiding place.
If he left his native glen in order to become a resident elsewhere,
there must have been a special or overpowering reason. He never
emigrated through choice. Unfortunately the simplicity of his nature,
his confiding trust, and love of chief and country, were doomed to
receive such a jolt as would shake the very fibres of his being, and
that from those to whom he looked for support and protection. Reference
here is not made to evictions awful crimes that commenced in 1784, but
to the change, desolation and misery growing out of the calamity at
Culloden.

Notwithstanding the peculiar characteristics of the Highlander, there
would of necessity arise certain circumstances which would lead some,
and even many, to change their habitation. From the days of the Crusader
downwards he was more or less active in foreign wars; and coming in
contact with different nationalities his mind would broaden and his
sentiment change, so that other lands and other people would be viewed
in a more favorable light. While this would not become general, yet it
would follow in many instances. Intercourse with another people,
racially and linguistically related, would have a tendency to invite a
closer affiliation. Hence, the inhabitants of the Western Isles had
almost constant communication, sometimes at war, it is true, but
generally in terms of amity, with the natives of North Ireland. It is
not surprising then that as early as 1584, Sorley Buy MacDonald should
lead a thousand Highlanders, called Redshanks, of the clans or families
of the MacDonalds, Campbells, and Magalanes, into Ulster, and in time
intermarry with the Irish, and finally become the most formidable
enemies of England in her designs of settling that country. Some of the
leading men were forced to flee on account of being attainted for
treason, having fought under Dundee in 1689, or under Mar in 1715, and
after Culloden in 1745 quite a hegira took place, many of whom found
service in the army of France. Individuals, seeking employment, found
their way into England before 1724. Although there was a strong movement
for England from the Lowlands, yet many were from the Highlands, to whom
was partly due the old proverb, "There never came a fool from Scotland."
These emigrants, from the Highlands, were principally those having
trades, who sought to better their condition.

Seven hundred prisoners taken at Preston were sold as slaves to some
West Indian merchants, which was a cruel proceeding, when it is
considered that the greater part of these men were Highlanders, who had
joined the army in obedience to the commands of their chiefs. Wholly
unfitted for such labor as would be required in the West Indies and
unacclimated, their fate may be readily assumed. But this was no more
heartless than the execution in Lancashire of twenty-two of their
companions.

The specifications above enumerated have no bearing on the emigration
which took place on a large scale, the consequences of which, at the
time, arrested the attention of the nation. The causes now to be
enumerated grew out of the change of policy following the battle of
Culloden. The atrocities following that battle were both for vengeance
and to break the military spirit of the Highlanders. The legislative
enactments broke the nobler spirit of the people. The rights and welfare
of the people at large were totally ignored, and no provisions made for
their future welfare. The country was left in a state of commotion and
confusion resulting from the changes consequent to the overthrow of the
old system, the breaking up of old relationship, and the gradual
encroachment of Lowland civilization, and methods of agriculture. While
these changes at first were neither great nor extensive, yet they were
sufficient to keep the country in a ferment or uproar. The change was
largely in the manner of an experiment in order to find out the most
profitable way of adaptation to the new regime. These experiments
resulted in the unsettling of old manners, customs, and ideas, which
caused discontent and misery among the people. The actual change was
slow; the innovations, as a rule, began in those districts bordering on
the Lowlands, and thence proceeded in a northwesterly direction.

In all probability the first shock felt by the clansmen, under the new
order of things, was the abolishing the ancient clan system, and the
reduction of the chiefs to the condition of landlords. For awhile the
people failed to realize this new order of affairs, for the gentlemen
and common people still continued to regard their chief in the same
light as formerly, not questioning but their obedience to the head of
their clan was independent of legislative enactment. They were still
ready to make any sacrifice for his sake, and felt it to be their duty
to do what they could for his support. They still believed that the
chief's duty to his people remained unaltered, and he was bound to see
that they did not want, and to succor them in distress.

The first effects in the change in tribal relations were felt on those
estates that had been forfeited on account of the chiefs and gentlemen
having been compelled to leave the country in order to save their lives.
These estates were entrusted to the management of commissioners who
rudely applied their powers under the new arrangement of affairs. When
the chiefs, now reduced to the position of lairds, began to realize
their condition, and the advantage of making their lands yield them as
large an income as possible, followed the example of demanding a rent. A
rental value had never been exacted before, for it was the universal
belief that the land belonged to the clan in common. Some of the older
chiefs, then living, held to the same opinion, and among such, a change
was not perceptible until a new landlord came into possession. The
gentlemen of the clan and the tacksmen, or large farmers, firmly
believed that they had as much right to a share of the lands as the
chief himself. In the beginning the rent was not high nor more than the
lands would bear; but it was resented by the tacksmen, deeming it a
wanton injury inflicted in the house of their dearest friend. They were
hurt at the idea that the chief,--the father of his people--should be
controlled by such a mercenary idea, and to exercise that power which
gave him the authority to lease the lands to the highest bidder. This
policy, which they deemed selfish and unjust, naturally cut them to the
quick. They and their ancestors had occupied their farms for many
generations; their birth was as good and their genealogy as old as that
of the chief himself, to whom they were all blood relations, and whose
loyalty was unshaken. True, they had no written document, no "paltry
sheep-skin," as they called it, to prove the right to their farms, but
such had never been the custom, and these parchments quite a modern
innovation, and, in former times, before a chief would have tried to
wrest from them that which had been given by a former chief to their
fathers, would have bitten out his tongue before he would have asked a
bond. There can be no doubt that originally when a chief bestowed a
share of his property upon his son or other near relation, he intended
that the latter should keep it for himself and his descendants. To these
tacksmen it was injury enough that an alien government should interfere
in their domestic relations, but for the chief to turn against them was
a wound which no balm could heal. Before they would submit to these
exactions, they would first give up their holdings; which many of them
did and emigrated to America, taking with them servants and sub-tenants,
and enticing still others to follow them by the glowing accounts which
they sent home of their good fortune in the favored country far to the
west. In some cases the farms thus vacated were let to other tacksmen,
but in most instances the new system was introduced by letting the land
directly to what was formerly sub-tenants, or those who had held the
land immediately from the ousted tacksmen.

There was a class of lairds who had tasted the sweets of southern
luxuries and who vied with the more opulent, increased the rate of rent
to such an extent as to deprive the tacksmen of their holdings. This
caused an influx of lowland farmers, who with their improved methods
could compete successfully against their less favored northern
neighbors. The danger of southern luxuries had been foreseen and an
attempt had been made to provide against it. As far back as the year
1744, in order to discourage such things, at a meeting of the chiefs of
the Isle of Skye, Sir Alexander MacDonald of MacDonald, Norman MacLeod
of MacLeod, John MacKinnon of MacKinnon, and Malcolm MacLeod of Raasay,
held in Portree, it was agreed to discontinue and discountenance the use
of brandy, tobacco and tea.

The placing of the land in the hands of aliens was deplored in its
results as may be seen from the following portrayal given by Buchanan in
his "Travels in the Hebrides," referring to about 1780:--"At present
they are obliged to be much more submissive to their tacksmen than ever
they were in former times to their lairds or lords. There is a great
difference between that mild treatment which is shown to sub-tenants and
even scallags, by the old lessees, descended of ancient and honorable
families, and the outrageous rapacity of those necessitous strangers who
have obtained leases from absent proprietors, who treat the natives as
if they were a conquered and inferior race of mortals. In short, they
treat them like beasts of burden; and in all respects like slaves
attached to the soil, as they cannot obtain new habitations, on account
of the combinations already mentioned, and are entirely at the mercy of
the laird or tacksman. Formerly, the personal service of the tenant did
not usually exceed eight or ten days in the year. There lives at present
at Scalpa, in the isle of Harris, a tacksman of a large district, who
instead of six days' work paid by the sub-tenants to his predecessor in
the lease, has raised the predial service, called in that and in other
parts of Scotland, _manerial bondage_, to fifty-two days in the year at
once; besides many other services to be performed at different though
regular and stated times; as tanning leather for brogans, making heather
ropes for thatch, digging and drying peats for fuel; one pannier of peat
charcoal to be carried to the smith; so many days for gathering and
shearing sheep and lambs: for ferrying cattle from island to island, and
other distant places, and several days for going on distant errands: so
many pounds of wool to be spun into yarn. And over and above all this,
they must lend their aid upon any unforeseen occurrence whenever they
are called on. The constant service of two months at once is performed
at the proper season in making kelp. On the whole, this gentleman's
sub-tenants may be computed to devote to his service full three days in
the week. But this is not all: they have to pay besides yearly a certain
number of cocks, hen, butter, and cheese, called Caorigh-Ferrin, the
Wife's Portion. This, it must be owned, is one of the most severe and
rigorous tacksmen descended from the old inhabitants, in all the Western
Hebrides; but the situation of his sub-tenants exhibits but too faithful
a picture of the sub-tenants of those places in general, and the exact
counterpart of such enormous oppression is to be found at
Luskintire."[8]

The dismissal of retainers kept by the chiefs during feudal times added
to the discontent. For the protection of the clan it had been necessary
to keep a retinue of trained warriors. These were no longer necessary,
and under the changed state of affairs, an expense that could be illy
afforded. This class found themselves without a vocation, and they would
sow the seeds of discontent, if they remained in the country. They must
either enter the army or else go to another country in search of a
vocation.

Unquestionably the most potent of all causes for emigration was the
introduction of sheep-farming. That the country was well adapted for
sheep goes without disputation. Sheep had always been kept in the
Highlands with the black cattle, but not in large numbers. The lowland
lessees introduced sheep on a large scale, involving the junction of
many small farms into one, each of which had been hitherto occupied by a
number of tenants. This engrossing of farms and consequent depopulation
was also a fruitful source of discontent and misery to those who had to
vacate their homes and native glens. Many of those displaced by sheep
and one or two Lowland shepherds, emigrated like the discontented
tacksmen to America, and those who remained looked with an ill-will and
an evil eye on the intruders. Some of the more humane landlords invited
the oppressed to remove to their estates, while others tried to prevent
the ousted tenants from leaving the country by setting apart some
particular spot along the sea-shore, or else on waste land that had
never been touched by the plow, on which they might build houses and
have an acre or two for support. Those removed to the coast were
encouraged to prosecute the fishing along with their agricultural
labors. It was mainly by a number of such ousted Highlanders that the
great and arduous undertaking was accomplished of bringing into a state
of cultivation Kincardine Moss, in Perthshire. At that time, 1767, the
task to be undertaken was one of stupendous magnitude; but was so
successfully carried out that two thousand acres were reclaimed which
for centuries had rested under seven feet of heath and vegetable matter.
Similarly many other spots were brought into a state of cultivation. But
this, and other pursuits then engaged in, did not occupy the time of all
who had been despoiled of their homes.

The breaking up of old habits and customs and the forcible importation
of those that are foreign must not only engender hate but also cause
misery. It is the uniform testimony of all travellers, who visited the
Highlands during the latter half of the eighteenth century, especially
Pennant, Boswell, Johnson, Newte, and Buchanan, that the condition of
the country was deplorable. Without quoting from all, let the following
lengthy extract suffice, which is from Buchanan:

   "Upon the whole, the situation of these people, inhabitants of
   Britain! is such as no language can describe, nor fancy conceive. If,
   with great labor and fatigue, the farmer raises a slender crop of
   oats and barley, the autumnal rains often baffle his utmost efforts,
   and frustrate all his expectations: and instead of being able to pay
   an exorbitant rent, he sees his family in danger of perishing during
   the ensuing winter, when he is precluded from any possibility of
   assistance elsewhere. Nor are his cattle in a better situation; in
   summer they pick up a scanty support amongst the morasses or heathy
   mountains: but in winter, when the grounds are covered with snow, and
   when the naked wilds afford neither shelter nor subsistence, the few
   cows, small, lean, and ready to drop down through want of pasture,
   are brought into the hut where the family resides, and frequently
   share with them the small stock of meal which had been purchased, or
   raised, for the family only; while the cattle thus sustained, are
   bled occasionally, to afford nourishment for the children after it
   hath been boiled or made into cakes. The sheep being left upon the
   open heaths, seek to shelter themselves from the inclemency of the
   weather amongst the hollows upon the lee-side of the mountains, and
   here they are frequently buried under the snow for several weeks
   together, and in severe seasons during two months and upwards. They
   eat their own and each other's wool, and hold out wonderfully under
   cold and hunger; but even in moderate winters, a considerable number
   are generally found dead after the snow hath disappeared, and in
   rigorous seasons few or none are left alive. Meanwhile the steward,
   hard pressed by letters from Almack's or Newmarket, demands the rent
   in a tone which makes no great allowance for unpropitious seasons,
   the death of cattle, and other accidental misfortunes: disguising the
   feelings of his own breast--his Honor's wants must at any rate be
   supplied, the bills must be duly negotiated. Such is the state of
   farming, if it may be so called, throughout the interior parts of the
   Highlands; but as that country has an extensive coast, and many
   islands, it may be supposed that the inhabitants of those shores
   enjoy all the benefits of their maritime situation. This, however, is
   not the case; those gifts of nature, which in any other commercial
   kingdom would have been rendered subservient to the most valuable
   purposes, are in Scotland lost, or nearly so, to the poor natives and
   the public. The only difference, therefore, between the inhabitants
   of the interior parts and those of the more distant coasts, consists
   in this, that the latter, with the labors of the field, have to
   encounter alternately the dangers of the ocean and all the fatigues
   of navigation. To the distressing circumstances at home, as stated
   above, new difficulties and toils await the devoted farmer when
   abroad. He leaves his family in October, accompanied by his sons,
   brothers, and frequently an aged parent, and embarks on board a small
   open boat, in quest of the herring fishery, with no other provisions
   than oatmeal, potatoes, and fresh water; no other bedding than heath,
   twigs, or straw, the covering, if any, an old sail. Thus provided, he
   searches from bay to bay, through turbulent seas, frequently for
   several weeks together, before the shoals of herring are discovered.
   The glad tidings serve to vary, but not to diminish his fatigues.
   Unremitting nightly labor (the time when the herrings are taken),
   pinching cold winds, heavy seas, uninhabited shores covered with
   snow, or deluged with rain, contribute towards filling up the measure
   of his distresses; while to men of such exquisite feelings as the
   Highlanders generally possess, the scene which awaits him at home
   does it most effectually. Having disposed of his capture to the
   Busses, he returns in January through a long navigation, frequently
   amidst unceasing hurricanes, not to a comfortable home and a cheerful
   family, but to a hut composed of turf, without windows, doors, or
   chimney, environed with snow, and almost hid from the eye by its
   astonishing depth. Upon entering this solitary mansion, he generally
   finds a part of his family, sometimes the whole, lying upon heath or
   straw, languishing through want or epidemical disease; while the few
   surviving cows, which possess the other end of the cottage, instead
   of furnishing further supplies of milk or blood, demand his immediate
   attention to keep them in existence. The season now approaches when
   he is again to delve and labor the ground, on the same slender
   prospect of a plentiful crop or a dry harvest. The cattle which have
   survived the famine of the winter, are turned out to the mountains;
   and, having put his domestic affairs into the best situation which a
   train of accumulated misfortunes admits of, he resumes the oar,
   either in quest of herring or the white fishery. If successful in the
   latter, he sets out in his open boat upon a voyage (taking the
   Hebrides and the opposite coast at a medium distance) of two hundred
   miles, to vend his cargo of dried cod, ling, etc., at Greenock or
   Glasgow. The product, which seldom exceeds twelve or fifteen pounds,
   is laid out, in conjunction with his companions, upon meal and
   fishing tackle; and he returns through the same tedious navigation.
   The autumn calls his attention again to the field; the usual round of
   disappointment, fatigue, and distress awaits him; thus dragging
   through a wretched existence in the hope of soon arriving in that
   country where the weary shall be at rest."[9]

The writer most pitiably laments that twenty thousand of these wretched
people had to leave their homes and famine-struck condition, and the
oppression of their lairds, for lands and houses of their own in a
fairer and more fertile land, where independence and affluence were at
their command. Nothing but misery and degradation at home; happiness,
riches and advancement beyond the ocean. Under such a system it would be
no special foresight to predict a famine, which came to pass in 1770 and
again in 1782-3. Whatever may be the evils under the clan system, and
there certainly were such, none caused the oppression and misery which
that devoted people have suffered since its abolishment. So far as
contentment, happiness, and a wise regard for interest, it would have
been better for the masses had the old system continued. As a matter of
fact, however, those who emigrated found a greater latitude and brighter
prospects for their descendants.

From what has been stated it will be noticed that it was a matter of
necessity and not a spirit of adventure that drove the mass of
Highlanders to America; but those who came, nevertheless, were
enterprising and anxious to carve out their own fortunes. Before
starting on the long and perilous journey across the Atlantic they were
first forced to break the mystic spell that bound them to their native
hills and glens, that had a charm and an association bound by a sacred
tie. A venerable divine of a Highland parish who had repeatedly
witnessed the fond affection of his parishioners in taking their
departure, narrated how they approached the sacred edifice, ever dear to
them, by the most hallowed associations, and with tears in their eyes
kissed its very walls, how they made an emphatic pause in losing sight
of the romantic scenes of their childhood, with its kirks and cots, and
thousand memories, and as if taking a formal and lasting adieu,
uncovered their heads and waived their bonnets three times towards the
scene, and then with heavy steps and aching hearts resumed their
pilgrimage towards new scenes in distant climes.[10]

   "Farewell to the land of the mountain and wood,
     Farewell to the home of the brave and the good,
   My bark is afloat on the blue-rolling main,
     And I ne'er shall behold thee, dear Scotland again!

   Adieu to the scenes of my life's early morn,
     From the place of my birth I am cruelly torn;
   The tyrant oppresses the land of the free;
     And leaves but the name of my sires unto me.

   Oh! home of my fathers, I bid thee adieu,
     For soon will thy hill-tops retreat from my view,
   With sad drooping heart I depart from thy shore,
     To behold thy fair valleys and mountains no more.

   'Twas there that I woo'd thee, young Flora, my wife,
     When my bosom was warm in the morning of life.
   I courted thy love 'mong the heather so brown,
     And heaven did I bless when it made thee my own.

   The friends of my early years, where are they now?
     Each kind honest heart, and each brave manly brow;
   Some sleep in the churchyard from tyranny free,
     And others are crossing the ocean with me.

   Lo! now on the boundless Atlantic I stray,
     To a strange foreign realm I am wafted away,
   Before me as far as my vision can glance,
     I see but the wave rolling wat'ry expanse.

   So farewell my country and all that is dear,
     The hour is arrived and the bark is asteer,
   I go and forever, oh! Scotland adieu!
     The land of my fathers no more I shall view."

   --_Peter Crerar._

America was the one great inviting field that opened wide her doors to
the oppressed of all nations. The Highlanders hastened thither; first in
small companies, or singly, and afterwards in sufficient numbers to form
distinctive settlements. These belonged to the better class, bringing
with them a certain amount of property, intelligent, persevering,
religious, and in many instances closely related to the chief. Who was
the first Highlander, and in what year he settled in America, has not
been determined. It is impossible to judge by the name, because it would
not specially signify, for as has been noted, Highlanders had gone to
the north of Ireland, and in the very first migrations of the
Scotch-Irish, their descendants landed at Boston and Philadelphia. It
is, however, positively known that individual members of the clans, born
in the Highlands, and brought up under the jurisdiction of the chiefs,
settled permanently in America before 1724.[11] The number of these must
have been very small, for a greater migration would have attracted
attention. In 1729, there arrived at the port of Philadelphia, five
thousand six hundred and fifty-five Irish emigrants, and only two
hundred and sixty-seven English, forty-three Scotch, and three hundred
and forty-three Germans. Of the forty-three Scotch it would be
impossible to ascertain how many of them were from the Highlands,
because all people from Scotland were designated under the one word. But
if the whole number were of the Gaelic race, and the ratio kept up it
would be almost insignificant, if scattered from one end of the Colonies
to the other. After the wave of emigration had finally set in then the
numbers of small companies would rapidly increase and the ratio would be
largely augmented.[12]

It is not to be presumed that the emigrants found the New World to be
all their fancies had pictured. If they had left misery and oppression
behind them, they were destined to encounter hardships and
disappointments. A new country, however great may be its attractions,
necessarily has its disadvantages. It takes time, patience, industry,
perseverence and ingenuity to convert a wilderness into an abode of
civilization. Innumerable obstacles must be overcome, which eventually
give way before the indomitable will of man. Years of hard service must
be rendered ere the comforts of home are obtained, the farm properly
stocked, and the ways for traffic opened. After the first impressions of
the emigrant are over, a longing desire for the old home engrosses his
heart, and a self-censure for the step he has taken. Time ameliorates
these difficulties, and the wisdom of the undertaking becomes more
apparent, while contentment and prosperity rival all other claims. The
Highlander in the land of the stranger, no longer an alien, grows
stronger in his love for his new surroundings, and gradually becomes
just as patriotic for the new as he was for the old country. All its
civilization, endearments, and progress, become a part of his being. His
memory, however, lingers over the scenes of his early youth, and in his
dreams he once more abides in his native glens, and receives the
blessings of his kind, tender, loving mother. Were it even thus to all
who set forth to seek their fortunes it would be well; but to hundreds
who left their homes in fond anticipation, not a single ray of light
shone athwart their progress, for all was dark and forbidding.
Misrepresentation, treachery, and betrayal were too frequently
practiced, and in misery, heart-broken and despondent many dropped to
rise no more, welcoming death as a deliverer.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 8: Keltie's "History of the Highland Clans," Vol. II, p. 35.]

[Footnote 9: Keltie's "History of the Highland Clans," Vol. II, p. 42.]

[Footnote 10: "Celtic Magazine," Vol. I, p. 143.]

[Footnote 11: See Appendix, Note A.]

[Footnote 12: See Appendix, Note B.]




CHAPTER IV.

THE DARIEN SCHEME.


The first body of Highlanders to arrive in the New World was as much
military as civil. Their lines were cast in evil waters, and disaster
awaited them. They formed a very essential part of a colony that engaged
in what has been termed the Darien Scheme, which originated in 1695, and
so mismanaged as to involve thousands in ruin, many of whom had enjoyed
comparative opulence. Although this project did not materially affect
the Highlands of Scotland, yet as Highland money entered the enterprise,
and as quite a body of Highlanders perished in the attempted
colonization of the isthmus of Panama, more than a passing notice is
here demanded.

Scottish people have ever been noted for their caution, frugality, and
prudence, and not prone to engage in any speculation unless based on the
soundest business principles. Although thus characterized, yet this
people engaged in the most disastrous speculation on record; established
by act of the Scottish parliament, and begun by unprecedented
excitement. The leading cause which impelled the people headlong into
this catastrophe was the ruination of the foreign trade of Scotland by
the English Navigation Act of 1660, which provided that all trade with
the English colonies should be conducted in English ships alone. Any
scheme plausibly presented was likely to catch those anxious to regain
their commercial interests, as well as those who would be actuated to
increase their own interests. The Massacre of Glencoe had no little
share in the matter. This massacre, which occurred February 13, 1692, is
the foulest blot in the annals of crime. It was deliberately planned by
Sir John Dalrymple and others, ordered by king William, and executed by
Captain Robert Campbell of Glenlyon, in the most treacherous, brutal,
atrocious, and bloodthirsty manner imaginable, and perpetrated without
the shadow of a reasonable excuse--infancy and old age, male and female
alike perished. The bare recital of it is awful; and the barbarity of
the American savage pales before it. In every quarter, even at court,
the account of the massacre was received with horror and indignation.
The odium of the nation rose to a great pitch, and demanded that an
inquiry be made into this atrocious affair. The appointment of a
commission was not wrung from the unwilling king until April 29, 1695.
The commission, as a whole, acted with great fairness, although they put
the best possible construction on the king's order, and threw the whole
blame on Secretary Dalrymple. The king was too intimately connected with
the crime to make an example of any one, although through public
sentiment he was forced to dismiss Secretary Dalrymple. Not one of those
actually engaged in the perpetration of the crime were dismissed from
the army, or punished for the butchery, otherwise than by the general
hatred of the age in which they lived, and the universal execration of
posterity. The tide of feeling set in against king William, and before
it had time to ebb the Darien Scheme was projected. The friends of
William seized the opportunity to persuade him that some freedom and
facilities of trade should be granted the Scotch, and that would divert
public attention from the Glencoe massacre. Secretary Dalrymple also was
not slow to give it the support of his eloquence and interest, in hopes
to regain thereby a part of his lost popularity.

The originator of the Darien Scheme was William Paterson, founder of the
Bank of England, a man of comprehensive views and great sagacity, born
in Scotland, a missionary in the Indies, and a buccaneer among the West
India islands. During his roving course of life he had visited the
isthmus of Panama--then called Darien--and brought away only pleasant
recollections of that narrow strip of land that unites North and South
America. On his return to Europe his first plan was the national
establishment of the Bank of England. For a brief period he was admitted
as a director in that institution, but it befell to Paterson that others
possessed of wealth and influence, interposed and took advantage of his
ideas, and then excluded him from the concern. Paterson next turned his
thoughts to the plan of settling a colony in America, and handling the
trade of the Indies and the South Seas. The trade of Europe with the
remote parts of Asia had been carried on by rounding the Cape of Good
Hope. Paterson believed that the shorter, cheaper, and more expeditious
route was by the isthmus of Panama, and, as he believed, that section of
the country had not been occupied by any of the nations of Europe; and
as it was specially adapted for his enterprise it should be colonized.
He averred that the havens were capacious and secure; the sea swarmed
with turtle; the country so mountainous, that though within nine degrees
of the equator, the climate was temperate; and yet roads could be easily
constructed along which a string of mules, or a wheeled carriage might
in the course of a single day pass from sea to sea. Fruits and a
profusion of valuable herbs grew spontaneously, on account of the rich
black soil, which had a depth of seven feet; and the exuberant fertility
of the soil had not tainted the purity of the atmosphere. As a place of
residence alone, the isthmus was a paradise; and a colony there could
not fail to prosper even if its wealth depended entirely on agriculture.
This, however, would be only a secondary matter, for within a few years
the entire trade between India and Europe would be drawn to that spot.
The merchant was no longer to expose his goods to the capricious gales
of the Antarctic Seas, for the easier, safer, cheaper route must be
navigated, which was shortly destined to double the amount of trade.
Whoever possessed that door which opened both to the Atlantic and
Pacific, as the shortest and least expensive route would give law to
both hemispheres, and by peaceful arts would establish an empire as
splendid as that of Cyrus or Alexander. If Scotland would occupy Darien
she would become the one great free port, the one great warehouse for
the wealth that the soil of Darien would produce, and the greater wealth
which would be poured through Darien, India, China, Siam, Ceylon, and
the Moluccas; besides taking her place in the front rank among nations.
On all the vast riches that would be poured into Scotland a toll should
be paid which would add to her capital; and a fabulous prosperity would
be shared by every Scotchman from the peer to the cadie. Along the
desolate shores of the Forth Clyde villas and pleasure grounds would
spring up; and Edinburgh would vie with London and Paris. These glowing
prospects at first were only partially disclosed to the public, and the
name of Darien was unpronounced save only to a few of Paterson's most
confidential friends. A mystery pervaded the enterprise, and only enough
was given out to excite boundless hopes and desires. He succeeded
admirably in working up a sentiment and desire on the part of the people
to become stockholders in the organization. The hour for action had
arrived; so on June 26, 1695, the Scottish parliament granted a statute
from the Crown, for creating a corporate body or stock company, by name
of the Company of Scotland trading to Africa and the Indies, with power
to plant colonies and build forts in places not possessed by other
European nations, the consent of the inhabitants of the places they
settled being obtained. The amount of capital was not fixed by charter,
but it was stipulated that at least one-half the stock must be held by
Scotchmen resident in Scotland, and that no stock originally so held
should ever be transferred to any but Scotchmen resident in Scotland. An
entire monopoly of the trade with Asia, Africa, and America was granted
for a term of thirty-one years, and all goods imported by the company
during twenty-one years, should be admitted duty free, except sugar and
tobacco, unless grown on the company's plantations. Every member and
servant of the company were privileged against arrest and imprisonment,
and if placed in durance, the company was authorized to invoke both the
civil and military power. The Great Seal was affixed to the Act; the
books were opened; the shares were fixed at £100 sterling each; and
every man from the Pentland Firth to the Galway Firth who could command
the amount was impatient to put down his name. The whole kingdom
apparently had gone mad. The number of shareholders were about fourteen
hundred. The books were opened February 26, 1696, and the very first
subscriber was Anne, dutchess of Hamilton. On that day there was
subscribed £50,400. By the end of March the greater part of the amount
had been subscribed. On March 5th, a separate book was opened in Glasgow
and on it was entered £56,325. The books were closed August 3rd of the
same year, and on the last day of subscriptions there was entered
£14,125, reaching the total of £400,000, the amount apportioned to
Scotland. The cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, in their corporate
capacity, each took £3,000 and Perth £2,000. Of the subscriptions there
were eight of £3,000 each; eight of £2,000 each; two of £1,500, and one
each of £1,200 and £1,125; ninety-seven of £1,000 each; but the great
majority consisted of £100 or £200 each. The whole amount actually paid
up was £220,000. This may not seem to be a large amount for such a
country as Scotland, but as already noted, the country had been ruined
by the English Act of 1660. There were five or six shires which did not
altogether contain as many guineas and crowns as were tossed about every
day by the shovels of a single goldsmith in Lombard street. Even the
nobles had but very little money, for a large part of their rents was
taken in kind; and the pecuniary remuneration of the clergy was such as
to move the pity of the most needy, of the present; yet some of these
had invested their all in hopes that their children might be benefited
when the golden harvest should come. Deputies in England received
subscriptions to the amount of £300,000; and the Dutch and Hamburgers
subscribed £200,000.

Those Highland chiefs who had been considered as turbulent, and are so
conspicuous in the history of the day have no place in this record of a
species of enterprise quite distinct from theirs. The houses of Argyle,
Athol, and Montrose appear in the list, as families who, besides their
Highland chiefships, had other stakes and interests in the country; but
almost the only person with a Highland patronymic was John MacPharlane
of that ilk, a retired scholar who followed antiquarian pursuits in the
libraries beneath the Parliament House. The Keltic prefix of "Mac" is
most frequently attached to merchants in Inverness, who subscribed their
hundred.

It is probable that a list of Highlanders who subscribed stock may be of
interest in this connection. Only such names as are purely Highland are
here subjoined with amounts given, and also in the order as they appear
on the books:

    26 February, 1696:
    John Drummond of Newtoun                                       £600
    Adam Gordon of Dalphollie                                       500
    Master James Campbell, brother-german to the Earle
      of Argyle                                                     500
    John McPharlane of that ilk                                     200
    Sir Robert Gordon of Gordonstown                                400
    Sir Colin Campbell of Ardkinlass                                500
    Mr. Gilbert Campbell, son to Colin Campbell of Soutar
      houses                                                        400

    27 February, 1696:
    John Robertson, merchant in Edinburgh                           300
    Matthew St. Clair, Doctor of Medicine                           500
    Daniel Mackay, Writer in Edinburgh                              200
    Mr. Francis Grant of Cullen, Advocate                           100
    Duncan Forbes of Culloden                                       200
    Arthur Forbes, younger of Echt                                  200
    George Southerland, merchant in Edinburgh                       200
    Kenneth McKenzie of Cromartie                                   500
    Major John Forbes                                               200

    28 February, 1696:
    William Robertsone of Gladney                                 1,000
    Mungo Graeme of Gorthie                                         500
    Duncan Campbell of Monzie                                       500
    James Mackenzie, son to the Viscount of Tarbat                1,000

   2 March, 1696:
    Jerome Robertson, periwig maker, burgess of Edinburgh           100

    3 March 1696:
    David Robertsone, Vintner in Edinburgh                          200
    William Drummond, brother to Thomas Drummond of
      Logie Almond                                                  500

    4 March, 1696:
    Sir Humphrey Colquhoun of Luss                                  400

    5 March, 1696:
    James Robertson, tylor in Canonget                              100
    Sir Thomas Murray of Glendoick                                1,000

    6 March, 1696:
    Alexander Murray, son to John Murray of Touchadam,
      and deputed by him                                            300

    7 March 1696:
    John Gordon, Captain in Lord Stranraer's Regiment               100
    Samuell McLelland, merchant in Edinburgh                        500

    11 March 1696:
    Aeneas McLeod, Town-Clerk of Edinburgh, in name and
      behalfe of George Viscount of Tarbat, and as having
      commission from him                                         £1000

    17 March, 1696:
    John Menzies, Advocate                                          200
    William Menzies, merchant in Edinburgh                         1000

    19 March, 1696:
    James Drummond, Writer in Edinburgh, deputed by Mr.
      John Graham of Aberuthven                                     100
    Gilbert Campbell, merchant in Edinburgh, son to Colline
      Campbell of Soutar Houses                                     200
    Gilbert Campbell, merchant in Edinburgh, son to Colline
      Campbell of Soutar Houses                                     100
    Daniel McKay, Writer in Edinburgh, deputed by Captain
      Hugh McKay, younger of Borley                                 300
    Patrick Campbell, Writer in Edinburgh, deputed by Captain
      Leonard Robertsone of Straloch                                100

    20 March, 1696:
    Alexander Murray, son to George Murray of Touchadam,
      deputed by him                                                200
    Sir Colin Campbell of Aberuchill, one of the Senators of
      the Colledge of Justice                                       500
    Andrew Robertson, chyrurgeon in Edinburgh, deputed
      by George Robertstone, younger, merchant in Glasgow           100
    Andrew Robertson, chyrurgeon in Edinburgh                       100
    James Gregorie, student                                         100
    George Earle of Southerland                                    1000

    21 March, 1696:
    John McFarlane, Writer to the Signet                            200

    23 March, 1696:
    John Forbes, brother-german to Samuell Forbes of Fovrain,
      deputed by the said Samuell Forbes                           1000
    John Forbes, brother-german to Samuell Forbes of Fovrain        500
    James Gregory, Professor of Mathematiques in the Colledge
      of Edinburgh                                                  200

    24 March 1696:
    Patrick Murray of Livingstoun                                   600
    Ronald Campbell, Writer to his Majesty's Signet, as having
      deputation from Alexander Gordoun, son to
      Alexander Gordoun, minister at Inverary                       100
    William Graham, merchant in Edinburgh                           200
    David Drummond, Advocate, deputed by Thomas Graeme
      of Balgowan                                                   600
    David Drummond, Advocate, deputed by John Drummond
      of Culqupalzie                                               £600

    25 March, 1696:
    John Murray of Deuchar                                          800
    Sir Robert Sinclair of Stevenstoun                              400
    John Sinclair of Stevenstoun                                    400

    26 March, 1696:
    Helen Drummond, spouse to Colonel James Ferguson as
      commissionate by him                                          200
    James Murray of Sundhope                                        100
    John Drummond of Newtoun                                        400
    John Drummond of Newtoun, for John Stewart of Dalguis,
      conform to deputation                                         100

    March 27:
    Alexander Johnstoune of Elshieshells                            400
    John Forbes, brother-german to Samuell Forbes of Fovrain,
      conform to one deputation by Captain James
      Stewart, in Sir John Hill's regiment. Governor of
      Fort William                                                  100
    Thomas Forbes of Watertoun                                      200
    William Ross, merchant in Edinburgh                             100
    Rachell Johnstoun, relict of Mr. Robert Baylie of Jerviswood    200

    March 28:
    John Fraser, servitor to Alexander Innes, merchant              100
    Mr. John Murray, Senior Advocate                                100
    John Stewart, Writer in Clerk Gibsone's chamber                 100
    Mr. Gilbert Campbell, merchant in Edinburgh, son to Colline
      Campbell of Soutar Houses                                     200
    Mr. Gilbert Campbell, merchant in Edinburgh, son to Colline
      Campbell of Soutar Houses, (more)                             100
    James Gordon, Senior, merchant in Aberdeen                      250
    Thomas Gordon, skipper in Leith                                 100
    Adam Gordon of Dulpholly                                        500
    Colin Campbell of Lochlan                                       200
    Thomas Graeme of Balgowane, by virtue of a deputation
      from David Graeme of Kilor                                    200
    Patrick Coutts, merchant in Edinburgh, being deputed by
      Alexander Robertsone, merchant in Dundie                      200
    David Drummond, of Cultimalindie                                600
    John Drummond, brother of David Drummond of Cultimalindie       200

    30 March, 1696:
    James Marquess of Montrose                                     1000
    John Murray, doctor of medicine, for Mr. James Murray,
      Chirurgeon in Perth, conform to a deputation                 £200
    William Stewart, doctor of medicine at Perth                    100
    Patrick Campbell, Writer in Edinburgh, being depute by
      Helen Steuart, relict of Doctor Murray                        100
    James Drummond, one of the Clerks to the Bills, being
      deputed by James Meinzies of Shian                            100
    Robert Stewart, Junior, Advocate                                300
    Master Donald Robertsone, minister of the Gospel                100
    Duncan Campbell of Monzie, by deputation from John
      Drummond of Culquhalzie                                       100
    John Marquesse of Athole                                        500
    John Haldane of Gleneagles, deputed by James Murray
      at Orchart Milne                                              100
    Thomas Johnstone, merchant in Edinburgh                         100
    William Meinzies, merchant in Edinburgh                        1000
    Alexander Forbes of Tolquhon                                    500
    Robert Murray, merchant in Edinburgh                            200
    Walter Murray, merchant in Edinburgh                            100
    Master Arthur Forbes, son of the Laird of Cragivar              100
    Robert Fraser, Advocate                                         100
    Barbara Fraser, relict of George Stirling, Chirurgeon
      apothecary in Edinburgh                                       200
    Alexander Johnston, merchant in Edinburgh                       100
    Sir Robert Sinclair of Stevenstoun, for Charles Sinclair,
      Advocate, his son                                             100
    The said Thomas Scott, deputed by Patrick Ogilvie of Balfour    400
    The said Thomas Scott, deputed by Thomas Robertson,
      merchant there (i.e. Dundee)                                  125
    The said Thomas Scott, deputed by David Drummond,
      merchant in Dundee                                            100
    Mrs. Anne Stewart, daughter to the deceased John Stewart
      of Kettlestoun                                                100

    31 March, 1696:
    Sir Archibald Murray of Blackbarrony                            500
    William Stewart, clerk to his Majesty's Customs at Leith        100
    Christian Grierson, daughter to the deceast John Grierson       100
    Jesper Johnstoune of Waristoun                                  500
    Alexander Forbes, goldsmith in Edinburgh                        200
    Master John Campbell, Writer to the Signet                      200
    Thomas Campbell, flesher in Edinburgh                           200
    Archibald Earle of Argyll                                      1500
    James Campbell, brother-german to the Earle of Argyll           200
    William Johnston, postmaster of Hadingtoun                     £100
    Sir James Murray of Philiphaugh                                 500
    Andrew Murray, brother to Sundhope                              100
    William McLean, master of the Revelles                          100
    John Cameron, son to the deceast Donald Cameron, merchant
      in Edinburgh                                                  100
    David Forbes, Advocate                                          200
    Captain John Forbes of Forbestoune                              200

    Afternoon:
    Sir Alexander Monro of Bearcrofts                               200
    James Gregorie, student of medicine                             100
    Mungo Campbell of Burnbank                                      400
    John Murray, junior, merchant in Edinburgh                      400
    Robert Murray, burges in Edinburgh                              150
    Dougall Campbell of Sadell                                      100
    Ronald Campbell, Writer to his Majesty's Signet                 200
    Alexander Finlayson, Writer in Edinburgh                        100
    John Steuart, Writer in Edinburgh                               100
    William Robertson, one of the sub-clerks of the Session         100
    Lady Neil Campbell                                              200
    Mary Murray, Lady Enterkin, elder                               200
    Sir George Campbell of Cesnock                                 1000

    7 April:
    Thomas Robertson of Lochbank                                    400
    Robert Fraser, Advocate, for Hugh Robertson, Provost of
      Inverness, conform to deputation                              100
    Robert Fraser, Advocate, for James McLean, baillie of
      Invernes, conform to deputation                               100
    Robert Fraser. Advocate, for John McIntosh, baillie of Invernes,
      conform to deputation                                         100
    Robert Fraser, Advocate, for Alexander McLeane, merchant
      of Invernes, conform to deputation                            150
    Robert Fraser, Advocate, for Robert Rose, late baillie of
      Invernes, conform to deputation                               140
    Robert Fraser, Advocate, for Alexander Stewart, skipper
      at Invernes, conform to deputation                            150
    Robert Fraser, Advocate, for William Robertson of Inshes,       100

    9 April, 1696:
    James Drummond, one of the Clerks of the Bills, for Robert
      Menzies, in Aberfadie, conform to deputation                  100
    John Drummond of Newtoun, depute by John Menzies of
      Camock, Advocate                                              200
    Archibald Sinclair, Advocate                                    100
    Patrick Campbell, Writer in Edinburgh                          £100
    John Murray, doctor of medicine, for William Murray of
      Arbony, by virtue of his deputation                           200
    Colen Campbell of Bogholt                                       100
    William Gordone, Writer in Edinburgh                            100

    14 Apryle:
    The said Thomas Halliday, Conform to deputation from
      William Ogilvie in Todshawhill                                100

    16 Aprill:
    Patrick Murray, lawful son to Patrick Murray of Killor          100
    Walter Murray, servitor to George Clerk, junior, merchant
      in Edinburgh, deputed by Robert Murray of
      Levelands                                                     150
    John Campbell, Writer to the Signet, for Alexander Campbell,
      younger of Calder, conform to deputation                      500
    Captain James Drummond of Comrie                                200

    April 21:
    James Cuming, merchant in Edinburgh                             100
    James Campbell of Kinpout                                       100
    James Drummond, Under-Clerk to the Bills, depute by
      Archibald Meinzies of Myln of Kiltney                         100
    Robert Blackwood, deputed by John Gordon of Collistoun,
      doctor of medicine                                            100
    Robert Blackwood, merchant in Edinburgh, deputed by
      Charles Ogilvy, merchant and late baillie of Montrose         200
    James Ramsay, writer in Edinburg, commission at by Duncan
      Campbell of Duneaves                                          100
    Captain Patrick Murray, of Lord Murray's regiment of foot       100

    May 5, 1696.
    John Haldane of Gleneagles, conform to deputation from
      Thomas Grahame in Auchterarder                                100
    John Drummond of Newtoun, depute by David Graeme of
      Jordanstoun                                                   100
    Samuel McLellan, merchant in Dundee, conform to deputation
      from William Stewart of Castle Stewart                        100

    May 14, 1696.
    Andrew Robertsone, chirurgeon in Edinburgh, conform
      to deputation by George Robertsone, Writer in Dunblane        100

    May 21, 1696.
    John Drummond of Newtoun, for Lodovick Drummond,
      chamberland to my Lord Drummond                               100

    May 26, 1696.
    Thomas Drummond of Logie Almond                                £500

    June 2, 1696.
    Robert Fraser, Advocate, by virtue of a deputation from
      Robert Cuming of Relugas, merchant of Inverness               100
    Robert Fraser, Advocate, in name of William Duff of
      Dyple, merchant of Inverness                                  100
    Robert Fraser, Advocate, in name of Alexander Duffe of
      Drumuire, merchant of Inverness                               100

    June 4, 1696.
    John Haldane of Gleneagles, depute by John Graham, son
      to John Graham, clerk to the chancellary                      100
    Adam Drummond of Meginch                                        200

    18.
    Agnes Campbell, relict of Andrew Anderson, his Majesty's
      printer                                                       100

    July 10.
    John Drummond of Newtoun, for Dame Margaret Graham,
      Lady Kinloch                                                  200
    John Drummond of Newtoun                                        200
    James Menzies of Schian                                         100
    Mungo Graeme of Garthie                                         200

    21.
    Sir Alexander Cumyng of Culter                                  200

    31.
    Mr. George Murray, doctor of physick                            200
    Patrick Campbell, brother to Monzie                             100

    August 1.
    James Lord Drummond                                            1000

    Friday, 6 March, 1696.
    John Drummond of Newtoune                                      1125

    Saturday, 7 March, 1696.
    John Graham, younger of                                        1000
    Daniel Campbell, merchant in Glasgow                           1000
    George Robinsoune, belt-maker in Glasgow                        100
    John Robinsoune, hammerman in Glasgow                           100
    John Robertson, junior, merchant in Glasgow                     500

    Munday, 9 March, 1696.
    Mattheu Cuming, junior, merchant in Glasgow                    1000
    William Buchanan, merchant in Glasgow                           100
    Marion Davidson, relict of Mr. John Glen, Minister of the
      Gospel                                                        100
    James Johnstoun, merchant in Glasgow                            200
    Thomas Johnstoun, merchant in Glasgow                           200
    George Johnston, merchant in Glasgow                           £200
    John Buchanan, merchant in Glasgow                              100
    John Grahame, younger of Dougaldstoun                         1,000

    Tuesday, 10 March, 1696.
    Neill McVicar, tanner in Glasgow                                100
    George Buchanan, Maltman in Glasgow                             100

    Saturday, 21 March, 1696.
    Archibald Cambell, merchant in Glasgow                          100

    Tuesday, 24 March, 1696.
    John Robertsone, younger, merchant in Glasgow, for Robert
      Robertsone, second lawfull sone to Umqll James
      Robertsone, merchant in Glasgow                               100

    Tuesday, March 31, 1696.
    Mungo Campbell of Nether Place                                  100
    Hugh Campbell, merchant, son to deceast Sir Hugh Campbell
      of Cesnock                                                    100
    Matthew Campbell of Waterhaugh                                  100

    Thursday, Agr the 2d of Aprille.
    Mungo Campbell, merchant in Ayr                                 100
    David Fergursone, merchant in Ayr                               100

    Wednesday the 15th day, 1696.
    Captain Charles Forbes, of Sir John Hill's regiment             200
    Captain James Menzies, of Sir John Hill's regiment              100
    Captain Francis Ferquhar, of Sir John Hill's regiment           100

    Thursday, 16 Aprile, 1696.
    Captain Charles Forbes, of Sir John Hill's regiment             200

    Fryday, 17 Aprile.
    Lieutenant Charles Ross, of Sir John Hill's regiment            100[13]

It is more than probable that some names should not be inserted above,
as the name Graeme, for it may belong to the clan Graham of the
Highlands, or else to the debateable land, near Carlisle, which is more
likely. We know that where they had made themselves adverse to both
sides, they were forced to emigrate in large numbers. Some of them
settled near Bangor, in the county of Down, Ireland. How large a per
cent, of the subscribers who lived in the lowlands, and born out of the
Highlands, would be impossible to determine. Then names of parties, born
in the Highlands and of Gaelic blood have undoubtedly been omitted owing
to change of name. By the change in spelling of the name, it would
indicate that some had left Ulster where their forefathers had settled,
and taken up their residence in Scotland. It will also be noticed that
the clans bordering the Grampians were most affected by the excitement
while others seemingly did not even feel the breeze.

The Darien Scheme at best was but suppositious, for no experiment had
been tried in order to forecast a realization of what was expected.
There was, it is true, a glitter about it, but there were materials
within the reach of all from which correct data might have been
obtained. It seems incredible that men of sound judgment should have
risked everything, when they only had a vague or general idea of
Paterson's plans. It was also a notorious fact that Spain claimed
sovereignty over the Isthmus of Panama, and, even if she had not, it was
unlikely that she would tolerate such a colony, as was proposed, in the
very heart of her transatlantic dominions. Spain owned the Isthmus both
by the right of discovery and possession; and the very country which
Paterson had described in such radiant colors had been found by the
Castilian settlers to be a land of misery and of death; and on account
of the poisonous air they had been compelled to remove to the
neighboring haven of Panama. All these facts, besides others, might
easily have been ascertained by members of the Company.

As has already been intimated, the Scots alone were not drawn into this
vortex of wild excitement, and are no more to be held responsible for
the delusion than some of other nationalities. The English people were
seized with the dread of Scottish prosperity resulting from the
enterprise, and England's jealousy of trade at once interfered to crush
an adventure which seemed so promising. The English East India Company
instigated a cry, echoed by the city of London, and taken up by the
nation, which induced their parliament, when it met for the first time,
after the elections of 1695, to give its unequivocal condemnation to the
scheme. One peer declared, "If these Scots are to have their way I shall
go and settle in Scotland, and not stay here to be made a beggar." The
two Houses of Parliament went up together to Kensington and represented
to the king the injustice of requiring England to exert her power in
support of an enterprise which, if successful, must be fatal to her
commerce and to her finances. William replied in plain terms that he had
been illy-treated in Scotland, but that he would try to find a remedy
for the evil which had been brought to his attention. At once he
dismissed Lord High Commissioner Tweeddale and Secretary Johnston; but
the Act which had been passed under their management still continued to
be law in Scotland.

The Darien Company might have surmounted the opposition of the English
parliament and the East India Company, had not the Dutch East India
Company--a body remarkable for its monopolizing character--also joined
in the outcry against the Scottish enterprise; incited thereto by the
king through Sir Paul Rycaut, the British resident at Hamburg, directing
him to transmit to the senate of that commercial city a remonstrance on
the part of king William, accusing them of having encouraged the
commissioners of the Darien Company; requesting them to desist from
doing so; intimating that the plan had not the king's support; and a
refusal to withdraw their countenance from the scheme would threaten an
interruption to his friendship with the good city of Hamburg. The result
of this interference was the almost total withdrawal of the Dutch and
English subscriptions, which was accelerated by the threatened
impeachment, by the English parliament, of such persons who had
subscribed to the Company; and, furthermore, were compelled to renounce
their connection with the Company, besides misusing some native-born
Scotchmen who had offended the House by subscribing their own money to a
company formed in their own country, and according to their own laws.

The managers of the scheme, supported by the general public of Scotland,
entered a strong protest against the king's hostile interference of his
Hamburg envoy. In his answer the king evaded what he was resolved not to
grant, and yet could not in equity refuse. By the double dealing of the
monarch the Company lost the active support of the subscribers in
Hamburg and Holland.

In spite of the desertion of her English and foreign subscribers the
Scots, encouraged in their stubborn resolution, and flattered by hopes
that captivated their imaginations, decided to enter the project alone.
A stately house in Milne Square, then the most modern and fashionable
part of Edinburgh, was purchased and fitted up for an office and
warehouse. It was called the Scottish India House. Money poured faster
than ever into the coffers of the Company. Operations were actively
commenced during the month of May, 1696. Contracts were rapidly let and
orders filled--smith and cutlery work at Falkirk; woollen stockings at
Aberdeen; gloves and other leather goods at Perth; various metallic
works, hats, shoes, tobacco-pipes, serges, linen cloth, bobwigs and
periwigs, at Edinburgh; and for home-spun and home-woven woollen checks
or tartan, to various parts of the Highlands.

[Illustration: SCOTTISH INDIA HOUSE]

As the means for building ships in Scotland did not then exist, recourse
was had to the dockyards of Amsterdam and Hamburg. At an expense of
£50,000 a few inferior ships were purchased, and fitted out as ships of
war; for their constitution authorized them to make war both by land and
sea. The vessels were finally fitted out at Leith, consisting of the
Caledonia, the St. Andrew, the Unicorn, and the Dolphin, each armed with
fifty guns and two tenders, the Endeavor and Pink, afterwards sunk at
Darien; and among the commodities stored away were axes, iron wedges,
knives, smiths', carpenters' and coopers' tools, barrels, guns, pistols,
combs, shoes, hats, paper, tobacco-pipes, and, as was supposed,
provisions enough to last eight months. The value of the cargo of the
St. Andrew was estimated at £4,006. The crew and colonists consisted of
twelve hundred picked men, the greater part of whom were veterans who
had served in king William's wars, and the remainder of Highlanders and
others who had opposed the revolution, and three hundred gentlemen of
family, desirous of trying their fortunes.

It was on July 26, 1698, that the vessels weighed anchor and put out to
sea. A wild insanity seized the entire population of Edinburgh as they
came to witness the embarkation. Guards were kept busy holding back the
eager crowd who pressed forward, and, stretching out their arms to their
departing countrymen, clamored to be taken on board. Stowaways, when
ordered on shore, madly clung to rope and mast, pleading in vain to be
allowed to serve without pay on board the ships. Women sobbed and gasped
for breath; men stood uncovered, and with downcast head and choked
utterance invoked the blessing of the Beneficent Being. The banner of
St. Andrew was hoisted at the admiral's mast; and as a light wind caught
the sails, the roar of the vast multitude was heard far down the waters
of the frith.

The actual destination of the fleet was still a profound secret, save to
a few. The supreme direction of the expedition was entrusted to a
council of seven, to whom was entrusted all power, both civil and
military. The voyage was long and the adventurers suffered much; the
rations proved to be scanty, and of poor quality; and the fleet, after
passing the Orkneys and Ireland, touched at Madeira, where those who had
fine clothes were glad to exchange them for provisions and wines. Having
crossed the Atlantic, they first landed on an uninhabited islet lying
between Porto Rico and St. Thomas, which they took possession of in the
name of their country, and hoisted the white cross of St. Andrew. Being
warned off for trespassing on the territory of the king of Denmark, and
having procured the services of an old buccaneer, under whose pilotage
they departed, on November 1st they anchored close to the Isthmus of
Panama, having lost fifteen of their number during the voyage. On the
4th they landed at Acla; founded there a settlement to which they gave
the name of New St. Andrews; marked out the site for another town and
called it New Edinburgh. The weather was genial and climate pleasant at
the time of their arrival; the vegetation was luxuriant and promising;
the natives were kind; and everything presaged a bright future for the
fortune-seekers. They cut a canal through the neck of land that divided
one side of the harbor from the ocean, and there constructed a fort,
whereon they mounted fifty cannon. On a mountain, at the opposite side
of the harbor, they built a watchhouse, where the extensive view
prevented all danger of a surprise. Lands were purchased from the
Indians, and messages of friendship were sent to the governors of the
several Spanish provinces. As the amount of funds appropriated for the
sustenance of the colony had been largely embezzled by those having the
matter in charge, the people were soon out of provisions. Fishing and
the chase were now the only sources, and as these were precarious, the
colonists were soon on the verge of starvation. As the summer drew near
the atmosphere became stifling, and the exhalations from the steaming
soil, added to other causes, wrought death among the settlers. The
mortality rose gradually to ten a day. Both the clergymen who
accompanied the expedition were dead; one of them, Rev. Thomas James,
died at sea before the colonists landed, and soon after the arrival Rev.
Adam Scot succumbed. Paterson buried his wife in that soil, which, as he
had assured his too credulous countrymen, exhaled health and vigor. Men
passed to the hospital, and from thence to the grave, and the survivors
were only kept alive through the friendly offices of the Indians.
Affairs continued daily to grow worse. The Spaniards on the isthmus
looked with complacency on the distress of the Scotchmen. No relief, and
no tidings coming from Scotland, the survivors on June 22, 1699, less
than eight months after their arrival, resolved to abandon the
settlement. They re-embarked in three vessels, a weak and hopeless
company, to sail whithersoever Providence might direct. Paterson, the
first to embark at Leith, was the last to re-embark at Darien. He begged
hard to be left behind with twenty or more companions to keep up a show
of possession, and to await the next arrival from Scotland. His
importunities were disregarded, and, utterly helpless, he was carried on
board the St. Andrew, and soon after the vessels stood out to sea. The
voyage was horrible. It might be compared to the horrors of a slave
ship.

The ocean kept secret the sufferings on board these pestilential ships
until August 8th, when the Caledonia, commanded by Captain Robert
Drummond, drifted into Sandy Hook, New York, having lost one hundred and
three men since leaving Darien, and twelve more within four days after
arrival, leaving but sixty-five men on board fit for handling ropes. The
three ships, on leaving Darien, had three hundred each, including
officers, crew and colonists. On August 13th, the Unicorn, commanded by
Captain John Anderson, came into New York in a distressed condition,
having lost her foremast, fore topmast, and mizzen mast. She lost one
hundred and fifty men on the way. It appears that Captain Robert
Pennicuik of the St. Andrew knew of the helpless condition of the
Unicorn, and accorded no assistance.[14] As might be expected, passion
was engendered amidst this scene of misery. The squalid survivors, in
the depths of their misery, raged fiercely against one another. Charges
of incapacity, cruelty, brutal insolence, were hurled backward and
forward. The rigid Presbyterians attributed the calamities to the
wickedness of Jacobites, Prelatists, Sabbath-breakers and Atheists, as
they denominated some of their fellow-sufferers. The accused parties, on
the other hand, complained bitterly of the impertinence of meddling
fanatics and hypocrites. Paterson was cruelly reviled, and was unable to
defend himself. He sunk into a stupor, and became temporarily insane.

The arrival of the two ships in New York awakened different emotions.
There certainly was no danger of these miserable people doing any harm,
and yet their appearance awakened apprehension, on account of orders
received from the king. After the proclamations which had been issued
against these miserable fugitives, it became a question of difficulty,
since the governor of New York was absent in Boston, whether it was
safe to provide the dying men with harborage and necessary food. Natural
feelings overcame the difficulty; the more selfish and timid would have
stood aloof and let fate take its course: there being a sufficient
number of them to make the more generous feel that their efforts to save
life were not made without risks. Even putting the most favorable
construction on the act of the earl of Bellomont, governor of Rhode
Island, who was appealed to for advice, by the lieutenant governor of
New York, the colonists were provoked by the actions of those in
authority. Bellomont, in his report to the Lords of Trade, under date of
October 20, 1699, states that the sufferers drew up a memorial to the
lieutenant governor for permission to buy provisions; would not act
until Bellomont gave his instructions; latter thinks the colonists
became insolent after being refreshed; and "your Lordships will see that
I have been cautious enough in my orders to the lieutenant governor of
New York, not to suffer the Scotch to buy more provisions, than would
serve to carry them home to Scotland."[15] On October 12th the Caledonia
set sail from Sandy Hook, made the west coast of Ireland, November 11th,
and on the 20th of same month anchored in the Sound of Islay, Scotland.

The story of the Unicorn is soon told. "John Anderson, a Scotch
Presbyterian, who commanded a ship to Darien in the Scottish expedition
thither and on his return in at Amboy, N. Jersey, & let his ship rot &
plundered her & with ye plunder bought land."[16]

The St. Andrew parted company with the Caledonia the second day after
leaving the settlement, and two nights later saw the Unicorn almost
wholly dismasted, and on the following day was pursued by the Baslavento
fleet. They put into Jamaica, but were denied assistance, in obedience
to king William's orders; and a British admiral, Bembo, refused to give
them some men to assist in bringing the ship to the isle of Port Royal.
During the voyage to Port Royal, they lost the commander, Captain
Pennicuik, most of the officers and one hundred and thirty of the men,
before landing, on August 9, 1699.[17]

The Dolphin, Captain Robert Pincarton, commander, used as a supply and
trading ship, of fourteen guns, on February 5, 1699, struck a rock and
ran ashore at Carthagena, the crew seized by the Spaniards, and in irons
were put in dungeons as pirates. The Spaniards congratulated themselves
on having captured a few of "the ruffians" who had been the terror and
curse of their settlements for a century. They were formally condemned
to death, but British interference succeeded in preventing the sentence
on the crew from being executed.

On the week following the departure of the expedition from Leith, the
Scottish parliament met and unanimously adopted an address to the king,
asking his support and countenance to the Darien colony. Notwithstanding
this memorial the British monarch ordered the governors of Jamaica,
Barbadoes and New York to refuse all supplies to the settlers. Up to
this time the king had partly concealed his policy. No time was lost by
the East India Companies in bringing every measure to bear in order to
ruin the colony. To such length did rancor go that the Scotch commanders
who should presume to enter English ports, even for repairs after a
storm, were threatened with arrest. In obedience to the king's orders
the governors issued proclamations, which they attempted strictly to
enforce; and every species of relief, not only that which countrymen can
claim of their fellow-subjects, and Christians of their
fellow-Christians, and such as the veriest criminal has a right to
demand, was denied the colonists of Darien. On May 12, 1699, there
sailed from Leith the Olive Branch, Captain William Johnson, commander,
and the Hopeful, under Captain Alexander Stark, with ample stores of
provisions, and three hundred recruits, but did not arrive at Darien
until eight weeks after the departure of the colonists. Finding that the
settlement had been abandoned, and leaving six of their number, who
preferred to remain, but were afterwards brought away, the Hopeful
sailed for Jamaica, where she was seized and condemned as a prize. "The
Olive Branch was unfortunately blown up at Caledonia" (Darien).[18]

The Spaniards had not only become aggressive by seizing the Dolphin and
incarcerating the officers and crew, but their government made no
remonstrance against the invasion of its territory until May 3, 1699,
when a memorial was presented to William by the Spanish ambassador
stating that his sovereign looked on the proceedings as a rupture of the
alliance between the two countries, and as a hostile invasion, and would
take such measures as he thought best against the intruders. It is
possible that at this time Spain would not have taken any action
whatever, if William had pursued a different course; and seeing that the
colonists had been abandoned and disowned by their own king, as if they
had been vagabonds or outlaws, the Spaniards, in a manner, felt
themselves invited to precipitate a crisis, which they accomplished.

In the meantime the directors of the Darien Company were actively
organizing another expedition and hastily sent out four more
vessels--the Rising Sun, Captain James Gibson; the Hope, Captain James
Miller; the Hope of Barrowstouness, Captain Richard Daling; and the Duke
of Hamilton, Captain Walter Duncan; with thirteen hundred "good men well
appointed," besides materials of war. This fleet left Greenock August
18, 1699, but having been delayed by contrary winds, did not leave the
Bay of Rothsay, Isle of Bute, until Sunday, September 24th. On Thursday,
November 30, the fleet reached its destination, after considerable
suffering and some deaths on board. These vessels contained engineers,
fire-workers, bombardiers, battery guns of twenty-four pounds, mortars
and bombs. The number of men mentioned included over three hundred
Highlanders, chiefly from the estate of Captain Alexander Campbell of
Fonab, most of whom had served under him, in Flanders, in Lorn's
regiment. During the voyage the Hope was cast away. Captain Miller
loaded the long boat very deep with provisions, goods and arms, and
proceeded towards Havana. He arrived safely at Darien.

A large proportion of the second expedition belonged to the military,
and were organized. Among the Highland officers are noticed the
following names: Captains Colin Campbell, Thomas McIntosh, James
Urquhart, Alexander Stewart, ---- Ferquhar, and ---- Grant; Lieutenants
Charles Stewart, Samuel Johnston, John Campbell and Walter Graham;
Ensigns Hugh Campbell and Robert Colquhon, and Sergeant Campbell.

The members of this expedition were greatly disappointed on their
arrival. They fully expected to find a secure fortification, a
flourishing town, cultivated fields, and a warm reception. Instead they
found a wilderness; the castle in ruins; the huts burned, and grass
growing over the ruins. Their hearts sank within them; for this fleet
had not been fitted out to found a colony, but to recruit and protect
one already in a flourishing condition. They were worse provided with
the necessaries of life than their predecessors had been. They made
feeble attempts to restore the ruins. They constructed a fort on the old
grounds; and within the ramparts built a hamlet consisting of about
eighty-five cabins, generally of twelve feet by ten. The work went
slowly on, without hope or encouragement. Despondency and discontent
pervaded all ranks. The provisions became scanty, and unfair dealing
resorted to. There were plots and factions formed, and one malcontent
hanged. Nor was the ecclesiastical part happily arranged. The provision
made by the General Assembly was as defective as the provision for the
temporal wants had been made by the directors of the company. Of the
four divines, one of them, Alexander Dalgleish, died at sea, on board of
Captain Duncan's vessel. They were all of the established church of
Scotland, who had the strongest sympathy with the Cameronians. They were
at war with almost all the colonists. The antagonisms between priest and
people were extravagant and fatal. They described their flocks as the
most profligate of mankind, and declared it was most impossible to
constitute a presbytery, for it was impossible to find persons fit to be
ruling elders of a Christian church. This part of the trouble can easily
be accounted for. One-third of the people were Highlanders, who did not
understand a word of English, and not one of the pastors knew a word of
Gaelic; and only through interpreters could they converse with this
large body of men. It is also more than probable that many of these men,
trained to war, had more or less of a tendency to fling off every
corrective band. Both Rev. John Borland and Rev. Alexander Shiels,
author of the "Hynd let Loose," were stern fanatics who would tolerate
nothing diverging a shade from their own code of principles. They
treated the people as persons under their spiritual authority, and
required of them fastings, humiliations, and long attendance on sermons
and exhortations. Such pastors were treated with contempt and ignominy
by men scarcely inclined to bear ecclesiastical authority, even in its
lightest form. They mistook their mission, which was to give Christian
counsel, and to lead gently and with dignity from error into rectitude.
Instead of this they fell upon the flock like irritated schoolmasters
who find their pupils in mutiny. They became angry and dominative; and
the more they thus exhibited themselves, the more scorn and contumely
they encountered. Meanwhile two trading sloops arrived in the harbor
with a small stock of provisions; but the supply was inadequate; so five
hundred of the party were ordered to embark for Scotland.

The news of the abandonment of the settlement by the first expedition
was first rumored in London during the middle of September, 1699.
Letters giving such accounts had been received from Jamaica. The report
reached Edinburgh on the 19th, but was received with scornful
incredulity. It was declared to be an impudent lie devised by some
Englishmen who could not endure the sight of Scotland waxing great and
opulent. On October 4th the whole truth was known, for letters had been
received from New York announcing that a few miserable men, the remains
of the colony, had arrived in the Hudson. Grief, dismay, and rage seized
the nation. The directors in their rage called the colonists
white-livered deserters. Accurate accounts brought the realization of
the truth that hundreds of families, once in comparative opulence, were
now reduced almost to beggary, and the flower of the nation had either
succumbed to hardships, or else were languishing in prisons in the
Spanish settlements, or else starving in English colonies. The
bitterness of disappointment was succeeded by an implacable hostility to
the king, who was denounced in pamphlets of the most violent and
inflammatory character, calling him a hypocrite, and a deceiver of those
who had shed their best blood in his cause, and the author of the
misfortunes of Scotland. Indemnification, redress, and revenge were
demanded by every mouth, and each hand was ready to vouch for the claim.
Never had just such a feeling existed in Scotland. It became a useless
possession to the king, for he could not wring one penny from that
kingdom for the public service, and, what was more important to him, he
could not induce one recruit for his continental wars. William continued
to remain indifferent to all complaints of hardships and petitions of
redress, unless when he showed himself irritated by the importunity of
the suppliants, and hurt at being obliged to evade what it was
impossible for him, with the least semblance of justice to refuse. The
feeling against William long continued in Scotland. As late as November
5, 1788, when it was proposed that a monument should be erected in
Edinburgh to his memory, there appeared in one of the papers an
anonymous communication ironically applauding the undertaking, and
proposing as two subjects of the entablature, for the base of the
projected column, the massacre of Glencoe and the distresses of the
Scottish colonists in Darien. On the appearance of this article the
project was very properly and righteously abandoned. The result of the
Darien Scheme and the cold-blooded policy of William made the Scottish
nation ripe for rebellion. Had there been even one member of the exiled
house of Stuart equal to the occasion, that family could then have
returned to Scotland amid the joys and acclamations of the nation.

Amidst the disasters of the first expedition the directors of the
company were not unmindful of the fate of those who had sailed in the
last fleet. These people must be promptly succored. The company hired
the ship Margaret, commanded by Captain Leonard Robertson, which sailed
from Dundee, March 9, 1700; but what was of greater importance was the
commission given to Captain Alexander Campbell of Fonab, under date of
October 10, 1699, making him a councillor of the company and investing
him with "the chief and supreme command, both by sea and by land, of all
ships, men, forts, settlements, lands, possessions, and others
whatsoever belonging to the said company in any part or parts of
America,"[19] with instructions to lose no time in taking passage for
Jamaica, or the Leeward Islands and there secure a vessel, with three or
four months' provisions for the colony. Arriving at the Barbadoes, he
then purchased a vessel with a cargo of provisions, and on January 24,
1700, sailed for Darien, which he reached February 5th, and just in time
to be of active service; for intelligence had reached the colony that
fifteen hundred Spaniards lay encamped on the Rio Santa Maria, waiting
the arrival of an armament of eleven ships, with troops on board,
destined to attack Ft. St. Andrew. Captain Campbell of Fonab, who had
gained for himself great reputation in Flanders as an approved warrior,
resolved to anticipate the enemy, and at once mustering two hundred of
his veteran troops, accompanied by sixty Indians, marched over the
mountains, and fell on the Spanish camp by night, and dispersed them
with great slaughter, with a loss to the colony of nine killed and
fourteen wounded, among the latter being their gallant commander. The
Spaniards could not withstand the tumultuous rush of the Highlanders,
and in precipitate flight left a large number of their dead upon the
field. The little band, among the spoils, brought back the Spanish
commander's decoration of the "Golden Fleece." When they recrossed the
mountains it was to find their poor countrymen blockaded by five Spanish
men-of-war. Campbell, and others, believing that no inequalities
justified submission to such an enemy, determined on resistance, but
soon discovered that resistance was in vain, when they could only depend
on diseased, starving and broken-hearted men. As the Spaniards would not
include Captain Campbell in the terms of capitulation, he managed, with
several companions, dexterously to escape in a small vessel, sailed for
New York, and from thence to Scotland. The defence of the colony under
Fonab's genius had been heroic. When ammunition had given out, their
pewter dishes were fashioned into cannon balls. On March 18, 1700, the
colonists capitulated on honorable terms. It was a received popular
opinion in Scotland that none of those who were concerned in the
surrender ever returned to their native country. So weak were the
survivors, and so few in numbers, that they were unable to weigh the
anchor of their largest ship until the Spaniards came to their
assistance. What became of them? Their melancholy tale is soon told.

The Earl of Bellomont, writing to the Lords of the Admiralty, under
date, New York, October 15, 1700, says:[20]

   "Some Scotchmen are newly come hither from Carolina that belonged to
   the ship Rising Sun (the biggest ship they set out for their
   Caledonia expedition) who tell me that on the third of last month a
   hurricane happened on that coast, as that ship lay at anchor, within
   less than three leagues of Charles Town in Carolina with another
   Scotch ship called the Duke of Hamilton, and three or four others;
   that the ships were all shattered in pieces and all the people lost,
   and not a man saved. The Rising Sun had 112 men on board. The Scotch
   men that are come hither say that 15 of 'em went on shore before the
   storm to buy fresh provisions at Charles Town by which means they
   were saved. Two other of their ships they suppose were lost in the
   Gulph of Florida in the same storm. They came all from Jamaica and
   were bound hither to take in provisions on their way to Scotland. The
   Rising Sun had 60 guns mounted and could have carryed many more, as
   they tell me."

The colonists found a watery grave. No friendly hand nor sympathizing
tear soothed their dying moments; no clergyman eulogized their heroism,
self-sacrifice and virtues; no orator has pronounced a panegyric; no
poet has embalmed their memory in song, and no novelist has taken their
record for a fanciful story. Since their mission was a failure their
memory is doomed to rest without marble monument or graven image. To the
merciful and the just they will be honored as heroes and pioneers.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 13: The Darien Papers, pp. 371-417.]

[Footnote 14: "Darien Papers," pp 195, 275.]

[Footnote 15: "Documentary and Colonial History of New York," Vol. IV,
p. 591.]

[Footnote 16: _Ibid_, Vol. V, p. 335.]

[Footnote 17: "Darien Papers," p. 150.]

[Footnote 18: "Darien Papers," p. 160.]

[Footnote 19: "Darien Papers," p. 176.]

[Footnote 20: "Documents Relating to Colonial History of New York," Vol.
IV, p. 711.]




CHAPTER V.

THE HIGHLANDERS IN NORTH CAROLINA.


The earliest, largest and most important settlement of Highlanders in
America, prior to the Peace of 1783, was in North Carolina, along Cape
Fear River, about one hundred miles from its mouth, and in what was then
Bladen, but now Cumberland County. The time when the Highlanders began
to occupy this territory is not definitely known; but some were located
there in 1729, at the time of the separation of the province into North
and South Carolina. It is not known what motive caused the first
settlers to select that region. There was no leading clan in this
movement, for various ones were well represented. At the headwaters of
navigation these pioneers literally pitched their tent in the
wilderness, for there were but few human abodes to offer them shelter.
The chief occupants of the soil were the wild deer, turkeys, wolves,
raccoons, opossums, with huge rattlesnakes to contest the intrusion.
Fortunately for the homeless immigrant the climate was genial, and the
stately tree would afford him shelter while he constructed a house out
of logs proffered by the forest. Soon they began to fell the primeval
forest, grub, drain, and clear the rich alluvial lands bordering on the
river, and plant such vegetables as were to give them subsistence.

In course of time a town was formed, called Campbellton, then Cross
Creek, and after the Revolution, in honor of the great Frenchman, who
was so truly loyal to Washington, it was permanently changed to
Fayetteville.

The immigration to North Carolina was accelerated, not only by the
accounts sent back to the Highlanders of Scotland by the first settlers,
but particularly under the patronage of Gabriel Johnston, governor of
the province from 1734 until his death in 1752. He was born in Scotland,
educated at the University of St. Andrews, where he became professor of
Oriental languages, and still later a political writer in London. He
bears the reputation of having done more to promote the prosperity of
North Carolina than all its other colonial governors combined. However,
he was often arbitrary and unwise with his power, besides having the
usual misfortune of colonial governors of being at variance with the
legislature. He was very partial to the people of his native country,
and sought to better their condition by inducing them to emigrate to
North Carolina. Among the charges brought against him, in 1748, was his
inordinate fondness for Scotchmen, and even Scotch rebels. So great, it
was alleged, was his partiality for the latter that he showed no joy
over the king's "glorious victory of Culloden;" and "that he had
appointed one William McGregor, who had been in the Rebellion in the
year 1715, a Justice of the Peace during the late Rebellion (1745) and
was not himself without suspicion of disaffection to His Majesty's
Government."[21]

The "Colonial Records of North Carolina" contain many distinctively
Highland names, most of which refer to persons whose nativity was in the
Scottish Highlands; but these furnish no certain criterion, for
doubtless some of the parties, though of Highland parents, were born in
the older provinces, while in later colonial history others belong to
the Scotch-Irish, who came in that great wave of migration from Ulster,
and found a lodgment upon the headwaters of the Cape Fear, Pee Dee and
Neuse. Many of the early Highland emigrants were very prominent in the
annals of the colony, among whom none were more so than Colonel James
Innes, who was born about the year 1700 at Cannisbay, a town on the
extreme northern point of the coast of Scotland. He was a personal
friend of Governor Dinwiddie of Virginia, who in 1754 appointed him
commander-in-chief of all the forces in the expedition to the
Ohio,--George Washington being the colonel commanding the Virginia
regiment. He had previously seen some service as a captain in the
unsuccessful expedition against Carthagenia.

The real impetus of the Highland emigration to North Carolina was the
arrival, in 1739, of a "shipload," under the guidance of Neil McNeill,
of Kintyre, Scotland, who settled also on the Cape Fear, amongst those
who had preceded him. Here he found Hector McNeill, called "Bluff
Hector," from his residence near the bluffs above Cross Creek.

Neil McNeill, with his countrymen, landed on the Cape Fear during the
month of September. They numbered three hundred and fifty souls,
principally from Argyleshire. At the ensuing session of the legislature
they made application for substantial encouragement, that they might
thereby be able to induce the rest of their friends and acquaintances to
settle in the country. While this petition was pending, in order to
encourage them and others and also to show his good will, the governor
appointed, by the council of the province, a certain number of them
justices of the peace, the commissions bearing date of February 28,
1740. The proceedings show that it was "ordered that a new commission of
peace for Bladen directed to the following persons: Mathew Rowan, Wm.
Forbes, Hugh Blaning, John Clayton, Robert Hamilton, Griffeth Jones,
James Lyon, Duncan Campbel, Dugold McNeil, Dan McNeil, Wm. Bartram and
Samuel Baker hereby constituting and appointing them Justices of the
Peace for the said county."[22]

These were the first so appointed. The petition was first heard in the
upper house of the legislature, at Newbern, and on January 26, 1740, the
following action was taken:

   "Resolved, that the Persons mentioned in said Petition, shall be free
   from payment of any Publick or County tax for Ten years next ensuing
   their Arrival.

   "Resolved, that towards their subsistence the sum of one thousand
   pounds be paid out of the Publick money, by His Excellency's warrant
   to be lodged with Duncan Campbell, Dugald McNeal, Daniel McNeal.
   Coll. McAlister and Neal McNeal Esqrs., to be by them distributed
   among the several families in the said Petition mentioned.

   "Resolved, that as an encouragement for Protestants to remove from
   Europe into this Province, to settle themselves in bodys or
   Townships, That all such as shall so remove into this Province.
   Provided they exceed forty persons in one body or Company, they shall
   be exempted from payment of any Publick or County tax for the space
   of Ten years, next ensuing their Arrival.

   "Resolved, that an address be presented to his Excellency the
   Governor to desire him to use his Interest, in such manner, as he
   shall think most proper to obtain an Instruction for giveing
   encouragement to Protestants from foreign parts, to settle in
   Townships within this Province, to be set apart for that purpose
   after the manner, and with such priviledges and advantages, as is
   practised in South Carolina."[23]

The petition was concurred in by the lower house on February 21st, and
on the 26th, after reciting the action of the upper house in relation to
the petition, passed the following:

   "Resolved, That this House concurs with the several Resolves of the
   Upper House in the abovesd Message Except that relateing to the
   thousand pounds which this House refers till next Session of Assembly
   for Consideration."[24]

At a meeting of the council held at Wilmington, June 4, 1740, there were
presented petitions for patents of lands, by the following persons,
giving acres and location, as granted:

   Name.                           Acres.           County.

   Thos Clarks                        320           N. Hanover
   James McLachlan                    160           Bladen
   Hector McNeil                      300              "
   Duncan Campbell                    150              "
   James McAlister                    640              "
   James McDugald                     640              "
   Duncan Campbell                     75              "
   Hugh McCraine                      500              "
   Duncan Campbell                    320              "
   Gilbert Pattison                   640              "
   Rich Lovett                        855           Tyrrel
   Rd Earl                            108           N. Hanover
   Jno McFerson                       320           Bladen
   Duncan Campbell                    300              "
   Neil McNeil                        150              "
   Duncan Campbell                    140              "
   Jno Clark                          320              "
   Malcolm McNeil                     320              "
   Neil McNeil                        400              "
   Arch Bug                           320              "

       Name.                       Acres.           County.
   Duncan Campbel                     640           Bladen
   Jas McLachlen                      320              "
   Murdock McBraine                   320              "
   Jas Campbel                        640              "
   Patric Stewart                     320              "
   Arch Campley                       320              "
   Dan McNeil                         105 (400) 400    "
   Neil McNeil                        400              "
   Duncan Campbel                     320              "
   Jno Martileer                      160              "
   Daniel McNeil                      320              "
   Wm Stevens                         300              "
   Dan McNeil                         400              "
   Jas McLachlen                      320              "
   Wm Speir                           160           Edgecombe
   Jno Clayton                        100           Bladen
   Sam Portevint                      640           N. Hanover
   Charles Harrison                   320              "
   Robt Walker                        640              "
   Jas Smalwood                       640              "
   Wm Faris                           400 640 640      "
   Richd Carlton                      180           Craven
   Duncan Campbel                     150           Bladen
   Neil McNeil                        321              "
   Alex McKey                         320              "
   Henry Skibley                      320              "
   Jno Owen                           200              "
   Duncan Campbel                     400              "
   Dougal Stewart                     640              "
   Arch Douglass                      200           N. Hanover
   James Murray                       320              "
   Robt Clark                         200              "
   Duncan Campbel                     148           Bladen
   James McLachlen                    320              "
   Arch McGill                        500              "
   Jno Speir                          100           Edgecombe
   James Fergus                       640              "
   Rufus Marsden                      640              "
   Hugh Blaning                       320 (surplus land) Bladen
   Robt Hardy                         400           Beaufort
   Wm Jones                           354 350             [25]

All the above names, by no means are Highland; but as they occur in the
same list, in all probability, came on the same ship, and were probably
connected by kindred ties with the Gaels.

The colony was destined soon to receive a great influx from the
Highlands of Scotland, due to the frightful oppression and persecution
which immediately followed the battle of Culloden. Not satisfied with
the merciless harrying of the Highlands, the English army on its return
into England carried with it a large number of prisoners, and after a
hasty military trial many were publicly executed. Twenty-two suffered
death in Yorkshire; seventeen were put to death in Cumberland; and
seventeen at Kennington Common, near London. When the king's vengeance
had been fully glutted, he pardoned a large number, on condition of
their leaving the British Isles and emigrating to the plantations, after
having first taken the oath of allegiance.

The collapsing of the romantic scheme to re-establish the Stuart
dynasty, in which so many brave and generous mountaineers were enlisted,
also brought an indiscriminate national punishment upon the Scottish
Gaels, for a blow was struck not only at those "who were out" with
prince Charles, but also those who fought for the reigning dynasty. Left
without chief, or protector, clanship broken up, homes destroyed and
kindred murdered, dispirited, outlawed, insulted and without hope of
palliation or redress, the only ray of light pointed across the Atlantic
where peace and rest were to be found in the unbroken forests of North
Carolina. Hence, during the years 1746 and 1747, great numbers of
Highlanders, with their families and the families of their friends,
removed to North Carolina and settled along the Cape Fear river,
covering a great space of country, of which Cross Creek, or Campbelton,
now Fayetteville, was the common center. This region received shipload
after shipload of the harrassed, down-trodden and maligned people. The
emigration, forced by royal persecution and authority, was carried on by
those who desired to improve their condition, by owning the land they
tilled. In a few years large companies of Highlanders joined their
countrymen in Bladen County, which has since been subdivided into the
counties of Anson, Bladen, Cumberland, Moore, Richmond, Robeson and
Sampson, but the greater portion established themselves within the
present limits of Cumberland, with Fayetteville the seat of justice.
There was in fact a Carolina mania which was not broken until the
beginning of the Revolution.[26] The flame of enthusiasm passed like
wildfire through the Highland glens and Western Isles. It pervaded all
classes, from the poorest crofter to the well-to-do farmer, and even men
of easy competence, who were according to the appropriate song of the
day,

   "Dol a dh'iarruidh an fhortain do North Carolina."

Large ocean crafts, from several of the Western Lochs, laden with
hundreds of passengers sailed direct for the far west. In that day this
was a great undertaking, fraught with perils of the sea, and a long,
comfortless voyage. Yet all this was preferable than the homes they
loved so well; but no longer homes to them! They carried with them their
language, their religion, their manners, their customs and costumes. In
short, it was a Highland community transplanted to more hospitable
shores.

The numbers of Highlanders at any given period can only relatively be
known. In 1753 it was estimated that in Cumberland County there were one
thousand Highlanders capable of bearing arms, which would make the whole
number between four and five thousand,--to say nothing of those in the
adjoining districts, besides those scattered in the other counties of
the province.

The people at once settled quietly and devoted their energies to
improving their lands. The country rapidly developed and wealth began to
drop into the lap of the industrious. The social claims were not
forgotten, and the political demands were attended to. It is recorded
that in 1758 Hector McNeil was sheriff of Cumberland County, and as his
salary was but £10, it indicates his services were not in demand, and
there was a healthy condition of affairs.

Hector McNeil and Alexander McCollister represented Cumberland County in
the legislature that assembled at Wilmington April 13, 1762. In 1764 the
members were Farquhar Campbell and Walter Gibson,--the former being
also a member in 1769, 1770, 1771, and 1775, and during this period one
of the leading men, not only of the county, but also of the legislature.
Had he, during the Revolution, taken a consistent position in harmony
with his former acts, he would have been one of the foremost patriots of
his adopted state; but owing to his vacillating character, his course of
conduct inured to his discomfiture and reputation.

The legislative body was clothed with sufficient powers to ameliorate
individual distress, and was frequently appealed to for relief. In quite
a list of names, seeking relief from "Public duties and Taxes," April
16, 1762, is that of Hugh McClean, of Cumberland county. The relief was
granted. This would indicate that there was more or less of a struggle
in attaining an independent home, which the legislative body desired to
assist in as much as possible, in justice to the commonwealth.

The Peace of 1763 not only saw the American Colonies prosperous, but
they so continued, making great strides in development and growth.
England began to look towards them as a source for additional revenue
towards filling her depleted exchequer; and, in order to realize this,
in March, 1765, her parliament passed, by great majorities, the
celebrated act for imposing stamp duties in America. All America was
soon in a foment. The people of North Carolina had always asserted their
liberties on the subject of taxation. As early as 1716, when the
province, all told, contained only eight thousand inhabitants, they
entered upon the journal of their assembly the formal declaration "that
the impressing of the inhabitants or their property under pretence of
its being for the public service without authority of the Assembly, was
unwarrantable and a great infringement upon the liberty of the subject."
In 1760 the Assembly declared its indubitable right to frame and model
every bill whereby an aid was granted to the king. In 1764 it entered
upon its journal a peremptory order that the treasurer should not pay
out any money by order of the governor and council without the
concurrence of the assembly.

William Tryon assumed the duties of governor March 28, 1765, and
immediately after he took charge of affairs the assembly was called, but
within two weeks he prorogued it; said to have been done in consequence
of an interview with the speaker of the assembly, Mr. Ashe, who, in
answer to a question by the governor on the Stamp Act, replied, "We will
fight it to the death." The North Carolina records show it was fought
even to "the death."

The prevalent excitement seized the Highlanders along the Cape Fear. A
letter appeared in "The North Carolina Gazette," dated at Cross Creek,
January 30, 1766, in which the writer urges the people by every
consideration, in the name of "dear Liberty" to rise in their might and
put a stop to the seizures then in progress. He asks the people if they
have "lost their senses and their souls, and are they determined tamely
to submit to slavery." Nor did the matter end here; for, the people of
Cross Creek gave vent to their resentment by burning lord Bute in
effigy.

Just how far statistics represent the wealth of a people may not be
wholly determined. At this period of the history, referring to a return
of the counties, in 1767, it is stated that Anson county, called also
parish of St. George, had six hundred and ninety-six white taxables,
that the people were in general poor and unable to, support a minister.
Bladen county, or St. Martin's parish, had seven hundred and ninety-one
taxable whites, and the inhabitants in middling circumstances.
Cumberland, or St. David's parish, had eight hundred and ninety-nine
taxable whites, "mostly Scotch--Support a Presbyterian Minister."

The Colonial Records of North Carolina do not exhibit a list of the
emigrants, and seldom refer to the ship by name. Occasionally, however,
a list has been preserved in the minutes of the official proceedings.
Hence it may be read that on November 4, 1767, there landed at
Brunswick, from the Isle of Jura, Argyleshire, Scotland, the following
names of families and persons, to whom were allotted vacant lands, clear
of all fees, to be taken up in Cumberland or Mecklenburgh counties, at
their option:

   +-------------------------------+-------------+-------+----------+
   |                               |  CHILDREN   |       | Acres to |
   |       NAMES OF FAMILIES       +------+------+ TOTAL |   Each   |
   |                               | Male |Female|       |  Family  |
   +-------------------------------+------+------+-------+----------+
   |Alexander McDougald and wife   |      |   1  |   3   |    300   |
   |Malcolm McDougald    "   "     |      |   1  |   3   |    300   |
   |Neill McLean         "   "     |   1  |      |   3   |    300   |
   |Duncan McLean        "   "     |      |      |   2   |    200   |
   |Duncan Buea          "   "     |   1  |      |   3   |    300   |
   |Angus McDougald      "   "     |      |      |   2   |    200   |
   |Dougald McDougald    "   "     |   3  |   1  |   6   |    640   |
   |Dougald McDougald    "   "     |   2  |      |   4   |    400   |
   |John Campbell        "   "     |   1  |      |   3   |    300   |
   |Archibald Buea       "   "     |   1  |      |   3   |    300   |
   |Neill Buea                     |      |      |   1   |    100   |
   |Neill Clark                    |      |      |   1   |    100   |
   |John McLean                    |      |      |   1   |    100   |
   |Angus McDougald                |      |      |   1   |    100   |
   |John McDougald                 |      |      |   1   |    100   |
   |Donald McDougald               |      |      |   1   |    100   |
   |Donald McDougald               |      |      |   1   |    100   |
   |Alexander McDougald            |      |      |   1   |    100   |
   |John McLean                    |      |      |   1   |    100   |
   |Peter McLean                   |      |      |   1   |    100   |
   |Malcolm Buea                   |      |      |   1   |    100   |
   |Duncan Buea                    |      |      |   1   |    100   |
   |Mary Buea                      |      |      |   1   |    100   |
   |Nancy McLean                   |      |      |   1   |    100   |
   |Peggy Sinclair                 |      |      |   1   |    100   |
   |Peggy McDougald                |      |      |   1   |    100   |
   |Jenny Darach                   |      |      |   1   |    100   |
   |Donald McLean                  |      |      |   1   |    100   |
   +-------------------------------+------+------+-------+----------+

These names show they were from Argyleshire, and probably from the Isle
of Mull, and the immediate vicinity of the present city of Oban.

The year 1771 witnessed civil strife in North Carolina. The War of the
Regulators was caused by oppression in disproportionate taxation; no
method for payment of taxes in produce, as in other counties; unfairness
in transactions of business by officials; the privilege exercised by
lawyers to commence suits in any court they pleased, and unlawful fees
extorted. The assembly was petitioned in vain on these points, and on
account of these wrongs the people of the western districts attempted to
gain by force what was denied them by peaceable means.

One of the most surprising things about this war is that it was
ruthlessly stamped out by the very people of the eastern part of the
province who themselves had been foremost in rebellion against the Stamp
Act. And, furthermore, to be leaders against Great Britain in less than
five years from the battle of the Alamance. Nor did they appear in the
least to be willing to concede justice to their western brethren, until
the formation of the state constitution, in 1776, when thirteen, out of
the forty-seven sections, of that instrument embodied the reforms sought
for by the Regulators.

On March 10, 1771, Governor Tryon apportioned the number of troops for
each county which were to march against the insurgents. In this
allotment fifty each fell to Cumberland, Bladen, and Anson counties.
Farquhar Campbell was given a captain's commission, and two commissions
in blank for lieutenant and ensign, besides a draft for £150, to be used
as bounty money to the enlisted men, and other expenses. As soon as his
company was raised, he was ordered to join, as he thought expedient,
either the westward or eastward detachment. The date of his orders is
April 18, 1771. Captain Campbell had expressed himself as being able to
raise the complement.[27] The records do not show whether or not Captain
Campbell and his company took an active part.

It cannot be affirmed that the expedition against the Regulators was a
popular one. When the militia was called out, there arose trouble in
Craven, Dobbs, Johnston, Pitt and Edgecombe counties, with no troops
from the Albemarle section. In Bute county where there was a regiment
eight hundred strong, when called upon for fifty volunteers, all broke
rank, without orders, declaring that they were in sympathy with the
Regulators.

The freeholders living near Campbelton on March 13, 1772, petitioned
Governor Martin for a change in the charter of their town, alleging that
as Campbelton was a trading town persons temporarily residing there
voted, and thus the power of election was thrown into their hands,
because the property owners were fewer in numbers. They desired "a new
Charter impowering all persons, being Freeholders within two miles of
the Courthouse of Campbelton or seized of an Estate for their own, or
the life of any other person in any dwelling-house (such house having a
stone or brick Chimney thereunto belonging and appendent) to elect a
Member to represent them in General Assembly. Whereby we humbly conceive
that the right of election will be lodged with those who only have right
to Claim it and the purposes for which the Charter was granted to
encourage Merchants of property to settle there fully answered."[28]

Among the names signed to this petition are those of Neill MacArther,
Alexr. MacArther, James McDonald, Benja. McNatt, Ferqd. Campbell, and A.
Maclaine. The charter was granted.

The people of Cumberland county had a care for their own interests, and
fully appreciated the value of public buildings. Partly by their
efforts, the upper legislative house, on February 24, 1773, passed a
bill for laying out a public road from the Dan through the counties of
Guilford, Chatham and Cumberland to Campbelton. On the 26th same month,
the same house passed a bill for regulating the borough of Campbelton,
and erecting public buildings therein, consisting of court house, gaol,
pillory and stocks, naming the following persons to be commissioners:
Alexander McAlister, Farquhard Campbell, Richard Lyon, Robert Nelson,
and Robert Cochran.[29] The same year Cumberland county paid in
quit-rents, fines and forfeitures the sum of £206.

In September, 1773, a boy named Reynold McDugal was condemned for
murder. His youthful appearance, looking to be but thirteen, though
really eighteen years of age, enlisted the sympathy of a great many, who
petitioned for clemency, which was granted. To this petition were
attached such Highland names as, Angus Camel, Alexr. McKlarty, James
McKlarty, Malcolm McBride, Neil McCoulskey, Donald McKeithen, Duncan
McKeithen, Gilbert McKeithen, Archibald McKeithen, Daniel McFarther,
John McFarther, Daniel Graham, Malcolm Graham, Malcolm McFarland,
Murdock Graham, Michael Graham, John McKown, Robert McKown, William
McKown, Daniel Campbell, John Campbell. Iver McKay, John McLeod, Alexr.
Graham, Evin McMullan, John McDuffie, William McNeil. Andw. McCleland.
John McCleland, Wm. McRei, Archd. McCoulsky, James McCoulsky, Chas.
McNaughton, Jno. McLason.

The Highland clans were fairly represented, with a preponderance in
favor of the McNeils. They still wore their distinctive costume, the
plaid, the kilt, and the sporan,--and mingled together, as though they
constituted but one family. A change now began to take place and rapidly
took on mammoth proportions. The MacDonalds of Raasay and Skye became
impatient under coercion and set out in great numbers for North
Carolina. Among them was Allan MacDonald of Kingsborough, and his famous
wife, the heroine Flora, who arrived in 1774. Allan MacDonald succeeded
to the estate of Kingsburgh in 1772, on the death of his father, but
finding it incumbered with debt, and embarrassed in his affairs, he
resolved in 1773 to go to North Carolina, and there hoped to mend his
fortunes. He settled in Anson county. Although somewhat aged, he had the
graceful mien and manly looks of a gallant Highlander. He had jet black
hair tied behind, and was a large, stately man, with a steady, sensible
countenance. He wore his tartan thrown about him, a large blue bonnet
with a knot of black ribbon like a cockade, a brown short coat, a tartan
waistcoat with gold buttons and gold button holes, a bluish philabeg,
and tartan hose. At once he took precedence among his countrymen,
becoming their leader and adviser. The Macdonalds, by 1775, were so
numerous in Cumberland county as to be called the "Clan Donald," and the
insurrection of February, 1776, is still known as the "Insurrection of
the Clan MacDonald."

Little did the late comers know or realize the gathering storm. The
people of the West Highlands, so remote from the outside world, could
not apprehend the spirit of liberty that was being awakened in the
Thirteen Colonies. Or, if they heard of it, the report found no special
lodgement. In short, there were but few capable of realizing what the
outcome would be. Up to the very breaking out of hostilities the clans
poured forth emigrants into North Carolina.

Matters long brewing now began to culminate and evil days grew apace.
The ruling powers of England refused to understand the rights of
America, and their king rushed headlong into war. The colonists had
suffered long and patiently, but when the overt act came they appealed
to arms. Long they bore misrule. An English king, of his own whim, or
the favoritism of a minister, or the caprice of a woman good or bad, or
for money in hand paid, selected the governor, chief justice, secretary,
receiver-general, and attorney-general for the province. The governor
selected the members of the council, the associate judges, the
magistrates, and the sheriffs. The clerks of the county courts and the
register of deeds were selected by the clerk of pleas, who having bought
his office in England came to North Carolina and peddled out "county
rights" at prices ranging from £4 to £40 annual rent per county.
Scandalous abuses accumulated, especially under such governors as were
usually chosen. The people were still loyal to England, even after the
first clash of arms, but the open rupture rapidly prepared them for
independence. The open revolt needed only the match. When that was
applied, a continent was soon ablaze, controlled by a lofty patriotism.

The steps taken by the leaders of public sentiment in America were
prudent and statesmanlike. Continental and Provincial Congresses were
created. The first in North Carolina convened at Newbern, August 25,
1774. Cumberland county was represented by Farquhard Campbell and Thomas
Rutherford. The Second Congress convened at the same place April 30,
1775. Again the same parties represented Cumberland county, with an
additional one for Campbelton in the person of Robert Rowan. At this
time the Highlanders were in sympathy with the people of their adopted
country. But not all, for on July 3rd, Allan MacDonald of Kingsborough
went to Fort Johnson, and concerted with Governor Martin the raising of
a battalion of "the good and faithful Highlanders." He fully calculated
on the recently settled MacDonalds and MacLeods. All who took part in
the Second Congress were not prepared to take or realize the logic of
their position, and what would be the final result.

The Highlanders soon became an object of consideration to the leaders
on both sides of the controversy. They were numerically strong,
increasing in numbers, and their military qualities beyond question.
Active efforts were put forth in order to induce them to throw the
weight of their decision both to the patriot cause and also to that of
the king. Consequently emissaries were sent amongst them. The prevalent
impression was that they had a strong inclination towards the royalist
cause, and that party took every precaution to cement their loyalty.
Even the religious side of their natures was wrought upon.

The Americans early saw the advantage of decisive steps. In a letter
from Joseph Hewes, John Penn, and William Hooper, the North Carolina
delegates to the Continental Congress, to the members of the Provincial
Congress, under date of December 1, 1775, occurs the admission that "in
our attention to military preparations we have not lost sight of a means
of safety to be effected by the power of the pulpit, reasoning and
persuasion. We know the respect which the Regulators and Highlanders
entertain for the clergy; they still feel the impressions of a religious
education, and truths to them come with irresistible influence from the
mouths of their spiritual pastors. * * * The Continental Congress have
thought proper to direct us to employ two pious clergymen to make a tour
through North Carolina in order to remove the prejudices which the minds
of the Regulators and Highlanders may labor under with respect to the
justice of the American controversy, and to obviate the religious
scruples which Governor Tryon's heartrending oath has implanted in their
tender consciences. We are employed at present in quest of some persons
who may be equal to this undertaking."[30]

The Regulators were divided in their sympathies, and it was impossible
to find a Gaelic-speaking minister, clothed with authority, to go among
the Highlanders. Even if such a personage could have been found, the
effort would have been counteracted by the influence of John McLeod,
their own minister. His sympathies, though not boldly expressed, were
against the interests of the Thirteen Colonies, and on account of his
suspicious actions was placed under arrest, but discharged May 11, 1776,
by the Provincial Congress, in the following order:

"That the Rev. John McLeod, who was brought to this Congress on
suspicion of his having acted inimical to the rights of America, be
discharged from his further attendance."[31]

August 23, 1775, the Provincial Congress appointed, from among its
members, Archibald Maclaine, Alexander McAlister, Farquhard Campbell,
Robert Rowan, Thomas Wade, Alexander McKay, John Ashe, Samuel Spencer,
Walter Gibson, William Kennon, and James Hepburn, "a committee to confer
with the Gentlemen who have lately arrived from the Highlands in
Scotland to settle in this Province, and to explain to them the Nature
of our Unhappy Controversy with Great Britain, and to advise and urge
them to unite with the other Inhabitants of America in defence of those
rights which they derive from God and the Constitution."[32][33]

No steps appear to have been taken by the Americans to organize the
Highlanders into military companies, but rather their efforts were to
enlist their sympathies. On the other hand, the royal governor, Josiah
Martin, took steps towards enrolling them into active British service.
In a letter to the earl of Dartmouth, under date of June 30, 1775,
Martin declares he "could collect immediately among the emigrants from
the Highlands of Scotland, who were settled here, and immoveably
attached to His Majesty and His Government, that I am assured by the
best authority I may compute at 3000 effective men," and begs permission
"to raise a Battalion of a Thousand Highlanders here," and "I would most
humbly beg leave to recommend Mr. Allen McDonald of Kingsborough to be
Major, and Captain Alexd. McLeod of the Marines now on half pay to be
first Captain, who besides being men of great worth, and good character,
have most extensive influence over the Highlanders here, great part of
which are of their own names and familys, and I should flatter myself
that His Majesty would be graciously pleased to permit me to nominate
some of the Subalterns of such a Battalion, not for pecuniary
consideration, but for encouragement to some active and deserving young
Highland Gentlemen who might be usefully employed in the speedy raising
the proposed Battalion. Indeed I cannot help observing My Lord, that
there are three of four Gentlemen of consideration here, of the name of
McDonald, and a Lieutenant Alexd. McLean late of the Regiment now on
half pay, whom I should be happy to see appointed Captains in such a
Battalion, being persuaded they would heartily promote and do credit to
His Majesty's Service."[34]

November 12, 1775, the governor farther reports to the same that he can
assure "your Lordship that the Scotch Highlanders here are generally and
almost without exception staunch to Government," and that "Captain
Alexr. McLeod, a Gentleman from the Highlands of Scotland and late an
Officer in the Marines who has been settled in this Province about a
year and is one of the Gentlemen I had the honor to recommend to your
Lordship to be appointed a Captain in the Battalion of Highlanders, I
proposed with his Majesty's permission to raise here found his way down
to me at this place about three weeks ago and I learn from him that he
is as well as his father in law, Mr. Allan McDonald, proposed by me for
Major of the intended Corps moved by my encouragements have each raised
a company of Highlanders since which a Major McDonald who came here some
time ago from Boston under the orders from General Gage to raise
Highlanders to form a Battalion to be commanded by Lieut. Coll. Allan
McLean has made them proposals of being appointed Captains in that
Corps, which they have accepted on the Condition that his Majesty does
not approve my proposal of raising a Battallion of Highlanders and
reserving to themselves the choice of appointments therein in case it
shall meet with his Majesty's approbation in support of that measure. I
shall now only presume to add that the taking away those Gentlemen from
this Province will in a great measure if not totally dissolve the union
of the Highlanders in it now held together by their influence, that
those people in their absence may fall under the guidance of some person
not attached like them to Government in this Colony at present but it
will ever be maintained by such a regular military force as this
established in it that will constantly reunite itself with the utmost
facility and consequently may be always maintained upon the most
respectable footing."[35]

The year 1775 witnessed the North Carolina patriots very alert. There
were committees of safety in the various counties; and the Provincial
Congress began its session at Hillsborough August 21st. Cumberland
County was represented by Farquhard Campbell, Thomas Rutherford,
Alexander McKay, Alexander McAlister and David Smith, Campbelton sent
Joseph Hepburn. Among the members of this Congress having distinctly
Highland names, the majority of whom doubtless were born in the
Highlands, if not all, besides those already mentioned, were John
Campbell and John Johnston from Bertie, Samuel Johnston of Chowan,
Duncan Lamon of Edgecombe. John McNitt Alexander of Mecklenburg, Kenneth
McKinzie of Martin, Jeremiah Frazier or Tyrell, William Graham of Tryon,
and Archibald Maclaine of Wilmington. One of the acts of this Congress
was to divide the state into military districts and the appointment of
field officers of the Minute Men. For Cumberland county Thomas
Rutherford was appointed colonel; Alexander McAlister, lieutenant
colonel; Duncan McNeill, first major; Alexander McDonald, second major.
One company of Minute Men was to be raised. This Act was passed on
September 9th.

As the name of Farquhard Campbell often occurs in connection with the
early stages of the Revolution, and quite frequently in the Colonial
Records from 1771 to 1776, a brief notice of him may be of some
interest. He was a gentleman of wealth, education and influence, and, at
first, appeared to be warmly attached to the cause of liberty. As has
been noticed he was a member of the Provincial Congress, and evinced
much zeal in promoting the popular movement, and, as a visiting member
from Cumberland county attended the meeting of the Safety Committee at
Wilmington, on July 20, 1776. When Governor Martin abandoned his palace
and retreated to Fort Johnston, and thence to an armed ship, it was
ascertained that he visited Campbell at his residence. Not long
afterwards the governor's secretary asked the Provincial Congress "to
give Sanction and Safe Conduct to the removal of the most valuable
Effects of Governor Martin on Board the Man of War and his Coach and
Horses to Mr. Farquard Campbell's." When the request was submitted to
that body, Mr. Campbell "expressed a sincere desire that the Coach and
Horses should not be sent to his House in Cumberland and is amazed that
such a proposal should have been made without his approbation or
privity." On account of his positive disclaimer the Congress, by
resolution exonerated him from any improper conduct, and that he had
"conducted himself as an honest member of Society and a friend to the
American Cause."[36]

He dealt treacherously with the governor as well as with Congress. The
former, in a letter to the earl of Dartmouth, October 16, 1775, says:

   "I have heard too My Lord with infinitely greater surprise and
   concern that the Scotch Highlanders on whom I had such firm reliance
   have declared themselves for neutrality, which I am informed is to be
   attributed to the influence of a certain Mr. Farquhard Campbell an
   ignorant man who has been settled from childhood in this Country, is
   an old Member of the Assembly and has imbibed all the American
   popular principles and prejudices. By the advice of some of his
   Countrymen I was induced after the receipt of your Lordship's letter
   No. 16 to communicate with this man on the alarming state of the
   Country and to sound his disposition in case of matters coming to
   extremity here, and he expressed to me such abhorence of the
   violences that had been done at Fort Johnston and in other instances
   and discovered so much jealousy and apprehension of the ill designs
   of the Leaders in Sedition here, giving me at the same time so strong
   assurances of his own loyalty and the good dispositions of his
   Countrymen that I unsuspecting his dissimulation and treachery was
   led to impart to him the encouragements I was authorized to hold out
   to his Majesty's loyal Subjects in this Colony who should stand forth
   in support of Government which he received with much seeming
   approbation and repeatedly assured me he would consult with the
   principles among his Countrymen without whose concurrence he could
   promise nothing of himself, and would acquaint me with their
   determinations. From the time of this conversation between us in July
   I heard nothing of Mr. Campbell until since the late Convention at
   Hillsborough, where he appeared in the character of a delegate from
   the County of Cumberland and there, according to my information,
   unasked and unsolicited and without provocation of any sort was
   guilty of the base Treachery of promulgating all I had said to him in
   confidential secrecy, which he had promised sacredly and inviolably
   to observe, and of the aggravating crime of falsehood in making
   additions of his own invention and declaring that he had rejected all
   my propositions."[37]

The governor again refers to him in his letter to the same, dated
November 12, 1775:

   "From Capt. McLeod, who seems to be a man of observation and
   intelligence, I gather that the inconsistency of Farquhard Campbell's
   conduct * * * has proceeded as much from jealousy of the Superior
   consequence of this Gentleman and his father in law with the
   Highlanders here as from any other motive. This schism is to be
   lamented from whatsoever cause arising, but I have no doubt that I
   shall be able to reconcile the interests of the parties whenever I
   have power to act and can meet them together."[38]

Finally he threw off the mask, or else had changed his views, and openly
espoused the cause of his country's enemies. He was seized at his own
house, while entertaining a party of royalists, and thrown into Halifax
gaol. A committee of the Provincial Congress, on April 20, 1776;
reported "that Farquhard Campbell disregarding the sacred Obligations he
had voluntarily entered into to support the Liberty of America against
all usurpations has Traitorously and insidiously endeavored to excite
the Inhabitants of this Colony to take arms and levy war in order to
assist the avowed enemies thereof. That when a prisoner on his parole of
honor he gave intelligence of the force and intention of the American
Army under Col. Caswell to the Enemy and advised them in what manner
they might elude them."[39]

He was sent, with other prisoners, to Baltimore, and thence, on parole,
to Fredericktown, where he behaved "with much resentment and
haughtiness." On March 3, 1777, he appealed to Governor Caswell to be
permitted to return home, offering to mortgage his estate for his good
behavior.[40] Several years after the Revolution he was a member of the
Senate of North Carolina.

The stormy days of discussion, excitement, and extensive preparations
for war, in 1775, did not deter the Highlanders in Scotland from seeking
a home in America. On October 21st, a body of one hundred and
seventy-two Highlanders, including men, women and children arrived in
the Cape Fear river, on board the George, and made application for lands
near those already located by their relatives. The governor took his
usual precautions with them, for in a letter to the earl of Dartmouth,
dated November 12th, he says:

   "On the most solemn assurances of their firm and unalterable loyalty
   and attachment to the King, and their readiness to lay down their
   lives in the support and defence of his Majesty's Government, I was
   induced to Grant their request on the Terms of their taking such
   lands in the proportions allowed by his Majesty's Royal Instructions,
   and subject to all the conditions prescribed by them whenever grants
   may be passed in due form, thinking it were advisable to attach these
   people to Government by granting as matter of favor and courtesy to
   them what I had not power to prevent than to leave them to possess
   themselves by violence of the King's lands, without owing or
   acknowledging any obligation for them, as it was only the means of
   securing these People against the seditions of the Rebels, but
   gaining so much strength to Government that is equally important at
   this time, without making any concessions injurious to the rights and
   interests of the Crown, or that it has effectual power to
   withhold."[41]

In the same letter is the further information that "a ship is this
moment arrived from Scotland with upwards of one hundred and thirty
Emigrants Men, Women and Children to whom I shall think it proper (after
administering the Oath of Allegiance to the Men) to give permission to
settle on the vacant lands of the Crown here on the same principles and
conditions that I granted that indulgence to the Emigrants lately
imported in the ship George."

Many of the emigrants appear to have been seized with the idea that all
that was necessary was to land in America, and the avenues of affluence
would be opened to them. Hence there were those who landed in a
distressed condition. Such was the state of the last party that arrived
before the Peace of 1783. There was "a Petition from sundry distressed
Highlanders, lately arrived from Scotland, praying that they might be
permitted to go to Cape Fear, in North Carolina, the place where they
intended to settle," laid before the Virginia convention then being held
at Williamsburgh, December 14, 1775. On the same day the convention gave
orders to Colonel Woodford to "take the distressed Highlanders, with
their families, under his protection, permit them to pass by land
unmolested to Carolina, and supply them with such provisions as they may
be in immediate want of."[42]

The early days of 1776 saw the culmination of the intrigues with the
Scotch-Highlanders. The Americans realized that the war party was in
the ascendant, and consequently every movement was carefully watched.
That the Americans felt bitterly towards them came from the fact that
they were not only precipitating themselves into a quarrel of which they
were not interested parties, but also exhibited ingratitude to their
benefactors. Many of them came to the country not only poor and needy,
but in actual distress.[43] They were helped with an open hand, and
cared for with kindness and brotherly aid. Then they had not been long
in the land, and the trouble so far had been to seek redress. Hence the
Americans felt keenly the position taken by the Highlanders. On the
other hand the Highlanders had viewed the matter from a different
standpoint. They did not realize the craftiness of Governor Martin in
compelling them to take the oath of allegiance, and they felt bound by
what they considered was a voluntary act, and binding with all the
sacredness of religion. They had ever been taught to keep their
promises, and a liar was a greater criminal than a thief. Still they had
every opportunity afforded them to learn the true status of affairs;
independence had not yet been proclaimed; Washington was still besieging
Boston, and the Americans continued to petition the British throne for a
redress of grievances.

That the action of the Highlanders was ill-advised, at that time, admits
of no discussion. They failed to realize the condition of the country
and the insuperable difficulties to overcome before making a junction
with Sir Henry Clinton. What they expected to gain by their conduct is
uncertain, and why they should march away a distance of one hundred
miles, and then be transported by ships to a place they knew not where,
thus leaving their wives and children to the mercies of those whom they
had offended and driven to arms, made bitter enemies of, must ever
remain unfathomable. It shows they were blinded and exhibited the want
of even ordinary foresight. It also exhibited the reckless indifference
of the responsible parties to the welfare of those they so successfully
duped. It is no wonder that although nearly a century and a quarter have
elapsed since the Highlanders unsheathed the claymore in the pine
forests of North Carolina, not a single person has shown the hardihood
to applaud their action. On the other hand, although treated with the
utmost charity, their bravery applauded, they have been condemned for
their rude precipitancy, besides failing to see the changed condition of
affairs, and resenting the injuries they had received from the House of
Hanover that had harried their country and hanged their relatives on the
murderous gallows-tree. Their course, however, in the end proved
advantageous to them; for, after their disastrous defeat, they took an
oath to remain peaceable, which the majority kept, and thus prevented
them from being harassed by the Americans, and, as loyal subjects of
king George, the English army must respect their rights.

Agents were busily at work among the people preparing them for war. The
most important of all was Allan MacDonald of Kingsborough. Early he came
under the suspicion of the Committee of Safety at Wilmington. On the
very day, July 3, 1775, he was in consultation with Governor Martin, its
chairman was directed to write to him "to know from himself respecting
the reports that circulate of his having an intention to raise Troops to
support the arbitrary measures of the ministry against the Americans in
this Colony, and whether he had not made an offer of his services to
Governor Martin for that purpose."[44]

The influence of Kingsborough was supplemented by that of Major Donald
MacDonald, who was sent direct from the army in Boston. He was then in
his sixty-fifth year, had an extended experience in the army. He was in
the Rising of 1745, and headed many of his own name. He now found many
of these former companions who readily listened to his persuasions. All
the emissaries sent represented they were only visiting their friends
and relatives. They were all British officers, in the active service.

Partially in confirmation of the above may be cited a letter from Samuel
Johnston of Edenton, dated July 21, 1775, written to the Committee at
Wilmington:

   "A vessel from New York to this place brought over two officers who
   left at the Bar to go to New Bern, they are both Highlanders, one
   named McDonnel the other McCloud. They pretend they are on a visit to
   some of their countrymen on your river, but I think there is reason
   to suspect their errand of a base nature. The Committee of this town
   have wrote to New Bern to have them secured. Should they escape there
   I hope you will keep a good lookout for them."[45]

The vigorous campaign for 1776, in the Carolinas was determined upon in
the fall of 1775, in deference to the oft repeated and urgent
solicitations of the royal governors, and on account of the appeals made
by Martin, the brunt of it fell upon North Carolina. He assured the home
government that large numbers of the Highlanders and Regulators were
ready to take up arms for the king.

The program, as arranged, was for Sir Henry Clinton, with a fleet of
ships and seven corps of Irish Regulars, to be at the mouth of the Cape
Fear early in the year 1776, and there form a junction with the
Highlanders and other disaffected persons from the interior. Believing
that Sir Henry Clinton's armament would arrive in January or early in
February Martin made preparations for the revolt; for his "unwearied,
persevering agent," Alexander MacLean brought written assurances from
the principal persons to whom he had been directed, that between two and
three thousand men would take the field at the governor's summons. Under
this encouragement MacLean was sent again into the back country, with a
commission dated January 10, 1776, authorizing Allan McDonald, Donald
McDonald, Alexander McLeod, Donald McLeod, Alexander McLean, Allen
Stewart, William Campbell, Alexander McDonald and Neal McArthur, of
Cumberland and Anson counties, and seventeen other persons who resided
in a belt of counties in middle Carolina, to raise and array all the
king's loyal subjects, and to march them in a body to Brunswick by
February 15th.[46]

Donald MacDonald was placed in command of this array and of all other
forces in North Carolina with the rank of brigadier general, with Donald
MacLeod next in rank. Upon receiving his orders, General MacDonald
issued the following:

   "_By His Excellency Brigadier-General Donald McDonald, Commander of
   His Majesty's Forces for the time being, in North Carolina:_

   A MANIFESTO.

   Whereas, I have received information that many of His Majesty's
   faithful subjects have been so far overcome by apprehension of
   danger, as to fly before His Majesty's Army as from the most
   inveterate enemy; to remove which, as far as lies in my power, I have
   thought it proper to publish this Manifesto, declaring that I shall
   take the proper steps to prevent any injury being done, either to the
   person or properties of His Majesty's subjects; and I do further
   declare it to be my determined resolution, that no violence shall be
   used to women and children, as viewing such outrages to be
   inconsistent with humanity, and as tending, in their consequences, to
   sully the arms of Britons and of Soldiers.

   I, therefore, in His Majesty's name, generally invite every
   well-wisher to that form of Government under which they have so
   happily lived, and which, if justly considered, ought to be esteemed
   the best birth-right of Britons and Americans, to repair to His
   Majesty's Royal Standard, erected at Cross Creek, where they will
   meet with every possible civility, and be ranked in the list of
   friends and fellow-Soldiers, engaged in the best and most glorious of
   all causes, supporting the rights and Constitution of their country.
   Those, therefore, who have been under the unhappy necessity of
   submitting to the mandates of Congress and Committees--those lawless,
   usurped, and arbitrary tribunals--will have an opportunity, (by
   joining the King's Army) to restore peace and tranquility to this
   distracted land--to open again the glorious streams of commerce--to
   partake of the blessings of inseparable from a regular administration
   of justice, and be again reinstated in the favorable opinion of their
   Sovereign.

     Donald McDonald.
     By His Excellency's command:
     Kenn. McDonald, P.S."[47]

On February 5th General MacDonald issued another manifesto in which he
declares it to be his "intention that no violation whatever shall be
offered to women, children, or private property, to sully the arms of
Britons or freemen, employed in the glorious and righteous cause of
rescuing and delivering this country from the usurpation of rebellion,
and that no cruelty whatever be offered against the laws of humanity,
but what resistance shall make necessary; and that whatever provisions
and other necessaries be taken for the troops, shall be paid for
immediately; and in case any person, or persons, shall offer the least
violence to the families of such as will join the Royal Standard, such
persons or persons, may depend that retaliation will be made; the
horrors of such proceedings, it is hoped, will be avoided by all true
Christians."[48]

Manifestos being the order of the day, Thomas Rutherford, erstwhile
patriot, deriving his commission from the Provincial Congress, though
having alienated himself, but signing himself colonel, also issues one
in which he declares that this is "to command, enjoin, beseech, and
require all His Majesty's faithful subjects within the County of
Cumberland to repair to the King's Royal standard, at Cross Creek, on or
before the 16th present, in order to join the King's army; otherwise,
they must expect to fall under the melancholy consequences of a declared
rebellion, and expose themselves to the just resentment of an injured,
though gracious Sovereign."[49]

On February 1st General MacDonald set up the Royal Standard at Cross
Creek, in the Public Square, and in order to cause the Highlanders all
to respond with alacrity manifestos were issued and other means resorted
to in order that the "loyal subjects of His Majesty" might take up arms,
among which nightly balls were given, and the military spirit freely
inculcated. When the day came the Highlanders were seen coming from near
and from far, from the wide plantations on the river bottoms, and from
the rude cabins in the depths of the lonely pine forests, with
broadswords at their side, in tartan garments and feathered bonnet, and
keeping step to the shrill music of the bag-pipe. There came, first of
all, Clan MacDonald with Clan MacLeod near at hand, with lesser numbers
of Clan MacKenzie, Clan MacRae, Clan MacLean, Clan MacKay, Clan
MacLachlan, and still others,--variously estimated at from fifteen
hundred to three thousand, including about two hundred others,
principally Regulators. However, all who were capable of bearing arms
did not respond to the summons, for some would not engage in a cause
where their traditions and affections had no part. Many of them hid in
the swamps and in the forests. On February 18th the Highland army took
up its line of march for Wilmington and at evening encamped on the Cape
Fear, four miles below Cross Creek.

The assembling of the Highland army aroused the entire country. The
patriots, fully cognizant of what was transpiring, flew to arms,
determined to crush the insurrection, and in less than a fortnight
nearly nine thousand men had risen against the enemy, and almost all the
rest were ready to turn out at a moment's notice. At the very first
menace of danger, Brigadier General James Moore took the field at the
head of his regiment, and on the 15th secured possession of Rockfish
bridge, seven miles from Cross Creek, where he was joined by a recruit
of sixty from the latter place.

On the 19th the royalists were paraded with a view to assail Moore on
the following night; but he was thoroughly entrenched, and the bare
suspicion of such a project was contemplated caused two companions of
Cotton's corps to run off with their arms. On that day General MacDonald
sent the following letter to General Moore:

   "Sir: I herewith send the bearer, Donald Morrison, by advice of the
   Commissioners appointed by his Excellency Josiah Martin, and in
   behalf of the army now under my command, to propose terms to you as
   friends and countrymen. I must suppose you unacquainted with the
   Governor's proclamation, commanding all his Majesty's loyal subject
   to repair to the King's royal standard, else I should have imagined
   you would ere this have joined the King's army now engaged in his
   Majesty's service. I have therefore thought it proper to intimate to
   you, that in case you do not, by 12 o'clock to-morrow, join the royal
   standard, I must consider you as enemies, and take the necessary
   steps for the support of legal authority.

   I beg leave to remind you of his Majesty's speech to his Parliament,
   wherein he offers to receive the misled with tenderness and mercy,
   from motives of humanity. I again beg of you to accept the proffered
   clemency. I make no doubt, but you will show the gentleman sent on
   this message every possible civilty; and you may depend in return,
   that all your officers and men, which may fall into our hands shall
   be treated with an equal degree of respect. I have the honor to be,
   in behalf of the army, Sir, Your most obedient humble servant,

     Don. McDonald.
     Head Quarters, Feb. 19, 1776.
     His Excellency's Proclamation is herewith enclosed."

Brigadier General Moore's answer:

   "Sir: Yours of this day I have received, in answer to which, I must
   inform you that the terms which you are pleased to say, in behalf of
   the army under your command, are offered to us as friends and
   countrymen, are such as neither my duty or inclination will permit me
   to accept, and which I must presume you too much of an officer to
   accept of me. You were very right when you supposed me unacquainted
   with the Governor's proclamation, but as the terms therein proposed
   are such as I hold incompatible with the freedom of Americans, it can
   be no rule of conduct for me. However, should I not hear farther from
   you before twelve o'clock to-morrow by which time I shall have an
   opportunity of consulting my officers here, and perhaps Col. Martin,
   who is in the neighborhood of Cross Creek, you may expect a more
   particular answer; meantime you may be assured that the feelings of
   humanity will induce me to shew that civility to such of your people
   as may fall into our hands, as I am desirous should be observed
   towards those of ours, who may be unfortunate enough to fall into
   yours. I am, Sir, your most obedient and very humble servant,

     James Moore.
     Camp at Rockfish, Feb. 19, 1776."

General Moore, on the succeeding day sent the following to General
MacDonald:

   "Sir: Agreeable to my promise of yesterday, I have consulted the
   officers under my command respecting your letter, and am happy in
   finding them unanimous in opinion with me. We consider ourselves
   engaged in a cause the most glorious and honourable in the world, the
   defense of the liberties of mankind, in support of which we are
   determined to hazard everything dear and valuable and in tenderness
   to the deluded people under your command, permit me, Sir, through you
   to inform them, before it is too late, of the dangerous and
   destructive precipice on which they stand, and to remind them of the
   ungrateful return they are about to make for their favorable
   reception in this country. If this is not sufficient to recall them
   to the duty which they owe themselves and their posterity inform them
   that they are engaged in a cause in which they cannot succeed as not
   only the whole force of this country, but that of our neighboring
   provinces, is exerting and now actually in motion to suppress them,
   and which much end in their utter destruction. Desirous, however, of
   avoiding the effusion of human blood, I have thought proper to send
   you a test recommended by the Continental Congress, which if they
   will yet subscribe we are willing to receive them as friends and
   countrymen. Should this offer be rejected, I shall consider them as
   enemies to the constitutional liberties of America, and treat them
   accordingly.

   I cannot conclude without reminding you, Sir, of the oath which you
   and some of your officers took at Newbern on your arrival to this
   country, which I imagine you will find is difficult to reconcile to
   your present conduct. I have no doubt that the bearer, Capt. James
   Walker, will be treated with proper civilty and respect in your camp.

     I am, Sir, your most obedient and very humble servant,

     James Moore.
     Camp at Rockfish, Feb. 20, 1776."

General MacDonald returned the following reply:

   "Sir: I received your favor by Captain James Walker, and observed
   your declared sentiments of revolt, hostility and rebellion to the
   King, and to what I understand to be the constitution of the country.
   If I am mistaken future consequences must determine; but while I
   continue in my present sentiment, I shall consider myself embarked in
   a cause which must, in its consequences, extricate this country from
   anarchy and licentiousness. I cannot conceive that the Scottish
   emigrants, to whom I imagine you allude, can be under greater
   obligations to this country than to the King, under whose gracious
   and merciful government they alone could have been enabled to visit
   this western region: And I trust, Sir, it is in the womb of time to
   say, that they are not that deluded and ungrateful people which you
   would represent them to be. As a soldier in his Majesty's service, I
   must inform you, if you are to learn, that it is my duty to conquer,
   if I cannot reclaim, all those who may be hardy enough to take up
   arms against the best of masters, as of Kings. I have the honor to
   be, in behalf of the army under my command,

     Sir, your most obedient servant,

     Don. McDonald.
     To the Commanding Officer at Rockfish."[50]

MacDonald realized that he was unable to put his threat into execution,
for he was informed that the minute-men were gathering in swarms all
around him; that Colonel Caswell, at the head of the minute men of
Newbern, nearly eight hundred strong, was marching through Duplin
county, to effect a junction with Moore, and that his communication with
the war ships had been cut off. Realizing the extremity of his danger,
he resolved to avoid an engagement, and leave the army at Rockfish in
his rear, and by celerity of movement, and crossing rivers at
unsuspected places, to disengage himself from the larger bodies and fall
upon the command of Caswell. Before marching he exhorted his men to
fidelity, expressed bitter scorn for the "base cravens who had deserted
the night before," and continued by saying:

   "If any amongst you is so faint-hearted as not to serve with the
   resolution of conquering or dying, this is the time for such to
   declare themselves."

The speech was answered by a general huzza for the king; but from
Cotton's corps about twenty laid down their arms. He decamped, with his
army at midnight, crossed the Cape Fear, sunk his boats, and sent a
party fifteen miles in advance to secure the bridge over South river,
from Bladen into Hanover, pushing with rapid pace over swollen streams,
rough hills, and deep morasses, hotly pursued by General Moore.
Perceiving the purpose of the enemy General Moore detached Colonels
Lillington and Ashe to reinforce Colonel Caswell, or if that could not
be effected, then they were to occupy Widow Moore's Creek bridge.

Colonel Caswell designing the purpose of MacDonald changed his own
course in order to intercept his march. On the 23rd the Highlanders
thought to overtake him, and arrayed themselves in the order of battle,
with eighty able-bodied men, armed with broadswords, forming the center
of the army; but Colonel Caswell being posted at Corbett's Ferry could
not be reached for want of boats. The royalists were again in extreme
danger; but at a point six miles higher up the Black river they
succeeded in crossing in a broad shallow boat while MacLean and Fraser,
left with a few men and a drum and a pipe, amused the corps of Caswell.

Colonel Lillington, on the 25th took post on the east side of Moore's
Creek bridge; and on the next day Colonel Caswell reached the west side,
threw up a slight embankment, and destroyed a part of the bridge. A
royalist, who had been sent into his camp under pretext of summoning him
to return to his allegiance, brought back the information that he had
halted on the same side of the river as themselves, and could be
assaulted with advantage. Colonel Caswell was not only a good woodman,
but also a man of superior ability, and believing he had misled the
enemy, marched his column to the east side of the stream, removed the
planks from the bridge, and placed his men behind trees and such
embankments as could be thrown up during the night. His force now
amounted to a thousand men, consisting of the Newbern minute-men, the
militia of Craven, Dobbs, Johnston, and Wake counties, and the
detachment under Colonel Lillington. The men of the Neuse region, their
officers wearing silver crescents upon their hats, inscribed with the
words, "Liberty or Death," were in front. The situation of General
MacDonald was again perilous, for while facing this army, General Moore,
with his regulars was close upon his rear.

The royalists, expecting an easy victory, decided upon an immediate
attack. General MacDonald was confined to his tent by sickness, and the
command devolved upon Major Donald MacLeod, who began the march at one
o'clock on the morning of the 27th; but owing to the time lost in
passing an intervening morass, it was within an hour of daylight when
they reached the west bank of the creek. They entered the ground without
resistance. Seeing Colonel Caswell was on the opposite side they reduced
their columns and formed their line of battle in the woods. Their
rallying cry was, "King George and broadswords," and the signal for
attack was three cheers, the drum to beat and the pipes to play. While
it was still dark Major MacLeod, with a party of about forty advanced,
and at the bridge was challenged by the sentinel, asking, "Who goes
there?" He answered, "A friend." "A friend to whom?" "To the king." Upon
this the sentinels bent their faces down to the ground. Major MacLeod
thinking they might be some of his own command who had crossed the
bridge, challenged them in Gaelic; but receiving no reply, fired his own
piece, and ordered his party to fire also. All that remained of the
bridge were the two logs, which had served for sleepers, permitting only
two persons to pass at a time. Donald MacLeod and Captain John Campbell
rushed forward and succeeded in getting over. The Highlanders who
followed were shot down on the logs and fell into the muddy stream
below. Major MacLeod was mortally wounded, but was seen to rise
repeatedly from the ground, waving his sword and encouraging his men to
come on, till twenty-six balls penetrated his body. Captain Campbell
also was shot dead, and at that moment a party of militia, under
Lieutenant Slocum, who had forded the creek and penetrated a swamp on
its western bank, fell suddenly upon the rear of the royalists. The loss
of their leader and the unexpected attack upon their rear threw them
into confusion, when they broke and fled. The battle lasted but ten
minutes. The royalists lost seventy killed and wounded, while the
patriots had but two wounded, one of whom recovered. The victory was
lasting and complete. The Highland power was thoroughly broken. There
fell into the hands of the Americans besides eight hundred and fifty
prisoners, fifteen hundred rifles, all of them excellent pieces, three
hundred and fifty guns and short bags, one hundred and fifty swords and
dirks, two medicine chests, immediately from England, one valued at £300
sterling, thirteen wagons with horses, a box of Johannes and English
guineas, amounting to about $75,000.

Some of the Highlanders escaped from the battlefield by breaking down
their wagons and riding away, three upon a horse. Many who were taken
confessed that they were forced and persuaded contrary to their
inclinations into the service.[51] The soldiers taken were disarmed, and
dismissed to their homes.

On the following day General MacDonald and nearly all the chief men were
taken prisoners, amongst whom was MacDonald of Kingsborough and his son
Alexander. A partial list of those apprehended is given in a report of
the Committee of the Provincial Congress, reported April 20th and May
10th on the guilt of the Highland and Regulator officers then confined
in Halifax gaol, finding the prisoners were of four different classes,
viz.:

First, Prisoners who had served in Congress.

Second, Prisoners who had signed Tests or Associations.

Third, Prisoners who had been in arms without such circumstances.

Fourth, Prisoners under suspicious circumstances.

The Highlanders coming under the one or the other of these classes are
given in the following order:

Farquhard Campbell, Cumberland county.
Alexander McKay, Capt. of 38 men. Cumberland county.
Alexander McDonald (Condrach), Major of a regiment.
Alexander Morrison. Captain of a company of 35 men.
Alexander MacDonald, son of Kingsborough, a volunteer, Anson county.
James MacDonald, Captain of a company of 25 men.
Alexander McLeod, Captain of a company of 32 men.
John MacDonald, Captain of a company of 40 men.
Alexander McLeod, Captain of a company of 16 men.
Murdoch McAskell, Captain of a company of 34 men.
Alexander McLeod, Captain of a company of 16 men.
Angus McDonald, Captain of a company of 30 men.
Neill McArthur, Freeholder of Cross Creek, Captain of a company of 55 men.
Francis Frazier, Adjutant to General MacDonald's Army.
John McLeod, of Cumberland county, Captain of company of 35 men.
John McKinzie, of Cumberland county, Captain of company of 43 men.
Kennith Macdonald, Aide-de-camp to General Macdonald.
Murdoch McLeod, of Anson county, Surgeon to General Macdonald's Army.
Donald McLeod, of Anson county, Lieutenant in Captain Morrison's Company.
Norman McLeod, of Anson county, Ensign in James McDonald's company.
John McLeod, of Anson county, Lieutenant in James McDonald's company.
Laughlin McKinnon, freeholder in Cumberland county, Lieutenant in Col.
Rutherford's corps.
James Munroe, freeholder in Cumberland county, Lieutenant in Capt. McKay's
company.
Donald Morrison, Ensign to Capt. Morrison's company.
John McLeod, Ensign to Capt. Morrison's company.
Archibald McEachern, Bladen county, Lieutenant to Capt. McArthur's company.
Rory McKinnen, freeholder Anson county, volunteer.
Donald McLeod, freeholder Cumberland county, Master to two Regiments,
  General McDonald's Army.
Donald Stuart, Quarter Master to Col. Rutherford's Regiment.
Allen Macdonald of Kingsborough, freeholder of Anson county, Col. Regiment.
Duncan St. Clair.
Daniel McDaniel, Lieutenant in Seymore York's company.
Alexander McRaw, freeholder Anson county, Capt. company 47 men.
Kenneth Stuart, Lieutenant Capt Stuart's company.
Collin McIver, Lieutenant Capt. Leggate's company.
Alexander Maclaine, Commissary to General Macdonald's Army.
Angus Campbell, Captain company 30 men.
Alexander Stuart, Captain company 30 men.
Hugh McDonald, Anson county, volunteer.
John McDonald, common soldier.
Daniel Cameron, common soldier.
Daniel McLean, freeholder, Cumberland county, Lieutenant to Angus
Campbell's company.
Malcolm McNeill, recruiting agent for General Macdonald's
Army, accused of using compulsion.[52]

The following is a list of the prisoners sent from North Carolina to
Philadelphia, enclosed in a letter of April 22, 1776:

"1 His Excellency Donald McDonald Esqr Brigadier General
  of the Tory Army and Commander in Chief in North Carolina.
 2 Colonel Allen McDonald (of Kingsborough) first in
  Commission of Array and second in Command
 3 Alexander McDonald son of Kingsborough
 4 Major Alexander McDonald (Condrack)
 5 Capt Alexander McRay
 6 Capt John Leggate
 7 Capt James McDonald
 8 Capt Alexr. McLeod
 9 Capt Alexr. Morrison
10 Capt John McDonald
11 Capt Alexr. McLeod
12 Capt Murdoch McAskell
13 Capt Alexander McLeod
14 Capt Angus McDonald
15 Capt Neil McArthur[53]
16 Capt James Mens of the light horse.
17 Capt John McLeod
18 Capt Thos. Wier
19 Capt John McKenzie
20 Lieut John Murchison
21 Kennith McDonald, Aid de Camp to Genl McDonald
22 Murdock McLeod, Surgeon
23 Adjutant General John Smith
24 Donald McLeod Quarter Master
25 John Bethune Chaplain
26 Farquhard Campbell late a delegate in the provincial
Congress--Spy and Confidential Emissary of Governor Martin."[54]

Some of the prisoners were discharged soon after their arrest, by making
and signing the proper oath, of which the following is taken from the
Records:

   "Oath of Malcolm McNeill and Joseph Smith. We Malcolm McNeil and
   Joseph Smith do Solemnly Swear on the Holy Evangelists of Almighty
   God that we will not on any pretence whatsoever take up or bear Arms
   against the Inhabitants of the United States of America and that we
   will not disclose or make known any matters within our knowledge now
   carrying on within the United States and that we will not carry out
   more than fifty pounds of Gold & Silver in value to fifty pounds
   Carolina Currency. So help us God.

                                  Malcolm McNeill,
     Halifax, 13th Augt, 1776.    Joseph Smith."[55]

The North Carolina Provincial Congress on March 5, 1776, "Resolved, That
Colonel Richard Caswell send, under a sufficient guard, Brigadier
General Donald McDonald, taken at the battle of Moore's Creek Bridge, to
the Town of Halifax, and there to have him committed a close prisoner in
the jail of the said Town, until further orders."[56]

The same Congress, held in Halifax April 5th, "Resolved, That General
McDonald be admitted to his parole upon the following conditions: That
he does not go without the limits of the Town of Halifax; that he does
not directly or indirectly, while a prisoner, correspond with any person
or persons who are or may be in opposition to American measures, or by
any manner or means convey to them intelligence of any sort; that he
take no draft, nor procure them to be taken by any one else, of any
place or places in which he may be, while upon his parole, that shall
now, or may hereafter give information to our enemies which can be
injurious to us, or the common cause of America; but that without
equivocation, mental evasion, or secret reservation, he pay the most
exact and faithful attention to the intent and meaning of these
conditions, according to the rules and regulations of war; and that he
every day appear between the hours of ten and twelve o'clock to the
Officer of the Guard."[57]

On April 11th, the same parole was offered to Allan MacDonald of
Kingsborough.[58]

The Pennsylvania Committee of Safety, at its session in Philadelphia,
held May 25, 1776, ordered the Highland prisoners, mentioned on page
219, naming each one separately to be "safely kept in close confinement
until discharged by the honorable Congress or this Committee."[59] Four
days later, General MacDonald addressed a letter to the Continental
Congress, in which he said,

   "That he was, by a party of horsemen, upon the 28th day of February
   last, taken prisoner from sick quarters, eight miles from Widow
   Moor's Creek, where he lay dangerously ill, and carried to Colonel
   Caswell's camp, where General Moore then commanded, to whom he
   delivered his sword as prisoner of war, which General Moore was
   pleased to deliver back in a genteel manner before all his officers
   then present, according to the rules and customs of war practised in
   all nations; assuring him at the same time that he would be well
   treated, and his baggage and property delivered to him, &c. Having
   taken leave of General Moore and Colonel Caswell, Lieutenant-Colonel
   Bryant took him under his care; and after rummaging his baggage for
   papers, &c., conducted him to Newbern, from thence with his baggage
   to Halifax, where the Committee of Safety there thought proper to
   commit him to the common jail; his horses, saddles, and pistols, &c.,
   taken from him, and never having committed any act of violence
   against the person or property of any man; that he remained in this
   jail near a month, until General Howe arrived there, who did him the
   honour to call upon him in jail; and he has reason to think that
   General Howe thought this treatment erroneous and without a
   precedent; that upon this representation to the Convention, General
   McDonald was, by order of the Convention, permitted, upon parole, to
   the limits of the town of Halifax, until the 25th of April last, when
   he was appointed to march, with the other gentlemen prisoners,
   escorted from the jail there to this place. General McDonald would
   wish to know what crime he has since been guilty of, deserving his
   being recommitted to the jail of Philadelphia, without his bedding or
   baggage, and his sword and his servant detained from him. The other
   gentlemen prisoners are in great want for their blankets and other
   necessaries.

   Donald McDonald."[60]

The Continental Congress, on September 4th, "Resolved, That the proposal
made by General Howe, as delivered by General Sullivan, of exchanging
General Sullivan for General Prescot, and Lord Stirling for
Brigadier-General, be complied with."[61]

This being communicated to General McDonald he addressed, to the
Secretary of War the following:

     "Philadelphia Gaol, September 6, 1776.
     To the Secretary of War:

   General McDonald's compliments to the Secretary of War. He is obliged
   to him for his polite information, that the Congress have been
   pleased to agree that Generals Prescott and McDonald shall be
   exchanged for the Generals Sullivan and Stirling. General McDonald is
   obliged to the Congress for the reference to the Board of War for his
   departure: The indulgence of eight or ten days will, he hopes, be
   sufficient to prepare him for his journey. His baggage will require a
   cart to carry it. He is not provided with horses--submits it to the
   Congress and Board how he may be conducted with safety to his place
   of destination, not doubting his servant will be permitted to go
   along with him, and that his sword may be returned to him, which he
   is informed the Commissary received from his servant on the 25th of
   May last.

   General McDonald begs leave to acquaint the Secretary and the Board
   of War, for the information of Congress, that when he was brought
   prisoner from sick quarters to General Moore's camp, at Moore's
   Creek, upon the 28th of February last, General Moore treated him with
   respect to his rank and commission in the King of Great Britain's
   service. He would have given him a parole to return to his sick
   quarters, as his low state of health required it much at that time,
   but Colonel Caswell objected thereto, and had him conducted prisoner
   to Newbern, but gently treated all the way by Colonel Caswell and his
   officers.

   From Newbern he was conducted by a guard of Horse to Halifax, and
   committed on his arrival, after forty-five miles journey the last
   day, in a sickly state of health, and immediately ushered into a
   common gaol, without bed or bedding, fire or candles, in a cold,
   long night, by Colonel Long, who did not appear to me to behave like
   a gentleman. That notwithstanding the promised protection for person
   and property he had from General Moore, a man called Longfield Cox, a
   wagonmaster to Colonel Caswell's army, seized upon his horse, saddle,
   pistols, and other arms, and violently detained the same by refusing
   to deliver them up to Colonel Bryan, who conducted him to Newbern.
   Colonel Long was pleased to detain his mare at Halifax when sent
   prisoner from thence to here. Sorry to dwell so long upon so
   disagreeable a subject."[62]

This letter was submitted to the Continental Congress on September 7th,
when it "Resolved, That he be allowed four days to prepare for his
journey; That a copy of that part of his Letter respecting his treatment
in North Carolina, be sent to the Convention of that State."[63]

Notwithstanding General Sir William Howe had agreed to make the
specified exchange of prisoners, yet in a letter addressed to
Washington, September 21, 1776, he states:

   "The exchange you propose of Brigadier-General Alexander, commonly
   called Lord Stirling, for Mr. McDonald, cannot take place, as he has
   only the rank of Major by my commission; but I shall readily send any
   Major in the enclosed list of prisoners that you will be pleased to
   name in exchange for him."[64]

As Sir William Howe refused to recognize the rank conferred on General
McDonald, by the governor of North Carolina, Washington was forced,
September 23, to order his return, with the escort, to Philadelphia.[65]
But on the same day addressed Sir William Howe, in which he said:

   "I had no doubt but Mr. McDonald's title would have been
   acknowledged, having understood that he received his commission from
   the hands of Governor Martin; nor can I consent to rank him as a
   Major till I have proper authority from Congress, to whom I shall
   state the matter upon your representation."[65] That body, on
   September 30th, declared "That Mr. McDonald, having a commission of
   Brigadier-General from Governor Martin, be not exchanged for any
   officer under the rank of Brigadier-General in the service either of
   the United States or any of them."[66]

On the way from North Carolina to Philadelphia, while resting at
Petersburg, May 2, 1776, Kingsborough indited the following letter:

   "Sir: Your kind favor I had by Mr. Ugin (?) with the Virginia money
   enclosed, which shall be paid if ever I retourn with thanks, if not I
   shall take to order payment. Colonel Eliot who came here to receive
   the prisoners Confined the General and me under a guard and sentries
   to a Roome; this he imputes to the Congress of North Carolina not
   getting Brigadier Lewes (who commands at Williamsburg) know of our
   being on parole by your permission when at Halifax. If any
   opportunity afford, it would add to our happiness to write something
   to the above purpose to some of the Congress here with directions (if
   such can be done) to forward said orders after us. I have also been
   depressed of the horse I held, and hath little chance of getting
   another. To walk on foot is what I never can do the length of
   Philadelphia. What you can do in the above different affairs will be
   adding to your former favors. Hoping you will pardon freedom wrote in
   a hurry. I am with real Esteem and respect

     Honble Sir,
     Your very obedt. Servt.
     Allen MacDonald."[67]

June 28, 1776, Allen MacDonald of Kingsborough, was permitted, after
signing a parole and word of honor to go to Reading, in Berks
county.[68] At the same time the Committee of Safety

   "Resolved, That such Prisoners from North Carolina as choose, may be
   permitted to write to their friends there; such letters to be
   inspected by this Committee; and the Jailer is to take care that all
   the paper delivered in to the Prisoners, be used in such Letters, or
   returned him."[68]

The action of the Committee of Safety was approved by the Continental
Congress on July 9th, by directing Kingsborough to be released on
parole;[69] and on the 15th, his son Alexander was released on parole
and allowed to reside with him.

Every attempt to exchange the prisoners was made on the part of the
Americans, and as they appear to have been so unfortunate as to have no
one to intercede for them among British officers, Kingsborough was
permitted to go to New York and effect his own exchange, which he
succeeded in doing during the month of November, 1777, and then
proceeded to Halifax, Nova Scotia.[70]

The Highland officers confined in prison became restive, and on October
31, 1776, presented a memorial, addressed to the North Carolina members
of the Continental Congress, which at once met with the approval of
William Hooper:

   "Gentlemen: After a long separation of eight months from our Families
   & Friends, We the undersubscribers, Prisoners of war from North
   Carolina now in Philadelphia Prison, think ourselves justifiable at
   this period in applying to your Honours for permission to return to
   our Families; which indulgence we will promise on the Faith & honour
   of gentlemen not to abuse, by interfering in the present disputes, or
   aiding or assisting your enemies by word, writing, or action.

   This request we have already laid before Congress who are willing to
   grant it, provided they shall have your approbation.

   Hoping therefore, that you have no particular intention to distress
   us more than others whom you have treated with Indulgence, we flatter
   ourselves that your determinations will prove no obstruction to our
   Enlargement on the above terms; and have transmitted to you the
   enclosed Copy of the Resolve of Congress in our favor, which if you
   countenance; it will meet with the warmest acknowledgement of Gentn.

     Your most obedt. humble Servts.,

     Alexander Morison, Ferqd. Campbell, Alexr. Macleod,
     Alexr. McKay, James Macdonald, John McDonald, Murdoch
     Macleod, John Murchison, John Bethune, Neill McArthur, John
     Smith, Murdo MacCaskill, John McLeod, Alexr. McDonald, Angus
     McDonald, John Ligett."[71]

It was fully apparent to the Americans that so long as the leaders were
prisoners there was no danger of another uprising among the Highlanders.
This was fully tested by earl Cornwallis, who, after the battle of
Guilford Courthouse, retreated towards the seaboard, stopping on the way
at Cross Creek[72] hoping then to gain recruits from the Highlanders,
but very few of whom responded to his call. In a letter addressed to Sir
Henry Clinton, dated from his camp near Wilmington, April 10, 1781, he
says:

   "On my arrival there (Cross Creek), I found, to my great
   mortification, and contrary to all former accounts, that it was
   impossible to procure any considerable quantity of provisions, and
   that there was not four days' forage within twenty miles. The
   navigation of Cape Fear, with the hopes of which I had been flattered
   was totally impracticable, the distance from Wilmington by water
   being one hundred and fifty miles, the breadth of the river seldom
   exceeding one hundred yards, the banks generally high, and the
   inhabitants on each side almost universally hostile. Under these
   circumstances I determined to move immediately to Wilmington. By this
   measure the Highlanders have not had so much time as the people of
   the upper country, to prove the sincerity of their former professions
   of friendship. But, though appearances are rather more favorable
   among them, I confess they are not equal to my expectations."[73]

The Americans did not rest matters simply by confining the officers, but
every precaution was taken to overawe them, not only by their parole,
which nearly all implicitly obeyed, but also by armed force, for some
militia was at once stationed at Cross Creek, which remained there until
the Provincial Congress, on November 21, 1776, ordered it
discharged.[74] General Charles Lee, who had taken charge of the
Southern Department, on June 6, 1776, ordered Brigadier-General Lewis to
take "as large a body of the regulars as can possibly be spared to march
to Cross Creek, in North Carolina."[75]

Notwithstanding the fact that many of the Highlanders who had been in
the battle of Moore's Creek Bridge afterwards engaged in the service
with the Americans, the community was regarded with suspicion, and that
not without some cause. On July 28, 1777, it was reported that there
were movements among the royalists that caused the patriots to be in
arms and watch the Highlanders at Cross Creek. On August 3rd it was
again reported that there were a hundred in arms with others coming.[76]

As might be anticipated the poor Highlanders also were subjected to fear
and oppression. They remained at heart, true to their first love. In
June, 1776, a report was circulated among them that a company of light
horse was coming into the settlement, and every one thought he was the
man wanted, and hence all hurried to the swamps and other fastnesses in
the forest.[77]

From the poor Highland women, who had lost father, husband, brother in
battle, or whose menfolk were imprisoned in the gaol at Halifax, there
arose such a wail of distress as to call forth the attention of the
Provincial Congress, which at once put forth a proclamation, and ordered
it translated into the "Erse tongue," in which it was declared that they
"warred not with those helpless females, but sympathized with them in
their sorrow," and recommended them to the compassion of all, and to the
"bounty of those who had aught to spare from their necessities."

One of the remarkable things, and one which cannot be accounted for, is,
that although the North Carolina Highland emigrants were deeply
religious, yet no clergyman accompanied them to the shores of America,
until 1770, when Reverend John McLeod came direct from Scotland and
ministered to them for some time; and they were entirely without a
minister prior to 1757, when Reverend James Campbell commenced to preach
for them, and continued in active work until 1770. He was the first
ordained minister who took up his abode among the Presbyterian
settlements in North Carolina. He pursued his labors among the
outspreading neighborhoods in what are now Cumberland and Robeson
counties. This worthy man was born in Campbelton, on the peninsula of
Kintyre, in Argyleshire, Scotland. Of his early history but little is
known, and by far too little of his pioneer labors has been preserved.
About the year 1730 he emigrated to America, landing at Philadelphia.
His attention having been turned to his countrymen on the Cape Fear, he
removed to North Carolina, and took up his residence on the left bank of
the above river, a few miles north of Cross Creek. He died in 1781. His
preaching was in harmony with the tenets of his people, being
presbyterian. He had three regular congregations on the Sabbath, besides
irregular preaching, as occasion demanded. For some ten years he
preached on the southwest side of the river at a place called "Roger's
meeting-house." Here Hector McNeill ("Bluff Hector") and Alexander
McAlister acted as elders. About 1758 he began to preach at the
"Barbacue Church,"--the building not erected until about the year 1765.
It was at this church where Flora MacDonald worshipped. The first elders
of this church were Gilbert Clark, Duncan Buie, Archibald Buie, and
Donald Cameron.

[Illustration: BARBACUE CHURCH, WHERE FLORA MACDONALD WORSHIPPED.]

Another of the preaching stations was at a place now known as "Long
Street." The building was erected about 1766. The first elders were
Malcolm Smith, Archibald McKay and Archibald Ray.

There came, in the same ship, from Scotland, with Reverend John McLeod,
a large number of Highland families, all of whom settled upon the upper
and lower Little Rivers, in Cumberland county. After several years'
labor, proving himself a man of genuine piety, great worth, and popular
eloquence, he left America, with a view of returning to his native land;
having never been heard of afterwards, it was thought that he found a
watery grave.

With the exception of the Reverend John McLeod, it is not known that
Reverend James Campbell had any ministerial brother residing in
Cumberland or the adjoining counties, who could assist him in preaching
to the Gaels. Although McAden preached in Duplin county, he was unable
to render assistance because he was unfamiliar with the language of the
Highlanders.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 21: North Carolina Colonial Records, Vol. IV, p. 931.]

[Footnote 22: _Ibid_, p. 447.]

[Footnote 23: _Ibid_, p. 490.]

[Footnote 24: _Ibid_, p. 533.]

[Footnote 25: _Ibid_, p.453.]

[Footnote 26: See Appendix, Note C.]

[Footnote 27: _Ibid_, Vol. VIII. p. 708.]

[Footnote 28: _Ibid_, Vol. IX. p. 79.]

[Footnote 29: _Ibid_, p. 544.]

[Footnote 30: _Ibid_, Vol. VIII, p. XXIII.]

[Footnote 31: _Ibid_, Vol. X. p. 577.]

[Footnote 32: _Ibid_, p. 173.]

[Footnote 33: See Appendix, Note D.]

[Footnote 34: _Ibid_, p. 45.]

[Footnote 35: _Ibid_, p. 325.]

[Footnote 36: _Ibid_, p. 190.]

[Footnote 37: _Ibid_, p. 266.]

[Footnote 38: _Ibid_, p. 326.]

[Footnote 39: _Ibid_, p. 595.]

[Footnote 40: _Ibid_, Vol. XI. p. 403.]

[Footnote 41: _Ibid_, p. 324.]

[Footnote 42: American Archives, 4th Series, Vol. IV, p. 84.]

[Footnote 43: See Appendix, Note E.]

[Footnote 44: North Carolina Colonial Records, Vol. X, p. 65.]

[Footnote 45: _Ibid_, p, 117.]

[Footnote 46: American Archives, 4th Series, Vol. IV. p, 981]

[Footnote 47: _Ibid_, p, 982.]

[Footnote 48: _Ibid_, p. 983.]

[Footnote 49: _Ibid_, p. 1129.]

[Footnote 50: N.C. Colonial Records, Vol. XI, pp. 276-279.]

[Footnote 51: _Ibid_, Vol. X, p. 485.]

[Footnote 52: _Ibid_, pp. 594-603.]

[Footnote 53: See Appendix, Note H.]

[Footnote 54: _Ibid_, Vol. XI. p. 294.]

[Footnote 55: _Ibid_, Vol. X. p. 743.]

[Footnote 56: American Archives, Fourth Series, Vol. V, p. 69.]

[Footnote 57: _Ibid_, Vol. V, p. 1317.]

[Footnote 58: _Ibid_, p. 1320.]

[Footnote 59: _Ibid_, Vol. VI, p. 663.]

[Footnote 60: _Ibid_, p. 613.]

[Footnote 61: _Ibid_, Fifth Series, Vol. II. p. 1330.]

[Footnote 62: _Ibid_, p. 191.]

[Footnote 63: _Ibid_, p. 1333.]

[Footnote 64: _Ibid_, p. 437.]

[Footnote 65: _Ibid_, p. 464.]

[Footnote 66: _Ibid_, p. 1383]

[Footnote 67: North Carolina Colonial Records, Vol. XI. p. 295.]

[Footnote 68: Am. Archives, 5th Series, Vol. I. p. 1291.]

[Footnote 69: _Ibid_, p. 1570.]

[Footnote 70: "Letter Book of Captain A. MacDonald," p. 387.]

[Footnote 71: N.C. Colonial Records, Vol. X. p. 888.]

[Footnote 72: See Appendix Note F.]

[Footnote 73: "Earl Cornwallis' Answer to Sir Henry Clinton," p. 10.]

[Footnote 74: N.C. Colonial Records, Vol. XI. p. 927.]

[Footnote 75: Am. Archives, Fourth Series, Vol. VI, p. 721.]

[Footnote 76: N.C. Colonial Records, Vol. XI. pp 546, 555.]

[Footnote 77: _Ibid_, p. 829.]




CHAPTER VI.

HIGHLANDERS IN GEORGIA.


The second distinctive and permanent settlement of Highland Scotch in
the territory now constituting the United States of America was that in
what was first called New Inverness on the Alatamaha river in Georgia,
but now known as Darien, in McIntosh County. It was established under
the genius of James Oglethorpe, an English general and philanthropist,
who, in the year 1728, began to take active legislative support in
behalf of the debtor classes, which culminated in the erection of the
colony of Georgia, and incidentally to the formation of a settlement of
Highlanders.

There was a yearly average in Great Britain of four thousand unhappy men
immured in prison for the misfortune of being poor. A small debt exposed
a person to a perpetuity of imprisonment; and one indiscreet contract
often resulted in imprisonment for life. The sorrows hidden within the
prison walls of Fleet and Marshalsea touched the heart of Oglethorpe--a
man of merciful disposition and heroic mind--who was then in the full
activity of middle life. His benevolent zeal persevered until he
restored multitudes, who had long been in confinement for debt, and were
now helpless and strangers in the land of their birth. Nor was this all:
for them and the persecuted Protestants he planned an asylum in America,
where former poverty would be no reproach, and where the simplicity of
piety could indulge in the spirit of devotion without fear of
persecution or rebuke.

The first active step taken by Oglethorpe, in his benevolent designs was
to move, in the British House of Commons, that a committee be appointed
"to inquire into the state of the gaols of the kingdom, and to report
the same and their opinion thereupon to the House." Of this committee
consisting of ninety-six persons, embracing some of the first men in
England, Oglethorpe was made chairman. They were eulogized by Thompson,
in his poem on Winter, as

   "The generous band,
   Who, touched with human woe, redressive searched
   Into the horrors of the gloomy gaol."

In the abodes of crime, and of misfortune, the committee beheld all that
the poet depicted: "The freeborn Briton to the dungeon chained," and
"Lives crushed out by secret, barbarous ways, that for their country
would have toiled and bled." One of Britain's authors was moved to
indite: "No modern nation has ever enacted or inflicted greater legal
severities upon insolvent debtors than England."[78]

While the report of the committee did honor to their humanity, yet it
was the moving spirit of Oglethorpe that prompted efforts to combine
present relief with permanent benefits, by which honest but unfortunate
industry could be protected, and the poor enabled to reap the fruit of
their toils, which now wrung out their lives with bitter and unrequited
labor. On June 9, 1732, a charter was procured from the king,
incorporating a body by name and style of the Trustees for Establishing
the Colony of Georgia in America. Among its many provisions was the
declaration that "all and every person born within the said province
shall have and enjoy all liberties, franchises and immunities of free
denizens, as if abiding and born within Great Britain." It further
ordained that there should be liberty of conscience, and free exercise
of religion to all, except Papists. The patrons, by their own request,
were restrained from receiving any grant of lands, or any emoluments
whatever.

The charter had in view the settling of poor but unfortunate people on
lands now waste and desolate, and also the interposing of the colony as
a barrier between the French, Spanish and Indians on the south and west
and the other English colonies on the north. Oglethorpe expressed the
purpose of the colonizing scheme, in the following language:

   "These trustees not only give land to the unhappy who go thither;
   but are also empowered to receive the voluntary contributions of
   charitable persons to enable them to furnish the poor adventurers
   with all necessaries for the expense of the voyage, occupying the
   land, and supporting them till they find themselves comfortably
   settled. So that now the unfortunate will not be obliged to bind
   themselves to a long servitude to pay for their passage; for they may
   be carried gratis into a land of liberty and plenty, where they
   immediately find themselves in possession of a competent estate, in a
   happier climate than they knew before; and they are unfortunate,
   indeed, if here they cannot forget their sorrow."[79]

Subsidiary to this it was designed to make Georgia a silk, wine, oil and
drug-growing colony. It was calculated that the mother country would be
relieved of a large body of indigent people and unfortunate debtors,
and, at the same time, assist the commerce of Great Britain, increase
home industries, and relieve, to an appreciative extent, the impost on
foreign productions. Extravagant expectations were formed of the
capabilities of Georgia by the enthusiastic friends of the movement. It
was to rival Virginia and South Carolina, and at once to take the first
rank in the list of provinces depending on the British crown. Its
beauties and greatness were lauded by poets, statesmen and divines. It
attracted attention throughout Europe, and to that promised land there
pressed forward Swiss, German, Scotch and English alike. The benevolence
of England was aroused, and the charities of an opulent nation began to
flow towards the new plantation. The House of Parliament granted
£10,000, which was augmented, by private subscription, to £36,000.

Oglethorpe had implicit faith in the enterprise, and with the first
shipload, on board the Ann, he sailed from Gravesend November 17, 1732,
and arrived at the bar, outside of the port of Charleston, South
Carolina, January 13, 1733. Having accepted of a hearty welcome, he
weighed anchor, and sailed directly for Port Royal; and while his colony
was landing at Beaufort, he ascended the boundary river of Georgia, and
selected the site for his chief town on the high bluff, where now is the
city of Savannah. Having established his town, he then selected a
commanding height on the Ogeechee river, where he built a fortification
and named it Fort Argyle, in honor of the friend and patron of his early
years.

Within a period of five years over a thousand persons had been sent over
on the Trustee's account; several freeholders, with their servants, had
also taken up lands; and to them and to others also, settling in the
province, over fifty-seven thousand acres had been granted. Besides
forts and minor villages there had been laid out and settled the
principal towns of Augusta, Ebenezer, Savannah, New Inverness, and
Frederica. The colonists were of different nationalities, widely variant
in character, religion and government. There were to be seen the
depressed Briton from London; the hardy Gael from the Highlands of
Scotland; the solemn Moravian from Herrnhut; the phlegmatic German from
Salzburg in Bavaria; the reflecting Swiss from the mountainous and
pastoral Grisons; the mercurial peasant from sunny Italy, and the Jew
from Portugal.

The settlements were made deliberately and with a view of resisting any
possible encroachments of Spain. It was a matter of protection that the
Highlanders were induced to emigrate, and their assignment to the
dangerous and outlying district, exposed to Spanish forays or invasions,
is sufficient proof that their warlike qualities were greatly desired.
Experience also taught Oglethorpe that the useless poor in England did
not change their characters by emigration.

In company with a retinue of Indian chiefs, Oglethorpe returned to
England on board the Aldborough man-of-war, where he arrived on June 16,
1734, after a passage of a little more than a month. His return created
quite a sensation; complimentary verses were bestowed upon him, and his
name was established among men of large views and energetic action as a
distinguished benefactor of mankind. Among many things that engrossed
his attention was to provide a bulwark against inroads that might be
made by savages and dangers from the Spanish settlements; so he turned
his eyes, as already noted, to the Highlands of Scotland. In order to
secure a sufficient number of Highlanders a commission was granted to
Lieutenant Hugh Mackay and George Dunbar to proceed to the Highlands
and "raise 100 Men free or servants and for that purpose allowed to them
the free passage of ten servants over and above the 100. They farther
allowed them to take 50 Head of Women and Children and agreed with Mr.
Simmonds to send a ship about, which he w'd not do unless they agreed
for 130 Men Heads certain. This may have led the trust into the mistake
That they were to raise only 130."[80]

The enterprising commissioners, using such methods as were customary to
the country, soon collected the required number within the immediate
vicinity of Inverness. They first enlisted the interest and consent of
some of the chief gentlemen, and as they were unused to labor, they were
not only permitted but required also to bring each a servant capable of
supporting him. These gentlemen were not reckless adventurers, or
reduced emigrants forced by necessity, or exiled by insolvency and want;
but men of pronounced character, and especially selected for their
approved military qualities, many of whom came from the glen of
Stralbdean, about nine miles distant from Inverness. They were commanded
by officers most highly connected in the Highlands. Their political
sympathies were with the exiled house of Stuart, and having been more or
less implicated in the rising of 1715, they found themselves objects of
jealousy and suspicion, and thus circumstanced seized the opportunity to
seek an asylum in America and obtain that unmolested quietude which was
denied them in their native glens.

These people being deeply religious selected for their pastor, Reverend
John MacLeod, a native of Skye, who belonged to the Dunvegan family of
MacLeods. He was well recommended by his clerical brethren, and
sustained a good examination before the presbytery of Edinburgh,
previous to his ordination and commission, October 13, 1735. He was
appointed by the directors of the Society in Scotland for Propagating
Christian Knowledge (from whom he was to receive his annual stipend of
£50) "not only to officiate as minister of the Gospel to the Highland
families going hither," and others who might be inclined to the
Presbyterian form of worship, but "also to use his utmost endeavors for
propagating Christian knowledge among natives in the colony."

The Trustees were greatly rejoiced to find that they had secured so
valuable an acquisition to their colony, and that they could settle such
a bold and hardy race on the banks of their southern boundary, and thus
establish a new town on the Florida frontier. The town council of
Inverness, in order to express their regard for Oglethorpe, on account
of his kind offers to the Highlanders, conferred on him the honor of a
burgess of the town, through his proxy, Captain George Dunbar.

Besides the military band, others, among whom were MacKays, Bailies,
Dunbars, and Cuthberts, applied for large tracts of land to people with
their own servants; most of them going over themselves to Georgia, and
finally settling there for life.

Of the Highlanders, some of them paid their passage and that of one out
of two servants, while others paid passage for their servants and took
the benefit of the trust passage for themselves. Some, having large
families, wanted farther assistance for servants, which was acceded to
by Captain Dunbar, who gave them the passage of four servants, which was
his right, for having raised forty of the one hundred men. Of the whole
number the Trustees paid for one hundred and forty-six, some of whom
became indentured servants to the Trust. On October 20, 1735, one
hundred and sixty-three were mustered before Provost Hassock at
Inverness. One of the number ran away before the ship sailed, and two
others were set on shore because they would neither pay their passage
nor indent as servants to the Trust.

These pioneers, who were to carve their own fortunes and become a
defense for the colony of Georgia, sailed from Inverness, October 18,
1735, on board the Prince of Wales, commanded by Captain George Dunbar,
one of their own countrymen. They made a remarkably quick trip, attended
by no accidents, and in January, 1736, sailed into Tybee Road, and at
once the officer in charge set about sending the emigrants to their
destination. All who so desired, at their own expense, were permitted to
go up to Savannah and Joseph's Town. On account of a deficiency in
boats, all could not be removed at once. Seven days after their arrival
sixty-one were sent away, and on February 4th forty-six more proceeded
to their settlement on the Alatamaha,--all of whom being under the
charge of Hugh MacKay. Thus the advanced station, the post of danger,
was guarded by a bold and hardy race; brave and robust by nature,
virtuous by inclination, inured to fatigue and willing to labor:

   "To distant climes, a dreary scene, they go,
   Where wild Altama murmurs to their woe,
   Far different these from all that charmed before,
   The various terrors of that distant shore;
   Those matted woods where birds forget to sing,
   But silent bats in drowsy clusters cling;
   Those poisonous fields with rank luxuriance crown'd,
   Where the dark scorpion gathers death around,
   Where at each step the stranger fears to wake
   The rattling terrors of the vengeful snake,
   Where crouching tigers wait their hapless prey,
   And savage men, more murderous still than they.
   Far different these from every former scene."
                                        --Goldsmith.

On their first landing at Savannah, some of the people from South
Carolina endeavored to discourage them by saying that the Spaniards
would shoot them as they stood upon the ground where they contemplated
erecting their homes. "Why then," said the Highlanders in reply, "we
will beat them out of their fort and shall have houses ready built to
live in." The spot designated for their town is located twenty miles
northwest from St. Simons and ten above Frederica, and situated on the
mainland, close to a branch of the Alatamaha river, on a bluff twenty
feet high, then surrounded on all sides with woods. The soil is a
brackish sand. Formerly Fort King George, garrisoned by an independent
company, stood within a mile and a half of the new town, but had been
abandoned and destroyed on account of a want of supplies and
communication with Carolina. The village was called New Inverness, in
honor of the city they had left in Scotland; while the surrounding
district was named Darien, on account of the settlement attempted on the
Isthmus of Darien, in 1698-1701. Under the direction of Hugh MacKay, who
proved himself to be an excellent officer and a man of executive
ability, by the middle of February they had constructed a fort
consisting of two bastions and two half bastions, which was so strong
that forty men could maintain it against three hundred, and on it placed
four pieces, which, afterwards was so enlarged as to demand twelve
cannon; built a guardhouse, storehouse, a chapel, and huts for the
people. One of the men dying, the rest joined and built a house for the
widow.

In the meantime Oglethorpe had sailed from London on board the Symonds,
accompanied by the London Merchant, with additional emigrants, and
arrived in the Tybee Road a short time after the Highlanders had left.
He had never met them, and desiring to understand their ways and to make
as favorable an impression on them as possible, he retained Captain
Dunbar to go with him to the Highlanders and to instruct him fully in
their customs. On February 22d he left St. Simons and rowing up the
Alatamaha after three hours, reached the Highland settlement. Upon
seeing the boat approaching, the Highlanders marched out to meet him,
and made a most manly appearance in their plaids, with claymores,
targets and fire-arms. Captain MacKay invited Oglethorpe to lie in his
tent, where there was a bed with sheets--a rarity as yet in that part of
the world. He excused himself, choosing to lie at the guard-fire,
wrapped in his plaid, for he had on the Highland garb. Captain MacKay
and the other gentlemen did the same, though the night was cold.

Oglethorpe had previously taken the precaution, lest the Highlanders
might be apprehensive of an attack by the Spaniards, Indians, or other
enemies, while their houses were in process of construction, to send
Captain James McPherson, who commanded the rangers upon the Savannah,
overland to support them. This troop arrived while Oglethorpe was yet
present. Soon after they were visited by the Indians, who were attracted
by their costume, and ever after retained an admiration for them, which
was enhanced by the Highlanders entering into their wild sports, and
joining them in the chase. In order to connect the new settlement with
direct land communication with the other colonists, Oglethorpe, in
March, directed Hugh MacKay, with a detachment of twelve rangers, to
conduct Walter Augustin, who ran a traverse line from Savannah by Fort
Argyle to Darien, in order to locate a roadway.

It was during Oglethorpe's first trip to the Highland settlement that he
encamped on Cumberland island, and on the extreme western point, which
commands the passage of boats from the southward, marked out a fort to
be called St. Andrews, and gave Captain Hugh MacKay orders to build it.
The work commenced immediately, thirty Highlanders being employed in the
labor. On March 26th Oglethorpe, visiting the place, was astonished to
find the fort in such an advanced stage of completion; the ditch was
dug, the parapet was raised with wood and earth on the land side, and
the small wood was cleared fifty yards round the fort. This seemed to be
the more extraordinary because MacKay had no engineer, nor any other
assistance in that way, except the directions originally given. Besides
it was very difficult to raise the works, the ground being a loose sand.
They were forced to lay the trees and sand alternately,--the trees
preventing the sand from falling, and the sand the wood from fire. He
returned thanks to the Highlanders and offered to take any of them back
to their settlement, but all refused so long as there was any danger
from the Spaniards, in whose vicinity they were now stationed. But two
of them, having families at Darien, he ordered along with him.

The Highlanders were not wholly engaged in military pursuits, for, to a
great extent, they were engaged in making their settlement permanent.
They engaged in the cultivation of Indian corn and potatoes; learned to
cut and saw timber, and laid out farms upon which they lived. For a
frontier settlement, constantly menaced, all was accomplished that could
be reasonably expected. In the woods they found ripe oranges and game,
such as the wild turkey, buffalo and deer, in abundance. But peace and
prosperity were not their allotted portion, for their lines were now
cast in troubled waters. The first year witnessed an appeal to arms and
a struggle with the Spaniards, which eventually resulted in a disaster
to the Highlanders. Deeds of heroism were now enacted, fully in keeping
with the tenor of the race.

The Spaniards, who had their main force at St. Augustine, were more or
less aggressive, which kept the advanced posts in a state of alarm. John
Mohr Macintosh, who had seen service in Scotland, was directed by
Oglethorpe to instruct the Highlanders in their military duty, and under
his direction they were daily exercised. Hugh MacKay, with a company,
had been directed to the immediate command of Oglethorpe.

Disputes early arose between the English colonists and the Spaniards
regarding the frontier line between the two nationalities, and loud
complaints were made by the latter on account of being harrassed by
Indians. Oglethorpe took steps to restrain the Indians, and to the
Spaniards sent friendly messengers, who were immediately seized and
confined and at once took measures against the colonists. A Spanish
warship sailed by St. Simon's island and passed Fort St. Andrews, but
was not fired upon by the Highlanders because she answered their
signals. She made her way back to St. Augustine when the report gained
currency that the whole coast was covered with war boats armed with
cannon. On June 8th the colonists were again threatened by a Spanish
vessel which came close to Fort St. Andrews before she was discovered;
but when challenged rowed away with the utmost precipitation. On board
this boat was Don Ignatio with a detachment of the Spanish garrison, and
as many boatmen and Indians as the launch could hold. It was at this
time that a Highland lad named Fraser distinguished himself. Oglethorpe
in endeavoring to meet the Spaniards by a flag of truce, or else obtain
a conference with them, but unable to accomplish either, and being about
to withdraw, saw the boy, whom he had sent forward, returning through
the woods, driving before him a tall man with a musket on his shoulder,
two pistols stuck in his girdle, and further armed with both a long and
short sword. Coming up to Oglethorpe the lad said: "Here, sir; I have
caught a Spaniard for you." The man was found to have in his possession
a letter from Oglethorpe's imprisoned messengers which imparted certain
information that proved to be of great value.

The imprisoned messengers were ultimately released and sent back in a
launch with commissioners to treat with Oglethorpe. In order to make a
favorable impression on the Spaniards, the Highlanders, under Ensign
MacKay, were ordered out. June 19th, Ensign MacKay arrived on board the
man-of-war Hawk, then just off from Amelia island, with the Highlanders,
and a detachment of the independent company, in their regimentals, who
lined one side of the ship, while the Highlanders, with their claymores,
targets, plaids, etc., did the same on the other side. The commissioners
were very handsomely entertained on board the war vessel, and after
dinner messages in writing were exchanged. While this hilarity and peace
protestations were being indulged, an Indian brought the news that forty
Spaniards and some Indians had fallen upon a party of the Creek nation
who, then depending upon the general peace between the Indians, Spanish
and English, without suspicion, and consequently without guard, were
surrounded and surprised, several killed and others taken, two of whom,
being boys, were murdered by dashing out their brains.

To the people of New Iverness the year 1737 does not appear to have been
a propitious one. Pioneers were compelled to endure hardships of which
they had little dreamed, and the Highland settlement was no exception to
the rule. The record preserved for this year is exceedingly meagre and
consists almost wholly in the sworn statement of Alexander Monroe, who
deserted the colony in 1740. In the latter year he deposed that at
Darien, where he arrived in 1736 with his wife and child, he had
cleared, fenced in and planted five acres of land, built a good house in
the town, and made other improvements, such as gardening, etc.; that he
was never able to support his family by cultivation, though he planted
the said five acres three years and had good crops, and that he never
heard of any white man being able to gain a living by planting; that in
1737 the people were reduced to such distress for want of provisions,
having neither corn, peas, rice, potatoes, nor bread-kind of any sort,
nor fish, nor flesh of any kind in store; that they were forced to go in
a body, with John Mohr Macintosh at the head, to Frederica and there
make a demand on the Trust's agent for a supply; that they were relieved
by Captain Gascoigne of the Hawk, who spared them two barrels of flour,
and one barrel of beef; and further, he launches an indictment against
John Mohr Macintosh, who had charge of the Trust's store at Darien, for
giving the better class of food to his own hogs while the people were
forced to take that which was rotten.[81]

While this statement of Monroe may possibly be true in the main, and
that there was actual suffering, yet it must be borne in mind that the
Highlanders were there living in a changed condition. The labor,
climate, soil, products, etc., were all new to them, and to the changed
circumstances the time had been too short for them to adapt themselves;
nor is it probable that five acres were enough for their subsistence.
The feeding of cattle, which was soon after adopted, would give them a
larger field of industry.

Nor was this all. Inevitable war fell upon the people; for we learn that
the troop of Highland rangers, under Captain MacKay, held Fort St.
Andrews "with thirty men, when the Spaniards attempted the invasion of
this Province with a great number of men in the year 1737."[82] Drawing
the men away from the settlement would necessarily cause more or less
suffering and disarrangement of affairs.

The record for the year 1738 is more extensive, although somewhat
contradictory, and exhibits a strong element of dissention. Oglethorpe
admitted the difficulties under which the people labored, ascribing them
to the Spanish alarms, but reports that John Mohr Macintosh, pursuant to
orders from the Trust, had disposed of a part of the servants to the
freeholders of Darien, which encouragement had enabled the settlement to
continue.

"The women were a dead charge to the Trust, excepting a few who mended
the Cloaths, dressed the Victuals and washed the Linnen of the Trustees
Men Servants. Some of the Soldiers who were Highlanders desiring to
marry Women, I gave them leave upon their discharging the Trustees from
all future Charges arising from them."[83]

The difficulties appear also to have arisen from the fact that the
freeholders were either unable or else unwilling--which is the more
likely--to perform manual labor. They labored under the want of a
sufficient number of servants until they had procured some who had been
indentured to the Trust for passage from Scotland.

The Reverend John MacLeod, who abandoned the colony in 1741, made oath
that in the year 1738 they found by experience that the produce from the
land did not answer the expense of time and labor, and the voice of the
people of Darien was to abandon their improvements, and settle to the
northward, where they could be free from the restraints which rendered
incapable of subsisting themselves and families.[84] The declaration of
Alexander Monroe is still more explicit:

   "That in December, 1738, the said inhabitants of Darien finding that
   from their first settling in Georgia, their labors turned to no
   account, that their wants were daily growing on them, and being weary
   of apprehension, they came to a resolution to depute two men, chosen
   from amongst them, to go to Charleston, in South Carolina, and there
   to make application to the government, in order to obtain a grant of
   lands to which the whole settlement of Darien to a man were to remove
   altogether, the said John McIntosh More excepted; but that it being
   agreed among them, first to acquaint the said Colonel with their
   intentions, and their reasons for such resolutions, John McIntosh L.
   (Lynvilge) was employed by the said freeholders to lay the same
   before him, who returned them an answer 'that they should have credit
   for provisions, with two cows and three calves, and a breeding mare
   if they would continue on their plantations.' That the people with
   the view of these helps, and hoping for the further favor and
   countenance of the said Colonel, and being loth to leave their little
   all behind them, and begin the world in a strange place, were willing
   to make out a livelihood in the colony; but whilst they were in
   expectation of these things, this deponent being at his plantation,
   two miles from the town, in Dec., 1738, he received a letter from
   Ronald McDonald, which was sent by order of the said McIntosh More,
   and brought to this deponent by William, son of the said McIntosh,
   ordering him, the said deponent, immediately to come himself, and
   bring William Monro along with him to town, and advising him that,
   'if he did so, he would be made a man of, but, that if he did not, he
   would be ruined forever.' That this deponent coming away without loss
   of time, he got to the said McIntosh More's house about nine of the
   clock that night, where he found several of the inhabitants together,
   and where the said McIntosh More did tell this deponent, 'that if he
   would sign a paper, which he then offered him, that the said Colonel
   would give him cattle and servants from time to time, and that he
   would be a good friend to as many as would sign the said paper, but
   that they would see what would become of those that would not sign
   it, for that the people of Savannah would be all ruined, who opposed
   the said Colonel in it.' That this deponent did not know the contents
   of the said paper, but seeing that some before him had signed it, his
   hopes on one side, and fears on the other, made him sign it also.
   That upon his conversing with some of the people, after leaving the
   house, he was acquainted with the contents and design of said paper,
   which this deponent believes to be the petition from the eighteen,
   which the trustees have printed, and that very night he became
   sensible of the wrong he had done; and that his conscience did
   thereupon accuse him, and does yet."[85]

The phrase "being weary of oppression" has reference to the accusation
against Captain Hugh MacKay, who was alleged to have "exercised an
illegal power there, such as judging in all causes, directing and
ordering all things according to his will, as did the said McIntosh
More, by which many unjust and illegal things were done. That not only
the servants of the said freeholders of Darien were ordered to be tied
up and whipt; but also this deponent, and Donald Clark, who themselves
were freeholders, were taken into custody, and bound with ropes, and
threatened to be sent to Frederica to Mr. Horton, and there punished by
him; this deponent, once for refusing to cry 'All's well,' when he was
an out-sentry, he having before advised them of the danger of so doing,
lest the voice should direct the Indians to fire upon the sentry, as
they had done the night before, and again for drumming with his fingers
on the side of his house, it being pretended that he had alarmed the
town. That upon account of these, and many other oppressions, the
freeholders applied to Mr. Oglethorpe for a court of justice to be
erected, and proper magistrates in Darien, as in other towns in Georgia,
that they might have justice done among themselves, when he gave them
for answer, 'that he would acquaint the trustees with it'; but that
this deponent heard no more of it."[86]

One of the fundamental regulations of the Trustees was the prohibition
of African slavery in Georgia. However, they had instituted a system of
servitude which indentured both male and female to individuals, or the
Trustees, for a period of from four to fourteen years. On arriving in
Georgia, their services were sold for the term of indenture, or
apportioned to the inhabitants by the magistrates, as their necessities
required. The sum which they brought when thus bid off varied from £2 to
£6, besides an annual tax of £1 for five years to defray the expense of
their voyage. Negro slavery was agitated in Savannah, and on December 9,
1738, a petition was addressed to the Trustees, signed by one hundred
and sixteen, and among other things asked was the introduction of Negro
slavery. On January 3, 1739, a counter petition was drawn up and signed
by the Highlanders at Darien. On March 13th the Saltzburghers of
Ebenezer signed a similar petition in which they strongly disapproved of
the introduction of slave labor into the colony. Likewise the people of
Frederica prepared a petition, but desisted from sending it, upon an
assurance that their apprehensions of the introduction of Negroes were
entirely needless. Many artifices were resorted to in order to gain over
the Highlanders and have them petition for Negro slaves. Failing in this
letters were written to them from England endeavoring to intimidate them
into a compliance. These counter petitions strengthened the Trustees in
their resolution. It is a noticeable fact, and worthy of record, that at
the outbreak of the American Revolution the Highlanders of Darien again
protested against African slavery.

Those persons dissatisfied with the state of affairs increased in
numbers and gradually grew more rancorous. It is not supposable that
they could have bettered the condition under the circumstances.
Historians have been universal in their praise of Oglethorpe, and in all
probability no one could have given a better administration. His word
has been taken without question. He declared that "Darien hath been one
of the Settlements where the People have been most industrious as those
of Savannah have been most idle. The Trustees have had several Servants
there who under the direction of Mr. Moore McIntosh have not only earned
their bread but have provided the Trust with such Quantities of sawed
stuff as hath saved them a great sum of money. Those Servants cannot be
put under the direction of anybody at Frederica nor any one that does
not understand the Highland language. The Woods fit for sawing are near
Darien and the Trustees engaged not to separate the Highlanders. They
are very useful under their own Chiefs and no where else. It is very
necessary therefore to allow Mr. Mackintosh for the overseeing the
Trust's Servants at Darien."[87]

That such was the actual condition of affairs in 1739 there is no doubt.
However, a partial truth may change the appearance. George Philp, who at
Savannah in 1740, declared that for the same year the people "are as
incapable of improving their lands and raising produces as the people in
the northern division, as appears from the very small quantity of Indian
corn which hitherto had been the chief and almost only produce of the
province, some few potatoes excepted; and as a proof of which, that he
was in the south in May last, when the season for planting was over, and
much less was done at Frederica than in former years; and that the
people in Darien did inform him, that they had not of their own produce
to carry to market, even in the year 1739, which was the most plentiful
year they ever saw there, nor indeed any preceding year; nor had they
(the people of Darien) bread-kind of their own raising, sufficient for
the use of their families, from one crop to another, as themselves, or
some of them, did tell this deponent; and further, the said people of
Darien were, in May last, repining at their servants being near out of
their time, because the little stock of money they carried over with
them was exhausted in cultivation which did not bring them a return; and
they were thereby rendered quite unable to plant their lands, or help
themselves any way."[88]

It was one of the agreements made by the Trust that assistance should be
given the colonists. Hence Oglethorpe speaks of "the £58 delivered to
Mr. McIntosh at Darien, it was to support the Inhabitants of Darien with
cloathing and delivered to the Trustees' Store there, for which the
Individuals are indebted to the Trust. Part of it was paid in discharge
of service done to the Trustees in building. Part is still due and some
do pay and are ready to pay."[89]

The active war with Spain commenced by the murder of two unarmed
Highlanders on Amelia Island, who had gone into the woods for fuel. It
was November 14, 1739, that a party of Spaniards landed on the island
and skulked in the woods. Francis Brooks, who commanded a scout boat,
heard reports of musketry, and at once signaled the fort, when a
lieutenant's squad marched out and found the murdered Highlanders with
their heads cut off and cruelly mangled. The Spaniards fled with so much
precipitation that the squad could not overtake them, though they
pursued rapidly. Immediately Oglethorpe began to collect around him his
inadequate forces for the invasion of Florida. In January, 1740, he
received orders to make hostile movements against Florida, with the
assurance that Admiral Vernon should co-operate with him. Oglethorpe
took immediate action, drove in the Spanish outposts and invaded
Florida, having learned from a deserter that St. Augustine was in want
of provisions. South Carolina rendered assistance; and its regiment
reached Darien the first of May, where it was joined by Oglethorpe's
favorite corps, the Highlanders, ninety strong, commanded by Captain
John Mohr McIntosh and Lieutenant MacKay. They were ordered, accompanied
by an Indian force, to proceed by land, at once, to Cow-ford (afterwards
Jacksonville), upon the St. Johns. With four hundred of his regiment,
Oglethorpe, on May 3d, left Frederica, in boats, and on the 9th reached
the Cow-ford. The Carolina regiment and the Highlanders having failed to
make the expected junction at that point, Oglethorpe, who would brook no
delay, immediately proceeded against Fort Diego, which surrendered on
the 10th, and garrisoned it with sixty men under Lieutenant Dunbar. With
the remainder he returned to the Cow-ford, and there met the Carolina
regiment and McIntosh's Highlanders. Here Oglethorpe massed nine hundred
soldiers and eleven hundred Indians, and marched the whole force
against Fort Moosa, which was built of stone, and situated less than two
miles from St. Augustine, which the Spaniards evacuated without offering
resistance. Having burned the gates, and made three breaches in the
walls, Oglethorpe then proceeded to reconnoitre the town and castle.
Assisted by some ships of war lying at anchor off St. Augustine bar, he
determined to blockade the town. For this purpose he left Colonel
Palmer, with ninety-five Highlanders and fifty-two Indians, at Fort
Moosa, with instructions to scour the woods and intercept all supplies
for the enemy; and, for safety, encamp every night at different places.
This was the only party left to guard the land side. The Carolina
regiment was sent to occupy a point of land called Point Quartel, about
a mile distant from the castle; while he himself with his regiment and
the greater part of the Indians embarked in boats, and landed on the
Island of Anastatia, where he erected batteries and commenced a
bombardment of the town. The operations of the beseigers beginning to
relax, the Spanish commander sent a party of six hundred to surprise
Colonel Palmer at Fort Moosa. The Spaniards had noted that for five
nights Colonel Palmer had made Fort Moosa his resting place. They came
in boats with muffled oars at the dead of night, and landed unheard and
undiscovered. The Indians, who were relied on by Palmer, were watching
the land side, but never looked towards the water.

Captain Macintosh had remonstrated with Colonel Palmer for remaining at
Fort Moosa more than one night, until it produced an alienation between
them. The only thing then left for MacIntosh was to make his company
sleep on their arms. At the first alarm they were in rank, and as the
Spanish infantry approached in three columns they were met with a
Highland shout.

The contest was unequal, and although the Highlanders rallied to the
support of MacIntosh, their leader, and fought with desperation, yet
thirty-six of them fell dead or wounded at the first charge. When
Colonel Palmer saw the overwhelming force that assaulted his command, he
directed the rangers without the wall to fly; but, refusing to follow
them, he paid the debt of his obstinacy with his blood.

The surprise at Fort Moosa led to the failure of Oglethorpe's
expedition. John Mohr MacIntosh was a prisoner, and as Oglethorpe had no
officer to exchange for him, he was sent to Spain, where he was detained
several years--his fate unknown to his family--and when he did return to
his family it was with a broken constitution and soon to die, leaving
his children to such destiny as might await them, without friends, in
the wilds of America, for the one who could assist them--General
Oglethorpe--was to be recalled, in preparation to meet the Highland
Rising of 1745, when he, too, was doomed to suffer degradation from the
duke of Cumberland, and injury to his military reputation.

It was the same regiment of Spaniards that two years later was brought
from Cuba to lead in all enterprises that again was destined to meet the
remnant of those Highlanders, but both the scene and the result were
different. It was in the light of day, and blood and slaughter, but not
victory awaited them.

The conduct of the eldest son of John Mohr MacIntosh is worthy of
mention. He was named after his grand uncle, the celebrated Old Borlum
(General William MacIntosh), who commanded a division of the Highlanders
in the Rising of 1715. William was not quite fourteen years of age when
his father left Darien for Florida. He wished to accompany the army, but
his father refused. Determined not to be thwarted in his purpose, he
overtook the army at Barrington. He was sent back the next day under an
armed guard. Taking a small boat, he ferried up to Clarke's Bluff, on
the south side of the Alatamaha, intending to keep in the rear until the
troops had crossed the St. Mary's river. He soon fell in with seven
Indians, who knew him, for Darien had become a great rendezvous for
them, and were greatly attached to the Highlanders, partly on account of
their wild manners, their manly sports and their costume, somewhat
resembling their own. They caressed the boy, and heartily entered into
his views. They followed the advancing troops and informed him of all
that transpired in his father's camp, yet carefully concealing his
presence among them until after the passage of the St. Mary's, where,
with much triumph, led him to his father and said "that he was a young
warrior and would fight; that the Great Spirit would watch over his
life, for he loved young warriors." He followed his father until he saw
him fall at Fort Moosa, covered with wounds, which so transfixed him
with horror, that he was not aroused to action until a Spanish officer
laid hold of his plaid. Light and as elastic as a steel bow, he slipped
from under his grasp, and made his escape with the wreck of the corps.

Those who escaped the massacre went over in a boat to Point Quartel.
Some of the Chickasaw Indians, who also had escaped, met a Spaniard, cut
off his head and presented it to Oglethorpe. With abhorence he rejected
it, calling them barbarian dogs and bidding them begone. As might be
expected, the Chickasaws were offended and deserted him. A party of
Creeks brought four Spanish prisoners to Oglethorpe, who informed him
that St. Augustine had been reinforced by seven hundred men and a large
supply of provisions. The second day after the Fort Moosa affair, the
Carolina[90] regiment deserted, the colonel leading the rout; nor did he
arrest his flight until darkness overtook him, thirty miles from St.
Augustine. Other circumstances operating against him, Oglethorpe
commenced his retreat from Florida and reached Frederica July 10, 1740.

The inhabitants of Darien continued to live in huts that were tight and
warm. Prior to 1740 they had been very industrious in planting, besides
being largely engaged in driving cattle for the regiment; but having
engaged in the invasion of Florida, little could be done at home, where
their families remained. One writer[91] declared that "the people live
very comfortably, with great unanimity. I know of no other settlement in
this colony more desirable, except Ebenezer." The settlement was greatly
decimated on account of the number killed and taken prisoners at Fort
Moosa. This gave great discontent on the part of those who already felt
aggrieved against the Trust.

The discontent among many of the colonists, some of whom were
influential, again broke out in 1741, some of whom went to Savannah,
October 7th, to consider the best method of presenting their grievances.
They resolved to send an agent to England to represent their case to
the proper authorities, "in order to the effectual settling and
establishing of the said province, and to remove all those grievances
and hardships we now labor under." The person selected as agent was
Thomas Stevens, the son of the president of Georgia, who had resided
there about four years, and who, it was thought, from his connection
with the president, would give great weight to the proceedings. Mr.
Stevens sailed for England on March 26, 1742, presented his petition to
parliament, which was considered together with the answer of the
Trustees; which resulted in Mr. Stevens being brought to the bar of the
House of Commons, and upon his knees, before the assembled counsellors
of Great Britain, was reprimanded for his conduct, and then discharged,
on paying his fees.

A list of the people who signed the petition and counter petitions
affords a good criterion of the class represented at Darien, living
there before and after the battle of Moosa. Among the complainants may
be found the names of:

   James Campbell, Thomas Fraser, Patrick Grahame, John Grahame, John
   McDonald, Peter McKay, Benjamin McIntosh, John McIntosh, Daniel
   McKay, Farquhar McGuilvery, Daniel McDonald, Rev. John McLeod,
   Alexander Monro, John McIntire, Owen McLeod, Alexander Rose, Donald
   Stewart.

It is not certain that all the above were residents of Darien. Among
those who signed the petition in favor of the Trust, and denominated the
body of the people, and distinctly stated to be living at Darien, are
the names of:

   John Mackintosh Moore, John Mackintosh Lynvilge, Ronald McDonald,
   Hugh Morrison, John McDonald, John Maclean, John Mackintosh, son of
   L., John Mackintosh Bain, John McKay, Daniel Clark, first, Alexander
   Clarke, Donald Clark, third, Joseph Burges, Donald Clark, second,
   Archibald McBain, Alexander Munro, William Munro, John Cuthbert.

During the autumn of 1741, Reverend John McLeod abandoned his Highland
charge at Darien, went to South Carolina and settled at Edisto. In an
oath taken November 12, 1741, he represents the people of Darien to be
in a deplorable condition. Oglethorpe, in his letter to the
Trustees,[92] evidently did not think Mr. McLeod was the man really fit
for his position, for he says:

   "We want here some men fit for schoolmasters, one at Frederica and
   one at Darien, also a sedate and sober minister, one of some
   experience in the world and whose first heat of youth is over."

The long-threatened invasion of Carolina and Georgia by the Spaniards
sailed from Havana, consisting of a great fleet, among which were two
half galleys, carrying one hundred and twenty men each and an
eighteen-pound gun. A part of the fleet, on June 20th, was seen off the
harbor of St. Simons, and the next day in Cumberland Sound. Oglethorpe
dispatched two companies in three boats to the relief of Fort William,
on Cumberland island, which were forced to fight their way through the
fire from the Spanish galleys. Soon after thirty-two sail came to anchor
off the bar, with the Spanish colors flying, and there remained five
days. They landed five hundred men at Gascoin's bluff, on July 5th.
Oglethorpe blew up Fort William, spiked the guns and signalled his ships
to run up to Frederica, and with his land forces retired to the same
place, where he arrived July 6th. The day following the enemy were
within a mile of Frederica. When this news was brought to Oglethorpe he
took the first horse he found and with the Highland company, having
ordered sixty men of the regiment to follow, he set off on a gallop to
meet the Spaniards, whom he found to be one hundred and seventy strong,
including forty-five Indians. With his Indian Rangers and ten
Highlanders, who outran the rest of the company, he immediately attacked
and defeated the Spaniards. After pursuing them a mile, he halted his
troops and posted them to advantage in the woods, leaving two companies
of his regiment with the Highlanders and Indians to guard the way, and
then returned to Frederica to await further movements of the enemy.
Finding no immediate movement on the part of his foes, Oglethorpe, with
the whole force then at Frederica, except such as were absolutely
necessary to man the batteries, returned to the late field of action,
and when about half way met two platoons of his troops, with the great
body of his Indians, who declared they had been broken by the whole
Spanish force, which assailed them in the woods; and the enemy were now
in pursuit, and would soon be upon them. Notwithstanding this
disheartening report, Oglethorpe continued his march, and to his great
satisfaction, found that Lieutenants Southerland and MacKay, with the
Highlanders alone, had defeated the enemy, consisting of six hundred
men, and killed more of them than their own force numbered. At first the
Spanish forces overwhelmed the colonists by their superior numbers, when
the veteran troops became seized with a panic. They made a precipitate
retreat, the Highlanders following reluctantly in the rear. After
passing through a defile, Lieutenant MacKay communicated to his friend,
Lieutenant Southerland, who commanded the rear guard, composed also of
Highlanders, the feelings of his corps, and agreeing to drop behind as
soon as the whole had passed the defile. They returned through the brush
and took post at the two points of the crescent in the road. Four
Indians remained with them. Scarcely had they concealed themselves in
the woods, when the Spanish grenadier regiment, the _elite_ of their
troops, advanced into the defile, where, seeing the footprints of the
rapid retreat of the broken troops, and observing their right was
covered by an open morass, and their left, as they supposed, by an
impracticable wall of brushwood, and a border of dry white sand, they
stacked their arms and sat down to partake of refreshments, believing
that the contest for the day was over. Southerland and MacKay, who, from
their hiding places, had anxiously watched their movements, now from
either end of the line raised the Highland cap upon a sword, the signal
for the work of death to begin. Immediately the Highlanders poured in
upon the unsuspecting enemy a well delivered and most deadly fire.
Volley succeeded volley, and the sand was soon strewed with the dead and
the dying. Terror and dismay seized the Spaniards, and making no
resistance attempted to fly along the marsh. A few of their officers
attempted, though in vain, to re-form their broken ranks; discipline was
gone; orders were unheeded; safety alone was sought; and, when, with a
Highland shout of triumph, the hidden foe burst among them with levelled
musket and flashing claymore, the panic stricken Spaniards fled in
every direction; some to the marsh, where they mired and were taken;
others along the defile, where they were met by the claymore, and still
others into the thicket, where they became entangled and perished; and a
few succeeded in escaping to their camp. Barba was taken, though
mortally wounded. Among the killed were a captain, lieutenant, two
sergeants, two drummers and one hundred and sixty privates, and a
captain and nineteen men taken prisoners. This feat of arms was as
brilliant as it was successful. Oglethorpe, with the two platoons, did
not reach the scene of action, since called the "Bloody Marsh," until
the victory was won. To show his sense of the services rendered, he
promoted the brave young officers who had gained it on the very field of
their valor. But he rested only for a few minutes, waiting for the
marines and the reserve of the regiment to come up; and then pursued the
retreating enemy to within a mile and a half of their camp. During the
night the foe retreated within the ruins of the fort, and under the
protection of their cannon. A few days later the Spaniards became so
alarmed on the appearance of three vessels off the bar that they
immediately set fire to the fort and precipitately embarked their
troops, abandoning in their hurry and confusion, several cannon, a
quantity of military stores, and even leaving unburied some of the men
who had just died of their wounds.

The massacre of Fort Moosa was more than doubly avenged, and that on the
same Spanish regiment that was then victorious. On the present occasion
they had set out from their camp with the determination to show no
quarter. In the action William MacIntosh, now sixteen years of age, was
conspicuous. No shout rose higher, and no sword waved quicker than his
on that day. The tract of land which surrounded the field of action was
afterwards granted to him.

A brief sketch of Ensign John Stuart will not be out of place in this
record and connection. During the Spanish invasion he was stationed at
Fort William, and there gained an honorable reputation in holding it
against the enemy. Afterwards he became the celebrated Captain Stuart
and father of Sir John Stuart, the victor over General Ranier, at the
battle of Maida, in Calabria. In 1757 Captain Stuart was taken prisoner
at Fort Loudon, in the Cherokee country, and whose life was saved by his
friend, Attakullakulla. This ancient chief had remembered Captain Stuart
when he was a young Highland officer under General Oglethorpe, although
years had rolled away. The Indians were now filled with revenge at the
treachery of Governor Littleton, of Carolina, on account of the
imprisonment and death of the chiefs of twenty towns; yet no actions of
others could extinguish, in this generous and high-minded man, the
friendship of other years. The dangers of that day, the thousand wiles
and accidents Captain Stuart escaped from, made him renowned among the
Indians, and centered on him the affections and confidence of the
southern tribes. It was the same Colonel John Stuart, of the
Revolutionary War, who, from Pensacola, directed at will the movements
of the Cherokees, Creeks, Chickasaws and Choctaws, against all, save
Georgia. That state suffered but little from Indian aggression during
the War for Independence. Nor was that feeling extinct among the Creeks
for a period of fifty years, or until they believed that the people of
Oglethorpe had passed away.

The year 1743 opened with fresh alarms of a new invasion, jointly of the
French and Spanish. The Governor of Cuba offered to invade Georgia and
Carolina, with ten thousand men, most of whom were then in Havanna.
Oglethorpe, with his greatly reduced force, was left alone to bear the
burden of defending Georgia. Believing that a sudden blow would enhance
his prospects, he took his measures, and accordingly, on Saturday,
February 26, 1743, the detachment destined for Florida, consisting of a
portion of the Highlanders, rangers and regulars, appeared under arms at
Frederica, and on March 9th, landed in Florida. He advanced upon St.
Augustine, and used every device to decoy them into an ambush; but even
failed to provoke the garrison. Having no cannon with him, he returned
to Frederica, without the loss of a man. This expedition was attended
with great toil, fatigue and privation, but borne cheerfully. A few
slight eruptive efforts were made, but each party kept its own borders,
and the slight conflicts in America were lost in the universal
conflagration in Europe.

The Highlanders had borne more than their share of the burdens of war,
and had lost heavily. Their families had shared in their privations. The
majority had remained loyal to Oglethorpe, and proved that in every
emergency they could be depended on. In later years the losses were
partially supplied by accessions from their countrymen.

With all the advantages that Georgia offered and the inducements held
out to emigrants, the growth was very slow. In 1761 the whole number of
white inhabitants amounted to but sixty-one hundred. However, in 1773,
or twelve years later, it had leaped to eighteen thousand white and
fifteen thousand black. The reasons assigned for this increase were the
great inducements held out to people to come and settle where they could
get new and good lands at a moderate cost, with plenty of good range for
cattle, horses and hogs, and where they would not be so pent up and
confined as in the more thickly settled provinces.

The Macintoshes had ever been foremost, and in the attempt to
consolidate Georgia with Carolina they were prominent in their
opposition to the scheme.

Forty years in America had endeared the Highlanders of Darien to the
fortunes of their adopted country. The children knew of none other, save
as they heard it from the lips of their parents. Free in their
inclinations, and with their environments it is not surprising that they
should become imbued with the principles of the American Revolution.
Their foremost leader, who gained imperishable renown, was Lachlan
Macintosh, son of John Mor. His brother, William, also took a very
active part, and made great sacrifices. At one time he was pursued
beyond the Alatamaha and his negroes taken from him.

To what extent the Darien Highlanders espoused the cause of Great
Britain would be difficult to fathom, but in all probability to no
appreciable extent. The records exhibit that there were some royalists
there, although when under British sway may have been such as a matter
of protection, which was not uncommon throughout the Southern States.
The record is exceedingly brief. On May 20, 1780, Charles McDonald,
justice of peace for St. Andrew's parish (embracing Darien), signed the
address to the King. Sir James Wright, royal governor of Georgia,
writing to lord George Germain, dated February 16, 1782, says:

   "Yesterday my Lord I Received Intelligence that two Partys of about
   140 in the whole were gone over the Ogechee Ferry towards the
   Alatamaha River & had been in St. Andrews Parish (a Scotch
   settlement) & there Murdered 12 or 13 Loyal Subjects."[93]

The Highlanders were among the first to take action, and had no fears of
the calamities of war. The military spirit of their ancestors showed no
deterioration in their constitutions. During the second week in January,
1775, a district congress was held by the inhabitants of St. Andrew's
Parish (now Darien), at which a series of resolutions were passed,
embodying, with great force and earnestness, the views of the
freeholders of that large and flourishing district. These resolutions,
six in number, expressed first, their approbation of "the unparalleled
moderation, the decent, but firm and manly, conduct of the loyal and
brave people of Boston and Massachusetts Bay, to preserve their
liberty;" their approval of "all the resolutions of the Grand American
Congress," and their hearty and "cheerful accession to the association
entered into by them, as the wisest and most moderate measure that could
be adopted." The second resolution condemned the closing of the land
offices, to the great detriment of Colonial growth, and to the injury of
the industrious poor, declaring "that all encouragement should be given
to the poor of every nation by every generous American." The third,
animadverted upon the ministerial mandates which prevented colonial
assemblies from passing such laws as the general exigencies of the
provinces required, an especial grievance, as they affirmed, "in this
young colony, where our internal police is not yet well settled." The
fourth condemned the practice of making colonial officers dependent for
salaries on Great Britain, "thus making them independent of the people,
who should support them according to their usefulness and behavior." The
fifth resolution declares "our disapprobation and abhorrence of the
unnatural practice of slavery in America," and their purpose to urge
"the manumission of our slaves in this colony, upon the most safe and
equitable footing for the masters and themselves." And, lastly, they
thereby chose delegates to represent the parish in a provincial
congress, and instruct them to urge the appointment of two delegates to
the Continental Congress, to be held in Philadelphia, in May.

Appended to these resolutions were the following articles of agreement
or association:

   "Being persuaded that the salvation of the rights and liberties of
   America depend, under God, on the firm union of the inhabitants in
   its vigorous prosecution of the measures necessary for its safety,
   and convinced of the necessity of preventing the anarchy and
   confusion which attend the dissolution of the powers of government,
   we, the freemen, freeholders, and inhabitants of the province of
   Georgia, being greatly alarmed at the avowed design of the Ministry
   to raise a revenue in America, and shocked by the bloody scene now
   acting in the Massachusetts Bay, do, in the most solemn manner,
   resolve never to become slaves; and do associate, under all the ties
   of religion, honor and love of country, to adopt and endeavor to
   carry into execution, whatever may be recommended by the Continental
   Congress, or resolved upon by our Provincial Convention that shall be
   appointed, for the purpose of preserving our Constitution, and
   opposing the execution of the several arbitrary and oppressive acts
   of the British Parliament, until a reconciliation between Great
   Britain and America, on constitutional principles, which we most
   ardently desire, can be obtained; and that we will in all things
   follow the advice of our general committee, to be appointed,
   respecting the purposes, aforesaid, the preservation of peace and
   good order, and the safety of individuals and private property."

Among the names appended to these resolutions there may be selected such
as:

   Lach. McIntosh, Charles McDonald, John McIntosh, Samuel McClelland,
   Jno. McCulloch, William McCullough, John McClelland, Seth McCullough.

On July 4, 1775, the Provincial Congress met at Tondee's Long Room,
Savannah. Every parish and district was represented. St. Andrew's parish
sent:

   Jonathan Cochran, William Jones, Peter Tarlin, Lachlan McIntosh,
   William McIntosh, George Threadcroft, John Wesent, Roderick McIntosh,
   John Witherspoon, George McIntosh, Allen Stuart, John McIntosh,
   Raymond Demere.

The resolutions adopted by these hardy patriots were sacredly kept.
Their deeds, however, partake more of personal narration, and only their
heroic defense need be mentioned. The following narration should not
escape special notice:

   "On the last of February, 1776, the Scarborough, Hinchinbroke, St.
   John, and two large transports, with soldiers, then lying at Tybee,
   came up the river and anchored at five fathoms. On March 2nd, two of
   the vessels sailed up the channel of Back river, The Hinchinbroke, in
   attempting to go round Hutchinson's island, and so come down upon the
   shipping from above, grounded at the west end of the island, opposite
   Brampton. During the night there landed from the first vessel,
   between two and three hundred troops, under the command of Majors
   Grant and Maitland, and silently marched across Hutchinson's island,
   and through collusion with the captains were embarked by four A.M.,
   in the merchant vessels which lay near the store on that island. The
   morning of the 3rd revealing the close proximity of the enemy caused
   great indignation among the people. Two companies of riflemen, under
   Major Habersham, immediately attacked the grounded vessel and drove
   every man from its deck. By nine o'clock it became known that troops
   had been secreted on board the merchantmen, which news created
   intense excitement, and three hundred men, under Colonel McIntosh,
   were marched to Yamacraw Bluff, opposite the shipping, and there
   threw up a hasty breastwork, through which they trained three
   four-pounders to bear upon the vessels. Anxious, however, to avoid
   bloodshed, Lieutenant Daniel Roberts, of the St. John's Rangers, and
   Mr. Raymond Demere, of St. Andrew's Parish, solicited, and were
   permitted by the commanding officer, to go on board and demand a
   surrender of Rice and his people, who, with his boat's crew, had been
   forcibly detained. Although, on a mission of peace, no sooner had
   they reached the vessel, on board of which was Captain Barclay and
   Major Grant, than they were seized and detained as prisoners. The
   people on shore, after waiting a sufficient length of time, hailed
   the vessel, through a speaking-trumpet, and demanded the return of
   all who were detained on board; but receiving only insulting replies,
   they discharged two four-pounders at the vessel; whereupon they
   solicited that the people should send on board two men in whom they
   most confided, and with them they agreed to negotiate. Twelve of the
   Rangers, led by Captain Screven, of the St. John's Rangers, and
   Captain Baker, were immediately rowed under the stern of the vessel
   and there peremptorily demanded the deputies. Incensed by insulting
   language, Captain Baker fired a shot, which immediately drew on his
   boat a discharge of swivels and small arms. The batteries then
   opened, which was briskly answered for the space of four hours. The
   next step was to set fire to the vessels, the first being the
   Inverness, which drifted upon the brig Nelly, which was soon in
   flames. The officers and soldiers fled from the vessels, in the
   utmost precipitation across the low marshes and half-drained
   rice-fields, several being killed by the grape shot played upon them.
   As the deputies were still held prisoners, the Council of Safety, on
   March 6th, put under arrest all the members of the Royal Council then
   in Savannah, besides menacing the ships at Tybee. An exchange was not
   effected until the 27th."

As already stated, Darien experienced some of the vicissitudes of war.
On April 18, 1778, a small army, under Colonel Elbert, embarked on the
galleys Washington, Lee and Bullock, and by 10 o'clock next morning,
near Frederica, had captured the brigantine Hinchinbroke, the sloop
Rebecca and a prize brig, which had spread terror on the coast.

In 1779 the parishes of St. John, St. Andrew and St. James were erected
into one county, under the name of Liberty.

In March, 1780, the royal governor, Sir James Wright, attempted to
re-establish the old government, and issued writs returnable May 5.
Robert Baillie and James Spalding were returned from St. Andrew's
parish.

The settlement of Darien practically remained a pure Highland one until
the close of the Revolution. The people proved themselves faithful and
loyal to the best interests of the commonwealth, and equal to such
exigencies as befell them. While disasters awaited them and fierce
ordeals were passed through, yet fortune eventually smiled upon them.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 78: Graham's "History of United States," Vol. II, p. 179.]

[Footnote 79: "Georgia Historical Collections," Vol. I, p. 58.]

[Footnote 80: Oglethorpe's letter to the Trustees, Feb. 13, 1786, in
"Georgia Hist. Coll.," Vol. III, p. 10.]

[Footnote 81: Georgia Hist. Society, Vol. II, p. 115]

[Footnote 82: _Ibid_, Vol. III, p. 114 Oglethorpe to H. Verelst, May 6,
1741.]

[Footnote 83: Oglethorpe to H. Verelst, Dec. 21, 1738, Georgia Hist.
Society, Vol. III p. 67.]

[Footnote 84: Georgia Hist. Society, Vol. II, p. 113.]

[Footnote 85: Georgia Hist. Coll. Vol. II, p. 116.]

[Footnote 86: _Ibid._]

[Footnote 87: Oglethorpe to the Trustees, Oct. 20, 1739. Georgia Hist.
Coll., Vol. III, p. 90.]

[Footnote 88: Georgia Hist. Coll., Vol. II, p. 119.]

[Footnote 89: Oglethorpe to H. Verelst, Dec. 29, 1739. Georgia Hist.
Coll., Vol. III, p. 96.]

[Footnote 90: See Appendix, Note H.]

[Footnote 91: Thomas Jones, dated Savannah, Sept. 18, 1740 Georgia Hist.
Coll., Vol. I, p. 200.]

[Footnote 92: Dated April 28, 1741. Georgia Hist. Coll., Vol. III, p.
113.]

[Footnote 93: Georgia Hist. Coll., Vol. III, p. 370.]




CHAPTER VII.

CAPTAIN LAUCHLAN CAMPBELL'S NEW YORK COLONY.


The fruitful soil of America, together with the prospects of a home and
an independent living, was peculiarly adapted to awaken noble
aspirations in the breasts of those who were interested in the welfare
of that class whose condition needed a radical enlargement. Among this
class of Nature's noblemen there is no name deserving of more praise
than that of Lauchlan Campbell. Although his name, as well as the
migration of his infant colony, has gone out of Islay ken, where he was
born, yet his story has been fairly well preserved in the annals of the
province of New York. It was first publicly made known by William Smith,
in his "History of New York."

Lauchlan Campbell was possessed of a high sense of honor and a good
understanding; was active, loyal, of a military disposition, and,
withal, strong philanthropic inclinations. By placing implicit
confidence in the royal governors of New York, he fell a victim to their
roguery, deception and heartlessness, which ultimately crushed him and
left him almost penniless. The story has been set forth in the following
memorial, prepared by his son:

   "Memorial of Lieutenant Campbell to the Lords of Trade. To the Right
   Honourable the Lords Commissioners of Trade, &c. Memorial of Lieut.
   Donald Campbell of the Province of New York Plantation. Humbly
   Showeth,

   That in the year 1734 Colonel Cosby being then Governor of the
   Province of New York by and with the advice and assent of his Council
   published a printed Advertisement for encouraging the Resort of
   Protestants from Europe to settle upon the Northern Frontier of the
   said Province (in the route from Fort Edward to Crown Point)
   promising to each family two hundred acres of unimproved land out of
   100,000 acres purchased from the Indians, without any fee or expences
   whatsoever, except a very moderate charge for surveying & liable only
   to the King's Quit Rent of one shilling and nine pence farthing per
   hundred acres, which settlement would at that time have been of the
   utmost utility to the Province & these proposals were looked upon as
   so advantageous, that they could not fail of having a proper effect.

   That these Proposals in 1737, falling into the hands of Captain
   Lauchlin Campbell of the Island of Isla, he the same year went over
   to North America, and passing through the Province of Pennsilvania
   where he rejected many considerable offers that were made him, he
   proceeded to New York, where, tho' Governor Cosby was deceased,
   George Clarke Esqr. then Governor, assured him no part of the lands
   were as yet granted; importuned him & two or three persons that went
   over with him to go up and visit the lands, which they did, and were
   very kindly received and greatly caressed by the Indians. On his
   return to New York he received the most solemn promises that he
   should have a thousand acres for every family that he brought over,
   and that each family should have according to their number from five
   hundred to one hundred and fifty acres, but declined making any Grant
   till the Families arrived, because, according to the Constitution of
   that Government, the names of the settlers were to be inserted in
   that Grant. Captain Campbell accordingly returned to Isla, and
   brought from thence at a very large expense, his own Family and
   Thirty other Families, making in all, one hundred and fifty-three
   Souls. He went again to visit the lands, received all possible
   respect and kindness from the Government, who proposed an old Fort
   Anna to be repaired, to cover the new settlers from the French
   Indians. At the same time, the People of New York proposed to
   maintain the people already brought, till Captain Campbell could
   return and bring more, alledging that it would be for the interest of
   the Infant Colony to settle upon the lands in a large Body; that,
   covered by the Fort, and assisted by the Indians, they might be less
   liable to the Incursions of Enemies.

   That to keep up the spirit of the undertaking, Governor Clarke, by a
   writing bearing date the 4th day of December, 1738, declared his
   having promised Captain Campbell thirty thousand acres of land at
   Wood Creek, free of charges, except the expence of surveying & the
   King's Quit Rent in consideration of his having already brought over
   thirty families who according to their respective numbers in each
   family, were to have from one hundred and fifty to five hundred
   acres. Encouraged by this declaration, he departed in the same month
   for Isla, and in August, 1739, brought over Forty Families more, and
   under the Faith of the said promises made a third voyage, from which
   he returned in November, 1740, bringing with him thirteen Families
   the whole making eighty-three Families, composed of Four Hundred and
   Twenty Three Persons, all sincere and loyal Protestants, and very
   capable of forming a respectable Frontier for the security of the
   Province. But after all these perilous and expensive voyages, and
   tho' there wanted but Seventeen Families to complete the number for
   which he had undertaken, he found no longer the same countenance or
   protection but on the contrary it was insinuated to him that he could
   have no land either for himself or the people, but upon conditions in
   direct violation of the Faith of Government, and detrimental to the
   interests of those who upon his assurances had accompanied him into
   America. The people also were reduced to demand separate Grants for
   themselves, which upon large promises some of them did, yet more of
   them never had so much as a foot of land, and many listed themselves
   to join the Expedition to Cuba.

   That Captain Campbell having disposed of his whole Fortune in the
   Island of Isla, expended the far greatest part of it from his
   confidence in these fallacious promises found himself at length
   constrained to employ the little he had left in the purchase of a
   small farm seventy miles north of New York for the subsistence of
   himself and his Family consisting of three sons and three daughters.
   He went over again into Scotland in 1745, and having the command of a
   Company of the Argyleshire men, served with Reputation under his
   Royal Highness the Duke, against the Rebels. He went back to America
   in 1747 and not longer after died of a broken heart, leaving behind
   him the six children before mentioned of whom your Memoralist is the
   eldest, in very narrow and distressed circumstances."

   All these facts are briefly commemorated by Mr. Smith in his History
   of the Colony of New York, page 179, where are some severe, though
   just strictures on the behavior of those in power towards him and the
   families he brought with him, and the loss the Province sustained by
   such behavior towards them.

   "That at the Commencement of the present War, your Memoralist and
   both his brothers following their Father's principles in hopes of
   better Fortune entered into the Army & served in the Forty Second,
   Forty Eighth and Sixtieth Regiments of Foot during the whole War, at
   the close of which your Memoralist and his brother George were
   reduced as Lieutenants upon half pay, and their youngest Brother
   still continues in the service; the small Farm purchased by their
   father being the sole support of themselves and three sisters till
   they were able to provide for themselves in the manner before
   mentioned, and their sisters are now married & settled in the
   Province of New York.

   That after the conclusion of the Peace, your Memoralist considering
   the number of Families dispersed through the Province which came over
   with his Father, and finding in them a general disposition to settle
   with him on the lands originally promised them, if they could be
   obtained, in the month of February, 1763, petitioned Governor
   Monckton for the said lands but was able only to procure a Grant of
   ten thousand acres, (for obtaining which, he disbursed in Patent and
   other fees, the sum of two hundred Guineas), the people in Power
   alledging that land was now at a far greater value than at the time
   of your Memoralist's Father's coming into the Province, and even this
   upon the common condition of settling ten Families upon the said
   lands and paying a Quit Rent to the Crown. Part however of the People
   who had promised to settle with your Memoralist in case he had
   prevailed, were drawn to petition for lands to themselves, which they
   obtained, tho' they never could get one foot of land before, which
   provision of lands as your Memoralist apprehends, ought in Equity to
   be considered as an obligation on the Province to perform, so far as
   the number of those Families goes, the Conditions stipulated with his
   Father, as those Families never had come into & consequently could
   not now be remaining in the Province, if he had not persuaded them to
   accompany him, & been at a very large expence in transporting them
   thither.

   That there are still very many of these Families who have no land and
   would willingly settle with your Memoralist. That there are numbers
   of non commissioned Officers and Soldiers of the Regiments disbanded
   in North America who notwithstanding His Majesty's gracious
   Intentions are from many causes too long to trouble your Lordship
   with at present without any settlement provided for them, and that
   there are also many Families of loyal Protestants in the Islands and
   other parts of North Britain which might be induced by reasonable
   proposals and a certainty of their being fulfilled, to remove into
   the said Province, which would add greatly to the strength, security
   and opulence thereof, and be in all respects faithful and serviceable
   subjects to His Majesty.

   That the premisses considered, particularly the long scene of
   hardships to which your Memoralist's Family has been exposed, for
   Twenty Six years, in consideration of his own and his Brothers'
   services, & the perils to which they have been exposed during the
   long and fatiguing War, and the Prospect he still has of contributing
   to the settlement of His Majesty's unimproved country, your
   Memoralist humbly prays that Your Lordships would direct the
   Government of New York to grant to him the said One Hundred thousand
   Acres, upon his undertaking to settle One Hundred or One Hundred and
   Fifty Families upon the same within the space of Three years or such
   other Recompence or Relief as upon mature Deliberation on the
   Hardships and Sufferings which his Father and his Family have for so
   many years endured, & their merits, in respect to the Province of New
   York which might be incontestably proved, if it was not universally
   acknowledged, may in your great Wisdom be thought to deserve.

     And your Memoralist: &c., &c., &c.[94]

     May, 1764."

It was the policy of the home government to settle as rapidly as
possible the wild lands; not so much for the purpose of benefiting the
emigrant as it was to enhance the king's exchequer. The royal governors
apparently held out great inducements to the settlers, but the sequel
always showed that a species of blackmail or tribute must be paid by the
purchasers before the lands were granted. The governor was one thing to
the higher authorities, but far different to those from whom he could
reap advantage. The seeming disinterested motives may be thus
illustrated:

Under date of New York, July 26, 1736, George Clarke, lieutenant
governor of New York, writes to the duke of Newcastle, in which he says,
it was principally

   "To augment his Majesty's Quit rents that I projected a Scheme to
   settle the Mohacks Country in this Province, which I have the
   pleasure to hear from Ireland and Holland is like to succeed. The
   scheme is to give grants gratis of an hundred thousand acres of land
   to the first five hundred protestant familys that come from Europe in
   two hundred acres to a family, these being settled will draw
   thousands after them, for both the situation and quantity of the Land
   are much preferable to any in Pensilvania, the only Northern Colony
   to which the Europeans resort, and the Quit rents less. Governor
   Cosby sent home the proposals last Summer under the Seal of the
   Province, and under his and the Council's hands, but it did not reach
   Dublin till the last day of March; had it come there two months
   sooner I am assured by a letter which I lately received, directed to
   Governor Cosby, that we should have had two ships belonging to this
   place (then lying there) loaded with people but next year we hope to
   have many both from thence and Germany. When the Mohocks Country is
   settled we shall have nothing to fear from Canada."[95]

The same, writing to the Lords of Trade, under date of New York, June
15, 1739, says:

   "The lands whereon the French propose to settle were purchased from
   Indian proprietors (who have all along been subject to and under the
   protection of the Crown of England) by one Godfrey Dellius and
   granted to him by patent under the seal of this province in the year
   1696, which grant was afterwards resumed by act of Assembly whereby
   they became vested in the Crown; on part of these lands I proposed to
   settle some Scotch Highland familys who came hither last year, and
   they would have been now actually settled there, if the Assembly
   would have assisted them, for they are poor and want help; however as
   I have promised them lands gratis, some of them about three weeks ago
   went to view that part of the Country, and if they like the lands I
   hope they will accept my offer (if the report of the French designs
   do not discourage them:) depending upon the voluntary assistance of
   the people of Albany whose more immediate interest it is to encourage
   their settlement in that part of the country."[96]

That Captain Campbell would have secured the lands there can be no
question had he complied with Governor Clarke's demands, although said
demands were contrary to the agreement. Private faith and public honor
demanded the fair execution of the project, which had been so expensive
to the undertaker, and would have added greatly to the benefit of the
colony. The governor would not make the grant unless he should have his
fees and a share of the land.

The quit rent in the province of New York was fixed at two shillings six
pence for every one hundred acres. The fees for a grant of a thousand
acres were as follows: To the governor, $31.25; secretary of state, $10;
clerk of the council, $10 to $15; receiver general, $14.37; attorney
general, $7.50; making a total of about $75, besides the cost of survey.
This amount does not appear to be large for the number of acres, yet it
must be considered that land was plenty, but money very scarce. There
were thousands of substantial men who would have found it exceedingly
difficult to raise the amount in question.

It is possible that Captain Campbell could not have paid this extortion
even if he had been so disposed; but being high-spirited, he resolutely
refused his consent. The governor, still pretending to be very anxious
to aid the emigrants, recommended the legislature of the province to
grant them assistance; but, as usual, the latter was at war with the
governor, and refused to vote money to the Highlanders, which they
suspected, with good reason, the latter would be required to pay to the
colonial officers for fees.

Not yet discouraged, Captain Campbell determined to exhaust every
resource that justice might be done to him. His next step was to appeal
to the legislature for redress, but it was in vain; then he made an
application to the Board of Trade, in England, which had the power to
rectify the wrong. Here he had so many difficulties to contend with that
he was forced to leave the colonists to themselves, who soon after
separated. But all his efforts proved abortive.

The petition of Lieutenant Donald Campbell, though courteously
expressed, and eminently just, was rejected. It was claimed that the
orders of the English government positively forbade the granting of over
a thousand acres to any one person; yet that thousand acres was denied
him.

The injustice accorded to Captain Campbell was more or less notorious
throughout the province. It was generally felt there had been bad
treatment, and there was now a disposition on the part of the colonial
authorities to give some relief to his sons and daughters. Accordingly,
on November 11, 1763, a grant of ten thousand acres, in the present
township of Greenwich, Washington county, New York, was made to the
three brothers, Donald, George and James, their three sisters and four
other persons, three of whom were also named Campbell.

The final success of the Campbell family in obtaining redress inspired
others who had belonged to the colony to petition for a similar
recompense for their hardships and losses. They succeeded in obtaining a
grant of forty-seven thousand, four hundred and fifty acres, located in
the present township of Argyle, and a small part of Fort Edward and
Greenwich, in the same county.

On March 2, 1764, Alexander McNaughton and one hundred and six others of
the original Campbell emigrants and their descendants, petitioned for
one thousand acres to be granted to each of them

   "To be laid out in a single tract between the head of South bay and
   Kingsbury, and reaching east towards New Hampshire and westwardly to
   the mountains in Warren county. The committee of the council to whom
   this petition was referred reported May 21, 1764, that the tract
   proposed be granted, which was adopted, the council specifying the
   amount of land each individual of the petitioners should receive,
   making two hundred acres the least and six hundred the most that
   anyone should obtain. Five men were appointed as trustees, to divide
   and distribute the land as directed. The same instrument incorporated
   the tract into a township, to be called Argyle, and should have a
   supervisor, treasurer, collector, two assessors, two overseers of
   highways, two overseers of the poor and six constables, to be elected
   annually by the inhabitants on the first day of May. The patent,
   similar to all others of that period, was subject to the following
   conditions:

   An annual quit rent of two shillings and six pence sterling on every
   one hundred acres, and all mines of gold and silver, and all pine
   trees suitable for masts for the royal navy, namely, all which were
   twenty-four inches from the ground, reserved to the crown."[97]

The land thus granted lies in the central part of Washington county,
with a broken surface in the west and great elevations and ridges in the
east. The soil is rich and the whole well watered.

The trustees were vested with the power to execute title deeds to such
of the grantees, should they claim the lands, the first of which were
issued during the winter and spring of 1764-5 by Duncan Reid, of the
city of New York, _gentleman_; Peter Middleton, of same city,
_physician_; Archibald Campbell, of same city, _merchant_; Alexander
McNaughton,[98] of Orange county, _farmer_; and Neil Gillaspie, of
Ulster county, _farmer_, of the one part, and the grantees of the other
part.

While the application for the grant was yet pending, the petitioners
greatly exalted over their future prospects, evolved a grand scheme for
the survey of the prospective lands, which should include a stately
street from the banks of the Hudson river on the east through the tract,
upon which each family should have a town lot, where he might not only
enjoy the protection of near neighbors, but also have that companionship
of which the Highlander is so particularly fond. In the rear of these
town lots were to be the farms, which in time were to be occupied by
tenants. The surveyors, Archibald Campbell, of Raritan, New Jersey, and
Christopher Yates, of Schenectady, who began their labors June 19, 1764,
were instructed to lay off the land as planned, the street to extend
from east to west, twenty-four rods wide and extending through the width
of the grant as near the center as practicable, and to set aside a glebe
lot for the benefit of the school master and the minister. North and
south of the street, and bordering on it, the surveyors laid off lots
running back one hundred and eighty rods, varying in width so as to
contain from twenty to sixty acres. These lots were numbered, making in
all one hundred and forty-one, seventy-two being on the south side of
the street, and the remainder on the north. The farms were also
numbered, also making one hundred and forty-one.

In the plan no allowance had been made for the rugged nature of the
country, and consequently the magnificent street was located over hills
whose proportions prevented its use as a public highway, while some of
the lots were uninhabitable.

The following is a list of the grantees, the number of the lot and its
contents being set opposite the name:

   Lot.     Name.                    Acres.

   1.     Catharine Campbell           250
   2.     Elizabeth Cargill            250
   3.     Allan McDonald               300
   4.     Neil Gillaspie               450
   5.     Mary Campbell                350
   6.     Duncan McKerwan              350
   7.     Ann McAnthony                250
   8.     Mary McGowne                 300
   9.     Catherine McLean             300
   10.    Mary Anderson                300
   11.    Archibald McNeil             300
   12.    Dougall McAlpine             300
   13.    David Lindsey                250
   14.    Elizabeth Campbell           300
   15.    Ann McDuffie                 350
   16.    Donald McDougall             300
   17.    Archibald McGowne            300
   18.    Eleanor Thompson             300

   Lot.     Name.                    Acres.

   19.     Duncan McDuffie            350
   20.     Duncan Reid                600
   21.     John McDuffie              250
   22.     Dougall McKallor           550
   23.     Daniel Johnson             350
   24.     Archibald Campbell         250
   25.     William Hunter             300
   26.     Duncan Campbell            300
   27.     Elizabeth Fraser           200
   28.     Alexander Campbell         350
           Glebe lot                  500
   29.     Daniel Clark               350
   43.     Elizabeth Campbell         300
   44.     Duncan McArthur            450
   45.     John Torrey                300
   46.     Malcolm Campbell           300
   47.     Florence McKenzie          200
   48.     John McKenzie              300
   49.     Jane Cargill               250
   50.     John McGowan               300
   59.     John McEwen                500
   60.     John McDonald              300
   61.     James McDonald             400
   62.     Mary Belton                300
   72.     Rachael Nevin              300
   73.     James Cargill              400

Lots 29, 43, 44, 50, and 62 are partly in the present limits of the
township of Greenwich, and the other lots, from 29 to 73, not above
enumerated, are wholly in that township and in Salem. The following lots
are located north of the street:

   Lot.     Name.                   Acres.

   74.     John Cargill               300
   75.     Duncan McDougall           300
   76.     Alexander Christie         350
   77.     Alex. Montgomery           600
   78.     Marian Campbell            250
   79.     John Gilchrist             300
   80.     Agnes McDougall            300
   81.     Duncan McGuire             500
   82.     Edward McKallor            500
   83.     Alexander Gilchrist        300
   84.     Archibald McCullom         350
   85.     Archibald McCore           300
   86.     John McCarter              350
   87.     Neil Shaw                  600
   88.     Duncan Campbell            300
   89.     Roger McNeil               300
   90.     Elizabeth Ray              200
   91.     James Nutt                 300
   92.     Donald McDuffie            350
   93.     George Campbell            300
   94.     Jane Widrow                300
   95.     John McDougall             400
   96.     Archibald McCarter         300
   97.     Charles McAllister         300
   98.     William Graham             300
   99.     Hugh McDougall             300
   100.    James Campbell             300
   101.    George McKenzie            400
   102.    John McCarter              400
   103.    Morgan McNeil              250
   104.    Malcolm McDuffie           550
   105.    Florence McVarick          300
   106.    Archibald McEwen           300
   107.    Neil McDonald              500
   108.    James Gillis               500
   109.    Archibald McDougall        450
   110.    Marian McEwen              200
   111.    Patrick McArthur           350
   112.    John McGowne, Jr           250
   113.    John Shaw, Sr              300
   114.    Angus Graham               300
   115.    Edward McCoy               300
   116.    Duncan Campbell, Jr.       300
   117.    Jenette Ferguson           250
   118.    Hugh McEloroy              200
   119.    Dougall Thompson           400

   Lot.     Name.                     Acres

   120.    Mary Graham                300
   121.    Robert McAlpine            300
   122.    Duncan Taylor              600
   123.    Elizabeth Caldwell         250
   124.    William Clark              350
   124.    William Clark              350
   125.    Barbara McAllister         300
   126.    Mary Anderson              300
   127.    Donald McMullin            450
   130.    John Shaw, Sr              300
   131.    Duncan Lindsey             300
   132.    Donald Shaw
   133.    John Campbell              300

Each of the foregoing had a "street lot," with a corresponding number,
as before mentioned, which contained one-tenth of the area of the farm
lots; that is, a lot of two hundred acres had a "street lot" of twenty
acres, and so on.

Ten lots comprehended between Nos. 127 and 146 are now within the
township of Fort Edward. The number of these lots and the persons to
whom granted were as follows, varying in area from 250 to 500 acres:

Lot 128, Duncan Shaw; 129, Alex. McDougall; 134, John McArthur; 135,
John McIntyre; 136, Catharine McIlfender; 137, Mary Hammel; 138, Duncan
Gilchrist; 139, John McIntyre; 140, Mary McLeod; 141, David Torrey.

The lots originally belonging to Argyle township, but now forming a part
of Greenwich, were numbered and allotted as follows:

   Lot.      Name.                   Acres.
   30.     Angus McDougall            300
   31.     Donald McIntyre            350
   32.     Alexander McNachten        600
   33.     John McCore                300
   34.     William Fraser             350
   35.     Mary Campbell              250
   36.     Duncan Campbell, Sr.       450
   37.     Neil McFadden              300
   38.     Mary Torry                 250
   39.     Margaret McAllister        250
   40.     Robert Campbell, Jr        450
   41.     Catharine Shaw             250
   51.     Charles McArthur           350
   52.     Duncan McFadden            300
   53.     Roger Reed                 300
   54.     John McCarter              300
   65.     Hugh Montgomery            300
   66.     Isabella Livingston        250
   67.     Catharine McCarter         250
   68.     Margaret Gilchrist         250
   42.     John McGuire               400
   43.     Elizabeth McNeil           200
   44.     Duncan McArthur            450
   29.     Daniel Clark               250
   50.     John McGowan, Sr           300
   55.     Ann Campbell               300
   56.     Archibald McCullom         350
   57.     Alexander McArthur         250
   58.     Alex McDonald              250
   59.     John McEwen                500
   62.     Mary Baine                 300
   63.     Margaret Cargyle           300
   64.     Neil McEachern             450
   69      Hannah McEwen              400
   70.     John Reid                  450
   71.     Archibald Nevin            350

Many of the grantees immediately took possession of the lands alloted to
them; but others never took advantage of their claims, which, for a
time, were left unoccupied, and then passed into the hands of others,
who generally were left in undisputed possession. This state of affairs,
in connection with the large size of the lots, had the effect of
retarding the growth of that district.

Before the arrival of the settlers, a desperado, named Rogers, had taken
possession of a part of the lands on the Batten Kill. He warned the
people off, making various threats; but the Highlanders knowing their
titles were perfect, disregarded the menace, and set about industriously
clearing up their lands and erecting their houses. One day, when
Archibald Livingston was away, his wife was forcibly carried off by
Rogers, and set down outside the limits of the claim, who also proceeded
to remove the furniture from the premises. He was arrested by Roger
Reid, the constable, and brought before Alexander McNaughton, the
justice, which constituted the first civil process ever served in that
county. Rogers did not submit peaceably to be taken, but defended
himself with a gun, which Joseph McCracken seized, and in his endeavor
to wrest it from the hands of the ruffian, he burst the buttons from off
the waist-bands of his pantaloons, which, as he did not wear suspenders,
slipped over his feet. The little son of Rogers, fully taking in the
situation, ran up and bit McCracken, which, however, did not cause him
to desist from his purpose. Rogers was conveyed to Albany, after which
all trace of him has been lost.

The township of Argyle, embracing what is now both Argyle and Fort
Edward, was organized in 1771. The record of the first meeting bears
date April 2, 1771, and was called for the purpose of regulating laws
and choosing officers. It was called by virtue of the grant in the
Argyle patent. The officers elected were: supervisor, Duncan Campbell,
who continued until 1781, and was then succeeded by Roger Reid; town
clerk, Archibald Brown, succeeded in 1775 by Edward Patterson, who, in
turn, was succeeded in 1778 by John McNeil, and he by Duncan Gilchrist,
in 1780; collector, Roger Reid, succeeded in 1778 by Duncan McArthur,
and the latter in 1781 by Alexander Gilchrist; assessors, Archibald
Campbell and Neal Shaw; constables, John Offery, John McNiel;
poor-masters, James Gilles, Archibald McNiel; road-masters, Duncan
Lindsey, Archibald Campbell; fence viewers, Duncan McArthur, John
Gilchrist.

The following extracts from township records are not without interest:

   1772.--"All men from sixteen to sixty years old to work on the roads
   this year. Fences must be four feet and a half high."

   1776.--"Duncan Reid is to be constable for the south part of the
   patent and Alexander Gillis for the north part; George Kilmore and
   James Beatty for masters. John Johnson was chosen a justice of the
   peace."

   1781.--"Alexander McDougall and Duncan Lindsey were elected tithing
   men."

In order to make the laws more efficient, on March 12, 1772, the county
of Charlotte was struck off from Albany, which was the actual beginning
of the present county of Washington. As Charlotte county had been named
for the consort of George III. and as his troops had devastated it
during the Revolution, the title was not an agreeable one, so the state
legislature on April 2, 1784, changed it to Washington, thus giving it
the most honored appellation known in the annals of American history.

For several years after 1764 the colony on the east, and in what is now
Hebron township, was augmented by a number of discharged Highland
soldiers, mostly of the 77th Regiment, who settled on both sides of the
line of the township. It is a noticeable fact that in every case these
settlers were Scotch Highlanders. They had in all probability been
attracted to this spot partly by the settlement of the colony of Captain
Lachlan Campbell, and partly by that of the Scotch-Irish at New Perth
(Salem), which has been noted already in its proper connection. These
additional settlers took up their claims, owing to a proclamation made
by the king, in October, 1763, offering land in America, without fees,
to all such officers and soldiers who had served on that continent, and
who desired to establish their homes there.

Nothing shows more clearly than this proclamation the lofty position of
an officer in the British service at that time as compared with a
private. A field officer received four thousand acres; a captain three
thousand; a lieutenant, or other subaltern commissioned officer, two
thousand; a non-commissioned officer, whether sergeant or corporal,
dropped to two hundred acres, while the poor private was put off with
fifty acres. Fifty acres of wild land, on the hill-sides of Washington
County, was not an extravagant reward for seven years' service amidst
all the dangers and horrors of French and Indian warfare.

Many of these grants were sold by the soldiers to their countrymen.
Their method of exchange was very simple. The corporal and private would
meet by the roadside, or at a neighboring ale-house, and after greeting
each other, the American land would immediately be the subject for
barter. The private, who may be called Sandy, knew his fifty acres was
not worth the sea-voyage, while Corporal Donald, having already two
hundred, might find it profitable to emigrate, provided he could add
other tracts. After the preliminaries and the haggling had been gone
through with, Donald would draw out his long leather purse and count
down the amount, saying:

"There, mon; there's your siller."

The worthy Sandy would then dive into some hidden recess of his garments
and bring forth his parchment, signed in the name of the king by "Henry
Moore, baronet, our captain-general and governor-in-chief, in and over
our province of New York, and the lands depending thereon, in America,
chancellor and vice-admiral of the same." This document would be
promptly handed to the purchaser, with the declaration,

"An' there's your land, corporal."

Many of the soldiers never claimed their lands, which were eventually
settled by squatters, some of whom remained thereon so long that they or
their heirs became the lawful owners.

The famous controversy concerning the "New Hampshire grants," affected
the Highland settlers; but the more exciting events of the wrangle took
place outside the limits of Washington county, and consequently the
Highland settlement. This controversy, which was carried on with
acrimonious and warlike contention, arose over New York's officials'
claim to the possession of all the land north of the Massachusetts line
lying west of the Connecticut river. In 1751 both the governors of New
York and New Hampshire presented their respective claims to the
territory in dispute to the Lords of Trade in London. The matter was
finally adjusted in 1782, by New York yielding her claim.

In 1771 there were riots near the southern boundary of Hebron township,
which commenced by the forcible expulsion of Donald McIntire and others
from their lands, perpetrated by Robert Cochran and his associates. On
October 29th, same year, another serious riot took place. A warrant was
issued for the offenders by Alexander McNaughton, justice of the peace,
residing in Argyle. Charles Hutchison, formerly a corporal in
Montgomery's Highlanders, testified that Ethan Allen (afterwards
famous), and eight others, on the above date, came to his residence,
situated four miles north of New Perth, and began to demolish it.
Hutchison requested them to stop, but they declared that they would make
a burnt offering to the gods of this world by burning the logs of that
house. Allen and another man held clubs over Hutchison's head, ordered
him to leave the locality, and declared that, in case he returned, he
should be worse treated. Eight or nine other families were driven from
their homes, in that locality, at the same time, all of whom fled to New
Perth, where they were hospitably received. The lands held by these
exiled families had been wholly improved by themselves. They were driven
out by Allen and his associates because they were determined that no one
should build under a New York title east of the line they had
established as the western boundary.

Bold Ethan Allen was neither to be arrested nor intimidated by a
constable's warrant. Governor Tryon of New York offered twenty pounds
reward for the arrest of the rioters, which was as inefficient as
esquire McNaughton's warrant.

The county of Washington was largely settled by people from the New
England states. The breaking out of the Revolutionary War found these
people loyal to the cause of the patriots. The Highland settlements were
somewhat divided, but the greater part allied themselves with the cause
of their adopted country. Those who espoused the cause of the king, on
account of the atrocities committed by the Indians, were forced to flee,
and never returned save in marauding bands. There were a few, however,
who kept very quiet, and were allowed to remain unmolested.

There were no distinctive Highland companies either in the British or
Continental service from this settlement. A company of royalists was
secretly formed at Fort Edwards, under David Jones (remembered only as
being the betrothed of the lovely but unfortunate Jane McCrea), and
these joined the British forces. There were five companies from the
county that formed the regiment under Colonel Williams, one of which was
commanded by Captain Charles Hutchison, the Highland corporal whom Ethan
Allen had mobbed in 1771. In this company of fifty-two men it may be
reasonably supposed that the greater number were the sons of the
emigrants of Captain Lauchlan Campbell.

The committee of Charlotte county, in September 21, 1775, recommended to
the Provincial Congress, that the following named persons, living in
Argyle, should be thus commissioned: Alexander Campbell, captain; Samuel
Pain, first lieutenant; Peter Gilchrist, second lieutenant; and John
McDougall, ensign.

Captain Joseph McCracken, on the arrival of Burgoyne, built a fort at
New Perth, which was finished on July 26th, and called Salem Fort.

Donald, son of Captain Lauchlan Campbell, espoused the cause of the
people, but his two brothers sided with the British. Soon after all
these passed out of the district, and their whereabouts became unknown.

The bitter feelings engendered by the war was also felt in the Highland
settlement, as may be instanced in the following circumstance preserved
by S.D.W. Bloodgood:[99]

  "When Burgoyne found that his boats were not safe, and were in fact
   much nearer the main body of our army than his own, it became
   necessary to land his provisions, of which he had already been short
   for many weeks, in order to prevent his being actually starved into
   submission. This was done under a heavy fire from our troops. On one
   of these occasions a person by name of Mr.----, well known at Salem,
   and a foreigner by birth, and who had at the very time a son in the
   British army, crossed the river at De Ruyter's, with a person by name
   of McNeil; they went in a canoe, and arriving opposite to the place
   intended, crossed over to the western bank, on which a redoubt called
   Fort Lawrence had been placed. They crawled up the bank with their
   arms in their hands, and peeping over the upper edge, they saw a man
   in a blanket coat loading a cart. They instantly raised their guns to
   fire, an action more savage than commendable. At the moment the man
   turned so as to be more plainly seen, when old M---- said to his
   companion, 'Now that's my own son Hughy; but I'm dom'd for a' that if
   I sill not gie him a shot,' He then actually fired at his own son, as
   the person really proved to be, but happily without effect. Having
   heard the noise made by their conversation and the cocking of the
   pieces, which the nearness of his position rendered perfectly
   practicable, he ran round the cart, and the ball lodged in the felly
   of the wheel. The report drew the attention of the neighboring
   guards, and the two marauders were driven from their lurking place.
   While retreating with all possible speed, McNeil was wounded in the
   shoulder, and, if alive, carries the wound about with him to this
   day. Had the ball struck the old Scotchman, it is questionable
   whether any one would have considered it more than even handed
   justice commending the chalice to his own lips."

A map of Washington County would show that it was on the war path that
led to some terrible conflicts related in American history. Occupying a
part of the territory between the Hudson and the northern lakes, it had
borne the feet of warlike Hurons, Iroquois, Canadians, New Yorkers, New
Englanders, French, English, Continentals and Hessians, who proceeded in
their mission of destruction and vengeance. As the district occupied by
the Highlanders was close to the line of Burgoyne's march, it
experienced the realities of war and the tomahawk of the merciless
savage. How terrible was the work of the ruthless savage, and how
shocking the fate of those in his pathway, has been graphically related
by Arthur Reid, a native of the township of Argyle, who received the
account from an aunt, who was fully cognizant of all the facts. The
following is a condensed account:

During the latter part of the summer of 1777, a scouting party of
Indians, consisting of eight, received either a real or supposed injury
from some white persons at New Perth (now Salem), for which they sought
revenge. While prowling around the temporary fort, they were observed
and fired upon, and one of their number killed. In the presence of a
prisoner, a white man,[100] the remaining seven declared their purpose
to sacrifice the first white family that should come in their way. This
party belonged to a large body of Indians which had been assembled by
General Burgoyne, the British commander, then encamped not far distant
in a northerly direction from Crown Point. In order to inspire the
Indians with courage General Burgoyne considered it expedient, in
compliance with their custom, to give them a war-feast, at which they
indulged in the most extravagant manoeuvres, gesticulations, and
exulting vociferations, such as lying in ambush, and displaying their
rude armored devices, and dancing, and whooping, and screaming, and
brandishing their tomahawks and scalping knives.

The particular band, above mentioned, was in command of an Iroquois
chief, who, from his bloodthirsty nature, was called Le Loup, the
wolf,--bold, fiercely revengeful, and well adapted to lead a party bent
on committing atrocities. Le Loup and his band left New Perth _en route_
to the place where the van of Burgoyne's army was encamped. The family
of Duncan McArthur, consisting of himself, wife and four children, lived
on the direct route. Approaching the clearing upon which the dwelling
stood, the Indians halted in order to make preparations for their
fiendish design. Every precaution was taken, even to enhancing their
naturally ferocious appearance by painting their faces, necks and
shoulders with a thick coat of vermilion. The party next moved forward
with stealthy steps to the very edge of the forest, where again they
halted in order to mature the final plan of attack.

Fortunately for the McArthur family, on that day, two neighbors had come
for the purpose of assisting in the breaking of a horse, and, when the
Indians saw them, and also the three buildings, which they mistook for
residences, they became disconcerted. They decided as there were three
men present, and the same number of houses, there must also be three
families.

The Indians withdrew exasperated, but none the less determined to seek
vengeance. With elastic step, and in single file they pressed forward,
and an hour later came to another clearing, in the midst of which stood
a dwelling, occupied by the family of John Allen, consisting of five
persons, viz., himself and wife and three children. Temporarily with
them at the time were Mrs. Allen's sister, two negroes and a negress.
John Allen was notoriously in sympathy with the purposes of the British
king. When the Indians stealthily crept to the edge of the clearing they
observed the white men busily engaged reaping the wheat harvest. They
decided to wait until the reapers retired for dinner. Their white
prisoner begged to be spared from witnessing the scene about to be
enacted. This request was finally granted, and one of the Indians
remained with him as a guard, while the others went forward to execute
their purpose.

When the family had become seated at the table the Indians burst upon
them with a fearful yell. When the neighbors came they found the body of
John Allen a few rods from the house. Apparently he had escaped through
a back door, but had been overtaken and shot down. Nearer the house, but
in the same direction, were the bodies of Mrs. Allen, her sister, and
the youngest child, all tomahawked and scalped. The other two children
were found hidden in a bed, but also tomahawked and scalped. One of the
negroes was found in the doorway, his body gashed and mutilated in a
horrible manner. From the wounds inflicted on his body it was thought he
had made a desperate resistance. The position of the remaining two has
not been distinctly recollected.

George Kilmore, father of Mrs. Allen and owner of the negroes, who lived
three miles distant, becoming anxious on account of the prolonged
absence of his daughter and servants, on the Sunday following, sent a
negro boy on an errand of inquiry. As the boy approached the house, the
keen-scented horse, which he was riding, stopped and refused to go
farther. After much difficulty he was urged forward until his rider got
a view of the awful scene. The news brought by the boy spread rapidly,
and the terror-stricken families fled to various points for protection,
many of whom went to Fort Edward. After Burgoyne had been hemmed in, the
families cautiously returned to their former homes.

From Friday afternoon, July 25th, until Sunday morning following, the
whereabouts of Le Loup and his band cannot be determined. But on that
morning they made their appearance on the brow of the hill north of Fort
Edward, and then and there a shocking tragedy was enacted, which
thoroughly aroused the people, and formed quite an element in the
overthrow and surrender of Burgoyne's army. It was the massacre of Miss
Jane McCrea, a lovely, amiable and intelligent lady. This tragedy at
once drew the attention of all America. She fell under the blow of the
savage Le Loup, and the next instant he flung down his gun, seized her
long, luxuriant hair with one hand, with the other passed the scalping
knife around nearly the whole head, and, with a yell of triumph, tore
the beautiful but ghastly trophy from his victim's head.

It is a work of superogation to say that the Highland settlers of Argyle
were strongly imbued with religious sentiments. That question has
already been fully commented on. The colony early manifested its
disposition to build churches where they might worship. The first of
these houses were humble in their pretensions, but fully in keeping with
a pioneer settlement in the wilderness. Their faith was the same as that
promulgated by the Scotch-Irish in the adjoining neighborhood, and were
visited by the pastor of the older settlement. They do not appear to
have sustained a regular pastor until after the Peace of 1783.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 94: "Documentary and Colonial History of New York," Vol. VII,
p.630. Should 1763 be read for 1764?]

[Footnote 95: _Ibid_, p.72.]

[Footnote 96: _Ibid_, Vol. VI, p.145.]

[Footnote 97: On record in library at Albany in "Patents," Vol. IV, pp.
8-17.]

[Footnote 98: See Appendix, Note I.]

[Footnote 99: The Sexagenary, p. 110.]

[Footnote 100: Samuel Standish, who was present at the time of the
murder of Jane McCrea, and afterwards gave the account to Jared Sparks,
who records it in his "Life of Arnold." See "Library of American
Biography," Vol. III, Chap. VII.]




CHAPTER VIII.

HIGHLAND SETTLEMENT ON THE MOHAWK.


Sir William Johnson thoroughly gained the good graces of the Iroquois
Indians, and by the part he took against the French at Crown Point and
Lake George, in 1755, added to his reputation at home and abroad. For
his services to the Crown he was made a baronet and voted £5000 by the
British parliament, besides being paid £600 per annum as Indian agent,
which he retained until his death in 1774. He also received a grant of
one hundred thousand acres of land north of the Mohawk. In 1743 he built
Fort Johnson, a stone dwelling, on the same side of the river, in what
is now Montgomery county. A few miles farther north, in 1764, he built
Johnson Hall, a wooden structure, and there entertained his Indian bands
and white tenants, with rude magnificence, surrounded by his mistresses,
both white and red. He had dreams of feudal power, and set about to
realize it. The land granted to him by the king, he had previously
secured from the Mohawks, over whom he had gained an influence greater
than that ever possessed heretofore or since by a white man over an
Indian tribe. The tract of land thus gained was long known as
"Kingsland," or the "Royal Grant." The king had bound Sir William to him
by a feudal tenure of a yearly rental of two shillings and six pence for
each and every one hundred acres. In the same manner Sir William bound
to himself his tenants to whom he granted leases. In order to secure the
greatest obedience he deemed it necessary to secure such tenants as
differed from the people near him in manners, language, and religion,
and that class trained to whom the strictest personal dependence was
perfectly familiar. In all this he was highly favored. He turned his
eyes to the Highlands of Scotland, and without trouble, owing to the
dissatisfied condition of the people and their desire to emigrate, he
secured as many colonists as he desired, all of whom were of the Roman
Catholic faith. The agents having secured the requisite number,
embarked, during the month of August, 1773, for America.

A journal of the period states that "three gentlemen of the name of
Macdonell, with their families, and 400 Highlanders from the counties
(!) of Glengarry, Glenmorison, Urquhart, and Strathglass lately embarked
for America, having obtained a grant of land in Albany,"[101]

This extract appears to have been copied from the _Courant_ of August
28th, which stated they had "lately embarked for America." This would
place their arrival on the Mohawk some time during the latter part of
the following September, or first of October. The three gentlemen above
referred to were Macdonell of Aberchalder, Leek, and Collachie, and also
another, Macdonell of Scotas. Their fortunes had been shattered in "the
45," and in order to mend them were willing to settle in America. They
made their homes in what was then Tryon county, about thirty miles from
Albany, then called Kingsborough, where now is the thriving town of
Gloversville. To certain families tracts were allotted varying from one
hundred to five hundred acres, all subjected to the feudal system.

Having reached the places assigned them the Highlanders first felled the
trees and made their rude huts of logs. Then the forest was cleared and
the crops planted amid the stumps. The country was rough, but the people
did not murmur. Their wants were few and simple. The grain they reaped
was carried on horseback along Indian trails to the landlord's mills.
Their women became accustomed to severe outdoor employment, but they
possessed an indomitable spirit, and bore their hardships bravely, as
became their race. The quiet life of the people promised to become
permanent. They became deeply attached to the interests of Sir William
Johnson, who, by consummate tact soon gained a mastery over them. He
would have them assemble at Johnson Hall that they might make merry;
encourage them in Highland games, and invite them to Indian councils.
Their methods of farming were improved under his supervision; superior
breeds of stock sought for, and fruit trees planted. But Sir William, in
reality, was not with them long; for, in the autumn of 1773, he visited
England, returning in the succeeding spring, and dying suddenly at
Johnson Hall on June 24th, following.

Troubles were rising beneath all the peaceful circumstances enjoyed by
the Highlanders, destined to become severe and oppressive under the
attitude of Johnson's son and son-in-law who were men of far less
ability and tact than their father. The spirit of democracy penetrated
the valley of the Mohawk, and open threats of opposition began to be
heard. The Acts of the Albany Congress of 1774 opened the eyes of the
people to the possibilities of strength by united efforts. Just as the
spirit of independence reached bold utterance Sir William died. He was
succeeded in his title, and a part of his estates by his son John. The
dreams of Sir William vanished, and his plans failed in the hands of his
weak, arrogant, degenerate son. Sir John hesitated, temporized, broke
his parole, fled to Canada, returned to ravage the lands of his
countrymen, and ended by being driven across the border.

The death of Sir William made Sir John commandant of the militia of the
Province of New York. Colonel Guy Johnson became superintendent of
Indian affairs, with Colonel Daniel Claus, Sir William's son-in-law, for
assistant. The notorious Thayendanegea (Joseph Brant) became secretary
to Guy Johnson. Nothing but evil could be predicated of such a
combination; and Sir John was not slow to take advantage of his
position, when the war cloud was ready to burst. As early as March 16,
1775, decisive action was taken, when the grand jury, judges, justices,
and others of Tryon county, to the number of thirty-three, among whom
was Sir John, signed a document, expressive of their disapprobation of
the act of the people of Boston for the "outrageous and unjustifiable
act on the private property of the India Company," and of their
resolution "to bear faith and true allegiance to their lawful Sovereign
King George the Third."[102] It is a noticeable feature that not one of
the names of Highlanders appears on the paper. This would indicate that
they were not a factor in the civil government of the county.

On May 18, 1775, the Committee of Palatine District, Tryon county,
addressed the Albany Committee of Safety, in which they affirm:

   "This County has, for a series of years, been ruled by one family,
   the different branches of which are still strenuous in dissuading
   people from coming into Congressional measures, and even have, last
   week, at a numerous meeting of the Mohawk District, appeared with all
   their dependants armed to oppose the people considering of their
   grievances; their number being so large, and the people unarmed,
   struck terror into most of them, and they dispersed. We are informed
   that Johnson-Hall is fortifying by placing a parcel of swivel-guns
   round the same, and that Colonel Johnson has had parts of his
   regiment of Militia under arms yesterday, no doubt with a design to
   prevent the friends of liberty from publishing their attachment to
   the cause to the world. Besides which we are told that about one
   hundred and fifty Highlanders, (Roman Catholicks) in and about
   Johnstown, are armed and ready to march upon the like occasion."[103]

In order to allay the feelings engendered against them Guy Johnson, on
May 18th, wrote to the Committee of Schenectady declaring "my duty is to
promote peace,"[104] and on the 20th to the Magistrates of Palatine,
making the covert threat "that if the Indians find their council fire
disturbed, and their superintendent insulted, they will take a dreadful
revenge."[105] The last letter thoroughly aroused the Committee of Tryon
county, and on the 21st stated, among other things:

   "That Colonel Johnson's conduct in raising fortifications round his
   house, keeping a number of Indians and armed men constantly about
   him, and stopping and searching travellers upon the King's highway,
   and stopping our communication with Albany, is very alarming to this
   County, and is highly arbitrary, illegal, oppressive, and
   unwarrantable; and confirms us in our fears, that his design is to
   keep us in awe, and oblige us to submit to a state of Slavery."[106]

On the 23rd the Albany Committee warned Guy Johnson that his
interference with the rights of travellers would no longer be
tolerated.[107] So flagrant had been the conduct of the Johnsons that a
sub-committee of the city and county of Albany addressed a communication
on the subject to the Provincial Congress of New York.[108] On June 2nd
the Tryon County Committee addressed Guy Johnson, in which they affirm
"it is no more our duty than inclination to protect you in the discharge
of your province," but will not "pass over in silence the interruption
which the people of the Mohawk District met in their meeting," "and the
inhuman treatment of a man whose only crime was being faithful to his
employers."[109] The tension became still more strained between the
Johnsons and patriots during the summer.

The Dutch and German population was chiefly in sympathy with the cause
of America, as were the people generally, in that region, who did not
come under the direct influence of the Johnsons. The inhabitants deposed
Alexander White, the Sheriff of Tryon county, who had, from the first,
made himself obnoxious. The first shot, in the war west of the Hudson,
was fired by Alexander White. On some trifling pretext he arrested a
patriot by the name of John Fonda, and committed him to prison. His
friends, to the number of fifty, went to the jail and released him; and
from the prison they proceeded to the sheriff's lodgings and demanded
his surrender. He discharged a pistol at the leader, but without effect.
Immediately some forty muskets were discharged at the sheriff, with the
effect only to cause a slight wound in the breast. The doors of the
house were broken open, and just then Sir John Johnson fired a gun at
the hall, which was the signal for his retainers and Highland partisans
to rally in arms. As they could muster a force of five hundred men in a
short time, the party deemed it prudent to disperse.[110]

The royalists became more open and bolder in their course, throwing
every impediment in the way of the Safety Committee of Tryon county, and
causing embarrassments in every way their ingenuity could devise. They
called public meetings themselves, as well as to interfere with those of
their neighbors; all of which caused mutual exasperation, and the
engendering of hostile feelings between friends, who now ranged
themselves with the opposing parties.

On October 26th the Tryon County Committee submitted a series of
questions for Sir John Johnson to answer.[111] These questions, with Sir
John's answers, were embodied by the Committee in a letter to the
Provincial Congress of New York, under date of October 28th, as follows:

   "As we found our duty and particular reasons to inquire or rather
   desire Sir John Johnson's absolute opinion and intention of the three
   following articles, viz:

   1. Whether he would allow that his tenants may form themselves into
   Companies, according to the regulations of our Continental Congress,
   to the defence of our Country's cause;

   2. Whether he would be willing himself also to assist personally in
   the same purpose;

   3. Whether he pretendeth a prerogative to our County Court-House and
   Jail, and would hinder or interrupt the Committee of our County to
   make use of the said publick houses for our want and service in our
   common cause;

   We have, therefore, from our meeting held yesterday, sent three
   members of our Committee with the aforementioned questions contained
   in a letter to him directed, and received of Sir John, thereupon, the
   following answer:

   1. That he thinks our requests very unreasonable, as he never had
   denied the use of either Court-House or Jail to anybody, nor would
   yet deny it for the use which these houses have been built for; but
   he looks upon the Court-House and Jail at Johnstown to be his
   property till he is paid seven hundred Pounds--which being out of his
   pocket for the building of the same.

   2. In regard of embodying his tenants into Companies, he never did
   forbid them, neither should do it, as they may use their pleasure;
   but we might save ourselves that trouble, he being sure they would
   not.

   3. Concerning himself he declared, that before he would sign any
   association, or would lift his hand up against his King, he would
   rather suffer that his head shall be cut off. Further, he replied,
   that if we would make any unlawful use of the Jail, he would oppose
   it; and also mentions that there have many unfair means been used for
   signing the Association, and uniting the people; for he was informed
   by credible gentlemen in New-York, that they were obliged to unite,
   otherwise they could not live there. And that he was also informed,
   by good authority, that likewise two-thirds of the Canajoharie and
   German Flatts people have been forced to sign; and, by his opinion,
   the Boston people are open rebels, and the other Colonies have joined
   them.

   Our Deputies replied to his expressions of forcing the people to sign
   in our County; that his authority spared the truth, and it appears by
   itself rediculous that one-third should have forced two-thirds to
   sign. On the contrary, they would prove that it was offered to any
   one, after signing, that the regretters could any time have their
   names crossed, upon their requests.

   We thought proper to refer these particular inimical declarations to
   your House, and would be very glad to get your opinion and advice,
   for our further directions. Please, also, to remember what we
   mentioned to you in our former letters, of the inimical and provoking
   behaviour of the tenants of said Sir John, which they still continue,
   under the authority of said Sir John."[112]

The attitude of Sir John had become such that the Continental Congress
deemed it best, on December 30th to order General Schuyler "to take the
most speedy and effective measures for securing the said Arms and
Military Stores, and for disarming the said Tories, and apprehending
their chiefs."[113] The action of Congress was none too hasty; for in a
letter from Governor William Tryon of New York to the earl of Dartmouth,
under date of January 5, 1776, he encloses the following addressed to
himself:

   "Sir: I hope the occasion and intention of this letter will plead my
   excuse for the liberty I take in introducing to your Excellency the
   bearer hereof Captain Allen McDonell who will inform you of many
   particulars that cannot at this time with safety be committed to
   writing. The distracted & convulsed State this unhappy country is now
   worked up to, and the situation that I am in here, together with the
   many Obligations our family owe to the best of Sovereigns induces me
   to fall upon a plan that may I hope be of service to my country, the
   propriety of which I entirely submit to Your Excellency's better
   judgment, depending on that friendship which you have been pleased to
   honour me with for your advice on and Representation to his Majesty
   of what we propose. Having consulted with all my friends in this
   quarter, among whom are many old and good Officers, most of whom have
   a good deal of interests in their respective neighborhoods, and have
   now a great number of men ready to compleat the plan--We must however
   not think of stirring till we have a support, & supply of money,
   necessaries to enable us to carry our design into execution, all of
   which Mr. McDonell who will inform you of everything that has been
   done in Canada that has come to our knowledge. As I find by the
   papers you are soon to sail for England I despair of having the
   pleasure to pay my respect to you but most sincerely wish you an
   Agreeable Voyage and a happy sight of Your family & friends. I am.

     Your Excellency's most obedient
     humble Servant,
     John Johnson."[114]

General Schuyler immediately took active steps to carry out the orders
of Congress, and on January 23, 1776, made a very lengthy and detailed
report to that body.[115] Although he had no troops to carry into
execution the orders of Congress, he asked for seven hundred militia,
yet by the time he reached Caughnawaga, there were nearly three thousand
men, including the Tryon county militia. Arriving at Schenectady, he
addressed, on January 16th, a letter to Sir John Johnson, requesting him
to meet him on the next day, promising safe conduct for him and such
person as might attend him. They met at the time appointed sixteen miles
beyond Schenectady, Sir John being accompanied by some of the leading
Highlanders and two or three others, to whom General Schuyler delivered
his terms. After some difficulty, in which the Mohawk Indians figured as
peacemakers, Sir John Johnson and Allan McDonell (Collachie) signed a
paper agreeing "upon his word and honor immediately deliver up all
cannon, arms, and other military stores, of what kind soever, which may
be in his own possession," or that he may have delivered to others, or
that he knows to be concealed; that "having given his parole of honour
not to take up arms against America," "he consents not to go to the
westward of the German-Flats and Kingsland (Highlanders') District," but
to every other part to the southward he expects the privilege of going;
agreed that the Highlanders shall, "without any kind of exception,
immediately deliver up all arms in their possession, of what kind
soever," and from among them any six prisoners may be taken, but the
same must be maintained agreeable to their respective rank.

[Illustration: Johnson Hall.]

On Friday the 19th General Schulyer marched to Johnstown, and in the
afternoon the arms and military stores in Sir John's possession were
delivered up. On the next day, at noon, General Schuyler drew his men up
in the street, "and the Highlanders, between two and three hundred,
marched to the front, where they grounded their arms;" when they were
dismissed "with an exhortation, pointing out the only conduct which
could insure them protection." On the 21st, at Cagnuage, General
Schuyler wrote to Sir John as follows:

   "Although it is a well known fact that all the Scotch (Highlanders)
   people that yesterday surrendered arms, had not broadswords when they
   came to the country, yet many of them had, and most of them were
   possessed of dirks; and as none have been given up of either, I will
   charitably believe that it was rather inattention than a wilful
   omission. Whether it was the former or the latter must be ascertained
   by their immediate compliance with that part of the treaty which
   requires that all arms, of what kind soever, shall be delivered up.

   After having been informed by you, at our first interview, that the
   Scotch people meant to defend themselves, I was not a little
   surprised that no ammunition was delivered up, and that you had none
   to furnish them with. These observations were immediately made by
   others as well as me. I was too apprehensive of the consequences
   which might have been fatal to those people, to take notice of it on
   the spot. I shall, however, expect an eclaircissement on this
   subject, and beg that you and Mr. McDonell will give it me as soon as
   may be."

Governor Tryon reported to the earl of Dartmouth, February 7th, that
General Schuyler "marched to Johnson Hall the 24th of last month, where
Sr John had mustered near Six hundred men, from his Tenants and
neighbours, the majority highlanders, after disarming them and taking
four pieces of artillery, ammunition and many Prisoners, with 360
Guineas from Sr John's Desk, they compelled him to enter into a Bond in
1600 pound Sterling not to aid the King's Service, or to remove within a
limited district from his house."[116]

The six of the chiefs of the Highland clan of the McDonells made
prisoners were, Allan McDonell, sen. (Collachie), Allan McDonell, Jur.,
Alexander McDonell, Ronald McDonell, Archibald McDonell, and John
McDonell, all of whom were sent to Reading, Pennsylvania, with their
three servants, and later to Lancaster.[117]

Had Sir John obeyed his parole, it would have saved him his vast
estates, the Highlanders their homes, the effusion of blood, and the
savage cruelty which his leadership engendered. Being incapable of
forecasting the future, he broke his parole of honor, plunged headlong
into the conflict, and dragged his followers into the horrors of war.
General Schuyler wrote him, March 12, 1776, stating that the evidence
had been placed in his hands that he had been exciting the Indians to
hostility, and promising to defer taking steps until a more minute
inquiry could be made he begged Sir John "to be present when it was
made," which would be on the following Monday.

Sir John's actions were such that it became necessary to use stringent
measures. General Schuyler, on May 14th, issued his instructions to
Colonel Elias Dayton, who was to proceed to Johnstown, "and give notice
to the Highlanders, who live in the vicinity of the town, to repair to
it; and when any number are collected there, you will send off their
baggage, infirm women and children, in wagons." Sir John was to be taken
prisoner, carefully guarded and brought to Albany, but "he is by no
means to experience the least ill-treatment in his own person, or those
of his family."[118] General Schuyler had previously written (May 10th)
to Sir John intimating that he had "acted contrary to the sacred
engagements you lay under to me, and through me to the publick," and
have "ordered you a close prisoner, and sent down to Albany."[119] The
reason assigned for the removal of the Highlanders as stated by General
Schuyler to Sir John was that "the elder Mr. McDonald (Allan of
Collachie), a chief of that part of the clan of his name now in Tryon
County, has applied to Congress that those people with their families
may be moved from thence and subsisted."[120] To this Sir John replied
as follows:

   "Johnson Hall, May 18, 1776.

   Sir: On my return from Fort Hunter yesterday, I received your letter
   by express acquainting me that the elder Mr. McDonald had desired to
   have all the clan of his name in the County of Tryon, removed and
   subsisted. I know none of that clan but such as are my tenants, and
   have been, for near two years supported by me with every necessary,
   by which means they have contracted a debt of near two thousand
   pounds, which they are in a likely way to discharge, if left in
   peace. As they are under no obligations to Mr. McDonald, they refuse
   to comply with his extraordinary request; therefore beg there may be
   no troops sent to conduct them to Albany, otherwise they will look
   upon it as a total breach of the treaty agreed to at Johnstown. Mrs.
   McDonald showed me a letter from her husband, written since he
   applied to the Congress for leave to return to their families, in
   which he mentions that he was told by the Congress that it depended
   entirely upon you; he then desired that their families might be
   brought down to them, but never mentioned anything with regard to
   moving my tenants from hence, as matters he had no right to treat of.
   Mrs. McDonald requested that I would inform you that neither herself
   nor any of the other families would choose to go down.

     I am, sir, your very humble servant,
     John Johnson."[121]

Colonel Dayton arrived at Johnstown May 19th, and as he says, in his
report to General John Sullivan, he immediately sent "a letter to Sir
John Johnson, informing him that I had arrived with a body of troops to
guard the Highlanders to Albany, and desired that he would fix a time
for their assembling. When these gentlemen came to Johnson Hall they
were informed by Lady Johnson that Sir John Johnson had received General
Schuyler's letter by the express; that he had consulted the Highlanders
upon the contents, and that they had unanimously resolved not to deliver
themselves as prisoners, but to go another way, and that Sir John
Johnson had determined to go with them. She added that, that if they
were pursued they were determined to make an opposition, and had it in
their power, in some measure."[122]

The approach of Colonel Dayton's command caused great commotion among
the inhabitants of Johnstown and vicinity. Sir John determined to
decamp, take with him as many followers as possible, and travel through
the woods to Canada. Lieutenant James Gray, of the 42nd Highlanders,
helped to raise the faithful bodyguard, and all having assembled at the
house of Allen McDonell of Collachie started through the woods. The
party consisted of three Indians from an adjacent village to serve as
guides, one hundred and thirty Highlanders, and one hundred and twenty
others.[123] The appearance of Colonel Dayton was more sudden than Sir
John anticipated. Having but a brief period for their preparation, the
party was but illy prepared for their flight. He did not know whether or
not the royalists were in possession of Lake Champlain, therefore the
fugitives did not dare to venture on that route to Montreal; so they
were obliged to strike deeper into the forests between the headwaters of
the Hudson and the St. Lawrence. Their provisions soon were exhausted;
their feet soon became sore from the rough travelling; and several were
left in the wilderness to be picked up and brought in by the Indians who
were afterwards sent out for that purpose. After nineteen days of great
hardships the party arrived in Montreal in a pitiable condition, having
endured as much suffering as seemed possible for human nature to
undergo.

Sir John Johnson and his Highlanders, unwittingly, paid the Highest
possible compliment to the kindness and good intentions of the patriots,
when they deserted their families and left them to face the foe. When
the flight was brought to the attention of General Schuyler, he wrote to
Colonel Dayton, May 27, in which he says:

   "I am favored with a letter from Mr. Caldwell, in which he suggests
   the propriety of suffering such Highlanders to remain at their
   habitations as have not fled. I enter fully into his idea; but
   prudence dictates that this should be done under certain
   restrictions. These people have been taught to consider us in
   politicks in the same light that Papists consider Protestants in a
   religious relation, viz: that no faith is to be kept with either. I
   do not, therefore, think it prudent to suffer any of the men to
   remain, unless a competent number of hostages are given, at least
   five out of a hundred, on condition of being put to death if those
   that remain should take up arms, or in any wise assist the enemies of
   our country. A small body of troops * * may keep them in awe; but if
   an equal body of the enemy should appear, the balance as to numbers,
   by the junction of those left, would be against us. I am, however, so
   well aware of the absurdity of judging with precision in these
   matters at the distance we are from one another, that prudence
   obliges me to leave these matters to your judgment, to act as
   circumstances may occur."[124]

Lady Johnson, wife of Sir John, was taken to Albany and there held as a
hostage until the following December when she was permitted to go to New
York, then in the hands of the British. Nothing is related of any of the
Highlanders being taken at that time to Albany, but appear to have been
left in peaceable possession of their lands.

As might have been, and perhaps was, anticipated, the Highland
settlement became the source of information and the base of supplies for
the enemy. Spies and messengers came and went, finding there a welcome
reception. The trail leading from there and along the Sacandaga and
through the Adirondack woods, soon became a beaten path from its
constant use. The Highland women gave unstintingly of their supplies,
and opened their houses as places of retreat. Here were planned the
swift attacks upon the unwary settlers farther to the south and west.
Agents of the king were active everywhere, and the Highland homes became
one of the resting places for refugees on their way to Canada. This
state of affairs could not be concealed from the Americans, who, none
too soon, came to view the whole neighborhood as a nest of treason.
Military force could not be employed against women and children (for
from time to time nearly all the men had left), but they could be
removed where they would do but little harm. General Schuyler discussed
the matter with General Herkimer and the Tryon County Committee, when it
was decided to remove of those who remained "to the number of four
hundred." A movement of this description could not be kept a secret,
especially when the troops were put in motion. In March, 1777, General
Schuyler had permitted both Alexander and John MacDonald to visit their
families. Taking the alarm, on the approach of the troops, in May, they
ran off to Canada, taking with them the residue of the Highlanders,
together with a few of the German neighbors. The journey was a very long
and tedious one, and very painful for the aged, the women, and the
children. They were used to hardships and bore their sufferings without
complaint. It was an exodus of a people, whose very existence was almost
forgotten, and on the very lands they cleared and cultivated there is
not a single tradition concerning them.

From papers still in existence, preserved in Series B, Vol. 158, p. 351,
of the Haldeman Papers, it would appear that some of the families,
previous to the exodus, had been secured, as noted in the two following
petitions, both written in either 1779 or 1780, date not given although
first is simply dated "27th July," and second endorsed "27th July":

   "To His Excellency General Haldimand, General and Commander in Chief
   of all His Majesty's Forces in Canada and the Frontiers thereof,

   The memorial of John and Alexander Macdonell, Captains in the King's
   Royal Regiment of New York, humbly sheweth,

   That your Memorialist, John Macdonell's, family are at present
   detained by the rebels in the County of Tryon, within the Province of
   New York, destitute of every support but such as they may receive
   from the few friends to Government in said quarters, in which
   situation they have been since 1777.

   And your Memorialist, Alexander Macdonell, on behalf of his brother,
   Captain Allan Macdonell, of the Eighty-Fourth Regiment: that the
   family of his said brother have been detained by the Rebels in and
   about Albany since the year 1775, and that unless it was for the
   assistance they have met with from Mr. James Ellice, of Schenectady,
   merchant, they must have perished.

   Your Memorialists therefore humbly pray Your Excellency will be
   graciously pleased to take the distressed situation of said families
   into consideration, and to grant that a flag be sent to demand them
   in exchange, or otherwise direct towards obtaining their releasement,
   as Your Excellency in your wisdom shall see fit, and your
   Memorialists will ever pray as in duty bound.

     John Macdonell,
     Alexander Macdonell."

   "To the Honourable Sir John Johnson, Lieutenant-Colonel Commander of
   the King's Royal Regiment of New York.

   The humbel petition of sundry soldiers of said Regiment sheweth,--

   That your humble petitioners, whose names are hereunto subscribed,
   have families in different places of the Counties of Albany and
   Tryon, who have been and are daily ill-treated by the enemies of
   Government.

   Therefore we do humbly pray that Your Honour would be pleased to
   procure permission for them to come to Canada,

   And your petitioners will ever pray.

   John McGlenny, Thomas Ross. Alexander Cameron, Frederick Goose, Wm.
   Urchad (Urquhart?), Duncan McIntire, Andrew Mileross, Donald
   McCarter, Allen Grant, Hugh Chisholm, Angus Grant, John McDonald,
   Alex. Ferguson, Thomas Taylor, William Cameron, George Murdoff,
   William Chession (Chisholm), John Christy, Daniel Campbell, Donald
   Ross, Donald Chissem, Roderick McDonald, Alexander Grant."

   The names and number of each family intended in the written
   petition:--

         Name of Family         Consisting of             No
     1, Duncan McIntyre's   Wife, Sister and Child         3
     2, John Christy's      Wife and 3 Children            4
     3, George Mordoffs       "  and 6   "                 7
     4, Daniel Campbell's     "  and 5   "                 6
     5, Andrew Milross'     Wife                           1
     6, William Urghad's    Wife and 3   "                 4
     7, Donald McCarter's     "  and 3   "                 4
     8, Donald Ross'          "  and 1  Child              2
     9, Allan Grant's         "  and 1  Child              2
    10, William Chissim's     "  and 1   "                 2
    11, Donald Chissim's      "  and 2  Children           3
    12, Hugh Chissim's        "  and 5   "                 6
    13, Roderick McDonald's   "  and 4   "                 5
    14, Angus Grant's         "  and 5   "                 6
    15, Alexander Grant's     "  and 4   "                 5
    16, Donald Grant's        "  and 4   "                 5
    17, John McDonald's     Wife                           1
    18, John McGlenny's       "  and 2   "                 3
    19, Alexander Ferguson's  "  and 5   "                 6
    20, Thomas Ross'          "  and 4   "                 5
    21, Thomas Taylor's       "  and 1  Child              2
    22, Alexander Cameron's   "  and 3  Children           4
    23, William Cameron's     "  and 3   "                 4
    24, Frederick Goose's     "  and 4   "                 5

Mrs. Helen MacDonell, wife of Allan, the chief, was apprehended and sent
to Schenectady, and in 1780 managed to escape, and made her way to New
York. Before she was taken, and while her husband was still a prisoner
of war, she appears to have been the chief person who had charge of the
settlement, after the men had fled with Sir John Johnson. A letter of
hers has been preserved, which is not only interesting, but throws some
light on the action of the Highlanders. It is addressed to Major Jellis
Fonda, at Caughnawaga.

   "Sir: Some time ago I wrote you a letter, much to this purpose,
   concerning the Inhabitants of this Bush being made prisoners. There
   was no such thing then in agitation as you was pleased to observe in
   your letter to me this morning. Mr. Billie Laird came amongst the
   people to give them warning to go in to sign, and swear. To this they
   will never consent, being already prisoners of General Schuyler. His
   Excellency was pleased by your proclamation, directing every one of
   them to return to their farms, and that they should be no more
   troubled nor molested during the war. To this they agreed, and have
   not done anything against the country, nor intend to, if let alone.
   If not, they will lose their lives before being taken prisoners
   again. They begged the favour of me to write to Major Fonda and the
   gentlemen of the committee to this purpose. They blame neither the
   one nor the other of you gentlemen, but those ill-natured fellows
   amongst them that get up an excitement about nothing, in order to
   ingratiate themselves in your favour. They were of very great hurt to
   your cause since May last, through violence and ignorance. I do not
   know what the consequences would have been to them long ago, if not
   prevented. Only think what daily provocation does.

   Jenny joins me in compliments to Mrs. Fonda.

     I am, Sir, Your humble servant, Callachie, 15th March, 1777. Helen
     McDonell."[125]

Immediately on the arrival of Sir John Johnson in Montreal, with his
party who fled from Johnstown, he was commissioned a Colonel in the
British service. At once he set about to organize a regiment composed of
those who had accompanied him, and other refugees who had followed their
example. This regiment was called the "King's Royal Regiment of New
York," but by Americans was known as "The Royal Greens," probably
because the facings of their uniforms were of that color. In the
formation of the regiment he was instructed that the officers of the
corps were to be divided in such a manner as to assist those who were
distressed by the war; but there were to be no pluralities of
officers,--a practice then common in the British army.

In this regiment, Butler's Rangers, and the Eighty-Fourth, or Royal
Highland Emigrant Regiment also then raised, the Highland gentlemen who
had, in 1773, emigrated to Tryon county, received commissions, as well
as those who had previously had joined the ranks. After the war proper
returns of the officers were made, and from these the following tables
have been extracted. The number of private soldiers of the same name are
in proportion.

          "FIRST BATTALION KING'S ROYAL REGIMENT OF NEW YORK.
-------|-------------------|--------|-------|-----------------------------
  Rank |      NAME         |Place of|Service|   REMARKS
       |                   |Nativity|       |
------------------------------------|-------|-----------------------------
Captain|Alexander Macdonell|Scotland| 8 yrs.|200 acres of land in fee
       |    (Aberchalder)  |        |       |  simple, under Sir John
       |                   |        |       |  Johnson, at yearly annual
       |                   |        |       |  rent of £6 per 100.
Captain|Angus Macdonell    |Scotland|25 yrs.|Ensign in 60th Regt., 8th
       |                   |        |       |  July, 1760; Lieut. in
       |                   |        |       |  do. Dec 27, 1770; sold
       |                   |        |       |  out on account of bad
       |                   |        |       |  health, May 22, 1775.
       |                   |        |       |  Had no lands.
Captain|John Macdonell     |Scotland| 8 yrs.|Had landed property, 500
       |       (Scotas)    |        |       |  acres, purchased and
       |                   |        |       |  began to improve in
       |                   |        |       |  April, 1774.
Captain|Archibald Macdonell|Scotland| 8 yrs.|Merchant; had no lands.
       |       (Leek)      |        |       |
Captain|Allen Macdonell    |Scotland| 8 yrs.|Had 200 acres in fee
Lieut  |       (Leek)      |        |       |  simple, under Sir John,
       |                   |        |       |  at £6 per 100 acres.
Lieut  |Hugh Macdonell     |Scotland| 7 yrs.|Son of Captain Macdonell
       |    (Aberchalder)  |        |       |
Ensign |Miles Macdonell    |Scotland| 3 yrs.|Son of Captain John
       |       (Scotas)    |        |       |  Macdonell.
==========================================================================

        SECOND BATTALION KING'S ROYAL REGIMENT OF NEW YORK
-------|-------------------|--------|-------|-----------------------------
  Rank |   NAME            |Place of|Service|    REMARKS
       |                   |Nativity|       |
-------|-------------------|--------|-------|-----------------------------
Captain|James Macdonell    |Scotland| 8 yrs.|Held ---- acres in fee simple,
       |                   |        |       |  under Sir John, at
       |                   |        |       |  £6 per 100 acres.
Lieut  |Ronald Macdonell   |Scotland| 3 yrs.|Farmer.
       |       (Leek)      |        |       |
==========================================================================

CORPS OF BUTLER'S RANGERS, COMMANDED BY LIEUTENANT-COLONEL
                        JOHN BUTLER
-------|-------------------|---------|-------|----------------------------
  Rank |     NAME          |Place of |Service|    REMARKS
       |                   |Nativity |       |
-------|-------------------|----------|------|----------------------------
Captain|John Macdonell     |Inverness-|9 yrs.|Came to America with
       |    (Aberchalder)  |shire     |      |  his father and other
       |                   |Scotland  |      |  Highlanders in 1773,
       |                   |          |      |  settled in Tryon County,
       |                   |          |      |  near Johnstown, in
       |                   |          |      |  the Province of New
       |                   |          |      |  York; entered His
       |                   |          |      |  Majesty's Service as a
       |                   |          |      |  Subaltern Officer, June
       |                   |          |      |  14, 1775, in the 84th
       |                   |          |      |  or Royal Highland
       |                   |          |      |    Emigrants.
First  |                   |          |      |
Lieut. |Alexander Macdonell|Inverness-|7 yrs.|Came to America with
       |    (Collachie)    |shire     |      |  his father and other
       |                   |Scotland  |      |  Highland Emigrants in
       |                   |          |      |  1773, settled in Tryon
       |                   |          |      |  County, near Johnstown,
       |                   |          |      |  in the Province
       |                   |          |      |  of New York; entered
       |                   |          |      |  His Majesty's Service
       |                   |          |      |  as a Volunteer in the
       |                   |          |      |  84th or Royal Highland
       |                   |          |      |  Emigrants.
Second |                   |          |      |
Lieut. |Chichester         |Inverness-|6 yrs.|Came to America with
       |  Macdonell        |shire     |      |  his father and other
       |    (Aberchalder)  |Scotland  |      |  Highland Emigrants in
       |                   |          |      |  1773, and settled near
       |                   |          |      |  Johnstown; entered
       |                   |          |      |  His Majesty's Service
       |                   |          |      |  as a Volunteer in the
       |                   |          |      |  King's Royal Regiment
       |                   |          |      |  of New York in
       |                   |          |      |  the year 1778.
=======|===================|==========|======|============================
         EIGHTY-FOURTH OR ROYAL HIGHLAND EMIGRANT REGIMENT
=======|===================|==========|=======|===========================
  Rank |     NAME          | Place of |Service|   REMARKS
       |                   | Nativity |       |
-------|-------------------|----------|-------|---------------------------
Captain|Allan Macdonell    |          |       |Prisoner at Lancaster in
       |   (Collachie)     |          |       |  Pennsylvania.
Lieut. |Ronald Macdonell   |          |40 yrs.|
Lieut. |Arch'd Macdonell   |          | 8 yrs.|
=======|===================|==========|=======|===========================

                       SEVENTY-FIRST REGIMENT
-------|-------------------|----------|-------|---------------------------
  Rank |  NAME             |Place of  |Service|   REMARKS
       |                   |Nativity  |       |
-------|-------------------|----------|-------|---------------------------
Lieut  |Angus Macdonell    |          |       |                     "[126]
=======|===================|==========|=======|===========================

In the month of January, following his flight into Canada, Sir John
Johnson found his way into the city of New York. From that time he
became one of the most bitter and virulent foes of his countrymen
engaged in the contest, and repeatedly became the scourge of his former
neighbors--in all of which his Highland retainers bore a prominent part.
In savage cruelty, together with Butler's Rangers, they outrivalled
their Indian allies. The aged, the infirm, helpless women, and the
innocent babe in the cradle, alike perished before them. In all this the
MacDonells were among the foremost. Such warfare met the approval of the
British Cabinet, and officers felt no compunction in relating their
achievements. Colonel Guy Johnson writing to lord George Germain,
November 11, 1779, not only speaks of the result of his conference with
Sir John Johnson, but further remarks that "there appeared little
prospect of effecting anything beyond harrassing the frontiers with
detached partys."[127] In all probability none of the official reports
related the atrocities perpetrated under the direction of the minor
officers.

Although "The Royal Greens" were largely composed of the Mohawk
Highlanders, and especially all who decamped from Johnstown with Sir
John Johnson, and Butler's Rangers had a fair percentage of the same, it
is not necessary to enter into a detailed account of their achievements,
because neither was essentially Highlanders. Their movements were not
always in a body, and the essential share borne by the Highlanders have
not been recorded in the papers that have been preserved. Individual
deeds have been narrated, some of which are here given.

The Royal Greens and Butler's Rangers formed a part of the expedition
under Colonel Barry St. Leger that was sent against Fort Schuyler in
order to create a diversion in favor of General Burgoyne's army then on
its march towards Albany. In order to relieve Fort Schuyler (Stanwix)
General Herkimer with a force of eight hundred was dispatched and, on
the way, met the army of St. Leger near Oriskany, August 6, 1777. On the
3rd St. Leger encamped before Fort Stanwix, his force numbering sixteen
hundred, eight hundred of whom were Indians. Proper precautions were not
taken by General Herkimer, while every advantage was enforced by his
wary enemy. He fell into an ambuscade, and a desperate conflict ensued.
During the conflict Colonel Butler attempted a _ruse-de guerre_, by
sending, from the direction of the fort, a detachment of The Royal
Greens, disguised as American troops, in expectation that they might be
received as reenforcements from the garrison. They were first noticed by
Lieutenant Jacob Sammons, who at once notified Captain Jacob Gardenier;
but the quick eye of the latter had detected the ruse. The Greens
continued to advance until hailed by Gardenier, at which moment one of
his own men observing an acquaintance in the opposing ranks, and
supposing them to be friends, ran to meet him, and presented his hand.
The credulous fellow was dragged into their lines and notified that he
was a prisoner.

"He did not yield without a struggle; during which Gardenier, watching
the action and the result, sprang forward, and with a blow from his
spear levelled the captor to the dust and liberated his man. Others of
the foe instantly set upon him, of whom he slew the second and wounded
the third. Three of the disguised Greens now sprang upon him, and one of
his spurs becoming entangled in their clothes, he was thrown to the
ground. Still, contending, however, with almost super-human strength,
both of his thighs were transfixed to the earth by the bayonets of two
of his assailants, while the third presented a bayonet to his breast, as
if to thrust him through. Seizing the bayonet with his left hand, by a
sudden wrench he brought its owner down upon himself, where he held him
as a shield against the arms of the others, until one of his own men,
Adam Miller, observing the struggle, flew to the rescue. As the
assailants turned upon their new adversary, Gardenier rose upon his
seat; and although his hand was severely lacerated by grasping the
bayonet which had been drawn through it, he seized his spear lying by
his side, and quick as lightning planted it to the barb in the side of
the assailant with whom he had been clenched. The man fell and
expired--proving to be Lieutenant McDonald, one of the loyalist
officers from Tryon county."[128]

This was John McDonald, who had been held as a hostage by General
Schuyler, and when permitted to return home, helped run off the
remainder of the Highlanders to Canada, as previously noticed. June 19,
1777, he was appointed captain Lieutenant in The Royal Greens.[129]
During the engagement thirty of The Royal Greens fell near the body of
McDonald. The loss of Herkimer was two hundred killed, exclusive of the
wounded and prisoners. The royalist loss was never given, but known to
be heavy. The Indians lost nearly a hundred warriors among whom were
sachems held in great favor. The Americans retained possession of the
field owing to the sortie made by the garrison of Fort Schuyler on the
camp of St. Leger. On the 22nd St. Leger receiving alarming reports of
the advance of General Arnold suddenly decamped from before Fort
Schuyler, leaving his baggage behind him. Indians, belonging to the
expedition followed in the rear, tomahawking and scalping the
stragglers; and when the army did not run fast enough, they accelerated
the speed by giving their war cries and fresh alarms, thus adding
increased terror to the demoralized troops. Of all the men that Butler
took with him, when he arrived in Quebec he could muster but fifty. The
Royal Greens also showed their numbers greatly decimated.

Among the prisoners taken by the Americans was Captain Angus McDonell of
The Royal Greens.[130] For greater security he was transferred to the
southern portion of the State. On October 12th following, at Kingston,
he gave the following parole to the authorities:

   "I, Angus McDonell, lieutenant in the 60th or Royal American
   regiment, now a prisoner to the United States of America and enlarged
   on my parole, do promise upon my word of honor that I will continue
   within one mile of the house of Jacobus Hardenburgh, and in the town
   of Hurley, in the county of Ulster; and that I will not do any act,
   matter or thing whatsoever against the interests of America; and
   further, that I will remove hereafter to such place as the governor
   of the state of New York or the president of the Council of Safety
   of the said state shall direct, and that I will observe this my
   parole until released, exchanged or otherwise ordered.

   Angus McDonell."

[Illustration: The Valley of the Wyoming.]

The following year Captain Angus McDonald and Allen McDonald, ensign in
the same company were transferred to Reading, Pennsylvania. The former
was probably released or exchanged for he was with the regiment when it
was disbanded at the close of the War. What became of the latter is
unknown. Probably neither of them were Sir John Johnson's tenants.

The next movement of special importance relates to the melancholy story
of Wyoming, immortalized in verse by Thomas Campbell in his "Gertrude of
Wyoming." Towards the close of June 1778 the British officers at Niagara
determined to strike a blow at Wyoming, in Pennsylvania. For this
purpose an expedition of about three hundred white men under Colonel
John Butler, together with about five hundred Indians, marched for the
scene of action. Just what part the McDonells took in the Massacre of
Wyoming is not known, nor is it positive any were present; but belonging
to Butler's Rangers it is fair to assume that all such participated in
those heartrending scenes which have been so often related. It was a
terrible day and night for that lovely valley, and its beauty was
suddenly changed into horror and desolation. The Massacre of Wyoming
stands out in bold relief as one of the darkest pictures in the whole
panorama of the Revolution.

While this scene was being enacted, active preparations were pushed by
Alexander McDonald for a descent on the New York frontiers. It was the
same Alexander who has been previously mentioned as having been
permitted to return to the Johnstown settlement, and then assisted in
helping the remaining Highland families escape to Canada. He was a man
of enterprise and activity, and by his energy he collected three hundred
royalists and Indians and fell with great fury upon the frontiers.
Houses were burned, and such of the people as fell into his hands were
either killed or made prisoners. One example of the blood thirsty
character of this man is given by Sims, in his "Trappers of New York,"
as follows:

   "On the morning of October 25, 1781, a large body of the enemy under
   Maj. Ross, entered Johnstown with several prisoners, and not a little
   plunder; among which was a number of human scalps taken the afternoon
   and night previous, in settlements in and adjoining the Mohawk
   valley; to which was added the scalp of Hugh McMonts, a constable,
   who was surprised and killed as they entered Johnstown. In the course
   of the day the troops from the garrisons near and militia from the
   surrounding country, rallied under the active and daring Willett, and
   gave the enemy battle on the Hall farm, in which the latter were
   finally defeated with loss, and made good their retreat into Canada.
   Young Scarsborough was then in the nine months' service, and while
   the action was going on, himself and one Crosset left the Johnstown
   fort, where they were on garrison duty, to join in the fight, less
   than two miles distant. Between the Hall and woods they soon found
   themselves engaged. Crosset after shooting down one or two, received
   a bullet through one hand, but winding a handkerchief around it he
   continued the fight under cover of a hemlock stump. He was shot down
   and killed there, and his companion surrounded and made prisoner by a
   party of Scotch (Highlanders) troops commanded by Captain McDonald.
   When Scarsborough was captured, Capt. McDonald was not present, but
   the moment he saw him he ordered his men to shoot him down. Several
   refused; but three, shall I call them men? obeyed the dastardly
   order, and yet he possibly would have survived his wounds, had not
   the miscreant in authority cut him down with his own broadsword. The
   sword was caught in its first descent, and the valiant captain drew
   it out, cutting the hand nearly in two."[131]

This was the same McDonald who, in 1779, figured in the battle of the
Chemung, together with Sir John and Guy Johnson and Walter N. Butler.

Just what part the Mohawk Highlanders, if any, had in the Massacre of
Cherry Valley on October 11, 1778, may not be known. The leaders were
Walter N. Butler, son of Colonel John Butler, who was captain of a
company of Rangers, and the monster Brant.

Owing to the frequent depredations made by the Indians, the Royal
Greens, Butler's Rangers, and the independent company of Alexander
McDonald, upon the frontiers, destroying the innocent and helpless as
well as those who might be found in arms, Congress voted that an
expedition should be sent into the Indian country. Washington detached a
division from the army under General John Sullivan to lay waste that
country. The instructions were obeyed, and Sullivan did not cease until
he found no more to lay waste. The only resistance he met with that was
of any moment was on August 29, 1779, when the enemy hoping to ambuscade
the army of Sullivan, brought on the battle of Chemung, near the present
site of Elmira. There were about three hundred royalists under Colonel
John Butler and Captain Alexander McDonald, assisting Joseph Brant who
commanded the Indians. The defeat was so overwhelming that the royalists
and Indians, in a demoralized condition sought shelter under the walls
of Fort Niagara.

The lower Mohawk Valley having experienced the calamities of border wars
was yet to feel the full measures of suffering. On Sunday, May 21,
1780, Sir John Johnson with some British troops, a detachment of Royal
Greens, and about two hundred Indians and Tories, at dead of night fell
unexpectedly on Johnstown, the home of his youth. Families were killed
and scalped, the houses pillaged and then burned. Instances of daring
and heroism in withstanding the invaders have been recorded.

Sir John's next achievement was in the fall of the same year, when he
descended with fire and sword into the rich settlements along the
Schoharie. He was overtaken by the American force at Klock's Field and
put to flight.

Sir John Johnson with the Royal Greens, principally his former tenants
and retainers, appear to have been especially stimulated with hate
against the people of their former homes who did not sympathize with
their views. In the summer of 1781 another expedition was secretly
planned against Johnstown, and executed with silent celerity. The
expedition consisted of four companies of the Second battalion of Sir
John's regiment of Royal Greens, Butler's Rangers and two hundred
Indians, numbering in all about one thousand men, under the command of
Major Ross. He was defeated at the battle of Johnstown on October 25th.
The army of Major Ross, for four days in the wilderness, on their
advance had been living on only a half pound of horse flesh per man per
day; yet they were so hotly pursued by the Americans that they were
forced to trot off a distance of thirty miles before they
stopped,--during a part of the distance they were compelled to sustain a
running fight. They crossed Canada Creek late in the afternoon, where
Walter N. Butler attempted to rally the men. He was shot through the
head by an Oneida Indian, who was with the Americans. When Captain
Butler fell his troops fled in the utmost confusion, and continued their
flight through the night. Without food and even without blankets they
had eighty miles to traverse through the dreary and pathless wilderness.

On August 6, 1781, Donald McDonald, one of the Highlanders who had fled
from Johnstown, made an attempt upon Shell's Bush, about four miles
north of the present village of Herkimer, at the head of sixty-six
Indians and Tories. John Christian Shell had built a block-house of his
own, which was large and substantial, and well calculated to withstand
a seige. The first story had no windows, but furnished with loopholes
which could be used to shoot through by muskets. The second story
projected over the first, so that the garrison could fire upon an
advancing enemy, or cast missiles upon their heads. The owner had a
family of six sons, the youngest two were twins, and only eight years
old. Most of his neighbors had taken refuge in Fort Dayton; but this
settler refused to leave his home. When Donald McDonald and his party
arrived at Shell's Bush his brother with his sons were at work in the
field; and the children, unfortunately were so widely separated from
their father, as to fall into the hands of the enemy.

   "Shell and his other boys succeeded in reaching their castle, and
   barricading the ponderous door. And then commenced the battle. The
   besieged were well armed, and all behaved with admirable bravery; but
   none more bravely than Shell's wife, who loaded the pieces as her
   husband and sons discharged them. The battle commenced at two
   o'clock, and continued until dark. Several attempts were made by
   McDonald to set fire to the castle, but without success, and his
   forces were repeatedly driven back by the galling fire they received.
   McDonald at length procured a crow-bar and attempted to force the
   door; but while thus engaged he received a shot in the leg from
   Shell's Blunderbuss, which put him _hors du combat_. None of his men
   being sufficiently near at the moment to rescue him, Shell, quick as
   lightning, opened the door, and drew him within the walls a prisoner.
   The misfortune of Shell and his garrison was, that their ammunition
   began to run low; but McDonald was very amply provided, and to save
   his own life, he surrendered his cartridges to the garrison to fire
   upon his comrades. Several of the enemy having been killed and others
   wounded, they now drew off for a respite. Shell and his troops,
   moreover, needed a little breathing time; and feeling assured that,
   so long as he had the commanding officer of the beseigers in his
   possession, the enemy would hardly attempt to burn the citadel, he
   ceased firing. He then went up stairs, and sang the hymn which was a
   favorite of Luther during the perils and afflictions of the Great
   Reformer in his controversies with the Pope. While thus engaged the
   enemy likewise ceased firing. But they soon after rallied again to
   the fight, and made a desperate effort to carry the fortress by
   assault. Rushing up to the walls, five of them thrust the muzzles of
   their guns through the loopholes, but had no sooner done so, than
   Mrs. Shell, seizing an axe, by quick and well directed blows ruined
   every musket thus thrust through the walls, by bending the barrels.
   A few more well-directed shots by Shell and his sons once more drove
   the assailants back. Shell thereupon ran up to the second story, just
   in the twilight, and calling out to his wife with a loud voice,
   informed her that Captain Small was approaching from Fort Dayton with
   succors. In yet louder notes he then exclaimed--'Captain Small march
   your company round upon this side of the house. Captain Getman, you
   had better wheel your men off to the left, and come up upon that
   side.' There were of course no troops approaching; but the directions
   of Shell were given with such precision, and such apparent
   earnestness and sincerity, that the stratagem succeeded, and the
   enemy immediately fled to the woods, taking away the twin-lads as
   prisoners. Setting the best provisions they had before their
   reluctant guest. Shell and his family lost no time in repairing to
   Fort Dayton, which they reached in safety--leaving McDonald in the
   quiet possession of the castle he had been striving to capture in
   vain. Some two or three of McDonald's Indians lingered about the
   premises to ascertain the fate of their leader; and finding that
   Shell and his family had evacuated the post, ventured in to visit
   him. Not being able to remove him, however, on taking themselves off,
   they charged their wounded leader to inform Shell, that if he would
   be kind to him, (McDonald,) they would take good care of his
   (Shell's) captive boys. McDonald was the next day removed to the fort
   by Captain Small, where his leg was amputated; but the blood could
   not be stanched, and he died within a few hours. The lads were
   carried away into Canada. The loss of the enemy on the ground was
   eleven killed and six wounded. The boys, who were rescued after the
   war, reported that they took twelve of their wounded away with them,
   nine of whom died before they arrived in Canada. McDonald wore a
   silver-mounted tomahawk, which was taken from him by Shell. It was
   marked by thirty scalp-notches, showing that few Indians could have
   been more industrious than himself in gathering that description of
   military trophies."[132]

The close of the Revolution found the First Battalion of the King's
Regiment of New York stationed at Isle aux Noix and Carleton Island with
their wives and children to the number of one thousand four hundred and
sixty-two. The following is a list of the officers of both Battalions at
the close of the War:

"RETURN OF THE OFFICERS OF THE LATE FIRST BATTALION, KING'S ROYAL
                       REGIMENT OF NEW YORK."
-------|-------------------|--------|-------|------------------------------
       |                   |        |Length |  FORMER SITUATIONS AND
  Rank |  NAMES            |Place of|  of   |        REMARKS
       |                   |Nativity|Service|
-------|-------------------|--------|-------|------------------------------
Lt     |Sir John Johnson   |America | 8 yrs.|Succeeded his father, the late
Col    |     Bart          |        |       |  Sir Wm. Johnson, as a
Com    |                   |        |       |  Maj. Gen. of the Northern
Lt     |                   |        |       |  Dis. of the Prov. of New
       |                   |        |       |  York; was in possession
       |                   |        |       |  of nearly 200,000 acres of
       |                   |        |       |  valuable land, lost in
                           |        |       |  consequence
       |                   |        |       |  of the rebellion.
Maj    |James Gray         |Scotland|26 yrs.|Ensign in Lord London's
       |                   |        |       |  Regt., 1745; Lieut, and
       |                   |        |       |  Capt. in ye 42nd till after
       |                   |        |       |  taking the Havannah, at
       |                   |        |       |  which time he sold out.
       |                   |        |       |  Had some landed property,
       |                   |        |       |  part of which is secured
       |                   |        |       |  to his son, ye remnant
       |                   |        |       |  lost in consequence
       |                   |        |       |  of the rebellion.
Capt   |Angus McDonell     |Scotland|25 yrs.|Ensign in 60th Regt. July
       |                   |        |       |  8th, 1760; Lieut, in same
       |                   |        |       |  regt., 27th Dec., 1770.
       |                   |        |       |  Sold out on account of bad
       |                   |        |       |  state of health, 22nd May,
       |                   |        |       |  1775. Had no lands.
Capt   |John Munro         |Scotland| 8 yrs.|Had considerable landed
       |                   |        |       |  property, lost in
       |                   |        |       |  consequence of ye Rebellion,
       |                   |        |       |  and served in last war in
       |                   |        |       |  America.
Capt   |Patrick Daly       |Ireland | 9 yrs.|Lieut, in the 84th Regt. at
       |                   |        |       |  the Siege of Quebec,
       |                   |        |       |  1775-76.
Capt   |Richard Duncan     |Scotland|13 yrs.|Five years Ensign in the
       |                   |        |       |  56th Regiment.
Capt   |Sam'l. Anderson    |America | 8 yrs.|Had landed property, and
       |                   |        |       |  served in last war in
       |                   |        |       |  America.
Capt   |John McDonell      |Scotland| 8 yrs.|Had landed property, 500
       |                   |        |       |  acres, purchased and began
       |                   |        |       |  to improve in April
       |                   |        |       |  1774.
Capt   |Alex McDonell      |Scotland| 8 yrs.|200 acres of land in fee
       |                   |        |       |  simple under Sir John
       |                   |        |       |  Johnson. Bart., ye annual
       |                   |        |       |  rent of £6 per 100
-------+-------------------+--------+-------+------------------------------

"RETURN OF THE OFFICERS OF THE LATE FIRST BATTALION, KING'S ROYAL
                       REGIMENT OF NEW YORK."
-------|-------------------|--------+-------+------------------------------
       |                   |        |Length |  FORMER SITUATIONS AND
  Rank |   NAMES           |Place of|  of   |         REMARKS
       |                   |Nativity|Service|
-------|-------------------|--------|-------|------------------------------
Capt   |Arch. McDonell     |Scotland| 8 yrs.|Merchant. No lands.
Capt   |Allan McDonell     |Scotland| 8 yrs.|Held 200 acres of land under
Lt     |                   |        |       |  Sir John Johnson, at £6
       |                   |        |       |  per 100.
Lt     |Mal. McMartin      |Scotland| 8 yrs.|Held 100 acres of land under
       |                   |        |       |  Sir John Johnson, at £6.
Lt     |Peter Everett      |America | 7 yrs.|Had some landed property.
Lt     |John Prentiss      |America | 9 yrs.|A volunteer at the Siege of
       |                   |        |       |  Quebec, 1775-76.
Lt     |Hugh McDonell      |Scotland| 7 yrs.|Son of Capt. McDonell.
Lt     |John F. Holland    |America | 5 yrs.|Son of Major Holland,
       |                   |        |       |  Surveyor-General,
       |                   |        |       |  Province of Quebec.
Lt     |William Coffin     |America | 3 yrs.|Son of Mr. Coffin, merchant,
       |                   |        |       |  late of Boston.
Lt     |Jacob Farrand      |America | 7 yrs.|Nephew to Major Gray.
Lt     |William Claus      |America | 7 yrs.|Son of Col. Claus, deputy
       |                   |        |       |  agent Indian Affairs.
Lt     |Hugh Munro         |America | 6 yrs.|Son of Capt. John Munro.
Lt     |Joseph Anderson    |America | 6 yrs.|Son of Capt. Sam'l Anderson.
Lt     |Thomas Smith       |Ireland | 4 yrs.|Son of Dr. Smith.
Ens    |John Connolly      |Ireland | 2 yrs.|Private Gentleman.
Ens    |Jacob Glen         |America | 3 yrs.|Son of John Glen, Esq., of
       |                   |        |       |  Schenectady. Had
       |                   |        |       |  considerable landed
       |                   |        |       |  property.
Ens    |Miles McDonell     |Scotland| 3 yrs.|Son of Capt. John McDonell.
Ens    |Eben'r Anderson    |America | 6 yrs.|Son of Capt. Sam'l. Anderson.
Ens    |Duncan Cameron     |Scotland|14 yrs.|In service last war preceding
       |                   |        |       |  this one.
Ens    |John Mann          |America | 8 yrs.|Private Gentleman.
Ens    |Francis McCarthy   |Ireland |28 yrs.|Formerly Sergeant in the
       |                   |        |       |  34th Regiment.
Ens    |John Valentine     |America |24 yrs.|18 years in 55th and 62nd
       |                   |        |       |  Regiments.
Ch'p   |John Doty          |America | 8 yrs.|Formerly minister of the
       |                   |        |       |  Gospel at Schenectady.
Adjt   |James Valentine    |Ireland | 4 yrs.|Son of Ens John Valentine.
Q.M.   |Isaac Mann         |America | 8 yrs.|Merchant.
Surg.  |Charles Austin     |England |22 yrs.|14 years in hospital work.
M'te   |James Stewart      |Scotland|14 yrs.|Surgeon's mate in the 42nd
       |                   |        |       |  Regt. the war before last.
-------+-------------------+--------+-------+------------------------------

    "RETURN OF THE OFFICERS OF THE LATE SECOND BATTALION, KING'S
                    ROYAL REGIMENT OF NEW YORK."
-------|-------------------|--------+-------+------------------------------
       |                   |        |Length |  FORMER SITUATIONS AND
  Rank |  NAMES            |Place of|  of   |         REMARKS
       |                   |Nativity|Service|
-------|-------------------|--------|-------|------------------------------
Maj.   |Robert Leake       |England | 7 yrs.|Had some landed property,
       |                   |        |       |  etc., lost in consequence
       |                   |        |       |  of the rebellion.
Capt.  |Thos. Gummesell    |England | 8 yrs.|Formerly Merchant in New
       |                   |        |       |  York.
Capt.  |Jacob Maurer       |Foreign'r|28 yrs|Served in ye army in the
       |                   |        |       |  60th Regt., from 1756 to
       |                   |        |       |  1763, afterwards in the
       |                   |        |       |  Quarter-Master General's
       |                   |        |       |  Dept.
Capt.  | Wm. Morrison      |Scotland| 8 yrs.|Was lieut., 19th June, 1776,
       |                   |        |       |  in 1st Batt.; Capt., 15th
       |                   |        |       |  Nov., 1781, in the 2nd
       |                   |        |       |  Batt.
Capt.  |James McDonell     |Scotland| 8 yrs.|Held 200 acres of land in fee
       |                   |        |       |  simple, under Sir John
       |                   |        |       |  Johnson, at £6 per 100.
Capt.  |Geo. Singleton     |Ireland | 8 yrs.|Formerly merchant.
Capt.  |Wm. Redf'd Crawford|America | 8 yrs.|Held lands under Sir John
       |                   |        |       |  Johnson.
Capt.  |---- Byrns         |Ireland | 8 yrs.|Held lands under Sir John
       |                   |        |       |  Johnson.
Capt.  |---- Lepscomb      |England | 7 yrs.|Midshipman Royal Navy.
Capt.  |---- McKenzie      |Scotland| 8 yrs.|Held lands under Sir John
       |                   |        |       |  Johnson.
Lt.    |Patrick Langan     |Ireland | 7 yrs.|Private Gentleman.
Lt.    |Walter Sutherland  |Scotland|10 yrs.|Soldier and non-commissioned
       |                   |        |       |  officer in 26th Regt;
       |                   |        |       |  ensign, 17th Oct., 1779, in
       |                   |        |       |  1st Batt., lieut., Nov.,
       |                   |        |       |  1781, in 2nd Batt.
Lt.    |William McKay      |Scotland|15 yrs.|7 years volunteer and
       |                   |        |       |  sergeant in 21st Regt.
Lt.    |Neal Robertson     |Scotland| 8 yrs.|Merchant.
Lt.    |Henry Young        |America | 8 yrs.|Farmer.
Lt.    |John Howard        |Ireland |18 yrs.|Farmer; served 6 years last
       |                   |        |       |  war, from 1755 to 1761, as
       |                   |        |       |  soldier and
       |                   |        |       |  non-commissioned officer
       |                   |        |       |  in 28th Regt.
-------+-------------------+--------+-------+------------------------------

   "RETURN OF THE OFFICERS OF THE LATE SECOND BATTALION, KING'S
               ROYAL REGIMENT OF NEW YORK."--Continued.
-------|-------------------|---------+-------+-----------------------------
       |                   |         |Length |  FORMER SITUATIONS AND
  Rank |     NAMES         |Place of |  of   |         REMARKS
       |                   |Nativity |Service|
-------|-------------------|---------|-------|-----------------------------
Lt.    |Jeremiah French    |America  | 7 yrs.| Farmer.
Lt.    |Phil. P. Lansingh  |America  | 4 yrs.|High Sheriff, Chariot County.
Lt.    |Hazelt'n Spencer   |America  | 7 yrs.|Farmer.
Lt.    |Oliver Church      |America  | 7 yrs.|Farmer.
Lt.    |William Fraser     |Scotland | 7 yrs.|Farmer.
Lt.    |Christian Wher     |Foreign'r| 7 yrs.|Farmer.
Ens.   |Alex. McKenzie     |N.Britain| 4 yrs.|Farmer.
Ens.   |Ron. McDonell      |N.Britain| 3 yrs.|Farmer.
Ens.   |---- Hay           |America  | 3 yrs.|Son of Gov. Hay at Detroit.
Ens.   |Samuel McKay       |America  | 3 yrs.|Son of the late Capt. McKay.
Ens.   |Timothy Thompson   |America  | 3 yrs.|Private Gentleman.
Ens.   |John McKay         |America  | 3 yrs.|Son of the late Capt. McKay.
Ens.   |---- Johnson       |Ireland  | 2 yrs.|Nephew of the late Sir Wm.
       |                   |         |       |  Johnson, Bart.
Ens.   |---- Crawford      |America  | 4 yrs.|Son of Capt. Crawford.
Ch'p   |John Stuart        |America  | 3 yrs.|Missionary for the Mohawk
       |                   |         |       |  Indians at Fort Hunter.
Adjt.  |---- Fraser        |Scotland |10 yrs.|7 years soldier and
       |                   |         |       |  non-commissioned officer in
       |                   |         |       |  34th Regiment.
Q.M.   |---- Dies          |America  | 7 yrs.|Farmer.
Surg.  |R. Kerr            |Scotland | 8 yrs.|Assistant Surgeon.[133]
=======+===================+=========+=======+=============================

The officers and men of the First Battalion, with their families,
settled in a body in the first five townships west of the boundary line
of the Province of Quebec, being the present townships of Lancaster,
Charlottenburgh, Cornwall, Osnabruck and Williamsburgh; while those of
the Second Battalion went farther west to the Bay of Quinte, in the
counties of Lennox and Prince Edward. Each soldier received a
certificate entitling him to land; of which the following is a copy:

   "His Majesty's Provincial Regiment, called the King's Royal Regiment
   of New York, whereof Sir John Johnson, Knight and Baronet is
   Lieutenant-Colonel, Commandant.

   These are to certify that the Bearer hereof, Donald McDonell, soldier
   in Capt. Angus McDonell's Company, of the aforesaid Regiment, born in
   the Parish of Killmoneneoack, in the County of Inverness, aged
   thirty-five years, has served honestly and faithfully in the said
   regiment Seven Years; and in consequence of His Majesty's Order for
   Disbanding the said Regiment, he is hereby discharged, is entitled,
   by His Majesty's late Order, to the Portion of Land allotted to each
   soldier of His Provincial Corps, who wishes to become a Settler in
   this Province. He having first received all just demands of Pay,
   Cloathing, &c., from his entry into the said Regiment, to the Date of
   his Discharge, as appears from his Receipt on the back hereof.

   Given under my Hand and Seal at Arms, at Montreal, this twenty-fourth
   Day of December, 1783.

   John Johnson."

   "I, Donald McDonell, private soldier, do acknowledge that I have
   received all my Cloathing, Pay, Arrears of Pay, and all Demands
   whatsoever, from the time of my Inlisting in the Regiment and Company
   mentioned on the other Side to this present Day of my Discharge, as
   witness my Hand this 24th day of December, 1783.

   Donald McDonell."[134]

There appears to have been some difficulty in according to the men the
amount of land each should possess, as may be inferred from the petition
of Colonel John Butler on behalf of The Royal Greens and his corps of
Rangers. The Order in Council, October 22 1788 allowed them the same as
that allotted to the members of the Royal Highland Emigrants.[135]
Ultimately each soldier received one hundred acres on the river front,
besides two hundred at a remote distance. If married he was entitled to
fifty acres more, an additional fifty for every child. Each child, on
coming of age, was entitled to a further grant of two hundred acres.

It is not the purpose to follow these people into their future homes,
for this would be later than the Peace of 1783. Let it suffice to say
that their lands were divided by lot, and into the wilderness they went,
and there cleared the forests, erected their shanties out of round logs,
to a height of eight feet, with a room not exceeding twenty by fifteen
feet.

These people were pre-eminently social and attached to the manners and
customs of their fathers. In Scotland the people would gather in one of
their huts during the long winter nights and listen to the tales of
Ossian and Fingal. So also they would gather in their huts and listen to
the best reciter of tales. Often the long nights would be turned into a
recital of the sufferings they endured during their flight into Canada
from Johnstown; and also of their privations during the long course of
the war. It required no imagination to picture their hardships, nor was
it necessary to indulge in exaggeration. Many of the women, through the
wilderness, carried their children on their backs, the greater part of
the distance, while the men were burdened with their arms and such goods
as were deemed necessary. They endured perils by land and by water; and
their food often consisted of the flesh of dogs and horses, and the
roots of trees. Gradually some of these story tellers varied their tale,
and, perhaps, believed in the glosses.

A good story has gained extensive currency, and has been variously told,
on Donald Grant. He was born at Crasky, Glenmoriston, Scotland, and was
one of the heroes who sheltered prince Charles in the cave of Corombian,
when wandering about, life in hand, after the battle of Culloden, before
he succeeded in effecting his escape to the Outer Hebrides. Donald, with
others, settled in Glengarry, a thousand acres having been allotted to
him. This old warrior, having seen much service, knew well the country
between Johnstown and Canada. He took charge of one of the parties of
refugees in their journey from Schenectady to Canada. Donald lived to a
good old age and was treated with much consideration by all, especially
those whom he had led to their new homes. It was well known that he
could spin a good story equal to the best. As years went on, the number
of Donald's party rapidly increased, as he told it to open-mouthed
listeners, constantly enlarging on the perils and hardships of the
journey. A Highland officer, who had served in Canada for some years,
was returning home, and, passing through Glengarry, spent a few days
with Alexander Macdonell, priest at St. Raphael's. Having expressed his
desire to meet some of the veterans of the war, so that he might hear
their tales and rehearse them in Scotland, that they might know how
their kinsmen in Canada had fought and suffered for the Crown, the
priest, amongst others, took him to see old Donald Grant. The
opportunity was too good to be lost, and Donald told the general in
Gaelic the whole story, omitting no details; giving an account of the
number of men, women and children he had brought with him, their perils
and their escapes, their hardships borne with heroic devotion; how, when
on the verge of starvation, they had boiled their moccasins and eaten
them; how they had encountered the enemy, the wild beasts and Indians,
beaten all off and landed the multitude safely in Glengarry. The General
listened with respectful attention, and at the termination of the
narrative, wishing to say something pleasant, observed: "Why, dear me,
Donald, your exploits seem almost to have equalled even those of Moses
himself when leading the children of Israel through the Wilderness from
Egypt to the Land of Promise." Up jumped old Donald. "Moses," exclaimed
the veteran with an unmistakable air of contempt, and adding a double
expletive that need not here be repeated, "Compare ME to Moses! Why,
Moses took forty years in his vain attempts to lead his men over a much
shorter distance, and through a mere trifling wilderness in comparison
with mine, and he never did reach his destination, and lost half his
army in the Red Sea. I brought my people here without the loss of a
single man."

It has been noted that the Highlanders who settled on the Mohawk, on the
lands of Sir William Johnson, were Roman Catholics. Sir William, nor his
son and successor, Sir John Johnson, took any steps to procure them a
religious teacher in the principles of their faith. They were not so
provided until after the Revolution, and then only when they were
settled on the lands that had been allotted to them. In 1785, the people
themselves took the proper steps to secure such an one,--and one who was
able to speak the Gaelic, for many of them were ignorant of the English
language. In the month of September, 1786, the ship "McDonald," from
Greenock, brought Reverend Alexander McDonell, Scotus, with five hundred
emigrants from Knoydart, who settled with their kinsfolk in Glengarry,
Canada.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 101: Gentleman's Magazine, Sept. 30, 1773.]

[Footnote 102: Am. Archives, Fourth Series, Vol. II. p. 151.]

[Footnote 103: _Ibid_, p. 637.]

[Footnote 104: _Ibid_, p. 638.]

[Footnote 105: _Ibid_, p. 661.]

[Footnote 106: _Ibid_, p. 665.]

[Footnote 107: _Ibid_, p. 672.]

[Footnote 108: _Ibid_, p. 712.]

[Footnote 109: _Ibid_, p. 880.]

[Footnote 110: Stone's Life of Brant, Vol. I, p. 106.]

[Footnote 111: Am. Archives, Fourth Series, Vol. III. p. 1194.]

[Footnote 112: _Ibid_, p. 1245.]

[Footnote 113: _Ibid_, p. 1963.]

[Footnote 114: Documentary and Colonial History of New York, Vol. VIII,
p. 651.]

[Footnote 115: Am. Archives, Fourth Series, Vol. IV, pp. 818-829.]

[Footnote 116: Documentary and Colonial History of New York, Vol. VIII,
p. 668.]

[Footnote 117: See Appendix, Note J.]

[Footnote 118: Am. Archives, Fourth Series, Vol. VI, p. 447.]

[Footnote 119: _Ibid_, p. 643.]

[Footnote 120: _Ibid_, p. 642.]

[Footnote 121: _Ibid_, p. 644.]

[Footnote 122: _Ibid_, p. 511.]

[Footnote 123: Documentary and Colonial History of New York, Vol. VIII,
p. 683.]

[Footnote 124: Am. Archives, Fourth Series, Vol. VI. p. 647.]

[Footnote 125: Sir John Johnson's Orderly Book, p. LXXXII.]

[Footnote 126: Macdonell's Sketches of Glengarry in Canada, p. 22.]

[Footnote 127: Documentary and Colonial History of New York, Vol. VIII,
p. 779.]

[Footnote 128: Stone's Life of Joseph Brant, Vol. I, p. 238.]

[Footnote 129: Johnson's Orderly Book, p. 57.]

[Footnote 130: _Ibid_, p. 59.]

[Footnote 131: _Ibid_, p. 56.]

[Footnote 132: Stone's Life of Joseph Brant, Vol. II, p. 164.]

[Footnote 133: Macdonell's Sketches of Glengarry, p. 47.]

[Footnote 134: _Ibid_, p. 51.]

[Footnote 135: See Appendix, Note K.]




CHAPTER IX.

THE GLENALADALE HIGHLANDERS OF PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND.


Highlanders had penetrated into the wilds of Ontario, Nova Scotia and
Prince Edward Island before they had formed any distinctive settlements
of their own. Some of these belonged to the disbanded regiments, but the
bulk had come into the country, either through the spirit of adventure,
or else to better their condition, and establish homes that would be
free from usurpation, oppression, and persecution. It cannot be said
that any portion of Canada, at that period, was an inviting field. The
Highland settlement that bears the honor of being the first in British
North America is that on Prince Edward Island, on the north coast at the
head of Tracadie Bay, almost due north of Charlottetown. This settlement
was due to John Macdonald, Eighth of Glenaladale, of the family of
Clanranald.

John Macdonald was but a child at the date of the battle of Culloden.
When of sufficient age he was sent to Ratisbon, Germany, to be educated,
where he went through a complete course in the branches of learning as
taught in the seminary. Returning to his country he was considered to be
one of the most finished and accomplished gentlemen of his generation.
But events led him to change his prospects in life. In 1770 a violent
persecution against the Roman Catholics broke out in the island of South
Uist. Alexander Macdonald, First of Boisdale, also of the house of
Clanranald, abandoned the religion of his forbears, and like all new
converts was over zealous for his new found faith, and at once attempted
to compel all his tenants to follow his example. After many acts of
oppression, he summoned all his tenants to hear a