retreating with his followers to Bonar Bridge, where they were at once broken up. The Mackenzies and the Macdonalds levied heavy fines on Munro's territories, which were fully made up for in their absence with the Jacobite army in the South; for which they at once set out, accompanied by Sir Donald and his Island warriors. Lord Lovat, in his "Account of the Taking of Inverness," supplies the following version:-"The Earl of Seaforth, who was nominated Lieutenant-General and Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Counties to his Majesty K. James the VIII. (for so was the designation then), was not idle; gathered his men from the Lewes, and all his inland country, to the place of Brahan, where Sir Donald Macdonald of Sleat, with six hundred men, and the Laird of Mackinnon, with one hundred and fifty, joined him; Alexander Mackenzie of Frazerdale, who assumed command of the name of Frazer, and his Lady had forced four hundred of that name, which, with the hundred men that Chisholm (who is vassal to that family) had, made up five hundred under Frazerdale's command, which lay at and about Castledouny, five miles from Brahan and six from Inverness." He further informs us that "Being come to Inverness, General Seaforth called a Council of War, where were present the Lord Duffus, Sir Donald Macdonald, Frazerdale, Mackinnon, the Chisholm, and several other officers, besides Sir John Mackenzie of Coul, the Governor, where it was resolved that Culloden House must be reduced at any rate; and so commanded Mr George Mackenzie of Gruinziord to go with a Trumpet along with him, and summon the House formally to surrender; coming to the place, Gruinziord ordered the Trumpet to sound, and called to Mr Duncan who kept the House; Mr Forbes not only told him, but showed him, that the House was not in their reverence; and so defiance was returned for answer. But in a second Council of War, the Lord Duffus was sent in order to reduce Mr Forbes by reason; or otherwise to assure him of the hardest treatment if the House was taken. But my lord returned without success; and so a disposition was made for the siege, and the party for the attack ordered, but finding that the House was strong, and the Governor and garrison obstinate and brave, after twelve days deliberations, marched forward toward their grand camp at Perth. From Inverness they marched to Strath-Spey, the Laird of Grant's country, where they found the Grants all in arms, in order to secure their country from harm; they only asked some baggage horses to the next country, and quartered their men civilly, and returned the horses home next day, and so they joined the Earl of Mar at Perth, where they continued tiil the decisive stroke of Dumblain, from whence they returned in a hundred parties, to the satisfaction of many who were very careful of disarming them in their retreat. But the four hundred Frazers that Mr Mackenzie had brought there four days before to Dumblain, hearing that the Lord Lovat was come home, deserted that cause, and came home full armed, with their affection to their natural chief, and their love to the Protestant interest; for which, that name distinguished themselves since the Reformation, as was plainly seen in their services thereafter till the Rebellion was extinguished." Immediately on the arrival at Perth of this large reinforcement, Mar determined to cross the Forth and meet Argyll, who commanded the Government forces. On this point Patten says, "The Earl of Mar being joined by the Earl of Seaforth, Sir Donald Macdonald, and others, with their respective clans, to the number of 8000 men, were preparing to march from Perth, to join General Gordon with the Western clans at Auchterarder, in order to attempt the crossing of the Forth, which was indeed his main design. This was the 12th of November. Upon intelligence of this march, for the Rebels advanced from Perth with their whole army, the Duke of Argyll sent for a train of field artillery from Edinburgh; and having received all the reinforcement he expected from Ireland, his Grace resolved not to suffer them to reach the Bank of Forth, but to fight them wherever he could come up with them. Accordingly, he passed the Forth at Stirling Bridge with his whole army, and advanced towards Dumblain. This occasioned a general engagement, fought near Dumblain, at a place called Sheriff-moor, on Sunday November 13." The details of this memorable engagement are already too well known to justify recapitulation here. In the hottest part of the contest the Macdonalds exhibited the ancient valour of the race of Somerled. The historian of the rebellion, already named, and who was with the Jacobite army, though he afterwards became turncoat, and wrote severely against them,t informs us that immediately the enemy was seen, "The Earl of Mar ordered the Earl Marshal, Major-General of the horse, with his own squadron and Sir Donald Macdonald's battalion, to march up to the height and dislodge them," whereupon "the enemy disappeared," and later in the engagement, "all the line to the right being of the Clans, led on by Sir Donald Macdonald's two brothers, Glengarry, Captain of Clanranald, Sir John Maclean, Glenco, Campbell of Glenlyon (and others), made a most furious attack, so that in seven or eight minutes we could neither perceive the form of a squadron or battalion of the enemy before us. We drove the main body and left of the enemy, in this manner, for about half a mile, killing and taking prisoners all that we could overtake." The same authority in a List of the most considerable Chiefs in Scotland, and the number of men they could raise, with an account of their "disposition" for or against the Government, places Sir Donald Macdonald at the head of the Clans with a thousand men all with their chief, against the Government and in the Rebellion. To the "Captain of Clan * History of the late Rebellion, second part, page 35. + Of this minister of the Gospel, Dr John Hill Burton writes :-He holds a distinguished place in the annals of infamy. He betrayed his cause, and gave testimony against those whose deeds he had beheld when acting as their spiritual guide and exhorter to loyalty. He boasted of this, his treachery, as a "duty," wherein he made all the "reparation" he could for the injury" he "had done the Government." He afterwards wrote a history of the follies and misfortunes of those whom he had helped to seduce, by his religious persuasions, to their fatal career-dedicated to the victorious general who had trampled them down. This servant of God, whose character has fortunately been but seldom exemplified in a profession the characteristic defects of which are not so much founded on calculating selfishness as on indiscriininating and self-sacrificing zeal-preached to the assembled army from Deut., xxi., 17. "The right of the first born is his ;" and he recorded the observation that "it was very agreeable to see how decently and reverently the very common Highlanders behaved, and answered the responses according to the rubric, to the shame of many who pretend to more polite breeding." It is unfortunately necessary to rely for many of the events connected with the expedition on the narrative of this perfidious man. It is some sanction for his accuracy, that the events narrated by him were seen by many others, and his testimony must, like that of other approvers, be taken with suspicion, and guardedly relied on. ranald " he gives a thousand on the same side, while to "the Laird of Glengarry," whom he describes as "inferior to none in bravery," he allots five hundred. Keppoch had three hundred men against the Government, upon whom Patten is very severe for their conduct at Killiecrankie, Cromdale, and Sheriffmuir, at which latter place "he still showed his face, but never drew his sword, for his people are expert at nothing more than stealing and public robberies; for at Perth they made a good hand in this way of business among the country people and others of their own party." We are almost tempted to give an account of the accomplished and brave Clanranald who fell mortally wounded by a musket ball, and who is described by the same authority as "the most gallant and generous young gentleman among the Clans," but must forego until we come to his own family history in its proper place. Burton, who never says a good word for the Highlanders if he can avoid it, is forced to say that "the impetuous rush of the Highlanders (on the right) carried Witham, with his horse and foot, before them down the steep declivity towards Dunblane, with much slaughter." The Master of Sinclair, who had fought under the Duke of Marlborough, and a distinguished officer, who, at Sheriffmuir, fought in the victorious wing of the Highland army among the Macdonalds, but who, generally wrote anything but complimentary of Mar's army, describes the conduct of the Highlanders thus:-"The order to attack being given, the two thousand Highlandmen, who were then drawn up in very good order, ran towards the enemy in a disorderly manner, always firing some dropping shots, which drew upon them a general salvo from the enemy, which began at their left, opposite to us, and run to their right. No sooner did that begin than the Highlanders threw themselves flat upon their bellies; and, when it slackened, they started to their feet. Most threw away their fuzies; and, drawing their swords, pierced them everywhere with an incredible vigour and rapidity. In four minutes' time from their receiving the order to attack, not only all in our view and before us turned their backs, but the five squadrons on their left, commanded by General Whitham, went to the right about, and never looked back until they had got near Dunblane, almost two miles from us. Towards the end of January it was found that neither the Chevalier nor the Earl were disposed again to meet the Government troops, notwithstanding the pressure and enthusiasm of the Highlanders, who abused the principal officers with insulting epithets, and reproached them with betraying the army and their Prince. It was on this occasion that a Highlander, on being asked by a friend of the Earl of Mar, What he would have their officers to do, exclaimed-" Do! what did you call us to take arms for? Was it to run away? What did the King come hither for? Was it to see his people butchered by hangmen, and not strike a blow for their lives? Let us die like men and not like dogs." Sir Donald, seeing the state of matters, and quite satisfied that the Chevalier and Mar could not be induced again to meet the enemy, left them, and returned with his followers to the Isle of Skye, where he continued for some time at the head of about a thousand men. Ultimately a detachment was sent against him to the Island, under command of a Colonel Clayton. He made no resistance, but being unable to obtain a satisfac * Master of Sinclair's Memoirs, pp. 216-217. tory assurance of protection from the Government, he passed over to Uist, where he remained among his friends and vassals until he found means of escape in a ship which soon after carried him safely to France. He was afterwards attainted, by Act of Parliament,* for his share in the Rebellion, and his estates were, like most others in the Highlands, forfeited to the Crown. He married Mary, daughter of Donald Macdonald of Castletown, by whom he had issue 1. Donald, who succeeded him as representative of the family. 3. Margaret, who married Captain John Macqueen, with issue, two daughters, who died without issue. 4. Isabel, who married, 3d of January 1725, Alexander Munro, M.D., Professor of Anatomy in the University of Edinburgh, with issue, now represented by George Home Monro-Binning-Home of Argaty and Softlaw, who claims to be "Heir-general and Representative of the Earls of Ross and Lords of Skye, as also of the Lords of the Isles." She died on the 10th of December 1774. 5. Janet, who married Norman Macleod, XVIIIth Baron of Macleod, with issue. He died, of paralysis, in 1718, when he was succeeded, as representative of the family, by his only son, who, although he never possessed the property, we shall reckon as XXI. SIR DONALD MACDONALD, twelfth Baron and fifth Baronet of Sleat. It is said that he was the last of the family born in the ancient Castle of Duntulm. He was a most amiable and promising young man, beloved by all his kindred and clan. On the occasion of a visit to friends in the Island of Berneray in 1720, he died suddenly shortly after his arrival by the bursting of a blood vessel, to the great grief of his family and clan. Being unmarried, he was succeeded as representative of the family by his uncle of Oronsay, XXII. SIR JAMES MACDONALD, thirteenth Baron and sixth Baronet of Sleat, who married Janet, daughter of Alexander Macleod of Grishernish, with issue 1. Alexander, who succeeded. 2. John, who died young. 3. Margaret, who married Sir Robert Douglas of Glenbervie, Baronet, author of the well-known Peerage and Baronage, with issue. 4. Isabel, who died young. 5. Janet, who married Sir Alexander Mackenzie, Baronet, Vth of Coul, with issue. He married, secondly, Margaret, daughter of John Macdonald of Castletown, with issue. 6. John, who died young. He died at Forres in 1723, and was succeeded by his eldest son, XXIII. SIR ALEXANDER MACDONALD, fourteenth Baron and seventh Baronet of Sleat. Kenneth Mackenzie, an advocate in Edinburgh, and an intimate friend of the family of Sleat, purchased the estates, which were affected by considerable debts at the time, for behoof of the family, from the Commissioners and Trustees for the Sale of Forfeited Estates in Scotland, and acquired a disposition of them in his own favour of date 14th of October 1724. With the view of preventing any after forfeiture, Mr Mackenzie entered into a contract with Sir Alexander, heir-male of the attainted Sir Donald Macdonald, by which he disponed to him, and to his heirs and assignees whomsoever, under certain prohibitory, irritant, and resolutive clauses, the lands and barony of Macdonald, and also assigned to him the procuratory of resignation contained in the disposition which he himself had obtained in October 1724 from the Commissioners and Trustees for Forfeited Estates. Upon the procuratory contained in this disposition and Sir Alexander's resignation thereto contained in the contract, a charter was expede in his favour of the said lands under the Great Seal upon the 13th of February 1727, under the conditions of entail cited in the contract, all of which are engrossed in the charter and in the instrument of Sasine in his favour following thereon, dated 12th of August, and registered in the General Register of Sasines on the 2d of September 1827. The entail is dated 7th September and 8th of November 1726. It has not been recorded in the record of Tailzies. The destination is "to and in favour of Sir Alexander Macdonald and his heirs-male, whom failing, to his heirs whatsoever, heritably and irredeemably;" and under it the heir in possession has power "to provide for his younger children, besides the heir, with competent provisions, agreeably to the circumstances of the estate for the time," subject to certain special qualifications therein provided. In his marriage contract Sir Alexander settled the estate of Macdonald upon "the heirs-male of the marriage." The tradition current in the Isle of Skye regarding these transactions conveys a slightly different account of the manner in which the estates were ultimately secured to the family. It is, no doubt, true that William the Tutor, was left by Mr Mackenzie in charge of the property after the death of Sir Donald, and until the attainder was removed, and the estates reconveyed to his nephew, Sir Alexander, by Mr Mackenzie, and this would account for the popular view of the question as after recorded; for the actual facts and Mackenzie's exact position in the matter would not, probably, be known to many outsiders. The Tutor is said to have been a handsome, well-built man, distinguished for great athletic powers as well as for his amiable and gentle disposition. He, and his elder brother, Sir James of Oronsay, took, as we have already observed, a distinguished part in the battle of Sheriffmuir, where he held the rank of Major under Mar, with their brother and chief, Sir Donald "A Chogaidh," who died in 1718. Being married to one of the twelve daughters of Sir Ewen Caineron of Lochiel, he would be in a position to secure great influence in his own favour and that of the family; for the other eleven were married respectively to Alexander Drummond of Bathaldies; Allan Maclean of Ardgour; Grant of Glenmoriston; Allan Cameron of Glendessary; Macpherson of Cluny; Archibald Cameron of Dungallan; Peter Campbell of Barcaldine ; John Campbell of Achallader; Robert Barclay of Urie; Macgregor of Bochady; and Macdonald of Morar, while her eldest brother, Sir John Cameron, was married to a daughter of Sir Duncan Campbell of Lochnell, The current account in Skye is as follows:-During the period of forfeiture the * Taken down from old John Macdonald, who died in 1835 at the extraordinary age of 107 years, by the Rev. Alexander Macgregor; who has given an interesting sketch of old John in a previous number of the Celtic Magazine. |