TRADITIONS OF STRATHGLASS. BY COLIN CHISHOLM. IX. THE cruelties of Hyder Ali, referred to last month, reminds me that a Strathglass man perished in the infamous Black Hole of Calcutta in 1756. This young man, Alexander Fraser, was one of the nine sons of Fraser of Culbokie and Guisachan, by his wife, a daughter of Mr Macdonell of Ardnabi. Three of their sons died at Guisachan, two in America, two in the East Indies, and of two who were officers in the Austrian army one died in Germany, while Donald, the youngest of the family but one, was killed in battle. On the arrival in Strathglass of the sad intelligence that Donald was killed, his mother composed a plaintive elegy on him, the poetry of which is of a high order. She sings thus : Nollaig mhor do 'n gnas bhi fuar, Thu gun choinneal o's do chionn, 'S tu mo bheadradh, 's tu mo mhuirn, M' og laghach is guirme suil, Mar bhradan fior-ghlan 'us tu marbh. 'S bàs anabaich mo mhic Dh' fhag mi cho tric fo ghruaim; 'S ged nach suidh mi air do lic, 'S ann do Ghearmailt mhor nam feachd, Ach ma thiodhlaic sibh mo mhac, Sguiridh mi de thuireadh dian, In the March number of the Celtic Magazine I find a most interesting Review by Captain Colin Mackenzie, F.S.A., Scot., of a book entitled "The Scot in New France," by J. Macpherson Le Moine, Quebec. Mr. Le Moine gives a glowing account of the esteem in which the Fraser Highlanders, or the old 78th and the old 71st Regiments, were held in Canada. No wonder if both the memory and the descendants of the Fraser Highlanders should be honoured and respected in Canada. It is not detracting from the merits of any other corps to say, that a more patriotic body of men never entered the British army than that distinguished regiment. In 1757 the Hon. Simon Fraser, son of the famous Simon, Lord Lovat of the Forty-Five, came among his clansmen with letters of service to raise a regiment for the Crown. At this time Simon did not possess a single acre of land, his patrimony having been forfeited when his father was executed, so that neither fear nor favour in any form could be credited with the genuine welcome accorded to him on his return by his kinsmen and countrymen. On this his first appeal to them for men, the retainers on his father's late estates at once placed him at the head of eight hundred of their number. The neighbours and gentlemen to whom he gave commissions brought seven hundred more to his standard. These men so signally distinguished themselves under the command of their natural leader, the Hon. Simon Fraser, at the taking of Quebec, and elsewhere in Canada, that the English Government promoted him to the rank of Lieutenant-General, and rewarded him with a grant of the family estates of Lovat, forfeited in 1746. Again, in 1775, he was entrusted with raising two battalions. His officers, of whom six besides himself were either chiefs, or presumptive heirs to chiefs of clans, gave General Fraser the best possible assistance in raising the two battalions of 2340 men. They were also called Fraser Highlanders, and were known in military annals as the old 71st Regiment. The General was a great favourite with all the men under his command. He was beloved and his memory much respected in his father's country. I once heard an old man, Donald Macgruer,* saying that he recollected the General, last time he was at home, to have ordered all the tenantry round about the Aird to assemble at Castle Dounie. Seeing the men assembled on the lawn in front of the Castle, the General came out and shook hands with them all. He then sent in for his elder brother, the Hon. Archibald Fraser, and in his presence questioned the tenantry as to whether any of them had cause to complain of his brother as a landlord. The General then turned round to the Hon. Archibald, and congratulated him on the happy relations which seemed to exist between him and the tenants, adding-"I wish you to bear in mind that the estates of Lovat were restored to me and not to you, and I desire your tenantry to know that so long as you perform your duty kindly and considerately to them, I shall never interfere between you, but if you do not study how to take care of my father's men, it will be my duty to leave the army to come and take possession of my father's estates, and take care of the men who were instrumental in restoring these estates to our family." Whether this short and plain speech had any weight with Archibald in after life I know not; but certain it is that he converted Glenstrathfarrar into two sheep farms, by which act the fire was extinguished on ninety Highland hearths. So said the old people who remembered the time when the Glen was thickly studded with hospitable and well-to-do tenantry. General Fraser was dead some years before this eviction took place, he having died in London in 1782. Duncan, the Chisholm's eldest son, whom I mentioned last month, * The Macgruers were a branch of the Clan Fraser, and were their hereditary banner-bearers, was second Captain in the old 71st or Fraser Highlanders. He also died in London in 1782. Having said this much of two Chiefs who were certainly the foremost officers in the Fraser Highlanders, let me now say a few words about some of the brave men who volunteered to share the dangers and hardships of a Canadian campaign with their lairds and leaders. The first I shall refer to was John Macdonell, tenant on the Fraser estates, who left Inchvuilt in Glenstrathfarrar. He was distinguished from his neighbours by the patronymic of Ian-Buidhe mor. The men, on the eve of their departure from the North, were assembled at Inverness, the transports riding at anchor in the Sound of Kessock ready to sail. They were all mustered on the south side of the Ness, and answered to their names. All were ordered to be in readiness to embark the following morning, and every precaution was taken to carry this order into effect; but, under cover of night, our hero, John-Buidhe-mor, eluded the vigilance of the guards and patrols in town. He, however, felt it was of no use to attempt crossing the old stone bridge-the only one at that time in Inverness; the river was in high flood, but John was not to be foiled. He went down to the large ferry-boat which in those days busily plied between the Maggot and the Merkinch. When he reached the boat he found it firmly secured by a strong iron chain, fixed in a large stone, and locked. What was to be done? Neither chain nor lock could be broken without making a noise which might betray him. At last the happy thought occurred to him to try whether he could not move the stone into the boat. John, a man of herculean size and strength, succeeded in lifting it and placing it in the craft, and, having rowed himself quietly across, he left boat and stone in that position to sink or float as they pleased. With all the speed he could command John went off to Inchvuilt, a distance of more than thirty-two miles from Inverness. He gave his wife and children some important instructions about the farm, bade them an affectionate farewell, and retraced his steps to Inverness. As the muster roll was being called over next day, John was found missing. This led to unfavourable comments on his non-appearance, but General Fraser would not listen to the supposition that he had deserted. Just as the men were about to embark a man in kilt and shirt was seen coming in great haste towards the camp, who, on approaching nearer, was discovered to be no other than the missing Ian-Buidhe mor, having walked over sixty-four miles during the night. "John.” said General Fraser, "where have you been?" "Only to see my wife and children," was John's reply. The General gave him to understand that some one indicated a suspicion that he had deserted. This was too much for our hero; and he begged the General to let him know who the fellow was, that he might have the pleasure of breaking his bones and teaching him better manners in future. We heard nothing remarkable about him during the voyage until the fleet was nearing Quebec, when a man was observed from on board the transport, crouching along the top of a hill near the water. The soldiers declared that he must be a French spy, when John, not waiting to listen further, raised his gun, and fired, instantly killing the supposed spy. The sound warned the garrison and caused great commotion. General Fraser, accosting John, told him firmly," Ud, ud, Iain, Iain cuimhnich t-exercise." "An diabhul, eacarsi na eacarsi," ars' Iain, "ach eacarsi an fheidh, far am faic mise namhaid cuiridh mi peilear troimh 'chorp." That is, "Tut! tut! John, you must mind your exercise." "The devil, exercise or exercise," replied John, "but the exercise of the stag. Wherever I see an enemy I will put a bullet through his body"—a characteristic specimen of the discipline of Ian Buidhe Mor. Some time after this episode a French bravado sent a challenge to the Fraser Highlanders, in which he offered to fight the best swordsman among them. "Do you think he is in earnest," inquired John. "So much so," replied his friends, "that the Regiment will be bound in honour to make up a purse of gold for him if his challenge is not accepted." "He will take no gold from us," said John, "for I will meet him tomorrow morning." The meeting took place in presence of a large number of witnesses. The combatants stood facing each other. The Frenchman first made some grand move to show his agility and command over his weapon, but in the twinkling of an eye John was within arm's length of his antagonist, "striking him at the third button," as he himself used to say. The foolish Frenchman, with all his fencing skill, fell down dead, uttering a hideous yell. May be it is counting his gold he is," said John-who was carried home in triumph on the shoulders of his comrades. All the officers and men congratulated him on his skill with the sword, and asked him how he managed to kill the Frenchman? "When we stood on the ground looking at each other," said John, "the fool thought he would frighten me!-Ghearr e figear m' anmhaoin air mo bheul-thaobh-he cut the figure of strife before me. I sprang over and struck him at the third button, and he fell dead as a herring." The next Strathglass man in this distinguished Regiment whom I shall mention is Alexander Macdonell from Invercannich, known by the patronymic of Alastair Dubh. His courage and daring seem to have been the admiration of the whole Regiment. By the united testimony of his countrymen who served in the Fraser Highlanders and afterwards returned to Strathglass, it was recorded in the district that Alastair Dubh was one of a camp of British soldiers occupying some outlying post in Canada, where some of the contents of the military stores under their charge were disappearing in a mysterious way; and the officers, determined to detect and punish the culprit, ordered the soldiers to watch the stores every night in turn until the thief was discovered. Strange to say the first sentinel placed on this duty never returned. Sentry after sentry took his turn and place, not one of whom were again seen. One night the duty fell to the lot of some faint-hearted man, who, firmly believing that he would never return, was much disconcerted. Alastair Dubh, as compassionate as he was brave, pitied the poor man, and bade him cheer up, asking him at the same time what he would be disposed to give him if he would mount guard that night in his place. "Everything I have in the world" was the reply. Alastair did not ask for more than the loan of his bonnet, his topcoat, and his gun for that night only, all of which were readily placed at his disposal. Alastair began his preparations for the night watch by crossing some pieces of wood, on which he placed his neighbour's topcoat and bonnet. He proceeded to examine the gun, and loaded it with two bullets. He then primed and loaded his own gun with a similar charge, remarking that such was his favourite shot when deer stalking in Strathglass. Alastair mounted guard at the appointed time, took his two guns along with him, one bayonet, and the dummy in topcoat and bonnet. He stuck the dummy in the snow within some fifty or sixty yards of the sentry-box in which he stood. Ordering the man he relieved to retire, he expressed an opinion that the contents of his two muskets would give a warm reception to the first two thieves who approached the stores, and that the bayonet would probably satisfy the curiosity of a few more of them. During the night he noticed a huge object, under cover of a thick shower of snow, coming towards the stores by a circuitous route, apparently with the view of getting behind the dummy. In this the monster succeeded, and getting within a few paces of it he tiger-like sprang upon it, when both fell on the snow. The strange object was soon on his legs, but no sooner was he up than a couple of bullets from Alastair brought him again to the ground. After a minute's moaning and rolling on the snow, he managed to get up and attempted to reach the sentry-box, but Macdonell fired at him a second time, sending two more bullets through his body. This brought the monster again to the ground, this time to leave it no more. By this time the whole garrison beat to arms and soon crowded round the body of a gigantic Red Indian. A strong party was sent on the track made in the snow, in his approach, by the wild savage; they thus managed to trace and reach his cave, which was found guarded by a fierce red Indian squaw and a young man, both of whom prepared to give battle. The woman was killed in the struggle which ensued to capture them. The soldiers ransacked the cave, and found every cask of rum, box of sugar, and other article that had been stolen from the camp, either wholly or partially consumed, in the cave. Horrible to relate they also found the heads of every one of their missing comrades in the dreadful place, Just as if exhibited like trophies, each head was suspended by the queue, or pigtail, then worn by the British soldier, from a peg round the inside of this charnel house. The young Indian was bound hand and foot, brought to the camp, and placed on board the first vessel that sailed for Britain. This specimen of the wild Canadian native was so fierce and unmanageable that the sailors found it necessary to chain him to the mainmast of the vessel-a restraint so uncongenial to one used to such a free and easy life, that he died on board, when he was consigned to the deep. But how, it may be asked, was the brave Alexander Macdonell rewarded for having brought the murderer of his comrades to such a condign and well-deserved punishment? The truth must be told, however unpalateable. Indeed, in this case, it is even more; it is disgraceful. He received no reward whatever. It was adding insult to injury to tell him that, as he was not a scholar, according to the usual acceptation of that term, his country could do nothing for him! So much was the heroic Alastair hurt on learning this that he soon afterwards died of grief, or, as his comrades used to say, "Sgain a chridhe leis an taire." Let me only add that I often heard old men saying that they were intimately acquainted with him; that he was, though unusually strong and powerful, until roused by his ideas of duty, exceedingly quiet; and that in all these respects he left not his equal in Strathglass. (To be Continued.) |