The Lyon in Mourning, Vol. 1

Ned Bourk stood cook and baxter; but Donald said, the Prince was the best cook of them all. One day upon the desart island the Prince and Ned were employed in making out a dish of fish, while all the rest were asleep. Ned, not minding that he had the junt of butter, began to complain that the fish would make but a very sarless morsel without butter. The Prince said the fish would do very well in their present condition, and that they behoved to take the fish till the butter should come. Ned, at last reflecting, told the Prince that he had got a junt of butter from Lady Killdun, which he laid up betwixt two fardles of bread in the wallet, which was then lying in the boat. The Prince said that would do exceedingly well, for it would serve to compleat their cookery, and desired Ned to go fetch it immediately. When Ned came to take out the butter the bread was all crumbled into pieces, so that it made a very ugly appearance. Ned [fol. 295.] returned and told the Prince the butter would not serve the purpose at all, for that it was far from being clean, the bread being crumbled into pieces and wrought in amongst it, and therefore he thought shame to present it. 'What,' said the Prince, 'was not the butter clean when it was put there?' 'Yes,' answered Ned, 'it was clean enough.' 'Then,' replied the Prince, 'you are a child, Ned. The butter will do exceedingly well. The bread can never file it. Go, fetch it immediately.' When the fish were sufficiently boyled they awakened the rest of the company to share in the entertainment. Donald MacLeod, looking at the butter, said the deel a drap of that butter he would take, for it was neither good nor clean. But the Prince told him he was very nice indeed, for that the butter would serve the turn very well at present, and he caused it to be served up. They made a very hearty meal of the fish and the crumbs of bread swimming among the butter.

At another time, when Ned was preparing to bake some bannocks, the Prince said he would have a cake of his own contriving, which was to take the brains of the cow and mingle them well in amongst the meal, when making the dough, and this he said they would find to be very wholesome meat. His directions were obeyed, and, said Donald, 'he gave orders to [fol. 296.] birsle the bannock well, or else it would not do at all.' When the cake was fully fired the Prince divided it into so many pieces, giving every gentleman a bit of it; and Donald said, 'it made very good bread indeed.'

Here I asked if the boatmen did eat in common with the Prince and the gentlemen? 'Na, good faith, they!' said Donald, 'set them up wi' that indeed, the fallows! to eat wi' the Prince and the shentlemen! We even kept up the port of the Prince upon the desart island itself and kept twa tables, one for the Prince and the shentlemen, and the other for the boatmen. We sat upon the bare ground, having a big stone in the middle of us for a table, and sometimes we ate off our knee or the bare ground as it happened.'

Upon this uninhabited island they remained four days and four nights in a low, pityful hut, which the fishers had made up for themselves; but it was so ill-roofed that they were obliged to spread the sail of the boat over the top of it. They found heath and turf enough to make a fire of; but had nothing but the bare ground to lie along upon when disposed to take a nap, without any covering upon them at all.

When they were consulting about taking their departure from this barren island, the Prince ordered two dozen of the fish to be put on board the boat whatever might happen to [fol. 297.] them, and said he would leave money for them, placing the cash upon a fish, that so the people, when they missed of the number of their fish might find the value of what they wanted. But O'Sullivan or O'Neil told him it was needless to leave any money, lest vagrants should happen to land upon the island and take the money which did not belong to them. These two prevailed upon him to allow the money to be taken up again.

10 May

May 10th. They set sail from the uninhabited island, when the Prince told his retinue he was determined to return to Scalpay or the Island Glass, in order to pay his respects to honest Donald Campbell for the remarkable civilities he had shown him; and then he ordered to steer the course directly to that island. When they arrived at Scalpay, Donald Campbell was not at home, having gone a skulking for fear of being laid up, an account or rumour having passed from hand to hand that the Prince had been in his house, and that the landlord had entertained him kindly. The Prince was sorry at missing his hospitable friend, and set sail directly from Scalpa the same day, May 10th. Here Donald said the Prince would not part with Campbell's boat, because it was such a fine, light, swift-sailing thing. In coursing along they happened to spy a ship at Finisbery, in the Harris, within two musket-shot, before they observed her. They were on the windward of the ship at the mouth of the said bay, and made [fol. 298.] all the haste they could along the coast to Benbicula. In this course they spied another ship in Lochmaddy, in North Uist, which occasioned them to make all the sail and rowing they could to get free of the mouth of the loch and out of sight of the ship.

11 May

May 11th. Being still upon the sea they fell short of bread; but having some meal on board and the men turning very hungry and thirsty, they began to make Dramach (in Erse Stappack) with salt water, and to lick it up. The Prince said that was a kind of meat he had never seen before, and therefore he behoved to try it how it would go down. Donald said the Prince ate of it very heartily, and much more than he could do for his life. Never any meat or drink came wrong to him, for he could take a share of every thing, be it good, bad, or indifferent, and was always chearful and contented in every condition.

May 11th. They arrived at Lochwiskaway, in Benbicula, and had scarce got ashore when the wind proved quite contrary to what it had been, blowing a hard gale, which served to make the ships they had spied steer an opposite course. A heavy rain likewise came on at the same time. It happened then to be low water; and one of the boatmen went in among the rocks where he catched a large partan, and taking it up in his hand he wagged it at the Prince, who was at some distance from him. The Prince then took up a cog in his hand, and running towards the lad desired to share in his game.135

June

[fol. 301.] dispatched Donald MacLeod in Campbell's boat to the continent with letters to Lochiel and John Murray of Broughton, in order to know how affairs stood, and that Donald might bring along with him some cash and brandy. Donald met with Lochiel and Murray at the head of Locharkaig; but got no money at all from Murray, who said he had none to give, having only about sixty louis d'ores to himself, which was not worth the while to send. Donald received letters from Lochiel and Murray to the Prince, and found means without much ado to purchase two anchors of brandy at a guinea per anchor. Here Donald observed that the Prince had a very good opinion of Murray, looking upon him as one of the honestest, firmest men in the whole world.

Donald was absent from the Prince eighteen days or thereabouts, and upon his return he found the Prince where he left him upon Coradale. During his abode on this mountain he lived in a tenant's house, only a hut better than ordinary, diverting and maintaining himself with hunting and fishing; for he used frequently to go down to the foot of the hill upon the shore, and there go on board a small boat, which continued rowing along, and he catched with hand-lines fishes called lyths, somewhat like young cod.

14 June

15 June

June 14th. From the foot of Coradale they set sail in [fol. 302.] Campbell's boat still towards Loch Boisdale, but spying three sail within canon-shot of the shore about break of day, this obliged them to put back to a place called Cilistiela in South Uist.136 Next morning, June 15th, once more they set sail for Loch Boisdale, where they arrived safely. Here they got accounts that Boisdale was made a prisoner, which was a thing not looked for at all, as he had all along lived peaceably at home, and had kept back all Clanranald's men upon the Isles from following their young chiftain. These accounts of Boisdale's being a prisoner distressed the Prince and his small retinue exceedingly much, as Boisdale was the person principally concerned in the preservation of the Prince; and all along had been most careful to consult the safety of the Prince in his dangers upon and about the Isles. Malcolm MacLeod and Donald MacLeod both agreed in affirming that had not Boisdale been made a prisoner the Prince needed not to have left the Long Isle for all the searches (and very strict ones they were) that were made after him by the troops and militia; so well did Boisdale know all the different places of concealment throughout the Long Isle that were fittest for the Prince to be in, and so exact he was in sending timeous notice to the Prince by proper hands, if he could not with safety wait upon him in person, to be here or there, in this or the other place, at such and such times as he thought convenient to point out to him. Boisdale's confinement therefore behoved to be an inexpressible [fol. 303.] hardship and distress upon the Prince, and make him quite at a loss what to do or what corner to turn himself to.

24 June

Lady Boisdale sent four bottles of brandy to the Prince, and every other thing she could procure that was useful for him and his attendants. In and about Loch Boisdale the Prince continued for eight or ten days, till June 24th, that the woeful parting behoved to ensue betwixt the Prince and Donald MacLeod, etc.137

One day coursing up and down upon Loch Boisdale Donald MacLeod asked the Prince if he were once come to his own what he would do with Sir Alexander MacDonald and the Laird of MacLeod for their behaviour. 'O Donald,' said the Prince, 'what would you have me to do with them? Are they not our own people still, let them do what they will? It is not their fault for what they have done. It is altogether owing to the power that President Forbes had over their judgment in these matters. Besides, if the king were restored, we would be as sure of them for friends as any other men whatsomever.' The Prince blamed the young Laird of MacLeod much more than the father; for that, he said, the son had been introduced to him in France, where he kissed his hands, and solemnly promised him all the service that lay in his power to promote his cause; but that when put to the trial he did not keep to his engagements at all.

20 Aug.

[fol. 304.] Here Malcolm MacLeod remarked that the Prince spoke likewise to him about the Laird of MacLeod and his son; and he said when the Prince was talking about them, he could not fail observing with what wariness and caution the Prince (knowing he was talking to a MacLeod) ordered his words, not being sure likewise in his then circumstances whom to trust, or how easily people might be offended at any observations he might happen to make upon those who had not dealt so fairly by him.

Both Donald and Malcolm agreed in giving it as their opinion that the Prince had an excess of mercy and goodness about him at all times.

They likewise agreed in saying they had good reason to believe that honest Hugh MacDonald of Armadale in Sky (stepfather of Miss MacDonald) had a meeting with the Prince at Rushness in Benbecula, that he got the Prince's pistols in keeping, and that he had them still in his custody.138 They added further, they were persuaded he would sooner part with his life than with these pistols, unless they were to be given to the proper owner; and that he was the grand contriver in laying and executing the scheme for the Prince's escape in women's cloaths from the Long Isle to the Isle of Sky. They said they had often heard that Armadale sent a letter by Miss Flora to his wife, wherein he used some such expression as this, 'that he had found out an Irish girl, Bettie Bourk, very fit for [fol. 305.] being a servant to her, and that among her other good qualifications she had this one, that well could she spin, which, he knew, she liked well.'139

They also agreed in telling me that the whole Island of Raaza had been plundered and pillaged to the utmost degree of severity, every house and hut being levelled with the ground; and there was not left in the whole island a four-footed beast, a hen or a chicken.140 As there is plenty of free stone and marble in Raaza, the Laird had built of these materials a very neat genteel house for himself, which was razed out at the foundation. But in destroying it they had carefully preserved the windows (all of oak), and put them on board of a ship of war for sale. When the ship came to the Road of Leith, James MacDonald, joiner, and a kinsman of Raaza's, went on board, and bought the windows, which were all done with crown glass, chusing rather they should fall into his hands than into those of any indifferent person, because he could account for them to the owner when a proper opportunity should offer. I saw the windows in James MacDonald's house.

Donald MacLeod said the Prince used to smoak a great deal of tobacco; and as in his wanderings from place to place the pipes behoved to break and turn into short cutties, he used to take quills, and putting one into another, and all, said Donald, [fol. 306.] 'into the end of the cuttie, this served to make it long enough, and the tobacco to smoak cool.' Donald added that he never knew, in all his life, any one better at finding out a shift than the Prince was when he happened to be at a pinch; and that the Prince would sometimes sing them a song to keep up their hearts.

1746 24 June

They expected that Boisdale would get free at Barra. But one came and told the Prince (to his great sorrow) that Boisdale was still to be detained a prisoner, and that there was no appearance of his being set at liberty. This, with other distresses that were still increasing upon him, made the Prince resolve upon parting from his attendants for the greater safety. There were at that time two ships of war in the mouth of Loch Boisdale, for whom they durst not make out of the loch to the sea. Besides there was a command of above five hundred red-coats and militia within a mile and a half of them. All choices were bad, but (under God) they behoved to remove from the place where they then were, and to do their best.

The Prince called for the boatmen, and ordered O'Sullivan to pay every one of them a shilling sterling a day, besides their maintenance. He gave a draught of sixty pistols to Donald MacLeod to be paid by Mr. John Hay of Restalrig, if he should happen to be so lucky as to meet with him upon the continent. [fol. 307.] But as Donald never met with Mr. Hay the draught remains yet unpaid. Donald could not help saying here that he did not despair of the payment, for that he hoped for (as old as he was) to see the draught paid to him with interest.

When Donald came to talk of the parting he grat sare and said, It was a woeful parting indeed, but still insists that he hopes to see him yet 'for a' that's come and gane.'

24 June

June 24th. They parted with a resolution to meet again at a certain place by different roads; Donald MacLeod, O'Sullivan, and the boatmen walking away and leaving O'Neil only with the Prince. Donald MacLeod went south about, but all the men left him, one only excepted; upon which he was obliged to sink the boat, and to do the best he could to shift for himself. But it was not possible for an old man like him to keep himself any considerable time out of grips, especially as the troops and militia at last became so very numerous upon the different parts of the Long Isle. The militia were the worst of all, because they knew the country so well. Donald and Malcolm MacLeod were positive that the red-coats could have done but little, particularly in taking those that were [fol. 308.] skulking, had it not been for the militia, viz., Campbells, Monroes, Grants, etc., etc., who served to scour the hills and woods, and were as so many guides for the red-coats to discover to them the several corners of the country, both upon the continent and on the islands.

5 July

July 5th. Donald MacLeod had the misfortune to be taken prisoner in Benbecula by Allan MacDonald of Knock, in Slate in Sky, a lieutenant. The same day Mr. Allan MacDonald,141 of the family of Glenaladale, and Mr. Forrest, clergyman of the Church of Rome, were made prisoners by the said Knock, but not at the same time of day nor upon the same spot with Donald MacLeod. Mr. MacDonald, one of the clergymen, commonly called Captain MacDonald, had sixty guineas in his pocket, which Knock took from him, though he was his blood relation, and would not give him one single shilling to purchase necessaries with.

July

From Benbecula the two priests and honest Donald were brought to Barra, in order (as was given out) to appear before General Campbell; but they did not see him there. From Barra they were carried to Loch Brachandale in Sky, and from Loch Brachandale to Portree in Sky, where Donald had the mortification of being neglected and disregarded by some of his own relations, who saw him, but soon turned their backs upon him, and would not vouchsafe to speak one word to him. This [fol. 309.] affected Donald's honest heart very much. 'But,' said Donald, 'the rogues will be fain to speak to me now when I go back to Sky, where indeed I thought never to return any more. But I shall make them understand themselves.'

At Portree Donald MacLeod and Malcolm MacLeod met as fellow-prisoners, and from that were carried to Applecross Bay towards the continent, and there they were put on board the sloop commanded by the noted John Ferguson so often mentioned. Donald MacLeod was immediately brought into the cabin before General Campbell, who examined him most exactly and circumstantially. The General asked if he had been along with the young Pretender? 'Yes,' said Donald, 'I was along with that young gentleman, and I winna deny it.' 'Do you know,' said the General, 'what money was upon that man's head? no less a sum than thirty thousand pounds sterling, which would have made you and all your children after you happy for ever.' Donald's answer to this is so very good that the beauty of it would be quite spoil'd if I did not give it in his own words, which are these. 'What then? thirty thousand pounds! Though I had gotten't I could not have enjoyed it eight and forty hours. Conscience would have gotten up upon me. That money could not have kept it down. And tho' I could have gotten all England and Scotland for my pains I would not allowed a hair of his body to be touch'd if I could [fol. 310.] help it.' Here Donald desired me particularly to remark for the honour of General Campbell, and to do him justice, that he spoke these words, 'I will not say that you are in the wrong.' Then the General said, 'But now you are in the king's mercy, and if you will not declare every thing you know of this matter, here is a machine (pointing to it) that will force you to declare.' Donald replied that 'Many a prettier fellow than he was now in his mercy, and that he would tell anything he knew without any machine whatsoever.' This was Boisdale's machine in which he used to torture thieves to make them confess.142

Such particular questions were then asked that Donald behoved to give an account of the violent storm they were engaged in when sailing from the continent to the Isles, what persons were on board at that time and what their characters were. When the General heard of a Popish priest in the case he asked, Seeing it was a very tempestuous night they set out in from the continent, whether or not the priest was not very busy in praying heartily for the young Pretender, as he was in danger of drowning? 'Na, good faith he, Sir,' replied Donald, 'for if he prayed for himsell, he thought he did well enough. And had you been there, Sir, you would have thought you did well enough too if you prayed for yoursell. Every one of us was minding himsell then.' Then a written declaration was taken from Donald's own mouth and he subscribed it.

[fol. 311.] Donald said he could easily give all his own part of the adventure without doing the smallest harm to the Prince as he then knew that the Prince had set out some time before from Sky to the Continent, and was out of the reach of General Campbell and his command.

Here Malcolm MacLeod informed me that he likewise gave a written declaration, but did not subscribe it.

April

They both concurred in affirming the Ferguson behaved very roughly and barbarously to them. When they were in health they and the other prisoners were brought upon the quarter-deck betwixt 9 and 10 in the morning, and were allowed to walk among two dozen or so of sheep with sentries placed on each side of them. So long as Ferguson was cruizing upon the Highland coast he took care to have great plenty of fresh victuals of all sorts, the sweet fruits of plundering and pillaging. The prisoners got only half-mans allowance in every respect. For one day of the week they had pease; but the common fellows of the ship behoved to be served first before the gentlemen got any at all; and if the pease happened to fall short, the fellows would have mixed them up with salt-water. The victuals were brought to the prisoners in foul nasty buckets, wherein the fellows used to piss for a piece of ill-natured diversion. They were assigned their quarters in a dark place of the ship, where [fol. 312.] they were not allowed the light of a candle of any kind, 'from the 1st of August 1746 to the day,' said Donald and Malcolm, 'upon which Lord Lovat suffered, being April 9th (Thursday) 1747. When they were brought opposite to Tilbury Fort upon the Thames, they were turned over from Ferguson to another ship, where they lay for months together in a most deplorable state of misery, their cloaths wearing so off them that many at last had not a single rag to cover their nakedness with. Here they were treated with the utmost barbarity and cruelty, with a view (as they suppose) to pine away their lives, and by piecemeal to destroy every single man of them. And indeed the design had too great success, for many of them died. Donald MacLeod said he had reason to think that no less than four hundred men died on board three ships opposite to Tilbury Fort,143 among which sixty or seventy Grants of Glenmoriston, who by the persuasion of the laird of Grant had surrendred themselves and delivered up their arms at Inverness, when Cumberland was there not long after the battle of Culloden. Donald and Malcolm declared that finer and stouter men never drew a sword then what these Glenmoriston men were; and none of them survived the miserable situation and returned to their own country, but only one or two. They likewise joined in laying great blame to the door of the Laird of Grant, who, [fol. 313.] they said, could not fail to know what would turn out to be the fate of those men if they should be prevailed upon to surrender. In a word they looked upon him as the instrument of the misery of these brave fellows, and spoke no good things of him at all, affirming that he entertained a hatred at the Grants of Glenmoriston.144

Here Donald and Malcolm had a remark very much to the purpose. They said, It was most lucky that a greater number had not surrendered at the same time, for that the treatment of the Glenmoriston men became a warning to others not to follow their example. And indeed their fate did prevent many surrendries that otherwise would have happened.

Donald MacLeod affirmed that they lived at least for two days upon horse flesh. Here Malcolm did not fully agree with him, and after some little debate betwixt them Malcolm qualified the expression and told me I might write down that the beef they got was so very bad and black that they could not take it for anything else but horse flesh or carrion. Upon this Donald smiled and said, 'Well, Malcolm, how much have you mended the matter?' When Donald was asked how such beef went down with them, he replied, 'O what is it that will not go down wi' a hungry stomack? I can assure you we made no scruple to eat anything that came in our way.'

[fol. 314.] Almost all those that were in the same ship with Donald and Malcolm were once so sick that they could scarce stretch out their hands to one another. Old MacKinnon, one of their companions, held out wonderfully, although a man upwards of 70. He was only about eight days in such a way that he needed one to help him up in the morning; while others much younger, and to all appearances stronger too, were dying by pairs, as at last there was a general sickness that raged among all the prisoners on board the different ships, which could not fail to be the case when (as both Donald and Malcolm positively affirmed) they were sometimes fed with the beeves that had died of the disease which was then raging amongst the horned cattle in England.