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. HIGHLAND ARMS. GIFT 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. 331 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 al lusions to certain Scotch Highland settlements prior to the Revo lution, 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 settle ments 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 sub duing the wilderness, their activity in the Revolution, and the wide influence exercised by the descendants of these hardy pio neers, should, long since, have brought their history and achieve ments 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 treat ment 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 . t should have excited the poet or novelist. The settlements in Nova Scotia and Prince Edwards Island, although scarcely com- viii PREFA C. menced 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 in sertion. It is a noticeable fact that notwithstanding the valuable ser vices rendered by the Highland regiments in the French and In dian 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 Coir-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 Travelers 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 Set tlement at Worcester History of the Potato Pelham Warren and Blandford Colerain Londonderry Settlements in Maine New York New Jersey Pennsylvania The Revolution Maryland Virginia Pat rick Henry Daniel Morgan George Rogers Clark North Carolina Bat tle of King s Mountain South Carolina Georgia East Tennessee Ken tucky 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 De plorable State of Affairs Sheep-Farming Improvements Buchanan s Description Famine Class of Emigrants America Hardships and Dis appointments ^ CHAPTER IV. DARIEN SCHEME. First Highlanders in America Disastrous Speculation Ruinous Leg islationMassacre of Glencoe Darien Scheme Projected William Pater- son Fabulous Dreams Company Chartered Scotland Excited Sub- x CONTENTS. scriptions List of Subscribers Spanish Sovereignty over Darien Eng lish Jealousy and Opposition Dutch East India Company King William s Duplicity English and Dutch Subscriptions Withdrawn Great Prepara tions Purchase of Ships Sailing of First Expeditipn 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 Dar ien Colony Ships Destroyed Final End of Settlers 75 CHAPTER V. HIGHLANDERS IN NORTH CAROLINA. On the Cape Fear Town Established Highlanders Patronized Ar rival 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 Con gress 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 Pe tition to Virginia Convention War Party in the Ascendant American Views Highlanders Fail to Understand Conditions Reckless Indiffer ence of Leaders General Donald Macdonald British Campaign Gover nor 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 Let ter On Parole Effects His Exchange Letter to Members of Congress Cornwallis to Clinton Military at Cross Creek Women Protected Relig ious 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 Found ing of New Inverness Oglethorpe Sails for Georgia Visits the Highland ers Fort St. Andrews Spaniards Aggressive Messengers Imprisoned Spanish Perfidy Suffering and Discontent in 1737 Dissension Increases Removal Agitated African Slavery Prohibited Petition and Counter Pe tition Highlanders Oppose African Slavery Insufficient Produce Raised CONTENTS. xi Murder of Unarmed Highlanders Florida Invaded St. Augustine Blockaded ^Massacre of Highlanders at Fort Moosa Failure of Expedi tion 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 Ogle- thorpe 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 Control ling Royal Governors Governor Clarke to Duke of Newcastle Same to Lords of Trade Efforts of Captain Campbell Memorial Rejected Re dress Obtained Grand Scheme List of Grantees A Desperado Town ship of Argyle Records of Change of Name of County Highland Sol diers Occupy Lands How Allotted Selling Land Warrants New Hamp shire Grants Ethan Allan Revolution An Incident Indian Raid Mas sacre 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 Offi cers Sir John Johnson s Movements Inimical Tryon County Committee to Provincial Congress Action of Continental Congress Sir John to Gov ernor Tryon Action of General Schuyler Sir John s Parole Highland ers Disarmed Arms Retained Highland Hostages Instructions for Seiz ing Sir John Sir John on Removal of Highlanders Flight of Highlanders to Canada Great Sufferings Lady Johnson a Hostage Highland Settle ment a Nest of Treason Exodus of Highland Women Some Families Detained Letter of Helen McDonell Regiment Organized Butler s Ran gers 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 John son 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 xii CONTENTS. 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 Interest ing 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 Priva teers Wreck of the Malignant Man-of-War Indian Alarm Itinerant Preachers Arrival of Reverend James McGregor 235 CHAPTER XL ,, FIRST HIGHLAND REGIMENTS IN AMERICA. Cause of French and Indian War Highlanders Sent to America The Blac Watch Montgomery s Highlanders Eraser s Highlanders Uni form 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 Eraser s Highlanders Battle of Heights of Abra ham Galling Fire Sustained by Highlanders Anecdote of General Mur ray Retreat of French Officers of the Black Watch Highland Regi ments 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 Mont gomery 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-GangEnlistment of Criminals Sentiment of People of Scotland Lecky s Estimate Ad dresses Upholding the King Summary of Highland Addresses Emigra tion 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 Gov ernor Tryon Principal Agents Royal Highland Emigrants How Re- CONTENTS. xiii ceived Colonel Maclean Saves Quebec Siege of Quebec First Battalion in Canada Burgoyne s Doubts Second Battalion Sufferings of Treat ment of Battle of Eutaw Springs Royal Highland Emigrants Dis charged 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 Gal lant 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 In fusion 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 Hard ing 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 Cap ture 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 York- town 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 Dis banded at Stirling Castle Summary Estimate of Washington His Opin ion 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 Bal- nain 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 INTERESTS. General Alexander McDougall General Lachlan Mclntosh General Arthur St. Clair Serjeant Macdonald. 398 xiv CONTENTS. 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 iheir Oath to the Amer can-. 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 44=; 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 Highlanders 45 ^ List of Subscribers 456 ILLUSTRATIONS. Battle of Culloden Frontispiece Coire-nan-Uriskin 26 House of Henry Me Whorter 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 Mclntosh 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 Monthlv. 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. Keltic (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 shat tered rampart, commencing in the county of Aberdeen, north of the river Don, and extending in a south-west course across the country, till it terminates beyond Ardmore, in the county of Dum barton, 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 out line 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 innumer able 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 novel ists. The inhabitants living within these boundaries were as unique as their bens and glens. From the middle of the thirteenth cen tury 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 im perfectly 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 char acteristic difference between them. For a period of seven cen turies the entrances or passes into the Grampians constituted a boundary between both the people and their language. At the 18 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. 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. ; JTheir 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 denned 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 informa tion. Fortunately the Highlands, during the present century, have produced men who have carefuly set forth their history, manners and customs. These men have fully weighed the ques tions of isolation, mode of life, habits of thought, and wild sur roundings, which developed in the Highlander firmness of de cision, fertility in resource, ardor in friendship, love of country, and a generous enthusiasum, 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. THE HIGHLANDERS OF SCOTLAND. 19 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 navi gated the known seas and transplanted colonies, yet the High landers were but little known in London, even as late as the be ginning 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 nec essarily 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 sup port, 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 distinc tions 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 hav ing a greater number of attendants, and by the exercise of gen- 20 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. eral hospitality, kindness and condescension. At the castle every one 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 com pensation at the inauguration of its chief. Living in a climate, severe in winter, the people inured them selves 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 de spair 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 sus tained 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 prop erty 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 ac count of wars, and raids from the neighboring clans, it was found necessary to protect the gates of castles. THE HIGHLANDERS OF SCOTLAND. 21 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 cowar dice 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 success fully. 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 al legiance 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 accountrements. 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. 22 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. In the camp, on the march, or in battle, the clan was com manded by the chief. If the chief was absent, then some respon sible chieftain of the clan took the lead. In both their slogan guided them, for every clan had its own war-cry. Before com mencing 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 hospital ity 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 resort ing 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, THE HIGHLANDERS OF SCOTLAND. 23 and executed at Kinloch Rannoch. At his execution he dwelt with surprise and indignation on his fate. He had never commit ted 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 enter tainment, 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 ar ranged as to form an extended table. During the feast spiritu ous liquors went round in plenteous libations. Meanwhile the pipers played, after which the women danced, and, when they re tired, 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 lona, 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 High lands of Scotland. An unfaithful, unkind, or even careless hus band was looked upon as a monster. The parents gave dowers ac cording to their means, consisting of cattle, provisions, farm stocking, etc. Where the parents were unable to provide suf ficiently, 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 be fore 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. How ever disagreeable the wife might be, the husband rarely con templated putting her away. Being his wife, he bore with her 24 HIGHLA NDERS IN A ME RICA . 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 ap pear 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 peo ple, 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 in trepid 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 suf fered 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 corrob- THE HIGHLANDERS OF SCOTLAND. 25 orate their faith, and no inducement could persuade them to strut about in the garb of piety in order to attract respect. The rever ence 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 con tact with the world, humane and charitable. The pulpit admin istrations 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 blend ed 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. In numerable 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 dur ing the watches of the night. Strange emotions were aroused in the hearts of those who heard the raging of the tempest, the roar ing of the swollen rivers and dashing of the water-fall, the thun der 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 opera tions 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. 26 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. COJRE-NAN-URISKIN. "By many a bard, in Celtic tongue, Has Coir-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 THE HIGHLANDERS OF SCOTLAND. 27 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 Flod- den ; 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 Highland ers, on the whole, were elevating and ennobling, which plea can not well be sustained. It is admitted that in some of these supersti tions there were lessons taught which warned against dishonor able 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 28 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. distinguished examples, and, if possible, shed a still greater lustre on the warlike reputation of the clan. These addresses were de livered with great vehemence of manner, and never failed to raise the feelings of the listeners to the highest pitch of enthusi asm. 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 Coro nach 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 rep resented 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 popu lar 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 mid night. The reciter threw into the recitation all the powers of his soul and gave vent to the sentiment. Both sexes always par ticipated 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 ridi cule of some of the minor poets. Martin, who travelled in the Western Isles, about 1695, re marks : "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 chil dren that before they could speak were capable to distinguish THE HIGHLANDERS OF SCOTLAND. 29 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 in ventors of them by changing their name, but this has been im practicable; 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." * The piper was an important factor in Highland society. From the earliest period the Highlanders were fond of music and danc ing, and the notes of the bagpipe moved them as no other instru ment 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 Description of the Western Islands," pp. 199, 200. 30 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. 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 Lang- syne," "Roy s Wife," "O a the Airts," and "Ye Banks and Braes" are written, are such that nothing similar can be found in Eng land. 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 desig nations, 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 par ticular 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 re cently it was believed that the plaid, philibeg and bonne.t 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 THE HIGHLANDERS OF SCOTLAND. 31 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 innova tions 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 to gether; 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 tol erable air, it makes an agreeable figure."* 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 occa sion, 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 * "Letters from the North," Vol. II., p. 167. 32 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. brief notice must here suffice. Almost at the very dawn of Scot land 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 Ro mans fell a prey to fatigue, the climate, and the desultory assaults of the natives. Soon after the entire country north of the THE HIGHLANDERS OF SCOTLAND. 33 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 con tact 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 suf fered 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 Alba- nich. 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 consti tuted 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 Ed wards, 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 34 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. two-thirds as many as there were Scots on the field. In this bat tle 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, Cam eron, Sinclair, Drummond, Campbell, Menzies, Maclean, Suther land, 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 Qth. 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 sus tained 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 Somer set, invaded Scotland. The hostile armies came together at Pinkie, September i8th. 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. Every thing was now lost ; the ground over which the fight lay was as thickly strewed with pikes as a floor with rushes ; helmets, buck lers, 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 THE HIGHLANDERS OF SCOTLAND. 35 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 Tipper- muir, he defeated the Covenanters, and again on the I2th 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 I3th, 1645. Within the brief space of three years, James II. , of England, succeeded in fanning the revolutionary elements both in Eng land and Scotland into a flame which he was powerless to quench. The Highlanders chiefly adhered to the party of James which re ceived 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 an nihilated ; 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-sacrific ing Highlanders, and were ever eager to take advantage of any cir cumstance 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 36 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. 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 fol lowers as could be brought together, and proclaimed James, king of Great Britain. The insurrection, both in England and Scot land, 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 J 3> I 7 I 5- The victory was with the Highlanders, but Mar s mili tary 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 High landers, 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 : THE HIGHLANDERS OF SCOTLAND. 37 "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 vouch safed 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 ex asperated 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 inter mingled races of naked women on horseback for the amuse ment of the camp at Fort Augustus." * 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 i, 1747, any person, man, or boy. in Scot land, 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 vears. The soldiers had instructions to shoot upon the * Lord Mahon s "History of England," Vol. Ill, pp. 308-311. 38 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. 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, de pendence must be placed in his observations. From certain travellers are gleaned fearful pictures of the Highlanders during the eighteenth century, written without a due considera tion 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 condtion. 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 corres ponding 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 pro bability it was, there must have been confederates engaged in maritime pursuits. But they did not have far to go for this les son, for this nefarious trade was taught them, at their very doors, THE HIGHLANDERS OF SCOTLAND. 39 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 con siderable 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 Aber deen, and published a narrative of his sufferings, seriously impli cating 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 authori ties 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."* 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 thous and Highlanders left their homes to seek a better retreat in the forests of America. * 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 Sco tia was a geographical term derived from the generic name of a people, it was to some extent a fluctuating name, and though ap plied 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 prom inence which the different settlements of the race assumed in the history of the world ; and as the race of the Scots in Britain be came more extended, and their power more formidable, the terri torial 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 Pic- tish 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." * 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 *Skene s " Chronicles of the Picts and Scots," p. 11. THE SCO TCH IRISH IN A M ERIC A . 41 of adventure. This was accelerated in the year 503, when a new colony of Dalriadic Scots, under the leadership of Fergus, son of Ere, 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, Ferma nagh, 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 settK-- ments 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 strength ened 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 v 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 Scot tish 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 agree- 42 HIGHL A NDBRS IN A MER1 C A . ment was made in which Sorley Buy was granted four districts. His eldest son, Sir James MacSorley Buy, or MacDonell of Dun- luce, 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 dis content 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 trea sonable practices, to be escheated to the crown. By this confisca- v/ tion James had at his disposal nearly six counties in Ulster, em bracing half a million of acres. These lands were allotted to v private individuals in sections of one thousand, fifteen hundred, and two thousand acres, each being required to support an ade- v quate number of English or Scottish tenantry. Protestant colo- J nies were transplanted from England and Scotland, but chiefly from the latter, with the intent that the principles of the Refor mation should subdue the turbulent natives. The proclama tion 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 Scot land," and that they should be so located that "they may not mix nor inter-marry" 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 perse cutions, 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, es pecially prior to 1741, but mingled freely with the English Puri tans and the refugee Huguenots. The native race was forced sullenly to retire before the colonists. Although the king had ex pressly forbidden any more of the inhabitants of the Western Isles THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA. 43 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 under gone. 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 McKen- na, 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 ad visers, 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 im portant 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, Mclntyre, McKen- zie, 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 briga dier generals, among whom may be mentioned St. Clair, Mc- Dougall, Mercer, Mclntosh, Wayne, Knox, Montgomery, Sulli- 41 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. van, 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 con tinental army. To their valor, enthusiasm and dogged persis tence the victory for liberty was largely due. Washington pro nounced 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 Indepen dence, 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 instru ment 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 char acter. They were a God-fearing, liberty-loving, tyrant-hating, Sabbath-keeping, covenant-adhering race, and schooled by a dis cipline 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 vir tues 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 pro vided that all persons in places of profit or trust, and all common THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA 45 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 em ployment 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 s depopulate Ulster, among which was the destruction of the woolen trade about 1700, when twenty thousand left that prov ince. 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 de fenders 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 exhorbitant 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 thou sand 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 hun dred 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 prose cution 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. Al most promptly -he was landed in jail in New York, charged with the offense of preaching the gospel in a private house. Assisted 46 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA, 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 fear less New York jury. Thus was begun the great struggle for re ligious liberty in America. Among those who afterwards fol lowed 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 encourage ment be offered them. With him he brought a brief memorial to which was attached three hundred and ninteen names, all but thir teen 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 individ uals. 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 de parture 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 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA. d7 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 mis take was discovered. This introduction into New England is the reason why the now indispensable succulent is called "Irish pota to." 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 con temptuously rejected. Two years later, or in 1738, owing to their church treatment, a company consisting of thirty-eight fami lies, settled the new town of Pelham, thirty miles west of Wor cester. The scandalous destruction of their property in Worcester, in 1740, caused a further exodus which resulted in the establish ing 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, 48 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. 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 Ticonderago 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 fol lowed; they were with Stark and lord Howe, under Abercrom- bie, in the terrible defeat at Ticonderago 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 set tled in Maine, in what is now Portland, Topsham, Bath and other places. Unfortunately soon after these settlements were estab lished some of them were broken up by Indian troubles, and some of the colonists sought refuge with their countrymen at London derry, 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 re ceived 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 hun dred 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 in duced 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 THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN A M ERIC A. 49 into tracts of eighty-eight acres each, in the year 1767. The pre vious year had been devoted to clearing the lands, building houses, etc. Among the early buildings was a log church, the first relig ious place of worship erected between Albany and Canada. March 2, 1774, the legislature erected the settlement into a town ship 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 Jer sey, 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 Wis- casset, the Scotch-Irish penetrated and permeated all New Eng land; Maine the most of all, next New Hampshire, then Massa chusetts, 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." Whatevei 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 submis sive to foreign dictation, and so preferred Pennsylvania and Mary land, where the proprietary governors and the people were in im mediate contact. Francis Machemie had organized the first Presbyterian church in America along the eastern shore of Mary land and in the adjoining counties of Virginia. The wave of Quaker settlements spent its force on the line of 50 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. 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 them selves where they were not wanted. The rate of this invasion may be estimated from the rise in population from twenty thous and, 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 thous and, mostly from Ulster. Among the vessels that helped to in augurate 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 set tlements 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 land marks of that race. The settlements that commenced as early as 1710, at Fagg Manor, at Octorara, at New London, and at Brandy wine 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 set- THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA. 51 tleinents 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 through out 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 character istically 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 indepndence. The patriot army had its full share of Scotch-Irish representation. That thunderbolt of war, Anthony Wayne,* hailed from the County of Chester, The ardent manner in which the cause of the patriots was es poused 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 the}- should pledge their honor that they would never give their *Stille, Life of Wayne, p. 5, says he was not Scotch-Irish. 52 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. 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. " * 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 BUILT BY HKNRY MCWHORTER, IN 1787, AT JANE LEW, WEST VIRGINIA. PHOTOGRAPHED IN 1883. by counter streams of the same race, which had entered the conti nent through Charleston and other southern ports. Leaving Pennsylvania and turning southward, the first colony into which the stream poured, was Maryland, the settlements being princi pally in the narrow strip which constitutes the western portion, although they never scattered all over the colony. Proceeding southward traces of that race are found in Vir ginia east of the Blue Ridge, in the latter part of the seven teenth and early in the eighteenth century. They were in Albe- *Dunlap s " Pennsylvania Packet," June 17, 1778. THE SCO TCH- IRISH IN ~A M ERIC A . 53 marie, 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, in troduced 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 com bined 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 beleagured 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 Burgogne. Through the foresight of Henry, a commission was given to George Rogers Clark, in 1778, to lead a secret expedition against the north western 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 direc tion to its history. There were several reasons why they should be so attracted, the most potent being a mild climate, fertile lands, 54 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. 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 de feat, in 1755, rendered border life dangerous, many of the new comers turning south into North Carolina, where they met the other stream of their countrymen moving upward from Charles ton along the banks of the Santee, Wateree, Broad, Pacolet, En- noree and Saluda, and this continued till checked by the Revolu tion. These people generally were industrious, sober and in telligent, 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, Mecklen burg 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 jus tice, and for two years exercised all the functions of government ; they derided the authority of Governor Eastchurch ; they impris oned, impeached, and sent into exile Governor Sothel, for his ex tortions, and successfully resisted the effort of lord Granville to establish the Church of England in that colony. In 1731, Gover nor 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 govern- THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA. r>5 ment of their own choice." In 1765, when a vessel laden with stamp paper arrived, the people over-awed 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 VIKW OF BATTLE FIELD OF ALAMANCE. 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 56 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. 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. The stirring times of 1775 found the North Carolinians ready for revolt. They knew from tradition and experience the mons trous 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 in dependence. The power, valor and uncompromisng 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 Ameri can 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 suc cess, Colonel Furguson, of the 7ist 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 volun teers 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, pump kins and roasted corn, and such venison as their own rifles could procure. Their army consisted of four hundred men, under Colo nel William Campbell, from Washington county, Virginia, two hundred and forty were under Colonel Isaac Shelby, from Sulli van county, North Carolina, and two hundred and forty men, from Washington county, same state, under John Sevier, which as sembled at Watauga, September 25, where they were joined by THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA. 57 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 Eanged. 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, wo men 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 alloted 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 re- << tained, in an emiment degree, the virtues of industry and economy, so peculiarly necessary in a new country. To them the state is in- 68 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. \< debted for much of its early literature. The settlers in the wes tern part of the colony, long without thejuci .of lawsrw^fe-fprced 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 de fence 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 sub dued, it burst forth in electric flashes striking and withering the hand of the oppressor. Through the veins of most of the patri ots 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. Emi gration from the Carolinas set in towards North Georgia, bring ing 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 In dians 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 Caro linas, 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 Sun day 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 sup plied cradles for babies." A majority of the first settlers of East Tennessee were of THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA. 59 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 settle ment of less than a dozen families was formed in 1778, near Bled- soe, isolated in the heart of the Chickasaw nation, with no other protection than a small stockade enclosure and their own in domitable 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 Nash ville 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 harrassed by the Indians, incited thereto by British and Spanish agents, that all were aban doned 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 In dians, 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. 60 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. 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 vear 1773, lands were taken up and af terwards 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 doubt less would lead to interesting results. It must not be lost sight of that one of the important indus trial 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 sen sation, and societies and schools were formed to teach the art of making linen thread. The distinctive characteristics which the Scotch-Irish trans planted 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 con- THE SCOTCH-IRISH IN AMERICA. 61 sidered 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. CHAPTER III. THE CAUSES THAT LED TO EMIGRATION. The social system of the Highlanders that bound the mem bers 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 : form ing 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 priva tion. Instead of complaining of the difference in station or for tune, or considering a ready obedience to the call of the chief as a slavish oppression, they felt convinced that they were support ing their own honor in showing their gratitude and duty to the generous head of the family. In them it was a singular and char acteristic feature to contemplate with early familiarity the pros pect 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 \vhich 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 CA USES THA T LED TO EMIGRA TION. 63 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 emi grated through choice. Unfortunately the simplicity of his na ture, 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 High lander, 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 na tionalities 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 peo ple, racially and linguistically related, would have a tendency to invite a closer affiliation. Hence, the inhabitants of the West ern 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 64 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. 1715, and after Culloden in 1745 quite a hegira took place, many of whom found service in the army of France. Individuals, seek ing 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 Scot land." 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 High landers, who had joined the army in obedience to the commands of their chiefs. Wholly unfitted for such labor as would be re quired in the West Indies and unacclimated, their fate may be read ily 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 con fusion 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 ag riculture. While these changes at first were neither great nor ex tensive, yet they were sufficient to keep the country in a ferment or uproar. The change was largely in the manner of an experi ment 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. THE CA USES THA T LED TO EMIGRA TION. 65 In all probability the first shock felt by the clansmen, under the new order of thing s, was the abolishing the ancient clan sys tem, 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 tiiey 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 re duced to the position of lairds, began to realize their condi tion, 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 uni- v versal 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 tacks- men, 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 in flicted in the house of their dearest friend. They were hurt at the idea that the chief, the father of his people should be con trolled 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 66 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. 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 re lations, 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 pro vide against it. As far back as the year 1744, in order to discour age such things, at a meeting of the chiefs of the Isle of Skye, Sir Alexander MacDonald of MacDonald, Norman Mac Leod of MacLeod, John MacKinnon of MacKinnon, and Mal colm MacLeod of Raasay, held in Portree, it was agreed to dis continue and discountenance the use of brandy, tobacco and tea. THE CAUSES THAT LED TO EMIGRATION. 67 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 ob tained 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 en tirely at the mercy of the laird or tacksman . Formerly, the per sonal 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, lias raised the predial service, called in that and in other parts of Scot\and,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 unforseen 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." 5 * *Keltie s "History of the Highland Clans," Vol. II, p. 35. 68 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. 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 them- ~ selves without a vocation, and they would sow the seeds of dis content, 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 v/was the introduction of sheep-farming. That the country was well adapted for sheep goes without disputation. Sheep had al ways 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 va cate their homes and native glens. Many of those displaced by > sheep and one or two Lowland shepherds, emigrated like the dis contented 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 leav ing 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 brin^inp into a state of cultivation Kincardine Moss, in Perthshire. At that time, 1767, the task to be undertaken was one of stupend ous 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 CA USES THA T LED TO EMIGRA TION. 69 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 suf fice, 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 ef forts, and frustrate all his expectations ; and instead of being able to pay an exorbitant rent, he sees his family in danger of perish ing 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 wonder fully 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 sup- 70 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. posed 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, con sists 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 effectu ally. Having disposed of his capture to the Busses, he returns in January through a long navigation, frequently amidst unceas ing hurricanes, not to a comfortable home and a cheerful family, but to a hut composed of turf, without windows, doors, or chim ney, environed with snow, and almost hid from the eye by its astonishing depth. Upon entering this solitary mansion, he gen erally 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 win ter, are turned out to the mountains ; and, having put his domestic affairs into the best situation which a train of accumulated misfor tunes 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 THE CA USES THA T LED TO EMIGRA TION. 71 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." * 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 advance ment beyond the ocean. Under such a system it would be no spe- >j cial foresight to predict a famine, which came to pass in 1770 and v again in 1782-3. Whatever may be the evils under the clan sys tem, 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 re gard 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, neverthe less, were enterprising and anxious to carve out their own for tunes. 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 *Keltie s " History of the Highland Clans," Vol. II, p. 42. 72 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. ve-ry 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 to wards the scene, and then with heavy steps and aching hearts resumed their pilgrimage towards new scenes in distant climes. * "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 Crcrar. *" Celtic Magazine," Vol. I, p. 143. THE CA USES THA T LED TO EMIGRA TION. 73 America was the one great inviting field that opened wide her doors to the oppressed of all nations. The Highlanders hast ened thither; first in small companies, or singly, and afterwards in sufficient numbers to form distinctive settlements. These be longed to the better class, bringing with them a certain amount of property, intelligent, persevering, religious, and in many in stances closely related to the chief. Who was the first High lander, and in what year he settled in America, has not been de termined. 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 Philadel phia. 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. * 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, f 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 *See Appendix, Note A. fSee Appendix, Note B. 74 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. must be overcome, which eventually give way before the indomit able 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 surround ings, 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 forbid ding. Misrepresentation, treachery, and betrayal were too fre quently practiced, and in misery, heart-broken and despondent many dropped to rise no more, welcoming death as a deliverer. 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 thou sands 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 coloniza tion of the isthmus of Panama, more than a passing notice is here demanded. Scottish people have ever been noted for their caution, frugal ity, and prudence, and not prorle 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 parlia ment, 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 Naviga tion 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 Febru ary 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 blood- 76 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. thirsty 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 un willing 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, oth erwise 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 oppor tunity to persuade him that some freedom and facilities of trade should be grantd 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 rov ing 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 establish ment of the Bank of England. For a brief period he was ad mitted 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. THE DARIEN SCHEME. 77 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 Eu rope; 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 valu able 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 pos sessed 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 oc cupy 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 78 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. 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 disclos ed 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 ar rived; 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 dur ance, 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 rriad. 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 Glas gow and on it was entered ^56,325. The books were closed THE DARIEN SCHEME. 79 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 con sisted 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 gold smith 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 in vested their all in hopes that their children might be benefited when the golden harvest should come. Deputies in England re ceived subscriptions to the amount of 300,000; and the Dutch and Hamburgers subscribed 200,000. Those Highland chiefs who had been considered as turbu lent, 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 re tired 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 sub scribed 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 sub- joined with amounts given, and also in the order as they appear on the books : 80 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. 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 Edit 200 George Southerland, merchant in Edinburgh 200 Kenneth McKenzie of Cromartie 500 Major John Forbes 200 28 February, 1696: William Robertsone of Gladney i ooo Mungo Graeme of Gorthie 500 Duncan Campbell of Monzie 500 James Mackenzie, son to the Viscount of Tarbat I ooo 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 Logic Almond 500 4 March, 1696: Sir Humphrey Colquhonn of Lnss 400 5 March, 1696: James Robertson, tylor in Canonget TOO Sir Thomas Murray of Glendoick i ooo 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 TOO Samuell McLelland, merchant in Edinburgh 500 ii March 1696: THE DARIEN SCHEME. 81 Aeneas McLeod, Town-Clerk of Edinburgh, in name and behalf e of George Viscount of Tarbat, and as having commission from him I ooo 17 March, 1696: John Menzies, Advocate 200 William Menzies, merchant in Edinburgh I ooo 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 Cap tain 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 I ooo 21 March, 1696: John McFarlane, Writer to the Signet 200 23 March, 1696: John Forbes, brother-german to Samuell Forbes of Fovr- ain, deputed by the said Samuell Forbes I ooo John Forbes, brother-german to Samuell Forbes of Fovr- ain, 5 James Gregory, Professor of Mathematiques in the Col- ledge of Edinburgh 200 24 March 1696: Patrick Murray of Livingstoun 600 Ronald Campbell, Writer to his Majesty s Signet, as hav ing deputation from Alexander Gordoune, son to Alexander Gordoun, minister at Inverary 100 William Graham, merchant in Edinburgh 200 David Drummond, Advocate, deputed by Thomas Graeme of Balgowan 600 82 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. David Drummond, Advocate, deputed by John Drum- mond 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 Dal- guis, conform to deputation 100 March 27 : Alexander Johnstoune of Elshieshells 400 John Forbes, brother-german to Samuell Forbes of Fov- rain, conform to ane 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 Jervis- wood 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 Col- line Campbell of Soutar Houses 200 Mr. Gilbert Campbell, merchant in Edinburgh, son to Col- line 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 Cultima lindie 200 30 March, 1696: James Marquess of Montrose I ooo THE DARIEN SCHEME. 83 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 I ooo 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 Bal- four 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 Stew art 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 5 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 84 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. 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, mer chant 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 J6hn 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 TOO 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 I ooo 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 Mclntosh, baillie of In vernes, conform to deputation 100 Robert Fraser, Advocate, for Alexander McLeane, mer chant of Invernes, conform to deputation 150 Robert Fraser, Advocate, for Robert Rose, late bailie of In vernes, 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, conform to deputation 100 9 April, 1696: James Drummond, one of the Clerks of the Bills, for Rob ert Menzies, in Aberfadie, conform to deputation. . . . TOO John Drummond of Newtoun, depute by John Menzies of Camock, Advocate 200 Archibald Sinclair, Advocate 100 THE DARIEN SCHEME. 85 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 1 6 Aprill : Patrick Murray, lawful son to Patrick Murray of Killor. . 100 Walter Murray, servitor to George Clerk, junior, mer chant in Edinburgh, deputed by Robert Murray of Levelands 150 John Campbell, Writer to the Signet, for Alexander Camp bell, 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 Dun can 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 ioo John Drummond of Newtoun, depute by David Graeme of Jordanstoun 100 Samuel McLellan, merchant in Dundee, conform to deputa tion from William Stewart of Castle Stewart 100 May 14, 1696. Andrew Robertsone, chirurgeon in Edinburgh, conform to deputation by George Robertsone, Writer in Dun blane . ioo May 21, 1696. John Drummond of Newtoun, for Lodovick Drummond, chamberland to mv Lord Drummond ioo 86 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. May 26, 1696. Thomas Drummond of Logic 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 Gra ham, 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 3i. Mr. George Murray, doctor of physick 200 Patrick Campbell, brother to Monzie 100 August I. James Lord Drummond I ooo Friday, 6 March, 1696. John Drummond of Newtoune i 125 Saturday, 7 March, 1696. John Graham, younger of I ooo Daniel Campbell, merchant in Glasgow i ooo George Robinsoune, belt-maker in Glasgow TOO John Robinsoune, hammerman in Glasgow TOO John Robertson, junior, merchant in Glasgow 500 Munday, 9 March, 1696. Mattheu Cuming, junior, merchant in Glasgow i ooo William Buchanan, merchant in Glasgow TOO Marion Davidson, relict of Air. John Glen, Minister of the Gospel TOO James Johnstoun, merchant in Glasgow, 200 Thomas Johnstoun, merchant in Glasgow 200 THE DARIEN SCHEME. 87 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 Ro bert 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 Camp bell of Cesnock 100 Matthew Campbell of Waterhaugh 100 Thursday, Agr the 2d of Aprile. Mungo Campbell, merchant in Ayr 100 David Fergursone, merchant in Ayr 100 Wednesday the I5th 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. . . . TOO 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* It is more than probable that some names should not be in serted 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 emi grate in large numbers. Some of them settled near Bangor, in the county of Down, Ireland. How large a per cent, of the sub scribers 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. * The Darien Papers, pp. 371-417. 88 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA 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 suppositions, for no ex periment 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 pros perity 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 \vent 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 THE DAR1EN SCHEME. 89 had been brought to his attention. At once he dismissed Lord High Commissioner Tweedclale 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 mo nopolizing character also joined in the outcry against the Scot tish enterprise ; incited thereto by the king through Sir Paul Rycaut, the British resident at Hamburg, directing him to trans mit 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 sup port ; 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 par liament, 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 kine evaded what he was resolved not to grant, and yet could not in equity refuse. By the double dealing of the monarch the Com pany Tost the active support of the subscribers in Hamburg and Holland. In spite of the desertion of her English and foreign subscrib ers the Scots, encouraged in thei^ stubborn resolution, and nat tered 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 90 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. and fitted up for an office and warehouse. It was called the Scot tish 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 me tallic works, hats, shoes, tobacco-pipes, serges, linen cloth, bob- wigs and periwigs, at Edinburgh ; and for home-spun and home- woven woollen checks or tartan, to various parts of the Highlands. J _. w^ i % -i g PL .-& --nh *"?/v : B: 3 " i ; ^ . - . SCOTTISH INDIA HOUSE. As the means for building ships in Scotland did not then ex ist, recourse was had to the dockyards of Amsterdam and Ham burg. At an expense of 50,000 a few inferior ships were pur chased, and fitted out as ships of war; for their constitution au thorized 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, THE DARIEN SCHEME. 91 iron wedges, knives, smiths , carpenters and coopers tools, bar rels, 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 for ward, and, stretching out their arms to their departing country men, 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 en trusted to a council of seven, to whom was entrusted all power, both civil and military. The voyage was long and the adventur ers 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 ist they an chored close to the Isthmus of Panama, having lost fifteen of their 92 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. 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 prom ising; 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 suste nance 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 starva tion. 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 expedi tion were dead ; one of them, Rev. Thomas James, died at sea be fore 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 THE DARIEN SCHEME. <)3 keep up a show of possession, and to await the next arrival from Scotland. His importunities were disregarded, and, utterly help less, 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 pestilen tial 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-live men on board fit for handling ropes. The three ships, on leaving Darien, had three hundred each, including officers, crew and col onists. On August 1 3th, 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 Cap tain Robert Pennicuik of the St. Andrew knew of the helpless condition of the Unicorn, and accorded no assistance.* 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 inso lence, were hurled backward and forward. The rigid Presbyter ians attributed the calamities to the wickedness of Jacobites, Pre- latists, 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 de fend 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 peo ple doing any harm, and yet their appearance awakened apprehen sion, on account of orders received from the king. After the proclamations which had been issued against these miserable fugi tives, it became a question of difficulty, since the governor of New *" Darien Papers," pp 195, 275. 94 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. 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, gover nor of Rhode Island, who was appealed to for advice, by the lieu tenant 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 per mission to buy provisions ; would not act until Bellomont gave his instructions ; latter thinks the colonists became insolent after be ing refreshed ; and "your Lordships will see that I have been cau tious 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."* On October I2th the Caledonia set sail from Sandy Hook, made the west coast of Ire land, November nth, and on the 2Oth 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." f The St. Andrew parted company with the Caledonia the sec ond 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 voy age to Port Royal, they lost the commander, Captain Pennicuik, *" Documentary and Colonial History of New York," Vol. IV, p. 591. Mbid, Vol. V, p. 335. THE DARIEN SCHEME. 95 most of the officers and one hundred and thirty of the men, before landing, on August 9, 1699.* 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 themselv-es 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 sen tence 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 mon arch 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. Findnig that the set tlement had been abandoned, and leaving six of their number, who preferred to remain, but were afterwards brought away, the Hope ful sailed for Jamaica, where she was seized and condemned as a prize. "The Olive Branch was unfortunately blown up at Cale donia ( Darien ).f *" Darien Papers," p. 150. t" Darien Papers," p. 160. 96 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. The Spaniards had not only become aggressive by seizing the Dolphin and incarcerating the officers and crew, but their gov ernment made no remonstrance against the invasion of its terri tory until May 3, 1699, when a memorial was presented to Wil liam 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 meas ures 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 col onists 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 accom plished. 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 Baling ; and the Duke of Hamilton, Captain Walter Dun can ; 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, Septemebr 24th. On Thurs day, November 30, the fleet reached its destination, after consid erable suffering and some deaths on board. These vessels con tained engineers, fire-workers, bombardiers, battery guns of twen ty-four pounds, mortars and bombs. The number of men men tioned 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 pro ceeded 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 Mclntosh, James Urquhart, Alexander Stewart, - - Ferquhar, THE DARIEN SCHEME. 97 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 fortifica tion, 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 con dition. 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 slow ly on, without hope or encouragement. Despondency and discon tent pervaded all ranks. The provisions became scanty, and un fair 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 Cap tain 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 de scribed their flocks as the most profligate of mankind, and declared it was most impossible to constitute a presbytery, for it was im possible 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 under stand 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. 98 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. Alexander Shiels, author of the "Hynd let Loose," were stern fa natics who would tolerate nothing diverging a shade from their own code of principles. They treated the people as persons un der their spiritual authority, and required of them fastings, hu miliations, and long attendance on sermons and exhorations. 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 irri tated schoolmasters who find their pupils in mutiny. They be came 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 hun dred 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 re ceived from Jamaica. The report reached Edinburgh on the iQth, 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 re ceived from New York announcing that a few miserable men, the remains of the colony, had arrived in the Hudson. Grief, dis may, 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 beg gary, and the flower of the nation had either succumbed to hard ships, or else were languishing in prisons in the Spanish settle ments, or else starving in English colonies. The bitterness of disappointment was succeded 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 au- THE DARIEN SCHEME. 99 thor 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 ex isted 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 con tinued 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 sub jects of the entabulature, for the base of the projected column, the massacre of Glencoe and the distresses of the Scottish colo nists in Darien. On the appearance of this article the project was very properly and righteously abandoned. The result of the Darien Scheme and the coldblooded 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,"* with instructions to lose no time in taking passage *" Darien Papers," p. 176. 100 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. 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 pro visions, 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 hun dred 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 be ing their gallant commander. The Spaniards could not with stand 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 FleeceJ 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 in equalities 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 THE DARIEN SCHEME. 101 until the Spaniards came to their assistants. ; What became of them? Their melancholy tale is sopn told. The Earl of Bellomont, writing to. the Lords; o thig Atknir- alty, under date, New York, October 15, 1700, says:* "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 Caro lina 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 pro visions at Charles Town by which means they were saved. Two other of their ships they suppose were lost in the Gulph of Flor ida 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. -*" 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 High landers in America, prior to the Peace of 1783, was in North Car olina, 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 set tlers to select that region. There was no leading clan in this movement, for various ones were well represented. At the head waters 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 shel ter while he constructed a house out of logs proffered by the for est. 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 per manently 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.. THE HIGH LA NDERS IN N OR TH CAROL IN A . 103 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 with out suspicion of disaffection to His Majesty s Government."* The "Colonial Records of North Carolina" contain many dis tinctively Highland names, most of which refer to persons whose nativity was in the Scottish Highlands ; but these furnish no cer tain criterion, for doubtless some of the parties, though of High land 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 Col onel 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 col onel 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 Caro- *North Carolina Colonial Records, Vol. IV, p. 931. 104 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. lina 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 ses sion of the legislature they made application for substantial en couragement, 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 Ham ilton, Griffeth Jones, James Lyon, Duncan Campbel, Dugold Mc Neil, Dan McNeil, Wm. Bartram and Samuel Baker hereby con stituting and appointing them Justices of the Peace for the said county."* 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 Ex cellency 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 re move from Europe into this Province, to settle themselves in bodys or Townships, That all such as shall so remove into this *Ibid, p. 447. THE HIGHLANDERS IN NORTH CAROLINA. 105 Province, Provided they exceed forty persons in one body or Com pany, 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 en couragement to Protestants from foreign parts, to settle in Town ships within this Province, to be set apart for that purpose after the manner, and with such priviledges and advantages, as is prac tised in South Carolina."* The petition was concurred in by the lower house on Febru ary 2 ist, 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 Re solves of the Upper House in the abovesd Message Except that re- lateing to the thousand pounds which this House refers till next Session of Assembly for Consideration."! At a meeting of the council held at Wilmington, June 4, 1740, there were presented petitions for patents of lands, by the follow ing 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 14 Jno Clark 320 Malcolm McNeil 320 Neil McNeil 400 Arch Bug 320 *Ibid, p. 490. \Ibid, p. 533. 106 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. Name. Duncan Campbel Jas McLachlen Murdock McBraine Jas Campbel Patric Stewart Arch Campley Dan McNeil Neil McNeil. Duncan Campbel Jno Martileer Daniel McNeil Wm Stevens Dan McNeil Jas McLachlen Wm Speir Jno Clayton Sam Portevint Charles Harrison Robt Walker Jas Smalwood Wm Paris Richd Carlton Duncan Campbel Neil McNeil Alex McKey Henry Skibley Jno Owen Duncan Campbel Dougal Stewart Arch Douglass James Murray Robt Clark Duncan Campbel James McLachlen Arch McGill Jno Speir James Fergus Rufus Marsden Hugh Blaning Robt Hardy Wm Jones Acret. 640 320 320 640 320 320 105 (400) 400 400 320 160 320 300 400 320 1 60 100 640 320 640 640 400 640 640 180 150 321 320 320 200 4OO 640 200 320 2OO 148 320 5OO 100 640 640 320 (surplus land) 400 354 350 County, Bladen Edgecombe Bladen N. Hanover Craven Bladen N. Hanover tt Bladen Edgecombe Bladen Beaufort * *Ibid, p. THE HIGHLANDERS IN NORTH CAROLINA. 107 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 planta tions, 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 moun taineers 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 pro tector, clanship broken up, homes destroyed and kindred mur dered, dispirited, outlawed, insulted and without hope of pallia tion 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 lalong 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 de sired to improve their condition, by owning the land they tilled. In a few years large companies of Highlanders joined their coun trymen in Bladen County, which has since been subdivided into the counties of Anson, Bladen, Cumberland, Moore, Richmond, 108 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. Robeson and Sampson, but the greater portion established them selves 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.* 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 Cumber land 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 ad joining ^dis tricts, besides those scattered in the other counties of the pro vince. 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 at tended 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 condi tion of affairs. Hector McNeil and Alexander McCollister represented Cum berland County in the legislature that assembled at Wilmington April 13, 1762. In 1764 the members were Farquhar Campbell *See Appendix, Note C. THE HIGHLANDERS IN NORTH CAROLINA. 109 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 pat riots 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 Cumber land 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 pros perous, but they so continued, making great strides in develop ment and growth. England began to look towards them as a source for additional revenue towards filling her depleted ex chequer; and, in order to realize this, in March, 1765, her parlia ment 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 assem bly was called, but within two weeks he prorogued it ; said to have 110 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. been done in consequence of an interview with the speaker of the assembly, Mr. Ashe, who, in answer to a question by the gover nor 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 pro gress. 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. Occa sionally, 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, Argyle- shire, 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: THE HIGHLANDERS IN NORTH CAROLINA. Ill NAMES OF FAMILIES CHILDREN Male Female TOTAL Acres to Each Family Alexander McDougald and wife... 1 Malcolm McDougald " ... 1 Neill McLean ... 1 Duncan McLean * Duncan Buea ... 1 Angus McDougald Dougald McDougald ... 3 1 Dougald McDougald ... 2 John Campbell ... 1 Archibald Buea ... 1 Neill Buea Neill Clark John McLean Angus McDougald John McDougald Donald McDougald Donald McDougald Alexander McDougald John McLean Peter McLean. Malcolm Buea . Duncan Buea Mary Buea Nancy McLean Peggy Sinclair Peggy McDougald Jenny Darach Donald McLean. . 300 300 300 200 300 200 640 400 300 300 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 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 disproportion ate 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 peti- 112 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. tioned 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 Ala- mance. 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 sec tions, of that instrument embodied the reforms sought for by the Regulators. On March 10, 1771, Governor Tryon apportioned the num ber of troops for each county which were to march against the in surgents. 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 en sign, 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 1 8, 1771. Captain Campbell had expressed himself as being able to raise the complement.* 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 Regula tors 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 char ter of their town, alleging that as Campbelton was a trading town persons *Ibid, Vol. VIII. p. 708. THE HIGHLANDERS IN NORTH CAROLINA. 113 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."* 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 : Alex ander McAlister, Farquhard Campbell, Richard Lyon, Robert Nelson, and Robert Cochran.f 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 Mc- Keithen, Gilbert McKeithen, Archibald McKeithen, Daniel Mc- Farther, John McFarther, Daniel Graham, Malcolm Graham, Malcolm McFarland, Murdock Graham, Michael Graham, John *Ibid, Vol. IX. p. 79. Mbid, p. 544. 1U HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. McKown, Robert McKovvn, 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 Mc- Coulsky, Chas. McNaughton, Jno. McLason. The Highland clans were fairly represented, with a prepon derance in favor of the McNeils. They still wore their distinc tive costume, the plaid, the kilt, and the sporan, and mingled to gether, 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 coersion 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 mein 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 waist-coat with gold buttons and gold button holes, a bluish phila- beg, and tartan hose. At once he took precedence among his countrymen, becoming their leader and adviser. The Macdon- alds, 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 emi grants into North Carolina. THE HIGHLANDERS IN NORTH CAROLINA. 115 Matters long brewing now began to culminate and evil days grew apace. The ruling powers of England refused to under stand 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 mis rule. 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 an nual 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 Amer ica were prudent and statesmanlike. Continental and Provincial Congresses were created. The first in North Carolina convened at Newbern, August 25, 1774. Cumberland county was repre sented 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 Mac- Donald 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 116 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. the leaders on both sides of the controversy. They were numer ically 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 i, 1775, occurs the admission that "in our attention to military pre parations 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 Con gress have thought proper to direct us to employ two pious clergy men to make a tour through North Carolina in order to remove the prejudices which the minds of the Regulators and Highland ers may labor under with respect to the justice of the American controversy, and to obviate the religious scruples which Governor Tryon s heart-rending oath has implanted in their tender con sciences. We are employed at present in quest of some persons who may be equal to this undertaking."* The Regulators were divided in their sympathies, and it was impossible to find a Gaelic-speaking minister, clothed with author- ity, 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 sympa thies, 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 n, 1776, by the Pro vincial Congress, in the following order: *Ibid. Vol. VIII, p. XXIII. THE HIGHLANDERS IN NORTH CAROLINA. 117 That the Rev. John McLeod, who was brought to this Con gress on suspicion of his having acted inimical to the rights of America, be discharged from his further attendance."* 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 Scot land 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 co unite with the other Inhabitants of America in defence of those rights which they derive from God and the Con stitution."! I No steps appear to have been taken by the Americans to or ganize 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 Scot land, 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 per mission "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. Mc Leod of the Marines now on half pay to be first Captain, who be sides 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 Gen tlemen of consideration here, of the name of McDonald, and a *Ibid, Vol. X. p. 577. Mbid, p. 173. *See Appendix, Note D. 118 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. Lieutenant Alexd. McLean late of the Regiment now on half pay, whom I should be happy to see appointed Captains in such a Bat talion, being persuaded they would heartily promote and do credit to His Majesty s Service."* 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 Gov ernment," 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, pro posed by me for Major of the intended Corps moved by my en couragements 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 Mc Lean 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 Batallion of Highlanders and reserving to themselves the choice of appoint ments 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 estab lished in it that will constantly reunite itself with the utmost facil ity and consequently may be always maintained upon- the most respectable footing."! 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 2 1 st. Cumberland County was represented by Farquhard Campbell, Thomas Rutherford, Alexander McKay, Alexander *Ibid, p. 45. Mbid, p. 325. THE HIGHLANDERS IN NORTH CAROLINA. 119 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 High lands, 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 connec tion 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, educa tion 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 Wilming ton, 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 "ex pressed a sincere desire that the Coach and Horses should not be sent to his House in Cumberland and is amazed that such a pro posal 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 120 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. "conducted himself as an honest member of Society and a friend to the American Cause."* 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. Far- quhard 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 dispo sition in case of matters coming to extremity here, and he ex pressed 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 ap probation 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 o a delegate from the County of Cumberland and there, accord ing to my information, unasked and unsolicited and without provocation of any sort was guilty of the base Treachery of pro mulgating all I had said to him in confidential secrecy, which he had promised sacredly and inviolably to observe, and of the aggra vating crime of falsehood in making additions of his own inven tion and declaring that he had rejected all my propositions."! 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 *Ibid, p. 190. Wbid, p. 266. THE HIGHLANDERS IN NORTH CAROLINA. 121 and intelligence, I gather that the inconsistency of Farquhard Campbell s conduct * * * has proceeded as much from jeal ousy 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 to gether."* 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 insiduously 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 Amer ican Army under Col. Caswell to the Enemy and advised them in what manner they might elude them."f He was sent, with other prisoners, to Baltimore, and thence, on parole, to Fredericktown, where he behaved "with much re sentment 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.J 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 2ist, 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 precau tions with them, for in a letter to the earl of Dartmouth, dated November i2th, he says: "On the most solemn assurances of their firm and unalterable loyalty and attachment to the King, and their readiness to lay *Ibid, p. 326. \Ibid, p. 595. \Ibid, Vol. XI. p. 403. 122 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. down their lives in the support and defence of his Majesty s Gov ernment, I was induced to Grant their request on the Terms of their taking such lands in the proportions allowed by his Ma jesty s Royal Instructions, and subject to all the conditions pre scribed 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 vio lence 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 inter ests of the Crown, or that it has effectual power to withhold."* 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 ar rived 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 Wil liam sburgh, December 14, 1775. On the same day the convention gave orders to Colonel Woodford to "take the distressed High landers, 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."f The early days of 1776 saw the culmination of the intrigues with the Scotch-Highlanders. The Americans realized that the *Ibid, p. 324. fAmerlcan Archives, 4th Series, Vol. IV, p. 84. THE HIGHLANDERS IN NORTH CAROLINA. 123 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 par ties, but also exhibited ingratitude to their benefactors. Many of them came to the country not only poor and needy, but in actual distress.* 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 alleg iance, and they felt bound by what they considered was a volun tary 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 beseiging 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 condi tion of the country and the insuperable difficulties to overcome be fore making a juifction with Sir Henry Clinton. What they ex pected to gain by their conduct is uncertain, and why they should march away a distance of one hundred miles, and then be trans ported by ships to a place they knew not where, thus leaving their wives and children to the mercies of those whom they had of fended and driven to arms, made bitter enemies of, must ever re main unfathomable. It shows they were blinded and exhibited the want of even ordinary foresight. It also exhibited the reckless in difference 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 un sheathed the claymore in the pine forests of North Carolina, not *See Appendix, Note E. 124 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. 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 pre cipitancy, 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 de feat, they took an oath to remain peaceable, which the majority kept, and thus prevented them from being harrassed by the Amer icans, 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 Com mittee 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 re ports that circulate of his having an intention to raise Troops to support the arbitrary measures of the ministry against the Amer icans in this Colony, and whether he had not made an offer of his services to Governor Martin for that purpose."* 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 ex perience 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 emis saries 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 of ficers who left at the Bar to go to New Bern, they are both High landers, one named McDonnel the other McCloud. They pretend they are on a visit to some of their countrymen on your river, but *North Carolina Colonial Records, Vol. X, p. 65. THE HIGHLANDERS IN NORTH CAROLINA. 125 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/ * The vigorous campaign for 1776, in the Carolinas was de termined 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 Car olina. 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 thous- apd men would take the field at the governor s summons. Under this encouragement MacLean was sent again into the back coun try, with a commission dated January ID, 1776, authorizing Allan McDonald, Donald McDonald, Alexander McLeod, Donald Mc- Leod, 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 Feb ruary iSth.f 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 McDontld, Commander of His Majesty s Forces for the time being, in North Carolina: *lbid, p, 117. tAmerican Archives, 4th Series, Vol. IV. p, 981. 126 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. A MANIFESTO. Whereas, I have received information that many of His Ma jesty s faithful subjects have been so far overcome by apprehen sion 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, declar ing 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 civilty, 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 Constitu tion 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 in separable 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."* On February 5th General MacDonald issued another mani festo 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 of fered against the laws of humanity, but what resistance shall make necessaW; 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 fami- *Ibid, p, 982. THE HIGHLANDERS IN NORTH CAROLINA. 127 lies of such as will join the Royal Standard, such persons or per sons, may depend that retaliation will be made; the horrors of such proceedings, it is hoped, will be avoided by all true Chris tians."* 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 com mand, enjoin, beseech, and require all His Majesty s faithful sub jects within the County of Cumberland to repair to the King s Royal standard, at Cross Creek, on or before the i6th 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."! On February ist General MacDonald set up the Royal Stan dard at Cross Creek, in the Public Square, and in order to cause the Highlanders all to respond with alacrity manifestos were is sued 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 broad swords 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 esti mated 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 af fections had no part. Many of them hid in the swamps and in the forests. On February i8th the Highland army took up its line of march for Wilmington and at evening encamped on the Cape Fear, four miles below Cross Creek. *Ibid, p. 983. Mbid, p. 1129. 128 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. 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 mo ment 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 I5th 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 iQth 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 ad vice 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 stand ard, else I should have imagined you would ere this have joined the King s army now engaged in his Majesty s service. I have there fore 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 Par liament, wherein he offers to receive the misled with tenderness and mercy, from motives of humanity. I again beg of you to ac cept 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 obed ient humble servant, Don. McDonald. Head Quarters, Feb. 19, 1776. His Excellency s Proclamation is herewith enclosed." THE HIGHLANDERS IN NORTH CAROLINA. 129 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 sup posed 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 neighbor hood 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 con sulted 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 hon ourable 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 com mand, 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 ef fusion 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 country- 130 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. men. Should this offer be rejected, I shall consider them as ene mies to the constitutional liberties of America, and treat them ac cordingly. I cannot conclude without reminding you, Sir, of the oath which you and some of your officers took at Newbern on your ar rival 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 rebel lion to the King, and to what I understand to be the constitution of the country. If I am mistaken future consequences must de termine ; but while I continue in my present sentiment, I shall con sider 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 al lude, 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 de luded 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."* MacDonald realized that he was unable to put his threat into execution, for he was informed that the minute-men were gather ing 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. *N. C. Colonial Records, Vol. XI, pp. 276-279. THE HIGHLANDERS IN NORTH CAROLINA. 131 Realizing the extremity of his danger, he resolved to avoid an en gagement, and leave the army at Rockfish in his rear, and by celer ity of movement, and crossing rivers at unsuspected places, to dis engage himself from the larger bodies and fall upon the com mand of Caswell. Before marching he exhorted his men to fidel ity, 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 them selves in the order of battle, with eighty able-bodied men, armed with broad-swords, 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 Cas well. 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 de stroyed a part of the bridge. A royalist, who had been sent into his camp under pretext of summoning him to return to his alle giance, brought back the information that he had halted on the 132 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. 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 New- bern 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 cres cents 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 im mediate attack. General MacDonald was confined to his tent by sickness, and the command devolved upon Major Donald Mac Leod, 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. See ing Colonel Caswell was on the opposite side they reduced their columns and formed their line of battle in the woods. Their ral lying 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, chal lenged 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 THE HIGHLANDERS IN NORTH CAROLINA. 133 fell into the muddy stream below. Major MacLeod was mortally wounded, but was seen to rise repeatedly from the ground, wav ing 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 whcm recovered. The victory was lasting and complete. The High land 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 per suaded contrary to their inclinations into the service.* The sol diers 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 Provin cial Congress, reported April 2Oth and May loth 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 cir cumstances. *Ibid, Vol. X, p. 485. 134 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. 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, Aid-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 Mc Donald s company. John McLeod, of Anson county, Lieutenant in James McDon ald s company. Laughlin McKinnon, freeholder in Cumberland county, Lieu tenant 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. THE HIGHLANDERS IN NORTH CAROLINA. 135 Donald Stuart, Quarter Master to Col. Rutherford s Regi ment. 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 Mclver, 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.* The following is a list of the prisoners sent from North Car olina to Philadelphia, enclosed in a letter of April 22, 1776: "i His Excellency Donald McDonald Esqr Brigadier Gen eral of the Tory Army and Commander in Chief in North Caro lina. 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 Me Arthur f 16 Capt James Mens of the light horse. 17 Capt John McLeod *fbid, pp. 594-603. tSee Appendix, Note H. 136 HIGH LA NDERS IN A ME RICA . 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."* Some of the prisoners were discharged soon after their ar rest, by making and signing the proper oath, of which the follow ing is taken from the Records : "Oath of Malcolm McNeill and Joseph Smith. We Mal colm McNeil and Joseph Smith do Solemly 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 Cur rency. So help us God. Malcolm McNeill, Halifax, I3th Augt, 1776. Joseph Smith. "\ 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."J The same Congress, held in Halifax April 5th, "Resolved, That General McDonald be admitted to his parole upon the fol lowing 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 *Ibid, Vol. XI. p. 294. Mbid, Vol. X. p. 743. American Archives, Fourth Series, Vol. V, p. 69. THE HIGHLANDERS IN NORTH CAROLINA. 137 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."* On April nth, the same parole was offered to Allan Mac- Donald of Kingsborough.f The Pennsylvania Committee of Safety, at its session in Phil adelphia, 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 Con gress or this Committee. ^ 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 Feb ruary 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 Cas- well, 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 *I&id, Vol. V, p. 1317. Mbid, p. 1320. llbid, Vol. VI, p. 663. 138 HIGHLANDERS IN AMERICA. would wish to know what crime he has since been guilty of, de serving 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."* The Continental Congress, on September 4th, "Resolved, That the proposal made by General Howe, as delivered by Gen eral Sullivan, of exchanging General Sullivan for General Pres- cot, and Lord Stirling for Brigadier-General, be complied with."f 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. Gen eral 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 Commis sary 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 re quired 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 jour ney the last day, in a sickly state of health, and immediately ush ered into a common gaol, without bed or bedding, fire or candles, *Ibid, p. 613. Mbid, Fifth Series, Vol. II. p. 1330. THE HIGHLANDERS IN NORTH CAROLINA, 139 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."* 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 Con vention of that State. "f 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."J; As Sir William Howe refused to recognize the rank conferred on General McDonald, by the governor of North Carolina, Wash ington was forced, September 23, to order his return, with the escort, to Philadelphia. 1 1 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." 1 1 That body, on September 3