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PREFACE.
PREFACE.
T he preparation of the following account of Gairloch has been prompted by regard—almost affection—for this beautiful and interesting Highland parish. It is published in the hope that it may not only assist the tourist, but also be found to constitute a volume worthy of a nook in the great library of local history. Here and there some few general remarks on the subjects dealt with have necessarily been introduced by way of explanation or illustration, but in the main this book relates solely to
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ANTIQUITIES
ANTIQUITIES
From Drawings by Finlay Mackinnon. The numbers correspond with those given on pp. 103, 104. Notes .—The portraits of Sir George Hay, the Ironfounder of Loch Maree, are lithographed reproductions from photographs of pictures in Dupplin Castle, taken by permission of the present Earl of Kinnoull. All the illustrations are original, except No. 12 of the Antiquities, which is reduced from that in Mr Jolly's paper on "Bronze Weapons and other Remains found near Poolewe." The sketches for the illustra
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INTRODUCTION.
INTRODUCTION.
G airloch is a typical Highland parish on the west coast of Ross-shire. Its length, from Loch Rosque to Rudha Reidh , is thirty miles, and its width is fifteen miles, so that it is one of the most extensive parishes in Great Britain. The name "Gairloch" is composed of two Gaelic words, gearr and loch . Gearr means "short"; and the sea-loch which gives its name to the parish is appropriately called short, as compared with Loch Broom, Loch Ewe, and other more deeply indented arms of the sea. The n
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Chapter I.
Chapter I.
T he blessedness attributed to the nation without a history cannot be assigned to the parish of Gairloch. Although her ancient history has never been written, it is to be feared her inhabitants were far from wholly blessed in the far off days of yore. The earlier annals of Gairloch are indeed veiled in mists, almost as impenetrable as those that often shroud her mountains. Amid the gloom there are faint glimpses to be had of the wild natives of the district, of fierce warriors from other lands,
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Chapter II.
Chapter II.
I sle Maree was as sweet a spot at the end of the ninth century as it is now. A thick grove of tall trees crowded round its circular Druidical enclosure. There were noble specimens of the indigenous oak, so mysteriously connected with the Druidical worship; there was a dense thicket of the smooth-leaved holly, the sacred tree brought here by St Maelrubha himself, who, it would seem, intended it to become (as it did) a Christian rival to the Pagan oak. Then, as now, the undergrowth of ferns and f
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Chapter III.
Chapter III.
T wo origins of the great house of Mackenzie, lords of Kintail, and afterwards earls of Seaforth, of whom the Gairloch family are a branch, have been propounded, and have given rise to considerable discussion. By one pedigree they have been made to spring from Colin Fitzgerald, descendant of Otho who came to England with William the Conqueror, fought with him at the battle of Hastings in 1066, and was created Castellan and Baron of Windsor. Otho married a Welsh princess; their grandson Maurice d
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Chapter IV.
Chapter IV.
O n the north-eastern shore of Loch Maree, about three miles above the place where the river Ewe leaves the loch, is situated Ardlair, than which no lovelier spot can be found in all the range of Highland scenery. There are groves of different kinds of trees, and a belt of them skirts the shingly shore of the loch; smooth grassy glades are interspersed among the woods, behind which rise a series of marvellous precipices, unclimbable, except in two or three places, save by sure-footed deer or goa
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Chapter V.
Chapter V.
I t is a singular fact that the first six lairds of Kintail (counting with them Angus Mac Mhathain ) had each but one lawful son, so that the family of Mackenzie, now so numerous, increased at first but slowly. Murdo of the Bridge, fifth laird of Kintail, being thus without kindred of his own blood, invited one MacRae to join him in Kintail. This MacRae was from the same original stock as the Mackenzies. His father had come from Clunes, and settled at Brahan. MacRae, the son, accepted the invita
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Chapter VI.
Chapter VI.
B efore the M'Leods got possession of Gairloch a tribe of MacBeaths were the most powerful sept in the district. They originally came (presumably in the thirteenth century) from Assynt, in the country of the Mackays in Sutherlandshire, and were of Norwegian descent. There are still some families of MacBeaths in Melvaig in Gairloch who are of the old breed. The chiefs of the MacBeaths had at least three strongholds in Gairloch, viz., Eilean Grudidh on Loch Maree, the island on Loch Tollie, and th
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Chapter VII.
Chapter VII.
I t is difficult to tell how the M'Leods came to Gairloch. It is not impossible that their claim to it may have dated back to the times of the Norse Vikings, from one of whom, tradition says, the M'Leods were descended. There were two clans of M'Leod,—the Siol Torquil, and the Siol Tormod ,—perfectly distinct and independent of each other, though said to have sprung from one common progenitor named Leod. It was a branch of the Siol Torquil who took possession of Gairloch. Donald, Lord of the Isl
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Chapter VIII.
Chapter VIII.
I t will be remembered that Donald, Lord of the Isles, laid claim to and took possession of the earldom of Ross. This was about the beginning of the fifteenth century. It was probably from him, or from his father John Macdonald of Islay, first lord of the Isles, that the MacLeods of the Lews (the Siol Torquil ) first obtained a title to Gairloch, as pointed out in the last chapter. To some extent Donald succeeded in subjugating Ross-shire, though several chiefs, including Mackenzie of Kintail, m
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Chapter IX.
Chapter IX.
M any years ago there lived at Craig of Gairloch an old man named Alastair Mac Iain Mhic Earchair . He was a man of great piety and respectability, and was one of those who devote much of their time to religious exercises, and are called "the men." He is remembered by old people now living. It was in the first quarter of the nineteenth century that early one morning Alastair went out for a load of bog fir for firewood. When he came to the peat moss where the wood was to be found, there suddenly
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Chapter X.
Chapter X.
T here is little but trouble and misfortune to be recorded as regards the immediate successors of the great Hector Roy. His eldest son, Iain Glassich , was a minor at the time of his father's death, having been born about 1513. As a boy he was brought up in the house of Chisholm of Strathglass, whence his name of Glassich. On coming of age, he was served heir to his father of the lands of Gairloch, and the grazings of Glasleitire and Coire nan Cuilean in Kintail. We know nothing of his personal
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Chapter XI.
Chapter XI.
I ain Ruadh Macchoinnich, or John Roy Mackenzie, third son of John Glassich, and grandson of the great Hector Roy, was a minor when his brothers died in 1566, and his lands were in 1567 given in ward by Queen Mary to John Banerman of Cardenye. John Roy became one of the most renowned of the old chiefs of Gairloch; he was in fact second only in fame to his celebrated grandfather, whom he closely resembled in appearance and physique. He is one of the most prominent figures in the old traditions of
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Chapter XII.
Chapter XII.
T he stories of the various contests, extending over more than a century, during which the M'Leods were gradually expelled from Gairloch, fill a large page in the traditional history of the parish. We have seen how Allan M'Leod, laird of Gairloch, was assassinated (along with his two little boys) by his jealous brothers, and how this led to the commission of fire and sword being granted by the king about the year 1480, directing Hector Roy Mackenzie to exterminate the Gairloch M'Leods. It must h
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Chapter XIII.
Chapter XIII.
A lexander , second son of John Roy Mackenzie, succeeded his father in 1628 as chief of Gairloch, his elder brother having died without male issue during the father's lifetime. Alexander was known as Alastair Breac ; the soubriquet " breac " means "pock-pitted," and had reference to traces of smallpox, then a terrible scourge in the Highlands. He was fifty years of age when he succeeded his father. He was a very tall man, being as we saw in Part I., chap. xi. , a head above all his brothers, who
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Chapter XIV.
Chapter XIV.
S ir Kenneth Mackenzie, eldest son of Alexander, seventh laird of Gairloch, was created a baronet of Nova Scotia by Queen Anne on 2d February 1703. These baronetcies were frequently conferred upon proprietors who assisted in peopling Nova Scotia, then an object of great solicitude with the crown, so that it is possible the first baronet of Gairloch, or his father, may have promoted emigration among the Gairloch people. He was educated at Oxford, and represented Ross-shire in the Scottish Parliam
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Chapter XV.
Chapter XV.
A n account must be given here of the ways in which the different parts of the parish of Gairloch came into the hands of the present proprietors. It shall be brief. Some notes on old names of places are included. Hector Roy Mackenzie is said, in an old MS., to have possessed, among other properties, "Kenlochewe, a district adjoining to Gairloch on the east." But after his time it belonged to the lords of Kintail, and subsequently to the Mackenzies of Coul, from whom Sir Alexander Mackenzie, nint
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Chapter XVI.
Chapter XVI.
T he chronological order of events, otherwise pretty closely adhered to in Part I., will be necessarily broken in this and the following chapters. When we first hear of a church in Gairloch it was dedicated, as we should naturally expect, to St Maelrubha . It was a common kirk of the canons of Ross, and stood in what is still called the churchyard of Gairloch. The priests probably lived in the Temple house, as it was long called, which is now the dwelling of the head-gardener at Flowerdale. Poss
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Chapter XVII.
Chapter XVII.
M any visitors to Gairloch, and not a few of the inhabitants, will learn with astonishment that the manufacture of iron was carried on in the parish from remote times, and that there are still abundant remains to testify to the magnitude and importance of the industry. There are many places in this wild and picturesque Highland district where are to be seen to this day large heaps of slag and dross, and remains of blast-furnaces or bloomeries; whilst many acres of arable ground, as well as of un
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Chapter XVIII.
Chapter XVIII.
T o the lonely and romantic shores of the queen of Highland lochs belongs the curiously incongruous distinction of having been the scene where the new departure in iron-smelting processes, which commenced the present series of Scottish ironworks, was inaugurated. How wonderful it seems, that the great iron industry of Scotland, which to this day enriches so many families and employs so many thousands of workmen, should have sprung from this sequestered region! The claim to the distinction is bas
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Chapter XIX.
Chapter XIX.
T he first question that most people ask, when they hear of the ironworks in the parish of Gairloch, is,—Where did the iron that was smelted come from? The answer can only be supplied by an examination of the remains of the ironworks now to be met with, and of their neighbourhood. Of records bearing on the subject there are none. There are but two incidental notices that help to throw light on the question; both are comparatively modern. The Bennetsfield MS. speaks of "the woods of Letterewe, wh
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Chapter XX.
Chapter XX.
T he following descriptions will include all the remains of ironworks so far noticed within the parish of Gairloch, whether belonging to what we have called the ancient class, or to the more modern historic set. The slags found in and about the various remains are broadly divided by Mr Macadam into two classes, which he describes as follows:— (1.) A dark black slag, compact and heavy, in some cases slightly porous; the percentage of iron in this slag is high; in many samples more than half is ir
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Chapter XXI.
Chapter XXI.
I n this chapter I shall attempt little more than to catalogue the objects of archæological interest in Gairloch parish, and to suggest some subjects for the investigation of archæologists. Gairloch is very deficient in remains of old buildings. In ancient times the mason's art was unknown in the district, and the erections of those days were formed of uncemented and unchiselled stones, so that no architectural features are to be found among the slight remains of ancient buildings. Of Druidical,
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Chapter I.
Chapter I.
N o traveller can claim even a moderate acquaintance with the parish of Gairloch unless he has acquired some knowledge of her Highland population. This part of our book is designed to help the reader in obtaining that knowledge; nevertheless it is not intended to supersede personal inquiry and observation. To the casual observer the people here differ very little from the inhabitants of other parts of Great Britain; a closer examination reveals peculiarities in their race, language, manners and
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Chapter II.
Chapter II.
U p to the middle of the seventeenth century Gairloch seems to have been a continual battlefield. As to Kenlochewe, it was so often ravaged, and its population so frequently decimated, that one is surprised to find anything left of it! Among the MacBeaths, M'Leods, Macdonalds, and Mackenzies (assisted by MacRaes), Gairloch was a veritable bone of contention; and for some time after the fierce struggles among the warriors of these clans or tribes had ceased it was still a prey to the raids of the
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Chapter III.
Chapter III.
N otwithstanding the introduction of Christianity in the seventh century, the revival of religion at the time of the Reformation, and later on the militant piety of the stern Covenanters, the people of Gairloch did not make much progress until their previously continuous state of warfare came to an end after the "Forty-five." The abandonment of the clan system, the disarming of the Highlanders, and the proscription of their distinctive dress, entirely changed the condition of the people, and nea
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Chapter IV.
Chapter IV.
T he progress of religion among the people of Gairloch cannot readily be traced beyond the incumbency of the Rev. Daniel Mackintosh, minister of the parish from 1773 to 1802. Superstition of the grossest kind usurped the place of religion in ancient days. The Rev. James Smith, minister of Gairloch from 1721 to 1732, appears to have been the first Presbyterian clergyman who made a general impression on the people; in the time of Mr Mackintosh they had become, as he tells us in the Old Statistical
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Chapter V.
Chapter V.
I t is an invidious task to criticise the general characters of one's neighbours. "Charity thinketh no evil," but it cannot be blind to obvious faults. Sentimental predilections ought not to be allowed to warp the judgment, any more than prejudices based on first impressions or partial knowledge should be permitted to mature into dogged dislike. What a Scylla and Charybdis to steer through! Highlanders have been over-praised by some, and unreasonably condemned by others: the truth is, they are l
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Chapter VI.
Chapter VI.
D istinctions between different races, which depend on varieties of character, customs, or means of livelihood, require discriminating study for their apprehension. But a different language and an unusual dress are marks which present themselves to all observers—the one to the ear and the other to the eye—even on the briefest scrutiny. The inhabitants of Gairloch have still a language entirely different to that of the lowland Scotch, and they used not long ago to wear a dress only known in the H
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Chapter VII.
Chapter VII.
T he principal sources of livelihood of the Gairloch people are their crofts and stock and their fisheries, both treated of in separate chapters. Of course a number of men have regular engagements, as farm or other servants and gamekeepers; whilst a few carry on trades, as tailors, shoemakers, weavers, boatbuilders, thatchers, dykers, sawyers, carpenters, and masons. Some young men of the parish go south, and obtain situations either for the winter season or all the year round, and they often co
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Chapter VIII.
Chapter VIII.
I n the time of the Roman occupation of Great Britain the Highlands were almost destitute of agriculture. That some corn was grown is manifest, from the ancient querns or hand-mills found everywhere. The possessions of the Highlanders then principally consisted of herds of cattle. Tradition says that cheese and butter supplied the place of bread and butter, and that a sort of pudding was made of blood taken from living cattle and mixed with a little meal. These, with meat and milk, formed the di
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Chapter IX.
Chapter IX.
T he majority of the men of Gairloch are fishermen. The two sea-lochs of the parish, viz., the Gairloch and Loch Ewe, teem with the finny tribe, which are largely taken by the people, and are either exported or afford an important and healthful article of diet. The most considerable fishery of Gairloch is the cod, saythe, and ling fishery, which will be described further on. Besides the large number of cod, saythe, and ling taken during the regular annual fishery, under the auspices of the firms
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Chapter X.
Chapter X.
I t is impossible to fix the exact date when a post was established to Gairloch; it was probably some time in the latter half of the eighteenth century. In 1730 letters from Inverness to Edinburgh were carried by a foot-post, as we learn from Captain Burt, so that it is not to be wondered at that our remote parish of Gairloch did not have any post until even a later period. Originally one post-"runner" was employed on the service. He seems for a long time to have come regularly only when the lai
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Chapter XI.
Chapter XI.
I sle Maree, or Innis, or Inch, or Eilean Maree, is, as it were, the eye of Loch Maree. From either end of the loch it arrests the gaze of the spectator, and seems almost to look him in the face. Though one of the smallest of the islands, it is without doubt the most interesting. Not only does the story of the unfortunate prince and princess ( Part I., chap, ii. ) centre in it, but so also do the quaint superstitions connected with the wishing-tree, the little well resorted to for the cure of in
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Chapter XII.
Chapter XII.
T he principal source of the knowledge we possess of the superstitious sacrifices of bulls and attempted cures of insanity at Isle Maree, are the minutes extracted from the records of the Presbytery of Dingwall, which will be found in Appendix F . Dr Mitchell has the following instructive remarks on these subjects in his paper written in 1860:— "Fuller wittily observes that, as careful mothers and nurses on condition they can get their children to part with knives are contented to let them play
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Chapter XIII.
Chapter XIII.
I n the hill country of every land superstition and credulity are met with. Here in Gairloch the supernatural is suggested on all sides. Weird mountain forms often veiled in murky mists, frantic ocean waves thundering in gloomy caverns, hoarse rumblings of rushing waters, startling echoes from terrific precipices, curiously gnarled and twisted trees, tangled jungles in green islands, black peat mosses, wild moorlands, bubbling springs, dark caves, deep lochs, moaning winds, lonely paths, long wi
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Chapter XIV.
Chapter XIV.
T he name of Rudha Chailleach , the long blue point jutting into Loch Maree to the south of Ardlair, suggests the ancient belief in witchcraft, but there are no stories of witches connected with it now extant. Yet the belief in witchcraft is by no means dead in Gairloch, and to the stranger the very appearance of some withered old women almost proves them to be witches. Jessie the cripple, an example of whose second-sight is given in the next chapter, was a reputed witch; the story of her being
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Chapter XV.
Chapter XV.
P erhaps the most common class of superstitions in Gairloch comprises those represented by or connected with "visions" or the gift of "second-sight." It is often difficult to discriminate between the two; but as a general rule "visions" maybe considered as recalling the past, whilst "second-sight" brings the immediate but unseen present or the near or sometimes the more remote future within the ken of its possessor. The following stories seem to be examples of one or other of these superstitions
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Chapter XVI.
Chapter XVI.
T he Celtic inhabitants of the north-west Highlands have always been enthusiastic votaries of poetry and music; indeed in time past they perhaps paid more attention to these than to the less sentimental arts of everyday life. Their bards and musicians, encouraged by the sympathy and appreciation of chiefs and clansmen alike, became an illustrious, as they ever were a privileged class. The bards date back to the days of the Druids; among them was Ossian, the Homer of the Fingalian heroes. There i
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Chapter XVII.
Chapter XVII.
T hat Hector Roy Mackenzie, the great founder of the Gairloch family, and his son John Glassich Mackenzie, had pipers among their followers is certain; but nothing is recorded of them. The famous hereditary pipers of the Gairloch family were Mackays from Sutherlandshire. There were but four of them, viz., Rorie, John the blind piper, Angus, and John. Rorie or Ruaridh Mackay was born in the Reay country about 1592. Having early manifested an extraordinary talent for pipe music, he was appointed w
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Chapter XVIII.
Chapter XVIII.
T wo of the older bards of Gairloch deserve a chapter to themselves. William Mackenzie, the Gairloch and Loch Broom catechist, was commonly called " An Ceistear Crubach ," or "the lame catechist," owing to his being lame of a leg. He was a native of the parish of Gairloch, and was born about 1670. He seems to have been a poet of no mean order. In his early years he had the reputation of being a serious young man; he committed to memory the Shorter Catechism in Gaelic, and was afterwards for seve
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Chapter XIX.
Chapter XIX.
W illiam Ross, known as "the Gairloch bard," was born at Broadford, Skye, in 1762. His mother was a native of Gairloch, and daughter of the celebrated blind piper and poet Iain Dall , or John Mackay, already noticed. For want of a regular school in Skye he and a little sister were sent to the Grammar School at Forres to be educated. Here his aptness in learning attracted the notice of the master, who declared that of the many pupils he had had under his care he did not remember one who had excel
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Chapter XX.
Chapter XX.
T his famous bard of Gairloch is remembered in his native parish as Alastair Buidhe Mac Iamhair , or the "yellow-haired Alexander M'Iver." The surname Campbell is called M'Iver in Gairloch. He was born in 1767, probably at Melvaig, in Gairloch. On his mother's side he was descended from the Mackenzies of Shieldaig. His father's ancestor is said to have come from the Lorne country as attendant to Anna, daughter of Macdougal of Dunolly, who, about 1440, became the wife of Alexander the Upright, si
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Chapter XXI.
Chapter XXI.
A lexander Grant, known as " Bard mor an t' Slaggan ," or "the great bard of Slaggan," was born at Mellon Charles about 1742. His ancestor came to Gairloch from Strathspey, as attendant to Anne, daughter of Sir John Grant of Grant, who was married in 1640 to Kenneth Mackenzie, sixth laird of Gairloch. Most of the bard's life was passed at Slaggan, but shortly before his death he removed with his son to Tournaig, where he died in 1820 (or perhaps later), being about eighty years of age. The title
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Chapter XXII.
Chapter XXII.
J ohn Mackenzie, piper, poet, and author, is best remembered as having been the collector and editor of the work entitled the "Beauties of the Gaelic Language." He was born 17th July 1806, at Mellon Charles. He was the eldest son of "Alastair Og," who, like his father before him, was tacksman of all the lands on the north side of Loch Ewe belonging to the lairds of Gairloch. John Mackenzie's mother was Margaret, daughter of Mr Mackenzie of Badachro. On the father's side he was fifth in direct ma
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Chapter XXIII.
Chapter XXIII.
T here are several Gairloch men now living who essay the poetic vein in their own language. One of them is Alexander Mackenzie, of Oban, or Opinan, near Mellon Udrigil. He is called "the bard," and has composed, it is said, some good songs. He lives the ordinary life of a crofter. Perhaps the best known of living Gairloch bards is Duncan Mackenzie, the Kenlochewe bard. He was born in 1831, on the Culinellan farm near Kenlochewe. His father Hector was a weaver at Kenlochewe, and composed some poe
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Chapter XXIV.
Chapter XXIV.
T here are few, if any, traces of the existence of artistic knowledge or skill to be met with in the history of Gairloch or among her inhabitants. True some of the ancient weapons display a little artistic decoration, but these or their patterns may have come from other parts. One or two silver brooches of old Celtic designs are to be met with in the parish, and may perhaps be considered evidence of native taste. The arts of architecture, sculpture, and painting, however, have never been practis
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Chapter XXV.
Chapter XXV.
T he following stories have been related to me by James Mackenzie of Kirkton, along with many traditions and facts embodied in other parts of this book. James Mackenzie is an enthusiastic lover of family history and local folk-lore, and whilst disowning superstitious fancies is quite alive to the charms of romance. I have endeavoured to preserve the words and phrases in which he communicated the stories, and where the pronoun of the first person is used in the following tales, it must be taken a
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Chapter I.
Chapter I.
T he accompanying map shews the shape and general features of the parish of Gairloch. Its area is stated by the Director of the Ordnance Survey to be 217,849 acres, i.e. fully 340 square miles. The three proprietors state the acreages of their estates (so far as in Gairloch) to be as follows:— These areas make a less total than the Ordnance Survey; the deficiency may arise from the proprietors having measured their estates on the flat without reckoning the differences for altitudes. Fisherfield
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Chapter II.
Chapter II.
I n the present day the subjects of climate and weather receive extraordinary attention from numbers who are in search of health. One of our most eminent physicians has told me, that the North-West Highlands, especially those parts where mountain and sea air are combined, possess more restorative qualities for the jaded constitution than any other part of the United Kingdom, and that they surpass in this respect many favourite resorts on the continent of Europe. My own personal inquiry and exper
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Chapter III.
Chapter III.
T he loneliness and wildness of most parts of Gairloch are of course highly favourable to the presence and observation of some of the rarer British birds and animals. The list of Gairloch birds given further on reveals a curious fact, viz., that several kinds, such as the house-sparrow, bullfinch, blackbird, and red-shank, formerly unknown or rare in Gairloch, are now plentiful; whilst other birds, including the house-martin, skylark, and whimbrel, formerly abundant, are now scarce. No local cau
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Chapter IV.
Chapter IV.
T he scientist tells us that every drop of water, fresh or salt, and every portion of the air we breathe, teems with living organisms. The phosphorescence of the sea is due to infusoria; so also is the luminosity of footprints on boggy ground. I have often noticed this last phenomenon when walking behind another man across wet moorland on a dark night, his footprints being plainly defined by a lambent glow of light. There can be little doubt but that the notion of the "will o' the wisp" had its
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Chapter V.
Chapter V.
T he mammals found in the parish of Gairloch are, or have been, as numerous as in any other part of the kingdom. The following list has been prepared with the assistance of Mr Osgood H. Mackenzie of Inverewe, and is believed to be complete. I have added an account of the Arctic fox trapped on the North Point in January 1878, and of some other captures of the same animal in the Highlands, but of course this cannot be called a native species. Tradition says that the mountains of Gairloch were form
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Chapter VI.
Chapter VI.
I n compiling the following list and notes I have had the valuable aid of Mr Osgood H. Mackenzie of Inverewe, who is a life-long ornithologist and observer of nature. He has spent more of his life in his native country than perhaps any other Highland gentleman now alive. He has very rarely been absent even in winter. He allows me to say that he is mainly responsible for this list. It includes more than one hundred and fifty species, or supposed species. Our effort has been to make the notes abso
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Chapter VII.
Chapter VII.
I t is matter of regret that no adequate herbarium has been prepared for Gairloch. With the aid of Lady Mackenzie of Gairloch, Mrs Fowler of Inverbroom, Mr O. H. Mackenzie, Mr A. Davidson, and other helpers, a list has been compiled, and is appended to these notes. It is imperfect, but we hope that it may lead to a more accurate and complete account of the flora of the parish. Visitors to Gairloch are invited to add to our list, and any botanical information they may be willing to impart will be
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Chapter VIII.
Chapter VIII.
By the Rev. John M'Murtrie , M.A. T he following article appeared in Good Words in August 1883, and is generously contributed to this work by the author, the Rev. John M'Murtrie, lately minister of St Bernard's Church, Edinburgh, and now convener of the Foreign Mission Committee of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. Mr M'Murtrie has kindly added an appendix containing a list of shells, prepared by him expressly for this book. The article, which is inserted here with the consent of t
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Chapter IX.
Chapter IX.
By William Jolly . T he geology of Loch Maree is unusually varied, interesting, and representative. It exhibits, in a limited area, the whole debated series of the succession of rocks in the North-West Highlands. This has been a fertile subject of controversy, surpassed only by the world-famous Glen Roy. It has engaged the attention and the pens of some of the most eminent British geologists, including Macculloch, Hugh Miller, Sedgwick, Sir Roderick Murchison, Professor Nicol of Aberdeen, Archib
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Chapter X.
Chapter X.
By Professor W. Ivison Macadam , F.C.S., F.I.C., M.M.S., &c., Edinburgh. T he following minerals were obtained in the localities mentioned, but the list is very incomplete. Time has not permitted of analyses being made of many samples, but such are now under examination, and will be available for a further edition of this work:— Agalmatolite—Black Rock, Tollie. Albite feldspar—Loch Fionn. Agaric limestone—Coppachy. Agate—Tollie Rock. Barytes—Black Rock, Tollie. Biotite—Loch Fionn. Calcit
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PART IV.
PART IV.
NOTE. In addition to the references to preceding Chapters given in this Part, the reader is recommended to consult the Index for other references to pages where the various places and persons noticed have been previously mentioned....
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Chapter I.
Chapter I.
T here is no town, in the ordinary acceptation of the term, in the parish of Gairloch, and there is no village that, properly speaking, bears the name of Gairloch. Of villages or townships there are about thirty-four. They contain the greater part of the population of the parish, which according to the census of 1881 numbered 4594. Many of these villages are so small that in the lowlands they would only be termed hamlets. They have no separate legal existence as villages or townships; but in tho
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Chapter II.
Chapter II.
T here are four approaches to Gairloch by road. 1. From Achnasheen. This is indeed the mode of entering Gairloch by road most generally adopted. The traveller usually reaches Achnasheen by rail. No time-tables will be given in this book. Trains, steamers, and mail-cars run at different times, and those times are liable to continual variations. The traveller should consult the printed time-bills issued from time to time, and which may always be seen at the hotels. The route from Achnasheen is des
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Chapter III.
Chapter III.
T he parish of Gairloch communicates with the great railway system of the kingdom at Achnasheen; the nearest part of the parish is about four miles from the railway station. The Dingwall and Skye Railway was opened about 1870, and is now a branch of the Highland Railway. Before 1870 the Gairloch mail-car started from the Dingwall railway station. The mail-car was worked at that time, as now, by Mr Murdo M'Iver, the much-respected and courteous landlord of the Achnasheen Hotel. At this hotel the
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Chapter IV.
Chapter IV.
L eaving the village of Kenlochewe we see the Torridon road striking off to the left. A mile further on the road crosses a burn, whose bed is composed of fragments of white quartzite washed down from the rocky heights of Beinn Eighe . Further on to the right is the farm of Tagan, a short distance from the road. Beyond and above it notice the precipitous spur of Beinn a Mhuinidh , called Bonaid Donn , and the waterfall ( Part III., chap, i. ) on its steep face. In the distance, looking up the gle
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Chapter V.
Chapter V.
T he road from Talladale to Gairloch passes for more than a mile through the woods which here skirt Loch Maree. Pretty peeps of the loch are obtained here and there where the trees permit. As the natural birch wood grows thinner, its place is taken by a thick plantation of larch. This is bounded by the Garavaig burn, which is surmounted by a substantial bridge. Crossing the bridge we get a glimpse of the Victoria Falls ( Part III., chap. i. ). On the right begin the fields or parks (as enclosed
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Chapter VI.
Chapter VI.
S tarting northwards from the Gairloch Hotel, the hamlet of Achtercairn ( Part IV., chap, x. ) is the first place we pass; Achtercairn House (Dr Robertson) is on the right. As the road ascends the Achtercairn Brae the village of Strath of Gairloch is well seen. The house in the largest grove of trees is the Established church manse (Rev. D. S. Mackenzie), in the enlargement of which in 1823 the celebrated geologist and author, Hugh Miller, took part as a mason's lad. In another grove in Strath i
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Chapter VII.
Chapter VII.
L eaving Poolewe we follow the county road over Poolewe bridge, behind Pool House, and along the shore of the bay that forms the head of Loch Ewe. Notice the picturesque pool in which the River Ewe joins Loch Ewe, so much finer than the usual muddy estuary of an east coast river. After passing on the right the Londubh or Inverewe burial-ground and the home of James Mackenzie at Kirkton (referred to in the last chapter), we cross a small burn. This forms the march or boundary between the estates
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Chapter VIII.
Chapter VIII.
T he drives from the Kenlochewe Hotel include those to various points of interest on the county road in both directions,— i.e. towards Achnasheen on the one hand ( Part IV., chap, iii. ), and towards Talladale on the other ( Part IV., chap. iv. ). Both sections will bear repeated examination, especially the part from Kenlochewe to Grudidh bridge in the direction of Talladale. The excursion to Loch Torridon is perhaps the most interesting expedition from Kenlochewe. The distance from the hotel to
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Chapter IX.
Chapter IX.
T he excursions from the Loch Maree Hotel at Talladale, so far as terra firma is concerned, are principally to points along either section of the county road in the directions of Kenlochewe or Gairloch. These sections are described in Part IV., chaps. iv. and v . I recommend Grudidh bridge on the former, and the Kerry Falls on the latter, as being pleasant limits for drives or walks. The excursion to Torridon may, in imitation of Her Majesty, be made from the Talladale Hotel; and places near Gai
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Chapter X.
Chapter X.
T he following drives may be taken from the Gairloch Hotel. 1. To any of the places on the road on the south side of the Gairloch (see " Tables of distances "). Leaving the county road at the Kerry bridge, an estate road strikes off to the right, and passes picturesque natural birch woods, with a fine view of Bathais or Bus Bheinn over the moorland to the left. In the narrow ravine as we approach Shieldaig is an interesting "junction" of the Archæan gneiss and the Cambrian conglomerate. It is de
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Chapter XI.
Chapter XI.
F rom Poolewe there are several interesting drives to be taken. 1. To Places on the West Side of Loch Ewe. —From Poolewe Inn strike off to the left along the sea-shore. The first house beyond the inn is called Cliff House (Mr J. Mackenzie). Here was formerly the Gairloch manse. A little further, to the left of the road, are the two large holes, full of water ( Part I., chap. xx. ), which were borings made long ago by Sir George Hay or some of the ironworkers, who projected a canal to connect Loc
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Chapter XII.
Chapter XII.
T hree drives are recommended to be taken from Aultbea. 1. To Mellon Charles. —After leaving Aultbea Inn the road crosses the burn, which gives its name to the place, and after passing the post-office, and further on the Free church and its manse, reaches Aird House, on the promontory which forms the bay and is called Aird Point. The tiny hamlet below Aird is called Cuilchonich . Further on the village of Buaile na luib is reached, with its board school. The road now becomes rough, and the rest
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Chapter XIII.
Chapter XIII.
T he steamer on Loch Maree affords a means of viewing the beauties of this queen of Highland lochs in a thorough and luxurious way. The route from the Gairloch Hotel past Loch Tollie to the junction with the Tollie road is described in chap. vi. of this Part . Proceeding down the estate road past Tollie farm, the tourist will be delighted with the views of Loch Maree and Beinn Aridh Charr , and will soon arrive at Tollie pier in the north-western corner of the loch, where trees and rocks mingle
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Chapter XIV.
Chapter XIV.
By William Jolly . T here is no royal road to learning, and there is no "royal route" to our finest scenery. The common tourist, like the sheep, meekly follows the beaten tracks, missing the better bits, which only the hardier and more adventurous pedestrian finds, like the more independent goat. There are a hundred nooks of rarest beauty and wildest grandeur hidden away in our mountainous land, far from the sheep runs of coaches and hotels, and their mere enumeration would be longer than a Gael
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Chapter XV.
Chapter XV.
By William Jolly . O f all the sea-lochs in the West Highlands, I long thought that Loch Duich, the southern branch of Loch Alsh, bore the palm on the mainland, not only as viewed from the road above the kirk of Loch Alsh, but as enjoyed on the surface of the loch itself, amidst its picturesque and elevated peaks. But after seeing Loch Gruinard, many years ago, in its smiling and varied beauty, homage has been divided. Yet the two scenes are scarcely comparable, so different are they in type,—th
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Chapter XVI.
Chapter XVI.
T he north-west Highlands of Scotland are a favourite resort of many anglers. Here the accomplished veteran of the gentle art can find full scope for his consummate skill, and the tyro may often obtain fair sport, inexperienced though he be. There are several classes of anglers who visit the Highlands,—the wealthy man with ample leisure, who takes salmon or trout fishing on lease, together with or apart from shootings and a house or lodge; the determined angler, who spends his annual holiday in
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Chapter XVII.
Chapter XVII.
L och Maree reigns supreme amongst the angling waters of the parish of Gairloch, with the exception of course of its outlet the River Ewe. It is true that the excessive fishing which followed on the opening of the Loch Maree Hotel at Talladale has to some extent injured the angler's chances, especially by diminishing the number of large black trout usually called ferox. But there is still excellent sport to be had with sea-trout and loch trout. The angling of Loch Maree is open to visitors stayi
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Chapter XVIII.
Chapter XVIII.
B esides Loch Maree there are many other fresh-water lochs within the parish of Gairloch; they are enumerated in Part III., chap. i . Those which are within deer forests or grouse shootings are nearly all strictly preserved, but permission to fish several good ones may be obtained by visitors staying at the different hotels. Those in private lodgings may sometimes get limited permission to fish, but except at Poolewe this cannot be easily obtained. There are very few lochs which do not contain t
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Chapter XIX.
Chapter XIX.
S almon fishing is undoubtedly at the head of all angling, whether in Gairloch or any other part of the world. Here it may be enjoyed under very pleasurable conditions, and with fair prospects of sport. There are five salmon rivers in the parish of Gairloch, viz.:—the Kenlochewe or Garbh river, the Kerry, the Badachro, the Ewe, and the Little Gruinard river. The river Ewe is by far the best of them. It has, or had, the reputation of being one of the best salmon rivers in the Highlands, but since
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Chapter XX.
Chapter XX.
T he red-deer of the Highland mountains form the subject of a branch of sport largely used as a means of recreation and recuperation by many of our most busy and often overworked statesmen, soldiers, and commercial and professional men. The red-deer is indigenous in the northern parts of Scotland, as it used to be throughout the kingdom. There are so few obstructions that I believe it would be possible for these wild deer to roam if they pleased from the north of Caithness to the south of Argyle
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List of Books and MSS. quoted or referred to.
List of Books and MSS. quoted or referred to.
Beauties of Gaelic Poetry. By John Mackenzie . Bennetsfield MS. Bishop R. Forbes' Journals, and Church in Ross. By Rev. J. B. Craven , 1886. Blaeu's Map of the North of Scotland , 1660. British Birds. By William Yarrell , V.P.L.S., F.Z.S.; revised and enlarged by Newton and Saunders ; completed 1885. British Lichens. By W. Lauder Lindsay , M.D., &c., 1856. British Wild Flowers , illustrated by John E. Sowerby ; with Supplement by Salter and Sowerby , 1876. Bronze Weapons and other Remain
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Memoirs of Bards and Pipers.
Memoirs of Bards and Pipers.
The History of the Mackenzies above referred to is that of which Mr Alexander Mackenzie, a native of Gairloch, is the author. The Celtic Magazine is edited by the same Alexander Mackenzie. The Gairloch traditions taken from it are believed to have been mostly communicated to the Editor by Kenneth Fraser, of Leac nan Saighead , now an old man. Where the traditions obtained from the sources stated above differ from the accounts of the same incidents given in old MSS., I have preferred to adopt the
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I.
I.
The term "Mountain" is here taken to include all Hills of Two Thousand Feet and upwards in Height. This Table is compiled from the Ordnance Survey; the heights are taken exclusively from it. Where not otherwise expressed the mountains are wholly in Gairloch....
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II.
II.
Places on the Line of the County Road through Gairloch Parish and on the continuations to Railway Stations. The short piece of road between the ford and ferry on the Meikle Gruinard river and the commencement of the county road near Gruinard House is very rough, but can be traversed by carriages. The places printed in italics are outside the parish of Gairloch. Places on the Road from Kenlochewe to Torridon. This road is within the parish of Gairloch only for the first six miles after leaving Ke
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III.
III.
The only estimates of the population of the parish of Gairloch given in the old accounts of the parish are manifestly mere approximations. They are as follows:— The Registrar-General's returns of the population and numbers of houses at the census taken in each of the following years is given below. The census of 1801 is believed to be imperfect, and that of 1811 gives a slightly less figure than the Rev. James Russell's estimate (see page 114 ). The population of Gairloch in 1801 was probably ov
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V.
V.
Hector Roy received a grant of Gairloch from King James IV. in 1494. He is believed to have had a similar grant some years before. Several of the dates given above are conjectural, especially among the earlier generations. For fuller details and evidence of dates see the History of the Mackenzies by Alexander Mackenzie, F.S.A. Scot. Since John Roy Mackenzie, each laird of Gairloch has been the eldest or eldest surviving son of the preceding laird. John Roy was third son of John Glassich, who was
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A.
A.
EXTRACT from the "Genealogical account of the Macras, as originally written by Mr John Macra, sometime minister of Dingwall in Ross-shire, who died in the year of our Lord 1704. Transcribed by Farquhar Macra of Inverinate in the year 1786. Printed, Camden, South Carolina, 1874." The following are some passages in the life of a Highland minister, who was vicar of Gairloch for ten years in the seventeenth century. Note:—the title "Mr" is applied in old books and documents only to those who held th
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B.
B.
EXTRACT from "A Tour in Scotland and Voyage to the Hebrides, 1772, by Thomas Pennant." Dedication dated at Downing, March 1, 1774. Mr Pennant accomplished most of his tour in the Western Highlands and Islands by means of a sailing vessel. Landing at Dundonnel at the head of Little Loch Broom, on 30th July 1772, in tempestuous weather, he was hospitably entertained by Kenneth Mackenzie, Esq. of Dundonnel. He made this note here:—"Dundonnel,—Determine to go by land to visit Loch Maree, a great lak
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C.
C.
NOTES on the Parish of Gairloch, from the "Old Statistical Account," being an Extract from "The Statistical Account of Scotland, drawn up from the Communications of the Ministers of the different parishes, by Sir John Sinclair, Bart.," vol. iii., page 89, printed in 1792. " By the Rev. Mr Daniel M'Intosh. " Name, Extent, &c. —This parish had its name originally from a very small loch, near the church and the house of Flowerdale, and so close by the shore that the sea at high tides covers
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D.
D.
EXTRACTS from "The Highlands and Western Isles of Scotland, founded on a series of annual journeys between the years 1811 and 1821," by John MacCulloch, M.D., F.R.S., L.S.G.S., &c., vol. ii., page 280 et seq. :— "There is nothing worthy of notice between Loch Torridon and Gairloch; but this inlet possesses considerable beauty in various parts, and more particularly in that angle occupied by Flowerdale. The very unsuspected ornament of this place, contrasted also as it is with all the sur
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E.
E.
EXTRACTS from the "New Statistical Account of Scotland." "PARISH OF GAIRLOCH. " Presbytery of Lochcarron, Synod of Glenelg. " Drawn up by the Rev. Donald M'Rae , Minister of Poolewe, and dated September 1836. "I.— Topography and Natural History. " Name. —The name of the parish is compounded of gearr—short, and loch. The parish takes its name from a salt water loch of the same name. At the end of this loch, the natives point out a hollow spot of ground which they choose to denominate 'the Gairloc
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F.
F.
EXTRACTS from the Records of the Presbytery of Dingwall relating to the Parish of Gairloch. I.— Minutes Referring to the Inaccessibility of Gairloch. At Kilmorack , 8th August 1649 . "The Brethren tacking to their consideration the expediencie of visiting the Hiland Kirks and the ordinance made thereanent formerly, appoynts to tacke journey (God willing) upon Monday nixt, and to visit the Kirk of Kintaill upon the Wednesday, the Kirk of Lochalsh upon the Thursday, and the Kirk of Lochcarrin upon
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G.
G.
RECORDS and EXTRACTS relating to Sir George Hay and the Manufacture of Iron. Act anent the Making of Iron with Wood. This Act was probably intended to suppress Sir George Hay's Ironworks. Scots Acts, vol. iv., p. 408 b . " Act anent the making of Yrne with Wode. " Apud Edinburgh xxvij die mensis Januarij 1609. — Forsamekle as it hes pleasit god to discover certane vaynes of ritche mettall within this kingdome: as alsua certane wodis in the heylandis: whilkis wodis by reasoun of the savagnes of t
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H.
H.
ADDENDA on St Maelrubha and Ecclesiastical History. The following Notes are principally gleaned from Dr Reeves' paper on St Maelrubha ( Proc. Soc. Antiq. Scot. , vol. iii., p. 258 et seq. ), and from "Bishop Forbes' Journals," &c., by Rev. J. B. Craven (1886):— St Maelrubha was eighth in descent, on his father's side, from Niall of the Nine Hostages, Sovereign of Ireland, through Eoghan (who died in 465), one of Niall's sons, and on his mother's side he was akin to St Comgall, the great
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