Citadel of Leith, Monday, AugtAugust 17th, be-
twixt 6 and 7 at Night, 1747, Deacon WmWilliam
Clerk, TaylorTailor, came to see me, &and did me the
Favour of bringing along with Him Do-
nald MacLeod (Tenant at Gualtergill,
in the Isle of SkySkye, under the Laird of
MacLeod) the honest &and faithful Steers-
man of the eight-oar’doared Boat from the
Continent to the Isles of BenbiculaBenbecula,
South-Uist, Lewis, &cetc, &cetc, &c.etc. and who
had the Prince among his Hands, &and
was employed in going upon his Errands
for nine or ten Weeks after the Bat-
tle of Culloden.

After the usual Compliments &and some
little Chit-chat, I took Occasion to in-
form Donald anent the Favour I had
obtained of Malcolm MacLeod, &and how
easily &and chearfullycheerfully he had granted my
Request, begging in the mean timemeantime, to
have the like Favour from him, as his
History, taking in so much Time, behov-
ed to be very interesting. Honest Do-
nald modestly said, he would very wil-
lingly grant my Desire; for all that he
had to say would take up no great
Time, it would easily be contained in
a Quarter of a Sheet of Paper: But then
he said, as he had heard that I had ^been em-
ploying my selfmyself in collecting these Things
he behoved to hear all the Accounts I had 267 (267)
had gathered together, particularly
O Neil’s Journal, before he would give
me one Word. I begged Leave to tell
him, that I was persuaded, his Account
would take up much more than a Quar-
ter of a Sheet, considering the Length
of Time he happened to be with the
Prince in his greatest Distresses; &and
that I would willingly read to him
all that I had collected, but that it
consisted of so many Sheets, that I was
afraid it would take up too much of
our Time, which I would chusechoose
much rather to spend in taking ^his Ac-
count in writing from his own Mouth.
However, I said, I could easily grati-
fiegratify him in reading O Neil's Journal,
as it happened not to be of any
great Length. He said, he would
content himself with O Neil's Jour-
nal only, as he had been along
with him in Company all the Time
he had attended the Prince after
the Battle of Culloden; for this made
him the more anxious to know what
O Neil advanced in his Journal, as
he himself could judge where O Neil
was in the Right &and where in the
Wrong.

I then represented to him, that if he
would indulge me the Freedom of asking
Questions at him (without which, from
Experience I could assure him, there
was no taking of Journals from one
with any tolerable Exactness) he would soon 268 (268)
soon see, that his Journal behoved to
take up much more Paper than he ima-
gined. He said, he would allow me to
ask any Questions I should think fit
to propose. I asked him, where he was
to be that Night? He told me, he re-
solved to sleep in James MacDonald’s
House. I desired to attend him, &and to
spend the Evening with him, which was
agreed to.

When we were in James's House, I
began to ask some Questions, to which
Donald gave plain Answers. After
asking several Questions, Donald, look-
ing at James MacDonald with a smil-
ing Countenance, spoke in Erse to him;
and James, laughing very heartily, said
to me, “Do you know, Sir, what Donald
“was saying just now? He says, you are yethe
“uncoest CheelChiel1 he ever met wi; for
“if you go on in asking Questions so
“particularly, &and if he shall tell You
“a’ the Nig-naes2 o’t, he believes
“indeed, his Account will take up much
“more Time &and Paper than he imagined.”

Donald found Fault with some o-
ther Instances in O Neil's Journal,
which it is needless to particula-
rize; for the above Particulars are
sufficient for a Specimen. In gene-
ral, he said, the Journal was not
at all just &and exact.

Mr Finlayson too found Fault wtwith
O Neil's Account of the Battle of
Culloden; &and said, that in that Mat-
ter he was far from being right.

When I was beginning to take down
Donald's Account in writing, he told
me, it was not in his Power (as I
had asked him) to remember parti-
cularly the Days of the Month in
such a long Time; but he would do
his best to call to Mind how many
Days &and Nights they had been in
this &and the other Place, &and from that I 273 (273)
I might, if I pleased, at my own Lei-
sure afterwards, make out the Days
of the Month, so as to agree with A-
pril 20th or 21st, the Day on which
he met with the Prince in the Wood,
&and undertook to pilot him to the
Isles; &and to make his parting with
the Prince to come within three or
four Days of the Time, when the
Prince &and Miss MacDonald went
off together to the Isle of Sky, qchwhich,
he said, was exactly the Case. He
desired me to fix their setting out from
the Continent, on Board the eight-oar’doared
Boat, to the 26th of April; &and then,
he said, I might make out the oyrother
Days of the Month at my own Lei-
sure.

Donald MacLeod coming to Inverness
when Lord Loudon &and his Men were lying
[i]n &and about That Town) with a View of tak-
[i]ng in a CargoeCargo of Meal for the Inhabi-
[t]ants of Sky, happened to make a much
[l]onger Stay there than at first he had
[p]roposed, the Weather having proved very
Stormy &and cross. When the Prince &and his
Army were marching towards Inverness,
Lord Loudon, &and his Men gave out, that
[th]ey were resolved to fight them, &and accor-
[d]ingly (as they pretended) made ready
for Battle, the Pipes playing, &and the Drums
[b]eating to Arms; when, in an Instant,
[i]nstead of fighting, they wheel’dwheeled about
[&and] made off with Speed, some to the Old
Citadel, called Cromwell’s Fort) &and others
to the Bridge, in order to get on Board of 274 (274)
of Ships &and Boats, the better to make
their ✝Escape. Donald, walking along
to take, chanced to fall in with his
own ChiftainChieftain, the Laird of MacLeod,
who asked him, how he was to dispose
of himself now? Donald said, He was
to go back to Inverness for a Horse he
had there; for that he thought it fool-
ish for him to lose his Horse whatever
might happen. The Laird forbadforbade him
to do any such Thing, assuring him, he
would certainly be made a Prisoner
by the Rebels, if he returned into yethe
Town. Donald replied, he was very in-
different whether he was made a Priso-
ner or not, being confident, that they
would not do any Harm to him, that
was Nothing but a poor auld Man.
The Laird walked back with him, as
if he had been wanting Something out
of the Town, till they came near the
Gate next to the Bridge, where they
began to hear the Pipes of the Prin-
ce’s Army playing very briskly; &and then
the Laird thought fit to turn Tail &and
run with Speed. Donald never ance
fashed8himself, but went into yethe Town
at his own Leisure, where he had not
been long, till he fell in with yethe Mac-
Donalds of Glencoe, who took him
Prisoner, &and would have him to give
up his Broad Sword, “which (said
“Donald) I was unco9 unwilling to part
“wi; for it was a Piece of very good Stuff 275 (275)
“Stuff;” but luckily for him the old Laird
of MacKinnon came up, who, taking
him by the Hand &and asking very kind-
ly about his Welfare, assured the Party,
that Donald was an honest Man, &and
that He would be Bail for Him: U-
pon which they allowed Donald to keep
the Claymore, &and to go along with Mac-
Kinnon. — After this Donald had
no great Inclination to leave Inverness;
but saunter’dsauntered about among his good
Friends &and Acquaintances in yethe Army.

In one Day three several Messages (for
the greater Security, lest any one of ymthem
should happen to miscarry, or come by
any Misfortune) came to Donald Mac-
Leod, desiring him forthwith to go to the
Prince at Boradale; which Order he
obeyed directly. When Donald came to
Boradale, the first Man he met with
was the Prince in a Wood all alone.
This was about four or five Days after
the Battle, April 20th or 21st.

It is to be remarked here, when Do-
nald spoke to the Prince, he always
used these Terms, May it please
your Majesty, or, May it please your
Excellency.

The Prince making towards Donald, ^asked
“Are you Donald MacLeod of Guater-
[“]gill in Sky?” — “Yes (said Donald) I am
[“]the same Man, may it please your Majesty,
[“]at your Service. What is your Pleasure
[“]wi me?”—“Then (said the Prince) you see,
[“]Donald, I am in Distress; I therefore throw
[“]my selfmyself into your Bosom, &and let you do
[“w]ith me what you like. I hear you are
[“a]n honest Man, &and fit to be trusted.”— —When 278 (278)
— When Donald was giving me this Part
of the Narrative, he grat sare;10 the Tears
came running down his Cheeks; &and he
said, — “Wha Deel could help greeting
“when speaking on sic11 a sad Subject?”—
Donald made this Return to the Prince.
“Alas! may it please your Excellency, qtwhat
“can I do for you? for I am but a poor
“auld Man, &and can do very little for my
“sell.”— “Why (said the Prince) the Ser-
“vice I am to put you upon, I know, you
“can perform very well. It is, that you
“may go with Letters from me to SrSir AlexrAlexander
“MacDonald &and the Laird of MacLeod. I
“desire therefore to know, if you will
“undertake this Piece of Service; for I
“am really convinced, that these Gentle-
“men, for all that they have done, will
“do all in their Power to protect me.” —
Upon hearing this, Donald was struck with
SurprizeSurprise, &and plainly told the Prince, he
would do any Thinganything but that. It was a
Task he would not undertake, if he
should hang him for refusing!— “What
“(said Donald) does not your Excellen-
“cy know, that these Men have played
“the Rogue to You altogether! and will
“you trust them for a’ that? Na, you
“manna12 do’t.”— Then Donald informed
the Prince, that SrSir AlexrAlexander MacDonald
&and the Laird of MacLeod were then, wtwith
Forces along with them in Search of
him, not above the Distance of ten or
twelve Miles by Sea[] from him, but a
much greater Distance by Land; &and
therefore the sooner he left that Place
the better, not knowing how soon they
might come up to it, especially if
they should happen to take their Course by 279 (279)
by Sea.13 Donald still repeated his Dis-
like of the Measure in sending any
Message to SrSir AlexrAlexander MacDonald &and
the Laird of MacLeod, &and said, he
would not risquerisk upon going any
Message to these Gentlemen from
the Prince at any Rate (in the pre-
sent Circumstances) for more Rea-
sons than one.

At this Time, very luckily for the Prince,
Cumberland &and his Army entertain’dentertained
the Notion, that he had set sail from
the Continent for St Kilda, being a
Place so remote, that no Suspicion
would be readily entertained of his
being there. Upon this General Camp-
bell was dispatched with such a consi-
derable Fleet Force, as took up all
the Fleet, that was upon the Coast;
but to no Purpose. When General
Campbell appear’dappeared upon the Coast of
St Kilda, the greater Part of the
poor Inhabitants ran off to the CliftsCliffs
of their Rocks, to hide themselves,
being frighted out of their Wits at
seeing such an Appearance coming
towards their Island. Such of the
Forces as landed enquired at the Inha-
bitants they met with about the young
Pretender. The poor Creatures were
quite amazed, &and declared, they knew
Nothing of that man; for they had
never heard of him before. They said, they 280 (280)
they had heard a Report that their MacKi
Laird, MacLeod, had lately had War
with a great Woman14 abroad; but
that he had got the better of Her;
&and that was all they knew of the
Disturbances in the World. Upon
this the General &and his Command
(not a small one) returned with
their Finger in their Cheek, when,
in the mean timemeantime, they thought, they
had been sure to catch the much
coveted Price of Blood.

When Donald MacLeod had absolute-
ly refused to go any Message what-
somever to SrSir AlexrAlexander MacDonald &and
the Laird of MacLeod, the Prince said
to him, —“I hear, Donald, you are a
“good Pilot, that you know all this
“Coast well; &and therefore, I hope, you
“can carry me safely through the Isl-
“ands, where I may look for more
“Safety than I can do here.” Donald
answered, He would do any Thinganything in
the World for him, he would run any
RisqueRisk, except only that qchwhich he had
formerly mentioned; &and that he most
willingly undertook to do his best in
the Service he now proposed. For this
Purpose Donald procured a stout eight-oar’doared
Boat, the Property of John MacDonald, Son
of Æneas or Angus MacDonald of Boradale.
Both Donald MacLeod &and Malcolm Mac-
Leod said, that this John MacDonald was
either killed at the Battle of Culloden
or butchered next Day in cold Blood, (qc[h]which was 281 (281)
was the Fate of many); for that he
had never been heard of since that
Time. — Donald took Care to buy a
Pot for boylingboiling Pottage, or the like, qnwhen
they should happen to come to Land;
&and a poor Firlot of Meal was all the
Provision he could make out to take
along with them.

April 26th, they go on Board, in the
Twilight of the Evening, in Lochnan-
nua, at Boradale, being the very Spot
of Ground, where the Prince landed
at first upon the Continent, &and Boradale’s
House was the first Roof he was under
when he arrived upon the Continent.
There were in the Boat, the Prince,
CapnCaptainO Sullivan, CapnCaptain O Neil, Allan
MacDonald, ^commonly called Captain MacDonald (of the Family of Clanra-
nald &and a Clergyman of the Church of
Rome) &and Donald MacLeod for Pilot,
managing the Helm, &and betwixt whose
Feet the Prince took his Seat. The
Names of the Boatmen, are, Rhode-
rick MacDonald, Lauchlan Mac Mur-
rich, Rhoderick MacCaskgill, John Mac-
Donald, Murdoch MacLeod (Son of the
Pilot) Duncan Roy, Alexander Mac-
Donald, &and Edward Bourk or Burk, a
[C]ommon Chairman in EdrEdinburgh.

The above Murdoch MacLeod was then
a Lad only of 15 Years of Age, a Scho-
[l]ar in the Grammar-School of Inver-
[n]ess. When he heard of the Appear-
[a]nce of a Battle, having got him-
[s]elf provided in a Claymore, DurkDirk and 282 (282)
and Pistol, he ran off from the School,
&and took his Chance in the Field of Cul-
loden-Battle: After the Defeat, he
found Means to trace out the Road
the Prince had taken, &and followed him
from Place to Place; “&and this was the
“Way (said Donald) that I met wi my
“poor Boy.”

As to Ned Bourk, I asked, if Bourk was
not an Irish Name? &and qrewhere Ned was born?
Both Donald &and Malcolm join’djoined in saying,
that Bourk indeed was originally an I-
rish Name; but that there had been
some of that Name, for three or four
Generations past, in ^&and about the Isle of Sky,
Where, ^or rather, in North Uist, Ned was born. They likewise told
me, that Ned, from the Beginning of
the Expedition, had been Servant to
Mr AlexrAlexander MacLeod (Son of Mr John
MacLeod, Advocate) one of the Prince’s
AidAide de Camps that Ned knew all Scot-
land well, &and a great Part of Eng-
land, having been Servant to seve-
ral different Gentlemen, &and that he
was the Man, that led the Prince off
the Field of Battle, &and guided him all
the Way to Boradale. They spoke ex-
cellent Things of poor Ned, &and James
MacDonald, the Landlord, supported ymthem
in what they said; for he knows Ned
very well.

When the Prince &and his small Retinue
were thinking of going on Board the
eight-oar’doared Boat, Donald MacLeod
begged the Prince not to set out the Night 283 (283)
Night; for that it would certainly be
a Storm, &and he could not think of his
exposing himself. the Prince asked,
how Donald came to think, it would be
a Storm? “Why, Sir, said Donald, I see
“it coming already.”— However, the
Prince, anxious to be out of the Conti-
nent, where Parties were then disper-
sed in Search of Him, was positive
to set out directly without Loss of Time.
They had not rowed far from the Shore,
till a most violent Tempest arose, great-
er than any Donald MacLeod had e-
ver been trysted15 with before, though
all his Life-Time a sea-faring Man
upon the Coast of Scotland. To this,
they had the additional Distress of ^ Thunder &and Lightning, and a
heavy Pour-down of Rain, which con-
tinued all the Time they were at Sea.
When the Prince saw the Storm increasing
still more &and more, ^he wanted much to be
at Land again, &and desired Donald to
steer directly for the Rock, which runs
no less than three Miles along one
Side of the Loch; “for (said the Prince)
“I had far rather face Canons &and Mus-
“kets, than be in Such a Storm as this.”
But Donald would not hear of that
Proposal at all, assuring the Prince,
that it was impossible for them to re-
turn to the Land again, &and that if they
should steer because the Squall was
against them, &and that, if they should
steer for the Rock, the Boat would
undoubtedly stave to Pieces, &and all of
^[t]hem behoved to be drowned; for there was no Possibility 284 (284)
Possibility of saving any one Life amongst
them upon such a dangerous Rock, where
the Sea was dashing with the utmost
Violence. — The Prince then asked Do-
nald, what he had a Mind to do? —
“Why (replied Donald) since we are here,
“we have Nothing for it, but, under God,
“to set out to Sea directly. Is it not as
“good for us to be drown’ddrowned in clean Wa-
“ter, as to be dashed in Pieces upon
“a Rock, &and to be drowned too?”

After this, all was hush &and silence; not
one Word more amongst them, expecting
every Moment to be overwhelmed with
the Violence of the Waves, &and to sink
down to the Bottom. To make the Case
still worse, they had neither Pump,
nor Compass, ^nor Lantern, along with them, &and the Night
turned so Pitch-dark, that they knew not
where they were for the most of the
Course. This made them afraid of being
tossed upon some Coast (such as the
Isle of Sky) where the Militia were in
Arms to prevent the Prince's Escape; “but
“(to use Donald's Words) as God would
“have it, by Peep of Day, we discovered our
“selvesourselves to be on the Coast of the Long
“Isle, &and we made directly to the nearest
“Land, which was Rushness in the Island,
“Benbecula, where, with great Diffi-
“culty, we got on Shore, &and saved the
“Boat, hawling her up is dry Land,
“in the Morning of April 27th.”

I asked, How long the Course might be, ytthat
they made in the violent Storm?— Do-
nald declared, that they had run at
least thirty two Leagues in eight Hours. 285 (285)
Hours. About this Malcolm MacLeod
made some Doubt, alleging the Course not
to be so long, &and they reasoned the Matter
betwixt them. James MacDonald sup-
ported Donald in what he had advanced,
and, after some Debate, Malcolm acknow-
ledged, that Donald was in the Right,
&and that the Course they had been driven,
was rather more than [] thirty two
Leagues.

Then I asked Donald, if the Prince was
in Health all the Time he was with him?
Donald said, that the Prince would ne-
ver own he was in bad Health; though
he &and all that were with Him had Rea-
son to think, that, during the whole
Time, the Prince was more or less un-
der a bloody Flux, but that he bore
up most surprizinglysurprisingly, &and never wanted
Spirits. Donald added, that the Prince,
for all the Fatigue he underwent, ne-
ver slept above three, or Four Hours
at most, at a Time; &and that, when he
awaked in the Morning, he was always
sure to call for a Chopin16 of Water, qchwhich
he never failed to drink off at a
Draught; &and that he had a little Bot-
tlie in his Poutch, out of which he
used to take so many Drops every Mor-
ning &and throughout the Day, saying, if
any Thinganything should ail him, he hoped,
he should cure himself, for that he
was Something of a Doctor. “And, Faith
“(said Donald) he was indeed a Bit of a
“Doctor; for Ned Bourk happening ance to
“be unco17 ill of a CholickColic, the Prince said,
“let him alane, I hope to cure him of
“that; &and accordingly he did so; for he gae him 286 (286)
“him sae mony Draps out o’ the little
“Bottlie, &and Ned soon was as well as ever
“he had been.”

When they landed at Rushness in Benbe-
cula, they came to an uninhabited Hut,
where they made a Fire to dry their CloathsClothes,
for all of them were wet through &and through,
in to the Skin; &and an old Sail was spread
upon the bare Ground, which served for a
Bed to the Prince, who was very well
pleased with it, &and slept soundly. Here they
kill’dkilled a Cow; &and the Pot, which Donald had
bought served them in good stead for boyl-
ingboiling Bits of the Beef. In this poor Hut they
remained two Days &and two Nights.

April 29th, in the Evening, they set sail
from Benbecula, on board the same eight-
oar’doared Boat, for the Island Scalpay common-
ly called the Island Glass, where they
landed safely about two Hours before
Day-light next Day, the Prince &and O Sulli-
van going under the Name of Sinclair,
the latter passing for the Father, &and the
former for the Son. Betwixt Benbecula
&and Scalpay there is the Distance of thirteen
or fifteen Leagues. In this Island Do-
nald MacLeod had an Acquaintance, Do-
nald Campbell, to whose House he brought
the Prince &and his small Retinue before
Break of Day, April 30th, being all cold
&and hungry. Donald MacLeod desired im-
mediately to have a good Fire, which
was instantly got for them. Donald Mac-
Leod was here only one Night; but the
Prince remained four Nights, &and was most
kindly entertained by his Hospitable
Landlord, Donald Campbell, whose Civility
&and Compassion the Prince entertained a most
grateful Sense of.✝ May 287 (287)
May 1st, Donald MacLeod was dispatched
by the Prince to Stornway in the Island
of Lewis, in order to hire a Vessel,
under a Pretence of sailing to the Ork-
neys to take in Meal for the Isle
of Sky, as Donald used to deal in
that Way formerly. — Here Donald
once more affirmed, that O Neil did not
go with him to Stornway, &and desired me
to remark his Assertion accordingly.
Donald left the eight-oar’doared Boat at
Scalpay, &and got another Boat from his
Friend, Mr Campbell, in which he
sailed for Stornway, where he remained
some time without making out the De-
sign, upon which he was sent; but at
last he succeeded; &and then dispatched
an Express to the Prince in Scalpay
(between which &and Stornway thirty Miles
by Land) to inform him, that he had
got a Vessel to his Mind.

May 4th, The Prince (leaving Allan
MacDonald, the popish Clergyman, in
Scalpay, who afterwards returned to South
Uist) set out on Foot for Stornway, attend-
ed by O Sullivan &and O Neil, taking a
Guide along to direct them the right
Road. This Guide, in going to the Har-
ris (between which &and Scalpay there is
a Ferry of only a Quarter of a Mile)
took them eight Miles out of the Way.
In coming from Harris to the Lewis,
they fell under Night, &and a very Stormy
&and rainy Night it was, which fatigued
them very much, their Journey, by the
Mistake of their Guide, being no less
than thirty eight long Highland Miles.

The same Day, May 5th, Donald was sent
back to Stornway, to get Things in Rea-
diness; but, when he came there, to his
great SurprizeSurprise, he found no less than
two or three hundred Men in Arms.

— The Lewis is inhabited by the
MacKenzies, &and belongs to the Earl of
Seaforth. — Donald could not under-stand289(289)
stand at all what was the Matter, that
occasioned such a sudden Rising of Men;
&and therefore (without Fear or Dread) he
went directly into the Room, where
the Gentlemen were, that had taken
upon themselves the Rank of Offi-
cers, &and asked them, What was the
Matter?— Every one of them imme-
diately cursed him bitterly, &and gave
him very abusive Language, affirm-
ing, that he had brought this Plague
upon them; for that they were well
assured, the Prince was already u-
pon the Lewis, &and not far from Storn-
way, with five hundred Men. This,
they said, exposed them to the Hazard
of losing both their Cattle &and their
Lives, as they heard, the Prince was
come with a ^full Resolution to force a
Vessel from Stornway. — Donald
very gravely asked, How sorrow
such a Notion could ever enter in-
to their Heads? “Where, I pray You
“(said he) could the Prince, in his pre-
“sent Condition, get 500 or one hun-
“dred Men together? I believe, the
“Men are mad. Has the Devil
“possessed You atogether?” — They
replied, that ✝Mr John MacAulay, Pres-
byterian Preacher in South Uist, had
writ these Accounts to his Father in
the Harris, &and that the said Father
had transmitted the same to Mr
Colin MacKenzie, Presbyterian Teach-er 290(290)
er in the Lewis. — Donald saned these
Blades,18 the Informers, very heartily, &and
spared not to give them their proper
Epithets in strong Terms. —“Well these
“(said Donald) since you know already,
“that the Prince is upon your Island,
“I acknowledge the Truth of it; but
“then he is so far from having any
“Number of Men with him, that he
“has only but two Companions with
“him, &and when I am there, I make
“the Third: And yet, let me tell You
“farther, Gentlemen, if Seaforth him-
“self were here, by G—[od], he durst not
“put a Hand to the Prince’s Breast!”—
— Here Donald desired me to remark
particularly, for the Honour of the ho-
nest MacKenzies in the Lewis (notwith-
standing the vile abusive Language
they had given him) that they declared,
they had do Intention to do the Prince yethe
smallest Hurt, or to meddle with him
at present in any Shape; but then they
were mighty desirous, he might leave
them, &and go to the Continent, or any
whereanywhere else he should think most con-
venient. The Wind being quite fair for
the Continent, Donald desired, they would
give him a Pilot; but they absolutely
refused to give him One. Donald of-
fered any Money for one; but he said,
he believed, he would not have got
One, though he should have offered
500 £ sterling, such was the Terror
&and Dread the People were struck with. Donald 291 (291)
Donald then returned to the Prince, &and
gave him an honest Account how
Matters stood, which made them all
at a Loss to know what Course to
take, all Choices having but a bad
Aspect.

At this Time the Prince, O Sulli-
van &and O Neil had but six shirts
amongst them; &and frequently ^qnwhen they
striptstripped to dry those ytthat were upon
them, they found those that they
were to put on as wet as the Ones
they had thrown off.

In this great Difficulty, the Prince de-
clared, let the Consequence be what
it would, he could not think of stir-
ring any whereanywhere that Night, till he
should sleep a little; so much was
he fatigued with the late tedious
Journey; &and the two Captains were
no less wearied, being quite undone.
To make their Case still worse, two
of the Boatmen had run away fmfrom
Stornway, being frighted out of
their Wits at the Rising of the
Men in Arms.

May 6th, about 8 o'Clock in the
Morning, The Prince, O Sullivan, O
Neil, Donald MacLeod &and the Six Boat-
men (two whereof were Donald's own
Son &and honest Ned Bourk) went on
Board Donald Campbell's Boat, which
they had got at Scalpa, &and sailed for
the Island Euirn twelve ^Miles from Storn-way,292(292)
way, &and landed safely. This Euirn is a
desartdesert Island, round which the Peo-
ple of the Lewis use to go a fishing,
&and upon which they frequently land to
spread their Fish upon the Rocks
of it for drying. The Fishermen were
then at Stornway, but not one of them
could be prevailed upon to accom-
pany the Prince to the uninhabited
Island; for the Wind was contrary, &and
it blew a very hard Gale.

When they were in Lady Killdun's
House, they had killed a Cow, for which
the Prince desired Payment to be made;
but the Landlady refused to accept of
it. However, Donald said, before they
left the House, he obliged Her to take
the Price of the Cow. “For (said Donald)
“so long as there was any Money among
“us, I was positive, that the Deel a19
“Man or Woman should have it to say,
“that the Prince ate their Meat for
“Nought.”— They took the Head &and some
pieces of the Cow along with them in
the Boat, as also two pecks of Meal,
&and plenty of Brandy &and Sugar. They
had all along a wooden Plate for
making their Dough for Bread, &and they
made Use of Stones for birsling20 their
Bannocks, before the Fire. When they
were parting with Lady Killdun, she called
Ned Bourk aside, and (as Donald said)
gave him a Junt21 of Butter betwixt two
Fardles22 of Bread, which Ned put into a 293 (293)
a Wallet they had for carrying some little
Baggage.

Upon the DesartDesert Island they found Plen-
ty of good dry Fish, ^of which they were re-
solved to make the best Fare they could
without any Butter, not knowing of
the Junt that Ned had in his Wal-
let.— As they had Plenty of Brandy
&and Sugar along with them, &and found ve-
ry good Springs upon the Island, they
wanted much to have a little warm
Punch to chearcheer their Hearts in this
cold remote Place. They luckily found
an earthen Pitcher, which the Fishers
had left upon the Island, &and this ser-
ved their Purpose very well for heating
the Punch; but the second Night the
Pitcher, by some Accident or another,
was broke to Pieces, so that they could
have no more warm Punch.

When Donald was asked, if ever the
Prince used to give any particular
Toast, when they were taking a Cup of
cold Water, WhiskieWhisky, or the Like; he
said, that the Prince very often drank
to the ✝Black Eye, “by which (said
“Donald) he meant Xthe Second Daugh-
“ter of France, &and I never heard him
“name any particular Health but that
“alone. When he spoke of that Lady, qchwhich
“he did frequently, he appeared to be
“more than ordinary well-pleased.”
When Donald was asked, if ever he heard
the Prince mention, that he had any
Trust to put in the King of France for Assistance; 294 (294)
Assistance; he answered, that the Prince,
when he spoke of the King of France, men-
tioned him with great Affection, &and declared,
that he firmly believed, the King of France
had his Cause much at Heart, &and would (he
hoped) do all in his Power to promote it.
When the Prince at any Time was talking
upon this Subject, Donald said, he used to
add these Words, —“But, Gentlemen, I can
“assure You, a King &and his Council are two
“very different Things.”

Ned Bourk stood Cook &and Baxter, but Do-
nald said, the Prince was the best Cook of
them all. One day, upon the desartdesert Isl-
and, the Prince &and Ned were employed in
making out a Dish of Fish, while all the
rest were asleep. Ned, not minding that
he had the Junt23 of Butter, began to com-
plain, that the Fish would make but a
very sarless24 Morsel without Butter. The
Prince said, they ^Fish would do very well in
their present Condition, &and that they be-
hoved to take the Fish till the Butter
should come. Ned, at last reflecting,
told the Prince, that he had got a Junt
of Butter from Lady Killdun, which he
laid up betwixt two Fardles25 of Bread
in the Wallet, which was then lying in
the Boat. The Prince said, that would
de exceedingly well; for it would serve
to compleatcomplete their Cookery, &and desired
Ned to go fetch ^it immediately. When Ned
came to take out the Butter, the Bread
was all crumbled into Pieces &and mixed
in with it; so that it made a very ugly Appearance. 295 (295)
Appearance. Ned returned, &and told the
Prince, the Butter would not serve the
Purpose at all; for that it was far from
being clean, the Bread being crumbled
into Pieces &and wrought in amongst it, &and
therefore he thought shame to present
it. — “What! (said the Prince) was not the
“Butter clean, when it was put there?”
—“Yes (answered Ned) it was clean e-
“nough.” — Then (replied ^the Prince) you
“are a Child ^Ned. The Butter will do exceed-
“ingly well. The Bread can never file26
“it. Go fetch it immediately.”—When
the Fish were suffic-
iently boyledboiled, they
awakened the rest of the Company to
share in the Entertainment. Donald
MacLeod, looking at the Butter, said,
the Deela drap27 of that Butter he
would take; for it was neither good
nor Clean: But the Prince told him, he
was very nice indeed; for that the Butter
would serve the Turn very well at pre-
sent, &and he caused it to be served up.
They made a very hearty Meal of
the Fish &and the Crumbs of Bread swim-
ming among the Butter.

At another Time, when Ned was pre-
paring to bake some Bannocks, yethe Prince
said, he would have a Cake of his
own. Contriving, which was, to take the
Brains of the Cow &and mingle them well
in amongst the Meal, when making
the Dough; &and this, he said, they would
find to be very wholsomewholeseome Meat. His
Directions were obeyed; and (said Do-
nald) “he gave Orders to birsle28 296 (296)
“Bannock, ^well or else it would not do at all.”
When the Cake was fully fired, the Prince
divided it into so many Pieces, giving eve-
ry [] Gentleman a Bit of it; &and Donald
said, “it made very good Bread indeed.”

Upon this uninhabited Island they re-
mained four Days &and four Nights in a low
pityfulpitiful Hut, which the Fishers had made
up for themselves; but it was so ill roofed,
that they were obliged to spread the
Sail of the Boat over the Top of it.
They found Heath &and Turf enough to
make a Fire of; but had nothing but
the bare Ground to lie along upon, qnwhen
disposed to take a Nap, without any Co-
vering upon them at all.

When they were consulting about taking
their Departure from this barren Island,
the Prince ordered two Dozen of the
Fish to be put on Board the Boat, qt-
everwhat-ever might happen to them; &and said, he
would leave Money for them, placing the 297 (297)
the Cash upon a Fish, that so the Peo-
ple, when they missed of the Number
of their Fish, might find the Value
of what they wanted; but O Sullivan
or O Neil told him, it was needless
to leave any Money, lest Vagrants
should happen to land upon the Isl-
and, &and take the Money, which did
not belong to them. These two prevail-
ed upon him to allow the Money to
be taken up again.

May 10th, they set Sail from the uninha-
bited Island, when the Prince told his
Retinue, he was determined to return
to Scalpay, or, the Island Glass, in Order
to pay his Respects to honest Donald
Campbell for the remarkable Civilities
he had shown him; &and then he ordered
to steer the Course directly to that
Island. When they arrived at Scalpay,
Donald Campbell was not at Home, hav-
ing gone a skulking for Fear of being
laid up, an Account or Rumour having
passed from Hand to Hand, that the
Prince had been in his House, &and that
the Landlord had entertained him kindly.
the Prince was sorry at missing his hospi-
table Friend, &and set sail directly from Scal-
pa the same Day, May 10th. — Here Do-
nald said, the Prince would not part
with Campbell's Boat, because it was
such a fine, light, swift-sailing Thing.
In coursing along they happened to spy
a Ship at Finsbay in the Harris within
two Musket-shot before they observed
Her. They were on the Windward of
the Ship at the Mouth of the said Bay,
&and made all the Haste they could along the 298 (298)
the Coast to Benbicula. In this Course they
spied another Ship in Lochmaddy in North
Uist, which occasioned them to make all
the Sail &and rowing they could, to get free
of the Month of the Loch &and out of Sight
of the Ship.

May 11th, Being still upon the Sea, they
fell short of Bread; but, having some
Meal on Board, &and the Men turning very
hungry &and thirsty, they began to make Dra-
mach31 (in Erse StappackStapag) with Salt-
water, &and to lick it up. The Prince said,
that was a Kind of Meat he had ne-
ver seen before, &and therefore he behoved
to try it, how it would go down. Do-
nald [] said, the Prince ate of it
very heartily, &and much more than he could
do for his Life. Never any Meat or Drink
came wrong to him; for he could take a
Share of every Thingeverything, be it good, bad or
indifferent, &and was always chearfulcheerful and
contented in every Condition.

May 11th, They arrived at Lochwiskaway
in Benbicula, &and had scarce got ashore, qnwhen
the Wind proved quite contrary to what
it had been, blowing a hard Gale, qchwhich
served to make the Ships they had
spied steer an opposite Course. A heavy
Rain likewise came on at the same Time.
It happened then to be Low Water, &and one
of the Boatmen went in among yethe Rocks,
where he catched a large Partan32, and,
taking it up in his Hand, he wagged it
at the Prince, who was at some Dis-
tance from him. the Prince then took
up a Cog33 in his Hand, and, running to-
wards the Lad, desired to share in his Game. [ ] 301 (301)
dispatched Donald MacLeod, in Camp-
bell’s Boat, to the Continent, with Let-
ters to Lochiel &and John Murray of Brough-
ton, in order to know how Affairs stood,
&and that Donald might bring along with
him some Cash &and Brandy. Donald
met with Lochiel &and Murray at yethe Head
of Locharkaig; but got no Money at
all from Murray, who said, he had
none to give, having only about sixty
Louis d’Ores to himself, which was
not worth the While to send. Donald
received Letters from Lochiel &and Mur-
ray to the Prince; &and found means, wtwith
much ado, to purchase two Anchors of
Brandy at a Guinea prper Anchor.

Here Donald observed, that the Prince
had a very good Opinion of Murray,
looking upon him as one of the honest-
est, firmest Men in the whole World.

Lady Boisdale sent four Bottles of Bran-
dy to the Prince, &and every other Thing she
could procure, that was useful for him
&and his Attendants. In &and about Loch-
Boisdale the Prince continued for eight
✝or ten Days, till June 24th, that the
woeful Parting behoved to ensue
betwixt the Prince &and Donald MacLead, &cetc.

Here Malcolm MacLeod remarked, that 304 (304)
that the Prince spoke likewise to him about
the Laird of MacLeod &and his Son; &and he said,
when the Prince was talking about ymthem,
he could ^not fail observing, with what Wa-
riness &and Caution the Prince (knowing
he was talking to a MacLeod) ordered
his Words, not being sure likewise in his
then Circumstances whom to trust, or
how easily People might be offended
at any Observations he might happen
to make upon those, who had not
dealt so fairly by Him.

Both Donald &and Malcolm agreed in giv-
ing it as their Opinion, that yethe Prince
had an Excess of Mercy &and Goodness a-
bout him at all Times.

They likewise agreed in saying, they had
good Reason to believe, that honest Hugh
MacDonald of Armadale in Sky (Step-
father of Miss MacDonald) had a Meet-
ing with the Prince at Rushness in Ben-
becula, that he got the Prince’s ✝Pistols in
keeping, &and that he had them still in his
Custody. They added farther, they were
persuaded, he would sooner part with
his Life than with these Pistols, unless
they were to be given to the proper
Owner, &and that he was the grand Contri-
ver in laying &and executing the Scheme
for the Prince’s Escape in WomensWomen's
CloathsClothes from the Long Isle to the Isle
of Sky. They said, they had often heard,
that Armadale sent a Letter by Miss
Flora to his Wife, wherein he used
some such Expression as this, “that he
“had found out an Irish Girl, Bettie
“Bourk, very fit, for being a Servant
“to her; &and that, among her other good Qualification 305 (305)
“Qualifications, she had this one, that
“well could she spin, which, he knew,
“she liked well.”

They also agreed in telling me, that
the whole Island of Raaza had been
plundered ✝&and pillaged to the utmost
Degree of Severity, every House &and Hut
being levelled with the Ground; &and yrethere
was not left in the whole Island a
four-footed Beast, a Hen, or a Chick-
en. As there is Plenty of Free-stone
&and Marble in Raaza, the Laird had
built of these Materials a very neat
genteel House for himself, which
was razed out at the Foundation;
but in destroying it, they had care-
fully preserved the Windows (all
of Oak) &and put them on Board of a
Ship of War for Sale. When the Ship
came to the Road of Leith, James
MacDonald, Joiner, &and a Kinsman of
Raaza’s, went on Board, &and bought
the Windows, which were all done
with Crown-glass; chusingchoosing rather
they should fall into his Hands,
than into those of any indifferent
Person, because he could account for
them to the Owner, when a proper
Opportunity should offer. — I saw the
Windows in James MacDonald's House.

June 24th, they parted with a Reso-
lution to meet again at a certain
Place by different Roads, Donald
MacLeod, O Sullivan &and the Boatmen
walking away, &and leaving O Neil on-
ly with the Prince. Donald MacLeod
went South about; but all the Men
left him, one only excepted; upon
which he was obliged to sink the
Boat, &and to do the best he could
to shift for himself; but it was not
possible for an old Man like him to
keep himself any considerable Time
out of Grips, especially as the Troops
&and Militia at last became so very nu-
merous upon the different Parts of
the Long Isle. The Militia were the
worst of all, because they knew the
Country so well. Donald &and Malcolm
MacLeods were positive, that the
Red-coats could have done but little,
particularly in taking those that were
skulking, had it not been for the Militia, 308 (308)
Militia, viz, Campbells, Monroes, Grants,
&cetc, &cetc, &cetc. who served to scour the Hills
&and Woods, &and were as so many Guides for
the Red-coats, to discover to them the
several Corners of the Country both u-
pon the Continent &and on the Islands.

one of the Clergymen, ^commonly called Captain MacDonald, had sixty Gui-
neas in his Pocket, which Knock took
from him, though he was his Blood rela-
tion, &and would not give him one single
Shilling to purchase Necessaries with.

The General asked, if he had been along
with the young Pretender?—“Yes (said
“Donald) I was along with that young
“Gentleman; &and I winna38 deny it.”—“Do
“you know (said the General) what Money
“was upon that Man's Head? no less a
“Sum than thirty thousand Pounds sterling,
“which would have made You &and all your
Children after You happy for everforever!”—
Donald's Answer to this is so very good,
that the Beauty of it would be quite
spoil’dspoiled, if I did not give it in his own
Words, which are these. “What then?
“thirty thousand Pounds! though I had
“gotten’tgotten it, I could not have enjoyed it
“eight &and forty Hours. Conscience would
“have gotten up upon me. That Money
“could not have kept it down. And tho’though
“I ^could have gotten all England &and Scotland
“for my Pains, I would not allowed a
“Hair of his Body to be touch’dtouched if
“I could help it!”— Here Donald desired me 310 (310)
me particularly to remark, for the Honour
of General Campbell, &and to do him Justice,
that he spoke these Words, —“I will not say,
“that You are in the Wrong.”— Then the Ge-
neral said, “But now you are in the King’s
“Mercy, &and if you will not declare every
“Thingeverything you know of this Matter, here is a
“Machine (pointing to it) that will force
"You to declare."— Donald replied, that
“many a prettier Fellow than 39 he was ^now in
“his Mercy; &and that he would tell any thinganything
“he knew without any Machine whatsome-
“ver.”— This was Barisdale’s Machine,
in which he used to torture Thieves to
make them confess.

Such particular Questions were then asked,
that Donald behoved to give an Account
of the violent Storm they were engaged
in, when sailing from the Continent to the
Isles, what Persons were on Board at ytthat
Time, &and what their Characters were.
When the General heard of a popish Priest
in the Case, he asked, seeing it was a
very tempestuous Night they set out in
from the Continent, whether or not the
Priest was not very busy in praying
heartily for the young Pretender, as
he was in Danger of Drowning?—“Na,
“good faith he, Sir (replied Donald); for if
“he prayed for himsell, he thought, he did
“well enough. And had you been there,
“Sir, you would have thought, you did
“well enough ^too if you prayed for your
“sell. Every one of us was minding
“himsell then.”— Then a written De-
claration was taken from Donald’s
own Mouth, &and he subscribed it.

Donald said, he could easily give all his 311 (311)
his own Part of the Adventure without
doing the smallest Harm to the Prince,
as he then knew, that the Prince had
set out some time before from Sky to
the Continent, &and thereby was out of
the Reach of General Campbell &and
his Command.

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

They both concurred in affirming, that
Ferguson behaved very roughly and
barbarously to them. When they were
in Health, they &and the other Prisoners were
brought upon the Quarter-deck betwixt
9 and 10 in the Morning, &and were al-
lowed to walk among two Dozen
or so of Sheep, with Sentries placed
on each Side of them. So[] long as
Ferguson was cruizingcruising upon the High-
land Coast, he took Care to have
great Plenty of fresh Victuals of
all Sorts, the sweet Fruits of plun-
dering &and Pillaging. — The Prisoners
got only Half-man’s-allowance in eve-
ry Respect. For one Day of the Week
they had PeasePeas; but the common Fellows
of the Ship behoved to be served first be-
fore the Gentlemen got any at all; &and if the
PeasePeas happened to fall short, the Fel-
lows would have mixed them up with
Salt-water. The Victuals were brought
to the Prisoners in foul, nasty Buckets,
wherein the Fellows used to piss for
a Piece of ill-natured Diversion. They
were assigned their Quarters in a dark
Place of the Ship, where they were not 312 (312)
not allowed the Light of a Candle of
any Kind, “from the First of August, 1746
“to the Day (said Donald &and Malcolm) upon
“which Lord Lovat suffered,” being April
9th, Thursday, 1747. — When they were
brought opposite to Tilbury-Fort upon
the Thames, they were turned over from
Ferguson to another Ship, where they
lay for Months together in a most de-
plorable State of Misery, their CloathsClothes
wearing so off them, that many at last
had not a single Rag to cover their
Nakedness ^with. Here they were treated wtwith
the utmost Barbarity &and Cruelty, with a
View (as they suppose) to pine away yrtheir
Lives, &and by piece-meal, to destroy e-
very single Man of them; &and indeed the
Design had too great Success, for many
of them died. Donald MacLeod said,
he had Reason to think, that no less ynthan
four hundred Men died on Board three
Ships opposite to Tilbury-Fort, among
which were the sixty or seventy Grants
of Glenmoriston, who by the Persuasion
of the Laird of Grant, had surrendredsurrendered
themselves &and delivered up their Arms
at Inverness, when Cumberland was
there, not long after the Battle of
Culloden. Donald &and Malcolm declared,
that finer &and stouter Men never drew a
Sword, than what these Glenmoriston-
men were, &and none of them survived
the miserable Situation, &and returned
to their [] own Country, but only
one or two. They likewise joined in lay-
ing great Blame to the Door of the Laird
of Grant, who, they said, could not fail to 313 (313)
to know, what would turn out to be the
Fate of those Men, if they should be
prevailed upon to surrender. In a Word,
they looked upon him as the Instrument
of the Misery of those brave Fellows,
&and spoke no good Things of him at all,
affirming, that he entertained a Hatred at
the Grants of Glenmoriston.

Here Donald &and Malcolm had a Remark
very much to the Purpose. They said, It
was most lucky, that a greater Number
had not surrendredsurrendered at the same Time;
for that the Treatment of the Glenmo-
riston-men became a Warning to o-
thers not to follow their Example; &and
indeed their Fate did prevent many
Surrendries, that otherwise would
have happened.

Donald MacLeod affirmed, that they liv-
ed, at least for two Days, upon Horse-
Flesh. Here Malcolm did not fully
agree with him; and, after some
little Debate betwixt them, Malcolm
qualified the Expression, &and told me,
I might write down, that the Beef
they got was so very bad &and black, ytthat
they could ^not take it for any Thinganything else
but Horse-flesh or Carrion. Upon
this Donald smiled, &and said, “Well
“(Malcolm) how much have you men-
“ded the Matter?”— When Donald
was asked, how such Beef went down
with them, he replied, “O! what is
“it, that will not go down wi a hung-
“ry Stomach? I can assure You, we
“made no Scruple to eat any Thing,
“that came in our Way!”

Almost all those, that were in the same
Ship with Donald &and Malcolm, were once
so sick, that they could scarce stretch out
their Hands to one another. Old Mac-
Kinnon, one of their Companions, held
out wonderfully, although a Man up-
wards of 70. He was only about eight
Days in such a Way, that he needed
One to help him up in the Morning,
while others much Younger, and, to
all Appearance, stronger too, were dy-
ing by Pairs, as at last there was a ge-
neral Sickness, that raged among all
the Prisoners on Board the different
Ships; which could not fail to be the
Case, when (as both Donald &and Malcolm
positively affirmed) they were sometimes
fed with the Beeves, that had died of
the Disease40, which was then raging
amongst the horned Cattle in England.

Donald MacLeod spoke very much good
of Mr James Falconer, a Scots nonjurant
Clergyman, &and Charles Allan, Son of Harry
Allan in Leith. He said, that Charles
Allan behaved exceedingly well in
his Distress, &and had very much of the Gentleman 315 (315)
Gentleman about him, &and that he was
in a State of Sickness for some Time.
He said, that Mr Falconar was scarce
ever any way ill in his Health, that
he bore up better than any one of
them, having a great Fund of Spi-
rits, being always chearfulcheerful, &and never
wanting Something to say to divert
them in their State of Darkness &and
Misery. He added, that he did not
know a better Man, or one of great-
er Courage &and Resolution in Distress.

Donald has got in a Present a large
silver Snuff-Box, prettily chessed,
from his good Friend, Mr John Walk-
ingshaw of London, which serves as
an excellent Medal of his History, as
it has engraven upon it the interest-
ing Adventure with proper Mottos,
&cetc. The Box is an Octagon-Oval, of
three Inches &and three Quarters in Length,
three Inches in Breadth, &and an Inch &and
a Quarter in Depth, &and the Inside of it
is doubly Gilt. Upon the Lid is raised
the eight-oar’doared Boat with Donald at
the Helm &and the four under his Care, to-
gether with the eight Rowers distinctly
represented. The Sea is made to ap-
pear very rough &and tempestuous. Upon one 316 (316)
one of the Extremities of the Lid there is
a Landskip42 of the Long Isle, &and the Boat
is just steering into Rushness, the Point of
Benbicula, where they landed. Upon the
other Extremity of the Lid there is a
Landskip of the End of the Isle of Sky,
as it appears opposite to the Long Isle.
Upon this Representation of Sky are mark-
ed these two Places, viz, Dunvegan &and
Gualtergill. Above the Boat the Clouds
are represented heavy &and lowring43, &and the
Rain is falling from them. The Motto
above the Clouds, i:e: round the Edge
of the Lid by the Hinge, is this, Olim
hac meminisse juvabit.44 Aprilis
26to, 1746. — The Inscription under
the Sea, i: e: round the Edge of the Lid
by the Opening, is this, Quid, Neptu-
ne, paras? Fatis agitamuri-
niguis.45 — Upon the Bottom of the
Box are carved the following Words,
Donald MacLeod of Gualter-
gill in the Isle of Sky, the
faithful Palinurus. Æt:46
68. 1746. — Below these Words
there is very prettily engraved a Dove
with an Olive-branch in her Bill.