Journal of Miss Flora MacDonald, etc.

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524 (524)
Journal, taken from the
Mouth of Miss Flora Mac-
Donald by Dr Burton of York,
when in Edinburgh.

[Miss MacDonald had gone from Sky
to Milton ✝ in South Uist, in order to
visit her Brother-German, who had
about that Time taken up House.
She had not been long there, till
CaptnCaptain O Neil (by some lucky Acci-
dent or other) had become acquaint-
edX with her. When the Prince was
surrounded with Difficulties on all
Hands, &and knew not well what to do
for his Future Safety, CaptnCaptain O Neil
brought ⓧ Miss MacDonald to yethe Place
where the Prince then was, &and there
they concerted the Plan. At ysthis Time Miss ^returned to Milton.
After Miss MacDonald had (φwith some
Difficulty) agreed to undertake the
dangerous EnterprizeEnterprise, she set out for
Clanranald’s House, ^Saturday June 21st, &and at one of the
Fords was taken Prisoner by a Party of
Militia, she not having a Passport.
She demanded, to whom they be-
longed? and, finding by the Answer
that her Stepfather was their Com-
mander, she refused to give any
Answers, till [] She should see yrtheir
Captain; so she, &and her Servant, Neil
MacKechan, were prisoners all that Night. Her

✝
Vol: 2. page: 200

✝ ⓧ
Vol: 1. pag: 186, 187.

φ
Vol:
1. pag: 192.

525 (525)
^Her Stepfather coming next Day, being
Sunday, she told him what she
was about; upon which ~~[] granted~~
He granted✝ a Passport for her self,
a Man-servant (Neil MacKechan)
&and another Woman, Bettie Burk,
a goodX Spinster, &and whom he re-
commended as such, in a Letter,
to his Wife at Armadale in Sky,
as she had much Lint1 to spin.
If her Stepfather (Hugh MacDo-
nald of Armadale) had not grant-
ed Miss a Passport, she could not
have undertook her Journey and
Voyage. Armadale set his Step-
daughter at Liberty, who immedi-
ately made the best of her Way
to Clanranald’s House, &and acquaint-
ed the Lady ^Clanranald with the SchemeΤ, qowho
supplied the Prince withⓧ Apparel
sufficient for his Disguise, viz, a
flower’dflowered Linen-Gown, a white A-
pron, &cetc. and sent some Provisi-
ons along with him.

During Miss MacDonald’s Stay
at Clanranald’s House, which was
till the Friday, June 27th, O Neil
went several Times betwixt the
Prince &and Miss, in which Interval another

✝ X
Vol: 1. p: 187, 193. Vol: 2. p: 304, 305.

ⓧ
Vol: 1. p: 152. Vol: 2. p: 210, 218, 211. Vol: 3. p: 594, 595.

526 (526)
another Scheme was proposed, that the
Prince should go under the Care of
a Gentleman ✝ to the Northward; but
that failing them, they behoved to
have Recourse to that agreed upon
before; &and accordingly Lady Clanra-
nald, one Mrs MacDonald, O Neil,
Miss Flora MacDonald &and her Ser-
vant,X Neil MacKechan, went to yethe
Place where the Prince was, being
about eight Scotch Miles. He was
then in a very little House or Hut,
assisting in the Roasting of his Din-
ner, which consisted of the Heart,
Liver, Kidneys, &c.etc. of a Bullock or
Sheep, upon a wooden Spit. O Neil
introduced his young Preserver &and
the Company, &and she sat on the Prince’s
Right Hand &and Lady Clanranald on
his Left. Here they all dined very
heartily.

Next Morning, June 28th, they heard
of General Campbell’s Arrival at
Benbecula; &and soon after a Man came
in a great Hurry to Lady Clanranald,
&and acquainted her, that CapnCaptain Ferguson,
wtwith an advanced Party of Campbell’s
Men, was at her House, &and that Fer-
guson had lain in her Bed the Night before

✝
Vol: 1. p: 188,
&and Vol: 3. p: 589.

X
Vol: 1. p: 149, 150.

527 (527)
before. This obliged her to go home
immediately, which accordingly she
did, after taking Leave of the
Prince. She was strictly examined
by Ferguson, where She had been? She
replied, she had been visiting a
✝Child, which had been sick, but was
now better again. Both the Gene-
ral &and Ferguson asked many o-
other Questions, such as, where
the Child lived, how far it was
from thence? &c.etc. but they could
make nothing out of the Lady fit
for their Purpose.

X O Neil would gladly have staidstayed
with the Prince, &and shared in his
Distresses &and Dangers; but Miss
could, ⓧby no means, be prevailed
upon to agree to that Proposal.

Taylor=
When all were gone, who were
not to accompany the Prince in his
Voyage to the Isle of Sky, Miss
MacDonald desired him to dress
himself in his new Attire, which
was soon done; and, at a proper
Time, they removed their Quarters,
&and went near the Water, with their
Boat afloat, nigh at hand, for Readi-
ness to imbarkembark in Case of any Alarm from

[ ✝ ]
Page 485.

X ⓧ
Vol: 1. pag: 193. Vol: 4.
[p]ag: 687.

528 (528)
from the Shore. Here they arrived
very wet &and wearied, ✝&and made a Fire u-
pon a Rock, to keep them somewhat
warm till Night. They were soon
greatly alarmed, by seeing four
Wherries ^full of armed Men making towards Shore, qchwhich
made them extinguish their Fire
quickly, &and to conceal themselves
amongst the Heath. The Wherries,
however, sailed by, without ever stop-
ping, to the Southward, within Gun-
shot of the Spot, where they were
lying among the Heath.X

After About two or three Days after
O Neil parted from the Prince, a French
Cutter, having 120 Men on Board, ap-
peared, &and sailed towards the Isle
of South Uist, intending to carry off
the Prince. Τ O Sullivan went imme-
diately on Board, whileΠ O Neil made
haste to find out the Prince, before
he might have left the Island; but,
finding that the Prince had left the
Island about two Days before, imme-
diately he returned to the Place
where he had left the Cutter. But,
unhappy for him, he found, that yethe
timorous Sullivan, having a fair
Wind, &and not having Courage to stay till

✝ X
Vol: 1. p: 137, 138.

Τ Π
Vol: 1. p: 191.

529 (529)
till O Neil’s Return, being resolved
to take Care of Number One, o-
bliged the Captain to set Sail
directly, lest he should be taken,
&and should lose his precious Life.
O Neil returned in the Compass
of three Hours after Sullivan
had set sail, &and was taken Prison-
er soon after, &and brought into Eng-
land, after having been Prisoner
for some time in the✝ Castle of
Edinburgh, to which Place he
had been brought from a Ship
of War; for he had been in a
State of Confinement at Sea
for some Time. An English Of-
ficer, having Intelligence of
the above Cutter, immediately
dispatched two Wherries after
her, with thirty Men in each;
but neither of them could come
up with her.
Tailor

[]or
At eight o’ Clock, June 28th, Sa-
turday, 1746, the Prince, Miss Flora
MacDonald, Neil MacKechan, &c.etc.X
set Sail, in a very clear Evening
from Benbecula to the Isle of Sky.
It is worth observing here, that
Benbecula is commonly reckoned a

[ ✝ ]
Vol: 1. p: 189.

X
Vol: 7. pag: 1518.

530 (530)
a Part of South Uist, they being divi-
ded from one another, by the Sea,
only at High Water, which then
makes a short Ferry betwixt the
two; but at low Water People
walk over upon the Sand from
the One to the other.

They had not rowed from yethe Shore
above a League, till the Sea be-
came rough &and at last tempestuous,
and, to entertain the Company, yethe
Prince sung several Songs, &and seem-
ed to be in good Spirits.

In the Passage Miss MacDonald
fell✝ asleep, &and [then the Prince care-
fully guarded Her, lest in yethe Dark
any of the Men should chance to
step upon Her. She awaked in a
SurprizeSurprise with some little Bustle in
the Boat, &and wondered what was yethe
Matter, &cetc.X

Next Morning, Sunday,ⓧ June 29th,
the Boatmen knew not where they
were, having no Compass, &and the
Wind varying several Times, it be-
ing then again Calm. However at
last they made to the Point φ of Wa-
tarnish in the West Corner of Sky,
where they thought to have landed;
but found the Place possessed by a BodyΤ

✝ X
Vol: 1. p: 195.

ⓧ
Vol: 2. p: 205.

φ Τ
Vol: 1. p: 138. Vol: 3. p: 598.

531 (531)
Body of Forces, who had three Boats
or Yawls near the Shore. One on
Board one of the Boats fired at
them to make them bring to; but
they rowed away as fast as they
could, being all the Chance they
had to escape, because there were
several Ships of War within
Sight. They got into a Creek, or
rather Clift2 in a Rock, &and there
remained some short Time to rest
the Men, who had been all Night
at Work, &and to get their Dinners
of what Provisions they had along
with them. As soon as they could,
they set forwards again; because,
as the Militia could not bring them
to, they had sent up to alarm a
^little Town not far off. It was very
lucky for them, that it was a Calm
then, for otherwise they must in-
evitably have perished, or have
been taken.
Hart

✝From hence they rowed on, &and land-
ed at Kilbride in Troternish, in
the Isle of Sky, about twelve
Miles North from the abovementi-
onedabove mentioned Point. There were also seve-
ral Parties of Militia inX the Neigh-bourhood

[✝] X
Vol: 1. pag: 138

532(532)
bourhood of Kilbride. Miss left the
Prince in the Boat, &and went with
her Servant, Neil MacKechan, to
Mougstot, SrSir AlexrAlexander MacDonald’s
House, &and desired one of the ServtsServants
to let Lady Margaret MacDonald
know, she was come to see her La-
dyship in her Way to her Mother’s
House. Lady Margaret knew her
Errand well enough by one Mrs
MacDonald 3, who had gone a little
before to apprize her of it.

Vol: 4. P: 727,
738.

As Mr AlexrAlexander MacDonald of Kings-
burgh was accidentally there, Lady
Margaret desired him to conduct yethe
Prince to his House; for it is to
be remarked, that Lady Margaret
did not see the Prince in any Shape.
Kingsburgh sent a✝ Boy down to yethe Boat
with Instructions whither to conduct
the Prince about a Mile
✝
, &and heX(Kings-burgh

See yethe following Note corrected, Vol: ^4 p: 736, &cetc.

✝ X
Here is a Mistake; for Mr
Macdonald of Kingsburgh declared
to me more than once (Vol: 1st, pag:
145) that he sought for the Prince some
time to no purpose, &and had almost de-
spaired to find him, when at last yethe
accidental Running of a Flock of
Sheep proved the Occasion of find-
ing him out.

Robert Forbes, A: M:

533(533)
burgh) would be there ready to con-
duct him. Then Kingsburgh took
some✝ Wine, &c.etc. to refresh the Prince
with, &and set forwards for the Place
of Rendezvous, leaving Miss Mac-
Donald with Lady Margaret at
Mougstot, where the commanding
Officer of the Parties, in Search
of the Prince, was, &and who asked
Miss, Xwhence she came, whither
She was going, what News? &cetc.
All which Miss answered, as
she thought most proper, &and so as
to prevent any Discovery of qtwhat
She had been engaged in.φ

Lady Margaret pressed
Miss very Much, in Presence of
the Officer, to stay, telling her,
that She had promised to make
some stay the first Time she
should happen to come there;
but Miss desired to be excused
at that Time, because she wanted
to see her Mother, &and to be at home
in these troublesome Times. Lady
Margaret at last let her go; &and
she &and Mrs MacDonald abovemen-
tionedabove-mentioned set forwards with Neil Mac-Kechan

[ ✝ ]
Vol: 1. p: 145.

X φ
Vol: 1. p: 138

534(534)
Kechan, &and ^said Mrs MacDonald’s Maid &and
her Man-servant. They overtook yethe
Prince &and Kingsburgh. Mrs MacDo-
nald was very desirous to see the
Prince’s Countenance; but, as he
went along, he always turned away
his Face, from Mrs MacDonald, to
the opposite Side, whenever he
perceived her endeavouring to
stare him in the Countenance; but
yet she got several Opportunities
of seeing his Face, though in dis
guisedisguise; which the Maid could not
help taking Notice of, &and said, she
had never seen such an impudent-
looked Woman, &and durst say, she was
either an Irishwoman, or else a
Man in a Woman’s Dress. Miss
MacDonald replied, She was an I-
rishwoman; for she had seen her
before. The Maid also took Notice
of the Prince’s✝ awkward Way of ma-
naging the Petticoats, &and what long
Strides he took in walking along, &cetc.
which obliged Miss MacDonald to
desire Mrs MacDonald (they being
both on Horseback) to step a little
faster, &and leave those on Foot, be-cause

✝
Vol: 1. p: 143. Vol: 2. p: 206, 207.

535(535)
cause, as there were many Parties
of Militia in the great Roads, it
was necessary for the Prince to cross
the Country, &and it was not proper
to let Mrs MacDonald’s Man or
Maid Servant see it. So on they
went, &and the Prince &and Kingsburgh
went over the Hills, &and travelled
South South East, till they ar-
rived at Kingsburgh’s House, qchwhich
was about twelve O’Clock at
Night, &and they were very wet;
but Miss MacDonald, who had
parted with her Companions
&and her✝ Man-servant on the Road,
arrived some short Time before
the Prince.
[]

Here the Prince got his most ma-
terial XRefreshment, &and was very
much fatigued; yet he was very
φmerry, till the Company parted
to go to Rest. Morning being come
&and pretty far advanced, Miss MacDo-
nald was in Pain about the Prince’s
lying so long in Bed, lest he should
be overtaken by his Enemies; and
therefore she intreatedentreated Kingsburgh
to go &and call him up, which with much

[✝]
Vol: 1. p: 146, from Line 3d to 13th.

[X]
Vol: 2. p: 209.

φ
Vol: 2. p: 210.

536 (536)
much ado he was prevailed upon to
comply with, he being desirous, that
the Prince should take as long Rest
as he could, not knowing when he
could meet with the Like again.
Accordingly Kingsburgh went into
the Prince’s Bed-Chamber, &and found
him in so profound✝ a Sleep, that
he could not think of awakening
him, &and so retired softly out of yethe
Room. But at last the Day began
to be far advanced, &and Miss MacDo-
nald was very uneasy, every Thing
being prepared for the Journey a-
greed upon. Though the Prince was
determined (from the Observations
&and Persuasion X of Kingsburgh) to cast
off his Disguise, yet it was necessa-
ry, he should leave the House in the
Female-dress he came in, which
would, if Enquiry happened to be made,
prevent the Servants telling the par-
ticular Dress he had put on, Τwhen
he ~~s[]~~ striptstripped himself of the Gown,
Petticoats, &c.etc. and therefore, in Kings-
burgh’s House, Miss put on his Cap
for him.
X
Miles

X
The Day was far advanced, before
he set out, &and, when he arrived at a

✝
Vol: 2. p: 213, 214.

X Τ
Vol: 1. p: 143.

537 (537)
a Wood side (as the Affair had
been concerted) not far from Kings-
burgh, he changed his Apparel
once more, &and put on the Highland
Dress Kingsburgh had furnished
him with.X Then Kingsburgh sent
a φ Guide with him to Portree, thro’through
all By-ways, while Miss MacDo-
nald went thither on Horseback
by Τ another Road, thereby the better
to gain Intelligence, &and at the same
Time to prevent a Discovery.
They were very wet, it having
rained very much. Here he only
dried his CloathsClothes, took some
little Refreshment, &and staidstayed about
two Hours.

Hither Kingsburgh had sent to
prepare a Boat, &and to have it ready
to convey the Prince to the Place
where he wanted to be at, not al-
lowing the People about Portree,
in the mean time, to know any
Thing about the Person’s being the
Prince, whom they were to re-
ceive &and to take Care of. ^^Young
MacLeod of Raaza came with
Malcolm MacLeod to conduct yethe Prince

X
Vol: 1. p: 143.

φ
Vol: 2. P: 228 at
[y]ethe Foot

Τ ^
Vol: 2. p: 228, 229.

538 (538)
Prince ôver to the Island of Raaza.
The Prince was very uneasy, he
had not a✝ MacDonald to conduct
him still. He left Portree on Tu-
esday, theX 1st of July, &and landed
that very same Day at a Place,
called Glam, in Raaza.

φ Miss Macdonald took Leave of the
Prince at Portree, &and from thence
went to her Mother, after a fati-
guing Journey cross the Country.
She never told Τ her Mother or
indeed any Body else what she
had done. About eight or ten days
after she received a Message from
one of her own Name, ^Donald MacDonald of Castleton, in Sky. who lived
about four Miles from Slate, ôr Armadale, to
come to his House, an Officer of
an Independent ^Company (one MacLeod
of Talisker) having desired him
so to do. She, a little suspicious ôf qtwhat
might happen, thought proper to
consult some of □ her Friends qtwhat
she should do in the Matter. They
unanimously agreed, She ought not
to go, at least till next Day; but
go she would. Then she was instruct-ted

✝
Vol: 2. p: 214.

X
Vol: 2. p: 229.

φ
Vol: 2. p: 228.

Τ
Vol: 2. at the Foot of p: 200.

□
Particularly Donald Roy MacDonald, Vol: 4. p: 768.

539(539)
ted what to say upon an Examina-
tion; &and accordingly, when that hap-
pened, she said, she had seen a
great lusty Woman, who came to
the Boat-side, as she was going
on Board, &and begged to have a
Passage, saying, she was a Sol-
dier’s Wife. Her Request was
granted; and, when she landed
in Sky, she went away, thanking
Miss for her Favour; Miss add-
ing withal, that she knew Nothing
of what became of her after-
wards.

Miss set forwards, as she proposed,
to her Friend’s House, whither
she had been desired to come,
and, on the Road, she met her
Father (Armadale) returning
home; &and soon after she was tak-
en by an Officer &and a Party of
Soldiers, who were going to her
Mother’s House in Pursuit of
her. They carried her onX Board
a Ship, &and would not suffer her to
return home✝ to take Leave of her
Friends. She was carried on Board the

✝
Vol: 2. p: 201.

540 (540)
the Furnace, commanded by CapnCaptain
John Ferguson, a Sloop of War,
where General Campbell happen-
ed then to be, who ordered Miss
MacDonald to be used with the
utmost Respect.
See Vol: 2. p: 201.

About three Weeks afterwards,
Miss, in cruizingcruising about, being near
her Stepfather’s House, the Gene-
ral permitted Her to go✝ ashore &and
take Leave of her Friends, but un-
der a Guard of two Officers and a
Party of Soldiers, with strict Orders,
that she was not to speak any Thing
in Erse, or any Thing at all but in
the Presence &and in the Hearing of
the Officers; &and therefore she stayed
only about two Hours, &and then return-
ed again to the Ship.

N: B: The Above I transcribed from
Dr Burton’s own Hand-writ. Happening
to mention several Questions, that were
fit to be proposed to Miss MacDonald,
the Doctor desired me to give him them
in writing; for that he would endeavour
to procure direct Answers to them. Accor-
dingly I gave them ^to him in writing, &and
he performed what he had promised.
Here follows an exact Copy of the Questions

✝
Vol: 2. pag: 202.

541(541)
ons &and their Answers.