Some few Remarks by Captain Alexander MacDonald upon Mr Æneas MacDonald's Journal

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639
N: B: When CapnCaptain AlexrAlexander MacDo-
nald was in my Room (Tuesday,
DecrDecember 29th) I read to him those
Passages in Mr Ӕneas MacDonald’s
Journal, which relate to the Landing &and
[]
✝
This certainly is a

640 (640)
&and the marching down the Country,
&and upon which he gave me his Ob-
servations. I took them down in
Writing from his own Mouth, &and they
are as follow.

Vol: 3. pag: 509, 514. It is an Over-
sight either in Mr Ӕneas MacDo-
nald or in Dr Burton not to have
mentioned, ^that the Prince actually landed in
Lochnannuagh upon the ✝ Arisaig-
side, &and went to Boradale, qchwhich
was the first Roof he was under
upon the Continent of Scotland.
Boradale is in Arisaig. The Land-
ing at Lochshiel must be a Mis-
take, as no Ship can land there,
seeing it is only a fresh-Water
Loch. This will be better cleared
up in the following Paragraph.

Vol: 3. pag: 515. Before the
Prince marched to Glenfinnan,
he was at Glenaladale, where
old Glenbuicket joined Him, and
delivered over to Him Captain
Switenham (an english Gentleman) one

a wrong Date; for, by the best Intelligence
that can be had, yethe Prince arrived in France on
yethe 29th or 30th of SeptrSeptember, having set sail from Scot-
land on yetheX 20th of sdsaid Month. See Vol: 3. p: 522.

✝
I asked particularly at CapnCaptain AlexrAlexander MacDonald,
whether the Prince arrived on yethe Arisaig or Moi-
dart side? &and he assured me, he landed on Ari-
saig. This serves to clear up my Doubt in Vol: 2. pag:

X
Vol: 7. p: 1476.
641 (641)
one of the Prisoners taken by Major
MacDonell of Tiendrish, see Vol: 1.
pag: 68. The aforesaid Captain went
to London upon his Parole, &and strict-
ly kept it till the Time prefixed
was expired. — At Glenfinnan
the Laird of Moror, of Clanranald’s
Family, came up to the Prince (be-
fore the Standard was set up) with
150 Men, who were joined to the
fifty Men of Clanranald’s Follow-
ing, that had been for some Time
keeping Guard upon His Royal
Highness, the Prince himself think-
ing 50 Men sufficient for that
Purpose, the rest of Clanranald’s
Men having been employed in
carrying the Baggage &and Luggage
from the Head of ✝ Lochshiel (up
which Loch they had been brought
in small Boats) to the Head of
the Loch-iel; which Service kept
the most of Clanranald’s Men back
for four Days from joining the Main
Body at Moidh ^ or Moy, in Lochabar.

CapnCaptain AlexrAlexander MacDonald was on
Board the Frigate in Lochnannaugh
before the Prince set his Foot on the Continent;

pag: 355. &and Vol: 3. p: 573.

✝
Vol: 2d,
pag: 356.

Robert Forbes, A: M:
642 (642)
Continent; but he acknowlegesacknowledges,
he did not then know, that the
Prince was among the Passengers,
who being in a very plain Dress,
CapnCaptain MacDonald made up to him
without any Manner of Ceremo-
ny, &and conversed with Him in a
very familiar Way, sitting close
by the Prince &and drinking a Glass
with Him, till one of the Name
of MacDonald made him such
a Look, that immediately he be-
gan to suspect he was using too
much Freedom with One above
his own Rank. Upon this He
soon withdrew; but still was in
the Dark as to what particular
Person the young Gentleman he
had been conversing with might
be.

Vol: 3. pag: 519. Captain MacDo-
nald declared, that he could not
help looking upon the Affair of
O Sullivan’s hiding himself in
a Barn, &c.etc. as a Romance.

At the same Time I read in yethe
Hearing of CapnCaptain AlexrAlexander MacDo-
nald the Passages in the Journal of 643 (643)
of Duncan Cameron, &c.etc. that re-
late to the Landing &and the March-
ing down the Country. He owned,
they were very exact, &and he made
only two short Remarks upon
them, which are as follow.

Vol: 2. pag: 356. CapnCaptain Mac-
Donald said, it was most cer-
tain, that if Keppoch, Lochiel,
&and young Clanronald had not
joined the Prince, he would have
been forced to shift for himself
in the best Manner he could.

Vol: 2. pag: 359. A Night
at Dalquhinnie before marching
to Dalnacardoch.

I then read in the Hearing
of CapnCaptain AlexrAlexander MacDonald
the Conclusion of CapnCaptain O neille’s
Journal (touching the barbarous
Usage he met with) from a Copy
attested with O neille's own Subscrip-
tion, which had been lying
by me for some Time till I
should find Leisure to take an
exact Transcript of it See Vol: 4.
pag: 690. In the forementioned Conclu-sion644(644)
sion CapnCaptain O neille complains of
One in Benbecula, that had be-
trayed Him, even after he had
entirely confided in him; but
he does not name the Person.
I asked at CapnCaptain MacDonald,
if he could inform me who that
Person was. He told me, he
knew the whole Affair well, &and
that he would give it me faith-
fully ^&and honestly. — He said, that
Ranald ✝MacDonald of Torulum ^in Benbecula
(Vol: 3. p: 589) was the Man there
meant, &and that the whole Story had
taken it’sits Rise altogether from a
Jealousy in CapnCaptain O neille. Ranald
MacDonald happened unluckily
to have an Out-cast with CapnCaptain
Oneille, who, though a very clever
Fellow, was heartily threshed by
MacDonald, they having had a
Boxing-bout together. This un-
lucky Difference made O neille
strongly believe, when he happen-
ed to be seized, that Ranald Mac-
Donald had actually betrayed him;
whereas, Ranald refused to betray him

✝
Vol: 3. pag: 589. Vol: 5. pag: 923.
645 (645)
him, when a Sum of Money was
offered him for that Purpose.
Upon this Ranald MacDonald has
given his Oath to old Clanranald,
who questioned him upon the Re-
port of his having betrayed O-
neille, &and was very hard upon
him for it, swearing, that he
deserved to be shot through the
Head, if he had done any such
dishonourable Thing.

As to the Story of General Camp-
bell &and Campbell of Skipness, Cap-
tain MacDonald declared to me,
he did not in the least doubt yethe
Truth of that for this single Rea-
son, because all the Campbells,
from the Head to the Foot of
them, had discovered a most a-
varitiousavaricious greedy Temper in the
Matter of pillaging &and plundering
their native Country.

CapnCaptain AlexrAlexander MacDonald spoke excel-
lent Things of ✝Donald MacLeod
of Gualtergill in Sky, saying, that he
did not know an honester Man or
a stauncher Loyalist. He told me, that

✝
Vol: 2. pag: 266, &cetc. Vol: 3. pag: 466,
&cetc. Vol: 4. pag: 760, 761, 776.
646 (646)
that Donald MacLeod’s Wife is
Aunt to the present Glenaladale.

Captain MacDonald had all
his Effects plundered &and pillaged.
After every Thingeverything was destroyed or
carried off, the Party, happening
to spy a living Cat, immediately
killed poor harmless Puss, and
threw it out of the Way, lest the
poor Mother &and her Children should
have eaten the dead Cat in yrtheir
Necessity; for Cumberland &and his
Army were exceedingly desirous,
that the Young &and Old (Women &and
Infants not excepted) they did
not murder might be starved to
Death, which was the Fate of too
many; &and their Endeavours were
fully equal to their Desires.

CapnCaptain MacDonald, ^&and his Wife &and chil-
dren wandered through Hills &and
Mountains, till the Act of In-
demnity appeared, and in the
Time of their skulking from Place
to Place his poor Wife fell with
Child, which proved to be a Daugh-
ter, &and is still alive. He is a ve-
ry smart acute Man, remarkably
well skilled in the Erse; for he can both 647 (647)
both read &and write the Irish Lang-
uage in it’sits original Character,
a piece of Knowledge almost quite
lost in the Highlands of Scotland,
there being exceedingly few that have
any Skill at all in that Way; for the
Captain told me, that he did not
know another Person (old Clan-
ranald only excepted) that knew
any Thing of the Irish Tongue in
it’sits original Character, but that
the Natives of Ireland (particularly
in the higher Parts of the Country)
do still return the Knowledge
of it. — Severals of the Cap-
tain’s Acquaintances have infor-
med me, that He is by far the
best Erse-Poet in all Scotland,
&and that he has written many Songs
in the pure Irish.

Robert Forbes, A: M:
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