The way I cam to be acquainted
wtwith ytthat young Gentleman is this, af-
ter the defeat of CoulodnCulloden &and his coming 913 (913)
coming to sculkskulk to the hills of South
Uist, Lady MargretMargaret McDonald sent
me yethe ✝GazettsGazettes &and a letter importing
she was affraidafraid ytthat any ytthat attach’dattached
to the long IlandIsland of ytthat Party shou’dshould
be apprehended, as they were send-
ing so many companies to yethe
Isles on each end, &and both to meet,
qchwhich woudwould render his escape im-
possible, I out of compassion
cross’dcrossed yethe Strands to South Uist
accompany’daccompanied by none went to Mc-
Donald of BoistillBoisdale’s houshouse, where
he ^&and I passtpassed yethe Night only convers-
ing on yethe apparent danger, yethe
result of our meeting was ytthat
next morning and wee’dwe'd go &and see yethe dis-
tressddistressed each of us, separatlyseparately, &and diffe-
rent ways, to prevent yethe clamour
of yethe vulgar, I came to yethe designddesigned
place before BoistillBoisdale, yethe name of yethe
place being XGlen Coridile in South
Uist where, (being a misty day) I
cam near them beforbefore they discover’ddiscovered
me, qchwhich surpris’dsurprised ymthem, one of yethe Gen-
tlemen viz Lieutenant Colonel
O Sulivan, on my approach be-
spockbespoke yethe young GentlmanGentleman in French, accordingly 914 (914)
accordingly he ran in to yethe houshouse, one
Captain ✝Allan McDonald in their
Company who knew me advis’dadvised ymthem
not to be concerndconcerned as they were
in no danger from me, O Sulivan
introduces me to yethe hutthut he sa-
luted me very kindly &and told me
he was heartily glade to see yethe
face of an Honest man in such
a remotremote corner, his dress was then
a tartan short coat, &and vest of yethe
same, got from Lady Clanranald,
his night cape1, linen, all patchdpatched
wtwith Xsuit drops his shirt, hands, &and
face patchdpatched wtwith yethe same, a short
kilt, tartan hose, &and Highland
brogsbrogues, his upper coat being Eng-
lish cloathcloth, he calldcalled a dram be-
ing yethe first article of a High-
land entertainment, qchwhich being
over he calldcalled for meat there was
about a half stonstone of butter laid
on timber pleat2 &and near a leg of
beef laid on a chist3 beforbefore us all
patchdpatched wtwith suit drops notwithstand-
ing its being wash’dwashed toties quo-ties, 915(915)
ties4, as weewe had dondone who enterdentered
yethe hutthut but BoistillBoisdale who seemdseemed
to be a very welcomwelcome ✝ Guest to
the young Gentleman as they had
been together above once beforbefore,
BoistillBoisdale then told him there was
2 parties comcome to Bara in suit
of him, he ask’dasked what they were,
BoistillBoisdale sdsaid they were McDonalds
&and McLeods he then said he
was not in yethe lest concern’dconcerned as
they were Highlanders &and more
especially such, I spockspoke to Boy-
still anent leaving Glen Coridile
as our stay there woudwould be of
dangerous consequence &and of no
advantage to him, yethe young
Gentleman told us as it was
but seldom he met wtwith freindsfriends
he coudcould enjoy himself wtwith; he
wou’dwould not on any account part
wtwith us ytthat night, BoystillBoisdale says to
me we cou’dcould not in good man-
ners part wtwith him ytthat night. I re-
plyedreplied if he wou’dwould risquerisk staying
himself, all this in highlands, ytthat I 916 (916)
I woudwould for my part, yethe Young
Gentleman advises ✝ Edmond Burk
now Chairman at EdrEdinburgh to fill yethe
Boul, but beforbefore wee’dwe'd begin wtwith
our Boul BoystillBoisdale insisted on
his being shav’dshaved first &and then
putting on a clean shirt, qchwhich
he was importun’dimportuned to do, &and
Burk shav’dshaved him then we be-
gan wtwith our boul, frank &and
free, as weewe were turning mer-
ry weewe were turning more free,
at last I starts yethe question if
his Highness wou’dwould take it amiss
If I shoudshould tell him yethe greatest
objections against him in great
BrittainBritain he said not, I told ytthat
XPopery &and Arbitrary GovermtGovernment were
yethe two chiefest, he said it was only 917 (917)
only bad constructions his enemysenemies
patput on’ton it, do you ‘noknow Mr McDonald
he says what religion are all yethe
Princes in Europe of, I told him
I imagin’dimagined they were of yethe same
establish’destablished religion of yethe nation
they liv’dlived in; he told me then
they had litlelittle or no religion at
all✝ Boystille then told him ytthat
his Predecessor Donald Clanra-
nald had fought seven settset bat-
telsbattles for his, yet after yethe restau-
rationrestoration he was not oundowned by King
Charles at Court, the Pr—[ince] said
BoystillBoisdale dontdon’t be rubbing up old
sores for if I cam home the case woulwould 918 (918)
woudwould be otherwise wtwith me, I then says
to him ytthat notwtstandingnotwithstanding of what
freedomefreedom weewe enjoy’denjoyed there wtwith
him weewe coud’vecould have no access to
him if he was setledsettled at Lon-
don, &and told us then if he had
never so much ado he’d be
one night merry wtwith his High-
land FreindsFriends, weewe continued
this drinking for 3 days &and 3
nights, he still had the better
of✝ us &and even of X Boystill him-
self notwtstandingnotwithstanding his being as
able a 5 I dare say as
any in Scotland

BoystillBoisdale was telling me they had
a meeting at yethe end of Loch Boy-
still, as he cou’dcould not wtwith safety
bring his H—[ighness] to his houshouse, so
both of them only tuotwo oyrother Gen-
tlemen in company viz O Suli-
van &and Lachlin McDonald of Drems-
dile a Cadent6 of Clans Family drunk 919 919
drunk in the fields all night on
cold brandy O Sulivan &and his neigh-
bour quittquit yethe field yethe Pr:[ince] &and Boy-
still dragg’ddragged them to yethe boat &and
rou’drowed yethe boat out to yethe entry of
yethe Loch where they cou’dcould have
a view of any ships ytthat were
on yethe Coast, all yethe time I
see’d him he’d not shift either
night or day &and I was told as
litlelittle he did since yethe defeat
of Coulodn till he shiptshipped
for France, James MacDonald a
cadent of ✝Clan’s told me the P—[rince]
sent him wtwith express to Secre-
tary Morou from Uist to yethe
Muidort, as he was going ofoff
he asktasked in case yethe English
met wtwith him what he woudwould do
wtwith yethe letter, yethe Pr—[ince] made it
up by way of suppositersuppository &and desir’ddesired
him drive into his fundament,
yethe Fleet &and Army now Flocks a-
bout yethe Country wee’rewe’re all oblig’dobliged
to seperatseparate Boistill is tak’ntaken X up by 920 (920)
by one Captain Dove, O Sulivan is
obligdobliged to quittquit him not being able
to keep up wtwith him, so ytthat he was
now destitute of all company but
a ✝ cuple of men ytthat ran up wtwith him
up &and doun yethe hills; this was in
yethe beginning of june &and was not
one night in yethe meanest cottage
till he left yethe Country sleeping
all night among yethe heather,
as Captain Scott &and 2 Militia
Companies cam in to yethe Country
he was then oblig’dobliged to comcome to
Benbecula, who marches throw
our Country of North Uist but Ge-
nerall Campbell wtwith his retinewretinue
to join yethe rest; yethe Pr:[ince] sends for
me to consult how to behave, I
was suiresure not to advise lest my
advice shou’dshould turn out to yethe worsworse
&and ytthat not only I’d blame me my
selfmyself but ytthat all FreindsFriends wou’dwould blame
me if matters wou’dwould turn wrong, I
was oblig’dobliged to say something, my
advice was this ytthat as he lay in view of 921 (921)
of the ChanellChannel, if yethe chanellchannel was
clear of Ships, he shoudshould go ofoff
in yethe afternoon to give him a long
night, to keep clossclose by yethe land of
Skye ytthat he might have yethe oppor-
tunity of runingrunning ashore in case of
yethe worsworst &and desir’ddesired him he shoudshould
go to Kulin hills in Sky where he
cou’dcould get to yethe Laird of McKin-
on who woudwould see him safely
landed on yethe main land, he told
me it was impossible for him
to recollect yethe whole without
I gave yethe direction in Write,
he had his writeingwriting instruments
about him &and writt yethe direction,
as above, but advis’dadvised him if
he shoudshould not get to McKinon
ytthat he shou’dshould wtoutwithout loss of time
go in to Sir James McDonald’s
country of Slet &and apply to Do-
nald McDonald of Castletown to
Hugh McDonald of Armidell to
AlexrAlexander McDonald of Kingsborow to
Archibald McDonald of Tarsqui-
vag &and Rory McDonald of Camis-
cross all cadents7 of Sir James McDonalds 922 (922)
McDonaldsMcDonald's Family, any of yethe
above I was confident woudwould see
him safe to yethe main land; this
was yethe very day GenerallGeneral Camp-
bell cros’dcrossed our Country in to
Benbecula Captain Ferguson in
company who was most ✝bent of
any I heard to take yethe P:[rince] Gene-
rall Campbell when at Benbecu-
la was within a quarter of mile
of him yethe poor man they cam
to his houshouse black Dunkan at
Gramstill in Benbecula sent
yethe young man express ytthat Ge-
nerall Campbell Ferguson Cap-
tain Campbell of X Skippinage &and
sundry Others were comcome to his
houshouse in suit of him, yethe next
day G:General C:Campbell marchdmarched to SuthSouth Uist
&and I crosstcrossed to see him P:[rince] &and met wtwith
him at a lochside, he was ynthen in
kilt wtwith very indifferent plaid
his face black weather beatnbeaten
still night &and day in yethe open
fields, he told me at meeting
he was very well in health but
did not break fast this four &and twenty 923 (923)
twenty hours passtpassed, notwtstand-
ingnotwithstanding of his difficulties he was
very canty8 &and jockosejocose, at last
comes Ranald McDonald of
✝Torlum a cadent9 of XClans a
servtservant wtwith him wtwith bread butter &and
a rostedroasted hen yethe butter was half
salt as it was what they pre-
pared for cureingcuring their scabedscabbed
horses, no man cou’d’vecould've tasted
it but a starving man, yethe bread
was hot when he laid on yethe butter
&and was running it all round, till
he devoured yethe whole, he then
made an end of his hen; took
his bonatbonnet &and drunk wtwith it out of
yethe loch, his hose was all brunt10
betwixt his ancleankle &and garter I
ask’dasked him what befell his hose
he told me he threw it ofoff ytthat morn-
ing and was drying it to a heather
fire and as he was falingfalling asleep
it took fire, IdI’d be at exchange-
ingexchanging wtwith him qchwhich he woudwould not do in-
sisting he had anoyranother Pair, you’ll
observe my advice to him as already mentiondmentioned 924 (924)
mentiondmentioned was not followed, he
changdchanged resolutions when Miss
McDonald of Milltoun cam to
to him he then thought of go-
ing to Troternish, qchwhich he did &and
was ✝ fir’dfired at of yethe point of Wa-
ternish in McLeodsMcLeod’s Country as
he was going by, however on
yethe X SundySunday he landed at Mugstot,
Sir James McDonald’s place of
residence where luckily he met
wtwith AlexrAlexander McDonald of Kings-
borow &and told him he was recom-
mended to him by one Hugh Mc-
Donald of Balshar, Kingsborow
told him he needed be under
no apprehensions he’d take all
care possible of him, yet thothough
through Providence he landed
safe there was no point or
harbour round all Isle Sky but
were guarded, &and even yethe harbour
he landed in was guarded by one
Lieutenant McLeod who acci-
dentally that day being on Sun-
day went to hear Sermon yethe fellows
925 (925)
fellows on watch were all asleep
as he landed; all yethe time I was
in company he did not seem in
the lestleast concerndconcerned, not only ytthat, he
still insisted he was in no dang-
er of being takntaken especialyespecially while
he was among ✝ McDonalds, after
he landed his landing at Mug-
stot &and meeting wtwith Kingsborow
he did not choose himself to go
in to yethe Family for fear of
Bringing yethe Family to yethe lestleast
trubletrouble, as I had writt before
this to Lady Margret McDonald
ytthat he was destitudedestitute of all ne-
cessaresnecessaries of life she sent him
by KingsborowX 50 GuineaysGuineas; Kings-
borow made him ane offer of yethe
present, his H—[ighness] told him he re-
turndreturned her LadspLadyship thanks but woudwould be
926 (926)
be more oblig’dobliged to her had she
sent him 50 English ✝shillshillings as
I’m writeingwriting this there comscomes to
my houshouse a sister of mine ma-
ryedmarried to one XDonald Campbell
in Scalpay alias among sailors
Island Glass, She says as he
was going to Storniva after his
first coming to long isle in or-
der to get abroad he was five
nights in her houshouse in sdsaid Isle,
but as some of her name viz
Mcdonald told her there was
such a man in company, she
took yethe more care of him &and con-
sequently oneon yethe oyrother hand he us-
ed the more freedom as he was
notified she was McDonald, he’d
be on foot evryevery morning beforbefore
man or woman stirrdstirred in yethe houshouse;
wou’dwould go to yethe Landlady’s closet
&and ask what he’d have for brake-
fastbreakfast yethe day, once this was told,
he’d then ask what was for his
neighbours, be what it will he was
still pleasdpleased, one morning as he
got up he goes in to the kitchinkitchen, where 927 (927)
where in a cask of seeds he found
a cuple of new laid egseggs, wtwith qchwhich
he comscomes to yethe Landlady’s closet &and
beggdbegged yethe favour she’d allow him
yethe eggs qchwhich was done &and prepar’dprepared
for brakefastbreakfast; after brakefastbreakfast he &and
one Kenneth Campbell a young
boy yethe Landlord’s son goes a
fishing; yethe P—[rince] catches a small
coadcod qchwhich he puch’dpouched &and immediatlyimmediately
went homhome stood by till it was
dresstdressed for supper; but as they
were a fishing he &and yethe boy fell
a chatingchatting yethe boy ask’dasked from whence
they cam or where they design’ddesigned
for, he told yethe boy they had been
ForeighnersForeigners &and were wreckdwrecked on yethe
north coast, &and were now traveling
to see if they coudcould meet wtwith a
ship for transporting them, the
boy ask’dasked yethe Fisher what burthenburden
yethe wreckdwrecked ship might be, he told
him about fiftiefifty townstonnes, as yethe boy
had serv’dserved for some time at seesea
he judg’djudged right, especially as he
braggdbragged of yethe bulk of yethe wreckdwrecked
ship, told yethe Fisher yethe vessellvessel was but 928 (928)
but a very small one yethe fisher
seem’dseemed a litlelittle confounded, but
now as yethe boy &and yethe fisher were
returning home there meets them
a cow of Mr. Campbells boggdbogged,
yethe boy attempted to drive her
out, but woudwould not do for him
yethe fisher seeing this, threw ofoff
his upper coat, into yethe ditch
wtwith Kenneth Campbell he gets,
&and trails yethe coucow out of yethe bog,
got his brichesbritches &and white stockinesstockings
all dirtied; itsit’s true weewe did
not stir in yethe common causcause
yet depend ont✝ wishtwished well till’t,11
of qchwhich yethe Gentleman himself is
fully assur’dassured by severallseveral instan-
ces, Our CousCousin &and Chief Sir A-
lexr McDonald (I’m told) is
raildrailed on over all ytthat country,
but had he been such ane unworthy
piece as he’s call’dcalled, he wou’dwould not’venot have
givngiven us yethe instructions he did; he
cam through all of our hands &and
Stood so firm as if weewe had been
in his service. I was Captain of
one of his Militia companies laying at 929 (929)
at Slet, when yethe Laird cam to
that Country he sent for me, but
before he had comcome to Slet I was
told he had a review of his peo-
ple at Portree, &and ytthat yethe people de-
nyeddenied rising in arms, if Sir AlexrAlexander
did not go &and join yethe P [rince] upon qchwhich
yethe people were all dispersddispersed, now
in our intercourse I told Sir A-
lexrAlexander I was vexed at yethe Troter-
nish people conveendconvened at Portree,
he asktasked for what, I told him
for disobedience to him in their
refuseingrefusing to take arms by his
orders, he told me to keep silence
✝ it was all by his private orders,
as it did not lay in his way to do
him good, he had no inclination to
do him hurt, it woudwould be some-thing 930(930)
something strange ytthat he’d be so ill
settset against him &and his whole Clan
so attachdattached to him even in yethe hightheight
of his misfortunes, as I’m write-
ingwriting this I’m told as he was part-
ing wtwith Mcdonald of Kingsborow
his nose gushdgushed ✝ blood McDonald
advis’dadvised him to turn to yethe houshouse till
he recoverdrecovered, he said not, only
wanted he’d direct him direct him
to yethe water, qchwhich accordingly he
did, he then washdwashed his nose
therewith &and yethe blood immediatlyimmediately
stop’dstopped Lacline McDonald of Drem-
stile who supplyedsupplied him &and yethe few
wtwith him while at Glencoridile wtwith
victullsvictuals, tells me he was yethe man ytthat
attended him still while in yethe
hills aX hunting he kept plenty of
all sorts of foulsfowls in this hutthut he stay’dstayed in 931 (931)
in &and Deer venison plentifully,
but one day as they happen’dhappened to
go a hunting the P:[rince] wtwith his feu-
seefusee in his hand stood on a hill
side, &and whistled so exact ytthat you
cou’dcould not distinguish it from a
Plover, some gather’dgathered about him,
of qchwhich he killd shot tuotwo on wing
and tuotwo on ground; Lachline Drem-
still said yethe art behoove to
be witchcraft for if it was not
so, yethe plovers wou’dwould conveenconvene to
his whistling as to his H—[ighness]’s,
Dremstill takes yethe FewseeFusee, go’sgoes
asidaside &and falls a whistling, but tho’though
he stood there yet no plovers cam
to his relief; yethe P:[rince] a second
time takes yethe feuzeefusee whistles &and
gathers a croudcrowd of yethe plovers a-
bout &and shot a good many, he says
he never seed any to paraleleparallel
wtwith him at yethe gun, &and ytthat he’d never
risquerisk being starv’dstarved while he was
master of yethe feuzeefusee &and plenty of
amunitionammunition, Dremstile tells me
as they were coming away from Glencoridile 932 (932)
Glencoridile &and yethe parties by this
time landed in South Uist, as
his H—[ighness] was crossing a burn,
he missdmissed his step &and fell on his
ribs on a pointed stonstone qchwhich hurt
him severlyseverely, he gave a heavy
groan, &and made no more bemoan,
he was all this time very ill
of a bloody flux &and seversevere fits of
grinding, yet still was firm in
courage &and insisted he’d never be
taken while among his High-
land FreindsFriends, yethe Bearer here-
of James McDonald whose Fa-
ther Hugh McDonald of Armi-
dell was Captain of one of yethe
Militia Companies ytthat cam first
in suit of him, can tell you best
what passtpassed betwixt his fayrfather &and yethe
P—[rince]