What he says at the place cited by Gregory is :— years of age. "The year of God 1602, the tribe of Clan Kenzie fell at variance with the Laird of Glengarry (one of the Clanranald), who, being unexpert and unskilful in the laws of the realm, the Clan Kenzie easily entrapped him within the compass thereof, and secretly charged him (but not personally) to appear before the Justice at Edinburgh, having, in the meantime, slain two of his kinsmen. Glengarry, not knowing, or neglecting the charge and summcns, came not to Edinburgh at the prefixt day, but went about to avenge the slaughter of his kinsmen, whereby he was denounced rebel and outlawed together with divers of his followers. So by the means and credit of the Earl of Dunfermline, Lord Chancellor of Scotland, Kenneth Mackenzie, Lord of Kintail, did purchase a commission against Glengarry and his men, whereby proceeded great slaughter and trouble. Mackenzie, being assisted by the neighbouring countries, by virtue of his commission, went into Morall and spoiled Glengarrie his countrey, wasting and destroyThen, in his ing the same with fire and sword at his pleasure. return from Morall, he beseidged the Castle of Strome, which in end was rendered onto him by the Captain onto whom Glengarrie The Earl of Sutherland (by had committed the defence thereof. reason of the old friendship and amitie between his family and the Clan Kenzie) sent twelve score well-appointed and chosen men to assist Mackenzie in this expedition, who were conducted by John Gordoun of Embo. Thereafter Mackenzie did invade Glengarrie his eldest son whom they killed with sixty of his followers, not without some slaughter of the Clan Kenzie likewise. In end, after great slaughter on either syd, they came to a friendlie aggriement and decreit-arbitrall, whereby Glengarrie (for to obteyne his peace) wes glaid to quyte and renunce to Kenneth Mackenzie (who was afterwards created Lord of Kintaile) the inheritance of the Strome with the land adjacent. Thus doe the tryb of Clan Kenzie become great in these pairts, still encroaching upon their neighbours, who [Gordon's are onacquented with the lawes of this Kingdome." Earldom of Sutherland, p. 248.] It will thus be seen that Sir Robert Gordon, while treating with some detail the quarrel between the Mackenzies and the Macdonalds-even noticing the killing of two of Glengarry's kinsmen by Lord Kintail-makes no reference to the raid of Cilliechriost, which, if it had involved the murder and sacrilege which Gregory ascribed to it, would surely have been deemed worthy of notice by a contemporary historian treating of the relations of the parties to it, and favourably disposed to the Mackenzies. Perhaps, however, the most important

fact for us at present is that Gordon does not say a word to warrant the statement for which Gregory quotes him as authority. I have not been able to consult the Register of the Privy Seal referred to by Gregory, but it has been examined for me by Sir William Fraser, and it does not support Gregory's account, while it is in exact accord with that given in the "Chiefs of Grant," which I shall immediately quote. This leaves us with the Letterfearn MS. It is somewhat unsatisfactory to have to dispose of its authority without having seen it, but let it be assumed that it states the church and congregation were burnt. My answer is, It cannot be true. The Letterfearn MS. is said to have been written by Mr John Macrae, who became minister of Dingwall in 1674, and who was in all probability born about 1640. The raid of Cilliechriost, therefore, took place between thirty and forty years before his birth. This, however, would not be enough to discredit such an account in the Letterfearn MS. if it contained it. But if there is an earlier MS. than the Letterfearn one, of at least equal authority in every other respect, and containing a detailed account of the raid, then that account must be accepted in preference to any later one. Such an account we have in a MS. history of the Mackenzies, written either by Mr Farquhar Macrae, who was born at Islandonain in 1580, who became minister of Kintail and Constable of Islandonain in 1618, and who lived until 1662, or by his son, Mr John Macrae (the uncle of the writer of the Letterfearn MS.) who was born in 1614, eleven years after the raid, and who became minister of Dingwall in 1640. Both father and son were favourites with Earls Colin and George of Seaforth, the latter of whom entrusted the education of his son, Kenneth, Lord Kintail, who became third Earl of Seaforth on his father's death in 1651, to Mr Farquhar. The contents of the MS. would point to Mr Farquhar Macrae as the writer of it. The document bears internal evidence of its genuineness, and it is the "Ancient MS." so frequently quoted by Mr Mackenzie in his "History of the Mackenzies." I am indebted to Mr Mackenzie for the opportunity of examining and quoting from it. Much of the Letterfearn MS. was, I am informed by Mr Mackenzie, copied from it. The account this MS. gives of the Raid of Cilliechriost is as follows:-"Shortly after this, Allan Macranald of Lundy made ane onset to the Braes of Ross, and burnt the lands of Cilliechroist and other adjacent towns, whereupon my Lord Kintail sends two parties in pursuit of him, one commanded by Murdo Mackenzie of Redcastle, the other by Alexander Mackenzie of Coul. Redcastle went the way of

Inverness to Stratherrick, and, accidentally, in a town called Torriebreck, he gets inteliigence that Angus Macrory and thirty-six of his followers were drinking in a change-house near by. A man of Redcastle, being well acquaint, called Donald Mackenneth Peiper, led them secretly to the house, sets it on fire, and every man as came out they killed. Ranald himself coming at last to the door, he sought quarters, which Redcastle would have granted him, but one Donald Maccurchie said, 'You shall have such quarters as you gave to Donald Macconochy Chyle' (this Donald was a very pretty fellow of the Clan Ian Odhar, who was killed by this Ranald after he had given him quarter, when young Glengarry harried Lochcarron), so, when he understood there was no mercy for him, he ran out. The other gave such a race after him, came so near him that he could not shoot him, struks him with the bow on the head, which he brake, throws him flat to the ground, but or he can recover himself, he sticket him with his dirk (so we may see one ill turn meets another). Of his company none escaped, except one subtle fellow (which I cannot forget), who came out at the roof of the house, began to tirr it and crying for water, and said, with a loud voice, Mackenzie, though you have a quarrel against the Clan Ranald, I hope you have none against my master and me, when you burn my house after this manner.' With this he went free, as if he had been landlord indeed, and Redcastle turns homeward with his company. The other party that went with Alexander Mackenzie of Coul went the way of Beauly to Urquhart and to Glenmoriston, and foretakes Allan Macranald resting themselves on a sheill in little huts, near a rough burn called Aldsayh. Giving the alarm, some of them, with Allan, fought manfully, others fled, which all alike of them were forced in end to do, but, as their misfortune was, they missed the ford, the burn was so rough running twixt two craigs that severals broke their bones there, shunning their killing they met death in their way, but Ranald, being half naked as he fled, lapp just over it, and made his escape of all the rest. The pursuers seeing him loupe and on the other side, notwithstanding thereof, could not be persuaded he did it, and no man ever saw that place yet that could believe it, which, being several times asked of himself afterwards, he said he knew sensibly he loupt that very place, but how he came over that he knew not, except it was with the wings of fear and providence, but give him all the world he would not try it again."

This is the earliest written account of the Raid of Cilliechriost, and the fact that it tells the story of the raid without in the most remote way suggesting that anything so terrible and unusual as

the burning of a church full of people had occurred is of itself sufficient to outweigh the loose evidence of a tradition the origin of which no one knows. But the evidence on the subject does not stop here. Gregory expresses his astonishment that such a terrible instance of private vengeance should have occurred in the beginning of the seventeenth century without public notice being taken of it, and well he might. But, although the raid was far from being so serious an affair as Gregory believed it, public notice was taken of it. A prosecution was instituted by Mr John Mackenzie, Archdean of Ross, with the concurrence of the LordAdvocate, against Allan Macranald of Lundie on account of the raid, and the facts laid before the Crown show that the raid was one of a kind then common enough, and was not accompanied by any such barbarity as tradition credits it with. In short, the judicial proceedings corroborate the evidence afforded by the silence of the contemporary historian Sir Robert Gordon, and that of the Rev. Farquhar Macrae, the writer of the contemporary account of the raid, who, while professing to give a full narrative of all that took place, makes no mention of the Cilliechriost church.

Allan, it appears from Sir William Fraser's "History of the Chiefs of Grant," was summoned to appear before the Justice Clerk to answer the charge against him, but wisely preferred to remain at home, trusting to his friends' ability to arrange matters for him when time should have modified the rancour of his foes. In consequence of his non-appearance, Allan was denounced rebel, and his estates forfeited. On 7th December, 1622-about five months after the forfeiture-his friend, Sir John Grant, procured a gift of the escheat from the Crown in his own favour, and in the letter of gift, which Sir William Fraser quotes, the causes of the forfeiture are narrated. After mentioning the goods forfeited, the letter proceeds-"Which pertained of before to Allan Macranald of Lundie, in Glengarrie, and now pertaining to us, fallen and become in our hands and at our gift and disposition by reason of escheat through being of the said Allan Macranald upon the 28th day of June last by past, orderly denounced our rebel and put to our horn by virtue of our other letters raised and executed against the said Allan at the instance of Mr John Mackenzie, Archdean of Ross, for himself and as master with the remanent kin and friends of umquhile Alexander MacCaye, John MacCaye, Donald MacCaye his son, Alexander Gald, and

tenants and servants to the said Mr John of his town and lands of Kilchrist, and also at the instance of Sir

William Olephant of Newton Knight, our Advocate, for our interest, for not finding of sufficient caution and surety to our Justice Clerk and his Deputes, acted in our books of adjournal that he should compear before our Justice and his deputes, and underlie the laws for the treasonable and wilfull raising of fire, and cruelly and unmercifully murdering and slaying of the said umquhile Alexander MacCaye, umquhile Johne, and umquhile Donald MacCayis, and Alexander Gald, and tenants to the

said Mr John Mackenzie, of the said town and lands of Gilchriste, burning and destroying of the number of twenty-seven dwellinghouses within the said town, with the barns, byres, and kilns belonging thereto, and burning and destroying of the said Mr John his haill librarie and books, together with twenty score bolls oats and eight score bolls bere, being in the said Mr Johne his barn and barnyard, and theftously stealing and away-taking of nine piece of horse with the said Mr Johne his own best horse, three score ten oxen and kye, and that in the month of September, the year of God 1603 years, the time of the feud then standing betwixt umquhile Kenneth Lord Kintaill and Donald Macangus of Glengarrie."

"This narration," says Sir William Fraser, "divests the raid of Cilliechriost of its traditionary horrors, and reduces it to the dimensions of an attack by a party of Macdonalds, under Allan dubh Macranald, upon the Archdean of Ross, who, being a Mackenzie of prominence, would be peculiarly obnoxious to the raiders. The resistance of the Archdean's tenants to the attack on their laird probably incited the Macdonalds to extend their destructive operations to their dwellings in addition to that of the Archdean, and in the strife several of the tenants were slain. It is impossible to suppose that had any terrible sacrilege and cruelty taken place such as tradition relates, it would have been omitted from the charge against the Laird of Lundie, especially when the Archdean himself was the author of the process.'

It is difficult to overtake and more difficult to kill a falsehood when it gets a day's start. How much more difficult when it gets a start of more than a century. It is for those who allege that the men of Glengarry committed the atrocity of burning a church full of people to prove their case. If they say it is proved by a tradition, I reply that there never was a vestige of tradition even to justify the horrible details piled up by the writer of the legend quoted by Mr Mackenzie in his "History of the Mackenzies." So far as these are concerned we are able to say that they

* Chiefs of Grant, Vol. I., pp. 221-2.