History Of The Mackenzies [50]
in the forbearance of his followers if an opportunity occurred to them, and he accordingly sent Macdonald, under a strong guard, to Lord Lovat, to be kept by him in safety until he should advise him how to dispose of him.
He kept Alexander of Lochalsh with himself, but, contrary to the expectations of their friends, he, on the intercession of old Macdonald, released them both within six months, having first bound them by oath and honour never to molest him or his, and never again to claim any right to the Earldom of Ross, which the Lord of the Isles had in 1475 forfeited to the Crown.
Many of the Macdonalds and their followers who escaped from the field of battle perished in the River Conon. Flying from the close pursuit of the victorious Mackenzies, they took the river, which in some parts was very deep, wherever they came up to it, and were drowned. Rushing to cross at Moy, they met an old woman--still smarting under the insults and spoliations inflicted on her and her neighbours by the Macdonalds on their way north--and asked her where was the best ford on the river. "O! ghaolaich," she answered, "is aon ath an abhuinn; ged tha i dubh, cha `n eil i domhain," (Oh! dear, the river is all one ford together; though it looks black, it is not deep). In their pitiful plight, and on the strength of this misleading information, they rushed into the water in hundreds, and were immediately carried away by the stream, many of them clutching at the shrubs and bushes which overhung the banks of the river, and crying loudly for assistance. This amazon and a number of her sex who were near at hand had meanwhile procured their sickles, and now exerted themselves in cutting away the bushes to which the wretched Macdonalds clung with a death grasp, the old woman exclaiming in each case, as she applied her sickle, "As you have taken so much already which did not belong to you, my friend, you can take that into the bargain. The instrument of the old woman's revenge has been for many generations, and still is by very old people in the district, called "Cailleach na Maigb," or the Old Wife of Moy.
The Mackenzies then proceeded to ravage the lands of Ardmeanach and those belonging to William Munro of Fowlis--the former because the young laird of Kilravock, whose father was governor of that district, had assisted the Macdonalds; the latter probably because Munro, who joined neither party, was suspected secretly of favouring Lochalsh. So many excesses were committed at this time by the Mackenzies that the Earl of Huntly, Lieutenant of the North, was compelled, notwithstanding their services in repelling the invasion of the Macdonalds, to proceed against them as oppressors of the lieges. [Gregory, p. 57. Kilravock Writs, p.170, and Acts of Council.]
A blacksmith, known as Glaishean Gow or "Gobha," one of Lovat's people, in whose father's house Agnes Fraser, Mackenzie's wife, was fostered, hearing of the advance of the Macdonalds to the Mackenzie territory, started with a few followers in the direction of Conan, but arrived too late to take part in the fight. They were, however, in time to meet those few who managed to ford or swim the river, and killed every one of them so that they found an opportunity "to do more service than if
they had been at the battle."
This insurrection cost the Macdonalds the Lordship of the Isles, as others had previously cost them the Earldom of Ross. In a Parliament held in Edinburgh in 1493, the possessions of the Lord of the Isles were declared forfeited to the Crown. In the following January the aged Earl appeared before King James IV., and made a voluntary surrender of everything, after which he remained for several years in the King's household as a Court pensioner. By Act of the Lords of Council in 1492 Alexander Urquhart, Sheriff of Cromarty, had obtained restitution for himself and his tenants for the depredations committed by Macdonald and his followers. According to the Kilravock Papers, p. 162, the spoil amounted to 600 cows and
He kept Alexander of Lochalsh with himself, but, contrary to the expectations of their friends, he, on the intercession of old Macdonald, released them both within six months, having first bound them by oath and honour never to molest him or his, and never again to claim any right to the Earldom of Ross, which the Lord of the Isles had in 1475 forfeited to the Crown.
Many of the Macdonalds and their followers who escaped from the field of battle perished in the River Conon. Flying from the close pursuit of the victorious Mackenzies, they took the river, which in some parts was very deep, wherever they came up to it, and were drowned. Rushing to cross at Moy, they met an old woman--still smarting under the insults and spoliations inflicted on her and her neighbours by the Macdonalds on their way north--and asked her where was the best ford on the river. "O! ghaolaich," she answered, "is aon ath an abhuinn; ged tha i dubh, cha `n eil i domhain," (Oh! dear, the river is all one ford together; though it looks black, it is not deep). In their pitiful plight, and on the strength of this misleading information, they rushed into the water in hundreds, and were immediately carried away by the stream, many of them clutching at the shrubs and bushes which overhung the banks of the river, and crying loudly for assistance. This amazon and a number of her sex who were near at hand had meanwhile procured their sickles, and now exerted themselves in cutting away the bushes to which the wretched Macdonalds clung with a death grasp, the old woman exclaiming in each case, as she applied her sickle, "As you have taken so much already which did not belong to you, my friend, you can take that into the bargain. The instrument of the old woman's revenge has been for many generations, and still is by very old people in the district, called "Cailleach na Maigb," or the Old Wife of Moy.
The Mackenzies then proceeded to ravage the lands of Ardmeanach and those belonging to William Munro of Fowlis--the former because the young laird of Kilravock, whose father was governor of that district, had assisted the Macdonalds; the latter probably because Munro, who joined neither party, was suspected secretly of favouring Lochalsh. So many excesses were committed at this time by the Mackenzies that the Earl of Huntly, Lieutenant of the North, was compelled, notwithstanding their services in repelling the invasion of the Macdonalds, to proceed against them as oppressors of the lieges. [Gregory, p. 57. Kilravock Writs, p.170, and Acts of Council.]
A blacksmith, known as Glaishean Gow or "Gobha," one of Lovat's people, in whose father's house Agnes Fraser, Mackenzie's wife, was fostered, hearing of the advance of the Macdonalds to the Mackenzie territory, started with a few followers in the direction of Conan, but arrived too late to take part in the fight. They were, however, in time to meet those few who managed to ford or swim the river, and killed every one of them so that they found an opportunity "to do more service than if
they had been at the battle."
This insurrection cost the Macdonalds the Lordship of the Isles, as others had previously cost them the Earldom of Ross. In a Parliament held in Edinburgh in 1493, the possessions of the Lord of the Isles were declared forfeited to the Crown. In the following January the aged Earl appeared before King James IV., and made a voluntary surrender of everything, after which he remained for several years in the King's household as a Court pensioner. By Act of the Lords of Council in 1492 Alexander Urquhart, Sheriff of Cromarty, had obtained restitution for himself and his tenants for the depredations committed by Macdonald and his followers. According to the Kilravock Papers, p. 162, the spoil amounted to 600 cows and