|
Giving evidence before the
Deer Forest Commission of 1892, the late Mr. neas R. Macdonell of
Camusdarroch, Arisaig, made an interesting statement. After mentioning
that he was a member of the Scottish Bar, and had previously been
proprietor of Morar, he proceeded:--
I am able to speak
generally as to the population there used to be in Arisaig in my young
days,—in fact, the whole tract of country seemed to be populated and to
have numerous houses on all parts of it; but I want to confine my
evidence almost entirely to that portion of the district which is now
under deer forest. It is now called Rhu-Arisaig, but 100 years ago it
was called Dubh-chamus.
Although I am only
seventy-two years of age, I am able to speak of thirty years beyond
that, from 1794. My grandfather occupied the various places or townships
in Dubh-chamus or Rudha. These were Dubh-chamus, Rhu, Tirnadrish, Torbae,
Rhubrec, Tormor, Rhuemoch, Claggan, Portavullid, Bal-ur, Ardgaserie, and
Achagarrailt. I am able to speak concerning that period from an old
account-book belonging to my grandfather, to which I had access a good
many years ago, and it was in connection with a very melancholy occasion
in which I was unfortunately implicated, viz., an emigration from the
estate of Loch Sheil in Moidart. In that account-book I found
thirty-seven names of individuals in the various families who were
paying rent, as sub-tenants to my grandfather, Archibald Macdonald,
Rudha, Arisaig, who died, I think, in 1828 or 1829. I don't know where
that account-book now is. At that time it was in the possession of my
uncle, Macdonald of Loch Shell; and I may as well mention that it was in
connection with Rudha that I came to examine the book.
First I should mention
that these people occupied Rhu as cottars, and they had land for which
apparently they paid no rent, but worked the land, of which Mr.
Macdonald of Rudha cropped a portion. They paid rent for grazing,—a
small nominal sum, and he himself paid a very small rent also to the
then proprietor, Macdonald of Clanranald. In fact he, as well as
Macdonald of Borrodale and Macdonald of Glen Alladale, came into
possession of the various lands as being sons of the then Macdonald of
Clanranald. They took these lands with the population on them, and
occupied them.
The rents were paid to
the tenants, to these Macdonalds, at a very small rate, because they
themselves were not highly charged.
It so came to pass that
in Lord Cranston's time my uncle, Gregor Macdonald, who then occupied
Rudha, had to give a large increase of rent, or be quit of it. Well, he
could not under the old system on which he held it afford to give more
rent. The consequence was that the farm was taken over him; and the
cruel thing was, that he was obliged to remove all the sub-tenants upon
it who had been there generations before him or his ancestors. The only
thing that he could do was to get his brother Macdonald of Loch Sheil to
take the people over to Loch Sheil in Moidart. Times grew black, and the
potato famine occurred, and the consequence was that there was a
redundant population, for Moidart had previously been well inhabitated,
and the addition of so many families from Rudha, Arisaig, quite
overwhelmed them when the potato famine occurred.
I was then puzzled to
know how many came from Rhu, Arisaig, and I got access in that way to
the old books from which I took an extract, and I have here a list of
the names of the various people and the portions of Rudha that they
occupied. In Ardgaserich there were 12, viz., Lachlan Mackinnon, Donald
Roy Macinnes, John Macintyre, John Mackinnon, Patrick Maccormack, Neil
Mackinnon, Ronald Macdonald, Mrs. Macdonald, Donald Macvarish, Duncan
Macinnes, John Macdonald, and Allan Mackinnon. In Torbae there were 4,
viz., Angus Smith, L. Mackinnon, J. Macdonald, John Maciasaac. In
Dubh-chamus, ten, viz., John Kinnaird, John Macisaac, Finlay Mackellaig,
Archibald Macfarlane, James Macdonald, Widow Maceachan, Patrick Grant,
Allan Mackinnon, Dugald Macpherson, and Widow Maclean. In Rudha, zi,
viz., Mrs. Donald Macdonald, Donald Macinnes, Roderick Mackinnon, John
Maccormack, Rory Smith, Angus Bain Macdonald, Ewan Mackinnon, Peter
Macfarlane, Dugald Gillies, Alexander Macleod, Angus Roy Maceachan.
These are in all 37, and they are evidently of different families. The
rents were given, and the payments made, and everything in connection
with their holdings. The date of this is 1794.
I was going on to explain
that these people, or rather the descendants of some of them, had to be
removed to Moidart, and in the congested state of the estate it had to
be considered what was best to be done. I was then a young man. I had
just passed at the Bar, and I and the late respected James Macgregor of
Fort William were appointed trustees to do what was best. W'Ve could see
nothing for it,---it was impossible for the people to subsist,—but to
assist them to emigrate, and we were assisted very materially in
carrying out the emigration by the resident Catholic clergyman of that
time, Rev. Ronald Rankine, who indeed followed them. So many of them
went to Australia and a few of them to America. But never shall I forget
until my dying day,—it is a source of grief to me that I had anything
whatsoever to do with that emigration, although, at the same time, God
knows I cannot understand how it could have been averted. Many of the
people have succeeded well and are well-to-do, but if they had remained,
they would have been impoverished themselves, and they would have
impoverished the few that are still on the estate. |
