| On the release of Mackay from his confinement in the castle of Edinburgh, he
was employed in the wars upon the borders, against the English, in which he acquitted
himself courageously; and on his return to Strathnaver he submitted himself to the Earl of
Sutherland, with whom he lived in peace during the remainder of the earl’s life. But
Mackay incurred, the just displeasure of the tribe of Slaight-ean-Voir by the committal of
two crimes of the deepest dye. Having imbibed a violent affection for the wife of
Tormaid-Mac-Iain-Mhoir, the chieftain of that tribe, he, in order to accomplish his
object, slew the chief, after which he violated his wife, by whom he had a son called
Donald Balloch Mackay. The insulted clan flew to arms; but they were defeated at Durines,
by the murderer and adulterer, after a sharp skirmish. Three of the principal men of the
tribe who had given themselves up, trusting to Mackay’s clemency, were beheaded.
In the early part of the reign of the
unfortunate Queen Mary, during the period of the Reformation in Scotland, the house of
Huntly had acquired such an influence in the north and north-east of Scotland, the old
Maormorate of Moray, as to be looked upon with suspicion by the government of the day.
Moreover the Lords of the Congregation regarded the earl with no friendly feeling as the
great leader of the Roman Catholic party in the country, and it was therefore resolved
that Mary should make a royal progress northwards, apparently for the purpose of seeing
what was the real state of matters, and, if possible, try to overawe the earl, and remind
him that he was only a subject. The queen, who, although Huntly was the Catholic leader,
appears to have entered into the expedition heartily; and her bastard brother, the Earl of
Murray, proceeded, in 1562, northwards, backed by a small army, and on finding the earl
fractious, laid siege to the castle of Inverness, which was taken, and the governor
hanged. The queen’s army and the followers of Huntly met at the hill of Corrichie,
about sixteen miles west of Aberdeen, when the latter were defeated, the earl himself
being found among the slain. It was on this occasion that Mary is said to have wished
herself a man to be able to ride forth "in jack and knapskull." This expedition
was the means of effectually breaking the influence of this powerful northern family.
George, Earl of Caithness, who had long borne a mortal hatred
to John, Earl of Sutherland, now projected a scheme for cutting him off, as well as his
countess, who was big with child, and their only son, Alexander Gordon; the earl and
countess were accordingly both poisoned at Helmsdale, while at supper, by Isobel Sinclair,
wife of Gilbert Gordon of Gartay, and sister of William Sinclair of Dumbaith, instigated,
it is said, by the earl; but their son, Alexander, made a very narrow escape, not having
returned in time from a hunting excursion to join his father and mother at supper. On
Alexander’s return the earl had become fully aware of the danger of his situation,
and he was thus prevented by his father from participating in any part of the supper which
remained, and after taking an affectionate and parting farewell, and recommending him to
the protection of God and of his dearest friends, he sent him to Dunrobin the same night
without his supper. The earl and his lady were carried next morning to Dunrobin. where
they died within five days thereafter, in the month of July, 1567, and were buried in the
cathedral church at Dornoch. Pretending to cover himself from the imputation of being
concerned in this murder, the Earl of Caithness punished some of the earl’s most
faithful servants under the colour of avenging his death; but the deceased earl’s
friends being determined to obtain justice, apprehended Isobel Sinclair, and sent her to
Edinburgh to stand her trial, where, after being tried and condemned, she died on the day
appointed for her execution. During all the time of her illness she vented the most
dreadful imprecations upon her cousin, the earl, who had induced her to commit the horrid
act. Had this woman succeeded in cutting off the earl’s son, her own eldest son, of
John Gordon, but for the extraordinary circumstances of his death, to be noticed, would
have succeeded to the earldom, as he was the next Earl male heir. This youth happening to
be in the house when his mother had prepared the poison, became extremely thirsty, and
called for a drink. One of his mother’s servants, not aware of the preparation,
presented to the youth a portion of the liquid into which the poison had been infused,
which he drank. This occasioned his death within two days, a circumstance which, together
with the appearances of the body after death, gave a clue to the discovery of his
mother’s guilt.
Taking advantage of the calamity which had
befallen the house of Sutherland, and the minority of the young earl, now only fifteen
years of age, Y-Mackay of Far, who had formed an alliance with the Earl of Caithness,
in1567 invaded the country of Sutherland, wasted the barony of Skibo, entered the town of
Dornoch, and, upon the pretence of a quarrel with the Murrays, by whom it was chiefly
inhabited, set fire to it, in which outrage he was assisted by the Laird of Duffus. These
measures were only preliminary to a design which the Earl of Caithness had formed to get
the Earl of Sutherland into his hands, but he had the cunning to conceal his intentions in
the meantime, and to instigate Mackay to act as he wished, without appearing to be in any
way concerned.
In pursuance of his design upon Alexander,
the young Earl of Sutherland, the Earl of Caithness prevailed upon Robert Stuart, bishop
of Caithness, to write a letter to the governor of the castle of Skibo, in which the Earl
of Sutherland resided, to deliver up the castle to him; a request with which the governor
complied. Having taken possession of the castle, the earl carried off the young man into
Caithness, and although only fifteen years of age, he got him married to Lady Barbara
Sinclair, his daughter, then aged thirty-two years. Y-Mackay was the paramour of this
lady, and for continuing the connexion with him she was afterwards divorced by her
husband.
The Earl of Caithness having succeeded in his
wishes in obtaining possession of the Earl of Sutherland, entered the earl’s country,
and took possession of Dunrobin castle, in which he fixed his residence. He also brought
the Earl of Sutherland along with him, but treated him meanly, and he burnt all the papers
belonging to the house of Sutherland he could lay his hands on. Cruel and avaricious, he,
under the pretence of vindicating the law, for imaginary crimes expelled many of the
ancient families in Sutherland from the country, put many of the inhabitants to death,
disabled those he banished, in their persons, by new and unheard-of modes of torture, and
stripped them of all their wealth. To be suspected of favouring the house of Sutherland,
and to be wealthy, were deemed capital crimes by this opressor.
As the Earl of Sutherland did not live on friendly terms with
his wife on account of her .licentious connexion with Mackay, and as there appeared no
chance of any issue, the Earl of Caithness formed the base design of cutting off the Earl
of Sutherland, and marrying William Sinclair, his second son, to Lady Margaret Gordon, the
eldest sister of the Earl of Sutherland whom he had also gotten into his hands, with the
view of making William earl of Sutherland. The better to conceal his intentions the Earl
of Caithness made a journey south to Edinburgh, and gave the necessary instructions to
those in his confidence to despatch the Earl of Sutherland; but some of his trusty friends
having received private intelligence of the designs of the Earl of Caithness from some
persons who were privy thereto, instantly set about measures for defeating them by getting
possession of the Earl of Sutherland’s person. Accordingly, under cloud of night,
they came quietly to the burn of Golspie, in the vicinity of Dunrobin, where, concealing
themselves to prevent discovery, they sent Alexander Gordon of Sidderay to the castle,
disguised as a pedlar, for the purpose of warning the Earl of Sutherland of the danger of
his situation, and devising means of escape. Being made acquainted with the design upon
his life, and the plans of his friends for rescuing him, the earl, early the following
morning, proposed to the residents in the castle, under whose charge he was, to accompany
him on a small excursion in the neighbourhood. This proposal seemed so reasonable in
itself, that, although he was perpetually watched by the Earl of Caithness’ servants,
and his liberty greatly restrained, they at once agreed; and, going out, the earl being
aware of the ambush laid by his friends, led his keepers directly into the snare before
they were aware of danger. The earl’s friends thereupon rushed from their
hiding-place, and seizing him, conveyed him safely out of the country of Sutherland to
Strathbogie. This took place in 1569. As soon as the Earl of Caithness’s retainers
heard of the escape of Earl Alexander, they collected a party of men favourable to their
interests, and went in hot pursuit of him as far as Port-ne-Coulter; but they found that
the earl and his friends had just crossed the ferry.
Shortly after this affair a quarrel ensued
between the Monroos and the clan Kenzie, two very powerful Ross-shire clans. Losley, the
celebrated bishop of Ross, had made over to his cousin, the Laird of Balquhain, the right
and title of the castle of the Canonry of Ross, together with the castle lands.
Notwithstanding this grant, the Regent Murray had given the custody of this castle to
Andrew Monroe of Milntown; and to make Losloy bear with the loss, the Regent promised him
some of the lands of the Barony of Fintry in Buchan, but on condition that he should cede
to Monroe the castle and castle lands of the Canonry; but the untimely and unexpected
death of the Regent interrupted this arrangement, and Andrew Monroe did not, of course,
obtain the title to the castle and castle lands as he expected. Yet Monroe had the address
to obtain permission from the Earl of Lennox during his regency, and afterwards from the
Earl of Mar, his successor in that office, to get possession of the castle. The clan
Kenzie grudging to see Monroe in possession, and being desirous to get hold of the castle
themselves, purchased Lesley’s right, and, by virtue thereof, demanded delivery of
the castle. Monroe refused to accede to this demand, on which the clan laid siege to the
castle; but Monroe defended it for three years at the expense of many lives on both sides.
It was then delivered up to the clan Kenzie under the act of pacification.
No attempt was made by the Earl of Sutherland
during his minority, to recover his possessions from the Earl of Caithness. In the
meantime the latter, disappointed and enraged at the escape of his destined prey, vexed
and annoyed still farther the partisans of the Sutherland family. In particular, he
directed his vengeance against the Murrays, and made William Sutherland of Evelick,
brother to the Laird of Duffus, apprehend John Croy-Murray, under the pretence of bringing
him to justice. This proceeding roused the indignation of Hugh Murray of Aborscors, who
assembled his friends, and made several incursions upon the lands of Evelick, Pronsios,
and Riorchor. They also laid waste several villages belonging to the Laird of Duffus, from
which they carried off some booty, and apprehending a gentleman of the Sutherlands, they
detained him as an hostage for the safety of John Croy-Murray. Upon this the Laird of
Duffus collected all his kinsmen and friends, together with the Sioll-Phaill at Skibo, and
proceeded to tbe town of Dornoch, with the intention of burning it. But the inhabitants,
aided by the Murrays, went out to meet the enemy, whom they courageously attacked and
overthrew, and pursued to the gates of Skibo. Besides killing several of Duffus’ men
they made some prisoners whom they exchanged for John Croy-Murr‘ay. This affair was
called the skirmish of Torran-Roy.
The Laird of Puffus, who was father-in-law to
the Earl of Caithness, and supported him in all his plans, immediately sent notice of this
disaster to the earl, who without delay sent his eldest son, John, Master of Caithness,
with a large party of countrymen and friends, including Y-Mackay and his countrymen, to
attack the Murrays in Domoch. They besieged the town and castle, which were both manfully
defended by the Murrays and their friends; but the Master of Caithness, favoured by the
darkness of the night, set fire to the cathedral, the steeple of which, however, was
preserved. After the town had been reduced, the Mastor of Caithness attacked the castle
and the steeple of the church, into which a body of men had thrown themselves, both of
which held out for the space of a week, and would probably have resisted much longer, but
for the interference of mutual friends of the parties, by whose mediation the Murrays
surrendered the castle and the steeple of the church; and, as hostages for the due
performance of other conditions, they delivered up Thomas Murray, son of Houcheon Murray
of Aberscors, Houcheon Murray, son of Alexander Mac-Sir-Angus, and John Murray, son of
Thomas Murray, the brother of John Murray of Aberscors. But the Earl of Caithness refused
to ratify the treaty which his son had entered into with the Murrays, and afterwards
basely beheaded the three hostages. These occurrences took place in the year 1570.
The Murrays and the other friends of the
Sutherland family, no longer able to protect themselves from the vengeance of the Earl of
Caithness, dispersed themselves into different countries, there to wait for more
favourable times, when they might return to their native soil without danger. The Murrays
went to Strathbogie, where Earl Alexander then resided. Hugh Gordon of Drummoy retired to
Orkney, where he married a lady named Ursula Tulloch; but he frequently visited his
friends in Sutherland, in spite of many snares laid for him by the Earl of Caithness,
while secretly going and returning through Caithness. Hugh Gordon’s brothers took
refuge with the Murrays at Strathbogie. John Gray of Skibo and his son Gilbert retired to
St. A.ndrews, where their friend Robert, bishop of Caithness, then resided, and
Mac-Mhic-Sheumais of Strathully went to Glengarry.
As the alliance of such a powerful and
warlike chief as Mackay would have been of great importance to the Sutherland interest, an
attempt was made to detach him from the Earl of Caithness. The plan appears to have
originated with Hugh Murray of Aberscors, who made repeated visits to consult with the
Earl of Sutherland and his friends on this subject, and afterwards went into Strathnaver
and held a conference with Mackay, whom he prevailed upon to accompany him to Strathbogie.
Mackay then entered into an engagement with the Earl of Huntly and the Earl of Sutherland,
to assist the latter against the Earl of Caithness, in condideration of which, and on
payment of £300 Scots, he obtained from the Earl of Huntly the heritable right and title
of the lands of Strathnaver; but Mackay, influenced by Barbara Sinclair, the wife of the
Earl of Sutherland, with whom he now publicly cohabited, broke his engagement, and
continued to oppress the earl’s followers and dependents.
From some circumstances which have not
transpired, the Earl of Caithness became suspicios of his son John, the Master of
Caithness, as having, in connection with Mackay, a design upon his life. To put an end to
the earl’s suspicion, Mackay advised John to go to Girnigo (Castle Sinclair), and to
submit himself to his father’s pleasure, a request with which the Master complied;
but, after arriving at Girnigo, he was, while conversing with his father, arrested by a
party of armed men, who, upon a secret signal being given by the earl, had rushed in at
the chamber door. He was instantly fettered and thrust into prison within the castle,
where, after a miserable captivity of seven years, he died, a prey to famine and vermine.
Mackay, who had accompanied the Master to
Girnigo, and who in all probability would have shared the same fate, escaped and returned
home to Strathnaver, where he died, within four months thereafter, of grief and remorse
for the many bad actions of his life. During the minority of his son Houcheon, John
Mor-Mackay, the cousin, and John Beg-Mackay, the bastard son of Y-Mackay, took charge of
the estate; but John Mor-Mackay was speedily removed from his charge by the Earl of
Caithness, who, considering him as a favourer of the Earl of Sutherland, caused him to be
apprehended and carried into Caithness, where he was detained in prison till his death.
During this time John Robson, the chief of the clan Gun in Caithness and Strathnaver,
became a dependent on the Earl of Sutherland, and acted as his factor in collecting the
rents and duties of the bishop’s lands within Caithness which belonged to the earl.
This connexion was exceedingly disagreeable to the Earl of Caithness, who in consequence
took a grudge at John Robson, and, to gratify his spleen, he instigated Houcheon Mackay to
lay waste the lands of the clan Gun, in the Brea-Moir, in Caithness, without the knowledge
of John Beg-Mackay, his brother. As the clan Gun had always been friendly to the family of
Mackay, John Beg-Mackay was greatly exasperated at the conduct of the earl in enticing the
young chief to commit such an outrage; but he had it not in his power to make any
reparation to the injured clan. John Robson the chief, however, assisted by Alexander Earl
of Sutherland, invaded Strathnaver and made ample retaliation. Meeting the Strathnaver men
at a place called Creach-Drumi-Doun, he attacked and defeated them, killing several of
them, and chiefly those who had accompanied Houcheon Mackay in his expedition to the
Brea-Moir. He then carried off a large quantity of booty, which he divided among the clan
Gun of Strathully, who had suffered by Houcheon Mackay’s invasion.
The Earl of Caithess, having resolved to
avenge himself on John Beg-Mackay for the displeasure shown by him at the conduct of
Houcheon Mackay, and also on the clan Gun, prevailed upon Neil-Mac-lain-Mac-William, chief
of the Sliochd-Iain-Abaraich, and James Mac-Rory, chief of the Sliochd-Iain-Mhoir, to
attack them. Accordingly, in the month of September, 1579, these two chiefs, with their
followers, entered Balnekill in Durines during the night-time, and slew John Beg-Mackay
and William Mac-lain-Mac-Rob, the brother of John Robson, and some of their people. The
friends of the deceased were not in a condition to retaliate, but they kept up the spirit
of revenge so customary in those times, and only waited a favourable opportunity to
gratify it. This did not occur till several years thereafter. In the year 1587, James
Mac-Rory, "a fyne gentleman and a good commander," according to Sir Robert
Gordon, was assassinated by Donald Balloch-Mackay, the brother of John Beg-Mackay; and two
years thereafter John Mackay, the son of John Beg, attacked Neil Mac-lain-Mac-William,
whom he wounded severely, and cut off some of his followers. "This Neil," says
Sir R. Gordon. "heir mentioned, wes a good captain, bold, craftie, of a verie good
witt, and quick resolution"
After the death of John Beg-Mackay, and
William Mac-lain-Mac-Rob, a most deadly and inveterate feud followed, between the clan Gun
and the Sliochd-Iain-Abaraich, but no recital of the details has been handed down to us.
"The long, the many, the horrible encounters," observes Sir R. Gordon
"which happened beetween these two trybes, with the bloodshed, and infinit spoils
committed in every pairt of the diocy of Catteynes by them and their associates are of so
disordered and troublesome memorie, that, what with their asperous names, together with
the confusion of place, tymes, and persons, would yet be (no doubt) a warr to the reader
to overlook them; and therefor, to favor myne oune paines, and his who should get little
profite or delight thereby, I doe pass them over."
The clan Chattan, fifty years earlier, must have been
harassing the surrounding districts to a terrible extent, and causing the government
considerable trouble, as in 1528 we find a mandate addressed by King James "to our
shirreffs of Kincardin, Abirdene, Banf, Elgen, Fores, Name, and Invernyss; and to our
derrest bruthir, James, Erle of Murray, our lieutenant generale in the north partis of our
realme, and to our louittis consingis [ ] Erle of Suthirland; John Erie of Cathnes,"
&c., commanding them that inasmuch as John M’Kinlay, Thomas Mackinlay, Donald
Glass, &c., "throcht assistance and fortifying of all the kin of Clanquhattane
duelland within Baienach, Petty, Brauchly, Strathnarne, and other parts thereabout,
commits daily fireraising, slaughter, murder, heirschippis, and wasting of the
cuntre," to the harm of the true lieges, these sheriffs and others shall fall upon
the "said Clanquhattane, and invade them to their utter destruction by slaughter,
burning, drowning, and other ways; and leave na creature living of that clan, except
priests, women, and bairns." The "women and bairns" they ordered to take to
"some parts of the sea nearest land, quhair ships salbe forsene on our expenses, to
sail with them furth of our realme, and land with them in Jesland, Zesland, or Norway;
because it were inhumanity to put hands in the blood of women and bairns". Had this
mandate for "stamping out" this troublesome clan been carried out it would
certainly have been an effectual cure for many of the disturbances in the Highlands; but
we cannot find any record as to what practical result followed the issue of this cruel
decree. |
