| I can remember his royal higness being in the house of
Lochmoy belonging to the Laird of M'Intosh, it being the headquarters for that night Lord
Loudon and m'Leod intended from Inverness to surprise his royal higness before he could
get up with the number of about 17 hundred or two thousand men, whereas his royal
higness hade not above fiftie men of a guard that night, but what was all quartred some little way
off. And as soon as Lord Loudon and M' Leod set out from Inverness their was a
little boy about twelve years of age that set out along with them in order to alarme the
Prince but for the space of two or three miles he never could have the opportunity of
passing by them at last he got clear of them and made the best of his way for Moy that he
could and gave the cry as soon as he came to the Closs where the guards was standing and
called out the neamie was within a mile of us. And then he came into the kitchen
where I was lying on the table head asleep and awakenede me by pulling and halling at my
greatcoat and desired me for Gods sake to go and wan the Prince which accordingly I went
upstairs and meet one of the guard comming down from the Prince's room and I asked him had
the Prince made him answer and he said he hade for which his higness heard us speaking and
calld out who was thiere. Upon which I made answer and he desire me to call the
piperach for which I did and his higness went down stairs and his feet in his shooes by
the way of slippers and buckled them in the Closs..Upon which my Lady M'Intosh and her
sister and me went to the roome where he sleept and took all the most valuable things that
were in the roome where he lay and went upe to the garrats and hide them in fether stands
that was almost full of feathers and my Lady was always calling at me to follow with the
curtains for I would stay til they would take me by the neck, for by this time the Prince
was
more than a mile off toward the southwest end of the loch thorrou a wood..Then I went
after and overtook them all at the other end of the loch and by that time Locheal and all
his men was comming and when he came we was to go no farther but stand it if they came up.
But in mean time that they were all taking a dram their came an express from
my Lady M'Intosh acquainting his royal highness to return back again for the five spies
that she sent out the night before was come back and had hapned to surprise Norman MLeod,
the Laird who was upon the advance guard with about 70 men lying in the hollow not knowing
what to do by reason of the flashes of lightning from the heavens that was confounding
their desires. For a blacksmith one of the five men that my Lady M'Intosh sent out as
spies fire upon them and killed M'Leods pyper hard by his side and wounded another of them
and then they all tooke the flight and returned to Inverness haling the pyper after them
till they got a horse and cart to carrie him..And so his higness returned back to Moy and
stayed another night and marched the next day for Inverness..And this is truth as far as I
have wrot you but I know no more of the mater... Alexander Stewart
Leith
January 30th. 1749 |
