Ordnance gazetteer of Scotland

MOY AND DALAEOSSIE
the N end and along the banks of the Findhorn, from
3000 to 4000 acres are arable; and the rest is pasture or
waste. On the higher grounds there is good hill
shooting. The underlying rooks are granite and gneiss.
The drainage of the parish is effected along its entire
length, from SW to NE, by the river Findhorn, which
has, following the windings from its source to the point
where it quits the parish on the E side, a course of 32
miles. Formed by the union of the river Eskin with
the Abhainn Cro Chlach, it receives on the E the Elrick
Burn, the Allt an Duibhidh, the Allt Fionndairnich,
the Allt a' Mhuilinn Creag Bhreac, the Allt a' Mhuilinn,
the Allt Lathachaidh, the Clune Burn, the Allt na
Feithe Sheilich, and the Burn of Edinchat; and on the
W Allt Creagach, Allt Feitheanach, Allt Odhar Mor,
Glenmazeran Burn, Kyllachie Burn, Allt Nicrath, Allt
na Frithe, and the Funtack Burn. The upper portion
of the valley is known as Strath Dearn, the Gaelic name
of the river being Earn or Eire. It is a narrow strath,
with the bottom more or less broken and the steep hills
grassy rather than heathy. Along the upper ten miles,
except the summer shielings, hardly a dwelling is to be
seen; afterwards there are alluvial banks and well-
marked river terraces, and further N, just where the
river quits the parish, is the commencement of the wild
gorge of Streens, where the narrow strip of ground along
the edge of the river is completely overshadowed either
by hills or in some places by granite precipices. Kyl-
lachy is associated with the name of Sir James Mac-
kintosh, whose patrimony this estate was, and where
(though he was born in the parish of Dores) he spent
many of his earlier years; while the present holder,
William Mackintosh, one of the judges of the Court
of Session, takes from it his judicial title of Lord
Killachy.
The north-western part of the parish is occupied by
the glen of Moy, the drainage of which is carried off by
the Funtack Burn, which has a course of about 2J miles
from Loch Moy to the Findhorn. It receives from the
NE the small Burn of Tullochlary, and from the SW
Allt a Chail. Loch Moy, the only considerable sheet
of water in the parish — the smaller Lochan a Chaoruinn
on the Dalriach Burn, farther to the NW, and some
other still smaller lakelets being hardly worth mention-
ing — is lj mile long and 3J furlongs wide at the
broadest part. The surface is about 893 feet above sea-
level, and the area is about 200 acres; but in 1884,
as the result of operations carried out for improving
the drainage of Moy Hall and of between 200 and 300
acres of damp soil on the home farm of Moy, the level
of the loch was reduced 4 or 5 feet. The loch is
surrounded by woods, and the reclaimed margins have
been planted. On a small wooded island, of some 5 or
6 acres in extent, the ruins of a castle, long inhabited
by the chiefs of Mackintosh, are still to be seen. A
paved road, with buildings on each side, seems also
to have extended along the island. It was first occupied
in 1337, and is said to have had in 1422 a garrison of
400 men. The castle was inhabited down to 1665. In
1762 two ovens were discovered, each capable of baking
150 lbs. of meal. Connected with the chief who erected
this island fortress, it is told that at the house-warming
he incautiously, before a wandering harper, expressed
his pleasure at being for the first time able to retire to
rest free from fear of Allan Macrory, fourth chief of
Clanranald of Moidart. The story was carried by the
harper to Allan, who at once summoned his vassals, and
rested neither day nor night till, arrived at Loch Moy,
he crossed at night to the island in currachs, and having
stormed the castle, carried Mackintosh a prisoner to
Castle Tirrim, where he kept him for a year and a day,
at the end of which period he dismissed him with the
advice, 'never to be free from the fear of Macdonald.'
The outlet of the loch is associated with a clan disaster
that seems to have occurred between 1410 and 1420.
During a feud between the Cumyns and the Mackin-
toshes, the latter were all driven to take refuge on the
large island in Loch Moy, and their foes, thinking this
a capital opportunity to put an end to the whole of their
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MOY AND DALAEOSSIE
troublesome neighbours, determined to dam up the
waters of the loch so as to drown them all. One of the
Mackintoshes, however, proved equal to the occasion,
for having procured a raft, ' and supplying himself with
twine, he descended in the dead of night to the dam.
This was lined towards the water with boards, through
which the adventurer bored a number of holes with an
auger, and in each hole he put a plug with a string
attached.' When everything was ready he pulled all
the strings at once, and the water rushed out with such
force as to carry away the embankment and the whole
of the Cumyns who were encamped behind it. Such
at least is the tradition of the district. At an excursion
of the Inverness Field Club to the district in 1881, it
was stated that some of the hero's descendants were still
tenants on the Mackintosh estates at Dalcross, and were
locally known as 'Torrie,' the word tora being the
Gaelic for auger. In the centre of the island there is
now a granite obelisk, 70 feet high, erected in 1824 in
honour of Sir iEneas Mackintosh, Bart., the twenty-
third chief, who died in 1820. About 200 yards SE of
the main island is the small Eilan nan Clach, formed
of boulders, and only about 12 yards across and 3 feet
above the old level of the water. It was used as a
prison, the captive being chained to a stone in the
centre. A gallows stood on it till about the end of the
18th century, and the prisoners were either set free or
executed within twenty-four hours. Both islands figure
in Morritt's ballad of The Curse of Moy, and are asso-
ciated with many of the other traditions of the district.
The loch receives at the W end Moy Burn, with two
smaller streams. The fishing is fair, but the trout are
small. At the NW corner is Moy Hall, the seat of
Mackintosh of Mackintosh. It was formerly a plain
building, used as a jointure house, but large additions
and alterations have since been made at a cost of £14,000.
The entrance-hall has been designed in imitation of that
at the old castle of Dalcross; and in the library are a
sword, said to have been presented by Pope Leo X. to
James V., and by him given to the then chief of
Mackintosh ; the sword worn by Dundee at Killie-
crankie; a sword that formerly belonged to Charles I.;
and a gold watch that belonged to Mary Queen of Scots.
A mile and a half W of the loch is the pass known as
Stairsneach-nan-Gael, or the ' threshold of the High-
landers,' across which is the principal passage from
Badenoch and Strathspey to the low country about
Inverness and Nairn, just as the Streens led to that
about Forres and Elgin. Once through this, the clans-
men returning from a foray in the ' laich ' considered
themselves safe, and the chief of Mackintosh is said
to have exacted from the neighbouring clans a tax
called ' the collop or steak of the booty, ' for permitting
their quiet passage with their plunder. The hollow of
Ciste Creag-nan-eoin, near by, is said to have been some-
times used as a place of concealment for the women and
children in times of danger. The whole pass, of which
Stairsneach-nan-Gael is only the narrowest part, is
known as Creag-nan-eoin, and was in 1746 the scene of
the incident known as the 'Rout of Moy.' Prince
Charles Edward Stuart, on his march northward, had
on 16 Feb. advanced in front of his troops with only a
small escort, in order to pass the night at Moy Hall,
where he was received by Lady Mackintosh — sometimes
called ' Colonel Anne, ' on account of the spirit with
which, in defiance of her husband, who remained loyal
to the House of Hanover, or perhaps in obedience to his
secret wishes, she raised the clan for the Jacobite cause.
Lord Loudoun, who was in command of the garrison at
Inverness, having received intelligence of the visit,
started with a force of 1500 men, with high hopes of
effecting the important capture of the Prince. Word of
the movement was brought by a boy in breathless haste
from Inverness, and the lady and one of her trusted
followers, Donald Fraser of Moybeg, proved equal to
the occasion. Fraser and four men were sent to take
up their position in the darkness at Creag-nan-eoin.
After placing his men some distance apart, Donald
waited the arrival of the royal troops, and on hearing