Topographical, statistical, and historical gazetteer of Scotland > Volume 2

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K1RKMICHAEL.
18?
tremity of Perthshire ; bounded on the north by
Aberdeenshire ; on the east by Forfarshire ; on the
south-east by detached parts of Rattray, Caputh, and
Bendochy ; on the south by a detached part of Blair-
gowrie, and by Cluny and Dunkeld ; and on the
west by Logierait, by a detached part of Bowally,
and by Moulin and Blair-Athol. It measures, in
extreme length from north to south, 17 miles; in
extreme breadth 7 miles; and in superficial area
about 100 square miles. Its south-western division,
a district of 6 miles by 4J, consists of the greater
part of Strathardle, watered by the Ardle, and
screened on both sides by mountain ranges. Its
northern and central division, considerably the larger
district, consists of the whole of Glenshee, watered
by the Shee, with its broad belts of mountain
screens, and the smaller glens which converge into
it on the north : see articles Stkathardle and
Glenshee. Its south-east corner is a district
nearly circular, somewhat more than 2 miles in dia-
meter, lying on the west side of the river called
Black water. The whole parish is of a mountainous
and strictly Highland character, more elevated, cold,
and unsheltered, than either Athole to the west, or
Marr to the north. The military road from Cupar-
Angus to Fort-George passes along Glenshe-e; and an-
other good road runs along Strathardle. In the midst
of a large high moor, is a cairn 270 feet in circumfer-
ence, and about 25 feet in height; surrounded at a
little distance, and at different intervals, with a host
of smaller cairns, in groups of 8 or 10. A furlong to
the west are distinet vestiges of 2 concentric Druid-
ical circles, respectively 32 and 50 feet in diameter.
In other directions round the great cairn are vestiges
of 6 or more single circles, from 32 to 36 feet in dia-
meter. About a mile north-east, on a flat-topped
eminence, stands a remarkable rocking-stone. In
shape, it is nearly a rhombus, the greater diagonal 7
feet, the lesser 5 ; in weight, it is about 3 tons; and
in position, it so rests on the succumbent rock, that
by suffering repeated pressure it will rock to the
height of a foot, and make 26 or more vibrations be-
fore returning to repose. At points, or on small
eminences, respectively 60, 100, and 150 yards north
ef the stone, and 120 yards west of it, are pairs of
concentric Druidical circles, in every case 32 and 45
feet in diameter; each pair having adjacent a single
circle from 32 to 36 feet in diameter. In the vicinity
:u-e other relics of similar character ; and on the hills
between Strathardle and Glen derby, are other cairns
and circles. Population, in 1801, 1,568; in 1831,
1,568 Kirkmichael is in the presbytery of Dun-
keld, and synod of Perth and Stirling. Patron,
Farquharson of Invercauld. Stipend £158 6s. 7d. ;
glebe £10. The parish-church was built in 1791,
and is situated in Strathardle. Sittings 596. A
chapel in connexion with the Establishment stands
in Glenshee : which see. A detached part of Ca-
puth, called Craigton of Dalrulzeon, measuring H
mile by |, and lying on the south-eastern boundary,
is considered by use and wont as belonging quoad
sacra to Kirkmiehael. The parish minister's survey,
in 1836, exhibited the population as then 1,518; of
whom 1,479 were churchmen, and 39 were dissent-
ers. Two parochial schools are attended by a maxi-
mum of 161 scholars. Salary of the first master £34
4s. 4£d., with £19 17s. 5d. fees, and £5 lis. Id.
other emoluments ; of the second master £15, with
£12 fees. Two non-parochial schools are conducted
occasionally by four teachers, afford an extensive
range of tuition, and are attended by a maximum of
136 scholars.
KIRKMICHAEL, a large parish in Banffshire,
occupying the whole of the inland or south-western
extremity of the county, from beyond Cairngorm
mountain to the confluence of the Aven with the
Spey, on the north- west, and to the sources of the
Livet, in Inveravon parish, on the south-east. It
tapers very much to the north and south, but it is
bounded on the north and north-east by Inveraven ;
on the south and south-east by Aberdeenshire ; and
on the west by the district of Badenoch, Inverness-
shire. The form, ' to a fanciful imagination,' very
much resembles the wings of a bat spread out, with
curious symmetry, to the north and south, in a west-
ward flight. The extreme length is about 25 miles ;
the breadth varies from 1 mile to 6 ; square area
29,500 acres. Houses 338. Assessed property, in
1815, £2,233. Population, in 1801, 1,332; in 1831,
1,741. The parish consists chiefly of the great wild
strath or vale of the Aven, which intersects it from
its source in Loch-Aven, near Cairngorm, to its
confluence with the Spey. The water of Altnach
divides it a considerable length from Inverness-shire ;
and on the other side its borders are skirted by the
heights which separate the counties of Banff and
Aberdeen. Indeed it is separated on every side by
natural barriers from the surrounding and more open
districts; — " from the parish of Strath-don, toward
the south, by Leach '-mhic-ghothin, 'the declivity of
the smith's son ;' — from the parish of Cromdale toward
the north by Beinn-Chromdal, 'the Hill of the wind-
ing dale :'' — these are two long branches of hills, that,
running in an easterly direction, project from the
northern trunk of the Grampian mountains. From
the parish of Abernethy toward the west, it is sepa-
rated by moors and hills, that connect Cromdale hill
with Glenavon ; — from the parish of In vera van, by
moors, and hills, and narrow defiles." In the Gaelic,
the vernacular idiom, the district is called Strathaven,
or rather, according to the writer of the Old Statis-
tical Account, Strath-atb-fhin, from ' Strath,' a dale,
'ath,' a ford, and 'Fin,' the hero Fingal.* The
surface of the land is mountainous, but diversified
with plains and valleys ; its general aspect, however,
is bleak and solitary to a high degree. " In crossing
the centre of it," observes the author of the Statis-
tical Account, " few cheering objects attract the eye
of the traveller. From detached hills covered with
heath, and destitute of verdure, where here and there
a lonely tree marks the depredations of time, he na-
turally turns with aversion. But, should he happen
to pass after a heavy fall of rain, when the numerous
brooks that intersect the country pour their troubled
streams into the roaring Avon, he must commiserate
the condition of the inhabitants, at such a season,
precluded from the rest of the world, and even from
enjoying the society of each other. Frequently in
winter the snow lies so deep, that the communica-
* It is generally written Strath-avan, cwan being the appel-
lative for a river. "But the former etymon," observes the
same writer, "approaches much nearer to the provincial pro-
nunciation. It is further confirmed by a stanza, which is still
recited by the old people of the country, —
Chaidh mobheans bhatlia 1 ,
Ain nisjralh-fliin, nail clachan sleamhuin;
'S bhn chaidh 1110 faheans' bhatlia',
Blieirmeid ath-fhin, ainni an amhuin.
' On the limpid water of the slippery stones, has my wife been
drowned; and since my wife lias thnre been drowned, hence-
forth its name shall be the water of Fingal.' It is the tradition
of the country, that in one of Fingal's excursions in pursuit
of the deer of the mountains, after having crossed the river he
was followed by his wife, who being carried down by the vio-
lence of the stream, sunk, and was drowned. To commemo-
rate this melancholy event, in which the hero was tenderly
interested, he uttered the above stanza. Since that period, the
water, which was formerly called An-uisgegeal, or 'the White
water,' in allusion to its transparency, assumed by an easy
transition the name of the ford or river of Fingal. In Monkish
history, the parish derives its ecclesiastic name from St. Mi-
chael, to whom the chapel, where now the kirk stands, was
anciently dedicated. If this account be true, it may be observ-
ed, that the tutelary patron, ever since the period of his elec-
tion, has paid little regard to the morality of his clients." This,
be it remembered, was not written in the lilth century.