Ossian Collection > Reliquiae Celticae > Volume 2

THE BOOK OF CLANHANALD. 195
■from the army of the Parliament. Then one of the Covenanters
spoke to his own army and said — •'' It is customary with the men
who are opposed to 3^011 to begin the attack before you ; let
them not have that lead to-day, l)ut attack them briskly and
courageously." Another man in the king's army, namely. Lord
Gordon, said — " Let none of you be afraid that I shall not bring
you Baillie by the neck from the midst of his party." It was then
that these two armies made a strong and very violent rush
■directly against each other, and their march was so quick that the
forces of the two armies encountered each other, before the parties
who had been sent out from them to skirmish fired a shot at each
-other. And what they did was to turn the muzzles of their guns
iigainst the main forces of their armies, and give them the contents
that were in them ; and from them came the unlucky shot by
which Lord Gordon fell, while he was putting his hand in the
sword belt which was round General Bailhe. By this time the
armies w^ere in close conflict with each other, the cavalry seizing
each others' heads with their left hands and striking one
another on the heads with their pistols, and the foot forces did
not know what to do for the raging of the horse. Alaster, son
■of Ranald, son of Allan, is a witness to that, for he and Allan Og,
the grandson of Alaster, were the officers of the Clanranald in
that battle, and the grandson of Alaster himself was in the troop
guarding Montrose. Alaster, son of Ranald, says that he himself
was for a time and the point of his sword to earth, not knowing on
whom he would strike a blow, not knowing a friend from a foe.
They continued in that manner until the active officer Major
Lidas called out in the English language to withdraw all the
horse, and every horseman wlio heard that command brought out
his own horse from among the foot. From that forth every man
was at liberty to use his hand and his blade as best suited him,
and the cavalry of the Covenanters were not allowed to return to
the charge, but were closely pursued and continuedly killed ; they
were so mortified at the fall of Lord Gordon that they ordered
that no quarter should be given to any man that day. Not a man
of Montrose's cavalry returned from the chase until their horses
i>ecame fatigued ; and the laird of (jdengarry was in pursuit of
tlie Marquis of Argyle until his horse became fatigued under him,
and always within seeing distance of him, and the Marcpiis
changed three horses that day fleeing from him, and escaped by
the swiftness of his steeds.
As to Alaster, son of Colla, he cnme from the Coast and from
the Rough Bounds with a great number of men, namely, all the
young men that John Moydartach had at home of his country and
kin, and commanded bv Donald his son : and the Clan Maclean