Ossian Collection > Romance of the Highlands

f-EUDS AND FORAYS. 167
as in the north for making a foray on a neighbour's lands.
The motto of one of the clans is to the effect that they will
not be the last to starve. It is said that a clansman, who
was reduced to chewing a rib, hinted the fact to his chief
who happened to pass at the time. The subsequent foray
is still celebrated under the name of Creach an aisne — The
Foray of the Rib.
The Highlanders had the faculty — doubtless attained
through long practice — of being able to trace stolen cattle
by their hoof marks. They could tell the difference
between those hurriedly driven and those wandering
about of their own accord. Even across heath, where the
ordinary observer could scarcely see a mark, the Gaels had
little difficulty in following the track. Should the raiders
be successful in outwitting their pursuers and bringing
the cattle safely to their own glen, the chief claimed one-
third and the remaining two-thirds were divided among
the captors.
When the track of the cattle became lost, no matter
on whose land it occurred, the chief was considered to be
the guilty party, and it was required of him to make
restitution. This custom had become recognised as law.
Even the offending clansmen, if they could be found,
were required to be delivered up under the law of
Cincogish, but it is probable that this part of the pro-
cedure would be generally evaded. Certainly an
immediate rupture would result unless the chief submitted
and granted compensation for the lost cattle.
There was another law of the foray. It was known
as Tasgal, and was a reward offered for the recovery of
stolen animals. As recognition of this law would be sure
to involve the clans in difficulties and dangers, it was
better fulfilled in the breach than in the observance.
Some of the clans declared on oath that they would never