Gazetteer of Scotland

FOR
iis waters to the Tay. ShkhAllin; the
higheft mountain, meafures ,3587 feet
above the level of the fea ; and fome
of the hills of Glenlyon and Befri-ard-
tlanith, inRannoch, are not much low-
er. Before the year 1745? this diftricc
was in an uncivilized, barbarous ftate,
' vmder no check or reftraint of laws j
it was the receptacle of thofe free*
hooters, who laid the whole country,
from Cupar of Angus to Stirling, un-
der contribution, obliging the inha-
bitants to pay them black meal or mail,
as it was called, to fave their property
from being plundered- But, govern-
ment having feht a regiment to refide
amongft them, and a thief having been
hung at their doors, they foon felt the
neceffity of reformation, and of in-
duftry. Amongft the rocks, at the
back of the village of Fortingal, are
ieveral fmall veins of lead ore ; and
there is a very rich vein in Glenlyon,
which was wrought fome years, but
it did not anfwer the expence. At
the foot of Shichallln iffues a fpring,
impregnated with fome neutral fait,
which is highly diuretic, and is much
nfed in gravellifh complaints. Befides
a great many forts throughout the di-
ftricT:, there is an extenfive Roman en-
campment, of which the area is about
80 acres ; the fnffi and -vallum are
much broken down by the plough ;
but the prastorium is quite complete.
The late Earl of Braidalbih employed
fome labourers to dig for antiquities ;
and a few urns and Roman coins Were
found. In 1793, Fortingal contained
about 3914 inhabitants.
FORTROSE ; a royal borough in
the county of Rofs, on the N. fide of
the Moray Frith, nearly oppofite to
Fort George. It is compofed of two
towns, viz, Rosemarkie and Cha-
nonry, joined together by royal char-
ter. The former was a burgh of con-
siderable antiquity, being ere died into
a royal burgh by Alexander II. King of
Scotland. Ckanonry lies about a mile
to the W. ; fo called from being the
Chanonry of Rofs, where the Bifbop
had his refidence, and is now the prel-
bytery feat. Thefe were united by
a charter granted by King James II.
anno 1444, under the, common name
of Foktross, now foftencd into For-
trose; which charter was ratified by
King James VI. anno 1592, and con-
firmed with greater immunities by the
FOS-
fame monarch in 1612. Thefe enafv
ters all bear, that the burgh is to be
" entitled to the privileges, liberties,
and immunities, heretofore granted .to
the town of Invernefe." Fortrofe is at
that time fpoken of as a town flourifh-«
ing in the arts and fciences, having
been then the feat of divinity, law,
and phyfic, in this corner of the king-
dom. At prefent, the town is fmall,
and owes its confequence to. the late
eftablifliment of an academy, under
the direction of feveral public fpirited
gentlemen in the neighbourhood, for
the education of young perfons in the
languages, and the principles of na-
tural philofophy. It has a rector and
two matters, who receive a falary from
the mortification of 1800 merks Scots
in 1699, by a Mr. Thomas Forbes,
bailie of Fortrofe, which had been al-
lowed to accumulate to a confiderable
fura. Two fmall parts of the ancient
cathedral ftill remain, one of which is
ufed as a burial place of the Macken-
zie family, and the other is occupied
as a coiirt-houfe, with the vaulted
prifons below. From this place is a
regular ferry to Fort George,- which
is only 6 or 7 miles diftant. Dr. Geo.
Mackenzie, the laborious compiler of
the " Lives of the moft eminentwriters
of the Scots nation," is faid to have
been born in this town : it is certain
he refided here, in an old caftle be-
longing to the Earl of Seaforth, and
lies interred in the cathedral ; and
Dr. James Mackenzie, author of the
" Art of Preferving Health," is faid
to have for fome time taught the
grammar fchool of the burgh. As the
town of Fortrofe lies in the parochial
diftricu of Rosemarkie, an account
of the general appearance and foil of
the neighbourhood will be found at
that article. In 1793, the town of
Fortrofe, comprehending Chanonry
and the burgh of Rofemarkie, con-
tained about 740 inhabitants. It joins
with the northern diftricT: of burghs in
fending a member to parliament.
Fort William. Vide William
(Fort.)
FOSSA WAY and TULLIEBOLE.
Thefe united parifhes lie in two ihire6 5
the former belonging to the county of
Perth, and Tullicbolebting politically
annexed to that of Kir.rcfs. They
occupy a contklcrable extent of the
Ochil hills, and the valley at tlicisf