Gazetteer of Scotland

G LE
G LE
aftrd furrendered hitnfelf to the filenfF,
the time prcferibed having expired one
day. The fheriff, in confluence of his
offer to the governor of Fort William,
before the time had expired, accepted
his fubmifiion ; and M'Donald having
taken the oaths, returned to Glencoe,
with full confidence of fecurity and
protection. Early, however, in the
month of February, a party of mili-
tary, under the command of Captain
■Campbell of Gleniyon, entered the
vale, on pretence of levying the taxes
and hearth money ; and, when inquir-
ed at by M'Donald if his intention
was friendly, alPared him on his honour
that it was. Accordingly, for two
weeks, the unfufpe&ing inhabitants
treated their vifiters with every mark
of attention and friendfliip; but, at
length, the fatal period arrived ; and,
on the 13th of February, after M'Don-
ald and Campbell had fpent the night
at cards, and departed with mutual
promifes of the warmeft affection, the
fignal for execution was given, and
■the maffacre began : 3.8 perfons were
murdered in their beds; and, amongft
thefe, M'Donald Laird of Achtricha-
tain, the gueft of Glencoe, who had
fubmitted three months before, and
had the royal protection in his pocket.
The defign was, to murder all the
males in the valley ; but, fortunately,
forhe of the detachments did not arrive
in time to fecare the paries, and about
150 made their efcape. The houfes
were demolifhed, and the cattle be-
came a prey to the murderers. The
women and children were indeed fpared
the ftroke of death, as if to render
their fate more cruel ; for, fuch as had
not died from the fright, were turned
out naked, at the dead of night, in a
keen froft, into a wa-fte covered with
fnow, 6 long miles from any inhabited
place. Many of them were found dead
or dying under the rocks and hedges.
According to Smollet {Continuation,
vol. i. page 156'}, the Earl of Braidal-
bin, from perioral enmity to M'Don-
ald, had concealed the circumflance
of the furrender from the miniftry ;
and an order for military execution,
figned by King William, was tranf-
mitted to the fecretary of ftate in
Scotland, and but too fatally executed.
But the horrid bufinefs was never
fufficiently examined ; and, notwith-
standing all the cafuiftry adopted to
mitigate it, the authors and perpetra-
tors of the deed are certainly in the
higheft degree blameable. Glencoe is
alio famous as the birth-place of Gf-
fian, as appears from many paffages
in the poems of that bard ; and many
of the places are accurately named
and defcribed. In the middle of the
vale runs the ftream of Conn. The
mountain of Maimer rifes on the S,
and the celebrated Con Fion, the hill
of Fingal, is fituated on the N. fide of
the fame vale.
Glkncroe ; a vale in Argyllshire.:
one of the paffes to the Highlands,
near the N. E. extremity of Loch Long.
The fcenery is wild and fublime in the
higher! degree: on each fide are moun-
tains, the mo-ft fteep and rugged ima-
ginable, with rocks of every fhape
hanging on their fides ; many of which
have fallen to the bottom of the glen,
while others threaten the traveller
with inftant defer ucbion. In fome
parts the craggy fummits appear to
meet over the road ; in others, the
valley opens, and the fides of it exhi-
bit patches of vegetation, covered
with fheep. In the middle of the
glen runs a considerable brook, near
which the road is carried, and hun-
dreds of rills that pour from the
mountains, form in their defcent in-
numerable cafcades. There are a few
miferable .cottages on the iides of the
road, inhabited by the fhepherds. The
rocks connft almoft entirely of mica-
ceousfchijtus, lhining like filver, beau-
tifully undulated, and in many parts
imbedded in quartz. In the bed of
the rivulet are confiderable numbers
of granitic pebbles, with pebbles of
fchifius, full of er/ftals dfcheorl. The
length of Glencroc is between 5 and 6
miles; the road afcends gently through
the whole of it, excepting the laft
mile, where it is very fteep, and car-
ried in a zig-zag form to the top of
the hill : here is a feat, and a ftone in-
fcribed, " Reft and be thankful," placed
by the twenty-fecond regt. who made
the road. From this the road turns
into Gienkbilafs, a vale watered by the
rivulet Kinlafs, and abounding with the
fame fcenery as Glencoe, though lefs
wild and romantic. This laft valley
1 is terminated by the houfe and poli-
cies of Ardkinlafs, the feat of Sir Alex-
; ander Campbell, on the borders of
I Loch Fvne.
1 Bb 5