Frasers of Philorth > Volume 1

THE FRASERS OF PHILORTH, LORDS SALTOUN. 231
the sea, which is so deep, close to land all along that part of the straits of
Messina, that a man-of-war could tack with its bowsprit over the land.
" As I had no inclination to stay there in the rain I coasted the torrent
down to its junction with the sea, and being an excellent swimmer myself,
as well as in the constant habit at that time of swimming my horse, I at
once put him into the deep water, and without any difficulty reached the other
side, and proceeded on my rounds. I found that the patrol had visited all
the posts on its way out as usual, and on reaching the cavalry post at
Messina, as I was obliged to mention in my report the circumstance of my
not having met the patrol, I inquired of the officer about it, and found that it
had not returned. I mentioned my fears for it to the officer, but as it was
possible that they had taken some shelter to wait till the fiumara should run
off, a sergeant was sent to look for them and bring them back, but they were
never heard of afterwards, and as desertion was impracticable, at least with
their horses, and moreover a crime not at all prevailing in the English part
of the army at that time, there can be no doubt but they were carried away
in trying to ford the fiumara."
Another memorandum gives an interesting account of the way in which
Lord Saltoun and some of his brother officers at times relieved the tedium of
the severe and harassing service in which they were engaged, without the
excitement of actually meeting the enemy in the field, and affords some
characteristic traits of the country people of that part of Sicily, and evidence
of the corruption prevalent amongst the Sicilian officials : —
" Amongst other things that occurred to me in Sicily, was forming an
acquaintance with a set of people who lived principally in the mountains.
Ostensibly the occupation of these people was that of shepherds, and carriers
of ice from the mountains to Messina ; but in the country they generally went
by the name of Ladrones, not that they ever committed robberies in the
character of ice-sellers, but they certainly did at times commit pretty heavy
depredations upon their own countrymen ; but during the time I was in that
country, I never heard of any English officer being plundered, probably (for
we had gone there as friends) from some such sort of feeling as prevaded
through Spain, when there was hardly an instance of an Englishman being ill
treated by the inhabitants.