The advent of the first Scotch-Irish clergyman in America, so far as is now known, was in 1682, signalled by the arrival of Francis Makemie, the father of American Presbyterianism. Almost promptly he was landed in jail in New York, charged with the offense of preaching the gospel in a private house. Assisted by a Scottish lawyer from Philadelphia (who was silenced for his courage), he defended the cause of religious liberty with heroic courage and legal ability, and was ultimately acquitted by a fearless New York jury. Thus was begun the great struggle for religious liberty in America. Among those who afterwards followed were George McNish, from Ulster, in 1705, and John Henry, in 1709.

Early in the spring of 1718, Rev. William Boyd arrived in Boston as an agent of some hundreds of people who had expressed a desire to come to New England should suitable encouragement be offered them. With him he brought a brief memorial to which was attached three hundred and nineteen names, all but thirteen of which were in a fair and vigorous hand. Governor Shute gave such general encouragement and promise of welcome, that on August 4, 1718, five small ships came to anchor at the wharf in Boston, having on board one hundred and twenty Scotch-Irish families, numbering in all about seven hundred and fifty individuals. In years they embraced those from the babe in arms to John Young, who had seen the frosts of ninety-five winters. Among the clergy who arrived were James McGregor, Cornwell, and Holmes.

In a measure these people were under the charge of Governor Shute. He must find homes for them. He dispatched about fifty of these families to Worcester. That year marked the fifth of its permanent settlement, and was composed of fifty log-houses, inhabited by two hundred souls. The new comers appear to have been of the poorer and more illiterate class of the five ship loads. At first they were welcomed, because needed for both civic and military reasons. In September of 1722 a township organization was effected, and at the first annual town meeting, names of the strangers appear on the list of officers. With these emigrants was brought the Irish potato, and first planted in the spring of 1719. When their English neighbors visited them, on their departure they presented them with a few of the tubers for planting, and the recipients, unwilling to show any discourtesy, accepted the same, but suspecting a poisonous quality, carried them to the first swamp and threw them into the water. The same spring a few potatoes were given to a Mr. Walker, of Andover, by a family who had wintered with him. He planted them in the ground, and in due time the family gathered the "balls" which they supposed was the fruit. These were cooked in various ways, but could not be made palatable. The next spring when plowing the garden, potatoes of great size were turned up, when the mistake was discovered. This introduction into New England is the reason why the now indispensable succulent is called "Irish potato." This vegetable was first brought from Virginia to Ireland in 1565 by slave-trader Hawkins, and from there it found its way to New England in 1718, through the Scotch-Irish.

The Worcester Scotch-Irish petitioned to be released from paying taxes to support the prevalent form of worship, as they desired to support their own method. Their prayer was contemptuously rejected. Two years later, or in 1738, owing to their church treatment, a company consisting of thirty-eight families, settled the new town of Pelham, thirty miles west of Worcester. The scandalous destruction of their property in Worcester, in 1740, caused a further exodus which resulted in the establishing the towns of Warren and Blandford, both being incorporated in 1741. The Scotch-Irish town of Colerain, located fifty miles northwest of Worcester was settled in 1739.

Londonderry, New Hampshire, was settled in April, 1719, forming the second settlement, from the five ships. Most of these pioneers were men in middle life, robust and persevering. Their first dwellings were of logs, covered with bark. It must not be thought that these people, strict in their religious conceptions, were not touched with the common feelings of ordinary humanity. It is related that when John Morrison was building his house his wife came to him and in a persuasive manner said, "Aweel, aweel, dear Joan, an' it maun be a log-house, do make it a log heegher nor the lave;" (than the rest). The first frame house built was for their pastor, James McGregor. The first season they felt it necessary to build two strong stone garrison-houses in order to resist any attack of the Indians. It is remarkable that in neither Lowell's war, when Londonderry was strictly a frontier town, nor in either of the two subsequent French and Indian wars, did any hostile force from the northward ever approach that town. During the twenty-five years preceding the revolution, ten distinct towns of influence, in New Hampshire, were settled by emigrants from Londonderry, besides two in Vermont and two in Nova Scotia; while families, sometimes singly and also in groups, went off in all directions, especially along the Connecticut river and over the ridge of the Green Mountains. To these brave people, neither the crown nor the colonies appealed in vain. Every route to Crown Point and Ticonderoga had been tramped by them time and again. With Colonel Williams they were at the head of Lake George in 1755, and in the battle with Dieskau that followed; they were with Stark and lord Howe, under Abercrombie, in the terrible defeat at Ticonderoga in 1758; others toiled with Wolfe on the Heights of Abraham; and in 1777, fought under Stark at Bennington, and against Burgoyne at Saratoga.

A part of the emigrants intended for New Hampshire settled in Maine, in what is now Portland, Topsham, Bath and other places. Unfortunately soon after these settlements were established some of them were broken up by Indian troubles, and some of the colonists sought refuge with their countrymen at Londonderry, but the greater part removed to Pennsylvania,—from 1730 to 1733 about one hundred and fifty families, principally of Scotch descent. In 1735, Warren, Maine, was settled by twenty-seven families, some of whom were of recent emigration and others from the first arrival in Boston in 1718. In 1753 the town received an addition of sixty adults and many children brought from Scotland.

The Scotch-Irish settlement at Salem in Washington county, New York, came from Monaghan and Ballibay, Ireland. Under the leadership of their minister, Rev. Thomas Clark, three hundred sailed from Newry, May 10, 1764, and landed in New York in July following. On September 30, 1765, Mr. Clark obtained twelve thousand acres of the "Turner Grant," and upon this land he moved his parishioners, save a few families that had been induced to go to South Carolina, and some others that remained in Stillwater, New York. The great body of these settlers took possession of their lands, which had been previously surveyed into tracts of eighty-eight acres each, in the year 1767. The previous year had been devoted to clearing the lands, building houses, etc. Among the early buildings was a log church, the first religious place of worship erected between Albany and Canada. March 2, 1774, the legislature erected the settlement into a township named New Perth. This name remained until March 7, 1788, when it was changed to Salem.

The Scotch-Irish first settled in Somerset county, New Jersey, early in the last century, but not at one time but from time to time.

These early settlers repudiated the name of Irish, and took it as an offense to be so called. They claimed, and truly, to be Scotch. The term "Scotch-Irish" is quite recent, but has come into general use.

From the three centers, Worcester, Londonderry and Wiscasset, the Scotch-Irish penetrated and permeated all New England; Maine the most of all, next New Hampshire, then Massachusetts, and in lessening order, Vermont, Connecticut and Rhode Island. They were one sort of people, belonging to the same grade and sphere of life. In worldly goods they were poor, but the majority could read and write, and if possessed with but one book that was the Bible, yet greatly esteeming Fox's "Book of Martyrs" and Bunyon's "Pilgrim's Progress." Whatever their views, they were held in common.

The three doors that opened to the Scotch-Irish emigrant, in the New World, were the ports of Boston, Charleston and New Castle, in Delaware, the great bulk of whom being received at the last named city, where they did not even stop to rest, but pushed their way to their future homes in Pennsylvania. No other state received so many of them for permanent settlers. Those who landed in New York found the denizens there too submissive to foreign dictation, and so preferred Pennsylvania and Maryland, where the proprietary governors and the people were in immediate contact. Francis Machemie had organized the first Presbyterian church in America along the eastern shore of Maryland and in the adjoining counties of Virginia.

The wave of Quaker settlements spent its force on the line of the Conestoga creek, in Lancaster county. The Scotch and Scotch-Irish arriving in great numbers were permitted to locate beyond that line, and thus they not only became the pioneers, but long that race so continued to be. In 1725, so great had been the wave of emigration into Pennsylvania, that James Logan, a native of Armagh, Ireland, but not fond of his own countrymen who were not Quakers, declared, "It looks as if Ireland were to send all her inhabitants hither; if they continue to come they will make themselves proprietors of the province;" and he further condemned the bad taste of the people who were forcing themselves where they were not wanted. The rate of this invasion may be estimated from the rise in population from twenty thousand, in 1701, to two hundred and fifty thousand in 1745, which embraced the entire population of that colony. Between the years 1729 and 1750, there was an annual arrival of twelve thousand, mostly from Ulster. Among the vessels that helped to inaugurate this great tide was the good ship "George and Ann," which set sail from Ireland on May 9th, 1729, and brought over the McDowells, the Irvines, the Campbells, the O'Neills, the McElroys, the Mitchells, and their compatriots.

Soon after the emigrants landed at New Castle they found their way along the branches of various rivers to the several settlements on the western frontier. The only ones known to have come through New York was the "Irish settlement" in Allen township, Northampton county, composed principally of families from Londonderry, New Hampshire, where, owing to the rigid climate, they could not be induced to remain. It grew but slowly, and after 1750 most of the descendants passed on towards the Susquehanna and down the Cumberland.

As early as 1720 a colony was formed on the Neshaminy, in Bucks County, which finally became one of the greatest landmarks of that race. The settlements that commenced as early as 1710, at Fagg Manor, at Octorara, at New London, and at Brandywine Manor, in Chester County, formed the nucleus for subsequent emigration for a period of forty years, when they also declined by removals to other sections of the State, and to the colonies of the South. Prior to 1730 there were large settlements in the townships of Colerain, Pequea, and Leacock, in Lancaster County. Just when the pioneers arrived in that region has not been accurately ascertained, but some of them earlier than 1720. Within a radius of thirty-five miles of Harrisburgh are the settlements of Donegal, Paxtang, Derry, and Hanover, founded between 1715 and 1724; from whence poured another stream on through the Cumberland Valley, across the Potomac, down through Virginia and into the Carolinas and Georgia. The valley of the Juniata was occupied in 1749. The settlements in the lower part of York County date from 1726. From 1760 to 1770 settlements rapidly sprung up in various places throughout Western Pennsylvania. Soon after 1767 emigrants settled on the Youghiogheny, the Monongahela and its tributaries, and in the years 1770 and 1771, Washington County was colonized. Soon after the wave of population extended to the Ohio River. From this time forward Western Pennsylvania was characteristically Scotch-Irish.

These hardy sons were foremost in the French and Indian Wars. The Revolutionary struggle caused them to turn their attention to statesmanship and combat,—every one of whom was loyal to the cause of independence. The patriot army had its full share of Scotch-Irish representation. That thunderbolt of war, Anthony Wayne,[6] hailed from the County of Chester. The ardent manner in which the cause of the patriots was espoused is illustrated, in a notice of a marriage that took place in 1778, in Lancaster County, the contracting parties being of the Ulster race. The couple is denominated "very sincere Whigs."

It "was truly a Whig wedding, as there were present many young gentlemen and ladies, and not one of the gentlemen but had been out when called on in the service of his country; and it was well known that the groom, in particular, had proved his heroism, as well as Whigism, in several battles and skirmishes. After the marriage was ended, a motion was made, and heartily agreed to by all present, that the young unmarried ladies should form themselves into an association by the name of the 'Whig Association of Unmarried Young Ladies of America,' in which they should pledge their honor that they would never give their hand in marriage to any gentleman until he had first proved himself a patriot, in readily turning out when called to defend his country from slavery, by a spirited and brave conduct, as they would not wish to be the mothers of a race of slaves and cowards'"[7]

Pennsylvania was the gateway and first resting place, and the source of Scotch-Irish adventure and enterprise as they moved west and south. The wave of emigration striking the eastern border of Pennsylvania, in a measure was deflected southward through Maryland, Virginia, the Carolinas, reaching and crossing the Savannah river, though met at various points by counter streams of the same race, which had entered the continent through Charleston and other southern ports. Leaving Pennsylvania and turning southward, the first colony into which the stream poured, was Maryland, the settlements being principally in the narrow strip which constitutes the western portion, although they never scattered all over the colony.



Proceeding southward traces of that race are found in Virginia east of the Blue Ridge, in the latter part of the seventeenth and early in the eighteenth century. They were in Albemarle, Nelson, Campbell, Prince Edward, Charlotte and Orange counties, and even along the great valley west of the Blue Ridge. It was not, however, until the year 1738 that they entered the valley in great numbers, and almost completely possessed it from the Pennsylvania to the North Carolina line. During the French and Indian wars the soldiers of Virginia were mainly drawn from this section, and suffered defeat with Washington at the Great Meadows, and with Braddock at Fort Duquesne, but by their firmness saved the remnant of that rash general's army. In 1774 they won the signal victory at Point Pleasant which struck terror into the Indian tribes across the Ohio.

The American Revolution was foreshadowed in 1765, when England began her oppressive measures regardless of the inalienable and chartered rights of the colonists of America. It was then the youthful Scotch-Irishman, Patrick Henry, introduced into the Virginia House of Burgesses, the resolutions denying the validity of the Act of the British parliament, and by Scotch-Irish votes he secured their adoption against the combined efforts of the old leaders. At the first call for troops by congress to defend Boston, Daniel Morgan at once raised a company from among his own people, in the lower Virginia valley, and by a forced march of six hundred miles reached the beleaguered city in three weeks. With his men he trudged through the wilderness of Maine and appeared before Quebec; and later, on the heights of Saratoga, with his riflemen, he poured like a torrent upon the ranks of Burgoyne. Through the foresight of Henry, a commission was given to George Rogers Clark, in 1778, to lead a secret expedition against the northwestern forts. The soldiers were recruited from among the Scotch-Irish settlements west of the Blue Ridge. The untold hardships, sufferings and final success of this expedition, at the Treaty of Peace, in 1783, gave the great west to the United States.

The greater number of the colonists of North Carolina was Scotch and Scotch-Irish, in so much so as to have given direction to its history. There were several reasons why they should be so attracted, the most potent being a mild climate, fertile lands, and freedom of religious worship. The greatest accession at any one time was that in 1736, when Henry McCulloch secured sixty-four thousand acres in Duplin county, and settled upon these lands four thousand of his Ulster countrymen. About the same time the Scotch began to occupy the lower Cape Fear. Prior to 1750 they were located in the counties of Granville, Orange, Rowan and Mecklenburg, although it is uncertain when they settled between the Dan and the Catawba. Braddock's defeat, in 1755, rendered border life dangerous, many of the newcomers turning south into North Carolina, where they met the other stream of their countrymen moving upward from Charleston along the banks of the Santee, Wateree, Broad, Pacolet, Ennoree and Saluda, and this continued till checked by the Revolution. These people generally were industrious, sober and intelligent, and with their advent begins the educational history of the state. Near Greensborough, in 1767, was established a classical school, and in 1770, in the town of Charlotte, Mecklenburg county, was chartered Queen's College, but its charter was repealed by George III. However, it continued to flourish, and was incorporated as "Liberty Hall," in 1777. The Revolution closed its doors; Cornwallis quartered his troops within it, and afterwards burned the buildings.

Under wrongs the Scotch-Irish of North Carolina were the most restless of all the colonists. They were zealous advocates for freedom of conscience and security against taxation unless imposed by themselves. During the administration of acting Governor Miller, they imprisoned the president and six members of the council, convened the legislature, established courts of justice, and for two years exercised all the functions of government; they derided the authority of Governor Eastchurch; they imprisoned, impeached, and sent into exile Governor Sothel, for his extortions, and successfully resisted the effort of lord Granville to establish the Church of England in that colony. In 1731, Governor Burrington wrote: "The people of North Carolina are neither to be cajoled or outwitted; * * * always behaved insolently to their Governors. Some they imprisoned, others they have drove out of the country, and at other times set up a government of their own choice." In 1765, when a vessel laden with stamp paper arrived, the people overawed the captain, who soon sailed away. The officers then adopted a regular system of oppression and extortion, and plundered the people at every turn of life. The people formed themselves into an association "for regulating public grievances and abuse of powers." The royal governor, Tryon (the same who later originated the infamous plot to poison Washington), raised an army of eleven hundred men, and marched to inflict summary punishment on the defiant sons of liberty. On May 16, 1771, the two forces met on the banks of the Great Alamance. After an engagement of two hours the patriots failed. These men were sturdy, patriotic members of three Presbyterian churches. On the field of battle were their pastors, graduates of Princeton. Tryon used his victory so savagely as to drive an increasing stream of settlers over the mountains into Tennessee, where they made their homes in the valley of the Watauga, and there nurtured their wrongs; but the day of their vengeance was rapidly approaching.



The stirring times of 1775 found the North Carolinians ready for revolt. They knew from tradition and experience the monstrous wrongs of tyrants. When the people of Mecklenburg county learned in May, 1775, that parliament had declared the colonies in a state of revolt, they did not wait for the action of congress nor for that of their own provincial legislature, but adopted resolutions, which in effect formed a declaration of independence.

The power, valor and uncompromising conduct of these men is illustrated in their conduct at the battle of King's Mountain, fought October 7, 1780. It was totally unlike any other in American history, being the voluntary uprising of the people, rushing to arms to aid their distant kinsmen, when their own homes were menaced by savages. They served without pay and without the hope of reward. The defeat of Gates at Camden laid the whole of North Carolina at the feet of the British. Flushed with success, Colonel Furguson, of the 71st Regiment, at the head of eleven hundred men marched into North Carolina and took up his position at Gilbert Town, in order to intercept those retreating in that direction from Camden, and to crush out the spirit of the patriots in that region. Without any concert of action volunteers assembled simultaneously, and placed themselves under tried leaders. They were admirably fitted by their daily pursuits for the privations they were called upon to endure. They had no tents, baggage, bread or salt, but subsisted on potatoes, pumpkins and roasted corn, and such venison as their own rifles could procure. Their army consisted of four hundred men, under Colonel William Campbell, from Washington county, Virginia, two hundred and forty were under Colonel Isaac Shelby, from Sullivan county, North Carolina, and two hundred and forty men, from Washington county, same state, under John Sevier, which assembled at Watauga, September 25, where they were joined by Colonel Charles McDowell, with one hundred and sixty men, from the counties of Burke and Rutherford, who had fled before the enemy to the western waters. While McDowell, Shelby and Sevier were in consultation, two paroled prisoners arrived from Furguson with the message that if they did not "take protection under his standard, he would march his army over the mountains, hang their leaders, and lay waste their country with fire and sword." On their march to meet the army of Furguson they were for twenty-four hours in the saddle. They took that officer by surprise, killed him and one hundred and eighty of his men, after an engagement of one hour and five minutes, the greater part of which time a heavy and incessant fire was kept up on both sides, with a loss to themselves of only twenty killed and a few wounded. The remaining force of the enemy surrendered at discretion, giving up their camp equipage and fifteen hundred stand of arms. On the morning after the battle several of the Royalist (Tory) prisoners were found guilty of murder and other high crimes, and hanged. This was the closing scene of the battle of King's Mountain, an event which completely crushed the spirit of the Royalists, and weakened beyond recovery the power of the British in the Carolinas. The intelligence of Furguson's defeat destroyed all Cornwallis's hopes of aid from those who still remained loyal to Britain's interests. The men oppressed by British laws and Tryon's cruelty were not yet avenged, for they were with Morgan at the Cowpens and with Greene at Guildford Court House, and until the close of the war.

In the settling of South Carolina, every ship that sailed from Ireland for the port of Charleston, was crowded with men, women and children, which was especially true after the peace of 1763. About the same date, within one year, a thousand families came into the state in that wave that originated in Pennsylvania, bringing with them their cattle, horses and hogs. Lands were allotted to them in the western woods, which soon became the most popular part of the province, the up-country population being overwhelmingly Scotch-Irish. They brought with them and retained, in an eminent degree, the virtues of industry and economy, so peculiarly necessary in a new country. To them the state is indebted for much of its early literature. The settlers in the western part of the colony, long without the aid of laws, were forced to band themselves together for mutual protection. The royal governor, Montague, in 1764, sent an army against them, and with great difficulty a civil war was averted. The division thus created reappeared in 1775, on the breaking out of the Revolution. The state suffered greatly from the ravages of Cornwallis, who rode roughly over it, although her sons toiled heroically in defence of their firesides. The little bands in the east gathered around the standard of Marion, and in the north and west around those of Sumter and Pickens. They kept alive the flame of liberty in the swamps, and when the country appeared to be subdued, it burst forth in electric flashes striking and withering the hand of the oppressor. Through the veins of most of the patriots flowed Scotch-Irish blood; and to the hands of one of this class, John Rutledge, the destinies of the state were committed.

Georgia was sparsely settled at the time of the Revolution. In 1753 its population was less than twenty-four hundred. Emigration from the Carolinas set in towards North Georgia, bringing many Scotch-Irish families. The movement towards the mountain and Piedmont regions of the southeast began about 1773. In that year, Governor Wright purchased from the Indians that portion of middle Georgia lying between the Oconee and the Savannah. The inducements he then offered proved very attractive to the enterprising sons of Virginia and the Carolinas, who lived in the highlands of those states. These people who settled in Georgia have thus been described by Governor Gilmer: "The pretty girls were dressed in striped and checked cotton cloth, spun and woven with their own hands, and their sweethearts in sumach and walnut-dyed stuff, made by their mothers. Courting was done when riding to meeting on Sunday, and walking to the spring when there. Newly married couples went to see the old folks on Saturday, and carried home on Sunday evening what they could spare. There was no ennui among the women for something to do. If there had been leisure to read, there were but few books for the indulgence. Hollow trees supplied cradles for babies."

A majority of the first settlers of East Tennessee were of Scotch-Irish blood, having sought homes there after the battle of Alamance, and hence that state became the daughter of North Carolina. The first written constitution born of a convention of people on this continent, was that at Watauga, in 1772. A settlement of less than a dozen families was formed in 1778, near Bledsoe, isolated in the heart of the Chickasaw nation, with no other protection than a small stockade enclosure and their own indomitable courage. In the early spring of 1779, a little colony of gallant adventurers, from the parent line of Watauga, crossed the Cumberland mountain, and established themselves near the French Lick, and planted a field of corn where the city of Nashville now stands. The settlement on the Cumberland was made in 1780, after great privations and sufferings on the journey. The settlers at the various stations were so harassed by the Indians, incited thereto by British and Spanish agents, that all were abandoned except Elatons and the Bluffs (Nashville). These people were compelled to go in armed squads to the springs, and plowed while guarded by armed sentinels. The Indians, by a well planned stratagem, attempted to enter the Bluffs, on April 22d, 1781. The men in the fort were drawn into an ambush by a decoy party. When they dismounted to give battle, their horses dashed off toward the fort, and they were pursued by some Indians, which left a gap in their lines, through which some whites were escaping to the fort; but these were intercepted by a large body of the enemy from another ambush. The heroic women in the fort, headed by Mrs. James Robertson, seized the axes and idle guns, and planted themselves in the gate, determined to die rather than give up the fort. Just in time she ordered the sentry to turn loose a pack of dogs which had been selected for their size and courage to encounter bears and panthers. Frantic to join the fray, they dashed off, outyelling the savages, who recoiled before the fury of their onset, thus giving the men time to escape to the fort. So overjoyed was Mrs. Robertson that she patted every dog as he came into the fort.

So thoroughly was Kentucky settled by the Scotch-Irish, from the older colonies, that it might be designated as of that race, the first emigrants being from Virginia and North Carolina. It was first explored by Thomas Walker in 1747; followed by John Finley, of North Carolina, 1767; and in 1769, by Daniel Boone, John Stewart, and three others, who penetrated to the Kentucky river. By the year 1773, lands were taken up and afterwards there was a steady stream, almost entirely from the valley and southwest Virginia. No border annals teem with more thrilling incidents or heroic exploits than those of the Kentucky hunters, whose very name finally struck terror into the heart of the strongest savage. The prediction of the Cherokee chief to Boone at the treaty at Watauga, ceding the territory to Henderson and his associates, was fully verified: "Brother," said he, "we have given you a fine land, but I believe you will have much trouble in settling it."

The history of the Scotch-Irish race in Canada, prior to the peace of 1783, is largely that of individuals. It has already been noted that two settlements had been made in Nova Scotia by the emigrants that landed from the five ships in Boston harbor. It is recorded that Truro, Nova Scotia, was settled in 1762, and in 1756 three brothers from Ireland settled in Colchester, same province. If the questions were thoroughly investigated it doubtless would lead to interesting results.

It must not be lost sight of that one of the important industrial arts brought to America was of untold benefit. Not only did every colony bring with them agricultural implements needful for the culture of flax, but also the small wheels and the loom for spinning and weaving the fibre. Nothing so much excited the interest of Puritan Boston, in 1718, as the small wheels worked by women and propelled by the foot, for turning the straight flax fibre into thread. Public exhibitions of skill in 1719 took place on Boston common, by Scotch-Irish women, at which prizes were offered. The advent of the machine produced a sensation, and societies and schools were formed to teach the art of making linen thread.

The distinctive characteristics which the Scotch-Irish transplanted to the new world may be designated as follows: They were Presbyterians in their religion and church government; they were loyal to the conceded authority to the king, but considered him bound as well as themselves to "the Solemn League and Covenant," entered into in 1643, which pledged the support of the Reformation and of the liberties of the kingdom; the right to choose their own ministers, untrammeled by the civil powers; they practiced strict discipline in morals, and gave instruction to their youth in schools and academies, and in teaching the Bible as illustrated by the Westminster Assembly's catechism. To all this they combined in a remarkable degree, acuteness of intellect, firmness of purpose, and conscientious devotion to duty.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 5: Skene's "Chronicles of the Picts and Scots," p. 77.]

[Footnote 6: Stille, Life of Wayne, p. 5, says he was not Scotch-Irish.]

[Footnote 7: Dunlap's "Pennsylvania Packet," June 17, 1778.]



CHAPTER III.

THE CAUSES THAT LED TO EMIGRATION.

The social system of the Highlanders that bound the members of the clan together was conducive to the pride of ancestry and the love of home. This pride was so directed as to lead to the most beneficial results on their character and conduct: forming strong attachments, leading to the performance of laudable and heroic actions, and enabling the poorest to endure the severest hardships without a murmur, and never complaining of what they received to eat, or where they lodged, or of any other privation. Instead of complaining of the difference in station or fortune, or considering a ready obedience to the call of the chief as a slavish oppression, they felt convinced that they were supporting their own honor in showing their gratitude and duty to the generous head of the family. In them it was a singular and characteristic feature to contemplate with early familiarity the prospect of death, which was considered as merely a passage from this to another state of existence, enlivened by the assured hope that they should meet their friends and kindred in a fairer and brighter world than this. This statement may be perceived in the anxious care with which they provided the necessary articles for a proper and becoming funeral. Even the poorest and most destitute endeavored to save something for this last solemnity. It was considered to be a sad calamity to be consigned to the grave among strangers, without the attendance and sympathy of friends, and at a distance from the family. If a relative died away from home, the greatest exertions were made to carry the body back for interment among the ashes of the forefathers. A people so nurtured could only contemplate with despair the idea of being forced from the land of their nativity, or emigrating from that beloved country, hallowed by the remains of their kindred.

The Highlander, by nature, was opposed to emigration. All his instincts, as well as training, led him to view with delight the permanency of home and the constant companionship of those to whom he was related by ties of consanguinity. Neither was he a creature of conquest, and looked not with a covetous eye upon the lands of other nations. He would do battle in a foreign land, but the Highlands of Scotland was his abiding place. If he left his native glen in order to become a resident elsewhere, there must have been a special or overpowering reason. He never emigrated through choice. Unfortunately the simplicity of his nature, his confiding trust, and love of chief and country, were doomed to receive such a jolt as would shake the very fibres of his being, and that from those to whom he looked for support and protection. Reference here is not made to evictions awful crimes that commenced in 1784, but to the change, desolation and misery growing out of the calamity at Culloden.

Notwithstanding the peculiar characteristics of the Highlander, there would of necessity arise certain circumstances which would lead some, and even many, to change their habitation. From the days of the Crusader downwards he was more or less active in foreign wars; and coming in contact with different nationalities his mind would broaden and his sentiment change, so that other lands and other people would be viewed in a more favorable light. While this would not become general, yet it would follow in many instances. Intercourse with another people, racially and linguistically related, would have a tendency to invite a closer affiliation. Hence, the inhabitants of the Western Isles had almost constant communication, sometimes at war, it is true, but generally in terms of amity, with the natives of North Ireland. It is not surprising then that as early as 1584, Sorley Buy MacDonald should lead a thousand Highlanders, called Redshanks, of the clans or families of the MacDonalds, Campbells, and Magalanes, into Ulster, and in time intermarry with the Irish, and finally become the most formidable enemies of England in her designs of settling that country. Some of the leading men were forced to flee on account of being attainted for treason, having fought under Dundee in 1689, or under Mar in 1715, and after Culloden in 1745 quite a hegira took place, many of whom found service in the army of France. Individuals, seeking employment, found their way into England before 1724. Although there was a strong movement for England from the Lowlands, yet many were from the Highlands, to whom was partly due the old proverb, "There never came a fool from Scotland." These emigrants, from the Highlands, were principally those having trades, who sought to better their condition.

Seven hundred prisoners taken at Preston were sold as slaves to some West Indian merchants, which was a cruel proceeding, when it is considered that the greater part of these men were Highlanders, who had joined the army in obedience to the commands of their chiefs. Wholly unfitted for such labor as would be required in the West Indies and unacclimated, their fate may be readily assumed. But this was no more heartless than the execution in Lancashire of twenty-two of their companions.

The specifications above enumerated have no bearing on the emigration which took place on a large scale, the consequences of which, at the time, arrested the attention of the nation. The causes now to be enumerated grew out of the change of policy following the battle of Culloden. The atrocities following that battle were both for vengeance and to break the military spirit of the Highlanders. The legislative enactments broke the nobler spirit of the people. The rights and welfare of the people at large were totally ignored, and no provisions made for their future welfare. The country was left in a state of commotion and confusion resulting from the changes consequent to the overthrow of the old system, the breaking up of old relationship, and the gradual encroachment of Lowland civilization, and methods of agriculture. While these changes at first were neither great nor extensive, yet they were sufficient to keep the country in a ferment or uproar. The change was largely in the manner of an experiment in order to find out the most profitable way of adaptation to the new regime. These experiments resulted in the unsettling of old manners, customs, and ideas, which caused discontent and misery among the people. The actual change was slow; the innovations, as a rule, began in those districts bordering on the Lowlands, and thence proceeded in a northwesterly direction.

In all probability the first shock felt by the clansmen, under the new order of things, was the abolishing the ancient clan system, and the reduction of the chiefs to the condition of landlords. For awhile the people failed to realize this new order of affairs, for the gentlemen and common people still continued to regard their chief in the same light as formerly, not questioning but their obedience to the head of their clan was independent of legislative enactment. They were still ready to make any sacrifice for his sake, and felt it to be their duty to do what they could for his support. They still believed that the chief's duty to his people remained unaltered, and he was bound to see that they did not want, and to succor them in distress.

The first effects in the change in tribal relations were felt on those estates that had been forfeited on account of the chiefs and gentlemen having been compelled to leave the country in order to save their lives. These estates were entrusted to the management of commissioners who rudely applied their powers under the new arrangement of affairs. When the chiefs, now reduced to the position of lairds, began to realize their condition, and the advantage of making their lands yield them as large an income as possible, followed the example of demanding a rent. A rental value had never been exacted before, for it was the universal belief that the land belonged to the clan in common. Some of the older chiefs, then living, held to the same opinion, and among such, a change was not perceptible until a new landlord came into possession. The gentlemen of the clan and the tacksmen, or large farmers, firmly believed that they had as much right to a share of the lands as the chief himself. In the beginning the rent was not high nor more than the lands would bear; but it was resented by the tacksmen, deeming it a wanton injury inflicted in the house of their dearest friend. They were hurt at the idea that the chief,—the father of his people—should be controlled by such a mercenary idea, and to exercise that power which gave him the authority to lease the lands to the highest bidder. This policy, which they deemed selfish and unjust, naturally cut them to the quick. They and their ancestors had occupied their farms for many generations; their birth was as good and their genealogy as old as that of the chief himself, to whom they were all blood relations, and whose loyalty was unshaken. True, they had no written document, no "paltry sheep-skin," as they called it, to prove the right to their farms, but such had never been the custom, and these parchments quite a modern innovation, and, in former times, before a chief would have tried to wrest from them that which had been given by a former chief to their fathers, would have bitten out his tongue before he would have asked a bond. There can be no doubt that originally when a chief bestowed a share of his property upon his son or other near relation, he intended that the latter should keep it for himself and his descendants. To these tacksmen it was injury enough that an alien government should interfere in their domestic relations, but for the chief to turn against them was a wound which no balm could heal. Before they would submit to these exactions, they would first give up their holdings; which many of them did and emigrated to America, taking with them servants and sub-tenants, and enticing still others to follow them by the glowing accounts which they sent home of their good fortune in the favored country far to the west. In some cases the farms thus vacated were let to other tacksmen, but in most instances the new system was introduced by letting the land directly to what was formerly sub-tenants, or those who had held the land immediately from the ousted tacksmen.

There was a class of lairds who had tasted the sweets of southern luxuries and who vied with the more opulent, increased the rate of rent to such an extent as to deprive the tacksmen of their holdings. This caused an influx of lowland farmers, who with their improved methods could compete successfully against their less favored northern neighbors. The danger of southern luxuries had been foreseen and an attempt had been made to provide against it. As far back as the year 1744, in order to discourage such things, at a meeting of the chiefs of the Isle of Skye, Sir Alexander MacDonald of MacDonald, Norman MacLeod of MacLeod, John MacKinnon of MacKinnon, and Malcolm MacLeod of Raasay, held in Portree, it was agreed to discontinue and discountenance the use of brandy, tobacco and tea.

The placing of the land in the hands of aliens was deplored in its results as may be seen from the following portrayal given by Buchanan in his "Travels in the Hebrides," referring to about 1780:—"At present they are obliged to be much more submissive to their tacksmen than ever they were in former times to their lairds or lords. There is a great difference between that mild treatment which is shown to sub-tenants and even scallags, by the old lessees, descended of ancient and honorable families, and the outrageous rapacity of those necessitous strangers who have obtained leases from absent proprietors, who treat the natives as if they were a conquered and inferior race of mortals. In short, they treat them like beasts of burden; and in all respects like slaves attached to the soil, as they cannot obtain new habitations, on account of the combinations already mentioned, and are entirely at the mercy of the laird or tacksman. Formerly, the personal service of the tenant did not usually exceed eight or ten days in the year. There lives at present at Scalpa, in the isle of Harris, a tacksman of a large district, who instead of six days' work paid by the sub-tenants to his predecessor in the lease, has raised the predial service, called in that and in other parts of Scotland, manerial bondage, to fifty-two days in the year at once; besides many other services to be performed at different though regular and stated times; as tanning leather for brogans, making heather ropes for thatch, digging and drying peats for fuel; one pannier of peat charcoal to be carried to the smith; so many days for gathering and shearing sheep and lambs: for ferrying cattle from island to island, and other distant places, and several days for going on distant errands: so many pounds of wool to be spun into yarn. And over and above all this, they must lend their aid upon any unforeseen occurrence whenever they are called on. The constant service of two months at once is performed at the proper season in making kelp. On the whole, this gentleman's sub-tenants may be computed to devote to his service full three days in the week. But this is not all: they have to pay besides yearly a certain number of cocks, hen, butter, and cheese, called Caorigh-Ferrin, the Wife's Portion. This, it must be owned, is one of the most severe and rigorous tacksmen descended from the old inhabitants, in all the Western Hebrides; but the situation of his sub-tenants exhibits but too faithful a picture of the sub-tenants of those places in general, and the exact counterpart of such enormous oppression is to be found at Luskintire."[8]

The dismissal of retainers kept by the chiefs during feudal times added to the discontent. For the protection of the clan it had been necessary to keep a retinue of trained warriors. These were no longer necessary, and under the changed state of affairs, an expense that could be illy afforded. This class found themselves without a vocation, and they would sow the seeds of discontent, if they remained in the country. They must either enter the army or else go to another country in search of a vocation.

Unquestionably the most potent of all causes for emigration was the introduction of sheep-farming. That the country was well adapted for sheep goes without disputation. Sheep had always been kept in the Highlands with the black cattle, but not in large numbers. The lowland lessees introduced sheep on a large scale, involving the junction of many small farms into one, each of which had been hitherto occupied by a number of tenants. This engrossing of farms and consequent depopulation was also a fruitful source of discontent and misery to those who had to vacate their homes and native glens. Many of those displaced by sheep and one or two Lowland shepherds, emigrated like the discontented tacksmen to America, and those who remained looked with an ill-will and an evil eye on the intruders. Some of the more humane landlords invited the oppressed to remove to their estates, while others tried to prevent the ousted tenants from leaving the country by setting apart some particular spot along the sea-shore, or else on waste land that had never been touched by the plow, on which they might build houses and have an acre or two for support. Those removed to the coast were encouraged to prosecute the fishing along with their agricultural labors. It was mainly by a number of such ousted Highlanders that the great and arduous undertaking was accomplished of bringing into a state of cultivation Kincardine Moss, in Perthshire. At that time, 1767, the task to be undertaken was one of stupendous magnitude; but was so successfully carried out that two thousand acres were reclaimed which for centuries had rested under seven feet of heath and vegetable matter. Similarly many other spots were brought into a state of cultivation. But this, and other pursuits then engaged in, did not occupy the time of all who had been despoiled of their homes.

The breaking up of old habits and customs and the forcible importation of those that are foreign must not only engender hate but also cause misery. It is the uniform testimony of all travellers, who visited the Highlands during the latter half of the eighteenth century, especially Pennant, Boswell, Johnson, Newte, and Buchanan, that the condition of the country was deplorable. Without quoting from all, let the following lengthy extract suffice, which is from Buchanan:

"Upon the whole, the situation of these people, inhabitants of Britain! is such as no language can describe, nor fancy conceive. If, with great labor and fatigue, the farmer raises a slender crop of oats and barley, the autumnal rains often baffle his utmost efforts, and frustrate all his expectations: and instead of being able to pay an exorbitant rent, he sees his family in danger of perishing during the ensuing winter, when he is precluded from any possibility of assistance elsewhere. Nor are his cattle in a better situation; in summer they pick up a scanty support amongst the morasses or heathy mountains: but in winter, when the grounds are covered with snow, and when the naked wilds afford neither shelter nor subsistence, the few cows, small, lean, and ready to drop down through want of pasture, are brought into the hut where the family resides, and frequently share with them the small stock of meal which had been purchased, or raised, for the family only; while the cattle thus sustained, are bled occasionally, to afford nourishment for the children after it hath been boiled or made into cakes. The sheep being left upon the open heaths, seek to shelter themselves from the inclemency of the weather amongst the hollows upon the lee-side of the mountains, and here they are frequently buried under the snow for several weeks together, and in severe seasons during two months and upwards. They eat their own and each other's wool, and hold out wonderfully under cold and hunger; but even in moderate winters, a considerable number are generally found dead after the snow hath disappeared, and in rigorous seasons few or none are left alive. Meanwhile the steward, hard pressed by letters from Almack's or Newmarket, demands the rent in a tone which makes no great allowance for unpropitious seasons, the death of cattle, and other accidental misfortunes: disguising the feelings of his own breast—his Honor's wants must at any rate be supplied, the bills must be duly negotiated. Such is the state of farming, if it may be so called, throughout the interior parts of the Highlands; but as that country has an extensive coast, and many islands, it may be supposed that the inhabitants of those shores enjoy all the benefits of their maritime situation. This, however, is not the case; those gifts of nature, which in any other commercial kingdom would have been rendered subservient to the most valuable purposes, are in Scotland lost, or nearly so, to the poor natives and the public. The only difference, therefore, between the inhabitants of the interior parts and those of the more distant coasts, consists in this, that the latter, with the labors of the field, have to encounter alternately the dangers of the ocean and all the fatigues of navigation. To the distressing circumstances at home, as stated above, new difficulties and toils await the devoted farmer when abroad. He leaves his family in October, accompanied by his sons, brothers, and frequently an aged parent, and embarks on board a small open boat, in quest of the herring fishery, with no other provisions than oatmeal, potatoes, and fresh water; no other bedding than heath, twigs, or straw, the covering, if any, an old sail. Thus provided, he searches from bay to bay, through turbulent seas, frequently for several weeks together, before the shoals of herring are discovered. The glad tidings serve to vary, but not to diminish his fatigues. Unremitting nightly labor (the time when the herrings are taken), pinching cold winds, heavy seas, uninhabited shores covered with snow, or deluged with rain, contribute towards filling up the measure of his distresses; while to men of such exquisite feelings as the Highlanders generally possess, the scene which awaits him at home does it most effectually. Having disposed of his capture to the Busses, he returns in January through a long navigation, frequently amidst unceasing hurricanes, not to a comfortable home and a cheerful family, but to a hut composed of turf, without windows, doors, or chimney, environed with snow, and almost hid from the eye by its astonishing depth. Upon entering this solitary mansion, he generally finds a part of his family, sometimes the whole, lying upon heath or straw, languishing through want or epidemical disease; while the few surviving cows, which possess the other end of the cottage, instead of furnishing further supplies of milk or blood, demand his immediate attention to keep them in existence. The season now approaches when he is again to delve and labor the ground, on the same slender prospect of a plentiful crop or a dry harvest. The cattle which have survived the famine of the winter, are turned out to the mountains; and, having put his domestic affairs into the best situation which a train of accumulated misfortunes admits of, he resumes the oar, either in quest of herring or the white fishery. If successful in the latter, he sets out in his open boat upon a voyage (taking the Hebrides and the opposite coast at a medium distance) of two hundred miles, to vend his cargo of dried cod, ling, etc., at Greenock or Glasgow. The product, which seldom exceeds twelve or fifteen pounds, is laid out, in conjunction with his companions, upon meal and fishing tackle; and he returns through the same tedious navigation. The autumn calls his attention again to the field; the usual round of disappointment, fatigue, and distress awaits him; thus dragging through a wretched existence in the hope of soon arriving in that country where the weary shall be at rest."[9]

The writer most pitiably laments that twenty thousand of these wretched people had to leave their homes and famine-struck condition, and the oppression of their lairds, for lands and houses of their own in a fairer and more fertile land, where independence and affluence were at their command. Nothing but misery and degradation at home; happiness, riches and advancement beyond the ocean. Under such a system it would be no special foresight to predict a famine, which came to pass in 1770 and again in 1782-3. Whatever may be the evils under the clan system, and there certainly were such, none caused the oppression and misery which that devoted people have suffered since its abolishment. So far as contentment, happiness, and a wise regard for interest, it would have been better for the masses had the old system continued. As a matter of fact, however, those who emigrated found a greater latitude and brighter prospects for their descendants.

From what has been stated it will be noticed that it was a matter of necessity and not a spirit of adventure that drove the mass of Highlanders to America; but those who came, nevertheless, were enterprising and anxious to carve out their own fortunes. Before starting on the long and perilous journey across the Atlantic they were first forced to break the mystic spell that bound them to their native hills and glens, that had a charm and an association bound by a sacred tie. A venerable divine of a Highland parish who had repeatedly witnessed the fond affection of his parishioners in taking their departure, narrated how they approached the sacred edifice, ever dear to them, by the most hallowed associations, and with tears in their eyes kissed its very walls, how they made an emphatic pause in losing sight of the romantic scenes of their childhood, with its kirks and cots, and thousand memories, and as if taking a formal and lasting adieu, uncovered their heads and waived their bonnets three times towards the scene, and then with heavy steps and aching hearts resumed their pilgrimage towards new scenes in distant climes.[10]

"Farewell to the land of the mountain and wood, Farewell to the home of the brave and the good, My bark is afloat on the blue-rolling main, And I ne'er shall behold thee, dear Scotland again!

Adieu to the scenes of my life's early morn, From the place of my birth I am cruelly torn; The tyrant oppresses the land of the free; And leaves but the name of my sires unto me.

Oh! home of my fathers, I bid thee adieu, For soon will thy hill-tops retreat from my view, With sad drooping heart I depart from thy shore, To behold thy fair valleys and mountains no more.

'Twas there that I woo'd thee, young Flora, my wife, When my bosom was warm in the morning of life. I courted thy love 'mong the heather so brown, And heaven did I bless when it made thee my own.

The friends of my early years, where are they now? Each kind honest heart, and each brave manly brow; Some sleep in the churchyard from tyranny free, And others are crossing the ocean with me.

Lo! now on the boundless Atlantic I stray, To a strange foreign realm I am wafted away, Before me as far as my vision can glance, I see but the wave rolling wat'ry expanse.

So farewell my country and all that is dear, The hour is arrived and the bark is asteer, I go and forever, oh! Scotland adieu! The land of my fathers no more I shall view."

—Peter Crerar.

America was the one great inviting field that opened wide her doors to the oppressed of all nations. The Highlanders hastened thither; first in small companies, or singly, and afterwards in sufficient numbers to form distinctive settlements. These belonged to the better class, bringing with them a certain amount of property, intelligent, persevering, religious, and in many instances closely related to the chief. Who was the first Highlander, and in what year he settled in America, has not been determined. It is impossible to judge by the name, because it would not specially signify, for as has been noted, Highlanders had gone to the north of Ireland, and in the very first migrations of the Scotch-Irish, their descendants landed at Boston and Philadelphia. It is, however, positively known that individual members of the clans, born in the Highlands, and brought up under the jurisdiction of the chiefs, settled permanently in America before 1724.[11] The number of these must have been very small, for a greater migration would have attracted attention. In 1729, there arrived at the port of Philadelphia, five thousand six hundred and fifty-five Irish emigrants, and only two hundred and sixty-seven English, forty-three Scotch, and three hundred and forty-three Germans. Of the forty-three Scotch it would be impossible to ascertain how many of them were from the Highlands, because all people from Scotland were designated under the one word. But if the whole number were of the Gaelic race, and the ratio kept up it would be almost insignificant, if scattered from one end of the Colonies to the other. After the wave of emigration had finally set in then the numbers of small companies would rapidly increase and the ratio would be largely augmented.[12]

It is not to be presumed that the emigrants found the New World to be all their fancies had pictured. If they had left misery and oppression behind them, they were destined to encounter hardships and disappointments. A new country, however great may be its attractions, necessarily has its disadvantages. It takes time, patience, industry, perseverence and ingenuity to convert a wilderness into an abode of civilization. Innumerable obstacles must be overcome, which eventually give way before the indomitable will of man. Years of hard service must be rendered ere the comforts of home are obtained, the farm properly stocked, and the ways for traffic opened. After the first impressions of the emigrant are over, a longing desire for the old home engrosses his heart, and a self-censure for the step he has taken. Time ameliorates these difficulties, and the wisdom of the undertaking becomes more apparent, while contentment and prosperity rival all other claims. The Highlander in the land of the stranger, no longer an alien, grows stronger in his love for his new surroundings, and gradually becomes just as patriotic for the new as he was for the old country. All its civilization, endearments, and progress, become a part of his being. His memory, however, lingers over the scenes of his early youth, and in his dreams he once more abides in his native glens, and receives the blessings of his kind, tender, loving mother. Were it even thus to all who set forth to seek their fortunes it would be well; but to hundreds who left their homes in fond anticipation, not a single ray of light shone athwart their progress, for all was dark and forbidding. Misrepresentation, treachery, and betrayal were too frequently practiced, and in misery, heart-broken and despondent many dropped to rise no more, welcoming death as a deliverer.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 8: Keltie's "History of the Highland Clans," Vol. II, p. 35.]

[Footnote 9: Keltie's "History of the Highland Clans," Vol. II, p. 42.]

[Footnote 10: "Celtic Magazine," Vol. I, p. 143.]

[Footnote 11: See Appendix, Note A.]

[Footnote 12: See Appendix, Note B.]



CHAPTER IV.

THE DARIEN SCHEME.

The first body of Highlanders to arrive in the New World was as much military as civil. Their lines were cast in evil waters, and disaster awaited them. They formed a very essential part of a colony that engaged in what has been termed the Darien Scheme, which originated in 1695, and so mismanaged as to involve thousands in ruin, many of whom had enjoyed comparative opulence. Although this project did not materially affect the Highlands of Scotland, yet as Highland money entered the enterprise, and as quite a body of Highlanders perished in the attempted colonization of the isthmus of Panama, more than a passing notice is here demanded.

Scottish people have ever been noted for their caution, frugality, and prudence, and not prone to engage in any speculation unless based on the soundest business principles. Although thus characterized, yet this people engaged in the most disastrous speculation on record; established by act of the Scottish parliament, and begun by unprecedented excitement. The leading cause which impelled the people headlong into this catastrophe was the ruination of the foreign trade of Scotland by the English Navigation Act of 1660, which provided that all trade with the English colonies should be conducted in English ships alone. Any scheme plausibly presented was likely to catch those anxious to regain their commercial interests, as well as those who would be actuated to increase their own interests. The Massacre of Glencoe had no little share in the matter. This massacre, which occurred February 13, 1692, is the foulest blot in the annals of crime. It was deliberately planned by Sir John Dalrymple and others, ordered by king William, and executed by Captain Robert Campbell of Glenlyon, in the most treacherous, brutal, atrocious, and bloodthirsty manner imaginable, and perpetrated without the shadow of a reasonable excuse—infancy and old age, male and female alike perished. The bare recital of it is awful; and the barbarity of the American savage pales before it. In every quarter, even at court, the account of the massacre was received with horror and indignation. The odium of the nation rose to a great pitch, and demanded that an inquiry be made into this atrocious affair. The appointment of a commission was not wrung from the unwilling king until April 29, 1695. The commission, as a whole, acted with great fairness, although they put the best possible construction on the king's order, and threw the whole blame on Secretary Dalrymple. The king was too intimately connected with the crime to make an example of any one, although through public sentiment he was forced to dismiss Secretary Dalrymple. Not one of those actually engaged in the perpetration of the crime were dismissed from the army, or punished for the butchery, otherwise than by the general hatred of the age in which they lived, and the universal execration of posterity. The tide of feeling set in against king William, and before it had time to ebb the Darien Scheme was projected. The friends of William seized the opportunity to persuade him that some freedom and facilities of trade should be granted the Scotch, and that would divert public attention from the Glencoe massacre. Secretary Dalrymple also was not slow to give it the support of his eloquence and interest, in hopes to regain thereby a part of his lost popularity.

The originator of the Darien Scheme was William Paterson, founder of the Bank of England, a man of comprehensive views and great sagacity, born in Scotland, a missionary in the Indies, and a buccaneer among the West India islands. During his roving course of life he had visited the isthmus of Panama—then called Darien—and brought away only pleasant recollections of that narrow strip of land that unites North and South America. On his return to Europe his first plan was the national establishment of the Bank of England. For a brief period he was admitted as a director in that institution, but it befell to Paterson that others possessed of wealth and influence, interposed and took advantage of his ideas, and then excluded him from the concern. Paterson next turned his thoughts to the plan of settling a colony in America, and handling the trade of the Indies and the South Seas. The trade of Europe with the remote parts of Asia had been carried on by rounding the Cape of Good Hope. Paterson believed that the shorter, cheaper, and more expeditious route was by the isthmus of Panama, and, as he believed, that section of the country had not been occupied by any of the nations of Europe; and as it was specially adapted for his enterprise it should be colonized. He averred that the havens were capacious and secure; the sea swarmed with turtle; the country so mountainous, that though within nine degrees of the equator, the climate was temperate; and yet roads could be easily constructed along which a string of mules, or a wheeled carriage might in the course of a single day pass from sea to sea. Fruits and a profusion of valuable herbs grew spontaneously, on account of the rich black soil, which had a depth of seven feet; and the exuberant fertility of the soil had not tainted the purity of the atmosphere. As a place of residence alone, the isthmus was a paradise; and a colony there could not fail to prosper even if its wealth depended entirely on agriculture. This, however, would be only a secondary matter, for within a few years the entire trade between India and Europe would be drawn to that spot. The merchant was no longer to expose his goods to the capricious gales of the Antarctic Seas, for the easier, safer, cheaper route must be navigated, which was shortly destined to double the amount of trade. Whoever possessed that door which opened both to the Atlantic and Pacific, as the shortest and least expensive route would give law to both hemispheres, and by peaceful arts would establish an empire as splendid as that of Cyrus or Alexander. If Scotland would occupy Darien she would become the one great free port, the one great warehouse for the wealth that the soil of Darien would produce, and the greater wealth which would be poured through Darien, India, China, Siam, Ceylon, and the Moluccas; besides taking her place in the front rank among nations. On all the vast riches that would be poured into Scotland a toll should be paid which would add to her capital; and a fabulous prosperity would be shared by every Scotchman from the peer to the cadie. Along the desolate shores of the Forth Clyde villas and pleasure grounds would spring up; and Edinburgh would vie with London and Paris. These glowing prospects at first were only partially disclosed to the public, and the name of Darien was unpronounced save only to a few of Paterson's most confidential friends. A mystery pervaded the enterprise, and only enough was given out to excite boundless hopes and desires. He succeeded admirably in working up a sentiment and desire on the part of the people to become stockholders in the organization. The hour for action had arrived; so on June 26, 1695, the Scottish parliament granted a statute from the Crown, for creating a corporate body or stock company, by name of the Company of Scotland trading to Africa and the Indies, with power to plant colonies and build forts in places not possessed by other European nations, the consent of the inhabitants of the places they settled being obtained. The amount of capital was not fixed by charter, but it was stipulated that at least one-half the stock must be held by Scotchmen resident in Scotland, and that no stock originally so held should ever be transferred to any but Scotchmen resident in Scotland. An entire monopoly of the trade with Asia, Africa, and America was granted for a term of thirty-one years, and all goods imported by the company during twenty-one years, should be admitted duty free, except sugar and tobacco, unless grown on the company's plantations. Every member and servant of the company were privileged against arrest and imprisonment, and if placed in durance, the company was authorized to invoke both the civil and military power. The Great Seal was affixed to the Act; the books were opened; the shares were fixed at L100 sterling each; and every man from the Pentland Firth to the Galway Firth who could command the amount was impatient to put down his name. The whole kingdom apparently had gone mad. The number of shareholders were about fourteen hundred. The books were opened February 26, 1696, and the very first subscriber was Anne, dutchess of Hamilton. On that day there was subscribed L50,400. By the end of March the greater part of the amount had been subscribed. On March 5th, a separate book was opened in Glasgow and on it was entered L56,325. The books were closed August 3rd of the same year, and on the last day of subscriptions there was entered L14,125, reaching the total of L400,000, the amount apportioned to Scotland. The cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, in their corporate capacity, each took L3,000 and Perth L2,000. Of the subscriptions there were eight of L3,000 each; eight of L2,000 each; two of L1,500, and one each of L1,200 and L1,125; ninety-seven of L1,000 each; but the great majority consisted of L100 or L200 each. The whole amount actually paid up was L220,000. This may not seem to be a large amount for such a country as Scotland, but as already noted, the country had been ruined by the English Act of 1660. There were five or six shires which did not altogether contain as many guineas and crowns as were tossed about every day by the shovels of a single goldsmith in Lombard street. Even the nobles had but very little money, for a large part of their rents was taken in kind; and the pecuniary remuneration of the clergy was such as to move the pity of the most needy, of the present; yet some of these had invested their all in hopes that their children might be benefited when the golden harvest should come. Deputies in England received subscriptions to the amount of L300,000; and the Dutch and Hamburgers subscribed L200,000.

Those Highland chiefs who had been considered as turbulent, and are so conspicuous in the history of the day have no place in this record of a species of enterprise quite distinct from theirs. The houses of Argyle, Athol, and Montrose appear in the list, as families who, besides their Highland chiefships, had other stakes and interests in the country; but almost the only person with a Highland patronymic was John MacPharlane of that ilk, a retired scholar who followed antiquarian pursuits in the libraries beneath the Parliament House. The Keltic prefix of "Mac" is most frequently attached to merchants in Inverness, who subscribed their hundred.

It is probable that a list of Highlanders who subscribed stock may be of interest in this connection. Only such names as are purely Highland are here subjoined with amounts given, and also in the order as they appear on the books:

26 February, 1696: John Drummond of Newtoun L600 Adam Gordon of Dalphollie 500 Master James Campbell, brother-german to the Earle of Argyle 500 John McPharlane of that ilk 200 Sir Robert Gordon of Gordonstown 400 Sir Colin Campbell of Ardkinlass 500 Mr. Gilbert Campbell, son to Colin Campbell of Soutar houses 400

27 February, 1696: John Robertson, merchant in Edinburgh 300 Matthew St. Clair, Doctor of Medicine 500 Daniel Mackay, Writer in Edinburgh 200 Mr. Francis Grant of Cullen, Advocate 100 Duncan Forbes of Culloden 200 Arthur Forbes, younger of Echt 200 George Southerland, merchant in Edinburgh 200 Kenneth McKenzie of Cromartie 500 Major John Forbes 200

28 February, 1696: William Robertsone of Gladney 1,000 Mungo Graeme of Gorthie 500 Duncan Campbell of Monzie 500 James Mackenzie, son to the Viscount of Tarbat 1,000

2 March, 1696: Jerome Robertson, periwig maker, burgess of Edinburgh 100

3 March 1696: David Robertsone, Vintner in Edinburgh 200 William Drummond, brother to Thomas Drummond of Logie Almond 500

4 March, 1696: Sir Humphrey Colquhoun of Luss 400

5 March, 1696: James Robertson, tylor in Canonget 100 Sir Thomas Murray of Glendoick 1,000

6 March, 1696: Alexander Murray, son to John Murray of Touchadam, and deputed by him 300

7 March 1696: John Gordon, Captain in Lord Stranraer's Regiment 100 Samuell McLelland, merchant in Edinburgh 500

11 March 1696: Aeneas McLeod, Town-Clerk of Edinburgh, in name and behalfe of George Viscount of Tarbat, and as having commission from him L1000

17 March, 1696: John Menzies, Advocate 200 William Menzies, merchant in Edinburgh 1000

19 March, 1696: James Drummond, Writer in Edinburgh, deputed by Mr. John Graham of Aberuthven 100 Gilbert Campbell, merchant in Edinburgh, son to Colline Campbell of Soutar Houses 200 Gilbert Campbell, merchant in Edinburgh, son to Colline Campbell of Soutar Houses 100 Daniel McKay, Writer in Edinburgh, deputed by Captain Hugh McKay, younger of Borley 300 Patrick Campbell, Writer in Edinburgh, deputed by Captain Leonard Robertsone of Straloch 100

20 March, 1696: Alexander Murray, son to George Murray of Touchadam, deputed by him 200 Sir Colin Campbell of Aberuchill, one of the Senators of the Colledge of Justice 500 Andrew Robertson, chyrurgeon in Edinburgh, deputed by George Robertstone, younger, merchant in Glasgow 100 Andrew Robertson, chyrurgeon in Edinburgh 100 James Gregorie, student 100 George Earle of Southerland 1000

21 March, 1696: John McFarlane, Writer to the Signet 200

23 March, 1696: John Forbes, brother-german to Samuell Forbes of Fovrain, deputed by the said Samuell Forbes 1000 John Forbes, brother-german to Samuell Forbes of Fovrain 500 James Gregory, Professor of Mathematiques in the Colledge of Edinburgh 200

24 March 1696: Patrick Murray of Livingstoun 600 Ronald Campbell, Writer to his Majesty's Signet, as having deputation from Alexander Gordoun, son to Alexander Gordoun, minister at Inverary 100 William Graham, merchant in Edinburgh 200 David Drummond, Advocate, deputed by Thomas Graeme of Balgowan 600 David Drummond, Advocate, deputed by John Drummond of Culqupalzie L600

25 March, 1696: John Murray of Deuchar 800 Sir Robert Sinclair of Stevenstoun 400 John Sinclair of Stevenstoun 400

26 March, 1696: Helen Drummond, spouse to Colonel James Ferguson as commissionate by him 200 James Murray of Sundhope 100 John Drummond of Newtoun 400 John Drummond of Newtoun, for John Stewart of Dalguis, conform to deputation 100

March 27: Alexander Johnstoune of Elshieshells 400 John Forbes, brother-german to Samuell Forbes of Fovrain, conform to one deputation by Captain James Stewart, in Sir John Hill's regiment. Governor of Fort William 100 Thomas Forbes of Watertoun 200 William Ross, merchant in Edinburgh 100 Rachell Johnstoun, relict of Mr. Robert Baylie of Jerviswood 200

March 28: John Fraser, servitor to Alexander Innes, merchant 100 Mr. John Murray, Senior Advocate 100 John Stewart, Writer in Clerk Gibsone's chamber 100 Mr. Gilbert Campbell, merchant in Edinburgh, son to Colline Campbell of Soutar Houses 200 Mr. Gilbert Campbell, merchant in Edinburgh, son to Colline Campbell of Soutar Houses, (more) 100 James Gordon, Senior, merchant in Aberdeen 250 Thomas Gordon, skipper in Leith 100 Adam Gordon of Dulpholly 500 Colin Campbell of Lochlan 200 Thomas Graeme of Balgowane, by virtue of a deputation from David Graeme of Kilor 200 Patrick Coutts, merchant in Edinburgh, being deputed by Alexander Robertsone, merchant in Dundie 200 David Drummond, of Cultimalindie 600 John Drummond, brother of David Drummond of Cultimalindie 200

30 March, 1696: James Marquess of Montrose 1000 John Murray, doctor of medicine, for Mr. James Murray, Chirurgeon in Perth, conform to a deputation L200 William Stewart, doctor of medicine at Perth 100 Patrick Campbell, Writer in Edinburgh, being depute by Helen Steuart, relict of Doctor Murray 100 James Drummond, one of the Clerks to the Bills, being deputed by James Meinzies of Shian 100 Robert Stewart, Junior, Advocate 300 Master Donald Robertsone, minister of the Gospel 100 Duncan Campbell of Monzie, by deputation from John Drummond of Culquhalzie 100 John Marquesse of Athole 500 John Haldane of Gleneagles, deputed by James Murray at Orchart Milne 100 Thomas Johnstone, merchant in Edinburgh 100 William Meinzies, merchant in Edinburgh 1000 Alexander Forbes of Tolquhon 500 Robert Murray, merchant in Edinburgh 200 Walter Murray, merchant in Edinburgh 100 Master Arthur Forbes, son of the Laird of Cragivar 100 Robert Fraser, Advocate 100 Barbara Fraser, relict of George Stirling, Chirurgeon apothecary in Edinburgh 200 Alexander Johnston, merchant in Edinburgh 100 Sir Robert Sinclair of Stevenstoun, for Charles Sinclair, Advocate, his son 100 The said Thomas Scott, deputed by Patrick Ogilvie of Balfour 400 The said Thomas Scott, deputed by Thomas Robertson, merchant there (i.e. Dundee) 125 The said Thomas Scott, deputed by David Drummond, merchant in Dundee 100 Mrs. Anne Stewart, daughter to the deceased John Stewart of Kettlestoun 100

31 March, 1696: Sir Archibald Murray of Blackbarrony 500 William Stewart, clerk to his Majesty's Customs at Leith 100 Christian Grierson, daughter to the deceast John Grierson 100 Jesper Johnstoune of Waristoun 500 Alexander Forbes, goldsmith in Edinburgh 200 Master John Campbell, Writer to the Signet 200 Thomas Campbell, flesher in Edinburgh 200 Archibald Earle of Argyll 1500 James Campbell, brother-german to the Earle of Argyll 200 William Johnston, postmaster of Hadingtoun L100 Sir James Murray of Philiphaugh 500 Andrew Murray, brother to Sundhope 100 William McLean, master of the Revelles 100 John Cameron, son to the deceast Donald Cameron, merchant in Edinburgh 100 David Forbes, Advocate 200 Captain John Forbes of Forbestoune 200

Afternoon: Sir Alexander Monro of Bearcrofts 200 James Gregorie, student of medicine 100 Mungo Campbell of Burnbank 400 John Murray, junior, merchant in Edinburgh 400 Robert Murray, burges in Edinburgh 150 Dougall Campbell of Sadell 100 Ronald Campbell, Writer to his Majesty's Signet 200 Alexander Finlayson, Writer in Edinburgh 100 John Steuart, Writer in Edinburgh 100 William Robertson, one of the sub-clerks of the Session 100 Lady Neil Campbell 200 Mary Murray, Lady Enterkin, elder 200 Sir George Campbell of Cesnock 1000

7 April: Thomas Robertson of Lochbank 400 Robert Fraser, Advocate, for Hugh Robertson, Provost of Inverness, conform to deputation 100 Robert Fraser, Advocate, for James McLean, baillie of Invernes, conform to deputation 100 Robert Fraser. Advocate, for John McIntosh, baillie of Invernes, conform to deputation 100 Robert Fraser, Advocate, for Alexander McLeane, merchant of Invernes, conform to deputation 150 Robert Fraser, Advocate, for Robert Rose, late baillie of Invernes, conform to deputation 140 Robert Fraser, Advocate, for Alexander Stewart, skipper at Invernes, conform to deputation 150 Robert Fraser, Advocate, for William Robertson of Inshes, 100

9 April, 1696: James Drummond, one of the Clerks of the Bills, for Robert Menzies, in Aberfadie, conform to deputation 100 John Drummond of Newtoun, depute by John Menzies of Camock, Advocate 200 Archibald Sinclair, Advocate 100 Patrick Campbell, Writer in Edinburgh L100 John Murray, doctor of medicine, for William Murray of Arbony, by virtue of his deputation 200 Colen Campbell of Bogholt 100 William Gordone, Writer in Edinburgh 100

14 Apryle: The said Thomas Halliday, Conform to deputation from William Ogilvie in Todshawhill 100

16 Aprill: Patrick Murray, lawful son to Patrick Murray of Killor 100 Walter Murray, servitor to George Clerk, junior, merchant in Edinburgh, deputed by Robert Murray of Levelands 150 John Campbell, Writer to the Signet, for Alexander Campbell, younger of Calder, conform to deputation 500 Captain James Drummond of Comrie 200

April 21: James Cuming, merchant in Edinburgh 100 James Campbell of Kinpout 100 James Drummond, Under-Clerk to the Bills, depute by Archibald Meinzies of Myln of Kiltney 100 Robert Blackwood, deputed by John Gordon of Collistoun, doctor of medicine 100 Robert Blackwood, merchant in Edinburgh, deputed by Charles Ogilvy, merchant and late baillie of Montrose 200 James Ramsay, writer in Edinburg, commission at by Duncan Campbell of Duneaves 100 Captain Patrick Murray, of Lord Murray's regiment of foot 100

May 5, 1696. John Haldane of Gleneagles, conform to deputation from Thomas Grahame in Auchterarder 100 John Drummond of Newtoun, depute by David Graeme of Jordanstoun 100 Samuel McLellan, merchant in Dundee, conform to deputation from William Stewart of Castle Stewart 100

May 14, 1696. Andrew Robertsone, chirurgeon in Edinburgh, conform to deputation by George Robertsone, Writer in Dunblane 100

May 21, 1696. John Drummond of Newtoun, for Lodovick Drummond, chamberland to my Lord Drummond 100

May 26, 1696. Thomas Drummond of Logie Almond L500

June 2, 1696. Robert Fraser, Advocate, by virtue of a deputation from Robert Cuming of Relugas, merchant of Inverness 100 Robert Fraser, Advocate, in name of William Duff of Dyple, merchant of Inverness 100 Robert Fraser, Advocate, in name of Alexander Duffe of Drumuire, merchant of Inverness 100

June 4, 1696. John Haldane of Gleneagles, depute by John Graham, son to John Graham, clerk to the chancellary 100 Adam Drummond of Meginch 200

18. Agnes Campbell, relict of Andrew Anderson, his Majesty's printer 100

July 10. John Drummond of Newtoun, for Dame Margaret Graham, Lady Kinloch 200 John Drummond of Newtoun 200 James Menzies of Schian 100 Mungo Graeme of Garthie 200

21. Sir Alexander Cumyng of Culter 200

31. Mr. George Murray, doctor of physick 200 Patrick Campbell, brother to Monzie 100

August 1. James Lord Drummond 1000

Friday, 6 March, 1696. John Drummond of Newtoune 1125

Saturday, 7 March, 1696. John Graham, younger of 1000 Daniel Campbell, merchant in Glasgow 1000 George Robinsoune, belt-maker in Glasgow 100 John Robinsoune, hammerman in Glasgow 100 John Robertson, junior, merchant in Glasgow 500

Munday, 9 March, 1696. Mattheu Cuming, junior, merchant in Glasgow 1000 William Buchanan, merchant in Glasgow 100 Marion Davidson, relict of Mr. John Glen, Minister of the Gospel 100 James Johnstoun, merchant in Glasgow 200 Thomas Johnstoun, merchant in Glasgow 200 George Johnston, merchant in Glasgow L200 John Buchanan, merchant in Glasgow 100 John Grahame, younger of Dougaldstoun 1,000

Tuesday, 10 March, 1696. Neill McVicar, tanner in Glasgow 100 George Buchanan, Maltman in Glasgow 100

Saturday, 21 March, 1696. Archibald Cambell, merchant in Glasgow 100

Tuesday, 24 March, 1696. John Robertsone, younger, merchant in Glasgow, for Robert Robertsone, second lawfull sone to Umqll James Robertsone, merchant in Glasgow 100

Tuesday, March 31, 1696. Mungo Campbell of Nether Place 100 Hugh Campbell, merchant, son to deceast Sir Hugh Campbell of Cesnock 100 Matthew Campbell of Waterhaugh 100

Thursday, Agr the 2d of Aprille. Mungo Campbell, merchant in Ayr 100 David Fergursone, merchant in Ayr 100

Wednesday the 15th day, 1696. Captain Charles Forbes, of Sir John Hill's regiment 200 Captain James Menzies, of Sir John Hill's regiment 100 Captain Francis Ferquhar, of Sir John Hill's regiment 100

Thursday, 16 Aprile, 1696. Captain Charles Forbes, of Sir John Hill's regiment 200

Fryday, 17 Aprile. Lieutenant Charles Ross, of Sir John Hill's regiment 100[13]

It is more than probable that some names should not be inserted above, as the name Graeme, for it may belong to the clan Graham of the Highlands, or else to the debateable land, near Carlisle, which is more likely. We know that where they had made themselves adverse to both sides, they were forced to emigrate in large numbers. Some of them settled near Bangor, in the county of Down, Ireland. How large a per cent, of the subscribers who lived in the lowlands, and born out of the Highlands, would be impossible to determine. Then names of parties, born in the Highlands and of Gaelic blood have undoubtedly been omitted owing to change of name. By the change in spelling of the name, it would indicate that some had left Ulster where their forefathers had settled, and taken up their residence in Scotland. It will also be noticed that the clans bordering the Grampians were most affected by the excitement while others seemingly did not even feel the breeze.

The Darien Scheme at best was but suppositious, for no experiment had been tried in order to forecast a realization of what was expected. There was, it is true, a glitter about it, but there were materials within the reach of all from which correct data might have been obtained. It seems incredible that men of sound judgment should have risked everything, when they only had a vague or general idea of Paterson's plans. It was also a notorious fact that Spain claimed sovereignty over the Isthmus of Panama, and, even if she had not, it was unlikely that she would tolerate such a colony, as was proposed, in the very heart of her transatlantic dominions. Spain owned the Isthmus both by the right of discovery and possession; and the very country which Paterson had described in such radiant colors had been found by the Castilian settlers to be a land of misery and of death; and on account of the poisonous air they had been compelled to remove to the neighboring haven of Panama. All these facts, besides others, might easily have been ascertained by members of the Company.