Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1881-06-07
to the air these words, and with th'
spirit of it they accord we'll:

from the sound
/ am In ward; am In ward"
Macdonald heard; and, veering north
ward, landed his troops at the head Of
the loch and led them through the VAL
ley of Kilmartin, burning, pillaging, and
cattle-lifting up to the shores of Loeb
Awe. Some kind Of supcrstitious ven
Grafton for religion" appears to have
been in the man, though his humanity
does not allow him to risk loss in endeav-
oring to rescue his poor clansman, for we
find him Immediately afterward sparing
Campbell Auchinellan's corn and cattle
because he was in holy orders.
In the year l644 the Covenanters Of
Scotland disgusted with Charles duplici-
ty, began the preparations for assisting
the disaffected party in England. The
commander-in-chiefship Of the army they
Offered to Montrose and made him ac-
quainted with all the purposes of their
"Holv Union. Montrose set out for
the north. and reached Dunham in the
beginning of March 1914. There he
found the Marquis of Newcastle, who
rendered him all the assistance in his
power and SO with an army of two
thousand men he entered Scotland on
April IA.
After various conflicts during the sum-
mer, quitting Aberdeen, Montrose turned
back to Badenoch, where he was joined
by Macdonald, but hearing that Argyll
was at Dunkeld trying to detach from him
his faithful Athollmen, he made one of
his rapid movements forward-twenty
miles through the deep November snow
which covered them in the mountain
passes up to the knec-and was once
again in Atholl, 70 the aStonishment Of
his friends, while Argyll fed at his ap-
proach to the Covcnanting garrison at
Perth.
1t was now the middle of December !;
there was no fighting to be done, and
Montroses little army must find winter
quarters. Where: The low country was
strongly garrisoned, the north was will
derness, the east had proved itself hos
tile He determined to step westward
and carry fire and sword through Argyll
shire. BY the middle of December,
marching as his men were well accus-
toned to march now, he was within two
miles of Inverary Castle The lord Of
it, who had travelled thitber straight from
Perth in order to beat up recruits for the
spring campaign, thought the devil him.
self must be in such transports, and from
the devil he again fled, this time by
water, across Loeb Fyne.
Montrose, overjoyed at the success Of
his witchery, divided his troops into three
bodies, one commanded by Macdonald of
Clan Ronald, another by Sir Alexander
Macdonald, and the third by himself,
and with them swept the whole country
like fearful, animated pestilence driv-
ing away the cattle, burning the villages
and crops, Staying in cold blood every
young man capable of bearing arms. Is
il wonderful that the "Raid of the Atholl.
men is still remembered with horror
throughout the country they desolated,
and that the name of Alexander Mac
Donald, and even that OF James Graham,
is execrated in many Gaelic curse !:
The inhabitants Of almost every western
parish have some story to tell regarding
this invasion. In Craignish they will
show you the hill from which they fred
on the castle and were beaten back with
heavy loss; in Melfort, the site of the
barn where men, women and children
fleeing for refuge were burned to death !;
but nowhere has the devotion been for
gotten Of the brave boy, our second piper
of Duntroon.
With the surrounding country full Of
retainers ready to give the alarm, it would
have been folly to approach Duntroon
from the land side, so Alexander Mac
Donald, following his fathers example,
determined to approach i, by sea though
at this time an assault from either side
might probably have been successful, for
it happened that only Duntroon himself
and few friends were living in the cas-
tie - garrison there was none - and so
unsuspecting Of any kind of evil were
they, that while the enemy's ships were
entering the bay dance was going on in
the hall overlooking it. Darkness fell,
ship after ship sailed up stealthily and
anchored below the rock, and in the room
above still the dance went on. Were
ever dancing and death nearer one
another than they were that night:
After the failure of Craignish it is the
more important that this should succeed.
The order is given to land quietly and
secure the gate; the men are beginning
to obey, when suddenly the stiffness is
broken by the sound of pibroch, played
wild and shrill from on board one of the
ships, and as the first notes Of it died
away in the darkness, the lights in the
castle windows are extinguished. The
secret of the Athollmen is betrayed, but
by whom: Allister, mad with passion,
shouts for the traitor to be seized and
brought before him. That is not diff
cult, since the pipes are still playing ;
but his amazement almost overpowers his
anger when he recognises the player, lad
picked up BY chance in the north Of Ire
land, and pressed into service because Of
his music.
"Why have you chosen to betray your
leader:" he asks.
81 have chosen to rescue my leader"
replies the boy.
did | not hire YOU to encourage my