The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1882-06-07
Flora Mcdonald.

man.
The late James Banks wrote yer
interesting sketch of the life of Flor
: McDoDald, and had it published in pam
phlet torn, and | would advise all VIII
interested on the subject, to get one an,
read 1t, bat those who cannot. must q,
, IKE the writer Of this and put up will
! the following:
flora Mcdonald was bern in the isl,
OF Skye about the year 1926. History i
sllent III regard to her SIZE when born
! 30, IN the absence of any data on tn,
SUBJECT, we are to take it for granted
that she was very small, although desti-
nCd to become heroine. She was raised
/ as most Scotch children were in thos,
days, on oat meal and dried herrinos
and If her mother sometimes gave her 4
Wee drop Of good barley whisky.
o mornings, We are not to Ue surprised
That she went 20 school like the. .1.tbe,
Skye children, and got the catechism b,
heait before She Was ten years old Is
iaIr t" be presumed.
We now see her, in our mind'>. dye.
n golden haired, bare footed. .eeu
anAied lassle, alternately skipping over
the rocks and wadIng in the sh .llow
L
y III Skye. Again we See her as a slen
der ,nalden OF Is, tripping demurely on
Sabbath morning to the Kirk, with eyes
appalently fixed on the Scotch Psalm
that she carries in both hands before her.
yet out OF one corner, she slyIy looks up
the glen to see If Allan will be in time
10 help her over the burn.
| Her HE /. supposed to be passed in
the usual home employment OF the .ver-
age Highland lassie, when all at once
the rebellion Of l745 Lreaks out, and at
its close it leaves Flora McDon. .ld the
heroine of the 18th century.
Charles Edward Stuart, the graz !son
OF that James. the 2nd, whom the peo-
pie or England ran out of their island in
1868, had stirred up the Highlanders TO
take his part, in the attempt to get pos
session of the English throne, and aided
by assistance from France, landed on the
Scottish shore in l745, and began his
march toward London.
The Pretender possessed the boned
faults of all the Stuarts, without one of
their virtues ard they certainly had few
% spare.
james lst, was a pedantic bigos, bit
harmless, as most towards are apt to be.
HIS son Charles 1st, hadn't sense enough
to keep his head on his shoulders. and
ms SOP Charles IL. good natured lib
erfine, who neglected his friends and |
rewarded his enemies-fooded England |
with llcentious literature that affected |
her tor years afterwards, and he shock |
eI the coed morals of his subject by ap
pearing openly with harlots and court
esans After him came his brother.
James III, who was as obstinate a al asst
and silly as goose, and tor attempting
tc force Roman Catholicism upon pro
testant people was compelled to leave
En- gland
Charles Edward is described as
handsome, pleasure loving mas educated
in all the refined debauchery of tho
French Court but utterly unable to lead
an ARM, much less govern great ma
ton. All accounts describes his march
toward London as promising success but
while h's brave Scotchman were march
ing to destruction, this degenerate son
of'a "a en- dynasty, was spending hi.
time IN ctfcminate nonsense amono
sourtesans. As might have been expec7
ed, his army was routed at Cul,oden
and he. flying for life with price upon
MS head: was rescued from the En- gisb
!allews by tins heroine Of Skye. For :.
his act Flora was arrested and impris.
med. but was shortly afterward pardon
I'd. When asked by George II. why she
lad concealed the Pretender. she replied
hat she would have done the same for u
lim in similar circumstances. :
Shortly after this, she married Ian =
lcDenald, and thinking to better their te
ondltlon, joined the throng and immi. o
rated to America. and settled at Cross :
,reek in Cumberland County. n. q II
While in this country, she lived at diff 81
erent times in Cumberland, Moore and .
.nson counties. IL
The breaking out of the Revolutionary :
Var, found Flora sturdy Tory. and
ne c1erted herself to stir up her coun.
'ymen to organize and resist the Colo I
lal Govern ment. Her husband was =
aJor in the Tory Army, Int after the
efeat at Moore's Creek, she seems to Il
ave taken no further part in the war
Id sometime afterwards. she and her
lsband moved back to Skye. W
Here she spent the remainder of her ~ ~
sys in ease and quietness, surrounded fa'
7 her children and friends 1t will #
, for US to be too hard op her for beng on
Tory. for if some Of US will search ont "
e records of our revolutinary ances- 50
rs, we will find that while some were ma
IDLY routed by Rutherford on the Raft At
yamp, others slept in hollow logs and !.
ulked around the swamps the whole
essed time of the war; in order to keen
It OF the way of the Wings. | have in w
y posse sslop photograph of Flora Vi,
cDonald, taken from portrait. Ds an
q Banks, brother of James Bank, r,
d several hundred taken aud carried tjo
en- to Scotland, expecting to make ma
oney by the operation, but found the te,
opie over there knew less and took or
IS interest in her than did her Scotch e.,
n in North Carolina The venture wa. Rr
failure, and Mr.. B. returned home @,
thout realizing on the business. She WI
IS spare made. and had golden hair ms
tn keen. clear blue eyes, the material d;
which | supposed hereines are ALWAYS ali
lde of, for who ever heard of a black ~,
rd beauty ever being heroinel Her ma
lolc expression denoted that when SUI
'used. the Dell Yves in her. 90,
SNYDER