Daily Yellowstone journal., 1889-10-10
s~coTlAND'S GYPSleS.


When the restless. wandering gypsy
crossed uyr from Europe TO Great
Britain he saw 10 the Scottish high
lands Il country after his wi heart
tirutS many 81 hIs tribe favored the
sand uu,i8 al The Tweed with their
,Iw-riHgn. ..ui there are few counties
u .l.,- go scotland TODAY That have
Gt E" uJ.N oI gypsy stuu's of their
aWu ID Nt, about the time ol the
!B,ulIe I0"l Ire gyi.lns, or 'iggp
l.I.rr g, i|lyy were called. nnuc their
Nr-i appearances IN England. and THEN
uy"-luu was largely in consequence
ui G"rIg"aGl expulsion r~sllr! Ia Spain,
Germany and France. and carried
INTO execution with hcartl"S, severity.
They met with scant welcoEle IA Great
Britain. and early records speak of
them ia such uncomplimcni;lry terms
as sturdy roagS." ''rascals.' ''vaca-
bonds, m&steriess men. ydle, va.
gI9lunic, Ioltcringe, lewde and yll dis.
passed persons, going ab0ute uslnge
subtitle and unlawful games or plate"
'~lcllers Of deStinies, deaths or for.
tunes, and such lyke fautasticall i'm
aginations."
An expose of legerdemain and jug
glery in 1912 says of the gypSies that
they came into the country about a
century previously, and that in spite
Of repressive legislation and many en-
ecutiOns. they still wandered uppe
and downe as before. and met once in
a year at a place appointed, sometimes
at the Peake's hole at Derbyshire, and
At other whites by Retbrook at Black.
heath" In Scotland the gypsies start
ed out under more suspicious circum-
stances and obtained recognition rs
decent and law abiding colunists. In
the year 1910 James V issued q writ
IN favor of johnnie Faw. S-sAd
Erie of Little Egypt" Even prior TO
this the plucky Faw had secured let
ters under the great seal. calling on
all magistrates and village officers to
support his authority in execution of
justice upon his company in accord.
ance with the laws of Egypt and in
the punishment Of who rebelled
against him. The subsequent writ,
which WAS confirmed in 1853, bore re
ference 10 rebellious gypsies, who
were mentioned by name. and who
were made subject To arrest by the
government authorities. Faw evi.
IDENTITY completely hoodwinked the
caHuy Scots Of the Sixteenth century.
At last, however. the true character
of the followers Of Faw began TO be
appreciated. and "A stringent act was
passed suppresslng Elephants, bards,
mlnstrels Hnd vagabond scholars"
Finally, IN 1908. a measure of outlaw
ry was passed, and his majcSty's sub
jects were called upon 10 arrest and
deal with the gypsies as with con-
dernned thieves.
vigorous measures of oppression did
not wipe out the gypsics by any
means. On the contrary. they grew
and multiplied, and left throughout
the length Of tic land a number of
the most remarkable records. Some
OF the stories are undoubtedly true,
while others are only founded on fact,
but all are interesting and may be
valued US ut any rate Illustrative of
the manners and customso of the times.
The Clupcmcnt Of the Countess of Cas-.
silis with Johnnie Faa or Eaw. one of
the gypsy knights Of the last quarter
Of tire Sixteenth century, has been de-
scribed repeatedly. both in prose and
poetry. but the main facts appear To
have been these: The Earl of Cassilis
was bctrothcd TO Il n%obleman's daugh-
Ter, who objected TO the match, and
who was detected in clandcstine meet
ing with n handsome, though low
bred, lover, who was no other than
Faw. Her relatives first upbrnided,
then persuaded, and finally threaten.
ed, 50 that the gypsy's sweetheart at
last became the Countess of Cassilis.
Faw waited for an opportunity, and
when this arose on the earl undertak.
ing a journey. he collected his tribe
and prepared for an elopement or alb
ductiOn.
1t turned out TO be the former, for
the fair lady was nothing loath. The
gypSies and the maiden started south,
hoping TO escape vengeance by
ing the border into England. But the
earl returned homes little sooner than
expected, and he lost no time in sum.
moning a host and starting in pursuit.
Just on the border the fugitives were
overtaken, and a battle ensued, in
which Faw and his followers were
slain. The earl ordered the fallen
gypsies TO be ~beheaded, and took his
wife home. The unfortunate, if err
ing, woman was consigned toa life
long imprisonment in tower built
for the purpose at Maybole Ayrshire.
Eight heads carved in stone below one
of the turrets are pointed To by local
inhabitants as eiligies Of the leaders of
the episode. st. Louis Globe-D Demo.
crat.