Telegram-herald., 1890-10-27

Se1l1szeS< - slexp xD1 cIS4zas VII I1k
osse kaeeght Assotx al. That the tar
away por.e zaa - grazing acIxi.ses
ho.d u&aght IA a. thslr mixnis poSs.-
seat.ss Lkt sas blessed caa&enf. pe2oe
znd tasta beneath the roof of tk.s Ssne
loL.sly hsnlAad nssnse
There i soasething pFosltiVcls "a
sltoalng II digslne oas the meaning 81
tie ca o&SisS names 81 t1ln9s Ana ,llS-
oes. s1lll retained IA TIE every -asy 10
pogrzpby II SootiAae. The beauty ans
ex Isressl seasss If their application are
remarkable. Take Iae slugle Wore
ssr31h - Sn example. strata i kus-
iish for the Cache StrAih. III means )
valley. baI 4 means STA more. Ii :
: valley eoRnnea ~ nIlls 0f mountains
on sltheT SIDE, through wEich r.rer
runs. Then 20 any one Wao hAs lived,
OF wandered losinglss IA scotland. bow
perfecI IA description covering Whole
necessary sentences ia our oWn ian
gazge. are-tne oompsct sarnxeS. Stfaa-
raef, ln MlgtoWn, from cr4lh-an-fad-
halTs ls the valley 81 good grass uT pas
t0re, ssraIngroy, IA ferlhshire, irom
srsthdnruoh, Is tue valley where the
DFuids dwell. str4chur, in Argyle. was
once Sgxth-a-chone, OF valley ~ the IA
vlne. stfathcTomtle, pa koss-shlre e
from Srath-com-Deul. or the valley 81
the curved opening, az exact descf -
ton Ia tie iewesI possible words. Thea
there is strsthearn, OF sTath-eSr-En, in
Pertnshlre. The valley Of the e4st-run-
ning river. StTxtnbrock. ia lauiih-
gow-shiTe, e from srath-a-OhrulC. the
valley OF the badgers. StrasnbIau.
found both n the shires Of Perth and
Ross, was IA Gaelic. Srath-Craoin, OF
valley OF the dropping or drzzhng
showers. Again, ia Perthshlre, =
Strathallen. from Srath- alulnn, the fair
and beautiful valley, aud stratum
mel, corrupted from sIaIh-teth-tnull, Is
the valley of the fierce stream or tor
rent And here away IN the rugged
northern edge OF the shire Of Inverness
IS the wonderful StratAglass. 10 the
Gaels STathglss, Their gray VALLEY"
gray 10 tie skies above il. gray IN It's
yailey-bcd where the stubble-helds.
banks OF clay and dreamful river blend.
gray, despite the splalches of crimson
LAID by the pencils OF the frost; gray in
the masses of birch, ia the myriads of
lchened cralgs; and gray in the very
mists OF lts countless waterfalls.
Not 900 people n al Scotland know
of this existence OF TINS grand "0ray
Valley" Not 100 families can be
found within il from end TO end. No
Murray or "Black" has ever pene.
trated It's depths 10 describe II. The
old HIghlanders look at me curiously
from the doors of their crOfts. and
doubt that am from SO far a land as
America. To their ken, ] am the first
American TO know Strathglass. And
what thrill comes 10 one at the con-
sclousness OF possibly beng the first
American TO be seen, nearly Al the
threshold of the twentieth century,
anywhere on the face OF this great
earthl The noble strath opens 70 the
German ocean at Beauty, and with &
gradul ascent cleaves straight and true
through the mlst-wreathed mountains
for nearly thirty miles 10 the south
west, and then breaks into two western
chasms, Glen Cannlch and Glen Afirc,
which nearly equal Strathglass IN
beauty and grandeur. It Is all one re-
gion. And across the seventy or eighty
miles from sea 10 sea that are Just two
estates, that Of the Chlsolms OF CHS
ohm, and kiDtall OF ROss-shIre. These
cover the straths and glens, reaching
far over upon the mountains 20 the
north and south; and from 600 % $40
square miles OF land are possessed by
these two families. More than half of
this Is enclosed as game preserve, and
is controlled through rental as such by
one man. That means that down
through the past century Thousands Of
people who, through the inherent rights
of clanship, had precisely the same
original right 10 lands they occupied as
had the heads Of clans themselves,
have been driven from their homes
that one man, able to pay $4,000 per
wear in rentals, 10000 year in the
EXPENSES of hunting-lodges, game
keepers and gillies, and as much more
in litigation, could come here once q
year and butcher red deer; and those
red deer as tame, from the absence of
humankind, as the mlld-eyed CONS that
stand in crotters' byres.
There is a little human interest in
this magical Gray Valley. The inter-
mlnable scenes of splendOr are what
would bring YOU again and again % i
when you had once known IL. Indeed
1t may he called so close a preserve that
one commits trespass IN entering a..
unless your feet are kent within the
track of the two roads, which thread
the valley. These wind along the
mountain bases above and at either
side of the river Glass, and finally
branch into the bride paths amoug the
western glens. Passing up the strath
from Beauty one gentleman's seat is
found. little farther on, Al avenue
Of sycamores leads TO Erchless castle.
the great hall OF the ChisbOlms Of
Chisholm, VINO fought to the death al
CullOden Tor Bonnie Prince Charlie. 4"
/ The Chlshoims they have always been
called: en- old chief Os the clan once
/ saving there were bat three persons in
/ the distinction of tins prefix the
pope, the king and the Chisholm.
/ Early IN the century the male line be-
/ came extinct. and the attorneys - the
{ estate, which covers vast Slratbgiass
and more. for forty years searched the
I whole earth for al heir, finally discov-
! ering one IN the person Of a struggling,
balf starved clerk in New York. He
also died without male ssoe a few
wears since; and the wife and daugh-
teTs, living IN regal splendor, are not
/ deeply ssddened because another the
4 Chisholm e d fficuit 10 discover.
Besides Erchless castle. there arc The
/ little Hamlet Of sJuy. containing less
! than a half dozen houses. not over ;
score OF crofiers' houses. little specks
I of white down there in the depths ot
l the valley; tiny Catholic chspei-fof
/ Cromwell and Knox could never Quite
snnihilste the old religion ia tnsseiIg gh
| land fastnesses near 10 TIE vast
| est and most curious cross on earth.
hundreds Of feet in be Eht cut into the
/ 90. r--.srL ~ TIE snut-arr Lnn--La u.