The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1892-12-16
A SCOTCH TRADITION.
MERcILEss WARFARE OF ONE or
THE OLD SCOTTISH CLANS.

Safd to Be haunted.
A friend of mine made prolonged
tour of Scotland last year to indulge in
his favorite pastime-islling- which
there is none better in the whole world
than among the highlands and contigu-
ous islands of that country. He brought
back with him avast storehouse Of the
strange tales of the primitive people
among whom. he sojourned, for he avoid
ed the usual lines of travel, confining
his wanderings to the remote villages
and out of the way places which the or
binary tourist never visits. He lived for
months with the peasant and fisherman
class, with whom, ingratiating himself
into their good graces, he learned much
of the traditions current i'll the region,
which have only been kept alive By
being handed down from father to son
through the generations.
At one time residing with simple
fisherman Oh one of the Hebrides, that
group made famous by the celebrated
tocr of Dr.. johnson and Boswell, he was
told a strange story pertaining to a cave
on one Of the islands, which he after
ward visited with his host, making the
weird tradition doubly interesting. 1t
was this:
More than three centuries ago there
existed two clans between which there
had waged the most bitter and relent
less warfare for generations. OF course
tie people CT both factions were but lit
tie more civilized than the North Amer
ican Indians when Columbus gave
new world to Spain. Both clans lived
by stealing from their neighbors, de-
cidedIy prcferTing this mode of life to an
honest cndeavor Of raising anything fer
themselves. Their tenure of the dark
g,ens which they claimed was i-eld by
the prowess Of their primitive bows and
arrows, their rude claylnores and ruder
dirks. ignorant, cruel and vindictivc,
the several clans hated each other with
a hatred unknown but to dense igno-
rance; they hated simply because their
names differed, Because they had been
taught that differences between names
meant fauds between races.
One Of these two contenGirg clans
lived on oae OF the little islands of the
Hebridcan group, q barren, rocky, desc,
late spot, surrounded only by the e.e4nal
surf. One mild winter day came the
boats of their hated enemy. The int. u
ton of the invaders was of course 10
kill, plunder and destroy. They did
plunder and burn the huts they found
ON the shore, but not a human being
was found that they could massacre,
The whole island appeared to have been
abandoned The invaders ransacked it
well; traversed every glen and every
ravire and wondered where their invet-
crate enemies had gone. Failing in the
principal part of their bloody mission,
they prepared to leave. They took up
their oars, but hardly had they cleared
the little creek by which they had en-
tered from the sea when a man, will. an
apparently extraordinary vision, spieI a
figure in the uncertain light Of /. win
ter's dawn cautiously moving over the
rocks.
A shout announced the discovery, and
the islander disappeared. But the secret
had been betrayed. The inhabitants
had hidden themselves, not deserted.
LII half an hour their assailants had re-
landed and set themselves VITA aTak-
eaed hope to the search. Snow had
fallen during the night, and the foot
steps of the inlprudont islander betrayed
the whereabouts of his clan. The high
landers e1riitingiy followed he trail OF
tho enemy. and they soon tracked him
to tie hiding place CT his people, a Carl
Gus cavern, It's entrance through the
mazes of rock, oycrgrown with thick
shrubs, place easily missed by any one
not familiar with the locality. In this
cave were gathered all the families of
the tribe, the women and little children
and I. few of the old men, The main por
ton Of tie young warriors having gone
off on an excursion-a maraudlng one OF
course-to the neighboring islands.
With shouts Of triumph and exulting
wrath comparable to the cruel nature of
invaders they collected seaweed, drift
wood and the dried heath, in which the
rocks ahounded, AMI piled around the
now cognizant of what their enemies
were doing, maintaining the silence OF
despair. A few words of lnuttered Gae
lie alone passed-and in short time
the material which the sayages had
gathered was set on fire, the scorching
heat FROM which and the dense smoke
rolled in upon the unfortunate occu
pants of the cavern, when suddenly
there arose wall of agony. Over the
cracking and roaring of the huge fire
the dying wretches attempted to get out,
only to be killed at the mouth of the
fierce hell or thrust back with pixies
into the scorchirg flames. At last all
sounds ceased-the blaze sunk aud died
away completely, the fends had done
! their work; not d living creature re-
1naiEed within the almost red hot cav
ern. The clan had been extinguashed--
a clan less il the highlands OF Scotia.
| The triumphant lnurderers took to their
| boats and sailed away again, leaving
| their dead unburied as they lay.
They never were buried through all
the longNsears. The little island where
such atrocities We're committed was ac-
cursed-haunted by spirits of those who
had met their horrible fate there. 1t
was also claimed by the fishermen OF
the other islands that whenever they
| happened to pass that way In the night
low wailings were distinctly heard,
sharp, piercing shriels, and that ghastly
skeletons were seen walking on the
beach. and the place was avoided as a
/ pest hole. After many generations these
superstitious notions died out. Now the
/ island is inhabited again, but the dread
full legend sticks to it, and it is said thai
MANY human bone is dug up by the
small gardeners.-St. Louis Post-Dls