'FOR THE LAIRD OF COL.
'SIR,
'Having occasion to write to your fields, I cannot be forgetful of your
willingness and good affection to his Majesty's service. I acknowledge
to you, and thank you heartily for it, assuring, that in what lies in my
power, you shall find the good. Meanwhile, I shall expect that you will
continue your loyal endeavours, in wishing those slack people that are
about you, to appear more obedient than they do, and loyal in their
prince's service; whereby I assure you, you shall find me ever
'Your faithful friend,
'MONTROSE[810].'
'Petty, 17 April, 1646.'
I found some uncouth lines on the death of the present laird's father,
intituled 'Nature's Elegy upon the death of Donald Maclean of Col.' They
are not worth insertion. I shall only give what is called his Epitaph,
which Dr. Johnson said, 'was not so very bad.'
'Nature's minion, Virtue's wonder,
Art's corrective here lyes under.'
I asked, what 'Art's corrective' meant. 'Why, Sir, (said he,) that the
laird was so exquisite, that he set art right, when she was wrong.'
I found several letters to the late Col, from my father's old companion
at Paris, Sir Hector M'Lean, one of which was written at the time of
settling the colony in Georgia[811]. It dissuades Col from letting
people go there, and assures him there will soon be an opportunity of
employing them better at home. Hence it appears that emigration from
the Highlands, though not in such numbers at a time as of late, has
always been practised. Dr. Johnson observed that 'the Lairds, instead of
improving their country, diminished their people.'
There are several districts of sandy desart in Col. There are
forty-eight lochs of fresh water; but many of them are very small,--meer
pools. About one half of them, however, have trout and eel. There is a
great number of horses in the island, mostly of a small size. Being
over-stocked, they sell some in Tir-yi, and on the main land. Their
black cattle, which are chiefly rough-haired, are reckoned remarkably
good. The climate being very mild in winter, they never put their beasts
in any house. The lakes are never frozen so as to bear a man; and snow
never lies above a few hours. They have a good many sheep, which they
eat mostly themselves, and sell but a few. They have goats in several
places. There are no foxes; no serpents, toads, or frogs, nor any
venomous creature. They have otters and mice here; but had no rats till
lately that an American vessel brought them. There is a rabbit-warren on
the north-east of the island, belonging to the Duke of Argyle. Young Col
intends to get some hares, of which there are none at present. There are
no black-cock, muir-fowl[812], nor partridges; but there are snipe,
wild-duck, wild-geese, and swans, in winter; wild-pidgeons, plover, and
great number of starlings; of which I shot some, and found them pretty
good eating. Woodcocks come hither, though there is not a tree upon the
island. There are no rivers in Col; but only some brooks, in which there
is a great variety of fish. In the whole isle there are but three hills,
and none of them considerable for a Highland country. The people are
very industrious. Every man can tan. They get oak, and birch-bark, and
lime, from the main land. Some have pits; but they commonly use tubs. I
saw brogues[813] very well tanned; and every man can make them. They all
make candles of the tallow of their beasts, both moulded and dipped; and
they all make oil of the livers of fish. The little fish called Cuddies
produce a great deal. They sell some oil out of the island, and they use
it much for light in their houses, in little iron lamps, most of which
they have from England; but of late their own blacksmith makes them. He
is a good workman; but he has no employment in shoeing horses, for they
all go unshod here, except some of a better kind belonging to young Col,
which were now in Mull. There are two carpenters in Col; but most of the
inhabitants can do something as boat-carpenters. They can all dye. Heath
is used for yellow; and for red, a moss which grows on stones. They make
broad-cloth, and tartan, and linen, of their own wool and flax,
sufficient for their own use; as also stockings. Their bonnets come from
the mainland. Hard-ware and several small articles are brought annually
from Greenock, and sold in the only shop in the island, which is kept
near the house, or rather hut, used for publick worship, there being no
church in the island. The inhabitants of Col have increased considerably
within these thirty years, as appears from the parish registers. There
are but three considerable tacksmen on Col's part of the island[814]:
the rest is let to small tenants, some of whom pay so low a rent as
four, three, or even two guineas. The highest is seven pounds, paid by a
farmer, whose son goes yearly on foot to Aberdeen for education, and in
summer returns, and acts as a schoolmaster in Col. Dr. Johnson said,
'There is something noble in a young man's walking two hundred miles and
back again, every year, for the sake of learning[815].'
This day a number of people came to Col, with complaints of each others'
trespasses. Corneck, to prevent their being troublesome, told them, that
the lawyer from Edinburgh was here, and if they did not agree, he would
take them to task. They were alarmed at this; said, they had never been
used to go to law, and hoped Col would settle matters himself. In the
evening Corneck left us.
As, in our present confinement, any thing that had even the name of
curious was an object of attention, I proposed that Col should shew me
the great stone, mentioned in a former page[816], as having been thrown
by a giant to the top of a mountain. Dr. Johnson, who did not like to be
left alone, said he would accompany us as far as riding was practicable.
We ascended a part of the hill on horseback, and Col and I scrambled up
the rest. A servant held our horses, and Dr. Johnson placed himself on
the ground, with his back against a large fragment of rock. The wind
being high, he let down the cocks of his hat, and tied it with his
handkerchief under his chin. While we were employed in examining the
stone, which did not repay our trouble in getting to it, he amused
himself with reading _Gataker on Lots and on the Christian Watch[817],_
a very learned book, of the last age, which had been found in the garret
of Col's house, and which he said was a treasure here. When we descried
him from above, he had a most eremitical appearance; and on our return
told us, he had been so much engaged by Gataker, that he had never
missed us. His avidity for variety of books, while we were in Col, was
frequently expressed; and he often complained that so few were within
his reach. Upon which I observed to him, that it was strange he should
complain of want of books, when he could at any time make such
good ones.
We next proceeded to the lead mine. In our way we came to a strand of
some extent, where we were glad to take a gallop, in which my learned
friend joined with great alacrity. Dr. Johnson, mounted on a large bay
mare without shoes, and followed by a foal, which had some difficulty in
keeping up with him, was a singular spectacle.
After examining the mine, we returned through a very uncouth district,
full of sand hills; down which, though apparent precipices, our horses
carried us with safety, the sand always gently sliding away from their
feet. Vestiges of houses were pointed out to us, which Col, and two
others who had joined us, asserted had been overwhelmed with sand blown
over them. But, on going close to one of them, Dr. Johnson shewed the
absurdity of the notion, by remarking, that 'it was evidently only a
house abandoned, the stones of which had been taken away for other
purposes; for the large stones, which form the lower part of the walls,
were still standing higher than the sand. If _they_ were not blown over,
it was clear nothing higher than they could be blown over.' This was
quite convincing to me; but it made not the least impression on Col and
the others, who were not to be argued out of a Highland tradition.
We did not sit down to dinner till between six and seven. We lived
plentifully here, and had a true welcome. In such a season good firing
was of no small importance. The peats were excellent, and burned
cheerfully. Those at Dunvegan, which were damp, Dr. Johnson called 'a
sullen fuel.' Here a Scottish phrase was singularly applied to him. One
of the company having remarked that he had gone out on a stormy evening,
and brought in a supply of peats from the stack, old Mr. M'Sweyn said,
'that was _main honest_[818]!'
Blenheim being occasionally mentioned, he told me he had never seen
it[819]: he had not gone formerly; and he would not go now, just as a
common spectator, for his money: he would not put it in the power of
some man about the Duke of Marlborough to say, 'Johnson was here; I knew
him, but I took no notice of him[820].' He said, he should be very glad
to see it, if properly invited, which in all probability would never be
the case, as it was not worth his while to seek for it. I observed, that
he might be easily introduced there by a common friend of ours, nearly
related to the duke[821]. He answered, with an uncommon attention to
delicacy of feeling, 'I doubt whether our friend be on such a footing
with the duke as to carry any body there; and I would not give him the
uneasiness of seeing that I knew he was not, or even of being himself
reminded of it.'