Journal taken from the mouth of MISS FLORA MACDONALD by DR.
BURTON of York, when in Edinburgh.[235]
[235] Printed in _Jacobite Memoirs_, pp. 412-423.
[Sidenote: 1746. June.]
[Sidenote: _fol._ 524.] Miss MacDonald had gone from Sky to Milton in
South Uist[236] in order to visit her brother-german, who had about
that time taken up house. She had not been long there till Captain
O'Neil (by some lucky accident or other) had become acquainted with
her.[237] When the Prince was surrounded with difficulties on all
hands, and knew not well what to do for his future safety, Captain
O'Neil brought Miss MacDonald to the place where the Prince was,
and there they concerted the plan. At that time Miss returned to
Milton. After Miss MacDonald had (with some difficulty)[238] agreed
to undertake the dangerous enterprize, she set out for Clanranald's
house, Saturday, June 21st, and at one of the fords was taken
prisoner by a party of militia, she not having a passport. She
demanded to whom they belonged? And finding by the answer that her
step-father was then commander, she refused to give any answers till
she should see their captain. So she and her servant, Neil MacKeehan,
were prisoners all that night.
[236] See f. 200.
[237] See ff. 186-7.
[238] See f. 192.
[Sidenote: 22 June.]
[Sidenote: _fol._ 525.]
Her stepfather, coming next day, being
Sunday, she told him what she was about, upon which he granted a
passport for herself, a man-servant (Neil MacKechan), and another
woman Bettie Burk, a good spinster, and whom he recommended as such
in a letter to his wife at Armadale in Sky, as she had much lint to
spin.[239] If her stepfather (Hugh MacDonald of Armadale) had not
granted Miss a passport, she could not have undertook her journey and
voyage. Armadale set his stepdaughter at liberty, who immediately
made the best of her way to Clanranald's house and acquainted the
Lady Clanranald with the scheme, who supplied the Prince with apparel
sufficient for his disguise, viz. a flower'd linen gown, a white
apron, etc., and sent some provisions along with him.[240]
[239] See ff. 187, 193, 304.
[240] See ff. 152, 210-218, 594.
During Miss MacDonald's stay at Clanranald's house, which was till
the Friday, June 27th, O'Neil went several times betwixt [Sidenote:
_fol._ 526.] the Prince and Miss, in which interval another scheme
was proposed, that the Prince should go under the care of a gentleman
to the northward,[241] but that failing them, they behoved to have
recourse to that agreed upon before; and accordingly Lady Clanranald,
one Mrs. MacDonald, O'Neil, Miss Flora MacDonald, and her servant,
Neil MacKechan, went to the place where the Prince was, being about
eight Scotch miles.[242] He was then in a very little house or hut,
assisting in the roasting of his dinner, which consisted of the
heart, liver, kidneys, etc., of a bullock or sheep, upon a wooden
spit. O'Neil introduced his young preserver and the company, and she
sat on the Prince's right hand and Lady Clanranald on his left. Here
they all dined very heartily.
[241] See ff. 188, 589.
[242] See f. 149.
[Sidenote: 28 June.]
Next morning, June 28th, they heard of General Campbell's arrival
at Benbecula, and soon after a man came in a great hurry to Lady
Clanranald and acquainted her that Captain Ferguson with an advanced
party of Campbell's men was at her [Sidenote: _fol._ 527.] house, and
that Ferguson had lain in her bed the night before. This obliged her
to go home immediately, which accordingly she did, after taking leave
of the Prince. She was strictly examined by Ferguson where she had
been? She replied she had been visiting a child which had been sick,
but was now better again.[243] Both the General and Ferguson asked
many other questions, such as where the child lived, how far it was
from thence? etc., but they could make nothing out of the lady fit
for their purpose.
[243] See f. 485.
O'Neil would gladly have staid with the Prince and shared in his
distresses and dangers, but Miss could by no means be prevailed upon
to agree to that proposal.[244]
[244] See ff. 193, 687.
When all were gone who were not to accompany the Prince in his voyage
to the Isle of Sky, Miss MacDonald desired him to dress himself
in his new attire, which was soon done, and at a proper time they
removed their quarters and went near the water with their boat
afloat, nigh at hand for readiness to embark [Sidenote: _fol._ 528.]
in case of an alarm from the shore. Here they arrived, very wet and
wearied, and made a fire upon a rock to keep them somewhat warm till
night.[245] They were soon greatly alarmed by seeing four wherries
full of armed men making towards shore, which made them extinguish
their fire quickly, and to conceal themselves amongst the heath.
[245] See f. 137.
About two or three days after O'Neil parted from the Prince, a French
cutter, having 120 men on board, appeared and sailed towards the Isle
of South Uist, intending to carry off the Prince.[246] O'Sullivan
went immediately on board, while O'Neil made haste to find out the
Prince before he might have left the island. But finding that the
Prince had left the island about two days before, immediately he
returned to the place where he had left the cutter. But unhappy for
him, he found that the timorous Sullivan, having a fair wind, and not
having [Sidenote: _fol._ 529.] courage to stay till O'Neil's return,
being resolved to take care of Number One, obliged the captain to set
sail directly, lest he should be taken and should lose his precious
life. O'Neil returned in the compass of three hours after Sullivan
had set sail, and was taken prisoner soon after and brought into
England, after having been prisoner for some time in the Castle of
Edinburgh[247], to which place he had been brought from a ship of
war; for he had been in a state of confinement at sea for some
time. An English officer, having intelligence of the above cutter,
immediately dispatched two wherries after her with thirty men in
each, but neither of them could come up with her.
[246] See f. 191.
[247] See f. 189.
At eight o'clock, June 28th, Saturday, 1746, the Prince, Miss Flora
MacDonald, Neil MacKechan, etc., set sail in a very clear evening
from Benbecula to the Isle of Sky.[248] It is worth [Sidenote: _fol._
530.] observing here that Benbecula is commonly reckoned a part of
South Uist, they being divided from one another by the sea only at
high water, which then makes a short ferry betwixt the two; but at
low water people walk over upon the sand from the one to the other.
[248] See f. 1518.
They had not rowed from the shore above a league till the sea became
rough, and at last tempestuous, and to entertain the company the
Prince sung several songs and seemed to be in good spirits.
In the passage Miss MacDonald fell asleep, and then the Prince
carefully guarded her, lest in the darkness any of the men should
chance to step upon her. She awaked in a surprize with some little
bustle in the boat, and wondered what was the matter, etc.[249]
[249] See f. 195.
[Sidenote: 29 June]
Next morning, Sunday, June 29th, the boatmen knew not where they
were, having no compass and the wind varying several times, it being
then again calm.[250] However, at last they made to the point of
Waternish, in the west corner of Sky, where they thought to have
landed, but found the place [Sidenote: _fol._ 531.] possessed by a
body of forces who had three boats or yawls near the shore. One on
board one of the boats fired at them to make them bring-to; but they
rowed away as fast as they could, being all the chance they had to
escape, because there were several ships of war within sight. They
got into a creek, or rather clift of a rock, and there remained some
short time to rest the men, who had been all night at work, and to
get their dinners of what provisions they had along with them. As
soon as they could they set forwards again, because as the militia
could not bring them to, they had sent up to alarm a little town not
far off. It was very lucky for them that it was a calm then, for
otherwise they must inevitably have perished or have been taken.[251]
[250] See ff. 138, 205, 598.
[251] See f. 138.
From hence they rowed on and landed at Kilbride, in Troternish, in
the Isle of Sky, about twelve miles north from the above-mentioned
point. There were also several parties of [Sidenote: _fol._ 532.]
militia in the neighbourhood of Kilbride. Miss left the Prince in
the boat and went with her servant, Neil MacKechan, to Mougstot, Sir
Alexander MacDonald's house, and desired one of the servants to let
Lady Margaret MacDonald know she was come to see her ladyship in her
way to her mother's house. Lady Margaret knew her errand well enough
by one Mrs MacDonald, who had gone a little before to apprize her of
it.[252]
[252] See ff. 727, 738.
As Mr. Alexander MacDonald of Kingsburgh was accidentally there,
Lady Margaret desired him to conduct the Prince to his house; for
it is to be remarked that Lady Margaret did not see the Prince in
any shape. Kingsburgh sent a boy down to the boat with instructions
whither to conduct the Prince [Sidenote: _fol._ 533.] about a mile,
and he (Kingsburgh) would be there ready to conduct him.[253] Then
Kingsburgh took some wine, etc., to refresh the Prince with, and
set forwards for the place of rendezvous, leaving Miss MacDonald
with Lady Margaret at Mougstot, where the commanding officer of the
parties in search of the Prince was, and who asked Miss whence she
came, whither she was going, what news? etc., all which Miss answered
as she thought most proper, and so as to prevent any discovery of
what she had been engaged in.[254]
[253] Here is a mistake; for Mr MacDonald of Kingsburgh declared to
me more than once [see f. 145], that he sought for the Prince some
time to no purpose, and had almost despaired to find him, when at
last the accidental running of a flock of sheep proved the occasion
of finding him out. [See f. 736.]