The hero of this ballad appears to have been an outlaw and
deer-stealer--probably one of the broken men residing upon the border.
There are several different copies, in one of which the principal
personage is called _Johnie of Cockielaw_. The stanzas of greatest merit
have been selected from each copy. It is sometimes said, that this
outlaw possessed the old castle of Morton, in Dumfries-shire, now
ruinous:--"Near to this castle there was a park, built by Sir Thomas
Randolph, on the face of a very great and high hill; so artificially,
that, by the advantage of the hill, all wild beasts, such as deers,
harts, and roes, and hares, did easily leap in, but could not get out
again; and if any other cattle, such as cows, sheep, or goats, did
voluntarily leap in, or were forced to do it, _it is doubted_ if their
owners were permitted to get them out again."--_Account of Presbytery
of Penpont, apud Macfarlane's MSS._ Such a park would form a convenient
domain to an outlaw's castle, and the mention of Durrisdeer, a
neighbouring parish, adds weight to the tradition. I have seen, on a
mountain near Callendar, a sort of pinfold, composed of immense rocks,
piled upon each other, which, I was told, was anciently constructed for
the above-mentioned purpose. The mountain is thence called _Uah var_, or
the _Cove of the Giant_.