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THE
PROPHECIES
OF THE
BRAHAN SEER
(COINNEACH ODHAR FIOSAICHE).
BY
ALEXANDER MACKENZIE, F.S.A. SCOT.,
EDITOR OF THE “CELTIC MAGAZINE”; AUTHOR OF “THE HISTORY OF THE
MACKENZIES,” “THE HISTORY OF THE MACDONALDS AND LORDS OF THE
ISLES,” ETC., ETC.
Fourth Edition—Much Enlarged.
WITH AN
APPENDIX ON THE SUPERSTITION OF
THE HIGHLANDERS,
BY
THE REV. ALEXANDER MACGREGOR, M.A.
INVERNESS:
A. & W. MACKENZIE, “CELTIC MAGAZINE” OFFICE.
1888.
THE ABERDEEN UNIVERSITY PRESS:
JOHN THOMSON AND J. F. THOMSON, M.A.
DEDICATION TO FIRST EDITION.
[Illustration]
TO MY REVERED FRIEND, THE REV. ALEXANDER MACGREGOR, M.A.,
Of the West Church, Inverness, as a humble tribute of my admiration of
his many virtues, his genial nature, and his manly Celtic spirit. He
has kept alive the smouldering embers of our Celtic Literature for half
a century by his contributions, under the signature of “Sgiathanach,”
“Alastair Ruadh,” and others, to the _Teachdaire Gaidhealach_, _Cuairtear
nan Gleann_, _Fear Tathaich nan Beann_, _An Gaidheal_, _The Highlander_;
and, latterly, his varied and interesting articles in the _Celtic
Magazine_ have done much to secure to that Periodical its present, and
rapidly increasing, popularity. He has now the pleasing satisfaction,
in his ripe and mellow old age, of seeing the embers, which he so long
and so carefully fostered, shining forth in the full blaze of a general
admiration of the long despised and ignored Literature of his countrymen;
and to him no small share of the honour is due.
That he may yet live many years in the enjoyment of health and honour, is
the sincere desire of many a Highlander, and of none more so, than of his
sincere friend,
ALEXANDER MACKENZIE.
INVERNESS, _May, 1877_.
PREFACE.
[Illustration]
The Second Edition of the “Prophecies” has long been out of print, stray
copies of it selling at more than double the published price. We now
place another edition, considerably extended, and much improved in every
respect, at the disposal of the public, at a lower price.
Fifty Large paper copies are thrown off, printed on thick Crown Quarto,
giving a handsome margin, and making altogether a handsome unique
volume for the Library, or the Drawing-room table, of a work which the
_Scotsman_, and all the press of the country, “recommended to the lovers
of the marvellous as a sweet morsel”.
On the 19th of October, 1881, the author of the Appendix on “The
Superstition of the Highlanders” passed over the majority, regretted and
loved by all who knew him.
A. M.
INVERNESS, _June, 1882_.
CONTENTS.
[Illustration]
PAGE.
DEDICATION iii
PREFACE v
CONTENTS vii
GENERAL INTRODUCTION—How Kenneth became a Seer—Various Versions 1
PROPHECIES WHICH MIGHT BE ATTRIBUTED TO NATURAL SHREWDNESS 9
PROPHECIES UNFULFILLED 13
PROPHECIES AS TO THE FULFILMENT OF WHICH THERE IS A DOUBT 24
PROPHECIES WHOLLY OR PARTLY FULFILLED 28
SKETCH OF THE FAMILY OF SEAFORTH 61
SEAFORTH’S DOOM 68
SEAFORTH’S DREAM 71
THE SEER’S DEATH 77
FULFILMENT OF THE SEAFORTH PROPHECY 82
APPENDIX—
General Superstition 95
Druidism 100
Fairies 104
Witchcraft 112
Second Sight 117
Smaller Superstitions 125
New-Year Customs 134
Easter Customs 135
May-day Customs 135
Hallowe’en 136
Sacred Wells and Lochs 147
[Illustration]
THE PROPHECIES OF THE BRAHAN SEER: COINNEACH ODHAR FIOSAICHE.
The gift of prophecy, second-sight, or “Taibh-searachd,” claimed for
and believed by many to have been possessed, in an eminent degree, by
Coinneach Odhar, the Brahan Seer, is one, the belief in which scientific
men and others of the present day accept as unmistakable signs of
looming, if not of actual insanity. We all are, or would be considered,
scientific in these days. It will, therefore, scarcely be deemed prudent
for any one who wishes to lay claim to the slightest modicum of common
sense, to say nothing of an acquaintance with the elementary principles
of science, to commit to paper his ideas on such a subject, unless he
is prepared, in doing so, to follow the common horde in their all but
universal scepticism.
Without committing ourselves to any specific faith on the subject,
however difficult it may be to explain away what follows on strictly
scientific grounds, we shall place before the reader the extraordinary
predictions of the Brahan Seer. We have had slight experiences of our
own, which we would hesitate to dignify by the name of second-sight. It
is not, however, with our own experiences that we have at present to do,
but with the “Prophecies” of Coinneach Odhar Fiosaiche. He is beyond
comparison the most distinguished of all our Highland Seers, and his
prophecies have been known throughout the whole country for more than two
centuries. The popular faith in them has been, and still continues to be,
strong and wide-spread. Sir Walter Scott, Sir Humphrey Davy, Mr. Morrit,
Lockhart, and other eminent contemporaries of the “Last of the Seaforths”
firmly believed in them. Many of them were well known, and recited from
generation to generation, centuries before they were fulfilled. Some of
them have been fulfilled in our own day, and many are still unfulfilled.
Not so much with the view of protecting ourselves from the charge of a
belief in such superstitious folly (for we would hesitate to acknowledge
any such belief), but as a slight palliation for obtruding such nonsense
on the public, we may point out, by the way, that the sacred writers—who
are now believed by many of the would-be-considered-wise to have been
behind the age, and not near so wise and far-seeing as we are—believed
in second-sight, witchcraft, and other visions of a supernatural kind.
But then we shall be told by our scientific friends that the Bible
itself is becoming obsolete, and that it has already served its turn;
being only suited for an unenlightened age in which men like Shakspere,
Milton, Newton, Bacon, and such unscientific men could be considered
distinguished. The truth is that on more important topics than the
one we are now considering, the Bible is laid aside by many of our
would-be-scientific lights, whenever it treats of anything beyond the
puny comprehension of the minds and intellectual vision of these
omniscient gentlemen. We have all grown so scientific that the mere
idea of supposing anything possible which is beyond the intellectual
grasp of the scientific enquirer cannot be entertained, although even
he must admit, that in many cases, the greatest men in science, and the
mightiest intellects, find it impossible to understand or explain away
many things as to the existence of which they have no possible doubt. We
even find the clergy slightly inconsistent in questions of this kind.
They solemnly desire to impress us with the fact that ministering spirits
hover about the couches and apartments in which the dying Christian is
drawing near the close of his existence, and preparing to throw off his
mortal coil; but were we to suggest the possibility of any mere human
being, in any conceivable manner having had indications of the presence
of these ghostly visitors, or discovering any signs or premonitions of
the early departure of a relative or of an intimate friend, our heathen
ideas and devious wanderings from the safe channel of clerical orthodoxy
and consistent inconsistency, would be howled against, and paraded before
the faithful as the grossest superstition, with an enthusiasm and relish
possible only to a strait-laced ecclesiastic. Clerical inconsistency is,
however, not our present theme.
Many able men have written on the Second-sight, and to some of them we
shall refer in the following pages; meanwhile our purpose is to place
before the reader the Prophecies of the Brahan Seer, as far as we have
been able to procure them. We are informed that a considerable collection
of them has been made by the late Alexander Cameron of Lochmaddy, author
of the “History and Traditions of the Isle of Skye,” but we were unable
to discover into whose possession the manuscript found its way; we hope,
however, that this reference may bring it to light.
Kenneth Mackenzie, better known as Coinneach Odhar, the Brahan Seer
(according to Mr. Maclennan), was born at Baile-na-Cille, in the Parish
of Uig and Island of Lews, about the beginning of the seventeenth
century. Nothing particular is recorded of his early life, but when he
had just entered his teens, he received a stone in the following manner,
by which he could reveal the future destiny of man:—While his mother
was one evening tending her cattle in a summer shealing on the side
of a ridge called Cnoceothail, which overlooks the burying-ground of
Baile-na-Cille, in Uig, she saw, about the still hour of midnight, the
whole of the graves in the churchyard opening, and a vast multitude of
people of every age, from the newly born babe to the grey-haired sage,
rising from their graves, and going away in every conceivable direction.
In about an hour they began to return, and were all soon after back
in their graves, which closed upon them as before. But, on scanning
the burying-place more closely, Kenneth’s mother observed one grave,
near the side, still open. Being a courageous woman, she determined to
ascertain the cause of this singular circumstance, so, hastening to the
grave, and placing her “cuigeal” (distaff) athwart its mouth (for she
had heard it said that the spirit could not enter the grave again while
that instrument was upon it), she watched the result. She had not to
wait long, for in a minute or two she noticed a fair lady coming in the
direction of the churchyard, rushing through the air, from the north. On
her arrival, the fair one addressed her thus—“Lift thy distaff from off
my grave, and let me enter my dwelling of the dead.” “I shall do so,”
answered the other, “when you explain to me what detained you so long
after your neighbours.” “That you shall soon hear,” the ghost replied;
“My journey was much longer than theirs—I had to go all the way to
Norway.” She then addressed her:—“I am a daughter of the King of Norway;
I was drowned while bathing in that country; my body was found on the
beach close to where we now stand, and I was interred in this grave.
In remembrance of me, and as a small reward for your intrepidity and
courage, I shall possess you of a valuable secret—go and find in yonder
lake a small round blue stone, which give to your son, Kenneth, who by
it shall reveal future events.” She did as requested, found the stone,
and gave it to her son, Kenneth. No sooner had he thus received the gift
of divination than his fame spread far and wide. He was sought after by
the gentry throughout the length and breadth of the land, and no special
assembly of theirs was complete unless Coinneach Odhar was amongst them.
Being born on the lands of Seaforth, in the Lews, he was more associated
with that family than with any other in the country, and he latterly
removed to the neighbourhood of Loch Ussie, on the Brahan estate, where
he worked as a common labourer on a neighbouring farm. He was very shrewd
and clear-headed, for one in his menial position; was always ready with
a smart answer, and if any attempted to raise the laugh at his expense,
seldom or ever did he fail to turn it against his tormentors.
There are various other versions of the manner in which he became
possessed of the power of divination. According to one—His mistress,
the farmer’s wife, was unusually exacting with him, and he, in return,
continually teased, and, on many occasions, expended much of his natural
wit upon her, much to her annoyance and chagrin. Latterly, his conduct
became so unbearable that she decided upon disposing of him in a manner
which would save her any future annoyance. On one occasion, his master
having sent him away to cut peats, which in those days were, as they
now are in more remote districts, the common article of fuel, it was
necessary to send him his dinner, he being too far from the house to come
home to his meals, and the farmer’s wife so far carried out her intention
of destroying him, that she poisoned his dinner. It was somewhat late
in arriving, and the future prophet feeling exhausted from his honest
exertions in his masters interest and from want of food, lay down on the
heath and fell into a heavy slumber. In this position he was suddenly
awakened by feeling something cold in his breast; which on examination
he found to be a small white stone, with a hole through the centre. He
looked through it, when a vision appeared to him which revealed the
treachery and diabolical intention of his mistress. To test the truth
of the vision, he gave the dinner intended for himself to his faithful
collie; the poor brute writhed, and died soon after in the greatest agony.
The following version is supplied by Mr. Macintyre, teacher,
Arpafeelie:—Although the various accounts as to the manner in which
Coinneach Odhar became gifted with second-sight differ in some respects,
yet they generally agree in this, that it was acquired while he was
engaged in the humble occupation of cutting peats or divots, which
were in his day, and still are in many places, used as fuel throughout
the Highlands of Scotland. On the occasion referred to, being somewhat
fatigued, he lay down, resting his head upon a little knoll, and waited
the arrival of his wife with his dinner, whereupon he fell fast asleep.
On awaking, he felt something hard under his head, and examining the
cause of the uneasiness, discovered a small round stone with a hole
through the middle. He picked it up, and looking through it, saw by the
aid of this prophetic stone that his wife was coming to him with a dinner
consisting of sowans and milk, polluted, though unknown to her, in a
manner which, as well as several other particulars connected with it, we
forbear to mention. But Coinneach found that though this stone was the
means by which a supernatural power had been conferred upon him, it had,
on its very first application, deprived him of the sight of that eye with
which he looked through it, and he continued ever afterwards _cam_, or
blind of an eye.
It would appear from this account that the intended murderer made use of
the Seer’s wife to convey the poison to her own husband, thus adding to
her diabolical and murderous intention, by making her who would feel the
loss the keenest, the medium by which her husband was to lose his life.
Hugh Miller, in his “Scenes and Legends in the North of Scotland,”
says:—When serving as a field labourer with a wealthy clansman who
resided somewhere near Brahan Castle, he made himself so formidable to
the clansman’s wife by his shrewd, sarcastic humour, that she resolved
on destroying him by poison. With this design, she mixed a preparation
of noxious herbs with his food, when he was one day employed in digging
turf in a solitary morass, and brought it to him in a pitcher. She found
him lying asleep on one of those conical fairy hillocks which abound in
some parts of the Highlands, and her courage failing her, instead of
awaking him, she set down the pitcher by his side and returned home. He
woke shortly after, and, seeing the food, would have begun his repast,
but feeling something press heavily against his heart, he opened his
waistcoat and found a beautiful smooth stone, resembling a pearl, but
much larger, which had apparently been dropped into his breast while
he slept. He gazed at it in admiration, and became conscious as he
gazed, that a strange faculty of seeing the future as distinctly as the
present, and men’s real designs and motives as clearly as their actions,
was miraculously imparted to him; and it is well for him that he should
become so knowing at such a crisis, for the first secret he became
acquainted with was that of the treachery practised against him by his
mistress.
We have thus several accounts of the manner in which our prophet obtained
possession of his remarkable stone, white or blue, with or without a
hole through its centre, it matters little; that he did obtain it, we
must assume to be beyond question; but it is a matter for consideration,
and indeed open to considerable doubt, whether it had any real prophetic
virtue. If Kenneth was really possessed of the power of prophecy he more
than likely used the stone simply to impose upon the people, who would
never believe him possessed of such a gift, unless they saw with their
own eyes the means by which he exercised it.
We shall, as far as possible, give the Prophecies under the following
headings—Those which might be attributed to great penetration and natural
shrewdness; those which are still unfulfilled; those that are doubtful;
and those which have been unquestionably fulfilled, or partly fulfilled.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
PROPHECIES WHICH MIGHT BE ATTRIBUTED TO NATURAL SHREWDNESS.
He no doubt predicted many things which the unbeliever in his prophetic
gifts may ascribe to great natural shrewdness. Among these may be
placed his prophecy, 150 years before the Caledonian Canal was built,
that ships would some day sail round the back of Tomnahurich Hill. A
gentleman in Inverness sent for Coinneach to take down his prophecies.
He wrote several of them, but when he heard this one, he thought it so
utterly absurd and impossible, that he threw the manuscript of what he
had already written into the fire, and gave up any further communication
with the Seer. Mr. Maclennan gives the following version of it:—“Strange
as it may seem to you this day, the time will come, and it is not far
off, when full-rigged ships will be seen sailing eastward and westward
by the back of Tomnahurich, near Inverness.” Mr. Macintyre supplies us
with a version in the Seer’s vernacular Gaelic:—“Thig an latha ’s am
faicear laraichean Sasunnach air an tarruing le srianan corcaich seachad
air cul Tom-na-hiuraich.” (The day will come when English mares, with
hempen bridles, shall be led round the back of Tomnahurich.) It is quite
possible that a man of penetration and great natural shrewdness might,
from the appearance of the country, with its chain of great inland lakes,
predict the future Caledonian Canal. Among others which might safely
be predicted, without the aid of any supernatural gift, are, “that the
day will come when there will be a road through the hills of Ross-shire
from sea to sea, and a bridge upon every stream”. “That the people will
degenerate as their country improves.” “That the clans will become so
effeminate as to flee from their native country before an army of sheep.”
Mr. Macintyre supplies the following version of the latter:—Alluding
possibly to the depopulation of the Highlands, Coinneach said “that the
day will come when the Big Sheep will overrun the country until they
strike (meet) the northern sea”. Big sheep here is commonly understood
to mean deer, but whether the words signify sheep or deer, the prophecy
has been very strikingly fulfilled. The other two have also been only too
literally fulfilled.
Mr. Macintyre supplies another version, as follows: “The day will come
when the hills of Ross will be strewed with ribbons”. It is generally
accepted that this prediction finds its fulfilment in the many good roads
that now intersect the various districts of the country. Other versions
are given, such as ‘a ribbon on every hill, and a bridge on every stream’
(Raoban air gach cnoc agus drochaid air gach alltan); ‘a mill on every
river and a white house on every hillock’ (Muillinn air gach abhainn agus
tigh geal air gach cnocan); and ‘that the hills of the country will be
crossed with shoulder-halts’ (criosan guaille). Since Kenneth’s day mills
were very common, and among the most useful industrial institutions of
the country, as may be evidenced by the fact that, even to this day, the
proprietors of lands, where such establishments were once located, pay
Crown and Bishop’s rents for them. And may we not discover the fulfilment
of “a white house on every hillock” in the many elegant shooting lodges,
hotels, and school-houses now found in every corner of the Highlands.
Mr. Maclennan supplies the following:—There is opposite the shore at
Findon, Ferrintosh, two sand banks which were, in the time of the Seer,
entirely covered over with the sea, even at the very lowest spring
ebbs. Regarding these, Coinneach said, “that the day will come, however
distant, when these banks will form the coast line; and when that
happens, know for a certainty that troublesome times are at hand”. “These
banks,” our correspondent continues, “have been visibly approaching, for
many years back, nearer and nearer to the shore.” This is another of the
class of predictions which might be attributed to natural shrewdness.
It is being gradually fulfilled, and it may be well to watch for the
“troublesome times,” and so test the powers of the Seer.
Other predictions of this class may occur as we proceed, but we have
no hesitation in saying that, however much natural penetration and
shrewdness might have aided Kenneth in predicting such as these, it
would assist him little in prophesying “that the day will come when
Tomnahurich,” or, as he called it, Tom-na-sithichean, or the Fairy Hill,
“will be under lock and key, and the Fairies secured within”. It would
hardly assist him in foreseeing the beautiful and unique cemetery on the
top of the hill, and the spirits (of the dead) chained within, as we now
see it.
Since the last edition of the “Prophecies” appeared, our attention has
been called to the following paragraph published in the _Inverness
Advertiser_, in 1859; that is _before_ it had been turned into a
Cemetery—“Tomnahurich, the far-famed Fairies’ Hill, has been sown with
oats. According to tradition, the Brahan prophet, who lived 200 years
ago, predicted that ships with unfurled sails would pass and repass
Tomnahurich; and further, that it would yet be placed under lock and
key. The first part of the prediction verified by the opening of the
Caledonian Canal, and we seem to be on the eve of seeing the realization
of the rest by the final closing up of the Fairies’ Hill.” This paragraph
was in print before the prediction was fulfilled.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
UNFULFILLED PROPHECIES.
Kenneth foretold “that, however unlikely it may now appear, the Island of
Lews will be laid waste by a destructive war, which will continue till
the contending armies, slaughtering each other as they proceed, shall
reach Tarbert in Harris. In the Caws of Tarbert, the retreating host will
suddenly halt; an onslaught, led by a left-handed Macleod, called Donald,
son of Donald, son of Donald, will then be made upon the pursuers. The
only weapon in this champion’s hands will be a black sooty cabar, taken
off a neighbouring hut; but his intrepidity and courage will so inspirit
the fugitives that they will fight like mighty men, and overpower their
pursuers. The Lews will then enjoy a long period of repose.” It has not
hitherto been suggested that this prophecy has been fulfilled, and we
here stake the reputation of our prophet upon its fulfilment, and that
of the following predictions, which are still current throughout the
Northern Counties of Scotland.
Another, by which the faith of future generations may be tested, is the
one in which he predicted “that a Loch above Beauly will burst through
its banks and destroy in its rush a village in its vicinity”. We are not
aware that such a calamity as is here foretold has yet occurred, nor are
we aware of the locality of the loch or the village.
We have received various versions of the, as yet, unfulfilled prediction
regarding “Clach an t-Seasaidh,” near the Muir of Ord. This is an angular
stone, sharp at the top, which at one time stood upright, and was of
considerable height. It is now partly broken and lying on the ground.
“The day will come when the ravens will, from the top of it, drink their
three fulls, for three successive days, of the blood of the Mackenzies.”
Mr. Maclennan’s version is:—“The day will come when the ravens will drink
their full of the Mackenzies’ blood three times off the top of the ‘Clach
Mhor,’ and glad am I (continues the Seer) that I will not live to see
that day, for a bloody and destructive battle will be fought on the Muir
of Ord. A squint-eyed (cam), pox-pitted tailor will originate the battle;
for men will become so scarce in those days that each of seven women will
strive hard for the squint-eyed tailor’s heart and hand, and out of this
strife the conflict will originate.”
Mr. Macintyre writes regarding these:—“The prophecies that ‘the raven
will drink from the top of ‘Clach an t-Seasaidh,’ its full of the blood
of the Mackenzies for three successive days,’ and ‘that the Mackenzies
would be so reduced in numbers, that they would be all taken in an open
fishing-boat (scuta dubh) back to Ireland from whence they originally
came,’ remain still unfulfilled.”
In the Kintail versions of these predictions they are made to apply to
the Macraes, who are to get so scarce that a cripple tailor of the name
is to be in such request among the ladies as to cause a desperate battle
in the district between themselves and the Maclennans, the result of
which will be that a black fishing wherry or “scuta dubh” will carry
back to Ireland all that remains of the clan Macrae, but no sooner do
they arrive than they again return to Kintail. Before this was to take
place, nine men of the name of Macmillan would arrive at manhood (assume
their bonnets) in the district; assemble at a funeral at Cnoc-a-Chlachain
in Kilduich, and originate a quarrel. At this exact period, the
Macraes, would be at the height of their prosperity in Kintail, and
henceforth begin to lose their hold in the country of their ancestors.
The Macmillans have actually met in this spot and originated a quarrel
as predicted, although nothing could have been more unlikely, for in
the Seer’s day there was not a single one of the name in Kintail, nor
for several generations after. It is somewhat remarkable to find that
the Maclennans are at this very time actually supplanting the Macraes
as foretold, for the last two of the ancient stock—the late tenants of
Fernaig and Leachachan—who left the district have been succeeded in their
holdings by Maclennans; and other instances of the same kind, within
recent years, are well known.
At present, we are happy to say, there does not appear much probability
of the Clan Mackenzie being reduced to such small dimensions as would
justify us in expecting the fulfilment of the “scuta dubh” part of the
prophecy on a very early date. If the prediction, however, be confined
in its application to the Mackenzies of Seaforth, it may be said to have
been already almost fulfilled. We have, indeed, been told that this is
a fragment of the unfulfilled prophecy uttered by Coinneach regarding
the ultimate doom and total extinction of the Seaforths, and which we
have been as yet unable to procure in detail. It was, however, known to
Bernard Burke, who makes the following reference to it:—“He (the Seer)
uttered it in all its horrible length; but I at present suppress the last
portion of it, which is as yet unfulfilled. Every other part of the
prediction has most literally and most accurately come to pass, but let
us earnestly hope that the course of future events may at length give the
lie to the avenging curse of the Seer. The last clause of the prophecy is
well known to many of those versed in Highland family tradition, and I
trust that it may remain unfulfilled.”
One of our correspondents presumes that the mention of “Clach an
t-Seasaidh” refers to the remains of a Druidical circle to be seen still
on the right and left of the turnpike road at Windhill, near Beauly. As
a sign whereby to know when the latter prophecy would be accomplished,
Coinneach said “that a mountain-ash tree will grow out of the walls of
Fairburn Tower, and when it becomes large enough to form a cart axle,
these things will come to pass”. Not long ago, a party informed us that a
mountain-ash, or rowan-tree, was actually growing out of the tower walls,
and was about the thickness of a man’s thumb.
Various other unfulfilled predictions of the Seer remain to be noticed.
One is regarding “Clach an Tiompain,” a well-known stone in the
immediate vicinity of the far-famed Strathpeffer Wells. It is, like
“Clach-an-t-Seasaidh,” an upright, pillar-looking stone, which, when
struck, makes a great hollow sound or echo, and hence its designation,
the literal meaning of which is the “stone of the hollow sound or echo”.
Coinneach said “that the day will come when ships will ride with their
cables attached to ‘Clach-an-Tiompain’”. It is perhaps superfluous to
point out that this has not yet come to pass; and we could only imagine
two ways in which it was possible to happen, either by a canal being
made through the valley of Strathpeffer, passing in the neighbourhood of
the Clach, or by the removal of the stone some day by the authorities of
“Baile Chail” to Dingwall pier. They may feel disposed to thus aid the
great prophet of their country to secure the position as a great man,
which we now claim in his behalf.
While the first edition was going through the press we visited
Knockfarrel, in the immediate vicinity of Loch Ussie, and we were told
of another way in which this prediction might be fulfilled so peculiar
that, although it is altogether improbable, nay impossible, that it can
ever take place, we shall reproduce it. Having found our way to the top
of this magnificent and perfect specimen of a vitrified fort, we were so
struck with its great size, that we carefully paced it, and found it to
be one hundred and fifty paces in length, with a uniform width of forty,
both ends terminating in a semi-circle, from each of which projected for
a distance of sixty paces, vitrified matter, as if it were originally
a kind of promenade, thus making the whole length of the structure two
hundred and seventy yards, or thereabout. On the summit of the hill we
met two boys herding cows, and as our previous experience taught us that
boys, as a rule—especially herd boys,—are acquainted with the traditions
and places of interest in the localities they frequent, we were curious
enough to ask them if they ever heard of Coinneach Odhar in the district,
and if he ever said anything regarding the fort on Knockfarrel. They
directed us to what they called “Fingal’s Well,” in the interior of the
ruined fort, and informed us that this well was used by the inhabitants
of the fortress “until Fingal, one day, drove them out, and placed a
large stone over the well, which has ever since kept the water from
oozing up, after which he jumped to the other side of the (Strathpeffer)
valley”. There being considerable rains for some days previous to our
visit, water could be seen in the “well”. One of the boys drove down
a stick until it struck the stone, producing a hollow sound which
unmistakably indicated the existence of a cavity beneath. “Coinneach
Odhar foretold,” said the boy, “that if ever that stone was taken out
of its place, Loch Ussie would ooze up through the well and flood the
valley below to such an extent that ships could sail up to Strathpeffer
and be fastened to ‘Clach-an-Tiompain’; and this would happen after the
stone had fallen three times. It has already fallen twice,” continued
our youthful informant, “and you can now see it newly raised, strongly
and carefully propped up, near the end of the doctor’s house.” And so it
is, and can still be seen, on the right, a few paces from the roadside,
as you proceed up to the Strathpeffer Wells. We think it right to give
this—a third—with the other versions, for probably the reader will admit
that the one is just as likely to happen as the other. We can quite
understand Kenneth prophecying that the sea would yet reach Strathpeffer;
for to any one standing where we did, on the summit of Knockfarrel,
the bottom of the valley appears much lower than the Cromarty Firth
beyond Dingwall, and it looks as if it might, any day, break through the
apparently slender natural embankment below Tulloch Castle, which seemed,
from where we stood, to be the only obstruction in its path. We need,
however, hardly inform the reader in the district that the bottom of the
Strathpeffer valley is, in reality, several feet above the present sea
level.
Another prediction is that concerning the Canonry of Ross, which is still
standing—“The day will come when, full of the Mackenzies, it will fall
with a fearful crash”. This may come to pass in several ways. The Canonry
is the principal burying-place of the Clan, and it may fall when full of
dead Mackenzies, of when a large concourse of the Clan is present at the
funeral of a great chief.
“When two false teachers shall come across the seas who will
revolutionize the religion of the land, and nine bridges shall span the
river Ness, the Highlands will be overrun by ministers without grace
and women without shame,” is a prediction which some maintain has all
the appearance of being rapidly fulfilled at this moment. It has been
suggested that the two false teachers were no other than the great
evangelists, Messrs. Moody and Sankey, who, no doubt, from Coinneach
Odhar’s standpoint of orthodoxy, who must have been a Roman Catholic
or an Episcopalian, attempted to revolutionize the religion of the
Highlands. If this be so, the other portions of the prophecy are looming
not far off in the immediate future. We have already eight bridges on
the Ness—the eighth has only been completed last year—and the ninth is
almost finished. If we are to accept the opinions of certain of the
clergy themselves, “ministers without grace” are becoming the rule, and
as for a plenitude of “women without shame,” ask any ancient matron, and
she will at once tell you that Kenneth’s prophecy may be held to have
been fulfilled in that particular any time within the last half century.
Gleidh sinne!!
It is possible the following may have something to do with the same
calamity in the Highlands. Mr. Maclennan says:—With reference to some
great revolution which shall take place in the country, Coinneach Odhar
said that “before that event shall happen, the water of the river Beauly
will thrice cease to run. On one of these occasions a salmon, having
shells instead of scales, will be found in the bed of the river.” This
prophecy has been in part fulfilled, for the Beauly has on two occasions
ceased to run, and a salmon of the kind mentioned has been found in the
bed of the river.
Mr. Macintyre gives another version:—“When the river Beauly is dried up
three times, and a ‘scaly salmon’ or royal sturgeon, is caught in the
river, that will be a time of great trial.” (Nuair a thraoghas abhainn
na Manachain tri uairean, agus a ghlacair Bradan Sligeach air grunnd
na h-aibhne, ’s ann an sin a bhitheas an deuchainn ghoirt.) The river
has been already dried up twice, the last time in 1826, and a ‘Bradan
Sligeach,’ or royal sturgeon, measuring nine feet in length, has been
caught in the estuary of the Beauly about two years ago.
The following is one which we trust may never be realized in all its
details, though some may be disposed to think that signs are not wanting
of its ultimate fulfilment:—“The day will come when the jaw-bone of the
big sheep, or ‘caoirich mhora,’ will put the plough on the rafters (air
an aradh); when sheep shall become so numerous that the bleating of the
one shall be heard by the other from Conchra in Lochalsh to Bun-da-Loch
in Kintail they shall be at their height in price, and henceforth will
go back and deteriorate, until they disappear altogether, and be so
thoroughly forgotten that a man finding the jaw-bone of a sheep in a
cairn, will not recognise it, or be able to tell what animal it belonged
to. The ancient proprietors of the soil shall give place to strange
merchant proprietors, and the whole Highlands will become one huge deer
forest; the whole country will be so utterly desolated and depopulated
that the crow of a cock shall not be heard north of Druim-Uachdair;
the people will emigrate to Islands now unknown, but which shall yet
be discovered in the boundless oceans, after which the deer and other
wild animals in the huge wilderness shall be exterminated and drowned by
horrid _black_ rains (siantan dubha). The people will then return and
take undisturbed possession of the lands of their ancestors.”
We have yet to see the realization of the following:—“A dun, hornless,
cow (supposed to mean a steamer) will appear in the Minch (off Carr
Point, in Gairloch), and make a ‘geum,’ or bellow, which will knock the
six chimneys off Gairloch House.” (Thig bo mhaol odhar a steach an
t-Aite-mor agus leigeas i geum aiste ’chuireas na se beannagan dheth an
Tigh Dhige.) Gairloch House, or the Tigh Dige of Coinneach’s day, was
the old house which stood in the park on the right, as you proceed from
the bridge in the direction of the present mansion. The walls were of
wattled twigs, wicker work, or plaited twig hurdles, thatched with turf
or divots, and surrounded with a deep ditch, which could, in time of
approaching danger, be filled with water from the river, hence the name
“Tigh Dige,” House of the Ditch. It has been suggested that the Seer’s
prediction referred to this stronghold, but a strong objection to this
view appears in the circumstance that the ancient citadel had no chimneys
to fall off. The present mansion is, however, also called the “Tigh
Dige,” and it has the exact number of chimneys—six.
“The day will come when a river in Wester Ross shall be dried up.” “The
day will come when there shall be such dire persecution and bloodshed in
the county of Sutherland, that people can ford the river Oykel dryshod,
over dead men’s bodies.” “The day will come when a raven, attired in
plaid and bonnet, will drink his full of human blood on ‘Fionn-bheinn,’
three times a day, for three successive days.”
“A battle will be fought at Ault-nan-Torcan, in the Lewis, which will be
a bloody one indeed. It will truly take place, though the time may be
far hence, but woe to the mothers of sucklings that day. The defeated
host will continue to be cut down till it reaches Ard-a-chaolais (a place
nearly seven miles from Ault-nan-Torcan), and there the swords will make
terrible havoc.” This has not yet occurred.
Speaking of what should come to pass in the parish of Lochs, he
said—“At bleak Runish in Lochs, they will spoil and devour, at the foot
of the crags, and will split heads by the score.” He is also said to
have predicted “that the day will come when the raven will drink its
three fulls of the blood of the Clan Macdonald on the top of the Hills
of Minaraidh in Parks, in the parish of Lochs”. This looks as if the
one above predicted about the Mackenzies had been misapplied to the
Macdonalds. “The day will come when there shall be a laird of Tulloch who
will kill four wives in succession, but the fifth shall kill him.”
Regarding the battle of Ard-nan-Ceann, at Benbecula, North Uist, he
said—“Oh, Ard-nan-Ceann, Ard-nan-Ceann, glad am I that I will not be at
the end of the South Clachan that day, when the young men will be weary
and faint; for Ard-nan-Ceann will be the scene of a terrible conflict”.
“A severe battle will be fought at the (present) Ardelve market stance,
in Lochalsh, when the slaughter will be so great that people can cross
the ferry over dead men’s bodies. The battle will be finally decided by a
powerful man and his five sons, who will come across from the Strath (the
Achamore district).”
Coinneach said—“When a holly bush (or tree) shall grow out of the face
of the rock at Torr-a-Chuilinn (Kintail) to a size sufficiently large to
make a shaft for a ‘carn-slaoid’ (sledge-cart), a battle will be fought
in the locality.”
“When Loch Shiel, in Kintail, shall become so narrow that a man can leap
across it, the salmon shall desert the Loch and the River Shiel.” We are
told that the Loch is rapidly getting narrower at a particular point,
by the action of the water on the banks and bottom, and that if it goes
on as it has done in recent years it can easily be leaped at no distant
date. Prudence would suggest a short lease of these Salmon Fishings.
He also predicted that a large stone, standing on the hill opposite
Scallisaig farm-house, in Glenelg, “will fall and kill a man”. This
boulder is well known to people in the district, and the prophecy
is of such a definite character, that there cannot possibly be any
mistake about its meaning or its fulfilment should such a calamity ever
unfortunately take place.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
PROPHECIES AS TO THE FULFILMENT OF WHICH THERE IS A DOUBT.
“When a magpie (pitheid) shall have made a nest for three successive
years in the gable of the Church of Ferrintosh, the church will fall when
full of people,” is one of those regarding which we find it difficult
to decide whether it has been already fulfilled or not. Mr. Macintyre,
who supplies this version, adds the following remarks:—The Church of
Ferrintosh was known at an earlier period as the Parish Church of
Urquhart and Loggie. Some maintain that this prediction refers to the
Church of Urray. Whether this be so or not, there were circumstances
connected with the Church of Ferrintosh in the time of the famous Rev.
Dr. Macdonald, which seemed to indicate the beginning of the fulfilment
of the prophecy, and which led to very alarming consequences. A magpie
actually did make her nest in the church gable, exactly as foretold.
This, together with a rent between the church wall and the stone stairs
which led up to the gallery, seemed to favour the opinion that the
prophecy was on the eve of being accomplished, and people felt uneasy
when they glanced upon the ominous nest, the rent in the wall, and the
crowded congregation, and remembered Coinneach’s prophecy, as they walked
into the church to hear the Doctor. It so happened one day that the
church was unusually full of people, insomuch that it was found necessary
to connect the ends of the seats with planks, in order to accommodate
them all. Unfortunately, one of those temporary seats was either too
weak, or too heavily burdened: it snapped in two with a loud report and
startled the audience. Coinneach Odhar’s prophecy flashed across their
minds, and a simultaneous rush was made by the panic-struck congregation
to the door. Many fell, and were trampled underfoot, while others
fainted, being seriously crushed and bruised.
Among a rural population, sayings and doings, applicable to a particular
parish, crop up, and, in after times, are applied to occurrences in
neighbouring parishes. Having regard to this, may it not be suggested
that, what is current locally in regard to Ferrintosh and Coinneach’s
sayings, may only be a transcript of an event now matter of history in
a parish on the northern side of the Cromarty Firth. We refer to the
destruction of the Abbey Church at Fearn by lightning, October 10, 1742.
We have never seen a detailed account of this sad accident in print,
and have no doubt the reader will be glad to have a graphic description
of it from the pen of Bishop Forbes, the famous author of the “Jacobite
Memoirs,” who visited his diocese of Ross and Caithness in the summer of
1762. This account is taken from his unpublished MS. Journal, now the
property of the College of Bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church, and
presently in the hands of the Rev. F. Smith, Arpafeelie, who has kindly
permitted us to make the following extract:—
“The ruinous Church of Ferne was of old an Abbacy of White Friars (see
Keith’s Catalogue, p. 247). The roof of flagstones, with part of a side
wall, was beat down in an instant by thunder and lightning on Sunday,
October 10th, 1742, and so crushed and bruised forty persons, that they
were scarcely to be discovered, who or what they were, and therefore,
were buried promiscuously, without any manner of distinction. The
gentry, having luckily their seats in the niches, were saved from the
sudden crash, as was the preacher by the sounding-boards falling upon
the pulpit, and his bowing down under it. Great numbers were wounded
(see Scot’s Magazine for 1742, p. 485). But there is a most material
circumstance not mentioned, which has been carefully concealed from the
publishers, and it is this: By a Providential event, this was the first
Sunday that the Rev. and often-mentioned Mr. Stewart, had a congregation
near Cadboll, in view of Ferne, whereby many lives were saved, as the
kirk was far from being so throng as usual, and that he and his people,
upon coming out from worship, and seeing the dismal falling-in just when
it happened, hastened with all speed to the afflictive spot, and dragged
many of the wounded out of the rubbish, whose cries would have pierced a
heart of adamant. Had not this been the happy case, I speak within bounds
when I say two, if not three, to one, would have perished. Some of the
wounded died. This church has been a large and lofty building, as the
walls are very high, and still standing.”
It has been suggested that the prediction was fulfilled by the falling to
pieces of the Church at the Disruption; but we would be loth to stake the
reputation of our prophet on this assumption.
Another, supposed by some to be fulfilled by the annual visits of the
militia for their annual drill, is—“That when a wood on the Muir of Ord
grows to a man’s height, regiments of soldiers shall be seen there drawn
up in battle order.”
In connection with the battle, or battles, at Cille-Chriosd and the Muir
of Ord, Mr. Macintyre says:—The Seer foretold that “Fear Ruadh an Uird
(the Red Laird of Ord) would be carried home, wounded, on blankets”.
Whether this saying has reference to an event looming in the distant
future, or is a fragment of a tradition regarding sanguinary events well
known in the history of Cille-Chriosd, and of which a full and graphic
account, both in prose and verse, can be seen on pp. 82-86 and 136-139,
Vol. I. of the _Celtic Magazine_, it is impossible to say.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
PROPHECIES WHOLLY OR PARTLY FULFILLED.
Here are several additional predictions which have been wholly or partly
fulfilled. “The day will come when the Mackenzies will lose all their
possessions in Lochalsh, after which it will fall into the hands of an
Englishman, who shall be distinguished by great liberality to his people,
and lavish expenditure of money. He will have one son and two daughters;
and, after his death, the property will revert to the Mathesons, its
original possessors, who will build a Castle on Druim-a-Dubh, at
Balmacarra.” The late Mr. Lillingstone was an Englishman. He was truly
distinguished for kindness and liberality to his tenants, and he had a
son and two daughters, although, we are informed, he had been married for
seventeen years before he had any family. When he came into possession,
old people thought they discerned the fulfilment of a part of Kenneth’s
prediction in his person, until it was remarked that he had no family as
foretold by the Seer. At last, a son and two daughters were successively
born to Mr. Lillingstone. After his death, the son sold the whole of
Lochalsh to Alexander Matheson, M.P. for the Counties of Ross and
Cromarty, and, so far, the prediction has been realized. A castle has
been built at Duncraig, a considerable distance from the spot predicted
by the Seer; but if Kenneth is to be depended upon, a castle will yet be
built by one of the Mathesons oh Druim-a-Dubh, at Balmacarra. Had this
prophecy been got up after the event, the reputation of the Seer would
certainly not have been staked on the erection of another castle in the
remote future, when the Mathesons already possess such a magnificent
mansion at Duncraig.