Locharkick for this money, and were often round the place
where it was, and missed very narrowly finding it, for being
hid by Gentlemen, not used to work, it was very unskilfully
done, and the stamps and impression of their feet visible
about the place. But as soon as Dr. Cameron found a proper
opportunity, He went and took up the money and hid it in two
different places of the wood. In one of them he put 12,000_l._,
wch he shewed to his own son, and another man, That in case
he was taken, it might not be lost altogether, and the other
part he put in a place which he shewed to nobody. And thus it
remained till a Ship arriv’d in Loch Nonha to carry off the
Pretender &c. When the above Ship arriv’d He (the Pretender)
was sckulking in one of the Glens of Brad Badenoch where he
had been for some time conceal’d in a place under ground, with
Lochiel, Cluny Mcpherson, and some other person. Upon receiving
Intelligence of the arrival of this Ship, It seems it was
concerted That Cluny should remain in Scotland and have the
Charge of the money. And having come all together from Badenoch
to Locharkick, they got Dr. Cameron, who went and shew’d Cluny
the 2 different places where the money was: Left him in that
Country, and the rest went and embarked with the Pretender in
Loch Nonha. Whether there was any of the bags then taken up (as
is probable) carried with them, or how many, is what I am not
informed of.
‘But Certain it is that Cluny immediately after Carried the
£12,000 to Badenoch And there were in Company wth. him Angus
Cameron (of Downan) a Rannoch Man, brother to Gleneavis,
McPherson of Breachy (Breakachy), a brother in Law of his own,
and his piper.
‘The other part of the money, was shew’d to no Living but
himself, and he either did not find an opportunity, or did not
think convenient to come for it, untill a month afterwards,
when he came and carried it also away, but I am not justly
Informed who were wth. him, nor how much was of it, tho’ It is
generally believed That he got betwixt £20 and £30,000 in all.
‘It is said by Cluny’s Friends that the Pretender, after
embarking, sent a note to Cluny with particular instructions
how he was to manadge the money and to whom he was to give
any part of it,[75] and _they say that he has conformed in
the most exact manner to his Instructions_, but The other
Rebells in the highlands grumble egregiously That he has not
done them justice. I have only heard That he gave £100 to Lady
Keppoch[76] and have reason to think That if he made any other
distributions it was to some other of the principall Gentlemen
of The Different Clans, to be given away among their people,
and that those have thought fit to retain all to themselves.
‘I know it is strongly suspected that Cameron of Gleneavis,
whose Brother (Angus) was wth Cluny at Carrying away the
£12,000, has received a Large proportion by some means or
other, and there is great reason to think so, as he was almost
bankrupt before the rebellion and is now shewing away in a very
different manner, particularly This year about a month ago,
there were 120 Louis d’ors sent from him to a man in Locharkeek
to buy Cattle for him; and some of the Camerons having lately
threatened to be resented of him for his behaviour about yt
money, he met with them, and parted good friends, which is
supposed to have been done by giving them considerably.
‘Barrisdale tells that Cole or Major Kennedy was to embark much
about the same time yt he came from France, was to land on the
West Coast in order to meet with Cluny, and carry away the
money, but I have not yet learned any thing wth regard to him,
And am apt to believe That he has rather landed on the Eastern
Coast and my reasons for this Conjecture are: That one Samuel
Cameron (Brother to The above men’d Cameron of Gleneavis) Major
in the Regt. which was Lochiel’s in the French Service, was at
Edr. and came in a Chaise with the famous Mrs. Jean Cameron
to Stirling, where they parted, and she came to her house in
Morvern about the middle of March, and he took some different
route: It is supposed That he came over on a message wth.
regard to that money, and I the rather believe it as his two
brothers seem to have been concerned in it, and I am apt to
think that Kennedy and he have come together, but this is only
my own conjecture. Another reason which induces me to believe
That he would Chuse to land on the E. coast is That Cluny would
not probably Like to march with that money or trust himself
among the highlanders, who would probably not let it pass
without partaking liberally.
‘It has been said That the French Officer Cameron came to Mrs.
Jean Cameron’s, but I am certain he has not come, else I would
have got Intelligence of him, for I have had a sharp look
out for him and all others of that Kind. And I think he would
not probably venture so near the Command and specially after
hearing of Barrisdale’s fate’ (taken in March 1749).
‘It is said That his Two Brothers and Cluny have differed
about the money, and therefore Cluny would not see this French
Officer nor trust him wth anything and some say He is gone back
again, but how far This is true I can’t positively determine.
‘The above is all that I have been able to learn wth regard to
that money from first to last, and I am much convinced that the
Substance of it is true.’
[Unsigned.]
Even before the probable date of this intelligence, Government knew that
Cluny’s fidelity to his trust had embittered his relations with the
Camerons of Glenevis and Glengarry’s people. There is a curious anonymous
note of January 26, 1748,[77] written by a man who could spell, and was
something of a scholar. ‘_Scyphax_,’ he says, ‘is still in the country
and there are disturbances between him and the _Dorians_ and _Ætolians_
over the goods left by the _Young Mogul_.’ Scyphax is Cluny, the Dorians
are the Camerons, the Ætolians are the Glengarrys; the Young Mogul is
Prince Charles: ‘Nothing but stealing and plundering prevails in all
quarters here.’ The writer may have been a Presbyterian minister.
The author of the long letter of intelligence is unknown, but he can
hardly have been an English officer, like Ensign Small, who did much
secret service in the Highlands. _His_ name is always signed to his
Reports, as when he tried to catch Lochgarry on shipboard, in 1753.
The information, however obtained, is accurate, and, so far, entirely
exculpates Cluny from the various unpleasant accusations brought by his
enemies.[78] Major Kennedy really went from France to Newcastle, and
received 6,000_l._ for Charles, a sum conveyed to him, at what peril we
may imagine, by Macpherson of Breakachy.[79]
We now consider the various accounts given of embezzlement by Dr. Cameron
and Cluny. It is certain that, in November or December, 1749, Young
Glengarry, Lochgarry, and Dr. Cameron were in Cluny’s country, that
they handled the treasure, that they quarrelled, and that they carried
their dispute before the exiled James in Rome. Dr. Cameron accused
Young Glengarry of obtaining the money by a forged order from James;
while Glengarry charged Cluny and the Doctor with ‘embezzlement’ and
‘villainy.’ Cameron, he said, declared that the Royal Family had given
up all hopes of a restoration, and told the Highlanders that they must
now shift for themselves. He also took 6,000 louis d’or of the Prince’s
money, ‘and I am credibly informed,’ says Glengarry, ‘that he designs to
lay this money in the hands of a merchant in Dunkirk, and enter partners
with him.’[80] Again, in an undated letter to Charles, of about March
1751, Glengarry denounces the embezzlement and ‘villainy’ of Cluny and
Dr. Cameron.[81] He acknowledges having taken ‘a trifle’ himself. Another
account, clearly from a Macdonnell source, occurs in old Gask’s hand,
among his papers.[82] Dr. Cameron is here, as by Glengarry, credited
with absorbing 6,000_l._, while Cameron of Glenevis is said to have
‘intercepted’ 3,000_l._, and Cluny, ‘for his estate’ gets 10,000_l._ This
reads like a variant of Young Glengarry’s tale told to Bishop Forbes in
April 1752. According to that version, Cluny and Lochiel took security
from Charles for the full value of their estates before they joined the
Royal Standard. This full value is the 10,000_l._ which Cluny is said to
have ‘embezzled.’
[Illustration: _Walker & Boutall, ph. sc._
_Prince Charles_
_circ. 1747._]
Now the only independent evidence against Dr. Cameron is contained in
a letter of his uncle, Cameron of Torcastle, to Prince Charles.[83]
In this Torcastle denies that he himself touched the money, and avers
that he knew nothing of it, till Dr. Cameron ‘told it himself at Rome,
where I happened to be at the time’ (1750). This letter is singularly
inconsistent with another unpublished letter from Douay, of August
28, 1751. The epistle was intended for Cameron of Glenevis, but was
intercepted by Colonel Crawfurd, Governor of Fort William. The Colonel
attributed its authorship to Cameron of Torcastle, and if the attribution
be correct, the letter contradicts Torcastle’s accusations of his
nephew, Dr. Cameron. Whoever the author of the Douay letter may be, he
speaks of ‘the industrious malicious designs and scandalous untruths,
publicly handed about against Lochiel’s family by Gl⸺ry.’ ‘Chalmers (Dr.
Cameron) knows very well that when truth comes out, these people will
fall with scandal into the trap they have contrived for others.... All
that Chalmers (Dr. Cameron) saw or had access to _was his expenses_.’ The
writer then speaks of the ‘unprecedented method Gl⸺ry &c. took to get att
their sinister ends,’ and about Gl⸺ry’s misrepresentations of Chalmers
to Mr. Young,’ the Prince. Singular irritation against Lochgarry is also
expressed.[84]
On this showing Dr. Cameron got no 6,000_l._, but only his expenses. Now,
that Dr. Cameron should receive his expenses was perfectly legitimate.
But, if he took 6,000_l._, as Young Glengarry declares, his character
is lost. In 1750, 6,000_l._ was a fortune. Dr. Carlyle, writing of
that time, speaks about a minister who married a lady with a tocher of
4,000_l._, which then was equivalent to an estate. When executed in
June 1753, Dr. Cameron left his family destitute. Consequently he cannot
have helped himself to 6,000_l._, and put it into commerce, as Glengarry
alleged. That he did nothing of the sort, we have the very curious
evidence of an Informer in 1753. This man, declaring that he is afraid of
being informed against by Young Glengarry, informs against him. He says,
in his information:
‘In Sep. 1749 Dr. Cameron told him (the Informer) he had come over to get
some money on behalf of Lochiel’s Family; That Fassfarn got from Clunie
£6,000, took it to Edinburgh the following winter, and put it in the
hands of John Mc.Farlane, W.S.[85] Dr. Cameron at the same time got £350:
and Fassfarn £400 more to be employed in making good certain claims on
the estate of Lochiel.
‘Says he saw Dr. Cameron a day or two after, who denied either he or
Fassfarn had got any money, alledging that Cluny would not give it
without orders from the Old Pretender: That the Doctor was off to Rome
(1750) to get these, with only £100 for expenses. That the following
winter he (the Informer) met Young Glengarry, who disproved this by
giving him a copy of the Accounts in Clunie’s writing of all the money.’
Here follows Young Glengarry’s _alleged_ copy of Cluny’s accounts:—
‘_A State of Clunie McPherson’s Intromissions_
£ s. d.
‘By Cash given Dr. Cameron and Fassfern, _secured
with Fassfern for use of young Lochiel_ 6,000 0 0
” sent to Lochiel by Angus Cameron and
Donald Drummond, brother to Bohaldie 1,000 0 0
” given the Dr. when last in Scotland to carry
his Charges to and from Rome 350 0 0
” at 2 different times by Angus Cameron to
the Clan Cameron and others needy 800 0 0
” charged by Clunie for his Estate 5,000 0 0
” ” ” for his Commission 1,000 0 0
” ” ” for 30 Men from September
1746-Sep. 1749. 1,627 10 0
” charged by Clunie as his pay, at half a-guinea
per diem during said time 542 10 0
” charged by Clunie as Maintenance of his Family 1,400 0 0
” charged by Clunie for Brechachow (Breakachie) 800 0 0
” given to young Glengarry Nov. 1749 300 0 0
” given by Clunie to his Clan 500 0 0
” ” Fassfern to pay Publick Burdens
on Lochiel’s Estates, viz. Cess
and Teinds due by the Tenants 200 0 0
” given Fassfern to defray the Expences in
carrying on the Claims on Lochiel’s Estate 100 0 0
” Alleged by Clunie to be in Angus Cameron’s hands 500 0 0
” in Clunie’s hands 4,880 0 0
------------
£25,000 0 0
============
‘N.B.—Young Glengary got £1,900 at Edinburgh from Mr. Mc.Dougald
at the sight of Mr. John Mc.Cleod of Nuck, Advocate, of which
Glencarney got £80 and Glencoe £50. But this money had no
connection with Clunie’s Intromissions, having been carried
to the South by Mr. John Murray.’[86] [Part of the 5,000 louis
kept by Murray?]
According to this statement, said to be produced as Cluny’s, Dr. Cameron
did _not_ receive 6,000_l._ for himself. The money went to the support of
the exiled family of Lochiel, who had died in 1748. The large claims made
by Cluny rest, as before, on the word of Young Glengarry.
In May 1753, Fassifern himself, then a prisoner in Edinburgh Castle,
was examined. He declined to give any evidence against anybody on any
charge. He admitted that in 1749 he received 4,000_l._ from Evan Cameron
of Drumsallie, now dead, for Lochiel’s family. He asked no questions, but
deposited it with Mr. Macfarlane, W.S., who lent it out to Wedderburn of
Gosford, in Fassifern’s name. Fassifern acted as a near relation for his
exiled nephew, Lochiel’s son.
Thus the money which Dr. Cameron is said to have seized, was used for
the support of Charles’s best friends, the family of his most renowned
adherent. So vanishes the charge that Dr. Cameron speculated with the
money.[87]
As to Cluny’s retention of money, the same difficulty occurs as in the
case of Dr. Cameron. He arrived in France a destitute exile, when, by
Charles’s command, he ceased to skulk in the caves of Ben Alder, and
crossed to join the Prince in 1754. There is no trace of the value of an
estate in his possession, though Charles, in ordinary gratitude, owed
him much more than he is said to have claimed. Thus it is certain that
Archibald Cameron did not help himself to the Prince’s money; while the
story about Cluny is inconsistent both with his honourable poverty and
with figures, for these accounts make no allowance for 6,000 louis,
certainly conveyed to Charles by Major Kennedy. The whole scandal rests
merely on the word of Young Glengarry.[88]
VII
THE TROUBLES OF THE CAMERONS
This affair of the treasure caused endless calamities, especially
involving Cameron of Glenevis, a place within two or three miles of
Fort William. The relationship of this family to the head of the clan,
Lochiel, stands thus: Archibald Cameron of Dungallon, who died in 1719,
was the husband of Isabel Cameron of Lochiel. By her he left two sons and
three daughters, of whom Jean married Dr. Archibald Cameron of Lochiel,
the last Jacobite martyr; while Mary married Alexander Cameron of Glen
Nevis.[89] Glenevis, or Glen Nevis, was not out in the Rising of 1745,
but he was imprisoned in 1746, and released in 1747.[90]
The house of the Camerons of Glenevis, according to Mr. Mackenzie’s
‘History of the Camerons,’ was of very ancient standing. It was
‘generally at feud with Lochiel, and this feeling of antagonism came down
even to modern times. Indeed, it has been maintained that the Glenevis
family were _originally not Camerons at all, but Macdonalds_, who
settled there under the Macdonalds of the Isles, before the Camerons had
any hold on the district.’ They are also spoken of as Macsorlies. However
this genealogical point may be settled, there was no love lost between
Glenevis and Young Glengarry.
The Glenevis family, though not overtly engaged for the Cause, suffered
from the brutalities of the victors. In spite of Glenevis’s abstinence
from the Rising, his family was persecuted. Mrs. Archibald Cameron
communicated to Bishop Forbes a lamentable story of how her sister,
Glenevis’s wife, was stripped by Cumberland’s men, under Caroline Scott,
and only permitted to keep a single petticoat. Her little son’s gold
buttons and gold lace were cut off his coat, and the child was wounded
by the knife.[91] This story, which has contemporary evidence from the
lips of Lady Glenevis’s sister, Mrs. Archibald Cameron, has received the
usual picturesque embroidery of Highland tradition. Dr. Stewart (‘Nether
Lochaber’) got the tale from some ladies named Macdonald, in this
fashion: the infuriated soldiery, finding none of the plate and jewels
which Lady Glenevis had buried, observed a bulky object under her plaid.
Slashing with swords at the plaid, to discover the supposed treasure,
they wounded the lady’s baby, a child of a few months old. Mrs. Cameron’s
less romantic version, if either, is correct.[92] The brothers of
Glenevis were Allan, who fell at Culloden—_felix opportunitate mortis_;
Angus of Dunan or Downan, in Rannoch; and that unhappy Samuel, called
Crookshanks, whom Dr. Cameron, before his execution, denounced as ‘the
basest of spies.’ He was in French service, but was drummed out, after
Dr. Cameron’s death.
In October 1751, Colonel Crawfurd, commanding at Fort William, received
from head-quarters information about Glenevis’s and Angus’s share in
the treasure. Fassifern, Lochiel’s brother and representative, was also
denounced. The Colonel took to the duties of policeman with a will, and
the following letter from him describes his arrest of the accused:—
_From Lieut.-Col. Crawfurd to Churchill_
Cumberland Papers.
Fort William: Oct. 12, 1751.
... ‘When I received the Packet from the Express, I without
hesitation affected a surprise and concern at receiving the
news of our Cloaths being stranded, and pretended to consult
him about the nearest way through the Hills to Aberdeen, near
which Place I saw the misfortune had happened; this answerd
extremely well in blinding our good Neighbours in the Town of
Maryburgh,[93] who are for the greatest part ready enough to
give Intelligence to the Country, of any Movements made by the
Garrison. I then employed Captn. Jones to execute the warrant
upon Fassifarn, and that he might be at no loss in not knowing
the Man or the Country, I sent Mr. Gardiner along with him,
whose zeal and readiness to assist you are no strangers to.
They pretended to go in the German Boat on a fishing scheme,
and turning up Lochiel, they soon got to his house, and secured
him and every Thing of Paper Kind, bringing all to the Garrison.
‘As soon as they were set out for Fassifarn I pretended to take
a walk out of the Garrison, to see if I coud make a purchase
of Hay for my Horses, and taking Mr. Douglas, the Sheriff
substitute, out with me,[94] by way of shewing me the Road and
Country, I allowed only two more officers to accompany me, that
we might give no suspicion of our Intentions, which would have
been soon discovered had I allowed more or sent a Party.
‘However, notwithstanding these precautions, we were told
at going to the House, that Glen Nevis was walk’d out with
his Brother in Law, Dungallon, and still persisting that
we shoud be glad to see Glen Nevis, to talk with him about
his Hay, I prevailed on his wife to send a messenger for
him into the Fields, which having done I took care, that
no other Intelligence should go from the House, and then
proceeded to search for his Papers: but I soon perceived that
a Consciousness of Guilt, had made him secrete almost every
Paper, and the hearing that Dungallon[95] had come to his
House in the Middle of the preceeding Night, confirmed me
in my suspicions that we should see no more of Glen Eves or
Dungallon. I then ordered the Parties who were in readiness to
go round the Hill, and come down upon the Head of the Glen,
making a strict search, but it was to no purpose. You’ll please
to observe that Dungallon, by way of blinding Douglas, had
wrote him on the Wednesday, that it woud be some Days before he
coud be in this part of the Country, and yet that very night,
near the middle of it, did he come to Glen Eves’ house, and for
what Intention may be easily guessed.
‘It is however some satisfaction that notwithstanding the pains
they have been at, to conceal their treasonable practices,
yet by their remissness I have found some Old Letters among
Cloaths, which will greatly help to put their transactions
in a proper light, and part of wch I have now enclosed for
your perusal. [The letters enclosed are not in the Cumberland
Papers.] The Letter I have marked No. 1. is a Letter from Glen
Evis to his brother Angus Cameron, in the beginning of which
you’ll see that Fassifarn and he are not in concert, and that
Fassifarn complains of them both, as I imagine for having got
too great a share of the money, and Glen Eves’ hint to Angus
is, not to look upon Fassifarn as his friend.
‘In No. 2. You see Angus in his proper Colours appointing the
Congress with Cluny (in December 1749); and it would not be
amiss that the Name of the Place, Catlaick, should be well
observed on that worthy Gentleman’s Account. You see that
Loch Gary was in the Country, and on what accounts; likewise
the errand of young Glengary. Whether the “Crookshanks” there
aludes to Cluny as a Cant word for his having a wry Neck, or to
a Brother of Glen Evis [Samuel, the spy] who is an officer in
the French Service, and has crooked legs, I am not certain, but
I believe it is to the Latter.
‘You will likewise observe by this letter that a correction is
to be made in the key of your Intercepted Letter, that Angus is
Brother to Glen Eves and not to Fassifarn. I daresay you are no
stranger to the part that Angus has Acted from the beginning in
relation to the great Money Affair, and that no one excepting
Cluny knows more of it. I am fully persuaded that Mrs. Chalmers
(Mrs. Archibald Cameron) is charged with orders upon his Bank
stock, however unwilling he may be to part with it⸺’
On October 14, Glenevis tired of hiding, and surrendered himself to
Crawfurd. No harm was found in Fassifern’s papers, which had been seized,
and he, with Angus MacIan, a brother (or half-brother) of Lochgarry, was
admitted to bail.
On October 22, Colonel Crawfurd wrote an account of Glenevis’s
examination to Churchill, who forwarded it to the Duke of Newcastle. Now
we must ask how Government, which in 1749-50 knew only the anonymous
account of the treasure already quoted, was, in 1751, informed that
Lochgarry, Young Glengarry, Cameron of Glenevis, and his brother Angus,
had meddled with the spoil in December 1749? Readers of ‘Pickle the Spy’
will remember that Pickle (that is, _ex hypothesi_, Young Glengarry)
dates his services as a paid informer from 1750-51. Young Glengarry,
then, may have been himself the source of the intelligence about the
plunder, and that, as we shall see, was the strong opinion of Glenevis.
In any case this is the earliest hint of suspicion against the honour
of Young Glengarry which we have encountered. The eternal feud of
Macdonnells and Camerons may have suggested the notion of Glengarry’s
treachery to the mind of Glenevis; Cluny being out of the question, and
he not knowing any one out of prison, except Young Glengarry, who had the
necessary information. Glenevis’s brother, Angus, and Angus MacIan were
in prison with himself, and Lochgarry was with his regiment in France.
Crawfurd says of Glenevis, and his suspicions: