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walls of the old castle at Achaistal still remains entire *, and human bones are occafionally found in the ruins.-There are also the remains of many pictifh caftles to be found interspersed throughout this parish, and likewife feveral artificial cairns, fome of a square form, others circular. They are now covered with grafs or heath. Some of them are so high within,

Tradition alfo

exact distance between them is 9 feet 5 inches. mentions his height to have been above 9 feet. He went with Lord Caithness, &c. to the Orkneys, where he, as well as the Earl and his fon, were killed. This happened in the year 1530. The caufe of the faid rebellion was this :-In the year 1530, King James V. granted the islands of Orkney to his natural brother James Earl of Murray, and his heirs-male. The inhabitants took umbrage that an over-lord fhould be interpofed between them and the fovereign, and rofe in arms under the command of Sir James Sinclair of Sandy. Lord Sinclair Baron of Roflin, and Sinclair Earl of Caithness, were fent

with a party of men to quell the rebels; but the Iflanders defeated them, and the Earl with his fon, and William More Sutherland, who accompanied them, were killed. The Caithnefs men who furvived, carried back the Earl of Caithness's head, to be interred in his Lordships burial place in Caithness.

The old caftle at Achaiftal was built and poffeffed by John Beg, third fon to the Earl of Sutherland. In those times parties of robbers or freebooters used to infeft this county. A party of these came to John Beg's house, and infifted that he hould pay a certain fum in name of tribute to them, otherwife they would plunder his house, and carry away his cattle. John Beg feemed very paffive to them, and entertained them very fumptuously, until he got them all intoxicated, by ftrong ale mixed with the juice of nightshade, when he ordered them to be conveyed to the upper apartments of his caftle. He then removed his family and furniture, and put them on board a veffel at the water mouth of Berrydale; and having collected a great quantity of ftraw and bruth-wood into the lower part of his house, he fet fire to it, which foon destroyed the robbers, and confumed all the caftle, excepting a part of the walls. John Beg returned, with his family, to Sutherland. Tradition gives no account of the time in which these transactions happened.

within, that a perfon of an ordinary fize may almost stand erect. The walls are well built, and covered with flags.

Caves, &c.-A great many caves are to be met with on this coaft, fome of which run up fo far under ground, that none have been able to get to the end of them. They are inhabited by vaft numbers of feals, many of which are killed by the inhabitants in the month of November, in their fubterraneous habitations. The employment, however, is dangerous; for fhould the wind blow hard from the fea, these adventurers are in danger of being loft.

Advantages and Disadvantages.-This parish has feveral advantages. The fea coaft, as has been obferved, abounds with great variety of fish. The prices of labour and provifions, although increased of late years, are still reasonable in comparison of moft other parts of the kingdom. As an act of Parliament has lately been obtained to convert the statute labour into money, it is to be expected that good roads and bridges, of which there is much need, will be the happy confequence. The want of harbours is a very great disadvantage. There is not a proper one from Cromarty to Orkney. And the want of proper markets for the productions of the' parish is another. The shortness of leafes, and the want of inclosures, are alfo great impediments to industry and improvements in agriculture.-There are by far too many whisky houses in the parish, which is a great incitement to the lower claffes of people, to hurt their health and morals, and to confume their time and fubftance. The want of juftices of the peace is another great disadvantage. There is only one gentleman who acts in that capacity, in this very populous and extenfive parifh. The confequence of this is, that the police is very much neglected. If the cafe were

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otherwife, many grievances would be redreffed, and many difputes fettled, without going before the fheriff-court.→ There is an old practice, which ftill prevails in fome places, and which is very detrimental to husbandry. It is commonly termed rig and rennet. A number of tenants have their houfes perhaps close to one another. Inftead of every one having his land in one place, it is fcattered here and there, feveral tenants having different shares in one field, or a rig a piece alternately. Befides ftopping the progrefs of improvement, wrangling and ftrife among neighbours, in fowing and reaping, are often the confequences. If fome manufactures were established on this extenfive and populous coast, they 16 would be of great confequence to the inhabitants. If they - drunk more beer, and lefs whisky, it would contribute greatly to their happiness and comfort. Thefe, and fome other disadvantages, under which the inhabitants labour, will no

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doubt be remedied in due time *.

As the boundaries between Caithnefs and Sutherland lie in this parish, it may not be improper to give the following account of them, as inferted in M'Farlane's Geographical Collections, (A. M. S. in the Advocates Library) vol. I p. 198, where there is a defcription of the parish of Latheron.

"The hill of the Ord is that which divides Sutherland and "Caithness. The march is a small rivulet, called the Burn of the "Ord, which takes its rife from fome fprings near the top of the hill. The fouth fide of the hill is very steep, floping all along to the top of a rock, which is many fathoms high. Crofs the fouth fide of this hill is the common paffage to and from this country. The road hath not been fo very dange"rous as at first view it would appear to the traveller, for the whole face of the hill to the top of the rock has been covered "with heath, so that though a perfon's foot might flip, he was "not in great danger; but whether through moor burning, or "fome other accident, it hath happened fome few years ago, "that the heath was all burnt, and now it looks more frightful "than formerly, but the road, by the pains of oir James Sin"clair of Dunbeath, is made so broad that 3 horses can conve"niently

"niently ride it abreast. A little to the eaft of the Burn of the "Ord, which is the march, there is a pleasant green moat, called "the Dunglafs, as high as the top of the rock. Since the

heath was burnt, paffengers, who obferve, may fee the vestiges "of a ditch, digged up from the said Dun, all along the top "of the rock, until it come to a burn, near the top of the Ord, "called Aultnuder, a fmall rivulet rifing from the moraffes "about a mile above the top of the forefaid rock. The top of the Ord is large 9 miles of bad road to the fouth-weft of the "church."

This feems to put the matter beyond all doubt, in addition to which it may be observed, that the mountain of the Ord is exprefsly included in the charters of Langwell.

The people of Sutherland are ready to acknowledge that the burn of the Ord is the boundary, but fome in the neighbourhood pretend, that they have acquired a fervitude of common over the ground in the neighbourhood, though fituated in the county of Caithness. But it seems impoffible that charters, reftricted to lands in the county of Sutherland, can be the means of acquiring even a right of common, over lands in another county, that of Caithness.

The Burn of the Ord is certainly the natural divifion between the two counties; and until the roads were made, the cattle and sheep of Sutherland could hardly get into Caithness at that place.

When the roads were made, it was agreed by both parties to begin at the burn of the Ord, as the point of divifion between the two counties.

The point was incidentally decided at the Circuit Court, when the bridge was ordered to be built over the Burn of the Ord, as being the boundary.

Within these few years, Mr Howifon, who rents the kelp fhores on the east coast of Sutherland, as is afferted on the authority of Mr Gordon, late of Aufdale, quarrelled his men for going farther than the Burn of the Ord, being beyond their right and privilege.

Many old men now living can fufficiently prove the boundary in question. William Campbell, late of Ausdale, an old man above 80, knew it well.

NUM

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