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Highly Commended
Andrew Clarke
Gourock High School, Inverclyd
The Money of MacLeod
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A majestic eagle soared over the rugged hills of the highlands, its shape silhouetted in the cold, white light of the moon. Far below, in the village of Balachulish, a man sat writing by the light of a candle. His name was Alan Riach, he was a Jacobite author.
All of a sudden, he was roused from his scribing by three gunshots. The author sprang to his feet, grabbed a pistol from the rack on the wall, buckled on his sword, and ran towards Balachuich Moor.
It may serve you well to know just now that Balahuish and Alan Riach's house were in the lands of the clan McLaren, and indeed, the inhabitants of the village would follow that clan leader in war. Many people came to Balachulish, but not because it was such a great place, only for the fact that it was on the border of three clan territories. The MacLeods, the MacIntoshes and the afore-mentioned McLarens. Nothing had ever come between these clans, in the way of violence, until the traditional inter-clan cards tournament.
This cards tournament had been going for nigh on 100 years, and had never brought grief to the clans until the competition of 1749 three years after our story. You see by this time, Bonnie Prince Charlie was in France, and King George's men had upped taxes, and due to this though none would confess, all of the clan leaders were pretty much broke.
The contest goes on behind closed doors, but the story goes that Neil MacIntosh won and was supposed to receive £40 sterling from both of the other clan leaders James MacLeod and Robin McLaren. The McLarens had slightly more money than the other two clans, and this was mainly because the King did not consider them much of a threat, and therefore charged them less in taxes. So anyway, James MacLeod refused to pay his money, on the grounds that he didnt have any. MacIntosh set a deadline of the 19th January 1752 for the money to be paid by. MacLeod agreed to pay his debt in full by this date even though her realised that it was almost impossible to comply with, given the steady rise in taxes.
So the matter had been left more or less unresolved, but always bubbling under the surface of everyday life.
Alan Riach remembered as he sprinted back to Balachuich Moor. It was 2nd February 1752, and the money had not yet been paid. Alan saw a light shining just a little way ahead, and the bearer of that light was one of his neighbours, John Oig.
'James MacLeods dead! He must have been up here tryin tae do for tha fox thas been doin for his sheep. It must have bin one o MacIntoshs men tha killed him!'
'A wouldnae be so sure', replied the canny author.
'Ye know whit this means, dont ye?' cried John hysterically, totally ignoring his friend. 'Were goin tae have clan warfare!'
The two McLarens carried the MacLeod clan leader down the moor to the doctor. Who, with one look, pronounced him dead.
Alan took a walk back up the hill to the place where the body had lain. He was sure that Neil MacIntosh would not have ordered one of his men to assassinate James MacLeod. He knew Neil, and knew that he was a patient man who took nothing seriously and was in no great need of money. He searched the surrounding area for hours, his keen eyes taking in every little detail around him. It was only when dawn broke that he found what he was looking for.
He saddled up his horse and rode out to Aucharn, the stronghold of the MacLeods. Where he was met by several men asking if it was true that their leader was dead. When they heard he was, they began to shout rather obscene things about the MacIntoshes. This worried Riach, as it was during times like these that the clans should rally together, sit down, and discuss what their next step should be.
He went straight to the house of Murray Rodgers, the old advisor to the MacLeod chieftains.
Alan got straight to the point, asking to see the MacLeod ledgers. He only needed to glance at the start of the last two pages of the records to see that the clan was struggling financially and owed money to the King. This cemented his belief that James was murdered by redcoats and not men of another clan. This theory was backed up by the piece of red fabric he had found hanging on the branch of a gorse bush at the top of Balachuich Moor.
Rodgers made a short speech to the MacLeod clan, telling them about the evidence found and the circumstances of their chieftains death. He also told them that there should be no hatred between the clans.
So three weeks later, the MacIntoshes stood side by side with the MacLeods and the McLarens to avenge the death of James MacLeod. As the English redcoats marched into Aucharn, they were attacked with such ferocity as they had never seen before. It was a massacre and even though the Highlanders celebrated, they all knew in their hearts that it was only so long before they would have to pay
The King would seek revenge.
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