The Macraes, as we have already said, had never attained to the dignity of a clan; they were a sort of _caterans_ or pilfering tinkers, who had found it convenient to place themselves under the protection of the chief of the Mackenzies. It appears that Seaforth had no particular liking for his pilfering _protégés_, and deemed this a favourable opportunity for getting quit of them. It is a fact not generally known that our Highland regiments have often obtained their best recruits from the fraternity of _cairds_ or _caterans_. About half a century ago the whole of the North of Scotland was infested with these marauders, who, under the guise of mendicancy, levied contributions on the inhabitants of the rural districts, and lived a jovial, careless life. They were present at every marriage feast and merry-making, where the broken meat became their perquisite; sometimes they devoured the feast itself, and left the guests to shift for themselves. There was no rural constabulary in those days to keep them in check, and these Ishmaelites did very much whatever they chose. They were unrivalled in wrestling, single-stick, and every athletic sport; they were the best dancers on the village green; they could do everything but work or settle down to any fixed employment. They were essentially a nomadic race, ever on the move, sleeping by night in country barns, starting with the earliest dawn, and levying their contributions from door to door. We remember a gang of _caterans_ or _cairds_ who frequented the county of Aberdeen more years ago than we should like to tell. They all bore the family name of Young, and belonged to the same sept. One of them—Peter Young—was a great thief, and made himself almost as notorious as Jack Sheppard by breaking out of every gaol in Scotland. These _caterans_ came to a singular end, and disappeared from the country. This is how it happened. The 92nd or Gordon Highlanders had suffered much in the Peninsular War, so that constant drafts had to be sent out from home to recruit their strength. When all other resources failed, the country gentlemen bethought themselves of an ingenious plan by which they could at once fill up the vacant ranks in the 92nd, and get quit of some unpleasant neighbours. They caused all the able-bodied _cairds_ to be seized and conveyed to the neighbouring seaport, where they were shipped off to join the 92nd. Such a thing, of course, could not be done at the present day, but strange things were done half a century ago in Scotland as elsewhere. Many a man who had no desire to be a sailor or a soldier was impressed or forced to serve in the army or navy against his will. This impressment of the Youngs proved the death-blow of the race. Not one of them ever returned from the Peninsula, but we have heard old pensioners of the 92nd declare that they were at once the greatest thieves and the smartest soldiers in the regiment.