The earls of Ross followed the Norwegians in the rule of the Northern Highlands. They were of the ancient Celtic family of the O'Beolans, and had been the Pictish maormors of Ross before the title of earl (_comes_) took the place of the older Pictish designation. Gairloch, as a part of North Argyle, was included by name in the Sheriffdom of Skye, erected in 1292 by King John Balliol. This is believed to be the first mention of Gairloch in existing records. King Robert Bruce confirmed the possession of Gairloch to the earls of Ross between 1306 and 1329. In 1366 Earl William granted "to Paul M'Tyre and to his heirs by Mary of Grahame, with remainder to the lawful heirs of Paul, the lands of Gerloch within the parts of Argyle, for yearly payment of a penny of silver in name of blench ferme in lieu of every other service except the forinse service of the king when required." In 1372 King Robert II. confirmed the grant. Paul M'Tyre is stated to have been a cousin of Earl William; we hear no more of him. Earl William left only a daughter, who married Walter Leslie. They had a son, Alexander, who became Earl of Ross, and also a daughter, who married Donald, Lord of the Isles. Earl Alexander married a daughter of the Regent, Robert Duke of Albany. Their only child Euphemia died young in 1406, after she had resigned her title to the son of the regent. Donald, Lord of the Isles, by virtue of his marriage with the daughter of Walter Leslie, laid claim to the earldom of Ross, in opposition to the regent's son. After a prolonged strife the earldom of Ross was forfeited, and annexed to the crown in 1476. During the unsettled period which began with Donald's ambitious claim, Gairloch seems to have been in a state of anarchy. Not only the MacBeaths and M'Leods struggled for its possession, but the Macdonalds, as clansmen of the Lord of the Isles, appear to have overrun the district. Meanwhile the Mackenzies of Kintail had grown to be a great power in Ross-shire, and being of the same original stock as the O'Beolan earls of Ross, they had a better right to Gairloch than the other claimants, all of whom in turn gave way to the victorious Mackenzies. The legends and narratives which follow are placed as nearly as may be in chronological order. They all belong to the period of the Mackenzies, except that of the tragedy of Isle Maree, which forms our next chapter; it occurred long before. Chapter II. THE TRAGEDY OF ISLE MAREE.