History of the Mackenzies, with genealogies of the principal families of the nameMackenzie, Alexander
History
History of the Mackenzies, with genealogies of the principal families of the name
Mackenzie, Alexander
Mackenzie family; Scotland -- Genealogy; Seaforth, Earls of
After Neil had left the rock he proceeded privately, during the
night, to his cousin Sir Roderick Mor Macleod, XIII. of Harris.
The Tutor learning this caused Macleod to be charged, under pain
of treason and forfeiture, to deliver him up to the Council.
Realising the danger of his position, Macleod prevailed upon Neil
and his son Donald to accompany him to Edinburgh, and to seek
forgiveness from the King; and under pretence of this he delivered
them both up on arriving in the city, where Neil, in April, 1613,
was at once executed and his son afterwards banished out of the
kingdom. This treacherous conduct on the part of Macleod of Harris
cannot be excused, but it was a fair return for a similar act of
treachery of which Neil had been guilty against another some little
time before.
When on Berrissay, he met with the captain of a pirate, with whom
he entered into a mutual bond by which they were to help each
other, both being outlaws. The captain agreed to defend the rock
from the seaward side while Neil made his incursions on shore.
They promised faithfully to live and die together, and to make the
agreement more secure, it was arranged that the stranger should
marry Neil's aunt, a daughter of Torquil Blair. The day fixed
for the marriage having arrived, and Neil and his adherents having
discovered that the captain had several articles of value aboard
his vessel, he, when the master of the pirate was naturally off
his guard, treacherously seized the ship, and sent the captain and
crew prisoners to Edinburgh, expecting that in this way he might
secure pardon for himself in addition to possession of all the stores
on board. By order of the Council the sailors were all hanged
at Leith. Much of the silver and gold taken from the vessel Neil
carried to Harris, where probably it helped to tempt Macleod, as
it previously tempted himself to break faith with Neil. The official
account of these incidents has been already given at pages 194-95.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account