Page:A biographical dictionary of eminent Scotsmen, vol 2.djvu/181

Rh the interior, and traversed the wilds of Lochaber and Badenoch, expecting to meet a royal army under Montrose, though in what place they had no knowledge. Macdonald, in order to strengthen them in numbers, had sent through the fiery cross in various directions, though with only indifferent success, till Montrose at last met them, having found his way through the country in disguise all the way from Oxford, with only one or two attendants. Influenced by Montross, the men of Athol, who were generally anti-covenanters, joined the royal standard in great numbers, and he soon found himself at the head of a formidable army. His situation was not, however, promising. Argyle was in his rear, being in pursuit of the Irish, who were perfect banditti, and had committed terrible ravages upon his estates, and there were before him six or seven thousand men under lord Elcho, stationed at Perth. Elcho's troops, however, were only raw militia, officered by men who had never seen an engagement, and the leaders among them were not unjustly suspected of being disaffected to the cause. As the most prudent measure, he did not wait to be attacked, but went to meet Montrose, who was marching through Strathearn, having commenced his career by plundering the lands, and burning the houses of the clan Menzies. Elcho took up a position upon the plain of Tippermuir, where he was attacked by Montrose, and totally routed in the space of a few minutes. Perth fell at once into the hands of the victor, and was plundered of money, and whatever was valuable, and could be carried away. The stoutest young men he also impressed into the ranks, and seized upon all the horses fit for service. Thus strengthened, he poured down upon Angus, where he received numerous reinforcements. Dundee he attempted, but finding there were troops in it sufficient to hold it out for some days, and dreading the approach of Argyle, who was still following him, he pushed north to Aberdeen. Here his covenanting rage had been bitterly felt, and at his approach the committee sent off the public money and all their most valuable effects to Dunnottar castle. They at the same time threw up some rude fortifications, and had two thousand men prepared to give him a warm reception. Crossing the Dee by a ford, he at once eluded their fortifications and deranged their order of battle ; and issuing orders for an immediate attack, they were defeated, and a scene of butchery followed which has few parallels in the annals of civilized warfare. In the fields, the streets, or the houses, armed or unarmed, no man found mercy: the ragged they killed and stripped; the well-dressed, for fear of spoiling their clothes, they stripped and killed.

After four days employed in this manner, the approach of Argyle, whom they were not sufficiently numerous to combat, drove them to the north, where they intended to take refuge beyond the Spey. The boats, however, were all removed to the other side, and the whole force of Moray was assembled to dispute the passage. In this dilemma, nothing remained for Montrose but to take refuge among the hills, and his rapid movements enabled him to gain the wilds of Eadenoch with the loss only of his artillery and heavy baggage, where he bade defiance to the approach on any thing like a regular army. After resting a few days, he again descended into Athol to recruit, having sent Macdonald into the Highlands on the same errand. From Athol he entered Angus, where he wasted the estates of lord Couper, and plundered the house of Dun, in which the inhabitants of Montrose had deposited their valuables, and which also afforded a supply of arms and artillery. Argyle, all this while, followed his footsteps with a superior army, but could never come up with him. He, however, proclaimed him a traitor, and offered a reward of twenty thousand pounds for his head. Having strengthened his army by forced levies in Athol, Montrose again crossed the Grampians, and spreading devastation along his line of march, attempted once more to raise the Gordons. In this he was