The Highlanders of Scotland - Clan Strachan Society

;.io THE HIGHLANDERS [part ii
donalds appear to ha\e united for the purpose of effectually
crushing the rising power of the Macleans. At the head of this
union was Angus ]Macdonald of Kintyre, who had married
Maclean's sister, and between whom and Maclean disputes had
arisen in consequence of both possessing lands in Jura. The
Macdonalds of Slait were involved in the dispute in consequence
t)f Slait having landed on Maclean's property in Jura on his way
to visit Macdonald of Kint}-re, when the Kintyre Macdonalds
carried off some of Maclean's cattle during the night, in order
that he might impute the theft to Macdonald of Sleat. In this
thev were successful, for the Macleans were no sooner aware of
their loss, than the\' attacked the Macdonalds of Sleat and
defeated them with so much slaughter, that their chief with
difficult}- escaped. In order to revenge themselves, the
Macdonalds united to attack the Macleans, and having assembled
in great numbers, landed in ]\Iull. At that juncture, the chief of
the Macleans, who was surnamed Lachlan More, was a person
well fitted by his great talents and military genius to meet the
emergency upon which the fate of his clan seemed to depend.
He immediate!}- retired with his followers and cattle to the hills
in the interior of the island, and left the plains open to the
Macdonalds, who, finding no one to attack, and being unable to
force the almost inaccessible mountains, were obliged to depart ;
but soon after returning with greater numbers, they found Mac-
clean, having assembled his whole clan and been joined by the
other numerous branches of the family, determined to anticipate
their purposed invasion, and setting sail for Mull he attacked the
Macdonalds in an island south of Kerrera, called Bacca. Unprepared
for so vigorous an attack on the part of the Macleans,
the Macdonalds were forced to give way and betake themselves
to their galleys, stationed on the other side of the island, but not
before they had sustained great loss in the skirmish. After this
defeat, the Macdonalds never again attempted to invade the
possessions of the Macleans, but a bitter enmit}' existed between
the Macleans and the Macdonalds of Isla and Kintvre, who fail-
ing to make any impression upon them b}' force resorted to
.treachery. With this view Angus Macdonald of Kintyre
effected a reconciliation with Lachlan More, and the better to
cover his intended fraud he visited him at his castle of Dowart,