“Sum part off tham was in to Irland borne,
That Makfadyan had exilde furth beforne:
King Eduuardis man he was suorn of Ingland,
Off rycht law byrth, supposs he tuk on hand.”
Buke Feyrd, 180.
Having talents and ambition he allied himself to the enemies of his country, and, like other mushrooms, throve amid the rankness of that corruption with which he had surrounded himself. A wretch that had risen by oppressing and assisting to bind the necks of his free-born countrymen to the yoke of slavery, was a very fit instrument to employ in forwarding the views of Edward in the subjugation of Scotland.
He had not, however, proceeded far before the Crann-tàir, or fiery cross, was seen hurrying on, by hill and glen, to gather the children of the Gaël to repel their savage assailants. Duncan of Lorn, the uncle, or, according to some, the younger brother of the chief, unable to withstand the superior force of the enemy, had retreated towards Loch-Awe, to obtain the protection of Sir Niel Campbell. This brave man, along with his brother Donnchadh dubh nan Caisteal, (Black Duncan of the Castles), had collected a body of three hundred Gall-oglaich (well armed warriors) part of whom were the vassals of Malcolm MacGregor of Glenurchy.[101] With this force he continued to embarrass the enemy, by attacking their foraging parties and cutting off their supplies. This determined MacFadyan to follow him through the fastnesses of the country, and endeavour to overwhelm him by his superior numbers. Sir Niel managed his retreat with great dexterity. After leading his unwary adversary round by the head of Bradher Pass, he hurried down that dangerous and difficult defile, and, crossing the narrow and ill constructed fabric which served for a bridge, he broke it down; and thus being secure from immediate pursuit, found himself in one of the strongest positions imaginable. His front was defended by a castle, which commanded the only approach by which he could be assailed; while his rear was protected by the Awe, a deep and rapid river, running out of a loch of the same name. The almost perpendicular barrier of rocks which lined the side of the Awe—down which, as has already been mentioned, Sir Niel and his party had to make their way, before they could place the river between them and their pursuers—was of such a nature, that a man could not get on without the assistance of his hands, to prevent him from slipping down into the deep and eddying abyss below; and even with this assistance, at the present day, it is a passage of considerable danger, from the enormous masses of loose stones with which the sloping face of the rocks is covered, from the brink of the water to their summits, which are of great elevation. The least accidental derangement of the stones at the bottom, never fails to put those above in motion, when an immense rush takes place, attended often with serious consequences to the parties underneath. The reader may readily conceive the facility, therefore, with which, thus circumstanced, Sir Niel and his followers could, from the opposite side of the river, retard the advance of even a larger army than that of M’Fadyan. The difficulty of the pass is not perceptible till the angle of the rock is fairly turned, consequently the Irish army had no opportunity of covering their advance by discharging their missiles. They were obliged to follow each other singly; thus affording, as they came creeping along, fair marks for the arrows of the Scots, part of whom plied their deadly shafts, while others were engaged in throwing stones from their slings against the face of the rocks, and thus bringing down masses of the loose fragments upon the heads of their already embarrassed pursuers.
The castle to which Sir Niel retired, though small, possessed great natural advantages. Situated on a rocky knoll at the edge of a deep ravine, it could only be approached from the road through which M’Fadyan had to advance, and that by means of a ladder which the party within always kept on their own side. When they wished to admit any one, a rope was thrown over that he might pull the ladder towards him; he then descended to the bottom of the ravine, when, placing the ladder against the opposite rock, in this manner he ascended and reached the castle.[102]
When Sir Niel Campbell had determined on his line of retreat, he despatched Duncan of Lorn, and an old, but swift-footed Highlander, named Michael or Gillemichel, to acquaint Wallace of his perilous situation, and to crave his aid in driving the invaders from the country. Wallace, aware of the importance of preventing the establishment intended by Edward, lost no time in complying with the request of his old confederate; and Sir Richard Lundin having joined him with five hundred men, he now found himself enabled to march to the relief of the West Highlanders, at the head of two thousand soldiers.
In Duncan of Lorn and his servant, Wallace had sure and intelligent guides. At that time nothing but intricate footpaths, known only to the natives, existed in the Highlands; and as they were often formed by deer-stalkers, while tracing their game, they frequently led through places both perilous and perplexing to the stranger.
By the time the Scottish army had reached the Chapel of St Phillan, part of the foot soldiers began to flag, and get disordered in their ranks. Wallace, therefore, stopped, and thus addressed them. “Good men,” said he, “this will never do. If we come up with the enemy in such broken array, we may receive serious injury ourselves, but can do them very little hurt in return. It is also necessary that we should be up with them as soon as possible; for if they hear of our approach, they may choose a plain field, where their numbers will give them advantage. To prevent this, I will go forward with those who are able, and leave the rest to follow at more leisure.” Accordingly, taking with himself two hundred of the tried veterans of Ayrshire, and placing another hundred under the command of Sir John Graham, with Sir Richard Lundin at the head of his own followers, they crossed a mountain in their front, and descended into Glendouchar. Here they met a scout, whom they had previously sent forward, acting as guide to Sir Niel Campbell and his three hundred Highlanders. This wary leader, on hearing of the advance of Wallace, thought it proper to retire towards him, and leave the passage free to M’Fadyan, who, he knew, if he followed, could make choice of very few positions where his numbers would be of any advantage. Having given our hero a detail of what information he possessed respecting the state of the invaders, Gillemichel was again sent forward to watch the motions of the enemy; and the tough old mountaineer having fallen in with a scout from M’Fadyan, who had been sent to tract the route of Sir Niel, managed to despatch him with his claidh mòr, and returned with the intelligence to his chief.
The ground having now become impassable for cavalry, the Scots dismounted, and proceeded on foot. Their march had not been perceived by the enemy, and, from the superior knowledge they had of the country, they managed to surprise the Irish in a situation where flight was almost impracticable, and the superiority of their numbers became rather a disadvantage. The conflict continued for two hours, with unexampled fury on both sides. Multitudes of the Irish were forced over the rocks into the gulf below. Many threw themselves into the water to escape the swords of the Scots; while various bands of Highlanders, stationed among the rocks, sent down showers of stones and arrows where the enemy appeared most obstinate in the strife. Wallace, armed with a steel mace, at the head of his veterans, now made a charge, which decided the fate of the day. Those Scots who had joined the Irish, threw away their arms, and on their knees implored mercy. M’Fadyan, with fifteen of his men, having made his way over the rocks, and attempted to conceal himself in a cave “wndyr cragmòr,” Duncan of Lorn requested permission of Wallace to follow and punish him for the atrocities he had committed; and it was not long before he returned, bringing his head on a spear, which Sir Niel Campbell caused to be fixed on the top of the rock in which he had taken shelter.
After the defeat of M’Fadyan, Wallace held a meeting of the chiefs of the West Highlands, in the priory of Ardchattan; and having arranged some important matters respecting the future defence of the district, he returned to his duties in the Low Country, having received an accession to his numbers, which covered any loss he had sustained in the late engagement. The spoil which the Scots collected after the battle is said to have been very considerable; any personal share in which, our hero, as usual, refused.[103]