April.
Ned having forgot here to mention the cake which the Prince contrived with the cow's brains I asked him about it; and he acknowledged the truth of it. I likewise asked him if he knew the name of the desart island; but he frankly owned that he did not know it, assuring me in the mean time that Donald MacLeod knew it well.[153]
Upon the desart island we stayed four nights, and on the [fol. 332.] 5th set to sea and arrived at the Island Glass, where we were to enquire about the hire of Donald Campbell's boat. Here four men appeared coming towards them, upon which Ned Burk went out of the boat to view them, and giving a whistle, cried back to his neighbours, being at some distance, to take good care of the boat. Ned not liking these men at all, thought fit to return with speed to the boat, and putting his hand to the gunnel jumped aboard and stayed not to converse with the four men.
May.
From Glass, having no wind, we rowed off with vigour. About break of day, the wind rising, we hoisted sail; and all of us being faint for lake of food, and having some meal, we began to make drammach (in Erse, stappack) with salt water, whereof the Prince took a share, calling it no bad food, and all the rest followed his example. The Prince called for a bottle of spirits, and gave every one of us a dram. Then we passed by Finsbay, in the Isle of Harris, where we spied a man-of-war, commanded by one Captain Ferguson, under full sail, and our little sail was full too. He pursued us for three leagues; but we escaped by plying our oars heartily, they being better to us than arms could have been at that time. The water failing the man-of-war, he was not in a condition [fol. 333.] to pursue farther. We steered upon a point called Rondill, when the Prince expressed himself as formerly that he should never be taken in life. After this the said Captain Ferguson, being anxious to know what we were, endeavoured to make up with us a second time, but to no purpose, the water being at ebb, and we continuing still to row in amongst the creeks. Seeing this he turned to the main sea, when we sailed to Lochmaddy to the south of the Isle of Uist, thence to Loch-uiskibay, thence to an island in said loch, where we came to a poor grasskeeper's bothy or hut, which had so laigh a door that we digged below the door and put heather below the Prince's knees, he being tall, to let him go the easier into the poor hut. We stayed there about three nights, and provided ourselves very well in victuals by fowling and fishing, and drest them in the best shapes we could, and thought them very savoury meat. Thence we went to the mountain of Coradale, in South Uist, and stayed there about three weeks, where the Prince one day, seeing a deer, run straight towards him, and firing offhand killed him. Edward Burk brought home the deer, and making ready some collops, there comes a poor boy, [fol. 334.] who, without asking questions, put his hand among the meat, which the cook (Edward Burk) seeing, gave him a whip with the back of his hand. The Prince observing this, said, 'O man, you don't remember the Scripture which commands to feed the hungry and cleed the naked, etc. You ought rather to give him meat than a strip.' The Prince then ordered some rags of cloaths for the boy, and said he would pay for them, which was done accordingly. The Prince added more, saying, 'I cannot see a Christian perish for want of food and raiment had I the power to support them.' Then he prayed that God might support the poor and needy, etc.
There was one Donald MacLeod of Gualtergill, a trusty friend, who went to Moidart and brought us news and brandy, for which the Prince thanked him heartily, calling him a trusty servant.
The foresaid boy after [being] fed and cloathed, hearing of the enemy's approaching in search of the Prince, (like Judas) thought fit to go privately to them, being fifteen hundred of Campbells, MacLeods, and MacDonalds, to inform them where the Prince was, which some of the enemy hearing, ridiculed the boy, and said he deserved to be thrown into the sea, for what he advanced was entirely false and all lies.
Now, the enemy coming from the Isle of Barra, who were well known in these places, and we being utter strangers, with [fol. 335.] the disadvantage too of some men-of-war lying before, we had no way to escape. But committing ourselves to Providence, the Prince, O'Sullivan, O'Neil (who had come on an errand from France), Donald MacLeod, Edward Burk, and the boatmen went on board the barge, to be sure melancholy enough, having none to trust in but the Providence of God only, we escaped narrowly by Ouia Island to Benbicula, in Clanronald's country. We stayed there for about two nights; but the enemy came to that country likewise in search of the Prince, where one Hamar MacLeod landed near our quarters; which the Prince being informed of, asked at Edward Burk, 'Is this a friend or a foe?' To which Ned answered, 'He never was a friend to your family.' But by good providence Hamar happened to go off without making any search, and we did not think proper to go the same way with him, not knowing what the event may have been.
Immediately after this the Prince with O'Neil only went to the wilderness, desiring we might stay behind with this design that if any enquiry was made about him, our answer should be that we knew nothing about him at all further than that by that time we believed he had made his escape. We all resolved [fol. 336.] to suffer than that the Prince should be exposed. Meantime Providence ordered it otherwise, for without trouble we escaped also, and afterwards met with the Prince, and that night boated in our little barge and sailed by Ouia, above the island of Benbicula, where from the point of a rock a young seal (a whelp) swimmed directly to the barge as if it had been frighted; and Edward Burk leaning over the side of the boat, pulled the seal into the boat; but it died soon after. The same night we rowed and sailed with vigour, when we spied two men-of-war with one Captain Scott, not knowing the names of any of the rest.[154] We then steered with all speed to a shore at Aikersideallach, in South Uist, where coming to a creek of a rock above the water, and finding some ashes and the place very private, we kindled up a fire; and the Prince lay that night in a clift of the rock, drawing his bonnet over his eyes for preserving them. Ned Burk, as he was turning himself, the place being exceedingly narrow, and he not adverting to that, fell backwards over the rock about six yards high, and narrowly escaped being bruised, by falling among sand.
June.