The Kelpie. ■p,y 



the river, dragging to their doom all the bovs but one, who find- 

 ing one o the fingers of his left hand glued, as it were, /ast to 

 the animal, succeeded in getting out his knife and cutting himself 

 free just m the nick of time. 



The following tale from one of the North-Eastern counties 

 mtroduces us to a fresh asj^ect of the Kelpie. A Highlander 

 had left his horses grazing by the side of a lonely loch while he 

 rode off to the Sacrament. When he returned he found them all 

 huddled together, and in their midst a grey horse that did not 

 belong to him. On approaching to have a better look at it he 

 was startled to find himself confronted by an old man with long 

 grey hair and a long grey beard. Instantly the horse he was 

 nding shied, and starting off at a fierce gallop, carried him 

 beyond all possibility of danger, refusing to be pulled up until 

 home was reached. 



Many instances could be given of the Kelpie's appearance at 

 Umes in human form as well as that of a horse. Here is the 

 Rev Dr Jamieson's fearsome description of one that haunted the 

 South Esk, near Inverquharity Castle, in Forfarshire, when not 

 in equine guise : — 



"He rushes bare, and seggs (sedges) for hair, 



Quhare ramper-eels entwin'd ; 

 Of filthy gar (weeds) his e'e-brees war 



With esks (newts) and horse-gells (horse-leeches) lin'd 

 And for his e'en, with dowie sheen 



Twa liuge horse-mussels glared; 

 Frae his wide mow a torrent flew,' 



An' .s.oupt his reedy beard. 



T«_a slanky (slimy) stane^ seemit his spule-banes • 



His bnskit braid, a whin; 

 Ilk rib sae bare, a skeivy skair (laver of rock) • 



Ilk airm a monstrous fin. ' 



He frae the wame a fish became. 



With shells a' coverit owre- 

 And for his tail, the grislie whale 



<^uld never match its power." 



As might be imagined, it was in this direction the mvth 



h fed littTef"^^"^ "' '?'°^"^°"- ^' '- ^^-d "el 

 M ''th Ke "" ° '"' """ ''■°" '''' "Address to the 

 i^eil, the Kelpie, as tmie went on, became more and more 

 closely identified with the Evil One. 



