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the enemy was astir they fired beacons on the hill tops, and 
waved torches on the towers. 
During my wanderings in the region of the debatable land, I 
have searched in vain for a beaconless hill, and as I have digged 
amongst the black ashes and charred remains, what visions of reive 
and raid have passed before my eyes. ‘They had war cries called 
“Slogans.” ‘These were two-fold;—gathering slogans, and battle 
slogans. The gathering slogan was for calling the men together, 
as “Gather! gather! gather!” ‘Forth to the field!” was the slogan 
used before Flodden. Very often it was a peculiar sound of the 
horn or bag pipe, hence the old Northumberland gathering 
song :— 
Pipe of Northumbria sound, 
War-pipe of Alnwick ! 
Wake the wild hills around, 
Summon the Fenwick ! 
The battle slogan was used only in fight to distinguish friend 
from foe, and was mostly one word, as “Stanley” at Flodden, 
“Percy ” at Otterburn, and “Yet! yet! yet!” 
The sign for a fresh raid was usually given by the chiet’s wife, 
who, when the larder was bare, instead of bringing in a smoking 
joint for dinner, brought a dish, under the cover of which was a 
pair of spurs. The Charltons of North Tyne have the prophetic 
spurs to this day. Scott of Harden, the ancestor of the great Sir 
Walter, one evening overheard one of his servants call to another, 
“Gang and fetch the laird’s coo!” ‘‘By my soul,” said the 
laird, “it shall soon be kye.” That night the byres received a 
fresh stock of cattle! In one of his raids, coming past a hay 
stack, addressing it, he said: “‘ By my faith, if thou had four legs 
thou wouldn’t stand lang there.” 
The dwellers in the debatable land were considered the most 
dexterous thieves in the kingdom. It was common for them to 
steal on one border and sell on the other. They would even take 
a neighbour’s horse, sell it on the borders, and when they had 
pocketed the money, steal it and return it to its owner. 
Rough, rude, and thievish however as these borderers were, they 
