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natives just finishing the out-door cooking of a 

 savoury meal in a large pot suspended over the 

 fire from a tripod. The Torridon man dashed 

 rashly into their midst armed with nothing better 

 than an oak cudgel, and raining blows on every side, 

 the surprised natives fled in all directions. Thrusting 

 his oak staff through the handle of the pot, the 

 famishing hero swung it from off the fire on to his 

 back, making off to his friends with his prize, quite 

 regardless of scorched shoulders. 



For this exploit he received the name of Darach 

 or Darroch, which is Gaelic for oak, and from this 

 dashing Highlander are descended the present-day 

 Darrochs — one of them, Mr. Duncan Darroch, 

 being now the owner of Torridon Forest. 



In 1 6 10 the Mackenzies were in possession of 

 Torridon, and at Loch-an-Fheidh, on the west side 

 of Sgur Dubh in Torridon, a sanguinary battle was 

 fought between them and the McLeods, resulting in 

 the nearly total extinction of the latter-named clan, 

 whose killed were buried where they fell, and their 



