INTRODUCTION. XX111 



He deprived the cottars of the grazings which they had for 

 20 years. They could not get any. He also took from us 

 our peat moss and gave us a bog which neither man nor 

 beast had used up to the time he measured it out to us by 

 the yard. The cottars who had been left by MacCaskill at 

 Fiscavaig, Cameron deprived of their peat moss. They got 

 for it a piece of bad land which could not be called earth 

 or moss. They had to cut it for fuel. Then he removed 

 ten cottar families which had been left by MacCaskill at 

 Torten-an-Fhirich, and ten or eleven from Fiscavaig, and 

 put them in Ferrinlea, dividing the existing holdings. For 

 this we were obliged to work for the tacksman of Talisker 

 whenever he required us. The strongest man, though he were 

 as strong as Samson, only got is. a day, and the women 6d. 

 We had often to walk nine or ten miles to attend to his 

 work. Though we had other employment we had to leave 

 it and work for the tacksman if he asked us to do so. 

 Persons in business like myself lost our trade in conse- 

 quence. He complained of the way in which my brother 

 and I were doing his work. We saw it would not be easy 

 to satisfy him. I told him we would stop working for 

 him entirely and pay him in money the equivalent of our 

 work according to the rate of wages in the country. Because 

 I had the coolness to say that, my mother, who is about 75 

 years of age, and myself were served with a summons to 

 remove. There was nothing for it but that I should apolo- 

 gise to the tacksman, and sign papers that I would be 

 obedient to him in the future, or that the whole of our 

 family should leave the country. When my brother saw 

 what was likely to happen he went to Talisker to make 

 peace; he said he would go in for the land, and asked 

 that the matter should be allowed to pass by. We have 

 been allowed to remain on that footing." 



