144 THE HIGHLAND CLEARANCES. 



remove them ; and, on Friday, 6th of April, forty-five 

 summonses were issued and sent to Angus MacLeod, 

 sheriff-officer, Dunvegan, to have them served, upon as many 

 tenants, within the statutory period. At the same time, 

 about twenty summonses were issued against those living on 

 Dr. Martin's Estate of Husabost. These notices involved 

 the fate of nearly four hundred souls. 



The sheriff-officer started on Tuesday, loth of April, for 

 Glendale, with the view of carrying out his instructions, 

 but on his arrival at Skinidin, a township a few miles on his 

 way to Glendale, he was met by a crowd of from a thousand 

 to fifteen hundred people, ready to oppose his further pro- 

 gress. Angus, realising the position of affairs, and feeling 

 that discretion was the better part of valour, decided to act 

 upon the maxim that " he who fights and runs away may 

 live to fight another day," at once turned right about, and 

 made off at full speed to Dunvegan, from whence, the 

 same afternoon, he despatched the summonses to. the Law- 

 agent of the proprietors, at Portree, intimating that he would 

 not, on any account, make a further attempt to serve them. 



The people were thoroughly determined not to accept 

 service, and they made arrangements by which notice was 

 to be given to the whole of Skye, to come to their aid, by 

 the lighting of fires at night, or exhibiting flags by day, on 

 certain hills throughout the island, which could be seen the 

 one from the other, thus intimating the approach of a police 

 or military force in a few minutes to the whole island, the 

 population of which, it is now no secret, almost to a man, had 

 intimated their determination to come to the rescue of the 

 people of Glendale in the event of their aid being required. 

 This is also true of some of the neighbouring islands. Better 

 counsels, however, prevailed ; and it was wisely resolved by 

 the agents of the Trustees to send the notices of removal 



