88 HISTORY OF THE OUTER HEBRIDES. 



which even the history of Scotland records, and that is 

 saying a good deal. The mail-clad knights under Mar's 

 command, not inferior in courage to their opponents, and 

 vastly superior in the skilled use of arms, despised the 

 Highland army as a rabble of savages. The Highlanders, 

 absolutely without fear, and imbued with a hereditary 

 hatred of the Sasgtinnacli (Lowlander or Englishman), 

 repaid the contempt of their foes with interest. The Lord 

 of the Isles commanded the main body of his army, con- 

 sisting of the men from the Hebrides, with whom were 

 Roderick Macleod of Lewis and John Macleod of Harris 

 with their followers. On the right wing of the army were 

 the Macleans, and on the left the Mackintoshes, while the 

 reserve, under John, brother of the Lord of the Isles, 

 consisted of the Mackenzies and the Camerons. 



The battle commenced with the usual torrential rush 

 of the Highlanders, who threw themselves upon the wall 

 of steel opposed to them, only to be repelled by the 

 steadiness of the defence. And then the knights of Mar 

 took the offensive, and great was the slaughter on both 

 sides. The Highlanders stood their ground and fell where 

 they fought. Lowland battle-axes crashed through High- 

 land skulls, and Highland swords found openings in 

 Lowland armour. When a Highlander fell, a comrade 

 took his place ; when a Lowlander was disabled, his loss 

 was irreparable. Superior numbers and desperate valour 

 were pitted against superior weapons and grim determina- 

 tion. The ill-armed Celt opposed his greater agility to 

 the mail-clad Saxon's greater security. The thundering 

 charge of the Lowland cavalry hewed a pathway through 

 the thick ranks of the Highland footmen ; but the daggers 

 of the Highlanders hamstrung the horses, and then drank 

 the blood of the fallen riders. The carnage ceased only 

 with darkness, and when morning broke on the quiet 

 village of Harlaw, 900 Highlanders and over 500 Lowland 

 men-at-arms lay dead on the field. The losses of Mar 

 included many representatives of the leading families in 

 Angus and the Mearns, together with the Provost and 



