THE FIFE ADVENTURERS. 185 



ieod of Assynt. For some unexplained reason, Assynt 

 espoused the cause of the Fife Syndicate ; perhaps he 

 hoped to reap some advantage to himself by being on 

 what appeared to be the winning side. Murdoch Macleod 

 fixed Balcomie's ransom at 3,000 merks, and a bond for 

 that sum was signed by the prisoner, with Assynt and 

 nine of his friends as cautioners. Assynt also became 

 cautioner for an additional sum of 500 merks, as ransom 

 for Thomas Cunningham, the Crail burgess, and one John 

 Mure, who were fellow-captives with Balcomie. Murdoch 

 showed considerable shrewdness in drawing up the bond 

 for the 3,000 merks. In order to keep the principal and 

 his cautioners strictly to their agreement, he stipulated 

 that if the whole sum were not forthcoming by Whit- 

 Sunday, 1600, he was to be paid interest on the unpaid 

 balance at the rate of ten per cent.* This was not bad for 

 a simple barbarian, an untutored savage ! The ransoms, 

 together with the captured ship and the money found in 

 her (consisting of 200 merks and 40 merks of Spanish 

 reals), constituted a good haul for one day's work. But 

 Murdoch did not enjoy his triumph long. 



On the news reaching Lewis that the laird of Balcomie 

 had been captured, the colonists seem to have sent Colonel 

 Stewart, Spens of Wormiston, and others, to perform the 

 mission with which Leirmont had been charged. Stewart 

 was probably the ablest military commander the colonists 

 possessed. He had been chosen Lieutenant of the Isles in 

 1 596, and Queen Elizabeth had been solicited to aid him 

 in subduing the Hebrideans ; but her refusal seems to 

 have rendered his commission inoperative. Taking ad- 

 vantage of the absence of Stewart and Spens, Neil 

 Macleod suddenly attacked the colonists with what an 

 indictment of i6i3t calls, "200 barbarous, bludie, and 

 wiket Hielandmen," armed with bows, darlochs (quivers of 

 arrows), two-handed swords, hackbuts (arquebuses), pistols, 

 and other weapons ; it is evident that the arms of the 



* Keg. of P.C., Vol. XIV., Appendix to Introduction, 

 f Pitcairn's Criminal Trials, Vol. III., pp. 244-7. 



