204 HISTORY OF THE OUTER HEBRIDES. 



Hucheon Macleod of Sandey, a short but powerful man, 

 and a redoubtable fighter. Apparently, he had been 

 watching for a chance of seizing Torquil Conanach, and 

 finally succeeded in apprehending and bringing him to 

 Lewis. And thus the arch-enemy of Tormod's brother 

 was at length in his power. Tormod demanded from him 

 the writs and infeftments of Lewis, but Torquil Conanach 

 truthfully enough replied that they had passed out of his 

 possession into that of Mackenzie of Kintail. The 

 question now arose, what should be done with Torquil? 

 Tormod's followers demanded his blood. But here again 

 the Macleod chief showed that whatever other lessons 

 he may have learned from Kintail, inhumanity was not 

 one of them. With a generosity which contrasts strongly 

 with the bloodthirsty spirit which actuated the rest of the 

 Macleods, he refused to butcher his relative, and instead, 

 set him at liberty, unconditionally so far as we know. This 

 forbearance is all the more remarkable, in face of the fact 

 that Torquil Conanach was primarily responsible for the 

 execution of Torquil Dubh, Tormod's brother. But it is 

 probable that Tormod regarded Torquil Conanach as being 

 merely a tool in the hands of Kintail, and such, indeed, 

 he appears practically to have been. 



During Tormod's government of the island, John 

 Morison, the Brieve of Lewis, met his end in the fol- 

 lowing manner. The Brieve, who had been compelled to 

 leave Ness and had taken refuge in Assynt, was in an un- 

 enviable condition. His act of treachery towards Torquil 

 Dubh had made him a marked man. John Macleod, the 

 active fighter, and the captor of Torquil Conanach, was 

 on his track. Macleod had previously fought against the 

 Morisons in Lewis, and had suffered defeat at Carloway, 

 so he had a score to wipe off. He met the Brieve in a 

 house at Inverkirkaig in Assynt, Morison having six 

 men with him, and John Macleod only four. As might 

 be expected, it was not long before the two parties fell 

 to blows, and a " pretty ploy " ensued. The result of the 

 fight was, to say the least, surprising. The Brieve and 



