252 HISTORY OF THE OUTER HEBRIDES. 



delivered to Grieve, and on 8th December, 1610, the pirates 

 were tried for their lives at Edinburgh. According to the 

 indictment, their nationality was a mixture : there were, 

 besides the captain (who was a native of Lewes, in Sussex), 

 four Englishmen, two Welshmen, and an Irishman, all of 

 whom were comprehensively described as " wicket Impes 

 of the Devill." The remaining two men who were handed 

 over to Grieve, appear to have died of wounds received in 

 the fight. The prisoners were all found guilty of piracy, 

 and were condemned to be hanged on the sands of Leith.* 

 They went to Loch Bernera to secure their plunder and 

 escape pursuit, but they discovered to their cost that they 

 had tumbled into a veritable hornet's nest. 



The service rendered to the State by Neil secured for 

 him a temporary respite, but not a permanent pardon. 

 On 29th August, 1610, Lord Kintail was informed by the 

 Council that in view of Neil's successful exploit against 

 the pirates, and his promise to deliver his captives and 

 their ship to those appointed by the Council to receive 

 them, they had given him an assurance of freedom from 

 molestation until the following Whit-Sunday, if he availed 

 himself of their invitation to come to Edinburgh to arrange 

 their mutual grievances. In the meantime, Kintail was 

 charged to defer, until the expiry of that period, further 

 hostilities against the fugitives of Birsay. Neil was, how- 

 ever, too cautious to trust himself in the hands of the 

 Council. As we have seen, he duly implemented his 

 promise to deliver the pirates, their ship, and their plunder, 

 to the bearer of the Council's letter, but he himself gave 

 Edinburgh a wide berth. 



Lord Kintail died in February, 1611, and was succeeded 

 by his eldest surviving son, Colin (Cailean Ruadh), who 

 was only fourteen years of age at the time of his father's 

 death. The management of the Mackenzie estates, during 

 the minority of the new proprietor, devolved upon his 

 uncle and guardian, Ruari Mackenzie, the famous Tutor of 



* Pitcairn's Criminal Trials, Vol. III., pp. 99-101. 



