THE UISTS AND BARRA. 267 



his old rival had triumphed over him. Both chiefs, by 

 their astuteness, had well earned the soubriquet " Mor," but 

 if greatness be measured by ultimate results, it must be 

 conceded that Donald Gorm Mor Macdonald proved himself 

 to be a more capable man than Sir Ruari Mor Macleod. 

 The latter, seeing his lands filched from him, appealed to the 

 King, who had within recent years shown him signal marks 

 of his favour. In his letter, which is dated /th January, 

 1615, he states that the King's "worthy goodsir of famous 

 memory " had heritably infeft the Siol Tormod in their 

 lands, but that after his death, the Clan Donald, who were 

 then of "greatest power, force, and friendship in the Isles," 

 had driven Ruari's forbears " with great slaughter " out of 

 them, and retained possession of them by force. Macleod 

 goes on to state that he had lately been served heir to his 

 father in the lands now forcibly held by Donald Gorm,. 

 who, taking advantage of the Act of Parliament requiring 

 the Islesmen to exhibit their infeftments an order with 

 which Ruari had failed to comply was resolved to fight 

 him in the Courts. He protests that he never took part 

 with any of the rebels against the King's authority ; that 

 he appeared before the Council in 1596 and found the 

 necessary caution; that never thinking the Act of 1597 

 could apply to such a law-abiding person as himself, he 

 had neglected, from ignorance and not from contempt, to 

 produce his titles ; and that, in point of fact, he could not 

 produce them, because Donald Gorm had been infeft in the 

 lands.* He then proceeds to state his conviction that the 

 King would see justice done between himself and his rival. 

 The Act of Parliament, he avers, was passed " to draw 

 brokin Ilismen to obedience, and not to snair simple, 

 ignorant, and lauthfull (law-abiding) subjectes " ! He con- 

 cludes his epistle by calling James the " fountain " from 

 which all distressed subjects received comfort, and beseeches 

 the King to instruct the Session to do justice between 



* Donald Gorm got a grant of the lands by charter dated 1 7th August, 

 1596. The grant included the lands in South Uist, and Benbecula, con- 

 cerning which he had come to a friendly arrangement with Clanranald. (See- 

 P- 205.) 



