482 HISTORY OF THE OUTER HEBRIDES. 



but if Boisdale was still living in the atmosphere of the 

 past, clearly his tenants were not. They refused to change 

 their religion at his bidding, and elected to starve rather 

 than yield. Thereupon, Boisdale, still posing as a belated 

 relic of patriarchism, took his yellow staff and drove the 

 people before him like a flock of sheep to the Protestant 

 church. From this incident, the Protestant religion became 

 known in South Uist as the "religion of the yellow stick."* 



Hearing of the persecution of his co-religionists, John 

 Macdonald of Glenaladale came to their relief. He sold 

 his estate to his cousin, Alexander Macdonald of Borra- 

 dale, and bought 40,000 acres of land in Prince Edward 

 Island (then called St. John's Island). In 1772, he brought 

 out about two hundred of Boisdale's tenantry to this 

 property, where they settled. Glenaladale afterwards 

 became a captain in the Royal Highland Emigrants, 

 and seems, with his Uist men, to have played a useful 

 part in the War of Independence. 



The American War retarded the progress of emigration 

 from the Long Island in two ways : it raised the price 

 of kelp, thus giving more employment to the people, 

 and it caused the intending emigrants to hesitate before 

 committing their lives and fortunes to America during 

 its unsettled state. Later in the century, emigration was 

 again in favour. About 1794, 200 natives of Barra were 

 induced by the specious promises of an unnamed person, to 

 sail for Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, to which 

 places, with Canada, the tide of emigration was now 

 diverted. When they arrived, they were left entirely to 

 their own resources, and would have died of starvation had 

 they not been succoured by the colonists. The disastrous 

 outcome of this venture induced others, who had sold 

 their effects and were about to leave Barra for America, to 

 remain at home ; and the friendly attitude of the pro- 

 prietor contributed towards the same result. The pros- 

 perous times which now set in, owing to the increasing 



* The same story is told of one of the lairds of Coll, who endeavoured to 

 coerce his tenants in a similar manner. 



