198 THE HEADS OF BOWMONT WATER 



and beat them down, and burned the steads and towns there- 

 abouts ; the laird of Mowe nott being therein, there was one of 

 his brethren and iiij. kynsmen of his, with a dosan of his 

 servands and frendes that stode at there defence, and would not 

 give it over, which were all slayn in the said towres." 



Gotten MS. Calig. B. v. 



At CocMaw there was formerly a considerable castle, which 

 was of importance as commanding one, and being within touch 

 of three of the bridle paths crossing the Border line. In 1481 

 when war was apprehended, the laird of Cranston was ordered 

 to post 20 men in it. This tower cannot now be traced, but is 

 supposed to have been near the modern Cocklawfoot, and 

 inside the great mound (No. 24). There are extensive 

 mounds on the edges of the meadow-land behind the wood 

 which may mark its position. Jeffrey, in his History, 

 makes Henry Percy gather his forces for the siege of this 

 tower and complete his arrangements with Douglas, before 

 making his dash southwards, which ended in disastrous 

 defeat on Shrewsbury field. But anxious as I might be to 

 increase the consequence of the district we are examining, 

 the weight of evidence fixes the Cocklaw in question to have 

 been in Cavers parish near Hawick. 



A laird of Molle fell at the Redeswire, the last engagement 

 between the two countries, so that Mow was kept well to the 

 front as long as there was fighting to be done. After the 

 Union, the population of the district rapidly declined. It 

 is curious to think of, but the effect seems to have been the 

 same all along the Border, and the district which the Charters 

 show us to have been dotted with tofts and crofts, reverted 

 into the pastoral solitude we now find it. 



In the boundaries of a peatery gifted to Melrose Abbey by 

 Anselm of Molle before 1185, there is an interesting allusion 

 to Herdstreet, which separated the lands of Molle from Hunum. 

 This is obviously the ancient track still remaining to us, known 

 as the Street which is shown on the south-west part of the 

 map, given with this paper (see Plate Y.) 



The prefix given to Street in the Charter is very suggestive, 

 showing that at that time there was an amount of peaceful trading 

 and traffic across the Border ; and one cannot but regret 



