The Argyllshire Coast and its Islands 



that the stags on this hill are of remarkably heavy weight. 

 Of the lesser hills, there is Diin d^ Ghaoith (the Hill of the 

 Two Winds), rising to a height of 2,500 feet straight from 

 the deep waters of the Sound of Mull, and Beinn Buie, beside 

 the sea loch of the same name. Although this hill is not 

 more than 2,200 feet in height, ptarmigan nest on its slopes, 

 for it seems to be the case that on the Atlantic seaboard these 

 birds habitually frequent hills which in the central Highlands 

 would be too low for their requirements by a full 500 feet. 



At Lochbuie is the ancient seat of the Maclaines of that 

 ilk, and near the sea loch is a hill lochan known as Loch 

 Sguaban. It was here that one of the Maclaines — Ewen of 

 the Little Head — was slain in a clan fight, and it is said 

 that his spectre may still be seen seated on a black steed 

 which thunders around the castle of the Maclaines before a 

 death in that family. Not many miles from Lochbuie is 

 the seat of another branch of the clan. The Laird of Duart 

 — Colonel Sir Fitzroy Maclean, Bart. — spells his name in the 

 more usual way, and is now almost universally acknowledged 

 to be the chief of the clan. The dispute between Maclaine of 

 Lochbuie and Maclean of Duart — or Dowart, as it was 

 formerly spelled — over the chieftainship arises from the fact 

 that the two families trace their descent from twin brothers, 

 and some uncertainty exists as to which of these twins was 

 the elder. 



The Castle of Duart, until recently a ruin, has been 

 restored by the present chief, and overlooks the Sound of 

 Mull at the entrance to the Firth of Lome. Bleak and wind- 

 swept, it nevertheless commands a view that is unsurpassed 

 throughout Scotland. From here one looks straight up the 

 Linnhe Loch to where, in the background, there stand Ben 

 Nevis, flecked with snow until far on into the summer, and 

 the conical hills that surround Glen Coe. In olden days the 

 Macleans were the most powerful clan in these parts, and the 

 chief possessed extensive lands in various districts of Mull, 

 and in Morvern on the mainland opposite. He also owned 



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