24

HISTORY OB ENGLAND.

CHAP.

X III.

1G8II.

and the confederated clans in high spirits set forward to en-counter the enemy.

The enemy meanwhile had made his way up the pass. Theascent had been long and toilsome: for even the foot had toclimb by twos and threes; and the baggage horses, twelvehundred in number, could mount only one at a time. Nowheeled carriage had ever been tugged up that arduous pathThe head of the column had emerged and was on the table land,while the rearguard was still in the plain below. At length thepassage was effected; and the troops found themselves in avalley of no great extent. Their right was flanked by a risingground, their left by the Garry. Wearied with the morning’swork, they threw themselves on the grass to take some rest andrefreshment.

Early in the afternoon, they were roused by an alarm thatthe Highlanders were approaching. Regiment after regimentstarted up and got into order. In a little while the summit ofan ascent which was about a musket shot before them wascovered with bonnets and plaids. Dundee rode forward for thepurpose of surveying the force with which he was to contend,and then drew up his own men with as much skill as their pe-culiar character permitted him to exert. It was desirable tokeep the clans distinct. Each tribe, large or small, formed acolumn separated from the next column by a wide interval.One of these battalions might contain seven hundred men,while another consisted of only a hundred and twenty. Lochielhad represented that it was impossible to mix men of differenttribes without destroying all that constituted the peculiarstrength of a Highland army.*

On the right, close to the Garry, were the Macleans. Nextto them were Cannon and his Irish foot. Then came the Mac-donalds of Clanronald, commanded by the guardian of their

* Memoirs of Sir Ewan Cameron; Mackay's Memoirs.