[A composite volume : containing The ballads and songs of Ayrshire ...

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KIRKDAMDIE FAIR.
But his sharp sword it made the slit
A wee bit langer
Auld Clootie bit his nether lip
Wi' spite an' anger.
The Deil about his tail did fling,
Upon its tap there was a sting,
But clean out thro't Schang's sword did wring.
It was nae fiddle ;
'Twas lying loopit like a string
Cut through the middle.
Auld Clootie show'd his horrid horns,
And baith their points at Sehang he forms
But Sehang their strength or points he scorns, \
The victory boded
<
He cut them aff like twa green corns
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The Devil snodded.
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Then Cloot he spread his twa black wings,
And frae his mouth the blue fii-e flings
For victory he loudly sings
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He's perfect mad: <
Schang's sword frae shou'der baith them brings
Down wi' a daud.
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Then Clootie ga'e a horrid hooh,
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And Sehang, nae doubt, was fear'd enough,
But hit him hard across the mou' {
Wi' his sharp steel
He tumbl't back out owre the cleugh
Sehang nail'd the
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Deil !
As the Schangs gradually died out, and the power of law and religion began
to prevail, the feuds at Kirkdamdie assumed a diff"erent aspect, and >
might have been altogether modified, but for a new element of strife which
kept alive the spirit of pugilism. From Girvan and other localities on the I
I
coast, where immense numbers of Irish have congregated within the last ;
fifty years, bands of them used to repair to Kirkdamdie for the sole pur- \
pose of indulging in the pleasures of a row, sometimes amongst themselves,
but more generally with the native population. This led to fearful en-
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counters, and many anecdotes are told of the prowess of the champions \
on either side. Amongst the Scots, a person of the name of B
,
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forester on the estates of the late Lord Alloway, to whom the property I
99