Covenanter Witness Vol. 53 - Rparchives.org

ashamed."so,"singing."The Reign of TerrorTHE KILLING TIME IN SCOTLANDQuite often Patrick Walker, telling, in his "SixSaints of the Covenant," of some incident or other,says that it took place in the Killing Time, in theSlaughter Years or in the Bloody Years. These yearshe dates from 15th August 1684, in Walter Smith'sLife. In "A Hind Let Loose," Alexander Shields isinclined to date the Killing Time from the death ofCharles II in the year after. Occasionally one seesthe whole period of persecution described as theKilling Time. It is a matter in which we need not beexact, for who can be exact at a time when killingwent on repeatedly ? It always went on, more or less,but it came to a climax at the end of the reign ofCharles II, and at the beginning of the reign ofJames. That is the period, then, which I propose tocall the Reign of Terror, for such indeed it was forScotland.The Sanquhar Declaration and the excommunication at Torwood had thoroughly enraged andfrightened the Government, as had also the fightingat Drumclog and Bothwell Bridge, and as a resultrepressive measures were intensified. Soldiers wereempowered to shoot at sight those who refused totake the Test, or to say that taking up arms againstthe authorities was unrighteous and evil. Soon thewhole of lowland Scotland was at the mercy of thedragoons and their leaders.Of these leaders Dr. Smellie gives us a very convenient list in his "Men of the Covenant." Let us consider some of them, for they will help us to realizewhat a reign of terror it was.Since last month we dealt with the daring andthe death of Richard Cameron, perhaps we can begin this list, which is by no means a roll of honour,with the name of Bruce of Earlshall, who conqueredhim and his little band of Ayrsmoss. Earlshall offered a guinea to whoever would cut off Cameron'sdurk,"head and hands. They were "hagged off with acarried in a sack to Edinburgh, set up on a halbert,and brought before the Council, which ordered themto be put up by the hangman on the Netherbow Port.His methods can be seen in the death of ThomasMcHaffie, a man much looked up to in Ayrshire forhis godliness. Captain Bruce found him in the houseof one of his friends, and proceeded to cross-questionhim. McHaffie was at once dragged out into the roadand shot out of hand.One of the worst persecutors of them all was SirRobert Grierson of Lag, whom Sir Walter Scott haspainted for us for ever as Sir Robert Redgauntlet in"Wandering Willie's Tail." Sir Walter tells us hehaunted "the puir hill-folk" with bloodhounds as ifthey had been so many deer, and when he found themhe demanded if they were ready to take the Test.If not, it was : "Make ready ; present ; fire !," and thatwas that. His grave may be seen in Dunscore kirkyard,and according to popular tradition, nothing butnettles will grow upon it. Many infamous episodeslie to his discredit, but the most famous of all was thedrowning of two women, Margaret Wilson, agedsixeighteen,and Margaret Lachlison, who was over326ty. These, refusing to abjure their religion, werefastened to stakes in the bed of the Water of Bladnoch, near Wigton, and left to die when the greattides of Solway came surging in.Associated with Grierson of Lag in this ferocious deed were Claverhouse's brother David, MajorWinram and Captain Strachan. Such another was theshooting of a mere boy, Andrew Hislop. The agent inthe killing was Sir James Johnstone of Westerhall,who, like the king, had signed the Covenant, but unlike the king, had shown considerable enthusiasmfor it. He declared, when the Test was drawn up,that he despised it; but when it was put to him, heagreed to it, and like all renegades, became exceedingly bitter against the people he had left ; so bitter,indeed, that he became an inveterate persecutor.To the cottage of Andrew Hislop's mother camea sick Cameronian from the hills,and taking pityon him she took him in and did what she could forhim. But all was in vain, for he died on theirhands. Knowing what trouble their deed of kindnesswould bring upon them, the boys, for there were several of them, took the body into a neighbouring fieldand buried it there. The grave was discovered, however, and, as a punishment for what they had donethe cottage was pulled down about their ears andall their poor belongings removed. Rendered destitute, they wandered about from place to place, untilAndrew was captured by Graham of Claverhouse andbrought before Johnstone, who without any delaysentenced him to death. Even Claverhouse had compunctions about this execution, for the boy was onlyseventeen. Perhaps, Woodrow suggests, his conscience was troubling him about what he had doneto Brown of Priesthill just a few days before. ButWesterhall would not listen, and so at last Claverhouse detailed three of his dragoons to shoot the boy.He was told to pull his bonnet over his eyes, but herefused to do so. "I can look you in the face," he said,"for I have done nothing of which I need to beSo they shot him, and buried him amongthe heather.Lieutenant James Douglas, brother of the DukeofQueensberry, has many dark deeds to his name,but the one usually associated with him is the killingof five men who were found by the dragoons in acave. Without any examination whatever they wereordered to prepare for death. One of them, a youngman called Gibson, prayed so fervently that even thedragoons were moved, but he was shot for all that,in the presence of his mother and his sister. Theother four were shot together, and three of themdied at once, while the fourth was mortally wounded,and was despatched by one of the soldiers with asword. He died affirming his willingness to die forhis Lord, "and says Smellie, "he went throughthe RiverBut of all that band of cruel men, none hasgained for himself such notoriety as Graham of Claverhouse has done. Dr. King Hewison seems doubtful as to his reputed good looks, while Dr. Smellie isCOVENANTER WITNESS