Two people shot James Stewart of the Glens? Forget it.

Sorry everyone. I can't help it. I love history, particularly Scottish history - all blood, guts, wild men, and changing sides. And I love Kentallen. They go together with the story of the Appin murder.

This chap, George 1st ordered the elimination of the Clan system in the mid 18th century. No more Jacobite uprisings, after Culloden Moor he said. After all, Bonnie Prince Charlie and his Scots clans invaded England right down to Derby, and frightened poor old George to death that they would get to London. They only turned back because they wanted to go home, were not developing an uprising of the people and someone said the government forces were massing in Scotland. They weren't but it is the kind of rumour you spread you want to go home.

So 7 years after Culloden they got James Stewart for the murder of Colin Campbell of Glenure. Hanged him by Ballachulish bridge and left his body in chains as a warning to others. The story became famous when Robert Louis Stevenson based his book Kidnapped on it. A single shot was heard at Lettermore, on a little hill between Ballachulish and Kentallen.

James Stewart almost certainly did not do it. He was a friend of Colin Camnpbell and they had shared a meal together a few weeks beforehand he was working in his fields at Duror when the incident took place. A young chap called Alan Breck probably did it.

There is a new investigation to take place in Fort William. Someone is confused already. There were two bullets found side by side in the body, therefore someone says there were two assailants.

Daft theory. The old long bore gun used to fire two bullets at the same time just to make sure. One was smaller than the other. Called a "chaser" this is what they call to-day the dram of whiskey they put into a beer.

There is more of this in the previous blog post for those of you who are short of a proper life to lead. Search, a bit low down.

John
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