66593: Deposition of Kenneth Maciver (Lewis/Harris boundary dispute 1850

Testimony of Kenneth Maciver at the second hearing of the Lewis/Harris boundary dispute;

At Stornoway, the 16th day of August 1850.

Compeared Kenneth M’Ivor, a witness for the defender, who being sworn, depones, That he resides in Laxay, in the parish of Lochs: That he is 57 years of age: That his father, when he married, lived at a place called Kinloch, at Lochrogue: That he afterwards went to Scaliscroe: That he was eleven years of age when his father left Scaliscroe: That from Scaliscroe his father went to Lindell, where he remained nineteen years: That his grandfather had been long in Scaliscroe: That in the time of his grandfather and father, the shealing attached to Scaliscroe was at Chlair-beg: That his grandfather had been going to that shealing for a number of years, – he cannot say how many: That his father also went there every summer before leaving Scaliscroe: That deponent himself, when a boy, had been at that shealing herding cattle and sheep belonging to his father: That his father’s cattle and sheep, while grazing there, were never disturbed by the Harris people: That he had heard that when his grandfather was there, a man had come from Harris with some order, and turned a divot on the shealing, but did not throw it down: That his grandfather and his cattle were not put away from the shealing by this: That he knows Arigh-ure, which is between Rappare and Arigh-beg: That his grandfather and father were a while at that shealing every year: That he thinks Arigh-ure was erected fifty-four years ago: That his grandfather and father erected it, and were frequenting it in summer when he was a boy: That he has no recollection of their being disturbed there, or of having heard any such thing: That Arigh-ure was erected on part of their pasture lands: That he knows Arigh-Toute-Choinach: That it was occupied by John Mackay of Kenresort, a Lewis tenant: That the river Chlair-beg, coming out of Loch Chrystle, was the march, and they called the river Chlair-beg till it got to the sea; but it fell into the big river at Toute-a-Choinach: That from Loch Chrystle the march went east by Braidh-an-fhia-clachan, from thence by a stream called Alt-na-Arigh-mhoir, to the bottom of Glenlangadale, from thence up the opposite bank by a water to Braidh-ruisg, from thence down by the water of Veckadale to the sea. Interrogated, If he heard from his father when the dispute first commenced about these marches? Depones, That his father could not remember that any more than he could: That he believes it commenced long before his father was born: That his father died about nine years ago, and his age he thinks was about eighty. Depones, That he knew John M’Donald, son of Angus M’Donald at Ardvorlich, in Harris: That he does not recollect of these M’Donalds building a shealing at Uliscuir; but he heard something about the shealing: That he heard that while the M’Donalds were at the shealing, the ground-officer of Lewis came with a party and threw it down: That he heard the M’Donalds were then put away from that ground, and never returned to it.

Interrogated for the pursuer, – That he has heard of Campbell of Scalpa, and it was his cattle that used to come over at Chlair-beg when the deponent was herding there: That he never heard of the Harris people throwing down or turning divots at any shealing but Chlair-beg. Depones, That when Scalpa’s cattle crossed the march, they were driven back both by his own herd and by the deponent; and so also in regard to deponent’s father’s cattle when they crossed the march. Depones, That he cannot write.