 Treasure
Island in Braemar
Robert Louis Stevenson came to Braemar on holiday in 1881. To
amuse his step-son one day, Stevenson got out his paint box
and between them, painted a map of an imaginary island. Suddenly,
according to Stevenson, the place became alive and characters
seemed to suggest themselves. There and then, the author set
to work on a story which has since been continuously in print
- 'Treasure Island'. The cottage still stands today on Glenshee
Road. His friend John Silver lived on Chapel Brae.
The oldest Jacobite
To the left of the Farquharson Mausoleum in Braemar Cemetery
is Dubrach's gravestone. This recalls Peter Grant, who was
born a mile above the Linn o' Dee at the clachan (hamlet)
of Dubrach. He fought in the '45 - the last Jacobite rebellion
- and was captured at the Battle of Culloden in 1746, though
later escaping. He lived to the age of 110 years, receiving
a pension from the King at the age of 100. He was presented
to the monarch in Edinburgh, who exclaimed "Ah, Grant,
you are my oldest friend", to which old Dubrach replied:
"Na, na, your majesty, I'm your auldest enemy".
On his death he was thought to have been the oldest surviving
Jacobite who had fought for the rebels' side.
The Ghost's Testimony
On the banks of the Christie Burn an English Redcoat soldier
carrying wages to the garrison at Braemar Castle was killed
and his body hidden. Just over the hill to the north lay the
clachan of Dubrach. Shortly after the crime, one of the villagers
showed signs of wealth, buying cattle from drovers and extra
food. This gave rise to suspicion. An envious neighbour, to
curry favour with the military, reported him. He was arrested
to stand trial in Edinburgh. At the trial the jealous neighbour
claimed that - although he did not know exactly where the
body was buried - he was adamant the ghost of the soldier
had told him who the killer was, pointing to the accused.
On being asked by the Judge what language the soldier used,
he replied "As good Gaelic as I'm speaking now, Your
Honour". The case was dismissed, the soldier not having
the Gaelic and the case went down in history as the 'Ghost's
Testimony'.
Kindrochit and King Malcolm Canmore
Malcolm was the son of King Duncan, murdered by Macbeth. Nineteen
years later, Malcolm attacked Macbeth at his fortress at Dunsinane
near Perth. Macbeth escaped northwards, intending to reach
his headquarters in Moray. He took a route to the east of
the Grampians, crossing the Mounth to reach Deeside at Kincardine
o' Neil. Malcolm took the higher route to the west, the Cairnwell
Pass, (where the modern A93 runs today) and picked up reinforcements
at Braemar before turning eastwards down the Dee. He killed
Macbeth in a running battle near the Peel Ring of Lumphanan.
Malcolm was later crowned and was known as Canmore, Gaelic
for great head or chief. He was to return to Braemar to build
a fort at Kindrochit. A bridge, a little way upstream from
the present one in the village gave access to it, while the
fort itself was moated, where the present-day carpark is.
The Magic Bible
It is documented that when King Malcolm was in Braemar (Kindrochit),
a serving girl dropped his wife Queen Margaret's Bible into
the river. Though richly decorated with gold, jewels and gilt
figures, when the Bible was recovered it was miraculously
undamaged apart from four damp leaves. It acquired the name
of the Magic Bible and is kept in the Bodleian Library in
Oxford, England.
The Farquharsons' fate
The progenitor of the Clan Farquharson, Finlay Mor had been
delivered at birth by three old crones, who prophesied his
future greatness. He fulfilled part of that prophesy by beating
the Stewarts from Rothiemurchus in a fight at the Sluggan
burn, close to where he was born, the site of which came to
be known as Inver Challa, (mouth of the burn of defeat), to
claim Invercauld as it came to be known. He later carried
the Standard at the Battle of Pinkie surrounded by men who
had gathered at Carn na Cuimne. Killed by musket fire, the
Standard became his shroud.
Long after Scotland and England had made peace, the Jacobite
rebellions divided many families across the land. One family
thus divided was the Farquharsons of Invercauld. Anne Farquharson
was married to a McIntosh who favoured the Jacobite cause
while her brother took the government side. Colonel Anne,
as she came to be called, fought against her own family at
Culloden in 1746.
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