It

The district of Lochaber, as its situation and extent are at present understood to be settled, "comprehends all that country whose waters. "flow directly or ultimately westward by In"verlochy to Loch Linne, and contains a terri"tory, of which the utmost length from east "to west is thirty miles, and the greatest "breadth from south to north, twenty-four. "Its extent is nearly 530 square miles. "has Badenach on the east, Glengary on the "north and north-east, Morror, Araisaik, and "Ardgowar on the west, and Appin and Ran"noch on the south. It abounds in high "mountains, Ben Nevis, the highest in Britain, "being there; yet its pastures feed great flocks "of sheep, cattle, and not a few deer, which "last find a retreat in the recesses of the high "mountains or shelter themselves in the thick "forests, of which there still remains a consider"able extent in the many sequestered glens. "The grazings are valuable and extensive, and "the rents amount to about 11,000l., of which "6,000l. belong to the Duke of Gordon. "The arable land is very inconsiderable, and is "situate chiefly in haughs, which are frequently "overflowed by the torrents." The proportion of arable land, however, is not inferior to many other districts of the highlands; and, in the

lower parts of Glenspean and Glenroy particularly, rich crops of the best variety of barley, which ripen very early, are produced. Buchanan describes it as, compared with the general state of the highlands, a region of remarkable fertility,* abounding in corn and pasture, in shady groves and pleasant fountains and rivulets, and in the produce of its sea and fresh water fisheries hardly inferior to any part of Scotland. From the head of Loch Linne, or that part of the lake where it turns to the west, the moorish plain of Lochaber stretches in the north-easterly course for ten miles to Loch Lochy, a fresh-water lake, extending about ten miles further in the same direction. About a mile to the north-east of Loch Lochy one again reaches the general ridge in the hollow of the great glen, where the waters flow westwards to Loch Lochy, and eastwards to Loch Oich; two miles from Loch Lochy, at the foot of Glengary, being the limits of the district of Lochaber on the north and north-east. About nine miles to the north-east of Inverlochy, near the southwest end of Loch Lochy, the ground rises on the east side, a little above the level of the moor, and on this height there is a terrace or

* Lib. i. fol. 7.

plain of considerable extent, formed by the opening of the hills at the lower extremity of Glenspean, which stretches nearly due east, for about thirty miles, to the general ridge in that quarter and the district of Badenach.

On the west side of Loch Lochy, nearly opposite the end of Glenspean and a part of the terrace just mentioned, is Locharkeg, where the chief of Locheil has his principal residence, in a country which has been described as " fine, "rural, and well cultivated." It is a remarkable circumstance that a kitchen garden was established there before such a thing was known in any other part of Scotland, and the chief, in 1734, entertained a company of visitors at his seat of Auchnacary with its produce. The river Lochy, flowing from its lake towards the south-west, along the level of the moor, receives in its short course of ten miles, first the river Arkeg from the west, and the Spean from the east, and then the Nevis from the east, close to the walls of Fort William, thus carrying to Loch Linne and the sea nearly the whole waters of Lochaber from a range of 530 square miles. At the south-west end of the moor and head of Loch Linne, Glen Nevis opens from the town and fort towards the east and south-east, extending for about eight miles along the

southern base of the stupendous Nevis mountain, in the direction of the moor of Rannoch. On the opposite side of the Lochaber moor the territory of Locheil, which is said to be in Argyleshire, opens to the west and north-west, and is described as consisting" of vast mountains " and extensive woodlands, pastured by nu"merous herds of cattle, sheep, goats, red and "fallow deer, with a small strip of arable land "on the margin of the lake." The territory of Locharkeg, where the chief has extensive possessions, is in Inverness-shire. At the entrance into Locheil from the moor, there is a small village, consisting of a few straw or heaththatched cottages, resembling an old highland farm toun, called Corpach,* from its being a common halting station for those who were carrying dead bodies to Iona for interment.

The moor of Lochaber, ten miles long, in the direction of north-east and south-west, and from two to three miles broad, is still mossy and barren over a considerable portion of its surface, and affords abundance of peat fuel for the supply of the town of Inverlochy and its vicinity. But the progress of improvement has, within these few last years, been there so rapid

* Corp, body, carcase.

that probably in no very long time very little trace of moor will remain on the lower plain, which will be converted into wide fields of cultivated arable land, and rich pasture ground. The difference in the appearance of the improved land, as compared with that which has been left in its natural state, is very remarkable in this situation, and, generally, wherever improvement has commenced, that circumstance serves in no slight degree to ensure and accelerate its progress. It has been suggested by one who is esteemed a great authority on agricultural subjects, that "if the legislature were

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to grant to every highland soldier or sailor "who has been employed in his Majesty's ser"vice, and shall be dismissed on the conclusion "of a peace, ten guineas to assist him in build"ing a house, and twenty guineas more for "trenching two acres of land, on proof of the "work being properly done, instead of giving 66 any other provision to men who are able to "work, an important public benefit would be "obtained. A number of them would proba66 bly settle on the banks of these (Crinan and Caledonian) canals, and other suitable places, "where they would be extremely serviceable, adding to the population of those districts "where emigration has too much prevailed.

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