The Find of a Cannon Ball at Badbea Shore

Written by Alexander Gunn and published in the Northern Ensign on 27 May 1890

To the Editor of the Northern Ensign,

'SIR – I observed a paragraph in your last week’s issue that a cannon ball had been picked up on the shore at Badbea and expressing wonder how it came to be there. I am not sure I am able to solve the mystery, but it occurred to me that it might have found its way there in this way.'

Ceann Ousdale. The track up to Auchencraig was between the two hills.

'In the good old times when Auchencraig was inhabited by a happy and comfortable people, there was a good deal of smuggling indulged in, and on one occasion when several of the inhabitants had a “browst” on hand, the revenue cutter the Atlanta, put in all appearance on the coast -a very unwelcome visitor at any time, but more especially in the circumstances such as I refer to. When opposite the port of Auchencraig - for it was a port of considerable importance in those days, as no less than thirteen boats went out from that place every night during the herring fishing season, and there were thousands of crans cured there every year -  the crew of the cutter launched and manned their boats and made for the shore.' 

Scrabster harbour 1891

'Their movements were seen from Auchencraig by watchers on the outlook when it was determined that the boat should be prevented from landing for a time at least, till all the stuff should be got into hiding. The plan was this - the male portion of the inhabitants were do their utmost to put the stuff into hiding, and the females were to arrange themselves on braehead and roll large boulders down the steep brae above the shore making it certain death to any one who would venture to land. In this way the boat was prevented from landing. When the captain saw what was going on, he sailed as close inshore as he could with safety, and opened fire on the women, when the balls like hail came showering about them.' 

A jammed cannon ball

This old cannon barrel on Wiveton Green was scrapped because the cannon ball jammed at the end of the barrel when it was fired and the pressure of the charge blew a hole through the side of the barrel.

'Fortunately, no one was hurt, but the boat was not permitted to land till everything was considered safe. Then the cutter's men climbed up the steep rocks in a great hurry and fury and caught every woman they saw and examined their hands to see if they were soiled, expecting in this way to discover those who were engaged in the stone battle. The men kept out of sight all this time. The cutter-men threatened to take some of the women away with them, but did not put the threat into execution, which was as well  as the men were prepared to rescue the women had there been an attempt made to carry them off.  My idea is that perhaps the Atlanta might fire a few shots in passing at Badbea with a view of showing the Badbea folks what they might expect should they at any time attempt a line of defence similar to that adopted by the Auchencraig folks, and in this way a ball would likely fall on the shore at Badbea. This may not account for the finding of the ball, but it is the most likely theory I can suggest. Should it be accounted for in any other way, I shall he glad to hear it.'

I am, &c., ALEXANDER GUNN

Glasgow, 16th May, 1890

My Comments:

A similar recollection by Gunn of the same event was blogged on February 5, 2015.

The date of this incident is not given but since Auchencraig was ‘cleared’ in 1830 and the report below by MacCulloch was published in 1824 it must have occurred well before that date.

 I don't know what the cannons on the Atalanta were like but this one was from the Napolean War 1815 so perhaps not far removed from the time of the above incident. Source: Inniskillings Regimental Museum

As has been noted before ‘smuggling’ or making whisky locally was a widespread practice in the Highlands and was an important source of income. Squirmishes were common. The surveillance was about tax. Taxmen or excise officers were appointed to hunt out small hidden stills but with the hundreds of miles of rugged coastline and countless small caves and caverns in which whisky was both distilled and transported from, the revenue cutter Atalanta operated from sea. That they could fire cannon balls, which would inflict a most hideous death, at Highland crofters seems astounding. But clearly the Auchencraig inhabitants were prepared to roll deadly stones down the brae at the cutter’s men to protect their livelihood. 

Another eye witness of Auchencraig appears in MacCulloch’s ‘Letters to Sir Walter Scott,’ published in 1824:

‘I had occasion to land with a boat under the magnificent cliffs near the Ord (of Caithness), where a party of men, women and children were employed on the herrings, while the rocks were strewn with barrels and the shore with boats, and horse were seen scrambling up and down a narrow track in the cliffs, the sight of which made my head giddy. Such are the ports which nature has bestowed upon a coast to which the herrings have though fit lately to retire from the magnificent bays and lochs of the west; hoping perhaps they would not be so easily caught, salted, barreled off to feed negroes.’

‘The herring cleaners received us in a menacing attitude, and with shouts of defiance and offence. We knew very well they were wild Sutherlanders. It is not uncommon to find that one division of the present race of Highlanders has as little respect for its neighbours as the most prejudiced enemy can have for the while tribe, though they are all confounded under a common term.

 ‘The cause of the impending war was not at first apparent; but the sight of a vessel in the offing with the Union Jack at her gaff (the cutter Atalanta) suggested to us that we were supposed to belong to it, and that we had fallen in with a race of smugglers. It was too dangerous to expostulate or explain under a shower of stones; we therefore hauled off and left the field to the ‘enemy.’