KILDONAN GOLDFIELD.

Otago Witness, Issue 2915, 26 January 1910, Page 86

KILDONAN GOLDFIELD.

By Db Gordon Macdonald.

In the autumn of 1868 the North o! Scotland was startled with the cry, "Gold in Kildonan!" . Now, Kildorcan is a kme river valley' on the borders of Sutherland and Caithness. For ages it was the home of a hardy, independent race of roving warriors. Their origin, was chiefly Celtic, but their proximity to Caithness exposed them to frequent raids by the Norwegian and Danish pirates who overran that county. It derived its name from Saint Donnan, one of the early Christian (missionaries, whose name is familiar throughout Scotland. Xi!—or, rather, Keil—is the Gaelic word for the cell, church, or seat of some ■• rel%ious recluse. There are many "kils" scattered throughout Great Britain and Ireland, and they all signify th& home or seat of some religious teacher. Towards the end of the eighteenth century the people of Kildonan were evicted, andmany of them were shipped as so much lumber to the Canadian wilds, and their places occupied by sheep and border shepherds. By this means a 20-mile valley was depopulated, and some hundifeds of people rendered homeless and destitute. Hitherto the rights of the clan or family had to be considered, as they held their land by the power of the sword. About that, time the Govei'mnant of the day deemed it best to individualise the land and give a "sheepskin title" to the individual rather than to hold the clan to their feudal bargain. The individual it could; —well, purchase or coerce; the clan it could not. The transaction was—well, highhanded, but the times were tntb.ilent thereabouts, and might was right. This was about the last vestige of community of title in Scotland, and with it disappeared forever the clan system in the land of the Gael. Instead of the warpipe was heard the bleat of the Cheviot, and in place of the language of Eden came a. polyglot and unknown tongue. Mackays, Maeleods, Gunns, Sutherjands, and Munro's- gave place to Arsastrongs-, Rufcherfords, "Eiiliotts, Teltords, and Bannermans. Amongst, those who were evicted was a family of GHcnrisfa (gil, Gaelic lad; s 8 Christ's Son or Lad;). One of the sons in this family found his way to California and Australi?,,, and there learned the art of gaM-digging. Eventually he visited the had of hi® forefathers in far away Kildonan. There he found a rich river valley, large bald hiik, dark rocky glens, deep noisy tanss, and rocks abounding in quartz. Yes, theee were the characteristics of- a gold-bearing country, so there probably i 3 gold in Kildonan. In due time he secured- pick and shovel, tin dish, and swag, and then sallied forth into the wild 3. A dark coarg in Kildonan Bu?n was the spot selected, and thither ha repaired. It was an autumn day. Grouse, black cock, teres, and deer were agitated, for the Cockney sportsman trod the heather whilst gillies, - shepherds, and dogs alvnked at their heels. Gilchrist aceumed' the guise of a labourer, and directed his course to Cory-na-fiagh, or the deer's den. Quietly undoing hi» burden he • selected a sandy pebbly teach, stripped off the surface layers, ffled his basin with the hard bottom silt, washed it carefully, and, mirabile dicta, there was the "colour." "Gold in Kildonan-!" shouted Gilchrist, as ho danced- a hornpipe, but is was uttered in Californian slang, no the. winds carried no message to shepherd, gillie, keeper, or Cockney. At length the shepherds noticed a strange man with a strange burden wandering along the streams, and suspected- him cf "guddiing for trout, or reering pearls." Soon, however, they were convinced he was "daft," and fit for bedlam, for they watched hira. riddling the sands and eating white chuckie stanes." Ths police were then, informed that a loonde was disturbing the .game, so they had better remove him. Accordingly two peelers were instructed to act. He was seised, taken to his lodgings, and searched, and there it waa found he was an American citizen, vfiiih American rights. The could no longer be suppressed, and so the news flashed like wild fire—" Gold in Kildoa&ri! Gold in Kildonan!" The men of .th-i north looked askance of each other, ?.-i each repeated, "Gold in Kildonan!" 11,I 1 , could not be; it was Satan them! Have not we and our iaites known Kildonan from time inuns. morial? and whoever heard ci gold being there? No! no! it ia the work of the evil one. God is angry at us. and Eeelzebab bought this his opportunity. Hey, ho! old Nick, we r r.a not so blate that this trick : will wile us into your net. Get aW, mass—sst off* There were sceptics however, in th 9 camp. One went to see. another went to look, and returned with gold oogget*. A frenzy overtook the so croft and boat and heme were neglected hi. the mad rush for riches. The writer was then attending school, and during the Christmas holidays tramped SO miles in {■now and hail to visit the scene. It was midwinter, with 2ft to 10ft of snow eo> cdn-ontfing the country. Soma 500 men and women were camped upon the field. There were a few calico tents, many sod huts, and a still larger number of cavedwellers along the banks of the stream:. Where the stream crossed the mains road was erected a 3a<rga signboard with the mystic letter?, "Bai-un-cr," or the City of Gold. Every man had to find his own food and shelter, for of accommode»

tion there was absolutely none, and no township within 20 miles'. In, the, huts, tents, and caves there was barely space enough for the owners, and time was too precious to indulge in the luxury of house- * building. We had neither tents nor tools, and money could buy no lodgings in Ba<l-un-or, so that the shelter of a friendly rock-ledge was our only home for a week in this Arctic region. Gold? Yes, we found some, and treasure it to this day. Was there much gold there? No; no one found it in any quantity, though all found (sufficient of itto pay expanses. What became of the field? Well, the landlord stepped in, demanded license fees and royalty, and so after two years of a struggling existence the shutters were put up in Bal-un-or. Lately the County Council of Sutherland has been agitating to take down the shutters and open the field on the most liberal terms. There is gold there, and no one knows what systematic prospecting by experienced men might reveal. Ls gold-bearing country common in Scotland? Oh, yes! Gold has been found foT many centuries in several parts of Scotland, and was once an established industry; yet no skill has ever been brought to bear upon it. Land interests and land magnates are too powerful. Social revolution or evolution is necessary, and the mass, not the individual, must dominate the country. Lately it has been reported that Mr George Munro, of Munro's Gully, the patriarch and real discoverer of gold at Lawrence, was, in his early shepherding days at Kildonan, a seeker after gold. That would be in the early fifties, just prior to his leaving for New Zealand, and it is passing strange if the wandering shepherd were the discoverer of the coveted metal in <=o-*»what similar localities and circumstances at the two e: tremes of the world.