Graeme Burnet: His Bloody Project

Despite the passage of time and the fact that for some years it was not stored with any great care, the manuscript is in remarkably good condition. It was written on loose sheets and at some later point bound with leather strings, this being evidenced by the fact that the text on the inner edge of the pages is sometimes obscured by the binding. The handwriting is admirably clear with only the most occasional crossings-out and false starts. In preparing the document for publication, I strived at all times to be true to the sense of the manuscript. At no point did I attempt to ‘improve’ the text or correct awkward turns of phrase or syntax. Such interventions would, I think, only serve to cast doubt on the authenticity of the work. What is presented is, as far as possible, the work of Roderick Macrae. Some of the vocabulary used may be unfamiliar to some readers, but rather than overburden the text with footnotes, I have opted to include a short glossary at the end of this section. It also worth pointing out that throughout the memoir individuals’ real names and nicknames are used interchangeably — Lachlan Mackenzie, for example, is generally referred to as Lachlan Broad. The use of nicknames remains common in the Scottish Highlands — at least among the older generation — probably as a way of distinguishing between different branches of the most widespread family names. Nicknames are commonly based on professions or eccentricities, but they can also be passed on from one generation to the next to the point where the origin of the name becomes a mystery even to its holder.

I have largely restricted my editorial interventions to matters of punctuation and paragraphing. The manuscript is written in one unbroken stream, save perhaps for moments at which Roderick took up his pen from one day to the next. I took the decision to introduce paragraphs for the sake of readability. Similarly, the text is largely unpunctuated, or eccentrically so. Thus, the majority of the punctuation is mine, but again, my guiding principle was to be true to the original. If my judgements in this seem questionable, I can only direct the reader to consult the manuscript, which remains in the archive at Inverness.

GMB, July 2015

Statements by Residents of Culduie

Statements

gathered from various residents of Culduie and the surrounding area by Officer William MacLeod of Wester Ross police force, Dingwall, on the 12th and 13th of August 1869

Statement of Mrs Carmina Murchison [Carmina Smoke], resident of Culduie, 12th August 1869

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I have known Roderick Macrae since he was an infant. I generally found him to be a pleasant child and later to be a courteous and obliging young man. I believe he was greatly affected by the death of his mother, who was a charming and gregarious woman. While I do not wish to speak ill of his father, John Macrae is a disagreeable person, who treated Roddy with a degree of severity I do not believe any child deserves.

On the morning of the dreadful incident, I spoke to Roddy as he passed our house. I cannot recall the precise content of our conversation, but I believe he told me that he was on his way to carry out some work on land belonging to Lachlan Mackenzie. He was carrying some tools, which I took to be for this purpose. In addition, we exchanged some remarks about the weather, it being a fine and sunny morning. Roderick appeared quite composed and betrayed no sign of fretfulness. Sometime later, I saw Roddy make his way back along the village. He was covered from head to foot in blood and I ran from the threshold of my house, thinking that some accident had befallen him. As I approached, he stopped and the tool he was carrying dropped from his hand. I asked what had happened and he replied without hesitation that he had killed Lachlan Broad. He appeared quite lucid and made no attempt to continue along the road. I called to my eldest daughter to fetch her father, who was working in the outbuilding behind our house. On seeing Roddy covered in blood, she screamed, and this brought other residents of the village to their doors and caused those at work on their crops to look up from their labour. There was very quickly a general commotion. I confess that in these moments my first instinct was to protect Roddy from the kinsmen of Lachlan Mackenzie. For this reason, when my husband arrived at the scene, I asked him to take Roddy inside our house without telling him what had occurred. Roddy was seated at our table and calmly repeated what he had done. My husband sent our daughter to fetch our neighbour, Duncan Gregor, to stand guard and then ran to Lachlan Mackenzie’s house, where he discovered the tragic scene.

Statement of Mr Kenneth Murchison [Kenny Smoke], stonemason, resident of Culduie, 12th August 1869

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On the morning in question I was working in my outbuilding behind my house, when I heard a general commotion from the village. I emerged from my workshop to be greeted by my eldest daughter, who was greatly distressed and unable to properly inform me of what had occurred. I ran towards the congregation of people outside our house. Amid the confusion, my wife and I took Roderick Macrae into our house, believing that he had been injured in some accident. Once inside my wife informed me of what had occurred and when I asked Roderick if this was true he repeated quite calmly that it was. I then ran to the home of Lachlan Mackenzie and found a scene too dreadful to describe. I closed the door behind me and examined the bodies for signs of life, of which there were none. Fearing a general outbreak of violence, were any of Lachlan Broad’s kinsmen to lay eyes on this scene, I went outside and summoned Mr Gregor to stand guard over the property. I ran back to my own house and took Roddy from there to my outbuilding, where I barricaded him in. He did not resist. Mr Gregor was unable to prevent Lachlan Broad’s kinsmen from entering the premises and seeing the bodies there. By the time I had confined Roddy, they had formed themselves into a vengeful mob, which it took some time and persuasion to subdue.

As to the general character of Roderick Macrae, there is no doubt that he was a queer boy, but whether this was by nature or had been brought on by the tribulations which his family has suffered I am not qualified to say. The evidence of his deeds, however, does not speak of a sound mind.

Statement of the Reverend James Galbraith, minister at the Church of Scotland, Camusterrach, 13th August 1869

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I fear the wicked deeds lately committed in this parish only represent a bubbling to the surface of the natural state of savagism of the inhabitants of this place, a savagism that the Church has of late been successful in suppressing. The history of these parts, it has been said, is stained with black and bloody crimes, and people exhibit a certain wildness and indulgence, and such traits cannot be bred out in a matter of generations. While the teachings of the Presbytery are a civilising influence, it is inevitable that now and again the old instincts come to the fore.

Nonetheless, one cannot fail to be shocked on hearing of acts such as those committed in Culduie. Of all the individuals in this parish, however, one is least surprised to hear that Roderick Macrae is the perpetrator. Although this individual has attended my church since childhood, I always sensed that my sermons fell on his ears as seeds on stony ground. I must accept that his crimes represent, in some degree, a failure on my part, but sometimes one must sacrifice a lamb for the general good of the flock. There was always a wickedness, easily discernible, about that boy which I regret to say was beyond my reach.

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