The Gaol Cart - Breakout

PIC01

“Be quiet or I’ll shoot you where you stand, and don’t think for one moment that because you are women it will influence my decision in the slightest”. When Auld Wat of Arden made threats like that only a foolish person with a death wish would seek to antagonise him.

Auld Wat or Walter Scott as his father named him was nervous. He wasn’t normally nervous before a fight, usually he’d calculated the odds in advance and expected to win but this time he wasn’t so sure. Especially when he saw the lead men come around the curve in the track, they looked tough, competent and there seemed to be quite a lot of them.

PIC02

He wasn’t sure about Ill Will Armstrong either, he wasn’t called Ill Will without there being a good reason. However it was a bold man who refused to ride with the Armstrong’s when they called for you to ride so here he was.

He looked at the matriarch of the family and said “Skunner likes to eat babies and he’s not particular if he eats them raw or well cooked. Skunner turned a little pale at the thought, he had a loving wife and five children and he’d never thought about eating them, raw or otherwise but he scowled to give the impression he had, leering at the woman carrying the young baby.

Maybe they are tasty was the thought that went through his mind before being quickly dismissed.

The women were being threatened and held hostage so that the men of the croft would behave and not give the game away to the troops heading down the road.

PIC03

The Armstrong’s hiding behind the wall watched the Gaol cart pass down the road. They were intent on capturing the cart and releasing the prisoners.

The prisoners you already know, if you read the previous post, but just in case you didn’t, they are Mad Wullie Snapcase, The Vagabond and Dashing Dougie Douglas. If you did read the previous post you will be wondering why the Armstrong’s would want to release this trio, but the obvious answer would be to hang them from the nearest tree, and that may be the case.

PIC04

The convoy moves on and in the far field three men rise from their hiding place. Wee Jock McClew, Slasher McBraine and Migsett Kerr, true Snapcase men and brigands to the core. What are they doing with the Armstrong’s, their arch enemies, or is this two rescues taking place at the same time, a bit too much of a coincidence even for one of my games.

PIC05

Screaming their own special battle cries the ambushers charge forwards into the convoy, one or two of them were a little slow off the mark, over to the right Slasher McBraine is having a little trouble getting over the low wall. “I slipped” he explained later but there were a couple of jeering catcalls that sounded like chickens clucking to this lamentable excuse, even though it was true.

The guards who were well ….guarding the gaol wagon were taken completely by surprise and this did nothing for their morale.

PIC06

Some ran, and as it turned out it was the leaders who ran as fast as the men. This was to prove decisive in the end.

PIC07

At the rear of the wagon the fight was oscillating back and forth. The Armstrong’s had been caught a bit left footed. They had to run further to contact the guards and it was imperative that they did this quickly because some of them had harquebusiers, fortunately without the match burning, but even so, it wouldn’t take them long to be able to bring fire on the attackers.

PIC08

The ferocious attack caused the last man with any authority to run and the remaining troops were considering their options very carefully.

PIC09

Auld Wat had slipped on a muddy patch and was a little late in the attack but he was able to fire his pistol at the back of one of the guards. This bounced off his helmet and in the excitement he probably didn’t feel a thing, especially when Slasher McBraine was slashing at his face.

PIC10

All the guards had either run or were wounded and so when Ill Will shouted “ drop your weapons and we’ll spare your lives” it seemed like a good offer in the circumstances. Of course if they had though more carefully who was offering the terms they might not have accepted them with such alacrity.

PIC11

The local crofters had already considered their options and did a runner, a Black House could be rebuilt in a couple of days but their health would take far longer to recover, if at all!

PIC12

The wagon doors were opened and Mad Wullie, Dashing Dougie and The Vagabond stepped out to an uncertain future.

“Well Lads” Ill Will said, “I expect you’re surprised to see me”. This was met with a stony silence broken eventually by Mad Wullie. “If it’s about the sheep, I can explain that” This comment was met with a further stony silence. “Aye lad I know about the sheep and we recovered 27 of them, one fell over a cliff and we ate her on the spot” The Vagabond looked appalled until Ill Will continued “we grilled her first”.

So it’s just about 1 sheep Wullie stuttered, he wasn’t given to stuttering but when betrayed by three of his own men and surrounded by Armstrong’s carrying weapons you could understand he might be a little stuttery. Ill Will continued as if he’d not spoken “We’ll consider it as an initial payment, a gesture of good will if you like” All three of them looked confused and The Vagabond asked belligerently “payment for what”. “Payment for the job you’re going to do for me” Ill Will answered rather too smoothly for The Vagabond’s peace of mind. “I’ve an interest in bringing a few Highland cattle down to Liddesdale to breed with my cows and I need three men with a good cattle dog to do the job”.

PIC13

Just then Reba ‘the good cattle dog’ bounded through the circle of men threatening her master, trailing a chewed rope tether she jumped up, licking Dougie’s face in evident enjoyment. Will looked at Wee Jock, “I told you to tie her securely”. “I did Jock replied but she’s uncontrollable unless it’s Dougie doing the controlling, I told you that” he finished lamely.

Well to cut a long story short, word had got out about the cattle raid that netted us 1 sheep and the Armstrong’s had heard about Reba’s role in driving the sheep across the ford and giving the rustlers the edge in the following fight. They had arrived in Lost Dale to take the dog and send her with three Armstrong’s to the Highlands to get the cattle but Wee Jock had convinced them that the no one else could control her except Dashing Dougie.

After some discussion Ill Will had decided he could turn the situation to his advantage by rescuing Mad Wullie and associates, sending them to the Highlands for his cattle and solve another problem that had been exercising his mind for the past week or two. This one was more personal, his youngest daughter had fallen in love with one of the dashing Grahams and Will was having none of it. She would head north with Wullie Snapcase to forget the Graham and gelding would be the punishment for our three hero’s if she didn’t come home “intact” so to speak.

Next I’m off to the Isle of Skye to drive some cattle down to Liddesdale and I think Ill Will’s daughter will prove a source of inspiration for a game or two.

Cheers

Ears of Tin

I have a mind to try and run a series of games based on a song I played the other night. Jethro Tull – Ears of Tin, this is the verse that struck a chord.

“Now the sun breaks through rain as I climb Glen Shiel
on the trail of those old cattlemen who drove their bargain’s south again.
And in the eyes of those five sisters of Kintail
there's a wink of seduction from the mainland”.

The old trail referred to ran from the Isle of Skye to the cattle markets at Crieff or Falkirk. It went via the narrows at Kyle Rhea where they swam the cattle across the straights to the mainland, a distance of about 400 metres.

The straights from the south.

The straights from the mainland.

This must have been an incredibly dangerous thing to do because unless the tide is at a stand, it runs through the narrows like a freight train on Speed. Not that I’ve ever taken Speed but at Springs (the strongest tide) the water runs at 8 knots, something like 9 to 10 miles an hour.

Modern day swimming the cattle.

This Crofter used to swim 150 yards with his cattle until he was 70, he’s just a softie now at 80 and rows across.

I imagine the Drovers would arrive at Kyle Rhea and probably pay a local man to advise or guide them across, there would almost certainly be a ferry just as there is today and from what I’ve read they used to tie the cattle together to make the crossing, although how that worked I can’t imagine.

The Five Sisters from the Ratagan Pass.

Anyway the trail probably follows the later Military road to Ratagan and Shiel Bridge before “climbing up Glen Shiel on the trail of those old cattlemen”. On the way up the Glen on the north side are the Five Sisters of Kintail, the last peak of the range although not one of the Sisters is Sgurr nan Spainteach named for the Spanish troops who fought there in 1719 alongside Jacobite forces in the first uprising.

The Drove Roads of Scotland

A modern map of Glen Shiel.

Then at the head of the Glen there were various tracks to get to Crieff, none of them easy, in later years they joined military roads and the cattle were shod like horses to protect their hooves although the shoe was in two parts unlike the horseshoe. The trail is slightly over 200 miles long and used to take several weeks, they would probably walk about 12 miles a day allowing the cattle to graze and if possible add weight before arriving at the market.

AI Artists impression of crieff Cattle market around 1580.

AI again. 

It sounds like it was a wild place, Drovers would billet themselves in someone’s house, by force if they had to, The American wild west seems quite tame in comparison.

As far as I’m aware the first Michamas Market in Crieff was first held in 1632 but because I recently finished painting 16 Border Reivers, giving me a total of just over 40 hard fighting men I’m setting my games in the late 1500’s or so. Also I’m assuming I’ll meet refined Scots who are keeping up with fashion further south.

The cattle trade really took off after the joining of the two kingdoms when presumably it became safer to drive them south through the Borders. However I’m assuming there was a market at least 40 years before then to supply the big Scottish towns and so this will allow my story to happen.

OK that’s the history lesson done with.

What I’m looking to do is run a series of say 6 games to take place along the route. There will be 3 Drovers and a dog and I only have 4 Highland cattle and 2 calves so a tiny herd. I mean to keep the games small to try and ensure I can keep the momentum going both with the games and writing about them.

Anyway these are the ideas that the Gentlemen of Much Piddling have come up with so far:-

a) Rustling - An attack on the herd to steal some or all of the cattle by vagabonds and ruffians unknown. Their aim is to take the cattle. How - Creep into the camp and drive the cattle off quietly. If successful may lead to a chase to recover the cattle if not will become a general brawl.

b) Murder - while staying overnight at one of the Droving Inns they are attacked by the Inn Keeper and his associates. Their aim is to kill and rob the Drovers and then take their cattle. How - Surprise attack while they are asleep if successful game over, if not will become a general brawl.

c) Increasing the Herd – On the way to the market our drovers see an opportunity to increase the size of their herd by stealing someone else’s cattle. Their aim is to steal cattle and get away without being discovered. How – ditto Rustling.

d) Kidnap – The dog owner has been bragging about his dog and everyone in the Inn knows what a good cattle dog she is. A good cattle dog is worth more than you’d imagine and she is kidnapped. The Drovers aim is to recover the dog. How – not sure, probably clue finding and tracking, if successful, recovery raid, if not?

e) Fodder – The grazing on the trail has been poor, they need fodder to feed the cattle and they’ve no money. They’re going to have to steal it without being discovered. How – ditto ‘C’ but the evidence will have been eaten in a couple of days.

f) Alexander “Sawney” Bean – The cannibal clan, probably just a myth but it’s too good not to include, although I can’t quite work out how to make a game that is not just a straight fight for survival, I’d like something a bit more quirky. The Clan reputedly lived in a cave on the sea shore and with children and grand children ran to over 40 mouths to feed. How - ?

So those are my 6 scenario ideas one or two seem a bit weak to me and I wonder if anyone can suggest other, possibly better ideas, or indeed how I can incorporate Sawney as a game. I’ll play these games solo and I’m quite happy if there’s no fighting and no one dies provided there is some challenge in the scenario.

 Reba, Dashing Dougie Douglas, Mad Wullie Snapcase, The Vagabond.

Oh - you may be wondering who will be daft enough to undertake this journey, well basically Mad Wullie Snapcase, the Vagabond, Dashing Dougie Douglas and his dog Reba have decided to try and make an honest living because reiving hasn’t gone too well for them.

It’s been a long couple of days.

Reaching a certain time in life when a man questions whether he can still do the things he remembers he used to do as a young man, they had decided to go on one last cattle rustling raid.

The final straw was being cut off and having to fight their way home.

This was a plan conceived over a few jugs of their local Poteen and maybe the drink had something to do with it not being a perfect plan. The weather turned foul, they got lost but in the end rustled 29 sheep and no cattle. This would have been an excellent result except the weather continued foul and they lost all the sheep except one on the journey home.

The Armstrong’s.

OK not such an auspicious raid but unfortunately it didn’t end there. The sheep they had rustled belonged to a branch of the Armstrong family and I don’t suppose I need to say much more.

The Armstrong’s searching the Masterless Mens village.

As one of the strongest families in the Borders they were not going to let bygones be bygones but by the time they arrived, the evidence had disappeared (been eaten) they were convincing liars and Mad Wullie Snapcase, Dashing Dougie Douglas and the Vagabond lived to tell the tale.

Well they didn’t tell anyone, in case the Armstrong’s got wind of it.

Tithe village

Eighteen months or so after this debacle the same trio received news that the Baby Eating Bishop of Bath and Wells was collecting his rents in person and it seemed for some obscure reason that it would be a good idea to rob him. It wasn’t and they were taken prisoner and incarcerated in Berwick Gaol.

The Bishop travels in style.

The Reivers attack but were outclassed by the softie southern powder puffs.

Wee Jock McClue escapes.

The gaol cart heading south.

Only the other day, news arrived in Lost Dale that the trio were being sent to Bath to stand trial and be hanged. Apparently the baby eating Bishop of Bath and Wells will be the Judge and so the trial is just a formality and the judgement a certainty.

Subsistence crofting.

A barley field, for the finer things in life.

                                                                       A bucolic scene.

Or is it an ambush site.

I’m rather hoping that some of the remaining members of their lost men will carry out a rescue.

Anyway if they do and it’s successful, well then, I can get on with the droving, if not successful then I’ve wasted a lot of good drinking thinking time.

And yours as well…….sorry.

So any ideas you might have, will be gratefully received and appreciated.

All the best and Cheers