KILMALIE, a parish (Highland), partly in the district of Argyll
and county of Argyll, and partly in the county of
Inverness; containing, with the village of Fort-William,
and the quoad sacra district of Ballichulish and
Corran-of-Ardgour, 5397 inhabitants, of whom 2741 are
in the county of Inverness. The wide district comprehending
the present parishes of Kilmalie and Kilmonivaig
at one time formed one parish, under the appellation
of Lochaber; but the parish was divided into two
distinct parishes about the middle of the seventeenth
century. Kilmalie is supposed to have derived its name
from the dedication of its church to the Virgin Mary.
It derives much historical interest from its being the
headquarters of the clan Cameron. In the seventeenth
century, when General Monk found great difficulty in
subduing Sir Ewan Cameron of Locheil, he planted a
garrison at the place now called Fort-William, in order
to keep that chief and his dependents in awe. A severe
conflict soon afterwards occurred between the Camerons
and a considerable party of the English, on the shore of
Loch Va\, in which the former were victorious; and the
bold and resolute chief continue<l in various ways to
harass the new garrison in his neighbourhood, till at
last, finding his country impoverished, and the people
almost ruined, he submitted on terms of his own dictating,
and Monk immediately wrote him a letter of
thanks, dated at Dalkeith, the 5th of June, 1665. During
the rebellion of 1745-46, the district suffered in
some degree from the devastations of the royal forces,
who, after their victory at Culloden, encamped at Fort-
Augustus, whence they sent detachments to Lochaber;
and a party of troops was finally stationed at the head
of Loch Arkaig, to check the movements of the clan
Cameron, whose chief, Locheil, had joined the Young
Pretender. The parish is about sixty miles in length
and thirty miles in extreme breadth. Its scenery is
most magnificent, scarcely equalled in the Highlands.
The surface is mountainous and wild, and is deeply indented
with lochs, and diversified with ravines which,
when they intervene between the higher mountains, are
narrow and precipitous, and when between those of inferior
elevation, assume more the appearance of valleys.
Ben-Nevis, to the east of Fort- William, the loftie.st
mountain but one in the whole country, has an elevation
of 4370 feet above the level of the sea, commanding from
its summit, which is difficult of ascent, a most unbounded
prospect. The summits of most of the higher mountains
are perfectly sterile, and have a dreary aspect; and in
the clefts on the north-east, snow in a frozen state is to
be found at all times.
The principal inlets from the sea, connected with the
parish, are. Loch Linnhe, in the south-west, reaching
along the shores of Ardgour to the entrance of Loch
Eil; Loch Leven, about ten miles to the south of Fort-
William, branching from Loch Linnhe towards the east,
for almost twelve miles, between the mountains of Glencoe
and Lochaber; and Loch Eil, stretching in a northeastern
direction to Fort- William and the Caledonian
canal, and then taking a north-western direction for
nearly ten miles towards Arisaig. The only inland lake
wholly within the parish is Loch Arkaig, situated among
the mountains, and skirted by the military road from
Fort-William by Corpach ferry. This lake is about sixteen
miles in length and a mile broad; and near one
extremity is a densely-wooded island, which has been
for ages the buryiug-place of the family of Locheil and
its chieftains. Loch Lochy, part of the line of the Caledonian
canal, and about a mile and a half to the east of
Loch Arkaig, is chiefly in the parish of Kilmonivaig, but
extends for nine miles into this parish. The valley between
these two lakes abounds with romantic scenery.
The river Lochy, issuing from the lake of that name,
forms a confluence with the Spean at Mucomre Bridge,
and for about eight miles constitutes a boundary between
the parishes of Kilmalie and Kilmonivaig: it flows into
the sea at Fort-William, where it is met by the river
Nevis, which descends from Ben-Nevis in an impetuous
torrent forming a magnificent cascade. The Lochy
abounds with salmon, which are taken in great quantities,
and sent to the London market; and herrings of small
size but of excellent quality, salmon, cod, whitings, haddocks,
and flounders, with other kinds of fish, are found
in the salt-water lochs. A considerable quantity of
salmon is packed in tin boxes, hermetically sealed, at
Corpach Ferry, and forwarded to India. There are commodious
bays at Corran-Ardgour, where is likewise a
ferry; at Eilan-na-gaul; and at Camus-na-gaul, near
the south entrance of the Caledonian ranal, opposite to
Fort-William. There is also a ferry on the Lochy, where
are good ([uays on both banks of the river, and where,
from the great intercourse with Fort-William, about two
miles distant, a substantial bridge would afford very desirable accommodation.
The quantity of arable land in this extensive parish is
very inconsiderable. Some attempts to reclaim portions
of waste, and bring them under cultivation, have recently
been made, and the result has been such as to encourage
further efforts; but the people at present are chiefly dependent
on the rearing of sheep and cattle, and on the
fisheries. The soil on the coast, and ah)ng the shores of
the rivers, is tolerably fertile, but in other parts sandy
and shallow; the chief crops are oats and potatoes, of
which latter great quantities are raised. The sheepfarms
are well managed, and considerable attention is
paid to the rearing of cattle, for which the hills afford
good pasture; both the sheep and cattle are sent to the
Falkirk trysts, where they find a ready sale. The annual
value of real property in the parish is £8079. In
some respects the geology of the parish is very remarkable.
The rocks are mostly gneiss and mica-slate, and
there are extensive beds of quartz and hornblende. At
North Ballichulish is a quarry of slate, which has not
yet been much wrought; and at Fassfern is a quarry of
good building-stone, from which materials were raised
for the construction of the Caledonian canal, and the
quay at Fort-William. In the mountain of Ben-Nevis
are found large detached masses of grey granite, weighing
from ten to forty tons. The ancient woods, which
were very extensive, have been partly cut down; but
there are still remaining great numbers of venerable oaks,
and firs of luxuriant growth. Extensive plantations,
also, have been formed on the lands of the principal proprietors,
and are in a thriving state. Achnacarry, the
seat of Cameron of Locheil, is an elegant modern structure,
built of materials found near the spot. Ardgour,
the seat of Colonel Mc Lean, is a handsome mansion of
more ancient style, but recently repaired and enlarged;
it is pleasantly situated near Corran Ferry, in grounds
tastefully laid out, and enriched with plantations. Callart,
the seat of Sir Duncan Cameron of Fassfern, Bart.,
is beautifully situated on the banks of Loch Leven. The
villages in the parish are. North Ballichulish and Fort-
H'ilUam, both of which are described under their respective
heads; and Corpach, near the southern extremity
of the Caledonian canal, where the parish church is
situated, and where a post-office has been established.
Facility of communication is afforded by steamers twice
a week during summer, and once a week during winter,
between Inverness and Glasgow.
For ECCLESIASTICAL purposes the parish is within the
bounds of the presbytery of Abertarff, synod of Glenelg.
The minister's stipend is £287. 15. 8., with a manse, and
a glebe valued at £60 per annum; patron, Cameron of
Locheil. Kilmalie church is a neat plain structure,
erected in 1783, at a cost of £440, and contains 1000
sittings. A church has been erected at Fort-William,
where are also an episcopal and a Roman Catholic chapel;
and there are two churches in the quoad sacra district
of Ballichulish and Corran-of-Ardgour. The members of
the Free Church have a place of worship. The parochial
school, situated at Fort-William, is well conducted; the
master has a salary of £34, with a house and garden,
and the fees average £45. Three schools are supported
by the Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge,
who allow the masters a salary of £17 each, with a house
and garden; and there is also a female school, at Fort-
William, of which they give the teacher £8. A school
is supported by the Gaelic School Society, who allow £20
per annum for the gratuitous instruction of fifty children;
and there is a school on the grounds of Achnacarry,
near the mansion, the teacher of whiih receives £10 per
annum from Mrs. Cameron. Of the other schools in
the parish, one, at Ballichulish, is maintained by government.
At the western extremity of the parish is a
monument, erected on the spot where Prince Charles
Edward first unfurled his standard for the gathering of
the clans, in the rebellion of 1745. In the churchyard
is a monument to the memory of Colonel John Cameron
of Fassfern, of the 9'2nd regiment of Scottish Highlanders,
who was killed at the battle of Waterloo. Evan
Me Lachlane, of the grammar school of Aberdeen, an
eminent scholar, who translated part of Homer's Iliad
into Gaelic verse, was a native of this parish.