LAGGAN, a parish, in the county of Inverness,
10| miles (W. S. W.) from Kingussie; containing VZOl
inhabitants. This parish derives its name from the
Gaelic word Lag, signifying " a small round hollow or
plain ". It is situated on the river Spcy, and is twentytwo
miles in length from north to .south, and of about
the same breadth from cast to west; comprising an area of
'256,000 acres, of which '25,660 are occupied by wood, 1700
under cultivation, and the remainder mountain and hill
pasture and waste. The elevation of the district is
nearly the highest in Scotland, and the surface is marked
by the greatest possible diversity of features. There
are several chains of very lofty eminences, embosoming
level and fertile tracts ornamented richly with wood and
water; and in some places is a display of picturesque
and romantic scenery that is almost unrivalled. The
locality takes its principal character from the wild and
imposing aspect of the mountains, of which, at a distance,
it appears entirely to consist; but upon a nearer
approach, the interesting vale of the Spey is seen, dressed
in verdure, stretching east and west for about twenty
miles, and measuring between one and two miles in
breadth. This vale is bounded on the north by the
Monadlia, an immense ridge rising 3000 feet above the
level of the sea, in some parts thirty miles broad, and
reaching to the east for more than eighty miles. To
the south is the interesting chain called the Benalder
mountain, of equal height with the former, and once the
resort of numerous herds of deer, which some years ago
receded before the flocks of sheep that were being pastured
upon its surface. About the year 1843 it was again
converted into a deer-forest.
Tbese majestic elevations are relieved hy the expanse of
Loch Laggan, eight miles long and one mile broad, from
which views are obtained of the peaks and forms of the
different members and masses of the Benalder range
especially. The hills of Drummond separate the vale
of the Spey from the vale of this loch. The principal
loch, however, in the parish is Loch Ericht, upwards of
twenty miles in length and nearly two in breadth, extending
southward from Dalwhinnie, and dividing the
ancient forest of Drumochtor, on the east, from that of
Benalder on the west: about one-third of it is in the
parish of Fortingal. In 1746 the Pretender was concealed
with some of his companions, for the space of
two weeks, near the banks of this sheet of water; and
from this spot he set out for the ship which conveyed
him to France. The mountain springs and rivulets are
very numerous, and occasionally pour down their torrents
with prodigious rapidity, swelling the burns and
rivers below, to the destruction of crops, bridges, and
tenements. In general the streams contain good trout,
and, like the lochs, in which there are pike, afford fine
sport to anglers. Salmon come up to spawn as far as
Loch Spey, where the river of that name rises, in the
western part of the parish.
The SOIL in the valleys is alluvial, in some places ten
or twelve feet in depth, and, when the season is propitious,
producing heavy crops of bear, oats, and potatoes, as
w<!ll as sown and natural grasses. The climate, however,
is highly unfavourable to agriculture; frost, snow, and
rain often delaying the timely sowing, and destroying
the fruits of the ground before they are ripe. No
regular system of husbandry is followed: the short
leases, and the precarious nature of the in-gathering,
discourage the expenditure of capital and the labours of
industry j and the ordinary methods of improving land
and recovering waste ground are neglected for the appropriation
of the farms to ])asture, which is found to
l)e more profitable. About 40,000 sheep are usually
kept, mostly of tlie black-faced breed; black-cattle are
also reared, and in general sold when young to the southcountry
dealers. The late Duke of Gordon possessed
two-thirds of the lands, but this portion passed by sale
to other hands. The rents are determined by the number
of sheep pastured; the tenants generally expect that the
wool will produce sufficient to pay the landlord, and they
hold their farms either as tenants at will, or on leases
for a few years only. In this parish the rocks comprise
gneiss, an inferior kind of slate, and excellent limestone,
a bed of the last running through the centre: peat is
supplied by the mosses, and is the ordinary fuel of the
inhabitants. Most of the wood is natural, consisting of
alder, birch, hazel, and willow; the plantations are of
Scotch fir, birch, and several kinds of hard-wood, and
are chiefly in the vicinity of Cluny Castle. This mansion,
which is beautifully situated on the north side of
the Spey, was erected at the beginning of the present
century, on the site of an ancient castle burnt to the
ground by the king's troops in 1/46, soon after the
battle of Culloden, Cluny Macpherson, the owner, having
espoused the cause of Prince Charles Edward. The present
proprietor has in his possession, among many other
relics of antiquity, several pieces of armour worn by the
prince. The other mansions are, the fine shooting-seat
of the Marquess of Abercorn, situated at Ardverikie or
Ardveirge, on the border of Loch Laggan, in the midst
of richly-diversified scenery 5 Glentruim House, a modern
structure; and a residence on the verge of a loth at
Glenshirra. At Ardveirge, or " the Height of Fergus ",
tradition reports that one or more of the kings Fergus
were buried. They used to resort hither, as well as
others of the ancient kings, for the purpose of hunting;
and it is said that the dogs were kept on an island in
Loch Laggan called Eilean nan con, or " Dogs' island ";
near which, in the same loch, is another isle called
Eilean an Rigli, or "Kings' island". Her Majesty and
the royal family resided at Ardverikie for a short time
in the year 1847. The annual value of real property in
Laggan is £6951. The Highland mail passes and repasses
every day through one extremity of the parish:
there is also regular communication, by carriers, with
Perth, Kingussie, Fort-William, and Inverness, to the
two last of which places the marketable produce is sent.
The roads have been much improved since 1820; and
the parliamentary road from Fort-William, meeting the
Highland road at the bridge of Spey, near Kingussie,
was made about that time. There is a road from Dalwhinnie
to Fort- Augustus, round by Lochaber. Near the
church is a wooden bridge over the Spey; there is a stone
bridge on the line of the military road at Garvamore, and
two or three others cross the smaller streams.
Ecclesiastically the parish is in the presbytery of
AbertarfF, synod of Glenelg, and in the patronage of the
Duke of Richmond. Laggan church was built in 1843,
and contains about 600 sittings: the manse is also of
recent erection. The members of the Free Church have
a place of worship, and there is a chapel for Roman
Catholics. The parochial school affords instruction in
the usual branches; the master has a salary of £34, with
a house, £2 in lieu of a garden, and about £W fees. A
small school is supported by Lady Abercorn. A silver
coin of the reign of Henry II. has been found. In the
middle of the parish is a very lofty perpendicular rock,
with the remains of a fortification on its summit; and
at the east end of Loch Laggan, the ruins of the old
church are still to be seen. Lachlan Macpherson, Esq.,
one of the coadjutors of James Macpherson in collect-
ing the poems of Ossian, and also himself a very superior
Gaelic poet, was born and buried in the parish.
Mrs. Grant, the poetess, resided for some time here,
with her husband, the Rev. James Grant, formerly parochial
minister. She was one of the last survivors of
those who met Dr. Johnson while on his tour, being
at that time a resident at Fort-Augustus, and in her
eighteenth year; and she used frequently to describe to
her friends the strong impression made on her mind by
the singular appearance of the great moralist.