DEER PARK RAIDERS, 1887

In November, 1887, several hundred crofters from the Pairc region staged a deer raid in protest at their treatment by The Matheson’s, landlords of the Lewis Estate.

Prior to the raid, many Pairc townships had been systematically cleared to give greater access to land that was regarded primarily as deer hunting ground. The boundaries of the deer forest widened as townships were cleared and tenants marginalised; crofters working the land for survival were regarded as a hindrance to sporting pleasure, and were treated accordingly.

Eisgen Lodge cica 1900

The raid was planned and co-ordinated by six men, amongst them Donald Macrae, the schoolmaster from Baile Ailein (Balallan). Already an eloquent spokesman for the Land League, Macrae also alerted sympathetic journalists in Glasgow with a three-word telegram: HUNT IS UP.

The raiders met Mrs Platt, the sporting tenant of Pairc, as they approached their agreed starting point. She invited them to Eisgean Lodge for food and drink. They declined and commenced with the hunt. In protest at the loss of their ancestral lands, they killed a large number of deer, many of which were distributed to the needy.

They spent the evening talking to journalists and explaining their grievances. Throughout the two-day raid, they maintained good relations with Mrs Platt and her gamekeepers, and went quietly to their homes when ordered to do so after the Sheriff had read the Riot Act.

Nevertheless, the authorities panicked and sent a contingent of police and marines to quell what they thought was a full-scale rebellion. Six were arrested and sent to trial in Edinburgh.

Widely regarded as savage and ignorant folk, the crofters distinguished themselves during the trial by their eloquent arguments for a fairer deal from the Lewis Estate. Their counsel successfully argued that no riot had taken place since the men were spread out over an area of 144 square miles. Although the judge was hostile in his summing up, all six were acquitted to loud cheers from the courtroom gallery. Donald Macrae was carried shoulder high through the streets and the raiders were entertained in the Prince of Wales Hotel in the evening.

Seven years later, the crofters were lighting bonfires to celebrate the Report of the Deer Forest Commissioners, which recommended a great reduction in the Highland areas given over to deer forest. Today, most of Pairc is still a sporting estate in private ownership.

In 1994, a cairn commemorating the Deer Raid was commissioned by a group called Cuimhneachain nan Gaisgeach (Commemoration of our Land Heroes). This impressive monument stands at the edge of Baile Ailein on the Tairbeart (Tarbert) to Steornabhagh road. Designed by renowned Scottish artist Will MacLean, the cairn has been built by stonemason Jim Crawford - a fitting tribute to one of the most peaceful, yet influential protests made in the history of the Crofters' Wars.

Angus 'Ease' Macleod at Cairn

Pairc Historical Society Archive

Further  detailed articles on the Deer Raid and subsequent trial at the High Court are available on this site.