ere to be sent to the army in the Low Countries, that others
were to be transported to the American plantations, and that those
Macdonalds who were suffered to remain in their native valley were to be
disarmed and required to give hostages for good behaviour. A plan very
nearly resembling this had, we know, actually been the subject of much
discussion in the political circles of Edinburgh. [230] There can be
little doubt that William would have deserved well of his people if he
had, in this manner, extirpated not only the tribe of Mac Ian, but every
Highland tribe whose calling was to steal cattle and burn houses.

The extirpation planned by the Master of Stair was of a different kind.
His design was to butcher the whole race of thieves, the whole damnable
race. Such was the language in which his hatred vented itself. He
studied the geography of the wild country which surrounded Glencoe, and
made his arrangements with infernal skill. If possible, the blow must
be quick, and crushing, and altogether unexpected. But if Mac Ian should
apprehend danger and should attempt to take refuge in the territories of
his neighbours, he must find every road barred. The pass of Rannoch must
be secured. The Laird of Weems, who was powerful in Strath Tay, must
be told that, if he harbours the outlaws, he does so at his peril.
Breadalbane promised to cut off the retreat of the fugitives on one
side, Mac Callum More on another. It was fortunate, the Secretary wrote,
that it was winter. This was the time to maul the wretches. The nights
were so long, the mountain tops so cold and stormy, that even the
hardiest men could not long bear exposure to the open air without a roof
or a spark of fire. That the women and the children could find shelter
in the desert was quite impossible. While he wrote thus, no thought that
he was committing a great wickedness crossed his mind. He was happy in
the approbation of his own conscience. Duty, justice, nay charity and
mercy, were the names under which he disguised his cruelty; nor is it by
any means improbable that the disguise imposed upon himself. [231]

Hill, who commanded the forces assembled at Fort William, was not
entrusted with the execution of the design. He seems to have been a
humane man; he was much distressed when he learned that the government
was determined on severity; and it was probably thought that his heart
might fail him in the most critical moment. He was directed to put a
strong deta