This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1835 edition. Excerpt: ...chief raising his clan, cut off the Beatsons every one who possessed land to a man, except the young laird of Wat-kerrick, the son of the chief, whom he saved, and whose heirs inherit the estate to this day in a lineal descent. The original surname of the clan was Beatson, but from the familiar pronunciation it is now changed into Beattie. In the mean time, as soon as Lord Maxwell reached his troops, he despatched a number of private spies in search of the young heiress, and it was not long uatil they got a due to her, for a countryman named David Little informed them that " he had seen Jack o' Thickside cross at the Garwald water foot, on the evening of the 3d of July;--he was a' covered wi' blood, an' had a bit bloody bairn wawin' on afore him." One of the men then proceeded straight to Thickside by himself, and soon discovered that the missing child was indeed there, for John had only two sons nearly grown to men's estate. But all that the man could do, was to return and inform his lord, he having no further instructions than merely to discover where the child was. Some dispute that took place between Sir Richard Graham and Lord Maxwell, about the marching of the troops of the latter on such an expedition, crossed Maxwell so much that he was arrested on his journey, and shut up in Carlisle Castle as a rebel to the State, 'his troops marching "back to Nithsdale and. Galloway... While these things were going' on, there were some insinuations, spread against John of Thickside, and it was rumoured that he had murdered his kins-man and next neighbour, Rob of Cassock. He had got a strange child nobody knew how; he was covered with wounds, and it was perfectly well known that he had not been at the division of the spoil, nor the burying of the slain;...