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An Litir Bheag 905

Litir Bheag na seachdain sa le Ruairidh MacIlleathain. Litir 脿ireamh 905. This week's short letter for G脿idhlig learners.

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Sun 18 Sep 2022 13:30

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An Litir Bheag 905

Tha mi airson sgeul innse dhuibh 脿 taobh siar Le貌dhais. 始S e an t-ainm a th鈥� air Ceatharnach Shiaboist 鈥�The Shawbost Freebooter鈥�. Tha dreach dhen sgeul ann an cruinneachadh a rinn Tormod Moireasdan, Tormod an t-Se貌ladair.聽

Deas air Siabost, tha beinn air a bheil, air na mapaichean, Beinn Bhr脿gair. 始S e 鈥楤einn Mh貌r鈥� a chanadh Tormod rithe. Shuas an sin bha bothan cloiche. 始S e 鈥楤oth a鈥� Mh猫irlich鈥� a chanadh daoine ris. O chionn fhada, thog coigreach e. Chaidh e a dh鈥檉huireach ann. Cha robh fios aig daoine eile gun robh e ann.

Latha br猫agha samhraidh a bha seo, bha dithis a-muigh anns a鈥� mhonadh. B鈥� iad sin Alasdair Moireasdan, am mac a bu shine aig ceann-cinnidh nam Moireasdanach, agus a cho-ogha 脵isdean MacAmhlaigh. Bha iad a鈥� sealg. Ghabh iad rathad aithghearr dhachaigh tarsainn na Beinne M貌ire. Faisg air a鈥� mhullach, chunnaic iad am bothan. Bha plaide de bhreacan Cloinn 始ic Le貌id thairis air an doras.聽

Thug Alasdair Moireasdan s霉il a-staigh. Bha fear na chadal ann. Ri a thaobh, bha armachd. Bha am Moireasdanach dhen bheachd gur e fear-brathaidh a bh鈥� ann. Bha e a鈥� faighinn fiosrachadh mu na bailtean faisg air l脿imh 鈥� Siabost agus Br脿gar. Aig an 脿m sin, bha Clann 始ic Le貌id agus na Moireasdanaich nan n脿imhdean.聽

Dh鈥檉halbh an dithis. Roghnaich iad an s霉ilean a chumail air a鈥� Bheinn Mh貌ir. Cha tuirt iad c脿il mun ch霉is ri duine eile.

Mu mh矛os an d猫idh sin, bha dithis bhoireannach a-muigh a鈥� sgr矛obadh crotal bho chreagan. Bha iad air cliathaich na Beinne M貌ire. Chunnaic iad fear os an cionn. Bha e a鈥� gluasad air a l脿mhan 始s a ghl霉inean, feuch cumail am falach. Dh鈥檉halbh na boireannaich dhachaigh. Cha b鈥� fhada gus an robh fios aig a h-uile duine ann an Siabost is Br脿gar gun robh ceatharnach a鈥� fuireach air a鈥� Bheinn Mh貌ir.

Nise, mu sheachdain roimhe sin, bha b貌 aig fear, Ruairidh Dearg, air a dhol a dh矛th. Bha an crodh a-muigh air an 脿irigh, aig bonn na Beinne M貌ire. Nuair a chuala iad mun cheatharnach, shaoil muinntir an 脿ite gur esan a ghoid i. Leanaidh an sgeul an-ath-sheachdain.

The Little Letter 905

I want to tell you a story from the west of Lewis. It is called 鈥楾he Shawbost Freebooter鈥�. A version of the story is in a collection that Norman Morrison, Tormod an t-Se貌ladair, made.

South of Shawbost, there is a mountain which is called, on the maps, Beinn Bhr脿gair. It鈥檚 鈥楤einn Mh貌r鈥� that Norman called it. Up there was a stone bothy. It鈥檚 鈥榯he robber鈥檚 bothy鈥� that people called it. A long time ago, a stranger constructed it. He went to live in it. Other people didn鈥檛 know he was there.

One beautiful summer鈥檚 day, two people were out in the hills. They were Alasdair Morrison, the eldest son of the clan chief of the Morrisons, and his cousin, Hugh MacAulay. They were hunting. They took a shortcut home across the Beinn Mh貌r. Near the summit, they saw the bothy. There was a plaid of MacLeod tartan over the door.

Alasdair Morrison peered in. A man was sleeping there. Beside him were weapons. Morrison reckoned he was a spy. He was obtaining intelligence about the nearby villages 鈥� Shawbost and Bragar. At that time the MacLeods and the Morrisons were enemies.

The pair left. They chose to keep an eye on the Beinn Mh貌r. They didn鈥檛 tell anybody else about the matter.

About a month later, two women were out scraping lichen from rocks. They were on the slope of the Beinn Mh貌r. They saw a man above them. He was moving on his hands and knees in an attempt to remain hidden. The women went home. It wasn鈥檛 long until everybody in Shawbost and Bragar knew that there was a freebooter living on the Beinn Mh貌r.

Now, about a week before that, one of Ruairidh Dearg鈥檚 cows had gone missing. The cattle were at the shieling, at the base of the Beinn Mh貌r. When they heard about the freebooter, the local people reckoned he had stolen it. The story will continue next week.

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  • Sun 18 Sep 2022 13:30

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