Howie (who was one of
his fellow sufferers), at which time one captain Ingles, with a party,
lay at the dean of Kilmarnock's, who sent out partie, on all hands, to
see what they could apprehend; and that night, a party, being out in
quest of some of the sufferers, came to Meadow-head, and from thence
went to another remote place in the muirs of Finwick, called Croilburn,
but finding nothing there, they went next to Lochgoin, as apprehending
they would not miss their design there; and that they might come upon
this place more securely, they sent about five men, with one serjeant
Rae, by another way whereby the main body could not come so well up
undiscovered.

The sufferers had watched all night (which was very stormy) by turns,
and about day-break the captain, on account of his asthmatical disorder,
went to the far end of the house for some rest. In the mean while, one
George Woodburn went out to see if he could observe any thing (but it
seems he looked not very surely), and going to secret duty instead of
this, from which he was but a little time returned, until on a sudden,
ere they were aware, serjeant Rae came to the inner door of the house,
and cried out, Dogs, he had found them now. The four men took to the
spence--James and John Howie happened to be then in the byre, among the
cattle. The wife of the house, one Isabel Howie, seeing none but the
serjeant, cried to them to take the hills, and not be killed in the
house. She took hold of Rae, as he was coming boldly forward to the door
of the place in which they were, and ran him backward out of the outer
door of the house, giving him such a hasty turn as made him ly on the
ground. In the mean while, the captain, being alarmed, got up, put on
his shoes (though not very hastily,) and they got all out; by which time
the rest of the party was up. The serjeant fired his gun at them, which
one John Kirkland answered by the like with his. The bullet passed so
near the serjeant, that it took off the knot of hair on the side of his
head. The whole crew being now alarmed, the captain and the rest took
the way for Eglesham muirs; and they followed. Two of the men ran with
the captain, and other two stayed by turns and fired back on the enemy,
the enemy firing on them likewise; but by reason of some wetness their
guns had got, in coming through the water, they were not so ready to
fire, which helped the others to escape.

After they had pursued them some time, John Kirkland