f
whom were of near kin to the laird and lady of Kingsburgh. Hard by are
the sources of Barbeque Creek, and not many miles down that stream stood
the old kirk, where the clansmen worshipped, and where Flora inscribed
her name on the membership roll.

Mount Pleasant stands in the very midst of the pinery region, and from
it in every direction stretches the great pine forest. Near this center
Allan Macdonald of Kingsburgh purchased of Caleb Touchstone a plantation
embracing five hundred and fifty acres on which were a dwelling house
and outhouses which were more pretentious than was then customary among
Highland settlers. The sum paid, as set forth in the deed, was four
hundred and sixty pounds. Here Flora established herself, that with her
family she might spend the rest of her days in peace and quiet. But the
times were not propitious. There was commotion which soon ended in a
long and bitter war. Even this need not have materially disturbed the
family had not Kingsburgh precipitated himself into the conflict,
needlessly and recklessly. With blind fatuity he took the wrong side in
the controversy; and even then by the exercise of patience might have
overcome the effects of his folly. Before Flora and her family were
settled in America the storm gave its ominous rumble. When Governor
Martin, who had deserted his post and fled to an armed cruiser in the
mouth of the Cape Fear river, issued his proclamation, Allan Macdonald
was among the first to respond. The war spirit of Flora was stirred
within her, and she partook of the enthusiasm of her husband. According
to tradition, when the Highlanders gathered around the standard Flora
made them an address in their own Gaelic tongue that excited them to the
highest pitch of warlike enthusiasm. With the due devotion of an
affectionate wife, Flora followed her husband for several days, and
encamped one night with him in a dangerous place, on the brow of
Haymount, near the American forces. For a time she refused to listen to
her husband's entreaties to return home, for he thought his life was
enough to be in jeopardy. Finally when the army took up its march with
banners flying and martial music, she deemed it time to retrace her
steps, and affectionately embraced her husband, her eyes dimmed with
tears as she breathed an earnest prayer to heaven for his safe and
speedy return to his family and home. But alas! she never saw him again
in America.

The rebellion of the Highlanders i