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A certain man in Harris, named Miles, alias Cain, Morrison took the farm at Luskentyre at steelbow for some years, when Mr. MacLeod was tacksman there. Steelbow means that a person takes the farm with the stocking thereon and at the expiration of his term, he has to return the stocking as good and sufficient as when he got it. But at a Whitsunday term it so happened that Cain Morrison and Mrs. MacLeod fell out and in consequence Morrison was put out of the lands. But Mrs. MacLeod, not content with ejecting him, secured any effects of Morrison that she could get at, alleging that he was in her debt. Cain Morrison had shortly before this bought forty bolls of oatmeal from Campbell of Scalpay to supply the kelpmakers who had agreed with him to make the kelp attached to the Luskentyre farm. Mrs. MacLeod had seized this meal and locked it up in a storehouse at Luskentyre. So Cain Morrison went to Scalpay and told Mr. Campbell of the sudden change in his fortunes; and that unless Mr. Campbell could get the meal back from the lady who was so determined to keep it, he would never get paid for it.
Mr. Campbell told Cain Morrison to go home and that he would contrive to get back the meal. Next day, Campbell went to Luskentyre by boat and on landing there, he acquainted Mrs. MacLeod with his business. She disdainfully rejected all his arguments and telling him he should never have his meal again, she added that he must look to Cain Morrison for payment.
Campbell now went to his boat's crew and told them to go to the back of the storehouse where his meal was kept and while he engaged Mrs. MacLeod's attention on the other side, they were to open a hole through the thatch of the roof, take out the meal and carry it to the boat. Having so advised his men, Campbell went back to the house and again demanded his forty bolls of meal. Mrs. MacLeod boldly replied: "Black Kenneth, with all your art and tricks, you shall never get that meal." "Then," said Campbell, "in that case I'll break open the storehouse door and take away the meal, if you do not open the door yourself."
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