Stand-off at The Fords of Arkaig - Aftermath

Aftermath

On the 20 September 1665, Cameron crossed the river to meet with his former enemy at the House of Clunes and to sign a contract for the sale of Loch Arkaig and Glen Loy, with Cameron and six friends paying in three instalments over two years. Along with 24 of their leading clansmen, the two chiefs saluted each other, drank together, and exchanged swords to mark the end of the feud. That afternoon Mackintosh marched in good order north from Clunes to Laggan.

Tradition had it that in more than three centuries, "a Mackintosh and a Cameron had never even spoken together", which of course ignored alliances such as that at the Battle of Inverlochy (1431). The Camerons considered it something of a Pyrrhic victory, as the pursuit of their claim to Arkaig and Glen Loy over the years had cost them lands worth four times as much. Cameron had problems raising the money, and was offered a loan by the Earl of Atholl in an attempt to curb the power of Argyll, but Argyll offered a similar loan at lower interest. However there were strings attached, Cameron had to pay £100 Scots in feu-duty and to acknowledge Argyll as superior of the lands. The Camerons were still paying rent to Argyll's factor in 1749.