In the previous post, Kate was calling after John in the morning fog, as he was walking away from Ronachan House. We will pick it up from there.
"John! Wait up--I have something for you!"
When Kate heard no answer, she started to run. A minute later, she stopped to catch her breath and called again. "John!"
A voice came out of the fog, "Sis?"
His voice startled her. He was closer than she had realized.
"John, I couldn't let you leave without giving you something."
She thrust into his hands a packet wrapped in butcher paper. "What's this?"
"Just a little something for your trip."
John opened it and his eyes widened. It was a small round of cheese and some bread!
She also handed him two shillings and some pennies. "You'll not have time to walk to Tarbert. This will pay for a coach ride to Campbeltown and you can catch a ship from there."
John took the coins and his sister's advice. The road to Campbeltown ran close to Ronachan House, and Kate was there to see him off. As he opened the door of the coach, he turned for one last hug, then stepped up and climbed in. He smiled at her through the window.
"I can never repay you for all the years you've watched out for me!"
Kate smiled. "Sure you can. Just name one of your daughters after me."
The coachman said, "Giddyap!" and the horses started off.
John called back, "Only if you name one of your sons after me!"
"It's a deal!"
As the coach rolled along the dirt road, John became pensive. He had not even started his apprenticeship, yet his thoughts were occupied by what he would do when he finished. Should he join his mother's family in Upper Canada and help build a new community? Or should he, as Aunt Mary suggested, come back to Clachan, open a smithy, and contribute to the community there? Oh well, lots of time to consider that. If he focused on being the best he could at whatever he did, opportunities would arise.
Campbeltown soon came into view. John could see the distilleries' chimneys in the distance and smell peat smoke. When they arrived, he noticed how the buildings were blackened with soot. He climbed down from the coach and made his way to the harbour. At the pier, he saw the red, black-topped funnel of the steamer Saint Kiaran. [2] Next to the pier, he saw a shanty with a sign that read:
Campbeltown & Glasgow Steam Packet Co.
--Fares Within--
John walked into the small office and said, "I'd like to purchase a ticket to Glasgow."
"That'll be four shillings," the ticket agent said.
John boarded the ship. At 115' long x 19' wide, it carried cargo and passengers--up to 220 when full, but few passengers were on board this trip. The smokestack billowed, the steam was up, and the paddles began to slap the water. The steamer pulled out of Campbeltown Loch, toward the Firth of Clyde.
As in previous posts, the italicized font indicates a flight of fancy. John's goodbye to Kate depicts the closeness evidenced throughout their lives. Only months before, the 1841 census indicated Kate was living and working at Ronachan House as a servant. Servants rarely left their employer's premises, so this goodbye may have taken place there. John’s actual route from Clachan to Glasgow is lost to history, but the main options in the 1840s were walking, horse-drawn carriage, boat, and train.
John did not likely walk, for the land route was long, and coach and steam packet routes were well established. Assuming he took a ship, Tarbert and Campbeltown were the closest harbours. The village of Tarbert was closer but had a smaller port and fewer ships coming and going. Campbeltown was larger (although its population was likely less than 2,000) and had a busier port. Boats frequently transported passengers and goods to and from Glasgow. The most common freight was whisky, due to Campbeltown's abundance of distilleries.
In spite of the high number of distilleries, Campbeltown had an unusually high number of churches. In an effort to have the clergymen turn a blind eye to the production and consumption of the "devil’s drink," distillery owners donated their wealth to build churches. It seemed to work. Back in Clachan, excessive drinking was also an issue, but there was no such collusion with Reverend MacArthur. He spoke harshly against it, as did most parish ministers at the time. So, why was there such a concentration of distilleries?
Campbeltown had access to an ample supply of barley and peat to fuel the fires for malting. The local geography was conducive to illicit activity, for the rugged terrain made it easy to hide in nooks and hills. When the excise officers did come around, moonshiners would signal each other from the hilltops, buying time to shut down their operation and hide the still. Campbeltown's port made it easy to take the product to market. Therefore, Campbeltown had the skills and resources. All it needed was a break on the distillation taxes.
That break came in 1823. The government passed legislation to reduce the tax on distilling liquor so a distillery could afford the tax and make a profit. In the next twelve years, 28 new legal distilleries sprang up in Campbeltown. By comparison, all of England’s legal distilleries totalled somewhere between 11 (in 1830) and 17 (1840). Campbeltown soon touted itself as "The Whisky Captial of the World" and was reportedly the richest town (per capita) in Britain by the end of the 19th century. [4]
Campbeltown's port was busy, and business was brisk with the new steamships. The industrial age was making huge advances each year in transportation. In 1842 alone, numerous steamships were built in nearby Port Glasgow and many train stations were established in the counties John would travel through en route to Glasgow. He probably marvelled at these developments and inventions even though we do not know which ones he actually used.
We only know what Frank Darroch tells us, which is simply, "In 1842 he went to Glasgow to learn the trade of blacksmithing." [5]
References:
[1] A History of Campbeltown & Islay (Edinburgh: Edinburgh Whisky Academy, 2021), 5. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5e186ac1195bae1b12f4ee49/t/5e9872197b4f3d12f6c61b53/1587049002461/A_History_of_Campbeltown_and_Islay_ (retrieved January 31, 2022).
[2] My original story imagined John embarking on Duke of Cornwall. I discovered, however, John likely arrived in Glasgow before it was registered. Since John completed his seven-year apprenticeship before his wedding in June of 1849, he must have started before June of 1842. Duke of Cornwall was registered in August of that year. Therefore, I have selected another possible candidate, Saint Kiaran. It had been serving Campbeltown and Glasgow since 1836. (The italicized portions are historical fiction, and I strive to keep the history accurate.)
[3] Photo of a steamer being loaded in Campbeltown Harbour, unknown date. https://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2021/02/glen-scotia-seeks-victorian-images-of-campbeltown/ (retrieved January 31, 2022).
[4] The Campbeltown Boom and Bust, https://whiskystories.com/2017/06/11/the-campbeltown-boom-and-bust/ (retrieved January 25, 2022).
[5] Frank Darroch, A Darroch Family in Scotland and in Canada, (1974), 61-62.