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"a proclamation in the King of England's name, that all
manner of men should come in and make an oath to the King's
Majesty, every man at his peril. They all came and swore,
whereof I made a book, and sent it to the Lord Wharton, and
I so continued about ten days. And so making proclamation,
that whoso would come in and make oath, and lay in pledges
to serve the King's Majesty of England, should have our aid
and maintenance; and who would not, we would be on them with
fire and sword. Many of the lairds of Nidsdale and Galloway
came in and laid in pledges, but the town of Kirkobree,
being 24 miles from Dumfries, refused; insomuch that the
Lord Wharton moved me, if possible, to give the same town of
Kirkobree a preiffe to burn it. And so we rode thither one
night, and coming a little after sun-rising, they who saw us
coming barred their gates and kept their dykes; for the town
is dyked on both sides, with a gate to the wall's-ward, and
a gate to the over-end, and to the fellward; there we lited
on foot, and gave the town a sharp onset and assault, and
slew one honest man in the town with an arrow; in so much,
that one wife came to the dyke, and called for one that
would take her husband and save his life. Anthony Armstrong
being ready, said, "Fetch him to me, and I'll warrant his
life." The woman ran into the town and fetched her husband,
and brought him through the dyke, and delivered him to the
said Armstrong, who brought him into England and ransomed
him. The tutor of Bombye, near adjoining the said town,
impeached us with a company of men, and so we drew from the
town and gave Bombye the onser, where were slain, of our
part, Clement Taylor; of theirs three, and divers taken, the
rest fled. And so we returned, seized abut 2000 sheep, 200
kye and oxen, 40 or 50 horses, mares, and colts, and brought
the same towards Dumfries. The country behind the water of
Dee gathered and came to a place called the Forehead-Ford,
so we left all our sheep, and put our worst-horsed men
before our nowte and naggs, and sent 30 of the best horsed
to precke at the Scots if they should come over the water,
and I to abide with the standard in their relief; which the
Scots perceiving, stayed and came not over, so that we
passed that night to Dumfries, leaving the goods in safety
with men and a good watch. In the morning we repaired to the
goods, a mile beyond Dumfries, of intent to have divided and
dealt the booty, and some claimed this cow and that nagg
under assurance, and ran through the goods. Above all, one
man of the laird of Empesfielde came amongst the goods, and
would needs take one cow, and would be stopped by no man,
insomuch that one Thomas Taylor, called Tom with the Bow,
___ so that the blood ran down over his shoulders. Going to
his master there, and crying out, his master went with him
to the master Maxwell; the master Maxwell came with a great
rout after him, and brought the man with a bloody head to
me, saying with an earnest countenance, "Is this, think ye,
well, both to take our goods and thus to shed our blood?" I
considering the matter at present to be two for one, thought
best to use him and the rest of the Scots with good words
and fair speeches, for they were determined to have even
there given us an onset, and to have made that their
quarrel; so I persuaded him and the rest to stay themselves,
and for the man that hurt the other man, he should be
punished to the example of all others to commit the like,
giving him that gave the stroke sharp words before them, and
the goods should all be stayed, and none dealt till the next
morrow, and then every man to come that had any claim, and,
upon proof, it should be redressed; and thus witted every
man quietly for that time to depart. Upon this we all
agreed, and so we left the goods in safe keeping to come to
Dumfries about one of the clock in the afternoon, giving
every one of the garrison secret orders to put on their
sacks, and bridle and saddle their horses, and meet me
immediately at the bridge, and so they did. I sent 42 men
for the goods, and to meet me at a ford a mile above the
town where we brought the goods over, and so came by
Lochmaben and divided them that night, and brought them to
Cannonby, where we remained before; and thus with wiles we
beguiled the Scots.
"Considering Cannonby to be far from the enemy, for at that
time all Annerdale, Liddisdale, and a great part both of
Nidsdale and Galloway were in assurance,
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