Scotland’s most famous outlaw is undoubtedly Rob Roy MacGregor.

Rob has inspired countless books since Walter Scott’s novel Rob Roy and, a decade ago, was the subject of a successful Hollywood film. But who knows that a century after Rob Roy’s death in the 1730s, there existed an equally colourful bandit in the Scottish Highlands, Ewan MacPhee of Glenquoich? Surprisingly, we know less about MacPhee than we do about Rob Roy’s well documented life Even the precise date of Ewan MacPhee’s birth is not known, though it took place in Glenquoich at a place called Corrie Bhuidhe, in the 1780s. His father, like many of the broken MacPhee clan, was a small time outlaw who was reputedly ‘out’ with the Jacobites in the 1745 Uprising.

Ewan was born on the ancestral lands of the MacDonnells of Glengarry. Previously tainted with Jacobitism themselves, the MacDonnells were anxious to prove their loyalty to the Hanoverian dynasty and forcibly enrolled many of their tenants in the militias raised to fight in the Napoleonic Wars. One of these so pressed, around the year 1808, was Ewan.

Little is known of his military service, though some of MacDonnell’s recruits saw service overseas. MacPhee deserted his regiment, a capital offence in wartime, after reputedly striking – some versions say killing – an officer, another capital offence (I.R. Mitchell,Scotland Magazine).

He was apprehended at Fedden, near MacDonnell lands, but while enroute to prison at Fort William escaped. He became a local hero to the people of Lochaber; making a reputation for himself as a poacher during the time of the Highland Clearances.

Ewen Macphee lived for two years around the shores of Loch Arkaig before building a bothy on a small island in Loch Quoich, which has since born his name: Eilen Mhic Phee (translation from Scottish Gaelic: MacPhee's Island). Macphee then took for his wife a fourteen year old girl, who lived across the hill in Glen Dulochan. As time passed Macphee was feared and looked upon by the poor inhabitants of the glen as a seer. Macphee believed himself to have supernatural powers, he weaved charms and cattle were brought to him to be cured. As the years past neighbouring shepherds finally decided to put an end to Macphee's sheep stealing, and the sheriff sent two officers to confront Macphee. As the officers rowed to his island they were fired upon by Macphee's wife and the officers fled. A week later an armed party was then sent and Ewen Macphee was finally arrested and taken to prison, where he eventually died (wikipedia, "Clan MacFie").