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23 August 2017

Picture the scene...

Hundreds of police officers are scouring the country looking for you.

In their eyes, you’re a murderer; an outlaw; a villain. You must be brought to justice.

To remain free from the clutches of the law, you’re going to need help.

Donald Morrison might have been born in Quebec, but he was part of a Gaelic-speaking community founded by Scottish immigrants. In his hour of need, that community rallied round to help one of their own.

The Morrisons, Murdo and Sophia, had left their home in Lewis in around 1840 to make a new life for themselves in Canada.

But the land they bought in the Eastern Townships of Quebec . The Morrisons ended up in considerable debt.

One of their sons, Donald, tried to help the family finances by taking other jobs as far afield as Western Canada and Texas. But his efforts were in vain and the Morrisons lost their farm to Major Malcolm Macaulay, .

An enraged Donald began harassing the new owners and .

He went in to hiding and the local police were unable to locate him.

An American whisky smuggler called Lucius (Jack) Warren was deputised and tasked with tracking him down.

Warren found the suspect in the town of Megantic in June 1888 but, when he tried to arrest him, .

Morrison fled and a huge manhunt was launched, with . Despite all this, Morrison was able to evade their clutches for nearly a year.

Morrison’s major advantage over the authorities was the support of the local Scottish community, including their shared tongue of Gaelic.

A small log cabin sits at the site of Donald Morrison’s capture

On one occasion, Morrison came close to capture but was able to escape the attentions of the authorities when he was warned in Gaelic, ‘’

A temporary truce in the search was negotiated and Morrison went to visit his parents in April 1889. But he had been tracked by a police officer and local guide.

When he emerged from their cabin, they shot shot Morrison and took him to prison on a specially-arranged train.

Five months later he was put on trial and found guilty of the manslaughter of Jack Warren.

He was sentenced to 18 years hard labour but did not survive long enough to see out his sentence after contracting tuberculosis. He died in 1894.

Morrison’s body was returned home for burial. Today, in a cemetery near the town of Milan in Quebec, sits a stone marking his grave. The name ‘Morrison’ is carved subtly out in the granite; underneath sits an image of his face alongside his striking nickname: The Megantic Outlaw.