Some of the most noted triumphs of the gospel have been among those that were the despised of this world. God has chosen the weak things of this world to confound the things that are mighty. He has chosen the base things. He has chosen things that were not that He might bright to nought things that were, that no flesh might glory in His presence. One such trophy of gospel power and grace lived in the Highlands fifty years ago, and the memory of Angus of the Hills is still fresh among the people of the North Western Islands.
He was born before the year 1810, in the parish of Uig, in Lewis. His father at that time lived in the village of Carishader, but when Angus was a few years old he removed to a lonely place among the hills of Uig at the head of Loch Hamanaway. It was owing to this place being Angus’ home in his youth that he got his name Angus of the Hills, for when he began to come among other people he had come from the hills. His true name was Angus Macleod.
In his childhood Angus seemed to be a hopeless idiot. A friend who knew him as a boy used to tell that he could not count his own fingers, and could be trusted with nothing, so senseless was he. Near his father’s house at the head of the loch there was a rough dyke of stones enclosing a part of the shore. At high water the tide covered this dyke. The dyke was one of Angus’ favourite places for amusing himself. He was in the habit of crossing it on his hands and knees. This he would do whether the tide was in or out, and so he frequently put his life in danger, though all unconscious of the danger. When he came home after crossing the dyke at high water he would throw himself on the earthen floor of his father’s house, before the turf fire, and allow himself to dry there. Angus was not the only idiot in the family. Two sisters of his seemed, like him, to be sunk in hopeless idiocy. They spent their days at the fireside, and did not move from it. Angus, however, was of a wandering disposition, and sometimes found his way to the populous part of the parish of Uig.
In the year 1824 the late Rev Alexander Macleod, who died as minister of Rogart, came to Uig as parish minister. The parish was then very dark.
There was scarcely a Bible to be found in it from one end to another. The minister, of course, had a Bible and Psalm Book. The precentor too had a Psalm Book. Some others may have had English Bibles, but Gaelic was the language of the people, and the people were ignorant of the Word of God. Shortly before Mr Macleod came to Uig, a young lad, afterwards an honoured minister of the gospel, came to be concerned about his soul. He went to the then minister for counsel and guidance. The minister concluded that he was going out of his mind, and treated him so when he repeated his visit to the manse. This lad, in order to find a Bible, had to walk all the distance from Uig to Stornoway to get it. When this was the state of the parish Mr Macleod found uphill work before him when he came among the people. The Lord, however, countenanced his labours, and a blessed awakening took place. Many were added to the Lord of such as should be saved. Among these was Angus of the Hills. Prompted, whether by curiosity or by some other motive, Angus began to frequent the services that were being held in Uig. He was thus frequently away from home, but he was scarcely missed, as though he had now grown up to be a young man, he was of little use to his father. When, however, the light of the gospel dawned upon his dark mind his natural faculties were improved considerably. So much was this the case that the remark used to be made about him that he received double wisdom at once — spiritual and natural. Not that at any time he had much natural wisdom, only the measure of it that he had he received at this time. As now he had some sense he began to be useful to his father, and could be trusted with such work as herding cattle, and as he was useful, his opportunities of wandering away from home were lessened. His absence was grudged. At home, however, he showed himself a man of prayer, and that at times to such an extent that when he was engaged in his devotional exercises the cattle of his charge found their way into his father’s patch of corn.
The measure of natural wisdom he received did not serve to make him uniformly useful to his father, though it made him useful in comparison with what he had once been. He still had no sense about money. He did not understand its use very well up to the end of his days.
A fair measure of liberty was allowed him when he proved himself unable to keep the cattle out of the corn, and this liberty he availed himself of. He was frequently in Uig, attended the preaching of the Word of God, and sought the society of those that feared God. At this time the late Rev John Macrae, better known as Big Macrae, was parish teacher in Uig, and to him Angus became very much attached. When Mr Macrae became minister of the quoad sacra charge of Cross, Angus came to see him, and
spend some time with him. One day he was herding Mr Macrae’s cattle, and when praying in secret, let the cattle stray. Mr Macrae came out, and found things not as they should be. He found Angus, and addressed a few words to him about the charge committed to him. As long as he was entrusted with it he should watch it sharply. Angus listened to the rebuke and when it was done he quietly added, “Let him that righteous is me smite, it shall a kindness be; let him reprove, I shall it count a precious oil to me. Such smiting shall not break my head.” He could not read, yet his faculties were so strengthened that the Word of God dwelt richly in him. At this time Mr Macrae wished him to learn to read that he might have the Bible for himself. Angus was entrusted to the late Angus Morrison of whom we have already given an account in these pages. Lesson after lesson was given, but the pupil proved intractable. He began with the first Gaelic reading book. A and B he could make out, and he could combine them and say AB, ab. These preliminary steps, however, wearied him. He saw no sense or substance in these things, and at last, wearied with his lessons, he cried out, “A B, ab, I see nothing here about God or about Christ or about the soul. I should prefer to be praying behind the hillocks than to be at this. This is as dry as cork to my soul.” He never learned to read. But his attention to God’s Word preached and read stored his memory with its truths, and he was able at times to make use of the sword of the Spirit to good purpose, as there are cases known of people being awakened to concern about eternal realities through his words. At one time he attended a meeting at Loch Roag, in Lewis, and before it dismissed he addressed the people somewhat to this effect — “Poor Angus will be a witness against you if you reject the Word of God. You know him and his weakness. You have your natural faculties, and he has not, so this will be your increased guilt if you do not make use of faculties that were never given to him.”
On one occasion he was at a prayer meeting, and was called on to engage in prayer, and refused. After the meeting was over a friend asked him why he refused to pray in public when asked. “Ah,” he said, “if you only knew how miserable I was in myself you would not ask that”. “But,” said his friend, “Jonah prayed even when he was in the whale’s belly.” “Yes,” said Angus, “that was Jonah; he was in the whale, but the case was otherwise with me. The whale was in me.” On another occasion he was sitting at the communion table, and when the elder came where he was for the token Angus had none. “Have you lost your token?” said the elder. “No,” said Angus, “I have only lost the bit of lead.” He had not lost his “token for good”.
Angus did not confine his wanderings to Lewis. He travelled in Skye, Mull and the mainland of Ross-shire. When the late Rev Peter Maclean was minister of Tobermory, Angus found his way there at communion seasons. Mr Maclean belonged to Uig, and so Angus knew him all his days. He also visited Lochalsh in the days of Mr Lillingston, the godly proprietor of that district. By Mr Lillingston and his like-minded wife Angus was kindly received and welcomed. Mr Macleod, his old pastor, was for some time minister of Lochalsh, and this probably accounted for Angus’ first visits to that district. After Mr Macleod left Lochalsh for Rogart, Angus lived chiefly in the Isle of Skye. He became very much attached to the late Rev Roderick Macleod, minister of Snizort. On one occasion he was standing near Mr Roderick’s church in Snizort, and one person remarked to another, pointing to him, “There’s one that wants something.” “Yes,” said Angus turning, “I do want something. I want Jesus Christ, the true bread, that came down from heaven.” On another occasion he was at table either in Mr Roderick’s house or in Mr Lillingston’s — for stories are apt to get confused when handed down by word of mouth — the remark was made to him, “Might not you be proud, Angus, when the lady of this house asked you to her table?” “Indeed,” said he, “she might rather think much of the grace that humbled her so that she would take poor Angus to her table.”
Various stories are on record of his wonderful answers. These however, should suffice to show what an uncommon man Angus from the Hills was. It is related that on one occasion a famous preacher who did not know Angus, was preaching along with Mr Roderick Macleod. When Angus was pleased with the sermon he heard, he sometimes rose in the congregation when the service was over to exhort the people to lay what they had heard to heart. He rose on this occasion, and began to speak. The stranger was surprised, and asked Mr Macleod who this man was, and told him to ask him to be quiet. “Ask him to be quiet yourself,” said Mr Macleod. The stranger rose and asked Angus who gave him authority to speak in that congregation. “The minister,” said Angus, “of the holy place and of the true tabernacle that the Lord pitched and not man, and neither you nor any other person will put me quiet.”
He was altogether an exceptional man. He was holy and circumspect in his life, and bore witness to the truth and power of the gospel in the hearts of the people. His life on earth was not very long, and though about forty years have passed away since he entered into his rest, his memory is yet green, and is likely to remain. Many anecdotes are related of him, and this tribute is paid to his memory that some that never heard of him
before may know that such a man lived, may learn the lesson of his life, and praise the grace that called him and kept him to God’s eternal kingdom.
He died in Skye, and is buried there in the churchyard of Uig. Some years ago an inundation of the river swept away a great part of this graveyard, but the corner where Angus’s body rests in hope of a glorious resurrection remained untouched. In Lewis he was born, in Skye he died and was buried, and in both islands alike we trust that it will be long ere his worthy memory shall fade. The weak things are chosen to confound the mighty and grace triumphs in their victory. JM
(From F.P. Mag. Vol. II)