Meg with the Muckle Mouth(1) and Meg in Her Braws (2) – these flamboyantly named flies were described in a previous issue of The Salmon Flyer (Vol. III, no. 2), courtesy of Marvin Nolte, who had quoted Ephemera's A Handbook on Angling (1847).(3) Marvin also provided definitions for "braws" and "muckle," suggesting a possible origin for these names. However, these flies first appeared in Days and Nights of Salmon Fishing in the Tweed (1843) by William Scrope.(4) Scrope not only recounted a very colorful story about Meg, but also presented a color plate of the flies.

In addition to the flies already mentioned, Scrope also gave the specifications for four others. These are the patterns he presented, as well as his comments:

"Two of these flies are of the masculine gender, three of the feminine, and one of the neuter. The masculine are Michael Scott and Kinmont Willie; the feminine, the Lady of Mertoun or the Flower of Yarrow, Meg with the Muckle Mouth in her usual dress, and Meg in her bravery--or, Scottice, braws. The fly of the neuter gender has been called Toppy from time immemorial."

Wings--Mottled feather from under the wing of a male teal.
Head--Yellow wool.
Body–fur of the hare's ear.
End of body–Red wool.
Tail--Yellow wool.
Round the body--Black-cock's hackle.

I found this fly very successful in the Annan when I lived at Kinmont, front which place it derives its name.

Wings--Mottled feather from under the wings of a male teal.
Head--Crimson wool.
Body--Water-rat's fur.
End of body--Crimson wool.
Tail--Yellow wool.
Round the body--Black-cock's hackle.
End of body--A little red hackle.

Wings--Black feather from a turkey's tail tipped with white.
Head--Crimson wool.
Body--Black bullock's hair.
End of body--Crimson wool.
Tail--Yellow wool.
Body--Black-cock's hackle.
End of body--Small piece of red cock's hackle.

I will now describe Michael Scott, a most killing wizard. ---"Chi veramente Delle magiche frodi seppe il gioco."(5)

Wings--Mottled feather from the back of a drake.
Head--Yellow wool, with a little red hare's fur next to it.
Body--Black wool.
End of the body--Fur from the hare's ear; next to the hare's ear crimson wool.
Tail--Yellow wool.
Round the body--Black-cock's hackle.
End of body--Red-cock's Hackle.
Round the body--Gold twist, spirally.

Wings--From the tail of a brown turkey.
Head--Crimson wool.
Body--Yellow silk.
End of body--Crimson wool.
Tail--Yellow or orange wool.
Round the tail--Red-cock's hackle.
Round the body--Gold twist; over it hackle mixed with colour, as above.

Wings--Light brown, from the wing of a bittern.
Head--Yellow wool.
Next the head--Mottled-blue feather from a jay's wing.
Body--Brown wool mixed with bullock's hair.
Towards the end of body--Green wool; next to that crimson wool.
Tail--Yellow wool.
Round the body--Gold twist; over that cock's hackle, black at the roots and red at the points.(6)

In his tenth chapter, Scrope vividly chronicled the following story, which gives new insight into the names Meg with the Muckle Mouth and Meg in Her Braws.

As in a deer forest, however extensive, every burn, rock, glen, moss, and mountain has its distinct appellation, so that you can describe with the greatest accuracy where a hart has been slain, or any signal event has happened; so in a salmon river, every stream and pool in which these delectable fish lie is called by a name that either distinguishes its character, or relates to some event or circumstance which tradition has not always preserved. Some casts are called after the names of persons who were drowned in them: there is one such, yclept(7) "Meg's Hole," some little distance above the Melrose bridge. I wonder who Meg was; but Charles Purdie, who is coming up the river, is right sure to tell me some nonsense or another anent(8) it, so I will sound him.

"Well, Charlie, I see you have been putting all the boats in place, so sit down upon the bank here and rest yourself: pulling a boat up a strong stream is hard work, and pulling several over is harder. Now tell me why the pool I fished the other day is called Meg's Hole, but stick to truth, mind, and do not let me hear any of your foolish tales."

"Aweel, then, I'll tell ye the hale truth. Ye'll hae heard o' Thomas the Rymer, him that in the days long gaen by lived at Erlston(*), and was taen awa' by the fairies, and is wi' them at this day; we hae Sir Walter's word for it. Black Meg of an enchanter; and Meg learned some awfu' words from him, and also power as a witch. Ae time she was seen sitting upon ane of the towers, aboon the Elfin glen, in the shape of a raven; an anither, she came doon to the Tweed at the gloamin' in the likeness of a lang-craiged heron, flapping her muckle wings, and uttering dreidfu' shrieks; and again she was a cormorant, perched upon the blastit tree on the moor. I have seen her mysel' mair than ance."

"Seen her, man! why you said she lived with Thomas the Rymer; and it is some centuries since he was taken away by the fairies."

"Aweel, aweel, that may be; but as sure as deid I aince saw her in her ain proper shape; and she had a long neb, (9) and a muckle mouth, and a red petticoat on, and she held a leister (10) under her oxter, (11) as if she war gaen to the burning; and wha kens but she may live till this day? for her died body was never found, nor the corpselight(**) seen. There are three towers on the muir a long way aboon the Elfin glen; ye'll hae sen them yoursel'; and Meg used to live in ane of these towers by turns: no one kent in which she was, and nobody cared to speer. At nightfall she would come doon to the glen to seek the three grey stanes(***) that the fairies cast their cantrips (12) with, and muckle scaith (13) she wrought,--rotting the sheep of ae body, and takkin the milk from the kye (14) of anither; so the lads waylaid her wi' flails, and pitchforks, and sic-like gear. They chased her aw the night in the glen, up and doon the braes and thickets, and through the water; but they could never grip her, and they came back at skreigh (15) o' day wi' torn plaids and broken shins, all covered wi' mire; and some o' them had a sair (l6) sickness afterwards, and repentit that they ever middled wi' her."

"Oh, of course; but what became of her at last, Charlie?"

"Why, then, when she persistit in her foul ways, some o' thae freebooters,(17) who feared neither witch, warlock, nor deil, made a raid into her country, and pit a fire round each of the towers(****), and made the ane she was in too het to haud her, and out she ran wi' awfu' yells, skelping ower the moor, and so down to the Elfin glen, where ane o' these same reivers, who had a flaming firebrand (18) in his hond, wounded her ahint wi' it; and the deidly nightshade still grows in the place where her blood was spilt. Then they drave her through the glen, and so doon the brae above a deep pool in Tweed, and pushed her in wi' a pole and a firebrand: so she cam to her end by wood, fire, and water.

"The pool was draggit in the mornin', but her body was never found; and many people watched all night for a lang time, and the corpse-light never appeared; nor was her wraith ever seen, except by mysel' and my feyther at Trequair, and Walter of Darnwick, who saw it howking a grave wi' many ither wicked spirits round it on the tap of Eildon Hills.

"So the pool goes by the name of 'Meg's Hole' to this day; and when ye howkit (19) the muckle sawmont (20) that ran ye doon to the Cauld pool, ye ken that her spirit tried to drive him through the farther arch of Melrose Bridge, but ye were owre (2l) canny for it."

(*)Formerly Ercildonn.

(**)When a dead body was lost, it was supposed that a light appeared over it at night, to indicate its position.

(***)These fairy stones, as they are called, are to be found in the Elfin glen, where the maid of Avenel is said to have appeared. This romantic spot belongs to Lord Somerville, and is in the ornamental grounds belonging to his house called the Pavilion. The stones are of a grey colour, and of various curious shapes, sometimes closely resembling articles in common use, such as tea cups, saucers, &c.; they are supposed to contain some charm, and are constantly sought for to this day by all sorts of people.

(****)The three towers are still standing in the place indicated.(22)

While this fantastic story added a certain charm to the story like this to have begun. A more credible, but less colorful account of Meg and her father, Sir Gideon Murray, (23) was written thirty-one years later in Sir Thomas Lauder's Scottish Rivers:

...But whilst we cannot afford to go into any general account of the merits of Sir Gideon in this place, there is an anecdote connected with him which cannot be too often recorded, as it is richly illustrative of the manners of the times.

A feud had for some time existed between the Murrays and the Scotts. In prosecution of this, William Scott, son of the head of the family of Harden, stole, with his followers, from his Border strength of Oakwood Tower on the river Ettrick, to lead them on a foray against Sir Gideon of Elibank. But Sir Gideon was too much on his guard for his enemies, and having fallen on them as they were driving off the cattle, he defeated them, took them prisoners, and recovered the spoil. His lady having met him on his return, and congratulated him on his success, ventured to ask him what he was going to do with young Harden. "Why, strap him up to the gallows-tree, to be sure," replied Sir Gideon. "Rout na, Sir Gideon," said the considerate matron, "would you hang the winsome young Laird of Harden, when ye have three ill-favoured daughters to marry?" "Right," answered the baron, "he shall either marry our daughter, mickle-mouthed Meg, or he shall strap for it." When this alternative was proposed to the prisoner, he at first stoutly preferred the gibbet" to the lady; but as he was led out to the fatal tree for immediate execution, the question began to wear a different aspect, and life, even with mickle-mouthed Meg, seemed to have a certain sunshine about it very different to the darkness of that tomb to which the gallows would have so immediately consigned him. He married Meg, and an excellent wife she made him, and they lived for many years a happy couple, and Sir Walter Scott came by descent from this marriage (25)...

Regardless of the events that actually transpired, one thing is certain: the gossip was so impressive that it continued for many, many years, as evidenced by Scrope's dedication of two of his flies to Meg.

Another interesting fact is that Scrope's descriptions of the flies contained several anomalies. For example, he used the term "end of body" twice when he disclosed the dressings for the flies numbered 2, 3, and 4. Also, the flies presented in his color plate did not follow his written account. Most notably was Meg with the Muckle Mouth; the plate showed a fur-bodied fly, while his specification called for silk. His less than accurate descriptions, as well as other data, possibly suggest that Scrope never even dressed a salmon fly. (26)

Scrope was probably greatly influenced by John Haliburton, who, in turn, was influenced by John Younger .(27) In the second edition (1860) of Younger's River Angling For Salmon And Trout, he accused Scrope of failing to give him credit for these flies. (28) He further stated that it was he, John Haliburton and a select few who had the propriety of being the first to use cow's hair (29) for the bodies. (30) Furthermore, he charged that Scrope mistakenly called for hackles, when cow's hair was picked out to simulate hackle.(31)

Based on the color plate appearing in Scrope's book and other pertinent information, I have translated into contemporary nomenclature what I believe are faithful renditions:

Tail--Yellow wool.
Butt--Red wool.
Body--Hare's-ear fur and a couple of turns of yellow wool at the shoulder.
Ribbing--Oval silver tinsel.
Hackle--A natural black cock's hackle.
Wing--Teal flank.
Head--Dark brown thread.

Tail--Yellow wool.
Butt--A very small coachman hackle.
Body--Muskrat fur and a couple of turns of crimson wool at the shoulder.
Hackle--A natural black cock's hackle wound closely.
Wing--Teal flank.
Head--Yellow thread.

Tail--Yellow wool.
Butt--A very small coachman hackle.
Body--Natural black cow's hair and a couple of turns of crimson wool at the shoulder.
Hackle--The cow hair should be picked out to simulate a hackle (see comments regarding Younger).
Wing--White-tipped black turkey tail.
Head--Yellow thread.

Tail--Yellow wool.
Butt--A very small coachman hackle.
Body--Black wool and a couple of turns of yellow wool then hare's fur at the shoulder.
Ribbing--Oval gold tinsel.
Hackle--A natural black cock's hackle.
Wing--Teal flank.
Head--Yellow thread.

Tail--Yellow or orange wool.
Butt--Crimson wool and a very small coachman hackle.
Body--Brownish black fur or wool.
Ribbing--Oval gold tinsel.
Hackle--A coachman hackle.
Wing--Natural brown turkey tail.
Head--Yellow thread.

Tail--Yellow wool.
Butt--Crimson wool then green wool.
Body--Brown wool mixed with black cow's hair and a couple of turns of yellow wool at the throat.
Throat--Jay.
Ribbing--Fine oval gold tinsel wound closely.
Hackle--Coch-y-bondhu (black roots, red tips) hackle.
Wing--Bittern: the light, mottled-brown feather from the wing, or oak-mottled turkey. Head--Brown thread.

Unlike the photos which accompanied the previous article in The Salmon Flyer, the consensus on the Tweed was that gaudy flies were ineffective.32When hackles were called for, a naturally colored one was the most likely candidate. Thus, when Scrope mentioned a "red" hackle, he probably meant a red rooster, or what is known today as a coachman. Even body fur was probably of a natural color, not dyed. When dyed materials were used they were not the brilliantly dyed colors (33) we think of today; the dyes in use at that time were natural dyes, which produced a softer shade. One caveat when considering Scrope's flies (or any other flies from this locale and period): patterns given were more flexible, hardly cast in stone.

1. muckle (variant of muckle): much, to a great degree; muckle-mouthed: having a big mouth (source A).

2. braws: best clothes (source A).

3. Ephemera (pseud.) [Fitzgibbon, Edward]. A Handbook of Angling, 1st ed. London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1847. pp. 319-321. (In the third edition [1853] there was no mention of these flies.)

4. Scrope, William. Days and Nights of Salmon Fishing in The Tweed. London: John Murray, 1843.

5. Scrope borrowed this quote from Dante, which translates: "the joker is truly a magical fraud" (PJC). Michael Scott was a "...wizard whose fame as a powerful magician had spread over most of Europe." (Days and Nights of Salmon Fishing in The Tweed, p. 183.)

6. Days and Nights of Salmon Fishing in The Tweed, pp 126128.

7. yclept: to call, name (source A).

8. anent: in reference to (source A).

9. neb: beak, mouth or nose (source A).

10. leister: a spear tipped with three or more barbed prongs for catching fish (source A).

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11. oxter: the space between the inside upper arm and the body, armpit (source A).

12. cantrips: a witch's trick, or mischievous/extravagant act (source A).

13. scathh, dialect, British variant of scathe: harm, injury, damage (source A).

14. kye: a cow (source A).

15. skreigh, chiefly Scottish variant of screech: to utter a high shrill piercing cry ... usually in terror or pain (source A).

16. sair: Scottish variant of sore or serve (source A).

17. freebooter: one that goes about plundering without the authority of national warfare, a member of a predatory band, a pillager or pirate (source A).

18. firebrand: a piece of burning wood (source A).

19. howkit: dug up, hollowed out (source A).

20. sawmont: a salmon (source B).

21. owre: Scottish variant of over, often used in combination as a verbal prefix.

22. Days and Nights of Salmon Fishing in The Tweed, pp. 224227.

23. Sir Gideon Murray was a direct descendent of the renowned Blackbarony family and the father of the first Lord Elibank. He possibly founded, or at least repaired and enlarged the family stronghold of Lord Elibank's ancestors, Elibank Tower. (Source: Lauder, Sir Thomas Dick. Scottish Rivers. Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas, 1874. pp. 70-71.)

24. gibbet: gallows, an upright post with a projecting arm for hanging the bodies of executed criminals in chains or irons (source A).

25. Scottish Rivers, pp. 71-72.

26. Ransome, Arthur. Mainly About Fishing. London: Adam & Charles Black, n.d. pp. 57-61. Younger, John. River Angling for Salmon and Trout, 2d ed. 1840. Kelso: J.&J.H. Rutherfurd, 1860. p. 15.

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27. Mainly About Fishing, p. 58. River Angling for Salmon and Trout, pp. 12-13.

28. River Angling For Salmon And Trout, pp. 13-14.

29. Younger used the name "kyloe": one of the small breed of cattle with long horns and reared in the Highlands and Western Islands of Scotland (source B), while Scrope used the name "bullock": a young bull; c castrated bull; a domestic bovine (cow)--(source A).

30. River Angling For Salmon And Trout, p. 15.

31. Younger, John. On River Angling For Salmon And Trout. 1840. New York: Arno Press, 1967. pp. 22-23.

32. Many writers of early and mid-19th century angling literature mentioned the use of "somber" flies in Scotland (the Tweed is one of the principal salmon rivers in Scotland):

"...my London tackle, which proved unseemly to the Scotchman. The flies, he said, were dressed like dancing dogs..."(Scrope, p. 104.)

"...inexperienced fishers are very unwilling to believe in the general propriety of sober coloured flies..."(Younger, 1st ed., p. 23.)

"...The Limerick flies are almost always very gaudy, and have silk bodies; whereas those tied in Dublin are usually of Mohair or fur, and much more sober in their colours, though still infinitely more showy than the Scotch salmon flies..."([Belton.] The Angler in Ireland: or An Englishman's Ramble through Connaught and Munster During The Summer of 1833, 2 vols. London: Richard Bentley, 1834. Vol. 1, p. 36.)

33. This does not imply that brilliant colors were unavailable: early nineteenth-century natural dyeing methods could produce all shades of color. Of course, one can achieve the same results with modern dyes, but this requires extremely careful mixing or the use of costly premixed dyes. Commercial dyes are already compound mixtures; this makes any further mixing both difficult and critical. Most of the materials that are available today are either dyed at the individual shops, of purchased from distributors already dyed. It would not be economically sound for a dealer to stock a myriad of shades just for an occasional sale. Also, natural dyestuffs fade quickly. But unlike modern dyes, they fade gracefully, producing a softer shade.

Source A--Gove, Philip Babcock (ed.). Webster's Third New International Dictionary. Springfield: Merriam-Webster Inc., 1981.

Source B--Murray, James A.H. (ed.). A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles. Oxford, 1914.