Donald Morrison

Donald Morrison (15 March 1858 – 19 June 1894) was a Canadian outlaw, convicted of manslaughter, who became a folk hero.

Early life Morrison was the son of Scottish immigrants to Canada from the Isle of Lewis. He was born in the Canadian Gaelic-speaking immigrant community near Lac-Mégantic in Canada East. At the age of 20, Morrison moved to Western Canada and the United States where he learned the cowboy trade, and became skilled both with guns and horses. The money he earned was sent home to help pay for the family farm.

Criminal activity A newspaper article from 1889 details the complicated dispute that led to Morrison’s downfall. His father, Murdo Morrison, had mortgaged the family farm to Malcolm MacAulay, who allegedly exploited Murdo’s illiteracy by substituting a higher debt obligation than intended. When repayment failed, the land was seized and sold to a buyer named Duquette. . The killing confirmed Morrison’s reputation as an outlaw and prompted the government to intensify efforts to capture him.

The longest manhunt in Canadian history then followed.

Morrison was hunted in the wilds of Lac-Mégantic from June 1888 until April 1889; for 10 months he evaded lawmen. Much of the time he was hidden by sympathetic supporters in the Scotstown community. He was sent to Bordeaux Prison, his mustache shaved off, and he was given the roll number 2329.

In 1890, while imprisoned at the St. Vincent de Paul Penitentiary, Morrison was visited by Archibald McKillop, the Blind Bard of Megantic, who offered him spiritual counsel and left him a book.

In April 1890, Morrison was described as haggard and melancholy, suffering from pain in his wounded leg, poor health, and a sense of hopelessness. Prison officials noted he had once nearly lost his sanity but was stabilized with the help of the prison chaplain and deputy warden.

Morrison is buried in The Gisla Cemetery in present-day Milan, QC.

Legacy A yearly festival is held in the Donald Morrison domaine to commemorate Donald Morrison and the Scottish Gaelic-speaking pioneers of the Megantic area. His story was romanticized in poem-form in the book The Canadian Outlaw (1892) by Oscar Dhu (Angus Mackay), Donald Morrison 'The Megantic Outlaw''' (1948) by Henry G. Kidd, Ron Kelly's 1971 television film The Megantic Outlaw, and in The Outlaw of Megantic (1973) by Bernard Epps. His life is the subject of a Gaelic-language concept album The Megantic Outlaw (2007) by Calum Martin. The 78th Fraser Highlanders Pipe Band has issued a CD entitled, "The Megantic Outlaw Concert." A Gaelic novel by Calum MacLeòid was published in 2020: "Fon Choill."

In 2016, the municipality of Milan opened The Donald Morrison Interpretation Center at 891 chemin Gisla, about 4 kilometers from The Gisla Cemetery on the same road. The Interpretation Center houses artifacts from Donald Morrison himself and his family. The Interpretation Center is open only on Saturdays from June to September. Gallery