High on Moulin Moor, by the rural road running between Pitlochry and Kirkmichael, there stands a simple memorial to a man caught out by bad weather. The stone, erected by a ‘few friends’, marks the final destination of 62-year-old shepherd/cattleman John Souter.
Souter, a shoemaker to trade, lived at Stronchavie, a remote farm where he was employed to tend to the sheep and cattle. Hailing originally from the village of Pitmiddle in Perthshire, he had no family but was well known and liked in the local area.
The day before his death, he attended Moulin Market, near Pitlochry. After the sales, he enjoyed a few drinks locally before setting off on foot for home, a journey of some seven miles. He was last seen at 7pm at Pitarig as he hiked up from Moulin onto the moor.
The walk was not an easy one, even in good conditions. However, on this night, a snowstorm rumbled across the exposed moorland, rendering the journey even more hazardous. Souter was described as a fit man known for feats of endurance and held a local record for the climb to the summit of Ben-y-Vrackie from Fishers Hotel in Pitlochry and back down again, which he completed in just 90 minutes.
However, a mile and a half from home, near Badno, he succumbed to the elements, collapsing in the middle of the road. Souter lay there all night in the snow, and his lifeless body was discovered the following morning by roadman Alexander Robertson as he travelled between Pitlochry and Kirkmichael.
Souter was removed to the mortuary in Pitlochry where the cause of death was recorded as ‘primarily syncope brought on by a chronically diseased state of heart and liver combined with too much to drink, too little food and exposure to perverse weather’. In short, he had lost consciousness, collapsed and died due to the cold weather.
Although he was buried in an unmarked grave in the cemetery in Pitlochry, friends decided to erect the memorial at the spot where he died as a mark of respect and to ensure he was not forgotten. The inscription on the stone reads: ‘In memory of John Souter who perished here in a snowstorm 3rd March 1897. Erected by a few friends’.
The farmhouse where Souter lived further down the glen still stands, although it is now abandoned and derelict.
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