The hills and forests of the country afforded them numerous
secure hiding-places, whence they could issue in raids upon the insolent
foe.
From that time forward Wallace gave the English no end of trouble. One
of his first expeditions was against Hazelrigg, to whom he owed so
bitter a debt of vengeance. The cruel governor was killed, and the
murdered woman avenged. Other expeditions were attempted, and collisions
with the soldiers sent against him became so frequent and the partisan
band so successful, that Wallace quickly grew famous, and the number of
his followers rapidly increased. In time, from being a band of outlaws,
his party grew to the dimensions of a small army, and in place of
contenting himself with local reprisals on the English, he cherished the
design of striking for the independence of his country.
The most notable adventure which followed this increase of Wallace's
band is one the story of which may be in part legendary, but which is
significant of the cruelty of warfare in those thirteenth-century days.
It is remembered among the Scottish people under the name of the "Barns
of Ayr."
The English governor of Ayr is said to have sent a general invitation to
the nobility and gentry of that section of Scotland to meet him in
friendly conference on national affairs.
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