THE chief of the Clan MacDonald, Lord Godfrey MacDonald of MacDonald,

is offering North Americans a chance to ''honor'' their ancestors who

fell at the Battle of Culloden in 1746 by buying into a Culloden

Memorial Garden at his Skye hotel -- 100 miles from the battlefield.

An advert in the December issue of the Highlander magazine which

circulates in the US and Canada advises of an ''opportunity so special

it comes only once every 250 years''.

It explains: ''The centrepiece of the Garden is a Memorial Stone for

all those who fell at Culloden. Placed around this stone will be

individual memorials dedicated to those families whose forebears are

forever linked to the tragic circumstances of that battle. For

generations to come, your personal plaque or stone will honor (sic) your

ancestors or your present family members.''

Honouring forebears at Kinloch Lodge on Skye's Sleat Peninsula won't

come cheap, however: ''Memorial Stones and Plaques are available to

individuals, families or corporations in three options of style and size

starting at $250.'' Readers are advised to act quickly. For those who

take pride in their Highland heritage, ''nothing you do today could be

more important''.

Lord Godfrey also explains the site is ''as dramatic as the battle

itself'' and ''particularly appropriate for those whose forebears are of

Clan Donald descent''.

What the advert doesn't explain is that Lord Godfrey's own forebear,

Sir Alexander MacDonald of Sleat, was not actually at Culloden and,

despite having Jacobite sympathies, was officially on the Hanoverian

side.

According to clan historian Norman H MacDonald, the decision not to

take the Sleat MacDonalds out for the Jacobites may even have been taken

by Sir Alexander at a house on the site of the present hotel.

Lord Godfrey was not at Kinloch yesterday. Astaff member told The

Herald he was away on ''a few weeks' holiday'' and could not be

contacted.

He did, however, talk to the local West Highland Free Press earlier

this week, when he said the garden would mark his 25 years ''as high

chief'' as well as the 250th anniversary of Culloden.

He said some people might think he was just cashing in on the events

in 1746 but added: ''I would think that, by the time we have created the

garden, I will make very little indeed out of it. That is not the

idea.''