An ancient standing stone of a slab form, about 12 or 13 feet high, 4 broad and about 10 inches in thickness. The Country tradition is, that it is a momento over the ashes of some ancient hero.
If you read that in 21st century English you get the impression the writer wasn’t that interested, complete with shrug. But perhaps it’s literally what the country people told him, in which case fair enough. Recorded in the Argyll Ordance Survey Name Books (1868-78).