■ 
 
 CAPTAIN 
 CUELLAR'S 
 
 Jldvetimres m * 
 €onnachl $ Ulster 
 
 fl.D. 15«. * « * 
 
 A PICTURE OF THE TIMES, 
 
 DRAWN FROM CONTEMPORARY SOURCES. 
 
 By HUGH ALLINGHAM, M.R.I.A., 
 
 Member of the Royal Society of Antiquaries (/ret/sad); 
 Author of "Bally shannon : Its History and Antiqulttus, " 6ti 
 
 
 TO WHICH IS ADDED 
 
 fln Introduction and Complete translation of 
 
 CAPTAIN CUELLAR'S 
 
 narrative or m Spanish Armada 
 
 HIS ADVENTURES IN IRELAND. 
 
 T CRAWFORD, M.A., 1VLR.LA-, &c- 
 * Ulitb \Xm ana Illustrations. « « 
 
 STO'. K, 
 ?, Paternoster Row. 
 
 !8g7, , , , ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 
 
 TWO SHILLINGS NETT. 
 
1 /' 
 
 LIBRARY OF THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 
 
 PRINCETON, N. J. 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 1 U Y m . IcxlaI vc7i»n JJyke/. 
 
 BR 1725 .C83 A44 1897 
 Allingham, Hugh. 
 Captain Cuellar's adventure 
 in Connacht & Ulster, A.D. 
 
MAY 7 - 
 
 CAPTAIN CUELLA^ % " 
 
 ADVENTURES 
 
 IN 
 
 Connacht & Ulster 
 
 A.D. 1588. 
 
 A Picture of the Times, drawn from Contemporary sources. 
 
 By HUGH ALLINGHAM, M.R.I. A., 
 
 Member of the Royal Society of Antiquaries (Ireland); 
 Author of " Bally shannon : its History and Antiquities" &>c. 
 
 TO WHICH IS ADDED 
 
 An Introduction and Complete Translation 
 
 OF 
 
 CAPTAIN CUE LIAR'S 
 
 Narrative of the Spanish A rmada 
 
 AND HIS ADVENTURES IN IRELAND. 
 Bv ROBERT CRAWFORD, M.A., M.R.I.A., &c. 
 
 With Map and Illustrations. 
 
 LONDON: ELLIOT STOCK, 62, Paternoster Row 
 1897. . 
 
 [All Rights Reserved.} 
 
Printed by 
 M'Caw, Stevenson & Orr, Limited, 
 
 LlNENHALL WORKS, 
 
 Belfast. 
 
PART I. 
 
Note. 
 
 The favourable reception which was accorded to the paper 
 entitled "The Spanish Armada in Ulster and Connacht," 
 which appeared in Vol. I., Part III., April, 1895, of The 
 Ulster Journal of Archeology, and the continued interest in 
 the subject, which seems rather to increase as the literature 
 becomes more extensive, has induced me to re-write the 
 paper, and add much information I was not possessed of 
 when the first paper was printed. Mr. Crawford's most 
 valuable contribution, which forms the second part of this 
 book, should at least justify the present publication. To 
 Francis Joseph Bigger, M.R.I. A., my best thanks are due 
 for the use of copious notes and references, which have been 
 of material assistance. 
 
 HUGH ALLINGHAM. 
 Ballyshannon, May, 1897. 
 
CAPTAIN CUELLAR'S 
 
 Adventures in Connacht and Ulster, 
 
 A.D. 1588. 
 
 ^■fe^HE publication of a work en- 
 / \ titled "La Armada Invincible" 
 
 ^^ [Madrid, 1885], by Captain 
 Cesareo Fernandez Duro, a 
 Spanish naval officer, has been the 
 means of bringing to light many fresh 
 and interesting particulars relating to 
 this ill-fated venture ; and, though the 
 incidents narrated are, as might be 
 expected, viewed from the Spanish 
 standpoint, yet the history is written 
 in a spirit of moderation, and gives 
 evidence of great research. 
 
 Amongst the valuable documents 
 which have been collected and printed 
 by Captain Duro, that having for its 
 title " Letter of One who was with the 
 Armada for England, and an Account 
 of the Expedition," is of most lively 
 interest to us, seeing that it presents a 
 graphic picture of the North and 
 North-West of Ireland in 1588, drawn 
 by one who was an actual eye-witness of what he describes. 
 
 Before proceeding, it may be well to observe that these adven- 
 tures have already been dealt with by several writers. The Nineteenth 
 Century, September, 1885, contained a valuable and interesting paper, 
 entitled "An Episode of the Armada," by the Earl of Ducie. In 
 Longman's Magazine [September, October, and November, 1891] 
 appeared "The Spanish Story of the Armada," by J. A. Froude ; and 
 in the Proceedings, Royal Irish Academy, 1893, Professor J. P. 
 O'Reilly contributed a paper, entitled " Remarks on Certain Pas- 
 sages in Captain Cuellar's Narrative." 
 
 FIGUREHEAD OF A SPANISH GALLEON 
 WRECKED AT STREEDAGH, 1588. 
 
 (N<nu in possession of Simon Cullen, J.P, 
 Sligo.) 
 
The present paper has been written with the desire to identify 
 some of the places visited by Cuellar while in Connaught and Ulster. 
 His references to these places are, as might have been expected from 
 a foreigner, in many instances obscure; and in order to correctly 
 trace his wanderings, and identify the spots he visited, an intimate 
 acquaintance with the local topography of the district is essential. 
 
 Sometimes the clue afforded by his narrative is so slender, that 
 anyone unfamiliar with the localities intended might easily miss the 
 meaning, and be led to an entirely wrong conclusion. The present 
 writer has had the valuable assistance of R. Crawford, C.E., late Pro- 
 fessor of Engineering, T.C.D., an accomplished Spanish scholar— not 
 merely a translator— who possesses a practical acquaintance with the 
 idioms of the language. By this knowledge, Mr. Crawford has been 
 able to elucidate many obscure passages in rfie Spanish book, which 
 would otherwise have proved stumbling-blocks in the way of a proper 
 understanding of the author's meaning. Mr. Crawford has made a 
 literal translation of the whole of Cuellar's letter, which forms the 
 second part of this book. A careful perusal of Mr. Crawford's intro- 
 ductory remarks, and of his translation, will well repay the reader, 
 and is, in fact, needful for the proper understanding of the subject- 
 matter of these pages. 
 
 Before entering on Cuellar's adventures on Irish soil, it may be as 
 well to refer to an evident error into which Mr. Froude has fallen in 
 his description of the wreck of the three vessels in Sligo Bay, in one 
 of which Cuellar was. In the article before referred to, the following 
 passage occurs : " Don Martin, after an ineffectual struggle to double 
 Achill Island, had fallen back into the bay, and had anchored off Bally- 
 shannon in a heavy sea with two other galleons. There they lay for 
 four days, from the first to the fifth of September, when, the gale rising, 
 their cables parted, and all three drove on shore on a sandy beach 
 among the rocks. Nowhere in the world does the sea break more 
 violently than on that cruel, shelterless strand," etc. Now, the facts dis- 
 closed by Cuellar's narrative, and by other contemporary writers, show 
 that these Spanish ships were not at all near to Ballyshannon ; but 
 having been caught in the violent gales which were then raging round 
 the coast, they were disabled, and being at the best of times unwieldy 
 and difficult to steer, they drifted down from the north, and, failing to 
 double Erris Head, were drawn into Sligo Bay, where they anchored 
 about a mile and a half off shore, in the hope of being able to repair 
 damages, and, when the gales subsided, proceed on their homeward 
 voyage. 
 
Don Francisco Cuellar was captain of the San Pedro, a galleon of 
 twenty-four guns, which belonged to the squadron of Castile. The 
 account of Cuellar's adventures, as detailed by himself, are related in 
 the letter to which reference has been made. This document was 
 discovered in the archives of the Accidentia de la Historia, in 
 Madrid, where it had lain in oblivion for three centuries. Passing 
 over the first part of the letter, which relates his adventures in the San 
 Pedro, which sustained great damage in an engagement with English 
 vessels off the coast of France, being in a leaky and unseaworthy con- 
 dition, owing to the number of "shot holes," the San Pedro, by order 
 of the mate (Cuellar having retired to take some rest after the fight), 
 moved a short distance away from the Admiral's ship, for the purpose 
 of carrying out some repairs to the damaged hull. This action on the 
 part of the San Pedro raised the anger of the Admiral, who ordered 
 Cuellar and another officer to be hanged at the yard's arm. 
 Fortunately for Cuellar this unjust sentence was not carried out in his 
 case, chiefly through the friendly offices of the Judge Advocate — 
 Martin de Aranda. 
 
 But Cuellar was no longer left in command of the San Pedro : 
 he henceforward sailed in the vessel of the Judge Advocate, who was 
 also styled Provost Marshal. Having passed round the north coast of 
 Scotland, the vessel in which Cuellar was, in company with two other 
 ships — all of large tonnage — encountered head winds and rough 
 weather. Passing Tory Island, they were endeavouring to clear Erris 
 Head on the Mayo coast ; but the storms increasing, and the sea 
 running high, they were unable to make that point. With shattered 
 spars and torn canvas, and a weight of water in their holds, which the 
 constant working of the pumps could hardly keep under, these vessels 
 in a rough sea were unmanageable, and, drifting downwards, found 
 themselves enbayed off the Sligo coast, where they hoped to find tem- 
 porary anchorage. In the sailing instructions given by the Duke of 
 Medina to the Spanish vessels on their return home, the following 
 occurs : " The course that is first to be held is to the north-north-east, 
 until you be found under 61 degrees and a half, and then to take 
 great heed lest you fall upon the Island of Ireland, for fear of the harm 
 that may happen unto you upon that coast. Then parting from those 
 islands, and doubling the Cape in 61JH2 degrees, you shall run west- 
 south-west, until you be found under 58 degrees, and from thence to 
 the south-west," etc. These particulars are valuable in showing the 
 direction in which the Spaniards endeavoured to navigate their un- 
 wieldy craft. Captain Duro in his book refers to the frequency of the 
 
opening of the seams in the old Spanish ships, which defect he attri- 
 butes to the excessive weight and height of the masts, whose leverage 
 in heavy weather caused a strain on the hulls which necessitated the 
 constant employment of caulkers. 
 
 Cuellar says they anchored half a league from the shore, where 
 they remained " four days without being able to make any pro- 
 vision or do anything. On the fifth day there sprang up such a 
 great storm," he says, " on our beam, with a sea up to the heavens, 
 so that the cables could not hold, nor the sails serve us, and we were 
 driven ashore upon a beach covered with very fine sand, shut in on 
 one side and the other by great rocks. Such a thing was never seen ; 
 for within the space of an hour all three ships were broken in pieces, 
 so that there did not escape 300 men, and more than 1,000 were 
 drowned, and amongst them many persons of importance— captains, 
 gentlemen, and other officials." Of the three vessels which were 
 wrecked on the Streedagh Strand — (in a map of the coast, made in 
 1609, the rock, which is still called Carrig-na-Spaniaghj is thus 
 marked : " Three Spanish shipps here cast ashore in Anno Domi, 
 1588") — the name of one was the San Juan de Sicilia. She was 
 commanded by Don Diego Enriquez, " the Hunchback." 
 
 This officer, as Cuellar relates, came to his death in a sad way. 
 Fearing the very heavy sea that was washing over the deck of his 
 vessel, which was going to pieces on the strand, he ordered out his 
 large boat, a decked one, and, accompanied by the Count of Villa 
 Franca, and two other Portuguese gentlemen, they closed themselves 
 into the hold of the boat, hoping to be washed ashore. Having gone 
 below, and bringing with them sixteen thousand ducats in jewels and 
 crown pieces, they ordered the hatchway to be tightly fastened down, 
 in order to prevent the ingress of water ; but just as the boat was 
 leaving the disabled ship, more than seventy men, terror-stricken with 
 the fate that awaited them, wildly jumped on the deck of the boat, 
 hoping thereby to reach the land ; but the small craft, unable to bear 
 the great weight above water-line, and having been struck by a wave, 
 toppled over and sank, all on deck being swept away. She afterwards 
 rose to the surface, and was drifted about in different directions, 
 ultimately reaching the shore upside down. Those unfortunates who 
 were below were all killed, with the exception of Don Diego Enrique/, 
 who, after being in such a sad condition for more than twenty-four hours, 
 was found still living when the hold was broken into by the 
 " savages " who were searching for plunder. They took out the dead 
 men, and Don Diego, who only survived a few minutes ; and, having 
 
secured the plunder — jewels and money — left the dead stripped and 
 naked on the strand, denying them even the rights of Christian burial ! 
 Cuellar, though in great extremities, was not unmindful of the 
 kindness he had received from the Judge Advocate, Martin de 
 Aranda. " One touch of nature makes the whole world kin." Cuellar, 
 the deposed captain, and the Judge Advocate, were standing on the 
 same deck, with the horrors of death facing them on all sides. 
 Martin de Aranda, seeing the destruction of all that was dear to him, 
 had little energy left to make any effort to escape; but Cuellar 
 endeavoured to rally his drooping spirits, and made every effort he 
 could to help him, and bring him to shore. Taking a hatchway from 
 the deck of the vessel they were in, Cuellar got it afloat, and succeeded 
 in getting the Judge Advocate on also ; but in the act of casting off 
 from the ship, a huge wave engulphed them, and the Judge Advocate, 
 being unable to hold on, was drowned. Cuellar, grievously wounded 
 by being struck by pieces of floating timber, succeeded in keeping his 
 footing on the hatchway, and at length reached the shore, " unable to 
 stand, all covered with blood, and very much injured."* 
 
 Fenton, writing to Burleigh (State Papers, 1588-9), says : "At my 
 late being in Sligo, I found both by view of eye and credible report 
 that the number of ships and men perished at these coasts was more 
 than was advertised thither by the Lord Deputy and Council, for I 
 numbered in one strand [Streedagh], of less than five miles in length, 
 eleven hundred dead corpses of men which the sea had driven on the 
 shore. Since the time of the advertisement, the country people told 
 me the like was in other places, though not of like numbers ; and the 
 Lord Deputy, writing to the Council, says: 'After leaving Sligo, I 
 journeyed towards Bundroys [Bundrowse] and so to Ballyshannon, the 
 uttermost part of Connaught that way, and riding still along the sea- 
 shore, I went to see the bay where some of these ships were wrecked, 
 and where, as I heard not long before, lay twelve or thirteen hundred 
 of the dead bodies. I rode along that strand near two miles (but left 
 behind me a long mile and more), and then turned off that shore ; in 
 both which places, they said that had seen it, there lay as great store 
 of timber of wrecked ships as was in that place which myself had 
 viewed, being in my opinion (having small skill or judgment therein) 
 more than would have built four of the greatest ships I ever saw, 
 beside mighty great boats, cables, and other cordage answerable 
 
 * Amongst those drowned at the wrecks on Streedagh were the following 
 Irishmen : Brian Mac-in-Persium, Andrew Mac-in-Persium, and Cormac O'Larit, 
 all of whom had shipped as sailors in the Spanish vessels. 
 
II 
 
 thereto, and such masts, for bigness and length, as in my knowledge 
 I never saw any two that could make the like.' " 
 
 The account given by the Lord Deputy of his journey from Sligo 
 to Ballyshannon, though rather obscurely worded, points to the 
 probability of there having been more than one spot on that coast 
 which was a scene of disaster. It is evident that the entire shore from 
 Streedagh to Bundrowse was littered with the wreckage of the Spanish 
 vessels, and it could hardly be expected that all the " flotsam and 
 jetsam" referred to in the report we have quoted would have come 
 from the three vessels described by Cuellar. 
 
 To return to the narrative. Cuellar now found himself in a 
 desperate plight ; wounded, half-naked, and starving with hunger, he 
 managed to creep into a place of concealment during the remainder of 
 the day ; and he says : " At the dawn of day I began to walk little by 
 little, searching for a monastery of monks that I might repair to it as 
 best I could, the which I arrived at with much trouble and toil, and I 
 found it deserted, and the church and images of the Saints burned 
 and completely ruined, and twelve Spaniards hanging within the 
 church by the act of the English Lutherans, who went about searching 
 for us to make an end of all of us who had escaped from the perils of 
 the sea." Some writers on this shipwreck have been unable to explain 
 this reference to a monastery in the vicinity of the sea-shore at 
 Streedagh. No such difficulty, however, exists in identifying the place 
 indicated ; for within sight of the strand stood the Abbey of Stand, 
 which tradition says was founded by St. Molaise, the patron saint 
 of the neighbouring island of Inismurray. It was then to this 
 monastery that Cuellar repaired, in the expectation of finding there a 
 safe asylum inhis dire necessity. He was, however, disappointed; for 
 he found the place deserted, and several of his fellow-countrymen 
 hanging from the iron bars of the windows. The ruins of Staad 
 Abbey, which still remain, are inconsiderable, consisting of portions 
 of the church, which was oblong in form, and measured, internally, 
 34 feet in length by 14 feet 5 inches in width. There are indications 
 that a much older building once occupied the site of the existing ruin. 
 Outside the walls of the old church it was customary to light beacons 
 for the purpose of signalling with the inhabitants of Inismurray and 
 elsewhere, and this mode of communication by fire-signals was adopted 
 in Ireland from remote times, and its existence amongst us to the 
 present day is an interesting survival of primitive life. Cuellar, sick at 
 heart with the ghastly spectacle in the monastery, betook himself to a 
 road "which lay through a great wood," and after wandering about 
 
without being able to procure any food, he turned his face once more 
 to the sea-shore, in the hope of being able to pick up some provisions 
 that might have been washed in from the wrecks. Here he found, 
 stretched on the strand in one spot, more than 400 Spaniards, and 
 amongst them he recognised Don Enriquez and another honoured 
 officer. He dug a hole in the sand and buried his two friends. After 
 some time he was joined by two other Spaniards. They met a 
 man who seemed rather friendly towards them. He directed them 
 to take a road which led from the coast to a village, which 
 Cuellar describes as "consisting of some huts of straw." This 
 was probably the village of Grange, a couple of miles distant; 
 and the huts he refers to were the cabins with thatched roofs, still a 
 common feature in the country. From descriptions of these, which 
 are given by writers of the 16th century, there seems to be but slight 
 difference in the mode of constructing cabins then and now. At 
 Grange was a castle in which soldiers were stationed. It was an 
 important outpost at the period, being on the highway between 
 Connacht and Tirconnell. From this castle, bodies of soldiers used 
 to sally forth, scouring the neighbourhood for Spanish fugitives and 
 plunder. Fearing these military scouts, Cuellar turned off from 
 the village, and entered a wood, in which he had not gone far when a 
 new misfortune befel him. He was set upon by an "old savage," 
 more than seventy years of age, and by two young men — one English, 
 the other French. They wounded him in the leg, and stripped him 
 of what little clothing was left to him. They took from him a gold 
 chain of the value of a thousand reals ; also forty-five gold crown 
 pieces he had sewed into his clothing, and some relics that had been 
 given him at Lisbon. But for the interference of a young girl, whom 
 Cuellar describes as of the age of twenty, " and most beautiful in the 
 extreme," it would have gone hard with him in the hands of these 
 men. Having robbed him of all he had, they went on their way in 
 search of further prey, and the young girl, pitying the sad condition of 
 the Spaniard, made a salve of herbs for his wounds, and gave him 
 butter and milk, with oaten bread to eat. 
 
 Cuellar was directed to travel in the direction of some mountains, 
 which appeared to be about six leagues distant, behind which there 
 were good lands belonging to an "important savage," a very great 
 friend of the King of Spain. The distances in leagues and miles 
 given in the narrative are in most cases considerably over-estimated, 
 and cannot be relied on. Cuellar, it should be remembered, is 
 describing events which happened to him in a strange country, 
 
!3 
 
 wherein the names of the places, and the distances from place to place, 
 were alike unknown to him ; and the journeys he was forced to make, 
 in his lame and wretched condition, must have seemed to him very 
 much longer than they were in reality. A right understanding of this 
 part of the narrative is important, as some writers have fallen into the 
 error of supposing that Cuellar's course was in the direction of the 
 Donegal Mountains, on the other side of the bay, visible, no doubt, 
 from the locality of the wreck, but on the distant northern horizon. 
 A careful reading of the text will show that this was not the direc- 
 tion he took. He says : " I began to walk as best I could, making 
 for the north* of the mountains, as the boy had told me." This 
 means that he kept on the north, or sea-side of the Dartry Mountains ; 
 and behind them (i.e., on the south side) were good lands belonging 
 to a friendly chief. The word " north " does not here refer to the 
 cardinal point, but is used merely as a relative term, just as " right 
 and left," "back and front," are used in familiar conversation. 
 Besides, Cuellar plainly states the name of the chief he was seeking to 
 reach : he speaks of him as " Senior de Ruerque" (Spanish for 
 (JRourque), whose territory lay in the direction of the mountain range 
 he was travelling towards. He calls him an " important savage " — a 
 term which he applies to the Irish natives he met with, whether 
 friendly or the reverse : it does not refer to their treatment of him 
 personally ; but he intends it to define what he considers their 
 position in the scale of civilization as compared with his own country. 
 Journeying on in the direction pointed out to him, he came to a lake, 
 in the vicinity of which were about thirty huts — all forsaken and 
 untenanted. Going into one of these for shelter, he discovered three 
 other naked men— Spaniards— who had met the same hard treatment 
 as himself. The only food they could obtain here was blackberries 
 and water-cresses. Covering themselves up with some straw, they 
 passed the night in a hut by the lake-side, resolving at daybreak to 
 push forward towards O'Rourke's village. 
 
 The lake to which reference is here made is evidently Glenade 
 Lough, from which it was an easy journey to O'Rourke's settlement at 
 Glencar. O'Rourke had another "town" at Newtown, on the borders 
 of the County of Sligo. It seems probable, however, that at this time 
 he had removed his people to Glencar. In the Lough here were 
 several crannogs, remains of which are still visible. Such lacustrine 
 habitations were usually resorted to by the Irish chiefs in times of 
 
 * See Translator's Preface for the sense in which the word "north" is used 
 in Spanish. 
 
14 
 
 disturbance; for within their stockaded lake-dwellings they and their 
 possessions were safest from the attack of the enemy. Having arrived 
 at "the village," Cuellar found the chief absent, being at war with the 
 English, who were at the time in occupation of Sligo. Here he found 
 a number of Spaniards. Before many days passed, tidings came that 
 a Spanish ship, probably one of De Leyva's vessels, was standing off 
 the coast, and on the look-out for any Spaniards who had escaped with 
 their lives. Hearing this, Cuellar and nineteen others resolved to 
 make an effort to reach the vessel. They, therefore, set off at once 
 towards the coast. They met with many hindrances on the way ; and 
 Cuellar, probably owing to the wounded state of his leg, was unable 
 to keep pace with the others, and was consequently left behind, while 
 the others got on board the vessel. He regards this circumstance of 
 his being left behind as a special interference of Providence on his 
 behalf, for the ship, after setting sail, was, he says, " wrecked off the 
 same coast, and more than 200 persons were drowned." 
 
 Resuming the course of Cuellar's fortunes, we find him pursuing 
 his way by the most secluded routes for fear of the "Sassana horse- 
 men," as he styles the English soldiers. He soon fell in with a 
 clergyman, who entered into friendly converse with him in the Latin 
 tongue — a language, it may be observed, that did not at that period 
 in Ireland rank as a " dead" one — men and women of various degrees, 
 both high and low, spoke it freely ; of this there is abundant evidence 
 from contemporary writers. The clergyman gave Cuellar some of the 
 food he had with him, and directed him to take a road which would 
 bring him to a castle which belonged to a "savage" gentleman, "a 
 very brave soldier, and a great enemy of the Queen of England — a 
 man who had never cared to obey her or pay tribute, attending only 
 to his castle and mountains, which [latter] made it strong." Following 
 the course pointed out to him, Cuellar met with an untoward circum- 
 stance which caused him much anxiety ; he was met by a blacksmith 
 who pursued his calling in a " deserted valley." Here he was forced 
 to abide, and work in the forge. For more than a week he (the 
 Spanish officer) had to blow the forge bellows, and, what was worse, 
 submit to the rough words of the blacksmith's wife, whom he calls 
 "an accursed old woman." At length, his friend the clergyman 
 happened again to pass that way, and seeing Cuellar labouring in the 
 forge, he was displeased. He comforted him, assuring him he would 
 speak to the chief of the castle to which he had directed him, and ask 
 that an escort should be sent for him. The following day this 
 promise was fulfilled, and four men from the castle, and a Spanish 
 
'5 
 
 soldier who had already found his way thither, arrived, and safely 
 conducted him on his way. Here he seems at last to have found kind 
 and humane treatment. He specially mentions the extreme kindness 
 shown him by the chief's wife, whom he describes as " beautiful in 
 the extreme." 
 
 Cuellar, in taking the course pointed out to him by the clergyman, 
 was travelling in an eastward direction, having his back turned on 
 O'Rourke's village, whither he had first gone for succour. The 
 "deserted valley," in which he fell in with the blacksmith, was doubt- 
 less the beautiful valley of Glenade, from which place to the island 
 castle of Rossclogher was an easy journey. As this castle is a 
 prominent feature in our narrative, some particulars regarding it and 
 its chiefs may be here noted. 
 
 The castle of Rossclogher, the picturesque ruins of which are 
 still prominent in the beautiful scenery of Lough Melvin, was built by 
 one of the clan, at a period — precise date not known — anterior to the 
 reign of Henry VIII. In the Irish Annals the name of MacClancy, 
 chief of Dartraigh, appears at a.d. 1241. The territory was held by 
 the family for three hundred years, their property having been finally 
 confiscated after the wars of 164 1. The castle lies close to the southern 
 shore of Lough Melvin, considerably to the westward of the island of 
 Inisheher (see Ordnance Map). It is a peculiar structure, being 
 built on an artificial foundation, somewhat similar to the " Hag's 
 Castle " in Lough Mask, and to Cloughoughter Castle in the neigh- 
 bouring county of Cavan. Here may be noted a striking instance of 
 the accuracy and appropriateness of Irish names of places. When 
 the island of Inisheher (Inis Siar), i.e., western island, got its name, 
 the site of Rossclogher Castle had not been laid, for where the castle 
 stands is considerably further west than the last natural island, which, 
 from its name, marks it as the most westerly island of the lough. 
 
 The Irish name of this family was MacFhlnncdaha, the name 
 being variously written in the State Papers as McGlannogh, 
 McGlanthie, etc., while in the Spanish narrative it is Manglana. 
 In a map drawn in 1609, the territory is marked " Dartrie 
 MacGlannagh " (which see). The MacClancys were chiefs, subject 
 to O'Rourke, and their territory — a formidable one, by reason of its 
 mountains and fastnesses — comprised the entire of the present barony 
 of Rossclogher. According to local tradition, which survived when 
 O'Donovan visited the district in the summer of 1836*, the extent of 
 " Dartree MacClancy " was from Glack townland on the east to Bunduff 
 * See O'Donovan's Letters (Sligo, R.I. A.) 
 
i6 
 
 on the west— a distance of about six miles ; and from Mullinaleck town- 
 land on the north to Aghanlish on the south— a distance of about 
 three miles. The townlands of Rossfriar (Ross-na-mbraher, i.e., the 
 Peninsula of the Friars), and that now called Aghanlish, were ancient 
 termon lands appertaining to the church of Rossclogher, the ruins of 
 which stand on the mainland, close to the island castle of our nar- 
 rative. The romantic and beautiful district over which the 
 MacClancys held sway included Lough Melvin, with its islands 
 and the mountain range behind. Within its bounds were two 
 castles — that of Rossclogher and Dun Carbery. On the island of 
 Iniskeen was MacClancy's crannog ; and here it may be pointed out 
 a frequent error has been made in supposing that the Castle of Ross- 
 clogher stood on Iniskeen. The crannog was on that large island 
 which is far to the east of the Castle of Rossclogher. This was merely 
 used in troublous times as a place of security— a sort of treasure- 
 house ; but not an ordinary dwelling-place. Besides the buildings 
 already mentioned within the territory, were at least three mon- 
 asteries—that of Doire-Melle, Cacair-Sinchill, and Beallach-in- 
 Mithidheim — as well as numerous churches, the ruins of some 
 being still in existence. The MacClancy clan appear to have 
 sprung from a stock totally distinct from the neighbouring clans 
 of Brefney. Their chief residence was at Rossclogher, but they had 
 another castle — that of Dun Carbery — some ruins of which are still 
 standing close to the village of Tullaghan. This was built in the 
 sixteenth century, and a more commanding site for a fortified house 
 it would have been difficult to select. It was built on the summit of 
 an extensive Dun, or fort, which belonged to a period long anterior 
 to the MacClancy rule ; and it is a noticeable fact that the name of 
 the original owner of the Dun Carbery, son of Niall of the Nine 
 Hostages (fifth century), has continued to the present day as the 
 name by which the castle is known. 
 
 The Castle of Rossclogher is built on a foundation of heavy stones 
 laid in the bed of the lake, and filled in with smaller stones and earth 
 to above water-level. The sub-structure was circular in form, and the 
 entire was encompassed by a thick wall, probably never more than five 
 feet in height. The walls of the castle are very thick, and composed 
 of freestone, obtained from an adjacent quarry on the mainland. 
 They are cemented together with the usual grouting of lime and coarse 
 gravel, so generally used by the builders of old ; the outside walls were 
 coated with thick rough-cast, a feature not generally seen in old 
 structures in the locality. Facing the south shore, which is about one 
 
i7 
 
 hundred yards distant, are the remains of a bastion pierced for 
 musketry. The water between the castle and the shore is deep, and 
 goes down sheer from the foundation. 
 
 On the shore, close to the castle, are the remains of military 
 earthworks, evidently constructed by some enemy seeking possession 
 of the castle. On the summit of a hill immediately over this, is a 
 circular enclosure about 220 feet in circumference ; it is composed of 
 earth, faced with stone-work. Here the MacClancy-clan folded their 
 flocks and herds, and from this ancient " cattle-booley" a bridle-path 
 led to the mountains above. Portions of this pathway have recently 
 been discovered ; it was only two feet in width, and regularly paved 
 with stones enclosed by a kerb. 
 
 On the mainland, close to the southern shore, and within speaking 
 distance of the castle, stand the ruins of the old church which was 
 built by MacClancy, and which is of about the same date as the castle 
 to which it was an appendage. In the immediate neighbourhood of 
 the shore, guarded on one side by the lofty mountain range of Dart- 
 raigh, on the other by the waters of Lough Melvin, was MacClancy's 
 "town" — an assemblage of primitive huts, probably circular in shape, 
 and of the simplest construction, where dwelt the followers and 
 dependents of the chief, ready, by night or by day, to obey the call to 
 arms, or, as Cuellar expresses it, " Go Santiago," a slang expression in 
 Spain, meaning to attack.* 
 
 Of the manners and customs of the natives, Cuellar makes sundry 
 observations. Having described at length how he occupied his 
 leisure in the castle by telling the fortunes of the ladies by palmistry, 
 he mentions incidentally that their conversation was carried on in 
 Latin. He goes on to speak of the natives, or " savages," as he calls 
 them. He says : " Their custom is to live as the brute beasts among 
 the mountains, which are very rugged in that part of Ireland where 
 we lost ourselves. They live in huts made of straw ; the men are all 
 large bodied and of handsome features and limbs, active as the roe- 
 deer. They do not eat oftener than once a day, and this is at night ; 
 and that which they usually eat is butter with oaten bread. They 
 drink sour milk, for they have no other drink ; they don't drink 
 water, although it is the best in the world. On feast days they eat 
 some flesh, half-cooked, without bread or salt, for that is their custom. 
 They clothe themselves, according to their habit, with tight trousers 
 and short loose coats of very coarse goat's hair. They cover them- 
 
 * Santiago, the Patron Saint of Spain ; hence it became the war-cry or 
 watchword when going to battle. 
 
i8 
 
 selves with blankets, and wear their hair down to their eyes. They 
 are great walkers, and inured to toil. They carry on perpetual war 
 with the English, who here keep garrison for the Queen, from whom 
 they defend themselves, and do not let them enter their territory, 
 which is subject to inundation and marshy." 
 
 The reference Cuellar makes to the food of the Irish with 
 whom he sojourned is interesting. He says: "They do not 
 eat oftener than once a day, and this is at night, and that 
 which they usually eat is butter with oaten bread.'' 1 The par- 
 tiality for oaten bread here spoken of still survives ; but its use 
 has within the last half century greatly declined, owing to the 
 extensive introduction of " white bread," the term applied to ordinary 
 bakers' loaves. When the tide of emigration to America — in the 
 early part of this century — -was in full flow from Ballyshannon, the 
 emigrants had to provide their own food on the voyage from this 
 port to the Western Continent, and that universally taken with them 
 was an ample supply of oaten cakes. It may not be out of place here 
 to refer to the curious belief which still lives in the minds of the 
 peasantry of this district, though, like most of the survivals of folk- 
 lore, it is fading from the memories of the people. 
 
 The Fear-Gortha, or Hungry Grass, is believed to grow in certain 
 spots, and whoever has the bad luck to tread on this baneful fairy 
 herb is liable to be stricken down with the mysterious complaint. 
 The symptoms, which come on suddenly, are complete prostration, 
 preceded by a general feeling of weakness; the sufferer sinks down, 
 and, if assistance is not at hand, he perishes. It is believed that if 
 food be partaken of in the open air, and the fragments remaining be 
 not thrown as an offering to the "good folk," that they will mark their 
 displeasure by causing a crop of "hungry grass" to arise on the spot 
 and produce the effects described. Fortunately, the cure is as simple 
 as the malady is mysterious. Oatcake is the specific, or, in its 
 absence, a few grains of oatmeal. The wary traveller who knows the 
 dangers of the road, carries in his pocket a small piece of oatcake, 
 not intended as food, but as a charm against the Fear-Gortha. 
 
 Cuellar also observes that the chief inclination of these people is 
 to plunder their neighbours, capturing cattle and any other property 
 obtainable, the raids being chiefly carried out at night. He also 
 remarks that the English garrison were in the habit of making 
 plundering expeditions into the territory of these natives, and the only 
 refuge they had was, on the approach of the soldiers, to withdraw to 
 the mountains with their families and cattle till the danger would be 
 
x 9 
 
 past. Speaking of the women, he says : " Most of them are very 
 beautiful, but badly-dressed. The head-dress of the women is a linen 
 cloth, doubled over the head and tied in front." He remarks "the 
 women are great workers and housekeepers, after their fashion." 
 Speaking of the churches, etc., he says most of them have been 
 demolished by the hands of the English, and by those natives who 
 have joined them, who are as bad as they. He concludes his by-no- 
 means flattering description in these words : " In this kingdom there 
 is neither justice nor right, and everyone does what he pleases." 
 
 The "sour milk" Cuellar speaks of is buttermilk, as great a 
 favourite here in the nineteenth century as in the sixteenth. The 
 cloth which he calls " very coarse goats' hair " was probably the 
 familiar homespun woollen frieze, which from the earliest times was 
 made by the Irish. The head-dress of the women — a linen cloth — is 
 still adopted by elderly women here. 
 
 After enjoying a short period of rest in MacClancy's, or, as Cuellar 
 styles it, Manglana's castle, rumours of an alarming nature reached 
 them. The Lord Deputy Fitzwilliam, or, as he is called in the 
 narrative, " the great governor of the Queen," was marching from 
 Dublin, with a force of 1,700 soldiers, in search of the lost ships and 
 the people who had escaped the fury of the waves, and no quarter 
 could be expected for either the Irish chiefs or the shipwrecked 
 Spaniards ; all that came within Fitzwilliam's grasp would certainly be 
 hanged. Cuellar says the Lord Deputy marched along the whole 
 coast till he arrived at the place where the shipwreck happened (at 
 Streedagn), and from thence he came towards the castle of 
 " Mangiana." It is at this point of his narrative that he first mentions 
 the name of the chief who had given him refuge. 
 
 MacClancy seeing the force that had come against him, felt him- 
 self unable to stand a siege, and decided to escape to the friendly 
 shelter of his mountains. He called Cuellar aside and made known 
 his determination, and advised that he and the other Spaniards should 
 consider what they would do for their own safety. Cuellar consulted 
 with his fellows, and they finally agreed that their only chance of life 
 was to hold out in the castle as long as possible, trusting to its strength 
 and isolated situation ; and, leaving the result to the fortunes of 
 war. they determined to stand or fall together. 
 
 Having communicated their decision to MacClancy, he willingly 
 provided them with all the arms within his reach, and a sufficient 
 store of provisions to last for six months. He made them take an 
 oath to hold the castle " till death," and not to open the gates for 
 
" Irishman, Spaniard, or anyone else till his return." Having made 
 these preparations, and removed the furniture and relics out of the 
 church on the shore, and deposited them within the castle, MacClancy, 
 after embracing Cuellar, withdrew to the mountains, taking with him 
 his family and followers, with their flocks and herds. Cuellar now 
 provided himself with several boat-loads of stones, six muskets, and 
 six crowbars, as well as a supply of ammunition. He gives a minute 
 description of the place he was going to defend. He says : " The 
 castle is very strong and very difficult to take, if they do not attack it 
 with artillery, for it is founded in a lake of very deep water, which is 
 more than a league wide at some parts, and three or four leagues long, 
 and has an outlet to the sea ; and besides, with the rise of spring 
 tides, it is not possible to enter it ; for which reason the castle could 
 not be taken by water, nor by the shore of land which is nearest it, 
 neither could injury be done it, because a league around the ' town,' 
 which is established on the mainland, it is marshy, breast deep, so 
 that even the inhabitants [natives] could not get to it except by paths." 
 These paths, through bogs and shallow lakes, were made of large 
 stones in a hidden, irregular way, unknown to any except those who 
 had the key to their position. Three centuries ago, the aspect of the 
 country was very different from what it now is : the land was in a 
 swampy, undrained condition, and, beyond small patches here and 
 there, which had been cleared for growing corn, dense thickets of 
 brushwood covered the surface everywhere; and, as there were no 
 roads or bridges, but merely narrow paths, where two horsemen could 
 not pass each other, the difficulty — not to say impossibility — of bring- 
 ing troops, heavy baggage, and artillery across country is apparent. 
 That such a state of things existed in MacClancy's territory there is 
 abundant evidence. The stones with which Cuellar provided himself 
 w r ere a favourite item in the war materials of that period : these were 
 used with deadly effect from the towers of castles, and were also 
 thrown from cannon instead of iron balls. Cuellar says : " Our 
 courage seemed good to the whole country, and the enemy was 
 very indignant at it, and came upon the castle with his forces — about 
 i, 800 men— and observed us from a distance of a mile and a half 
 from it, without being able to approach closer on account of the 
 water [or marshy ground] which intervened." From this description, 
 it is evident the Lord Deputy's forces had taken up their position on 
 the shore of the opposite promontory of Rossfriar — a tongue of land 
 which projects itself into the lough at the north-west end. From this 
 point he says they exhibited "menaces and warnings," and hanged two 
 
Spanish fugitives they had laid hold of, " to put the defenders in 
 fear." The troops demanded by trumpet a surrender of the castle, 
 but the Spaniards declined all proposals. For seventeen days, 
 Cuellar says, the besiegers lay against them, but were unable to get a 
 favourable position for attack. " At length, a severe storm and a 
 great fall of snow compelled them to withdraw without having accom- 
 plished anything." In the State Papers, under date 12th October, 
 1588, the Lord Deputy asks the Privy Council of England to send at 
 once two thousand " sufficient and thoroughly appointed men" to join 
 
 THE SPANIARDS HOLDING ROSSCLOGHBR CASTLE AGAINST THE LORD DEPUTY. 
 
 the service directed against the main body of 3,000 Spaniards in 
 O'Donnell's country and the North. In the same month, Fenton 
 writes to the Lord Deputy " that the Spaniards are marching towards 
 Sligo, and are very near Lough Erne." There were, no doubt, a 
 large number of Spaniards who had escaped the dangers of the sea, 
 and had fled for refuge to O'Donnell, O'Neill, and O'Rourke, all of 
 whom were very favourable to them ; but the Lord Deputy, for lu's 
 own ends, greatly exaggerated both their numbers and strength. 
 They were merely fugitives acting on the defensive, and not then 
 
22 
 
 inclined to be aggressive. They well knew the fate of hundreds of 
 their countrymen, and what they might expect if they fell into the 
 hands of the Lord Deputy. 
 
 In the County of Clare, at this time, was another MacClancy — 
 Boethius. He was Elizabeth's High Sheriff there, and, unlike his name- 
 sake of Rossclogher, he cruelly treated and killed a number of 
 Spaniards of the Armada, who had been shipwrecked off that coast. 
 In memory of his conduct then, he is cursed every seventh year in a 
 church in Spain. In the State Papers no reference is made to this 
 expedition against MacClancy's castle ; all that is said is that troops 
 arrived at Athlone on ioth November, 1588, and returned to Dublin 
 on 23rd December following, ''without loss of any one of her Majesty's 
 army; neither brought I home, as the captains inform me, scarce 
 twenty sick persons or thereabouts; neither found I the water, nor 
 other great impediments which were objected before my going out, to 
 have been dangerous, otherwise than very reasonable to pass." In 
 these vague terms Fitzwilliam disposes of a disagreeable subject which 
 he knew was more for his own credit not to enlarge upon. It 
 seems probable that Cuellar has over-estimated the number of soldiers 
 sent to storm the castle which he was defending ; there is, however, 
 no ground for doubting the general truth of his account of the trans- 
 action. MacClancy, we know, was the subject of peculiar hatred by 
 the authorities ; Bingham describes him as " an arch-rebel, and the 
 most barbarous creature in Ireland," and the fact of his having given 
 shelter to Spanish fugitives made him ten times worse in their eyes. 
 
 Fitzwilliam, the Lord Deputy, whom Cuellar styles the " Great 
 Governor," was a covetous and merciless man. Not long after his 
 arrival in Ireland, the Spanish shipwrecks took place, and the rumours 
 of the great amount of treasure and valuables which the Spaniards 
 were reported to have with them called into prominence the most 
 marked feature in the Lord Deputy's character — cupidity. His com- 
 mission shows this : " To make by all good means, both of oaths and 
 otherwise [this means by torture], to take all hulls of ships, treasures, 
 etc., into your hands, and to apprehend and execute all Spaniards of 
 what quality soever .... torture may be used in prosecuting this 
 enquiry." 
 
 In the State Papers, at December 3, 1588— Sir R. Bingham to 
 the Queen — the following reference to the Lord Deputy's expedition 
 to the North of Ireland is made : " But the Lord Deputy, having 
 further advertisements from the North of the state of things in those 
 parts, took occasion to make a journey thither, and made his way 
 
through this province [Connaught], and in passing along caused both 
 these two .Spaniards, which my brother [George Bingham] had, to be 
 executed." One of these was Don Graveillo de Swasso. At Decem- 
 ber 31st, the Lord Deputy thus refers to his movements: " At my 
 coming to the Castles of Ballyshannon and Beleek, which stand upon 
 the river Earne, and are in possession of one Sir Owen O'Toole, alias 
 OXiallagher*, a principal man of that country, I found all the 
 country [people] and cattle fled into the strong mountains and fast- 
 nesses of the woods in their own countrie and neighbours adjoining, 
 as O'Rourke, O'Hara, the O'Glannaghies [MacClancy], Maguires, 
 and others." In the State Papers^ 15th October, 1588, we learn 
 some curious particulars concerning the wreck of one of the Spanish 
 ships, named La Trinidad Wale/icera, at Inisowen (O'Doherty's 
 country). This vessel, which was a very large one (1,100 tons), 
 carried 42 guns and 360 men, including soldiers and mariners, many 
 of whom were drowned. They had only one boat left, and this a 
 broken one, in which they succeeded in landing a part of the crew. 
 Some swam to shore, and the rest were landed in a boat they bought 
 from the Inisowen men for 200 ducats. Some curious details are 
 given of how the Spaniards fared on land. When first they came 
 ashore, with only their rapiers in their hands, they found four or five 
 " savages," who bade them welcome, and well-used them : afterwards, 
 some twenty more "wild men " came to them, and robbed them of a 
 money-bag containing 1,000 reals of plate and some rich apparel. 
 The only food they could obtain was horse-flesh, which they bought 
 from the country people, as well as a small quantity of butter. When 
 they had been about a week living here, Fitzwilliam's men came on 
 the scene, as also O'Donnell and his wife. The Spaniards surrendered 
 to the captains that carried "the Queen's ensigns," the conditions 
 being that their lives should be spared till they appeared before the 
 Lord Deputy, and be allowed to take with them a change of apparel 
 from the stores of their own ship. These conditions were not adhered 
 to, and the soldiers and natives were allowed to spoil and plunder the 
 shipwrecked Spaniards. The O'Donnell above referred to was the 
 father of the celebrated Red Hugh, who was at this period within the 
 walls of Dublin Castle, a close prisoner. "O'Donnell's wife" was the 
 celebrated Ineen Dubh, the mother of Red Hugh. O'Donnell felt 
 himself weak and unable to cope with the English power, which was 
 surrounding him on all sides. While not taking an active part in 
 
 * Sir Owen O'Gallagher was O'Donnell's Marshal, and lived in the Castle 
 of Ballyshannon at this period. 
 
24 
 
 maltreating the Spaniards, who had been thrown on his territory by 
 the violence of the storms, he was guilty in a passive way of permitting 
 them to be ill-used ; and when, a short time after these events, he 
 resigned the government of Tirconnell to the more capable hands of 
 his son, Red Hugh, and retired to the solitude of the cloister, the 
 greatest sin which weighed on his conscience was his cruel conduct 
 in slaying a number of Spanish seamen in Inisowen, which act was 
 instigated by the Lord Deputy. 
 
 MacClancy at length paid dearly for his part in the Spanish affair. 
 This we learn from a letter in the State Papers, under date 23rd April, 
 1590: "The acceptable service performed by Sir George Bingham 
 in cutting off M'Glanaghie, an arch-rebel . . . M'Glanaghie's head 
 brought in. M'Glanaghie ran for a lough, and tried to save himself 
 by swimming, but a shot broke his arm, and a gallowglass brought him 
 ashore. He was the most barbarous creature in Ireland ; his countrie 
 extended from Grange till you come to Ballishannon ; he was 
 O'Rourke's right hand ; he had fourteen Spaniards with him, some of 
 whom were taken alive." The lough above referred to is Lough Melvin. 
 MacClancy was endeavouring to reach his fortress when he met his 
 end. O'Rourke, shortly after these events, fled to Scotland, where 
 he was arrested, brought to London, arraigned on a charge of high 
 treason, found guilty, and hanged. At the place of execution he was 
 met by the notorious Myler M'Grath, that many-sided ecclesiastic, 
 whose castle walls, near Pettigo, still keep his name in remembrance. 
 M'Grath endeavoured to make him abjure his faith, but O'Rourke 
 could not be shaken ; he knew the sordid character of the man, and 
 bitterly reproached him for his own mercenary conduct. 
 
 When the siege was raised, MacClancy and his followers returned 
 from the mountains, and made much of Cuellar and his comrades, 
 asking them to remain and throw in their lot with them. To Cuellar 
 he offered his sister in marriage. This, however, the latter declined, 
 saying he was anxious to turn his face homewards. MacClancy would 
 not hear of the Spaniards leaving ; and Cuellar, fearing he might be 
 detained against his will, determined to leave unobserved, which he 
 did two days after Christmas, when he and four Spanish soldiers left 
 the castle before dawn, and went " travelling by the mountains and 
 desolate places," and at the end of twenty days they came to Dunluce, 
 where Alonzo de Leyva, and the Count de Paredes, and many other 
 Spanish nobles had been lost ; and there, he says, " they went to the 
 huts of some ' savages,' who told us of the great misfortunes of our 
 people who were drowned." 
 
25 
 
 Cuellar does not indicate the course he took in travelling on foot 
 from the castle in Lough Melvin to Dunluce; but it is evident, from 
 the time spent on the journey, that it was the circuitous route round 
 the coast of Donegal to Derry, and from thence to Dunluce. Their 
 journey was one of danger, as military scouts were searching the 
 country everywhere for Spaniards, and more than once he had narrow 
 escapes. After some delay and considerable difficulty, Cuellar, through 
 the friendly assistance of Sir James MacDonnell, of Dunluce, succeeded 
 in crossing over to Scotland, in company with seventeen Spanish 
 sailors who had been rescued by MacDonnell. He hoped to enjoy 
 the protection of King James VI., who was then reported to favour 
 the Spaniards. 
 
 Cuellar did not find things much better there, and, after some 
 delay, he eventually took ship and arrived at Antwerp. His 
 narrative is dated October 4, 1589, and was evidently not written 
 till his arrival on the Continent. In forming an estimate of its value, 
 it should be remembered that the greater part, if not all, was written 
 by him from memory. It is highly improbable he would have made 
 notes, or kept a diary in Ireland, as the writing of his adventures 
 never occurred to him (as his narrative shows) till afterwards. This 
 most probable supposition will account for any inaccuracies in his 
 statements as to places, distances, etc.; and allowing for a natural 
 tendency to exaggeration, Cuellar's narrative, corroborated as it is in 
 all essential points by contemporary history, bears on its face the 
 stamp of truth and authenticity. 
 
 The State Papers (Ireland) at this year [1588] contain several 
 references to these wrecks on the Con naught coast* Amongst them 
 the following occur : "After the Spanish fleet had doubled Scotland, 
 and were in their course homewards, they were by contrary weather 
 driven upon the several parts of this province [Connaught] and 
 wrecked, as it were, by even portions — three ships in every of the four 
 several counties bordering on the sea coasts, viz., in Sligo, Mayo, 
 Galway, and Thomond : — so that twelve ships perished on the rocks 
 and sands of the shore-side, and some three or four besides to 
 seaboard of the out-isles, which presently sunk, both men and ships, 
 in the night-time. And so can I say by good estimation that six or 
 seven thousand men have been cast away on these coasts, save some 
 1,000 of them which escaped to land in several places where their 
 ships fell, which sithence were all put to the sword." Of all the ships 
 
 Sir R. Bingham to Walsyngham, Oct. 1st, 1588. 
 
26 
 
 which composed the Armada, none was a greater object of interest 
 than the Rata, a great galleon commanded by Don Alonzo de Leyva. 
 This officer was Knight of Santiago and Commendador of Alcuesca : 
 a remarkable man, of invincible courage and perseverance, who was 
 destined to meet a watery grave on this expedition. It is said that 
 King Philip felt more grief for his death than for the loss of the 
 whole fleet. 
 
 In the Rata were hundreds of youths of the noblest families of 
 Castile, who had been committed to De Leyva's care. Having cleared 
 the northern coast of Scotland and gained the Atlantic, he kept well 
 out to sea, and in the early part of the month of September doubled 
 Erris Head, on the western coast of Mayo, after which he and another 
 galleon came to anchor in Blacksod Bay. Here he sent in a boat, 
 with fourteen men, to ascertain the disposition of the natives, whether 
 friendly or the reverse. Having landed, they soon encountered one 
 of the petty chiefs— Richard Burke by name, familiarly known as the 
 " Devil's Son." This man, true to his character, robbed and maltreated 
 them. Immediately after this a violent storm sprang up, which proved 
 fatal to many of the Spanish ships then off the Irish coast : the Rata 
 broke loose from her anchors, and ran ashore; De Leyva and his 
 men were only able to escape with their lives, carrying with them 
 their arms and any valuables they could lay hold of. They set fire to 
 the Rata ; and perceiving hard by an old castle, within it they took up 
 their quarters. The "Devil's Son" and his followers made their way 
 to the wreck, plundering any of the rich garments and stores which 
 they could snatch from the flames. At this juncture, Bryan-na-Murtha 
 O'Rourke, Prince of Breffney, hearing of the abject condition of the 
 Spaniards, sent them immediate assistance, and an invitation to their 
 commander, De Leyva, to come to his castle at Dromahair. There 
 they were well entertained, comfortably clothed, and provided with 
 arms. This is referred to in the Irish State Papers thus : " Certain 
 Spaniards being stript were relieved by Sir Brian O'Rourke, apparelled, 
 and new furnished with weapons." 
 
 O'Rourke, whose power and popularity were very great, was a 
 dangerous foe to the Governor of Connaught, who was unable to 
 make him pay the " Queen's Rent." His action in harbouring and 
 succouring the Spaniards, and for a short space enlisting them in his 
 service, had, as shall be seen further on, important results in his 
 approaching downfall. De Leyva resolved, after some time, to quit 
 the country, and to embark his men in the other galleon, the San 
 Martin, which had been able to hold out in the offing. Having made 
 
27 
 
 sail, and on their way fallen in with the Giro/at and another ship — a 
 galliass — they endeavoured to clear Rossan Point; but the sea being 
 still very rough and the wind unpropitious, they were obliged to make 
 for Killybegs. Having reached the entrance to that port, the two larger 
 vessels went on the rocks, and became wrecks; the galliass continued 
 to float, though badly injured ; the crews and soldiers, numbering two 
 thousand, were got ashore with their arms, but no provisions were 
 saved. 
 
 The State Papers [September, 1588] say that "John Festigan, 
 who came out of the barony of Carbrie [of which Streedagh strand 
 forms a part], saw three great ships coming from the south-west, and 
 bearing towards O'DonnelFs country, and took their course right to 
 the harbour of Killybegs, the next haven to Donegal." And in the 
 examination of a Spanish sailor named Macharg,* the following refer- 
 ence appears : "After the fight in the narrow sea, she fell upon the 
 coast of Ireland in a haven called ' Erris St. Donnell, 5 where, at their 
 coming in, they found a great ship called the Rata, of 1,000 tons or 
 more, in which was Don Alonzo de Leyva. After she perished, Don 
 Alonzo and all his company were received into the hulk of St. Anna, 
 with all the goods they had in the ships of any value ; as plate, 
 apparel, money, jewels, and armour, leaving behind them victual, 
 ordnance, and much other stuff, which the hulk was not able to carry 
 away." It will be seen from the above that it is stated that it was in 
 the St. Anna De Leyva embarked, after the loss of his own vessel ; 
 but it would appear from " La Felicissima Armada'' that it was in 
 the San Martin they took ship, and afterward removed to the Duquesa 
 Santa Anna. 
 
 The number of wrecks of the Spanish vessels on the Irish coast 
 was largely due to the insufficiency of their anchor-gear ; and in 
 explanation of this, it may be observed that it was chiefly hempen 
 cables which were then in use ; and even in the largest vessels 
 substantial chain cables had not been adopted. 
 
 It would seem that when De Leyva had reached "O'Donnell's 
 country," he found the San Martin so much injured and in such a leaky 
 condition, that he abandoned her and placed his men and valuables in 
 the Duquesa Santa Anna, which, through the friendly aid of O'Neill 
 and McSwine, he was enabled to repair. After obtaining fresh stores 
 of provisions from the people of Tirconnell, De Leyva once more put to 
 sea ; but misfortune still followed in his track, and the Santa Anna 
 
 * Duro, p. 98 ; 25, i. 
 
28 
 
 ran on the rocks in Glennageveny Bay, a few miles west of Inisowen 
 Head. Still undaunted, De Leyva, though now sorely wounded in 
 escaping from the wreck, made another effort. The Girona, which 
 had also been patched up while at Killybegs, lay at anchor in a creek 
 in McSwine's territory, about twenty miles distant from where he now 
 was. In the Girona he determined to sail, and being unable to walk 
 or ride had himself carried across country, the remnant of his men 
 following him — for many had been drowned. Close to the shore, in 
 sight of that relentless sea from which they had already suffered 
 so keenly, these belated men encamped for the space of a week, using 
 every effort to make the Girona — their last means of escape — as tight 
 
 WRECK OI<" A CiAl 
 
 H COAST OF ANTRIM, SEPTEMBER, 1588. 
 
 and seaworthy as possible. They once more embarked, hoping to be 
 able at least to reach the coast of Scotland ; but their course was 
 nearly run ; and after a few days, while passing near to the Giant's 
 Causeway, they ran on a rock, and in a few minutes were dashed to 
 pieces. It is said every soul on board except five sailors — nobles, 
 mariners, soldiers, and slaves (who were kept as rowers) — were lost. 
 The actual spot of the wreck pointed to by tradition still bears the 
 name of " Spaniard Rock" the western head of Port-na-Spaniagh. 
 
 The State Papers (Ireland, 1588) contain the following reference 
 to this event: "The Spanish ship [the Girona] which arrived in 
 
2 9 
 
 Tirconnell with the McS weeny, was on Friday, the 18th of this present 
 month \Oct., is88\ descried over against Diuiluce, and by rough 
 weather was perished, so that there was driven to the land, being 
 drowned, the number of 260 persons, with certain butts of wine, 
 which Sorely Boy [MacDonnell] hath taken up for his use." There 
 was another of the Spanish ships wrecked near Dunluce, but the 
 name of the vessel is unknown. From this wreck the MacDonnells 
 recovered three pieces of cannon, which were subsequently claimed 
 by Sir John Chichester for the Government. These cannon were 
 mounted on Dunluce Castle, and MacDonnell refused to give them 
 up. He had also rescued eleven sailors from this wreck, as well as 
 the five from the Girona. These he all took under his protection, 
 and eventually sent them over in a boat to Scotland, from whence 
 they made their way home. From the depositions of an Irish sailor 
 named McGrath, who was on board the Girona, it appears that vessel 
 went aground on a long, low reef of rock at the mouth of the Bush 
 river, which reef was then known as the " Rock of Bunbois." 
 
 Of the authentic relics of the Armada, those which have attracted 
 most attention, and been the subject of most controversy, are the 
 iron chests. That there are a greater number of these chests still 
 preserved in Ireland than could reasonably be assumed to have 
 belonged to the Spanish vessels which perished on the Irish coast, 
 cannot be denied; nevertheless, it is a mistake which some writers 
 on the subject have fallen into, in supposing that no such chests were 
 in the Spanish vessels, and that they are a mere popular fiction, as 
 their introduction into Ireland must have been at least a century later 
 than the Armada period. The writer has been at pains to obtain 
 from the most trustworthy sources, both in this country and in 
 England, all the information possible, and the result is here sum- 
 marized. Having examined specimens of these treasure-chests in 
 South Kensington and elsewhere, belonging to the 14th, 15th, and 
 1 6th centuries, from the earliest chest downwards, the same features 
 are apparent in their construction and ornamentation. They were by 
 no means peculiar to Spain, but were the typical and recognised 
 receptacles for valuables all over the Continent of Europe for many 
 centuries.* In Ireland these chests were in use in the time of the 
 O'Donnells, and were doubtless brought over in the vessels which 
 were frequently trading between the ports of Tirconnell and the 
 Brabant Marts. Within the past half-century, while some clay was 
 
 * Chests of the same type, called Ana, were discovered in the excavations 
 at Pompeii, where they were used for keeping the public money. 
 
3^ 
 
 being turned up and removed from the precincts of O'C/erfs Castle, 
 at Kilbarron, near Ballyshannon, the lid of one was discovered with 
 thejntricate system of bolts and levers attached. This is now in the 
 custody of the writer, having been kindly lent to him by the owner, 
 General Tredennick, Woodhill, Ardara. When brought to light, it 
 was supposed to have been the lock of the chief entrance to O'Clery's 
 stronghold, and continued to be so regarded till identified by the 
 writer as a portion of a fifteenth-century coffer. This discovery proves 
 beyond question that these chests were in use in Ireland, whether 
 
 A SPANISH TJREASU RE-CHEST. 
 
 brought over in Spanish or other vessels, at a much earlier date than 
 some have supposed. The lid found at O'Clery's Castle, it is reason- 
 able to infer, belonged to a chest which was used by the historians of 
 Tirconnell for the safe keeping of their valuable manuscripts and other 
 articles ; and, looking to the fact that their house and property were 
 confiscated within a period of twenty years or so after the Spanish 
 wrecks, and that Kilbarron was then plundered and dismantled, there 
 can be no doubt that the chest in question belonged to the period 
 when the O'Clerys flourished in their rock-bound fortress. The lid 
 itself offers a curious bit of evidence of its past history : a portion of 
 one of the hinges remains attached, showing that it had been wrenched 
 
3 1 
 
 off with violence, and that the chest to which it belonged had been 
 forced by some plundering enemy who had not possession of the 
 master-key, which actuated all the bolts of the lock. A similar lid 
 was found in the ruins of O'Donnell's Castle at Donegal, and is still 
 in existence in this neighbourhood. 
 
 There is in the possession of \Y. E. Kelly, Esq., St. Helen's, 
 Westport, Co. Mayo (to whom the writer is indebted for the informa- 
 tion), a very interesting treasure-chest, which bears satisfactory evidence 
 of having been recovered from one of the Armada ships wrecked on 
 that coast in 1588. After "the flight of the Earls," a branch of the 
 O'Donnells migrated from Tirconnell to Newport, Co. Mayo, and one 
 of the family — Conel O'Donnell, brother of Sir Neal O'Donnell — 
 obtained from a peasant, who lived on the sea-shore at Clew Bay, the 
 chest in question. No particulars are forthcoming as to the exact spot 
 where the peasant found it ; but it bears evidence, from its corrosion, 
 of having been subjected to the prolonged action of sea water, and it 
 is not unlikely that this relic was on board the Rata, which De Leyva 
 set fire to in Blacksod Bay. The size of the chest is 2 ft. ioi ins. long, 
 1 ft. 9 ins. wide, and 1 ft. 7^ ins. high. 
 
 In the Armada Exhibition, at Drury Lane, held October, 1888, 
 the following amongst other relics were shown : 
 
 11 No. 240. — Spanish treasure-chest, with two keys ; the larger key 
 is emblematical, the bow being the ecclesiastical A.N., the wards 
 being ' chevron ' and ' cross.' Inside of chest has engraved face-plate 
 to lock, perforated with Spanish eagles for design. 
 
 "No. 241. — Spanish treasure-chest, believed to have come out of 
 the Santa Anna, etc. 
 
 " No. 242. — Iron chest from Armada. This chest is of most remark- 
 able construction : there is an apparent keyhole, but the real one is 
 concealed in the lid, which is one large lock, the lock-plate of which 
 is of very fine workmanship of polished iron. 
 
 "No. 243. — Iron treasure-chest, taken from the Spanish war-ship 
 during the fight with the Armada. 
 
 "Spanish matchlock, taken from a Spaniard on the coast of Ireland. 
 
 ".Spear head, from one of the Armada ships, wrecked off the coast 
 of Donegal. 
 
 " A spoon of curious floral design, found on the shore close to 
 Dunluce Castle, about 90 years ago [supposed to be from the wreck 
 of the GironaJ\ n * 
 
 * From the Official Catalogue of Tercentenary Exhibition of Spanish Armada. 
 
32 
 
 Turning to Cuellar's narrative, in speaking of the wrecks at 
 Streedagh, Co. Sligo, of which he was an eye-witness, the following 
 occurs : * " And then [the Irish] betook themselves to the shore to 
 plunder and break open money chests." These are called in Spanish 
 Areas, i.e., iron chests with flat lids to hold money, etc. 
 
 In the State Papers (Ireland, 1588) several references to money 
 chests in the Spanish ships appear. " Plate and ducats " are spoken 
 of as being "rifled out of their chests." At 2nd Aug., 1588 [exam- 
 ination of Spanish prisoners], from the " Nuestra Seiiora del Rosario," 
 "a chest of the King's was taken wherein was 52,000 ducats, of which 
 chest Don Pedro de Valdez had one key and the King's treasurer or 
 the Duke another. Besides [it is added], many of the gentlemen had 
 good store of money aboard the said ship ; also, there was wrought 
 plate and a great store of precious jewels and rich apparel." 
 
 In State Papers [4th and 5th August, 1588], in describing the 
 capture of a Spanish "Carrach " — the San Salvador — it is said : " This 
 very night some inkling came unto us that a chest of great weight 
 should be found in the fore-peak of the ship," etc. These and many 
 other references to both treasure and treasure-chests, taken from 
 contemporary sources, show that the Spanish treasure-chests are not 
 mythical, but formed a necessary part of the outfit of an expedition, 
 on which those who had entered had staked all their riches and had 
 brought their valuables with them. A fine specimen of the treasure- 
 chest is in the possession of Major Hamilton, Brownhall. It has 
 been in his family for such a period that its history is lost. The 
 ornamental open-work of polished steel, which covers the inside of 
 lid, is a very fine specimen of mediaeval iron work. 
 
 In Western Tirconnell is a cluster of islands which, collectively, are 
 called The Rosses. About four and a half miles north-west of 
 Mullaghderg are the "Spanish Stags" or " Enchanted Ships." On 
 this wild and rocky coast, abounding in shoals and sunken rocks, one 
 of the Spanish ships was cast away. Here lies buried in the sand the 
 remains of one of them. A little more than a century ago, an 
 expedition of young men, whose imagination was heated by the 
 traditional accounts of buried treasure, set out in a boat to the 
 Spanish rock, and being good divers and expert swimmers, they 
 succeeded in reaching the wreck. They got on the upper deck, and 
 were able by great effort and perseverance to recover a quantity of 
 lead : they raised a number of brass guns, some of which were 10 feet 
 
 * See Mr. Crawford's translation and relative note, Part II. 
 
33 
 
 long. These were broken up and sold as scrap metal at 4hd. per lb. 
 The iron guns, of which they found a number, were left in the water. 
 This vessel, tradition says, was a treasure ship ; at all events, a 
 number of Spanish gold coins were found, and were in existence some 
 years ago. The brass cannon which were found bore the Spanish 
 arms. It is said some of the Spaniards from this vessel escaped to 
 land, and spent the rest of their lives amongst the Irish in The Rosses. 
 In the spring of 1895, an attempt was made to search for the 
 remains of this ship. A small steamer, called the Harbour Lights, 
 visited the spot, and remained for a fortnight, but without being 
 able to accomplish anything. Owing to the accumulation of sand, 
 which now covers the wreck, there are great obstacles in the way of 
 reaching- it. At about a distance of two miles to the south of the 
 
 "Spanish Rock " another vessel was wrecked, in the Bay of Castle- 
 fort, inside of the North Island of Aran. In 1853, the coastguards 
 at Rutland, under the superintendence of their chief officer, Mr. 
 Richard Heard, and at the instance of Admiral Sir Erasmus Ommanney, 
 C.B., who was" on a tour of inspection in that year, had their attention 
 directed to the wreck. The search was rewarded by the recovery of 
 a fine anchor, which was forthwith transmitted to London, and pre- 
 sented by the Admiral to the United Service Institution, Whitehall 
 Place. Through the kindness of Sir Erasmus Ommanney, an engraving* 
 of this interesting relic is presented, and the writer is also indebted to 
 
 From a photograph kindly taken by T. B. M'Dowell, Esq.. London. 
 
34 
 
 him for the particulars of the discovery of the anchor. A portion of 
 one of the brass cannon recovered from the Girona was in Castle- 
 caldwell Museum, till the collection was disposed of. The fine 
 figurehead of one of the ships wrecked off Streedagh, which is shown 
 on the first page, is the only existing specimen in Ireland. In the 
 Parish Church of Carndonagh is a bell, which tradition says was 
 recovered from an Armada vessel wrecked at Inishowen. It bears 
 the following legend : " Sancta : Maria : Ora : Pro : Nobis Ricardus 
 Pottar [his sign or trade mark] De Vruain Me Fecit Alia [Allelujah]. 
 The following are the names of the Spanish vessels lost on the 
 coasts of Ulster and Connacht, so far as they are known (several 
 nameless vessels were also cast away) : 
 
 Duquesa Santa Anna ... ... ... 900 tons. 
 
 The Rata 820 ,, 
 
 The San Martin — 
 
 El Gran Grifon, Capitana ... ... 650 ,, 
 
 The Girona ... ... ... ... — 
 
 The San Juan ... ... ... ... 530 ,, 
 
 La Trinidad Vale?icei-a ... ... ...1,100 „ 
 
 In the valuable work, entitled " State Papers relating to the Defeat 
 of the Spanish Armada, Anno 1588," by Professor Laughton (Navy 
 Records Society) — a work which throws much light on the history of 
 the period, and should be studied in connection with Captain Duro's 
 book — the following remarks are made as to the cause of the loss of 
 so many Spanish vessels: "The Spanish ships were lost partly from 
 bad pilotage, partly from bad seamanship, but chiefly because they 
 were leaking like sieves, had no anchors, their masts and rigging 
 shattered, their water casks smashed." 
 
 The actual numbers when the fleet sailed from the Tagus 
 on the 20th May were: 130 ships, 57,868 tons, 2,431 guns, 8,050 
 seamen, 18,973 soldiers, 1,382 volunteers, 2,088 slaves (as rowers). 
 
PART II. 
 
AY 7 - 192E 
 
 mi 
 CAPTAIN CUELLAR'S 
 
 NARRATIVE 
 
 of 
 
 THE SPANISH ARMADA 
 
 AND OF 
 
 His Wanderings and Adventures in Ireland. 
 (Dated October 4th, 1589). 
 
 Translated by 
 
 ROBERT CRAWFORD, M.A., M.R.I. A., &c. 
 
 From the Spanish Tex/, 
 
 AS GIVEN IN 
 
 "LA ARMADA INVENCIBLEr 
 
 By CAPTAIN CESAREO FERNANDEZ DURO, 
 
 Published in Madrid, 1884-5. 
 
Translator 's Preface. 
 
 Shortly after the publication in Madrid of the second volume of 
 Captain Duro's book — "La Armada Invencible" — the Earl of Ducie 
 drew special attention to it in an article which appeared in the 
 number of the Nineteenth Century for September, 1885. 
 
 Subsequently Mr. Froude took up the subject, and discoursed 
 upon it in Longman's Magazine for September, October, and 
 November, 1891, giving a general sketch of the salient features of the 
 ill-fated expedition from the Spanish point of view, as disclosed in the 
 pages of the book in question. 
 
 These glowing pictures aroused much public interest at the time ; 
 but they were especially attractive to those persons who happened to 
 combine the conditions of possessing antiquarian tastes, and living 
 near the localities brought into prominence by the recital of the great 
 disasters which befel the " Invincible Armada." 
 
 Of all the exciting scenes in that eventful episode in our history, 
 none was more tragic than the wreck of three of the largest of the 
 Spanish ships, which took place, simultaneously, in the bay of Donegal, 
 on the north-west coast of Ireland, in September, 1588. 
 
 The fact that in Captain Duro's book there appeared a hitherto 
 unpublished narrative of the event, written at the time by Don 
 Francisco Cuellar, one of the survivors of the catastrophe, and giving 
 a minute account of his wanderings and adventures in the country 
 where he was cast away, contributed to increase the local interest in 
 the matter. 
 
 Mr. Hugh Allingham at once began a series of exhaustive 
 investigations in relation to Cuellar's descriptions, the results of 
 which he subsequently placed before the public in the pages of the 
 Ulster Journal of Archaeology \ April, 1895. 
 
 It was solely with the object of assisting him in the researches 
 he then undertook that this translation was prepared, and there was 
 no intention at the time of any future publication of it. 
 
 It was a matter of importance to facilitate the process of identifi- 
 cation as regards the various localities referred to, as well as to avoid 
 the danger of misinterpreting the writer's meaning when dealing with 
 obscure passages ; conditions requiring the translation to be as literal 
 as possible, and leaving the translator with but little freedom in 
 
4° 
 
 treating a language that at best does not lend itself easily to repro- 
 duction in the English idiom. 
 
 These facts are mentioned to account for the style in which it has 
 been prepared, as it has no pretensions to merit, except in so far as 
 care has been taken to follow closely the wording of the original Spanish. 
 
 As Mr. Allingham is now about to publish a new edition of his 
 " Spanish Armada in Ulster and Connacht," it has been considered 
 desirable that this translation should be added to it in extenso for the 
 convenience of reference. I have, therefore, gone carefully over it 
 again, comparing it with the Spanish text, and have made some slight 
 alterations of an occasional word or phrase in it to make the matter 
 more explicit. 
 
 This will explain why in some of Mr. Allingham's quotations from 
 the original translation, as given in the first edition of his paper on 
 this subject, a word here and there may be found to differ from those 
 contained in the present version ; but the change does not affect the 
 sense or meaning of any passage, with, I think, a couple of exceptions. 
 
 The first of these relates to where Cuellar describes the English as 
 going about searching "for us who had escaped [from the perils of 
 the sea. All the monks had fled] to the woods," etc. The part 
 within the brackets was left out in the original translation by the 
 accidental omission of a line in copying the rough draft ; and, as the 
 mutilated sentence still made sense, the omission was not detected 
 at the time. 
 
 The other is the only really important change, and I will now 
 proceed to deal with it. 
 
 The Spanish words are: "Hacienda Norte de las montanas" which 
 I originally translated as "making for the north of the mountains"; 
 but now prefer to render by the alternative reading : " Making for the 
 direction of the mountains." 
 
 I will first show that this latter translation is also perfectly correct, 
 and that I am justified in adopting it, and then explain my reason for 
 doing so. 
 
 In Spanish dictionaries generally the meaning of Norte is given, 
 primarily, as North, signifying either the Arctic pole, the northern part 
 of the sphere, the polar star, the north wind, etc.; but it is also used 
 in another and metaphorical sense. 
 
 In the best authority we have on such matters — the Dictionary of 
 the Spanish Academy — we find that Norte also means direction, guide, 
 "the allusion being taken from the North Star, by which navigators 
 guide themselves with the direction of the nautical needle" [or 
 
4i 
 
 mariner's compass]. With such an authority to support me, I think 
 it can scarcely be disputed that the alternative translation, which I 
 recommend, is a fair one. 
 
 I will now explain why I prefer it to my first reading of the passage. 
 Cuellar's statement leaves no room for doubt that it was to O'Rourke's 
 country, lying along and to the south of the Leitrim range of moun- 
 tains, he was bound; while Mr. Allingham's investigations make it 
 equally certain, in my opinion, that Glenade was the particular place 
 Cuellar came to, as described in his account of his wanderings. 
 
 Now, as Glenade is among the Leitrim mountains, not on their 
 northern side — along which, in the first instance, I had supposed 
 Cuellar's route to lie — it became necessary for me to re-examine my 
 position and make sure whether the Spanish text required a rigid 
 adherence to my first translation, or might admit of some alternative 
 reading that would account for the apparent discrepancy. 
 
 The result was, as already explained, that the pages of the 
 dictionary disclosed a perfectly easy and admissible treatment of the 
 passage in question, that solved the difficulty without the necessity of 
 resorting to any postulates, or putting a forced or novel interpretation 
 upon the words. 
 
 Here, perhaps, I should refer to the fact that two other translators 
 of Cuellar's narrative — Professor O'Reilly in the Proceedings of the 
 Royal Irish Academy, December, 1893, and Mr. Sedgwick in a small 
 volume recently published by Mr. Elkin Mathews, of Vigo Street, 
 London — give this passage a very different meaning to that which I 
 attach to it, while they agree tolerably closely with each other. 
 
 Professor O'Reilly omits all mention of the mountains, and trans- 
 lates only the rest of the sentence, as : " Taking the northerly direction 
 pointed out by the boy"; while Mr. Sedgwick puts it in this form: 
 " Striking north for the mountains the boy had pointed out.'' 
 
 This latter reading gives the preposition (de) exactly the opposite 
 signification to that which it usually bears. 
 
 But, apart from this, there is another and, I think, a fatal objection 
 to the two foregoing translations of the phrase. 
 
 Both agree that the boy told Cuellar to go straight on to moun- 
 tains, pointed out by him, as the place behind which O'Rourke lived. 
 If so, these mountains could not have been situated to the north of 
 where he was at the time, as to go from thence in anything like a 
 northerly direction would have brought him at once into the sea, 
 which lay to the north of him, and extended for several miles farther 
 eastwards. 
 
4 2 
 
 That this fact must have been apparent to both Cuellar and his 
 guide as they went along will be recognised by those who are 
 acquainted with the locality, which everywhere looks down upon 
 the ocean. 
 
 There is another rather important point upon which I differ from 
 the two gentlemen already named, who here again agree closely with 
 each other. It relates to the position of the village in which 
 MacClancy's retainers lived. Cuellar says it was established upon 
 " tierrafirme" which one translates zspirm, the other as solid, ground. 
 To me the context appears to indicate clearly that the expression was 
 intended to bear its ordinary idiomatic interpretation of mainland in 
 contradistinction to the position of the castle itself, which we are told 
 was built in the lake. 
 
 There are several other expressions about the meaning of which 
 we differ ; but I will only refer to some of them, that are of sufficient 
 importance, either directly or indirectly, to make it desirable that 
 Cuellar's statement concerning them should be correctly given. I do 
 not refer to them in any spirit of adverse criticism, but in the interests 
 of accuracy, as regards details, in the description of an important 
 historical event. 
 
 Both parties translate mantes as mountains. This, I think, is a 
 mistake : it should be woods. Cuellar repeatedly uses the correct 
 word, mon tanas, to express mountains ; so that when we find him 
 writing montes, the natural inference is that he was referring to some- 
 thing of a different nature ; besides, monies is frequently made use of 
 in Spanish to denote woods. 
 
 Professor O'Reilly translates mania as cloak throughout ; while 
 Mr. Sedgwick also does so the first time he meets with it, but calls it 
 blanket always afterwards. Manta means a blanket, but manto is a 
 mantle, veil, or cloak ; and the error alluded to is due, no doubt, to 
 the similarity of the two words. 
 
 Again, both gentlemen translate un trompeta as a trumpet : it 
 should be a trumpeter. The cause of the mistake here lies in over- 
 looking the nature of the article made use of. Trompeta is both a 
 masculine and feminine noun. The former signifies the man who 
 blows a trumpet, and the latter is the instrument itself. In the 
 present instance, the article (un) being masculine, shows that the 
 word is used in its masculine sense, and therefore means a 
 trumpeter. 
 
 I will now briefly refer to a few cases of the two translators 
 separately, taking Professor O'Reilly first. 
 
43 
 
 Galleon and galley do not translate each other, but refer to very 
 different classes of ships. 
 
 Cuellar did not remain on board his own ship after he had been 
 sentenced to death and reprieved, but was detained on the ship of the 
 Judge Advocate, in which he was subsequently wrecked. The 
 number of dead bodies lying on the shore where he was cast away is 
 given by Cuellar as more than 600, not as more than 800. 
 
 " Casiiias de paja " means, I think, that the huts were not merely 
 thatched with straw, but composed of it altogether. This appears 
 to be clear from the fact that Cuellar uses another expression — "Casas 
 pajizas " — when he wished to describe the thatched houses in Ocan's 
 village. 
 
 Referring to the ship that Cuellar's companions — who outstripped 
 him — embarked upon, and in the wreck of which they were sub- 
 sequently lost, Professor O'Reilly says she " diifted there by good luck " 
 (con gran fortuna). I think this is not the true meaning of the 
 passage, but that the ship was driven in "by a great tempest" or 
 storm ; for he goes on to say that her main-mast and rigging were 
 much injured. It should be borne in mind that fortuna means a 
 storm or tempest, as well as fortune or luck. 
 
 Turning now to Mr. Sedgwick's translation, he gives Ancients as 
 the English equivalent for Alferez, which is probably some curious 
 misprint; for the ordinary meaning of the word is ensign. 
 
 Again, Sierra does not mean a " peak," but a mountain ridge or 
 range. 
 
 Pelotes is given as goat-skin : it should be goat's hair. 
 
 " Ypues el salvaje sentia tan to desmamparar su Castillo" is trans- 
 lated : "And since the savage had resolved to abandon his castle." 
 This should be : " Besides [or since] the savage regretted so much to 
 abandon his castle." 
 
 Here it may be remarked that Cuellar always calls the natives of 
 Ireland savages, which seems very ungrateful on his part, as many of 
 them showed him great kindness. It would have been pleasanter for 
 a translator at the present day to have softened the harsher expression 
 by substituting native for it, as Professor O'Reilly has done ; but it 
 appears to me that this does not convey the correct meaning of what 
 Cuellar had in view when he used the word salvaje. 
 
 Referring to MacClancy's Castle, Cuellar says : "Por lo qua! no se 
 puede ganar este Castillo por agua, ni por la banda de tierra que esta 
 mas cerca de el." Mr. Sedgwick translates it thus: "For this reason 
 the castle is safe from attack, and is inaccessible both by water and 
 
44 
 
 by the strip of land that runs up to it." This would look as if the 
 castle stood upon a promontory of the mainland, instead of being built 
 in the lake, as Cuellar, at the beginning of the same paragraph, tells 
 us it was. 
 
 I think the true meaning of the passage is this : " For which 
 reason the castle could not be taken by water nor by the shore of the 
 land that is nearest to it." 
 
 To conclude : there appears to be an important error in Mr. 
 Sedgwick's translation, beginning with the title, and repeated in the 
 first and last sentences of this book, besides occurring several times 
 throughout its pages. I refer to the statement that Cuellar's letter 
 was written to King Philip II., and to the constant use of the expression 
 " Your Majesty " to the person he was addressing. 
 
 I cannot find the slightest evidence in support of this assumption : 
 on the contrary, everything in the letter would seem to contradict it. 
 It is written in a familiar, chatty style, as to a person with whom the 
 writer was on fairly familiar terms, and was certainly not such as a 
 captain in the Spanish navy would address to his Sovereign. 
 
 The error must, I think, have arisen from some misconception as 
 to the meaning of the abbreviations made use of in Spanish epistolary 
 correspondence. 
 
 In twelve instances I find that Mr. Sedgwick has apparently 
 mistaken the initials V.m. (a capital V followed by a small m), which 
 stand for Vuestra merced — the usual form in which untitled persons 
 addressed each other — for V.M. (where both letters are capitals), 
 meaning Vuestra Majestad (Your Majesty). Once (on page 12)- he 
 gives a similar rendering of the letters S.M., which stand for Su 
 Majestad (His Majesty), although on page 104 he translates the same 
 initials correctly. On page 98 he uses the same formula (Your 
 Majesty) to represent the expression La Majestad (The Majesty), and 
 on page 102 he makes it do duty for the whole expression "La 
 Majestad del rey nuestro Senor" (the majesty of the King, our Lord). 
 
 ROBERT CRAWFORD. 
 
 Stonewold, Ballyshannon. 
 March 2gtk, 1897. 
 
Translation of 
 CAPTAIN CUELLAR'S 
 
 Narrative of the Spanish Armada 
 
 Letter of One who was with the Armada of [for] England, 
 and an Account of the Expedition. 
 
 ^^ BELIEVE that you' 11 will be astonished at seeing this letter 
 A on account of the slight certainty that could have existed as 
 ^ 1 to my being alive. That you (2) may be quite sure of this I 
 write it [the letter], and at some length, for which there is 
 sufficient reason in the great hardships and misfortunes I have passed 
 through since the Armada sailed from Lisbon for England, from which 
 our Lord, in His infinite good pleasure, delivered me. 
 
 As I have not had an opportunity to write to you (3) for more than 
 a vear, I have not done so until now that God has brought me to 
 these States of Flanders, where I arrived twelve days ago with the 
 Spaniards who escaped from the ships that were lost in Ireland, 
 Scotland, and Shetland, which were more than twenty of the largest 
 in the Armada. 
 
 In them came a great force of picked infantry, many captains, 
 ensigns/ 4 ' camp-masters, 15 ' and other war officials, besides several 
 gentlemen and scions' 6 ' of nobility, out of all of whom, being more 
 than two hundred, not five survived ; because some of them were 
 drowned, and those who reached the shore by swimming were cut 
 in pieces by the English, whom the Queen keeps quartered in the 
 Kingdom of Ireland. 
 
 (i, 2, 3) \'.m., initials representing Vuestra merced = your worship, your 
 honour, or sir, you. 
 
 (4). Aiferez = ensign. 
 
 (5). Maesos de Campo — an obsolete form for Maestre de Campo, an ancient 
 military officer of superior rank, who commanded a certain number of troops. 
 In the English State Papers of that period the translation adopted for it is simply 
 camp-master. 
 
 (6). Mayorazgos — heirs to estates, by right of primogeniture. 
 
46 
 
 I escaped from the sea and from these enemies by having com- 
 mended myself very earnestly to our Lord, and to the Most Holy 
 Virgin, His Mother ; and with me three hundred and odd soldiers, 
 who also knew how to save themselves and to swim to shore. With 
 them I experienced great misfortunes : naked and shoe-less all the 
 winter : passing more than seven months among mountains and 
 woods with savages, which they all are in those parts of Ireland where 
 we were shipwrecked. 
 
 I think it is not right for me to omit to narrate to you, or to keep 
 back, the injuries and the great insults' 7 ' that it was sought to inflict 
 upon me, so wrongfully, and without my having committed the fault 
 of neglecting to do my duty, from which our Lord delivered me. 
 
 Having been condemned to death, as you will have known, and so 
 ignominiously, and seeing the severity with which the order for 
 execution was given, I demanded, with much spirit and anger, why 
 they inflicted upon me so great an insult and dishonour, I having 
 served the King as a good soldier and loyal subject of his on all 
 occasions and in the encounters which we had with the fleet of the 
 enemy, from which the galleon I commanded always came out of 
 action very badly injured, and with many people killed and wounded. 
 
 In it (my demand) I requested that a copy of the order should be 
 given me, and that a judicial inquiry should be made of the three 
 hundred and fifty men who were on board the galleon, and if any one 
 of them considered me to blame they might quarter me. 
 
 They did not wish to listen to me, nor to many gentlemen who 
 interceded on my behalf, replying that the Duke was then in retire- 
 ment, and very morose, and unwilling that any one should speak with 
 him ; because, in addition to the miserable success which he always 
 had with the enemy, on the day of my trouble he was informed that 
 the two galleons — San Mateo and San Felipe — of those from Portugal, 
 in which were the two camp-masters, (8 ' Don Francisco de Toledo, 
 brother of the Count of Orgaz, and Don Diego Pimentel, brother 
 of the Marquis de Tavara, were lost in the sea, and most of those 
 they carried were cut to pieces and dead. 
 
 On this account the Duke kept to his cabin, and the councillors, 
 to make up for his perversity, (9) did wrongs, right and left, on the lives 
 and reputations of blameless persons ; and this is so public that every 
 one knows it. 
 
 (7). Agravios = offences, insults. 
 (8). A/aesos de Campo. See Note 5. 
 (9). Avieso — irregular, perverse. 
 
47 
 
 The galleon San Pedro, in which I sailed, received much injury 
 from many heavy cannon balls, which the enemy lodged in her in 
 various parts ; and although they were repaired as well as was possible 
 at the time, there were still some hidden shot-holes through which 
 much water entered. 
 
 After the fierce engagement we had off Calais on the 8th of 
 August, continuing from the morning till seven o'clock in the evening 
 — which was the last of all — our Armada being in the act of retiring— 
 oh ! I don't know how I can say it— the fleet of our enemy followed 
 behind to drive us from their country ; and when it was accomplished, 
 and everything was safe, which was on the 10th of the same [month], 
 seeing that the enemy had stopped [ceased to follow], some of the 
 ships of our Armada trimmed up and repaired their damages. 
 
 On this day, for my great sins, I was resting for a little, as for ten 
 days I had not slept nor ceased to assist at whatever was necessary 
 for me, — a pilot [mate], a bad man whom I had, without saying any- 
 thing to me, made sail and passed out in advance of the admiral's ship 
 for about two miles, as other ships had done, in order to effect repairs. 
 
 When about to lower sails, to see where the galleon was leaking, a 
 tender came alongside and summoned me, on the part of the Duke, 
 to go on board the admiral's ship. I proceeded thither ; but before 
 I reached her, orders were given in another ship that I and another 
 gentleman, who was named Don Cristobal de Avila, who went as 
 captain of a store-ship — which was far ahead of my galleon — should be 
 put to death in a most ignominious manner. 
 
 When I heard of this severity, I thought I should have burst with 
 passion, saying that all should bear me witness of the great wrong 
 done to me, I having served so well, as could be seen by written 
 document. 
 
 The Duke heard nothing of all this, because, as I say, he was in 
 retirement. Senor Don Francisco Bovadilla alone was he who 
 ordered and countermanded in the Armada; and by him, and others, 
 whose evil deeds are well known, all was managed. 
 
 He ordered me to be taken to the ship of the J ridge" ' Advocate 
 General, that his advice should be carried out on me. I went there: 
 and although he was severe, the Judge Advocate — Martin de Aranda, 
 for so they called him — heard me, and obtained confidential informa- 
 tion concerning me. He discovered that I had served His Majesty 
 as a good soldier, for which reason he did not venture to carry out 
 
 (io). Auditor — a Judge appointed to assist military or naval officers with his 
 advice in Law proceedings. 
 
48 
 
 on me the order that had been given him. He wrote to the Duke 
 about it, that if he did not order him in writing, and signed by his 
 own hand, he would not execute that order, because he saw that I 
 was not in fault, nor was there cause for it. 
 
 Accompanying it, I wrote a letter to the Duke of such a nature 
 that it made him consider the affair carefully, and he replied to the 
 Judge Advocate that he should not execute the order upon me, but 
 on Don Cristobal, whom they hanged with great cruelty and ignominy, 
 being a gentleman and well known. 
 
 God was pleased to deliver me because I was not in fault, which 
 you will be able to know well, or will have known from many persons 
 who saw it [eye-witnesses]. 
 
 The said Judge Advocate was always very courteous to me, 
 because of the great respect he had for those who were in the right. 
 
 I remained in his ship, in which we were in imminent danger of 
 death, because she opened so much with a storm which sprang up 
 that she continually filled with water, and we could not dry her out 
 with the pumps. We had neither remedy nor succour, except it was 
 from God j for the Duke still did not appear, and all the Armada 
 proceeded, scattered in such manner by the storm that some ships 
 went to Germany, others drove on the islands of Holland and Zealand 
 into the enemies' hands, others went to Shetland, others to Scotland, 
 where they were lost and burned. More than twenty were lost in the 
 Kingdom of Ireland, with all the chivalry and flower of the Armada. 
 
 As I have said, the ship I sailed in was from the Levant, to which 
 were attached two others, very large, to afford us aid if they could. 
 
 In these came Don Diego Enriquez, " the hunchback," as camp- 
 master; and not being able to weather [round or double] Cape 
 Clear (?), in Ireland, on account of the severe storm which arose 
 upon the bow, he was forced to make for the land with these three 
 ships, which, as I say, were of the largest size, and to anchor more 
 than half a league from the shore, where we remained for four days 
 without being able to make any provision, nor could it even be made. 
 
 On the fifth [day] there sprang up so great a storm on our beam, 
 with a sea up to the heavens, so that the cables could not hold nor 
 the sails serve us, and we were driven ashore with all three ships upon 
 a beach, covered with very fine sand, shut in on one side and the 
 other by great rocks. 
 
 Such a thing was never seen : for within the space of an hour all 
 three ships were broken in pieces, so that there did not escape three 
 hundred men, and more than one thousand were drowned, among 
 
49 
 
 them many persons of importance—captains, gentlemen, and other 
 officials. 
 
 Don Diego Enriquez died there one of the saddest deaths that has 
 ever been seen in the world. 
 
 In consequence of fearing the very heavy sea that was washing 
 over the highest part of the wrecks, he took his ship's boat that was 
 decked,. and he and the son of the Count of Villa Franca and two 
 other Portuguese gentlemen, with more than sixteen thousand ducats, 
 in jewels and crown-pieces, placed themselves under the deck of the 
 said boat, and gave the order to close and caulk the hatchway by 
 which they had entered. 
 
 Thereupon more than seventy men, who had remained alive, 
 jumped from the ship to the boat, and while she was making for the 
 land so great a wave washed over her that she sank, and all on deck 
 were swept away. 
 
 Then she drifted along, rolling over in different directions with 
 the waves, until she went ashore, where she settled wrong side up, 
 and by these mischances the gentlemen who had placed themselves 
 under the deck died within. 
 
 More than a day and a half after she had grounded, some savages 
 arrived, who turned her up for the purpose of extracting nails or 
 pieces of iron ; and, breaking through the deck, they drew out the 
 dead men. 
 
 Don Diego Enriquez expired in their hands, and they stripped 
 him, and took away the jewels and money which they (the dead men) 
 had, casting the bodies aside without burying them. 
 
 And because it is a wonderful occurrence, and true without doubt 
 (of a certainty), I have wished to narrate it to you in order that it may be 
 known there (on your side) the manner in which this gentleman died. 
 And as it would not be right to omit to mention my own good 
 fortune, and how I got to land, I say that I placed myself on the top 
 of the poop of my ship, after having commended myself to Cod and 
 to Our Lady, and from thence I gazed at the terrible spectacle. Many 
 were drowning within the ships ; others, casting themselves into the 
 water, sank to the bottom without returning to the surface ; others on 
 rafts and barrels, and gentlemen on pieces of timber; others cried 
 aloud in the ships, calling upon God ; captains threw their chains and 
 crown-pieces into the sea ; the waves swept others away, washing 
 them out of the ships. 
 
 While I was regarding this solemn"" scene, I did not know what 
 
 u). Fiesta — feast. This is a curious use of the word. 
 
5° 
 
 to do, nor what means to adopt, as I did not know how to swim, and 
 the waves and storm were very great ; and, on the other hand, the 
 land and the shore were full of enemies, who went about jumping and 
 dancing with delight at our misfortunes; and when any one of our 
 people reached the beach, two hundred savages and other enemies 
 fell upon him and stripped him of what he had on until he was left 
 in his naked skin. Such they maltreated and wounded without pity, 
 all of which was plainly visible from the battered ships, and it did not 
 seem to me that there was anything good happening on any side. 
 
 I went to the Judge Advocate — God pardon him ! —he was very 
 sorrowful and depressed, and I said to him that he should make 
 some provision for saving his life before the ship went to pieces, as 
 she could not last for half a quarter of an hour longer; nor did she last it. 
 
 Most of her complement of men and all the captains and officers 
 were already drowned and dead when I determined to seek means of 
 safety for my life, and placed myself upon a piece of the ship that 
 had been broken off, and the Judge Advocate followed me, loaded 
 with crown-pieces, which he carried stitched up in his waistcoat and 
 trousers. 
 
 There was no way to detach the portion of wreck from the ship's 
 side, as it was held fast by some heavy iron chains, and the sea and 
 the pieces of timber floating about loose struck it, nearly killing us. 
 
 I managed to find another resource, which was to take the cover 
 of a hatchway, about as large as a good-sized table, that by chance 
 the mercy of God brought to my hand. When I tried to place myself 
 upon it, it sank with me to a depth of six times my height below the 
 surface, and I swallowed so much water that I was nearly drowned. 
 
 When I came up again, I called to the Judge Advocate, and I 
 managed to get him upon the hatchway cover with myself. In the 
 act of casting off from the ship, there came a huge wave, breaking 
 over us in such a manner that the Judge Advocate was unable to 
 resist it, and the wave bore him away and drowned him, crying out 
 and calling upon God while drowning. 
 
 I could not aid him, as the hatchway cover, being without weight 
 at one end, began to turn over with me, and at that moment a piece 
 of timber crushed my legs. 
 
 With great exertion, I righted myself upon my supporting timber; 
 and, supplicating Our Lady of Ontanar, there came four waves, one 
 after the other, and, without knowing how, or knowing how to swim, 
 they cast me upon the shore, where I emerged, unable to stand, all 
 covered with blood, and very much injured. 
 
5 1 
 
 The enemies and savages, who were on the beach stripping those 
 who had been able to reach it by swimming, did not touch me nor 
 approach me, seeing me, as I have said, with my legs and hands and 
 my linen trousers covered with blood. In this condition I proceeded, 
 little by little, as I could, meeting many Spaniards stripped to the 
 skin, without any kind of clothing whatsoever upon them, chattering 
 with the cold, which was severe, and thus I stopped for the night in 
 a deserted place, and was forced to lie down upon some rushes on the 
 ground, with the great pain I suffered in my leg. 
 
 Presently a gentleman came up to me, a very nice young fellow, 
 quite naked, and he was so dazed that he could not speak, not even 
 to tell me who he was ; and at that time, which would be about nine 
 o'clock at night, the wind was calm and the sea subsiding. I was 
 then wet through to the skin, (l2) dying with pain and hunger, when 
 there came up two people — one of them armed, and the other with a 
 large iron axe in his hands— and upon reaching me and the other 
 [man] who was with me, we remained silent, as if we had not anything 
 amiss [with us]. They were sorry to see us; and without speaking a 
 word to us, cut a quantity of rushes and grass, covered us well, and 
 then betook themselves to the shore to plunder and break open (,3) 
 money-chests and whatever they might find, at which work more than 
 two thousand savages and Englishmen, who were stationed in garrisons 
 near there, took part. 
 
 Managing to rest a little, I began to doze ; and when fast asleep, 
 at about one o'clock in the night, I was disturbed by a great noise of 
 men on horseback — there were more than two hundred of them — who 
 were going to plunder and destroy the ships. I turned to call my 
 companion, to see if he slept, and found he was dead, which 
 occasioned me great affliction and grief. I got to know afterwards 
 that he was a man of position. There he lay on the ground with more 
 than six hundred other dead bodies which the sea cast up, and the 
 crows and wolves (I4 ' devoured them, without there being any one to 
 bury them : not even poor Don Diego Enriquez. 
 
 (12). Hecho una sopa de agiia—na idiomatic expression, meaning "wet through 
 to the skin." 
 
 (13). Area — coffer, iron ehest for money. The dictionary of the Spanish 
 Academy gives a definition of Area, of which the following is a translation : "A 
 large chest, with flat lid attached to it by hinges or hooks, so that it can he opened 
 and shut, and which is fastened in front with a lock or padlock. It usually consists 
 of plain wood without lining in the interior or covering outside. 
 
 (14). Wolves did not disappear from Ireland till the early part of the eighteenth 
 century. There was a presentment for killing them, in the County of Cork, as late 
 as the year 17 10. 
 
5 2 
 
 At the dawn of day I began to walk, little by little, searching for 
 a monastery of monks, that I might repair 115 ' to it [or might recover 
 in it] as best I could, which I arrived at with much trouble and toil. 
 I found it deserted, and the church and images of the saints burned 
 and completely ruined, and twelve Spaniards hanging within the 
 church by the act of the Lutheran English, who went about searching 
 for us to make an end of all of us who had escaped [from the perils of 
 the sea. All the monks had fled] to the woods (l6) for fear of the enemies, 
 who would have sacrificed them as well if they had caught them, as 
 they were accustomed to do, leaving neither place of worship nor 
 hermitage standing ; for they had demolished them all, and made 
 them drinking-places for cows and swine. 
 
 In order that you may occupy yourself somewhat after dinner, 
 by way of amusement, in reading this letter, which will almost appear 
 as if taken from some book of chivalry, I write it at such length, so 
 that you may imagine the risks and hardships that I have experienced. 
 
 As I did not meet with any one at the said monastery, except the 
 Spaniards hanging within from the iron window gratings of the church, 
 I sallied forth speedily, and betook myself to a road which lay through 
 a great wood. When I had gone by it for the matter of a mile, I met 
 with a woman of more than eighty years of age, a rough savage, who 
 was carrying off five or six cows to hide them in that wood, so that 
 the English who had come to stop in her village might not take 
 them. 
 
 As she saw me, she stopped and recognised me, and said to me : 
 "Thou Spain." I said yes to her by signs, and that I had been ship- 
 wrecked. She began to lament much and to weep, making me signs 
 that I was near her house, but not to go there, as there were numerous 
 enemies in it, and they had cut the heads off many Spaniards. All 
 this was affliction and hardship for me, as I travelled alone, and badly 
 injured by a stick of timber, which almost broke my legs in the water. 
 
 At last, with the information of the old woman, I decided to go 
 to the shore, where the ships lay that were wrecked three days before, 
 where many parties of people went about carting away and removing 
 to their huts all our effects [spoils]. 
 
 I did not venture to show myself, nor to approach them, in order 
 that they might not strip me of the poor linen garment I had on my 
 
 (15). This might also be translated " that I might recover in it." 
 ( 16). The part within the brackets was accidentally omitted in copying the rough 
 draft of the original translation. Mantes signifies both mountains and woods. 
 Cuellar uses Montana to signify mountain, and mantes apparently for woods. He 
 also makes use of bost/ue, a wood with thick underbrush, or a thicket. 
 
53 
 
 back or kill me, until I saw two poor Spanish soldiers approaching, 
 stripped naked as when they were born, crying out and calling upon 
 God to help them. 
 
 The one bore a bad wound in the head, which they had given him 
 when stripping him. They came to me, as I called to them from 
 where I was concealed, and recounted to me the cruel deaths and 
 punishments which the English had inflicted upon more than one 
 hundred Spaniards they had taken. 
 
 With this intelligence there was no lack of affliction ; but God 
 gave me strength ; and after I had commended myself to Him, and to 
 His blessed Mother, I said to those two soldiers : "Let us proceed to 
 the ships where these people are going about plundering, perhaps we 
 shall find something to eat or drink, for it is certain that I shall die 
 of hunger." And going in that direction, we began to see dead 
 bodies, which was a great grief and pity to see those whom the sea 
 continued casting up. There were stretched out upon that strand 
 more than four hundred, among whom we recognised some, and the 
 poor Don Diego Enriquez, whom, with all my sad plight, I did not 
 wish to pass by without burying him in a pit, which we made in the 
 sand, at the water's edge. We laid him there along with another 
 very honourable captain, a great friend of mine, and we had not quite 
 finished burying them, when there came up to us two hundred 
 savages, to see what we were doing. We said to them, by signs, that 
 we were placing there those men who were our brothers, that the 
 crows might not eat them. 
 
 Then we went off, and searched for something to eat along the 
 shore — of biscuits, which the sea was casting up — when four savages 
 came up to me to strip me of the clothing which I wore, and another 
 was grieved and took them away; seeing that, they began to maltreat 
 me : and he may have been a chief, for they respected him. 
 
 This man, by the grace of God, assisted me and my two com- 
 panions, and brought us away from there, and remained a good while 
 in our company, until he put us on a road which led from the coast 
 to a village where he lived. There he told us to await him, and that 
 he would return soon and put us (I7) on the way to a good place. 
 
 Along with all this misery, that road was very stony, and I was 
 unable to move or go a step forward, because I went shoe-less, and 
 dying with pain in one of my legs, which was severely wounded. My 
 poor companions were naked and freezing with the cold, which was 
 
 (17). Encaminaria = would guide, put in the right road. 
 
54 
 
 very great ; and not being able to exist nor assist me, they went on in 
 front by the road, and I remained there supplicating God's favour. 
 
 He aided me, and I began to move along, little by little, and 
 reached a height, from whence I discovered some huts of straw; (l8) 
 and going towards them by a valley, I entered a wood. (I9 ' When I 
 had gone a distance of two shots of an arquebus in it, an old savage 
 of more than seventy years came out from behind the rocks, and two 
 young men, with their arms— one English, the other French — and a 
 girl of the age of twenty years, most beautiful (20) in the extreme, who 
 were all going to the shore to plunder. 
 
 When they saw me pass among the trees, they changed their course 
 towards me, and the Englishman came up saying, "Yield, Spanish 
 poltroon," (2I) and made a slash at me with a knife, desiring to kill me. 
 I warded off the blow with a stick which I carried in my hand ; but, 
 in the end, he got at me, and cut the sinew of my right leg. He 
 wanted to repeat the blow immediately, had not the savage come up 
 with his daughter, who may have been this Englishman's friend, i22) 
 and I replied he might do what he wished to me, for fortune had 
 subdued me, and deprived me of my arms in the sea. They took him 
 away from me then, and the savage began to strip me, to the taking 
 off of my shirt, under which I wore a gold chain of the value of 
 rather more than a thousand dollars. (23) When they saw it, they 
 rejoiced greatly, and searched the jacket, (24) thread by thread, in which 
 I carried forty-five crown-pieces in gold, that the Duke had ordered 
 to be given to me at Corunna for two months' pay ; (25) and when the 
 Englishman saw that I carried a chain and crown-pieces, he wanted 
 to take me prisoner, saying that he should be offered a ransom. I 
 replied that I had nothing to give ; that I was a very poor soldier, and 
 had gained that, what they saw, in the ship. The girl lamented much 
 to see the bad treatment I received, and asked them to leave me the 
 clothes, and not to injure me any more. They all returned to the hut 
 of the savage, and I remained among those trees, bleeding from the 
 wound which the Englishman had inflicted upon me. I proceeded 
 
 (18). Paja — coarse grass or straw. 
 
 (19). Bosque — wood or thicket, with much underbrush. 
 
 (20). Hermosisima por todo extremo. This implies a very strong expression, 
 consisting, as it does, of a double superlative. 
 
 (21). Poltron — poltroon. 
 
 (22). Amiga = female friend. 
 
 (23). Real— a Spanish coin, value a dollar. 
 
 (24). Jubon — doublet, jacket. 
 
 (25). Paga — literally means payment ; but when applied to soldiers or sailors, 
 as in this case, it means monthly pay. 
 
55 
 
 to put on again my jacket and sack-coat ; moreover, they had taken 
 away my shirt, and some relics of great value which I wore in a small 
 garment [vestment], of the Order of the Holy Trinity, that had been 
 given to me at Lisbon. 
 
 These the savage damsel took and hung them round her neck, 
 making me a sign that she wished to keep them, saying to me that 
 she was a Christian : which she was in like manner as Mahomet. 
 
 From her hut they sent me a boy with a poultice made of herbs, 
 to put upon my wound, and butter and milk and a small piece of 
 oaten bread to eat. 
 
 I applied the dressing and ate the food, and the boy went along 
 the road with me, showing me the direction I had to go, and advising 
 me to avoid a village which could be seen from thence, where they 
 had killed many Spaniards, and not one escaped that they could lay 
 their hands upon. 
 
 He [or the person] to do me this service was born a Frenchman, 
 who had been a soldier at Terceira, upon whom it pressed heavily to 
 see such injury done me. 
 
 When the boy was about to turn back, he told me to continue 
 travelling straight towards some mountains that appeared to be about 
 six leagues off, behind which there were good lands belonging to an 
 important savage very friendly to the King of Spain; and that he gave 
 shelter to, and treated well, all the Spaniards who went to him ; and 
 that he had in his village more than eighty of those from the ships 
 who reached there naked. 
 
 At this news I took some courage ; and with my stick in hand, I 
 began to walk as best I could, making for the direction of the 
 mountains [or for the north of the mountains], as the boy had told 
 me. (26 > 
 
 That night I reached some huts, where they did not do me harm, 
 because there was in them one who knew Latin ; and in the necessity 
 of the circumstances, our Lord was pleased that we should understand 
 one another, talking Latin. I narrated to them my hardships. 
 
 The Latin-speaking man sheltered me in his hut that night : he 
 dressed my wound, gave me supper, and a place where I might sleep 
 upon some straw. In the middle of the night his father arrived and 
 his brothers, loaded with plunder and our things, and it did not 
 
 (26). Hacienda Norte dc las montauas. Norte, strictly speaking, means the 
 Arctic pole \ but, according to the Dictionary of the Spanish Academy, it is also 
 used, metaphorically, to mean direction, or guide, in allusion to the North Star, by 
 which navigators guide themselves with the direction of the mariner's compass. 
 
56 
 
 displease the old man that I had been sheltered in his house and well 
 treated. 
 
 In the morning they gave me a horse and a boy to convey me 
 over a mile of bad road that there was, with mud up to the girths. 
 Having passed it by the distance of the shot of a cross-bow, we heard 
 a very great noise, and the boy said to me, by signs, "Save yourself, 
 Spain" (for so they call us); " many Sassana horsemen are coming this 
 way, and they will make bits of thee if thou doest not hide thyself: 
 come this way quickly." They call the English "Sassanas." He 
 took me away to hide in some rugged places among the rocks, where 
 we were very well concealed. They would be about one hundred 
 and fifty horsemen going back to the coast to plunder as many 
 Spaniards as they found. 
 
 God delivered me from them ; and, proceeding on our way, there 
 fell in with me more than forty savages on foot, and they wished to 
 make little pieces of me because they were all Lutherans. They did 
 not do it, as the boy, who came with me, told them that his master 
 had taken me prisoner, and he had me in custody, and had sent me 
 on that horse to be cured. With all this, it did not suffice to obtain 
 permission for me to pass in peace ; for two of those robbers came up 
 to me and gave me six blows of a stick, which bruised my shoulders 
 and arms, and they stripped me of everything that I wore, so as to 
 leave me as naked as when I was born. I speak the truth, by the 
 holy baptism which I received. And seeing myself in this condition, 
 I gave many thanks to God, beseeching of His Divine Majesty that 
 He would fulfil His will on me, as that was what I desired. 
 
 The boy of the savage wished to return to his hut with his horse, 
 weeping to see how I was left, stripped naked, so badly treated, and 
 so cold. 
 
 I begged of God, very earnestly, that He would transport me to 
 where I should die confessed and in His grace. I took some courage, 
 being in the greatest extremity of misfortune that man ever saw, and 
 with some bracken leaves and a small piece of old matting which I 
 wrapped around my bod)', I protected myself from the cold as best 
 I could. 
 
 I continued travelling, little by little, towards the place that had 
 been pointed out to me, searching for the territory of the chief who 
 had protected the Spaniards ; and, reaching the mountain range that 
 they gave me for direction, I met with a lake, around which there 
 were about thirty huts, all forsaken and unoccupied, and there I 
 wished to pass the night. 
 
57 
 
 Not having where to go, I sought out the best t hut, which appeared 
 to me best to take shelter in for the night ; and, as I say, they were 
 unoccupied and without people. On entering the door, I saw it was 
 full of sheaves of oats, which is the ordinary bread that those savages 
 eat, and I gave thanks to God that I was so well off as to have a 
 place to sleep on them ; but just then I saw three men emerge from 
 one side, naked as when their mothers had brought them forth, and 
 they stood up and stared at me. They gave me a fright, for I thought 
 they were, without doubt, devils, and they understood no less that I 
 might be so, swathed in my ferns and matting. As I entered, they 
 did not speak to me, because they were quaking, nor, any more, did 
 I to them, not having observed them, the hut being somewhat dark. 
 Seeing myself in this great perplexity, I said : " Oh ! Mother of God, 
 be with me, and deliver me from all evil." 
 
 When they saw [? heard] me speaking Spanish, and calling upon 
 the Mother of God, they also said : " Let that great Lady be with us." 
 
 Then I felt reassured, and went up to them, asking them if they 
 were Spaniards. 
 
 Yes, we are, for our sins, they replied. Eleven of us were stripped 
 together at the shore, and in this naked state we came to seek some 
 land of Christians. On the way, there met us a party of enemies, 
 who killed eight of us, and the three who are here made our escape 
 through a wood so thick that they could not discover us. That even- 
 ing, God provided us with these huts, where we have rested, though 
 there are no people in them nor anything to eat. 
 
 I said to them, then, to be of good courage, and to commend them- 
 selves always to our Lord ; that near to where we were there was a 
 land of friends and Christians ; and that I brought word of a village, 
 which was three or four leagues distant, that belonged to Senor de 
 Ruerque [O'Rourke], where they had sheltered many of our lost 
 Spaniards ; and, although I was very badly treated and wounded, on 
 the morrow we should proceed thither. 
 
 The poor fellows rejoiced, and they asked me who I was. I told 
 them I was Captain Cuellar. They could not believe it, because they 
 had felt sure I was drowned ; and they came up to me, and almost 
 completely killed me with embraces. 
 
 One of them was an ensign, and the other two private soldiers. 
 And as the narrative is ludicrous, and true, as I am a Christian, I 
 must proceed to the end with it, in order that you may have some- 
 thing to laugh at. 
 
 I got into the straw, well buried in it, with care, not to injure nor 
 
53 
 
 disturb its position : and, having arranged to rise in the morning for 
 our journey, we slept without supping, not having eaten anything but 
 blackberries and water-cresses. 
 
 And when, in God's good time, day broke, I was wide awake with 
 the great pain I felt in my legs, I heard talking and the noise of 
 people ; and at this juncture there came to the door a savage, with a 
 halberd in his hand, and he began to look at his oats and to talk to 
 himself. 
 
 I remained without breathing, and my companions, who had been 
 aroused, [were] watching the savage very attentively from under the 
 straw, and what he intended to do. 
 
 It was the will of God that he went out and left, with many others 
 who had come along with him, to reap and work close to the huts in 
 a place where we could not go out without being seen. We remained 
 quiet, buried alive, discussing what it would suit us to do, and we 
 decided not to disinter ourselves, nor to move from that place while 
 those heretic (27> savages were there, who were from the place where so 
 much evil was done to the poor fellows of our Spaniards whom they 
 caught ; and they would have done the same to us if they had per- 
 ceived us there, where we had no one to protect us but God. 
 
 Thus passed the whole day ; and then, when night came on, the 
 traitors departed to shelter themselves at their villages, while we 
 awaited the rising of the moon. 
 
 Then wrapped up with straw and hay, for it was extremely cold, 
 we sallied forth from that great danger, in which we had been, without 
 waiting for the day. 
 
 We went along, stumbling in the mud, and dying with hunger, 
 thirst, and pain, until God was pleased to bring us to a land of some 
 safety, where we found huts of better people, although all savages, but 
 Christians and charitable. One of them, seeing that I came so badly 
 treated and wounded, took me to his hut and dressed my wounds, he 
 and his wife and sons, and he did not permit me to depart till it 
 appeared I should be well able to reach the village I was bound for. 
 In it I met with more than seventy Spaniards, who all went about 
 naked and severely maltreated, because the chief was not there. 
 
 He had gone to defend a territory which the English were coming 
 to take ; and although this man is a savage, he is a very good 
 Christian and an enemy of heretics, always carrying on war with them. 
 He is called Seiior de Ruerque [O'Rourke]. 
 
 I arrived at his house with great exertion, enveloped in straw and 
 (27). Aquellos herejes salvajes — literally, heretics, savages, both being nouns. 
 
59 
 
 swathed around the body with a piece of matting, in such a plight that 
 no one could see me without being moved to great compassion. 
 
 Some of the savages gave me a bad old blanket, full of vermin, 
 with which I covered myself, and somewhat improved matters. 
 
 Early next day, about twenty of us Spaniards collected together at 
 the house of this Seiior de Ruerque [O'Rourke], in order that they 
 might give us something to eat, for the love of God ; and while we 
 were there begging, news was told us that a Spanish ship was at the 
 coast, that she was very large, and came for those Spaniards who had 
 escaped. 
 
 With this news, without waiting longer, the whole twenty of us 
 left for the direction where they told us the ship was, and we met 
 with many hindrances on the way ; though, for me it was an advantage 
 and a mercy which God granted me that I did not arrive at the port 
 where she was in the same manner as the others who were with me 
 reached it. They embarked on board of her, as she belonged to the 
 Armada, and had arrived there in a great gale (28> with her main-mast 
 and rigging much injured. Fearing that the enemy might burn her 
 or do her some other injury, for which energetic preparations were 
 being made, they set sail from thence in two days with the crew that 
 came in her and those they had picked up, returning, to run aground 
 and get wrecked, on the same coast. More than two hundred 
 persons were drowned, and those who reached the shore by swimming 
 were taken by the English and all put to death. (29) It pleased 
 God that I alone remained of the twenty who went in search of her, 
 for I did not suffer like the others. For ever blessed be His Most 
 Holy Pity for so great mercies as He has shown to me. 
 
 Going along thus, lost with much uncertainty and toil, I met by 
 chance with a road along which a clergyman in secular clothing was 
 travelling (for the priests go about thus in that kingdom, so that the 
 English may not recognise them). He was sorry for me, and spoke to 
 me in Latin, asking me to what nation I belonged and about the ship- 
 wrecks that had taken place. God gave me grace so that I was able 
 to reply to everything he asked me in the same Latin tongue ; and so 
 satisfied was he with me, that he gave me to eat of that which he 
 carried with him, and he directed me by the right road that I should 
 
 (28). Forluna —generally means fortune or chance, but it also signifies a slorm or 
 tempest. It is in this latter sense that it appears to be used here; for Cuellar goes 
 on to describe the injured state in which the ship was. 
 
 (29). Y los pasaron todos a cuchillo = and they passed them all to the knife. An 
 idiomatic expression in Spanish corresponding to the English one, wet e put to the 
 sword. 
 
6o 
 
 go to reach a castle, which was six leagues from there. It was very 
 strong, and belonged to a savage gentleman, a very brave soldier and 
 great enemy of the Queen of England and of her affairs, a man who had 
 never cared to obey her or pay tribute, attending only to his castle 
 and mountains, which made it strong. 
 
 I set out for there, experiencing much trouble on the road, and 
 the greatest, and that which gave me most pain, was that a savage met 
 me on the way, and, by deceiving me, took me to his hut in a deserted 
 valley, where he said I must live all my life, and he would teach me 
 his trade, which was that of a blacksmith. • 
 
 I did not know what to answer nor did I venture, (30) so that he 
 should not put me in the forge. Before him I showed a pleasant 
 countenance, and proceeded to work with my bellows for more than 
 eight days, which pleased the wicked savage blacksmith, because I did 
 it carefully, so as not to vex him and an accursed old woman he had 
 for wife. 
 
 I was in tribulation and sad with such miserable employment, 
 when our Lord favoured me by causing the clergyman to return by 
 that way, who was surprised to see me, because that savage did not 
 wish to let me go away, as he made use of me. The clergyman 
 scolded him severely, and told me not to be troubled, as he would 
 speak with the chief of the castle to which he had directed me, and 
 get him to send for me, which he did the following day. He sent four 
 men of the savages, who served him, and a Spanish soldier, of whom 
 he had already ten with him of those who had escaped by swimming. 
 
 When he saw me so stripped [of clothing] and covered with straw, 
 he and all those who were with him grieved greatly, and their women 
 even wept to see me so badly treated. 
 
 They helped me as best they could with^a blanket of the kind 
 they use, and I remained there three months, acting as a real savage 
 like themselves. 
 
 The wife of my master was very (3I) beautiful in the extreme, and 
 showed [did] me much kindness. One day we were sitting in the sun 
 with some of her female friends and relatives, and they asked me 
 about Spanish matters and of other parts, and in the end it came to 
 be suggested that I should examine their hands and tell them their 
 fortunes. Giving thanks to God that it had not gone even worse with 
 
 (30). Cuellar has not expressed himself clearly here, but he seems to mean that 
 he did not oppose the blacksmith's wishes. 
 
 (31). Muy hermosa per todo extremo. This is a slight modification of a similar 
 expression on a previous occasion. See Note 20. 
 
6i 
 
 me than to be gipsy among the savages, I began to look at the hands 
 of each, and to say to them a hundred thousand absurdities, which 
 pleased them so much that there was no other Spaniard better than I, 
 or that was in greater favour with them. 
 
 By night and by day men and women persecuted me to tell them 
 their fortunes, so that I saw myself (continually) in such a large crowd 
 that I was forced to beg permission of my master to go from his castle. 
 He did not wish to give it me : however, he gave orders that no one 
 should annoy me or give me trouble. 
 
 The custom of these savages is to live as the brute beasts among 
 the mountains, which are very rugged in that part of Ireland where 
 we lost ourselves. They live in huts made of straw. The men are 
 all large bodied, and of handsome features and limbs ; and as active 
 as the roe-deer. (32) They do not eat oftener than once a day, and 
 this is at night ; and that which they usually eat is butter with oaten 
 bread. They drink sour milk, for they have no other drink; they 
 don't drink water, although it is the best in the world. On feast days 
 they eat some flesh half-cooked, without bread or salt, as that is their 
 custom. They clothe themselves, according to their habit, with tight 
 trousers (33) and short loose coats <34) of very coarse goat's hair. (35) They 
 cover themselves with blankets, <36) and wear their hair down to their 
 eyes. They are great walkers, and inured to toil. They carry on 
 perpetual war with the English, who here keep garrison for the Queen, 
 from whom they defend themselves, and do not let them enter their 
 territory, which is subject to inundation, and marshy. That district 
 extends for more than forty leagues in length and breadth. The 
 chief inclination of these people is to be robbers, and to plunder each 
 other ; so that no day passes without a call to arms among them. For 
 the people in one village becoming aware that in another there are 
 cattle, or other effects, they immediately come armed in the night, 
 and "go (37) Santiago" [attack], and kill one another; and the English 
 from the garrisons, getting to know who had taken, and robbed, most 
 cattle, then come down upon them, and carry away the plunder. 
 They have, therefore, no other remedy but to withdraw themselves to 
 the mountains, with their women and cattle ; for they possess no other 
 
 (32). Corzos = roe-deer. Ce>~vus capreolus, or Cafreo/tcs caprea. 
 
 (33). Calzas = trousers, hose. 
 
 (34). Sayos = loose coats. 
 
 (35). Pelotes = goat's hair. 
 
 (36). Mantas = blankets. 
 
 {$7). Anda Santiago. This is a slang expression, meaning to attack. It is 
 derived from the fact that Santiago was the war-cry or watchword of the Spaniards 
 when going into action, Santiago being the patron saint of Spain. 
 
. 62 
 
 property, nor more moveables nor clothing. They sleep upon the 
 ground, on rushes, newly cut and full of water and ice. 
 
 The most of the women are very beautiful, but badly (381 dressed 
 [got up]. They do not wear more than a chemise, and a blanket, with 
 which they cover themselves, and a linen cloth, much doubled, over 
 the head, and tied in front. They are great workers and housekeepers, 
 after their fashion. These people call themselves Christains. Mass 
 is said among them, and regulated according to the orders of the 
 Church of Rome. The great majority of their churches, monasteries, 
 and hermitages, have been demolished by the, hands of the English, 
 who are in garrison, and of those natives who have joined them, and 
 are as bad as they. In short, in this kingdom their is neither justice 
 nor right, and everyone does what he pleases. 
 
 As to ourselves, these savages liked us well because they knew we 
 came against [to oppose] the heretics, and were such great enemies 
 of theirs ; and if it had not been for those who guarded us as their 
 own persons, not one of us would have been left alive. We had good- 
 will to them for this, although they were the first to rob us and strip 
 to the skin those who came alive to land ; from whom, and from the 
 thirteen ships of our Armada, in which came so many people of 
 importance, all of whom were drowned, these savages obtained much 
 riches in jewellery and money. 
 
 Word of this reached the great Governor of the Queen, who was 
 in the city of Dililin [Dublin], and he went immediately, with seventeen 
 hundred soldiers, to search for the lost ships and the people who had 
 escaped. They were not much fewer than one thousand men, who, 
 without arms and naked, were wandering about the country in the 
 locality where each ship had been lost. 
 
 The majority of these the Governor caught, and hanged them at 
 once or inflicted other penalties, and the people who he knew had 
 sheltered them he put in prison, and did them all the injury he could. 
 
 In this manner he took three or four savage chiefs, who had castles, 
 in which they had sheltered some Spaniards ; and, having put both 
 parties under arrest, marched with them along the whole of the coasts 
 till he arrived at the place where I was wrecked. From thence he 
 turned off towards the castle of Manglana [MacClancy], for so they 
 called the savage with whom I was, who was always a great enemy of 
 the Queen, and never loved anything of hers, nor cared to obey her, 
 for which reason he (the Governor) was very anxious to take him 
 prisoner. 
 
 (38). Compuestas = composed, made up. 
 
63 
 
 This savage, taking into consideration the great force that was 
 coming against him, and that he could not resist it, decided to fly to 
 the mountains, which was his only remedy : more he could not do. 
 
 We Spaniards, who w r ere with him, had news of the misfortune 
 which was coming upon us, and we did not know what to do, or where 
 to place ourselves in safety. 
 
 One Sunday, after mass, the chief, with dishevelled hair down to 
 his eyes, took us apart, and, burning with rage, said that he could 
 not remain, and he had decided to fly with all his villagers, their cattle, 
 and their families, and that we should settle what we wished to do to 
 save our lives. I replied to him to calm himself a little, and that 
 presently we would give him an answer. I went apart with the eight 
 Spaniards who were with me — they were good fellows — and I told 
 them they should well consider all our past misfortunes and that which 
 was coming upon us; and in order not to see ourselves in more, it was 
 better to make an end of it at once honourably ; and as we had then 
 a good opportunity, we should not wait any longer, nor wander about 
 flying to the mountains and woods, naked and barefooted, with such 
 great cold as there was. Besides, the savage regretted so much to 
 abandon his castle, we, the nine Spaniards who w T ere there, would 
 cheerfully remain in it and defend it to the death. This we could 
 do very well, although there should come two other such forces, more 
 than that which was coming, because the castle is very strong and very 
 difficult to take^ if they do not (even though they should) attack it with 
 artillery ; for it is founded in a lake of very deep water, which is more 
 than a league wide at some parts, and three or four leagues long, and 
 has an outlet to the sea ; and, besides, with the rise of spring tides it 
 is not possible to enter it, for which reason the castle could not be 
 taken by water nor by the shore of the land that is nearest to it. 
 Neither could injury be done it, because [for] a league round the town, 
 which is established on the mainland, it is marshy, breast-deep, so that 
 even the inhabitants [natives] could not get to it except by paths. 
 
 Then, considering all this carefully, we decided to say to the 
 savage that we wished to hold the castle and defend it to the death ; 
 that he should, with much speed, lay in provisions for six months, 
 and some arms. 
 
 The chief was so pleased with this, and to see our courage, that 
 he did not delay much to make all provision, with the concurrence 
 [good-will] of the principal men of his town, who were all satisfied. 
 And, to insure that we should not act falsely, he made us swear that 
 we would not abandon his castle, nor surrender it to the enemy for any 
 
64 
 
 bargain or agreement, even if we should perish from hunger ; and not 
 to open the gates for Irishman, Spaniard, or any one else till his return, 
 which he would doubtless accomplish. 
 
 Then, all that was necessary being well prepared, we moved into 
 the castle, with the ornaments and requisites for the Church service, 
 and some relics which were there, and we placed three or four boat- 
 loads of stones within, and six muskets, with six cross-bows, and other 
 arms. Then the chief, embracing us, retired to the mountains, all 
 his people having already gone there; and the report was spread 
 throughout the country that Manglana's [MacClancy's] Castle was 
 put in a state of defence, and would not be surrendered to the enemy, 
 because a Spanish captain, with other Spaniards who were within, 
 guarded [held] it. 
 
 Our courage seemed good to the whole country, and the enemy 
 was very indignant at it, and came upon the castle with his forces — 
 about eighteen hundred men — and observed us from a distance of a 
 mile and a half from it, without being able to approach closer on 
 account of the water which (39) intervened. From thence he exhibited 
 some warnings, and hanged two Spaniards, and did other damages 
 [injuries] to put us in fear. He demanded many times, by a trum- 
 peter, (43) that we should surrender the castle, and he would spare our 
 lives and give us a pass to Spain. We said to him that he should 
 come closer to the tower, as we did not understand him, appearing 
 always to make little of his threats and promises [words]. 
 
 We had been besieged for seventeen days, when our Lord saw fit 
 to succour and deliver us from that enemy by severe storms and great 
 falls of snow, which took place to such an extent that he [the Queen's 
 Governor] was compelled to depart with his force, and to march back 
 to Duplin [Dublin], where he had his residence and garrisons. From 
 thence he sent us warning that we should keep ourselves out of his 
 hands, and not come within his power ; and that he would return in 
 good time to that country. 
 
 We replied to him much to our satisfaction, and to that of our 
 Governor of the castle, who, when he got the news that the English- 
 men had retired, returned to his town and castle greatly appeased and 
 calmed, and they feted us much. 
 
 He [the chief] very earnestly confirmed us [admitted us to full 
 
 (39). For el agita que habia de por medio. 
 
 (40). Un trompeta = a trumpeter. This noun is both feminine and masculine. 
 meaning, respectively, a trumpet and a trumpeter. The masculine article un shows 
 that the noun is used here in its masculine form. 
 
65 
 
 privileges] as most loyal friends : offering whatever was his for our 
 service, and the chief persons of the land [did the same], neither more 
 nor less. To me he would give a sister of his, that I should marry 
 her. I thanked him much for this ; but contented myself with a 
 guide to direct me to a place where I could meet with embarkation 
 for Scotland. 
 
 He did not wish to give me permission [to leave], nor to any 
 Spaniard of those who were with him, saying that the roads were not 
 safe ; but his sole object was to detain us, that we might act as his 
 guard. 
 
 So much friendship did not appear good to me ; and thus I 
 decided, secretly, with four of the soldiers who were in my company, 
 to depart one morning two hours before dawn, so that they should 
 not pursue [ ? stop] us on the road : and also because one day pre- 
 viously a boy of Manglana's [MacClancy's] had told me his father had 
 said that he would not let me leave his castle until the King of Spain 
 should send soldiers to that country ; and that he wished to put me 
 in prison, so that I might not go. 
 
 Possessed of this information, I dressed myself as best I could, 
 and took to the road, with the four soldiers, one morning ten days 
 after the Nativity, (4l) in the year 88. 
 
 I travelled [went travelling] by the mountains and desolate places, 
 enduring much hardship, as God knows ; and at the end of twenty 
 days' journey, I got to the place where Alonzo de Leyva, and the 
 Count de Paredes and Don Tomas de Granvela, were lost, with many 
 other gentlemen, to give an account of whom would need a quire (42> of 
 paper. 
 
 I went to the huts of some savages that were there, who told me 
 of the great misfortunes of our people who were drowned at that 
 place, and showed me many jewels and valuables of theirs, which 
 distressed me greatly. 
 
 My chief cause of misery was that I had no means of embarking 
 for the Kingdom of Scotland ; until one day I heard of the territory 
 of a savage, whom they called Prince Ocan, where there were some 
 vessels that were going to Scotland. Thither I travelled, crawling 
 along, for I could [scarcely] move because of a wound in one leg ; but, 
 as it led to safety, I did all I could to walk, and reached it quickly. 
 The vessels had left two days before, which was no small disappoint- 
 ment for me, as I was in a very dreadful country and among enemies, 
 
 (41). Christmas. 
 
 (42). Mano de papel — a quire of paper. 
 
66 
 
 there being many English stationed at the port, and each day they 
 were with Ocan. 
 
 At this time I suffered great pain in the leg, so much so that in 
 no manner could I stand upon it. I was advised, too, that I should 
 be very cautious, because there were many English there who would 
 do me great harm if they caught me, as they had done to other 
 Spaniards ; especially if they knew who I was. 
 
 I did not know what to do, as the soldiers who came with me had 
 left, and gone to another port further on to seek for a passage. 
 
 Some women, when they saw me alone, and ill, pitied me, and 
 took me away to their little huts on the mountain, and kept me there 
 for more than a month and a half in safety, and cured me, so that my 
 wound healed, and I felt well enough to go to Ocan's village to speak 
 with him. 
 
 But he did not wish to hear or see me ; for, it was said, he had 
 given his word to the great Governor of the Queen not to keep any 
 Spaniard in his territory, nor permit one to go about in it. 
 
 The English, who were quartered there, having marched off to 
 invade a territory and take it, Ocan accompanied them with all his force, 
 so that one could go openly [boldly] about the village, which was 
 composed of thatched huts. 
 
 In them there were some very beautiful girls, with whom I was very 
 friendly, and went into their houses occasionally for society and 
 conversation. 
 
 One afternoon, while I was there, two young Englishmen came in, 
 one of whom was a sergeant, and possessed information of me, by 
 name, but yet had not seen me before. When they were seated, 
 they asked me if I were a Spaniard ; and what I was doing there. 
 I said yes ; that I was one of the soldiers of Don Alonzo de Lucon, 
 who had lately surrendered to them; but on account of a bad leg, I had 
 not been able to leave the district ; that I was at their service, to do 
 whatever they wished to command. 
 
 They told me to wait a little, and that I should have to go with 
 them to the city of Dublin, where there were many important Spaniards 
 in prison. 
 
 I said that I could not walk or go with them, and they sent to 
 search for a horse to carry me. I told them I was very willing to do 
 whatever they wished, and to go with them, with which they were 
 reassured, and began to make fun with the girls. 
 
 Their mother made signs to me to go away (that I should leave 
 by the door), and I did so in great haste, leaping banks as I went 
 
6 7 
 
 along. I got among thick brambles, into which I penetrated until I 
 lost sight of Ocan's Castle, following this course until I wished to lie 
 down for the night. 
 
 I had arrived at a very large laguna [lake or marsh], along the 
 banks of which I saw a herd of cows walking, and I was approaching 
 to see if there was any one with them who could tell me where I was, 
 when I observed two boy savages advancing. They came to collect 
 their cows, and take them up the mountain to where they and their 
 fathers were hiding for fear of the English ; and there I spent two days 
 with them, being treated with much kindness. 
 
 One of the boys had to go to the village of the Prince of Ocan to 
 ascertain what news or rumour there was, and he saw the two English- 
 men, who were going about, raging, in search of me. 
 
 Information about me had already been given to them, and no 
 one passed by whom they did not ask if he had seen me. 
 
 The boy was such a good lad that, upon learning this, he returned 
 to his hut, and informed me of what had occurred, so that I had to 
 leave there very early in the morning, and to go in search of a bishop, 
 who was seven leagues off in a castle where the English kept him in 
 banishment and retirement. This bishop was a very good Christian, 
 and went about in the garb of a savage for concealment, and I assure 
 you I could not restrain tears when I approached him to kiss his hand. 
 He had twelve Spaniards with him for the purpose of passing them 
 over to Scotland, and he was much delighted at my arrival, all the 
 more so when the soldiers told him that I was a captain. He treated me 
 with every kindness (43) that he could for the six days I was with him, 
 and gave orders that a boat should come to take us over to Scotland, 
 which is usually done in two days. He gave us provisions for the 
 voyage and said mass to us in the castle, and spoke with me about 
 some things concerning the loss of the kingdom, and how His 
 Majesty had assisted them ; and that he should come to Spain as 
 soon as possible after my arrival in Scotland, where he advised me to 
 live with much patience, as in general they were all Lutherans and 
 very few Catholics. The bishop was called Don Reimundo Termi (?) 
 [ ? Bishop of Times], an honourable and just man. God keep him in 
 His hands and preserve him from his enemies. 
 
 That same day at dawn {u) [when it was growing light], I went to 
 
 (43). Cuellar uses the word courtesy on several occasions where kindness is what 
 lie seems to mean. 
 
 (44). Mass appears to have been said in the night-time, and the preparations 
 may also have been made during the night, so that the boat might leave at daylight, 
 and not attract too much attention. 
 
68 
 
 sea in a wretched boat in which we sailed — 18 persons — and the wind 
 becoming contrary the same day, we were forced to run before it, at 
 the mercy of God, for Shetland, where we reached the land at day- 
 light ; the boat being nearly swamped, and the main-sail carried away. 
 We went on shore to give thanks to God for the mercies He had 
 bestowed upon us in bringing us there alive ; and from thence, in two 
 days, with good weather, we left for Scotland, where we arrived in 
 three days : not without danger, on account of the great quantity of 
 water the miserable boat took in. 
 
 We blessed God who withdrew us from such perils and so great 
 hardships, and brought us to a land where there might be more 
 succour. 
 
 It was said that the King of Scotland protected all the Spaniards 
 who reached his kingdom, clothed them, and gave them passages to 
 Spain ; but all was the reverse, for he did no good to anyone, nor did 
 he bestow one dollar in charity. Those of us who reached that king- 
 dom suffered the greatest privations ; inasmuch, as we were [left] for 
 more than six months as naked as when we arrived from Ireland, and 
 other places, to seek succour and assistance there, and passages to 
 Spain. 
 
 I am inclined to believe that he was much persuaded, on the part 
 of the Queen of England, to hand us over to her. And had not the 
 Catholic Lords and Counts of that kingdom helped us — and there 
 were many, and great gentlemen, to favour us and speak for us to 
 the King, and in the Councils which were held on the subject— without 
 doubt we should have been betrayed [sold], and handed over to the 
 English. For the King of Scotland is nobody : nor does he possess 
 the authority or position of a king : and he does not move a step, 
 nor eat a mouthful, that is not by order of the Queen. Thus, there 
 are great dissensions among the gentlemen, who bear him no good- 
 will, and desire to see his reign ended, and the Majesty of the King, 
 our Lord, in his place, that he might establish the Church of God, 
 which has been brought to such ruin there. 
 
 This they said to us many times, almost weeping, longing to see 
 that day which, they hoped in God, might soon arrive. 
 
 And, as I say, these gentlemen supported us all the time that we 
 were there, and gave us much alms, and were kind to us, sorrowing 
 for our misfortunes, with much pity. They asked us to have patience, 
 and to bear with a people who called us idolaters and bad Christians, 
 and said a thousand heresies to us ; for, if one made answer, they 
 would fall upon him and kill him, and it was impossible to live or 
 
6 9 
 
 remain in such a bad kingdom with so bad a king * 
 
 A despatch was sent to the Duke of Parma . . . .* at which 
 his Highness, as a pious prince, grieved, and with great zeal he sought 
 to succour us . . . .* to the King, that he would permit us to 
 leave his kingdom, and to the Catholics and friends much gratitude 
 on the part of his Majesty, with his most friendly letters. 
 
 There was a Scotch merchant in Flanders, who offered and agreed 
 with his Highness that he would come to Scotland for us and ship us 
 in four vessels, with the provisions which were necessary, and that he 
 would bring us to Flanders, his Highness giving him five ducats for 
 each Spaniard of those that he brought to Flanders. 
 
 The agreement was made with him, and he went for us and 
 embarked us, unarmed and naked as he found us, and took us by the 
 ports of the Queen of England, which secured us permission to pass 
 by all the fleets and ships of her kingdom. 
 
 All was treacherous ; for an arrangement had been made with the 
 ships of Holland and Zealand that they should put to sea and await 
 us at the same bar [entrance to the harbour] of Dunkirk, and there 
 they should put us all to death, without sparing one, w r hich the Dutch 
 did as they were commanded ; and were on the look-out for us for a 
 month and a half at the said port of Dunkirk, and there they should 
 have caught us all had not God helped us. 
 
 God willed that of the four vessels in which we came, two escaped 
 and grounded, where they went to pieces; and the enemy, seeing the 
 means of safety which we were taking, gave us a good discharge of 
 artillery, so that we were forced to cast ourselves afloat (45 ' [to make a 
 desperate attempt], and we thought to end it there. 
 
 They could not come to our assistance with the boats from the 
 port of Dunkirk, as the enemy cannonaded them briskly. On the 
 other hand, the sea and wind were very high ; so that we were in the 
 greatest peril of being all lost. 
 
 However, we cast ourselves afloat (46) on timbers, and some soldiers 
 were drowned, as was also a Scotch captain. I reached the shore in 
 my shirt, without other description of clothing, and some soldiers of 
 Medina (?) who were there came to help me. 
 
 It was sad to see us enter the town once more, stripped naked ; 
 
 * Here the manuscript is stated to be torn and illegible. 
 
 (45). Echarnos a nado. Echarse a nado literally means to cast oneself afloat ; 
 but it has also a metaphorical signification — viz., to make a desperate attempt. As 
 the same expression is made use of twice close together, it may be that in the first 
 instance it was meant metaphorically ; but this is by no means certain. 
 
 (46). See preceding Note. 
 
7° 
 
 and for the other part we saw, as before our eyes, the Dutch making 
 a thousand pieces of two hundred and seventy Spaniards who came 
 in the ship which brought us to Dunkirk, without leaving more than 
 three alive ; for which they are now being paid out, as more than four 
 hundred Dutchmen who have been taken since then have been 
 beheaded. This I have wished to write to you. 
 
 From the City of Antwerp, 4th October, 1589. 
 
 FRANCISCO DE CUELLAR. 
 
 Academy of History — Collection Salazar, 
 No. 7, Folio 58. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 PAGR 
 
 Aeademia de la Historia 7 
 
 Aghanlish (townland) 16 
 
 Allingham, Hugh 39 
 
 Alonzo de Leyva ... ... ••• 65 
 
 Anchor. Spanish ... ... ... H 
 
 "Armada, La, Invencible" ... 5 
 
 Armada Exhibition ... ••• 3 1 
 
 Aran, North Island of ... ••■ 33 
 
 Ballyshannon Castle 
 
 Belleek Castle 
 
 Beallach-in-Mithidheim 
 
 Bell, Spanish, in Donegal Church 
 
 Bingham, Sir K. ... 
 
 Blacksod Bay 
 
 Bundrow.se ... 
 
 Burke, Richard ("The Devil's Son") 26 
 
 Bush River 29 
 
 Carrig-na-Spaniagh 
 Cacair-Sinchill 
 
 Castlefort Bay, Co. Donegal 
 Castlecaldwell Museum ... 
 Carndonagh Church 
 Cannon, Brass, recovered from 
 
 Armada Ships 
 Cattle-booley, An Ancient 
 Century, Nineteenth 
 Church Relics, MacClancy's 
 Chests, Money 
 Clew Bay (Money Chest) 
 Connaught ... 
 Crannog, MacClancy's 
 Crawford, Robert ... 
 Cuellar, Captain ... 
 Cuellar and his Comrades arrive at 
 
 Dunkirk 
 
 ... 17 
 
 ••■ 5 
 
 ... 20 
 
 29-32, 5 1 
 
 ... 31 
 
 6, 10, 25 
 ... 16 
 ... 6 
 
 7, 42, 44 
 
 9, 49. 
 
 Dartree MacClancy (territory 
 
 Dartry Mountains ... 
 
 De Leyva ... 
 
 Don Martin 
 
 Don Diego Enrique/ 
 
 Don Graveillo de Swasso 
 
 Don Cristobal de Avila ... 
 
 D.m Tomas de Granvela ... 
 
 Don Reimundo Termi, Bishop (not 
 
 identified) 
 Donegal Bay 
 I >onegal Mountains 
 Doire-Melle 
 Dromahair Castle ... 
 Ducie, Earl of 
 Duro, Captain 
 Dun Carbery 
 Dunluce Castle 
 Duquesa Santa Anna 
 
 26, 65 
 .. 6 
 
 " Enchanted Ships, The'' 
 
 England, Queen of 
 
 El Gran Griffon, Capitana 
 
 Erris I lead ... 
 
 Erne River ... 
 
 Expedition against the Spaniards 
 
 Fed, i -Cortha 
 
 Fitzwilliam, Lord Deputy 
 Figure-head of Spanish Ship 
 Froude, |. A 5, 
 
 Girona, The 
 
 ( riant's Causeway . 
 
 "Governor, Great, 
 
 Glack (townland) . 
 
 Glenade 
 
 Glencar Lough 
 
 ( rlennageveny Bay 
 
 2729, 
 
 »f the Queen 
 
 13- i5, 
 
 PAGE 
 
 • 32 
 60 
 
 • 34 
 7, 26 
 
 Habits of the Irish in 16th 
 
 Century ... I7- T 9» 6l > 62 
 
 Hamilton, Major (Money Chest) 32 
 
 Head-dress of Irish Women of the 
 
 Period 19 
 
 " Hungry Grass" (superstition) ... 18 
 
 Inismurray Island ... 
 
 Iniskeen Island 
 
 Inishcher Island ... 
 
 Inisowen 
 
 Ineen Dubh (O'Donnell's wife) 
 
 Killybegs ... 
 
 Latin Language 
 
 La Trinidad Valencera ... 
 
 " La Armada Invenddle" 
 
 Laughton, Professor (Navy Records 
 
 Society) 
 Leitrim Mountains 
 Lord Deputy 
 Longman's Magazine 
 
 27 
 
 3t 
 
 6.S 
 67 
 
 
 39 
 
 
 13 
 
 
 16 
 
 
 26 
 
 5 
 
 39 
 
 5 
 
 39 
 
 
 it, 
 
 29 
 
 65 
 34 
 
 Martin de Aranda ... 
 Manglana (MacClancy) 
 
 19, 
 MacClancy, Boethius 
 MacDonnell, Sir James 
 Mat-Swine's Territory 
 Medina, Duke of ... 
 Melvin Lough 
 Molaise, St. 
 Mullinaleck (townland) 
 Mullaghderg 
 Myler McGrath 
 
 42, 43' 
 
 [4, 
 
 55 
 
 
 34 
 
 
 39 
 
 Is 
 
 
 
 34 
 
 
 41 
 
 19, 
 
 23 
 
 
 39 
 
 7, 
 
 47 
 
 62, 
 
 65 
 
 
 22 
 
 
 25 
 
 27, 
 
 29 
 
 
 7 
 
 15 
 
 -17 
 
 
 1 1 
 
 
 16 
 
 
 32 
 24 
 
INDEX. — Continued. 
 
 Newtown Village (O'Rourke) 
 Niall of the Nine Hostages 
 Nineteenth Century 
 North : in what sense used in 
 
 Oaten Bread 
 
 O'Clery's Castle 
 
 Ocan (O'Cahan) 
 
 O'DonnelPs Castle 
 
 O'Donnell 
 
 O'Doherty's Country 
 O'Gallagher {alias O'Toole) 
 Ommanney, Sir Erasmus ... 
 
 O'Neill 
 
 O'Rourke 13, 15, 41 
 
 PAGE 
 
 13 
 16 
 
 39 
 
 •• 55 
 17, 18 
 
 Palmistry in the 1 6th Century 
 Paredes, Count de 
 Provost .Marshal 
 
 .. 65 
 23, 31 
 23> 27 
 
 •• 23 
 .. 23 
 •• 33 
 
 21, 27 
 
 57-59 
 
 .. 17 
 .. 65 
 •• 7 
 
 Rata, The ... 
 Rossclogher Castle 
 Rossfriar 
 
 Rossan Point 
 Rosses, The 
 
 ... 26, 27, 34 
 16, 17, 19-21 
 
 20 
 
 27 
 
 Sassanas ... ... ... ... 56 
 
 San Pedro ... ... ... 7 , 47 
 
 San Juan de Sicilia ... 9? 34 
 
 San Martin, The ... ... 27, 34 
 
 Santa Anna, The... ... ... 27 
 
 Scotland, Cuellar escapes to 65-68 
 Scotland, King of: his attitude 
 
 towards the Spaniards ... 68 
 
 Sedgwick, Mr. : his translation 
 
 referred to 
 Siege of Rossclogher Castle 
 
 19-21, 
 Spaniard Rock 
 Spanish Eagles (Decoration on 
 
 Chest Lid) 
 
 Spanish Vessels lost on the coast 
 Spanish Vessels: why so many 
 
 were lost 
 Spanish Vessels, Tonnage and 
 
 Number of Men in ... 
 Spanish Arms 
 Spanish Gold Coins found in 
 
 Donegal 
 Spanish Cannon 
 Straw Huts referred to 
 Staad Abbey 
 State Papers quoted 10, 15, 
 
 .. 41 
 
 63, 64 
 .. 28 
 
 34 
 
 •• 34 
 
 •• 34 
 •• 33 
 
 •• 34 
 •• 33 
 • 54 
 11, 52 
 
 2I-2Q 
 
 Tory Island ... ... ... 7 
 
 Translation of Spanish Narrative. 
 
 By R. Crawford 45 
 
 Tullacdian ... ... ... ... 16 
 
 Ulster Journal of Archeology ... 39 
 United Service Institution, London 33 
 
 War Materials in use in 16th 
 
 Century ... ... ... 20 
 
 Wolves in Ireland in 16th Century 
 
 (Note) 51 
 
 Women, Beauty of ... ... 62 
 
 ILL USTRA TIONS. 
 
 Eigure-head of Spanish Galleon, wrecked at Streedagh 
 
 Map of West and North-West Coast of Ireland, drawn a.d. 1609 ... 
 
 The Spaniards holding Rossclogher Castle, with Vignette of the Castle as it 
 
 now is, from a sketch by Mrs. Allingham, Rail) shannon ... 
 Wreck of a Galleon on Antrim Coast 
 A Spanish Treasure Chest ... 
 Spanish Anchor, drawn by Maude Allingham from a photograph specially 
 
 taken in London 
 
 PAGE 
 
 5 
 8 
 
 21 
 28 
 30 
 
m<m 
 
 Theological Seminary-Speer Library 
 
 1 1012 01042 9084 
 
 IN PREPARATION. 
 
 « « 
 
 J\tiU\% of 
 
 flallysbiittnon * Cfr-JMfe 
 
 By HUGH ALLINGHAM, M.R.I.A., 
 
 Author of 
 "Baiiyshannon: its History and Antiquities," 
 "Captain Cuellar*? Adventures in Connacht and Ulster, a.D. t = 
 
 The wide popularity and favourable reception of the HISTORY 
 OF BALLYSHANNON, published in 1879, and long out of 
 print, has induced the author to extend the field of his 
 researches over a much wider area— a work on which 
 he has been engaged for some years, and which is now 
 approaching completion.