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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40290 ***
+
+THE TESTIMONY OF TRADITION.
+
+
+BY THE SAME AUTHOR.
+
+ ANCIENT AND MODERN BRITONS: a Retrospect.
+ 2 vols., demy 8vo, 24s.
+
+ ACCOUNTS OF THE GYPSIES OF INDIA. Collected
+ and Edited. With Map and 2 Illustrations.
+ Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d.
+
+London : Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., Ltd.
+
+
+[Illustration: THE BRUGH OF THE BOYNE, NEW GRANGE, COUNTY MEATH.
+(_From the South._)]
+
+
+
+
+THE
+
+TESTIMONY OF TRADITION
+
+
+BY
+DAVID MACRITCHIE
+
+AUTHOR OF "ANCIENT AND MODERN BRITONS"
+
+
+_WITH TWENTY ILLUSTRATIONS_
+
+
+LONDON
+KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRÜBNER & CO., LIMITED
+1890
+
+
+
+
+LONDON:
+
+PRINTED BY WOODFALL AND KINDER,
+
+70 TO 76, LONG ACRE, W.C.
+
+
+PREFACE.
+
+
+A large portion of this work has already appeared in the form of a
+series of articles contributed to the _Archæological Review_
+(Aug.-Oct., 1889, and Jan., 1890), but these have here undergone
+some alteration and have been supplemented to a considerable extent.
+
+With regard to the correctness of the deductions drawn in the
+following pages from the facts and traditions there stated, there
+may easily be a difference of opinion. And indeed one writer, Mr.
+Alfred Nutt, in the course of a very learned dissertation on the
+Development of the Fenian or Ossianic Saga,[1] has expressed his
+dissent from the theories advanced in the articles referred to. It
+would be out of place to enter here into a consideration of the
+grounds of Mr. Nutt's objections, even if that did not demand an
+undue amount of space; but it may be pointed out that the articles
+upon which his criticism is based only state very partially the case
+which even the following more enlarged version is far from
+presenting fully. But what is of much greater importance is, that
+the theory which I have here endeavoured to set forth has the
+peculiar advantage of possessing a tangible test of its worth. What
+that test is will be readily seen by every reader. If the result of
+future archæological excavations should be to confirm tradition (as
+it is needless to say the writer of these pages believes will be the
+case), the question then will be one, not of interpreting tradition
+so that it may square with current beliefs, but of modifying or
+altering these beliefs, where they are distinctly in disagreement
+with tradition.
+
+
+FOOTNOTE:
+
+[1] Appended to the collection of "Folk and Hero Tales from
+Argyllshire" which forms the second volume of the series entitled
+"Waifs and Strays of Celtic Tradition" (London, 1890; published by
+the Folk-Lore Society).
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+ PAGE
+
+ PREFACE v
+
+
+ CHAPTER I.
+
+ Shetland Finns--Orkney Finnmen--Finn Localities--Kayaks
+ and Kayak-men--An Orkney Kayak of 1696 1-11
+
+
+ CHAPTER II.
+
+ "Zee-Woners"--Piratical Mer-folk--Landsmen and Mermen--
+ Iberian Skin-boats--Boats made by Norway Finns--"Marine
+ People" of the Hebrides--Probable Finns in Galloway 12-25
+
+
+ CHAPTER III.
+
+ "Inhabitants of the Isles of this Kingdom"--The Isles in
+ the Seventeenth Century--"Barbarous Men" 26-32
+
+
+ CHAPTER IV.
+
+ Homes of the Finns--Norwegian Suzerainty 33-38
+
+
+ CHAPTER V.
+
+ Finnish Influence in Norway 39-42
+
+
+ CHAPTER VI.
+
+ The Feinne--The Battle of Gawra--The Feenic Confederacy 43-50
+
+
+ CHAPTER VII.
+
+ Feens or Cruithné--Fin in the Kingdom of the Big
+ Men--Dwarfish Tyrants 51-57
+
+
+ CHAPTER VIII.
+
+ Pechts or Dwarfs--Pechts' Houses--Earth-Houses in
+ Greenland--"Interlude of the Droichs" 58-65
+
+
+ CHAPTER IX.
+
+ How the Pechts Built--Pecht-lands--The Builders of
+ Corstorphine Church--"Unco wee bodies, but terrible
+ strang" 66-74
+
+
+ CHAPTER X.
+
+ Strongholds of the Feens--The _Broch_ and the
+ _Sith-Bhrog_ 75-79
+
+
+ CHAPTER XI.
+
+ Fians and Fairies--Tenth-Century Fairies--Continental
+ Fians and Fairies--Finn and his Dwarf in Sylt 80-88
+
+
+ CHAPTER XII.
+
+ Witchcraft of the Trollmen--The King of the Sidhtir of
+ Munster--The "Great-Beamed Deer" of the Feens--Reindeer in
+ Scotland in the Twelfth Century--Pechts and Fairies 89-100
+
+
+ CHAPTER XIII.
+
+ Hollow Hillocks--The Settler and the Mound-Dwellers--
+ "Hog-Boys"--Maes-How--Interior of the Chambered
+ Mound--A Dwarf's House in Sylt--The Little People in
+ Scotland--Fairy Mounds 101-118
+
+
+ CHAPTER XIV.
+
+ The Brugh of the Boyne--The Brugh as Described in
+ 1724--Gaels _versus_ Dananns--Dananns, Fir Sidhe, or
+ Fairies--Cruithne=Feinne--Inmates of the Brugh--Plunder
+ of the Boyne Hillocks in 861--_Sith Eamhna_--Tales of
+ Adventures in "Weems"--The Dowth Mound 119-140
+
+
+ CHAPTER XV.
+
+ Goblin Halls--The Castle Hill of Clunie--Tomnahurich,
+ Inverness--The Palace of the King of the Pechts--Pecht
+ Localities--The Fairy Knowe of Aberfoyle--Chambered
+ Mounds 141-155
+
+
+ CHAPTER XVI.
+
+ Scott's "Rob Roy"--Shaggy Men--Red Fairies of Wales--
+ Brownies and Forest-Men--The Ainos--A Hairy Race--Modern
+ "Pechts"--Cave-Men--Dwarf-Tribes and Reindeer--_Pÿgmei
+ Vulgo Screlinger Dicti_ 156-175
+
+
+ CHAPTER XVII.
+
+ Platycnemic Men--_Ur-uisg_=_Mailleachan_ 176-180
+
+
+ Appendix A.--_The Brugh of the Boyne_ 181-189
+
+ Appendix B.--_The Skrælings_ 190-193
+
+ Index 195-205
+
+
+
+
+
+ LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+
+ THE BRUGH OF THE BOYNE, NEW GRANGE, COUNTY MEATH _Frontispiece._
+
+ KAYAKKER IN HIGH SEA _To face page_ 12
+
+ WIGWAMS OF THE JURA ISLANDERS IN 1772 " 24
+
+ MAES-HOW, ORKNEY " " 108
+
+ SECTIONAL VIEW AND GROUND PLAN OF MAES-HOW " 108
+
+ THE INTERIOR OF THE "HOW" " 109
+
+ SECTIONAL VIEW OF THE BRUGH OF THE BOYNE " " 120
+
+ DOORWAY OF THE BRUGH " 121
+
+ ENLARGED SECTIONAL VIEW OF PASSAGE AND CHAMBER,
+ BRUGH OF THE BOYNE " " 122
+
+ GROUND PLANS OF PASSAGE AND CHAMBER, BRUGH OF
+ THE BOYNE (From Drawings of 1724 and 1889) " " 124
+
+ EASTERN RECESS OF CENTRAL CHAMBER, BRUGH OF THE BOYNE " " 126
+
+ DOWTH (_Uaimh Feirt Bodan os Dubath_), COUNTY MEATH " " 136
+
+ PLAN OF DOWTH " 137
+
+ PLAN OF PASSAGE AND CHAMBER AT DOWTH " 138
+
+ BEE-HIVE CHAMBER, DOWTH " 139
+
+ KNOWTH (_Uaimh Cnoghbhai_), COUNTY MEATH " " 140
+
+ THE DWARFS OF GERMAN FOLK-LORE " " 164
+
+ AN AINO PATRIARCH " 168
+
+ AINO OF 1804 " 170
+
+ A "GOOD FAIRY" OF TRADITION " 173
+
+
+
+
+THE
+
+TESTIMONY OF TRADITION.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+
+In one of an interesting series of papers on "Scottish, Shetlandic,
+and Germanic Water Tales,"[2] Dr. Karl Blind remarks as follows:--
+
+ It is in the Shetland Tales that we hear a great deal of
+ creatures partly more than human, partly less so, which
+ appear in the interchangeable shape of men and seals. They
+ are said to have often married ordinary mortals, so that
+ there are, even now, some alleged descendants of them, who
+ look upon themselves as superior to common people.
+
+ In Shetland, and elsewhere in the North, the sometimes
+ animal-shaped creatures of this myth, but who in reality
+ are human in a higher sense, are called _Finns_. Their
+ transfiguration into seals seems to be more a kind of
+ deception they practise. For the males are described as
+ most daring boatmen, with powerful sweep of the oar, who
+ chase foreign vessels on the sea. At the same time they are
+ held to be deeply versed in magic spells and in the healing
+ art, as well as in soothsaying. By means of a "skin" which
+ they possess, the men and the women among them are able to
+ change themselves into seals. But on shore, after having
+ taken off their wrappage, they are, and behave like, real
+ human beings. Anyone who gets hold of their protecting
+ garment has the Finns in his power. Only by means of the
+ skin can they go back to the water. Many a Finn woman has
+ got into the power of a Shetlander and borne children to
+ him; but if a Finn woman succeeded in reobtaining her
+ sea-skin, or seal-skin, she escaped across the water. Among
+ the older generation in the Northern isles persons are
+ still sometimes heard of who boast of hailing from Finns;
+ and they attribute to themselves a peculiar luckiness on
+ account of that higher descent.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ Tales of the descent of certain families from water beings
+ of a magic character are very frequent in the ... North. In
+ Ireland such myths also occur sporadically. In Wales ...
+ the origin from mermen or mermaids is often charged as a
+ reproach upon unhappy people; and rows originate from such
+ assertions. In Shetland the reverse is, or was, the case.
+ There the descendants of Finns have been wont to boast of
+ their origin; regarding themselves as favourites of
+ Fortune....
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ But who are the Finns of the Shetlandic story? Are they
+ simply a poetical transfiguration of finny forms of the
+ flood? Or can the Ugrian race of the Finns, which dwells in
+ Finland, in the high north of Norway, and in parts of
+ Russia, have something to do with those tales in which a
+ Viking-like character is unmistakable?
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ Repeated investigations have gradually brought me to the
+ conviction that the Finn or Seal stories contain a
+ combination of the mermaid myth with a strong historical
+ element--that the Finns are nothing else than a fabulous
+ transmogrification of those Norse "sea-dogs," who from eld
+ have penetrated into the islands round Scotland, into
+ Scotland itself, as well as into Ireland. "Old sea-dog" is
+ even now a favourite expression for a weather-beaten,
+ storm-tossed skipper--a perfect seal among the wild waves.
+
+ The assertion of a "higher" origin of still living persons
+ from Finns ... would thus explain itself as a wildly
+ legendary remembrance of the descent from the blood of
+ Germanic conquerors. The "skin" wherewith the Finns change
+ themselves magically into sea-beings I hold to be their
+ armour, or coat of mail. Perhaps that coat itself was often
+ made of seal-skin, and then covered with metal rings, or
+ scales, as we see it in Norman pictures; for instance, on
+ the Bayeux tapestry. The designation of Norwegian and
+ Danish conquerors, in Old Irish history, as "scaly
+ monsters," certainly fits in with this hypothesis.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ But however the Finn name may be explained etymologically,
+ at all events Norway appears in the Shetland tales, and in
+ the recollection of the people there, as the home of the
+ "Finns." And this home--as I see from an interesting bit of
+ folk-lore before me--is evidently in the south of
+ Norway....
+
+ "Before coming to this important point, I may mention a
+ Shetlandic spell-song ... [which] refers to the cure of the
+ toothache; the Finn appearing therein as a magic
+ medicine-man:--
+
+ A Finn came ow'r fa Norraway,
+ Fir ta pit töth-ache away--
+ Oot o' da flesh an' oot o' da bane;
+ Oot o' da sinew an' oot o' da skane;
+ Oot o' da skane an' into da stane;
+ An dare may do remain!
+ An dare may do remain!
+ An dare may do remain!
+
+ In this, though not strictly and correctly, alliterative
+ song, the Finn is not an animal-shaped creature of the
+ deep, but a man, a charm-working doctor from Norway....
+ Presently we will, however, see that the Finns of the
+ Shetlandic stories are martial pursuers of ships, to whom
+ ransom must be paid in order to get free from them. This
+ cannot apply ... to a mere marine animal or sea monster:
+ for what should such a creature do with ransom money?... As
+ to their animal form, Mr. George Sinclair writes:--
+
+ "Sea monsters are for most part called 'Finns' in Shetland.
+ They have the power to take any shape of any marine animal,
+ as also that of human beings. They were wont to _pursue
+ boats at sea_, and it was dangerous in the extreme to say
+ _anything against them_. I have heard that _silver money
+ was thrown overboard to them_ to prevent their doing any
+ damage to the boat. In the seal-form they came ashore every
+ ninth night to dance on the sands. They would then cast off
+ their skins, and act _just like men and women_. They could
+ not, however, return to the sea without their skins--they
+ were _simply human beings_, as an old song says:
+
+ "'I am a man upo' da land;
+ I am a selkie i' da sea.
+ An' whin I'm far fa every strand,
+ My dwelling is in Shöol Skerry.'"
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ There are many such folk-tales in the northern Thule. A
+ man, we learn, always gets possession of the Finn woman by
+ seizing the skin she has put off. One of these stories says
+ that the captured Finn woman would often leave her husband
+ to enjoy his slumber alone, and go down amongst the rocks
+ to converse with her Finn one: but the inquisitive people
+ who listened could not understand a single word of the
+ conversation. She would, it is said, return after such
+ interviews with briny and swollen eyes.
+
+ The human family of this Finn were human in all points
+ except in hands, which resembled web feet. Had the foolish
+ man who was her husband burnt or destroyed the skin, the
+ Finn woman could never have escaped. But the man had the
+ skin hidden, and it was found by one of the bairns, who
+ gave it to his mother. Thereupon she fled; and it is said
+ that she cried at parting with her family very bitterly.
+ The little ones were the only human beings she cared for.
+ When the father came home, he found the children in tears,
+ and on learning what had happened, bounded through the
+ standing corn to the shore, where he only arrived in time
+ to see, to his grief, his good wife shaking flippers and
+ embracing an ugly brute of a seal. She cried:--
+
+ "Blissins' be wi' de,
+ Baith de and da bairns!
+ Bit do kens, da first love
+ Is aye da best!"
+
+ whereupon she disappeared with her Finn husband and lover.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ ... I here give what Mr. Robert Sinclair says of the
+ capture of Finn brides by Shetlanders:
+
+ "Each district, almost, has its own version of a case where
+ a young Shetlander had married a female Finn. They were
+ generally caught at their toilet in the tide-mark, having
+ doffed the charmed covering, and being engaged in dressing
+ their flowing locks while the enamoured youth, by some
+ lucky stroke, secured the skin, rendering the owner a
+ captive victim of his passion. Thus it was that whole
+ families of a mongrel race sprang up, according to
+ tradition. The Finn women were said to _make good
+ housewives_. Yet there was generally a longing after some
+ previous attachment; if ever a chance occurred of
+ recovering the essential dress, no newly formed ties of
+ kindred could prevent escape and return to former
+ pleasures. This was assiduously guarded against on the one
+ side, and watched on the other; but, as the story goes,
+ female curiosity and cunning were always more than a match
+ for male care and caution; and the Finn woman always got
+ the slip. One or two of these female Finns were said to
+ have the power to conjure up from the deep a superior breed
+ of horned cattle; and these always throve well. I have seen
+ some pointed out to me as the offspring of these
+ 'sea-kye.'"
+
+ In answer to my question, the Shetland friend lays great
+ stress on the fact of the Finn woman being wholly distinct
+ from the Mermaid....
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ Of the Finn man my informant says:--
+
+ "Stories of the Norway Finns were rife in my younger days.
+ These were said to be a race of creatures of _human origin_
+ no doubt, but possessed of some power of enchantment by
+ which they could, with the use of a charmed seal-skin,
+ become in every way, to all appearance, a veritable seal;
+ only _retaining their human intelligence_. It seems that
+ any seal-skin could not do; each _must have their specially
+ prepared skin_ before they could assume the aquatic life.
+ But then they could live for years in the sea. Yet they
+ were not reckoned as belonging to the natural class of
+ 'amphibia.' As man or seal they were simply Finns, and
+ could play their part well in either element. Their feats
+ were marvellous. It was told me as sheer truth that they
+ could _pull across to Bergen_--nearly 300 miles--in a few
+ hours, and that, while ordinary mortals were asleep, they
+ could make the return voyage. Nine miles for every warp
+ (stroke of the oar) was the traditional speed...."
+
+ Here, then, the Finns are men of human origin; remaining
+ intelligent men in their sea-dog raiment; coming from
+ Norway; not swimming like marine animals, but rowing
+ between Shetland and Norway--namely, to the town of Bergen,
+ which lies in the southern ... part of Norway. As strong
+ men at sea, they row with magic quickness.... Each one of
+ them ... must have his specially prepared skin.... There is
+ nothing here of the swimming and dipping down of a seal.
+
+We have followed Dr. Karl Blind so far. But, while recognizing the
+value of his statements and comments up to this point, it is
+necessary to give only a modified assent to some of his subsequent
+deductions, and to flatly deny the correctness of others; because
+his researches in "Shetlandic folk-lore" have clearly been too
+limited in their extent, or rather, he has omitted to check those
+traditions by any possible contemporary records. Some of those tales
+were received from a Shetland woman "who strongly believed in the
+Finns, and declared herself to be a descendant of them.... She was,
+she said, the 'fifth from the Finns,' and she attributed great
+luckiness to herself, although she was as poor as poor could be."
+One of her stories is of her father's great-grandfather; and as this
+ancestor of the woman's is not spoken of as a "Finn," it would seem
+that she was "fifth from the Finns" through another branch of her
+lineage. But, at any rate, this progenitor in the fourth degree
+cannot have belonged to a much later period than the middle of the
+eighteenth century. However, we shall see these Shetland Finns more
+plainly described if we turn to the latter part of the seventeenth
+century.
+
+In "A Description of the Isles of Orkney," written by the Rev. James
+Wallace, A.M., Minister of Kirkwall, about the year 1688, one reads
+as follows:--
+
+ Sometime about this Country [Orkney] are seen these Men
+ which are called _Finnmen_; In the year 1682 one was seen
+ sometime sailing, sometime Rowing up and down in his little
+ Boat at the south end of the Isle of _Eda_, most of the
+ people of the Isle flocked to see him, and when they
+ adventured to put out a Boat with men to see if they could
+ apprehend him, he presently fled away most swiftly: And in
+ the Year 1684, another was seen from _Westra_, and for a
+ while after they got few or no Fishes, for they have this
+ Remark here, that these _Finnmen_ drive away the fishes
+ from the place to which they come.
+
+Again, in Brand's "Brief Description of Orkney, Zetland, etc."
+(1701), it is stated:--
+
+ There are frequently _Fin-men_ seen here upon the Coasts,
+ as one about a year ago on _Stronsa_, and another within
+ these few Months on _Westra_, a gentleman with many others
+ in the Isle looking on him nigh to the shore, but when any
+ endeavour to apprehend them they flee away most swiftly;
+ Which is very strange, that one man sitting in his little
+ Boat, should come some hundred of Leagues, from their own
+ Coasts, as they reckon _Finland_ to be from _Orkney_; It
+ may be thought wonderfull how they live all that time, and
+ are able to keep the Sea so long. His Boat is made of
+ Seal-skins, or some kind of leather, he also hath a Coat of
+ Leather upon him, and he sitteth in the middle of his Boat,
+ with a little Oar in his hand, Fishing with his Lines: And
+ when in a storm he seeth the high surge of a wave
+ approaching, he hath a way of sinking his Boat, till the
+ wave pass over, lest thereby he should be overturned. The
+ Fishers here observe that these _Finmen_ or _Finland-men_,
+ by their coming drive away the Fishes from the Coasts. One
+ of their Boats is kept as a Rarity in the _Physicians Hall
+ at Edinburgh_.
+
+This last fact was first stated by Wallace (1688; previously
+quoted), who remarks:
+
+ One of their Boats sent from Orkney to Edinburgh is to be
+ seen in the Physitians hall with the Oar and the Dart he
+ makes use of for killing Fish, [and it is stated by Mr.
+ John Small, M.A., &c., in his edition[3] of this book that
+ the boat spoken of was "afterwards presented to the
+ University Museum, now incorporated with the Museum of
+ Science and Art, Edinburgh"; and a note appended to the
+ second edition also states that "there is another of their
+ boats in the Church of Burra in Orkney."]
+
+Wallace's book has also a note ascribed to the author's son, to the
+following effect:
+
+ I must acknowledge it seems a little unaccountable how
+ these _Finn-men_ should come on this coast, but they must
+ probably be driven by storms from home, and cannot tell,
+ when they are any way at sea, how to make their way home
+ again; they have this advantage, that be the Seas never so
+ boisterous, their boats being made of Fish Skins, are so
+ contrived that he can never sink, but is like a Sea-gull
+ swimming on the top of the watter. His shirt he has is so
+ fastned to the Boat, that no water can come into his Boat
+ to do him damage, except when he pleases to untye it....
+
+There is, it will be seen, some difference of opinion as to the
+place whence these Finn-men came. The Shetlandic folk-lore indicates
+Bergen, on the south-western coast of Norway; Brand regards Finland
+as their home; while Wallace takes a still wider range. This last
+writer (who is the first in point of time) says this of
+them:--"These _Finn-men_ seem to be some of these people that dwell
+about the _Fretum Davis_ [Davis Straits], a full account of whom may
+be seen in the natural and moral History of the _Antilles_, Chap.
+18." At first sight, and according to modern nomenclature, the
+connection between the Antilles and Davis Straits seems very remote.
+But it must be remembered that the traditional country of "Antilla,"
+or the "Antilles," probably included the modern Atlantic seaboard of
+North America; and that, when that territory was invaded by the
+Norsemen of the tenth century, it was found to contain a population
+of exactly the same description as those "Finn" races--people of
+dwarfish stature, who traversed their bays and seas in skin-covered
+skiffs.[4] However, Wallace's theory is obviously untenable. It is
+most improbable that any Eskimo of Davis Straits would attempt the
+trans-Atlantic passage in his tiny _kayak_, supporting life on the
+voyage by eating raw such fish as he might catch. Indeed, the feat
+is almost an impossibility. Moreover, it is quite clear that those
+Finn-men were voluntary and frequent visitors to the Orkneys, and
+(more especially) to the Shetlands; and the "Fin-land" from which
+they came is stated by the Shetlanders to have been no further off
+than Bergen, on the Norwegian coast.[5]
+
+It is quite evident that "the Finns of the Shetlandic story"
+formed a branch of the "Ugrian race of the Finns"; and that some of
+them "came ow'r fa Norraway"--whether as "wizards," or as fishermen,
+or as pirates (for they figure in all these characters). The
+description of their skin-covered canoes is of itself quite
+sufficient to show that those "Finns" of Orkney and Shetland were of
+the Eskimo races. So that those "sea-skins," without which the
+captive Finn women could not make their escape, were simply their
+canoes. And the exaggerated stories of the speed with which the
+Finns could cross from Shetland to Bergen have their foundation in
+the fact that those little skiffs can be propelled through the water
+at such a rate that the hunted Finn was enabled to "flee away most
+swiftly" from the clumsier boats of his pursuers. The speed of the
+kayak is very clearly illustrated in an account of the doings of one
+of "these people that dwell about the _Fretum Davis_," who was
+brought to this country in 1816, and who, in that year, showed the
+great superiority of his skiff in a contest with a six-oared
+whale-boat at Leith. "He paddled his canoe from the inner harbour,"
+says the _Scots Magazine_ of that year (p. 656), "round the Martello
+Tower and back in sixteen minutes, against a whale-boat with six
+stout rowers, and evidently shewed his ability to outsail his
+opponents by the advantages he frequently gave them, and which he
+redeemed as often as he chose." This, it will be seen, was simply a
+repetition of the scenes described a hundred and twenty years
+earlier, in the Orkney and Shetland groups; the chief difference
+being that those earlier Eskimos had their home in Europe, and not
+in any part of the western hemisphere. Of course, the Shetland
+belief that the Finns could "pull across to Bergen in a few hours,"
+and that "nine miles for every warp (stroke of the oar) was the
+traditional speed," is obviously an exaggeration. But the distance
+(which is nearer 200 than "300" miles) might almost be traversed in
+the course of the long midsummer day of those northern latitudes--by
+such seafarers, and in such craft.[6]
+
+But, while the "seal-skin" of the traditional Finn was primarily his
+skin kayak, it is likely enough that he is also remembered as the
+wearer of a seal-skin garment; and that from this has arisen the
+confusion of ideas regarding this magic "skin." "His boat is made of
+seal-skins, or some kind of leather," says Brand, in describing the
+Finn-man; but he adds that "_he_ also hath a coat of leather upon
+him." And Dr. Wallace tells us that the Finns "have this advantage,
+that be the seas never so boisterous, their boats being made of fish
+skins, are so contrived that he can never sink, but is like a
+sea-gull swimming on the top of the water." And he continues: "His
+shirt he has is so fastened to the boat that no water can come into
+his boat to do him damage, except when he pleases to untie it." Dr.
+Rink, in referring to the kayaks of those "Finn-men" who inhabit the
+regions surrounding the Fretum Davis, uses similar terms: "The deck
+alone was not sufficient; the sea washing over it would soon fill
+the kayak through the hole, in which its occupant is sitting, if his
+clothing did not at the same time close the opening around him. This
+adaptation of the clothing is tried by degrees in various ways
+throughout the Eskimo countries, but it does not attain its
+perfection except in Greenland, where it forms in connection with
+the kayak itself a water-tight cover for the whole body excepting
+the face."[7] But, in making this last statement, Dr. Rink is
+speaking of the nineteenth-century representatives of this race; and
+in ignorance of the fact that the "Eskimos" of the North Sea had
+long ago realized the necessity for this waterproof covering.[8]
+
+This waterproof "shirt" is also specially mentioned in connection
+with the Finn kayak that the two Scotch writers of the seventeenth
+century refer to. Wallace, it will be remembered, says of the Orkney
+Finn-men that "one of their boats sent from Orkney to Edinburgh is
+to be seen in the Physicians' Hall, with the oar and the dart he
+makes use of for killing fish." At the time when Wallace wrote, in
+or about the year 1688, there is no doubt that the boat was so
+deposited. But, although the second writer, Brand, makes the same
+statement, it is evident that he only did so on the authority of his
+predecessor. Because, four or five years before Brand's book
+appeared, the Finnman's kayak had been presented by the Royal
+College of Physicians to the University of Edinburgh. The way in
+which the Physicians' College had obtained the boat was through the
+president of the college, Sir Andrew Balfour, eminent as a
+physician, botanist and naturalist, and a great collector of all
+sorts of curiosities. At his death in 1694, his collection passed to
+the University of Edinburgh, by bequest. But, for one reason or
+another, the Finnman's boat still remained in the Physicians'
+College. This will be seen from the following extract from the
+Minute Book of that College, which records the transfer of the boat
+to the University of Edinburgh, two years after Sir Andrew Balfour's
+death. The date of the Minute is 24th September, 1696.[9] "The qlk
+[whilk] day y^e colledge considering y^t dr Balfour's curiositys are
+all in y^e Colledge of Edr & amongst them y^e oars of y^e boat & y^e
+Shirt of y^e barbarous man y^t was in y^e boat belonging to y^e
+Colledge of physitians & y^t the same boat is likly to be lost they
+having noe convenient place to keep it in doe give the s^d boat to
+y^e colledge of Edr ther to be preserved & y^t it be insert there
+y^t its gifted by y^e royall Colledge."
+
+From this extract we gain the additional information that the
+"Shirt" or "Coat of Leather" of the "barbarous man" himself had also
+found its way to the University Museum of Edinburgh; presumably
+through Sir Andrew Balfour also, or perhaps through his friend and
+colleague, Sir Robert Sibbald (known as the author,[10] _inter
+alia_, of a "Description" of the Orkney and Shetland Isles).[11]
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[2] Contributed to _The Contemporary Review_ of 1881, and _The
+Gentleman's Magazine_ of 1882.
+
+[3] A reprint of 1883: William Brown, Edinburgh.
+
+[4] _Antiquitates Americanæ._ _See_ Appendix B.
+
+[5] It may be from them that an inlet at Bergen is called "_Fens_
+Fiord." Bergen is so much associated with the "Finns" of Shetlandic
+tradition that it is at least worthy of notice that a special caste,
+known as _Strils_ (pronounced "Streels"), who are very primitive in
+character, and who are regarded by the neighbouring Norwegians as of
+a different stock from their own, still inhabit the numerous islands
+that protect Bergen from the ocean. "They speak Norwegian after a
+fashion of their own, but it is very difficult to understand them,
+and there is reason to suppose that their idioms have a Samoyede
+root." ("Bergen," by Lieut. G. T. Temple, R.N., in _Good Words_,
+1880, p. 767 _et seq._)
+
+[6] A recent visitor to the Greenland branch of that family states
+that "a skilled Eskimo can, in his kayak, go even eighty miles in
+one day." The length of the day is, of course, an important matter.
+Dr. Nansen, the traveller referred to (who made the above statement
+in his paper read before the Scottish Geographical Society at
+Edinburgh on 1st July, 1889) gained his experience of kayaks during
+winter, when the Greenland day is very short. If the eighty miles
+were done _then_, the speed is marvellous. It is so, indeed, in any
+case. When Dr. Nansen reached Godthaab in October, the nearest
+Europe-bound ship was lying at a place 240 miles to the south, and a
+"kayaker" was despatched thither to try and detain the vessel, which
+was to sail in the middle of the month. Though unsuccessful in his
+mission, he reached the vessel in plenty of time. The dates of his
+journey are not given. But the mere fact of the man being thus sent
+as an express messenger argues that a very high rate of speed was
+relied upon.
+
+[7] "The Eskimo Tribes," Copenhagen, 1887, p. 6.
+
+[8] It may be mentioned that the variety worn by the Alaskan Eskimo
+is not of seal-_skin_. It is described as a "peculiar waterproof
+coat called a camalinkie, made from the entrails of the seal, and is
+nearly as fine as tissue paper, almost every inch of it being
+quilted, to strengthen it. The Aleut wears this curious garment when
+seated in his canoe." ("Seal Hunting in Behring Sea"; contributed to
+the _Scotsman_ of Sep. 20, 1889, by Edward C. Richards.)
+
+[9] For this extract I am indebted to the courtesy of the President
+and Council of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.
+
+[10] More correctly, the editor and publisher of a previous MS.
+
+[11] It is an unfortunate circumstance that, owing to the lamentable
+indifference of the custodiers of the Finnman's canoe subsequent to
+the year 1696, it seems impossible to say whether or not that vessel
+is still preserved. In 1865 the Edinburgh Museum of Science and Art
+became possessed of the collection of the University, and in that
+collection were two kayaks, with regard to which nothing definite
+was known at the time of transference. If the University "preserved"
+the Finnman's kayak, as the College of Physicians expected, then it
+must be one of these two, as these were the only kayaks in the
+University Museum in 1865. (In the hope of obtaining a definite
+solution of this question, I have given a description of that kayak
+which appears to be the most likely to be the Finnman's, in a paper
+read before the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland on 10th February,
+1890.)
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+
+Anyone familiar with the shape of the long, narrow, skin-covered
+skiff of the Eskimo (which, as has just been pointed out, is
+completely "decked," with the exception of the round aperture in the
+middle, where the rower sits--his legs being thrust in front of him,
+underneath the "deck,") will see that when the Finn had fastened his
+seal-skin garment to the sides of the aperture, he and his boat were
+one. Thus not only could "no water come into his Boat to do him
+damage," but he appeared (to people unacquainted with his anatomy)
+as some amphibious seal-man--"a selkie i' da sea," as the Shetland
+rhyme goes. This resemblance is even further borne out by the
+ability of the kayaker to overset himself and his kayak, and then to
+re-appear on the surface of the water, without either himself or his
+skiff suffering any injury, as both were impervious to water. This
+feat is evidently a delight to the kayaker, and the Eskimo already
+referred to as having displayed his skill at Leith in the year 1816,
+performed this manoeuvre many times, to the great astonishment of
+the onlookers. Thus the Finnman of the North Sea, who presumably
+indulged in this amusement, like his representatives in Greenland
+to-day, was thereby rendered still more like a creature of the deep,
+"a perfect seal among the wild waves," as Dr. Karl Blind
+remarks.[12]
+
+[Illustration: KAYAKKER IN HIGH SEA.]
+
+It is to the apparently amphibious nature of this peculiar people,
+that one may trace much--if not all--that has been recorded of
+mermen and mermaids; who, in other words, were seamen and seamaids.
+The conventional mer-man is portrayed as visible above water from
+the waist upward. And that the kayaker presents a similar appearance
+may be seen from a description given of an Eskimo flotilla by one
+who has had personal experience of the Hudson's Bay regions,[13]
+wherein it is stated that, at some distance from the land, "the low
+kayaks" of the Eskimos, being almost quite flush with the water, "it
+seemed as if their occupants were actually seated on the water." The
+accompanying spirited sketch by Mr. A. R. Carstensen of a modern
+Eskimo, as he appears "when the waves come upon him with all their
+fury," helps much to make one realize the appearance of the Orkney
+Finnman, whether in storm or in calm.[14] It is easy to see how a
+race of "_zee-woners_" such as these could gradually become
+remembered as an actually amphibious people.
+
+Those legendary mermaids who are described as using combs and
+mirrors were plainly allied to these Finn-women. It is manifest that
+no amphibious woman (the possibility of whose existence is not here
+denied) would carry a mirror and a comb about with her; or that
+she--whose chief element was the water--would be for ever engaged in
+the mad task of arranging hair which every plunge in the sea would
+disarrange most effectually. But those female Finns, whom the
+amorous Shetlanders captured before they could regain their
+skin-canoes are described as "engaged in dressing their flowing
+locks" at the eventful moment: a most natural proceeding on the part
+of any woman who has just landed from a sea-voyage (whether these
+particular women had come all the way from Bergen, or which is
+likely--from some outlying island of the Northern groups). The
+_reality_ of those merwomen of Shetland is manifest throughout the
+tales relating to them. They bear children to their Shetland lovers;
+they "were said to make good housewives;" and their descendants in
+the Shetland Islands to-day are, presumably, as "real" and human as
+any of Her Majesty's subjects. That most of those unwillingly-wedded
+Finn-women tried to regain their liberty at the first opportunity is
+seen from the repeated statement that the Shetland husband was
+always careful to hide the "sea-skin" of his Finn wife. But, in many
+cases the Finn-woman appears to have decided to throw in her lot
+with her Shetland husband and people.
+
+Although Bergen was latterly the home of those Finns who came to
+Shetland, it is most probable that many of the stories regarding
+them related to a time when they still retained possession of
+certain districts in the Shetland islands. When they were
+"frequently" seen off the Orkney coast, quietly fishing, it is most
+improbable that their homes were among the Fiords of Norway--more
+than two hundred miles away. It seems clear that they retained their
+hold upon Shetland longer than Orkney; but even in some parts of the
+latter archipelago they were apparently pretty much at home in the
+year 1700. This was the date of the Rev. Mr. Brand's tour, and a
+remark of his leads one to such a conclusion. It must be remembered
+that those Finns were regarded as wizards and witches by the more
+ignorant classes: "the belief that witches and wizards came from the
+coast of Norway disguised as seals was entertained by many of the
+Shetland peasantry even so late as the beginning of the present
+century." And they were regarded as, in some sense, supernatural
+beings. Now Dr. Blind, in suggesting that the "skins" of the Finns
+may have been (as in one aspect they actually were) their outward
+garments, "made of seal-skins, and then covered with metal rings or
+scales"--in assuming this, Dr. Blind is quite in agreement with a
+statement made by Brand in 1700; which is to this effect, that
+"supernatural" beings were, at the date of his visit, "frequently
+seen in several of the Isles (the Orkneys) dancing and making merry
+_and sometimes seen in Armour_." It ought not to be forgotten that
+although the Finn fisherman "fled away most swiftly," when chased by
+a considerable party of his foes, yet "it is worthy of note that the
+supposed object of [the Finn invaders] ... was _plunder_;"[15] that
+"they were wont to pursue boats at sea;" that "_silver money was
+thrown to them_ to prevent their doing any damage to the boat;" and
+that "it was dangerous in the extreme _to say anything against
+them_."[16] Whether such attacks were made in their small
+skin-canoes, or whether they used larger vessels, it is evident that
+they were formidable marauders; and that, as Dr. Blind suggests, and
+as the Rev. Mr. Brand records, those Finn pirates were "sometimes
+seen in Armour."
+
+But neither the belief in Mer-men, nor the existence of
+traditionary pedigrees deduced from such people, forms a distinctive
+characteristic of the Shetland Islands. Just as there are
+Shetlanders who trace their lineage to one or more ancestors of Finn
+blood, so are there similiar family traditions in many parts of the
+British Islands. "It is believed that there are several old Welsh
+families who are the descendants" of Mer-folk; and similar examples
+are found "in the traditions of the O'Flaherty, O'Sullivan, and
+Macnamara families."[17] "The inhabitants of the Isle of Man have a
+number of such stories, which may be found in Waldron;"[18] and the
+tale of Macphail of Colonsay and "The Mermaid of Corryvreckan" is
+not the only Hebridean illustration of this feature. The references
+that are made to mermaids in the prefatory remarks to Leyden's
+version of the Corryvreckan story are quite in keeping with the
+Shetland traditions. That is, there are certain attributes ascribed
+to those mer-women which, on the surface, are incredible; but which
+the knowledge that is given to us by Brand and Wallace renders quite
+intelligible. The "train" or "tail" of the mermaid has only to be
+translated "canoe" or "kayak," and what was formerly nonsense
+becomes sense. For example, the statement that "the mermaid of
+Corrivrekin possessed the power of occasionally resigning her scaly
+train," is only a jumbled reminiscence of the fact referred to by
+Dr. Wallace who, when speaking of the mer-men, says: "His
+[seal-skin] shirt has been so fastened to the Boat, that no water
+can come into his Boat to do him damage, except when he pleases to
+untye it, which he does ... when he comes ashore." In the other
+phraseology, he "possessed the power of occasionally resigning his
+scaly train."
+
+In the remarks prefacing Leyden's "Mermaid" (in The Minstrelsy) it
+is stated that "mermaids were sometimes supposed to be possessed of
+supernatural power." The Shetland peasantry, also, believe (or did
+believe) that "_witches_ ... came from the coast of Norway disguised
+as seals." And "Ranulph Higden says 'that the _witches_ in the Isle
+of Man anciently sold winds to mariners, and delivered them in
+knots, tied upon a thread, _exactly as the Laplanders did_.'"[19] At
+one time--if not now, Lapland was regarded as a stronghold of
+"magic." Butler in referring to one of the things "in which the
+Lapland Magi deal" makes selection of this practice of "selling
+winds" to sailors;[20] the "Magi" being (in this detail) feminine.
+But the British Islanders have practised many "Lapp" mysteries: and
+there is a distinct "Ugrian" element among the British people;
+neither of which facts are at all at variance with the traditions
+that derive the descent of many modern Britons from sea-faring
+tribes of "Finns" and other Mer-folk.
+
+One account[21] states, with regard to the mer-woman, that "the
+sailors pretend to guess what chance they had of saving their lives
+in the tempests, which always followed her appearance." Apparently,
+this refers more particularly to Norway. In the Channel Islands a
+similar belief exists regarding the mer-man, who is styled "the King
+of the _Auxcriniers_." "_Il est le baladin lugubre de la tempête_,"
+says M. Victor Hugo, in describing this mer-man of the Channel.[22]
+The probable explanation of this belief is that, when a tempest was
+threatening, those solitary rovers--knowing that their fragile
+"sea-skins" could never outride a heavy storm--made hastily for the
+nearest coast. Indeed, when one looks at those delicate little
+vessels, wholly dependent upon the thoroughness of the stitching
+that unites the various pieces of skin together, one can only wonder
+at the daring of the people who ventured in them a hundred miles and
+more from any land. "Nothing but a plank between one and Eternity"
+is not so dangerous as it sounds; for planks can float one when the
+worst happens. But what is to be made of half-a-dozen bits of
+whalebone or wood, with one thin covering of seal-skin stretched
+over them? The giving of a stitch, or the smallest fracture in the
+skin--and both skiff and skiff-man are under the water.
+
+To point out the various characteristics of the traditional mer-men
+and mer-women, and to suggest an explanation of each, is more than
+need be attempted here. But it is enough to remark that the mere
+fact that marriages between "men" and the mer-folk were possible and
+frequent, is quite sufficient to prove that there was no radical
+difference between the two races. When one reads of mer-women
+bearing children to land-men, and "making good house-wives" to them;
+or, when one learns that the mer-men were given to "deceiving
+women," then one may feel pretty certain of their humanity.
+
+It has been noticed that one of their skin-boats, or kayaks, was
+"kept as a Rarity" in the Museum at Edinburgh, and that another was
+preserved "in the Church of Burra in Orkney."[23] There are many
+British traditions of such boats in connection with such people;
+although the names by which those skiffs are popularly remembered
+are as unreasonable as the "scaly train" of the Finn-woman of
+Corryvreckan. In Sutherland it is said that those people used to
+cross the Dornoch Firth in "cockle-shells;"[24] while one man
+records having seen them quitting the coasts of the Isle of Man "in
+empty rum puncheons," in which vessels he "saw them scudding away as
+far as the eye could reach."[25] It is very likely that those
+traditional "witches" who went to sea in "sieves" were also
+identical with those who came from the coast of Norway "disguised as
+seals;" and that the _sieve_ was nothing else than the _kayak_.
+
+That the Finns of Orkney and Shetland used the long, narrow _kayaks_
+of the modern Esquimaux and Samoyeds is unmistakable: and the same
+shape of skiff has probably been employed by British and other
+European "mer-men" for an immemorial period. But other varieties of
+this kind of boat have been used. For example, the natives of those
+islands and promontories which form "the Rosses" of Donegal are
+described (in the years 1753 and 1754) as using seal-skin boats; but
+their shape does not seem to have been identical with that of the
+kayak. "Their boats" (says a visitor to the "Rosses" at that
+date[26]), "called curraghs, were oval baskets, covered with
+seal-skins; and in such weak and tottering vessels they ventured so
+far out as was necessary to get fish enough for their families."
+
+These _curraghs_, it would seem, were nearer those still used in
+Wales (and also by the Mandans of the Upper Missouri) than the long,
+covered-in skiff of the Arctic tribes. Or, perhaps, they resemble
+those _curraghs_ now used in Ireland, which differ chiefly from
+ordinary "boats" in their frames being covered with skins in place
+of planks. In his Gaelic dictionary, Armstrong states that "the
+_curach_, or boat of leather and wicker," was "much in use in the
+Western Isles (Hebrides), even long after the art of building boats
+of wood was introduced." As he says that Islemen "fearlessly
+committed themselves, in these slight pinnaces, to the mercy of the
+most violent weather," it seems most likely that the "decked" kayak
+is the kind of which he is speaking, and when he gives a diminutive
+form of _curach_ (_curachan_), and defines it "a little skiff; a
+canoe," it is almost certain that he has in view the "kayak" of the
+Finn-man.
+
+Whichever of these two terms may be assumed to indicate the kayak,
+it is scarcely conceivable that the Hebrideans would "fearlessly
+commit themselves to the mercy of the most violent weather," in an
+_open_ skin-boat. But this is what the _kayakers_ do. "They do not
+fear venturing out to sea in these boats in the greatest storms,"
+says Hans Egede, referring to the Eskimos of the eighteenth century,
+"because they can swim as light upon the largest waves as a bird can
+fly; and when the waves come upon them with all their fury, they
+only turn the side of the boat towards them to let them pass,
+without the least danger of being sunk."[27] Referring to the same
+usage of the Orkney Finnman, Brand says that he does this, "when _in
+a storm_ he seeth the high surge of a wave approaching." And
+Wallace's annotator has the same remark: "They [the Finnmen] have
+this advantage, that _be the Seas never so boisterous_, their boats
+being made of Fish Skins, are so contrived that he can never sink,
+but is like a Sea-gull swimming on the top of the watter."
+
+It appears impossible to ascertain a time when skin-boats were _not_
+used in Europe. In speaking of the Oestrymnic Isles and their
+inhabitants, Dr. Skene quotes the following account of their
+vessels, as given by Rufus Festus Avienus, a writer of the fourth
+century:--
+
+ "They know not to fit with pine
+ Their keels, nor with fir, as use is,
+ They shape their boats; but, strange to say,
+ They fit their vessels with united skins,
+ And often traverse the deep in a hide."
+
+As Dr. Skene points out, these Oestrymnic Isles were identical with
+the _Cassiterides_, (_i.e._, "Tin Islands,") and, under either name,
+were famous for their tin mines. But, in identifying them with the
+Scilly Isles, Dr. Skene is manifestly in error; as all evidence on
+this point tends to show that the Oestrymnides, or Cassiterides,
+formed a group of islands lying off the Spanish coast, which, at
+some period during the Christian era, became submerged. The
+fourth-century writer quoted "says that the northern promontory of
+Spain was called Oestrymnis, and adds, 'Below the summit of this
+promontory the Oestrymnic bay spreads out before the inhabitants, in
+which the Oestrymnic Isles show themselves.'" The testimony of
+Diodorus is to the same effect: "Above the country of the
+Lusitanians, there are many mines of tin in the little islands
+called Cassiterides from this circumstance, lying off Iberia, in the
+ocean." So also Strabo, who states that "the Cassiterides are ten in
+number, and lie near each other in the ocean, towards the north from
+the haven of the Artabri."[28] All this is consistently borne out by
+the map of Spain ("from the Latin Ptolemy, 1478") which Mr. Elton,
+who calls Dr. Skene's deduction in question, appends to his "Origins
+of English History."[29] In that map, it will be seen that,
+according to Ptolemy, the Cassiterides--ten in number--lay off the
+Spanish coast, north-west of Cape Finisterre, and that that portion
+of the mainland was inhabited by the Artabri. Among all these
+writers and geographers, therefore, there is entire agreement; and
+none of their statements have any reference to the neighbourhood of
+the English coast.[30] That these islanders did not know the art of
+building vessels of wood, and were accustomed to cross the sea in
+skin-boats, is regarded by Dr. Skene as corroborative of his belief
+that they were British and not Iberian islanders. "But the Iberian
+coracles were as well known as those of the Britons," says Mr.
+Elton;[31] and of this we ought perhaps to see a survival in the
+"_curo_, a small boat used on the Garonne," which Armstrong compares
+with the Gaelic _curach_.
+
+Of the presence of the skin-boat in British waters there is ample
+evidence, and it would be superfluous to enlarge upon this. There
+is, moreover, evidence that certain "trans-marine nations" came _to_
+Britain in such craft, in early times. And, half-way between the
+opening centuries of the Christian era and the period of the Orkney
+Finnmen, there is a reference which suggests the skin-boat among the
+Finns of Norway, although it does nothing more than suggest. In the
+_Heimskringla_ (Saga xiv) it is stated that Sigurd Slembe and his
+followers passed the winter of 1139 in a cave at Tialdasund, the
+sound which separates the Lofoten Isles from the Norwegian mainland,
+and that on that occasion the Finns (or Lapps, as they are
+indifferently called) constructed two large boats for them. These
+boats were of fir, but the peculiarity about them was that not a
+nail was used in their construction. Like the framework of the
+modern kayak, the various parts of these boats were fastened
+together by _sinews_,[32] a method which, as the saga shows, was
+certainly not that of Sigurd and his people, who remark upon the
+absence of nails. Thus, although this incident shows that those
+Finns of the twelfth century were able to build boats of wood, yet
+their method of joining the timbers suggests the affinity which they
+otherwise bear to the Eskimos. But, while their own boats may have
+differed from those they built for their visitors, there is nothing
+in the passage to support this assumption.[33]
+
+That the round _curach_ or _coracle_, covered with skin, and
+similar to that still seen in Wales, was in use in the north of
+Scotland in the early part of the last century, is testified to by a
+letter quoted in the _Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of
+Scotland_, 1880-81, p. 179-80, from which it will be seen that the
+tradition already referred to--that the dwellers on the shores of
+the Dornoch Firth used to employ "cockle-shells" as ferry-boats--is
+nothing but a fanciful and imperfect resemblance of this particular
+kind of _curach_. The _curachs_, however, in which the Western
+Islanders "fearlessly committed themselves ... to the mercy of the
+most violent weather" cannot have been of this shape. But either
+variety of skin-boat was undoubtedly the property of the one race of
+people. Among the Eskimos, also, there is considerable variety. We
+are told, for example, in a description of the Aleutian Islanders
+during last century, that "their vessels consist of two sorts," of
+which one is the _kayak_, propelled by the double-bladed paddle,
+while the other is large enough to hold thirty or forty people, and
+has "oars on both sides." But both kinds are skin-covered. The
+Eskimo tribes have also the smaller open skin-boat, capable of
+holding eight or ten people. And this, like the similar skin-boat of
+the British Isles, has sometimes sails. These facts are therefore
+quite consistent with the belief that the European tribes using this
+variety of Eskimo boat used also the slender, decked canoe or
+"kayak."
+
+Enough, then, has been said to indicate the presence of those
+skiff-people in various parts of the British Islands, and in various
+parts of Europe. It may be that the latest _authentic_ records of
+British Esquimaux are those given by Brand and Wallace, in the end
+of the seventeenth century.[34] True, the Shetlandic (and perhaps
+other) traditions bring us down to later dates. But traditions are
+necessarily uncertain. However, we do know that the waters
+surrounding the Orcadian and Shetland groups were fished in by
+Esquimaux tribes so recently as the year 1700[35]; and we also know
+from tradition, that these same "Finns" or "Finn-men" "were wont to
+pursue boats at sea," and to demand a money-tribute from the
+fishermen whom they chased. (In turn, they themselves were pursued
+by the islanders, when they made their appearance singly, near their
+coasts.) That they were feared by the islanders is evident from the
+Shetlandic legends; and it will be noticed that those Shetlanders
+who are understood to have Finn blood in their veins "look upon
+themselves as superior to common people." All this suggests that
+those straggling "Finn-men" of the year 1700 were really the
+representatives of a decayed caste of conquerors. The fact that they
+are remembered as wearing armour places them before us as a
+distinctly military race; and "the Darts they make use of for
+killing Fish" were probably the least important of their weapons.
+
+The non-Finnish Shetlanders who overheard the captive woman talking
+with her friends "could not understand a single word of the
+conversation." It is not necessary to assume that this denoted more
+than a mere dialectic difference; accent being a wonderfully
+important consideration in cases of this sort. That Finn settlements
+were often conterminous with districts occupied by those who
+regarded the Finns as enemies is suggested by the existence of a
+"Finns' Town" in Orkney, and a "Finn Town" in Donegal.[36]
+
+Of course, those Finns must have one or many historical names.
+It is probable that they constituted a large proportion of
+the population of the Outer Hebrides. One of the stories
+relating to such people is of a mer-woman who "fell in love with
+a young shepherd, who kept his flocks beside a creek _much
+frequented by these marine people_"--the locality being somewhere
+on the Manx coast. "She frequently caressed him" (the account
+continues--somewhat superfluously), "and brought him presents of
+coral, fine pearls, and every valuable production of the ocean."[37]
+Now, this woman may easily have been one of those "marine people"
+who inhabited various parts of the Hebrides, and who used the
+skin-skiff of the Esquimaux "even long after the art of building
+boats of wood was introduced." The coral and "fine pearls" which
+this mer-woman brought to her Manx lover may have come from no
+greater distance than the Island of Skye: since Martin tells us that
+the people of that island used to adorn their garments with "fine
+stones" and "pieces of red coral"--the latter article being found in
+"great quantity" on the shores of the Lewis. At that time the
+islanders of Jura dwelt in turf-covered wigwams identical with those
+used by modern Lapps; as may be seen from the illustration here
+copied from Pennant's second "Tour." And the people of Harris were
+described in the following terms, in the early part of this
+century[38]:--"In general the natives are of small stature,...
+Scarcely any attain the height of 6 feet, and many of the males are
+not higher than 5 feet 3 or 4 inches." "The Harrisian physiognomy"
+is thus detailed: "The cheek bones are rather prominent, and the
+nose is invariably short, the space between it and the chin being
+disproportionately long. The complexion is of all tints. Many
+individuals are as dark as mulattoes...." The population thus
+described was greatly mingled at the period when these latter
+observations were made; but there is nevertheless strong evidence of
+the possession of Ugrian blood in the people thus portrayed. And
+their boats and dwellings do nothing to contradict this theoretical
+connection with the races we now know by such names as Lapp, Finn,
+Samoyed, and Eskimo.
+
+[Illustration: WIGWAMS OF THE JURA ISLANDERS IN 1772.
+(_From Pennant's Second Tour._)]
+
+The author of the "Gallovidian Encyclopædia" gives also a hint of
+the existence of such a population in Galloway: when (under the name
+"cutty glies") he refers to "a class of females," whom he describes
+as "little" and "squat-made," and to whom he assigns (without
+exception) the amorous nature of the Manx mer-woman just spoken of.
+And, as the Gallovidian chronicler lived near the inlet known as
+"the Manxman's Lake," it is not improbable that this also was "a
+creek much frequented by these marine people"; and that, in short,
+Mactaggart's "little, squat-made females" were of the same stock as
+the Mer-women of the Isle of Man and the Hebrides, and the
+Finn-women of the Northern Isles.
+
+ NOTE.--For additional information on the subject of
+ skin-boats, and the races connected with them, see pp. 174,
+ 178-9, _post_, and Appendix B.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[12] This peculiar feat is mentioned by Drs. Rink and Nansen, as
+well as in connection with the Greenlander of 1816. Another "kayak"
+custom may here be noticed. Brand stated of the Orkney Finn-man,
+that "when in a storm he seeth the high surge of a wave approaching,
+he hath a way of sinking his Boat, till the wave pass over, least
+thereby he should be overturned." This manifestly does not refer to
+the deliberate overturning for amusement, in calm weather. But Hans
+Egede, in describing the Eskimo kayakers of Greenland, during the
+eighteenth century, is evidently speaking of the usage referred to
+by Brand, when he says: "They do not fear venturing out to sea in
+these boats in the greatest storms; because they can swim as light
+upon the largest waves as a bird can fly: and when the waves come
+upon them with all their fury, they only turn the side of the boat
+towards them, to let them pass, without the least danger of being
+sunk." (Quoted in the _Scots Magazine_ of 1816, p. 654.)
+
+[13] Mr. R. M. Ballantyne; "Ungava," chap. xx.
+
+[14] This illustration appears in Mr. Carstensen's "Two Summers in
+Greenland." London, Chapman & Hall, 1890.
+
+[15] _Gentleman's Magazine_, March 1, 1882.
+
+[16] _Contemporary Review_, September, 1881.
+
+[17] _Contemporary Review_, August, 1881. In the _Archæological
+Review_ (June, 1889, pp. 219-220) Mr. G. L. Gomme gives various
+references of this kind, Irish and Shetlandic. One instance
+describes the "Merrow" ancestress as "half fish and half woman,"
+which corresponds with the Shetlandic "sêlkie-wife," or seal-woman.
+More extreme still is the tradition that the Irish clan of Coneely,
+like the natives of Burra Firth, in Unst, are actually descended
+from "seals."
+
+[18] Preface to Leyden's "Mermaid," in "The Minstrelsy of the
+Scottish Border."
+
+[19] "Letters from the Isle of Man." London 1847; p. 59.
+
+[20] The allusion in "Hudibras" bears more specially on the custom
+of selling the winds in bags or "bottled;" which is a variation of
+the Manx practice.
+
+[21] The preface to Leyden's "Mermaid."
+
+[22] "Les Travailleurs de la Mer."
+
+[23] This boat, and all memory of it, seems quite to have vanished
+from Burra. (See "The Orkneys and Shetland," by J. R. Tudor, London,
+1883, p. 341.)
+
+[24] Mr. J. F. Campbell's "West Highland Tales," vol. ii. p. 64.
+
+[25] "Letters from the Isle of Man." London, 1847, p. 63.
+
+[26] Quoted in the "Annual Register" of 1788; "Manners of Nations"
+pp. 77-80.
+
+[27] See foot-note, pp. 12-13, _ante_. The expressions of Egede and
+Armstrong, however, are obviously exaggerated, as no kayak could
+weather a really violent gale.
+
+[28] These citations from Avienus, Diodorus, and Strabo are taken
+from Skene's _Celtic Scotland_, I., 165-168.
+
+[29] London, 1882 (Plate I.)
+
+[30] In assuming the Oestrymnides, or Cassiterides, to be the same
+as the Hesperides, Dr. Skene again shows that the locality referred
+to is the Iberian coast. For the writers of the second and sixth
+century whom he quotes state that the Hesperides are inhabited by
+Iberians, and are situated "near the sacred promontory where they
+say is the end of Europe." Now, in Ptolemy's map, above referred to,
+"the sacred promontory" (_Sacrum Prom[=o]tori[=u]_) is Cape St.
+Vincent; which would place the Hesperides at even a greater distance
+from England than the Oestrymnic Isles. The islands called
+_Londobries_ and _Deorum Insulæ_ on Ptolemy's map may be those
+referred to. Neither they nor the Oestrymnic Isles exist at the
+present day; but in questions of ancient history the fact ought
+never to be overlooked that the surface of the earth is constantly
+undergoing changes,--at one place the sea encroaching upon the land,
+at another retiring from it.
+
+[31] _Op. cit._, p. 20, _note_.
+
+[32] Dr. Rasmus B. Anderson says "deer sinews," while Dr. Joseph
+Anderson states that the original word may either denote "sinew," or
+"sen-grass."
+
+[33] Misled in some measure by Mr. Laing's too free translation,
+wherein the expression "skin-sewed Fin-boats" is used, I had
+assumed that these two vessels were really large open skin-boats,
+like those of the British Islanders and the Eskimos. But I am
+indebted to Dr. Joseph Anderson for pointing out that the passage
+distinctly states that the boats were of wood, and that the allusion
+is to the "sewing" alone. As an article contributed by me to the
+_Archæological Review_ (Vol. IV., Aug. 1889) contains this erroneous
+assumption, I take this opportunity of stating that my inference is
+contradicted by the original passage, with which I was not then
+acquainted. Additional references, however, supporting the belief
+that skin-boats were then and subsequently used in Norway, will be
+found in Appendix B.
+
+[34] I am informed by Professor Kaarle Krohn of Helsingfors that the
+modern Lapps employ light skiffs, which they propel with a
+double-bladed paddle. But this vessel, which is so light that one
+man can carry it on his head, is made of wood, not _skin_, and is,
+moreover, open--not decked, like the kayak.
+
+[35] Brand.
+
+[36] And perhaps by many other names of like nature--such as
+_Finsbury_, _Findon_, _Finhaven_, _Fincastle_, etc.
+
+[37] This is quoted from "Waldron's Works," p. 176.
+
+[38] This description is given at p. 550 of Dawson's "Statistical
+History of Scotland."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+
+It is clear that those popular traditions and records, as well as
+the indisputable statements of Brand and Wallace, indicate two very
+different kinds of people, who, sometimes fighting, sometimes
+inter-marrying, occupied territories that were, in many cases,
+conterminous. That they were often enemies is evident. The Finn-man,
+when alone, was hunted from the non-Finnish islands by the natives:
+and, on the other hand, he was "wont to pursue boats at sea," and to
+demand tribute from the fishermen--when his superior arms, or the
+number of his comrades, warranted him to do so.
+
+Now, there is documentary evidence of this state of things during
+the seventeenth century; though the localities therein referred to
+are the Northern Hebrides, rather than the Orkney and Shetland
+Isles. But the description corresponds, in everything else, with
+that given by the Islesmen of the North-East. We are told[39] that,
+in the year 1635, certain sections of the Hebridean Islanders "comes
+in troupes and companeis out of the Yles where they dwell to the
+Yles and Loches where the fishes ar tane and there violentlie
+spoyles his Majesteis subjects of their fisches and sometimes of
+their victualls and other furniture and persewes thame of their
+lyffes, breakes the schooles of thair herring and comitts manie moe
+insolenceis upoun thame to the great hinder and disappointing of the
+fishing, hurt of his Majesteis subjects, to the contempt of his
+Majesteis auctoritte and lawes," etc. This--even to the detail that
+they "by their coming drive away the Fishes from the Coasts"--is an
+exactly similar account to that given, in the same century, to Brand
+and Wallace, and in the present century (but relating to about the
+same period) to Dr. Karl Blind. In the one case, the scene is the
+North-Western coasts of Scotland: in the other it is the
+North-Eastern. But the kind of people described are pretty evidently
+alike.
+
+In either case, too, the Mer-folk or Finn-men are not spoken of as
+subjects of the Modern-British kingdom. The Proclamation of 1635,
+quoted above, does not regard "some of the inhabitants of the Yles
+of this kingdome," as being "his Majesteis subjects." The phrase,
+"Yles _of this kingdome_" does, indeed, imply something of a common
+nationality; but, as a matter of fact, certain portions of
+North-Western Scotland were not strictly under the rule of Charles
+the First, at that period. That this was so may be seen (if nowhere
+else) in the papers relating to those territories, of dates ranging
+from 1574 to 1635, which are quoted in the _Collectanea de Rebus
+Albanicis_ (pp. 100-121). One of these is a letter written by
+Charles I. "to the Privy Council of Scotland directing an inquiry
+into the exactions by the Heritors of the [Hebridean] Isles from
+those engaged in the Fisheries; and the bringing in of Foreigners by
+the Heritors." And this letter runs as follows: "Whereas it is not
+unknown to you with what care we have intendit the good of the
+Association of the Fischings within thess our Kingdomes _for the use
+of our subjects_[40] and that we will be provident to protect _them_
+from the exaction of the _heritours in the Yles_, who as we are
+informed without warrant exact sundrie dewteis from them to their
+great prejudice, bringing in strangers and loading the vessells with
+fisches and other native commoditeis contrair to our lawis," etc.
+The letter then commands the Scotch Privy Council to learn "upon
+what warrant they ["the landislordis of the Yles wher the fisching
+is"] tak thess dewteis." In the Report made, six months later, by
+the Commissioners appointed by the Privy Council, regarding "the
+duteis exacted be the Ylanders frome his Majesteis subjects of the
+associatioun resorting in these parts," it is stated: "_that it was
+the ancient custome_[2] ... to everie ane of thame in whose boundis
+the herring fishing fell oute, _to exact of_[41] everie barke and
+ship resorting thereto" such-and-such a tribute, in money and in
+kind: "Being demandit by what warrand they uplift the saids
+exactions and dewteis foresaids, they answer that they ar heretours
+of the ground and so may lawfully take up satisfactioun for ground
+leave and ankerage; it being ane ancient custome and in use to be
+done past memorie of man."
+
+Through all these documents of this period there runs a feeling (not
+distinctly formulated) that "his Majesteis subjects"--"his Majesteis
+frie liegis"--"the haill inhabitantis of The Burrowis of this
+Realme"--were terms that did not strictly apply to "the heritours in
+the Yles." And that these latter--though nominally the subjects of
+the British monarch--still exercised a kind of semi-sovereignty in
+their own territories; enforcing tribute from "his Majesty's free
+lieges," and carrying on commercial relations with "foreigners,"
+contrary to the wishes of Charles himself. That these independent
+rights were to some extent recognized by Charles may be gathered
+from his own expressions in the documents referred to. And the
+existence of this antagonism to British law was quite distinctly
+acknowledged by Charles' father (James) when, in the year 1608, he
+issued his instructions to a Commission "appointed for the
+Improvement of the Isles;" wherein he states his "desire to remove
+all suche scandalous reproches aganis that state, in suffering a
+pairt of it to be possessed with suche wild savageis voide of Godis
+feare and our obedience."[42]
+
+Nor was this independence confined to the mere exacting of a
+tribute, according to "ancient custom," from those fishermen who,
+themselves coming under the denomination of "his Majesty's
+subjects," resorted occasionally to the coasts of the North-Western
+Isles. The Report of 1634 showed that this tax was rigorously levied
+by those Island kings when the alien fishermen arrived within the
+"bounds" of certain islands. But they did not content themselves
+with this. The Proclamation of the Scotch Privy Council of the
+following year (1635) begins by stating that "the Lords of Privy
+Council ar informed that of lait ther hes been manie great
+insolenceis committit be some of the inhabitants of the Yles of this
+kingdome not onlie upoun his Majesteis subjects hanting the trade of
+fisching in the Yles but upon the Lords and others of the
+Association[43] of the Royall Fishing of Great Britane and Ireland;
+whiche Ylanders comes in troupes and companeis _out of the Yles
+where they dwell_ to the Yles and Loches where the fishes ar tane
+and there violentlie spoyles his Majesteis subjects of their fisches
+and sometimes of their victualls and other furniture and persewes
+thame of their lyffes," etc. This statement reveals quite plainly a
+condition of enmity between "his Majesty's subjects," and certain
+sections of the Hebridean population. And the traveller, Pennant,
+furnishes additional proof of this state of things, in describing
+the condition of society in the Island of Skye (or its vicinity) at
+about the period under consideration. "Each chieftain (he tells
+us--and the "chieftains" of whom he speaks were presumably "his
+Majesty's subjects")--each chieftain had his armour-bearer, who
+preceded his master in time of war, and, by my author's account in
+time of peace; for they went armed even to church, in the manner the
+North-Americans [the colonists] do at present in the frontier
+settlement, and for the same reason, _the dread of savages_." Of
+which "savages" there are many traditions still extant in the
+legendary lore of the West Highlands.
+
+Of more historical nature is the evidence of Buchanan, who, in
+describing the Inner Hebrides, during the seventeenth century,
+states that the island of Pabbay, close to the Skye coast, was
+then "infamous for robberies, where the thieves, from their
+lurking-places in the woods, with which it is covered, intercept the
+unwary travellers." Of the island of Rona, lying a little to the
+northward of Pabbay, and, at that time, "covered with wood and
+heath," he says: "In a deep bay it has a harbour, dangerous for
+voyagers, as it affords a covert for pirates, whence to surprise the
+passengers." To the west of Skye, and in the Outer Hebrides, there
+was the island of Uist, containing "numerous caves covered with
+heath, the lurking-places of robbers." Off the mainland coast to the
+north-east of Skye, lay "the island Eu, almost wholly covered with
+wood, and of service only to the robbers, who lurk there to surprise
+travellers;" while "more to the north lies Gruinort (says the same
+writer), also darkened with wood, and infested with robbers." That
+is to say, all of these districts _belonged_ to certain races who
+waged war against other populations in that archipelago; and who, in
+all probability, were the "savages" referred to by the traveller
+Pennant.
+
+It is not only this latter writer and James VI. of Scotland who
+refer to certain North British populations in the seventeenth
+century as "savages." Nor are such people only visible in the
+Hebrides at that date. "In a curious old book called 'Northern
+Memoirs; calculated for the Meridian of Scotland,' written in the
+year 1658,"[44] the following short description occurs with
+reference to the district of Strath Navar, in the north of the
+county of Sutherland:--
+
+ "The next curiosity to entertain you with, is the county of
+ Southerland, which we enter by crossing a small arm of the
+ ocean from Tain to Dornoch. So from thence we travel into
+ Cathness and the county of Stranavar, where a rude sort of
+ inhabitants dwell (almost as barbarous as Cannibals), who,
+ when they kill a beast, boil him in his hide, make a
+ caldron of his skin, browis of his bowels, drink of his
+ blood, and bread and meat of his carcase. Since few or none
+ amongst them hitherto have as yet understood any better
+ rules or methods of eating."
+
+Here, then, is a community of people, "almost as barbarous as
+Cannibals," in the estimation of a civilized writer of 1658. But
+none of the expressions of this kind, used by writers of the
+seventeenth century, will strike modern men more strongly than that
+applied to the Finn-men of Orkney in the Minute Book of the
+Edinburgh College of Physicians. To the civilized Scotch of two
+centuries ago those Finn-men were simply savages,--"barbarous men."
+The term "savage" is always a relative one; and what one
+civilization regards as savagery is really the fag-end of an earlier
+civilization. Nevertheless, the seventeenth-century Finn-man
+represented what must necessarily appear to us as a "savage" state
+of society, if that word is to have any meaning at all. And the
+predominant castes of Orkney and Shetland and the mainland of
+Scotland were quite in unison upon this point. The Edinburgh
+physicians, as a matter of course, regarded those kayakers as
+"barbarous men," just as we regard their Arctic kindred to-day. The
+same view was taken by the predominant castes in the Inner Hebrides,
+at the same period, and apparently with regard to the same race of
+people. At that period, therefore, the seventeenth century, we see
+the higher castes of Scotland asserting themselves against an
+"Eskimo" race that threatened the safety of the more civilized
+populations all along the northern and western fringe of the
+country.
+
+Even last century, something that modern nomenclature calls "savage"
+was visible in these north-western localities. On one occasion, when
+Dr. Johnson and his irrepressible biographer were exploring those
+north-western islands, the natives who rowed their boat seemed, to
+Boswell, "so like wild Indians that a very little imagination was
+necessary to give one an impression of being upon an American
+river." One of them, he tells us, was "a robust, black-haired
+fellow, half-naked, and bare-headed, something between a wild Indian
+and an English tar" (of the eighteenth century). And some of the
+McRaas of the mainland he describes as being "as black and wild in
+their appearance as any American savages whatever."[45]
+
+Other tokens of "savage" customs might easily be adduced. For
+example, decaying specimens of the rude "dug-out," the most
+primitive of all canoes--a mere hollowed log--are now and then found
+in the depths of some Highland loch, or peat-bog; and are rashly
+pronounced to be "pre-historic;" whereas these very canoes were in
+common use in the north and west of Scotland less than two centuries
+ago.[46] However, neither this species of canoe, nor the vague
+references of Boswell, point unmistakably to the Ugrian or Mongoloid
+castes whom we are here considering; although it is not unlikely
+that these latter were one and the same as the "wild Indians" and
+the owners of the "dug-outs."
+
+What is certain is that, when, in the October of 1599, one of the
+ships belonging to the Fifeshire colonists of the Lewis was about to
+start on its homeward trip, it was surrounded by "a fleet of small
+vessels peculiar to those islands," and the natives, swarming on
+board, put to death all except the captain.[47] Now (although the
+act was simply a legitimate incident in the warfare of the time and
+locality), these islanders were the people whom King James spoke of
+as "wild savages." And it is tolerably certain that their "small
+vessels" were those "slight pinnaces" of skin that Armstrong says
+were "much in use in the Western Isles"--in other words, the
+_kayaks_ of the Eskimos or Finn-men. It is not unlikely that the
+resemblance to the modern Eskimo was very close in many details. For
+example, the West Highland traditions tell of "savages" who played
+the game of chess; which fact in itself argues decidedly a form of
+civilization. Now, although the art of carving chessmen is extinct
+among modern Hebrideans, the traditional accounts were quite borne
+out by the discovery, in this century, of the now famous Lewis
+chessmen, "in all fifty-eight pieces, ingeniously and elaborately
+carved from the walrus tooth."[48] Consequently, it would appear
+that the Finn-man occasionally hunted the walrus, in which pursuit
+he no doubt employed "the Dart he makes use of for killing Fish:"
+exactly like a modern Eskimo.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[39] In a "Proclamation by the Privy Council of Scotland regarding
+the Fishing in the Isles"; given at p. 111 of "Collectanea de Rebus
+Albanicis."
+
+[40] Not italicized in the original.
+
+[41] In this instance the italics occur in the original.
+
+[42] "Collectanea de Rebus Albanicis," p. 115.
+
+[43] In a letter to the Privy Council of Scotland, of 15th July,
+1632, Charles refers to this Association as "of new erected by us."
+
+[44] See _Blackwood's Magazine_, 1818, p. 674, whence the above
+paragraph is taken.
+
+[45] Others of the same tribe were "as comely as Sappho;" and the
+inference is that, ethnologically regarded, these were totally
+different from the others. It must be remembered that the mere
+surname, borne by all the members of a Highland clan, did not imply
+kinship. The word "clan" was originally used to denote only the
+blood-relations of the chief; but latterly it was applied to the
+whole community. And that the commonalty was frequently composed of
+men of a wholly different stock from their chiefs may be seen from
+the fact that the former are specially distinguished as "the native
+men" (_i.e._, aborigines) in several clan documents.
+
+[46] See Armstrong's "Gaelic Dictionary," s.v. _Biorlinn_; also
+"Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland," 1880-81,
+pp. 179-80.
+
+[47] Anderson's "Scottish Nation," vol. iii. p. 49.
+
+[48] Dr. Daniel Wilson's "Old Edinburgh," vol. i. p. 29.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+
+But, admitting the existence, at so recent a date, of a visibly
+"Eskimo" caste in some parts of the Hebrides, what evidence is there
+that any of these people found their way to Shetland? One writer, we
+have seen, brings the Shetland Finns all the way from Davis Straits,
+another draws them from Finland, and the Shetlanders themselves say
+that they "came ow'r fa Norraway," especially from the neighbourhood
+of Bergen. The correctness of this last belief need not be
+questioned, as regards some of that caste. But it has been suggested
+in the foregoing pages that many of those "Finns" who persecuted the
+Shetland fishermen were those kayak-using Hebrideans who avowed
+their ancient right to despoil and to exact tribute from others, not
+only when fishing among "the Isles where they dwell," but in other
+waters.
+
+We read[49] of raids made in the Orkneys and Shetland, during the
+latter part of the fifteenth century, by "bands of Islemen" (_i.e._,
+Hebrideans), "Irish, and Scots, from the woods"; which last term
+strongly suggests the "robber" denizens of the thickly-wooded
+islands spoken of by Buchanan two centuries later. The raiders were,
+no doubt, heterogeneous. But the piratical kayak-men were surely
+among them. There are many traditions extant in some parts of the
+north-eastern archipelagos regarding these raids--in the island
+of Westray, in Orkney, for instance, where, at a certain "Fitty
+Hill," there was once a great fight between the Westray people
+and the invading Lewismen, all of whom were slain. Now, this Fitty
+Hill is associated strongly with the people recognizable as "Finns,"
+or at least was so in the year 1701, according to a writer
+previously quoted (Brand, p. 57), and both he and Wallace (who wrote
+in 1688) mention the frequent visits of Finn-men to the Westray
+fishing-grounds. Indeed, the _kayak_ preserved in Edinburgh seems,
+according to the latter writer, to have been one of those secured by
+the Orkneymen; who probably made sure that the Finn himself should
+have no further use for it.
+
+Thus, it is a simple historical fact that certain castes of the
+Hebrideans, whose practice of despoiling and exacting tribute from
+others was a thing beyond question, were very frequent visitors to
+the Orkney and Shetland groups, whose natives they did their utmost
+to overawe. And, as the skin skiffs of the Hebrideans were of such a
+description that the skiffmen "fearlessly committed themselves in
+these slight pinnaces to the mercy of the most violent weather,"
+they were well qualified to sing the song of the Finn-man:
+
+ I am a man upo' da land,
+ I am a selkie i da sea.
+
+Indeed, the concluding lines of that verse are peculiarly
+appropriate to the Hebridean. For the "shöol skerry," which is the
+rocky islet of _Sule_ or _Sula_, lying about forty miles N.N.E. of
+Cape Wrath, formed a very convenient refuge for him when "far from
+every strand," during his voyages between Shetland or Orkney and the
+Hebrides.[50]
+
+And it is in this aspect, as tyrannical sea-rovers, that the "Finns"
+are often remembered in Shetlandic tradition. It was their custom to
+pursue the boats of the Shetland fishermen, and to exact from them a
+tribute in "silver money." So much were they dreaded that "it was
+dangerous in the extreme to say anything against them." The original
+feeling of respect must have been very strong, since it has survived
+into the present century.
+
+This, of course, relates to the Finns considered as men and as
+fighters. The other side of the question shows us the Finn-women,
+and also the Finn-men in peaceful guise. And here, too, it is
+evident that those people were by no means regarded as an _inferior_
+race by the non-Finnish section of the Shetlanders (whatever that
+non-Finnish element may have been composed of), for those who claim
+a "Finn descent" at the present day regard this line of their
+ancestry as wholly superior to that which, for want of a better
+word, may be called "Shetlandic."
+
+The Finn-women, we are told, very frequently became the wives of the
+islanders: and, consequently, they became the mothers of
+"half-breed" families--that is, in those cases where the husband
+himself was of a wholly different stock. In some instances, owing to
+a Finn connection in the previous generation, such children may have
+been more Finnish than anything else. Many of the Finn wives seem to
+have cast in their lot altogether with their Shetland husbands, to
+whom they brought dowries of cattle which--according to the peasant
+tradition--they "conjured up from the deep," of which the probable
+interpretation is that they caused them to be sent across from
+Bergen. Peaceful memories of the Finn-men may also be traced in such
+things as the rhyme of the medicine-man who "came ow'r fa Norraway"
+to conjure the toothache out of some unhappy Shetlander.
+
+But these references, and apparently all the more recent of the
+Shetlandic traditions, point to Norway, and not to the Hebrides, as
+the home of the Finns; and it seems quite clear that the Bergen
+neighbourhood was a stronghold of this Mongoloid people within
+recent times.
+
+Mr. H. Howorth,[51] in discussing these Mongoloid, or Ugrian
+people, remarks: "The Finns and Laps have been pushed back in
+Scandinavia to a very small portion of their ancient holding. In
+Livonia, in Esthonia, and in three-fourths of European Russia the
+Ugrians were, even in the eleventh century, the preponderating
+population"; that is, Esthonia and Livonia then formed a part of
+"Finland," and the Gulf of Riga was a Finnish sea. We are not given
+a date as to their "preponderance" in Scandinavia; but, if they were
+so numerous in the east Baltic districts during the eleventh
+century, it may be assumed that they were also of considerable
+importance in the Scandinavian peninsula at the same time, and even
+much later.
+
+There is, at any rate, a very interesting reference to Finns of
+Swedish nationality, made in connection with these Finns of Orkney.
+A last-century reader of Wallace's "Description of Orkney" (whose
+occasional comments upon that book are included in the reprint of
+1883) gives, as his opinion, that the "Finnmen" of Orkney, in the
+years 1682-4, belonged to "the Finns, or inhabitants of Finland,
+part of the kingdom of Sweden." Whether this writer meant the Finns
+of Esthonia and Livonia, or of Finland proper--for all these
+provinces were under Swedish rule in the seventeenth century--it is
+evident that he went too far afield for his "Finnmen." But what
+really is important is the statement which he goes on to make,
+incidentally, with regard to the Finns of Sweden. "They had," he
+says, "a settlement in Pennsylvania, near the freshes of the river
+Delaware, in the neighbourhood of the Dutch, who were the first
+planters here" (and he gives as his authority "The British Empire in
+America," vol. i. p. 309).
+
+Now, this colony of Swedish _Finns_ is clearly that which is
+otherwise spoken of as a colony of _Swedes_. When William Penn took
+possession, in the year 1682, of the territory which has ever since
+been associated with his memory, those "Swedes" were already settled
+there. "'He was hailed there with acclamation by the Swedes and
+Dutch,' says one authority, who informs us that the Swedes were
+living in log cabins and clay huts. The men dressed in 'leather
+breeches, jerkins, and match coats,' the women in 'skin jackets and
+linsey petticoats.'"[52] Those _Swedes_, then, of 1682, are
+identified by an eighteenth-century writer with the Swedish _Finns_
+of that period, and at the same time with the contemporary Finns of
+Orkney: who, also, according to Brand, wore "coats of leather." And
+their "log cabins and clay huts" were probably very much like the
+sod-covered dwellings of modern Lapps.
+
+It is an interesting picture. Because this is plainly an infusion
+of unadulterated "Eskimo" blood, among the Pennsylvanians of that
+date, which is quite independent of the representatives of that
+family at present occupying Greenland and the northern parts of
+British North America. It is "Eskimo" blood that was "European" only
+two or three centuries ago. And it is quite likely that many modern
+Americans whose descent is drawn from those seventeenth-century
+colonists of Pennsylvania, referred to as "Swedes," have some of
+this blood in their veins. That they may have inherited a further
+share of it through other channels--"British," and perhaps also
+"Dutch"--is quite probable.
+
+There is something very suggestive in the Shetland accounts that,
+several generations ago, Shetland fishermen were frequently
+terrorized into paying "silver money" as tribute to people who are
+said to have come across from Bergen. Many portions of the
+north-eastern corner of Scotland appear to have been within the
+diocese of Bergen, and to have owned the authority of that province
+up to very modern times. Of this there is ample evidence in
+title-deeds and other documents. This, of course, was a survival of
+the Scandinavian suzerainty over the extreme north and west of
+Scotland, which in the fifteenth century was actual sovereignty, as
+regards Orkney and Shetland; while, for the Hebrides, the Scottish
+monarchs had to pay a yearly tribute known as "The Annual of
+Norway." And at an earlier period still, the Sudereys, or South
+Hebrides, and the Isle of Man, were included in this tributary
+kingdom. It is certainly worth considering whether the withdrawal of
+the legendary "marine people" from the Isle of Man, and their
+gradual disappearance (as "marine people") from the whole western
+and northern extremities of Scotland, which seems to coincide very
+closely, in time, with the decay of Scandinavian authority in these
+localities, ought not to be regarded as signifying that that
+authority was rooted in Mongoloid supremacy.
+
+However, our present purpose is not to guess at the name or names
+by which these people must be known to history, but to emphasize
+their existence as a Mongoloid race. That the present British people
+show traces of such a line of ancestry is the opinion of many modern
+ethnologists. In his "Origins of English History" Mr. Elton
+recognizes a type "not unlike the modern Eskimo," as existent in
+certain parts of England. Mr. J. F. Campbell, in his "Popular Tales
+of the West Highlands," contends strongly for the past existence in
+that locality of a race akin to modern Lapps. And the Iberian
+theorists discern a similar type in "the small, swarthy Welshman,"
+"the small, dark Highlander," and the "Black Celts to the west of
+the Shannon." The question of complexion is, of course, but of minor
+importance, since it is anatomical structure that determines
+affinity. The modern Eskimo races themselves show this, for they
+include all shades, from dark or olive to actual red and white;
+although plainly of one general stock.
+
+They exhibited an American-Eskimo chief, "as a Rarity," at some of
+the eastern seaports of Scotland, a few years ago. But it is
+probable that a considerable number of the spectators were looking
+at a man who almost exactly resembled one or more of their own
+ancestors, not many generations back; not only in the style of his
+dress and in his general appearance, as he shot his slender kayak
+across their waters, but also, to a very great extent, in his
+physical features. And it is much the same with many millions of
+Europeans (and their offshoots), who, chiefly through intermixture,
+and partly on account of altered conditions of life, are no longer
+recognizable, to a superficial observer, as in any degree connected
+with this "Eskimo" stock.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[49] _See_ pp. 59, 378, and 485 of "The Orkneys and Shetland," by J.
+R. Tudor; London, 1883.
+
+[50] The ballad of "The Great Silkie [_i.e._, Seal] of Sule Skerry"
+is given by the late Captain Thomas, on pp. 88-89 of the
+"Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland," vol. i.
+(First series). This "great seal" figures in the song as the father
+of a Shetland woman's child. It may be added that this islet lies
+about thirty-five miles in a northerly direction from the Strath
+Navar referred to on a previous page.
+
+[51] In the Ethnological Society's _Journal_, vol. ii. No. 4.
+
+[52] This is taken from an article on the Founding of Philadelphia;
+contributed by the Rev. Dr. Stoughton to _The Sunday at Home_, 1882.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+
+When the twelfth-century Norseman, Sigurd Slembe, with his twenty
+followers, spent a whole winter with the Lapps or Finns, as stated
+in the "Heimskringla" (Saga XIV), it is evident that the two sets of
+men were in intimate association. Their life at that time is thus
+described in Sigurd's song:
+
+ "In the Lapland tent
+ Brave days we spent,
+ Under the grey birch tree;
+ In bed or on bank
+ We knew no rank,
+ And a merry crew were we.
+
+ "Good ale went round
+ As we sat on the ground,
+ Under the grey birch tree;
+ And up with the smoke
+ Flew laugh and joke,
+ And a merry crew were we."
+
+It was at that time, also, that the Lapps made for Sigurd those
+"sinew-fastened boats," in which he and his party voyaged southward
+in spring. In these accounts there is no mention made of the Lapp or
+Finn women, but their presence there must certainly be taken for
+granted. And there is no reason for supposing that they were less
+friendly to their guests than the Finn men were. There are
+evidences, indeed, that the Ugrians and the non-Ugrians of
+Scandinavia, of either sex, were on a friendly footing two centuries
+before Sigurd Slembe's day. When Eric, the son of Harald Haarfager,
+was in Lapland on one occasion, he there found his future wife,
+Gunhild, living in a hut with "two of the most knowing Laplanders in
+all Finmark." She had come there, she said, "to learn Lapland-art,"
+in which these two Lapps were deeply versed. The way in which she
+entrapped her hosts, and went off with Eric, is described in the
+Saga (Harald Haarfager's, chap. xxxiv), and it argues something for
+Eric's magnanimity or indifference that he chose this lady to be his
+bride. However, the point is that in Gunhild we have a presumably
+non-Ugrian woman, living in the most friendly way with a couple of
+Lapp "magicians."
+
+Again, we find Harald Haarfager himself actually marrying a Finn
+woman. We are told (chap. xxv of his _Saga_) how, one winter, when
+Harald was moving about Upland "in guest-quarters," he was induced
+by "the Fin Svase," who announced himself to the king's followers as
+"the Fin[53] whose hut the King had promised to visit," to not only
+fulfil the said promise, but then and there to marry Snaefrid, the
+daughter of the Finn. Whether he took this step by reason of the
+beauty of the Finn girl, or of the strength of the mead which she
+poured out to him, or of the "magic" which she and her father
+exercised upon him, is a matter of little moment. The fact remains
+that she became his queen, and in course of time bore to him four
+sons: Sigurd Hrise, Halfdan Haleg, Gudrod Liome, and Rognvald
+Rettilbeine: who, consequently, were half-bred Finns--that is,
+assuming that Harald himself was of pure non-Ugrian blood.
+
+These four sons of Harald's Finn wife are subsequently to be met
+with in this Saga; which tells how "they grew up to be very clever
+men, very expert in all exercises." When Harald was fifty years of
+age, he gave to three of them, as to his other sons, "the kingly
+title and dignity," assigning to them, as their portion of his
+kingdom, the territories of "Ringerike, Hadeland, Thoten, and the
+lands thereto belonging." But one of the four, Halfdan, did not live
+to attain this dignity. Several years before, he, like Harald's many
+other sons, had resented his exclusion from place and dignity, and
+the advancement of mere "earls" instead; "for they [Harald's sons]
+thought earls were of inferior birth to them." Consequently, Halfdan
+and his brother Gudrod "set off one spring with a great force, and
+came suddenly upon Earl Rognvald, Earl of Möre, and surrounded the
+house in which he was, and burnt him and sixty men in it." Then,
+leaving his brother in temporary possession of that earldom,
+"Halfdan took three long-ships, and fitted them out, and sailed into
+the West Sea." The Earl of Orkney at that time was Einar ("Turf"
+Einar), and on Halfdan's unexpected appearance he fled. For six
+months the Finn woman's son ruled over Orkney. But in the autumn,
+Einar returned, and "after a short battle," totally defeated and put
+to flight Halfdan and his followers. "Einar and his men lay all
+night without tents, and when it was light in the morning they
+searched the whole island, and killed every man they could lay hold
+of. Then Einar said: 'What is that I see upon the Isle of
+Ronaldsha?[54] Is it a man or a bird? Sometimes it raises itself up,
+and sometimes lies down again.' They went to it, and found it was
+Halfdan Haaleg, and took him prisoner." Einar thereupon killed
+Halfdan, and he and his men raised a mound of stones and gravel over
+the corpse; which mound, if not yet opened, will no doubt disclose
+to some modern craniologist the exact ethnological status of this
+semi-Finn.[55]
+
+With regard to another brother of Halfdan's, Rognvald Rettilbeine,
+it is stated that he ruled over Hadeland, and became famous for his
+skill in witchcraft, in which he was no doubt instructed by his Lapp
+relatives. This, indeed, was the cause of his death. For, at the
+instigation of their common father, his half-brother Eric
+(Bloody-axe) "burned his brother Rognvald in a house along with
+eighty other warlocks," on account of these same alleged
+malpractices.
+
+These are only a few recorded instances, which reveal the Finns
+and the non-Finns as sometimes closely allied not only by
+association, but by blood. But from them it may be inferred that
+many other intermarriages between the two races took place, and that
+the Finns, although eventually conquered as a distinct people, were
+frequently men of rank and importance among the Scandinavians of
+eight or nine centuries ago. As an instance of a Finn occupying
+an official position (certainly much inferior to that of the
+semi-Finnish kings of Ringerike, Hadeland, and Thoten), we have the
+"Finn Sauda-Ulfsson," who appears as "engaged in drawing in King
+Inge's rents and duties" at Viken, Norway, in the twelfth century
+("Heimskringla," Saga XIV, chap. vii). And a certain notable Ketill
+flat-nose,[56] or Ketill Finn, whose memory is doubtless embalmed in
+Ketill's-sæter (now Kettlester), in the island of Yell, Shetland,
+was clearly of Finn blood. When he, and such as he--the semi-Ugrian
+sons of Harald, for example--held sway in Shetland and Orkney, and
+when men and women of either race occasionally, perhaps frequently,
+lived together, a state of things existed that closely resembled
+that described in Mr. Karl Blind's Shetlandic traditions--when
+"Finns came ow'r fa Norraway" and practised magic and witchcraft,
+and domineered over the people of the northern islands.
+
+Of course, it is impossible to say what proportion the Finn blood
+bore to the other. Yet it is quite evident that the Finns, while
+often at war with the race that overcame them, were also frequently
+their allies, and that the two peoples became to some extent blended
+in blood. Consequently, when one discovers among modern British
+people physical traces of a race "not unlike the modern Eskimo," in
+localities famed as the scene of many a Scandinavian raid, these
+traces may reasonably be attributed to those very inroads.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[53] In the edition of 1844, the word "Laplander" is used instead of
+"Fin" in these two instances, as also in the following chapter,
+where "the cunning of the Fin woman" is referred to. But the
+admirable edition of 1889 employs "Fin" in each case. Whatever may
+have been the original distinction between "Fin" or "Finn" and
+"Lapp," it is evident that these two terms have very often been used
+indiscriminately, from an early period.
+
+[54] It is stated of Einar that, although "he was ugly, and blind of
+an eye," he was "yet very sharp-sighted withal."
+
+[55] Mr. John R. Tudor, in his very interesting book on "The Orkneys
+and Shetland" (London, 1883), indicates (p. 364) a certain district
+in the island of North Ronaldshay as the scene of Halfdan's death;
+and suggests that one of "three curious ridges, or mounds" is
+probably that raised over Halfdan's body. The saga certainly says
+that his death took place on that island. But, of course, there is
+plenty of room for conjecture in the whole story.
+
+[56] Mentioned, for example, in Skene's "Celtic Scotland," i,
+311-312. It is not out of place to refer here to a Mongoloid race of
+"Flat-noses" of whom Mr. Howorth speaks. These are the Nogais, who
+are known as "Manguts"; the word _Mangut_, or _Mangutah_, being
+"merely an appellative, meaning flat-nosed." "Dr. Clark says of
+them: 'They are a very different people from the Tartars of the
+Crimea, and may be instantly distinguished by their diminutive form,
+and the dark copper colour of their complexion, sometimes almost
+black. They have a remarkable resemblance to the Laplanders,
+although their dress and manner has a more savage character.' Pallas
+enlarges also upon their specially Mongolian features. Klaproth
+says: 'Of all the Tartar tribes that I have seen, the Nogais bear by
+far the strongest resemblance in features and figure to the
+Mongols'" (Howorth's "History of the Mongols," part ii, p. 2, and
+part iii, p. 71).
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+
+The references made in the two preceding chapters bear specially
+upon those Finns who "came ow'r fa Norraway" to the islands of
+Shetland and Orkney. But if the assumption be correct that many of
+the Finns who landed in Shetland and fished in Shetlandic waters
+came thither direct from the Hebrides, it is to be presumed that
+Gaelic as well as English tradition has something to say regarding
+them. And as there are several words in use in Shetland which are
+also in use among West Highlanders,[57] it is not unlikely that
+these people may be known in the West Highlands by the same name as
+in Shetland.
+
+It is quite clear that Highland tradition does bear testimony to
+the former existence of a special race or caste of people known by a
+name which resembles that of the Finns so closely that it may
+reasonably be regarded as only a variant of "Finn." In a certain
+charter of Alexander II. of Scotland (A.D. 1214-49), reference is
+made to a well which is known in Gaelic as _Tuber na Feinn_,
+_Feinne_ or _Feyne_; and an old gloss (date unknown) explains that
+this term signifies "the Well of the grett or kempis men callit
+Fenis."[58] Or, in more modern English, "The Well of the great men
+or champions called _Feens_, _Fenns_, _Feenies_, or _Fennies_."[59]
+Here, then, we have record of a certain race of "kempies" or
+fighters, who were known in English as _Feens_, etc., and in Gaelic
+as the _Feinne_. One does not require to know much of Gaelic
+tradition--one need not know anything of it--to be well aware of the
+fact that that legendary lore is fairly alive with stories of the
+"Feinne," whatever may have been the ethnological position of the
+caste thus named. And, just as in modern Shetland we have people
+proclaiming with pride their descent from the _Finns_, so have we
+West Highlanders and Hebrideans boasting that the _Feinne_ were
+among their forefathers. Just as Mr. Karl Blind met with a modern
+Shetland woman who asserted that she was "fifth from da Finns," so
+did the late Mr. J. F. Campbell, in 1871, converse with a Skyeman,
+"Donald MacDonald, styled Na Feinne"[60]--that is, "of the Feens."
+If the "Feinne" of Gaelic story are really the same people as the
+"Finns" of Shetlandic tradition, it will not be for lack of
+statements made regarding them if we do not learn a great deal more
+about these people through Gaelic channels.
+
+Without either hastily accepting or condemning this hypothetical
+identification, let us look a little further into the circumstances
+of the Gaelic _Feinne_. And it may be as well first to decide upon
+an English equivalent of this Gaelic plural. Mr. J. F. Campbell
+states that the singular is _Fiann_; but, even when writing in
+English, he prefers to adhere to the Gaelic form of the
+plural--thus, "the Feinn" or "the Feinne." However, both Dr. Skene
+and another writer (the late Rev. J. G. Campbell, Tiree), have
+Englished this into "the Fians." This approaches so closely to the
+marginal "Fenis" of the old charter of Alexander II., that we may
+take "the Feens" as a good enough modern English equivalent for the
+Gaelic plural. (For the vowels in _Fians_ and _Feinne_ receive the
+old or Continental pronunciation, these words having the sound of
+"Feeans" and "Fane," or "Fayny," according to modern English
+spelling.) In order, therefore, to avoid the confusion that might
+arise from Englishing "the Feinne" into "the Finns" (although we are
+tacitly assuming, in the meantime, that the latter really expresses
+the ethnological position of the former), let us refer to "the
+Feinne" of Gaelic story as "the Feens."[61]
+
+So lately as the latter part of the seventeenth century, certain
+districts of Scotland were recognized as specially "the land of the
+Feinne." Dr. Skene, on the page which tells us of the _Tobar na
+Feinne_, or Well of the Feens, states that Kirke (the Rev. Robert
+Kirke, minister of Balquhidder, in Perthshire), in his Psalter,
+which was published in 1684, refers to the territory stretching from
+Loch Linnhe north-west to, and inclusive of, the Outer Hebrides[62]
+as "the generous land of the Feinne."
+
+"The land of the Feens," therefore, according to this Scotch writer
+of the seventeenth century, embraced the Outer Hebrides and a
+certain portion of the opposite mainland, known in the Highlands as
+"the rough bounds." It is thus evident at the outset that we do not
+obviously make a false start in assuming that the _Feens_ of Gaelic
+tradition ought to be regarded as forming a section of the _Finns_
+who visited Shetland in the seventeenth century. In 1684 Kirke
+regarded the Hebrides as the land of the Feens; in 1688 Wallace
+records the occasional arrival of Finns or Finnmen on the coasts of
+Orkney and Shetland. And we have already seen that skin kayaks, such
+as those which bore the Finn visitors to the islands of the
+north-east were employed at about the same period by inhabitants of
+the Hebrides. Certain sections of the Hebrideans are recorded in
+history as making warlike descents upon the fisheries of Orkney and
+Shetland. And these Hebrideans dwelt in "the land of the Feens."
+
+But the seventeenth century is much too recent a date for studying
+the Gaelic accounts of the Feens. These accounts go back to the
+period when Gaelic was peculiarly associated with what seems to have
+been its earliest home in the British Islands--Ireland. That they
+also relate to the more recent period of the Irish or Gaelic
+settlements in Scotland is manifest. But they are substantially
+Gaelic (_i.e._, Irish), and they deal with events which cannot be
+limited to the time of the Irish invasions of Scotland; and they
+relate to localities which are not merely British, but European.
+
+"Who were the _Feens_ of tradition, and to what country and period
+are they to be assigned?" is the question asked by one of the most
+learned of the authorities from whom these statements are
+obtained.[63] And his answer, after due consideration, is, that "we
+may fairly infer that they were of the population who immediately
+preceded the Scots [Gaels] in Erin [Ireland] and in Alban [Scotland,
+north of the Forth and Clyde], and that they belong to that period
+in the history of both countries before a political separation had
+taken place between them, when they were viewed as parts of one
+territory, though physically separated, and when a free and
+unrestrained intercourse took place between them; when race, and not
+territory, was the great bond of association, and the movements of
+their respective populations from one country to the other were not
+restrained by any feeling of national separation."[64]
+
+Distinct and important as this announcement is, it requires still
+further consideration. Our guide in this question has shown us that
+in such modern times as the seventeenth century, the Feens of
+Scotland were restricted to a small corner of the West Highlands and
+to the Hebrides; which territory was so far associated with them
+that an intelligent writer of that century spoke of it as the land
+of the Feens. But Dr. Skene points also to a much earlier period,
+when the Feens inhabited, if they did not possess and exclusively
+occupy, the whole of Ireland and Irish-Scotland. And he indicates
+further that they had dwelt in these districts before the advent of
+the Milesians (or Gaels). More than that, he shows us that the lands
+in which they lived included a portion of the continent of Europe.
+
+In opposition to the theory manufactured by the Irish historians,
+that the Feens were "a standing body of Milesian militia, having
+peculiar privileges and strange customs," Dr. Skene holds the
+conviction that, "when looked at a little more closely," they
+"assume the features of a distinct race."[65] As a proof of this, he
+quotes three verses from an old poem on the Battle of Gabhra (or
+_Gawra_, as the more softened pronunciation has it). This battle of
+Gawra is said to have been fought in Ireland, on the border of the
+counties of Meath and Dublin, and it is placed by some in the third
+century A.D. It appears to have been the outcome of the resolution
+made by the High King of Ireland, Cormac Mac Art, to renounce for
+ever the tributary position which he and other kings occupied
+towards their over-lords, the Feens. The Irish monarch is said to
+have aimed at the complete extermination of the race in one district
+at least; to have "Great Alvin [apparently the modern Allen, near
+Dublin] cleared of the Feens."[66] At any rate, whatever its
+position in time and place, this battle clearly marks a crisis in
+the history of that latter race. For to them the battle of Gawra was
+a complete and crushing defeat; and thereafter their suzerainty was
+ended. "The kings did all own our sway till the battle of Gaura was
+fought," sings the bard of the Feens, "but since that horrid
+slaughter no tribute nor tax we've raised." The chroniclers state
+that the leader and an immense number of his warriors were killed,
+and only two thousand of the Feens of Ireland were left alive when
+the battle was over. And their bard sings thus:
+
+ "Fiercely and bravely we fought,
+ That fight, the fight of Gaura;
+ Then did fall our noble Feinn,
+ Sole to sole with Ireland's kings."[67]
+
+But the Feenian army here engaged did not only consist of the Feens
+of Ireland; and this, indeed, is the reason why attention is now
+drawn to this battle. It is in regarding the battle of Gawra that we
+recognize the force of Dr. Skene's contention, that however the
+Feens may in later times have become restricted to this or that
+locality, they at one time formed a very widely spread _race_, the
+various divisions of which were ready to hasten to the aid of any
+portion of this great confederacy in time of danger. Whether Dr.
+Skene is precisely correct in stating that "race, and not territory,
+was the great bond of association," is a mere question of words.
+Because the Gaelic traditions emphatically show that although
+Ireland and other neighbouring lands were occupied by people of
+non-Feenic race, who were governed by their own kings, yet, as these
+kings were _themselves_ subject to the Feens, who drew tribute from
+them, the real owners of these various territories were the powerful
+though scattered overlords, and not the races that were under their
+sway.[68] Mr. J. F. Campbell also states that the Feenic king was
+not distinguished by any _territorial_ title: "always 'Rìgh na Fînne
+or F[=e]inne'" ("West Highland Tales," I, xiii). And in the pedigree
+which he gives on page 34 of his "Leabhar na Feinne," and which was
+compiled by a good archæologist, the title given to three successive
+generations of the "royal family" of the Irish Feens is "General of
+the Feens" of Ireland; not "King of Ireland" itself.
+
+This battle of Gawra, then, which seems to mark the period when the
+great Feenic confederacy was on the point of breaking up, was
+brought about by the evident resolve of the non-Feenic population of
+Ireland to throw off for ever this intolerable yoke. And the three
+verses which Dr. Skene extracts from the poem descriptive of the
+battle disclose to us that other sections of the Feenic confederacy
+had come to the help of that division which was resident in Ireland.
+The poem is supposed to be sung by a Feen of Ireland; and he states
+that
+
+ "The bands of the Feens of Alban,
+ And the supreme King of Britain,
+ Belonging to the order of the Feens of Alban,
+ Joined us in that battle.
+
+ "The Feens of Lochlin were powerful,
+ From the chief to the leader of nine men,
+ They mustered along with us
+ To share in the struggle.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ "Boinne, the son of Breacal exclaimed,
+ With quickness, fierceness, and valour,--
+ 'I and the Feens of Britain
+ Will be with Oscar of Emhain.'"
+
+"There was thus in this battle," says Dr. Skene, "besides Feens of
+Ireland, Feens of Alban, Britain, and Lochlan."[69] Alban, he
+explains, denoted the whole of Scotland lying to the north of the
+Forth and Clyde. Britain, he states in this place, was South-Western
+Scotland. But elsewhere[70] he tells us that "Britain" signified
+"either Wales, or England and Wales together"; and again,[71] that
+that term included "England, Scotland, and Wales." At the very
+least, then, it denoted a part of Great Britain, then inhabited--not
+necessarily to the exclusion of other races--by Feens.
+
+These two names, "Alban" and "Britain," do not, however, take us
+outside of the British Isles. But the third term, "Lochlan," does.
+"Lochlan," says our guide, "was the north of Germany, extending from
+the Rhine to the Elbe." And the Feens of that territory, the poem
+tells us, "from the chief to the leader of nine men," "mustered
+along with us [the Feens of Ireland] to share in the struggle," on
+this fateful day of Gawra.
+
+Why Dr. Skene should limit "Lochlan" to these dimensions is not
+made quite clear. For Norway, Sweden, and Denmark constituted the
+"Lochlan" chiefly known to Gaelic writers. However, he seems to be
+of opinion that the term was "transferred" to Scandinavia in the
+ninth century, and that previously (as, for example, when the battle
+of Gawra was fought) it peculiarly denoted the more southern
+territory. If he is right in this, we cannot assume the Lochlan
+contingent as including the Feens of Norway. On the other hand,
+there does not seem to be any strong reason for believing that, at
+the date of Gawra, "Lochlan" did not take in the whole of
+Scandinavia, as in the ninth century and afterwards. It is at least
+noteworthy, in this connection, that in the pedigree previously
+referred to,[72] the ruler of the Feens of Ireland, when the battle
+of Gawra was fought, is stated to have been the grandson of a
+_Finland_ woman. Quite apart from the assumed identity of _Feen_ and
+_Finn_, this indicates a kinship that was not limited even by the
+river Elbe.[73]
+
+But really the identity of _Feen_ and _Finn_ seems tolerably clear.
+Indeed, a contemporary writer,[74] who has studied ancient Ireland
+and its "Feinne" from his own point of view, appears to regard this
+identity as a thing perfectly manifest. And when, as tending to
+confirm this opinion, he embellishes his pages with several
+illustrations from scientific authorities in modern Finland, in
+which the ancient forms of art and dress are seen, it is plain that
+these designs are the same as those which are strongly associated
+with those portions of Scotland which were once known as The Land of
+the Feens.
+
+Therefore, it appears probable that the "Feinne" of Lochlan, that
+is, of the country lying between the Rhine and the Elbe, who
+assisted their kindred in Ireland at the battle of Gawra, were
+simply the Finns of that territory. And that, consequently, that
+battle belongs to a period when the Mongoloid people, instead of
+being cut up, as now, into small detachments here and there, or
+amalgamated with other races, held a very distinct and important
+position throughout a considerable area of Europe.
+
+However, this identity of "Feen" with "Finn" may not appear to some
+people as even a probability, without a fuller investigation into
+the circumstances of the people known to Gaelic tradition as the
+_Feinne_. It may therefore be desirable to continue to refer to the
+"Finns" of Gaelic folk-lore by the name of "Feens."
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[57] Such as _roo_ and _mûl_ (each used to denote a headland);
+_skerry_, a reef; _couthe_, the "cuddy" or coal-fish, and _broch_;
+all of which are found in Gaelic as _ru_ (_rudha_), _maol_, _sgeir_,
+_cudan_, and _brog_.
+
+[58] _See_ p. lxxx of Dr. Skene's Introduction to "The Dean of
+Lismore's Book," Edinburgh, 1862.
+
+[59] Perhaps the old Scotch termination "is" ought not to be
+modernized into a separate syllable, as, whatever the force once
+given to it, that termination represents the modern plural and
+possessive "s." But if the "Fenis" of the gloss was dissyllabic, it
+has an equivalent in Shetland in the alternative "Finny," sometimes
+used instead of "Finn."
+
+[60] _See_ "Leabhar na Feinne," London, 1872, p. iv.
+
+[61] It may be added, that while Dr. Skene frequently speaks of "the
+Fians," and at other times of "the Feinne," he occasionally refers
+to "the Fenians." But, as this term has been recently usurped by a
+quasi-political faction, and as it is, moreover, less accurate than
+the other, we may at once reject it. The compound "Fingalian" has
+also little to recommend it.
+
+[62] "The Rough-bounds (_Garbhcrioch_) and the Western Isles" is the
+expression used. The former term denoted that portion of the
+mainland between Loch Linnhe and Glenelg. Whether the Island of Skye
+ought to be included as one of the "Western Isles" is not quite
+clear.
+
+[63] Dr. Skene, p. lxiv of his Introduction to "The Dean of
+Lismore's Book." (Here, as elsewhere, I take the liberty of
+substituting _Feens_ for the Gaelic plural _Feinne_.)
+
+[64] _Op. cit._, Introduction, p. lxxviii.
+
+[65] _Op. cit._, Intro., pp. lxxiii-lxxiv.
+
+[66] _Op. cit._, p. 36.
+
+[67] For the above references, _see_ pp. 36, 37, and 40 of "The Dean
+of Lismore's Book."
+
+[68] Just as modern India is _British_ India, although it is almost
+exclusively occupied by native races. (In this instance, of course,
+the position of _native_ and _alien_ is precisely the reverse from
+that which this "Feen" empire seems to denote.)
+
+[69] "Dean of Lismore's Book," p. lxxv. The spelling is here
+slightly modified.
+
+[70] _Op. cit._, p. 8, note 1.
+
+[71] _Op. cit._, p. 49, note.
+
+[72] "Leabhar na Feinne," p. 34.
+
+[73] The Gaelic traditions have a good deal to say regarding a race
+of sea-rovers, styled _Fomorians_; which word is by some believed to
+be a latinized form of a Gaelic term denoting a seafaring people. As
+it is not improbable that this may be simply another name for the
+people now under consideration, the following is worth citing here:
+"That those adventurers whom our writers call Fomorians, have
+arrived hither in multitudes from that country whence the Danes,
+Swedes, and Norwegians came, is a circumstance that may be collected
+from this account, that the father-in-law of Tuathal is said, in the
+genealogy of the kings of Ireland, to have been king of the
+Fomorians of Finland." (O'Flaherty's "Ogygia," Hely's translation,
+Dublin, 1793, vol. i, p. 19.)
+
+[74] Mr. Charles de Kay, in the course of several learned articles
+on early life in Ireland, contributed to _The Century Magazine_
+during the year 1889.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+
+"The Feens, then, belonged to the pre-Milesian races, and were
+connected, not only with Ireland, but likewise with Northern and
+Central Scotland, England and Wales, and the territory lying between
+the Rhine and the Elbe.[75] Now, there are just two people mentioned
+in the Irish records who had settlements in Ireland, and who yet
+were connected with Great Britain and the region between the Rhine
+and the Elbe. These were the people termed the Tuatha De Danann, and
+the Cruithné." So says the learned annotator of "The Dean of
+Lismore's Book."[76]
+
+These two last-named races, we are told, are both traditionally
+brought from the Elbe and Rhine districts to Ireland and Scotland,
+and both are eventually subdued by the later-arriving Milesian
+Scots. The period given for the Milesian conquest of the Cruithné of
+Scotland, is the ninth century of the Christian era.
+
+Leaving the "Tuatha De Danann" out of the question in the meantime,
+let us look at the contemporary and probably kindred "Cruithné." The
+Cruithné, Cruithneach, or Cruithnigh, are unquestionably deserving
+of study, for Dr. Skene has shown us[77] that this is merely another
+name for those people whom history chiefly knows as "the Picts." The
+traditional "Feens," therefore, are to be identified with the
+historical "Picts."
+
+Now, although these people are, as we have just seen, believed to
+have come from the Continental country of "Lochlan" (Scandinavia, in
+the largest acceptation of that term, or, in its most restricted
+sense, the region lying between the Rhine and the Elbe), and
+although there is every reason to believe that they spread
+themselves all over the British Isles, yet they seem--regarded as
+"Picts"--to be chiefly associated with North Britain. Their memory
+is still preserved, topographically, by the name of _Pentland_
+(formerly _Petland_ or _Pehtland_, and _Pictland_), which is borne
+by the stormy firth separating the Orkneys from Caithness, and also
+by the range of hills lying to the south of Edinburgh. Both of these
+names are unquestionably derived from the time when there was a
+"land of the Picts" in either of these neighbourhoods. But the
+Picts, as such, are remembered all over Scotland, in history and in
+tradition. It is chiefly in connection with Ireland that they are
+spoken of as Cruithné.
+
+If the "Feens" of tradition were _Cruithné_, or _Picts_, it is
+evident that whatever is known with regard to the history, customs,
+appearance, and language of the Picts will help us to decide as to
+whether the _Feens_ were really one with the _Finns_ of history,
+ethnology, and tradition. This, as already remarked, on general
+grounds, seems very probable. But, when a very able historian
+assures us that the historical Cruithné or Picts must certainly be
+at least classed with the Feens of tradition, if these three terms
+do not actually include one people, we are enabled, by proceeding
+upon this assumption, to obtain further proofs in corroboration of
+this belief.
+
+Whether regarded as Feens or as Picts, these people, we are
+informed, had settlements throughout the British Isles during the
+earlier centuries of the Christian era, and the country of their
+origin was Northern Germany (or, more vaguely, Scandinavia); in
+which country large sections of their kindred continued to dwell,
+and to maintain a system of confederacy with the Western or British
+section long after the latter had settled in their new home. This,
+at any rate, when viewed as Feens.
+
+On the other hand, such a writer as Mr. H. Howorth demonstrates
+that, during the same period, the Mongoloid races formed a most
+important, and in some places a preponderating, portion of the
+inhabitants of the countries of Northern Europe. But, during that
+period, these Mongolian races have--he points out--been subjected to
+an unceasing process of expulsion from their neighbours on the south
+and south-east. If any race, therefore, arrived in the British
+Islands from the neighbourhood of the Baltic in the centuries
+immediately preceding or following the birth of Christ, the
+probability is that that race belonged to one division or another of
+these dispossessed Ugrian people.
+
+If this were so--if the Cruithné or Picts, who came to Britain from
+the Baltic lands, were one with, or closely akin to, the Finns and
+Lapps--their characteristics must have been those of such people.
+For example, their religious beliefs. Now, one cannot read Dr.
+Skene's references to the heathen religion of the Cruithné without
+seeing that it strongly resembles that of the Lapps and Finns.[78]
+Without quoting these references in detail, it may be pointed out
+that the power of bringing on a snowstorm and darkness, and
+unfavourable winds, was among the mysteries of the Pictish priests.
+And this gift of commanding the elements was peculiarly associated
+with the Finns and Lapps, as it still is with the Eskimo "sorcerers"
+of Greenland. "In the Middle Ages," says a writer on sorcery,[79]
+"the name of _Finn_ was equivalent to sorcerer." And as the same
+writer observes that "the old authors often confounded the Finns
+with the Lapps, and when they speak of Finns, it is very difficult
+to know which of these two peoples they refer to" (a confusion of
+terms which we have already had occasion to remark), we may here use
+the term _Finn_ to denote both divisions. Tentatively, at any rate.
+The actual Lapps appear to have been the most powerful magicians of
+all that caste. "It is proved by numerous documents," continues M.
+Tuchmann, "that the Finns called the Lapps sorcerers, although they
+themselves were reputed to be great magicians; but they regarded
+themselves as inferior to their neighbours, for they habitually
+said, when speaking of their most famous sorcerers: 'He is a
+veritable Lapp.'"[80] However, since "Finn" has so frequently been
+used to denote the whole group, and since the most recent examples
+of these people in the British Isles, namely, the magic-working
+Finns of Shetland, have borne that title, we may adhere to the
+practice of referring to both divisions as "Finns."
+
+The Picts or Cruithné, therefore, practised the magic of the Finns.
+That is, the _Feens_ practised the magic of the _Finns_.[81]
+
+Again, when we look at certain weapons used by the _Feens_, a
+similar resemblance is visible. According to a tradition, taken down
+from the recital of an old Hebridean, the spears or darts of the
+Feens, which were known in Gaelic as "_tunnachan_," were of this
+description: "They were sticks with sharp ends made on them, and
+these ends burned and hardened in the fire. They [the Feens] used to
+throw them from them, and they could aim exceedingly with them, and
+they could drive them through a man. They used to have a bundle with
+them on their shoulders, and a bundle in their oxters [under their
+arm-pits]. I myself have seen one of them that was found in a moss,
+that was as though it had been hardened in the fire."[82] "This,
+then," justly remarks Mr. Campbell, "gives the popular notion of the
+heroes [the Feens], and throws them back beyond the iron period."
+
+While the fashion of referring to "periods" of iron, bronze, etc.,
+is very apt to mislead (since contiguous peoples have been, and are,
+in different "periods" of this nature, at the same moment of time),
+it is at least clear from the above tradition that the most
+primitive form of dart was associated with the Feens. But, although
+this species of weapon is of great antiquity, it does not follow
+that a tradition which relates to people who employed it, is
+necessarily of great antiquity also. Or that those javelin-men were
+at all "prehistoric." We have already seen that a race of people
+employed darts in exactly the same way when fishing--or, perhaps,
+more correctly, when seal-hunting--within British waters, only two
+hundred years ago. And the people who in this respect resembled the
+_Feens_ of Gaelic folk-lore are themselves remembered as _Finns_.
+
+But perhaps the readiest and surest way of obtaining something like
+a true conception of these legendary Feens, is to regard them from
+the ethnological point of view, as well, that is, as our imperfect
+information will allow. We shall therefore look at them in this
+aspect, whether considered as _Picts_ or _Cruithné_ or as _Feens_.
+
+The great hero of the Feenic legends, and the "King" or "General" of
+the Feens of Ireland, was the famous "Finn" or "Fionn." If the
+battle of Gawra was really fought in the third century, as is
+alleged, and if this "Fionn" was a real man, and not the type or
+"eponymus" of his race, then he ought to be assigned to the third
+century. For he is said to have been present at that battle, where
+his grandson was slain and the supremacy of his race destroyed. At
+any rate, whether he lived at that date or not, and whether he was
+an individual or merely a personification of his race, Fionn figures
+throughout the tales of these people as a very Feen of the Feens.
+
+Now, among the many stories told of him, there is one, entitled
+"How Fin[83] went to the Kingdom of the Big Men." It is unnecessary
+to give all the particulars of this tale. But Fin is pictured as
+starting from Dublin Bay in his little coracle (_curachan_) on his
+voyage to the country of the Big Men. Although he is described as
+"hoisting the spotted, towering sails," they cannot have been very
+large, or very many, for the coracle was so small that "Fin was
+guide in her prow, helm in her stern, and tackle in her middle," and
+when he landed on the coast of the Big Men's country, he drew his
+tiny vessel, unaided, up into the dry grass, above the tide-mark. It
+ought to be added, however, that this coracle was an open boat,
+capable of holding at least four persons; as is shown on the return
+voyage.
+
+After landing, Fin encountered a "big wayfarer" (_tais-dealach
+mòr_), who informed him that his king had long been in want of a
+dwarf (_troich_), and that Fin would suit him capitally. "He took
+with him Fin; but another big man (_fear mòr_) came, and was going
+to take Fin from him. The two fought; but when they had torn each
+other's clothes, they left it to Fin to judge. He chose the first
+one. He took Fin with him to the palace of the king, whose worthies
+and high nobles assembled to see the little man (_an duine bhig_").
+And then and there Fin was installed as the royal dwarf.[84]
+
+In this story, then, we have the tacit admission that, not far from
+Fin's home at the hill of Allen, Kildare, there was a country whose
+inhabitants were so much taller than the race of Fin, that the
+latter were mere dwarfs beside them. Now, this is precisely _the
+most striking_ characteristic of the kayak-using Finns of Shetlandic
+tradition.
+
+The _Finns_ of Shetland folk-lore are, says Mr. Karl Blind,
+"reckoned among the _Trows_." The king of the _Feens_ was hailed in
+the country of the big men as a _Troich_. And these are simply two
+forms of the same word. _Troich_ or _droich_, among Gaelic-speaking
+people, is softened into _trow_ or _drow_ among the English-speaking
+Shetlanders.[85] In both cases it signifies "dwarf."
+
+And, just as the Shetlanders have memories of a race of small men,
+who, in spite of their mean stature, were a terror to the taller
+people, whom they oppressed and took tribute from, so have the
+Gaelic-speaking people a mass of legends which also tell of similar
+dwarfish but dreaded tyrants. The former designate their dwarfs
+"Finns": if the Gaelic traditions are not equally definite, they at
+least suggest that a caste of "Feens," who levied a tax upon the
+Gaelic-speaking people, were themselves dwarfs in stature. And the
+Highland tales abound in stories of fierce and tyrannical dwarfs.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[75] It is to be remembered that "Lochlan," the term used to denote
+the territory last named, was ultimately applied to the whole of
+Scandinavia, and _may_ have been used in its widest sense at the
+period here referred to.
+
+[76] Introduction, p. lxxvi. In the above, I have again taken the
+liberty of modifying the various designations.
+
+[77] "Celtic Scotland," vol. i, p. 131; vol. iii, chap, iii, etc.
+_See_ also his "Chronicles of the Picts and Scots."
+
+[78] "Celtic Scotland," vol. ii, pp. 108-16.
+
+[79] M. J. Tuchmann, in "Mélusine," t. iv, no. 16.
+
+[80] Mr. Charles de Kay, in one of the valuable articles already
+referred to, remarks ("Woman in Early Ireland," _Century Magazine_,
+July 1889, p. 439): "Although in the Kalewala the tribes of Pohjola,
+or the Lapps, are considered foul magicians, and ever the foe of the
+heroes of Kaleva, or the Finns, yet it is from Pohjola that
+Waïnamoïnen and his comrades always take their brides by force or by
+purchase." This quotation not only confirms the above account of M.
+Tuchmann, but it also illustrates the fact that even the most
+antagonistic races do not refrain from mixing their blood. Thus it
+may be seen how Lapps and Finns could eventually become almost
+identified. And the "Heimskringla" shows us how, in turn, this
+composite Finno-Lapp race could later on become blended with that of
+the Haralds and Sigurds of the Sagas.
+
+[81] This has already been propounded by the late Mr. J. F. Campbell
+("West Highland Tales," iv, 29-30).
+
+[82] "West Highland Tales," iii, 394-5.
+
+[83] So spelt in the English translation given by the Rev. John G.
+Campbell, minister of Tiree, in _The Scottish Celtic Review_,
+Glasgow, 1885, pp. 184-90.
+
+[84] Referring to the component parts of Fin's army on a certain
+occasion, Mr. Charles de Kay remarks ("Early Heroes of Ireland,"
+_Century Magazine_, June 1889, p, 200): "The battalion of
+'middle-sized men' and that of 'small men' we may understand as
+recruited from the true hunter and fisher tribes, who gave the name
+Fenian to the army itself, and Fion to the folk-hero."
+
+[85] _Trow_ is the favourite form among the Shetlanders; but other
+forms are given by Edmondston in his "Glossary," such as _drow_,
+_troll_, _troil_, _troilya_, and _trolld_. The Shetland terms are,
+therefore, also variants of the Scandinavian _troll_, following a
+common Scotch tendency, which modifies _boll_, _knoll_, _poll_,
+_roll_, etc., into _bow_, _know_, _pow_, _row_, etc. (the vowel
+sound being as in _now_). But whichever form may be the oldest, it
+is manifest that _trow_ or _drow_, and _troich_ or _droich_, are
+radically one.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+
+But, if the legendary "Feens" are identical with, or closely akin
+to, the Picts of history, then the historical Picts must also belong
+to this stunted Eskimo-like race. Let us look at the people called
+"Picts."
+
+And, first of all, since the word "Pict" is admittedly the result of
+a pun or a misapprehension on the part of Latin-speaking people, it
+may be as well to discard that special spelling. The forms which the
+word appears to have most commonly taken in the mouths of the
+country-people of Scotland are _Pik_, _Pech_, _Pecht_, and _Peht_
+(the _ch_ being of course pronounced as in German). Doubtless, other
+forms might be adduced; but perhaps the best compromise is _Pecht_.
+What, then, are the accounts given with regard to the stature of the
+Pechts?
+
+The question is practically answered at once in considering the
+nature of the dwellings that the traditions of Scotland unanimously
+assign to these people.
+
+"The only tradition which I heard current on the subject of the
+former inhabitants of the country," says a writer on Shetland,[86]
+"was, that the remains of old dwellings were Pechts' houses, and
+that those who lived in them were little men." And, in reporting to
+the Anthropological Society of London the result of an archæological
+tour in Shetland, Dr. James Hunt[87] remarks of such "old
+dwellings"--"These remains are called 'Pights' or Picts' houses.'
+Mr. Umfray [a local archæologist] surmises that they were originally
+'pights' or dwarfs' houses.' Dwarfs, in this locality, are still
+called _pechts_."[88] And the present writer, when visiting a
+"Pict's house" three or four miles north of the place just spoken
+of, and which had also been inspected by Dr. Hunt, obtained similar
+testimony. The place is known as Saffester, or Seffister, and its
+antiquarian features consist of the remains of a chambered tumulus
+and a separate subterranean gallery. The latter is referred to by
+one writer as a "Pict's house," although it is only a passage. As,
+however, local tradition alleges that it leads to the chambered
+mound, the name may be correct enough. Now, this tumulus was opened
+fifty or more years ago by the parish minister.[89] And an old man,
+who was then a boy, informed the writer that the entrance was
+effected by what he and his boy companions had always called "the
+_trow's_ door." Another similar experience of the writer's yields a
+like result. Near Hamna Voe, at the south end of the island of Yell,
+there is a small loch and islet, with the remains of a "broch," the
+loch being known as "the loch of Kettlester." The "broch" that once
+stood there (for the ruins no longer retain their original shape)
+was built by "the Pechts," said the intelligent lad (a native of the
+district) who was the writer's guide, and these Pechts he described
+as very small people.[90]
+
+The popular Shetland notions regarding the Pechts are again
+repeated by a lady writer, who has the advantage of being herself a
+Shetlander[91]: "The first folks that ever were in our isles were
+the Picts.... They had no ships, only small boats.... They were very
+small [people]." Indeed, so much has their small stature been
+impressed upon the popular memory, that, as we have seen, "dwarfs,
+in this locality, are still called _pechts_." Nor is it only in
+Shetland that this word has such a meaning. In Aberdeenshire _picht_
+denotes a dwarfish person, and Dr. Jamieson, in recording the
+fact,[92] suggests its connection with "the _pichts_ or _pechts_,
+whom the vulgar view as a race of pigmies." In the south of Scotland
+also, this signification appears to prevail; for the Ettrick
+Shepherd, in the "Noctes Ambrosianæ," employs "pegh" as an everyday
+synonym for "dwarf." In point of fact, although it has just been
+stated that dwarfs "are still called _pechts_" in Shetland, because
+of the small size of the race so known to history, it is really a
+question whether the historical people did not so become
+historically remembered _because_ a pre-existing word fitly
+described their dwarfish stature. But this etymological point is of
+little importance here.
+
+Although Shetland has been chiefly considered in these recent
+remarks, it will be seen that the popular belief regarding the
+stature of the Pechts is apparently common to the whole of Scotland.
+Dr. Jamieson evidently thought so when he referred to "the Pichts,
+or Pechts, whom the vulgar view as a race of pigmies." And he does
+not stand alone. "Throughout Scotland," says another writer, "the
+vulgar account is 'that the _Pechs_ were unco wee bodies, but
+terrible strang'; that is, that they were of very small stature, but
+of prodigious strength."[93] "Long ago," quotes the late Robert
+Chambers,[94] and his quotation also applies to the whole of
+Scotland, "there were people in this country called the Pechs;
+short, wee men they were,"--and so on.
+
+Enough has been said to show that the ideas held by the "vulgar"
+(whose traditions, once contemptuously rejected by scholars, are
+nowadays being rated at their true value), throughout Scotland, with
+respect to the Pechts, agree in describing those people as decidedly
+dwarfish in stature. And this belief is most convincingly borne out
+by the dwellings which the Pechts are believed to have inhabited;
+the "Pechts' houses" which we glanced at a few paragraphs back, and
+which speedily led us to consider the Pechts themselves. No man of
+the average height of modern British people, who has personally
+inspected these "Pechts' houses," can arrive at any other conclusion
+than that they were built and inhabited by people of a stature very
+much less than his own. This is a point so manifest that it need not
+be emphasized to those who have stooped, squeezed, and crept among
+the chambers and passages of a "Pictish broch." A few particulars of
+measurement would quickly convince others; but such details need not
+be entered into here. However, something may be said with regard to
+the appearance of the dwelling which may best be regarded as the
+typical "Pecht's house."
+
+In a "Notice of the Brochs and the so-called Picts' Houses of
+Orkney," submitted to the Anthropological Society of London,[95] Mr.
+George Petrie points out that "the name Pict's house is applied
+indiscriminately, in the northern counties of Scotland, to every
+sort of ancient structure." And as there is certainly a great
+difference, in degree, between the various structures referred to,
+we may here accept Mr. Petrie's guidance as to what constitutes the
+typical "Pict's house." "The class of buildings to which I have for
+many years restricted the appellation of _Picts' house_ have been,"
+says Mr. Petrie, "very different from the brochs,[96] both in
+external appearance and general structure and arrangements. The
+_Pict's house_ is generally of a conical form, and externally
+closely resembles a large bowl-shaped barrow. It consists of a solid
+mass of masonry, covered with a layer of turf, a foot or more in
+thickness, and has a central chamber surrounded by several smaller
+cells. The entrance to the central chamber from the outside is by a
+long, low, narrow passage; while the cells are connected with the
+chamber by short passages of similar dimensions to the long one. The
+walls of the chambers and cells converge towards the top, where they
+approach so closely that the aperture can be spanned by a stone a
+couple of feet in length."
+
+Another writer[97] describes a Pict's house--that on Wideford Hill,
+near Kirkwall--in these terms: "All that meets the eye at first is a
+green, conical mound, with an indescribable aspect of something
+_eerie_ and weird about it, resting silently amid the moorland
+solitude. On closer inspection we discover an entrance passage,
+about eighteen inches high and two feet broad, leading from the
+lower side into the interior of the prehistoric dwelling,"--and so
+on.
+
+The resemblance between this kind of dwelling, or its more modern
+representative, the "bee-hive" hut of the Hebrides and Western
+Ireland, to the dwellings of modern Eskimos has long been
+recognized. But it may be permitted to quote here from the accounts
+given by two Arctic voyagers of the early part of this century,
+especially as these accounts, both relating to the most northern
+tribes of Greenland, appear to describe with peculiar exactness the
+"Pict's house" of Mr. Petrie.
+
+Captain Scoresby, in the account of his explorations in the year
+1822, thus describes the deserted dwellings of some of those
+northern Eskimos:
+
+ "The roofs of all the huts had either been removed or had
+ fallen in; what remained, consisted of an excavation in the
+ ground at the brow of the bank, about 4 feet in depth, 15
+ in length, and 6 to 9 in width. The sides of each hut were
+ sustained by a wall of rough stones, and the bottom
+ appeared to be gravel, clay, and moss. The access to these
+ huts, after the manner of the Esquimaux, was a horizontal
+ tunnel perforating the ground, about 15 feet in length,
+ opening at one extremity on the side of the bank, into the
+ external air, and, at the other, communicating with the
+ interior of the hut. This tunnel was so low, that a person
+ must creep on his hands and knees to get into the dwelling:
+ it was roofed with slabs of stone and sods. This kind of
+ hut being deeply sunk in the earth, and being accessible
+ only by a subterranean passage, is generally considered as
+ formed altogether under ground. As, indeed, it rises very
+ little above the surface, and as the roof, when entire, is
+ generally covered with sods, and clothed with moss or
+ grass, it partakes so much of the appearance of the rest of
+ the ground, that it can scarcely be distinguished from it.
+ I was much struck by its admirable adaptation to the nature
+ of the climate and the circumstances of the inhabitants.
+ The uncivilized Esquimaux, using no fire in these
+ habitations, but only lamps, which serve both for light and
+ for warming their victuals, require, in the severities of
+ winter, to economise, with the greatest care, such
+ artificial warmth as they are able to produce in their
+ huts. For this purpose, an under-ground dwelling, defended
+ from the penetration of the frost by a roof of moss and
+ earth, with an additional coating of a bed of snow, and
+ preserved from the entrance of the piercing wind by a long
+ subterranean tunnel, without the possibility of being
+ annoyed by any draught of air, but what is voluntarily
+ admitted--forms one of the best contrivances which,
+ considering the limited resources, and the unenlightened
+ state of these people, could possibly have been
+ adopted."[98]
+
+Scoresby's description fully corroborates that given by Captain Ross
+a few years earlier, when relating his visit to the Eskimos living
+about the north-eastern corner of Baffin's Bay. These people he
+describes as "short in stature, seldom exceeding five feet," and he
+mentions that their sorcerers alleged that it was in their power to
+raise a storm or make a calm, and to drive off seals and birds."
+
+With regard to their dwellings, he says:
+
+ "None of their houses were seen, but they described them as
+ built entirely of stone, the walls being sunk about three
+ feet into the earth, and raised about as much above it.
+ They have no windows, and the entrance is by a long, narrow
+ passage, nearly under ground. Several families live in one
+ house, and each has a lamp made of hollowed stone, hung
+ from the roof, in which they burn the blubber of the seal,
+ etc., using dried moss for a wick, which is kindled by
+ means of iron and stone. This lamp, which is never
+ extinguished, serves at once for light, warmth, and
+ cooking."[99]
+
+It is not out of place to refer here also to an instructive article
+on "The Archæology of Lighting Appliances," read before the Society
+of Antiquaries of Scotland by Mr. J. Romilly Allen, F.S.A.Scot., in
+the course of which he describes the stone lamps found in the
+habitations known as "brochs" (and popularly assigned to the Picts),
+with regard to which lamps he states that although not quite
+identical in shape with those used by modern Eskimos, they are
+substantially identical, and must have been used in precisely the
+same way. Comparing this with Baron Nordenskiöld's accounts, Mr.
+Romilly Allen observes: "The picture here given of the domestic life
+of the Eskimos at the present time enables us to form a tolerably
+correct idea of the way in which the inhabitants of the Scottish
+brochs lighted their dwellings during the long winter nights two
+thousand years ago." ("Proceedings of Soc. of Antiq. of Scot."
+1887-88, p. 84.)
+
+From all these remarks, then, it will be seen that the dwelling of
+the dwarfish Eskimo and the "house" assigned by Scottish tradition
+to the Pechts, or dwarfs, are substantially one. And a consideration
+of the statements also demonstrates clearly that, whatever the age
+of the word "pecht," none but a race of dwarfish stature would have
+built such places of abode. Indeed, the stature of the dwellers in
+the Pecht's house is doubly impressed upon the memory of the
+Northern Islanders. When Mr. Gorrie describes its outward
+appearance, he tells us (in similar terms to the Arctic voyagers),
+that "all that meets the eye at first is a green, conical mound ...
+resting silently amid the moorland solitude." But he really repeats
+himself, although he is not aware of it, when he refers on another
+page[100] to "the simple superstition (?) long prevalent among the
+inhabitants of Orkney and Zetland, that the strange green mounds
+rising by the sea-side and on solitary moors, were the abodes of
+supernatural beings known by the name of Trows." Of the
+"supernatural" attributes assigned to those people, or claimed by
+them--in early Scotland, in Lapland, and in Greenland--much remains
+to be said. But the people just referred to under two different, but
+synonymous, names, are undoubtedly one and the same.
+
+The Pechts of history, then, were a race of dwarfs. Thus, when Dr.
+Skene identifies the Feens of Gaelic folk-lore with the historic
+Pechts, he reveals them to us as a race of dwarfs. Therefore, the
+traditional story of the Feen chiefs visit to the "country of the
+big men," where he was regarded by that latter race as a "droich,"
+is entirely in accordance with Dr. Skene's belief that the Feens
+were of the same race as the historic Pechts. It is not at all
+unlikely that this identity was taken for granted long before the
+nineteenth century, and in Scotland. In Allan Ramsay's _Evergreen_,
+a collection of Scottish poems written before the year 1600, there
+is a certain "Interlude of the Droichs," also referred to as "The
+Droichs' Part of a Play." Now, the spokesman of these droichs (or
+trows, or dwarfs) announces himself as a grandson of Fin, the great
+chief of the Feens of Ireland. And he makes a statement which is
+identical with one contained in a Feenic poem on the battle of
+Gawra. This statement need not be particularized here, but it tells
+us unmistakably that these "droichs" were regarded as the
+representatives of Fin and his Feens.[101] Therefore, it would
+appear from this poem that Fin and his Feens were regarded by the
+ruling class in Scotland, prior to 1600, as dwarfs. That is, as
+_pechts_.
+
+So far, then, all that has here been said tends to show that the
+_Feinne_ of Gaelic folk-lore, and the Finns of Northern history and
+tradition, ought to be regarded as one and the same people. And that
+one section, at any rate, of such people ought to be identified with
+the Pechts, or Picts, of history.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[86] Rev. J. Russell, "Three Years in Shetland." Paisley and London,
+1887, pp. 135-6.
+
+[87] _See_ the Society's "Memoirs," 1865-6, vol. ii, pp. 294-338.
+
+[88] The spelling _pight_, which Dr. Hunt uses above, must clearly
+represent the guttural and vowel sound of _licht_, _micht_, _dight_,
+etc., in "broad Scotch." Without this caution, the reader would
+naturally infer the sound of _pite_.
+
+[89] Rev. J. Bryden: _see_ "Anthrop. Soc. Mem." _ut supra_.
+
+[90] Close to Kettlester there is a noted haunt of the "trows,"
+which bears the name of _Houlland_. With this may be compared
+_Troil-Houlland_, which adjoins Seffister, of "trow" memory. This
+very common Shetland termination "ster" or "setter" is the Icelandic
+_setr_, a dwelling; and these two names resolve themselves
+respectively into dwellings of _Kettle_ and _Seffi_. The former name
+at once recalls the ninth century _Ketil Flat-nose_ of the Sagas,
+and this "setr," still associated with dwarfs (otherwise _trows_ or
+_pechts_), may have been one of his dwellings.
+
+[91] Mrs. Saxby, in "Folk-lore from Unst, Shetland" (part v),
+contributed to _The Leisure Hour_, 1880. (For another reference to
+the boats of the Picts, _see_ pp. 178-9, _post_.)
+
+[92] "Scottish Dictionary" (Supplement), _s. v._ "Picht."
+
+[93] "The Topography of the Basin of the Tay," by James Knox,
+Edinburgh, 1831, p. 108. This writer adds that "they are said to
+have been about three or four feet in height"; and it may be
+mentioned that when I asked my young guide at Kettlester the exact
+height of the small Pechts he had just been speaking of, he said,
+"About that height," indicating at the same time a stature of three
+feet or so. Whatever their height really was, this young
+Shetlander's ideas were in agreement with those held "throughout
+Scotland."
+
+[94] "Popular Rhymes of Scotland," 1870, p. 80.
+
+[95] _See_ the Society's "Memoirs," 1865-6, vol. ii, pp. 216-225.
+
+[96] The term "broch" has hitherto been used in a general sense in
+these pages. This its etymology permits: for it is the same word as
+_borough_, _burgh_, _burg_, _barrow_, etc. But the students of these
+ancient structures have recently restricted "broch" to the more
+elaborate and superior building of the round or "martello" tower
+order. This definition is very convenient, and saves much confusion.
+In spite, however, of the great difference that Mr. Petrie speaks of
+as between the so-called "Pictish" broch and the humbler dwelling
+that alone is recognized by him as a "Pict's house," it is yet
+evident that the "broch" is to a very great extent evolved from the
+more primitive and rudimentary "Pict's house."
+
+[97] Mr. Daniel Gorrie, in "Summers and Winters in the Orkneys,"
+London, 1869, p. 117.
+
+[98] This extract is quoted from the review in the _Scots Magazine_
+of 1823 (pp. 457-8) of Captain Scoresby's "Journal" (published
+1823).
+
+[99] From an extract contained in the review (_Scots Magazine_,
+1819, vol. iv, pp. 332-3) of Capt. Ross's account (published by John
+Murray, London, 1819).
+
+[100] _Op. cit._, p. 119.
+
+[101] The fact that the "Interlude" is allegorical does not at all
+affect the question.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+
+While the Picts, or Pechts, are remembered to a great extent as the
+builders of the subterranean and half-subterranean dwellings with
+which they are associated, these are far from being the only
+structures which popular tradition has stamped as the work of their
+hands. The architectural skill, of a kind, which they displayed in
+the construction of their own "Pechts' houses" may be seen from such
+a casual reference as this, gleaned from among certain specimens of
+Clydesdale folk-lore: "Our milkhouse," says a Clydesdale peasant,
+"whilk stude on the side of a dentie burn, and was ane o' thae auld
+vowts [vaults] whilk the Pechs biggit langsyne, had wa's sae doons
+strang that ane waud hae thocht it micht hae stude to the last day;
+but its found had been onnerminit by the last Lammas-spait."[102] If
+the "Pechts' houses" lacked, as they certainly did, evidences of
+high culture in the designers, or outward beauty of design in
+themselves, they were at least remarkable for their great strength
+and durability; so that, were it not for such accidents as a
+Lammas-flood, they might well have stood "to the last day." But the
+great bodily strength of this race, and their turn for masonry, were
+made use of in other ways than in the construction of the dwellings
+referred to; that is, if there is any truth in the popular ideas
+upon this subject.
+
+The late Robert Chambers, in putting together the popular Scotch
+beliefs regarding these people,[103] not only states that they were
+"short, wee men," but he adds, still speaking as a Scottish peasant:
+"The Pechs were great builders; they built a' the auld castles in
+the kintry; and do ye ken the way they built them? I'll tell ye.
+They stood all in a row from the quarry to the place where they were
+building, and ilk ane handed forward the stanes to his neebor, till
+the hale was biggit." A special example of one of the buildings so
+reared is the Round Tower of Abernethy in Perthshire, well known as
+one of the two towers of this class still to be found in Scotland.
+"The story goes," says the Rev. Andrew Small, in his "Antiquities of
+Fife,"[104] "that it was built by the Pechts,... and that, while the
+work was going on, they stood in a row all the way from the Lomond
+Hill to the building, handing the stones from one to another....
+That it has been built of freestone from the Lomond Hill is clear to
+a demonstration, as the grist or nature of the stone points out the
+very spot where it has been taken from, namely, a little west, and
+up from the ancient wood of Drumdriell, about a mile straight south
+from Meralsford." That Abernethy was long a seat of Pictish power is
+what no historian would deny, and the tower referred to is always
+denominated "Pictish." Of the way in which it was built we have just
+seen the local account.
+
+Similar ideas are current in Northumberland. "The erection of
+several of these old castles [_e.g._, Dunstanborough Castle] is, by
+popular tradition, ascribed to the Picts.... The building of the
+Roman wall, which is by country people commonly called the Picts'
+wall, is also ascribed to them; and they are said to have formed the
+Catrail on the Scottish border, which is frequently called the
+Picts-work ditch. The Picts are described as men of low stature, but
+of superhuman strength; and on the moors of Northumberland the heaps
+of stone, which are supposed by antiquaries to mark the spot where
+'bones of mighty chiefs lie hid,' are sometimes pointed out to the
+inquiring stranger as places where a Pict's apron-string had broken
+as he was carrying a load of stones to his work."[105]
+
+Although the tower at Abernethy, and the "Pechts' houses" already
+spoken of, may be classed together as having been built for the use
+of the builders themselves, it is quite evident that if these people
+actually reared the many other structures attributed to them, in
+Scotland and in Northumberland, they did so in the character of
+serfs, working for people of other races. If Dunstanborough Castle,
+the Wall of Hadrian, and (perhaps also) the Catrail, not to speak of
+"a' the auld castles in the kintry," were built by the Pechts, the
+builders were evidently not working on their own behalf. This
+clearly must have been the case in the instance of the "Roman Wall,"
+which was raised for the very purpose of checking the southward
+inroads of these fierce warriors. That it actually was a "Roman
+wall" is of course beyond question. But that fact does not interfere
+with the supposition that the drudgery was performed by captive
+Pechts, whose immense strength, and intimate acquaintance with the
+art of building such structures, would render them of the greatest
+use to their conquerors. That they, and not the Romans, were the
+actual _builders_ of the wall, as Northumbrian tradition asserts, is
+therefore far from improbable. Indeed, there are one or two
+indications that the more northern "Wall of Antoninus" may also have
+been reared by kindred hands. And as with these early examples, so
+may the later buildings referred to have actually been unwillingly
+built by Pechts, at the command of other people.[106]
+
+Not only walls and castles, or towers, but churches and cathedrals
+are also said to have been reared by the same dwarfish but powerful
+builders, as may be seen from the following instances.
+
+One part of Scotland that continued to be a "reservation" of the
+Pechts, after that people had ceased to hold sway, is the hilly
+country lying to the south of Edinburgh, and known as "the
+Pentlands." Like the "Pentland Firth" on the north-east of Scotland,
+this district was so called because it was associated with the
+Pechts. We need not here concern ourselves as to the causes which
+made the name, in both instances, assume the modern form of
+"Pentland." But, in each case, the name was formerly "Pehtland," and
+it signified "the land of the Pehts, or Pechts." According to Dr.
+Skene, the Angles of Northumbria had, as early as the seventh
+century, established themselves pretty securely as the ruling caste
+throughout the south-east of what is now Scotland, then a part of
+"Northumbria." This territory seems to have reached as far on the
+north-west as the modern county of Linlithgow, and one of the chief
+Northumbrian strongholds in that neighbourhood has ever since been
+known by the name of the Northumbrian king, Edwin. Edinburgh,
+therefore, in the seventh century, appears as a seat of the Anglian
+race, which ruled from the Forth to the Humber. Three or four
+centuries later, the steadily growing power of "Scotia" annexed the
+whole of Northumbria lying north of the Borders. But the population,
+no doubt, remained little affected by this political change, and its
+speech and traditions continued the same.[107]
+
+But, although those Angles were the rulers of south-eastern
+Scotland (in modern topography), there still remained a remnant of
+the Pechts in at least one part of that northern Northumbria.[108]
+And it was because of their residence there that the Angles spoke of
+the hilly region lying to the south and south-west of Edinburgh as
+"the Peht or Pecht land." How long the Pechts maintained some kind
+of individuality in that neighbourhood it is impossible to say. It
+is said that, after Kenneth's great victory over the Pechts at
+Forteviot or at Scone, in the middle of the ninth century, many of
+the fugitives sought refuge in England. And, as the Pentland Hills
+were then in "England," it is likely that they found shelter among
+their kindred there. In other parts of Scotland the Pechts are
+historically visible long after the seventh and ninth centuries. At
+the battle of the Standard, in 1138, the Galloway section formed one
+division of the Scottish army.[109] A popular tradition, to be
+presently referred to, also speaks of them as a distinct people in
+the Clyde valley, during the same century. It is therefore quite
+permissible to suppose that, once the people of the Midlothian
+"Pecht-lands" had realized that they were a conquered remnant, with
+no hope of ultimately recovering their lost power, they may have
+continued to live, if merely as serfs, not only to the twelfth
+century, but for several centuries longer.
+
+That they did so is to be inferred from the following bit of
+"folk-lore," which relates to a locality that, though not strictly
+included in the district of the "Pecht-lands," is quite near enough
+to agree with this hypothesis.
+
+The hill of Corstorphine, situated a little to the west of
+Edinburgh, is only about three miles north of the nearest point of
+the "Pecht-lands." Now, the village church of Corstorphine is one of
+the few churches in Scotland which are of interest to the antiquary.
+"Ancient it most unquestionably is," says a modern writer in the
+course of a description of the village and its church, and the
+foundation of the latter is placed in the year 1429. The fifteenth
+century is not very "ancient," as these things go, but perhaps the
+site has been occupied by a church from a much earlier period. At
+any rate, the writer just referred to, in visiting Corstorphine for
+the purpose of inspecting both church and village, obtained this
+piece of local tradition, believed to relate to the church of 1429.
+"Of this [church], in November 1881, an intelligent native assured
+the writer that it was 'wonderfully ancient, built by the
+Hottentots, who stood in a row and handed the stones on one to
+another from Ravelston quarry'"--on the adjacent hill of
+Corstorphine.[110]
+
+Now, if one compares this account with the traditional description
+of the _modus operandi_ of the Pechts, already instanced in the case
+of Abernethy, and generally accepted throughout Scotland, one hardly
+requires the historical testimony of the "Pecht-lands" to recognize
+in these "Hottentots" the Pechts of tradition. It is not necessary
+to take the expression here used by the Corstorphine villager as
+absolutely correct. His statement, it may be remarked, succeeded a
+conversation in which our various wars in South Africa had been
+discussed,[111] and it is not unlikely that this had suggested to
+the speaker the term "Hottentot" as aptly enough describing a race
+that to his ancestors, whose ideas he inherited, had seemed savage
+and inferior. That he absolutely believed the labourers who reared
+the walls of the church to be of a different race from his own is
+unquestionably indicated by the whole tenor of his remarks.[112]
+
+This Corstorphine tradition points to a body of Pechts still
+surviving as a distinct type, in the Midlothian of 1429; and then
+regarded by the general population as a caste of drudges. This, too,
+is the position accorded to that race in one phase of Highland
+tradition. "I am informed," says Dr. Jamieson,[113] "that in
+Inverness-shire, the foundations of various houses have been
+discovered, of a round form,... and that when the Highlanders are
+asked to whom they belonged, they say that they were the houses of
+the _Drinnich_ or _Trinnich_, _i.e._, of the _labourers_, a name
+which they give to the Picts." They may be seen in the Clyde valley,
+in the same position as those of Corstorphine, but three centuries
+earlier, on the testimony of tradition. "Throughout Scotland," says
+an antiquary previously quoted, "the vulgar account is, 'that the
+_Pechs_ were unco wee bodies, but terrible strang'; that is, that
+they were of very small stature, but of prodigious strength. It is
+commonly added [he goes on] 'that the meal (oatmeal) was a penny the
+peck when they built the _Hie_ Kirk [the Cathedral] of Glasgow;' for
+the building of all the cathedrals, and in general everything very
+ancient, is ascribed by the common people to the _Pechs_."[114] Now,
+the present Cathedral of Glasgow is said to have been built in the
+twelfth century, at which date the Pechts of Galloway formed a
+distinct and separate population in south-western Scotland.
+According to Reginald of Durham, as we have already seen, the town
+of Kirkcudbright was situated in the "Pecht-lands" (_terra
+Pictorum_), and the _sermo Pictorum_ was still spoken there. In the
+same century the Galloway Pechts formed the van of the Scottish army
+at the battle of the Standard; and the Pechts of this period are
+remembered in the popular memory, assisted by a homely enough
+detail, as having been employed in the building of the "High Church"
+of Glasgow. Of course, the Clyde valley is not situated in Galloway;
+but the presence of Pechts in twelfth-century Glasgow may easily be
+explained by assuming that they belonged to another detachment of
+the race, or that it was worth while sending to Galloway for such
+famous builders. Belonging to a period less easily defined are the
+Pecht masons of the famous Round Tower at Brechin. Regarding this
+tower a local writer states: "Tradition, in Brechin, as well as at
+Abernethy, ascribes the erection to the _Peghts_," and he adds, that
+"it has stated they were only allowed a trifle for this work, and
+were cheated out of part of this trifle."[115] In this instance,
+also, the Pechts are remembered as working for people of another
+race; which is somewhat remarkable, as the tower itself is one of
+those which seem to have been built by the Pechts for _their own_
+purposes.
+
+Without going much out of the way, it may be as well to point out
+that the popular idea of the Pechts being "men of low stature, _but
+of superhuman strength_," "unco wee bodies, _but terrible strang_,"
+is not only supported by tradition on every side, but it is borne
+out by a consideration of the mementos they have left behind them.
+Much could be said on this subject; but it will perhaps be enough
+here to point to a hill-fortress in Forfarshire, which history and
+tradition agree in ascribing to these people. This is the stronghold
+known as the White Cater Thun, situated a few miles north-west of
+Brechin (which possesses the Pictish round-tower just referred to,
+and which was once a seat of Pictish monarchy). The fort crowns a
+hill which rises about 300 feet above the general level of the great
+valley of Strathmore, and is thus referred to:
+
+ "This is, perhaps, the strongest Pictish fortification
+ extant. It is surrounded by a double rampart of an
+ elliptical figure, being 436 feet long by about 200 broad,
+ and containing about two imperial acres.... But the most
+ wonderful thing that occurs in this Pictish fort is the
+ extraordinary dimensions of the ramparts, composed entirely
+ of large, loose stones, being 26 feet thick at the top, and
+ upwards of 100 at the bottom, reckoning quite to the ditch,
+ which, indeed, seems to be much filled up with the tumbling
+ down of the walls. The vast labour that it must have cost
+ to amass so enormous a quantity of large stones, and convey
+ them to such a height, is astonishing.... In conveying the
+ enormous quantity of large stones to the summit of White
+ Cater Thun, the natives must doubtless have expended great
+ labour, and much time. They seem, however, to have been
+ familiar with a method of removing immense masses from
+ considerable distances, and it is supposed they made use of
+ hurdles on such occasions; it is not improbable they might
+ have some kind of rude windlass for raising the larger
+ stones from the bottom to the top of the hill."[116]
+
+Whatever the method employed by the builders of this stronghold,
+the description just given will show the reader, what he cannot fail
+to be impressed with on a study of the Pechts, that these people and
+their buildings belonged to what is known as the "Cyclopean" type,
+and that they--the people--represented a race now quite extinct, in
+its purity, but which must undoubtedly have been remarkable for a
+prodigious strength of body, a strength that may well be spoken of
+as "superhuman," if it is to be compared with that of any existing
+race of men. It is this point that must always be borne in mind when
+one considers the traditions regarding the buildings of the Pechts,
+and this it is that justifies the very parts of those traditions
+which would otherwise appear utterly wild and incredible. Beyond
+question, there is much that demands criticism and inquiry in the
+traditional description of the way in which such edifices as
+Abernethy Tower and Corstorphine Church were reared. But two
+important points must not be overlooked. The one is that an immense
+number of people may have been simultaneously at work; the other is
+that the workers were of vast muscular strength.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[102] _Scots Magazine_, vol. iii. 1818, p. 503.
+
+[103] "Popular Rhymes of Scotland," 1870, pp. 80-82.
+
+[104] Edinburgh, 1823, pp. 152-3.
+
+[105] "Rambles in Northumberland," by S. Oliver. London, 1835, p.
+104.
+
+[106] The earliest instance which has come under my notice of such
+work performed in the British Islands by a subject people, who
+correspond in many ways with the Pechts, is that given by Lady
+Ferguson ("The Story of the Irish before the Conquest," London,
+1868, p. 32), with reference to the rebuilding of the fort of
+Cruachan, in Connaught.
+
+[107] For Dr. Skene's accounts, on which these statements are based,
+see "Celtic Scotland," vol. i. pp. 236-241; and p. cvii of his
+Preface to the "Chronicles of the Picts and Scots."
+
+[108] It is not meant to be implied that Angles and Pechts were
+exclusively the inhabitants of this territory at that time. But it
+seems clear that the former predominated, and gave to the district
+the impression of speech and custom which it yet retains.
+
+[109] "Celtic Scotland," vol. i. pp. 203 and 467. "Reginald of
+Durham, writing in the last half of the twelfth century, mentions,
+in 1164, Kirkcudbright as being in 'terra Pictorum,' and calls their
+language 'sermo Pictorum.'" (_Op. cit._, p. 203, _note_.) Dr. Skene,
+quoting various authorities, gives us an interesting description of
+the Scottish army at the Battle of the Standard. It was composed, we
+learn, of Normans, Germans, English, Northumbrians, Cumbrians, men
+of Teviotdale and the Lothians, Picts (commonly called Galloways or
+Galloway-men), and Scots. This is the statement made by Richard of
+Hexham, a contemporary writer, and it seems to agree on the whole
+with the other accounts. His "Cumbrians" are identified with the
+"Welsh" of Strathclyde. No doubt his "Northumbrians" were those who,
+living on the north of the Border, belonged to that part of
+Northumbria which had then been Scottish for more than a century.
+The Galloway Picts, it may be added, were in the front of the
+battle, and "claimed to lead the van as their right."
+
+[110] _See_ the _Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland_, Edinburgh, 1882,
+vol. i. p. 287.
+
+[111] This I am informed by the writer of the lines quoted.
+
+[112] "The tradition that certain buildings were erected by men who
+stood in a row and handed the stones from one to the other is quite
+familiar to me with regard to buildings in Ireland," writes a
+correspondent (the Rev. J. Ffrench, of Clonegal, Fellow of the Royal
+Society of Antiquaries of Ireland); and he furnishes one
+example:--"Brash, in his 'Ecclesiastical Architecture of Ireland,'
+when describing the Round Tower of _Ardmore_, tells us: 'I have
+before stated that the materials of which this tower was built were
+brought from the Mountain of Slieve-Grian, some four or five miles
+distant. The local legend is that the stones were brought to the
+spot without "horse or wheel," and laid without the noise of a
+hammer, the meaning of which is that the stones were all dressed in
+the quarry, and a line of men being stationed along from the quarry
+to the tower, the stones were handed from one to the other.'"
+
+While this Irish tradition does not identify these builders with
+any special race of men, it is noteworthy that their method of
+building is that which Scottish tradition regards as peculiarly
+characteristic of the Picts, or "Pechts." Moreover, the building
+referred to by Brash is of precisely the same order as the Round
+Tower of Abernethy, said to have been built after the same fashion.
+And the builders of the Round Tower of Abernethy, as also the
+builders of the Round Tower of Brechin, are alleged by local
+tradition to have been "Pechts."
+
+[113] In the "Dissertation on the Origin of the Scottish Language,"
+prefixed to his Scottish Dictionary.
+
+[114] Knox's "Topography of the Tay," Edinburgh, 1831, pp. 108-9.
+
+[115] "History of Brechin," by David D. Black. Edinburgh and
+Brechin, 1867, 2nd edition, p. 247.
+
+[116] Knox's "Topography," pp. 92-94.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+
+In the immediately preceding pages we have been considering the
+people known as "Pechts." But it is contended that the "Feens" of
+Gaelic story ought to be identified with the "Pechts." When the
+leader of the "Feens" landed in "the country of the big men," he was
+at once seized upon as eminently fitted to be the court dwarf, into
+which office he was duly installed; from which it was reasonably
+inferred that he was a "pegh," or dwarf. Now, in one of the many
+songs ascribed to the son of this "pegh," Oisin, who is ever
+bemoaning the departed glories of his race, he laments the fact that
+he finds himself in his old age "wearily dragging stones along to
+the church on the hill of the priest." "Here, where he is a drudge,
+he has seen the Feinne in their glory.... Were they alive,
+shavelings would not hold this mound." Thus laments Oisin, the
+representative of the old heathen Feens, bitter in his denunciations
+of Patrick the priest, and the new order which he represents, and
+ever bewailing the vanished "glory of the Feinn."
+
+We find Oisin, therefore, accepted universally as the type of his
+race, unwillingly occupied in "dragging stones for priests to build
+churches," in his old age and after the downfall of his people. Nor
+was it only as the serf of another race that he had so worked;
+because, he explains to Patrick that this old age of drudgery had
+been foretold to him by his leader, Fin, on a previous occasion,
+before the coming of Patrick, and on that occasion not only Oisin,
+but a great number of the Feens of Ireland, were engaged in a
+similar task. The great difference was that then they were not
+working as the drudges of another people, but for themselves, and at
+the command of their leader. And it was not a church, but a
+hill-fortress, that they were building, "on Cuailgne's bare and
+rounded hill." Oisin speaks of it as Fin's "famous fort," and the
+hill on which it was built is "said to be in the county of Armagh,"
+or, as another writer states, in County Louth. According to Oisin,
+two-thirds of the materials for the fort were brought thither by the
+Feens of Connaught and the west of Ireland, and the remainder by the
+Feens of Leinster and the east of Ulster, to which section both
+Oisin and Fin belonged. Assuming these traditional accounts to be
+correct, we thus see the Feens, in the day of their independence,
+"dragging stones" to the top of a hill, in order to build a
+fortress; and later on we see them, personified by Oisin, occupied
+in a similar manner, but as the drudges of Christian priests and the
+builders of Christian churches. The one account applies to Scotland
+and the other to Ireland; but the Pechts of the White Cater Thun
+have their counterparts in the Feens who reared the "famous fort"
+"on Cuailgne's bare and rounded hill;" and the Pechts who built the
+churches of Glasgow and Corstorphine are also duplicated in the
+conquered Feens, "weary dragging stones for priests to build
+churches," in Ireland. Consequently, the traditional fame of the
+Pechts of Scotland, as a great race of builders, is not at all at
+variance with the belief that they and the Feens were of one
+nation.[117]
+
+But, if Fin and his Feens were builders of the hill-forts of the
+"Pechts," and were themselves veritable Pechts, it is evident that
+the Feens built and inhabited the dwellings known as "Pechts'
+houses." This is quite borne out when we regard that class of
+building which, although an archæologist already quoted (Mr. Petrie)
+does not hold it to be strictly entitled to the designation of
+"Pecht's house," is nevertheless a variety of the same species, and
+often receives the same title. The variety referred to differs from
+what has been accepted as the true "Pecht's house," in that it has
+no superimposed covering of earth or turf. But the two varieties
+undoubtedly belong to the same general class. Now, with regard to
+this second order of "Pecht's house," we have such a statement as
+the following: "Glenlyon, in Perthshire, is remarkable for the great
+number of remains of aboriginal works scattered through it, in the
+shape of circular castles built entirely of dry stones. The common
+people believe these structures to have belonged to their mythic
+hero, Fion,... and have a verse to that effect:
+
+ 'Bha da chaisteal dheug aig Fionn
+ Ann an Crom-ghleann-nan-clach.'
+
+That is, _Fion had twelve castles in the Crooked Glen of Stones_
+(such being an old name for Glenlyon)."[118] And a like belief
+prevails in other Perthshire glens, such as Glenshee and Glenalmond,
+beside the latter of which, as every reader of Wordsworth knows,
+Oisin himself is said to be buried.
+
+The true "Pecht's house," however, is not this dry-stone circular
+"castle," open to air and sun. These "castles" are, indeed,
+popularly included among "Pechts' houses," but such an archæologist
+as the one recently referred to prefers to speak of them as
+"brochs." This word "broch" (akin to _burgh_, etc.) has been adopted
+by Dr. Joseph Anderson and other eminent students of such buildings,
+to distinguish this special structure; and although, etymologically
+regarded, the distinction is arbitrary, it is very convenient. But
+the "broch," standing visibly exposed like any other ruin, its stone
+walls uncovered to the sun, is by no means the same thing as the
+"Pecht's house" described by Mr. Petrie and others. This, it may be
+remembered, is almost or altogether identical with the dwellings of
+the North-Greenland Eskimos, as portrayed by the explorers of
+seventy years ago. It is approached through a long, dark tunnel,
+entered from the face of a bank or brae, so low that one has to
+crawl along it, its sides and roofs composed of large stone slabs,
+and the roof itself flush with, or even underneath, the surface of
+the ground. At the end of this long, dark, narrow passage one enters
+the central chamber of the dwelling of the North-Greenlander and the
+ancient Pecht. It, too, would be in darkness, were it not for the
+rude stone lamp, fed with the oil of seal or whale, soaking through
+moss or the pith of rushes, which hangs from the roof and is always
+burning. Here and there at the side of this central chamber are
+openings in the wall which lead into small cavities used as
+sleeping-places. Briefly and imperfectly, that is the interior of
+the Pecht's house.[119]
+
+Viewed from the outside, what does it resemble? The underground
+passage of approach is invisible. The "house" itself "is generally
+of a conical form, and externally closely resembles a large
+bowl-shaped barrow. It consists of a solid mass of masonry, covered
+with a layer of turf a foot or more in thickness, and has a central
+chamber surrounded by several smaller cells." Or, as another writer
+describes it, "all that meets the eye at first is a green, conical
+mound ... resting silently amid the moorland solitude." The entrance
+to this seeming hillock, situated sometimes at its base, more
+frequently, perhaps, at the extremity of a narrow, underground
+tunnel, was never very conspicuous, since it was only about a couple
+of feet high. In the days when the Pechts were actually inhabiting
+these "green hillocks," it is likely they took the precaution to
+conceal this outer orifice, small though it was, as well as
+possible. Thus, the adventurer or colonist of another race, arriving
+at a settlement of Pechts' houses, saw nothing but one or more
+grassy, conical hillocks rising out of the surrounding moor.
+
+Since the Gaelic term _broch_ (for it is Gaelic, though not
+exclusively so) is used to denote the one variety of these "Pictish"
+dwellings, let us employ, if only temporarily, the Gaelic term which
+denotes the other. That kind of _broch_, then, which is covered over
+with earth and turf so as to resemble a conical green mound, is
+known in Gaelic by the name of _sith-bhrog_, or _sith-bhrugh_; that
+is to say, the broch of the _sith_. Still more commonly, it is
+styled a _sithean_, or _sith_-place. When rendered in our modern
+English spelling, according to its pronunciation, this distinctive
+_sith_ becomes spelt _shee_; as in the case of _Gleann-sith_, which
+is written "Glenshee." And, similarly, _sithean_ becomes _sheean_.
+It is the "sheean," then, and not the "broch" proper, that is
+regarded by such archæologists as Mr. Petrie as peculiarly the
+dwelling of the Pechts.
+
+Now, if any Highlander were asked his opinion as to the former
+inhabitants of the "sheeans," he would have but one answer to give.
+And the nature of that answer is very clearly shown by those
+Highlanders who have compiled the leading Scottish-Gaelic
+dictionaries. _Brog_ (_i.e._, "broch") is itself defined as an
+obsolete term for "a house"; but _bruth_ and other variants connect,
+if they do not identify, the "broch" with the "sheean." The various
+definitions are these: _Bruth_, "a house half under the surface,"
+"the dwelling of fairies in a hill"; _sith-bruth_, _sith-bhrugh_, "a
+fairy hill or mansion"; _sith-bhrog_, _sith-bhruach_, _sith-bhruth_,
+"a fairy hill," "a fairy residence," "fairyland"; _sithean_, "a
+little hill or knoll," "a fairy hill"; _sithain_, "a green knoll or
+hillock, tenanted, according to superstitious belief, by
+fairies."[120]
+
+Thus, the houses of the Pechts or dwarfs were inhabited by the
+people known as "fairies." As the fairies were "little people,"
+there is here no contradiction in terms. We have, moreover, seen
+that the same "conical, green mounds" are remembered in Orkney and
+Shetland as the homes of the "trows." "Trow," however, is itself
+equivalent to _droich_, or dwarf. Therefore, the belief that those
+outward-seeming "green hillocks" were the abodes of Pechts is quite
+in agreement with the traditions that refer to those mound-dwellers
+as _trows_ and _fairies_ (otherwise "the little people"). Because
+_pecht_ (or _pech_), _trow_, and _fairy_ are all synonyms for
+"dwarf."
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[117] For these references to Oisin and the Feens see Skene's "Book
+of the Dean of Lismore," pp. 12-14 (English version), and 10-11
+(Gaelic). Also Mr. J. F. Campbell's "Leabhar na Feinne," pp. xiii,
+47 and 49.
+
+[118] Chambers's "Popular Rhymes of Scotland," 1870, pp. 254-55.
+
+[119] Although the Pechts made use of stone lamps similar to those
+of the northern Eskimos, it is perhaps too much to assume that the
+dwellings of the former admitted nothing of the light of day. Mr.
+Petrie states that the walls of the Pechts' houses "converge towards
+the top, where they approach so closely that the aperture can be
+spanned by a stone a couple of feet in length." If this aperture
+remained open during the day, which seems quite likely, then the
+above reference as to the ever-burning lamp is only applicable to
+the dwellings of the northern Greenlanders. For the sake of safety,
+while their lands were over-run by hostile forces, it is probable
+that the Pechts did cover the two-foot hole in the roof with a large
+stone, which itself would need to be hidden by earth and turf. But
+the fact that such an aperture was left in the building indicates
+that it was frequently uncovered; perhaps always at night, and also,
+during times of safety, in the day. In the latter case, the interior
+of this underground dwelling would thus receive, through the hole
+overhead, enough light to fill the central chamber with a sort of
+twilight, although the smaller cells might have been quite in
+darkness.
+
+[120] See the dictionaries of Armstrong, McLeod and Dewar, and
+McAlpine. McAlpine also defines the word _digh_ as a "conical
+mound," "an abode of fairies"; and that more uncommon term is thus
+employed in an Islay story of Mr. J. F. Campbell's (_West Highland
+Tales_, ii, 48).
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+
+In a reference to the popular traditions of Northumberland, the
+Picts are spoken of as "a race of people who are represented, in
+such legends, as endowed with supernatural power, and holding, in
+the scale of beings, an intermediate rank between men and
+fairies."[121] Sir Walter Scott also corroborates this belief as
+existent in Northumberland ("Rob Roy," ch. xxiii). And the writer
+previously quoted, in describing the local tradition with regard to
+the building of the tower at Abernethy by the Pechts, explains that
+"the people always, when they speak of these Peghs, associate that
+idea with a notion that they were a preternatural sort of beings,
+such as fairies and brownies." Therefore, without entering into any
+discussion as to what is or was meant by "supernatural power," we
+have ascertained from these extracts that the Pechts were regarded,
+in Northumberland and in Scotland, as a race of people possessing or
+claiming "supernatural" attributes. And that they were akin to
+"fairies and brownies," if they were not identical with them. This
+also is the position of the "Feens" of Gaelic folk-lore, as the
+following references will show.
+
+When the celebrated Irish king, Brian Borumha, defeated the Danes
+of Dublin and their allies, in the year 1000 A.D., it is stated that
+he appropriated all the vast treasures that the Danes had gathered
+together:--"gold and silver, and bronze, and precious stones, and
+carbuncle-gems, and buffalo-horns, and beautiful goblets," as well
+as "various vestures of all colours."[122] And the chronicler
+explains that "never was there a fortress, or a fastness, or a
+mound, or a church, or a sacred place, or a sanctuary," which the
+Danes had not plundered when it fell to their arms. The first three
+terms, which in the Gaelic are _dún_, _daingean_, and _diongna_, are
+closely allied, and each designates something akin to the "hollow
+mounds" of which we have been speaking.[123] But the succeeding
+sentence is quite explicit: "Neither was there in concealment under
+ground in Erinn, _nor in the various solitudes belonging to Fians or
+to fairies_, anything that was not discovered by these foreign,
+wonderful Denmarkians, through paganism and idol worship." With
+regard to which last allusion, Dr. Todd says: "The meaning is, that
+notwithstanding the potent spells employed by the Fians and fairies
+of old for the concealment of their hidden treasures, the Danes, by
+their pagan magic and the diabolical power of their idols, were
+enabled to find them out."[124] (The Gaelic from which Dr. Todd
+translates the above sentences is as follows:--"Ni raibh imorro
+_dún_ no _daingean_, no _diongna_, no ceall, no cadhas, no neimedh
+do gabhadh ris an ngláim nglifidhigh, nglonnmair, ngnuismhir do bhí
+ag teaglaim, ocus ag teaccar na hédala sin, óir ni raibhe ifolach
+_fo thalmain_ in Erinn ina fá dhiamhraibh díchealta ag _fianaibh_ no
+ag _síthcuiraibh_ ní na fuaratar na Danmargaigh allmardha ingantacha
+sin, tre geintlidhecht, ocus tre iodhaladhradh.")[125]
+
+Like the Pechts in Northumbrian tradition, the Feens are here not
+absolutely _identified_ with the fairies, although the two are so
+closely associated that it is difficult to distinguish between the
+one and the other. The traditions of the Feens themselves testify to
+a distinction between the two. Thus, in the "Dan an Fhir Shicair,"
+or Ballad of the Fairy Man,[126] Fin and his six nobles, while
+walking out one evening, see a fairy-man coming towards them, who
+announces that he comes from the neighbouring Golden Doon (_Dún an
+oir_), and that his purpose is to cause those Feens to come, by
+enchantment, to dine that day with him and his people in their
+"hill." Here, then, we have the Feens associating, to some extent
+(though not, as it appears, on a very friendly footing) with
+fairies, and yet not themselves regarded as identical with that
+people.
+
+From the foregoing reference to the plunder of the Danes at Dublin,
+in the year 1000, it is evident that "the Feens and Fairies" were
+understood, in the traditional history of the Gaels, to be then
+actually inhabiting those underground and half-underground
+dwellings known as "Pechts' houses." There is another reference,
+in the same history, that corroborates this belief. The date when
+Brian Borumha became possessor of those "fairy-hoards," which the
+Danes had previously obtained by their well-known process of
+"how-breaking,"[127] was the close of the tenth century. Now, a son
+of this same Brian, and also one of his father's chief warriors, are
+both described as asserting (on a certain occasion, in the reign of
+the same Brian)[128] that they had been tempted by the fairies to
+forsake their ancestral cause. "Often," says Murchadh, "was I
+offered, in hills and in fairy mansions [_i sithaib ocus i
+sithbrugaib_], this world and these gifts; but I never abandoned for
+one night my country nor my inheritance for them." As Murchadh's
+response was evoked by a similar statement on the part of Dunlang,
+it thus appears that, in rifling the abodes of the "how-folk," the
+Danes were robbing a race _then alive_, and were not merely
+appropriating unclaimed treasure. And, indeed, the Scandinavian
+accounts of "how-breaking" distinctly point out that this pastime
+involved a struggle of life and death with the armed inmate of the
+"how."
+
+The evidence of Murchadh and Dunlang, then, shows that intercourse
+with "the fairies" was not a matter for wonder; and, moreover, that,
+for one reason or another, the latter desired to seduce the
+Gaelic-speaking people from their allegiance. That they were
+eventually successful with Dunlang seems pointed out by the
+statement, made elsewhere, that this Dunlang was himself a fairy
+(_sioguidhe_).[129] And it is well known that "Fairies," as well as
+"Feens," while possessing distinct innate attributes, were not
+averse to obtaining adherents from other races, who thus became
+"Feens" and "Fairies" by adoption.
+
+In the instance of Murchadh and Dunlang, however, the _Feens_ are
+not named; and it is a matter for conjecture whether they ought to
+be included among the Fairies there spoken of. But, at any rate, the
+incident shows that the Fairies (if not the Feens) formed an active,
+existent caste or race, subsequent to the date of Brian's famous
+victory over the Danes; and that the Danish inroads on their doons,
+brochs, hows, etc., in the neighbourhood of Dublin had not by any
+means annihilated them as a people.
+
+Of this robbery of the "how-folk" by the Danes in the Dublin
+district, something further may be said in passing. The date of
+these raids is stated to have been 861 or 862 A.D., when the Danes
+overran the whole district of the Boyne and Blackwater (co. Meath),
+and broke into the "fairy hills" of that region; one of which, that
+of New Grange, is probably the most interesting example of its class
+that is at present known to archæologists.[130] Therefore, the booty
+which the Danes thus obtained in 862 must have formed a portion of
+that captured by King Brian, after his victory, in the year 1000.
+And it is clear enough that it was this special treasure that the
+chronicler referred to when he spoke of the hoards which the Danes
+sought out and discovered "in concealment under ground" and "in the
+various solitudes (or secret places) belonging to Feens or to
+Fairies."
+
+Ought "Fairies," then, to be identified with the "Feens" and
+"Pechts" of history and tradition? We have already seen that, both
+in Scotland and in Northumberland, the Pechts are classed with the
+Fairies in the popular memory. And from the brief references just
+made, one would be disposed at the first glance to say that the two
+names applied to one people. But all the people who form the subject
+of consideration in these pages belong, even in their most modern
+and most modified phases, to the past; and in looking down that long
+vista one is often deceived by the "foreshortening" effects of
+distance, which seems to unite what is really distinct and separate.
+Still, it is evident that "Fairies" have so many points in common
+with "Feens" and "Pechts" that they must all, at least, be classed
+together.
+
+The Ayrshire term _Fane_, which, according to Dr. Jamieson,[131]
+signifies "a fairy," offers itself as very probably a variant of the
+Gaelic _Fian_ (pl. _Feinne_). But Brittany affords even a better
+instance. There, we are told, the peasantry have memories of a race
+of _Fions_, who were dwarfs in stature, and are described as "living
+with the fairies."[132] And although we have endeavoured, as far as
+possible, to restrict these remarks to the British Islands, and even
+to a few special districts, yet the folk-lore of Brittany coincides
+so closely with that of the districts just referred to, and is so
+corroborative of the theories here stated, that it may be
+permissible to quote a few of the Breton beliefs bearing upon this
+subject.
+
+Of those whom he states are called the _Christian_ fairies of
+Brittany, M. Paul Sébillot gives several particulars.[133] These
+so-called "Christian" fairies were, he says, "neither wholly
+Christian nor wholly pagan," and in the traditions relating to them
+he dimly recognizes their possible identification with the heathen
+priestesses[134] of Brittany, at the time when they were gradually
+becoming converted to Christianity. They are celebrated, like the
+Pechts of Scotland, as the builders of churches. And just as local
+tradition states that the Pechts who built the Round Tower of
+Abernethy, in the manner already described, accomplished their work
+in the course of a single night, so a certain chapel in the
+Côtes-du-Nord is said to have been built in one night by the
+"fairies." Moreover, in two of the instances referred to by M.
+Sébillot, the top stone of the building is or was lacking, for the
+reason that the daylight had surprised the builders at their
+work.[135] Now, this is precisely what is stated of the Pictish
+builders of the Round Tower at Abernethy, who are said to have been
+much irritated because an early riser in the village discovered them
+at work, and thus deprived the building and its builders of their
+claim to a "supernatural" origin.[136] Further, these Breton
+"fairies" are spoken of as carrying the stones in their aprons, like
+the Picts of Northumberland, the castle-building "genii" of
+Yorkshire, and the "witch" who helped to build the Forfarshire fort
+of Cater Thun.[137] And, as in the two latter instances, as well as
+in several of the others referred to, the stones were carried from
+"a great distance" by the Breton fairies, on at least one occasion.
+
+To this Breton comparison one is tempted to add that of the
+Netherlands. In referring to the dwarfs who once inhabited the
+neighbourhood of Tienen, M. Pol de Mont states that "they were
+uncommonly small of stature, but of extraordinarily great
+strength"[138]; a statement which is paralleled by "the vulgar
+account" in Scotland, "that the Pechs were unco wee bodies, but
+terrible strang." And, in the Journal of Folk-lore just quoted from,
+the same kind of people are again suggested by the _Gypnissen_;
+"queer little women," who lived in a "castle" which had been reared
+in a single night, and who, like the Scotch "brownies" (with whom
+the Pechts are classed by the Scotch), were content to perform such
+everyday drudgery as washing the clothes of the taller race living
+near them, for no higher remuneration than their daily food.[139]
+The "castle" in which they dwelt is not spoken of as visible at the
+present day, but the probability is that it was of the same nature
+as the _Aschberg_, near Casterlé, which M. Pol de Mont states[140]
+is declared by tradition to be a chambered mound, capable of housing
+as many as fifty _bergmannetjes_, or mound-dwarfs (the Dutch term
+being equivalent to the Scotch "how-folk" or the English
+"hill-men").
+
+Nor can one omit the following testimony from the island of Sylt,
+off the Schleswig coast, supplied by Mr. William George Black.
+Referring to a story of "Finn, the king of the dwarfs," Mr. Black
+explains as follows:--"These were an odd, small, tricky, people whom
+the Frisians found in Sylt when they took possession. They lived
+underground, wore red caps, and lived on berries and mussels, fish
+and birds, and wild eggs. They had stone axes and knives, and made
+pots of clay. They sang and danced by moonlight on the mounds of the
+plain which were their homes, worked little, were deceitful, and
+loved to steal children and pretty women: the children they
+exchanged for their own, the women they kept. Those who lived in the
+bushes, and later in the Frieslanders' own houses, like our own
+brownies, were called 'Pucks,' and a sandy dell near Braderup is
+still known as the Pukthal.... They had a language of their own,
+which lingers yet in proverbs and children's games. The story of
+King Finn's subjects is evidently one of those valuable legends
+which illuminate dark pages of history. It clearly bears testimony
+to the same small race having inhabited Friesland in times which we
+trace in the caves of the Neolithic age, and of which the Esquimaux
+are the only survivors." Mr. Black has himself visited one of those
+"green mounds" which are said to have been inhabited by this Sylt
+"Finn," and he states that when it was first scientifically
+examined, in 1868, it was found to contain "remains of a fireplace,
+bones of a small man, some clay urns, and stone weapons."[141]
+
+These Continental instances may be regarded as relating rather to
+the "Feens of Lochlin" than to those of Ireland and Great Britain.
+But one thing quite evident from the foregoing references is that
+the "Fians and Fairies" of Ireland, the "Fions, or Feins, and
+Fairies" of Brittany, and the similar people in the Netherlands and
+in Friesland, were all nearly identical, if they were not quite
+identical, with the "preternatural sort of beings" known to Scotch
+folk-lore as Pechs, or Pechts, or Piks, and to history in general as
+Picts.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[121] "Rambles in Northumberland," by S. Oliver, London, 1835, p.
+104.
+
+[122] "The War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill," edited by J. H. Todd,
+D.D. London, 1867, p. 115. In the above quotation, the word
+translated "bronze" is _finndruine_. This is referred to as "a
+metal, the constituents of which are not well known. O'Clery
+describes it as _prás go n-airgead buailte_, 'brass, with silver
+hammered on to it.'" It is also referred to as "white silver,"
+"silver or white bronze," "brass," and "copper." It was employed to
+furnish such various articles as "leg armour," the rim of a shield,
+a royal chessboard, and, further, a bedstead--which surely ought to
+have been royal also. (_Op. cit._, pp. ciii-civ. _note_, and 50 and
+94; also Skene's "Celtic Scotland," ii. 507.) The passage relating
+to buffalo-horns is given in the Gaelic version ("War of the
+Gaedhil," p. 114), "_ocus do chornaibh buabaill_." The word _corn_,
+of which _chornaibh_ is an inflection, is substantially the Latin
+_cornu_. The Scotch-Gaelic dictionaries give it chiefly the
+signification of "drinking-horn," and "sounding-horn or trumpet."
+Armstrong states that the drinking-cups of the northern nations were
+made from the horns of the "urus or European buffalo," referred to
+by Latin writers: He adds--"One of these immense horns, at least an
+ox-horn of prodigious size, is still preserved in the Castle of
+Dunvegan, Isle of Sky." _Buabhall_ itself has the secondary meaning
+of "trumpet," or "cornet"; but its true meaning is "buffalo."
+Armstrong subjoins these comparisons--Armorican _bual_, French
+_bufle_, Latin _bubulus_, Greek _boubalos_. Also Cornish _buaval_,
+with the meaning of "trumpet." And also _buabhull-chorn_, "a
+bugle-horn," with which he compares the Welsh _bual-gorn_. Halliwell
+has _bougil_, "a bugle-horn," and _bugle_, "a buffalo"; and with
+reference to the latter spelling he says, "hence bugle-horn, a
+drinking-vessel made of horn; also a hunting-horn." Professor Skeat,
+who cites Halliwell also, defines "bugle" as "a wild ox." It is
+clear that these are all merely variants of one word, or rather of
+two words. The _u_ in "bugle" has originally been broad. The hard
+_c_ of "corn" has become a guttural in "chorn," and a mere aspirate
+in "horn," although it is still found as "corn" both in English and
+Gaelic dictionaries (with a very restricted meaning in the former
+instance).
+
+[123] Dr. Todd (_op. cit._, p. 40, _note_), in referring to another
+instance in which these terms occur, says:--"The words here used,
+_Dún_, _Daingen_, _Dingna_, all signify a fort or fortress. It is
+not easy to define the precise difference between them. _Dún_ ...
+seems to signify a fortified hill or mound. _Daingen_ (dungeon) is a
+walled fort or strong tower; hence _daingnigim_, I fortify. _Dingna_
+[which he translates 'mound' in the above instance] is apparently
+only another form of the same word. Cf. 'Zeuss,' p. 30 n."
+
+[124] _Op. cit._, p. 115, _note_.
+
+[125] Even the expression "_fo thalmain_" may be held to denote the
+"conical hill" of the fairies. _Talmhainn_ is certainly the genitive
+of _talamh_, "the ground"; and so "_fo thalmain_" signifies "under
+the ground." But _tolman_ particularly denotes "a mound." And it, or
+the variant _tulman_, is used in a fairy tale of the island of Barra
+(Campbell's "West Highland Tales," ii. 39) with special reference to
+one of those abodes of the "little people." It may be added that the
+word translated the "solitudes" of the Feens, etc., might also be
+rendered the "secret places" or "concealed places."
+
+[126] "Leabhar na Feinne," pp. 94-95.
+
+[127] The "fairy mound" was also known as a "how" or "haug," and its
+people as "how-folk." To "break," or break into a "how," in the hope
+of obtaining treasure (an early form of burglary), was a well-known
+custom of the Danes.
+
+[128] "The War of the Gaedhil with the Gaill," pp. clxxviii-clxxix,
+note 5, and pp. 172-173.
+
+[129] Dr. Todd, in mentioning this and the other relative
+circumstances, refers the reader to "Mr. O'Kearney's Introd. to the
+'Feis Tighe Chonain' (Ossianic Soc.) p. 98 _sq._"--and to
+O'Flaherty's "Ogygia," iii. c. 22, p. 200.
+
+[130] _See_ Sir W. R. Wilde's "Beauties of the Boyne," Dublin, 1849,
+p. 202. The same work refers (p. 24) to "sidh Nectain, the fairy
+hill of Nechtain," where the river Boyne rises, but does not state
+whether early Dane or modern archæologist has ever investigated it.
+(It is now known as the Hill of Carbury.)
+
+[131] "Scottish Dictionary," s. v. _Fane_.
+
+[132] _See_ the "Revue des Traditions populaires," Nov. 1889,
+p. 613. The reader is there referred to M. Paul Sébillot's
+"Contes populaires de la Haute-Bretagne" for those _Fions_; and
+also to Bézier's "Inventaire des monuments mégalithiques de
+l'Ille-et-Vilaine," (p. 26) for certain _Feins_, who seem very
+likely to be the same people.
+
+[133] "Revue des Traditions populaires," Oct. 1889, pp. 515-519.
+
+[134] These "Christian" fairies appear to be remembered as women;
+like the _banshee_ or fairy woman of Ireland and Gaelic-Scotland.
+
+[135] Another illustration of these special features is afforded by
+the church at Eckwadt, in Denmark, which is said to have been built
+by a "hill-man," or dwarf. In this case, also, the last stone was
+not put on. Of this builder, too, it is stated that "he worked only
+during the night."--(Thorpe's _Northern Mythology_, III. 38-39).
+
+[136] In this mysterious method of working,--first preparing the
+stones in a quarry at some distance off, and then conveying them to
+the chosen site, and erecting them according to a pre-arranged
+method, and all in the course of a single night (as the nature and
+dimensions of the buildings rendered quite possible)--one seems to
+discern one of the methods by which those dwarf tribes asserted and
+maintained the "supernatural" qualities ascribed to them.
+
+[137] For these latter references, see pp. 99-100 _post_. Of course,
+the "aprons" of the traditional dwarfs, it need hardly be added,
+were _leather_ aprons.
+
+[138] _Volkskunde_: "Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsche Folklore," 2^e
+Jaargang, 9e Aflevering, p. 182.
+
+[139] _Op. cit._, 2^e Jaar. 5^e Afl., p. 89.
+
+[140] _Op. cit._, 2^e Jaar. 5^e Afl., p. 89.
+
+[141] _Heligoland_; by William George Black, Blackwood & Sons, 1888,
+Chapter IV.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+
+The Gaelic accounts do not, of course, refer to the "Fairies" under
+that name. It is therefore unnecessary to add anything here to the
+many attempted solutions of the etymology of "Fairy." But the Gaelic
+records speak of these people as the _Fir Sithe_, or _Daoine
+Sithe_--the _Sithe_-folk. As already pointed out, this word is
+pronounced as if spelt _Shee_ or _Sheey[)e]_]. It is also written
+_Sidhe_, and this brings us to the older spelling before the dental
+had been aspirated out of existence. The older form of the word is
+_Side_, presumably pronounced as _Sheed[)e]_. What are the
+conclusions arrived at with regard to these _Fir Sidhe_?
+
+"We know now," says a recent writer, already quoted, "that the
+Sidhe were early peoples and their gods, incorporated into the
+following races.... We find under the Arctic Circle, and among the
+Finns and other 'Altaic' or Turanian tribes of Russia, the same
+belief in 'Tshuds' or vanished supernatural inhabitants of the land,
+pointing to the same mixture of ideas we find in Ireland concerning
+dispossessed peoples of a different tongue but high civilisation,
+whose record remains only in legend. The 'Shee' of Ireland is the
+same word we find in Asia, but softened down in pronunciation. Among
+the early Russians and Irish we can safely infer the Turanian
+underfolk with its myths and manners of life, its subterranean
+dwellings and repute as magicians; in both we perceive remarkably
+clever members of the Finno-Ugrian women-folk gaining a power over
+chiefs of the conquering hordes, and going down into legend as
+supernatural Sidhes or Tshuds."[142] According to this writer, then,
+the "Fairies," whose treasures were seized by the Danes of Dublin in
+the ninth century, belonged to the Turanian or Finno-Ugrian race of
+the Tshuds. And the traditions current in Ireland and Scotland
+regarding the _Fir Sidhe_, are counterparts of those current in the
+north of Europe with regard to the _Tshuds_. It does not certainly
+tend to the simplification of a very complex question to discover
+that the North Europeans, who remember so much about those _Tshuds_,
+are the very people who, of all modern Europeans, seem to have most
+resemblance to the _Fir Sidhe_. In reviewing a recent collection of
+Lapp folk-tales, Mr. Ralston states that "the traditions relating to
+the constant struggle maintained between the Lapp aborigines and
+their foreign enemies" forms an important portion of the collection.
+"The first nine stories all refer to the foes known as _Tsjuderne_,
+the _Tsjuder_--the Chudic Finns of the Baltic and other coasts. When
+these dreaded enemies appeared, the Lapps would take refuge in their
+underground retreats."[143] Thus, in accepting Tshud as identical
+with _Side_ or _Sidhe_, we have to recognize that the people so
+_named_ were the bitter foes of the very race that most resembles
+them--the "underground" folk of Lapland. Perhaps the explanation of
+this apparent contradiction is, that the fact of antagonism existing
+between two nations is no proof of any great racial difference
+between them.
+
+Whether the word "Tshud" is, or is not, a variant of _Sidhe_, there
+seems good reason for believing that such a variant ought to be
+recognized in the _seid_ of the Sagas. We are told by Thorpe that
+witchcraft was _seidhr_, which word some derive from _siodha_
+(modern _seethe_), to boil. "Boiling 'seid,' or the witches' broth,
+was the chief art in witchcraft," says Mr. Du Chaillu; who adds that
+"the witchcraft songs which were used for the seid" were called
+_Vard-lokur_,--"weird or fate songs." The "seid" platform and the
+rites performed on and around it are described at the same place
+(_Viking Age_, ii., 394-398):--"_Seid_ was to be performed. A
+_Seid-hjall_, or platform consisting of a flat stone, was laid upon
+three or four posts, and women were to be found who knew how to
+recite or sing the so-called Vardlokur. When all this was ready, and
+the _Volva_ [sibyl] on the platform, the women formed in a circle
+round it, and the effective song was chanted while the seeress, with
+the strangest gesticulations, made her conjurations and received her
+revelations." "Once at a feast, according to ancient custom, Ingjald
+prepared incantation (_seid_), that men might know their fates.
+There was a Finn woman skilled in witchcraft.... The Finn woman was
+placed high, and splendid preparations made for her; each of the men
+went from his seat to inquire of her about their fates."
+
+Similar accounts are given by Thorpe, who states that it, _seid_,
+"was regarded as unseemly for men, and was usually practised by
+women only: we nevertheless meet with seid-men." And again:--"On
+account of its wickedness, it was held unworthy of a man to practise
+seid, and the seid-man was prosecuted and burned as an atrocious
+trollman.[144] The seid-women received money to make men hard, so
+that iron could not wound them." "The most remarkable class of
+seid-women were the so-called Valas, or Völvas. We find them present
+at the birth of children, when they seem to represent the Norns."
+"That the Norns, who appeared at the birth of children, were of the
+race of the dwarfs," is elsewhere suggested by Mr. Thorpe.[145]
+
+Scott, also (_The Pirate_, Note R), quotes from Kaspar Bartholin a
+long account of one of those "Valas," as given in the _Saga of Eric
+Rauda_. From which it is seen that, according to the custom
+described by Thorpe and Du Chaillu, she stood "on a sort of elevated
+stage," when delivering her prophecy.[146] Scott adds that Bartholin
+"mentions similar instances" to that of "the little Vala" (as this
+one was called), "particularly of one Heida, celebrated for her
+predictions," who attended festivals for the purpose of telling
+fortunes, accompanied by "thirty male and fifteen female
+attendants."
+
+In all these accounts we see the fairies of tradition, notably the
+"fairy godmother" who came to the birth or christening of children.
+The man who practised _seid_ rendered himself liable to be
+prosecuted and burned as a _trow_, "an atrocious trollman;" or, in
+the Gaelic, a _fear-side_. If the words "seid" and "side" are not
+practically one, it is at least evident that they relate to the very
+same people. And the _bean-side_ (banshee) of Gaelic tradition is
+simply the seid-woman, remembered chiefly in her less pleasing
+aspect, as the foreboder of death or misfortune.
+
+Thus, whether _side_ ought to be held as primarily denoting the
+incantations, or the enchanters themselves, it is this worship that
+is indicated in the metrical life of St. Patrick, which says of him
+(Skene's "Celt. Scot.," II. 108):--
+
+ "He preached threescore years
+ The Cross of Christ to the _Tuatha_ [people] of Feni.
+ On the _Tuatha_ of Erin there was darkness.
+ The _Tuatha_ adored the _Side_."
+
+Nor is there anything inconsistent with these deductions in the
+appearance of a _Finn_ woman as a celebrated _seid_-woman. For, in
+Shetland, the Finns are even yet "reckoned among the Trows."[147]
+
+To return, however, to the _Sidhe_ people of the British Islands.
+The Blackwater valley of Leinster, whose "fairy" strongholds and
+abodes were entered and plundered by the ninth-century Danes,
+reminds one by its name that the Blackwater valley of Munster is
+also famous for its fairy associations. In one of Mr. William
+Black's novels ("Shandon Bells") there are frequent references to a
+chief of the Fir Sidhe named _Fierna_,[148] who is remembered as the
+leader of the "little people" of the south-west. His chief residence
+appears to have been a certain _Knockfierin_, or Fierna's Hillock,
+which has perhaps been investigated by local archæologists. Several
+of the Limerick traditions relating to Fierna have been contributed
+by Mr. David Fitzgerald to the "Revue des Traditions populaires"
+(April 1889), and one of these tells how a mysterious stranger one
+night aroused a poor cripple and gave him a letter to take to
+Fierna. The messenger entered the fairy "hill," where he saw the
+chief--an old, white-bearded man. On reading the letter, Fierna
+declared it to be a challenge of battle on the part of the "King of
+the Sidhfir of the North"; a challenge which Fierna was loath to
+accept, because, as he explains, "my people of Munster are the
+weaker party."
+
+This legend, then, shows the Fir Sidhe (or Sidhfir) as a people not
+always friendly to each other, although of kindred race. Moreover,
+it suggests that those of Ireland were divided into at least two
+sections--the Sidhfir of Munster and those of "the North." When we
+remember that in the ninth century "Feens and Fairies" were equally
+regarded as owners of the "underground" dwellings which were then
+plundered (and which still remain), it is noteworthy that in this
+very detail we have another parallel between the two castes--if they
+were two. For the Feens of Ireland were also divided into sections,
+and it may be remembered that two of these--"the Feens of Leinster
+and the east of Ulster," and those of "Connaught and the west of
+Ireland," were referred to on a previous page as engaged in building
+a famous hill-fort for their great leader, Fin. If the "Sidhfir of
+the North" were not the same as the Feens of Leinster and the east
+of Ulster, they occupied much of the same ground, and had so many
+points in common, that it is difficult to say wherein they differed.
+
+Nor is this deduction at variance with the belief that the people
+just named were one with the Pechts of history. For the _Cruithné_
+of Ulster formed a distinct division of the Pechts; and, indeed, to
+be still more specific, were latterly associated with the _eastern_
+part of that province. And, as for internecine warfare, that forms
+no obstacle to the identification of the historical Pechts, in their
+later stages, with the _Sidhfir_ of popular legend.[149]
+
+Like the rivers of the same name in Leinster and Munster, there is a
+Blackwater in Perthshire which has fairy traditions, and, in
+consequence, the valley through which it flows is known as Glenshee
+(_Gleann-sith_). It is also remembered as a favourite hunting-ground
+of the Feens. Here they used to come, says an ancient poem,[150] to
+chase the deer and elk. The stories of Fin and his Feens are full of
+references to their hunting exploits. And an old poem[151] recites
+how, even while Ireland was chiefly peopled and ruled by another
+race, the ancient rights of the Feens, in this as in other respects,
+were still duly acknowledged. Fin, we are told,
+
+ "possessed the old rights
+ Which previously were his.
+ From Hallowmass on to Beltin,
+ His _Feens_ had all the rights.
+ The hunting without molestation,
+ Was theirs in all the forests."
+
+The "rights" possessed by these people between All Hallow-tide and
+Beltin, or from the first of November to the first of May, were,
+according to Keating,[152] that they were quartered upon the
+country-people, who had to support them during all that period. But
+from the first of May on to the first of November, the Feens were
+obliged to support themselves, which they did by hunting and
+fishing. It was during this latter period, therefore, that "the
+hunting without molestation was theirs in all the forests." Perhaps
+the expression "_all_ the forests" is too comprehensive. Mr. J. F.
+Campbell, in referring to the Feens,[153] speaks of their
+"maintaining themselves by hunting deer, extensive tracts of land
+being allotted to them for that purpose." Perhaps, also, the word
+"forest" ought to be understood much in the way that "deer forest"
+now is.
+
+"It was said at that time," says a West Highland tale,[154] "that
+Ireland was a better hunting-ground than the Scotch Highlands; that
+there were many great beamed deer in it, rather than in the
+Highlands. It was this which used to cause the Feens to be so often
+in Ireland." Nevertheless, the poem by Allan MacRuaridh, already
+referred to, states that the Perthshire Glenshee (or rather, the
+more important of the two Perthshire glens so named) was famous as a
+hunting-ground of the Feens, for the reason that it abounded in
+"deer and elk." Whether the "elk" of the one writer, and the "great
+antlered deer" of the other represent the same animal, or two
+separate species now extinct in these islands, is uncertain. In the
+account contributed to the (Old) Statistical Account of Scotland,
+the minister of the parish of Clunie, Perthshire, which is not very
+far from Glenshee, remarks (ix. 256-7, _note_): "The head of the
+urus has been dug up in this neighbourhood, as also the palmated
+horns of the elk, together with the horns and skeletons of large
+deer, supposed to be the moose-deer."[155] One of the tales of the
+Feens, which is common from County Mayo to Sutherlandshire, says Mr.
+J. F. Campbell, has reference to the hunting of an animal called the
+_lon-dubh_, which word Mr. Campbell, on the suggestion of his
+collector (Mr. MacLean), believes ought to be translated "black
+elk." This "black elk," then, which the Feens used to hunt, was an
+animal of much greater size than the deer, on the testimony of these
+tales, told in the degenerate days when the "black elk" and its
+hunters had become only a memory. "These [tales] _may_ date from the
+days when men hunted elks in Erin, as they now do in Scandinavia,"
+says Mr. Campbell.[156] It is to be remembered, however, that at the
+battle of Gawra, and, indeed, long after that date, the Feens of
+Scandinavia were in association with those of Ireland and of
+Scotland; and traditions relating to animals long extinct in Britain
+might really refer to incidents in Scandinavia, within comparatively
+modern times. But, on the other hand, there is the visible testimony
+of the "palmated horns of the elk, together with the horns and
+skeletons of large deer, supposed to be the moose-deer," dug up in
+the very neighbourhood which is famous as a favourite hunting-ground
+of the Feens, where they came "to chase the deer and elk." The
+inference is, then, that either the tales which relate to that time
+are very old, or else that the animals referred to did not become
+extinct in these localities at a very remote date.
+
+And the latter inference is, in point of fact, the right one; if we
+do not restrict _lon-dubh_ to the precise meaning of "black elk."
+Mr. J. F. Campbell not only tells us that certain "great antlered
+deer" were formerly hunted by the Feens, but he also points out
+Sutherlandshire traditions which tell how witches and fairies used
+to _milk_ the female deer. And this statement forms one of the
+reasons which lead him to believe that Fairies, Picts, and Lapps
+were practically one people; for his deduction therefrom is
+this:--"Fairies, then, milked deer, as Lapps do." Now, the point of
+this is that the deer milked by the Lapps is the _reindeer_, and not
+any variety of deer now existing in the British Islands. Mr.
+Campbell's further reference to "a story published by Grant Stewart,
+in which a ghost uses a herd of deer to carry her furniture," quite
+bears out his belief that the reindeer was domesticated, as well as
+hunted, by the little people. And it is an actual historical fact
+that the reindeer was hunted in Caithness so recently as the twelfth
+century. In a very full and exhaustive "Notice of Remains of the
+Rein-Deer, _Cervus tarandus_, found in Ross-shire, Sutherland, and
+Caithness,"[157] the late Dr. John A. Smith, Sec. S. A., Scot., has
+pointed out that the seventeenth-century historian, Torfæus,
+mentions that it was the custom of two earls of Orkney, during the
+twelfth century, to cross over to Caithness from the Orkneys, for
+the purpose of hunting the roe-deer _and the reindeer_. Dr. Smith
+adds that the correctness of Torfæus' statement having been at one
+time called in question, the matter was placed beyond all doubt by a
+reference to the work of a learned annotator and editor of Torfæus
+(of the year 1780), who shows that the original manuscript whence
+Torfæus derived his information uses the words "rauddýri edr
+_hreína_" to denote those roes and reindeer of Caithness. Indeed,
+Dr. Smith's paper affords plenty of confirmation of this historical
+statement, since it is chiefly devoted to a consideration of the
+reindeer's horns found in various parts of the north of Scotland;
+some of them in those very "brochs" which are so associated with
+"the little people." And as, even at the present day, the higher
+mountains of Scotland abound in reindeer-lichen, there is nothing in
+the natural condition of the place to contradict the assertion of
+the historian. Therefore, Mr. Campbell's hypothesis that the fairy
+"herds of Glen Odhar" were herds of reindeer, receives every
+confirmation from history, tradition, and fact. And, thus, the
+figure of the reindeer incised on the monumental stone near
+Grantown, in the same quarter of Scotland (of which a representation
+is given on page 122 of Dr. Anderson's "Scotland in Early Christian
+Times"), may have been "drawn from life" at that very place, and
+need not be any older than the twelfth century.[158]
+
+"Hunting appears all along to have been a favourite amusement
+of the _Seelie Court_," says a writer on the fairies of
+Clydesdale,[159] "and innumerable are the stories which are told
+concerning the magnificence and splendour of the royal retinue."
+There is also a Highland tale[160] which describes how the dwarfs
+used to be seen "hunting on the sides of Ben Muich Dhui, dressed in
+green, and with silver-mounted bridles to their horses which jingled
+as they rode." And a writer of the seventeenth century[161] tells
+"how there was a King and Queen of Pharie, of such a Court, and
+train, as they had, and how they had the teind [tithe] and dutie, as
+it were, of all corn, flesh, and meale, how they rode and went
+alongs the sides of hills, all in Green apparel." That green was the
+special colour of the fairies, everybody knows. And that it was also
+the colour of the Feens is what certain sections of the people of
+modern Ireland do not allow one to forget.
+
+Thus, in regarding these people as hunters, any distinction between
+"Feens and Fairies" seems to vanish altogether. Although it does not
+appear to be stated in so many words that the Feens "had the tithe
+and dutie, as it were, of all corns, flesh, and meale," yet the same
+fact is practically stated when we are told that, during the six
+months of autumn and winter, the Feens were kept in idleness by the
+people of the country ("billeted upon the country," as Keating has
+it), and this as a matter of right. The very dates upon which this
+period began and ended--Hallow-E'en and Walpurgis-night--are
+pregnant with "fairy" associations. And when the green-clad Feens,
+typified by their dwarf chief, had the exclusive right of hunting,
+during the spring and summer months, up till the end of October,
+over "extensive tracts of land allotted to them for that purpose,"
+they could not have greatly differed from those little people who
+are even yet remembered as "hunting on the sides of Ben Muich Dhui,
+dressed in green." And it was distinctly understood that this right
+was theirs "without molestation." There is a real matter-of-fact
+meaning in the ballad, placed in the mouths of people of a taller
+race, and relating to that period and those privileged hunters--
+
+ "Up the airy mountain,
+ Down the rocky glen,
+ We daren't go a-hunting,
+ For fear of little men."
+
+Of which the historical interpretation, as applied to Scotland,
+apparently is, that these popular traditions relate to the time when
+the Pechts, conquered by the Scots, who subsequently were reinforced
+by various later immigrant races, still retained a certain amount of
+independence, with special rights in certain districts, reserved to
+them as "Pecht lands." Their dwarfish stature is seen from the very
+word by which they are known, as well as from the dwellings they
+inhabited. Their small horses are spoken of in the earliest accounts
+of them,[162] and indeed still survive, though no doubt in blended
+forms, as the small breeds of Galloway, Shetland, and various parts
+of England. Their favourite colour gave them, in their earliest
+days, the title of Green Men or _Virides_; although then the
+colouring was applied in a more primitive fashion.
+
+Apart from all the resemblances specially referred to, there is a
+general association in the popular mind between Pechts and Fairies.
+Both are regarded as extinct races, and the date of their
+disappearance, though vague, points to the one period; and
+localities known as the abodes of Pechts are also known as the
+abodes of Fairies. For example, an antiquary of that neighbourhood
+(Sir Herbert Maxwell) states that "the fortified promontory of the
+Mull [of Galloway] is locally believed to have been the last
+stronghold to which the Picts of Galloway retired before an
+overwhelming force of Scotic (?) invaders." In the same paper,[163]
+and referring to the same promontory, the writer specifies "a small
+fortification called the 'Dunnan,' credited with having been a
+favourite haunt of the fairies." Again, the famous Pictish hill-fort
+in Forfarshire, known as the "White Cater Thun," is equally famous
+as a fairy stronghold. This celebrated fortress has been described
+on a previous page. It crowns a hill in the neighbourhood of the
+ancient city of Brechin, the centre of a district which was
+indisputably a territory of the Pechts. Even yet one may discern in
+the ruins of this fort the traces of the dwellings which so closely
+characterize the architecture of the Pechts, the chambers made
+within the thickness of the wall. Within the long elliptical
+enclosure of the White Cater Thun there are, indeed, faint traces of
+other buildings; but the great majority of its garrison must have
+been housed, after the fashion of the race, in the chambers that are
+traceable all along the actual rampart itself. And of this chambered
+fortress local tradition states that it was "the abode of fairies,
+and that a brawny witch carried the whole [of the stones] one
+morning from the channel of the West Water [a neighbouring river] to
+the summit of the hill, and would have increased the quantity ...
+but for the ominous circumstance of her apron-string breaking, while
+carrying one of the largest! This stone was allowed to lie where it
+fell, and is pointed out to this day on the north-east slope of the
+mountain! This tradition, it may be remarked," continues our
+authority,[164] "however _outré_, is curious from its analogy to
+that concerning the castles of Mulgrave and Pickering in Yorkshire,
+the extensive causeways of which are said to have been paved by
+genii named Wada and his wife Bell, the latter, like the Amazonian
+builder of Caterthun, having carried the stones from a great
+distance in her apron!" Among all the exaggeration and confusion of
+these statements two things are quite discernible--the identity of
+Pechts with fairies or other "supernaturals" in general--and (in
+particular) the identity of the descriptions given of people so
+denominated, in the region of Caterthun and of Yorkshire, and the
+descriptions of the Northumbrian Pechts as quoted on a previous
+page.[165] Indeed, the accounts given of the Pechts in the locality
+last-named, as well as some features of the traditional builders of
+Abernethy Round Tower, render it impossible to distinguish, in these
+two cases, between "Pechts" and "Fairies," or "Witches." And this,
+indeed, as we have seen, was the popular belief.
+
+The conclusion, therefore, to be drawn from what has been said upon
+this subject is that, although the term _Pict_ or _Pecht_ has been
+chosen by History as that by which a certain race of people, once
+found in Scotland, ought to be remembered, yet that term indicates
+nothing more[166] than _Trow_ or _Dwarf_, either of which names
+might as reasonably have been chosen as their synonym _Pecht_. And
+that when one speaks of _Pechts_, _Trows_, or _Dwarfs_, one is
+speaking of the same kind of people--the mound-dwellers, or
+"underground" races of the past. Further, that the people
+traditionally remembered in Shetland as _Finns_ belonged to that
+group; as also those whom Gaelic folk-lore styles the _Feinne_. And
+that, along with many other popular terms not here enumerated, one
+of the names by which such people have been widely known is that of
+"the Fairies."
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[142] Mr. Charles de Kay, in _The Century_ of July 1889, p. 437.
+
+[143] See Mr. Ralston's review in _The Academy_ of May 11, 1889.
+
+[144] These trials and executions for "witchcraft" were the
+precursors of those which were carried down almost into our own
+times; and the above allusions to the "wickedness" of those rites
+only serve to strengthen the growing belief that the relentless
+persecution of "witches" was based upon most reasonable grounds, and
+that the motives actuating the "persecutors" were far higher and
+more sensible than a mere fanatical and narrow-minded hatred of
+paganism.
+
+[145] For these extracts, see Thorpe's _Northern Mythology_, I., 14,
+212, 213, 214, and 238.
+
+[146] The flat stone, supported on three or four posts, or pillars
+(as Thorpe calls them), upon which the seid-woman stood, is very
+suggestive of the _cromleac_ or _dolmen_. (Cf. the _grottes aux
+fées_ of Brittany.)
+
+[147] The magical power of the Finns is still recognized by the
+Swedish peasantry of to-day. An illustration of this appears in an
+anecdote related in the London _Standard_ of 26 January, 1877, with
+regard to a Swedish lady "who had been so ill-advised as to insult a
+Finn, whose magical powers exceed those of the gipsies."
+
+[148] It is no doubt owing to the infusion of Spanish blood in
+Southern Ireland, still visible in the complexion, as well as in the
+surnames (such as Costello and Jago, _i.e._, Diego) of people in
+that neighbourhood, that this Fierna receives the most un-British
+title of "Don" prefixed to his name.
+
+[149] Compare this tradition, recorded by Thorpe (_Northern
+Mythology_, III., 39):--"In very old times the dwarfs had long wars
+with men, and also with one another."
+
+[150] "The Death of Diarmaid," by Allan MacRuaridh. _See_ the "Dean
+of Lismore's Book," p. 30 (Eng. version), and p. 21 (Gaelic).
+
+[151] "Dean of Lismore's Book," pp. 141-43 (Eng.) and 108-11 (Gaelic
+version).
+
+[152] "History of Ireland"; Reign of Cormac Ulfada.
+
+[153] "West Highland Tales," I. xiii.
+
+[154] The Lay of Osgar: "West Highland Tales," III. 304-5.
+
+[155] He adds:--"Some of these horns, which are of an amazing size,
+are in the custody of the Duke of Athole, and of Mr. Farquharson of
+Invercauld."
+
+[156] "Tales," II. 107. The story referred to is on pp. 102-6.
+
+[157] _See_ "Proc. of Soc. of Antiq. of Scot.": First Series, VIII.
+p. 186, _et seq._ (with a special reference to pp. 205-6).
+
+[158] For Mr. Campbell's references, _see_ "West Highland Tales,"
+I., ci.-cix., and II., 46. This parallel has also been drawn by Miss
+Gordon Cumming ("From the Hebrides to the Himalayas," Vol. I., p.
+183).
+
+[159] _Scots Magazine_, Vol. III., 1818, p. 154.
+
+[160] One of Mrs. Ewing's "Old-Fashioned Fairy Tales": The Laird and
+the Man of Peace.
+
+[161] George Sinclair, in "Satan's Invisible World Discovered."
+
+[162] _See_ Ritson's "Annals," Vol. I. p. 12 (quoted from Dion
+Cassius, L. 76, c. 12).
+
+[163] Which appears in the "Proceedings of the Society of
+Antiquaries of Scotland," 1885-86, pp. 76-90.
+
+[164] Mr. A. Jervise, "The Land of the Lindsays," Edinburgh, 1853,
+p. 265.
+
+[165] Page 67.
+
+[166] The Latin term _Picti_, though pointing to another
+characteristic of the dwarfs, is not here taken into account, as it
+misinterprets the original word.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+
+There is one variety of the underground dwellings which, in the
+northern counties of Scotland if not elsewhere, is more specially
+indicated by the term "Earth House," or "Eirde House." With regard
+to this class of structure, an experienced archæologist[167] makes
+the following remarks:--
+
+ "The whole of these have been formed after one idea, viz.
+ to secure an unobserved entrance, and to preserve a curved
+ shape. From the entrance the first part of these structures
+ is generally a low and narrow passage, growing in width and
+ height from the point where the direction is changed, and
+ terminating in a rounded extremity.
+
+ "The part of them last referred to is generally from five
+ to nine feet in width, with a height barely sufficient to
+ permit a man to stand erect. In some cases, however, they
+ have been found to be of much more contracted dimensions
+ throughout. The Eirde House at Migvie, in Cromar, only
+ admits a single person to pass along; while that at
+ Torrich, in Strathdonan, Sutherlandshire, is barely three
+ feet in width.
+
+ "Dr. Mitchell has described another at Erribol, in that
+ county, which is more like a large drain than anything
+ else.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ "These underground houses have occasionally smaller
+ chambers, as offshoots from the main one, which are entered
+ by openings of small size.
+
+ "They occur at times singly, and at others in groups. On a
+ moor near Kildrummy, in Aberdeenshire, a group of nearly
+ fifty were discovered.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ "It has been doubted if these houses were ever really used
+ as places of abode, a purpose for which they seem in no
+ degree to be suited.
+
+ "But as to this there can be no real doubt. The substances
+ found in many of them have been the accumulated _débris_ of
+ food used by man, and indicate his presence as surely as
+ the kindred kitchen-middens which have recently attracted
+ so much attention, while their occurrence in groups marks
+ the gregarious habits of the early people. The bones of the
+ ox, deer, and other like creatures have been found, as well
+ as the shells of fish, mixed with fatty earth and charred
+ wood. Ornaments of bronze have been found in a few of them,
+ and beads of streaked glass. In some cases the articles
+ found would indicate that the occupation of these houses
+ had come down to comparatively recent times, as in the case
+ of the Irish crannogs, where objects of the rudest times
+ are found alongside of those of the seventeenth century."
+
+These underground passages or galleries are also known as Pechts' or
+Picts' houses; and they unquestionably belong to the same family as
+the other structures so denominated. But they are the rudest and
+most primitive of all. Between them and a chambered mound such as
+Maes-how, in Orkney, the difference is great; and still greater is
+the difference between them and a non-subterranean "broch," such as
+that of Mousa, in Shetland. Yet all these are so united by
+intermediate forms that it is difficult to say exactly where the one
+passes into the other. The nature of the difference may be expressed
+etymologically by saying that they are _burrows_, _barrows_, and
+_brochs_, or _burgs_; the "drain"-like Eirde House belonging to the
+first class, the chambered mound to the second, and the above-ground
+structure, such as that of Mousa, to the third. The three terms just
+used are radically one, as the buildings themselves are. But they
+represent different phases of one idea; and the last phase is very
+much in advance of the first. Whether the superiority of the one
+class of building over the other has been caused by the gradual
+advancement of one homogeneous race, during a long stretch of time,
+or by the blending of a higher race with a lower, within a limited
+period, must be regarded as an open question.[168]
+
+But, although that crude form of earth-house which we have
+described as a burrow, is included among the Pechts' houses of
+Scotland, it differs in several respects from that variety which has
+been regarded as the typical "Pecht's house," namely, the chambered
+mound, or "hollow hillock." One of the salient features of the
+burrow, the "unobserved entrance," is equally a feature of the
+hollow mound; and the latter has also the same narrow, low,
+subterranean passage of approach, formed of huge stone slabs. In
+each, too, as in the more advanced and elaborate "broch," it is seen
+that the builders knew of no other kind of arch than that formed by
+the gradual convergence of the walls, by means of each course
+overlapping the course immediately below it, until only a single
+slab was required to crown the whole by way of "keystone." The
+better kind of "burrow," with its "smaller chambers, as offshoots
+from the main one," is also closely akin, in that respect, to the
+so-called "hollow hill." But, while having all these points of
+resemblance, the latter differs from the former in that its passage
+dispenses altogether with the curve which distinguishes the
+"burrow;" and, greater difference still, in that it is not merely an
+underground dwelling, but that the earth over it is heaped so high
+above the level of the adjoining ground that it presents exactly the
+appearance of a conical or rounded green hillock, when looked at
+from the outside. Moreover, it is only rendered an "underground"
+dwelling by the earth-heap imposed upon the original structure,
+which itself was built upon what was then the surface of the ground.
+Whereas the long, curved gallery, which has more specially been
+styled an "earth-house," is below the surface of the surrounding
+land, and is generally discovered by some ploughman whose plough
+happens to break or disarrange the stone slabs forming its roof.
+
+There is no special reason for limiting the term "earth-house" to
+the underground gallery just spoken of, because the chambered mound
+is also as much an "earth-house." In either case, the structure
+itself is of stone. Therefore, we need not here restrict the term
+"earth-house" to one of these two varieties, but apply it equally to
+both. Each variety is popularly known as a "Pecht's house," and the
+one is as much an "earth-house" as the other.
+
+The "hollow hill," however, will be the variety of earth-dwelling
+chiefly considered in this place. But, before leaving the ruder
+structure, reference may be made to a Shetland specimen, examined in
+1865. It is described as "of a semicircular form, two feet or so
+beneath the arable land, about thirty feet in length, three feet in
+breadth and height, widening out at the western extremity to the
+form of a chamber of five feet square; ponderous slabs of mica-slate
+form the lintels. These stones have been transported from Norwick,
+which is the nearest depôt for such, and distant two miles." Like
+other similar structures this was locally known as a "Fairy
+Ha'."[169]
+
+Thus, the two varieties of earth-house, each known popularly as a
+"Pecht's house," are also both remembered as the dwelling-place of
+fairies. For the chambered mound is equally a "Fairy Knowe"; in
+Gaelic, a "sheean" (_sithean_), or abode of fairies.
+
+And as the "little people" of Scotland have been chiefly chronicled
+as "Pechts," or "Picts," we may further consider them in that
+twofold character; continuing also to regard them in the territories
+which have already been most frequently named. Of these, none are
+more worthy of examination than the districts--insulated or
+otherwise--in the neighbourhood of the Pecht-land Firth.
+
+"By an authentic record of Thomas, Bishop of the Orkneys, dated
+1443, and published in Wallace's "Orkneys," edit. 1700; when the
+Norwegians conquered these islands they found them possessed 'by two
+nations, the Pets [Pehts, or Pechts] and Papas'"[170] (_i.e._, popes
+or priests). The "popes" referred to are understood to have been the
+Irish missionaries from Iona, and of them there seems to be no
+distinct tradition surviving. But the other "nation" is well
+remembered in both of the Northern groups. "The first folks that
+ever were in our isles were the Picts," says Shetlandic folk-lore;
+"they were very small [people]."[171]
+
+What appears to be a popular tradition relating to the time when
+the territory of the mound-dwelling Pechts was beginning to be
+invaded and settled by colonists of another race, is furnished us by
+Sir Walter Scott. The ballad of "Alice Brand," in "The Lady of the
+Lake," speaks of a "moody Elfin King, who won'd[172] within the
+hill." And we are told in the _Appendix_ that this legend "is
+founded upon a very curious Danish Ballad, which occurs in the
+'Kæmpe Viser,' a collection of heroic songs first published in
+1591." It begins "_Der ligger en vold i Vester Haf_," which is
+rendered in English, "There lies a wold in Wester Haf." Scott
+says:--"As _Wester Haf_ ... means the _West Sea_, in opposition to
+the Baltic or _East Sea_, Mr. Jamieson inclines to be of opinion
+that the scene ... is laid in one of the Orkney, or Hebride
+Islands." Both in this old ballad, and in Scott's adaptation, there
+is an element of the magical, or impossible, or, at least,
+unexplainable kind; but some of the leading facts are these:--A
+"husband," or yeoman, goes to this "wold in Wester Haf," taking his
+wife and all his belongings with him, and there he proceeds to
+settle down as a colonist. Like many other "backwoodsmen," he begins
+by felling the trees of the forest[173] for his new home, much to
+the indignation of the dwarfs who inhabit a certain "knock" (Gael.
+_cnoc_), or chambered mound, in that district, and who, indeed, are
+the owners of the soil.
+
+ "He hew'd him kipples,[174] he hew'd him bawks,[175]
+ Wi' mickle moil and haste,
+ Syne speer'd the Elf i' the knock that bade,
+ 'Wha's hacking here sae fast?'"[176]
+
+The dwarfs are discomfited in their attempt to enter the "husband's"
+house, but finally one of them succeeds:--
+
+ "The huswife she was a canny wife,
+ She set the Elf at the board;
+ She set before him baith ale and meat,
+ Wi' mony a weel-waled[177] word.
+
+ "'Hear thou, Gudeman o' Villenshaw,[178]
+ What now I say to thee;
+ Wha bade thee bigg[179] within our bounds,
+ Without the leave o' me?
+
+ "'But, an' thou in our bounds will bigg,
+ And bide, as well as may be,
+ Then thou thy dearest huswife maun
+ To me for a lemman gie.'"
+
+However, the husband is not even temporarily bereft of his wife;
+and, indeed, after all the threatenings of the "how-folk," the
+settlers are allowed to remain quietly in possession of their
+homestead, and their daughter is afterwards married to the dwarf
+visitor.[180]
+
+Though this song is from a Danish collection, there is another of
+very similar nature in Unst, Shetland. It begins "Der lived a king
+into da aste," and it recounts how a certain "wedded wife" was
+carried off by "the King o' Ferrie." Her husband afterwards goes in
+search of her; and "one day, in his wandering quest, he sees a
+company passing along a hillside, and he recognizes among them his
+lost lady." They go into "a great 'ha'-house,' or castle," which is
+said to be _on_ the hillside; but as nothing is visible but "a grey
+stane," after they have entered, it would seem that _the hill
+itself_ was the castle, and the grey stone the entrance door, as in
+the case of the Orcadian Maes-how, or many another residence of the
+"how-folk." This assumption is quite borne out by the song itself.
+The same writer[181] indicates that such abductions were quite
+common in Shetland, when she states that a "witch" who married a
+dwarf returned once to her mother's house, and, while imparting to
+her various other counsels and warnings, "gave many instructions how
+to provide against the enchantments used by Trows for the purpose of
+decoying unsuspecting girls into their unhallowed domain." And her
+parting injunction was to be sure and have the maidens "weel cöst
+about" (? protected by charms) "when the grey women-stealers are
+wandering." But instances of such intercourse between the dwarf
+races and others, the abduction being by no means confined to one
+side, could be quoted almost interminably.
+
+The celebrated "how" known as Maes-how, in Orkney, has just been
+referred to. It is so admirable a specimen of the "Pecht's house"
+proper that no better selection can be made for a more particular
+description of such a dwelling. "It stands about a mile to the
+north-east of the great stone ring of Stennis. Its external
+appearance is that of a truncated conical mound of earth, about 300
+feet in circumference at the base and thirty-six feet high,
+surrounded by a trench forty feet wide. Nothing was known of its
+internal structure till the year 1861, when it was opened by Mr.
+Farrer, M.P., but the common tradition of the country represented it
+as the abode of a goblin, who was named 'the Hogboy,' though no one
+knew why."[182] In Lincolnshire, this term "hog-boy" is pronounced
+as "shag-boy."[183] The word pronounced _shag_ in one place and
+_hog_ in another, is understood to be the same as _haug_ or _how_;
+and the term is therefore a variant of the plural "how-folk." It was
+one of those "shag-boys" or "hog-boys," then, that local tradition
+remembered as the inhabitant of Maes-how. And nowhere is the
+tenacity of the popular memory more strongly illustrated than in
+this instance. For, during many centuries prior to 1861, this had
+been nothing more, to the passing stranger, than a grassy hillock,
+utterly void of any indication that its interior was "hollow," and
+that the whole structure--stone-built dwelling, and super-imposed
+earth--was entirely artificial,--the work of a vanished race. And
+yet, so full of vitality is tradition, that the descendants of those
+who had seen its inmate or inmates, knew, in spite of the lapse of a
+thousand years, that this was no ordinary grassy mound, but that
+once upon a time it had been the habitation of people of a certain
+race, whose characteristics are even yet remembered, if only in a
+confused and imperfect manner.
+
+However important and necessary a written description may be, it is
+very incomplete without a personal inspection of the place
+described, or in lieu of that, the "counterfeit presentment," which
+is almost as serviceable. From the view here given of Maes-how, as
+it appears from the outside, and also from the following diagrams,
+one obtains an admirable idea of the exterior and interior of a
+_sheean_, Fairy Hillock, or Fairy Ha'.
+
+[Illustration: SECTIONAL VIEW AND GROUND-PLAN OF MAES-HOW.]
+
+After examining these pictures of this famous "how," one is able
+to fully understand the traditional accounts of the "hollow
+hillocks" of the dwarfs. One can fit any of the many stories that
+tell of visits paid to such "hills" into this particular scene.
+There is the small, concealed entrance at the base of the hill (at
+which, or beside which, the visitor used to knock until "the hill
+opened"--revealing a low, narrow, dark passage).
+
+[Illustration: MAES-HOW, ORKNEY.
+(The _Orka-haug_ of the Norsemen.)]
+
+In this instance the aperture is two feet four inches in height, and
+of exactly the same breadth; and its dimensions continue the same
+for the first twenty-two and a half feet into the hill (for it will
+be seen that the mound of stone and earth that surrounded and
+covered the actual building gave the habitation a fictitious base,
+which had to be penetrated by this passage until the walls of the
+main building were reached--in the centre of the "hill.")[184]
+
+[Illustration: THE INTERIOR OF THE "HOW."]
+
+In Maes-how the passage of approach is fully fifty-three feet long.
+Its height, as already stated, is only two feet four inches, during
+the first twenty-two feet of length; so that no one, unless an
+actual dwarf, could walk erect along this portion. After this the
+roof of the passage rises to four feet four inches; and it retains
+this height during the next twenty-eight feet of length. The
+remaining distance--scarcely three feet--is four inches higher; and
+then the passage "enters the middle of one of the four sides of a
+chamber which is fifteen feet square, and has, when complete, been
+about twenty feet high in the centre. The walls of this chamber are
+perpendicular for about six feet, after which the slabs, which
+generally extend the whole length of a side, project beyond the
+courses on which they rest, until in this way the roof has been
+completed in the shape of an inverted pyramid formed of successive
+steps."[185] In the three sides of this central hall (excluding the
+side at which the long passage emerges) there are respective
+entrances into three small chambers. The largest of these is less
+than seven feet long, less than five feet broad, and its roof is
+only three and a half feet from the floor.
+
+In assuming that the roof of this building, now open to the sky,
+was "completed in the shape of an inverted pyramid formed of
+successive steps," Colonel Leslie is at variance with the
+description given by an eighteenth-century writer (in connection
+with similar buildings), and at variance also with tradition. The
+difference is a slight one, but it ought to be referred to. The roof
+was not precisely _completed_ in such buildings, according to the
+writer referred to; it "was carried on round about with long stones
+[each successive course projecting, and thus gradually narrowing the
+orifice], till it ended in an opening at the top, which served both
+for light and a vent to carry off the smoke of their fire." Without
+this opening the dwelling had very little light or air; for little
+of either could have straggled in from the mouth of the narrow,
+underground passage, which reached the open air at a distance of
+fifty-three feet from the dwelling, and whose entrance (besides) was
+nearly always closed during the day.[186]
+
+While tradition seems clearly to indicate that the roof of the
+dwelling communicated with the open air above, there is necessarily
+some uncertainty on this point. The writer who speaks of the roof of
+such a building being "carried on round about with long stones, till
+it ended in an opening at the top," may have had in view a structure
+more resembling the open air "broch" than the _sith-bhrog_; although
+he mentions that the kind of building he describes often "looks
+outwardly like a heap without any design."[187] It is undoubted that
+many such mounds, for example, those of New Grange and Dowth, in the
+Boyne district, have their rude, "Pelasgian arch," crowned with one
+large stone as keystone; and that, therefore, any upward exit from
+the chamber must have led off in a slant from some portion of the
+wall. On the other hand, there are several indications that when one
+ascended the outside of a _sheean_, in the days when it was
+inhabited, one found oneself at the edge of a hollow or crater, at
+the foot of which was the narrow orifice that gave light and air to
+the chamber below. More than one fairy-hill of the present day, not
+yet explored, has a small hole on its summit, and when a stone is
+dropped therein, it is heard to rumble and fall into some unknown
+cavern below. And the existence of such "craters" was well known (we
+are told by Scott, in his Introduction to the _Tale of Tamlane_) to
+the people of Scotland. "Wells, or pits, on the top of hills were
+supposed to lead to the subterranean habitations of the Fairies."
+Legendary stories in connection with these there are many--of men
+descending such "pits," sometimes well knowing what to expect, and
+of having hand-to-hand fights with the natives of these abodes. At
+other times the attack was made by those "hillmen" themselves; who
+seem to have emerged by this entrance as often as by the other. "A
+savage issuing from a mount" was once a well-known bearing in
+Scottish heraldry. Mr. J. F. Campbell records a Ross-shire tradition
+of a dwarf who inhabited _Tombuidhe Ghearrloch_, "The Tawny Hillock
+of Gairloch," and who was the terror of the neighbourhood (whose
+chief inhabitants, in his day, belonged to another race). Before he
+was himself slain, this formidable dwarf had killed many of the
+latter race; none of whom (with one exception) dared to venture near
+his "hillock" after dusk. He was at length killed by a local
+champion, still remembered as "Big Hugh" (Uistean Mor, MacGhille
+Phadrig;) who was celebrated as a slayer of dwarfs; and who appears
+to have devoted himself to their extermination in that particular
+district. And in the story of the killing of this noted dwarf, it is
+stated that Uistean climbed to the top of the hillock (_Tom-buidhe_)
+and attacked its inhabitant, who emerged from the foot of its
+"crater" or "pit"; in other words, from the roof of his
+dwelling.[188]
+
+Such a "_sheean_" is the Denghoog in the Danish island of Sylt, one
+of the mounds believed to have been the residence of Finn, the dwarf
+king. Mr. W. G. Black, who has visited this "how," describes it
+thus:[189]--
+
+"Externally merely a swelling green mound, like so many others in
+Sylt, entrance is gained by a trap-door in the roof, and descending
+a steep ladder, one finds himself in a subterranean chamber some
+seventeen by ten feet in size, the walls of which are twelve huge
+blocks of Swedish granite; the height of the roof varies from five
+feet to six feet. The original entrance appears to have been a long
+narrow passage seventeen feet long and about two feet wide and high.
+This mound was examined by a Hamburg professor in 1868, who found
+remains of a fire-place, bones of a small man, some clay urns, and
+stone weapons."
+
+This example, then, of the abode of one of the "Feens of Lochlan,"
+corresponds exactly with Maes-how and all similar "_sheeans_." And,
+like them, it is locally remembered as the residence of a dwarf.
+
+This, of course, is tradition. But the northern sagas (though
+"tradition" also) are accepted as "history," in some degree. And the
+sagas bear a like record. Their heroes break into those dwellings,
+make their entrance by the hole at the bottom of the "crater," and
+attack the inhabitants, who, seizing their weapons, defend their
+lives and (in many cases) their treasures. And before leaving the
+"hollow hill" of Maes-how, it may be stated that this particular
+_broch_, or _sheean_, is believed to have been invaded about a
+thousand years ago. It was entered in the twelfth century by some of
+those North-men who were on their way to the Holy Land; and these
+have incised various inscriptions on its inner walls. But at that
+date it was empty--and had been rifled many centuries before. One
+legendary tale places the date of its original despoliation as far
+back as the year 920; and states that "Olaf the Norseman" was its
+invader; and that he encountered its possessor, whom he
+overcame--after a deadly struggle. And, since "the common tradition
+of the country [up to the year 1861, when it was reopened]
+represented it as the abode of a goblin, who was named 'the
+Hog-boy'," it would seem that the prevailing blood of the
+country-people in that district is akin to that of this "Olaf the
+Norseman;" and that, therefore, in this instance, the popular memory
+reaches back for nearly a thousand years, with the most perfect
+precision.[190]
+
+The Ross-shire _Tombuidhe_, the Sylt _Denghoog_; and this Orcadian
+_broch_ are all specimens of the one class; and, both as regards the
+character of the dwellers and the dwellings, they have many
+counterparts. How many we do not yet know. It is probable that, in
+the British Islands alone, they may be numbered by thousands (and we
+need not here speculate as to the continent of Europe, and other
+parts of the globe). Colonel Forbes Leslie, referring only to
+Scotland, says that "even in the present day many a green mound ...
+is shunned by sturdy peasants who would not fear the hostility of
+any mortal"--and this because that mound once contained one or more
+people of a race of whom that peasant's ancestors stood greatly in
+awe. That the valleys of the Forth and Teith alone contain a great
+number of those "green hillocks," as yet unexamined, has been stated
+by an eminent investigator of the Scotch _brochs_, Dr. Joseph
+Anderson. How many other districts can tell a similar story is a
+problem that will some day be solved.
+
+The collector (who is, to a great extent, the exponent also) of the
+"Popular Tales of the West Highlands," appends several very
+interesting remarks to one of these stories: that of "The Smith and
+the Fairies" (vol. ii. pp. 46-55). Among other things he says: "The
+belief that the 'hill' opened on a certain night, and that a light
+shone from the inside, where little people might be seen dancing,
+was too deeply grounded some years ago to be lightly spoken of; ...
+'In the glebe of Kilbrandon in Lorn is a hill called Crocan Corr ...
+where the fairies ... were often seen dancing around their fire.'"
+And reference is also made to "a certain hill in Muckairn, known to
+be the residence of the fairies." The incident connected with it is
+capped with a similar one "told of a hill called Ben-cnock in
+Islay;" and "another hill, called Cnock-doun" (presumably in Islay),
+has a like history. But such "hills" are too numerous to mention in
+detail.
+
+Owing to the great mass of earth which was heaped over the
+dwelling--the actual "kernel" of the mound--it will be seen that
+new-comers of another race from the mound-dwellers might build
+houses, or bury their dead, above the homes of the "little people,"
+without being aware that the hill they were so utilizing was
+entirely of artificial origin. Nor are there wanting illustrations
+of this in fact and in tradition. Legendary lore, indeed, is
+full of incidents arising from the contact, often unexpected on
+the one side, of the two races; and many such tales reveal the
+mound-dwellers in a very homely light. The following story from the
+Hebridean island of Barra, for example:
+
+ "There was a woman in Baile Thangasdail, and she was out
+ seeking a couple of calves; and the night and lateness
+ caught her, and there came rain and tempest, and she was
+ seeking shelter. She went to a knoll with the couple of
+ calves, and she was striking the tether-peg into it. The
+ knoll opened. She heard a gleegashing as if a pot-hook were
+ clashing beside a pot. She took wonder, and she stopped
+ striking the tether-peg. A woman put out her head and all
+ above her middle, and she said, 'What business hast thou to
+ be troubling this tulman in which I make my dwelling?' 'I
+ am taking care of this couple of calves, and I am but weak.
+ Where shall I go with them?' 'Thou shalt go with them to
+ that breast down yonder. Thou wilt see a tuft of grass. If
+ thy couple of calves eat that tuft of grass, thou wilt not
+ be a day without a milk cow as long as thou art alive,
+ because thou hast taken my counsel.'"[191]
+
+This story exemplifies the well-known prophetic or "supernatural"
+powers of the dwarf races, while at the same time it presents the
+"fairy abode" to us in a very matter-of-fact light. Equally homely
+and matter-of-fact is this story from Wigtownshire:--
+
+ "A shepherd's family had just taken possession of a
+ newly-erected onstead, in a very secluded spot among 'the
+ hills o' Gallowa,' when the goodwife was, one day,
+ surprised by the entrance of a little woman, who hurriedly
+ asked for the loan of a 'pickle saut.' This, of course, was
+ readily granted; but the goodwife was so flurried by the
+ appearance of 'a neibor' in such a lonely place, and at
+ such a very great distance from all known habitations, that
+ she did not observe when the little woman withdrew or which
+ way she went. Next day, however, the same little woman
+ re-entered the cottage, and duly paid the borrowed 'saut.'
+ This time the goodwife was more alert, and as she turned to
+ replace 'the saut in the sautkit' she observed 'wi' the
+ tail o' her e'e' that the little woman moved off towards
+ the door, and then made a sudden 'bolt out.' Following
+ quickly, the goodwife saw her unceremonious visitor run
+ down a small declivity towards a tree, which stood at 'the
+ house en'.' [She passed behind the tree, but did not emerge
+ on the other side, and the "goodwife," seeing no place of
+ concealment, assumed she was a fairy.] In a few days her
+ little 'neibor' again returned, and continued from time to
+ time to make similar visits--borrowing and lending small
+ articles, evidently with a view to produce an intimacy; and
+ it was uniformly remarked that, on retiring, she proceeded
+ straight to the tree, and then suddenly 'ga'ed out o'
+ sight.' One day, while the goodwife was at the door,
+ emptying some dirty water into the _jaw-hole_ [sink, or
+ cess-pool], her now familiar acquaintance came to her and
+ said: 'Goodwife, ye're really a very obliging bodie! Wad ye
+ be sae good as turn the lade o' your jaw-hole anither way,
+ as a' your foul water rins directly in at my door? It
+ stands in the howe there, on the aff side o' that tree, at
+ the corner o' your house en'.' The mystery was now fully
+ cleared up--the little woman was indeed a fairy; and the
+ door of her invisible habitation, being situated 'on the
+ aff side o' the tree at the house en',' it could easily be
+ conceived how she must there necessarily 'gae out o' sight'
+ as she entered her sight-eluding portal."
+
+This story[192] relates to a district that is noted as being one of
+the very latest to retain a population that was distinctively
+Pictish, and it unquestionably offers a parallel to that of the
+"Gudeman o' Villenshaw," and the "elves i' the knock that bade." In
+either case, we have the arrival of a new-comer of another race, all
+unconscious that the place is already inhabited by an earlier,
+mound-dwelling[193] people.
+
+Of houses built upon the summit or the slope of a fairy hill a
+modern instance is furnished by Hugh Miller, in his reminiscences of
+Sutherlandshire ("My Schools and Schoolmasters," 1881 ed., p. 108),
+wherein he mentions that a cousin of his had built his house
+"half-way up the slope of a beautiful tomhan,"[194] which was
+regarded as a fairy residence. This "tomhan" appears to have been
+near Lairg, and in "the Barony of Gruids." The neighbouring
+countryfolk had expected that "the little people" inside the hill
+would resent this intrusion on their privacy, but, of course,
+nothing of this kind happened--as this occurred in the present
+century, when the mound-dwelling Pechts lived only in the memory of
+those by whose forefathers they had once been greatly dreaded. But
+there are various traditional accounts which point to a time when
+members of the intruding race, unaware that the hillock on which
+they began to build was itself a building, were obliged to desist by
+reason of the opposition of the dwarfs. Thus, a former Grant of
+Ballindalloch, in Strathspey, who attempted to build his castle upon
+a mound, found every morning that the previous day's work had been
+undone, and the stones removed from the site. One night, while he
+watched for these disturbers, he heard a voice bid him to "build on
+the Cow Haugh," or meadow, which he accordingly did, without further
+interruption.[195] A similar account is given in connection with a
+hill in Aberdeenshire. "When the workmen were engaged in erecting
+the ancient church of Old Deer, in Aberdeenshire, upon a small hill
+called Bissau, they were surprised to find that the work was impeded
+by supernatural obstacles. At length the Spirit of the River (says
+Sir Walter Scott, who tells the story[196]) was heard to say,--
+
+ "It is not here, it is not here,
+ That ye shall build the church of Deer;
+ But on Taptillery,
+ Where many a corpse shall lie."
+
+The site of the edifice was accordingly transferred to Taptillery,
+an eminence at some distance from the place where the building had
+been commenced." In this case the interruption merely took the shape
+of a warning, but the midnight work in the former instance is
+entirely in keeping with all that tradition says of the Pechts.[197]
+
+Hugh Miller again points out a fairy locality, when referring to a
+boating excursion on Loch Maree, in 1823, on which occasion he
+learned from the boatman that one of the islands, _Eilean Suthainn_,
+was the annual rendezvous of the fairies, where they paid to their
+queen the yearly "kain" or tribute, due to "the Evil One." This
+reference is quoted by the author of "Gairloch,"[198] who also
+states:
+
+ "In Gairloch we have Cathair Mhor and Cathair Bheag, names
+ applied to several places; and the Sitheanan Dubha on Isle
+ Ewe and on the North Point. There is Cathair Mhor at the
+ head of Loch Maree, and Cathair Bheag (the Gaelic name of
+ the place) at Kerrysdale. These names mean respectively the
+ big and little seats of the fairies....
+
+ "The name Sitheanan Dubha signifies the black knowes or
+ hillocks of the fairies. It is applied to two places in
+ Gairloch, viz., to the highest hill-tops at the north end
+ of Isle Ewe, and to a low hill and small round loch a full
+ mile due north of Carn Dearg house."
+
+Further south than Loch Maree, and situated in the deer-forest of
+Mamore, in the Nether Lochaber district, there is an alleged "hollow
+hill" which is also exceptionally famous. It is thus described by a
+local gillie:--
+
+ "Coming up the Ulnach, sir, you saw a corrie away to the
+ left? Well, that's Corrie-Vinnean; and the round hillock in
+ the centre, which you must also have noticed, is a Shiän or
+ fairy-knowe; and in all the _garbh-chnochan_ (rough-bounds)
+ around us, from Kinloch Leven to Ardverikie, there is no
+ other shiän so famous as this shiän, and it is the chief
+ palace of the fairies of all these upland wilds, and it is
+ always occupied by a company of them. It is never
+ altogether deserted even for a day, though many other
+ shiäns are sometimes unoccupied for weeks together."[199]
+
+
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[167] John Stuart, LL.D., "Proc. of the Soc. of Antiq. of Scot.,"
+1st Series, viii. 23 _et seq._
+
+[168] Examples of those "burrows," or underground galleries, in
+Ulster are given by Mr. S. F. Milligan, M.R.I.A. (_Jour. of Roy.
+Hist. and Arch. Assn. of Ireland_, No. 80, Vol. IX., Fourth Series,
+pp. 245-246), who remarks:--"These souterraines are good examples of
+the dwelling-places of a very early race of settlers in this
+country."
+
+[169] "Memoirs of Anthropological Society of London," vol. ii.
+1865-6, p. 343.
+
+[170] Knox's "Topography," etc., Edin., 1831, p. 211, _note_.
+
+[171] Regarding the original home of the Picts, there is
+considerable difference of opinion among ancient writers; but the
+above traditional belief receives support from the statement that
+"by Bede, by the 'Historia Britonum,' and by the Welsh traditions,
+they appear as a people coming from Scythia, and acquiring first
+Orkney, and afterwards Caithness, and then spreading over Scotland
+from the north."--(Skene's _Chronicles of the Picts and Scots_, p.
+xcvi.)
+
+[172] Dwelt (cf. Dutch _wonen_, Germ. _wohnen_).
+
+[173] This feature does not accord with the appearance of modern
+Orkney or the Hebrides, but both groups were once thickly wooded.
+Buchanan refers to various Hebridean islands as being "_darkened_
+with wood" in the sixteenth century.
+
+[174] Couples.
+
+[175] Balks (cross-beams).
+
+[176] From Jamieson's Scotch version, as given by Scott.
+
+[177] Well-chosen.
+
+[178] The dwarf is here addressing the settler by the name of his
+new possession.
+
+[179] Build.
+
+[180] It ought to be added that he is only an "elf" by adoption; but
+this does not affect the general situation. He bears all the outward
+characteristics of the dwarfs.
+
+[181] Mrs. Jessie E. Saxby, "Folklore from Unst, Shetland" (_Leisure
+Hour_, 1880).
+
+[182] Dr. Joseph Anderson, in his Introduction to the "Orkneyinga
+Saga," p. ci.
+
+[183] In an article ("From the Heart of the Wolds") contributed to
+the _Cornhill Magazine_ of August 1882, the following is stated with
+regard to the traditions of this part of Lincolnshire:--"Ghosts,
+bogies, and the supernatural generally have utterly vanished from
+this commonplace district before schools and newspapers. Even an old
+lady more than ninety years old said to us, 'Fairies and shag-boys!
+lasses are often skeart at them, but I never saw none, though I have
+passed many a time after dark a most terrible spot for them on the
+road at Thorpe.'" The identity of "shag-boy" with "hog-boy" (as used
+in Orkney) is asserted by the writer of the _Cornhill_ article; who
+also states:--"In an adjoining field [near Beelsby] lingers one of
+the few legends of this prosaic district. A treasure is supposed to
+be hidden in it, and at times two little men, wearing red caps,
+something like the Irish _leprechauns_, may be seen intently digging
+for it." These little "red-caps" are not identified with the
+"shag-boys," but popular tradition generally would pronounce them to
+be the same people.
+
+[184] One is apt to talk of this introductory passage as though it
+had actually _penetrated_ a previously existing mound. But the
+construction of all those chambered mounds shows plainly that the
+original stone structure, not only the central building but the long
+passage of approach, was originally reared upon the surface of the
+level ground, in the open air. And that the "fairy hillock" had no
+existence at all until the builders of the stone structure had
+heaped above it all--chamber and gallery--the mass of earth and
+stones that afterwards transformed the whole exterior into a "green
+hillock," and thus completely disguised its real nature from all but
+the initiated.
+
+[185] For these details see Colonel Forbes Leslie's "Early Races of
+Scotland," vol. ii. pp. 338-40.
+
+[186] Even with this roof-light the interior of the dwelling can
+only have received a limited supply of daylight. And this explains
+the statement made by a Scotch peasant who was taken by a "fairy"
+woman into her abode. "Being asked by the judge [before whom he was
+tried for 'witchcraft'] whether the place within the hill, which he
+called a hall, were light or dark, he said '_Indifferent, as it is
+with us in the twilight_.'"
+
+At night, when the abode of the "hillmen" was lit up with the glow
+of the fire, the cavity above the building, and the atmosphere
+overhead, must have also received some share of the firelight. This
+would account for the statement made by Wallace (who wrote at the
+period when "Evil Spirits also called Fairies" were "frequently seen
+in several of the [Orkney] Isles dancing and making merry,") to the
+effect that, "in the Parish of Evie, near the Sea, are some small
+_Hillocks_, which frequently, in the Night time, appear all in a
+fire." And when Mrs. Ewing, in her "Old-Fashioned Fairy Tales," says
+that _shian_ is "a Gaelic name for fairy towers, which _by day_ are
+not to be told from mountain crags," she evidently alludes to the
+same feature.
+
+[187] See the description in an Appendix to Pennant's Tour, written
+by the then minister of the parish of Reay, Sutherlandshire.
+
+[188] "Popular Tales of the West Highlands," vol. ii. pp. 97-101. In
+the _Book of Clanranald_, a portion of which is translated by Dr.
+Skene, a certain "Huisdinn," whose paternal grandfather was Donald
+of the Isles, is stated to have been also the grandson (through his
+mother) of "Giolla Phadraig." This "Huisdinn" appears to have lived
+in the fifteenth century. (See _Celtic Scotland_, III., 408-409.)
+
+[189] "Heligoland," 1888, pp. 84-85.
+
+[190] For fuller information as to Maes-how, and references to more
+detailed accounts, see Dr. Anderson's "Orkneyinga Sage,"
+Introduction, pp. ci-cviii.
+
+It may be added that one feature in the first of the Maes-how
+diagrams conveys a wrong impression of the probable appearance of
+the mound, when inhabited; because the "well or pit" ("or crater")
+is represented as being as solid as the rest of the outer covering.
+That it gradually became filled up with drift and rubbish, after the
+dwelling ceased to be occupied, is evident. But when the edifice was
+newly reared, and as long as people continued to inhabit it, the
+upper part of the mound was probably a hollow shaft; admitting light
+and air into the dwelling below; "carrying off the smoke of their
+fire;" and occasionally serving as a way of ingress and egress.
+
+[191] "West Highland Tales," ii. 39.
+
+[192] Which will be found at pp. 30-32 of "Legends of Scottish
+Superstition," Edinburgh, 1848.
+
+[193] The Wigtownshire tale perhaps relates rather to an example of
+the rude underground Fairy Ha', or Pecht's house, described in the
+beginning of this chapter. While the word "how" signifies in Orkney
+a _haug_, or mound; the "howe" of other parts of Scotland means a
+"hollow." In fact, the story says that the foul water ran _down_ to
+the entrance of the dwarf's house, which was therefore either an
+underground gallery of the kind referred to, or else a chambered
+mound placed on a lower level than the shepherd's cottage.
+
+[194] Cf. _tulman_ in the Barra anecdote quoted above. See also p.
+82 _ante_, note 2.
+
+[195] From "Grantown-on-Spey," by the Rev. A. Gordon (in a "Budget
+of Holiday Letters," Edinburgh, 1889).
+
+[196] "Lay of the Last Minstrel," Note M.
+
+[197] Chambers, in his "Popular Rhymes" (241-2), has a story
+corresponding in one feature to that of "Taptillery." This is of a
+certain Laird of Craufurdland, who had dammed up a stream in order
+to get at a treasure believed to be hidden in its bed, "when a
+brownie called out of a bush:
+
+ "Pow, pow!
+ Craufurdland's tower's a' in a low!" [_i.e._, on fire]
+
+which sent the laird home to save his tower; and when he returned
+from his fool's errand the dam had been destroyed, and the stream
+was flowing as before.
+
+[198] Mr. J. H. Dixon, F.S.A.Scot. See "Gairloch," Edin.' 1886, pp.
+159-61.
+
+[199] See the modern _Scots Magazine_, Vol. I., No. 1, Dec., 1887
+("Damh Blàr Bheinn Chrulaist," a sporting story).
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+
+So numerous are the mounds that, owing to the traditions attaching
+to them, invite their own destruction at the hands of the
+archæologist, that only a limited number of them can be specified in
+these pages. Among these were, until recent years, two "fairy
+knowes," long known by that term in the adjoining countryside. They
+lie between the rivers Forth and Teith, about four miles to the
+south of Doune. One of them was broken into a good many years ago,
+and it is now known to antiquaries as the "Broch of Coldoch" (from
+the estate on which it is situated).[200] It appears to be one of
+those structures which form a connecting link between the open-air
+broch, such as that of Mousa, and the more visible "hill," such as
+Maes-how. It is circular in form, has the central chamber and three
+small chambers in the thickness of the wall; and the lower portion
+of a winding-stair, also in the wall, which shows it to be the
+remains of an inferior "Mousa." Its dimensions are like those of
+other "brochs," and these are such that, in this case, they evoked
+the remark from the writer's guide (a native of the district) that
+"it had never been built for men like him." This, indeed, is the
+remark that naturally falls from any visitor to such buildings; as
+the writer has noticed on several such occasions (nor can he forget
+that one, at any rate, of his companions, in a recent visit to "the
+hidden places of the Fians and fairies" in the valley of the Boyne,
+was debarred from inspecting these interesting works for the simple
+reason that the underground passage of entrance was so strait, in
+every way, that for him to worm himself along it, as all visitors
+must do, was a physical impossibility). The popular belief that such
+mounds were tenanted by dwarfs has no stronger testimony than the
+obvious fact that none but dwarfs would have thought of raising such
+structures; or could have properly utilized them when erected. And
+although the most famous of the Boyne mounds just referred to has
+been styled "the firm mansion of the 'Dagda'" in ancient records,
+and, by a modern singer,
+
+ "The Royal Brugh,
+ By the dark-rolling waters of the Boyne,
+ Where Angus Og magnificently dwells,"
+
+yet such a "mansion" would be a most impracticable kind of abode for
+men of the ordinary height of modern Europeans, if any such felt
+disposed to imitate the "magnificence" of Angus Og.
+
+Of this "Royal Brugh" the outward appearance is well delineated in
+the engraving which constitutes the _Frontispiece_. All that has
+been said as to the adaptability of Maes-how to any of the
+well-known fairy stories is equally applicable to this Irish "how."
+The Boyne mound, however, as will be seen from its measurements, is
+much larger than the Orkney one; though the stone structure in its
+interior is of much the same dimensions as the other. The interior
+of the "Broch of the Boyne," however, represents a much ruder and
+more primitive stage in such architecture, and compared with it, the
+Orkney "how" is a most finished and elaborate work.
+
+This, then, is what a fairy hill, of the larger class, looks like to
+the outsider. And it is clear that, when its entrance is concealed,
+as it once was, no stranger, ignorant of such a thing as a
+mound-dwelling, would ever think that this innocent-looking hill was
+artificially made, and that the chambers within it were the
+residence of a family or families. One might well begin to build,
+and even to fell trees, upon the outer "walls" of such a "house,"
+without knowing that such a proceeding might be resented by "the
+moody elfin king that won'd within the hill."
+
+The entrance to this underground hall, which has been rediscovered
+for about two centuries, may be discerned almost at the base of the
+hill, slightly to the left of the figures of the man and boy in the
+foreground.
+
+[Illustration: SECTIONAL VIEW OF THE BRUGH OF THE BOYNE.
+(_From the West._)]
+
+This entrance or doorway is represented below, and, like the
+others of this series, it is the work of an artist who is also an
+eminent Irish archæologist, than whom no one possesses a more
+intimate acquaintance with the interior and exterior of the Boyne
+mounds. This, then, is an Irish illustration of what the Shetland
+boys used to call a "trow's door!"[201]
+
+[Illustration: DOORWAY OF THE BRUGH.]
+
+The (not too portly) explorer who enters this doorway and creeps,
+sometimes laterally, along the passage, at one point very low and
+narrow, works his way at length into the comparatively large chamber
+that forms the main part of the structure. The relation which this
+passage and chamber bear to the mound which was heaped over them
+will be seen from the transverse sectional view of the "hill," which
+is represented in the accompanying plate. The dimensions and general
+appearance of this underground gallery and "hall" will also be fully
+understood by an examination of this and the other designs. And one
+point will be noticed, namely, that no access to the top of the
+mound, as in such a case as Finn's dwelling in Sylt, or the Orkney
+Maes-how, is here visible. But it must be borne in mind that, over
+those portions of the mound which are represented as solid, the word
+"Unexplored" might fitly be written. If this is like some of the
+"fairy hills" of tradition, it ought to have a channel, or passage,
+leading upward to the summit, and, indeed, the lower end of such a
+passage, though at present choked up, is suggested at one side of
+the inner chamber (on the right hand of the explorer), as may be
+seen in the plan of the year 1889.
+
+It is necessary, however, to discriminate between one kind of
+"fairy hill" and another. Maeshow and the Sylt Denghoog appear to
+closely resemble the modern Lapp _gamme_, as regards the upper
+portion of the structure, for access to both of these may be gained
+from the roof. The "trap-door" to which Mr. Black refers in the Sylt
+instance appears to have always existed in one shape or another; and
+its original use may be guessed from the following notice of the
+same portion of a Lapp _gamme_. The gamme "is generally circular, or
+oblong, having the appearance of a large, rounded hillock, which
+indeed it may be termed," says a Lapland traveller of sixty years
+ago.[202] And he further states that "an opening in the roof, nearly
+over the fire-place, served to let out the smoke; and might be
+covered at times with a kind of trap-door, to retain the internal
+warmth, when the fire is burnt out. This is always let down at
+night." That this was the usage in the dwelling of Finn, or whatever
+may have been the name of the Sylt dwarf whose bones were found in
+the Denghoog, seems very probable. But to such chambered mounds as
+the Broch of the Boyne, another traditionary egress, whether for the
+dwellers or for the smoke, seems more applicable. It has already
+been noticed that "pits on the top of hills were supposed to lead to
+the subterranean habitations of the Fairies."
+
+[Illustration: ENLARGED SECTIONAL VIEW OF PASSAGE AND CHAMBER, BRUGH
+OF THE BOYNE. (_From the West._)]
+
+But another version says that "pits on the tops of mountains are
+regarded in the border [_i.e._, the Anglo-Scottish Borders] with a
+degree of superstitious horror, as the porches or entrances of the
+subterraneous habitations of the fairies; from which confused
+murmurs, the cries of children, moaning voices, the ringing of
+bells, and the sounds of musical instruments are often supposed to
+be heard. Round these hills the green fairy circles are believed to
+wind in a spiral direction, till they reach the descent to the
+central cavern."[203] Assuming that "mountains" ought to read
+"hillocks," and that the spiral passages are akin to those which
+wind down the interior of the walls of such a "broch" as that of
+Mousa, this tradition would lead one to believe that the Broch of
+the Boyne has a winding passage to the upper air. A recent visitor
+has observed that "on the exterior top of the mound there appears to
+be a small crater-like depression,"[204] which he attributes to a
+subsidence of the structure, but which, on the other hand, may have
+always been there. The suggestion of an upward passage in the
+interior has just been referred to. This latter is not indicated at
+all in the plan of the year 1724; but as a matter of fact, this
+detail was not known until quite recently, when the displacement of
+a slab revealed this cavity (as well as some additional spiral
+incisions on the slab).
+
+It will be observed that the plans of 1724 and 1889 differ
+considerably as to the dimensions and outline of the central
+chamber. Although the earlier one was "delineated with care and
+accuracy, upon the place," by "Mr. Samuel Molyneux, a young
+gentleman of the college of Dublin," one must rather accept the
+testimony of so experienced and careful an archæologist as Mr.
+Wakeman. But the plan of 1724 has this great merit, that it was
+executed only twenty-nine years after the re-opening of the "brugh";
+and, consequently, it shows (marked with the letter H) "a pyramid
+stone now fallen, but formerly set up erect in the middle of the
+cave." Moreover, Mr. Molyneux was able to give a sketch of the
+carvings above the right hand, or eastern recess, when these were
+much fresher than at any period during this century. A fac-simile of
+this picture is here given; and if the artistic style of the
+draughtsman is not very admirable it will at least be admitted that
+his work possesses a high archæological value. But before quitting
+the subject of the drawing of 1724, it must be pointed out that
+although Mr. Molyneux shows, in the northern recess of his
+ground-plan, a rude basin similar to those still occupying the
+eastern and western recesses, yet the account of Mr. Edward Llhwyd,
+stated to have been written in 1699,[205] distinctly says that that
+recess was _then_ vacant. If Mr. Llhwyd's statement is correct the
+plan of 1724 is obviously misleading in this respect.
+
+The statements of those early writers are deserving of full
+consideration, for they wrote before the effects of the outside air
+and the unscientific tourist could have appreciably altered the
+appearance of the chamber, since it was entered in 1695. Their
+accounts, therefore, are quoted afterwards at greater length.[206]
+But, from what has been said, and from an inspection of these
+illustrations, a good idea may be gained of the exterior and
+interior appearance of the habitation in which tradition states that
+Angus Og "magnificently dwelt."
+
+Something may here be said regarding this personage, and the race to
+which he belonged. He is said to have been the King of the Tuatha De
+Danann, a race traditionally believed to have been the immediate
+precursors of the Gaels in Ireland. They are sometimes spoken of as
+"the Dananns" or "Danaans"; sometimes also as "the Tuatha De, or
+Dea." _Tuatha_ merely signifies "people"; but the two other names do
+not seem to have received any definite interpretation. It is said
+that they migrated from "Lochlin" (Scandinavia, or perhaps also
+Northern Germany) to the north-eastern Lowlands of Scotland; and Dr.
+Skene notes that the topography of that district supports the theory
+in several details.[207]
+
+[Illustration: GROUND PLAN OF PASSAGE AND CHAMBER, BRUGH OF THE
+BOYNE. (_From a drawing by Mr. W. F. Wakeman_, 1889.)]
+
+[Illustration: GROUND PLAN OF PASSAGE AND CHAMBER, BRUGH OF THE
+BOYNE. (_From a drawing by Mr. Samuel Molyneux_, 1724.)]
+
+After living there for several generations, they are understood to
+have crossed to Ireland, then inhabited by the race of the
+"Fir-Bolgs," whom they subdued.[208] Two centuries later the Gaels
+(or Milesians) came to Ireland--from Spain, it is said. It was at
+this period that "Aonghus Mac an Daogha," otherwise Angus, son of
+"the Dagda," was king of the Tuatha De Danann. The story goes that
+the Dananns, recognizing that the Gaels came as powerful and warlike
+invaders, and as colonizers, told them on their first arrival that
+if they could effect a landing in open day, and in spite of the
+Dananns, then one-half of Ireland would be ceded to the new-comers.
+The Gaels were successful; but the two parties could not agree as to
+the division of Ireland,--apparently because the Tuatha De Danann,
+while willing to surrender one-half of the island, wished to retain
+the sovereignty of the whole. Then, after the simple fashion of the
+heroes of ancient chronicles, the rival forces came to the agreement
+that the matter should be laid before the first person whom a party
+of deputies from either side should happen to encounter at the
+outskirts of a certain town, on an appointed day, and this man's
+decision should be held as final. Now, although the Dananns are
+remembered as "adepts in all Druidical and magical arts," the Gaels
+also had a _druidh_ (_i.e._, wizard or _magus_) among their number;
+who proved more than a match for the Dananns. For, between him and
+the leaders of his party it was arranged that the man whom the
+deputies should accidentally meet at the appointed place should be
+no other than this _druidh_ of the Gaels, whose person was unknown
+to their opponents. The unsuspecting Dananns walked into the trap.
+The first man that the delegates met was a strolling harper. "It is
+a great thing thou hast to do to-day, good master of the sciences!"
+was the greeting of Angus Mac Dagda, who was one of the company.
+"What have I to be doing to-day?" quoth the wise man, "except to go
+about with my harp, and learn who shall best reward me for my
+music."[209] "Thy task is far greater than that," answered Angus,
+"thou hast to divide Ireland into two equal portions." Thereupon the
+_druidh_, having obtained the promise of either side that they would
+abide by his decision, pronounced as follows:--"This, then, is my
+decision. As ye, O magical Dananns, have for a long period possessed
+that half of Ireland which is above ground, henceforth the half
+which is underneath the surface shall be yours, and the half above
+ground shall belong to the Sons of Miledh (the Milesians, or Gaels).
+To thee, O Angus, son of the Dagda, as thou art the king of the
+Tuatha De Danann, I assign the best earth-house in Ireland, the
+white-topped _brugh_ of the Boyne.[210] As for the rest, each one
+can select an earth-house for himself." Against this grotesque
+decision there was, obviously, no appeal, and the Dananns
+surrendered the surface of Ireland to the Gaels; "and retaining only
+the green mounds, known by the name of Sidh, and then being made
+invisible by their enchantments, became the Fir Sidhe, or Fairies,
+of Ireland."[211]
+
+In this legend of the "halving" of Ireland, Dr. Skene recognizes the
+memory of a historical fact,--the conquest of Ireland by the Gaels,
+and the terms meted out by them to the natives. The tradition has of
+course its defects, like most traditions. The "earth-houses"
+referred to[212] must have already been in existence before they
+could be spoken of, and particularized, by the magician of the
+Gaels.
+
+[Illustration: EASTERN RECESS OF CENTRAL CHAMBER, AS DRAWN BY MR.
+MOLYNEUX IN 1724. (_Fac-simile._)]
+
+The inference to be drawn from the story is that the Tuatha De
+Danann were themselves mound-dwellers, and that the terms imposed
+upon them by the Gaels restricted the conquered people to their own
+habitations, presumably with the reservation of a small portion of
+the adjoining territory. That, in short, the Gaelic conquest denoted
+a state of things analogous to the European conquest and settlement
+of North America, where the native races, having once submitted,
+were allowed to live on "reservations," scattered here and there
+throughout the country. Thus, as in America, the two races would
+live side by side, though perhaps, as in America, presenting the
+most opposite characteristics.
+
+The above story states that the Fir Sidhe, or Dananns, were confined
+to those "hollow hills" by the Gaels, through the instrumentality of
+their _druidh_. The version which Mr. William Black indicates as
+current in Southern Ireland, ascribes this act to _the saints_. In
+his novel of _Shandon Bells_, he introduces the hero and heroine as
+standing in "the very headquarters of the elves and the pixies"; and
+the girl asks "'Is this where you said the saints shut up Don Fierna
+and the pixies?' 'No,' he said, 'that was away over there in the
+mountains. But they say the little people can get out into this
+valley; and you won't catch many of the Inisheen natives about here
+after dark!'" Here, then, it is a Gaelic _saint_ and not a Gaelic
+_druidh_ who was instrumental in confining "the little people" to
+their homes; but, after all, there is perhaps not much difference
+between _saint_ and _druidh_. The Fierna here referred to, it may be
+remarked, is that King of the Sidhfir of Munster, who has been
+spoken of on a previous page,[213] and whose dwelling, according to
+tradition, was the hill of _Knockfierin_, in the neighbourhood of
+Limerick.
+
+The Tuatha De Danann, therefore, are the Sidhfir, or Fairies, of
+Irish tradition. But the Tuatha De Danann have been already referred
+to in these pages.[214] "Who were the Feinne of tradition, and to
+what country and period are they to be assigned?" This is the
+question put by Dr. Skene. And after considering the various Irish
+traditions relating to "the Feinne," his conclusion is this: "The
+Feinne, then, belonged to the pre-Milesian races, and were
+connected, not only with Ireland, but likewise with Northern and
+Central Scotland, England and Wales, and the territory lying between
+the Rhine and the Elbe. [This last-named territory, being "Lochlin,"
+ought perhaps to be held as including the whole of Scandinavia.]
+Now, there are just two people mentioned in the Irish records
+who had settlements in Ireland, and who yet were connected with
+Great Britain and 'Lochlin.' These were the people termed the
+Tuatha De Danann, and the Cruithne.... These two tribes were thus
+the prior race in each country [Ireland and North and Central
+Scotland]. Both must have been prior to the Low German population
+of Lochlan. The Cruithne were the race prior to the Scots [Gaels]
+in North and Central Scotland, and the Tuatha De Danann the prior
+colony to the Milesian Scots in Ireland. The Feinne are brought
+by all the old historic tales into close contact with the Tuatha
+De Danann; a portion of them were avowedly Cruithne; and if they
+were, as we have seen, in Ireland, not of the Milesian race, but
+of the prior population, and likewise connected with Great Britain
+and the region lying between the Rhine and the Elbe, the inference
+is obvious, that, whether a denomination for an entire people
+or for a body of warriors, they belonged to the previous population
+which preceded the Germans in Lochlan and the Gaels in Ireland and
+North and Central Scotland. This view is corroborated by the fact,
+that in the old poems and tales the Feinne appear, as we have
+said, in close connection with the Tuatha De Danann. They are
+likewise connected with the Cruithne.... In answering, then, the
+preliminary questions of who were the Feinne? and to what period do
+they belong? we may fairly infer that they were of the population
+who immediately preceded the Gaels in Ireland and in North and
+Central Scotland."[215]
+
+The Feinne, then, belonged to the population which comprised the
+Cruithne and the Tuatha De Danann, or Sidhfir, or Fairies. But the
+Cruithne, as we have seen,[216] were the Picts of history, and the
+"Pechts" of Scottish folk-lore. Thus, the Feinne were of the
+population of "Pechts and Fairies." It has already been shown that
+to draw a hard and fast line between these two divisions is
+impossible. Nevertheless, there seems to have been once some kind of
+distinction between the two. And if the Feinne must necessarily have
+been "Pechts _or_ Fairies" (as the above conclusions of Dr. Skene's
+seem to warrant), then they appear to have belonged to the former
+division. Or, in other words, they were _Cruithne_ rather than
+_Tuatha De Danann_. It may be remembered that in such a Fenian
+ballad as the _Dan an Fhir Shicair_, or Song of the Fairy Man,[217]
+the Feinne are represented as associating with the Sidhfir (say
+Tuatha De Danann), but yet not as _identical_ with them. Again, the
+same dubiety was seen in the references to the hoards of treasure
+obtained by the ninth-century Danes from "the hidden places
+belonging to Fians _or_ to Fairies,"[218] in the valley of the
+Boyne.
+
+The Brugh of the Boyne is several times spoken of by Professor
+Eugene O'Curry in his "Lectures on the Manuscript Materials of
+Ancient Irish History."[219] For example, as an illustration of the
+use of the word _sidh_ to denote "a hall or residence" of the
+_sidh_-folk Mr. O'Curry cites a stanza "taken from an ancient poem
+by Mac Nia, son of Oenna (in the Book of Ballymote, fol. 190, b.) on
+the wonders of _Brugh_ (or _Brog_) _na Boinne_ (the Palace of the
+Boyne), the celebrated Hall of the Daghda Mór, who was the great
+king and oracle of the _Tuata Dé Danann_. This poem," continues Mr.
+O'Curry, "begins: '_A Chaemu Bregh Brig nad Breg_' ('Ye Poets of
+Bregia, of truth, not false,') and this is the second stanza of that
+poem:
+
+ '_Fegaid in sid ar for súil
+ Is foderc dib is treb rig,
+ Ro guíd laisin Dagda ndúir,
+ Ba dinn, ba dun, amra bríg._'
+
+ 'Behold the _Sidh_ before your eyes,
+ It is manifest to you that it is a king's mansion,
+ Which was built by the firm _Daghda_;
+ It was a wonder, a court, an admirable hill.'"[220]
+
+In the same work we read of an incident, placed in the time of St.
+Patrick and subsequent to the Battle of Gawra, when the conquered
+"Fianns" were only represented by a few straggling survivors, one of
+whom was the well-known _Caeilté_ (as the name is here spelt).
+"Saint Patrick, with his travelling missionary retinue, including
+Caeilté we are told, was one day sitting on the hill which is now
+well known as Ard-Patrick, in the county of Limerick." Questioning
+Caeilté as to the former name of this hill, St. Patrick learned that
+it had been called _Tulach-na-Feiné_, and obtained also an anecdote
+suggested by it. "One day that we were on this hill," says Caeilté,
+speaking of himself and his brother "Fianns," "Finn observed a
+favourite warrior of his company, named Cael O'Neamhain, coming
+towards him, and when he had come to Finn's presence, he asked him
+where he had come from. Cael answered that he had come from _Brugh_
+in the north (that is the fairy mansion of _Brugh_, on the
+Boyne).[221] 'What was your business there?' said Finn. 'To speak to
+my nurse, Muirn, the daughter of Derg,' said Cael. 'About what?'
+said Finn. 'Concerning Credé, the daughter of Cairbré, King of Kerry
+(_Ciarraighe Luachra_),' said Cael?" And so on. At another
+place[222] the dialogue goes thus:--"'Where hast thou come from,
+Cael?' said Finn. 'From the teeming _Brugh_, from the North,' said
+Cael. ('_As in Brug Braenach atuaid,' ar Cael_)." And so on, to the
+same purpose as in the other version. In this story, then, we see
+the "Fians and Fairies" associated with each other, as in _The
+Ballad of the Fairy Man_; and the nurse of one of the Fians is
+described as living in the "brugh" which was built by the celebrated
+chief of the Tuatha De Danann, and was afterwards tenanted by his
+son, Angus Og.
+
+Among Mr. O'Curry's notes there is this reference to Angus Og:[223]
+"In the _Dinnsenchus_ it is stated that '_Eóin Bailé_' were Four
+Kisses of Aengus of _Brugh na Boinné_ (son of the _Daghda Mor_, the
+great necromancer and king of the _Tuatha Dé Danann_), which were
+converted by him into 'birds which haunted the youths of Erinn.'
+This allusion," remarks Mr. O'Curry, "requires more investigation
+than I have yet been able to bestow on the passage." Whatever the
+"_Eóin Bailé_" may have been, or have been assumed to be, this
+passage brings into prominence the fact that the people known as
+Tuatha De Danann, or Fir-Sidhe, were regarded by other races as
+possessed of supernatural power, and were indeed actually revered as
+gods at one era. As the biographer of St. Patrick says of him:--
+
+ "He preached threescore years
+ The Cross of Christ to the _Tuatha_ [people] of Feni.
+ On the _Tuatha_ of Erin there was darkness.
+ The _Tuatha_ adored the _Side_."[224]
+
+(Here, of course, the _Fir_ Sidhe, or people of the "sidhs" are
+denoted; the word being sometimes used to indicate the dwellers,
+sometimes the dwellings.) And the exalted character of the inmates
+of the Brugh of the Boyne is indicated also in a verse of a Gaelic
+poem entitled _Baile Suthain Sith Eamhna_, which dates back to the
+year 1457 at least. The subject of the verse referred to is thus
+apostrophized:--
+
+ "Thou, the son of noble Sabia,
+ Thou the most beauteous apple rod;
+ _What god from Bru of the Boyne_
+ Created thee with her in secret?"[225]
+
+This exalted position "the little people" seem to have retained in
+some measure long after their subjugation, and even the household
+drudge or "brownie" was feared for his alleged "supernatural" power.
+The fact that the common people of Ireland at the present day speak
+of the inhabitants of the "brughs" or "sheeans" as "the gentry," may
+also be regarded as a witness to the superior rank once held by that
+caste whose mound-dwellings are exemplified by this "Brugh of the
+Boyne" and others in its neighbourhood.
+
+Of the undoubtedly historic spoliation of those Boyne "hillocks" in
+the ninth century, something more may be said here. "We have on
+record," says Lady Ferguson,[226] "both in the Irish chronicles and
+the Norse _Sagas_, that in the year 861 the three earls, Olaf,
+Sitric, and Ivar, opened, for purposes of plunder, the sepulchral
+mounds of New Grange, Dowth, and Knowth on the Boyne, and the mound
+of the wife of the Gobaun Saer,[227] the mythic builder, or Wayland
+Smith of the Irish Celts, still a conspicuous object at Drogheda."
+
+One of the Irish chronicles referred to by Lady Ferguson is that
+known as the "Annals of Ulster" ("compiled in the year 1498," says
+Dr. Skene), and the passage is as follows: "Aois Cr. ocht cced
+seascca a haon, ... Amlaoibh, Iomhair, 7[228] h Uailsi, tri toisigh
+Gall. 7 Lorcain me Cathail tigerna Midhe, do ionnradh ferainn Floinn
+me Conaing. Uaimh Ach Alda hi Mugdhornaibh Maighen, Uaimh Cnoghbhai,
+Uaimh Feirt Bodan os Dubath, 7 Uaimh mna an Gobhand ag Drochat atha
+do croth 7 d orggain las na Gall cedna."[229]
+
+This is rendered into Latin by Dr. O'Conor thus: "Ætas Christi
+DCCCLXI..... Amlafus, Imarus et Magnates trium Ducum Alienigenarum,
+et Lorcanus filius Cathaldi Princeps Midiæ, vastant terras Flanni
+filii Conangi. Crypta subterranea campi Alda in regione Mugdornorum
+planitiei, Crypta Cnovæ, Cryptæ miraculorum Bodani supra Dubath, et
+Crypta foeminæ fabri apud Droghedam, vastatæ et destructæ ab
+Alienigenis iisdem."
+
+Neither Dr. Todd nor Dr. Skene, however, have a high opinion of
+O'Conor's translation.[230] And his rendering of "Uailsi" by
+"Magnates" is palpably a blunder based upon the acceptance of that
+word as _uaillse_ or _uaisle_, a nobleman; whereas, Uailsi, Oisli,
+Oisill, &c., was the name of a comrade (some accounts say a brother)
+of the Olaf and Ivor referred to.[231] Thus, the Annals state that
+in 861, Olaf (or Anlaf, or Aulay), Ivor and Uailsi (or Oisli), three
+chiefs of the Foreigners, and Lorcan, son of Cathal, lord of
+Meath,[232] devastated the lands of Flann, son of Conang; in other
+words, the territory of "Bregia,--a district including the counties
+of Meath, Westmeath, Dublin (north of the Liffey), and part of
+Louth."[233] And these same "foreigners" pillaged and destroyed
+certain underground chambers, which O'Conor refers to as "crypts."
+The term is correct enough, signifying, as it does, an underground
+place of concealment. But the Gaelic term is more suitable, if the
+quickened pronunciation which in many parts of Scotland has
+occasioned the spelling "weem" (_i.e._, _uaim_) be adopted. For by
+"weem" is understood the subterranean gallery previously described,
+if it is not at any time applied to the actual "hollow hill."[234]
+Of the "weems" in the territory of Flann, which the _Annals_ state
+were plundered, three are easily recognized;--viz., that of
+"Cnoghbha," the modern "Knowth" (which is portrayed in the
+accompanying plate), the still more celebrated "Uaimh Feirt Bodan,"
+described as "above Dubath,"[235] now known as Dowth, which is also
+here represented, and thirdly, the "weem" of the wife of the _Gobban
+Saor_, or "noble smith," at Drogheda. The first-named of all is said
+to be that of the "Brugh of the Boyne," at New Grange; and no doubt
+there is evidence for this identification, although the term
+"Mugdhornaibh Maighen" would otherwise lead one to place this "weem"
+at "Mugornn or Mugdhorn, now Cremorne,"[236] in the county of
+Monaghan.
+
+Two of these "weems" are mentioned in the Gaelic poem of _Sith
+Eamhna_, wherein, as has been seen, "the son of noble Sabia" was
+assumed to be equally the son of some god "from Bru of the Boyne."
+In this poem, whose meaning is somewhat obscure, there are several
+references to the Boyne and to various "broghs," of which one is
+"the cave of Ferna, the fair cave of Knowth (_uaim fhearna_, _uaim
+chaomh cnodhbha_, or _chnoghdha_)." This _Sith Eamhna_ itself
+appears to have been of the same order, and not improbably was that
+Eamhain which was "the ancient palace of the kings of Ulster." "The
+ruins of Eamhain, or, as it is now corruptly called, the Navan Fort,
+are to be seen about two miles to the west of Armagh," says Mr.
+O'Donovan, in a note to his "Book of Rights."[237] This is certainly
+farther north than the territory of Flann Mc Conang, ravaged by the
+"foreigners" in 861, as defined on a previous page; but one writer
+states that that territory of "Bregia" (or _Breagh_) extended into
+Ulster, in the eighth century;[238] and if the plundered "weem"
+first-named in the _Annals_ was really in county Monaghan, that
+would show that a portion of "Breagh" was situated in Ulster in 861.
+
+Eamhain, or Emania (in the Latinized form), appears to have given
+its name to all Ulster, but in its proper application the term
+refers to the stronghold itself. Dr. Skene speaks of "the fall of
+the great seat of the Cruithnian kingdom called Emania, before an
+expedition, led by a scion of the Scottish (_i.e._, Gaelic) royal
+race, who established the kingdom of Orgialla on its ruins."[239] It
+is this place that is associated with Oscar, the hero of the
+"Fians," at the time of the Battle of Gawra; and it may be
+remembered that, in a poem describing that battle, a chief of one
+section of the "Fian" confederacy is made to exclaim:--
+
+ "I and the Fians of Breatan
+ Will be with Oscar of _Eamhain_."
+
+And as Oscar is stated to have been slain at the Battle of Gawra,
+and the power of the "Fians" destroyed, one is tempted to believe
+that the legendary battle of Gawra coincides with the historical
+capture of Oscar's stronghold of Emhain, and the downfall of the
+historical Cruithné of Ulster. However, _Sith Eamhna_ has been
+mentioned here not for its own sake, but for the casual references
+in that poem to the "Brugh of the Boyne" and "the cave of Ferna, the
+fair cave of Knowth."
+
+The Gaelic records as well as the Scandinavian have many tales of
+"how-breaking" exploits. For, although the accounts of the Feenic
+"heroes" have been preserved to us in the Gaelic language, as those
+of the Longobards have been preserved in Latin, it does not follow
+in the one case more than in the other, that the language of the
+chronicle was the language of the chronicled. Whatever may have been
+wrought eventually, by time and intercourse, the Gaelic-speaking
+people appear originally as the plunderers of "the hidden places of
+the Fians and Fairies." Professor O'Curry states that among the
+Historic Tales in the _Book of Leinster_, there are many which deal
+specially with adventures in "caves" or, otherwise, "weems." Tales
+of this class are called _Uatha_.[240] "These are tales respecting
+various occurrences in caves; sometimes the taking of a cave, when
+the place has been used as a place of refuge or habitation,--and
+such a taking would be, in fact, a sort of _Toghail_ [the _Toghail_
+having been previously defined as a history 'which details the
+taking of a fort or fortified palace or habitation by force ... the
+term always implies the destruction of the buildings taken.'];
+sometimes the narrative of some adventure in a cave; sometimes of a
+plunder of a cave." Mr. O'Curry gives a list of the _uatha_ in the
+"Book of Leinster"; and of these the most noteworthy is the _Uath
+Uama Cruachan_, or the Plundering of the Weem of Cruachan. This is
+referred to as "a very curious story," and the ravagers are said to
+have been "the men of Connacht, in the time of Ailill and Meadhbh,
+as told in the old tale of _Táin Bo Aingen_." This Meadhbh, or Maev,
+of Cruachan, "the Semiramis of Irish history," as Lady Ferguson
+calls her, has herself been identified with the "Queen Mab" of fairy
+tradition. She appears to have occupied this "Uama Cruachan" after
+it had been plundered; for it is stated that her husband "re-edified
+the Rath of Cruachan, employing for the purpose a fierce tribe of
+Firbolgic origin, the _Gowanree_, who were compelled to labour
+unremittingly at the earthworks, and are said to have completed the
+dyke in one day."[241] Mr. O'Curry has another reference to this
+place. "I have in my possession," he says, "a poem in the Ossianic
+style, which gives an account of a foot race between Cailté, the
+celebrated champion of Finn Mac Cumhaill, and an unknown knight who
+had challenged him. The race terminated by the stranger running into
+the Cave of Cruachain, followed by Cailté, where he found a party of
+smiths at work, etc. No copy of the full Tale has come down to us."
+This incident is remarkable for its association of one of the
+"Fians" with the underground smiths of tradition. Another _uath_
+mentioned by Mr. O'Curry is the _Uath Dercce Ferna_, regarding which
+he says:--"There is an allusion to the trampling to death of some
+sort of monster, in the mouth of this cave, by a Leinsterwoman, in a
+poem on the Graves of Heroes who were killed by Leinstermen,
+preserved in the Book of Leinster (H. 2. 18, fol. 27, Trin. Coll.
+Dubl.)."
+
+[Illustration: DOWTH (_Uaimh Feirt Bodan os Dubath_), COUNTY MEATH.
+(_From the West._)]
+
+The same place is the scene of the tale _Echtra Find an
+Deircfearna_, "The Adventures of Finn in Derc Fearna"; but
+unfortunately Mr. O'Curry has to add "This tale is now lost." It is
+not clear why he should identify "Derc Fearna" with the "Cave of
+Dunmore in the county Kilkenny." One would naturally, considering
+its association with Finn and "Heroes who were killed by
+Leinstermen," assume that this was the same as "the cave of Ferna,
+the fair cave of Knowth."[242]
+
+[Illustration: PLAN OF DOWTH.]
+
+Of the plans and sectional views of these chambered mounds of the
+Boyne valley which are here given, it is not necessary to say much
+in these pages. "Dowth" has been explored and described by others,
+although the accompanying pictures, being new, and the work of the
+experienced archæologist referred to, add very considerably to the
+knowledge of the subject. The main gallery and chamber of Dowth
+resembles generally that of the "Brugh of the Boyne" at New Grange;
+but the central chamber is not nearly so spacious.
+
+[Illustration: PLAN OF PASSAGE AND CHAMBER AT DOWTH, AND TRANSVERSE
+SECTION OF CHAMBER (SAME SCALE).]
+
+The "bee-hive" chamber which the Dowth mound also contains has no
+duplicate at New Grange, but it is quite possible that each of these
+mounds has yet something to disclose. Dowth also reminds the
+explorer and excavator, by the deep hollow made in the upper
+portion, in the course of a fruitless and abandoned search, some
+years ago, that to attack these mounds at random is to run the risk
+of much useless and disappointing labour. It moreover shows that any
+upward exit from the central chamber did not in this instance ascend
+perpendicularly as in the Denghoog at Sylt, or the Orcadian
+Maes-how. In trying to find the entrances to such "hollow hills," we
+moderns have no light to guide us as the Danes had in the ninth
+century. It will be remembered that there never was, "in concealment
+under ground in Erinn, nor in the various secret places belonging to
+Fians or to fairies, anything that was not discovered by these
+foreign, wonderful Denmarkians, through paganism and idol worship."
+
+[Illustration: BEE-HIVE CHAMBER, DOWTH.]
+
+This is otherwise explained by Dr. Todd, "that, notwithstanding
+the potent spells employed by the Fians and fairies for the
+concealment of their hidden treasures, the Danes, by their pagan
+magic and the diabolical power of their idols, were enabled to find
+them out." What was the "magic" of those ninth-century Danes, or of
+the order generally known as _Magi_, we only imperfectly know. But
+what is tolerably evident is that if those ninth-century Danes did
+not themselves rear similar structures (and Irish and Hebridean
+tradition says they did), they had among them those to whom such
+mound-dwellings were not "hidden" places; whether the entrances were
+uniformly made at one side of the mound, or were otherwise indicated
+to the initiated. In the case of "Knowth" there is less dubiety; as
+what appears to be the entrance to its interior is known to Irish
+archæologists. But local difficulties have hitherto stood in the
+way, and the mound is said never to have been entered since the
+ninth century; which, however, may be doubted. Dr. Molyneux, at any
+rate, in the tract quoted in Appendix A, states that he had then in
+his possession a stone urn which "was twelve years since [_i.e._ in
+1713] discovered in a mount at _Knowth_, a place in the county of
+_Meath_, within four miles of _Drogheda_." He does not actually say
+that this urn, and the "square stone box, about five foot long and
+four foot broad" which contained it, were situated in an interior
+chamber of the mound. But very probably this is what he meant.[243]
+
+[Illustration: KNOWTH (_Uaimh Cnoghbhai_), COUNTY MEATH.
+(_From the South._)]
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[200] This "fairy knowe" is described in the "Archæologia Scotica,"
+vol. v. and the "Proc. of the Soc. of Antiq. of Scot.," 1st Series,
+ix. 37-38.
+
+[201] Judging from memory, and also from the repellent smallness of
+the hole into which one was expected to plunge, it seems to the
+present writer that the human figure seated at the doorway has been
+drawn too small. If one compares him with the standing figures in
+the general view, and with the aperture there seen, this criticism
+will be borne out.
+
+[202] A. de Capell Brooke; _A Winter in Lapland_, London, 1827, p.
+320.
+
+[203] Jeffrey's "Roxburghshire"; 1859, I., 54-5. (Quoted from
+Leyden.)
+
+[204] "Journal of Roy. Hist. and Archl. Assocn. of Ireland," No. 81,
+Vol. IX., Fourth Series, p. 327.
+
+[205] See the "Jour, of Roy. Hist. and Archl. Assocn. of Ireland,"
+No. 81, Vol. IX., Fourth Series, p. 266.
+
+[206] See Appendix A.
+
+[207] _Celtic Scotland_, I., 220.
+
+[208] The Fir-Bolgs themselves, well known to all readers of Irish
+tradition, have many points in common with the people under
+discussion. Compare, for example, Lady Ferguson's reference to "a
+fierce tribe of Firbolgic origin, the _Gowanree_, who were compelled
+to labour unremittingly at the earthworks [the Rath of Cruachan],
+and are said to have completed the dyke _in one day_." "The Story of
+the Irish before the Conquest," London, 1868, p. 32.
+
+[209] The Dananns themselves were notably "professors of musical and
+entertaining performances"; and indeed the term _druidh_, applied to
+them also, seems to have indicated the possessor of many
+accomplishments, in art and in a pseudo-science.
+
+[210] _Brugh barragheal na Boinne_ is the phrase given in "The
+Glenbard Collection of Gaelic Poetry" (Haszard, Charlottetown,
+Prince Edward Island, 1888, p. 78) where the above story is told.
+The term "white-topped" is somewhat vague. Had the word been
+_barrachaol_, "pyramidal," the meaning would have been quite clear.
+
+[211] 'Skene's _Celt. Scot._, III., 106-107. See also p. 93 of the
+same volume, and pp. 178 and 220 of Vol. I.
+
+[212] The words translated "earth-house," as used by the _druidh_,
+are "brugh" and "bruighin." These, as already mentioned, signify
+"fairy hill" or "underground dwelling of the fairies." But the
+alternative rendering of "earth-house" has been preferred, as being
+rather less of an anachronism than the assumption that such
+dwellings were styled _fairy_ hills before ever they had been
+assigned to the "fairies."
+
+[213] Page 93, _ante_.
+
+[214] Page 51, _ante_.
+
+[215] _Dean of Lismore's Book_: Introduction, pp. lxiv,
+lxxvi-lxxviii. (As in former quotations, I have slightly modernized
+such terms as "Erin," according to Dr. Skene's own rendering of
+these terms.)
+
+[216] Page 51, _ante_.
+
+[217] Page 82, _ante_.
+
+[218] The custom of the "earth-man" to bury his treasures is known
+all over Europe. A special instance has been cited in these pages
+(p. 107, _ante_, note^2), when "two little men, wearing red caps"
+are remembered as "intently digging" for their lost treasure, in a
+certain field in Lincolnshire. Mr. J. F. Campbell, in drawing his
+Fairy-Lapp parallel, says (_Tales_, Introd. cviii.): "Fairies had
+hoards of treasure--so have Lapps. A man died shortly before one of
+my Tana trips, and the whole country side had been out searching for
+his buried wealth in vain. Some years ago the old silver shops of
+Bergen and Trondhjem overflowed with queer cups and spoons, and
+rings, silver plates for waist belts, old plate that had been hidden
+amongst the mountains, black old silver coins that had not seen the
+light for years. I saw the plate and bought some, and was told that,
+in consequence of a religious movement, the Lapps had dug up and
+sold their hoards." Another writer (A. de C. Brooke: _A Winter in
+Lapland_, London, 1827, pp. 109-111), in referring to this practice,
+says that sometimes the Lapp "forgets himself where he has hidden
+it, and his hoard of silver remains so effectually concealed, after
+he has been absent some time, that he is unable to discover the
+place, and it is consequently lost to him for ever." And this writer
+refers to a Lapp of his acquaintance who had concealed his treasure
+"so securely that, notwithstanding the regular searches he had made
+for it," he could not recover it. This feature offers an explanation
+of the traditions of dwarfs _seeking_ for treasures which they
+themselves had hidden. It may be added that the custom of burying
+money was still so prevalent in Shetland, in the beginning of last
+century, that it was held to be illegal, and the offenders were duly
+fined.
+
+[219] Dublin, 1861.
+
+[220] _Op. cit._, p. 505.
+
+[221] This parenthesis appears to be Mr. O'Curry's.
+
+[222] Pp. 596-7; the first version being at pp. 308-9.
+
+[223] _Op. cit._, p. 478.
+
+[224] _Celt. Scot._, II., 108.
+
+[225] _Celt. Scot._, III., 413. The above translation is by Mr. W.
+M. Hennessy, from the following:--
+
+ Tusa (tussa) mac Sadhbha saoire,
+ As (is) tu an slat (intshlat) abhla as (ar) aille,
+ Ca dia do bhru na boinne
+ Do roine ria thu a taidhe.
+
+[226] "The Irish before the Conquest," p. 237.
+
+[227] More correctly, _Gobban Saor_ ("Free or Noble Smith"). From
+the description given by Mr. Elton (_Origins_, p. 131) of "Wayland's
+Smithy" at Ashbury, Berkshire, it is evident that it also belongs to
+the same class as the Boyne mounds.
+
+[228] The symbol for the Gaelic _agus_--"and."
+
+[229] Dr. O'Conor's _Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores veteres_, 1824,
+III., 363-364.
+
+[230] "Bad translation and wretchedly erroneous topography," says
+the former; "by no means accurate," says the latter.
+
+[231] _Wars of the Gaedhill with the Gaill_, lxxii, 23.
+
+[232] Properly, of one-half only of Meath. (_Wars of the Gaedhill_,
+lxx, n^3.)
+
+[233] _Op. cit._, lxxxviii, xci, _notes_.
+
+[234] For references to Scotch "weems" (specially so called), see
+Col. Forbes Leslie's "Early Races of Scotland," 1866, Vol. II., pp.
+351-354. Also _ante_, p. 101.
+
+[235] ? The "black ford."
+
+[236] _Wars of the Gaedhill_, xci, n^2.
+
+[237] Dublin, 1847, p. 22.
+
+[238] "Book of Rights," pp. 11-12, note.
+
+[239] _Dean of Lismore's Book_, Introd., p. xxiii.
+
+[240] "_Uatha_, plural of _Uath_, a word not easily translated.
+_Uath_ is evidently "These are tales formed from _Uaimh_, a cave, or
+cellar; and signifies some deed connected with, as the attack or
+plunder of, a cave." (O'Curry, _op. cit._, p. 586, note.)
+
+[241] "The Irish before the Conquest," p. 32.
+
+[242] For Mr. O'Curry's various statements, see his _Lectures_, pp.
+257-8, 283, 586-7 and 589.
+
+[243] A more particular description of the Brugh of the Boyne will
+be found in Appendix A. The three mounds are also described in "A
+Hand Book of Irish Antiquities," by William F. Wakeman, Dublin,
+1848; in Wilde's "Beauties of the Boyne," Dublin, 1849, and two of
+them (Knowth and Dowth) by T. N. Deane, in the "Proceedings of the
+Royal Irish Academy," December, 1888.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+
+Such barrows as these of the Boyne district belong to the largest
+class of these structures at present revealed to us. What may be
+taken as the average "fairy knowe" is very much smaller; therefore,
+when it is said that houses have, in all likelihood, been frequently
+built upon such artificial eminences, without the more modern
+builders being aware of their real nature, it is to be understood
+that the tumuli of the larger class are indicated. But, while it is
+probable that newer races very often built thus unconsciously upon
+the outer crust of the habitations of the mound-dwellers, it is
+still more likely that, in course of time, the central chamber of
+the mound became by slow degrees the dungeon of a fort or castle
+that had evolved itself from it. When a "how" of the larger class
+had been "broken" by invaders, and its inmates despoiled and killed
+or enslaved, their conquerors would quickly realize that this
+artificial mound, rising out of a level plain, formed an admirable
+site for a stronghold; and, indeed, that the only thing immediately
+necessary was to throw up a rampart round the top of the hill. To
+races who had no fancy for the subterranean manner of living, the
+strongholds of their predecessors would not suffice, although they
+would still prove very serviceable as cellars, or dungeons, or as
+forming a secret way of access to the castle which would eventually
+tower above them. Where the subject race was not exterminated, the
+former lord of the "broch" would still live on as the serf of his
+conqueror, and, on account of his physical peculiarities, he would
+be remembered as his master's "dwarf," or "brownie," while the women
+of his race, still claiming their inherited "supernatural" power,
+would be represented by the prophetic half-dreaded "banshee"
+(_ban-sithe_, or fairy-woman) that foretold the destinies of the
+house of her over-lord. It is a significant fact that the possession
+of a family "banshee" in Ireland is restricted to these families who
+trace their descent from the Milesians (Scots), the conquerers of
+the Cruithné or Pechts. And we are told that, at one time, in
+Shetland, where the Pechts became the subject race, "almost every
+family had a _brownie_ ... which served them."[244] Innumerable
+references of this kind might be given. There is, for instance, the
+case of the "brownie" who was the attendant of Maclachlan of
+Stralachlan, in Argyllshire, and who is said to have "inhabited a
+vault in the dungeons of the castle" (Castle Lachlan), but who, like
+other "brownies," was accredited with prophetic powers![245] Then
+there is the "little chap with a red cap on his head," referred to
+in a story told to the late J. F. Campbell;[246] and this "little
+chap" is understood to occupy the cellar of a "haunted house";
+which, as it was inhabited by "ladies and gentlemen," and must be
+assigned to the period when such "red caps" existed, was not
+unlikely a "house" of the same order as the castles just spoken of.
+
+Such an example of a mediæval castle, the flower of a plant rooted
+in the interior of such a mound, may be recognized in Kenilworth.
+According to local tradition, the hill upon which Kenilworth Castle
+is built was once inhabited by fairies, who are remembered by the
+same characteristics as their kindred elsewhere. But the
+consideration of a Warwickshire mound might lead us too far away
+from the dwarfs more specially known as Picts or Pechts, and
+therefore it is better to continue as much as possible within the
+area already examined. It is enough to note that the Kenilworth
+dwarfs, in the days when their mound was merely a subterranean vault
+of the great castle overhead, and themselves nothing more than the
+"Redcaps" of the cellar, formed a marked contrast to the once
+dreaded "shag-boys" or mound-dwellers, as these are remembered in
+Lincolnshire tradition.[247]
+
+However, if Kenilworth is too far south to be recognized as a home
+of the historical Pechts, Ancient Northumbria has not the same
+objection against it. And in East Lothian, which is a portion of
+that province, a certain Castle of Yester was once famous for its
+"Goblin Hall," which is thus described in the Appendix to "Marmion"
+(note 2 P):--
+
+ "_The Goblin Hall._--A vaulted hall under the ancient
+ castle of Gifford or Yester (for it bears either name
+ indifferently), the construction of which has from a very
+ remote period been ascribed to magic.... 'Upon a peninsula,
+ formed by the water of Hopes on the east, and a large
+ rivulet on the west, stands the ancient castle of Yester.
+ Sir David Dalrymple, in his annals, relates that "Hugh
+ Gifford de Yester died in 1267; that in his castle there
+ was a capacious cavern, formed by magical art, and called
+ in the country Bo-Hall, _i.e._, Hobgoblin Hall." A stair of
+ twenty-four steps led down to this apartment, which is a
+ large and spacious hall, with an arched roof.... From the
+ floor of this hall another stair of thirty-six steps leads
+ down to a pit which hath a communication with
+ Hopeswater....'"
+
+In this instance, the "pit" which communicated with the
+neighbouring stream was probably the original underground dwelling;
+and if the arch of the "vaulted hall" above it is not of the
+"Pelasgic" order, it is to be presumed that the "goblins"[248] who
+built it had received fresh ideas from a race possessed of a more
+advanced civilization.
+
+The castle of Doune, in Perthshire, is another probable instance of
+the mediæval castle evolved from the primitive mound. What is
+nowadays known as the castle of "Doune," was formerly spoken of as
+"The Dùn (or Doon) of Menteith." "Doune (Dun, no doubt) had once,
+where its castle now stands, an ancient fortress; but the name is
+all that now remains to bespeak it," says a lady-writer on this
+subject.[249] It is very probable, therefore, that the original
+"Doon of Menteith" was the mound upon which the present building now
+stands; and that this was at one time the chief stronghold of the
+district of Menteith. One _doon_, which has apparently never
+advanced from its earliest stage, is that of Rothiemurchus, in the
+district of Badenoch (Inverness-shire). "A mound which has every
+appearance of having been used in ancient times for purposes of
+defence stands at the Doun of Rothiemurchus, and is properly the
+_Doun_ or _Dun_," says a modern historian of that district.[250]
+Such a structure as this seems to combine the dwelling and the
+fort; the "hollow hill" having presumably been so constructed as
+to render the "crater" on its summit a place of defence. That this
+Doon of Rothiemurchus was once inhabited seems clearly indicated.
+In speaking of the _ban-sithe_, or fairy woman, already referred
+to as the appanage of old Milesian families, Sir Walter Scott
+states that "most great families in the Highlands" were thus
+distinguished, and that "Grant of Rothiemurcus had an attendant
+called _Bodach-an-dùn_";[251] in other words, "The Goblin of the
+Doon." And when Scott states, in the _note_ immediately preceding
+that just quoted, that "a goblin, dressed in antique armour, and
+having one hand covered with blood, called from that circumstance
+_Lamh-dearg_, or Red-hand, is a tenant of the forests of Glenmore
+and Rothiemurcus," he indicates a tradition that seems to be
+connected with the "goblins" of the Doon of Rothiemurchus.[252]
+
+However, although referred to in passing, the Rothiemurchus mound is
+not one of those on which a stone castle has been subsequently
+reared. But of the latter class an example is furnished by the
+"Castle Hill" of Clunie, in Perthshire. It is thus described in Sir
+John Sinclair's "Statistical Account":--
+
+ "On the western shore of the loch of Clunie stands the old
+ castle-hill, a large, green mound, partly natural and
+ partly artificial, on the top of which are the ruins of a
+ very old building. Some aged persons still alive [in the
+ end of last century] remember to have seen a small
+ aperture, now invisible, at the edge of one of the
+ fragments of the ruins, where, if a stone was thrown in, it
+ was heard for some time, as if rolling down a staircase.
+ From this it seems probable that were a section of the hill
+ to be made, some curious discoveries might be the
+ consequence."
+
+Resembling Fierna's Hillock, near Limerick, in its having this
+"small aperture," communicating with an unexplored vault below, this
+Perthshire mound is also celebrated, like Knock-Fierna, for its
+association with the "fairies." The castle which once crowned its
+summit has more historical memories.
+
+Of this castle, in which, it is said, King Edward I. of England
+passed a night, in the course of his triumphant progress through
+Scotland in 1296, almost nothing now remains. But a tradition
+relating to an earlier period asserts that this place was once a
+hunting-seat of Kenneth McAlpin, the ninth-century conqueror of the
+Picts (whose king he subsequently became). Although Kenneth, and his
+son after him, bore the title of "King of the Picts," it is
+tolerably clear that he was a Scot or Milesian by race, and it is
+certain that he broke up the power of the Pechts in Central
+Scotland. As he was not one of this latter race himself, it is
+probable that any "hunting-seat" possessed by him at this place took
+the shape of an above-ground building, and that therefore the
+memories of the "supernatural" inhabitants of this mound date back
+to the time when it was still an unconquered stronghold of the
+Pechts. As, however, the suggested "section of the hill" has never
+yet been made, nothing definite is at present known regarding the
+interior of this mound.
+
+One of the incidents relating to the "goblin" of Rothiemurchus is
+included by Mr. J. F. Campbell among the traditions obtained by him
+from the district of Badenoch, in Inverness-shire. "The Badenoch
+account of the fairies" is stated to be "much the same" as those
+from other parts of the Highlands, and they show "that according to
+popular belief, fairies commonly carried off men, women and
+children, who seemed to die, but really lived underground." A tale
+of this kind, "now commonly believed in Badenoch," is to this
+effect:--A man who, returning home after a short absence, found that
+his wife had disappeared and that another woman had taken her place,
+demanded from the latter, on pain of death, to tell him where his
+wife had been conveyed to. "She told him that his wife had been
+carried to Cnoc Fraing, a mountain on the borders of Badenoch and
+Strathdearn." "The man went to Cnoc Fraing. He was suspected before
+of having something supernatural about him; and he soon found the
+fairies, who told him his wife had been taken to Shiathan Mor, a
+neighbouring mountain. He went there and was sent to Tom na Shirich,
+near Inverness. There he went, and at the 'Fairy Knoll' found his
+wife and brought her back."[253]
+
+Mr. Campbell adds that "the person who related this story pretended
+to have seen people who knew distant descendants of the woman"--but
+beyond indicating that the tradition is very old, this does not
+place these events in any particular century. The localities named,
+however, are full of suggestiveness. Of _Cnoc Fraing_, nothing is
+known to the present writer. But "Shiathan Mor," to which the woman
+is said to have been first taken, signifies "The Great Hill of the
+Fairies." Such a name is of very frequent occurrence in the
+Highlands. One who is well versed in these matters says: "There is
+perhaps not a hamlet or township in the Highlands or Hebrides
+without its _shian_ or green fairy knoll so-called. Within half a
+mile of our own residence, for example, there is a _Sithean Beag_
+and a _Sithean Mor_, a Lesser and Greater Fairy Knoll."[254] In the
+Hebridean island of Colonsay, where Martin, the eighteenth-century
+traveller, found that "the natives have a tradition among them of a
+very little generation of people that lived once here, called
+Lusbirdan, the same with pigmies," one finds a "Sheean Mor" and a
+"Sheean Beg," along with many other traces of those people.[255] But
+it is unnecessary to multiply special instances. It was to a Great
+Knoll of the Fairies, then, that the woman was taken, and thereafter
+to "Tom na Shirich, near Inverness." This name also signifies "Hill
+of the Fairies." _Shirich_, more correctly _Sibhreach_, is
+apparently a less common form, equivalent to Sidhfear, Duine Sith,
+etc., but it occurs more than once in the "West Highland
+Tales,"[256] both as a singular and a plural. When the initial "s"
+of _sibhreach_ or _sithreach_, becomes aspirated, after the common
+Gaelic fashion, the sibilant is no longer heard; and this is
+exemplified in the case of "Tom na Shirich," which is nowadays spelt
+as it is pronounced--_Tomnahurich_ (or _Tomnaheurich_, etc.)[257] Of
+this Inverness hill much has been written.
+
+It is sometimes called _Tomman-heurich_, and spoken of as a
+_tomman_, which connects it with the word _tulman_ or _tolman_,
+already referred to. Hugh Miller, in speaking of "that Queen of
+Scottish tomhans, the picturesque Tomnahuirich," employs both forms
+at the same time, which is contradictory. Pennant, who visited it
+last century, refers to it also as a _tomman_. In his _Tour_ he thus
+describes "the strange-shaped hill of Tomman heurich:"--
+
+ "The Tomman is of an oblong form, broad at the base, and
+ sloping on all sides towards the top; so that it looks like
+ a ship with its keel upwards.... It is perfectly detached
+ from any other hill; and if it was not for its great size,
+ might pass for a work of art." "Its length at top [is]
+ about 300 yards; I neglected measuring the base or the
+ height, which are both considerable; the breadth of the top
+ [is] only twenty yards."
+
+Captain Burt, in his "Letters from a Gentleman in the North of
+Scotland" (Letter XII.) speaks of it as follows:--
+
+ "About a mile westward from the town [Inverness] there
+ rises, out of a perfect flat, a very regular hill; whether
+ natural or artificial, I could never find by any tradition;
+ the natives call it _tommanheurach_. It is almost in the
+ shape of a Thames wherry, turned keel upwards, for which
+ reason they sometimes call it Noah's Ark. The length of it
+ is about four hundred yards, and the breadth at bottom
+ about one hundred and fifty. From below, at every point of
+ view, it seems to end at top in a narrow ridge; but when
+ you are there, you find a plain large enough to draw up two
+ or three battalions of men. Hither we sometimes retire on a
+ summer's evening.... But this is not the only reason why I
+ speak of this hill; it is the weak credulity with which it
+ is attended, that led me to this detail; for as anything
+ ever so little extraordinary, may serve as a foundation (to
+ such as are ignorant, heedless, or interested) for
+ ridiculous stories and imaginations, so the fairies within
+ it are innumerable, and witches find it the most convenient
+ place for their frolics and gambols in the night time."
+
+Now, if this large hill, which "might pass for a work of art," was
+really, as tradition states, the residence of the little people
+known as dwarfs or Pechts, it was clearly an important seat of those
+people. And, on regarding them from the historian's point of view,
+one finds that this district was specially so distinguished. "When
+we can first venture to regard the list of the Pictish Kings
+preserved in the _Pictish Chronicle_ as having some claim to a
+historical character, we find the king having his seat apparently in
+Forfarshire; but when the works of Adamnan and Bede place us upon
+firm ground, the monarch belonged to the race of the Northern Picts,
+and had his fortified residence near the mouth of the river Ness"
+[Inver-Ness]. And the same historian again observes:--"Adamnan,
+writing in the seventh century, tells us of the fortified residence
+of the king of the Picts on the banks of the river Ness, with its
+royal house and gates, of a village on the banks of a lake, and of
+the houses of the country people."[258]
+
+Hitherto, the place which has been regarded as most likely the site
+of this seventh-century stronghold, is the vitrified fort which
+crowns the summit of Craig Patrick (or _Creag Phadruig_), a hill not
+far from Inverness. But the top of a hill more than four hundred
+feet high can scarcely be referred to as a situation "on the banks
+of the river Ness," from which river it is, moreover, two miles
+distant.[259] The situation of Tomnahurich, on the other hand, does
+exactly answer to the description given. And this "hill," whose
+peculiar appearance has attracted the attention of several
+travellers, is locally remembered as a celebrated home of the
+"Pechts." Nor is it necessary to confine oneself to the
+consideration of this hill alone. Adamnan speaks not only of a royal
+residence, but also of "the houses of the country people." "The
+country people" of whom he speaks were Pechts, and their "houses,"
+of course, were "Pechts' houses"; "houses" such as the Fairy Knowe
+unearthed at Coldoch, near Doune, already referred to. In other
+words _sheeans_. Now, when Hugh Miller speaks of "that Queen of
+Scottish tomhans, the picturesque Tomnahuirich," he states that it
+belongs to "a wonderful group" of similar mounds "in the immediate
+neighbourhood of Inverness." The "houses" of the mound-dwelling
+Pechts had one admirable characteristic; they were almost
+indestructible. If the King of the Dwarfs had his residence at
+Inverness during the seventh century, with "the houses of the
+country people," of the same race, scattered all through the
+immediate neighbourhood, their dwellings must be there still: and
+any one who wanted to localize them would naturally turn to such
+mounds as the "wonderful groups" of "tomhans" of which Hugh Miller
+speaks.[260]
+
+Inverness, however, was not the only important centre of Pictish
+power. Among others, there was Abernethy, a few miles south-east of
+Perth. And at this place, says Small, in his "Roman Antiquities of
+Fife," the spot wherein the treasures of the Pictish king are
+believed to be hidden[261] was guarded by a _droughy_ (_droich_ or
+_trow_) who fiercely assailed any invader. Of the Pechts in that
+neighbourhood there are many traditions.
+
+A few miles to the west of Abernethy is Forteviot, where Kenneth
+MacAlpin, the conqueror and ruler of the Pechts, died in the latter
+part of the ninth century. Prior to the successful invasion of
+Kenneth's race, this district--like that of Abernethy and all the
+country north to Inverness--had been inhabited by Pechts: and
+Forteviot is stated to have been a seat of Pictish royalty. Some
+miles to the south-west of Forteviot there is a hill called
+Ternavie, which has characteristics similar to those of
+Tomnahuirich. "Ternavie has been pronounced 'the most remarkable
+spot in this parish or neighbourhood.' It is a hill or mound of
+earth of a very curious form, occupying, when the Old Statistical
+Account was written, 'many acres of ground, covered with a fine
+sward of grass, and striking the eye at a distance of several miles.
+It resembles in shape the keel of a ship inverted.'" And local
+tradition asserts, says the writer quoted from,[262] that once upon
+a time, a countryman attempting to obtain turf on the side of this
+hill, was suddenly confronted by an old man who emerged from the
+hill, "and with an angry countenance and tone of voice asked the
+countryman why he was tirring (uncovering) his house over his head?"
+This story does not say that the mound-dweller was a dwarf, but here
+we have a hill whose appearance suggests that it is at least partly
+artificial, and local tradition alleges that it was once inhabited.
+And this in the heart of Pictavia, or the country of the Pechts.
+
+In the same county, but farther to the west, there is a locality
+which is remembered, like the island on the Ross-shire loch, as a
+gathering-place or rendezvous of the little people. It is situated
+in the valley of the Forth. The "Fairy Knowes" of Coldoch have
+already been spoken of. One of them, it was stated, has been opened,
+and its interior shows to the most sceptical that the tradition
+which told that it was a home of the dwarfs was absolutely correct.
+The other "knowe," some hundreds of yards distant, has not as yet
+been touched.[263] But that it, too, was a dwelling of the same
+"little people" is almost as certain as if the spade of the
+excavator had already done its work.
+
+But the gathering-place referred to lies nearer the sources of the
+Forth than the "Fairy Knowe" of Coldoch and the Doune of Menteith.
+Like these places, it is situated in the district of Menteith, and
+beside the lake of that name, on its south-eastern shore. This
+hillock is known as _Cnoc nam Bocan_, or the Knowe of the Goblins,
+and we are told that it used to be "the headquarters of the fairies
+of the whole district of Menteith." These fairies, it is said, were
+employed as the drudges of a former Earl of Menteith, in making the
+small peninsula known as Arnmauk, which juts out from the southern
+shore of the lake towards the small island of Inchmahome. The earl,
+we are told, "in grateful acknowledgment of the work they had done
+in forming the peninsula, and wishing to be on good terms with them,
+made a grant to them of the north shoulder of Ben Venue; which is to
+this day called Coir-n'an-Uriskin, that is, the Cove of the Urisks
+or Fairies."[264] At this latter place, says another writer,[265]
+"the solemn stated meetings of the order were regularly held";
+presumably at a later date.
+
+However, "the north shoulder of Ben Venue" ought probably to be
+regarded as the latest "reservation" accorded to these little
+people. For, among the many "knowes" in the district of Menteith
+which are claimed as their homes, there is one pre-eminently
+distinguished. Some miles to the west of the Lake of Menteith is the
+village of Aberfoyle, celebrated by Sir Walter Scott, who says of
+this locality: "The lakes and precipices amidst which the Avon Dhu
+[_Abhainn Dubh_; _i.e._, Black-Water], or River Forth, has its
+birth, are still, according to popular tradition, haunted by the
+Elfin people.... An eminently beautiful little conical hill, near
+the eastern extremity of the valley of Aberfoil, is supposed to be
+one of their peculiar haunts, and is the scene which awakens in
+Andrew Fairservice[266] the terror of their power." The passage in
+"Rob Roy" to which Scott here refers is as follows:--
+
+ "A beautiful eminence of the most regular round shape, and
+ clothed with copsewood of hazels, mountain-ash, and
+ dwarf-oak, intermixed with a few magnificent old trees,
+ which, rising above the underwood, exposed their forked and
+ bared branches to the silver moonshine, seemed to protect
+ the sources from which the river sprung. If I could trust
+ the tale of my companion, which, while professing to
+ disbelieve every word of it, he told under his breath, and
+ with an air of something like intimidation, this hill, so
+ regularly formed, so richly verdant, and garlanded with
+ such a beautiful variety of ancient trees and thriving
+ copsewood, was held by the neighbourhood to contain, within
+ its unseen caverns, the palaces of the fairies--a race of
+ airy beings, who formed an intermediate class between men
+ and demons, and who, if not positively malignant to
+ humanity, were yet to be avoided and feared, on account of
+ their capricious, vindictive, and irritable disposition.
+
+ "'They ca' them,' said Mr. Jarvie, in a whisper, '_Daoine
+ Schie_--whilk signifies, as I understand, men of peace;
+ meaning thereby to make their gudewill. And we may e'en as
+ well ca' them that too, Mr. Osbaldistone, for there's nae
+ gude in speaking ill o' the laird within his ain bounds.'
+ But he added presently after, on seeing one or two lights
+ which twinkled before us, 'It's deceits o' Satan, after a',
+ and I fearna to say it--for we are near the manse now, and
+ yonder are the lights in the clachan of Aberfoil.'"[267]
+
+To describe this as a "_little, conical_ hill," as Scott does, is
+misleading. When viewed transversely, from the opposite bank of the
+Blackwater, it has a conical appearance, certainly, as the gable of
+a roof has. But when its true length is seen, as when viewed from
+the west, this Fairy Knowe of Aberfoyle reveals itself as of the
+"hog-back" order, or as was said of Tomnaheurich, like a "Thames
+wherry, turned keel upwards." And as for its height, neither Scott's
+"little" nor its local name of "Fairy _Knowe_" gives anything like a
+true idea of its dimensions. How much of this "knowe" is artificial,
+or whether _any_ of it is, remains to be discovered. But if it and
+Tomnaheurich have truly had the origin that tradition assigns to
+them, then they belong to a class of "hollow hills" which are as
+much greater than New Grange ("The Brugh of the Boyne") as New
+Grange is greater than Maes-how, or Maes-how than the Broch of
+Coldoch. Such a mound as Maes-how may be held to represent the
+ordinary Pecht's House or Fairy Hillock; a structure which, though
+of artificial origin, may be correctly styled a hillock. But the
+Brugh of the Boyne is a "hill," rather than a "hillock." What limits
+the mound-builders set themselves is not known. But the people who
+were capable of the ideas and the labour implied in such a structure
+as "the Brugh of the Boyne" might as well have reared mounds that
+were two or three times its size.
+
+This Fairy Knowe is not only known locally by that name, but also
+as the Doon,[268] or Doon Hill. If that implies that it was a
+fortification, the site was perfect. Protected on its north-eastern
+side by the river, and on the south-west by its own almost
+precipitous rampart, the Doon of Aberfoyle stands like a sentinel at
+what is there called "The Gate of the Highlands." The little valley
+which it protects teems with traditions of the dwarfs who are said
+to have once dwelt there, and whose dwellings are yet pointed out.
+Even yet the old people have many a tale of how the ruling family of
+Graham won their possessions there; and one such tale is that which
+has just been spoken of, wherein a Graham (Earl of Menteith) appears
+as the overlord of the dwarfs. That this family, properly _de_
+Graeme, traces its origin to those Anglo-Normans, such as Bruce and
+his chief nobles, who were the founders of the Neo-Scottish kingdom,
+is quite compatible with the idea that De Graeme's dwarfish
+labourers were, historically, Picts; a race distinguished as the
+allies of the English and the enemies of Bruce.
+
+Enough has now been said to illustrate what is really the test of
+the "realistic" theory of the fairy tales. Tradition has truly
+stated, during many generations, that such apparently-natural
+hillocks as Maes-how and Coldoch were inhabited by little people.
+All archæologists are agreed that many artificial hillocks are at
+present standing with their secrets unrevealed. But if, by following
+the lead of tradition, we find it a reasonably safe[269] guide to
+those primitive habitations, then its statements must deserve a much
+fuller and more serious consideration than they have ever yet
+received. Either the "realistic theory" is a vain imagination (as it
+is believed to be by those who take the "mythological" view of such
+traditions), or else it is something of the very greatest
+importance; as others, of whom the present writer is one, believe it
+to be. Should this method of interpreting the past be proved a true
+one, the results which would flow from its acceptance would be
+far-reaching indeed. But tradition has yet to establish its right to
+be unquestionably regarded as a guide. It may be that every
+chambered mound already opened had long had its real nature foretold
+by the voice of local tradition. But the surest test of the
+authenticity of tradition lies in its future application. It is
+known to all archæologists in Western Europe that it is not
+necessary to go so far east as Mycenæ to find the chambered mound,
+with its dry-stone walls and "Pelasgic" arch. And tradition points
+to many a seeming "hillock,"[270] and says that it, too, is a
+"treasure-house of Atreus." The question to be decided is, How far
+is tradition to be trusted? And the answer can be very easily
+obtained.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[244] For such details see Scott's introduction to "The Monastery,"
+etc., etc.; Brand's "Description of Zetland;" and Armstrong's
+"Gaelic Dictionary," s.v. "Uruisg."
+
+[245] "Legends of Scottish Superstition," Edinburgh, 1848;
+"Maclachlan's Brownie."
+
+[246] "West Highland Tales," I., xlvii.
+
+[247] Although the dwarfs of central England may not rightly be
+considered under the name of Picts or Pechts, a chain connecting
+them with the people thus called is discernible. Scott says that,
+"according to romantic tradition," Kenilworth "had been first
+tenanted" by "those primitive Britons" who were "the soldiers of
+King Arthur" ("Kenilworth," ch. xxvi). Thus, the early inhabitants
+of Kenilworth are equally "fairies" and "primitive Britons." Again,
+in Glamorganshire (according to Mr. Wirt Sikes, "British Goblins,"
+pp. 6 and 392), there is "a certain steep and rugged crag" which
+bears "a distinctly awful reputation as a stronghold of the fairy
+tribe," and, in a secret cavern underneath this crag, "Arthur and
+his warriors" are believed to be sleeping. While an Edinburgh
+tradition, given by Dr. Daniel Wilson ("Memorials," vol. ii. ch.
+xix.), states that "King Arthur and the Pechts" have also withdrawn
+to a subterranean retreat in the hill which is still known as
+Arthur's Seat. Obviously, Arthur, if he ever lived, cannot have
+retired into all of these places, but there is, nevertheless, a
+vague agreement in these three traditions; and Kenilworth, Arthur's
+Seat, and Craig y Ddinas all testify to an identification of Arthur
+and his "primitive Britons," with the underground "fairies" and
+"Pechts." It may be objected that the tradition of Barbarossa, as in
+Rückert's ballad, asleep in his underground castle, with his dwarf
+beside him, is evidently of the same origin as those just referred
+to. This is manifest. But, before attempting to reconcile
+Continental with British tradition, it is important to first
+demonstrate, if that may be done, that the British traditions here
+spoken of are _historical_ and not _mythological_. (The story of the
+Kenilworth fairies will be found at p. 218 of "The Dialect of the
+English Gypsies," by B. C. Smart and H. T. Crofton, London, 1875.)
+
+[248] It is impossible to refer here to the many terms used to
+denote what is really one class of people; as these terms themselves
+show when analyzed. But this term "goblin," although in recent
+centuries it has been surrounded with much that is unreal and
+fictitious, appears to have been once used in the most ordinary
+matter-of-fact way. This will be seen from the following reference
+quoted by Dr. Henry Rink ("Danish Greenland," 1877, p. 16), in the
+narrative of a Norse visit to Greenland in the eleventh
+century:--"One morning Thorgils went out by himself on the ice, and
+discovered the carcase of a whale in an opening, and beside two
+'witches' (or 'goblins,' evidently Eskimo women), who were tying
+large bundles of flesh together. Thorgils instantly rushed upon one
+of them with his sword and cut off one of her hands, whereupon both
+of them took to their heels." In other words, the eleventh-century
+natives of Greenland, whom Dr. Rink believes were Eskimos, were at
+once classed by a Norwegian of that period in the same category as
+those whom he had been accustomed to call "goblins" in Europe.
+
+[249] Miss C. MacLagan, "Proc. of Soc. of Ant. of Scot." (1st
+series), ix. 39.
+
+[250] A. Mackintosh Shaw, "History of the Mackintoshes," 1880, vol.
+i. p. 24, _note_. This writer also points out that the word
+"Rothimurcus" itself indicates a "fortified mound" or _Rath_.
+
+[251] Appendix to "The Lady of the Lake," Note 2 H.
+
+[252] See also "West Highland Tales," II., 66, for a reference to
+this personage.
+
+[253] "West Highland Tales," II., 67.
+
+[254] Rev. Alex. Stewart, F.S.A. Scot., in "Nether Lochaber," Edin.,
+1883, p. 20.
+
+He adds: "There is, besides, a _Glacan-t' Shithein_, the Fairy Knoll
+Glade, _Tobaran-t' Shithein_, the Fairy Knoll Well; and a deep
+chasm, through which a mountain torrent plunges darkling, called
+_Leum-an-t' Shithiche_, the Fairy Leap."
+
+[255] See "Proc. of Soc. of Antiq. of Scot." 1880-81, 113 _et seq._
+
+[256] See vol. ii. pp. 48 and 52. The latter page mentions a _Ruadh
+na Sirach_, "the Fairies' Point," in the island of Kerrera, near
+Oban.
+
+[257] Similarly, a "Fairy Loch" in Argyleshire is spelt _Loch na
+Hurich_, and a like example is that of _Glennahuirich_, in Nether
+Lochaber.
+
+[258] _See_ Skene's "Celtic Scotland," i. 232; ii. 105-6; and iii.
+10.
+
+[259] This discrepancy is pointed out by Dr. Skene, who suggests "a
+gravelly ridge called Torvean," and also "the eminence east of
+Inverness, called the Crown," as more probable sites. ("Celtic
+Scotland," ii. 106, note.)
+
+[260] Hugh Miller, although he confesses himself puzzled as to their
+origin, undoubtedly regarded those "tomhans" as entirely natural.
+And if it should appear that he was mistaken, there would, in that
+event, be a new question opened up; because of the peculiar
+characteristics of what he knew as "tomhans."
+
+It is an unfortunate circumstance that any practical attempt at
+testing the accuracy of the local tradition regarding Tomnahurich
+itself is out of the question, owing to the fact that for many years
+its exterior has been used as a burying ground--as more than one
+"hollow hill" is known to have been. But "the houses of the country
+people" would afford a sufficient test.
+
+[261] A kettle of gold is specially mentioned, and in the "hidden
+places" of the fairies of White Cater Thun, near Brechin, a kettle
+of gold is also believed to be concealed.
+
+[262] Dr. Marshall, "Historic Scenes in Perthshire," Edinburgh,
+1880, p. 263.
+
+[263] Owing, I believe, to the fact that it is on a different
+estate. The following remarks by M. T. N. Deane, in his paper on the
+"hollow hills" of Knowth and Dowth, in the Boyne valley
+("Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy," Dec. 1888, p. 164), may
+be aptly quoted here:--"For many years it has been the desire of
+antiquaries to explore Knowth, but I regret to say the owner is
+unwilling to permit a search being made. I am in great hopes that
+when it is fully understood that the vesting of a monument does not
+involve an infringement of territorial rights the difficulty will be
+overcome, and monuments now neglected will be placed under
+supervision."
+
+[264] Marshall's "Historic Scenes in Perthshire," pp. 383-84. Mr.
+Grant Stewart, in his "Popular Superstitions" (as quoted in the
+_Scots Magazine_, 1823, vol. 13, p. 40), states that "the workmen of
+the great Michael Scott were all Fairies; and it is only in that way
+that it could be accounted for, that some stupendous bridges in the
+north country were built by him in the course of a single night."
+With this compare the above statement as to the Earl of Menteith's
+workmen, and all the foregoing references to "Pechts" and "Fairies"
+in similar circumstances; as also the "fierce tribe of Firbolgic
+origin, the _Gowanree_," who are said to have built the earthworks
+of the Rath of Cruachan in a single day, working as the unwilling
+serfs of an apparently Gaelic lord.
+
+[265] Dr. Graham, "Sketches of the Picturesque Scenery of
+Perthshire," Edinburgh, 1806, p. 19.
+
+[266] A slip of Scott's for "Bailie Nicol Jarvie."
+
+[267] See "Rob Roy," chap. xxviii., and Note G.
+
+[268] This spelling is only tentative. On hearing it thus
+pronounced, a resident in that district corrected the pronunciation
+to _Doo'n_, or _Doo'an_, which may signify a quite different meaning
+from _Dùn_.
+
+[269] One would like to regard tradition as infallible in this
+respect. But, unfortunately, the age of the "sheeans" is so far
+back, that the term may now be used to denote any "conical hill," by
+Gaelic-speaking persons. However, a strong and persistent local
+tradition would far outweigh this modern misuse of the term
+_sithean_, in its general application, if such misuse (of which the
+dictionaries give a hint) is really common.
+
+[270] The Continental examples are, of course, very numerous. In
+Denmark alone, according to J. M. Thiele, tradition points out as
+chambered mounds "two hills, Mangelbierg and Gillesbierg, in the
+environs of Hirschholm, on Hösterkiöb Mark": "a hill called
+Wheel-hill, at Gudmandstrup, in the Lordship of Odd": "a large knoll
+called Steensbierg, at Ouröe, near Joegerspriis": "the high ridge on
+which the church stands, at Kundebye, in the Bailiewick of Holbeck";
+and, in the same bailiewick, at a place between the towns of Mamp
+and Aagerup, "near the Strand": Gultebierg also supplies another to
+the list: while "between Jerslöse and Söbierg, lies Söbierg bank,
+which is the richest knoll in the land." (For similar references in
+this neighbourhood, see also Mr. W. G. Black's "Heligoland.") And
+Thorpe's "Northern Mythology" specifies many such mounds. M. Pol de
+Mont (in his Flemish "Volkskunde," ii. 5, pp. 89-90) points out an
+"Aschberg," at Casterlé, in the province of Antwerp, which is said
+to have held fifty _bergmannetjes_, or hill-dwarfs. (With this may
+fitly be compared three Eskimo "mounds" at Hopedale, Labrador,
+which, though they are now deserted, "more than one hundred persons
+of both sexes and all ages are said to have inhabited.") But every
+Continental "Venusberg," into which men of the taller race were
+tempted by the attractions of the dwarf women, and every "berg" that
+is affirmed to have been the residence of a "berg-fee," comes under
+the same denomination as the special examples already cited.
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+
+It is manifest that the traditions relating to "the little people"
+contain many statements which at the first sight seem to be
+irreconcilable with one another. In one aspect, the dwarf races
+appear as possessed of a higher culture than the race or races who
+were physically their superiors. They forge swords of "magic"
+temper, and armour of proof; beautifully-wrought goblets of gold and
+silver, silver-mounted bridles, garments of silk, and personal
+ornaments of precious metals and precious stones, are all associated
+with them. They are deeply versed in "magic" (a term generally held
+to denote the science of the Chaldæan Magi), and this renders them
+the teachers of the taller race, in religion, and in many forms of
+knowledge. In short, it is only in physical stature that they are
+below the latter people: in everything else they are above them. In
+another aspect, the positions are reversed. The dwarfs are the serfs
+and drudges of the taller race, to whom they are distinctly inferior
+in intellectual capacity. The articles associated with them, such as
+the primitive arrow-heads of flint, still spoken of as "elf-shot,"
+are all indicative of the rudest savagery. They themselves are
+accustomed to go without clothes, which, when offered to them by
+their masters, they reject indignantly. As great a contrast is
+presented by their physique. In some tales, they are fair, and
+beautiful in feature, and yellow-haired; in others they are swarthy
+in complexion and hair; and again they are described as red-, or
+russet-haired. From such conflicting evidence what is one to infer?
+
+Two or three solutions of this question may be offered. One that,
+as the Icelander Gudmund said of these people, they were "subject to
+poverty and wealth," like the members of any modern nation, which
+contains in itself the most violent contrasts. Or, again, that the
+fairy tales belong to various epochs, during a long stretch of time,
+in the course of which those tribes, like any others, underwent
+marked modifications. But what is probably the best solution is that
+the dwarf races of the past, like those of the present, were of
+various types. That as the South African Bushmen, the dwarfs of the
+Congo region, and the Ainos of Japan, though all included among the
+dwarf races, are really different from each other in many respects,
+so the dwarf races of the past were not one but many. That then,
+as now, there were black, yellow and white dwarfs; dissimilar in
+their history and characteristics; but all alike in one important
+respect. This last explanation, although the two others deserve
+consideration, is the one that to the present writer seems the most
+important.
+
+To state even a few of the inferences to be drawn from the
+acceptance of these explanations, is more than can be attempted
+here. It is enough to continue as far as possible to confine these
+remarks within the limits already observed; and to keep specially in
+view that race which is known to British history as that of the
+"Picts." What, then, is the traditional idea of the outward
+appearance of these people, apart from their stature?
+
+Scott's "Rob Roy," as he is described in the Glasgow prison, is said
+to have greatly resembled the Picts, as they are remembered in
+Northumbrian tradition. And when his appearance is again referred to
+in a later chapter (ch. xxxii.), one point of this resemblance is
+brought out; where it is stated that his legs were "covered with a
+fell of thick, short, red hair, especially around his knees, which
+resembled in this respect, as well as from their sinewy appearance
+of extreme strength, the limbs of a red-coloured Highland bull."
+
+It matters little whether the historical "Robert MacGregor or
+Campbell," really answered to Scott's various descriptions of him.
+_Rob Ruadh_, or "Red Rob," may no doubt have been fitly applied to
+many a native of the British Islands, descended from the race of the
+Picts.[271] But this excessive hairiness of skin was one of the most
+marked characteristics of the Pechts, and forms indeed one of the
+most distinct clues to their ethnological position.
+
+Whatever the man was like himself, however, "Rob Roy's country"
+contains, among its other features, that "shoulder of Ben Venue"
+which we have seen a former Earl of Menteith is said to have
+assigned to the dwarfs, and which is remembered in local tradition
+as a great resort of theirs. And a spot specially known as their
+gathering-place is called the Coire-nan-Uruisgean, which is rendered
+"the Corri, or Den, of the Wild or _Shaggy_ men."[272] Now the same
+word here held to represent a "shaggy" man is also a synonym for a
+"brownie,"[273] and when we regard such a specimen of that class as
+the particular "brownie" that was an attendant of the chief of the
+Grants, we find her (for this was a _ban_-sithe, or fairy-_woman_)
+known as "May _Mollach_," which signifies "hairy May"; it being
+asserted by tradition that this May was distinguished for the
+hairiness of her arms.[274] The adjective _molach_ signifies
+"hairy,"[275] and, among other uses, it is appropriately given, as a
+name, to many a shaggy little "Scotch terrier." But in that part of
+Armstrong's "Dictionary"
+
+where this adjective is spelt _maildheach_ and _mailgheach_ (of
+which the pronunciation is still _mâl'yach_), its meaning is
+defined as "having large shaggy eyebrows." And this, it will be
+seen, is specially a characteristic not only of the traditional
+dwarfs, but of a race known to ethnology. But it is probable that
+the general meaning of "hirsute" is signified when the derivative
+noun _mailleachan_ is used as an equivalent of _brownie_ or
+_uruisg_;[276] and that a _mailleachan_ was a "hairy one."
+Similarly, a special brownie, known as _Pcallaidh an spùit_, or
+"Peallaidh of the waterfall," once well known "at those congresses"
+"in a certain district of the Highlands,"[277] may be Englished into
+"The Shaggy One of the waterfall." Thus, although _uruisg_ does not
+literally mean "a shaggy man" (as Scott says), yet there is nothing
+wrong in saying that _Coir-nan-Uruisgean_, on Loch Katrine, was "the
+Den of the Wild or Shaggy Men"; because various terms and
+descriptions applying to those _uruisgean_ show that they were
+actually "shaggy men."[278]
+
+No one had a better opportunity of imbibing the traditional idea of
+a brownie than the late Mr. J. F. Campbell; whose birth and
+upbringing, combined with his great studies in later life, gave him
+every chance of learning the various Highland traditions regarding
+the appearance of those people. And when, during his stay in
+Lapland, he saw a certain Lapp "of the old school," he speaks of him
+thus:--"He was an old fellow with long, tangled elf-locks and a
+scanty beard, dressed in a deerskin shirt full of holes, and
+exceedingly mangy, for the hair had been worn off in patches all
+over. He realized my idea of a seedy Brownie, a grua-gach [another
+synonym] with long hair on his head; an old wrinkled face, and his
+body covered with hair."[279] Of course,
+
+it is not to be understood that the _Lapp_'s body was "covered
+with hair." But the deerskin shirt, worn with the hair outwards, was
+one of the things that helped out the "brownie" appearance of the
+man; for Mr. Campbell's traditional brownie had _his_ body covered
+with hair, like the other "shaggy men" we have just been speaking
+of. Again, the traditional _brollachan_ or _fuath_ of Sutherland is
+described as "rough and hairy."[280] Mr. Campbell also points out
+that the _glashan_ of the Isle of Man[281] was the same as those
+"shaggy men" of the Scotch Highlands. "He wore no clothes, and was
+hairy; and, according to Train's history, Phynoddepee, which means
+something hairy, was frightened away by a gift of clothes,--exactly
+as the Skipness long-haired Grua-gach was frightened away by the
+offer of a coat and a cap. The Manks brownie and the Argyllshire one
+each repeated a rhyme over the clothes; but the rhymes are not the
+same, though they amount to the same thing."[282] In a certain story
+of South-Western Scotland, a brownie is described as a naked, hairy
+man; and in a Scotch "chap-book" of the eighteenth century, an old
+woman is made to state that the brownies are "a' rough but the
+mouth," and that they "seek nae claes" (do not wish any
+clothes).[283] The dwarfs of Northumbrian tradition, whether spoken
+of by that name or as "Picts," are hairy; and, as just mentioned,
+the Isle of Man contains similar evidence. The same thing is
+recorded in Wales. In his "British Goblins," Mr. Wirt Sikes not only
+describes the _coblynau_ as hairy of skin, but he cites the
+well-known account of a sixteenth-century race of "Red Fairies" who
+"lived in dens in the ground," and bore several other resemblances
+to the Picts of Scotland. These "Red Fairies" have also been
+recently cited by Mr. G. L. Gomme, in the course of an article which
+points out the survival of savage customs and savage people, within
+the British Islands, during recent centuries.[284] The "Red Fairies"
+inhabited a certain part of Merionethshire, where it is said that
+people inheriting some of their blood are still pointed out. They
+are remembered as a race of much-dreaded marauders, their
+depredations being carried on in the night time, "and scythes were
+fixed in the chimneys of the nearest houses, to prevent the
+nocturnal descent of these plundering ruffians." The writer whose
+words have just been quoted, contributed an account of these people
+to the _Scots Magazine_ of 1823,[285] and he states in this
+connection, that "scythes were to be seen in the chimney of a
+neighbouring farm-house about thirty years ago, but they have been
+since removed." After referring to their various characteristics,
+the same writer goes on:--"It appears that the enormities of the
+Gwylliaid Cochion Mowddwy [the Red Fairies, or Banditti,[286] of
+Mowddwy] had arrived at such a pitch as to render necessary the
+interposition of the most prompt and vigorous measures. To this end,
+a commission was granted to John Wynne ab Meredith, of Gwedir, and
+Lewis Owen, one of the Barons of the Welsh Exchequer, and
+Vice-Chamberlain of North Wales. These gentlemen raised a body of
+men, and, on Christmas Eve, 1554, succeeded in securing, after
+considerable resistance, nearly a hundred of the robbers, on whom
+they inflicted chastisement the most summary and effectual, hanging
+them on the spot, and, as their commission authorized, without any
+previous trial."[287]
+
+A similar race to these "fairies" of Merionethshire seems to be
+suggested by the "gubbings" or "gubbins" of Dartmoor. Those people
+are described by Fuller, in his "Worthies of England," published in
+1662. Readers of Kingsley's "Westward Ho!" will remember "how
+Salvation Yeo slew the King of the Gubbings," and the description
+given at that place. Mr. R. D. Blackmore seems also to have had the
+same race in view in his "Maid of Sker"; although that novel is
+placed in the eighteenth century. "Cannibal Jack," or "Jack
+Wildman," the most civilized of those Devon savages, is made to
+state:--"I was one of a race of naked people, living in holes of the
+earth at a place we did not know the name of. I now know that it was
+Nympton in Devonshire." As to the origin of the term "gubbing,"
+Fuller confesses himself ignorant.[288] But those Devonshire
+gubbings were, like the Red Fairies of Wales and the Picts of
+Scotland, underground people, or earth-dwellers. It does not seem to
+be stated anywhere that the "gubbings" were hairy of skin; but both
+in Devon and in Cornwall the underground people otherwise designated
+are so described.[289] Altogether the savage "gubbins" of Dartmoor,
+as described by Kingsley and others, seem to be practically the same
+people as the cave-dwelling "pixies" of Dartmoor, whose occasional
+raids into the town of Tavistock are still remembered in local
+folk-lore.
+
+This nakedness of the brownie is referred to again and again in the
+folk-lore of Scotland. The general belief seems to be that when he
+was offered clothes in return for his labour he left the place where
+he had been working, in high dudgeon. Other accounts indicate that
+he accepted the clothes without demur. But the indications that the
+"shaggy men" were naked men, are numerous. And when Mr. Campbell
+says that "the Highlanders distinguish between the water and land or
+_dressed_ fairies,"[290] he clearly infers that one section of the
+little people was remarkable for the entire absence of dress.
+Indeed, it was this peculiarity that, as the various stories show,
+offended the delicacy of the womenfolk at those farms where
+"brownies" worked, and so led to the offer of clothing, by way of
+wages. And, of course, the reason why their special hairiness of
+skin is so well remembered is because their own shaggy coats formed
+all their clothing; and probably answered the purpose very well.
+
+Outside the British Islands there are plenty of similar traditional
+accounts. The Scandinavian trolls, or dwarfs, of the Eddas were
+hairy; and so was the German dwarf. The latter has one name, that of
+_Bilwiz_, said to be derived from a word denoting matted hair; and
+we are told that "the Bilwiz shoots like the elf, and has shaggy or
+matted hair."[291] And he, there can be little doubt, is the same as
+the "little forest-man." For the same authority[292] states that
+"little forest-men, who have long worked in a mill, have been scared
+away by the miller's men leaving clothes and shoes for them." And if
+these nude and hairy "little people" were not of the same race as
+the hirsute brownies of Scotland, they were remarkably like them in
+several striking characteristics. With them also may be compared the
+shaggy dwarfs remembered in Brittany under the name of _viltansou_,
+who are doubtless the same as the long-bearded _barbao_ of the same
+province. (_See_ M. Sébillot's list of such names in the "Revue des
+Traditions Populaires," Feb. 1890, pp. 101-104.)
+
+The German traditional idea of the mound-dwelling, metal-working
+dwarf people, is nowhere more perfectly given than in the etching
+which is here reproduced, and which is the work of a German
+engraver. It forms the base of a title-page, executed about thirty
+years ago,[293] consecrated to the memory of the great Barbarossa,
+whose figure occupies the centre of the title-page, and whose
+achievements are otherwise symbolically indicated. It is understood
+to be a facsimile of the base of Barbarossa's statue. The little
+gnomes, then, underneath him, are clearly meant to represent his
+companions in the "berg" where he and they are popularly believed to
+be still living--whether that be the Thuringian Kyffhäuser, or the
+Untersberg, near Salzburg. And the hairiness of skin, so
+characteristic of the Scottish _brownie_ or _pecht_, is equally
+marked in this case. The term "shaggy men" could be applied to them
+with very great appropriateness. And if the artist has not made them
+as destitute of clothing as the "brownies" and "forest-men" are said
+to have been, yet what they do wear only serves to remind one of the
+red-cap of the traditional Lincolnshire dwarfs, and others of the
+same class, and of the "apron" so often mentioned in connection with
+the dwarfish builders of England and Scotland. It is not to be
+supposed that this picture represents in every detail the dwarfs of
+German or other traditions, nor is it to be supposed that any single
+account gives an absolutely correct idea of the appearance of those
+primitive races, but this will be generally recognized as being, on
+the whole,[294] a wonderfully good representation of the dwarfs of
+German folk-lore.
+
+But this characteristic of the dwarfs of Scottish tradition and of
+the "Picts" of history does not tend to show that such people were
+_identical_ with the modern Lapps. Nor, indeed, is this to be looked
+for.
+
+[Illustration: THE DWARFS OF GERMAN FOLK LORE.]
+
+A race which was in its prime two thousand years ago may have
+many points in common with one or another of the modern races
+(presumably its own descendants, in some measure); but absolute
+identity of type can hardly be expected, if one considers the
+crossing, re-crossing, and in some cases almost the extermination of
+the various races of Europe during that period. At any rate, this
+marked hairiness of skin, attributed to the Pict, or Pecht, or
+dwarf, is not a Mongoloid characteristic. It is certainly not
+_Mongolian_; and although some divisions of the Mongoloid
+group--such as the Eskimos of Labrador--are described as wearing
+moustaches and beards, this fact, even if it be not exceptional,
+goes a very little way towards suggesting an actually hirsute
+ancestor. Had there been less doubt about the matter, one might have
+supposed that the hairy skin-garments of those Northern races had
+been erroneously assumed in the traditional tales to be the natural
+skin of their owners; and, indeed, the pictures of the modern
+Eskimos in their winter dress of skins with the hair outside, gives
+quite the appearance of a race of hairy little men. But the nudity
+of the historical Picts, and certain sections of the traditional
+dwarfs, or brownies, is beyond all doubt. To the Latin writers, as
+to the housewives of legendary history, this was equally an
+unmistakable and objectionable fact.
+
+There is, however, an existing race that offers itself as akin to
+those traditional dwarfs in this respect, as well as in some others;
+although the modern Lapps, in several of their characteristics, also
+suggest that a not insignificant line of their ancestry is traceable
+to the same origin. The race referred to is that of the "hairy
+Kuriles," or Ainos of Japan; included by ethnologists among the
+modern dwarf races.
+
+"Twelve hundred years ago," says Mr. E. B. Tylor, "a Chinese
+historian stated that 'on the eastern frontiers of the land of Japan
+there is a barrier of great mountains, beyond which is the land of
+the Hairy Men.' These were the Aino, so named from the word in their
+own language signifying 'man.' Over most of the country of these
+rude and helpless indigenes the Japanese have long since spread,
+only a dwindling remnant of them still inhabiting the island of
+Yezo. Since the early days when a couple of them were sent as
+curiosities to the Emperor of China, their uncouth looks and habits
+have made them objects of interest to more civilized nations."[295]
+
+Of their own traditions, another writer states:--"To them the past
+is dead, yet, like other conquered and despised races, they cling to
+the idea that in some far-off age they were a great nation. They
+have no traditions of internecine strife, and the art of war seems
+to have been lost long ago. I asked Benri [a chief] about this
+matter, and he says that formerly Ainos fought with spears and
+knives, as well as with bows and arrows, but that Yoshitsuné, their
+hero god, forbade war for ever, and since then the two-edged spear,
+with a shaft nine feet long, has only been used in hunting
+bears."[296] Yoshitsuné, it may be explained, is stated (_op. cit.
+infra_, II. 94, _note_) to have been the brother of a Japanese
+general of the twelfth century, famous for his victories over
+"barbarians." This tradition, therefore, if accepted without
+reserve, would place the conquest of the Ainos by the Japanese, with
+the consequent disarming of the former, somewhere about the twelfth
+century. And the scene of this struggle may be placed south and west
+of their present home. "The inference from records and local names,
+worked out with great care by Professor Chamberlain, is 'that the
+Ainos were truly the predecessors of the Japanese all over the
+Archipelago. The dawn of history shows them to us living far to the
+south and west of their present haunts; and ever since then, century
+by century, we see them retreating eastwards and northwards, as
+steadily as the American Indian has retreated westwards under the
+pressure of the colonists from Europe.'"[297]
+
+"As is well known, the hairiness of the Ainos marks them sharply
+off from the smooth-faced Japanese. No one can look at photographs
+of Ainos without admitting that the often-repeated comparison of
+them to bearded Russian peasants is much to the purpose. The
+likeness is much strengthened by the bold quasi-European features of
+the Aino contrasting extremely with the Japanese type of face."[298]
+"The expression of the face and the manner of showing courtesy are
+European rather than Asiatic," says Miss Bird, who has lived among
+these people; and she again remarks, on a later page, "I am more and
+more convinced that the expression of their faces is European."[299]
+
+"The men are about the middle height,[300] broad-chested,
+broad-shouldered, 'thick-set,' very strongly built, the arms and
+legs short, thick, and muscular, the hands and feet large. The
+bodies, and specially the limbs, of many are covered with short
+bristly hair. I have seen two boys whose backs are covered with fur
+as fine and soft as that of a cat." "The 'ferocious savagery' of the
+appearance of the men is produced by a profusion of thick, soft,
+black hair, divided in the middle, and falling in heavy masses
+nearly to the shoulders. Out of doors it is kept from falling over
+the face by a fillet round the brow. The beards are equally profuse,
+quite magnificent, and generally wavy, and in the case of the old
+men they give a truly patriarchal and venerable aspect, in spite of
+the yellow tinge produced by smoke and want of cleanliness." "The
+beard, moustache, and eyebrows are very thick and full." "At a deep
+river called the Nopkobets," says the same writer, "we were ferried
+by an Aino completely covered with hair, which on his shoulders was
+wavy like that of a retriever, and rendered clothing quite needless
+either for covering or warmth. A wavy, black beard rippled nearly to
+his waist over his furry chest, and, with his black locks hanging in
+masses over his shoulders, he would have looked a thorough savage
+had it not been for the exceeding sweetness of his smile and eyes.
+The Volcano Bay Ainos are far more hairy than the mountain Ainos."
+Again--"These Lebungé Ainos differ considerably from those of the
+eastern villages, and I have again to notice the decided sound or
+_click_ of the _ts_ at the beginning of many words. Their skins are
+as swarthy as those of Bedaween, their foreheads comparatively low
+[the Aino forehead being in general remarkably high], their eyes far
+more deeply set, their stature lower, their hair yet more abundant,
+the look of wistful melancholy more marked, and two, who were
+unclothed for hard work in fashioning a canoe, were almost entirely
+covered with short, black hair, specially thick on the shoulders and
+back, and so completely concealing the skin as to reconcile one to
+the lack of clothing. I noticed an enormous breadth of chest, and a
+great development of the muscles of the arms and legs. All these
+Ainos shave their hair off for two inches above their brows, only
+allowing it there to attain the length of an inch." "Their voices
+were the lowest and most musical that I have heard, incongruous
+sounds to proceed from such hairy, powerful-looking men.... These,
+like other Ainos, utter a short, screeching sound when they are not
+pleased, and then one recognizes the savage."[301]
+
+[Illustration: AN AINO PATRIARCH.]
+
+The picture of "An Aino Patriarch," which is here reproduced from
+Miss Bird's book,[302] does not enable one to fully
+
+realize the purest type of Aino; partly owing to the fact that the
+figure is clothed, and partly because this man appears to have
+belonged to one of the more modified sections of the race. However,
+as he is, he is not a very bad representative of the bearded dwarf,
+with disproportionately large head, so familiar in tradition; and
+that he is one of the race of "shaggy men," we know without fuller
+evidence. His beard does not fall down to his waist, like that of
+his kinsman who figures as a ferryman in the foregoing quotation;
+but the heavy moustache and beard, and the shaggy eyebrows, strongly
+characterize this living race as well as the legendary dwarfs. The
+latter are again and again referred to as "little old[303] men, with
+long beards"; and, indeed, in one of Grimm's tales ("Snow-White and
+Rosy-Red"), a dwarf has a beard so long that it gets caught in the
+trunk of a tree that has been felled. The artist who drew the
+picture of Barbarossa's dwarfs has not forgotten this marked
+traditional feature.[304] Such dwarfs are all remembered as
+possessed of supernatural powers, enchanters, magicians, etc.; and,
+conversely, the magicians (Gaelic _druidhean_) of early Britain are
+famous for their flowing beards.
+
+An earlier Aino than those pictured by Miss Bird is that which
+Baron Nordenskiöld gives in his "Voyage of the Vega." With regard to
+it he says:--"The drawing is taken from a Japanese work, whose
+title, when translated, runs thus--'A Journey to the North Part of
+Japan (Yezo), 1804.'"
+
+[Illustration: AINO OF 1804.]
+
+In this picture, which is here annexed, there are several notable
+features. Not only has this Aino of 1804 the short, thick-set
+figure, heavy beard, and "bull-necked" appearance of the traditional
+dwarf, but he is represented as driving a reindeer. Now, this seems
+at once to connect the Aino with the Samoyed and the Lapp. For,
+although the reindeer is hunted by the Eskimos of North America,
+these people have never domesticated it. Moreover, the Aino is
+standing on runners, which appear to be very similar to the "skies"
+of the Lapps. Both of these details are distinctive of the Aino and
+the Lapp (for although the "skies" are used to the south of Finmark,
+they are peculiarly associated with the Lapps, who excel all other
+Norwegians in this accomplishment). "The deer-hide moccasins which
+they wear for winter hunting"[305] form another link of custom
+uniting the Aino to the Lapp and the Eskimo. So also does the
+harpoon and line which the Ainos use, or used, in seal-hunting, as
+is evidenced by two of Professor Chamberlain's tales.[306] Thus,
+although the Aino differs very much, in some respects, from the
+Eskimo type of man, he cannot be regarded as wholly different from
+him.[307] As regards stature, the two are
+
+much alike; and several usages have just been cited that distinctly
+unite the two. If one might discriminate, it might be said that the
+relationship extends westward from the Kurile Islands, rather than
+eastward into North America. That the Aino should remind travellers
+so strongly of certain European types, is very suggestive of a line
+of ancestry which is shared by Europeans. Indeed, those hirsute
+qualities which distinguish the Aino exist, though in much more
+modified forms (even in the instance of Russian peasants) among the
+people of Europe; sufficiently to mark off the average European from
+the races of other continents. That one line of European ancestry
+should lead back to a race strongly resembling the modern Ainos is
+therefore a belief that the outward appearance of the modern
+European rather tends to strengthen.
+
+In speculating upon the appearance of the European "cave-man" of
+the past, a writer in the "Cornhill"[308] (? Mr. Grant Allen) states
+as his opinion that "at any rate, he was distinctly hairy, like the
+Ainos, or aborigines of Japan, in our own day, of whom Miss Isabella
+Bird has drawn so startling and sensational a picture." Again, after
+remarking that those cave-men "seem to have been in most essential
+particulars almost as advanced as the modern Eskimo, with whom
+Professor Dawkins conjecturally identifies them," Mr. Grant Allen
+goes on to say[309]--"But if Professor Dawkins means us to
+understand that the cave-men were physically developed to the same
+extent as the Eskimo, it is necessary to accept his conclusion with
+great caution. It does not follow because the Eskimo are the nearest
+modern parallels of the cave-men, that the cave-men therefore
+resembled them closely in appearance. Several of the sketches of
+cave-men, cut by themselves on horn and bone, certainly show (it
+seems to me) that they were covered with hair over the whole body:
+and the hunter in the antler from the Duruthy cave has a long
+pointed beard and high crest of hair on the poll utterly unlike the
+Eskimo type." And although Mr. Allen admits, on a later page, that
+"it is possible enough that the cave-man was the direct ancestor of
+the Eskimo," yet he qualifies this admission by observing that "it
+does not at all follow that in physical appearance the earlier
+cave-men were the equals of the Eskimo, or, indeed, that the Eskimo
+are any more nearly related to them than ourselves."[310]
+
+Of course, it is understood by the writer of these lines that the
+remarks upon "cave-men" just quoted, were made in the belief that
+all those cave-men lived at a period immensely removed from the
+present time. But the classification of man's history into so many
+"periods" and "ages" is admittedly vague. And the recognition of a
+visible relationship between certain races of living men, and those
+others who are called "pre-historic," is practically a recognition
+of the possibility that the not very remote ancestors of such races
+may be remembered with comparative clearness in the popular memory
+of those who are mainly descended from races of a higher type.
+
+That this is really the case is what all the evidence adduced in
+these pages tends to show. And, indeed, the actual picture of a
+living Aino of about ninety years ago, reproduced above, is by no
+means remarkably different from the traditional figure given below,
+which represents the magician, or "good fairy," as he appears in the
+popular memory, when arriving from the far North, on Yule Eve, laden
+with gifts for his vassals. The annexed woodcut gives the idea of
+"Santa Claus," as he figures in the American fancy, and that, as the
+title given to him indicates, is really the German idea. The German
+idea, then, of this good magician is that he is a thick-set,
+bearded, little man, whose heavy furs denote that his home lies in
+the North, and whose reindeer team, harnessed to the sledge in which
+he has travelled, indicates that, like the Lapp and the Aino, he not
+only lives in a country where reindeer abound, but he has learned to
+tame them and make them serve his purposes. In this traditional
+figure one seems to see the type of a race that was even more like
+the Aino than the Lapp, or the Eskimo, although closely connected in
+various ways with all of these. Neither this figure, nor those of
+Barbarossa's dwarfs, need be regarded as absolutely correct; but in
+both we see that the popular memory is wonderfully faithful to what
+appears to be the actual truth.
+
+[Illustration: A "GOOD FAIRY" OF TRADITION.]
+
+The existence in Europe of such a race, neither Lapp nor Aino,
+though akin to both, seems indicated by as recent a geographer as
+Olaus Magnus. In his map of Northern Europe,[311] the extreme north
+of Norway is neither "Lappia" nor "Finmarchia" (although both of
+these are shown), but a country which borders them on the north, and
+which he calls "Scricfinnia." This name appears to have been
+otherwise spelt "Scritfinnia" or "Scridfinnia," and one writer
+states that its people, the "Scridfinni," "derived their name from
+the word _skrida_, which in the Danish and Swedish languages means
+to slide."[312] This refers to the snow-skates, or "skies," which
+they are described as using, but as Olaus Magnus pictures the people
+of "Lappia" as also using "skies," it does not seem that that usage
+was distinctive of the "Scridfinni." But what appears to be of much
+more importance than this etymological point is the fact that the
+gloss which Olaus Magnus places opposite "Scricfinnia" is to this
+effect:--"_Hic habitant Pÿgmei Vulgo Screlinger dicti_." The
+earliest cited mention of the _Screlinger_, or _Skrælings_, occurs
+in the accounts of the Norse visits to North America, at the end of
+the tenth century; and the people thus referred to are generally
+identified with the Esquimaux. "The Northmen were used to call the
+Esquimaux Skrælings, a term of contempt, meaning, says Crantz,
+'chips, parings, _i.e._, dwarfs.'" And the North American Skrælings
+of the tenth century, who are described as paddling about in
+skin-canoes, "skimming the surface of the water in their swift
+flight," are quite obviously either of the same race as the modern
+Eskimos, or else closely allied to them.[313] In the course of eight
+or nine centuries, the "Skrælings" may have become modified to some
+extent; and, indeed, modern travellers[314] are wonderfully
+unanimous in remarking upon the effect that nineteenth-century
+intermixture has had upon Asiatic and Greenland Eskimos, and upon
+the Ainos. But whatever the exact appearance of the tenth-century
+"Skræling," the map of Olaus Magnus denotes that, five or six
+centuries later, the extreme north of Norway was inhabited by a race
+of "Skrælings"; and that these people were the same as the "pygmies"
+of classical writers. It has already been pointed out[315] that the
+Greenland "Skrælings" were also spoken of as "goblins," and this
+again shows that that American type, whether most akin to the modern
+Eskimo or to the Aino, was not a _new_ type to those European
+explorers,--whose legendary history was already teeming with stories
+of encounters with "goblins."[316]
+
+Whatever may have been the ethnical position of the tenth-century
+"Skræling" of America, this sixteenth-century map of North Europe
+certainly signifies that the "pigmies," "Screlings," or
+"Scric-Finns" of the extreme north of Scandinavia were neither
+"Finns" nor "Lapps," but a race that ultimately yielded place to
+these. There are similar indications in the extreme north of Asia.
+The Chukches of Siberia undoubtedly connect the Lapp in the west
+with the Eskimo in the east. But these Chukches have traditions of a
+race called _Onkilon_, _i.e._, "sea-folk," whom the Chukches, moving
+northward, displaced or annihilated. "Tradition relates that upwards
+of two hundred years ago these Onkilon occupied the whole of the
+Chukch coast, from Cape Chelagskoj to Behring's Straits; and indeed
+we still find along the whole of this stretch remains of their
+earth-huts, which must have been very unlike the present dwellings
+of the Chukches; they have the form of small mounds, are half sunk
+in the ground and closed above with whale ribs, which are covered
+with a thick layer of earth." Baron Nordenskiöld, who is here
+quoting Wrangel's "Reise" (1825), gives himself a representation of
+one of those Onkilon earth-dwellings, seen by him at Cape
+North.[317] In these now-extinct "Onkilon," then, we have a race of
+people who, like the Finns and sea-trows of Shetland, were famed as
+"sea-folk," and who at the same time were underground-people or
+mound-dwellers.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[271] There is a Rob Roy's Town in Lanarkshire, celebrated as the
+scene of Wallace's capture, and even if the name is no older than
+Harry the Minstrel (who uses it), it indicates a "Rob Roy"
+ante-dating Sir Walter Scott's by a couple of centuries.
+
+[272] Scott, who gives this definition ("Lady of the Lake," Note 2
+Q), says it is the _literal_ one. This, however, is not the
+_literal_ meaning of "Uruisgean." But it is enough to know that the
+people so named were believed to be wild, "shaggy" men.
+
+[273] Armstrong's "Gaelic Dictionary," s.v. _Uruisg_.
+
+[274] _See_ Note 2 H to "The Lady of the Lake." This May Mollach is
+well known in the legendary history of the Grants. Scott again
+refers to her in his Introduction to "The Monastery," where he
+asserts that she "condescended to mingle in ordinary sports, and
+even to direct the Chief how to play at draughts." With this may be
+compared Thorpe's statement ("Northern Mythology," I., 145) that the
+Scandinavian dwarfs, who were also hairy, used to "play at tables."
+There is also a story in the Island of Skye of a "brownie" who
+watched over and instructed one of the players in a game of
+"tables." (_See_ Defoe's "Duncan Campbell," London, 1856, p. 106.)
+"Tables" seems to have been a comprehensive name for draughts,
+chess, and other games played on a chess-board; and these remarks
+recall the set of chessmen, carved out of walrus tusk, already
+referred to as having been found in the Hebrides in 1826, and of
+which eleven are in the Museum of the Society of Antiquaries of
+Scotland. "Chess-playing was one of the favourite amusements of the
+Irish chieftains," says O'Donovan ("Book of Rights," Dublin, 1847,
+p. lxi), and he gives illustrations of an Irish chess-man, which he
+states is exactly similar, "as well in style as in material," to the
+Hebridean specimens just mentioned.
+
+[275] It may be seen again in the name given in former times to a
+section of the Clan Mac-Ra, "Clann ic Rath _Mholach_" or "Hairy Mac
+Raas." The surname _Malloch_ also represents the same word.
+
+[276] Armstrong's "Gaelic Dictionary," s.v. _Mailleachan_.
+
+[277] _Ibid._ s.v. _Uruisg_.
+
+[278] Scott says ("Letters on Demonology," London, John Murray,
+1830, p. 115) that Rob Roy once gained a victory by disguising a
+part of his men, by means of goat-skins, as "ourisks," and so
+terrifying their opponents. But if that Rob Roy, or any section of
+his followers, presented the appearance which Scott himself
+portrays, or if any remnant of the ancient "Pechts" survived in that
+neighbourhood, it does not seem that any disguise was necessary to
+give them the appearance of "wild, or shaggy men."
+
+[279] "West Highland Tales," II., 386.
+
+[280] "West Highland Tales," II., 189-192. For further references to
+the _fuath_, or _duine fuathasach_, see pp. 97-101 of the same
+volume. It may be added that Armstrong simply defines _brollachan_
+as "a ragged person." Similarly, McAlpine states that in the West
+Highlands _uruisg_ signifies "a savage, ugly-looking fellow." Both
+of these definitions point to the _real_ and matter-of-fact aspect
+of the traditional _uruisg_ or _brollachan_.
+
+[281] Gaelic _glaisean_, from _glas_, grey. Cf. the Shetland
+allusion to the dwarfs as "the _grey_ women-stealers."
+
+[282] "West Highland Tales," Introduction, pp. liv, lv.
+
+[283] With the above use of "rough," as also in relation to the
+_brollachan_, compare the statement in Defoe's "Duncan Campbell"
+(London, 1856, p. 129) that the brownie "appeared like a rough man."
+
+[284] _The Archæological Review_, Jan. 1890, pp. 433, 434.
+
+[285] _See_ Vol. 13, pp. 424-6 (_Nugæ Cambrica_).
+
+[286] It is to be noted that this writer renders "Gwylliaid" by
+"Banditti," and never refers to them as "goblins" or "fairies,"
+though this is the usual meaning given to the word. There is no good
+reason for objecting to the less usual translation, except that,
+while it denotes one recognized characteristic of the dwarfs, after
+they had been cut up into small confederacies, it loses sight of
+other notable features of such "banditti."
+
+[287] The difference between these people and the intangible
+"fairies" created by the imagination (but originating in reality) is
+nowhere brought out more strongly than in this passage. A hanged
+fairy would be quite a novelty in poetry.
+
+[288] In her "Borders of the Tamar and the Tavy" (London, 1879, Vol.
+I., Letter xiv.), Mrs. Bray speaks of these "gubbins," referring to
+the account given by Camden as well as Fuller. Halliwell also cites
+"Milles' MS." As for the derivation of the word itself, it seems
+clearly to be connected with Welsh _coblyn_, English _goblin_ and
+_gub_, and Italian _gobbo_--pigmy. Compare also _gobban_ (_ante_, p.
+134); and note the etymology quoted by Fuller (_op. cit._) "that
+such who did 'inhabitare montes gibberosos' were called Gubbings."
+
+[289] _See_ Mrs. Bray's work just cited, Vol. I., Letter x.: also a
+reference to the goblin or "bucka" as hairy, in Mr. Whitley Stokes'
+"Gwreans an Bys," pp. 124, 125.
+
+In Mr. Hunt's "Popular Romances of the West of England" (London, J.
+C. Hotten, 2nd edit., pp. 217, 218), there is a weird story of a
+wrestling-match by night, at a certain cairn near Penzance. The
+wrestlers were believed by the two onlookers to be supernatural
+beings:--"They were men of great size and strength, with savage
+faces, rendered more terrible by the masses of uncombed hair which
+hung about them, and the colours with which they had painted their
+cheeks." They had appeared to issue out of the rocks of the cairn.
+Although the term "great size," if it denotes _stature_, does not
+include these men among dwarfs, yet they are represented as _Picti_;
+and as "supernatural," hirsute cave-dwellers.
+
+[290] "West Highland Tales," II., 64. (For a general reference to
+the nudity of those drudges _see_ Ritson's "Fairies," London, 1831,
+p. 46.)
+
+[291] Thorpe's "Northern Mythology," I., 244.
+
+[292] Thorpe: _op. cit._ I., 252.
+
+[293] In Edinburgh, for the firm of Messrs. Schenck and McFarlane,
+lithographers.
+
+[294] There is at least one detail overlooked in this picture by the
+artist. And another detail, which he has introduced, has not been
+referred to in these pages, viz., the miner's lamp worn by the
+dwarfs. In Cornwall, the earliest miners are understood to have been
+those "little people," whose subterranean habits would undoubtedly
+render them early acquainted with the use of metals. And the miner's
+lamp may reasonably be regarded as an inheritance from the dwarf
+races. It is noteworthy that the typical miner's dress, in
+seventeenth-century England, appears to have been "canvas breeches,
+red waistcoats and red caps," a garb closely in agreement with some
+versions of the dwarf attire. (See Hone's "Ancient Mysteries," p.
+259.)
+
+[295] Introduction to "Aino Folk Tales," by Basil Hall Chamberlain,
+Professor of Philology at the T[=o]ky[=o] University. (Privately
+printed for the Folk-Lore Society, 1888.)
+
+[296] "Unbeaten Tracks in Japan," by Miss Isabella L. Bird. London,
+1880, II., p. 103.
+
+[297] Introduction to "Aino Folk Tales," vi.-vii.
+
+[298] _Ibid._, v.
+
+[299] "Unbeaten Tracks in Japan," II., 9, 107. (Also p. 75.)
+
+[300] The writer here refers to a less pure type of Aino.
+
+[301] See "Unbeaten Tracks in Japan," II., 9, 75-6, 106, 118, 136-7,
+and 143-4.
+
+[302] For the use of this block I am indebted to Mr. John Murray,
+Albemarle Street.
+
+[303] This adjective can be otherwise accounted for.
+
+[304] One might multiply special instances without end. But it is
+appropriate to notice that the "Arabian Nights" tales are, in this
+respect, in keeping with those of the West. For example, Schaibar,
+the brother of the fairy Pari-Banou, is a powerful dwarf, possessing
+a tremendous beard and moustache (his strength, the smallness of his
+stature, and his beard are all vastly exaggerated, but they are all
+distinguishing features). And again, in the Third Voyage of Sindbad,
+his vessel approaches an island of which he says:--"The captain told
+us that this island was inhabited by hairy savages, who would come
+to attack us; and although they were only dwarfs, we must not
+attempt to make any resistance; for, as their number was
+inconceivable, if we should happen to kill one, they would pour upon
+us like locusts, and destroy us. No sooner had he said this than we
+saw coming towards us an innumerable multitude of hideous savages,
+entirely covered with red hair, and about two feet high. They threw
+themselves into the sea, and swam to the ship, which they soon
+completely encompassed. They spoke to us as they approached, but we
+could not understand their language. They began to climb the sides
+and ropes of the vessel with so much swiftness and agility, that
+their feet scarcely seemed to touch them, and soon reached the
+deck."
+
+[305] "Unbeaten Tracks in Japan," II., 143.
+
+[306] xxvii. and xxxiii. The harpoon tip is said, in one tale, to
+have been "made half of iron and half of bone."
+
+[307] Miss Bird met with some Ainos of whom she says (II., 37):--"I
+thought that they approached more nearly to the Eskimo type than to
+any other." This, of course, was exceptional; but the remark is
+noteworthy.
+
+[308] March, 1885, "A Very Old Master."
+
+[309] _Fortnightly Review_, September, 1882, p. 312.
+
+[310] Opinions still more antagonistic to those of Professor Dawkins
+were expressed by Professor Flower, in commenting upon a paper read
+by Dr. John Rae at the Anthropological Institute, July 7th, 1886,
+wherein Dr. Rae had referred to this subject.
+
+[311] A reprint of which is appended to Mr. Elton's "Origins" (Plate
+IV).
+
+[312] Brooke's "Travels in Lapland," London, 1827, p. 3.
+
+[313] For these references see Appendix B and the "Antiquitates
+Americanæ" (Copenhagen, 1837), conveniently condensed in W. C.
+Bryant and S. H. Gay's "History of the United States," Chap. III.
+
+[314] Such as Nordenskiöld, Carstensen, Joest, &c.
+
+[315] _Ante_, p. 144, _note_.
+
+[316] Further statements upon this point will be found in Appendix
+B.
+
+[317] "Voyage of the Vega," I. 443.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+
+There is yet another characteristic of the modern Aino which
+suggests the dwarf of the British Isles. "Mention must also be made
+of an anatomical peculiarity of the Aino skeleton, consisting of a
+remarkable flattening of the arm-and leg-bones."[318] This
+peculiarity, which is known scientifically as "platycnemism," forms
+a part of Herr von Siebold's "Ethnologische Studien über die Aino,
+auf der Insel Yesso."[319] Much may be learned with regard to
+platycnemism in a paper "On the Discovery of Platycnemic Men in
+Denbighshire,"[320] by Professors Busk and Boyd Dawkins; and the
+subject of platycnemism generally has been very fully discussed in
+Dr. L. Manouvrier's "Mémoire sur la Platycnémie."[321] The question
+is full of interest; but what we are here concerned with is the fact
+that, characterizing the dwarfish, hairy Ainos of the nineteenth
+century, this flattening of the leg-bones is also associated with
+the dwarfs of Britain. Those cave-dwelling, "platycnemic men" of
+Denbighshire, though not actually dwarfs, were of no greater height
+on an average than five feet, or a trifle over. Again, the skeletons
+found in the underground dwellings of Wiltshire, which have been so
+closely studied by General Pitt-Rivers, exhibit marked platycnemism
+in several instances, and of these the average height was 5 ft.,
+1^.3 (among eleven males), and (among three females) 4 ft., 10.[322]
+In Wigtownshire, also, the bones of certain cave-men have yielded at
+least one tibia which has been pronounced to be "highly
+platycnemic." The locality where these remains were found has been
+spoken of on a previous page,[323] as a locality famed as the last
+refuge of the "Pechts," and, at the same time, as a home of the
+"fairies." These are a few special instances; but if once we
+recognize the probability that platycnemism was specially a
+characteristic of "the little people," then there will be small
+difficulty in accepting as true the forecast with which Mr. Boyd
+Dawkins concludes his remarks in the paper above mentioned:--"I have
+not the slightest doubt that platycnemism will be recognized in
+remains from chambered tombs in many parts of Britain, and that
+eventually the men found in Denbighshire will be proved to belong to
+a race that spread over Britain and Ireland, and a large area on the
+Continent."
+
+The effect of this flattened tibia or leg-bone is to give to the
+"platycnemic man" an unusual degree of agility. Thus one reads that
+the Ainos who drew Miss Bird's _kuruma_ raced "for a considerable
+distance" with some mounted Japanese, drawing the _kuruma_, of
+course, at the same time. Similarly, the mountain-ponies of the
+Picts "could hardly excel the speed of the troops on foot."[324] The
+traditional accounts of the "Fians" have much to say of their
+marvellous swiftness of foot. The same thing is noted of the
+Dartmoor _gubbins_ of the sixteenth century: "Such their fleetness,
+they will outrun many horses."[325] And the earth-dwelling "Red
+Fairies" of Merionethshire "were also remarkable for their swiftness
+and agility."[326] There is a Scotch story of a brownie who
+successfully "herded" a hare; and the lightness of foot of the fairy
+in general is proverbial. From all these references, then, there is
+every reason for believing that the little people were "platycnemic
+men."
+
+This identification of the traditional dwarfs with the Ainos on the
+one hand and the Eskimos on the other, amounts to an assumption that
+the dwarfs were not only hirsute like the first of these, and
+mound-dwellers like the second, but also that, like the extinct
+_Onkilon_ of Siberia, they were in a distinct sense "sea-folk." In
+other words, that, while showing a strong _affinity_ with the two
+modern types chiefly referred to in these pages, they were
+nevertheless not _identical_ with either. That they were the
+ancestors of both seems probable, bequeathing to each division some
+of the qualities and customs of the original stock; which might be
+described as Aino-Eskimo.
+
+So far as tradition goes, there is every indication that the hairy
+dwarf was of a sea-faring race. The Gaelic _ur-uisg_ was rightly
+called a "wild or _shaggy_ man" by Sir Walter Scott, but literally
+he was a "_water_-man"; which term has many equivalents, such as
+wasser-man, mer-man, and others. The Guernsey "King of the
+_Auxcriniers_" previously mentioned,[327] may also denote this
+identification of the _zee-woner_ with the "shaggy man"; unless the
+name _auxcriniers_ bears a less obvious meaning than it appears to
+do. But no better illustration of this union can be found than the
+historical Picts. Tradition has told us of their shaggy skins, and
+the "small boats" which they used. And both of these are indicated
+by the sixth-century Gildas, in his account of the inroads of the
+Picts and Scots, after the withdrawal of the Romans, where he
+says:--"Itaque illis ad sua revertentibus, emergunt certatim de
+curicis, quibus sunt trans Cichicam[328] vallem vecti, quasi in alto
+Titane incalescenteque caumate de arctissimis foraminum cavernulis
+fusci vermiculorum cunei, tetri Scotorum Pictorumque greges, moribus
+ex parte dissidentes, sed una eademque sanguinis fundendi aviditate
+concordes, furci-ferosque magis vultus pilis, quam corporum pudenda,
+pudendisque proxima, vestibus tegentes."[329]
+
+There is complete agreement among the commentators of Gildas that
+the word "curicis" is a Latinized form of the Celtic _curach_, a
+skin-boat. And the expression "de arctissimis foraminum cavernulis"
+is singularly confirmative of the assumption that the variety of
+skin-boat denoted was the narrow kayak with its small round
+man-hole, and covered "hold," out of which the invading Pict
+"eagerly emerged" in his haste to attack the Romanized and civilized
+people in the neighbourhood of the Wall. The reference to their
+appearance generally is, moreover, very much like the terms used by
+the Norse writers in speaking of the tenth-century "Skrælings."
+
+That the historical Picts were as "amphibious" as any other
+"sea-folk" of the kind here discussed, is further testified by such
+a statement as this:--"They passed their days in the water, swimming
+in the northern estuaries, or wading with the stream as high as the
+waist. Dion Cassius adds, with his characteristic vivacity, that
+they would hide in the mud for days together, with nothing but their
+heads out of the water."[330] Although the custom of hiding from an
+enemy in the fashion just described was practised quite recently by
+the "bog-trotters" in Ireland (see _Rokeby_, Note 2 R), it is
+doubtful how far these statements ought to be accepted literally.
+But at least they point to the Picts as a race as much at home on
+sea as on land; and the reference to their "wading" in the water
+waist-high is again suggestive of the traditional mer-man or Triton,
+and the actual Eskimo (as he appears at a distance).
+
+Thus, although the dwarfs of Shetland tradition are separately
+remembered as "sea-trows" and "hill-trows" (otherwise "hill-people,"
+or "högfolk"), it seems quite evident that these two names simply
+refer to two different aspects of one race. The memory of them, in
+connection with their homes in chambered mounds ("hows," "högs," or
+"pechts' houses"), has gradually become dissociated from the memory
+of them in their character of sea-rovers, when in their swift
+"sea-skins" they darted after and easily overtook the heavy wooden
+boats used by the rival race. Nevertheless, although popular
+tradition, in thus remembering them, has almost transformed them
+into an actually amphibious race, it yet asserts that these
+seafaring "Finns" "are reckoned among the Trows."
+
+ * * * * *
+
+Such are some of the deductions to be drawn from a comparison of
+traditional accounts with those of history, taken in connection with
+the ethnical features and the customs of certain races of people.
+There are many more inferences which could be made, but these may
+reasonably be deferred until the true value of tradition has been
+tested. The way in which this can be done has been pointed out in
+the foregoing pages. Should tradition prove itself reliable as a
+guide to the dwellings of "the little people," then _all_ its
+statements regarding them will merit the closest consideration.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[318] This statement, made by Professor Tylor in his Introduction to
+the "Aino Folk-Tales," is based upon the accounts of others; for a
+reference to one of which (Von Siebold's) I am indebted to Mr.
+Tylor.
+
+[319] Berlin, 1881.
+
+[320] Jour. Ethnol. Soc. of London, Jan. 1871.
+
+[321] Paris, 1888.
+
+[322] See General Pitt-Rivers' "Excavations in Cranborne Chase,"
+1887. (Privately Printed.) II., 206-7.
+
+[323] Page 99. See specially pp. 87-8 of the volume quoted (1885-86)
+of the Proc. of the Soc. of Antiq. of Scotland.
+
+[324] Elton's "Origins," p. 169; quoted from Dion Cassius.
+
+[325] Fuller, as quoted by Kingsley.
+
+[326] _Scots Magazine_, 1823, Vol. 13, pp. 424-6.
+
+[327] Page 16.
+
+[328] This is variously spelt "Aticam," "Styticam," and "Tithicam"
+(Petrie's _Monumenta historica Britannica_); and the solutions are
+as various as the spellings. If by "Tithicam vallem" is denoted the
+valley of the River Teith, this variant appears preferable to any;
+and the district referred to would be the whole of the Teith or
+Forth basin, which at that period was probably a mixture of land and
+water,--a northern Bedford Level, or fen-country.
+
+[329] Gildas' "De Excidio Britanniæ," Stevenson's edition, London,
+1838, pp. 24-25.
+
+[330] Elton's "Origins," p. 169. The first sentence is from
+Herodian.
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX A.
+
+THE BRUGH OF THE BOYNE, NEW GRANGE.
+
+
+The descriptions of the New Grange mound given by Llhwyd and
+Molyneux are of much importance, since they both belong to about the
+beginning of the eighteenth century; and as they are not very
+accessible to the general reader they may suitably be quoted here.
+The two writers do not altogether agree in their account of the
+appearance of the chamber, and their theories as to its origin are
+certainly different; but whatever may be the value of the latter,
+there can be no doubt that descriptions which were made at a time
+when the interior of this mound was fresher by two centuries than it
+now is have a value that is lacking in the descriptions of modern
+writers, however accurate. The following is
+
+"_An Account of a large Cave nigh_ Drogheda, _by Mr._ Edward
+Llhwyd."[331]
+
+"The most remarkable curiosity we saw by the way, was a stately
+mount at a place called _New Grange_ near _Drogheda_; having a
+number of huge stones pitch'd on end round about it, and a single
+one on the top. The gentleman of the village (one Mr. _Charles
+Campbel_) observing that under the green turf this mount was wholly
+composed of stones, and having occasion for some, employ'd his
+servants to carry off a considerable parcel of them; till they came
+at last to a very broad flat stone, rudely carv'd, and placed
+edgewise at the bottom of the mount. This they discovered to be the
+door of the cave,[332] which had a long entry leading into it. At
+the first entering, we were forced to creep; but still as we went
+on, the pillars on each side of us were higher and higher; and
+coming into the cave, we found it about twenty foot high. In this
+cave, on each hand of us, was a cell or apartment, and another went
+on straight forward opposite to the entry. In those on each hand was
+a very broad, shallow bason of stone, situated at the edge. The
+bason in the right hand apartment stood in another; that on the left
+hand was single; and in the apartment straight forward there was
+none at all. We observed that water dropt into the right hand bason,
+tho' it had rain'd but little in many days; and suspected that the
+lower bason was intended to preserve the superfluous liquor of the
+upper, (whether this water were sacred, or whether it was for blood
+in sacrifice) that none might come to the ground. The great pillars
+round this cave, supporting the mount, were not at all hewn or
+wrought; but were such rude stones as those of _Abury_ in
+_Wiltshire_, and rather more rude than those of _Stonehenge_: but
+those about the basons, and some elsewhere, had such barbarous
+sculpture (_viz._, spiral like a snake, but without distinction of
+head and tail) as the forementioned stone at the entry of the cave.
+There was no flagging nor floor to this entry nor cave; but any sort
+of loose stones everywhere under feet. They found several bones in
+the cave, and part of a stag's (or else elk's) head, and some other
+things, which I omit, because the labourers differed in their
+account of them. A gold coin of the emperor _Valentinian_, being
+found near the top of this mount, might bespeak it _Roman_; but that
+the rude carving at the entry and in the cave seems to denote it a
+barbarous monument. So, the coin proving it ancienter than any
+invasion of the _Ostmens_ (_sic_) or _Danes_, and the carving and
+rude sculpture, barbarous; it should follow, that it was some place
+of sacrifice or burial of the ancient _Irish_."
+
+From the account given by Dr. Thomas Molyneux,[333] the following
+extracts may be taken:--
+
+"'Tis situated in the county of _Meath_ and barony of _Slaine_,
+within four miles of the town of _Drogheda_; from its largeness and
+make, from the time and labour it must needs have cost to erect so
+great a pile, we may easily gather 'twas raised in honour of some
+mighty prince, or person of the greatest power and dignity in his
+time. I have not heard of any thing of this kind that equals it in
+_Ireland_: 'tis a thousand foot in the circumference at the bottom,
+and round the flat surface at the top measures three hundred foot,
+it rises in the perpendicular about a hundred and fifty foot; and is
+seated so advantageously upon a rising ground, that it is seen from
+all parts round at a vast distance, and from its top yields a
+delightful prospect of all the adjacent country.
+
+Round the bottom of the mount, at some distance from it, are raised
+in a circular order, huge unwrought stones, rudely expressing
+pyramids, fixt with their basis in the ground, now at unequal
+distances, because some I suppose have been removed in length of
+time, and others faln down; neither do they answer one another in
+height, some being eleven, others not four foot high;...
+
+The mount it self is composed of small round paving stones, heapt
+together so as to form a pyramid, within whose center lies a cave
+that's somewhat round in figure: to this you can only pass through a
+narrow hole placed on the north[334] side of the mount, so strait,
+it does allow an entrance but to one man, and that when on his hands
+and feet: it seems they industriously contrived this hole should lye
+concealed, for 'twas but lately discovered, and that by accident in
+removing part of the stones to make a pavement in the neighbourhood.
+
+This strait entrance leads into a narrow gallery of 80 foot in
+length, 3 foot wide, gradually rising in height, still the further
+it advances from the narrow passage where you enter, there 'tis
+about 4 foot high, and from thence rises slowly till it is 10 foot
+in height: the differing heights in this gallery at several
+distances from the first entrance, must be occasioned by the passage
+suiting its figure to the outward conical shape of the mount, which
+obliged the contriver to make the gallery lower as it was nearer the
+outside of the pyramid, but the farther it advanced from thence
+allowed him still to raise its height more, and most of all about
+the middle of the mount.[335] The walls or sides of this strait
+gallery are made of large flag stones set broad-ways with their
+edges close to one another, not hewn or shaped by any tool, but rude
+and natural, as when they were at first dug from the quarry; they
+differ in their sizes as the several heights of the gallery require,
+the top of which is covered over with the same flag stones laid
+along; some of those in the covering measure full nineteen foot in
+length.
+
+The furthest end of this long narrow passage lets you into the dark
+hollow cave, of an irregular figure, nineteen or twenty foot high,
+and in the middle about ten foot broad. As you enter the vault, on
+each hand you have a hollow cell or nich, taken out of the sides of
+the cave, and a third straight before you, these three cells each
+are about five foot every way, and ten in height: the walls round
+the circumference of the cave, and of these side apartments are
+composed like those of the long gallery, of huge, mighty flag stones
+set end-ways in the ground, of seven or eight foot high; these
+upright stones support other broad stones that lay along or
+horizontally, jetting their ends beyond the upright stones; and over
+these again are placed another order of flat stones in the same
+level posture, advancing still their edges towards the center of the
+cave, further than those they rest upon, and so one course above
+another approaching nearer towards the middle, form all together a
+rude kind of arch, by way of roof, over the vault below; this arch
+is closed at top by one large stone that covers the center, and
+keeps all fixt and compact together: for through the whole work
+appears no sign of morter, clay, or other cement, to join or make
+its parts lye firm and close, but where a crevise happens, or an
+interstice, they are filled up with thin flat stones, split and
+wedged in, on purpose with that design.
+
+The bottom of the cave and entry is a rude sort of pavement, made of
+the same stones of which the mount is composed, not beaten or joined
+together, but loosely cast upon the ground only to cover it. Along
+the middle of the cave, a slender quarrey-stone, five or six foot
+long, lies on the floor, shaped like a pyramid, that once, as I
+imagine, stood upright, perhaps a central stone to those placed
+round the outside of the mount; but now 'tis fallen down....
+
+When first the cave was opened, the bones of two dead bodies entire,
+not burnt, were found upon the floor....
+
+In each of the three cells was placed upon the ground a broad and
+shallow cistern, somewhat round, but rudely formed out of a kind of
+free-stone; they all were rounded a little at the bottom so as to be
+convex, and at the top were slightly hollowed, but their cavities
+contained but little; some of their brims or edges were sinuated or
+scolopt, the diameter of these cisterns was more than two foot wide,
+and in their height they measured about eighteen inches from the
+floor.
+
+The cell that lay upon the right hand was larger, and seemed more
+regular and finish'd than the rest; for rude as it was, it shewed
+the workman had spent more of his wild art and pains upon it, than
+the other two: the cistern it contained was better shaped, and in
+the middle of it was placed another smaller cistern, better wrought,
+and of a more curious make; and still, for greater ornament, the
+stone that lay along as lintal, o'er the entrance of this cell, was
+cut with many spiral, circular, and waved lines, that with their
+rude and shallow traces, covered the surface of the stone. This
+barbarous kind of carving I observed in many other places of this
+cave, promiscuously disposed of here and there, without the least
+rule or order; but it was exprest no where with so much industry and
+profuseness, as on the stones belonging to this cell: yet tho' they
+were so lavish of their art, not the least footsteps of writing, or
+any thing like characters were found in the whole work....
+
+ * * * * *
+
+But the true genuine figure of the cave, and the description of the
+niches in its sides, and the long entry leading to it, will be far
+better understood by a plan which Mr. _Samuel Molyneux_, a young
+gentleman of the college of _Dublin_, delineated with care and
+accuracy, upon the place, last summer.[336]
+
+_A_ is the entrance, from _A_ to _B_ the long narrow gallery or
+passage, eighty foot in length, leading to the cave _C_. _D D D D D_
+the great flag-stones that make the sides or wall both of the cave
+and entrance. _E E E_ the three cells or apartments let into the
+sides of the cave, for the convenient reception of the three altars
+or shallow cisterns, _F F F_. _G_ a second altar, raised upon the
+lower altar in the right hand cell. _H_ a pyramid stone now fallen,
+but formerly set up erect in the middle of the cave. The situation
+of the cave, as to its length, stands north and south, its entrance
+lies directly south; but whether this position may be observed in
+laying out the caves, and passages that lead to them, in other
+_Danish_[337] mounts, and so may be some mark or direction to find
+out the hidden entrance, to other sepulchres of this kind, further
+enquiry may inform us.
+
+Figure the 7th [reproduced p. 126, _ante_] shows more particularly
+the manner and contrivance of the altar in the right hand cell, ...
+expressing all the rudeness of its work, _a a a a_ the upright
+flag-stones that compose the side-walls. _b b b_ the lintal-stone
+that's laid a-cross over the entrance of the cell; upon the surface
+of this stone, the artist has exprest abundance of rude barbarous
+sort of sculpture, _c c_ a lower altar serving as a basis to _d_,
+another lesser altar raised upon it."
+
+Dr. Molyneux also describes "two _Roman_ golden coins" (Llhwyd only
+mentions _one_) which "about ten or twelve years since" were found
+"near the surface," on the exterior of the mound; but these have
+practically as little to do with the structure itself as if they had
+been found in the neighbouring meadow.
+
+In comparing these two eighteenth-century accounts, one observes a
+few points calling for observation. But, before referring
+particularly to these, it may be convenient to add some of the
+statements made by Col. Forbes-Leslie with regard to the same mound.
+This writer, in his "Early Races of Scotland" (Edin., 1866, Vol.
+II., pp. 331-341), makes several interesting remarks upon the mound
+of New Grange, and others of a similar nature, and among his
+illustrations are two of New Grange, drawn by himself. These,
+however, do not supply any additional information. On the subject of
+this and similar mounds, Colonel Leslie remarks thus:--
+
+"Neither historical evidence, nor that derived from an examination
+of these monuments, appears sufficient warrant for the decision that
+all these chambers were exclusively intended for places of
+sepulture. Certainly in some of these chambers the massive materials
+used in their construction have apparently been designed and
+employed for other purposes. The following questions are suggested
+by peculiarities in these specimens of chambered tumuli--Were they
+intended to be occupied by the living, or as sepulchres for the
+dead? Were they originally used as temples, and afterwards turned
+into tombs? Or, on the contrary, although raised for tombs, were
+they afterwards used as habitations?...
+
+"An examination of the remarkable tumuli above mentioned gives rise
+to the above questions, and they are not answered by any theories or
+explanations regarding these monuments which have yet been offered
+to the public. It may be admitted, although it cannot be proved,
+that all or most of these monuments have at some period been used as
+sepulchres, and that the mound of stones or earth in which they are
+enveloped is sepulchral." But, in a foot-note, Col. Leslie adds:
+"There is no authentic record of human remains having been
+discovered either in New Grange, in the tumulus of Gavr-Innis
+[Brittany], or in that of Maeshow."
+
+ * * * * *
+
+"What are usually called sarcophagi in the chamber at New Grange may
+more correctly be designated as very shallow trays of a circular or
+rather oval form. In the eastern recess there are two--one placed
+above another of somewhat larger dimensions, the uppermost being 3
+feet long. The position and appearance of all of them are very
+unlike anything intended for the reception of sepulchral deposits."
+
+... "New Grange cairn is about 70 feet in height, and is said to
+cover an area nearly two acres in extent. Composed of loose stones,
+slightly covered with earth and partly overgrown with trees, this
+mound formerly had little appearance of being artificial, except
+that at a few yards' distance it was encircled by a line of single
+stones of great size fixed upright in the ground. The entrance to
+the chamber in this mound was accidentally discovered in 1699 by
+labourers who were removing stones to repair a neighbouring
+road."...
+
+"In each of the three recesses of the chamber were the shallow trays
+already mentioned, which by different writers have been variously
+designated as 'basins,' 'rude bowls,' 'urns,' 'typical urns,'
+'sarcophagi.'[338] There was one in the northern and one in the
+western recess, but the most remarkable are two in the eastern
+recess. The uppermost of these is somewhat oval in shape, slightly
+concave on its surface, and 3 feet in length: in it are two small
+artificial cavities. This tray lies on another, which is rather
+larger and less concave than that which rests on it. The tray in the
+western recess, although but slightly hollowed, has a well-defined
+rim on the edge of the upper surface....
+
+"New Grange was first described by Edward Llhuyd the antiquary,
+who, writing in 1699, makes no mention of any human remains being
+found in it, but notes 'a great many bones of beasts and some pieces
+of deers' horns' lying under foot."
+
+It will be seen that these accounts vary in several respects. One
+curious discrepancy is that relating to the shallow stone "trays" in
+the recesses of the central chamber. Dr. Molyneux states that the
+northern recess contained one of these, and his young namesake shows
+such a "tray" in his plan; and yet Llhwyd, writing twenty-five years
+earlier, distinctly says that "in the apartment straight forward
+there was none at all." That this is the case at the present day
+will be seen from the plan by Mr. W. F. Wakeman. It is noteworthy
+that Colonel Leslie also gives the number as three; but he speaks in
+the past tense when referring to the north recess, and he probably
+only echoes Molyneux. But Llhwyd's statement is so distinct that,
+considering his priority of date, his version must be accepted as
+the true one, in spite of the fact that young Molyneux (who,
+although he is stated to have drawn his plan "on the place," may
+have supplemented it from memory) represents the inner "apartment"
+as occupied by one of those "trays."
+
+As for the theories of the two earlier writers, on the subject of
+the origin and purpose of this "mount," it will be observed they
+differ widely. Molyneux has no doubt about its being the work of the
+ninth-century Danes, while Llhwyd, arguing from the discovery of
+Roman coins on the outer crust, infers that it was erected by "the
+ancient Irish." Although the coins cannot be held to constitute a
+strong reason for accepting Llhwyd's conclusions, other good grounds
+for doing so are obvious to every reader of the foregoing pages.
+
+Again, while Molyneux states very definitely that "when first the
+cave was opened, the bones of two dead bodies entire, not burnt,
+were found upon the floor," Llhwyd merely remarks that "they found
+several bones in the cave, and part of a stag's (or else elk's)
+head, and some other things," and Forbes-Leslie asserts that "there
+is no authentic record of human remains having been discovered" in
+this chambered mound.
+
+All of the writers quoted differ also as to the uses to which this
+structure was put. It was "some place of sacrifice or burial,"
+according to Llhwyd; Molyneux is sure that it was a "sepulchre"; and
+Forbes-Leslie regards the whole matter as undecided. But, although
+the last-named writer is of opinion that this, and similar mounds,
+may have been dwellings, he nevertheless admits that undoubtedly
+many of them, if not all, have also been used as places of burial.
+And these two beliefs are quite reconcilable, if one accepts what
+Professor Boyd Dawkins refers to as "the hypothesis of the origin of
+chambered tombs invented by Prof. Nilsson." "Chambered tombs,
+according to that great authority, were originally the subterranean
+houses in which the deceased lived, and there the dead were laid
+literally each 'in his own house.'" Whether human skeletons were
+really found in "the Brugh of the Boyne" or not, it seems clear that
+the mound at Dowth was ultimately, at any rate, a place of
+sepulture. "The most remarkable difference" between it and its more
+famous neighbour was, says Colonel Leslie, "that in Dowth fragments
+of burned human bones were discovered." And it is to be noted that
+tradition speaks of this place as "the cave (or 'weem') of the
+_grave_ of Bodan, above Dowth:" (_Uaimh Feirt Bodan os Dubath_).
+Dowth, or Dubath, may have denoted the mound itself; in which case
+the word signifying "above" or "upon" might refer to an exterior
+burial, in the "crust" of the mound, of which there are many
+examples. For instance, although tradition speaks of the Inverness
+_Tomnahurich_ as an inhabited "brugh," yet its exterior was used as
+a place of burial at a very early date, as is testified by the
+discovery, a few years ago, of a stone "kist," containing a human
+skeleton, buried some feet below the surface of the mound.[339]
+However, the word _Dubath_ (conjectured on a previous page to have
+signified _dubh-ath_, "the black ford") probably did not originally
+denote the mound itself, and _it_ therefore was "above Dubath," and
+the central chamber of the mound constituted "the weem of the grave
+of Bodan," who was presumably the owner of the "burned human bones"
+referred to by Colonel Leslie.
+
+But, while a description of the "Brugh of the Boyne" would be very
+imperfect without a reference to the subject of burial in chambered
+mounds, the various traditions which have been collected in these
+pages (themselves a minute fraction of the whole) show that such
+mounds, whatever their secondary use, are pre-eminently
+distinguished in the memory of the people as the _dwelling-places_
+of a certain peculiar "underground" race.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[331] This paper forms the last of "A Collection of such Papers as
+were communicated to the _Royal Society_, Referring to some
+_Curiosities_ in Ireland. _Dublin_: Printed by and for George
+Grierson, at the Two Bibles in Essex-Street, M, DCC, XXVI." (The
+"Collection" forms Part II. of "A Natural History of Ireland,"
+issued from the same press.)
+
+[332] Either this describes a slab which was subsequently destroyed
+or carried away, or it relates to the carved slab fixed in the
+ground below the doorway (as portrayed by Mr. Wakeman, at p. 121,
+_ante_).
+
+[333] In the volume already referred to as containing Llhwyd's
+description, and other papers.
+
+[334] A slip for "south."
+
+[335] The writer has evidently overlooked his previously expressed
+belief that the whole "mount" was artificial; or else he has assumed
+that the builders _first_ raised a solid "pyramid" of stones, and
+then burrowed into it; which is obviously absurd.
+
+[336] This tract was published in 1725. The "young gentleman's"
+illustrations have been re-produced in the present volume, in the
+plates facing pp. 124 and 126.
+
+[337] Dr. Molyneux assumes throughout that such "mounts" were
+erected by the Danes; and this origin is very often ascribed to them
+by Irish and Hebridean tradition. But Lady Ferguson's observation
+that the "Danes" and the "Dananns" or "Tuatha De Danann," are
+evidently confounded in the popular memory, is worth considering
+here. It is clear, at any rate, that the "Danes" of the year 861 who
+plundered those Boyne mounds cannot have been the people who reared
+them.
+
+[338] Of all these terms the "shallow tray" (or "saucer," if a new
+one may be added) is the most appropriate. From the plan of the
+Dowth mound (_ante_, p. 138) it will be seen that the central
+chamber there also has one of those large stone "trays." No
+satisfactory solution has yet been offered of the purposes for which
+these "trays" were made.
+
+[339] Described in the Edinburgh _Courant_ of January 6, 1886.
+
+
+
+
+APPENDIX B.
+
+THE SKRÆLINGS.
+
+
+There are many references to the North American Skrælings in Rafn's
+great work entitled "Antiquitates Americanæ: sive Scriptores
+Septentrionales Rerum Ante-Columbianarum in America," published
+under the auspices of the Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries
+(Copenhagen, 1837). This is a collection of the accounts in the old
+Northern chronicles, relating to the Northmen's (_gamle Nordboers_)
+voyages of discovery to America, between the tenth and fourteenth
+centuries. And from these accounts it is seen that the tribes then
+inhabiting the territories on either side of the Gulf of St.
+Lawrence, and as far south as Massachusetts, were the Skrælings;
+with whom the Northmen occasionally fought, and at other times
+traded, giving them pieces of red cloth in exchange for furs.
+
+That the term by which they are chiefly known to modern writers was
+not the only one given to them by the Northmen is seen from a remark
+made by one of the chroniclers of Thorfinn Karlsefne, who states
+that "these people are called Lapps in some books (_thær thjódhir
+kalla sumir bækr Lappa_)."[340] On the other hand, the map of Olaus
+Magnus, referred to in the foregoing pages, shows that the northern
+corner of Norway was then inhabited by a race of _Scric-Finni_,
+"commonly called 'Screlings,'" who at least were the neighbours of
+Lapps.
+
+In connection with the North American "Lapps" or "Skrælings," the
+editor of _Antiquitates Americanæ_ supplies the following note (p.
+45):--"Skrælingos appellatos autumat Bussæus ob humilem staturam;
+quam ob rem et interdum ab Islandis _Smælíngjar_ (homunculi)
+audiunt. Hæc vero communis appellationis ratio vix esse potest.
+Arnas Magnæus in collectaneis ad novam editionem Schedarum Arii
+polyhistoris, vocem _Skrælíngjar_ interpretatur errones, incertum
+qua ratione, cum ipse nullam attulerit. Suhmius (_Kjöbenhavnske
+Selskabs Skrifter_, VIII., pag. 81) eos ita propter vilem armaturam
+appellatos putat. Nonne potius nomen istud ob ora macilenta adepti
+sunt, ab _at skræla_, arefacere? Nota, Petrum Clausenium Undalinum,
+in descriptione Norvegiæ, ed. Hafn. 1632, pag. 375-6, hoc nomen
+scribere _Skregklinge_ et _Skreglinge_, qs. a _skrækja_, clamare,
+ejulare, cfr. Partic. de Karlsefnio, cap. 10 infra."
+
+Whatever may be the etymology of this word (which in some of its
+forms approaches the "_Scric_-Finni" of Norway), it is quite clear
+from the _Antiquitates Americanæ_ that those tenth-century natives
+of what is now New England and New Brunswick strongly resembled the
+modern Eskimos. "Hæc descriptio Skrælingorum accurate quadrat in
+hodiernos Grænlandos sive Eskimoos," is the observation made by the
+editor (p. 149, _n_.) on a description of some of those people
+encountered by the Northmen. And, similarly, the note relative to
+their skin-canoes, or kayaks, is as follows:[341]--"_húdhkeipr_,
+species navigii, acatium coriaceum vel corio contextum, quo usi sunt
+indigenæ, ut etiamnunc Grænlandi ex genere Eskimoorum; itaque per
+carabum redditum, qui secundum Isidorum Hispal. in Orig. Libr. 19,
+cap. 1. est 'parva scapha ex vimine facta, qui contexta crudo corio
+genus navigii præbet.'--Vocem illustrat vir doctissimus Gunnar
+Pauli, f. in annotationibus, insertis indici vocum _Orkneyinga sagæ:
+'Húdhkeipr_, navis sutilis, vel, si mavis, corio obducta vel
+circumdata. Nam phocarum ad hunc usum pelles adhibere Grænlandos
+notum est, quorum naves _húdhkeipar_ nostratibus olim sunt
+appellatæ.'"
+
+In these references there is much that is suggestive. One would like
+to know the occasions on which the Latin term "acatium" was used;
+and also the circumstances which induced an editor of the
+_Orkneyinga Saga_ to enlarge upon the appearance of the _húdhkeipr_.
+Taken in connection with the existence of kayak-using Finnmen, in
+the Orkney Isles, less than two centuries ago, this latter allusion
+is very striking. Similarly, an explanation of the term
+"Skregklinge" or "Skreglinge," occurring in a description of
+_Norway_, of the year 1632 (above referred to), arouses equal
+interest in that work.
+
+That the Skrælings, wherever situated, were "pigmies," is evident
+from the testimony of Olaus Magnus,--and the accounts of the
+eleventh-century Northmen fully corroborate this. One of their
+references is as follows: "They were small, ugly men, with horrible
+heads of hair, great eyes, and broad cheek-bones: (_Their voru smáir
+menn ok illiligir, ok íllt höfdhu their hár á höfdhi, eygdhir voru
+their mjök ok breidhir í kinnunum_)."[342] Another description
+occurs in the _Saga of Thorfinn Karlsefne_ which relates how,
+in the year 1011 A.D. (three years after his first encounter
+with the American Skrælings), he and his people arrived at
+Markland,--a country identified with the modern New Brunswick and
+other lands lying round the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Here they
+encountered five Skrælings, one man, two women and two boys:
+("... _ok funnu thar Skrælingja 5, ok var einn skeggiadhr; konur
+voru 2, ok börn tvö_;" in which passage it may be noted that the man
+was distinguished by the term "bearded,"--_skeggjadhr_). They
+captured the two boys, "but the others escaped, and sank beneath the
+ground:" ("_Verosimile est, Skrælingos in cavernas subterraneas se
+abdidisse_," is the explanation given by the commentator in
+_Antiquitates Americanæ_).[343] Karlsefne's people took the boys
+away with them, had them baptized, and taught them Icelandic. These
+stated that their father and mother (no doubt, the "bearded one" and
+one of the two women, then lamenting them in their underground
+dwelling) were respectively named Uvæge and Vethillde;[344] and that
+their people had no houses, but lived in dens and caves: ("_í hellum
+edha holum_"). The country of the Skrælings, they said, was governed
+by two kings or chiefs, one named Avalldamon (or Avalldumon) and the
+other Valldidida."
+
+It will be seen from these references that although those Skrælings
+of nine centuries ago are rightly regarded as probable progenitors
+of modern Eskimos, there were some differences between the two. The
+term "shaggy" or "bearded," used to distinguish the man from his two
+female companions, certainly does not indicate that the latter were
+themselves hirsute. But the previous reference to the "ugly" or
+"horrible" heads of hair, and the description of their eyes as very
+large, are two points that seem to denote a race not wholly
+identical with modern Eskimos.
+
+Moreover, the rapid disappearance of the adults underground, on the
+occasion when the two boys were captured, is more suggestive of the
+dwarfs of tradition (such as those who similarly escaped from
+Suafurlami when he attempted to smite them with his magic sword)
+than of the Greenlanders of to-day.
+
+Although the accounts of the two boy prisoners might be held to
+denote that the manners they described were new to the Northmen,
+yet an incident of earlier date shows clearly that the latter
+quite understood the subterranean ideas of those North American
+"Lapps." The incident referred to is this: In the year 1004,
+Thorwald Ericson and his followers had surprised a small party of
+nine Skrælings at the entrance to Plymouth Harbour, on the coast of
+Massachusetts,[345] and of these they killed eight. The ninth sped
+away in his skin-canoe to the inner end of the bay, out of which
+there presently emerged an infuriated swarm of kayakkers. But before
+they appeared, the Northmen had had time to note a group of
+"hillocks" on the beach (apparently on the interior curve of the
+promontory terminating in the modern "Gurnet Point,") and these
+"hillocks" they assumed to be the abodes of the Skrælings.[346] This
+was seven years before the capture of the boys by Karlsefne's party,
+and the inference clearly is that they were accustomed to regard
+kayak-using dwarfs as mound-dwellers. Indeed, the very fact that
+they styled the natives "Lapps" and "goblins,"[347] as well as
+Skrælings, shows that they regarded them as belonging to the same
+race as similar people well known to them in Europe.
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[340] _Antiq. Amer._ p. 182_n_.
+
+[341] P. 43, note _a_.
+
+[342] Pages 180-1. It ought to be added that the version which is
+given on p. 149 has _svartir_ ("swarthy" or "black") instead of
+_smáir_. But whichever of these versions has the correct word, the
+small stature of the Skrælings is beyond dispute.
+
+[343] Page 162, note _a_. The account above referred to is given at
+pp. 161-2, and again at pp. 182-3.
+
+[344] According to the version on p. 162. That of p. 182 makes both
+names feminine, and indicates that the boys were not sons of one
+mother. A footnote on p. 162 gives many variants of these names,
+_e.g._, Ægi, Ovægi, etc., Weihilldi, Veinhildi, etc.
+
+[345] That, at any rate, is the locality agreed upon by those who
+have tracked the routes of the Northmen.
+
+[346] _Op. cit._, p. 43.
+
+[347] See p. 144_n._, _ante_.
+
+
+
+
+INDEX.
+
+
+Aagerup, Denmark:
+ reputed chambered mound near, 155.
+
+Aberfoyle, Perthshire:
+ reputed chambered hill at, 152-3.
+
+Abernethy, Perthshire:
+ Round Tower of, said to have been built by Pechts, 67, 86.
+ A. district a former territory of the Pechts, 150.
+
+Ainos:
+ A dwarfish race, 165;
+ their past history, 165-6;
+ their characteristic hairiness, 166-172;
+ their platycnemism, 176;
+ their speed, 177;
+ their "short, screeching" cry, 168;
+ A's. make use of reindeer, moccasins, "skies," and harpoons,
+ all of which show affinity of custom, if not of blood,
+ with Eskimo families, 169-171.
+
+Alaskan, or Aleutian Eskimos, 9_n_, 22.
+
+All-Hallows. (_See_ Hallowmas.)
+
+_Almhain_ or Allen, Hill of, Kildare:
+ Fin's dwelling at, 56.
+
+_Almhain_ or Almond, Glen, West Perthshire:
+ resort of Fians, 77.
+
+Ardmore, Waterford:
+ Round Tower of, said to have been built in the manner ascribed
+ to the Pechts, 71_n_.
+
+Argyleshire. (_See under_ Mounds.)
+
+Arthur, and "primitive Britons" or "Pechts," 142-3_n_.
+
+Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh, 143_n_.
+
+Aschberg, Casterlé, province of Antwerp.
+ A reputed chambered mound, 86-7, 155.
+
+Ashbury, Berkshire. A chambered mound, 132_n_.
+
+_Auxcriniers_ of Guernsey tradition, 16, 178.
+
+
+_Baile Thangasdail_, Island of Barra:
+ story of a chambered mound near, 82_n_, 115.
+
+Ballindalloch (near), Banffshire:
+ reputed chambered mound, 117.
+
+Beelsby, Lincolnshire:
+ tradition of dwarfs wearing red caps, 107_n_.
+
+Beltin.
+ A Fian date, 94.
+ A Fairy date, 98.
+
+Ben-cnock, Islay:
+ reputed chambered mound, 114.
+
+Ben Muich Dhui, Aberdeenshire:
+ Dwarfs of, 97.
+
+Bergen, Norway:
+ a celebrated resort of the Shetland Finns, 5, 13:
+ suzerainty of B. over N.E. Scotland, 37.
+ The _Strils_ of B., 7_n_.
+
+Bissau, Aberdeenshire:
+ reputed chambered mound, 117.
+
+Blackwater, Leinster, 92.
+
+Blackwater, Munster, 92, 127.
+
+Blackwater, East Perthshire, 94-5.
+
+Blackwater, West Perthshire, 152.
+
+Bolg. (_See_ Fir-Bolg.)
+
+Braderup, Sylt:
+ the _Pukthal_ at, 87.
+
+Brechin, Forfarshire:
+ Round Tower at B. said to have been built by the Pechts, 72.
+
+Brittany:
+ church in B. said to have been built by Fairies, 85-6;
+ _Feins_ or _Fions_ of B., 85.
+
+_Broch_, _Brog_, etc., 43_n_, 61, 77-79.
+
+Broch of Coldoch, Perthshire:
+ a chambered mound, 119, 149-151, 153.
+
+Brownies, 80, 141-2, 158-164. (_See_ also Fairies, etc.)
+
+Brugh of the Boyne, County Meath, 84, 111, 119-133, 153.
+
+Bugle, Buffalo, or Urus, 80-81_n_, 95.
+
+Buildings said to have been reared in a single night:
+ Abernethy Tower, 85-6;
+ Chapels in Brittany, 85;
+ Castle of the _Gypnissen_, 86.
+
+Burray, Orkney. Finnman's boat once preserved there, 6.
+ All trace of it now lost, 17_n_.
+
+
+Canoe. (_See_ Skin-Boat.)
+ "Dug-out," 31.
+
+Cassiterides. (_See_ Oestrymnic Isles.)
+
+Cater Thun, Forfarshire:
+ said to be Pictish, 73, 76, 86, 99;
+ alleged to have been built by a witch, and inhabited by
+ Fairies, 99-100:
+ a kettle of gold believed to be hidden there, 150_n_.
+
+Cathair Mhor } Gairloch, Ross-shire: fairy residences, 118.
+Cathair Bheag }
+
+"Catrail" in S. of Scotland, said to have been built by
+ Pechts, 67.
+
+Cave-Men:
+ in Uist, Hebrides, during 17th century, 29.
+
+"Cavern" at Yester, or Gifford, East Lothian, 143.
+
+Chambered Mounds. (_See_ Mounds.)
+
+Chessmen of Walrus Ivory, found in Hebrides, 32, 158_n_.
+
+Clunie, Perthshire, Castle Hill of:
+ reputed chambered mound, 145-146.
+
+Clydesdale.
+ Pecht's house in C., 66;
+ Glasgow cathedral said to have been built by Pechts, 72;
+ traditional description of dwarfs of C., 97.
+
+Cnock-doun, Islay:
+ reputed chambered mound, 114.
+
+Cnoc Fraing, Inverness-shire:
+ a home of fairies, 146.
+
+_Coir-nan-Uruisgean_, Perthshire, 151-152.
+
+Coldoch _broch_, Perthshire, 119, 149-151, 153.
+
+Colonsay, island of:
+ Macphail of C. and his (?) Finn lover, 15-16;
+ tradition of dwarfs living in C., 147;
+ _Sithean Mor_ and _Sithean Beag_, 147.
+
+Connaught, Fians of, 76, 93.
+
+Corryvreckan, Argyleshire:
+ The (?) Finn woman of C. and her Colonsay lover, 15-16.
+
+Corstorphine Church, near Edinburgh;
+ said to have been built by the "Hottentots," 70-71.
+
+Craig Patrick, Inverness-shire, 149.
+
+Craig y Ddinas, Glamorganshire, 143_n_.
+
+Crocan Corr, Kilbrandon, Argyleshire:
+ reputed chambered mound, 114.
+
+Cromar, Aberdeenshire;
+ underground gallery at, 101.
+
+Crown, Inverness, 149_n_.
+
+Cruachan _rath_:
+ re-built by a servile race, 68_n_, 125_n_, 136, 152_n_;
+ "a party of smiths at work" in its interior, 136.
+
+Cruithne. (_See_ also Picts, etc.)
+ Were pre-Milesian, 51.
+ Were connected with the "Lochlin" territory, 51.
+ Their connection with Feens and Fairies, 128-9.
+
+Cuailgne: Fin's fort on, 75-76.
+
+"Cyclopean" character of Pictish buildings, 73.
+
+
+Dananns (_Tuatha De Danann_):
+ classed with the Cruithne as of Continental origin, and
+ "pre-Milesian" in settling in British Isles; and
+ consequently to be classed with the Fians, 51.
+ Known also as the _Fir Sidhe_ or Fairies, 126;
+ account of their rivalry with the Milesians, 124-127;
+ description of the dwelling assigned to the King of the
+ Dananns, 120-130 and Appendix A.
+
+Danes;
+ their ravages in the Boyne Valley in 861, when they plundered
+ the underground chambers of the "Fians and Fairies," 81-84.
+
+Danish ballad of dwarfs and colonists, 105-6.
+
+Dartmoor;
+ its gubbins and pixies, 161-2.
+
+Davis Straits.
+ Conjectured by some to be the home of the Orkney Finnmen, 7.
+ Eskimo of D. S. at Leith in 1816, 8, 12.
+
+Deer. (_See_ also Reindeer and Elk.)
+ Hunted in Glenshee, East Perthshire, by the Fians, 94-5;
+ "great-beamed" D., 95;
+ D. milked and used as beasts of burthen, 96.
+
+Denghoog:
+ chambered mound in Sylt, 87, 112-113, 122.
+
+Denmark. (_See_ also Lochlin.)
+ Eckwadt church said to have been built by a "hill-man,"
+ 85-86_n_.
+ (_See_ also "Mounds reputed to be chambered.")
+
+Devonshire, 161-2.
+
+_Digh_;
+ an equivalent for _sithean_, 79_n_.
+
+Donegal.
+ Skin-boats used by natives of "The Rosses," 18;
+ Finn Town, D., 23.
+
+Doon, or Doo'n, of Aberfoyle, 152-154.
+
+Doon of Menteith, 144.
+
+Doon of Rothiemurchus, 144-145.
+
+Dornoch Firth:
+ Fairies ferried themselves across D. F. in
+ "cockle-shells," 17, 22.
+
+Dowth, or Dubath; chambered mound, 84, 111, 119, 132-3, 137.
+
+_Drinnich_, or _Trinnich_, a Gaelic term applied to the Picts,
+ signifying "labourers," 71-72.
+
+Drudges.
+ Cruachan _rath_ re-built by an enslaved race, 68_n_,
+ 125_n_, 136, 152_n_.
+ Similar references, 68-74, 151-2.
+ _Gypnissen_, 86.
+
+Druids, 125-127.
+
+Dunnan, in Galloway;
+ a fairy fort, 99.
+
+Dunstanborough Castle, Northumberland, said to have been built by
+ the Picts, 67.
+
+Dwarfs. (_See_ also Pechts or Picts.)
+ D's of Shetland tradition, otherwise Finns, 56; also 59.
+ D's of Scottish tradition generally, otherwise Pechts, 58-60;
+ D's of Highland tradition, 57, 97;
+ D's of Clydesdale, 97.
+ D's of Northumberland, 67, 80, 86, 99.
+ D's of Yorkshire, 100.
+ D's of Lincolnshire, 107_n_.
+ D's of Wales, 160-2.
+ D's of Cornwall, 162.
+ D's of Devon, 161-2.
+ Fin of the Fians a D., 55-56.
+ D's of Brittany (_Fions_, etc.), 85.
+ D's of Antwerp, 86-87.
+ D's of the Netherlands, 86.
+ D's of Denmark and Danish tradition, 85-86_n_, 105-106.
+ D's of Sylt, 87, 112-113.
+ D's of Scandinavia, 91.
+ D's of Germany, 163-4, 172-3.
+ D's of Greenland and North America, 63.
+ D's of Japan, 157, 165 _et seq._
+ D's of Africa, 157.
+ Great bodily strength ascribed to the Scotch Pechts, 72-73;
+ to the Northumbrian Picts, 67, 73-4;
+ to the dwarfs of Tienen, in the Netherlands, 86.
+ D's at war with each other, and with men, 94_n_.
+ Green the colour of the D's, 97.
+ Tribute exacted by the D's, 97.
+ Magic of the D's, 106.
+ Hidden treasures of the D's, 107_n_, 129_n_, 150_n_.
+ D's as serfs or drudges, 151-2.
+ D's in one aspect civilized, in another savage, 156-7.
+ Hairiness of skin of D's, 157-164, 169_n_.
+
+
+Eamhain, or Eamhna, 49, 133-4.
+
+Eckwadt, Denmark;
+ residence of a "hill-man" near, 85_n_.
+
+Eday, Orkney:
+ Finnman seen there in 1682, 5.
+
+Edinburgh.
+ Finnman's skiff preserved there 6;
+ Corstorphine church said to have been built by the
+ "Hottentots," 70-71;
+ Pecht lands near E., 68-71;
+ King Arthur and the Pechts believed to have entered a
+ subterranean chamber at Arthur's Seat, 143_n_.
+
+Eilean Suthainn, Loch Maree;
+ a fairy resort, 118.
+
+Elk.
+ Hunted in East Perthshire by the Fians, 94-95;
+ horns of E. found there, 95;
+ _lon-dubh_="black elk," 95.
+
+Erribol, Sutherlandshire:
+ Weem, Pecht's House, or Fairy Hall at, 101.
+
+Eskimos.
+ Compared with Shetland Finns, 7-8;
+ with Pechts, 53, 77-78;
+ with Finns and Lapps, 53;
+ with "Skraelings," Appendix B;
+ with Ainos, 169-171.
+ E. or Skraeling chambered mounds in Greenland, Labrador, and
+ Massachusetts, 62-4, 77-78, 155, and Appendix B.
+ Kayaks:
+ their speed, 8;
+ feat of oversetting kayak, 12.
+ Kayakker, at some distance, resembles triton or mer-man, 13.
+ Open skin-boats of E., 22.
+ Dwarfish stature of E., 63.
+ E's of Alaska, 9_n_, of Greenland, 12-13_n_, 53, 62-4, 142_n_.
+ E. magicians believe they can control the winds, 53, 63.
+ An E. type in modern Britain, 37-8.
+
+Eu, island, Ross-shire;
+ a haunt of 17th c. "pirates," 29.
+
+Evie, Orkney:
+ reputed chambered mounds at, 111_n_.
+
+
+Fairies. (_See_ Dananns, Fians, Pechts, Dwarfs, &c.)
+ F's inhabited the _bruth_, _sith-bhrugh_ or _sheean_,
+ otherwise the "Pecht's house," 79.
+ F's associated with Pechts, 80;
+ with Fians, 81-84;
+ with Fions, 85.
+ As Dananns (_q. v._), F's associated with Cruithne, 51,
+ 127-129.
+ Builders of a church in Brittany in circumstances suggestive
+ of the Pechts, 85.
+ Inhabitants of the White Cater Thun, an alleged stronghold of
+ the Pechts, 99-100.
+ "Dancing and making merry" in the Orkneys, c. 1700 (cf.
+ Shetland Finns, 3), 14, 111_n_.
+ Frequently seen at Fitty Hill, Westray, at same period, 33.
+ "Fairy Ha'" in Shetland, 104.
+ "In armour" in Orkney, 14;
+ at war with each other in Ireland, 93.
+ Tithes due to F., 97.
+ "Good" F's of christenings, etc., 91-2;
+ "Christian" F's, 85.
+ F's of Clydesdale, 97.
+ F's as serfs or drudges, 151-2.
+
+Fairy Knowe of Aberfoyle, 152-4.
+
+Fairy Knowe beside Broch of Coldoch (itself a _çi-devant_ Fairy
+ Knowe), 119, 149, 151.
+
+Fearna, Weem of, 136-7.
+
+Fens Fiord, Bergen, 7_n_.
+
+Fians, or Feens, or Feinne of Gaelic lore:
+ The Land of the F's, 45.
+ The Well of the F's, 43.
+ The Hillock of the F's, 130.
+ Other F. localities, 46, 49, 51, 52.
+ Dr. Skene's belief as to the historical position of the F's, 46.
+ F's preceded the Milesians in Ireland, 46, 51.
+ F. Confederacy not restricted to Ireland, but included the
+ following divisions:--
+ F's of England and Wales;
+ of Northern and Central Scotland;
+ and of Lochlin, understood to be the Rhine-Elbe region, 47-51.
+ Irish F's divisible into:--
+ F's of Connaught and West;
+ F's of Leinster;
+ and F's of Eastern Ulster, 76, 93.
+ F's referred to in Scotland in Perthshire (Glenlyon,
+ Glenal-main-with-Glenshee, and Glenshee or Blackwater) 77,
+ 94-95.
+ Outer Hebrides and part of West Highlands specially the Land
+ of the F., 45.
+ (?) Referred to in Ayrshire, 85.
+ F's exacted tribute from Irish kings, 47.
+ Their ancient rights of hunting and of free-quarters, 94.
+ Overthrow of F's at Battle of Gawra, 47.
+ Vanished glory of the F's, 75-76, 130.
+ Fin, their chief, court dwarf to the king of the "big men," 56.
+ F's as the drudges and serfs of another race, 75.
+ F's inhabited "Pechts' houses," 76-77.
+ F's as builders of stone forts, 75-76.
+ F's regarded as dwarfs, 65.
+ F's associated with Dananns, Fir Sidhe, or Fairies, 51, 81-84.
+ F's regarded as Cruithne or Picts, 51-2, 54.
+ Their assumed identity with historical and traditional Finns,
+ 44-50, 54-5, 65.
+ Their magic identified with that of the Finns, 54.
+ Their "great-antlered deer," 95.
+ Their darts, 54-5.
+ Their swiftness of foot, 177.
+ A descendant of the F., 44.
+
+Fierna, or Fierin, King of the Sidhfir of Munster, 93, 127.
+ His "hillock" near Limerick, 93, 145.
+
+Fin, Finn, or Fionn, a chief of the Feens of Gaelic tradition:
+ Grandson of a Finland woman, 49-50.
+ Described as going in his skin-boat to the Kingdom of the Big
+ Men, where he became the court dwarf, 55-6.
+ A dwarf in a Scotch poem of _ante_ 1600, styled a grandson
+ of F., 65.
+ His stone fort on Cuailgne, 75-6, 93.
+ His "castles" in Glenlyon, Perthshire, 77.
+
+Finland.
+ Alleged to be the home of the Orkney Finnmen (6),
+ of the grandmother of "Fin" (49-50),
+ of the Fomorians (50_n_).
+
+Finn, a chief of the dwarfs of Sylt tradition, 87, 112-113.
+ Chambered mound of Denghoog said to have been his dwelling,
+ 87, 112-113.
+
+Finnmen of Orkney:
+ Used to fish in Orkney waters in 17th century, 5-6.
+ Their seal-skin boats described, 6.
+ The great speed of these skin-boats, 5-6.
+ Specimens of their boats at Burray and Edinburgh, 6, 10,
+ 11_n_, 17_n_.
+ F's said to have come from Finland, 6.
+ Regarded as "barbarous men" by Edinburgh physicians of 1696,
+ 10, 30-31.
+ "The Dart he makes use of for killing fish," 6.
+
+Finns of Shetland tradition:
+ Their "sea-skins or seal-skins," 1.
+ The great speed of these "skins," 4-5.
+ F's said to have come from Norway, and also from "Shool
+ Skerry," 2-4.
+ Sea-rovers or pirates, 3, 34-35
+ Magicians, soothsayers, and doctors, 1-5.
+ Inter-married with Shetlanders, 1-4, 34-35.
+ Descendants of such marriages "lucky," and proud of their
+ descent, 1, 2, 5.
+ Cattle of the F's, 4.
+ F's regarded as dwarfs, 56, 92.
+ Dancing on the sands "every ninth night," 3 (cf. Fairies,
+ 14, 111_n_.)
+ Identified with Feens, 43-44, 54, 65.
+
+Finns and Lapps:
+ Their territory formerly greater than now, 35.
+ Inter-marriages with non-Finnish races, 39-42.
+ A semi-Finn lord of Orkney, 40-41.
+ F. or L. type in modern Britain, 37-38.
+ F's of Lofoten neighbourhood in 12th century, 21, 39.
+ Boats made by them, 21.
+ Skiffs of modern L's, 22_n_.
+ Swedish-F. settlement in Pennsylvania, U.S. in 17th
+ century, 36-37.
+ "Lapp" natives of North America in 10th century, Appendix B.
+ F's or L's as magicians, "selling winds," etc., 16, 41, 53,
+ 91-92.
+ Identified with Fairies, 96-97;
+ with Feens, 50;
+ with Dwarfs, 129_n_ and Appendix B.
+
+Fions, etc. on the Continent:
+ Fions of Brittany (dwarfs who lived with the fairies), 85.
+ Feins, 85_n_.
+
+Fir-Bolg, or Firbolgs.
+ Cruachan _rath_ re-built by a race of F., 68_n_, 125_n_,
+ 136, 152_n_.
+
+Fitty Hill, Westray. (_See_ Westray.)
+
+Forteviot, Perthshire, 69.
+
+Forth, River.
+ Chambered mounds of Forth valley, ascertained and reputed, 114,
+ 119, 151-154.
+
+
+Gabhra, or Gawra, Battle of, 47-50.
+
+Gaels. (_See_ Milesians.)
+
+Gairloch, Ross-shire.
+ _Tombuidhe Ghearrloch_, 112;
+ Big and Little "Cathairs" of G., 118;
+ _Sitheanan Dubha_, 118.
+
+Galloway:
+ probable Finns in G., 25;
+ Picts commonly called "Galloway-men," 69-70_n_;
+ last stronghold of Picts in G., 99;
+ stronghold of Fairies in G., 99.
+
+_Garbhcrioch_:
+ translated as "the rough bounds," and defined as the country
+ between Loch Linnhe and the Hebrides, formed a portion of
+ the "Land of the Feens," 45.
+ Called also _Garbh-chnochan_, 118.
+
+Germany. (_See_ under Lochlin.)
+
+Gillesbierg, Denmark: reputed chambered mound, 155_n_.
+
+Glac-an-t-Shithein, Nether Lochaber, 147_n_.
+
+Glasgow Cathedral, said to have been built by the Pechts, 72.
+
+Glenlyon, Perthshire, a home of the Feens, 77.
+
+Glen Odhar, Sutherlandshire:
+ its fairy herds believed to have been reindeer, 97.
+
+Glenshee and Glen Almain, West Perthshire, a home of the
+ Feens, 77.
+
+Glenshee, East Perthshire, a favourite hunting-ground of the
+ Feens, 94.
+
+Glen-na-Shirich, Nether Lochaber, a glen of the Fairies, 147_n_.
+
+Gobban, Goblin, Gubbin, etc., 113, 144_n_, 162_n_.
+
+Gobban Saor (The Noble Smith), 84, 132-3;
+ his chambered mound, 132.
+
+Goblin Hall, East Lothian, 143.
+
+Goblin Knowe (_Cnoc nam Bocan_), Perthshire, 151-152.
+
+Goblins of Greenland, 144_n_.
+
+Gowanree.
+ An enslaved tribe of Firbolgic origin, 68_n_, 125_n_, 136,
+ 152_n_.
+
+Green, the colour of the Fairies or Dwarfs, 97;
+ of the Feens, 97-8;
+ of the Pechts, 99.
+
+Gruids, near Lairg, Sutherlandshire;
+ reputed chambered mound at, 116-117.
+
+Gruinard, Ross-shire:
+ resort of 17th-century pirates, 30.
+
+Gubbins of Dartmoor, 161-2;
+ their swiftness of foot, 177.
+
+Gultebierg, Denmark:
+ a reputed chambered mound, 155_n_.
+
+Gurnett Point, Massachusetts:
+ reputed chambered mound near, Appendix B.
+
+_Gwylliaid Cochion Mowddwy_, an underground race in
+ Wales, 160-1;
+ "their swiftness and agility," 177.
+
+Gypnissen, or Dwarf-women of the Netherlands, 86.
+
+
+Hadeland, Norway, ruled by a semi-Finn, 40-42.
+
+Hadrian's Wall said to have been built by the Picts, 67.
+
+Hairy Men. (_See_ Shaggy Men, Ainos, etc.)
+
+Halfdan Haleg, a semi-Finn noble:
+ was lord of Orkney for some months: slain at North
+ Ronaldshay, 40-41.
+
+Hallowmas.
+ A Feen date, 94.
+ A Fairy date, 98.
+
+Hebrides:
+ Outer H. regarded as part of the "Land of the Feens," 45.
+ Some parts of H. thickly wooded in 16th century, 105_n_.
+ Raids made by Lewismen on Orkney and Shetland in 15th
+ century, 33-35.
+ Certain Hebrideans not properly subjects of British monarch
+ in 1608, 26-32.
+ Some of the Hebrideans styled "savages" by James I. (28),
+ and by Skyemen (29);
+ and these, or others, referred to as "robbers" or
+ "pirates" by a 17th-century writer (29-30).
+ Chessmen of walrus ivory found in H., 32, 158_n_.
+ Wigwams of Jura islanders in 1772, 24.
+ "The Harrisian physiognomy" and stature, 24.
+
+Hill-men, how-folk, _bergmannetjes_, hog-boys, shag-boys,
+ etc., 85_n_, 107, 111-113.
+
+"Hottentot," builders of Corstorphine church, 70.
+
+
+Iberians:
+ used skin-boats, 19-20;
+ Iberian type in modern Britain, 38.
+
+Inverness, 146-149.
+
+
+Jura, island of; wigwams of islanders, 24.
+
+
+Kaempe Viser, 105.
+
+Kayaks. (_See_ Skin-boats.)
+
+Kempies or Champions, 43.
+
+Kenilworth, Warwickshire;
+ underground dwarfs of, 142-3.
+
+Kettlester, Shetland;
+ remembered as a dwarf abode, 59.
+
+Kildrummy, Aberdeenshire;
+ group of Weems, Pechts' Houses, or Fairy Halls at K., 101.
+
+Kirkcudbright:
+ "_in terra Pictorum_," 69_n_.
+ (_See_ also Galloway.)
+
+Knowth (_Cnoghbha_), County Meath;
+ chambered mound, 84, 132-4, 137, 140, 151_n_.
+
+Kundebye, Denmark;
+ reputed chambered mound at, 155_n_.
+
+
+Lapps. (_See_ Finns and Lapps.)
+
+Leinster:
+ Feens of, 81-2;
+ Fairies of, 81-2, 92.
+
+_Leum-an-t'-Shithiche_, 147_n_.
+
+Limerick:
+ Knockfierin, 93, 145.
+
+Lincolnshire;
+ shag-boys, fairies and red-caps in, 107_n_.
+
+Lochlin or Lochlan;
+ believed to denote the territory between the Rhine and the Elbe,
+ but also applied to Scandinavia, 49.
+
+Lofoten;
+ Finns or Lapps of L. neighbourhood in 12th century, 21, 39.
+
+
+Maes-how, Orkney. (_See_ Mounds.)
+
+Magic:
+ of the Shetland Finns, 1-5, 14;
+ of the Norwegian Finns or Lapps, 16, 41, 53;
+ of Manx women, 16;
+ of Picts, 53;
+ of Eskimos, 53, 63;
+ of traditional dwarfs, 91, 106.
+
+Man, Isle of:
+ Inter-marriages of land-folk and sea-folk, 15;
+ witches selling winds to sailors, 16;
+ traditional description of departure of fairies, 17.
+
+Mandans of Upper Missouri;
+ skin-boats of, 18.
+
+Mangelbierg, Denmark. (_See_ Mounds.)
+
+Mer-men and Mer-women. (_See_ Sea-Folk.)
+
+Migvie, Aberdeenshire;
+ Weem, Pecht's House, or Fairy Hall at, 101.
+
+Milesians:
+ A name given to the Gaelic-speaking race, 46, 51;
+ conquered the "Cruithne" or "Pechts" of Scotland in the
+ ninth century, 51;
+ conquered the "Dananns" of Ireland at an earlier period, as
+ described in tradition, 125-126;
+ the possession of a dwarf restricted in Ireland and
+ Gaelic-Scotland to families of Milesian descent,
+ 141-142, 144.
+
+Mounds.
+ Chambered M's of the Pechts described, 61-2, 64;
+ of the Eskimos, 62-3;
+ of both, 77-8.
+ The _sithean_, _sithbhrog_, etc., 78-79.
+ The "Pelasgic arch" of the chambered mound, 62, 78_n_.
+
+Mounds ascertained to be chambered:
+ Brugh of the Boyne, county Meath, 84, 111, 119-133, 153.
+ Dowth mound, County Meath, 84, 111, 119, 132-3, 137.
+ Maes-how, Orkney, 106-110, 113, 114, 121, 153.
+ Mound on Wideford Hill, Orkney, 62.
+ Coldoch "broch," Perthshire, 119, 149-151, 153.
+ Ashbury, Berkshire, 132_n_.
+ Denghoog, Sylt, 87, 112-113, 122.
+ Eskimo Mounds in Labrador and Greenland, 62-4, 155.
+ Mycenæ "treasure house," 153.
+
+Mounds reputed to be chambered:
+ In the British Isles:--
+ "Some small hillocks" in Evie, Orkney, 111_n_.
+ "Tomhan" near Lairg, Sutherlandshire, 116-117.
+ _Tombuidhe Ghearrloch_, Ross-shire, 112, 114.
+ _Sitheanan Dubha_, Gairloch, Ross-shire, 118.
+ Specimens of the "Cathair Mhor" and the "Cathair Bheag"
+ in the district of Gairloch, Ross-shire, 118.
+ _Tomnahurich_, Inverness-shire, 146-149, 153.
+ _Cnoc Fraing_, Inverness-shire, (? "mountain"), 146.
+ _Shiathan Mor_, Inverness-shire, (? "mountain"), 146.
+ Doon of Rothiemurchus, Inverness-shire, 144-5.
+ _Sithean_ in Corrie-Vinnean, Nether Lochaber,
+ Inverness-shire, 118.
+ _Sithean Mor_ and _Sithean Beag_, in Nether
+ Lochaber, Inverness-shire, 147.
+ "Tulman" near Baile Thangasdail, Barra, Inverness-shire, 115.
+ At Ballindalloch, Banffshire, 117.
+ Bissau, Aberdeenshire, 117.
+ _Sithean Mor_ and _Sithean Beag_, in island of Colonsay,
+ Argyleshire, 147.
+ "Digh" at Borra-cheill, in island of Islay, Argyleshire
+ (? the "_Digh mhòr Thallanta_" of McAlpine's Dictionary),
+ 79_n_.
+ _Ben-cnock_, island of Islay, Argyleshire, 114.
+ _Cnock-doun_, (?) island of Islay, Argyleshire, 114.
+ _Crocan Corr_, Kilbrandon, Lorn, Argyleshire, 114.
+ "Hill" at Muckairn, Argyleshire, 114.
+ "Fairy Knowe" or "Doon" of Aberfoyle, Perthshire, 152-154.
+ "Goblin Knowe" (_Cnoc nam Bocan_), Menteith, Perthshire,
+ 151.
+ "Fairy Knowe" beside Broch of Coldoch, Perthshire, 119,
+ 149, 151.
+ Ternavie, Perthshire, 150-151.
+ "Castle Hill" at Clunie, Perthshire, 145-146.
+ Kenilworth, Warwickshire, 142-143.
+ Knowth (_Cnoghbha_), County Meath, 132-140, 151_n_.
+ _Sidh Nectain_, or Hill of Carbury, (? its summit), W.
+ Meath, 84_n_.
+ Knockfierin, County Limerick, 93, 145.
+ In Denmark:--
+ Mangelbierg, Hirschholm, Hösterkiöb Mark, 155_n_.
+ Gillesbierg, Hirschholm, Hösterkiöb Mark, 155_n_.
+ Wheel-hill, Gudmandstrup, Lordship of Odd, 155_n_.
+ Steensbierg, Ouröe, Joegerspriis, 155_n_.
+ Kundebye, Holbeck, 155_n_.
+ Gultebierg, 155_n_.
+ Söbierg, 155_n_.
+ Mound (or underground gallery) between Aagerup and Mamp,
+ 155_n_.
+ The residence of a certain "hill-man" near Eckwadt, 85_n_.
+ In Belgium:--
+ Aschberg, Casterlé, province of Antwerp, 86-7, 155_n_.
+ In North America:--
+ Group of "hillocks" situated, it is believed, on the
+ northern side of Plymouth Harbour, assumed to be the
+ residences of tenth-century "Skraelings" or "Lapps" of
+ America, Appendix B.
+
+Mounds, and other localities, referred to as homes or resorts
+ of dwarfs, fairies, Feens, gubbins, etc.:--
+ Norwick, Shetland, 103-4.
+ Unst, Shetland, 106.
+ Villenshaw, (?) Orkney, 105, 116.
+ _Eilean Suthainn_, Loch Maree, 118.
+ _Tobar na Feinne_, 43.
+ _Tobar an t' Shithein_, Nether Lochaber, 147_n_.
+ _Glac an t' Shithein_, Nether Lochaber, 147_n_.
+ _Leum an t' Shithiche_, Nether Lochaber, 147_n_.
+ _Glen-na-Shirich_, Nether Lochaber, 147_n_.
+ _Ruadh na Sirach_, Kerrera, 147_n_.
+ White Cater Thun, Forfarshire, 99, 150_n_.
+ Abernethy, Perthshire, 150.
+ Glenshee (2) and Glen Almond, Perthshire, 77, 94-5.
+ _Coir-nan-Uruisgean_, Perthshire, 151-2.
+ "Cavern" at Yester, 143.
+ Hill-country of Galloway, 115-6.
+ Thorpe, Lincolnshire, 107_n_.
+ Beelsby, Lincolnshire, 107_n_.
+ Mowddwy, Merionethshire, 160-1.
+ _Craig y Ddinas_, Glamorganshire, 143_n_.
+ Nympton, Devonshire, 162.
+ Dartmore, Devonshire, 162.
+ Penzance, Cornwall, 162_n_.
+ _Sith Eamhna_, Armagh, 133-4.
+ Cruachan _rath_, Connaught, 68_n_, 125_n_, 136, 152_n_.
+ Tienen, The Netherlands, 86.
+ (_See_ also "Underground Galleries.")
+
+Mulgrave Castle, Yorkshire, 86, 100.
+
+Munster. Fairies of M., 93.
+
+
+Netherlands. Resemblance of Tienen dwarfs to Scotch and
+ Northumbrian Picts, 86.
+
+Nine.
+ Shetland Finns held festival every ninth night, 3.
+ "Nine men" apparently the smallest division of a Feenian
+ army, 48.
+
+Norns identified with dwarfs, 91.
+
+Northumberland.
+ Traditional ideas regarding the Picts, 67, 157.
+
+Norway.
+ Finns from N., 2-5;
+ Annual of N., 37;
+ Lofoten Finns, 21, 39;
+ Ringerike, Hadeland, and Thoten governed by semi-Finns, 40-42.
+
+
+Oestrymnic Isles; skin-boats used by natives of, 19-20.
+
+Oisin, 75-77.
+
+Orkney.
+ Picts were early inhabitants of O., 104;
+ O. governed by a semi-Finn in tenth century, 41.
+ (_See_ also Burray, Eday, Evie, Finnmen, Maes-how,
+ Ronaldshay, Stronsay, Westray.)
+
+Oscar of Emhain, 49.
+
+
+Pabbay, Hebrides, a haunt of 17th-century pirates, 29.
+
+"Pelasgic arch" of chambered mound, 62, 78_n_, 103, 110-111.
+
+Pickering Castle, Yorkshire, 86, 100.
+
+Picts, Piks, Pechs, Pechts, etc. (_See_ also Cruithne.)
+ P's said to have been first settlers in Orkney and Shetland,
+ 59, 104.
+ Their small boats, 59, 178-179.
+ Their dwarfish stature, 58-60, 65.
+ Their great strength, 60, 66-7, 74.
+ Their mounds or underground houses, 58-66, 77-78.
+ Their method of building, 67.
+ White Cater Thun, Brechin Tower, Abernethy Tower, Glasgow
+ Cathedral, Dunstanborough Castle, the Catrail, the Wall
+ of Hadrian, and many old castles, popularly believed to
+ have been built by P's, 67-74, 99-100.
+ Their last stronghold in Galloway, 99.
+ P's, or Gallowaymen, at the Battle of the Standard, 69-70_n_.
+ P's popularly regarded as magicians and supernatural beings, 53,
+ 79-80, 99.
+ P's associated with Feens, 51, 64-5;
+ with Fions, Feins, and Fairies of Brittany, 85;
+ and with a Danish "hill-man," 85-6_n_.
+ P's as serfs or drudges, 67-74, 76.
+ P's identified by J. F. Campbell with Lapps and Fairies, 96.
+ P's and King Arthur, 143_n_.
+ Hairiness of P's, 157-8.
+ Their swiftness of foot, 177.
+
+Pict or Pecht-land, 52, 68-73.
+
+Pixies of Cornwall and Devon, 162.
+
+"Pucks" of Sylt, 87.
+
+
+Red-caps.
+ In Sylt, 87.
+ In Lincolnshire 107_n_.
+ (_See_ also 129_n_ and 142.)
+
+Reindeer in Scotland, 96-97.
+
+Ringerike, Norway, 40-2.
+
+Rona, Hebrides, and its "pirates," 29.
+
+Ronaldshay (North), 41.
+
+Ross-shire;
+ in 17th century, 29-30, 45;
+ a legendary mound in, 112.
+
+
+Samoyeds.
+ Bergen _Strils_ conjectured to have linguistic affinity with
+ S., 7_n_.
+ Skin-boats of S., 18.
+
+Savages:
+ Orkney Finnmen spoken of as S., 10, 30-31.
+ Certain Hebrideans referred to as S., 28, 29, 31.
+ Strathnaver people in 1658 "barbarous," 30.
+ Term "Hottentot" applied to traditional builders in
+ Mid-Lothian, 71.
+
+Sea-Folk.
+ Their inter-marriages with land-folk:--
+ In Shetland, 1-5, 15;
+ in Hebrides, 15;
+ in Ireland, 2, 15;
+ in Isle of Man, 15;
+ in Wales, 2, 15.
+ Mer-women as wives and mothers of land-folk, 1-5, 13, 15.
+
+Seal-men and Selkie-wives, 1-5, 12, 13, 15_n_, 34_n_.
+
+Seelie court, The, 97.
+
+Seffister, Shetland, and its "trow's door," 59.
+
+Shag-boys, hog-boys, or how-folk, 107.
+
+Shaggy Men.
+ Pechts, 157-8;
+ Traditional dwarfs generally, 158-164;
+ Ainos of Japan, 166 _et seq._
+
+Sheeans or _Sitheanan_. (_See_ Mounds.)
+
+Shetland.
+ Dwarf abodes in S., 59, 102-3, 106.
+ Picts early inhabitants of S., 104.
+ (_See_ also Finns of S.)
+
+Shool Skerry, or Sule Skerry, 3, 34_n_.
+
+Sithe-folk. (_See_ also Fairies.)
+ _Sidhe_ and _Tshud_, 89-90.
+ Seid-men, 90-91.
+ Worship of S., 92.
+ S. of North of Ireland and Munster, 93.
+ Identified with Dananns, 126.
+ Associated with Feens, 128-9.
+ Former high rank, 132.
+
+Skin-boats:
+ "Sea-skin or seal-skin" of Shetland Finns, 1-5, 8.
+ Kayaks of Orkney Finnmen, 5-11, 18-19.
+ Skin-boats of Iberians, Hebrideans, Irish, Welsh, Scotch,
+ Samoyeds, Skraelings, Eskimos, Mandans, 8, 12-13, 18-22.
+ Fin's skin-boat, 55-6.
+ Skin-boat of Picts, 178-9.
+ Skin-boat of North American "Lapps" or "Skraelings," 7,
+ Appendix B.
+
+Skraelings, 7, Appendix B.
+
+Smiths, Underground:
+ The "Noble Smith" and his chambered mound, 132-4;
+ Wayland Smith's chambered mound, 132_n_;
+ Smiths working in "cave" of Cruachan, 136;
+ German traditional idea of such people, 163-4.
+
+Stronsay, Orkney.
+ Finnman seen there about year 1700, 6.
+
+
+Teith valley.
+ Mounds of, 114.
+ Assumed to be the "vallis" referred to by Gildas, as
+ traversed by the Picts, 178_n_.
+
+Thorpe, Lincolnshire; shag-boys at, 107_n_.
+
+Thoten, Norway, 40-2.
+
+Tialdasund, Norway, 21.
+
+Tienen, Netherlands; dwarfs of, 86.
+
+_Tombuidhe Ghearrloch_;
+ a reputed chambered mound, 112.
+
+Trows, Trolls, or Trollmen. (_See_ Dwarfs.)
+
+Tshuds, 89-90.
+
+
+Ugrians. (_See_ Finns, Lapps, Skraelings, etc.)
+
+Uist, Hebrides 29.
+
+Ulster.
+ Feens of, 76, 93;
+ Cruithne or Picts of, 93;
+ skin-boats of, 18.
+ (_See_ also Eamhain.)
+
+Underground Chambers. (_See_ also Mounds.)
+ Indications, apart from those of tradition, that these were
+ dwelling-places, 101-2, 113 (fire-place).
+
+Underground galleries, not having mounds over them, 101-4.
+
+Unst, Shetland, 106.
+
+_Ur-uisg_, or Water-man, 142_n_, 158-164, 178-9.
+
+Urus. (_See_ Bugle.)
+
+
+Valas, or Völvas, 90-2.
+
+Villenshaw: (?) a locality in Orkney, 105.
+
+
+Walpurgis Night. (_See_ Beltin.)
+
+Weems. (_See_ Mounds and Underground galleries.)
+
+Westray, Orkney.
+ Finnman seen near W. _circa_ 1700, 5, 6, 33-4;
+ Fairies said to be seen at Fitty Hill _circa_ 1700, 33;
+ defeat of Hebrideans at Fitty Hill, 33.
+
+Wideford Hill, Orkney; chambered mound at, 62.
+
+Witchcraft. (_See_ Magic.)
+
+
+Yorkshire tradition as to "supernatural" labourers at Mulgrave
+ and Pickering Castles, 86, 100.
+
+
+Zee-Woners. (_See_ Sea-Folk.)
+
+
+Woodfall & Kinder, Printers, 70 to 76, Long Acre, London, W.C.
+
+....
+
+Transcriber's Note:
+
+Many words in this text have alternate spellings due to language
+differences or variations within languages.
+
+Original spelling has been preserved, as have any inconsistencies.
+
+Minor punctuation errors have been repaired.
+
+In this etext a superscript character is represented by ^
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Testimony of Tradition, by David MacRitchie
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 40290 ***
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