with a road along which a clergyman in secular clothing was travelling
(for the priests go about thus in that kingdom, so that the English may
not recognise them). He was sorry for me, and spoke to me in Latin,
asking me to what nation I belonged and about the shipwrecks that had
taken place. God gave me grace so that I was able to reply to everything
he asked me in the same Latin tongue; and so satisfied was he with me,
that he gave me to eat of that which he carried with him, and he
directed me by the right road that I should go to reach a castle, which
was six leagues from there. It was very strong, and belonged to a savage
gentleman, a very brave soldier and great enemy of the Queen of England
and of her affairs, a man who had never cared to obey her or pay
tribute, attending only to his castle and mountains, which made it
strong.
I set out for there, experiencing much trouble on the road, and the
greatest, and that which gave me most pain, was that a savage met me on
the way, and, by deceiving me, took me to his hut in a deserted valley,
where he said I must live all my life, and he would teach me his trade,
which was that of a blacksmith.
I did not know what to answer nor did I venture,[39] so that he should
not put me in the forge. Before him I showed a pleasant countenance, and
proceeded to work with my bellows for more than eight days, which
pleased the wicked savage blacksmith, because I did it carefully, so as
not to vex him and an accursed old woman he had for wife.
I was in tribulation and sad with such miserable employment, when our
Lord favoured me by causing the clergyman to return by that way, who was
surprised to see me, because that savage did not wish to let me go away,
as he made use of me. The clergyman scolded him severely, and told me
not to be troubled, as he would speak with the chief of the castle to
which he had directed me, and get him to send for me, which he did the
following day. He sent four men of the savages, who served him, and a
Spanish soldier, of whom he had already ten with him of those who had
escaped by swimming.
When he saw me so stripped [of clothing] and covered with straw, he and
all those who were with him grieved greatly, and their women even wept
to see me so badly treated.
They helped me as best they could with a blanket of the kind they use,
and I remained there three months, acting as a real savage like
themselves.
The wife of my master was very[40] beautiful in the extreme, and showed
[did] me much kindness. One day we were sitting in the sun with some of
her female friends and relatives, and they asked me about Spanish
matters and of other parts, and in the end it came to be suggested that
I should examine their hands and tell them their fortunes. Giving thanks
to God that it had not gone even worse with me than to be gipsy among
the savages, I began to look at the hands of each, and to say to them a
hundred thousand absurdities, which pleased them so much that there was
no other Spaniard better than I, or that was in greater favour with
them.
By night and by day men and women persecuted me to tell them their
fortunes, so that I saw myself (continually) in such a large crowd that
I was forced to beg permission of my master to go from his castle. He
did not wish to give it me: however, he gave orders that no one should
annoy me or give me trouble.
The custom of these savages is to live as the brute beasts among the
mountains, which are very rugged in that part of Ireland where we lost
ourselves. They live in huts made of straw. The men are all large
bodied, and of handsome features and limbs; and as active as the
roe-deer.[41] They do not eat oftener than once a day, and this is at
night; and that which they usually eat is butter with oaten bread. They
drink sour milk, for they have no other drink; they don't drink water,
although it is the best in the world. On feast days they eat some flesh
half-cooked, without bread or salt, as that is their custom. They clothe
themselves, according to their habit, with tight trousers[42] and short
loose coats[43] of very coarse goat's hair.[44] They cover themselves
with blankets,[45] and wear their hair down to their eyes. They are
great walkers, and inured to toil. They carry on perpetual war with the
English, who here keep garrison for the Queen, from whom they defend
themselves, and do not let them enter their territory, which is subject
to inundation, and marshy. That district extends for more than forty
leagues in length and breadth. The chief inclination of these people is
to be robbers, and to plunder each other; so that no day passes without
a call to arms among them. For the people in one village becoming aware
that in another there are cattle, or other effects, they immediately
come armed in the night, and "go[46] Santiago" [attack], and kill one
another; and the English from the garrisons, getting to know who had
taken, and robbed, most cattle, then come down upon them, and carry away
the plunder. They have, therefore, no other remedy but to withdraw
themselves to the mountains, with their women and cattle; for they
possess no other property, nor more moveables nor clothing. They sleep
upon the ground, on rushes, newly cut and full of water and ice.
The most of the women are very beautiful, but badly[47] dressed [got
up]. They do not wear more than a chemise, and a blanket, with which
they cover themselves, and a linen cloth, much doubled, over the head,
and tied in front. They are great workers and housekeepers, after their
fashion. These people call themselves Christains. Mass is said among
them, and regulated according to the orders of the Church of Rome. The
great majority of their churches, monasteries, and hermitages, have been
demolished by the hands of the English, who are in garrison, and of
those natives who have joined them, and are as bad as they. In short, in
this kingdom there is neither justice nor right, and everyone does what
he pleases.
As to ourselves, these savages liked us well because they knew we came
against [to oppose] the heretics, and were such great enemies of theirs;
and if it had not been for those who guarded us as their own persons,
not one of us would have been left alive. We had good-will to them for
this, although they were the first to rob us and strip to the skin those
who came alive to land; from whom, and from the thirteen ships of our
Armada, in which came so many people of importance, all of whom were
drowned, these savages obtained much riches in jewellery and money.
Word of this reached the great Governor of the Queen, who was in the
city of Dililin [Dublin], and he went immediately, with seventeen
hundred soldiers, to search for the lost ships and the people who had
escaped. They were not much fewer than one thousand men, who, without
arms and naked, were wandering about the country in the locality where
each ship had been lost.
The majority of these the Governor caught, and hanged them at once or
inflicted other penalties, and the people who he knew had sheltered them
he put in prison, and did them all the injury he could.
In this manner he took three or four savage chiefs, who had castles, in
which they had sheltered some Spaniards; and, having put both parties
under arrest, marched with them along the whole of the coasts till he
arrived at the place where I was wrecked. From thence he turned off
towards the castle of Manglana [MacClancy], for so they called the
savage with whom I was, who was always a great enemy of the Queen, and
never loved anything of hers, nor cared to obey her, for which reason he
(the Governor) was very anxious to take him prisoner.
This savage, taking into consideration the great force that was coming
against him, and that he could not resist it, decided to fly to the
mountains, which was his only remedy: more he could not do.
We Spaniards, who were with him, had news of the misfortune which was
coming upon us, and we did not know what to do, or where to place
ourselves in safety.
One Sunday, after mass, the chief, with dishevelled hair down to his
eyes, took us apart, and, burning with rage, said that he could not
remain, and he had decided to fly with all his villagers, their cattle,
and their families, and that we should settle what we wished to do to
save our lives. I replied to him to calm himself a little, and that
presently we would give him an answer. I went apart with the eight
Spaniards who were with me--they were good fellows--and I told them they
should well consider all our past misfortunes and that which was coming
upon us; and in order not to see ourselves in more, it was better to
make an end of it at once honourably; and as we had then a good
opportunity, we should not wait any longer, nor wander about flying to
the mountains and woods, naked and barefooted, with such great cold as
there was. Besides, the savage regretted so much to abandon his castle,
we, the nine Spaniards who were there, would cheerfully remain in it and
defend it to the death. This we could do very well, although there
should come two other such forces, more than that which was coming,
because the castle is very strong and very difficult to take if they do
not (even though they should) attack it with artillery; for it is
founded in a lake of very deep water, which is more than a league wide
at some parts, and three or four leagues long, and has an outlet to the
sea; and, besides, with the rise of spring tides it is not possible to
enter it, for which reason the castle could not be taken by water nor by
the shore of the land that is nearest to it. Neither could injury be
done it, because [for] a league round the town, which is established on
the mainland, it is marshy, breast-deep, so that even the inhabitants
[natives] could not get to it except by paths.
Then, considering all this carefully, we decided to say to the savage
that we wished to hold the castle and defend it to the death; that he
should, with much speed, lay in provisions for six months, and some
arms.
The chief was so pleased with this, and to see our courage, that he did
not delay much to make all provision, with the concurrence [good-will]
of the principal men of his town, who were all satisfied. And, to insure
that we should not act falsely, he made us swear that we would not
abandon his castle, nor surrender it to the enemy for any bargain or
agreement, even if we should perish from hunger; and not to open the
gates for Irishman, Spaniard, or any one else till his return, which he
would doubtless accomplish.
Then, all that was necessary being well prepared, we moved into the
castle, with the ornaments and requisites for the Church service, and
some relics which were there, and we placed three or four boat-loads of
stones within, and six muskets, with six cross-bows, and other arms.
Then the chief, embracing us, retired to the mountains, all his people
having already gone there; and the report was spread throughout the
country that Manglana's [MacClancy's] Castle was put in a state of
defence, and would not be surrendered to the enemy, because a Spanish
captain, with other Spaniards who were within, guarded [held] it.
Our courage seemed good to the whole country, and the enemy was very
indignant at it, and came upon the castle with his forces--about eighteen
hundred men--and observed us from a distance of a mile and a half from
it, without being able to approach closer on account of the water
which[48] intervened. From thence he exhibited some warnings, and hanged
two Spaniards, and did other damages [injuries] to put us in fear. He
demanded many times, by a trumpeter[49], that we should surrender the
castle, and he would spare our lives and give us a pass to Spain. We
said to him that he should come closer to the tower, as we did not
understand him, appearing always to make little of his threats and
promises [words].
We had been besieged for seventeen days, when our Lord saw fit to
succour and deliver us from that enemy by severe storms and great falls
of snow, which took place to such an extent that he [the Queen's
Governor] was compelled to depart with his force, and to march back to
Duplin [Dublin], where he had his residence and garrisons. From thence
he sent us warning that we should keep ourselves out of his hands, and
not come within his power; and that he would return in good time to that
country.
We replied to him much to our satisfaction, and to that of our Governor
of the castle, who, when he got the news that the Englishmen had
retired, returned to his town and castle greatly appeased and calmed,
and they _fêted_ us much.
He [the chief] very earnestly confirmed us [admitted us to full
privileges] as most loyal friends: offering whatever was his for our
service, and the chief persons of the land [did the same], neither more
nor less. To me he would give a sister of his, that I should marry her.
I thanked him much for this; but contented myself with a guide to direct
me to a place where I could meet with embarkation for Scotland.
He did not wish to give me permission [to leave], nor to any Spaniard of
those who were with him, saying that the roads were not safe; but his
sole object was to detain us, that we might act as his guard.
So much friendship did not appear good to me; and thus I decided,
secretly, with four of the soldiers who were in my company, to depart
one morning two hours before dawn, so that they should not pursue
[? stop] us on the road: and also because one day previously a boy
of Manglana's [MacClancy's] had told me his father had said that he
would not let me leave his castle until the King of Spain should send
soldiers to that country; and that he wished to put me in prison, so
that I might not go.
Possessed of this information, I dressed myself as best I could, and
took to the road, with the four soldiers, one morning ten days after the
Nativity,[50] in the year 88.
I travelled [went travelling] by the mountains and desolate places,
enduring much hardship, as God knows; and at the end of twenty days'
journey, I got to the place where Alonzo de Leyva, and the Count de
Paredes and Don Tomas de Granvela, were lost, with many other gentlemen,
to give an account of whom would need a quire[51] of paper.
I went to the huts of some savages that were there, who told me of the
great misfortunes of our people who were drowned at that place, and
showed me many jewels and valuables of theirs, which distressed me
greatly.
My chief cause of misery was that I had no means of embarking for the
Kingdom of Scotland; until one day I heard of the territory of a savage,
whom they called Prince Ocan, where there were some vessels that were
going to Scotland. Thither I travelled, crawling along, for I could
[scarcely] move because of a wound in one leg; but, as it led to safety,
I did all I could to walk, and reached it quickly. The vessels had left
two days before, which was no small disappointment for me, as I was in a
very dreadful country and among enemies, there being many English
stationed at the port, and each day they were with Ocan.
At this time I suffered great pain in the leg, so much so that in no
manner could I stand upon it. I was advised, too, that I should be very
cautious, because there were many English there who would do me great
harm if they caught me, as they had done to other Spaniards; especially
if they knew who I was.
I did not know what to do, as the soldiers who came with me had left,
and gone to another port further on to seek for a passage.
Some women, when they saw me alone, and ill, pitied me, and took me away
to their little huts on the mountain, and kept me there for more than a
month and a half in safety, and cured me, so that my wound healed, and I
felt well enough to go to Ocan's village to speak with him.
But he did not wish to hear or see me; for, it was said, he had given
his word to the great Governor of the Queen not to keep any Spaniard in
his territory, nor permit one to go about in it.
The English, who were quartered there, having marched off to invade a
territory and take it, Ocan accompanied them with all his force, so that
one could go openly [boldly] about the village, which was composed of
thatched huts.
In them there were some very beautiful girls, with whom I was very
friendly, and went into their houses occasionally for society and
conversation.
One afternoon, while I was there, two young Englishmen came in, one of
whom was a sergeant, and possessed information of me, by name, but yet
had not seen me before. When they were seated, they asked me if I were a
Spaniard; and what I was doing there. I said yes; that I was one of the
soldiers of Don Alonzo de Luçon, who had lately surrendered to them; but
on account of a bad leg, I had not been able to leave the district; that
I was at their service, to do whatever they wished to command.
They told me to wait a little, and that I should have to go with them to
the city of Dublin, where there were many important Spaniards in prison.
I said that I could not walk or go with them, and they sent to search
for a horse to carry me. I told them I was very willing to do whatever
they wished, and to go with them, with which they were reassured, and
began to make fun with the girls.
Their mother made signs to me to go away (that I should leave by the
door), and I did so in great haste, leaping banks as I went along. I got
among thick brambles, into which I penetrated until I lost sight of
Ocan's Castle, following this course until I wished to lie down for the
night.
I had arrived at a very large laguna [lake or marsh], along the banks of
which I saw a herd of cows walking, and I was approaching to see if
there was any one with them who could tell me where I was, when I
observed two boy savages advancing. They came to collect their cows, and
take them up the mountain to where they and their fathers were hiding
for fear of the English; and there I spent two days with them, being
treated with much kindness.
One of the boys had to go to the village of the Prince of Ocan to
ascertain what news or rumour there was, and he saw the two Englishmen,
who were going about, raging, in search of me.
Information about me had already been given to them, and no one passed
by whom they did not ask if he had seen me.
The boy was such a good lad that, upon learning this, he returned to his
hut, and informed me of what had occurred, so that I had to leave there
very early in the morning, and to go in search of a bishop, who was
seven leagues off in a castle where the English kept him in banishment
and retirement. This bishop was a very good Christian, and went about in
the garb of a savage for concealment, and I assure you I could not
restrain tears when I approached him to kiss his hand. He had twelve
Spaniards with him for the purpose of passing them over to Scotland, and
he was much delighted at my arrival, all the more so when the soldiers
told him that I was a captain. He treated me with every kindness[52]
that he could for the six days I was with him, and gave orders that a
boat should come to take us over to Scotland, which is usually done in
two days. He gave us provisions for the voyage and said mass to us in
the castle, and spoke with me about some things concerning the loss of
the kingdom, and how His Majesty had assisted them; and that he should
come to Spain as soon as possible after my arrival in Scotland, where he
advised me to live with much patience, as in general they were all
Lutherans and very few Catholics. The bishop was called Don Reimundo
Termi (?) [? Bishop of Times], an honourable and just man. God keep him
in His hands and preserve him from his enemies.
That same day at dawn[53] [when it was growing light], I went to sea in
a wretched boat in which we sailed--18 persons--and the wind becoming
contrary the same day, we were forced to run before it, at the mercy of
God, for Shetland, where we reached the land at daylight; the boat being
nearly swamped, and the main-sail carried away. We went on shore to give
thanks to God for the mercies He had bestowed upon us in bringing us
there alive; and from thence, in two days, with good weather, we left
for Scotland, where we arrived in three days: not without danger, on
account of the great quantity of water the miserable boat took in.
We blessed God who withdrew us from such perils and so great hardships,
and brought us to a land where there might be more succour.
It was said that the King of Scotland protected all the Spaniards who
reached his kingdom, clothed them, and gave them passages to Spain; but
all was the reverse, for he did no good to anyone, nor did he bestow one
dollar in charity. Those of us who reached that kingdom suffered the
greatest privations; inasmuch, as we were [left] for more than six
months as naked as when we arrived from Ireland, and other places, to
seek succour and assistance there, and passages to Spain.
I am inclined to believe that he was much persuaded, on the part of the
Queen of England, to hand us over to her. And had not the Catholic Lords
and Counts of that kingdom helped us--and there were many, and great
gentlemen, to favour us and speak for us to the King, and in the
Councils which were held on the subject--without doubt we should have
been betrayed [sold], and handed over to the English. For the King of
Scotland is nobody: nor does he possess the authority or position of a
king: and he does not move a step, nor eat a mouthful, that is not by
order of the Queen. Thus, there are great dissensions among the
gentlemen, who bear him no good-will, and desire to see his reign ended,
and the Majesty of the King, our Lord, in his place, that he might
establish the Church of God, which has been brought to such ruin there.
This they said to us many times, almost weeping, longing to see that day
which, they hoped in God, might soon arrive.
And, as I say, these gentlemen supported us all the time that we were
there, and gave us much alms, and were kind to us, sorrowing for our
misfortunes, with much pity. They asked us to have patience, and to bear
with a people who called us idolaters and bad Christians, and said a
thousand heresies to us; for, if one made answer, they would fall upon
him and kill him, and it was impossible to live or remain in such a bad
kingdom with so bad a king....[54] A despatch was sent to the Duke of
Parma ... at which his Highness, as a pious prince, grieved, and with
great zeal he sought to succour us ... to the King, that he would permit
us to leave his kingdom, and to the Catholics and friends much gratitude
on the part of his Majesty, with his most friendly letters.
There was a Scotch merchant in Flanders, who offered and agreed with his
Highness that he would come to Scotland for us and ship us in four
vessels, with the provisions which were necessary, and that he would
bring us to Flanders, his Highness giving him five ducats for each
Spaniard of those that he brought to Flanders.
The agreement was made with him, and he went for us and embarked us,
unarmed and naked as he found us, and took us by the ports of the Queen
of England, which secured us permission to pass by all the fleets and
ships of her kingdom.
All was treacherous; for an arrangement had been made with the ships of
Holland and Zealand that they should put to sea and await us at the same
bar [entrance to the harbour] of Dunkirk, and there they should put us
all to death, without sparing one, which the Dutch did as they were
commanded; and were on the look-out for us for a month and a half at the
said port of Dunkirk, and there they should have caught us all had not
God helped us.
God willed that of the four vessels in which we came, two escaped and
grounded, where they went to pieces; and the enemy, seeing the means of
safety which we were taking, gave us a good discharge of artillery, so
that we were forced to cast ourselves afloat[55] [to make a desperate
attempt], and we thought to end it there.
They could not come to our assistance with the boats from the port of
Dunkirk, as the enemy cannonaded them briskly. On the other hand, the
sea and wind were very high; so that we were in the greatest peril of
being all lost.
However, we cast ourselves afloat[56] on timbers, and some soldiers were
drowned, as was also a Scotch captain. I reached the shore in my shirt,
without other description of clothing, and some soldiers of Medina (?)
who were there came to help me.
It was sad to see us enter the town once more, stripped naked; and for
the other part we saw, as before our eyes, the Dutch making a thousand
pieces of two hundred and seventy Spaniards who came in the ship which
brought us to Dunkirk, without leaving more than three alive; for which
they are now being paid out, as more than four hundred Dutchmen who have
been taken since then have been beheaded. This I have wished to write to
you.
From the City of Antwerp, 4th October, 1589.
_Sᵍᵈ._
FRANCISCO DE CUELLAR.
ACADEMY OF HISTORY--COLLECTION SALAZAR,
NO. 7, FOLIO 58.
FOOTNOTES:
[12] (1), (2), (3). V.m., initials representing _Vuestra merced_ = your
worship, your honour, or sir, you.
[13] _Alférez_ = ensign.