"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