4 26 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



" A great many years ago, long before my time, the Glare Island men 

 used to go hunting the seals to make oil out of them. So one day four 

 men went off in a canoe beyond Achill Head there to look for seals in the 

 caves. And when they came to a good cave, one of them landed with a 

 heavy stick, the butt-end of an oar it was, to see would there be any seals 

 in in it. And he hadn't been long there when a big seal comes flopping 

 down the stones from the top of the cave, and made for the water. But 

 before he got in the man with the stick gave him three terrible blows on 

 the back, thinking to kill him. But he didn't, and the seal swam away. And 

 then another seal came down from the top of the cave, and the man gave him 

 three welts of the stick, too, but he didn't kill that seal either, and away it 

 swam after the first one. And then another one came flopping down, and 

 he got three terrible welts of the stick like the other two, but no more 

 was he killed, so the whole three got away on the man. 



" Then he got back into the canoe, very angry with himself, and they 

 pulled away for another good cave, where they thought to find more seals. 

 But they hadn't got far when a terrible storm rose up all of a sudden, and 

 no matter how hard they pulled they couldn't make head against it, and it's 

 far out to sea they was blown where they had never been before that. And 

 then the night came on on them and they far out there in the sea and killed 

 with the hard rowing, and they'd almost given up all hopes of seeing home 

 again when one of them seen a small light shining out far ahead of them. And 

 they pulled for it like mad, and at long last they got under the shelter of a 

 little island they never seen nor heard of before, and there sure enough was 

 the light shining in the window of a house. 



" So they made the canoe fast and landed and went up and rapped at the 

 door, and a woman opened it and axed them to come in and sit by the fire. 

 And it was making plasters the woman was when she let them in, and they 

 seen three men lying on the floor by the fire and their backs stripped. And 

 when the canoe men came over to the fire to warm themselves three terrible 

 wounds it was they seen on the backs of the three men was lying there. 

 And one of the canoe men, the one that landed with the big stick to kill the 

 seals in the cave, got a turn when he seen the wounds, and he called out : 

 ' The Lord be praised ! and who clone that on yous ?' And one of the men 

 on the floor made answer : ' 'Twas you yourself done it not three hours ago 

 in the cave over there beyond Achill Head.' And by that the canoe men 

 knew it was the three seals was lying there with the cruel welts of the stick 

 on their backs, and they got afeard, as well they might. But the seal man 

 said : ' Let this be a lesson to yous for all your- lives ; so go away home with 

 yourselves now, and let you not be laying hands on a seal any more.' So 



