Green — Armada Ships on the Kerry Coast. 265 



On the 13th, at daybreak, the wind went rapidly round to the north-west, and 

 the sea began to go down. We were going south-east. On the 14th of the same 

 month we kept the same course with the same wind. At noon we saw to leeward 

 a big ship with a tender, about as far off as one could see. We gradually worked 

 down on to her, and at nightfall were a league off, but could not follow her, as it 

 was dark. We kept our lantern burning all night, that she might see us. 



On the 15th, running south with the wind west, two hours before daybreak, 

 we saw a vessel to windward of us, showing us light and going north, and another 

 to leeward, which had no lantern burning. 



We suspected they were the same as those of the [previous] evening, and that 

 they were trying to get away from the land, of which we [too] were in dread. For 

 what was wanting till day, we kept on the course we were going. When day 

 broke, we saw ahead of us two large islands, and to port, in the east, the [main] 

 land ; and as we could not weather it, we turned to N.N.W. The two aforesaid 

 vessels were coming along, moving off from it ; and we recognized them as the 

 flag-ship of Juan Martinez de Eecalde and a tender. 



We turned towards him, despairing, with the wind athwart, and we ignorant of 

 the coast, of any remedy, and saw that being able to double one of the islands, 

 towards another stretch of land, which he saw before him, he turned east. We 

 stood to windward of her and followed, thinking he had some information. He 

 kept approaching the land and ran into the port of Vicey, through an entrance 

 between low rocks, about [as wide as] the length of a ship, and anchored. We 

 came [in] behind her, and after [us] the tender. This was shown by a Scotchman 

 whom he had on board his ship, whose vessel the Duke had taken. ^ This day 

 we saw another ship to leeward close to the land. [We must hope that] God will 

 have been pleased to come to her aid, for she was in great danger.^ 



On the 16th, Juan Martinez gave us two cables and an anchor; for we had 

 nothing but the cable which was down, and I gave him an anchor of 30 cwt. which 

 was no use to us, and of which he stood in the greatest need. 



On the 17th, Juan Martinez sent a large boat with fifty arquebusiers to look 

 out for a landing-place on the coast, to collect information, and to treat with the 

 Irish for a supply of water, which was badly wanted, and of meat. They found 

 nothing but steep cliffs on which the sea broke ; and on the land some hundred 

 arquebusiers were waving a white flag with a red cross [on it]. 



It is surmised that they were English, and that eight men whom Juan 



1 They evidently passed to the westward of Innish Tooskert, and, turning east, ran hefore the 

 wind, close to the north of the islet of Carrigafadda, to the anchorage. Recalde, no doubt, selected 

 this narrow passage in preference to the wide one between tbe islands and the mainland, because, 

 with the wind westerly, he might have failed to luff up to the anchorage ; and failure would have 

 meant destruction on the cliffs to leeward. 



* This was probably a ship that was reported lost in Tralee Baj'. 



[40*] 



