Morning journal and courier., 1888-11-03

such fury into this tunnel, or "Gun," that the water is shot in a columnar shaft of i'm mense volume from two to three hundred feet above the headland bore mouth, like the Iceland geiser, and with report far exceed ing the detonation of loudest cannon. It ia asserted that these reports have been heard at Londonderry in an air line thirty miles away. They are surely audible under cer- tain atmospheric conditions over nearly the entire Donegal highlands; and the simple peasantry ot these mountain districts crouch beside their ingle hooks in superstitious awe when the awful storms are on, and Mae SWine's dread gun is booming. Immeasura- ply more eerie are the legends and supersti- tions it's terror has invoked than those which Irving caught from the lowly Dutch of the Kaatskills; and the marvel is that no Irish born Irving has arisen to preserve these witehingly entrancing, gentle and grewsome hobgoblins of this wondrous Donegal noun tain region.
 So grand an impression had I made upon my good skipper by my triumph over the coast guards-the possession of the majestic passport being in his simply eyes as good as a patent to a Donegal barony over the Queens own sign manual-that had no difficulty in persuading him to sail to and around Tory Island, the Thor-E of the ancient Scandi- navians, consecrated to Thor, their deity who presided over desolate and storm swept places It is situated about seven miles of the mainland, and is the first land to be sighted from America on the northwest Irish coast. About three miles in length, and one in width it's southeast point is known as Port Doon, while it's northwest headland ex- tremity is surmounted by lofty lighthouse one hundred and twenty two feet above the sea. The northern coast faces the sea with 8 line of cliffs and as smooth in their face as, and of color of, cast-iron; while opposite to the south the shores are low and flat. In the valleys above are the tiny hamlets of East Town and West Town; and the entire popu- lation of perhaps one thousand souls live here in a semi -barbarous though soddenly simple state, and utterly ignorant that their own tiny ocean peak is not the whole bound- less earth. Among the women we saw were some tremendous figures; but they possessed little of the facial fury Sc striking among some of the fshers' wives of the northern loughs and coasts. Not an hundred of these strange beings, men or women, were ever so far from home as the Irish main land, seven miles away. Their dialect preserves many of the bold and bardic similes of the ancient Danes It would be curious, but difficult, to trace the origin of such people. They are bi-lingual, as indeed are most of the folk of wild Donegal contiguous to them; but their English has little Irish flavor; and their Irish has less of pure Gaelic than of Scandinayi- an. Tradition relates much of absorbing in- terest regarding this bit of rock and soil. It was certainly the home of the Fomorian sea pirates of remotest antiq uity. Remains are still found of fortresses used as strongholds of the Norwegian sea kings fully two thou. sand years ago; and there are well preserved, though neglected, relics of later ecclesias- tic era of great impressiveness which include crosses, round tower and ancient structures for the earliest and rudest monastio uses. Of a still later date are round tower and church, built by St. Columbkill in the sixth century, to which is attached an ancien t churchyard, where are inferred many of the saints followers. The superstition here Is that should friends of the newly dead have the presumption to inter a body in this churehyard, on the following night the desc crating object would be violently whisked away in impalpable shreds into utter obliv- ion. It was at Tory Island that, in 3, ,066 A. M., the descendants of Nemedius-who ar rived with two thousand followers from southeastern Europe two hundred years ear- Her, and who were nearly all destroyed by 8 pestilence on the island of Ard Neimhidh, now Barrymore Island, near Cork-came, at- tackled and demolished the principal Fomo- rian stronghold called Tor Conainn or Co., nang's Tower. But that subject is too lengthy one to dwell upon from the deck of so small an Irish coaster; and so we set sail for the Iunishbofin Islands towards the gen. tier south.
 These comprise 8 group of islets of great beauty and picturesqueness at the entrance to wild 4uilldore Bay, where none But fsh- ermen live; and from here until we passed the grand promontory of Bloody Foreland, and came abreast of the Island of Arran, or Arranmore, we were constantly in sight of indescribably beautiful island or main land shore, and in company with the quaint and grotesque yawls and curraghs of the west coast fishermen. Arran Island-which should not be confounded with the important Aran T.Iao5s of GoIrou Rav-as aaan fron1 the sea, appears like monstrous cone of purple and green rising from the waves. With an area of about five thousand acres, scarcely five hundred are tillable. Its central peak is nearly eight hundred feet in height. Fully one thousand souls subsist upon the island entirely from fishing; and there is quite as little communication with the main land as at Tory Island. Leaving Arran, our craft again threaded it's way through maze of is- lanns, and then hugging the enchanting shores of Gwebarra Bay, glided past bold Dunmore Head, and rounding the great mountain ribbed peninsula Donegal, barony of Bannagh. we came, with the slanting rays of the afternoon sun, into the b1oad expanse of Donegal Bay. In the two hours in which we were making port, what feast Of scene and thought was here furnishedl To the south and southwest, far beyond the range of vision, stretched the mural shores of Lei trim, Sligo and Mayo, with Sligo and Killa' Ia bays pushing their blue waters mistily into green uplands beyond. To the north, lowering above us, were castellated peaks of jagged headlands, between which the Glen, Glenadah, Stragea, Oily, Ban1acky and Ea- nybeg rivers came roaring down from the mountains. To the east and gradually near'. ing were an hundred hills, through which came to the sea the laughing Ersk and state Iy Erne from their legend haunted loughs be- hind. As we crept up the bay, beyond the purpling waters before us lay the dark rim of inner shores, where, to the south, beyond the ruined tower where wrote the "Four Masters" glimpses were caught of the low roofs of ancient Ballyshannon at the Erne mouth; and where our course lay to the north through the narrow gap was seen the quaint old town of Donegal, set like russet nest by the waterside with its twin grim mountains towering dsrkly against horizon skies of saffron behind. This was the heart spot of Ireland's wild northwest. Bewitched by the scene, had become obhvious to my immediate surroundings, when suddenly our little craft bumped against the sides of Q rot- ting pier, at the rotting old hamlet of Salt Hill, the home of many coasters and fishers of the region. Turning to the unssvory spot, saw sitting upon the pier edge, with bare legs dangling over our coasters bow, g surpassing type of Donegal maiden loveli- ness, an unconscious waterside queenly beau. ty; girl of perhaps sixteen, indescribablJ wingome and fair, with the sunset lights playing glorious pranks on her face and won drous hair. She held one knee with hel shspely hands and was rocking back ano forth slowly. Glaneing first at the stranger keenly; then quizzingly at our skipper; anG at last steadily at young Larry, the mate she said cheerily:
 "Arrah, but ye wor lone lone, fatherG' "Faith, but brought great load" re- sponded our skipper teasingly.
 "An' might make bowld to ax where et'i ! stowedF' the girl continued quietly, perhaps rocking bit faster.
 The skipper gave mighty wink in my di rection; chuck1ed softly at his own great wit ! and proceeded imperturbably with his work
 finally supplementing the mighty wink witt the startling statement: Eve bro't ye { man. Meg-all the way from Belfastl'
 A deeper flush than was first there cam, l over the fair Irish girls face. Larry stood silent with sul1en look in his eyes. Tn girl arose quickly and began moving away | Suddenly she turned, came close to the whar edge, and as regardless of me as though m, presence were but that much space, with