, 1890-01-30


mean thrill of pride and c0ngrntulAtion
in the pride of my fisher friend, despised
Cagot though ne was
THE VOYAGE,
Our goclctte was snug craft, of 40
tons burlhcn, and scarcely had VIC got
out Of sight of the gaping fishermen of
Concarneau when our shrewd captain,
| stripping himself nearly naked, un-
wound from his body some scarlet and
yellow stun, which proved to be the
Spanish flag. When this was run up
everything was pronounced snug and
| tidy for tho voyage, which, with fairly
| invorlng winds, was accomplished in
just four days. l found that an Amori-
| cans ordinary geographic knowl.
| edge of the bay OF liscay Is sub
jcct to modification, or rather expansion,
| by even once sailing across II. On
| the maps oil our youth.time 1t seems but
tiny, wrinkly hollow set in the coast
| anglo north Of the Spanish peninsula
and TO the west of France. Hut Its
| length from the Breton Finisterrc to the
Spanish Finistcrro must be nearly 800
miles, while our sailing course exceeded
600. For two days and nightswe skirted
the French const, by night now and then
catching glimpscs of warming lights,
day contemplating an unbroken line Of
piume-llk Ike surf, surmountcd by gray
dunes Of tempest-shifting sand, here and
thcrc Jaggedly capped Mt the
hori2on'edge by the dark sill
houettes OF stunted spruce and iir Sail
ing the Florida gull, 'one says of the in
termlnable sand and pine OF the Florida
coast, Here is dcsolution indeed" But
in intense and awful dreariness. in the
| endlessness of utter desOlntion, 1t cun
not bo compared with the French Bis
Cayan coast, from the yawning mouth of
the GirOnde to the stcely mouth OF the
Adour. Fifty miles below the latter the
boundaries of spain, the snuw.cappcd
Pyrenees, were dimly sighted. Then
We stood further out to sea, max
Ing for the extreme northwestern
Estuca de varcs, which we gave
wide berth at night in the early
morning catching a glimpse Of Coruna,
where the fiery valicnle, Don Suero de
Quinones, In July. 1884, for ten days
challenged and fought on the bridge
over the Orbigo, sovcniY-eight knights
on their way to the grand jubilee In this
olden city of pilgrimnges and festas, in
which la lances were split--all that he
might be entitled to remove an iron link
which lac wore about his neck every
Thursday in token of his captivity to his
lady love; passed grim Cape de San
Adrian as the rising sun cast its rays
like streams of mullen gold down into
the dark chasms of its seawHrd walls I:
and shortly rounded tile huge, long.
itinty and lofty promontory of Finis-
tcrre, our schooner gliding into the
great, silent and deserted bay like some
lonely sea-iowl skirting u lonelier coast
for prey.
The Bay of Finistcrre comprises at
least 100 square miles Of almost fathum-
less water, shut In by eastern, northern
and western granite walls. There Is
not human habitation in sight as you
enter. The most powerful glass can not
dcscry living beingor beast or fowl upon
the heights or within the gorges he
tween. There is not u single craft with
In the silent bay, Away around behind
one shadOwy crng, laid in the stony
loop OF the prOuontury, are few
/ struggling huts and some fishers boats
drawn upon the beach of sand.
These the sun lights up, but
there is no sign OF life even among them
They only intensity the grim and heart.
hurting desolatiOn to the behOlder.
stern and savage grandeur * on every
side. One seagull, wliirling and half
| screaming with its Whistling gurgle,
starts UP from somewhere behind the
crag and comes TO uSiiHs If impioring
food. Yet here it was that once 1000
! galleons paid tribute to the m iglty pa.
] known world made homage to the
mighty mistress OF the seI.
Hosts had been born, had
mingled in her wondrous actiyi
| ties, had died, to give place to other
myriad men who had lived their litllo
/ lives in the great city at the world $
end, Here, too, thelatron saint ol
/ spain, -. james. had won tile hGatlTcn
Spaniaris from PAgapisut to Christian
n tempest ravaged grave can be found,
as sign where Juyo was, to-day. Did
the awful sea epgulfit2 Can the tooth OF
time gnaw so line and annihilatInglyi
Here should now sit, reaGhing with white
wings Ot commerce the rcmotest places
OF earth, the greatest city of Spain. In
stead, In those miserable huts exist per.
| haps lDO Of the yliest, most il-bggOtieu,
sodden nni sinister barbdrlans Ot all
| Spain. No man, woman or child among
them can read. They soak their bodies
and besut their souls In fiery aguarlirntc.
They are foul with sores, and Tcek in
slime and oOze; and heaven help tile
helpless one that drifts alone among
them.
IN sPAts.
We came to anchor within 100 yards
OF the beach before IL single soul had
been seen in de,olatc FInistcrrc. Then
o wrctchcl sort of "A woman, half clad
emerged from her hut, and, stcadying
herself along Idle the houses, disappeared
within the door OF the largest, which
served to uphold n crumbling porta
along It's front. Pierre tloquet and
myself were then rowed to the shore Dy
two of his sialwart sons. Just rs W,
landed. tho door of the large house re
opened aud something resembling tht
wrath of Rip Van Winkle on his return
from his sleep IT, the mountains raised
its hands to tho sky and let them lal
with an express sion of surprise, confusion
and utter Iclple,sncss. We stalked VI
the beach and acCosted thc figure civtliy.
Pardon, IN the name Of God, spoke
the thin old man, VINO proved 10 be the
alCaldr OF Finsterrc, nnd wrctChcdly III,
| "thc plight We are found in, Every soul
in Fini-terre Is afflicted unto death with
some strange Inalady You are welcome
to port, he you Gallegnns, merchantmen
or pirates. II the latter, you may cap
tuTe and carry oil In bondage all olli
people, aud there be none to lit II pre-
vcntive hand Would to God you were
II likewise you might rob our coast o.
this dread plaguep
Then ior the iirst time ! found tina
Pierre held II spanish tongue III h,'
head, and It spoke with the strange ac
cent of Galicia. lie told the uniortuunt,
acalde his story cunningly, thougl
making no reference to the Cagot blood
revealed the fact that he had casks o
cayiuru and kegs of sarlincs. with sacks
ot good Breton onions and potatocsi ano
better yet llaguns of wine and brandy
all for the honest people OF finistcrr'
that they might Join in his gladnesi
at nearing the home-spot of hi
ancestors, lie also AS cunning