Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-13
LEGENDS OF THE LAKES
kiIlarney's Emerald Isles and
Winding Bays.
MOUNTAINS IN THE MISTS
Rare Beauties at Twilight and
Havens of Rest.
THE ANNALS OF INNISFALLEN
Is of the Doughty O'Donaghue
Among the Clustering Hills
Of Killarney.
THE ANNALS OF INNISFALLEN
BY WILLIAM f. CURTIS.

BY WILLIAM F. CURTIS.
Special Corresponding of The Star and the
Chicago Record Herald
KILLARNEY. Ireland August 4. 1905
The Lakes of KILLARNEY are three in
number and. strangely enough. have no
romantic names. They are really only
one lake the Lower, Upper and Middle
lake being connected by narrow channels
only a few yards long. The three are
thirty miles in circumference and the ex-
treme end of Upper lake is eleven miles
from the extreme end of Lower lake. The
Lower lake is the largest. being about
five and a half miles long and two and a
half miles wide at the widest place. Mid
die lake and Upper lake are each about
two miles long at the greatest length and
about three-Quarters of a mile wide at
the widest point
Annals of Innisfallen.
They all contain numerous islands
of different sizes. Somebody has count
ed them and 1 think has found sixty
five large and small One of them,
Innisfallen Island was occupied by
a monastery back in st. Patrick's time
and the famous Annals of Innisfallen,
one of the earliest and most authentic of
the ancient Irish histories. was written
there by the monks. who began the manu-
script at least twelve hundred years ago
The original Is now in the Bodleian LII
brary at oxford, and is one of the most
valuable manuscripts in the world IL
contains fifty-seven leaves. closely COW
cred with beautiful penmanship. The
earlier portion consists of extracts from
the Old Testament and history of the
world down to the arrival of ST. Patrick
in 49,. From that time 1t treas exclu-
sively of Irish affairs. terminating with
the year 1919. 1t is evidently record of
W
edge Of the monks of Innisfallen Abbey
during a period Of neary seven hundred
years until In 1920. when the abbey ' as
pIundered and the monks massacred by
Maulduin O'Donaghue and the MacCar-
thys. 1t has since remained in ruins; a
few broken walls. covered with ivy, which
are visited regularly by Augustinian
brothers. who come here on piigrimages.
The Mountains Of Killarney
The lakes are surrounded almost en-
tirely by a range of mountains. except on
the north. where they break into low
hills. There are six peaks rising over
1000 feet. including Carran-Tuel. 1914
feet, the highest mountain in Ireland;
Mangerton. 2.756 feet: Purple mountain.
2.7S9 feet; Devils Punch Bowl, 30 feet;
Toomies. 2.5OO feet. and Tore. 2.1O4 feet.
There are several other mountains which
approach these in height. forming
mighty barrier between County Cork and
County Kerry. and protect Killarney from
the cold southwest winds of the ocean.
The Devils Punch Bowl is an extinct vol
cano, and gets its name from an enor-
nous crater near it's summit which is
filled with water and fed from Subterra-
mean springs. There is no bottom to it,
SO far as people have been able to dis
cover. The crater reaches down into the
bowels of the earth somewhere, and fur
nishes an inexhaustible reservoir of pure
cold water. which is now piped down to
he will of
By curious freak of nature these
mountains are all detached and separated
by narrow valleys and gorges. although
at a distance they seem to be In a clus-
that fall over precipitous rocks and form
numerous cascades. We came through
one Of them on our way from Glengariff.
Nearly all the others have hard anG
cursions on coaches and in jaunting cars.
Some of them are impossible except on
horseback. These excursions furnish de-
ightful diversions for tourists and people
who are spending the summer at the
hotels. and give good opportunity to
see the scenery and Irish life. The ex-
cursion system is well organized. 1t is
only necessary to buy a ticket Ind to
follow the man from Cocks. There are
many short drives also. and visits can
be made to the islands by rowboats
There are several romantic old castles
and the Earl Of Kenmare has built tea
houses at different points which are
greatly appreciated.
A Place for Rest.
There is no more delightful place in the
world for rest and mild forms Of en-
joyment. but folks in search of excite
ment will find Killarney "beastly dull"
1t is not the least bit exciting. There Is
no dressing and no dancing. Some Of the
hotels are even without barrooms. The
most thrilling excitement is found in
tennis. golf. fishing. walking, driving and
listening to photograph In the evening
There Is an active rivalry between the
wOrshipers of the Scotch and the English
lakes and the admirers of the Lakes Of
Killarney. which all have a certain re-
semblance. and the latter are like Alpine
lakes in miniature-not so much noun
tain. not much water but a similar
canopy of blue sky and green settings
The mountains are grouped as if by a
cred and frinsed with foliage. but are
bare as bone on their slopes and peaks
They are good for nothing but scenery
The grass is so scarce that ii doesn't pay
to pasture cattle over there. and goat
would have nervous prostration from lone
illness. There are said to be plenty Of
deer, but that Is doubtful.
Beauties at Twilight.
But. as features of a picture. the noun
lights and shadows as the sun rises and
declines. are exquisite. They appear at
their best when the sun goes down and
the mist rises and softens their outlines
The lingering twilight leaves deep shad-
ows of purple and blue, and every even
ing We sit on a bench in the hotel garden
and watch them fade away like a scene
in theater when curtains OF gauze are
dropped one after another.
The best view of the lake Is from the
south windows of the Earl of Kenmare's
mansion and from the terraced garden
that surrounds II. Unfortunately only
one of the hotels is situated so that the
guests can get the benefit of this extraor-
binary picture.
Legends of the Lakes.
The vivid Irish Imagination has furnished
a volume of legends and supersitions about
the lakes. Some of them have been hand
cd down from the earliest generations
Their attractions drew to them the low
ers of the beautiful ages ago and they
were originally known as 1.-The Lakes Of
Learning" because at zone time there
were monasteries mere attended by multi
tudes of students from all over the world
They have been a favorite theme of all
the IRISH poets, and many romances have
been laid here. The legends which ac-
count for the origin of the lakes are not
consistent. however. Some one neglect ed
10 close the entrance to an enchanted
fountain in the mountains. which caused
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