The Blue Men

Sit you down and listen well, and I will tell you the story of the Blue Men. Betwixt the Isle of Lewis and the Shant Islands is the Sea–stream of the Blue Men. The Men dwell in caves far beneath the surface of the waters, where they swim up and down and round about, creating a restless sea.

The Blue Men love to thrash their arms and kick up the waves, showing their power and putting fear into the hearts of the sailors who dare to travel through their territory.

In summer, when the weather is fine, the Blue Men swim beneath the surface of the water and cause little trouble. But in the winter, when the storms blow in between the isles, the Men swim up over the surface and beat the waves and dive and splash with mad delight.

So many ships were swamped and sunk by the Blue Men and their wave–making that the Sea–stream of the Blue Men was called by the sailors The Current of Destruction.

The Men were pleased with the power they had, and began to make it their charge to pull down the ships that passed through their stream. They would place a sentry on duty, who would watch for oncoming ships, and call to his fellows to come to the surface when a ship appeared.

The leader of the Blue Men would then play a wicked game on the ship’s captain, a game of risk to the ship and her crew. Rising to the surface, the leader would shout two lines of poetry at the ship, to be answered by the captain. Should the reply be two lines complimenting the Blue Man’s verse, the ship could pass.The captains of the ships, in their fear, could never respond quickly enough to save themselves. The Blue Men would then seize the boat and shake it and turn it about and flood it with their waves until the boat sank beneath the waves to be torn to pieces.

Sailors had such fear of the passage that they would sail far around and away from their shortest path to avoid the Blue Men.

Once a young captain made for himself a challenge to overcome the Blue Men. He held his own counsel and spoke to no one of his plans, but rather studied in secret to learn what he could about the Blue Men and their ways. He spoke with old men who knew the legends. Finally, a plan came to him and he began his preparations.

He called to his crew and ordered them to build a new ship. He chose only the strongest wood, of the largest trees, and guided his crew in the highest level of craftsmanship in their work.

The young captain approached the sail makers, and ordered the best and most beautiful fabrics be made into sails for his ship. He chose the brightest, whitest sailcloth, and guided the sail makers to use the height of their art in their manufacture.

With these tasks underway, the young captain then left his men, and took himself off. He journeyed swiftly to the Isle of Lewis, to the home of a master of poetry and music, the aged harper of a famed leader in his clan.

When he entered the harper’s home, the sounds of the harp seemed strange to him. The captain knew little of music and nothing of the bardic art. The wise harper instructed him with only the sound of his harp for full three days.

At the end of the three days, the harper laid aside his harp and began to speak in verse. For three days the captain spoke not a word, but was made only to listen to the poetry of the master.

At the end of those three days, the captain was pleased to find his tongue loosened and himself able to speak in perfect couplets for whatever his need. The sound of the harp was orderly to his ear as he recognized the pattern of the music played by the harper. At the end of this third cycle of three days, the harper stopped his playing and reciting, and smiled upon the young man. Be pleased he said, You have gained through time in study of music and verse all that the Blue Men could hope to gain through use of waves and weather.

The captain returned to his ship, and saw it well fashioned and the sails white and proud. It was now that the captain called together his men and told them of his plan.

Three sailors rose and spoke together, This you cannot do. We have only been taught to sail around and avoid these waters. Your study of history and of the old art of the harper will do no good for us in the present day.

You may stay behind, said the captain, but for those who go on, we carry a precious cargo which will gain us much profit.

This precious cargo you will lose, to the sorrow of those who join you, said the three. Indeed, they left the ship and stayed behind.

On the following morn the ship set sail. She moved through the waters with the grace of a dancer, into the Blue Men’s Stream.

The sentinel looked and saw the stately ship, her sails full and bright as clouds on a summer day. He called to the other Blue Men with much excitement, and they rose to capture the ship.

They wondered at its speed and progress. They were astonished to find it so heavy and strong. Like to a spear in flight was its progress, straight and true.

Finally, the leader rose from the water and called his couplet to the captain:

Man of the black cap, what do you say
As your proud ship cleaves the brine?

Without delay for thought, the captain replied:

My speedy ship takes the shortest way
And I’ll follow you line by line.

The Blue Man saw the challenge in the speedy and poetic reply. In fury he shouted:

My men are eager, my men are ready
To drag you below the waves!

In defiance the captain replied:

My ship is speedy, my ship is steady,
If sunk it would wreck your caves.

The Blue Man had never before been answered so promptly nor so well. He knew, should he shout the third time and again be worsted, that his power would be stolen from him forever. He fled beneath the waves with his fellows, and grimly watched the ship pass.

The ship sailed on proudly and in safety, losing no speed in her passage to fortune for the sailors who had faith in the courage and learning of their captain bard.

The legends of the Blue Men are unique to the Western Highlands and Islands of Scotland. This re–telling by Cynthia of one of the legends gives an idea of how the captain could have gained his skill. To read more about this legend and others, we recommend Scottish Wonder Tales from Myth and Legend, by Donald A. MacKenzie, available from Dover Publications, Inc. 31 East 2nd Street, Mineola NY 11501.