Chapter VI.

Horse racing and shooting with the bow and arrow seem to have been the chief amusements of the Manx. Prizes for these were given by the 7th and later Earls of Derby, the first race under their patronage, of which we have any record, having been in 1627. The racecourse was on the peninsula of Langness, and the races took place on the 28th of July, being the birthday of the 7th Earl. During the time of the Commonwealth they fell into disuse, but they were continued after the Restoration, as will be seen by the following order given by the 8th Earl.—“It is my good will and pleasure y^t y^e two prizes formerly granted (by me) for hors running and shouting shall continue as they did, to be run, or shot for, and so continue dureing my good will and pleasure.—Given under my hand att Lathom y^e 12 of July, 1669.” The following were the chief conditions under which the race was run for a plate of the value of five pounds:—“No horse, or gelding, or mair shall be admitted to run for the said plate, but such as was foaled within the said Island, or in the Calfe of Mann. That every horse, gelding, or mair that is designed to run shall be entered before the 8th day of July, with his master’s name and his owne, if he be generally knowne by any, or else his colour, and whether horse, mair, or gelding.... That every person that puts in either horse, mair, or gelding, shall at the time of their entering depositt the sume of five shill. a piece into the hands of the cleark of the rolls, which is to goe towards the augmenting of the plate for the year following, besides one shill. a piece to be given by them to the said cleark of the rolls for entering their names.... That every horse, mair, or gelding shall carry horseman’s weight, that is to say, ten stone weight, at fourteen pounds to each stone, besides saddle and bridle.”

As to the shooting, for which prizes were also given, Waldron tells us that “the young men were great shooters with bowe and arrows. They had shooting matches frequently, parish against parish, and wagers were laid which side would have the better.” There are records of these matches having taken place at the end of the last century.

The only indigenous outdoor game, properly so-called, is _cam mag_, a sort of hockey.

There is a strange superstition among the Manx fishermen about being in the third boat to go out of harbour, which is considered most unlucky. After the first two boats have gone out, a number will follow as nearly as possible in line, so that no one in particular can be said to be the third. No reason is assigned for this curious notion.

[Footnote 137: Anthropological Notes and Queries—British Association.]

[Footnote 138: There were two of these officials in every parish, one for the day and the other for the night watch.]

[Footnote 139: In Camden’s Britannia.]

[Footnote 140: History of the Isle of Man. Manx Society, Vol. XVIII., pp. 113‒14.]

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