Note 94 — Chapter XXIX · 1808-1812.
Reading edition
"None of the young men," says McDonnell, "made any progress in learning the Gaelic or Irish language on the voyage. I had some drills of the people with arms, but the weather was generally boisterous, and there were few days when a person could stand steady on deck. There never was a more awkward squad—not a man, or even officer, of the party knew how to put a gun to his eye or had ever fired a shot."