Evening Star Newspaper, October 24, 1891, Page 7

BLADENSBURG. ROADSIDE SKETCHES. |3che Sy sis: of iris Mr. Hyatt also built the old railway station, which is nearly opposite, his premises, and An Interesting Ramble Over a His- toric Region. which is now used as a freight depo! BLADENSBURG’S MEMORIES. The old town, which wag founded nearly two hundred years ago, is five and one-third miles northeast of Washington, and has a population of 503, about half of whom are colored. cemetery on the hill to the southward, over on the Anacostia road, overlooking the town, is worth a visit. Some of its tombstones date back to the year 1700. MEMORIES OF THE BATTLE. As you move to the right across the iron bridge that spans the Anacostia a little west of the old wharf visions of the difastrous battle of August 24, 1814, pass betore you. TheYight- ing commenced right here at the stream and extended to the hills beyond the Reform School Gen. Koss commanded the British, while the Americans had Gen. Winder for thei nominal commander. ‘The first shots from the guns of Maj. Peter's Georgetown artillery, which were in position near Carleton's mill, staggered the advance line of the British as it movea dows San view. The main building is occupied by the fuperintendent, boys’ dining room, chapel, library and reflecting room. The reception room for visitors is on the left of the main entrance. On either side of the main building are two dotachod wings, oecupied by the assit- ‘ants and as school and dormitories. The farm contains 150 acres. The mouth of Rives road is nearly opposite school. in 1884, in the eighty-fifth year of his age. The heevestive residence anil grounds east of the Hyatt place and opposite the passenger station belongs to Mr. Sebastian Aman. There are many handsome residences on thi Baltimore road, among them being the home of Dr Henry 8. Hall of the Treasury Depart- ment, which occupies one of the most elevated and commanding sites in the vicinity. A splen- did view is presented from his front porch. Hyattsville is now an incorporated town, with a board of commissioners, and has a popu- lation of 1,509 by the us. No liquors are sold in the place, and, alto- gether, it presents a thrifty, inviting appear- ance. RELICS OF THE WAR. On the site now occupied by Mr. O. R. Cox’s residence, nearly opposite the west gate of the school grounds, stood a battery during the years of the civil war. The line of pines running east and westin the rear of Cox's mark a line of old war-time rifle pits. Fort Thayer stood on the hill to the nortbwest of the pines. An eighth of a mile west of Cox's, on the north of the road, is Clark Mills’ old’ plice. - pective villa, . Oppo- site Mills’ on the south of the road, is Franklin Rives handsome place, the building being an old-fashioned two-story brick. Golien Rod brook runs under the road west of Rives’, x few yards from which you on the right, the entrance to Queen's Chapel road, opposite which stands the old Half-way House, which ‘was referred to in the excursion of the 17th instant. You will now proceed homeward along the pike, which has previously been traveled and need not be described again. On the pike opposite Mount Olivet cemetery stood in the old days a popular public house It was called “Spring Tavern,” the name being derived from a fine spring ‘on the premises. ‘The old house, which was almost as famous a resort as the Half-way House, was destroyed during the late war. The Baltimore road is full of historic inter- est and one forgets himself in recalling the stirring scenes and incidents that have ma: every foot of the ground classic. In the old days, before railway invasion, our statesmen, on horseback and in coaches, traveled this road on their way toand from their congressional duties. Guonor Simmons. ———— FOODS THAT ARE COUNTERFHIS, “Tyatteville and Its Ancient Neighbor—Fol- | lowing the Track of Eattle—The Old Duel- 4m, Ground—Oid Mansions That Were Built | Century and a Half Ago. ‘THE BLADENSBURG BRIDGE. Arriving at the wooden bridge that spans the | line Anacostia by one of the two routes above de- | “"Sohker Hill roaé is presenth ntly passed on | seribed the famous chalybeate spa is espied to | the right, Carletox’s cud mill bei vinible | the left and a little east of the southern end of | near by. ‘During the early part uf the battle | the bridge. This spring was once a poplar | Stansbury’s commagd occupied the triangular ‘Written for The Evening Star. WR A PLEASANT AND INTERESTING tramp to Hyattsville and Bladensburg take Brentwood road at the corner of Florida ave- nue and 2d sireet northeast, thence to Ri road, to Bunker Hill road, to Hyatteville road, to Baltimore pike, to city. Condition of the roads—Brentwood road, fair as far as Woodridge, east of that place, bad Rives road, rough; Bunker Hill road, good, hard, even surface; Hyattsville road, good ‘west of Northwest branch, east of that stream rough; Baltimore road, good. As you enter the Brentwood road Eckington, with its handsome showy houses, is passed on the left as the bill is climbed. The old Gales mansion will be observed in a grove on an elevated spot over on the west side of the rail- road. Arriving at the top of the hill and bear- ng to the left you pass on the right the mouth sf a byroad that leads to the old Ivy City race course and fair grounds. From this point fine re presented. The old race course ant the sloping lowlands on the right and the Soldiers’ Home and Howard University on the left show to good advantage. Advancing. a few rods bring you to Har- This burying pla National cemetery, | ippearance and contains ‘the best known colored | ‘Some original and and by those inter- | Artificial Almonds and Coffee—A Milk Dealer on the Water Question. REPORT OF A RATHER STARTLING nature is about to be issued by the De- partment of Agriculture on the adulteration of coffee and tea. “he former appears now to be chiefly sophisticated by the substitution for the real beans of artifical ones molded from compositicns made of clay, co-densed milk and other materials. Secretary Rusk will urge | the importance of excluding these and other imitations from importation to this country by the passage of a law shutting out articies pal- pably intended fer the falsification of food. ‘The beans are manufacturéd by wholesale in Germany and sold here for 10 cents « pound. From Utrecht alsoare now coming large quanti- ties of artificial almonds, made from glucose paste. They are shaped and colored by machines, being finally steeped in nitro-benzole to give the necessary odor. ‘The deception is so per- fect that, when mixed with the real article, the resort, being visited by many strangers in the old days. The stream here forms the dividing line between Hyattsville and Bladensburg. You are now in the venerable town o} | densburg, and the road traversed is called Main .d you are at the proposed | street. It is really a part of the Baltimore pike. .d. ‘The site of this villa | But how changed the street from the old fros- | sboro’,” after one of the | perous days of the town! Instead of business | land’ upon which it is | bustie and life vou behold an almost “deserted | vortex or point of the angle was a large barn, village.” On the west side of the road as you | surrounded by an orchard, which sheltered the advance the ruins of the once renowned ‘Ross’ | movements of the British troops. chool on the right and the | Tavern” are observed, which are now inclosed | iversity on the left being by @ white wooden fence. This wasa noted | conspicuous objects. > hostelry in the old days, being the resort of | - Queen's Chapel road is crossed about a mile eminent public men. The details of many a its palmy days was one of the best equipped Brookland. In the northeast duel were arranged within the old walls, and | concerns of the kind in the country. Even in | behind Mrs. Walsh's house, will be no-| many @ political scheme was conceived and | its old age it is efficient. It is now operated | bya Mr. Dodge. ‘The Carleton mansion is in ! ite rear. The old building had a narrow escape from destruction during the battle. It was oc- cupied by some of Stanabury’s sharpshooters, who picked off several redcoats as they advanced field formed by the two roads. His line, whi"h was about a quarter of a mile west of the bridge, extended from road to road and beyond each. ‘The artillery (Myer's, Magruder’s an! Peter's batteries) were massed on the high | round northwest of the mill, near where Mr. | ‘ost’s house now stands Peter's guns were | considerably in advance of tae others. At the Bla- was once called u early proprietors of 1 located. Fine landscape views are presented from this | int, the Reform S joman Catholic U CARLETON'’S MILL Carleton’s mill is a vey old structure and in across the Anacostia. ‘Thix fact having been : wom ek a discovered. Of communicated to Gen. Ross immediately after eles. the battle he dispatched a file of his soldiers to ere are ae factories in the United particularly in Connecticut, which are engaged in the production of adulter- ants for sale to various trades, such as ground cocoanut shells for mixing with pepper. It is estimated that there is hurdly any pepper on market at present which is not at least three-fourths something else. The manufacture of such articles intended for the express pur- of swindiing.copsumers, often to -the- in- fess of their health, is unrestrained by any legal enactment. In fact the yophistication of foods hus come to be regarded as a part of legitimate business. - ‘Yo illustrate this, take the instance of a re- tired Brooklyn milk dealer who appeared as witness in the case of a disputed contract for 2s claimed to have been watered. a quart of water in two gullons of milk was fair business, and it was upon this statement that the lawyer on the other side cross-examined him. “How long were you engaged in the milk business, Mr. So-and-s0?” was the first question. “Thirty-eight years,” the witness replied, “During that period how many quarts doyou at you delivered daily on an aver- fire it. When the soldiers reached the mill they found it oceupied by many of their wounded comrades. The building was on tlus account spared. ¥ Half a mile brings you to Highland. HighJand station on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad being over to the right. Beyond here Canoe creek is crossed, in the valley of which, extend- ing for a few hundred yards on either ,side of the road, are Duel meadows, the notorious dueling grounds of old. ‘These meadows wit- nessed many a bloody as well ax bloodless “affair of honor.” It would be difficult to sup- ply acomplete list of the duels fought here, ior the facts concerning many of them were never known by the public. The following list, incomplete though it be, is reproduced from old records of the period: Dayton-Clinton, 1803; settled without blood- shed, Clinton making the amende honorable. Decatur-Barron, 1810; former killed, latter wounded. Hopkin , 1814, former killed. Hole-Dallas, 1815, latter wounded. Mason-McCarty, 1819; former killed, latter wounded. Lega-Sega, 1821; latter killed. Randall-Fox, 1821; latter killed. A Crocker-Gibson, 1822; former shot through lungs. Graves-Cilley, 1838; latter killed. Jones-Johnson, 1845: latter killed. Daniel-Johnson, 1853; neither hurt. Davis-Ridgway, 1853; latter did not return fire. Most of the duels were fought in the meadow south of the road. HYATTSVILLE STATION. s.ced the earthworks of old Fort Seratoga. | formulated beneath the old roof. Inside the fence im the opposite or southwest illiam Wirt, the great lawyer, author of the angle is “Fort Saratoga spring. “British Spy,” and Attorney General of the “he large bright tin-roofed building over to | United States for twelve years, was born ina the left as you advan e is Mr. Heurich’s. The | house that stood on the north side of the old Reform School is again visible to the right, and | tavern. It may be interesting to state here the fine views are presented in every direction. historical fact that Wirt ran for President in In war time Fort Thayer stood on Cedar Hill, | 1832 as the anti-Masonic candidate, one state oz be right, the site being 157 feet above — (Vermont) casting its electoral vote for tide level im. You soon pass through the prospective villa| A few yards south of the old ruin, on the of Woodridge, the road in the vicinity being | same side of the street, is an old brick house, very rough, with deep washouts in places. | in front of which is a sign suspended across East of Woodridge, at the margin of a grove, | the sidewalk bearing this legend: “George So enter Rives road. which connects the Bun- | Washington House,” the words enwreathing jer Hill road on the north with the Baltimore | ® portrait of the “futher of his country.” oad on the south. Turning to the left on the ? Rives road a quarter of a mile brings you to Bunker Hill road, which follow to it Looking to the right as you enter the named road the Reform School again looms up in the distance. Straight ahead you are pre- sented with a view of Hyattsville as it nestles fm the hillside a mile aw nd station of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad iss quarter of « mile which you turn to the left on Hyattsville road, which rurs parallel with the railroad. By keeping straight ahead on the Bunker Hill road you would have entered the Baltimore Foad a little west of the bridge that spans the Anacostia at the west end of Bladensburg. Continuing along the Hyattsville road a quar- ter of a mile brings you to the mill race that supplies Carleton's mill, down near the Balti- more road, with motive power. Northwest branch is an eighth of a mile beyond. Imme- diately east of the mill race the road forks, the fork straight ahead being for walkers onl; while the one that winds around the field to left is for vehicles. By the latter route the stream is forded, but by the pedestrian’s path a primitive and’ pic- turesque bridge is suspended on wires across the branch. ‘The scenery in the vicinity of the Well, from first to last, say 1,000 quarts.” “And how much were you paid per quart?” “Oh, from 6 to 7 cents.” i it 6 cents. In 1,000 quarts there were, g to your measurement, 125 quarts of So you sold $7.50 worth of water every day. ‘hat was clear profit, of course, inas- mutch as the material cost you nothing?” suppose #0,” admitted the old milk 8 you way,” the lawyer continued, “you sold an.average of 1,060 quarts every day, in- cluding Sundays. 1n 365. days, therefore, you must have disposed of 45,625 quarts of water at 6 cents a quart, representing a net gain of $2,737.50 annually ona fluid which you drew from the pump?” “I'm not much on figgers,” responded the old dealer with some reluctance, “but I sup- Pose that’s correct.” ‘You were in business for thirty-eight years, you say. At the rate of 22,737.50 annually you must have gained in that time by the sale of water $104,000 approximately. That is correct, is it not?” “I suppose it is.” “Ahem! You are accounted a wealthy man, Mr. So-and-so, I understand. In what shape, may I ask, are your means invested?” “A block of houses on @ street is the only Property Town.” lhe block is worth $100,000, is it not?” just about that, I believe.” ‘So it appears,” said the lawyer, “that this block of houses which you own has been paid for entirely by the sale of water from the pu p?’ Certainly,” replied the retired milk dealor. ut you will observe that if I had not put the : 2 b Yeo gant of water ineach two gallons of milk I branch and mill race is inviting and one will WRASSE LSS} ould at present not only pouseas no block of —* lnger a f nerve enjoy A SS houses, but I should be worse off than jelrose avenue, Hyattsville, is entered = —— nothing. So you will now understand my Tissier of smile cast of ‘the stream, which is CARLETON’S MILLS. meaning when I stated just now that such a wed to the right to Railroad avenue. |———_ aie " roportion of adulteration was fair business. tbe Baltimore road or turnpike will now be | de of the street is a neat | WHERE BARNEY STOOD HIS GROUND. ‘or no man can to work clive poin: visi } irty- yei eaaee weece a wlinn ton ae | ich glories in the} This vicinity beheld the only fighting worthy | thirty-eight ye himeelt at two ways by which that road may be reached— mad as oper Sie CU | of the name of the short-lived battle of Bladens- Old Dr. Bai e ; is | notable landmarks of Bintentoarg, The Sector | burg. Commodore Barney's marines and himself ia a genial gentleman and the oracle of | sailors were posted on the hill immediately in is residence, which stands imme- | your front, and the splendid stand they made the store, ismore than one hun- | is the on! coh you The old gentleman witnessed reception given Lafayette at Rives’, on the District line, {a' 1824, cea) speaks of fi ighty odd years of age, y well preserved for his years ue), which enters the road sty for Statistics, He was such a smart-looking tramp thet the woman in the back yard, when he appeared, thought he was an agent of some sort. “Good morning, ma'm,” he said glibly, tak- ing off his hat. “I don’t want to buy anything today,” she 2 replied, busying herself with a clothesline. ae sa etnaing from Me tert pst | "Ea Qa ot that moun” he chirped, “fo northwestward of Hi and | I’ve got nothing to sell.” kind?" she in- ter “Ain't you an agent of franciag Beitah 1 quired. her ‘woman's getting the bet- “Thank « gracious heavea, ma'am, I'm not,” he fervently. ‘as i ‘ ane pon, Gaal -gheeages ‘and she began to back “I’m a collector, ma'am.” “We don't owe anything,” she said ne- gallant commodore suffered the mortification of falling into the hands of enemy. Aa Ee ; s fe ‘5 iy i =f FE 2 ; i i Te, | Main street, @ few paces north of the site of Ross’ Tavern. Going south from the spa it is the right It is a i qu i : | il ay south of town, near the bridge at the famous spe, the other route being by way of Railroad avenue to the left. However, before returning You will want to learn somé facts about the Pleasant town of Hyattsville. i i NYATSVILLE. a Hystteville was de founded more than thirty vitation years ago by Mr. C. C. Hyatt, a native of Prince | ¢ven Beto So ere George | dious vessels corted to cause of the ar branch steadily receded Retocss came unnavigable for rer © © tedes om es i & AY, OCT ISLAND. —_— ‘Lynn BR. Meckine tn Harper‘e Weskiy. “ L i BEGAN BY HAVING GREAT FUN chair in the usual spot under the shadow of the station. He was nota handsome man. He was strong, ragged, picturesque, but not handsome. Six fect high and 200 pounds in weight, he was anepic in hardened flesh and muscle and his face was as full of lines as an etched portrait. His general appearance offered s contrast to every rule of a fashion plate and he looked like some big shaggy animal that was particularly lazy because it was especially strong. On this occasion the captain's eyes were half-reefed and they looked over an expanse of sand on which low houses were built, and saw the smoke of passing steamers that crept along the horizon. It yas peaceful, but it wasn’t much of a view. In fact Robb’s Island wasn’t much of a plac simply a few hundred acres of sand in « wilder- beats — igre But it had its re ‘or instance. in summer people—some of them of such good family stock that they didn't have to talk about it—lett their best clothes and formalities at homeand went there. They lived in rough sheds, by courtesy called a hotel, fished in the inlets, tumbled around in the surf, waded througt the ever-shifting sand and gathered flesh and tan and strength and freckles on the worst food that a summer resort could possibly offer. At first Robb's Island was leeply disappointing. You reached the place in a stuffy little boat after o sail of ten miles from the mainland. The common- ness and the glare of everything disgusted you. You firmly resolved to return the next morning. But the boat didn't go for two days, and there you were! In those two days you got into te surf and pulled up more fish than you ever saw before, caught shark or two, became the owner of ful appetito, and when the boat was ready to start you were on the other side of nd. In a week you were a confirmed victim to the repose of the place, and4ou remained a hope- less islander until your conscience er your finances drove you across the ten iniles of marsh and water to the world and its cares. After the summer visitors went away in Sep- tember parties of men with canvas clothes and big guns arrived ta kill ducks an when they departed the island, with ite dred people, was left alone in’ the solitude of the water: There was not much to do then and the inhabitants did it It was a dull life and a dull place. Everybody was well and the only way to break the monotony was for the women folks to imagine a few complaints to fit the descriptions in the patent medicine al- manacs. A small community without sick peo- ple te sossip about is btupid, but the best thet | ike jobb’s Island could do was to manufacture petty aches and doctor them on hom remedies The idea of a resident physician was preposterous. He wouldn't make enough in a year to fet at on bread crumbs and water, much less milk. ‘he most interesting place on the island was the life-saving station.a fine house of two stories, witha broad gable roof, a staff, a veranda and a liberal decoration of int. whose contagion had spread over the neighbor- hood and given the se‘tlement a sanguinary hue. The keeper of the station and the eap- in of the life-saving crew, who, according te he authorities, are two gentlemen at once at $400 a year for the total, was and is Capt. Zebedee Graves, and on this afternoon he had eat>n his dinner and was trying to smoke and sleep an“ keep his eyes open ot the same time. He xlmost succeeded, but be was losing himself in furtive raps when other men hegan te com> out. At first they didn't disturb him. Uhey took seats quietly, stretched their limbs and gazed across the expanse of sand and sea. The tain dozed; then the six surfmen looked at ‘h other and smiled. The smallest man struck a match and lighted Pi He puffed twice, threw his hauds over his knees, rocked backward and forward several times, a pause. The captain's eyes opened about one-thousandth part of an inch. The other mer looked into vacancy. captain pothing. ‘You'd better be quick about it, then,” ad- vived the long man. ‘‘From what i hear, wid- ders is mighty popular now and somebody might cut you out.” ‘Oh, I guess not,”*said the short man. “Good goods come in little bundles, and widders know juality. Don’t they, captain?” The captain's eyes opened another fraction and he took his pipe from his mouth and growled: ‘What are you up to now?” “Oh, nothing. I just thought of going ashore and getting some things, snd calling on a widder.” ‘en why don’t you go?” ‘I'm afraid somebody's got ahead of me.” The men laughed and the captain scowled and took an extra puff from his pipe. ‘The long man spoke up: “You needn't ty fo deny it, captain. We've got the dead wood on you this time.” And then followed volleys of questions from all the six men. ‘They wanted to know when the marriage was to take place, when he was going to bring his bride over and whether or not they would receive invitations to the cere- mony. The captain puffed away at bis pipo, but behind the smoke war an increasing exas- peration. The boys welcomed the signs with undisguised glee. The truth of the matter was that the captain aroused was one of their Greatest delights. They often said that the would rather hear him swear than the churcl choir sing, and they never thought it a sin, be- cause the oat! Which, of course, cannot get their natural glow in repetition—-scemed to be an inevitable part of the man. He stood their rodding longer than they expected, but finally ie blurted out something which, considerably expurgated, amounted to this “What if Idid goto see the widdet? Is it eny of your business? If people would attend to their own affairs this here world would be a heap better off. I'd git married if I wanted but thunderation! who wants to git married Iwpouldn't marry aangel if she was to come down and ask me, ‘specially if I had to intro- i her to some good-for-nothing loafers that now of.” “We're not talking about angels, captain, but widders, which is altogether different” “You jaw about marriage as if it was a joke,” continued the captain, ignoring the interrup- tion. “It ain't a joke; it's serious; and it ruins more men than whisky. Men don't know their own minds till they are forty and then they mostly stay single; but if one does marry ho enerally picks out the right sort of wife. ‘hat’s the matter with the world now? What caused all this hard work and this starvation pay? What but an early marriage? It Adam ad had the sense to wait for another woman he'd 'a’ done something in the world a little better than stealing apples.” “But, captain,” put in the long man, who married when he was eighteen, “there are——" “Of course there is. I don’t say nothing about present company. ‘There's a few mar- tied men who's all right, and thei who ain't worth a cupful of salt water. yonder’s one of ‘em.”” The men turned, and about four hundred yards away they saya heavily built young fel- tchet afd nails mending the fence closed a small and neatly kept two-story Hite ie iff eta : i i434 PERE Hy i rt Es il ui 4 £ i : i 3 F E E ii € 8f i f A t i z 8 1; & tft i | E J Wy ul 1 i te if na H 13 a ree THE WRECK OFF ROBB’S\2 support her." Taint got no bard feelin her, but the bosses over in the county Marling must have the place, and she and I've been to see her about movi 1 was an ill ending to the joke of They were too depressed to talk, and gradually they got up and moved away. IL Some people still talk about the November storm of that year. It sent more than forty boats ashore and for hours it kept many of the 165 life-saving stations along the Atlantic coast in constgnt readiness and apprehension. Had it not been for the work of the life savers more than a hundred souls would bave perished: but in the faée of colf and death these brave fel- lows risked everything and played the roles of heroes with as splendid a cournge and as honest 8 purpose as: ever the world «aw. The great public, with ite twelve-hour memory, read the rief reports in the newspapers the next morn- ing and then promptly forgot all about it by dinner time. On Robb's Inland the day yellowish sunshine disfigured the morning. By 9 o'clock thick, deep, dark élouds were rolling along the horizon, and by noon u heavy wind, uncertain in its’ direction, was beating the waves into whiteness and piling up the black- ness of the heavens. Bain poured drops and fell faster than the porous san‘ it. Then there wasa lull and by and by camea deluge from above, driven by the wind into every crevice and forcing every- thing animate toa refug station the men looked 0: smoked—and smoked and looked out of the windows. ‘The first watch was at sun- set, but the sun was behind an ocean of ink, and by the time it got below the horizon twi- light changed to night and the rain turned into « bombardment of hail that rattled on the roof ike a fusilade of infantry bullets. Just about thet time tie small man came into Foom in oe and rubbers. i “Rough hight, Tom,” said the cay “Nesvcaptsin’ T don't think iell be very dusty on the sands tonight, Perhaps some of lows would Hike to take the walk?” lad you think so,” said the long man. never mind. I'm rather thinki you'll all get baptized before morning. The Shoals look ugly, and if any boat gets in too close may the good Lerd help her! Good- night, gentlemen.” “Good-night, Tom. The patrol on Robb's Island was different from that of the ordinary coast station. The stretch of beach being less than two miles, only one patrolman was needed during # watch. Tom was the first man out. He carried bis lantern and the Coston signals. The hail hav- ing tarned to snow, the light of the lantern ached but @ short’ distance, and beyond that utter darkness, In ordinary weather the walk was not bad, but that night it was a sorry journey. The violence of the wind increased enormously. It wasas if the storm god was using the air as a herculean lash to ip nature into chaos, and was wielding it right and left, backward and forward, with gigantic recklessness. More than once the poor fellow fell, but he was soon up again, fighting his way e sands. You, my deat at, with your eomfartable bank "account, wouldn't have stayed out there for #40 an hour. ‘This surfman—thanks to the munificence of the richest government on the earth—was doing it for $40 4 month. 5 In four hours he was back at the station and another unfortunate was sent forth to make she round. After four hours he came back, half drowned aud exhausted. Then another set ont in the face of the storm, and 9 weary time he had of it, bnt he stumbled alongagainst the tempest, going down frequently, bat soon rising, and all the time gazing seaward, with his Coston signal ready to warn any ill-siarred mariner. As calculated afterward, it was sixty-five minutes before the break of day when this patrolman thought he saw the glimmer of a light « half mile beyond the shoals. He climbed on a bluff of sand and looked again, but the snow fell thick and fast, and he could see nothing. Suddenly he heard cry. He was sure of it, and then, settling all doubt, came the report of a gun. Before its echo bad answered the sound he ignited Coston signal. For two minutes its brilliant red flame il- luminated the storm. And then he struck another, and for two minutes more the warn- ing glare burned forth and from the dark water came a second report of the gun. ‘The patrolman turned at once aad ran as fast as he could toward the station. Somehow the captain had not slept that night. His thoughts were on the sca. His eyes were looking out toward the window. He queerly. A heard the muttled echo of the gun and thought he saw the glare of the signal. je jumped up and shouted in a voice louder the roar of the ‘angry surf, “Get out, mpede, 8 rush down the steps, the big doors, and in a twinkling the surf boat, resting gracefully on its four-wheeled and drawn by the six men, had rumbled down the incline and was on its way toward the beach. ‘The suow was deep and the sand was deeper and the work was hard, but the six men muscles of iron and wills of steel, and ti pulled the load of nearly a thousand pounds as they were horses trained for the work. one spoke except the captain, and his vociferous tones rose above the storm and urged the men to their best endeavor. The same tones reached the houses on the island, and in a short time the whole popula- tion was aroused. No one thought of col, or of the snow, or of the pneumonia; there was wreck, and’a wreck would calls dying Kobb's Islander from the portals of the grave. So out the people came, with untied shoes and un- garments, running pell-mell across sands, and trying to overtake the life-saving crew. rds ahead, ed progress. By that time, met his comrades, and Was pulling with them at the ropes of the ca: They needed his assistance, for the band dunes were getting larger, and’ the work | was growing heavier, and the captain was swearing harder. A hundred yard more, and the half-dressed islanders caught up with the crew and lent their willing aid to the undertows. ar eae Rewtn Sik om,” ecto selon ero roared the captain. “She's got to live!” a r fle 3 £ Wal re £ vive iH IN 4 SOUTHERN CLINE ‘What e Visitor in Honduras Sess to inten est Him. ‘UP THE PATUCA—A TORTUOUS STREAN—FESTILA LAXDS AND BEAUTIFUL SCENERY—AN EVES TEMS PERATURE—PROPUCTS OF THE SOUL—WHAT & VISITOR SHOULD TAKE WITH HIM. BE i i] i ‘Special Correspondence of The Evening Star. Parvoa, Hoxpunas, June 27, 1891. HAVE SPENT OVER THREE MONTHS bere now and can assure you that I have em- joyed my stay immensely. The climate is «im- ply perfect. Ihave a thermometer hanging im my house and whenever I look at it, which is nearly every day, the merctry stands at about 85, varying only two or three degrees in a week. I have never seen tt rise above 91 nor fall below 80 that I remember of. Every dey at about 9 in the morning a gentle breeze springs up in the east, which, blowing from the sea all day, moderates the tempere- ature and makes the houses and shady spots delightfully cool and comfortable. The sea breeze dies down at 9 or 10 o'clock at nightand a land breeze from the south begins blowing. One sleeps very comfortably with only e sheet over bim all night Ur Tm PaTooa. Ireturned several days ago froma trip of@ week's duration, about forty miles up the Pa» tuca, to Cropunto. The Patuca is exceedingly tortuous and is a very pretty river so farasT have seen. Idid not go above Cropunto, but am assured that the farther up one goes thé better the country becomes. At this season the river is very low and is inclosed withia grassy banks, rising gradually from three feet at Patuca City to fifteen at Cropunto. Daring the flood season the river sometimes overflows some of the lower banks, but this does ne harm, ae the water soon subsides e river banks all the way up to Cropunte are covered with a heavy ouek of trees ang underbrush of varving density called “bush. ‘The soil upon which it grows is very rich an@ moist and is admirably adapted to the cultiv tion of bananas, pineapples and other fruit and many vegetables. The natives, called Sambos or Mosquito Indians, have mai 4 tations lining river, sometimes on both sides and extending for half « mile. BANANAS AND VEGETABLES. About two months ago three of the settlers on the Grant bought a small sail boat of four tons burden. Ina few days Mr. Burch will fill ber with bananas from his plantation and send her to Ruatan The bunches are better ones than can be bed on this coast, them at Bonacca,and they are scarce at price, you can readily understand what « fine advertisement the first shipment of benanas from this point will be Just above alr. Burch's tation « settler bas started « vegetable garden. He is now building * native house, about fifteen by thirty, and will soon be able to make himself farly comfortable, although he came here entirely destitute. He bas 125 plantain suckers net out, beans growing finely and ready to eat, tomate plants well started, muskmelons, watermelong, squashes, corn and other produce growing rapidly. ‘Ina year or two he will have green vegetables enough to supply Patuca, LIKE AN ENGLIGU PARK. At Cropunto the first pine ridge comes dowa, to the river and I found there some land that surprised me. It is a rolling savanna, covered with great pine trees nearly @ bundred fect high and averaging two feet in diameter. AS far as the eye can reach to the north and easd the pine ridge continues. The land is high and gravelly, with a black, rich top soil. All day a gentle breeze blows’ through the trees from the sea. The ground is covered with short grass and looks like a beautiful lawn, The general aspect of the place makes me think. of the English parks so often read of. No better grazing land can be found, I believe, and as @ and safety. site fora house, surrounded by one's orange Pull, bo all for your liv x - They did so, but there wasa monster breaker | SFOS, Vegeteble garden and banana plantation, chasing them hke a wild beast after ite prey. 0 o . Wi fp wt the man it thertcrn concentiated | ,A,fe%,mllce above Cropante pou ean lok very muscle upon the work: but, just ashe | monntains can also be seen, from there, Only scemed to be getting ready to beach the boat | the rivers and ravines are bordered by bush nd clasp his wife in his arms, bis haud relaxed | ‘Th. scenery is beaatitul he ‘ Patuca, at the mouth of the river, is a place As Tom jumped to the oar. the big breaker | of about fifty native houses, with « population. took the boat and tossed hernear enough in for | Of between two and three hundred. At the captain and the men, who were waist-deep in the surf, to grab her side. There was a tur- bulence of whirling water, of rapid movements, of strange words, and axious cries, and the boat and her crew and her passengers were safe on the beach. All safe save one. His uncoascious form rested listlessly on the boat's bottom. The men bore it tenderly to a place where the women had spread their shawls. ‘The big captain knelt snow and tried to-bring jife from death. je must be taken home,” said Tom. We'll captain. Your wrist is broken.” ‘Wrist be d——!" and the rugged old fellow lifted him in his big arms and carried him through the storm, followed by the woman who had asked God to keep him. UL “Like everything else, this marrying busi- ness is pretty much a matter of circum- stances,” explained the captain to me two years later. We had arrived on the island after long absence. The old fellow was changed—greatly changed. His beard and his speech and his dress were all better trimmed and he air of intense respectability. “Now, for instance,” he went on, “take « man who's got his Rotions set. He goes on through life without finding anybody to it them notions. You can’t blame him for sta} ing single. But suppose that man is put on « island and he finds a woman there—a fine woman, too—and the circumstances throw ther at each other every day in the week,why, what's to be done, notions or no notions, but to cali in the first preacher that comes along?” “Captain, your logic is beneath t, and, what's more, I'd like to know if an old woman- hater Ike you has any it to talk about mar- Fiage? Has an infidel « right to preach from « pulpit?” “Yes, he has—when he gits converted. Haven't you heard?” ‘You don’t mean to say—" ‘Yes, Ido. I'm converted. Oh, I'm married. You needn't laugh. It wasn't my fault; it was circumstances. You see, after Henry's death from heart disease iu that wreck, we all said the widder should have the school but there was another widder in the way, and she said she was to stay on the count of her health, and there we were. Talk aboat your circ whole boat load. We HI ry § you.’ He sprang forward In an inetant he was tn the stern with the steering oar balanced for its work. There were no cheers, no demonstra- tions from the islanders. It was Henrs's place to go, and he went; that was all. And, more- over, most of the folks were around the t¢ captain, binding up bis wounds and ding him down, ‘he sur!men and their new captain saw noth- ing, knew nothing, but the work ahead of thea. As Henry stood ai his post the whiteness left his face and all the old earnestness rushed back to warm his blood, to strengthen his muscle. It seemed like the old days to the surfmen to hear him sing out: “Steady now, boys! Here comets bully one. One, two, three, let her gor" She went. Into the seething turbulence she fell, and on the snowy crest she rose. Henry held her true and straight. He profited by the captain's failure; calculated for the diagonal waves, and with firm nerve and splendid strength guided her through the dangers of the breakers. His loud voice rose above the wh there, Tom. There’ er. ow we're ther, boys, That's past. The men never pulled more magnificently, and the boat, obedient to the helmsma: touch, leaped from wave to wave, carrying the ers of those on shore, the hopesof the reozing wretches on the wreck. And yet she seemed to go slowly—oh, #0 slowly!’ The captain, his lett eye iuid by the rough cloths which were bound arourd his wound, arose and look: {God bless the boy!” he suid. And the people thought the boy needed it,for the boat was often hidden by the apray, ana It looked as if she could not live through the trip. But when they saw Henry standing steadfastiy at bis post, the men working the oars like ma- chines, and the whole crew fighting the storm inch by inch toward the vessel, they took hope, and believed that he would conquer. It was half hour of indescribable suspense, a half hour t seemed a whole day, but at the end of it the surf boat was nearer the vessel's side. Three times she tried to and as failure followed failure the tive men and the boy on the vessel seemed to give up hope. But not so Henry. The fourth time success came, and in a minute the six castaways jumped aboard and nestled there in speechless joy. All knew the perils of the trip ashore. Pro- gress was canier, but the dangers were greater. Henry was exuberant no longer. His face was grim, not bovish, and the or splenai specd But when she reached the cut-off chan- nel that ran between the shore and the shoals the serious work began. The beach seemed only a few yards away, but between it and the boat more than one tragedy had ended the hopes of sailors in bygone years. Henry ki it well. Just as the boat plunged into it = hidden current tried to pull her to her death; but he was quick, and the boat was brought back to her course. A minute more and they were in the thick of the eddies, and the thun- dering breakers hammered the boat with Titanic force. They were over more than half the channel now. Afewmore pulls meant land there area dozen Americans residing ‘The natives are very orderly and docile and re- semble # ni law to sell tobacco and r Ifecl quite sure that by next year we sball havea river steamboat running here and will beable to get up and down from our plante- tions quickly and cheaply, and also te get oum freight rapidly transferred, Wuar IS NEEDED. Let me advise any one who thinks of visiting this country to bring no heavy woolen clothing and no heavy underciothing. Little else ia needed bere but plenty of good cotton and mixed cotton and wool shirts (outing satu) and pantaloons made of heavy ducking and overall cloth. Bring several pairs of cheap shoes ands number of wide-brimi hate. Also, thirty to fifty yards of cloth will be useful for making m and lining rooms. Bring a pair of ru ts. For cooking utensils bring a Duteb oven, “small iron pot,s frying pan, several plates, cups, knives, forks and spoons. Erices onc bas alrendy's rife, it will be better not to bring one, but @ good’ light double-barrel shot gun, twelve-bore, cheese uito new ber blan= The new comer should have at least $100 im cash, as it costs something to live and to have work done here. If several live together i will not cost much more than for one clone. Frequently we go shark fishing for diver sion. Ihave helped to catch balf = dozen sharks in an hour here, and then two or three hours after have gone in «wimming in the place. We same river within 500 vards of the frequently see alligators, and every day flocks of pelicans come to feed on the sandy points ‘The World's Largest Orchard. Honolulu Letter to Chicago Tribune, In the wild district between Hans and Haike during July and August the most beautifal and called, contains a forest of native wild apple trees, countless in number, stretching from the sea far up the mountain sides. The trees vary from forty to fifty feet in height, and in the harvest season, from July to ber, are loaded down with fruit, some white, but mestly red. A person standing an the midst of this orchard can iook around him for miles. up the mountain and toward the road, and the only thing in view will be one vast grove of apple trees literally red with ripe and fruit, the branehes of the trees ben: to the ground with the bounteous harvest. crop of this extensive apple orchard which nature umstances, two widders is a fell, Thad to go to seo the second widder about the school and so on, and T found out she wasn’t going to budge, and the only way toget her out of the school was for boly to Tewore to myself that back in that school if began to talk about other things, and so on, and h like, all of which was a d—d—draggled. planted in the solitary waste would fill a fleet of ? stretches ten steamers. The orchard I i Hi LH BH Cs j j i § 8 a ii ee a 2 A if |