Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1869-10-14
Al.sther Eccentric EnglisllmnD on Lis
ST y Travels. -

" Il e. Travels. ~
=. Some time ago (says tho London Daily
'Newsy ne heard of an En9ilishlnanA who
made q bet that no would walk all the way
to India, and who asked, somo Consul ION
the shores of the Black Sea for instr uctl0ns
o. to the best road 70 tIke.ssA few days
afterwards the Consul wls3lSeset byanotter
EngIishnian bent on tho salne eri~pd, md
oager for similar information. This was
tho man who took the first travellers wager,
and who WINS now on the track OF
his adversary to sec that he strictly fulfilled
the terms Of his engagement. Now, We
have tho story of an "original English
man" who has Just traversed tho Grand
Duchy OF IFcssc- Darmstadt, on his road to
Egypt TO witness tho Inauguration Of the
Suez Canal. lIe had made bet that he
would 60 from England to Egypt in his
yacht without touching earth. lie accord
ingly sailed across tho Channel and mp the
Rhine to MAyence. Here he meant to turn
up the Main till he reached the Main and
Danube Canal; but the water Of the river
was not deep enough for his adventurous
craft. Nothing daunted, however, our
compatriot is said to have caused three
wagons to be dashed together, aud his yacht
to lie placed OH tho top of them, taking
to avoid touching land.
In this manner the Main aud Rhine
Railway transported yacht and traveller to
the town Of 1salnberg, much to the stupe-
| faction of the peasants. At Bamberg the
yacht was launched into the canal, which
| will bear it to the Danube; thence it will
proceed to the Black Sea, to the Sea OF
Marmora, to the Archipelago, to the Medi-
terranean, to SueZ, and, let us hope,
| through the canal to the Red Sea-. The
story is more likely to be true than that Of
the two Englishmen walking, one in the
footsteps 81 the other, I'LL the way Il. India;
but true or not. our Continental friends
think it ought to be true. The whim and
the wager are supposed to he very chalpc-
teristic Of Englishmen. As Frenchmen
bring all disputes to the test of duel,
Englishmen, it is perfectly we'll known, re.
duce all disputes to the test Of a wager.
W1NE-MAK1Nts IN CALIFORNIA. - Wine
making has just begun in the warmer dis
tricts Of California. The yield this year is
expected to be only half as large as that of
last season. but the wine will be Of better
quality. The Buena Vista estate in 6ono-
"a county, said to be the largest vineyard
in the world, contains 5000 acres, four
hundred and fifty acres being covered with
vines which grow so luxuriantly that they
have to be planted in ridges eight feet
apart, while in Europe from three to four
feet is generally sufficient. The vineyard
contains grapes of all varieties, but those
chiefly grown are the Riesling, Muscatel
and Mission. the latter being the native
grape. The; labor employed is almost
wholly Chinese. butfa few Frenchmen and
Germans from European wine districts at.
tend to the cellars and superintend the
wine-making. The Buena Vista cham
payne is becoming widely and favorably
known. 1t is made in the same manner rs
the best French champagne, and some
choice vintages are scarcely to he distin-
gnished from the European varieties.