Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1874-10-18
THE OTHER SIDE OF CREATION.
Letter from Member of the
Transit of Venus Expe-
ditiOn.
Cape TOwn-Arny Amenities and Eng
lish Etiquette = The Monumental

Cane TOwn-AFmy Amenities and Eng
fish Etiquette = The Monumental
Fools Of the Animal Kingdom.
Correspondence Of the Union and American
CAPE Town, AFRICA, Aug. 16, 1S74.-
Our stay at Cape Town has drawn to a
| close. Tomorrow we sail for Crozet. |
will write again upon reaching that point,
! but the letter will be long time reaching
you, as the ship will be unable to mail it
before reaching Hobart Town. | have not
had a more pleasant time for long, long
time than the ten days spent here. Cape
Town, as you may know, was settled by
the Dutch about 1850. The English OBJ
taided final possession of il in 1906. Al
most everything about the place still bears
the Dutch stamp, for the English have
made few changes. The houses are almost
entirely ODe-siOry buildings, with thick
walls. and many with matched roofs. The
/ town is situated al the head of little in
| dentation on the west coast of Africa, called
/ Table Bay. Just back of the town, as if TO
/ stop farther encrOschments of the sea, rises
/ Table mountain, $500 feet above the sea.
| Frequently the top of this mountain is en-
| veloped in clouds, so that it is difficult to
/ Get view from the summit. However,
with two friends, one bright day, l made
the ascent. We carried with us a little
lunch. The top of the mountain is
fiat like many meSas in our
western country. The frequent rains at
this season keep it covered with pools of
pure, unadulterated water. There are but
two practical routes up. From the greater
portion of the tabletop the descent is verti-
cal for several hundred feet. Seating our
selves near the edge, with an unobstructed
view Of the Atlantic as far as the eye
| could reach, we took our lunch. To the
south we could see the termination of
the cape of Good Hope; to the east again
came an endless expanSe of water. Right
below us lay Cape Town. We looked
down upon it just as one does upon city
map. l crawled to the edge of the table
and looked over, and am sureI could have
jumped thousand feet at single leap. My
friends made more luxurious preparation
than did by carrying sardines, but they
had nothing with which they could open
their boxes. We could easily see from the
mountain the topography Cf the country
near the coast. The country rises, getting
higher by terraces, as the distance increases
from the sea. Here low, although mid
winter, the trees are loaded with oranges.
The deep green of the leaves contrasts |
very prettily with the orange color. Trees |
grow here with astonishing rapidity. l |
saw one taken from the grave Of Napoleon |
at the time his body was removed, and |
planted here, which is about three feet |
through.
There are some elegant roads for driving, |
passing for miles through regular arbor, /
the trees being just about as far apart as |
the road is wide; the branches meet over /
the road and along the sides, forming a |
continuous arch. Grapes also grow here
in great perfection, and it is here that the |
"COnstantia" wine is manufactured.
The English have regiment of infantry
in the town, and detachment of artillery.
They have done nothing toward strengthen
ing the Notifications, which are the same
old things left by the Dutch.
The officers have been remarkably kind
and hospitable. On Friday evening last,
Capt. Raymond and l, the only army Off
Ger along, were invited to dine ''by the
Colonel and officers of the Eighty-sixth
regiment" We went, and had a most de-
lightful dinner. The officers, in their half
dress, the band in attendance, the unSelfish
hospitality, all brought wildly mp my asso-
Citations Of the last fiFe years, and gave an
other instance Of that generous life which
the army seems everywhere to engender,
and which some English novelists have so
truthfully painted. There was moth
ing gorgeous or luxurious in the
rooms or furniture, but the plain
chairs, coarse tables and unadOlned
chambers, contrasted beautifully with the
bearing of the officers. After
the toast to the Queen, which is always
first with the English, the Colonel proposed
the president of the United States the
band playing Hail Columbia. After din
ner came the neVer-failing amusement with
the army, billiards. After the greatest
kindness from, and considerable asSOcia-
with, the English officers, / am, / suppose,
scarcely an unprejudiced judge; but l can
discern nothing but the greatest good feel
ing for America, and, | think, a pride in
our nation. But then, you know, it is the
politicians and women who hate, while
the soldiers do the fighting. We have
been to many other entertainments and ex-
perienced the same cOrdiality. Only one
place at which l have been have ladies
been present, a reception at the Governors.
There did not seem TO be that feeling which
pervades an American gathering, that every
lady must have a man talking to her or
she feels miserable. The men talked a
great deal among themselves, as did the
ladies. There is no noticeable difference
between the English and our people taken
in equal grades.
was out to dinner to-day about three
miles from town, and saw ten or a dozen
oStriches. These birds ae ''fanned" pretty
extensively here now. They are the mon
umental tools of the animal creation,N be-
lieye. Although eight or nine feet high,
fence few inches in height, would be suffi-
cient TO pen them if they did not walk up
against it and fall over. The fence around
them was not taller than the legs of the
birds. l measured one of their eggs, which
was seventeen inches around. They kick
and paw like horse, and are said to exert
as much force. l can't see the economy Of
nature, in making bird with such a neck,
and then having him feed off the ground;
one would suppose that it was built to pick
acOrns or beech-nuts.
We have gotten everything aboard and
will sail tomorrow. We have made our
outfit quite complete,and are well prepared
for our stay. We have man with US who
has been two years on the island to which
L, ~