The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-12-06
TIE CANARY ISLANDS.
| Voyage to the Madeiras-The Scenery, Gil
mate, characteristics, and Productions.

west. il was decided to make a breakin the monot-
ony of a long passage by going some 800 miles out
of our course to the Maceiras. Aside from the at
fractions of scenery and climate, Madeira is decid-
edly the most advantageous stopping place
among the groups of islands off the northwest
coast of Africa, being u good coaling station
having cable communication with Europe, and
getting regular mails by the numerous steamers
touching at its principal port, Funchal. On
July 20 our barometer registered 29.1S, and 1t
began from that time to steadily rise until Aug.
IL and IL it registered a maximum of 30.6o. The
accompanying light winds were rather unwel-
come at the time, but the smooth sea, beautiful
sunsets and pleasant weather made up for the
less speed, besides which we have since learned Of
our good fortune in escaping severe gales to the
north'rd and south'rd of US and the earthquake
shock along the eastern coast. Nothing else of
note occurred on the trip outside Of catching, in
our d~esultory fishing, besides the usual deep sea
fish and the invariable shark, a good-sized dol
phin. They are rarely caught, and 1 was able,
at last, to satisfy myself on a, to me, doubtful
point, namely. the varying hues of the dying
dolphin. This obliging specimen started in with
a rich yellow color, which deepened into old
gold, notified with brownish spots. Passing
through a succession of brown, bronze, blue,
ultramarine and black, it distractingly exhibited
shades varying with ones point of view and the
play Of light upon its skin. AS to its being a
good food fish, 1 can only say that it looked good,
besides which several of our sailors ate its meat
with apparent relish. We made an average
passage, dropping anchor in Funchal bay on
Aug p, having made the trip of $500 miles in
twenty-five days.
The Madeira group is about 600 miles west
southwest of Gibraltar, and consists of the
islands of Porto Santo, Madeira and the Deser-
tas, all of which are a part of Portuguese terri
tory, being represented in the Cortes at Lisbon
by three representatives. OF the various groups
in this part of the Atlantic. the Canaries have
been the longest known. They were a%nciently
called the Fortunate islands. OF the Madeira
group, with which only we are concerned, Porto
Santo, thirty-five miles northeast of Madeira
island, was discovered in l417 by two Spaniards,
Gonzalve Fargo and Trestam Vaz, who were on
q voyage to explore the coast of Africa, but, be-
ing driven off by a storm, they found shelter in
this island, and named it, in consequence, Porto
Santo. The Mariner and date Of the discovery
of the beautiful island of Madeira are involved
in some obscurity. A now generally credited
romance assigns it to the year l344, when two
fugitive lovers, Robert Machim and Anna
d'Ofert, attempting to flee from their homes in
England to the shores of France, were driven
far away to the sea, and brought up at this then
unknown island. The young girl died of hard
ship, and the lover did not survive long. The
- - It IL III =. - was.kol
out TO this day, and sailed for France. The
island was rediccovered by the settlers of Porto
Santo, in 1919. The latter is now a dependency
of Madeira, and contains about 1000 inhabit-
ants. 1t las some good pasture lands, and
produces grain, vegetables, live stock, poultry,
grapes, fruit, etc. Columbus married, in Lis
bon, the daughter of the Governor of Porto
Santo, while she was at school there. After
wards moving there with her widowed mother,
he collected additional evidence which con
Hr ed him in his belief in a westward passage to
India. The chief evidence was furnished by the
debris and drift wood washed onto the shores of
the island. The Desertas are now visited only
by fishermen and herdsmen.
The Madeiras are of volcanic origin, but only
one extinct crater can be found in the principal
island, although numerous peaks tower aloft,
and the characteristic outline is that of a vol
canic formation. While MADEIRA is only thirty
two miles long and twelve miles wide. Ruivo
peak, its highest, attains an altitude of 6,040
feet. The heights slope gradually to the sea
from the south side, but, on the north, they are
generally abrupt and precipitous. The extensive
plain of Paul do Sierra, 5000 feet above the sea,
runs through the western half of the island,
while the eastern part is extremely mountain
GUS. From the central mass of volcanic rocks,
running the length of the island, steep ridges
extend to the coast, where they form perpendic-
ular precipices from 1, 0C0 to 1900 feet high, but
the most striking popularity in the mountain
scenery is the depth of the p%recipitous gorges
which cut through the highest mountains almost
to their very base. The eastern end of the
island runs out into a long point formed of jag
ged and detached rocks, rising out of the sea in
fantastic shapes; one, a little column or needle;
another, like a schooner under sail, while a
third has an archway in it, through which the
sea washes at ines with great force. These
various points developed themselves gradually
only with a more intimate acquaintance with
the island.
Our first distant view of Madeira gave it the
appearance of a huge, bare, gloomy rock, rising
abruptly from the sea. On nearer approach
the dark purple volcanic rocks we're
plainly clothed with patches, of various
c%olors, of the richest tropical vegetation,
until, ~steaming close along the shore, the sides
of the lofty mountains were seen to be terraced
from base to summit. while the white walled,
red rooted cottages thickly dotted the landscape
in pleasing contrast to the dark green vegetation.
The cliffs along the shores were interrupted by
a few small bays, where a richly cultivated val
ley approached the water between the abrupt
precipices, and here and there a little village
nestled on the shore, surrounded by an amphi-
theater of rugged hills. Every available foot of
ground seemed to be diligently cultivated, and
peasants cottages appeared in almost inaccessi-
BILE hooks and crevices, giving to the wild and
rugged mountains a softened beauty peculiar to
itself; but the unique effect was almost spoiled