Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-02-08

gardens of TIE wealthy Maltese, but in
such enclosures oranges. lemons, figs,
pomegranates and DIR, apples flourish.
The potatoes raised in the island are of
the lest, and its string beans, peas and
Olives do we'll here and grow wild. In
short. it is a climate most favorable for
We cables and semi-tropical fruits and
flowers. The pumpkins are high in
color but low in taste. A sawdust pud-
ding would be as ralatable Is a Maltese
pumpkin pie. The .iields' Of the NAL
tesc peasant are incloScd in stone walls
and will not average more than half an
acre each. Two-thirdS of the surface Of
Malta is rock. and the soil of these fields
has mos " been made 1t takes a
mans lifetime to change rock floor
into Il fertile ''farm,'' but the Maltese
are patient and Industrious. They love
their island. They a~ffectionately call
it Flor del Mando. or the Flower of the
World: but to the naked eye of the trav-
eler the appropriateness of the term is
not apparent.
When [ first came here the dreary
grayness of the barren landscape. the
burnt yellow soil. the intense white and
tiresome yellow of the low, unlovely
houses, the scanty foliage and the i'm
prisoning sea surrounding it all gave
me a feeling of loneliness and home
sickness. to which l succumbed at once
and went to bed with the heartache. I
thought of a certain placid lake girdled
by evergreens, through which in the
dreamy Indian summer time all the
possibilities Of glowing colors were
sprinkled in profusion, and the heart
less landscapes of my island abode was
blotted out of sight by tears. But / soon
got to know that Malta was not devoid
OF beauty-a beauty peculiarly its own.
1t has an atmosphere of color that makes
an impression deeper thanthat of form,
and the very scenes that first repealed
me soon assumed a fairness and vivid
ness that won my warm admiration. 1t
was an honest victory for Malta. In
spite of myself, against my will, I have
come to feel and appreciate the lowell
ness that rests on rock and sea, in sky
and air and climate. l never tire OF the
sunsets and twilights. And 1 have
found life and health and hope here,
and, therefore, there is warm enthu-
siasm in my tone when l say, "Viva
Malta"
These islands once formed part of a
much larger tract Of land and probably
belonged to Africa or Europe. perhaps
both. 1t is evident that Malta has
diminished in size during the historic
period. On the southern shore are to
be seen cart tracks which abruptly end
at the very edge of a cliff eighty feet
high. Similar ruts are elsewhere found
throughout the island. Volcanic action.
doubtless. has submerged the country
that once made Malta part of a main
land. One writer claims Malta to be a
bit Of the classic Island of Atlantis. Its
known history is classic enough for or
binary purposes. Its first inhabitants
(of which there is any record) were the
giants who dared to war with Jupiter.
Homer says these first gigantic inhab-
itants (Cyclops) were named Phuacians,
and called the island Hyperia. Calypso
the fascinating nymph-had a resi-
dence here in which she entertained
Ulysses on his return from the siege of
Troy, while his wife Penelope was wait
ing for him at home engaged in plain
needlework and shirt-making. 1 called
at Calypso's residence" one day, but
she was out. She lived in a wet cave
Cor. n. 7. 1ai5une.