Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1885-09-10
LIFE IN CASTLE GARDEN.
. OF Natfcns--How Imni-
grants Feel and Look and Act--
same odd Ometais.

csntain?r INQUIRED a reporter of bluff
George E Moore, the veteran landing
AGENT of Castle Garden.
e.,Neyer had the luck-bad luck, /
mean. [ have landed every immi-
Grant that ever came here-eleven
millions of them-and we have never
killed or injured one of them or lost q
niece of baggage. Singular, isn't iii
But l don't want to brag, or we'll
surely have an accident right off"
Didn't you ever have a suicide
hereY' !.
'Nary a su. You see, if a person is
Going to kill himself he does it on the
voyage when everything looks blue
and he is feeling sick and miserable.
By the time they get into port they
feel better; they have the interest OF
seeing strange sights in a new coun>
try. and the hope of finding some
thing to make them happy in this
unknown land of promise. If they
nut off committing suicide until they
oct here they postpone it until they
Get away. Besides, a good many eyes
are watching here, and people acting
suspiciously are placed under surveil-
lance at once"
II suppose you see many queer
characters herG2'
Queer characters2 0, Lord" and
Capt. Moore gave a gasp as expressive
as a whole Grafton,
If you wish TO see a mosaic of hui
mainly 90 to Castle Garden. If you
wish TO study human nature in many
asoects and of many nationalities this
is surely the school of schools. Castle
Garden is Cosmopolis. 1t is the gath
ering place of the nations. 1t is the
modern tower of Babel. 1t is the meet.
ing of the waters. 1t is the greatest
human Kaleidoscope ever invented.
Capt. Moore is very fond of present.
ing his friends with "a little book, is.
sued BIZ the American Bible society,
which gives John iii, 16-"For God
so loved the world" etc, translated
into 1874 different languages. If the
eleven million human bodies which
through Castle Garden could be elias
si6ed according to nationality there
would be few of those tongues left
unrepresented in the vast agglomera
ton. What a processionl Is there
any other on earth to equal it, 1t has
contained all classes and conditions of
men, and children, for the
nobleman has been there as well as
the beggar. 1t has been the birthplace
and the deathbed of people. 1t has
seen giants and dwarfs and all man.
ner of monstrosities. And it has fur
nished also some of the best blood
which the United States possesses to-
day. Castle Garden is a big thing on
ice.
Castle Garden is one of those nat
ural theaters which almost always
have some new drama upon the stage.
Visit it at almost any time and you
will find some unique picture OF novel
situation in the tangled skein OF
human life. The bulk of the incom-
ing tide Of travel is, of course, com.
monplace and uninteresting, as life in
the lower strata of society is very apt
10 be. A ship~lOad of immigrants
pours into the gateway. bringing the
flavor of some particular nation with
it, and then pours out again and goes
westward, and in the thousand people
there may not be a dozen who excite
a ripple of interest IN the observer;
but every once in a while there comes
a comet, or a planet, an eccentric star
or a brilliant one, and The attention is
fixed. DIG down a little and you 6Ad
not dirt, not chat, but the golden
sand which makes life something more
than a mere animal exiStence-the
material" of the poet, the ~dramatist,
and the romancer.
Look at that pretty girl with wooden
shoon and golden band about her
hair, sitting apart from the rest, with
a far-away look in her eyes ana a
faint smile on her lips as she tucks a
rude letter away against the white
bosom behind her quaint bodice. Can
you not see the love story there, the
fearful separation years ago, the
struggling farmer in the west, the
waiting maiden in the east, the
summons to come. and the happy re-
uniting not far off now2 Why, it is
as plain as print to al old Castle
Gardener. Every steamer brings q
score of lovers on .heir way to union
and reunion. These OLD country low
ers are more faithful than those of
Young America.
Yonder is a Sweedish lass who fairly
makes the Yankee tongue itch to be
able to talk her language. Her gay
skirt comes down to the knees. Below
it are top boots. Above it a snow
white waist. Above that-ah! such a
Nilsson smlel What is the romance
here2 Bless your heart, young man,
isn't that arch little creature a no
nance in herself2 Where are your
nerves}
1t is a noticeable popularity Of the
north country people, (for Castle Gar
DEM that they are strikingly clean
and neat IN person, intelligent in
manners, and they make themselves
quickly at home in a strange place.
A swedish girl will flirt with a good
looking American young man as free
!y and naturally as a watering place
belle, whereas the representatives of
more southern nations (and apparent
~ morc dirty ones) act like
frightened animals than intelligent