The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1885-11-13
LIFE IN CASTLE GARDEN.
stray Pictures in the New Worlds Great
TurustiIe.

I'OW IOth llSt e1lu.~ lIlo yOu cFoI
kill an immigrant, Captain?" inquired
q Herald reporter Of bluff George E.
Moore. the veteran landing agent at
, Castle Garden.
F'N69ef had the 1uek-bad luck, I
mean. j have landed every immigrant
that ever came hete-eleven millions
Of theni-tnd we have never killed or
injured one OF them or lost q piece of
baggage. singular, isn't it? But /
don't want to brag or wen surely
have an accident right off"
"Didn't you ever have o. suicide
here?''
.'Nary su. You see, if person il
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 country
and the hope of finding something to
make them happy in this unknown
land OF promise. If they put off COM
mitting suicide until they get here they
postpone it until they get away. Be
sides, good many eyes are watching
here, and people acting suspiciously
are placed under surveillance at once. J"
81 suppose you see many queer char
acters here"
"Queer characters? Oh, Lord!" and
Captain Moore gave a gasp as express
sive as a whole Grafton.
Ii you wish to see mosaic of Human
lty go to Castle Garden. Hyou wish to
study human nature in many aspects
and ofmany nationalities this is surely
the school of schools. Castle Garden
is Cosmopolis. It is the gathering
place Of the nations. 1t is the modern
Tower of Babel. It is the meeting of
the waters. 1t is the greatest human
kaleidoscope ever invented.
Capt. Moore is very fond of present
ing his friends with little book, issued
by the American Bible Society, which
gives John iii, 16-''For God so loved
the world,' &C., translated into one
hundred and sixty-four different Ian
guages. If the eleven million human
bodies which has passed through Castle
Garden could be classified according
to nationality there would be few of
those tongues left unrepresentedi in the
vast agglomeration. What process
sion! Is there any other on earth to
equal it? It has contained all classes
and conditions of men, women and
children, for the noblcman has been
there as we'll as the beggar. Ithas been
the birthplace and the deathbed of
people. 1t has seen giants and dwarfs,
and all manner ofmonstrosities. And
1T has furnished also some of the best
blood which the United States pos
sesses to-day, Castle Garden is big
thing on ice
Castle Garden is one of those natur-
al theaters which almost always have
some new drama upon the stage. Wis
it it at almost any time, and you will
lind some unique picture or novel sit
uation in the tangled skein of human
life. The bulk of the incoming tide of
of travel is, of course, commonplace
and uninteresting, as life in the lower
strata of society is very apt to be. A
ship-load ofimmigrants 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 q ripple of
interest in the observer; but every
once in while there comes a comet, or
a planet, an eccentric star, or bril-
liant one, and the attention is fixed.
Dig down a little and you find, not |
dirt, not chaff, but the golden sand
which makes life something more than
a mere animal existence-the 'smater-
iar' of the poet, the dramatis. and the
Look at that pretty girl with wood
en- shoon, and golden band about her
hair, sitting apart from the rest, with !
a far away look in her eyes and 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 tear
full separation years ago, the struggling |
farmer in the west,the waiting maiden
in the east, the summons to
come and the happy reuniting not far
off now? "Why, it is asplain as print
to an old Castle Gardener. Every |
steamer brings a score Of lovers on
their way to union and reunion. |
These old country lovers are more
faithful than those of North America.
Yonder is a Swedish lass who fairly !
makes the Yankee tongue itch to be
able to talk her language. Her gay |
skirt comes down to the knees. Be
low it are top boots. Above 1T snow
white waist. Above that-ah! such q
Nilsson smile! What is the romance
here? Bless your heart, young man,
isn't that arch little creature TO-
nance in herself? Where are your
nerves?
It is noticeable popularity of the
North country people (for Castle Gar
deny that they are strikingly clean and !
neat in person, intelligent in manners,
and they make themselves quickly at
home in strange place. A Swedish |
girl will fiirt with a goodIooking
young man as freely and nat
urally as Watering place belle, !
the representatives of more
southern nations land apparently |
more dirty ones) act more like fright
ened animals than intelligent human
beings from the time they leave the
ship until they are domiciled beyond
the public eye.
The only predominating topic of in
terest in theimmigrant mind is money
l. fc II |