The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1886-04-23
A Town without Women.
l know a city in the United States

know a city in the United States of
over 10000 population where not one
vote was cast for Grover Cleveland"
Where was that?" 4
SIN Washington"
II know a stranger place than that.
l have been to a town where there
have been nc births nor marriages in
hundreds OF years, yet people live
there and die" The captain OF the
bark Malta crossed his legs opened
and shut the blade OF a penknife with
his thumb and foretinger and compla-
Gently chewed tobacco. The Malta
arrived at New York from the Medi,
terranean recently with figs and Egyp-
tian onions.
eyes" said Captain Baldwin, eve
ran up the west shore OF the Egean
Sea to Haggion Oros, meaning to the
Greeks holy mountain. 1t is q grand
pile OF rocks, rising 6,2OO feet straight
out of the water, from the end of q
narrow peninsula. What Gibraltar is
to the Mediterranean Haggion Oros is
to the Dardanelles. This peninsula
runs back from the mountain about
forty miles-grand coast-and aver
@SSo ola AiiilcS Wiue. IL 10 JolAioo W
the larger Chalcedonian peninsula by
a narrow neck of sand. They told me
there that Xerxes, the fellow who led
a million OF heather soldiers. cut a
canal through the sand at that point
for his vessels to sail through. There
is another mountain on the peninsula
Mount Athos. We had an Ohio
preacher and his daughter, passengers
from Alexandria, on board, and the
preacher told us about the peninsula
and town OF Athos.
"tBefore C~hristendom,' said he, re-
cluses used to live at Mount Athos in
holes in the ground. The solemnity
inspired by the bare peak ofthe mount
ain harmonized well with their minds,
bent IN wild and mystic thoughts.
So,' said he, after the new religion
came the place got to be n popular re-
sort for monks, who didn't want to
live with the rest of mankind; and
Greek monks have been going to that
peninsula eve since, until now, after
1000 or 1,SOOyearst they have formed
an ecclesiastical self government.
Under the Byzantine emperors the
monks were under no secular control
whatever, butnow the Turkish govern
ment keeps a caimakan there. He
has nc power, however. His duty is
only to observe the monks. The cal
makan has two zaptieths or soldiers,
for a body guard, but they represent
the honor of his office more than the
power. The community has its own
police in the shape OF a squad OF
Albanians. The monks govern them
selves by a council of representatives
over which the proteros, or president,
rules. He is called the First Man of
Athos. Theproteros can only be boss
for three months at q time. He then
resigns to thene1t eminent citizen until
the honor is shared by every man in
the council.
''They wouldn't let the preachers
daughter land. No womanis allowed,
ON any pretense whatever, to set foot
in the territory. No female creature
Of any kind-cow, she goat, or mare,
or animal capable OF giving birth to
to its kinds found there. Not even
hens are permitted Athos. So there
have been no births, no marriages, no
love-makings, nor scandals there.
Just about as many Greek monks get
sick of the world and go to Athos as
there are those who die. But what a
sanctimonious funeral a monk must
have th~ere-priests for mourners,
hack-drivers, pall-bearers, grave dig
gers, andiookers-on."-New York Star.