The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1889-01-19

I lAl Nhb W Stfi, III an Minus VI NNeiuNI'
| Alter this nothing OF moment occurred I'M
I'll the ships cat, an animal Of strange habits
and prcternaturGlly long black hair, fell i'll,
retired to tho laIarette, and died tho death
OF a dog When she was with becoming so
/ IDENTITIES consigned to the deep, tho mariners
one and all shook their heads and murmured
that it BODIED i'll for the ship.
And sure enough, from that time we en-
countered nothing but stormy weather and
head winds until We fell in with the brave
west winds for which the vicinity Of the
Cape of Good Hope Is celebrated in maritime
legend and literature These winds blew so
bravcly that in short time they developed
into first class gale and the sea ran mount
aims high; we seemed 10 be now boring
the moon with our mainmaSt, anon plunging
into the yeaSty foam like a cork in hogs
head OF ale.N In this strait we were obliged
to lay 10 for two days and apply oil TO the
troubled waters through tho medium Of
GUuuy bags hung over the ships sides. Here
my heart went out TO poor old Nandcrdecken,
doomed TO beat against these prOdigious seas
with his Flying Dutchmann till the day of
Judgment and | thought it small wonder
that the old man was tired of his contract
After rounding the Cape we had two weeks
more Of such treachcrOus weather as only the
Indian ocean can supply, before the verdant
heights Of Cape Natal refreshed our seasiCk
eyes and gladdened our barnaclo burdened
hearts.
From the outer anchorage the town Of Dur
ban (which is identical with Port Natal pre-
sento a pretty picture. In the foreground is
Il long, sandy beach, on which the breakers
beat heavily, sending up spume and spray to
u height of ten and twenty feet, Back of
this can be seen the low roofs of the town,
nesting amid green trees and tropical foliage,
with here and there "A church spire rising
modeStly above its dwaried environments
In the distance the terraced slopes of "the
Berea," clad in everlasting verdure and
dotted here and there with villas, their me-
tai roofs cleaning in the sunshine, rise to a
height of 200 feet.
But wo had not long to admire the pros
pcct, for with promptitude that delighted
the heart of the skipper we were waited
upon by a steam tug and escorted inside the
bar, and in "a few minutes were anchored in
the quiet waters OF the lagoon.
This was no sooner accomplished than we
were boarded by suave and swarthy ship
chandler, soliciting patronage and bringing
news of the death of Emperor William of
Germany and of the big blizzard which had
buried New York, for days or weeks, he did
not know which And this was all America
and England had not declared war; Boulan-
ger was still clustering; Mexico had refrained
from capturing the United States, and the
French were at peace with all the world. All
the Wild coniectures and vain imaGinings
of those eleven long weeks at sea, when we
80,
the great world from which we seemed as far
removed as the man in the moon, were I'M
realized What u tame world this is, to he
sure!
That night l slept aboard tho vessel and
the next morning boarded one Of the great,
numbering tram cars, common in London and
English provincial towns, but unknown
in the United States, with spiral stairways
from the rear platform to the roof, where
seats are provided for passengers which run
from Durham to The Point" or Port Natal.
Feeling like passenger in Noah's ark, was
borne along in this, to me, strange vehicle
past rows of neat, low cottages, with wide
verandas, their brick walls overgrown with
ivy and morning glories and shaded by lux
uriant tropical foliage that | knew not how
TO name. In the public houses which we
passed at frequent intervals, there was evil
IDENTIFY an effort to combine old English with
Oriental and tropical architecture which was
striking, if somewhat grotesquo in effect.
These places bore such suggestive names as
"Devonshire House. "kentish Tavern, st.
Georges Tap Room" etc, and were sur
rounded by galvanized iron fences. These
latter, as | afterward found, are quito COM
mon in Natal; there are no wooden houses,
and galvanized iron roofs are in universal
use
Presently we turned from the Point road
into West street, thoroughfare 100 feet
wide, boasting large warehouses and more
pretcntious shops past an old stone court
house and new town hall which would do
credit to many larger American town, I'M
til we reached two story building sand
wiched between q church and hotel, and
bearing the sign Natal Mercury
Here, attracted by the smell of printers
ink, alighted to make a professional call.
At the top of the stairs | met the business
manager of the paper, and upon Introducing
myself, was offered frame i'll the compos-
ing room and entreated to commence work
upon the following day, 1t is needless to say
that accepted without giving much thought
which Mr.. Webster explained TO me as fol-
lows: "Nine pence per 1000 ems for small
plea, 10 pence for long primer, l0Is pence for
bourgeois and II pence for minion," for at
that time didn't know pence from rupees,
or shillings from sovereigns.
Through the kind offices of n compositor
was soon introduced to a good board
ing place in a delightful locality known
as Orange Grove, and comfortably installed
in room which as l was informed, had once
been occupied by the governor Of the colony,
and which accounted quite good enough for
an American sovereign.
Thus twenty four hours after sighting land
I had become IA resident of Durham, in the
English colony of Natal, and was prepared
to commence tho study Of the social and
physical features of the place Alan Quater-
main called an earthly paradise