Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-12-07

yilest Azorean liquors, constituted the bar,
at one end Of which stood en- entire wild
boarskin filed with wine, its open mouth
suggesting all sorts of ferocious possibili-
ties. Along the low rafters were countless
pegs, upon which were hung strings Of I'M
namable and pungent vegetables, strings OF
onions, bits OF salt pork and strips OF tas-
salho, or jerked beef. Alter several hours
waiting supper, prepared by the landlord s
wife over coal urn fire, around which she
seemed in constant shrill-voiced encounter
with sundry goats, dogs, gamecocks and
halfnaked children. was served. This con-
sisted of an Azorean hodge podge or COM
posto de varias Viandas-meat, meal, greens
and fsh-which we were glad enough to get
with the aid of horn forks and spoons. No
hint whatever was given us Of where we
were to sleep: and along toward midnight
Manuel and Mateito foraged and wrangled
until portion of mountain heath was bestowed
upon the huddled benches With this and our
saddles, pouches, serons, and some rusn,woven
blankets, we bade defiance, in peaceful slum-
Der, to goats, chickens and heas, for the re-
mainder Of the night.
A LOVELY BIRDsEYE VIEW.
We had no cause to loiter at the lonely old
mountain inn, and got away from the over-pop-
ulous hovel before daybreak. A brisk ride
over pleasant road, with here and there elus-
ters of peasants cabins cleaning along the
little valleys or pretty hillsides in highlands,
with now and then moment Of lettering at
roadside fountains or upon stone-arched bridges
where foaming cascades swept through lovely
glens to the invisible ocean below, brought rs
to the upper plateau of a circling range of
mountains nearly 3, 600 feet in height. The sun
was just sweeping the eastern rim Of these
noble elevations, when suddenly turning the
sharp point Of craggy hiliock overhanging the
road, the entire gSand cyclorama of the
famous Vale das Furnas was spread before
us.
From the height where we stood the valley
appeared to be ova1-shaped, from six to nine
miles in length, and from two to four in width.
The mountains surrounding it are from 1000 to
1900 feet above the level Of the sea. Their ser
rated edges Isv are broken na- here and there Sy
natural cuttings in the lava through
which wind estradas riValing the Roman
roads Of old, by precipitous gorges
and canons fecked by misty cascades, and by
pockets and hollows, in which from our eleva-
ton we could catch glimpses of the cleaning
surfaces of silent lakes and shadowy tarns. In
Vulnerable streams like siuuOus lines of pearls
blend, cross, separate and wind In fanclful
ways within and through the lower levels. The
heights are purple with heather, blending into
masses of green where the frs stand thickly,
and shading into blue, or gold, or puee, as the
lights or shadows play upon the matted lichens
of the wilder and sleeper sides. Half hun
dred peasants cabins could be counted from
where we stood. Twice that many goat-herd
paths like delicate ribbons of pink, and lanes,
with blue or gray old walls half hidden in
masses Of vines. interlaced the whole valley
and mountain sides, or were lost In the blue
tints of upland valleys, until the whole surface
of the scene seemed traced and interviewer
fkn 10 nf A irni m n If nr1a
populous continent.
CHARMING PASTORAL SCENES.
Away down, down below were the white walls,
the red roofs, the single church dome and the
long, struggling streets of the quaintest old
village in all the Azores. Passing, rs in the
roadway where we stood, streaming down the
mountains to our right and left, and from the
opposite valley ascents, were tiny droves Of
milk-white goats. To each was tied a little bell
Of different tone. The fiocks were being driven
to their daily milking in the village. The bare
footed goat herds sounded their shrill pipes as
they followed behind. From copss and hedge
the blackbirds and wild canarfes, as If fred
of song-huDdreds upon hundreds OF stlvery
bells, scores upon scores Of joyous pipes,
thousands upon thousands of voices Of birds,
blending Ginning, swelling into the strangest,
the SWeeIeSL. anu ybb Lle mOSb LI6mulOuSly
tender melody human ears ever heardl
And yet thus Is the morning ushered
every day of the year in this wondrous
valley of Furnas. Until now the silent vale
was asleep. But see the picturesque response
to the marvellous matin song. Issuing from
the shadoWy ways Of the serene hamlet below,
from the quinta or villa of the opulent de-
mesnes Of the gentle slopes at hand, or. far and
near, from pretty, camarasinha or cabin en-
powered in vines or trees appear az vestal
maids to do office before the priestess of day,
a hundred Furnas maldens. Each chirps or
chants her own bestowed cantiga, and upon
her shapely head is a bright red ever. Her
skirts are blue, her bodice white, or pink, or
yellow. Her feet and arms and head are bare.
Her form is Hellenic. Her eyes are deep and
languorous, but liquid with light The sun,
sweeping above hoary Plea da Vara over there,
never painted such vcrmilion as tinges her
cheeks or such crimson as opens from her
flashing teeth. Thus singing back to the herds,
the birds and the morning, these witching
thread the paths upward to the
fountains, Intervening In the idyllic scene bits
of sound. color and life that win the heart
entire.
How long we feasted on the scene know not,
but 1t touched and thrilled even the turgid
veins of my gray old guide. He broke the
silence with sigh. Then placing his shriveled
hands upon his heart and rolling his eyes
he lifted his cracked and nasal
voice in such lugubrious song that the restless
donkeys brayed response in sympathetic
miserere:
este vale minha terra,
E. minha terra natal,