The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-06-13

| las shown by the record} than at any Tina
| for a year. Southeast, aud straight before
the wind, the launch went flying eastward
of Governors Island, then southwark and
eastward again into Gowanus bay and
along the shore Of South Brooklyn. There
we inspected two little ferry steamers, for
| the government must buy one to transport
the immigrants to the city after they are
| inspected, registered, fumigated, devermin-
| lied and otherwise regulated.
Thence westward along the north coast
| of Staten Island, and northward by Bed
! loe's and the Statue of Liberty, we had, I
| am confident, the toughest sa1t water voy-
! age ever experienced in a harbor. The
wind was small hurricane; the waves
would have averaged quite stable for Cape
HatteraS, and the little launch with full
head of steam Orwell, it didn't roll any
more as in going down, it simply jumped
from crest to crest of the waves, burying
its snOut at times, when the spray would
fly high over US. / can compare the mo-
lions to nothing more fitting than to a
''dog in high rye" Imagine yourself a
Lilliputian on the back of said dog, and
you will have an idea of how my yiscera
Topped up against the duodenum. The
other four passengers were scarcely less
perturbed. Even the man at the wheel
an ''old salt"-looked sickish. 1t was such
a relief to get on the solid ground of Ellis
Island
The island has an area Of two and half
acres; but this is only superficial, for the
water is quite shallow to the north and
west, while southwark one might say that
Ellis is really part of Bedloe's. They are
simply the two knob ends Of one rocky
ridge, which rises with gentle slope on
both sides from the bottom of the bay; the
two knobs rise above high tide, and that
part of the ledge between them is only low
enough for the water to rise a few feet
above it. The anchorage, therefore, at
Ellis Island will be on the east and south
east, where the deep water comes well up
to the shore. Though the basis of Ellis is
the same hard, ragged rock as that of New
York city, there lies on it soil of remark
able fertility, and the blue grass plats are
simply wonderful. The island has been
out of use so long that the sign of a foot
appeared nowhere, and the sod, with glass
two feet high, was like that Of a central
Kentucky preserve. The island, to speak
with surveyors exactness, lies in Commu-
nipaw bay, which is the extreme north
westward prolongation of New York bay
One-third Of a mile nearly due north of
the island lies the lower wharf of Jersey
City; not quite q mile in the opposite di-
rection towers the Statue Of Liberty; lit
tie further to the east and south is Gov
ernor's Island, while far off to the south
ward the smoke of the great Standard Oil
company's works rises in black and purple
clouds. through which shine the green hills
of Staten Island to the left and of New Jer-
sey to the right. On all the coast Of Ameri-
ca the immigrant could not get another
view of his adopted country half SO COM
prehensive. Three great cities in sight
the shores as far as eye can see lined with
enormous hives of industry, the open
mouth of the Hudson, the Battery, and,
central 20 all, the great bay, now sparkling
in the sunshine and traEersed in all direc-
tons by enormous steamers, and on favor
able days dotted with tie white wings of
hundred Yacht.