The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-07-03
THEY WOKE up FAMOUS.
Such the Rare Fortune Of the Helig-
olanders and Their Little
Island.
The Colony English, the Language
German, and the Architect
ure Danish.
Hultifarious Duties OF the "Pooh Bah" of
q tho Administration-Do Affairs,
IDcluding Women. -

HELIaoLAND, July 2.-It is great thing
to awake in the morning and find oneself
famous. Great for an individual, and
greater still for an Insignificant little snipe
of an island. Yesterday this was as modest
and quiet and humble a bit of land as the
whole earth's surface holds, with never
thought that it might perchance be target
for diplomatic lightning. To-day it is just
about as pert and perky as can be, realizing
that the eyes of the world are upon it,.
It is three quarters of a century since the
place had any greater sensation than an I'M
usual catch of fish. Now Heligoland real
ICES that great International issue depends
upon it, the continental, in fact.
The balance of power and maintenance of
peace in Europe and the partition and civil
lization of Africa are resting upon this
shouldn't Heligoland feel big? For, Of
course, this Anglo German-African treaty
cannot be ratified without Heliogoland's
consent-at least 30 Heliogland believes.
It is cosmopolitan sort of place too,
as in the present circumstances is quite
fitting. It is an English colony in name
and fact, with an English governor, but the
buildings are Danish and the language is
chiefly German, The actual nationality of
the natives is Tristan. There is good deal
of government here too. There is the colo
NAL governor and secretary and two ooun,
cillors, who meet in solemn state IN the old
Danish governors house.
There is treasurer, too, and Pooh
Ball. The latter is an officer OF the Brit
ish navy. He is also commander IN CHIEF
of the land and sea forces, chief of police,
chief justice: attorney generai chief !. con- on
jail, turnkey, sheriff, justice of the peace
and executioner. and if there are any other
little odd Jobs to be done outside of those
offices, he does them. It should be added
that the total land and sea forces of the
colony consist of the coast guardsmen.
There are some howitzers on sand hill
somewhere which form the defense of the
island, but with all his multitude of small
offices Lieutenant "Pooh BAH often finds
time hang heavy on his hands. About once
in three months there is a petty civil suit to
be tried. That is all.
a century, there was criminal case. man
was arrested for stealing a dozen pewter
spoons. This event created tremendous
excitement and was talked of for years.
The criminal was convicted and was SEN
fenced to imprisonment at hard labor, in
sisted of fine new suit of clothes, much
better than he had ever worn in his life.
They had to be procured from tailor es-
pecially for him. His labor consisted in
shoveling sand at pier eight hours day.
As for the imprisonment it meant that the
convict had to sleep every night in the guest
chamber of the governors house. There
was no other lookup, and he took his meals
at the table d'hote of the very inn from
which he had stolen the spoons.
Indeed, they are particularly easy going
and simple-hearted set, these Heligolanders.
Perhaps they are a bit stolid, but they are
quiet and inoffensive. They drink dopli,
but never get drunk. Contagious and in
fictitious diseases, idiooy and lunacy are alb
solutely unknown. They are fresh-com-
plexioned, healthy looking. of good size and
development. Longevity is the rule.
Eighty and ninety are the years at which
most deaths occur. The women are not
beautiful according to the English idea of
beauty. They are too substantial, but they
are admirable housekeepers, and as wives
and mothers their character is without re-
proach.
In few places in the world are there more
intermarriages, generation after generation,
than here. Everybody on the island is re-
lated pretty closely to everybody else. Yet
no evil results either mental or physical
seem to follow. German, of course, is the
practical universal language, favored with
a strong turn of dialect. The streets of the
village have English names, but those names
are never spoken save by visitors. There
seems to be no great desire to belong to Ger
many, and now when England proposes to
hand the iland over to Germany for a
Thousand times its worth in Africa, the
island ia by no means sure that it wants to
be handed over,