New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1891-07-29
GERMANY'S NEW CHILD.
HELGoLAND'S, MANY. CHANGES
OF OWNERSHIP.
The Strange Little Rocky Islet and Its
People-Few Changes In It's Laws
Slowly Being Eaten Up
by the Seas.

Helgoland covers an area of 42O. 600
square yards, and it is difficult to
realize in what way itever was a prize
worth gaining. In its geological
formation it differs strangely from the
neighboring mainland; the whole Ger
man seaboard is bare of cliff or rock,
being only succession of long and
sandy dunes slowly encroaching upon
the sea, while the island is a solid
mass of stone which the sea as SURELY
is invading. The range of rocks is
picturesque, of a dull red color, broken
into by many grottos, assures, chimes,
vaults, and archee through which the
breakers rush in sanity with deaf
enlng noise. It., be calculated with
mathematical pr, sion how long it
wlll&take the sea .atirely to swallow
up the island, computing by the raw
ages it has already made, and it is
said that in 600 years nothing will re-
main of the ground coded to Germany
by England. What value it has must
be as a post of observation; as to it's
appearance it is graphically described
by its own motto:
Grun ist das Land,
Roth is der Kant
Weiss ist der Sand.
Das sind die Farben Won Helgoland
Her three colors are also in her flag,
and the soil repeats them accurately.
The upper plateau is called the
'Falln," and dominates the whole
area, the lower portion being only a
narrow line of beaSch. Above stands
a church; the new lighthouse, an older
one dating from the seventeenth Gen.
tury, interesting only that it has with
stood the storms of $50 years; the
Governors villa, not a bad building by
any means, and a few mean-4ooking
houses. The portion of the plateau
WHICH corresponds to the green stripe
IN the flag is a large meadow, on which
the precious island sheep Craze. Hell
goland rears but a very limited num-
Der OF COWS, and as goats cannot stand
the climate, the milk of the ewes is
the ordinary beverage. The ''Falm"
is linked to the lower part of the vii
lage by a flight of steep steps and an
elevator. On the beach or seaboard
the houses are small, built of wood,
adorned with verandas and balconies;
the extremely narrow streets boast of
shops where photographs, shells and
articles of national raiment are sold;
there are no inns on the island, but
the bills of 'Logis,' hanging out
of the windows of private dwell
ing houses indicate that board
and lodging can be found therein. The
whole thing looks like a quaint, new,
clean toy. Queen Victoria street is
the main thoroughfare a liliputian
street in liliputian town; yet it leads
to theatre, actually bona fde play
house, open during the summer, where
very fair performances are given under
the uperintendence of an intelligent
manager. For, notwithstanding dis
advantages. Helgoland is favorite
sea-bathing place. The visitors do not
battle on the island itself, but have to-
cross a strip of sea to sand dune
some ten minutes off, opposite the
village but inaccessible to open boats
in rough weather.
This dune widens and broadens in
proportion as the block of rock dimin-
.ishes and the air there is so admirably
pure and .invigorating that it is con-
sidered a perfect cure for diseased
lungs and anRmia- The islanders are
IN the possession of excelle 1T health;
they make a good living out of the
strangers during the short summer
months, after which they return to
their legitimate trade of fishing, their
chief hauls being Holsters and behring's.
The Helgolanders were not consult
ed when they were handed over to
their new proprietors and probably.
If quite aware Of the change, are
pot much concerned by lit: some of