The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-02-07
A LONESOME PEOPLE
About the Archipelago Claimed
by England.
THE SEA LION AT HOME
Strange Vegetable Productions in Climate
so Cold That Trees Cannot Grow
The Nantucket Whalers.

PoRT STANLEY, EAST FALKLAND, Jan. q,
tS9l.-T Special correspondence of THE
HERALD. Thanks to the courtesy of the
English governor, a steam yacht was
placed at the disposal of our party, whose
captain had instructions to aid US in lex
ploring the islands" But that would be a
rather large undertaking, as there are more
than two hundred in the group; so we have
contented ourselves with cruising around
the two largest stands, and visiting their
few settlements, which are all near the
coast thereby gaining a general idea of
life in this little world lost amidst q waste
Of stormy waters. The total population of
the archipelago is only about two thousand
mostly EnRlishmen, Scotchmen and
Argentine guschos. East Falkland, the
largest Of the islands, has an area of 5000
square miles; yet IL contains only three
Insignificant hamlets besides Port Stanley,
the rest of the people living on widely
separated sheep runs. There are no roads
on any of the islands, but they are crisis
crossed in all directions by horse trails, for
here everybody goes on horseback on jour
neys that cannot be made by sea. Every
weD-to-do Falklauder owns his yacht, as
the citizens of other countries keep their
carriages. There is also a steam launch
that regularly plies the und between the
two main ISLANDS; while the produce brig
of
1.-THE FALKLAND ISLAND SHEEP FARMING
COMPANY"
is patronized by the poorer classes. Our
first objective point was Port st. Louis, q
little north of Stanley, on Berkeley Sound,
where the French founded the earliest
settlement on the archipelago in 1863: and
which, though many times destroyed by
commandment as various countries enforced
their claims TO possession, remained the
seat of government until a few years ago.
when IL was removed to Stanley. The big
island is nearly cut in two by deep sound
on either side-Choiseul and Brenton-
which leaves its northern and southern
portions connected only by an isthmus.
The lower half is crossed ty rugged range
of low hills, and the remainder is q strange
mixture of peat beds and tussock grass,
pasture ana morass, with many small
streams and shallow turns of fresh water
Next to Stanley, the most important village
on the island is Port Darwin, on Choiseul
sound-a station of the Falkland Island
company. 1t is peopled entirely by Scotch
shepherds, and suon a quaint little town
can be found nowhere else outside of Scot
land, with its Presbyterian kirk-appro-
priately built of iron, to match its stern
creed-and its "blue Pres byterien' clergy
man and schoolmaster, who rule the lives
of the villagers TO the minutest detail tenn
poral and spiritual.
Though more than 300 miles distant from
Pat5g onia, scientists agree that these
islands were ouce part OF that country.
and are still connected Herewith by an
elevated submarine plateau. At any rate,
THE GEOLOGICAL FORMATION
and fora of the two are essentially the
same, though no animals are indigenous Ia
the island but foxes, rats and rabbits.
There are only two things TO be said in
favor of the beastly climate of this locality
that it is remarkably uniform uniform.
ally bad, and that the chilly winds which
hinder trees from growing, and wheat and
corn from attaining maturity, prevents
likewise the existance of many living pests
that abound nearer to the equator There
are no snakes here, nor reptiles of anv sort
no toads nor spiders, flies nor fieas. nor any
other Objectionable creature, winged OF
crawling. Trees would probably grow, Il
planted and cultivated, were it not for the
eternal gales. There are none upon sny OF
the islands, if we except kind of box. two
or three feet high, to be found in some To-
calities, ana the one much boosted annie
tree which is
STRUGGLING FOR EXISTENCE IN STANLEY
There is a species of woody rag-weed
which often grows as high as manis
shoulder, and is said TO assist the chilly
winds N producing the bronchial anc
catarrhal troubles with which most Fallx
landers are afflicted. The only grounds
worth trying to cultivate are found along
the margin of the sea, in certain plains
that are partially sheltered by hills: bu,
nowhere can grain be fully ripeued or veg
etaoles brought to any degree of perfection.
During November and December a great
variety of wild flowers literally carpet the
ground, and lichens are everywhere. A
lew years ago the whole archipelago was
covered with "tussock' grass, which grows
in dense tufts, often two or three hundred
roots springing from the same tuft, with
stalks six or seven feet long and blades
even longer. Cattle and horses are ex.
tremely fond OF it, and it's fattening DUAL
tiles for all sorts of stock are very great
It fiourishes in any situation, in winter az
well as summer, and may be cut three times
year, being improved by cutting. MOI
only are the leaves and stems most
EXCELLENT FODDER,
but the stool-like root-crowns have a sweet
Dutty flavor, irresistible to all omniverous
and herbivorous creatures. 1t thrives bes
on shores exposed to the oceans spray; anc
great pity it is that in few years more
not root of it will be left anywhere on The
islands.
No wonder it is being rapidly extermin-
ateo, considering the number of animals
that here find pasturage The few cattle
and pigs, that were brought from time tc
time by the early colonists, have gone on