New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-12-25
THE LAND OF HOMER.
FERTILE CORFU AND TRADITIONS OF THE
WHY OTNSSECS.
CnrfnI November Is.

with General Custer to the Black HIS when tlat
unmappel and unfamiliar region was Opened tic
first time 10 exploration and settlement oy 'He
white man. IN TAis service yoir correspondent
was taken far beyond the pale q civilization anu
into the midst of conflicts with savage 'Ilbcs, IN
enc OF which Custer nearly lost the llte that was
sacrificed two yeats later. The Tribune was the
first Journal to announce the discovery OF COLA
i'm the Black Hills Three months after this an
nounccInent there were 200 Miners in the hills
The sensations on entering new and unsettlen
country are peculiarly vivid and interesting, Dit
they ase suggestive OF It's possibilities rather tAan
OF its past There works Of man except
the rude traces of Indian occupancy The history
which it reveals is the history of the great iorcc'
Of nature as they are interpreted by the scolosst
and the physical Gcosraphcr.
On the present Journey your correspondent, IN
stead Of going to a country whose chief glory
lies in the promise Of it, future. is travelling
through one whose chief glory lies in the history
ana traditions OF its past. II Is Scared by bat
tlclelds marked by monuments and ruins, ana
saturated with myths and legends. 1t is country
Of tomhs relics buried cities and one in which
tho spirit OF freedom and the joy Of perfection OF
art have had most beautiful illustration. Above
all it is a country in which tie imagination has
spread its wings ana scared to the highest realms
of literature and produced not only the marvcls
Of Creek tragedy, but the simple, noble cpics Of
Homer
The whole Of Greece is not quite as large as
The state of Massachusetts. Within this small
territory, az within the small space of India, has
been wrought much Of the warp and wool OF al
later civilization, and on this narrow canvas
has been embroidered the imagery OF its poems
The fortunes of Greece have pa ,sed through many
chances; but the same beautiful background of
pyy and landscape of island, mountain ana sea-
the same soft, clear atmosphere are unioldcd 10
the eye of the traveller today as when Homer
wrote. or when Pausanas in the spirit OF the
modern journalist, followed on his trail. 1t Is
charming occupation to 90 over the canvas today
and 10 see where Homer put in the stitches
1t is in tho Odyssey especially that those
beautiful Jewels on tho bosom of Greece, the
Ionian Islands. find rich and charming set
ting, and il is among these islands that your
correspondent IS sailing in the track or thc
poet
The largest and most important and 40 inc
same time ono Of tho most attractive OF the
Ionian Islands Is Corfu, called by tho creeks
Kerl;yra. Tradition connects il with that fresh
charming AID natural picture of Greek Life when
Homer has given in the sixth book OF 'ne
odyssey. the story Of Nauriskaa
The island and its inhabitants arc invested
with certain mythical and spcrhuman char-
actor and the poet gives full rein 10 his nasiha.
ton in describing is marvellous fertility ana
beauty. This land of the PharaSian, the ancient
Scher1a has been il its natural features uaui-
tonally identified With the modern Corfu
All vessels plying between Brindis or Trieste
and Greece touch al Corfu for commercial reasons;
but In the last few months tho cholera germ
has taken as powerful hold OF the Greek imagi-
nation as i. has Of the American. Tho oreek
quarantine for the Adriatc has been established
az Corfu, or moro strictly on tho island Oh 'Iho
which lies in the harbor on the east sfo. For
vessels coming from Trieste, an Austrian port
| the quarantine has been eleven days; Tor tnose
coming from Briadis, any other Italian port
| the quarantine has been maintained ior hFc dhJS'
since reduced TO three as the approach OF winter
| drives the cholera germ into winter qnsTTrA
Even tho King himself has submitted to this
quarantine regulation, though he chose TO spend
| IL on his royal Yacht instead Of on land. Your
correspondent preferred the land TO the Italian
steamer and finding that quarters were limited
on the island, procured pair OF oars ana lor'y
wards Of rope and raised IL tent winch the laulcS
| OF the party in anticipation Of such a nced haa
made on the train from Naples 20 BrindisL II
WAS a little surprise 10 the diplomats merchants
and Others on tic island 10 see this tent 90 up
under the shelter OF a friendly haystacH. Ana
they were still moro surprised TO find 1t standing
the next morning \ DELEGATION waited upon
YOUR correspondent and warned him of the danger
n canning out in November. If tho camp had
been located in Dakota, tho delegation would
have had considerable weight and the therInom-
ctcr and tho north wind still more. But In tho
sof,ness Of a Greek November, with bland
A,iea mild nights and the blue water around
il warm enough 20 swim in for an hour az
time. as delightful bathing as have ever mad,
tho terrors Of camp life were reduced 10 posslolc
transforms which failed 10 appear In tho serVlco
Of The Tribune, have slept at night on Tie upper
deck of Missouri River steamer, In SNOW
storm, with no shelter but my blankets ana timex
tarDaulin Tho weather here demanded no such
exposure; but seemed TO behave in the most anna
bic manner without tho slightest effort. our
meals werc taken in n one-story building butt
by the Government, tho food supplied ny the
keeper Of the St. GEORGES Hotel In Corfu. Eng
hsh. French, German, Italian and Greek wcre
tho tongues struggling for supremacy among the
thirty passengers at the table 1t was another
babel without tho tower Tho italian steer
ago passengers in another part OF the island
pourcl forth AN endless stream Of words III"
Florontine or Roman Italian Is musical enough
but tho Venetian and Ncapolitan, when poured
forth rapidly sounds like a succession OF ire
crackers or torpedocs. The vowels explode like
Gati.ng gun, and the consonants 60 Of in smoke
When the days Of his publication were CON-
plctcd your Correspondent had an opportunity 10
explore the old IIomeric island. What curious
changes Of torture II has passed through since
Homer woye il into his magic tale and invested
its inhabitants with supcrhuman Attributes We
can trace ts yciit.bc history back to the settle
ment Of Cornthan colony here b. {. 7oi
III IS g. - the C)rcvracans. ~ ia y were cailed.
won u naval battle over the Corinthians, OF which
Thucydides, the only newspaper Correspondent
present, has made mention. The island took the
part Of Athens in the reloponncsan war Then
Il passed into IN" hands OF the Romans. then to
the Vcneiians, then TO the Neapoitaus. The
Turks twice made desperate attempts to capture
il Then the French secured possession for seven