St. Landry democrat., 1893-08-05
TEEE CRUISE OF TEEE CONsTEA-
E.ATEON.

The l. S. Practice Ship Constellation, Will
the Cadets belonging to the first class Of tn,
Naval Academy at Annapolis on board lef
| Hampton Roads on June 10th for Il cruise OF
the Atlantic. The Constellation is a sailing yes
! sci 204 feet long and Al feet wide. From letters
written 10 his parents by Cadet Fritz l.. SandO2
| we make the following interesting extracts:
AT SEA, Lat. 3S2 50 N, Long. &C. 30 w,
Sunday. June Is, 1898
We left Hampton Roads a week ago yeStcrda y
| en- route for Fayal, one of the Azores AS we
! left Capes Charles and Henry we had a favor
| able wind and it was not long before three
| fourths of the cadets were sca-slck; but when,
couple OF days after, squat struck us and
| we went scudding along with ClOse-Teefcd top
| sails at the rate Of ten knots an hour, every
| body was well enough to hustle.
| The town of H0rta, Fayal, whittier we are
! bound, has about the same population as Opel
Ousas, Thence we go to Funchal, a larger town
on the Madeira Islands, near the coast of Africa.
Then we may go to Lisbon, and if we make 81
quick trip DacA home we will have months S
vacation before the fall session begins
Lat. So 81 n, Long. Al &C W., June 25
We hope to reach Horta about the 4th of July,
just in time to fire salute TO the dag. We
have provisions for 50 days, so that II we are
becalned Or blown out OF oUr course we will
not be apt to starVe before riglting ourselves.
We had fresh meat until yesterday, and will
live henceforth on salt meat ham, corncd beef,
sard neS, pork and beans, canned chicken, tul-
key, &c, Srits, oatmeal cracked wheat, &c. and
fresh bread baked every day. We started with
25,000 gallons of water, but it is used only for
drinking and cooking. To-day we are about
1000 miles from Horta; i'll a week more we will
be there. June 20.
We have not seen land for twenty days,
July 2.-We are near Faya, having sighted it
this morning at $50 We will go ashore to-lnOr-
row. All these islands are mountainous. The
weather is Observation-Disclosures a fine breeze
and it is cool enough to wear flannel at all
times, and during the nj, ht watches ovcrcOats
are comfortable,
Ell route for Fanchal, July O.
We left HOrta on the 9Th ana expect to reach
Funchal i'll four OF i've days The distance
from Holt to Funchai is about 100 miles.
The islands we have just left belong to Portu-
gal and are very fertile. The fruits of the tro-
pics ITS well as those of temperate clilnes grow
we'll there, and we ate figs, apric0ts, plumS, or
anses, lemons &c. There are no hOrses-Gon-
keys and oxen supply their pace-and their
wagons or carts are very primitive affairs, the
wheels being sawed out OF large trees and the
body being nothing more than kind of basket
like cage. They are century behind the age
and remind one of the time Of Abraham. No
gas Ior electric lights, not even coal Oil, but
lard Oil is burned. At the entrance to the town
there is a very old fort, Queerly constructed
with small garrison, who police the town.
Nearly all the public places, the churches the
convent and many residences are surrounded
by immense walls which themselves look like
forts. In old times, when buccaneering was at
its height, these walls afforded protection to the
Inhabitants even after the town had beeu cap
tured. High walls surround all the parks, N
which flowers bloom al the yoaf round. The
temperature HtN tI goes aDtNe Oh nor beIOW iS|
+. They never saw ice. The principal prodnct
is wine, which is said to be very goUd, and it is
sold quite cheap. The peasants wear sandals
and wooden shoes. The ladies of the better !
class wear immense sun-hOnnets, something
like the nuns wear at home, but larger, and il |
stranger would take them all for nuns.
We are kept pretty busy all the time having !
to work navigation and seananshp every day. !
Our navi igation work, So far, consists iii tfuding
every day, by means of "time sights and !
g merlliau attitudes our latitude and lougi- |
nd at n 'rIn and at fba Of
course sailed from day to day; the direction !
and strength of the ocean currents: time of !
high water at different ports &c,
At Anchor near Funchai July II.
We got here tonight having come from Horta ,
in five days-pretty good sailing. We expect to .
remain here several days.