Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1893-04-08
Essay Contest.

ment of the Custer schools. Eight or
ten members Of one of the grades par
ticipated in it, and it was understood at
.he time that the production possessed
Of the greatest merit should be published
in the CHRONICLE. The essays were
submitted to committee which had
been selected to consider them, and it
was decided by that committee that the
one entitled "My Trip to the South
Pole, from Boston, Mass" written by
Walter Wright, ranked first, and 1t has
been handed us for publication.
MY TRIP TO THE SOUTH POLE FROM, BOSTON,
MASS.
On June 18th, 1889, my classmates and
j, after having graduated, determined to
10 10 the South Pole. The following
three days were spent In preparations,
and on June 10, we bade our friends
adieu, many of whom predicted that We
would never return. We however were
light-hearted, except We were little
downcast ut the prospect of not seeing
our land for nearly two years. The day
was fine, With just enough wind for nice
sailing. In little while We passed
Cape Cod, and were soon out Of sight Of
land. Just as the sun was setting we
entered the great metropolis of the
United States. The lights sparked as
they stretched away mile after mile.
We went to the Palace Hotel, had sup
per and were soon in bed. All night |
dreamed of sledges. icebergs, and White |
fields. l guess was quite sour looking, |
for one of the company asked me what |
was the matter. i told him of my |
dream, he laughed and told it TO the |
others. Little did We think that the |
one TO whom / first told my dream,
| would never see New York. Soon |
after breakfas we were out on the blue /
Atlantic. About noon a violent storm
arose; we felt ourselves being driited
far TO the south, il lasted all night, and
when we got up in the morning the
Captain exclaimed. by Jove! We must
be near the West Indies" His state
ment proved true, because in about Two
hours we steamed into Cuba. 1t was
Eere that Columbus landed after his
first voyage in 1892. Frosts are un-
known, except on the mountains. Some
Of the large islands have highlands,
where people 60 To enjoy the cool AIR
when il is very hot near the coast. They
produce oranges, pine apples and
bananas, and whole shiploads are sent
to the United States. Tobacco aud
coffee are also at home here. One Of
the finest trees is the cocoanut palm
sugar is also great industry. Cuba is
larger than all the other West Indies
taken together. Havana is the capital
Of Cuba, and is the largest city in the
West Indies. The finest cigars ever
made are exported from HAVANA, and
would cost $3.50 apiece in New York
City. Cuba is governed by Spain, and
Hayti is made up of two negro republics
Great Britain and France also own is
lands here. The peoplnu6s ,o a5Il, 81,
not yerv i~dustrious,, .t,assxsa>su.
ssscrrrmrr--fs ~ mrrv,: Jdher-y. " 9 :. - :,
for Vera Cruz, Mexico. Just as we sail
ed around Yucutan, / noticed that the
Captain Was very pale. l asked him
what was the matter; he replied that ;
this was probably our last ride. During
this conversation, it had grown very
dark and a strong gale was rising. Its
going TO be a terror" remarked the Cap |
tain, "if we can't run clear of it," We ,
steered for the south and pretty soon all
signs of darkness had disappeared. We
almost ram over five men in little boat.
We took them on board and learned
they were from Cuba, and were on their
way TO the South Pole, in ship Of their
own, and that the storm had struck
their ship and sunk it. They saved all
their money however, and were going [
on. We decided to go with them, be-
cause We thought we ought TO have
somebody with little experience. Just
at dawn the next morning We arrived
at Vera Cruz. We boarded the traiL
for the city Of Mexico, and saw some
very beautiful scenery from the car
window. We reached there at noon.
Mexico is a very beautiful city; it Is
built near fine lake; in an oval valley,
with high mountain all around. Two of
these mountains are always covered
with snow. The inhabitants are Spani-
ards, Indians and mixed races Mexico
is a republic like our own country.
Dahlis, geraniums and fuchias grow
wild here. Vanilla palm, indigo and
silk grass grow here. They rase grain,
coffee, sugar, cocoa, tobacco, grapes,
orchard fruits, vegetables, pine apples
and oranges are all cultivated. The
people are fond of dancing, horse back
riding and smoking. even the women
are seen on the streets with their cigar
cites. OnJuly first went from Mexico.
Along the coast where the land is low
and swampy, aligators, snakes. and
other reptiles abound. In some places
the forests are so dense, that you have
TO use an AK to cut your way. We
boarded steamer for Quito, Sonth
America. which we reached in two days.
No less than seventeen volcanoes can be
seen. The awful flames of Cotopaxi
sometimes rise half mile above its
summit and its roar has been heard six
hundred miles away. Quito is the
capital of Ecuador. and is $500 feet above
the level Of the sea. In the countries
crossed by the Andes mountains, earth
quakes occur very frequently; and
whole cities are sometimes destroyed,
and thousands Of people are buried in
the ruins. South America has three
great rivers, the Orinoco, Amazon and
La Plata. The Selvas Of the Amazon
are covered with most wonderful forests,
which grow palms, ferns, mahogany,
rosewood. dyewood, and many others.
year. Thousands ofnlligators, electrical
! found ia iis waters. From Quito We
sailed to Valparaiso, Chilli. Chill is q
very mountainous country; the most
frequented pass between the Argentine
Republic and Chill, Is 1880 feet above
the level of the sea, The Argentine
Republic is land of Pampas, cattle and
herdsmen. Ruenos Ayers is agreat cat
tie port. Chill isa long narrow country.
The potato grows wild here, aud was
first obtained here. Santiago 10 large +
city. Brazitis said to produce half the
coffee in the world. There were no
cattle or horses in South America when
ii was discovered. They were brought
from Europe, and turned loose to care
for themselves; uaillions of them now
roam over the plains. Fine diamonds
are found in Brazil About ons-third Of |
| the people are whites, who think il . |
disgrace to labor. July 10 we boarded . |
steamer for Grahams Land, south of |
Cape Horn. 1t Is very cold island. |
The Eskimos live here. They dress in |
| fnrs, and hive like their cousins in ]
Gresland. We bought ship and some |
provisions. dogs and sledgss. The Ant
arctic Ocean was frozen, 50 in Ave days. |
when we reached the South Pole Il was
forty degrees below zero. One of the
mon froze. We buried bin about noon.
| IN vaa A = imnressivA sroua Tho dono