The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1895-09-26
-. Ilhas dos Azores.


VIZ, THE TWO SMALLEST ISLANDS,
ip9vo AND FLORES.
ssscal correspondence of The Journal. ]
axrA CRUZ, FLORES ISLAND, Aug. p.
,h.neh it may be straining the point
~. 100 far to include these s'Western
lands among the West Indies, they are
% distant but that one may well round
w. toar Of the Atlantic islapds with
- o Besides, they are brand-new field
,st Americans, terra incognitd SO
nnlere that the question l have been
.tinaally obliged to answer since an
.nsine my intention to visit them, is
.bp,e in the world are they?" Perhaps
,,,v be as well to forestall dimness Of
ranAieal information on the part Of
esader Of The Republican journal by
,sue,ing the same question right here and
The nine islands and two groups
,e.k which the early Portuguese named
sss dos Azores, ISLANDS of hawks) and
E.sssh speaking tongues have corrupted
yares. Tie on the warmer side of the
AZ Stream, though about in the same
.s,ae is Philadelphia, 1000 miles east
B,sr.ls Ol New York, / 200 miles south
s,of london, about 500 miles due west
o tle southern corner of Portugal ito
e sInedom they belong) and the same
.aee from the northwestern end of
,o.se Sailing toward them from the
s4,nil come first to Coryo and Flores.
Smallest and least important of the
e which lie on a line longitudinally
miles apart. then to Fayal, Sac George,
s54sa rico, Terceira, San Miguel and
m4 Maria, in the order named as to
s;ion san Miguel is much the largest.
a. III miles long by from ) to II broad,
TX rwo heaps of uninhabited rock
laiIed respectively Formigas and
abareJ, They are in three distinct
eps Will long stretches of sea between.
in,leed little Flores and Corvo are SO
aelN from the otherS as 10 hardly be-
Z. tile archipelago at all. Altogether
g present a surface of about 700 square
h and their combined population is a
Ia less than 500, 900. In other words,
tDe stands were pieced together their
wyuld be six times that of London,
HI lily one fifteenth as many people as
lbt that city; but spread over 400
les o1 the deepest part of the broad At
kde they include an area of land and
her gleater than all England
Fein. Historically of great interest. and
lcally among the most picturesque
tsou tie earth'S surface, the wonder
at they have been SO long neglected
geastre seekers and curiosity hunters.
d Of late few persons except those
nected with them commercially, OF
snline cashiers and other individu-
wrking dn out of-the- way haven of
e have lad any idea of their exact To-
l mach less of their characteristics
I'LL peeuliafities OF life there Barely
aaAen in the Biographies and ency-
elias even now the would he student
en fnds seant literary Information
subject But all this viii be chang
le near future, since three lines Of
taow make regular trips between
It's and those of the Azores, where
5nnect with the Portuguese and
b mes, thus enabling tourists to enter
G via tile Spanish Peninsula and tie
esranean, a very welcome change
ihe Old route of travel. The islands
delightful halfway station on the
cean highway; and if one goes no
W. he gus bit oil foreign travel
cannot be duplicated anywhere in
World III the way Of novelty, tine
Ar and enjoyment for so small an ex-
afe Of time, strength and money.
! M-a lays, too, the Azores have new
IN est for Americans, since Portugal has
J lNSOSulZCI Jul DlIuClDlt
government in granting autonomy
stands, and the interesting little
nanity are legislating for themselves.
h Es9a The almost unknown capital of
M group. The Independent blue flag
II n pow waves above everything Azorean,
Nv ITS white hawk and nine stars, con-
history in a nut shell. 1t tells of
Ril7oeean provinces under one
nment, and the emblematic hawk re-
9he world that their name, Acor.
a 0suese for hawk was conferred be-
II Y qf the great numbers of these birds
y" on the Islands by the navigators
Portugal sent to take possession of
oup,
s a line morning in late August,
passage from Bermuda which we
Fl 'aln forget as quickly as possible,
some early prowler on deck raised
y ~ 'Land-ho." at day break, and
epy passengers tumbled out to see
'VKed like low cloud bank on the
- u-lhe Isle of Flower and it's sister
1Ev twenty miles away. Crossing the
seah IN these unfrequented WAYS
"a new admiration for Columbus
other ancient mariners; for to the
la0eer' it is never ending marvel
Sn'p' even with all the appliances
'elh science to sea-craft. can
p lne painless deep with unerring
2 any given speck of land in the