The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-11-16
SEEN IN MADEIRA.
\ Peculiar People, Oddly Dressed, ans
Scenery of Extraordinary Beauty.

\ Peculiar People, Oddly Dressed, and
Scenery OF Extraordinary Beauty.
A queer race of men are these ma
tives of Madeira Mainly of Portu-
guese origin, they clearly are nation
of half-castes. and the negro cross is
conspicuous in their good-natured.
ugly faces. in their stature, in their
shambling gait, and in their ill-knit
frames. Their morality. too, is said
somewhat to partake of laxity. They
are, however. by no means fragrant of
tenders, and practice only the lesser
vices of pilfering and lying-they
would hardly be qualified to come un-
der the generic head of dago without
this latter failing-compounding, as it
were, for their indulgence Ia petty
larceny and white lies by a rigid
economy in the greater crimes.
Perhaps they derive their stand
ard of morality from the fact
of their living on q very
small island-Madeira is only forty
miles long by about ten or twelve in
breath-for it is a noticeable fact that
the jewellers on small islands are sell
dom given to marked enormity of crimi-
nali.y, = mans nemesis being. it is pre-
sumed, too certain to overtake him in
. confined space to make it convenient
to prepetrate any very great wicked
ness.
The Madeirans, Is . general rule,
wear no peculiar costumes. The wom-
en- cover their heads with a handker-
chief. but otherwise their dress is about
like that Of our villagers The men gem
orally wear q clean white shirt and
white duck trousers with . broad
brimmed straw hat When they do
not wear this, their head is covered BY
q piece Of gear which is, I believe, origi-
nal in Madeira. In shape and size It ex-
actly resembles common tea saucer;
it Is made Of black cloth, and Cts on to
the very point of the back of the head.
covering, of course, only about hands
breadth of its surface and being kept
in place apparently by nothing but tho
force Of suction, This ''carapuca," or
skull cap. is put on and taken off by a
handle made Of rolled cloth. which pro-
jects from its center and stands up
from the wearer's head This handle
is as thin and half as long as the stem
Of long clay pipe. and the general sp-
pearanoe of the islander with one of
these caps is ludicrous In the extreme.
Another popularity of dress Is the
very general wearing Of top boots of
yellow goats leather by persons of
both sexes and all ages. The slipper
SO often seen in many parts of Spain
and other countries along the Mediter-
ranean would hardly do for the steep
hills in Madeira, while the extensive
growth Of the prickly pear would
make going barefooted quite impossi-
BILE. The use of high boots il there
fore sensible enough, but the appear
snce OF little girl of ten or twelve in
. pair Of top boots is apt to strike the
conventional stranger IS singular.
The chief interest OF Madeira. how
ever, lies neither in its inha bitants nor
in its history, but in the extraordinary
beauty Of its scenery and the delicious
mildness of its climate.
Its vegetation of all kinds is so lux
urisnt and SO lovely and its scenery is
so varied and SO beautiful that one
never tires Of going about, and a re-
turn to Madeira every now and again
Is looked forward to with pleasurablo
anticipations.
In late years they have introduced
railway to take one halfway up the
hillside to the mountain church." and
anyone caring to be deprived of lots
of fun and varied experiences in the
way of locomotion will choose tho
iron road. But he who wants
genuine old fashioned looomotion
will try a pony, . palanquin, or a
sleigh. The first mentioned differs
very little from any other place where
the drivers all fight for patronage, and
accompany the rider in his rambles
over hill and dale. The palanquin Is
comforta ole. and is much
ndulged in by residents, particularly
those Of the gentle sex. Two to four
men, according to the weight to be
carried. raise long pole on their
from which is suspended
either hammock or some other affair
in which the traveller lounges during
The trip There Is a covering for the
head for protection against the suns
rays. and others for the body to guard
against the wind. What the majority
find most amusing is. however, the
sleigh. Madeira streets are paved with
little, round cobblestones. worn as
as glass. and, instead of car
riages, which are only now and again
seen, they have large block-runner
sleds, with hooded tops, drawn sy
Record.