The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1895-11-14

/ iftti nthtTilON llltlt is dD uuCA RlulldblG
difference, not only in the looks of them.
hut IN the taste, though cooked by the
self-same process. The corn. too, is diff
fereut 1t Is not planted I'LL hills. nor vet
rs foI fodder, AS at home, but each stalk,
growing remarkably tall, stands by itself
nj considerable distance from its neigh
bar and the ground around it is not hoed,
not CARGO loi III any way between plant
ing and harvest. Beans and melon vines
usually grow between; OF if not, purple
ageratum mignonette and other Wild
fields extend from far, up the hillsides
down TO the very ocean, where they end
in high cliffs OF black volcanic rock, which
j. worn underneath by the restless waves
preaching Capello, yea see black conical
peaks towering ahead, each with its ex-
tinct crater, and all but one with green
fields on their slopes. The solitary ex-
ception, bare OF verdure and glowing
angry red in the sunshine, emitted the
latest lava stream that wrought havoc in
the island. 1t occurred some two cen
turtles ago and the path of the torrent is
still plainly to be seen, a mile wide and
many miles long strewn with lava stones
to the depth Of several feet. Nature has
been doing her very best ever since to ef-
face the scars and repair the ravages; but
beyond gray lichens covering the boulders,
and faya bushes and tree heather, now
just beginning TO take root, there is no
vegetation from the top of the mountain
TO the sea-nor will there be until long
after the present generation and several to
come have turned to dust. The super
! stltious natives have appropriately named
this peak -'f'i Mvsterio, 7 and stil regard
it With awe and reverence Its last re-
corded eruption occurred in April, when
its downponr Of molten lava laid waste
All The farms AMI villages iii Its course .
and as soon AS theil terror subsidized, the
people VI Iapeno Went en masse 10 Horta,
and registered 4 solemn vow IN the pres
euce OF the mayor and aldermen and all
he priests Nj the city TO give aims To the
Poor on every White Sunday heneelortl
and 1oreVei promise whiciA is Still
leligiousiY keFt. Consequently there are
yviX fey teaiiy poor people w be seen III
9aleiie- thaagh lAe richest among it's
eN7zens laek many tA.ngs v hicl W as
seem the cgmmo4csJ necessnies Of lite.
Z iMere II Ivy hafel bHf luckily oug Consul
has cottage there as III sew fal ether
beautiful parts IA tbs island, 10 which he
occasionally iiits f9r i few days rest: and
I'D kindly siye- ilis countrymen and
I women Permission 60 take possession Of
( A, with their hampers and other impede
fieatla, When making 4 visit to the vii
lage Tile principal point u interest is a
I ginesome cavern In tile nearby lava bed,
4 from which some tine specimens may be
obtained, The way thereto winds up
I steep path among the hills. 1t is neces-
saly TO have guide familiar with the
| place, and 10 pick your way carefully
among the lava beds; for although the
small blocks Of lava, piled one above an
other look firm enough under their soft
carpet Of gray green lchens. there are
4 malt hidden ercvces here and there,
showing black, awful caverns yawning be-
meath, of unknown extent and probably
tioored by the ocean, which is here some
I IS, goo feet deep, into which at anv mo-
lnent the slipping away OF a single stone
might plunge you. Only one Of these
caverns has yet been explored and that is
very small one, about 20 feet deep by as
( many wide, but with possibilities of in
| creased blood-curdling to imagine When
/ accidentally discovered by the Consul S
son it was only chink in the floor of the
| lava bed, half hidden by a tuft Of fern
that grew beside it. Pulling up the fern
root disclosed hole, perhaps yard wide
away here and there, or had settled into
unknown depths below and the cavity
was three times as big as when first look
ed into; and il has continued to increase,
almost imperceptibly, stone by stone, to
its present proportions. y gu may easily
scramble down into it, and with small
hammer carefully break off pieces Of red,
gray, green and notified lava, brittle and
beautiful as coral. but the whole place
trembles under foot and echoes hollow at
every blow. The theory Of it is that the
glowing torrent here suddenly cooled, and
its fiery bubbles, protected by the dense
surface Of amore sluggish current follow
ing Immediately after, has preserved their
shape and color to this day But when
the bright hued lava, SO different in tex
ture, structure and color from the surface
of the bed to which it belongs, is exposed
to the air. it soon fades to dulIel red.
One gets diverting glimpses of peasant
life in these rides around Fayal. For in
stance to the picturesque Meranti Ravine,
not far from Horta, with its rafting wa
ter mills and swirlng stream devoted to
prosaic laundry purposes. On the way
thereto you meet troops Of bare legged
women, with their gay petticoats tucked
m and great bundles Of clothes on their