The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-10-03
ODD LITTLE HELIGOLAND.
GERMANS QUEER ISL ET IN TIL
ROUGH NORTH SEA.
whore Everything but the stairway nnd Cam
non lie DiminutiVe. ana where the Girls
Slide n Hundred and Ninety Feet Down.
the Hartford Courdnt.

slide n Hundred ana Ninety Feet Down.
From the Hartford Courant.
At q little distance Holigoland looks like q
curious many-colorod gem In the midst Of tho
seas sapphire ana oliver setting. A second
look, and the unpleasant doubt arises as to
whether Capri, with all its beauty, Is really tho
fairoot island In europe.
AT the waters edge, scarcely to DO distin.
guished from the line of surf, 10 to be seen u
narrow strip Of snowy beach. A few yards
back from the sea, rising abruptly to a height
of some 200 feet, tower cliffs Of a dull red color
strcaked with white, Nor are thcro any vines
or grasses to take from the impression of bold
ness and ruggedness which tho massive walls
produce. Above tho cliffs is an almost per-
fectly dat tablelana of vivid green, and in ono
corner the little village, just ready to tumble
over tho brink Of the preCipices into tho surf
below. Ono is struck at once bJ tic sharpness
and regularity Of the islands outlincs-oncs
moro like a gem in its perfect cutting and
finish. The cliffs rise to an apparently equal
height all round the place; and, as far as one
can judge, are exactly perpendicular. Again,
the plain above them Is as level as land ever
cin be, only the irregular group of buildings ab
tho eastern extremity coming in to break its
even surface. And you can remember from
the map how nearly the ground plan of He'll
golnnd, 20 to call It, approximat los a triangle
wv " VI LO a oOdTu.
Cn.ess he has been told the contrary by trav-
elled friends. the stranger to ueligoland 10
prone to thi nix of 1t as q barren. rather quaint
little place, with n ane bathing beach, and
probably q rickety barracks OF q summer hotel
But that first glimpse of the brightly colored
island goes far to dispel ones preconceived
gloomy Ideas. What 10 more, a walk on tho
breezy summit of the cliffs, or through the odd
streets OF the town itself, turns those mistaken
shtlslact'on over one b clevcrneS5 IN planning
the ,Heligoland trip in tho first place.
with artist models Disguised as fishermen for the
nroPeliing force; and in these cra1t, you are
to notice the sandy islet opposite your destlna.
ton, called "fhc Duen," with its beiagge6
You also may wonder at the oars the men are
using-nero stripe sawed from pine trees, with
not much more distinction between blade and
handle than existed when the oars wore bark
and were growing in the woods, In i've min
Gtes tho Landing is reached, your light hand
lind yourself in the midst Of that part Of Hell.
The cliffs. | - ''A "N
In local parlance this strip, of beach is called
the "unterland.' Here are little sbops withlqueer
stuffed Dishes and birds :or sale. restaurants
whore the linen is e~peckless and flowers adorn
the nodes low gable of which is adorned With
S Sn,d iT rroGnd e Skich az u ss SnnS t ana ii, Sl a. s On a
dor, because i is SO enormous and the houss
which itscmbcllishes so very tiny. At every turn
you meet men from The garrison-"n.Nrine ar
tllery, they are Callcd-wnow CaG a saiIOr's uni
form with added rows OF gold buttons on the
sleeves and fronts Of their jackets. No. SO
frequently you may see o woman in the strange
shape and enormous size OF whose headdress ls
to be seen q trace of the local distinctive cos
The street leading UP from the landing ends
abruptly against the face of the cliff. In some
the diminutive guide and discover him hall way
up r,ppb an INN immense y staircase inciining up , e the
AS YOU come 1.-The narrow Street. Then YOU
a pfns@G95 tt il. a a gree ire Di par, s of t s6o ytllas sed
therefore n climb Is inevitable. II one chooses
10 be luxurious, q steam lit is near at hand %
AIRY one up in a few ,ecyuds, but the wiser plan
is to walk ~leisu.oly up thc staircase proper. A
double row of large tle.s, growing in some mys.
FERROUS way out OF what Is apparently bare rock.
ing. A continuoas,stream Of humanity is pour
ing up and donn the broad steps sailors, tour
pace killing 10 the stranger, and sliding down
again on tho railing, with one foot for a brake.
one not vet in long trousers. but Wien you see
an SnGien ~, mariner or a young lady going to The
case 40 feet b sh, you can only wonder.
While that part Of Hciigoland situated 81
high high water mark On the beach is very .ttra .G.
what Is locally called the 'Oberland" will miss
what is best worth seeing on the island. 1t Is
sometimes said that water views are much the
same the world over, but the intense green OF the
turf, the red Of the cliffs, and the biue.gray Of
ory's most crowded gallery. And 4 one does not
care for scenery there will be found L great al
Of interest in locking a. The great domed bar
bottes, half under ground, each carrying in the
sight OF all an immense cannon. bright yellow
too, may be seen the drill of the marine artl.
lery," who are always busy with a row Of a..
sorted g~uns-two ordinary field pieces and three
Or -FOUR Maxim Ut similar repeating machine
guns.
goiand in peace leave your camera al home. or
you may find out that all unwittlnEiy you are
what the frequent signs denominute, - DO,
fhVnr M military ERtTnf - and thnrafnrn n
case fer ,rans ON by the nc rest American Con-
sui; THE l. the advice Of one who inn0 emily
the pa wall, under the turf slopes of the torti-
f%cations. 10 was immediately halted by an
to make photographs in that place under lawful
hne and Imprisonment forbidden was and.
So warned, was doegcd all the afternoon by
that Kings sword bearer" as well a. ~ecrutin-
iwzeSdda ana qgiesS est by an artillery .ihcep' on
an etleGt aka TO that of the traditional rel rag
Of Englnnd's suzcranity over HcliEolnnd are be-
ing obliterated. Though it was coded to Cor
many in 1870, tho names of the villages streets
ROMAN almost wholly = Igllhh: the speech OF
The Inhabitants. the mos, barbarous of dialects.
contains Quantities Of good English words
which sound very oddly in a sentence the resi-
Of which is ID nish German. The very fact thar
II Is found necessary to teach GERMAN, in 'he
schools Is q proof hat tho Kai 'er's rule has not
yet made II very deep impression on this out
post in the chain of his frontier dcfenCes.
ance in Nc c;Ss or most cycursionisis, to whom
the surf bathing and upland walks are He'll
goland's chief points OF interest, yet it pos
scsscS n real charm ald deserves more than a
hurried inspection. Little alleys. boring such
sOnorous names rs Alexandra, Victoria, liam
ilton. or HOhenzollcrn. cross and reCross each
othcr in II mae from which il IS no cay task
10 tini ones way. Everything il or n qu0intly
Giminltive scale. II il not more ihHn fifteen
fc"t from curb to curb on the broadost street;
tho houses Ranking it IRE never, moro than a
similar distance from their thresholds to lhcir
ridge pole the trurs, planted In lrim. regular
rows 10y tho sides of the streets. have grace
fully c0nfOrmct 10 existing conditions. .haying
ceased 10 grow beyond u height TO which tho
average boy would sCoTn to climb as being TOO
easy. From the sea the cluster Of houses looks