Arizona republican., 1898-05-24
THE CAPE VERDE ISLANDS.
An Important, But Not Inviting, Group
 Off Africa

One hears a good deal of St. Vim cent, Cape Verde islands, these days, but few people have anything but very vague idea as to what manner of place it may be. To speak the truth, the island certainly has few attrac- tions; on the other hand, it has pc cullarlties which at times make it seem part of Dante's Inferno.
 Long before one reaches the Cape Verde islands, in fact, from half days steam distant, the high noun tain peaks away off on the horizon appear misty and vague and announce the near approach to land and the proximity of the Portuguese settle ments. Tn the meantime all around is sweltering heat, dazZnng sun, and un- changed blue, the air clear to the point of vacuum, and this intensity of light has most peculiar effect as one gets near Lne islands-they seem to stand out without any relief in the way of lights and shadows, fiat, dusky vel low picture on blue canvas. Dusty brown rocks and peaks, hard and with out relief, standing up against bright blue background, with a perfectly clear and deep blue sea in front, sea so clear that as the steamers rest at an- chor in the bay the half-breed boys swim from the shore and dive for sil- yer coins ill and out under the keels of the largest ocean vessels, and one can see them down to the sandy bottom of the ocean catching the coin and laughing up to the surface on the other side of the ship.
 As to the island, in this case surely distance lends entertainment to the view, for though at long range and be- fore landing it is not half bad by way Of study in bizarre effects-vivid ochre, browns, and ultramarine blues -once on shore it is awful. Dust and | rocks, rocks and dust, here and there a small patch of tropical shrub or a
 half-grown tree, but all dust-covered.
 The steamers and warships lie out in
 the harbor, which is excellent, and is
 the reason of this veritable hell's
 mouth becoming one of the mouth
 pieces to civilizations speaking tubes,
 for the Eastern Cable company has a
 station here and from St. Vincent are
 the movements of ocean steamers duly
 chronlcled as they ceaselessly come
 and go to take on coal. But to return
 to the harbor-it is very large and in
 shape like horseshoe with another
 and comparatively fertile island. by name San Antonio, lying across the open front and protecting it from the
 Atlantic storms-the ships coming and going through the opposite corners. One goes ashore in the inevitable small boat, which bumps alongside a low
 coaling wharf, where the first person met with will probably be the also in-
 evitable Englishman, and most likely
 one of the Miller family, the million
 aire owners of the coaling station, for
 the enterprise of a private firm is re- sponsible for the coal supplies of St. Vincent, which are brought over from England in colliers and then stored on
 the island in very large quantities.
 The head of the Miller family con- trolling this trade is also the resident
 British consul; he is married to a
 Portuguese lady and has lots of broth
 CTS and sisters at the old home in
 Somersetshire, splendid country seat
 not far from Bath. About the only
 white men on the island are a few di-
 minutive Portuguese officials, brave iI uniforms and gold lace, and the em. ployes of the cable company, the lat. ter of whom possess, besides theil } lmaddening clicking instruments, 2 rickety billiard table, a few sorry