The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1898-10-21
"0LD MAN Madeira"
IS VERY WEALTHY.
All ofthe Water on St. Vincent Island
Belongs to Him.
SELLS IT TO THE INHABITANTS.
Its Sale to Them and Ships That Call
Has Made Him a MiIIionaire-Hc
Used to BE Cook in the United
States Navy-Very Illiteratc.
lllties OF the

| Spanlard, when can uo WY ''"N''
done" naively states and old geography,
,and YOU have the Portuguese. ms
/ has come 10 be an adage among li-o fNn5
fish who live In Portuguese countries anu
/ the rule is emphasized by at leasl one
| striking exception. 49,. NJ
/ mis- is in the person Of old Man Ma
do,ra "a he is popularity known, VINO
! uces I'm the town OF Mendaio on ire
! ,sls,d ~ ST Vincent. Cape de VERGE
rroup. and is the patriarch of that lar
| away hahstation both in wisdom anu
| worldly goods. IT..
! sttine in the shady quadrangle OF his
/ etore-houses. with monkey on MS Knee
/ this odd man watches year IN ana year
/ o,t the great merchant ships creep
/ through the narrow passage between bli"
/ Rock and the huge preclplce opposite
which is capped by little portuguese
| fort Though unable to distinguish ms
/ own name in writing, Manoel Gomez M'-
deira can figure almost I'm the giint OF an
eve how much cargo any OF those ships
can carry. and what is more TO the point
about how much water and pTovendcr
may be required
Refore the ship has slipped her cable
the old mans nephew has boarded her
and taken the order. for Madeira Is
shin chandler and owns every drop ot wa
ter on the island Of ST. Vincent. While
tho other Portuguese acknowledge 10 an
extent. tho superiority Of the English
Mr. Madofra's position enables him 10 ACT
with extreme independence. and when the
English coal princes desire his cooper
alton they must transport the mountain
TO Mohammed
HIS POSSESSION.
MadAira got possession Of the enuIe
wafer supply hy his own enterprise ~
Vincent. which achieved puberty "heh
Cerveras feet harOored there EN- route
TO America. is barren, dismal loohlhB
island. about thirty-hve miles In chcuih-
ference II lies $500 miles southeast OF
%eu York as the crow flies. and 200 miles
oef the African coast. The town OF Men
dalo with population Of COCO blacks
Portuguese and English. is the only town
ON the island. Its entrance is a nay ABOUT
! eve fathoms deep. but so clear IS the
water that one can see slXpence on inc
| bottom. -.
Nearly all the vessels plying twiXt tu-
rome and South America and those when
| trade between the United states ana
South Africa. put in az Mendalo lor coal
water and fruit. so that a snip chanoler
has plenty of custom
"rbfs old red thing IS always thick as
,orn,in I'm this blooming bay observed
thick-tongued English skipper one day.
nointiur to a fleet of twenty merchant
mon an Of which flew the Union Jack
from the stern
Rut the English do not any longer mon
onolize foreign trade iu that part ot me
world. and every maritime nation is rep
resented at times ia the harDor ol Mem
dalo. ,-.a...
when Madeira came there, thirty-nVe
wears ago. and set mp business as "a bum-
boatman. fitting about among the SAIL
ors i'm a red-saiied felucca, the town was
very small. but the shipping Disk.
Water at that time had 20 be orouEhl
from the island Of ST. Antonio. nine miles
TO the westward. 1t does not seem TO
have occurred to any one that water
might be piped down from the mountains
where are situated two beautiful spiinPs'
and Il was not until Capt Semmes IN the
Alabama visited MendalO that the mspl-
ration seized the husuing Madeira.
"a British clipper put into the haroor
ono evening" related Mr. Madeira IN tel
ling this incident recently, land passed
word that the Alabama had been siGhled
cruising twenty miles 10 leeward. YOU
cannot imagine how terrOr-strlcEen the
thousand people on the island were
Everybody wanted 10 move mo llo
mountains Immediately 9nd leave 'He
town TO be sacked. Bumors OF ms l,r-
rible vessel had long kept the popuiliou
anxious and IL needed only Wo4d .' ~.
them in Mysteries. ! had be-n tM'-'
,oors I'm the American navy ana n.a Aol
feal scared about the ship. but deciicd 10
,o,ke some CAPITAL out Of the scue.
RAISED THE ALARM
'I procured large supply oI Nit-''
and thcn one night. WitE two other y"uis
t,lltve / raised the alarm by blowing
bo,,.s and screening to every oody 10
r..u 70 the mountains that the Al1h1ma
So. coming around Bird Rock.
1.-The next morning there was N'' '.'
irullptant left in Mendalo. Even ny
councillors Ia business had He'd. FROM
the mountain tops they saw beautiful
ship slide into the bay about noon ana
lower a boat Capt Semmes himself
came ashore and offered 10 buy all the
water and fruit could get de PAID me
$50 in gold for the supply, and ar he was
leaving he said Isn't there any water
on this island? / told him about the
sprine You damned idiot. DE said.
pipe II down When / drown an tae
Yankees IN come and help YOU
il WAS not until fifteen years later That
Madeira had sufficient capital 10 think
of operating "a pipe line from tfe spring
six miles up in the mountain. Nhen ne
investigated he found two springs IN
stead of one, situated about one mile
apart.
Fearing TO take the step alone. he asked
the cooperation Of a rich English coal
dealer. who sneeringly refused the offer.
Madeira taen took his capital Of $500,
hired an English engineer from London,
and began TO build his water works I'M
aided. He had lavishly entertained the
Englishman. whom he treated as an hon
ored guest. but he concluded that the
latter was making a fool OF him. 80 one
day he went upon the hills. where the en-
gineer was assassinating time, and ord
cred him 10 quit the job
"Oh, but you're not me master con-
tended the Britisher. "Ill stay here dom
cher know, until me company orders me
home"
con. but you won't" Insisted the Por-
tuguese. as he made a rush at the Eng
lishman. With the aid Of twenty coolies
he tied the engineer TO an OK cart and
sent him ripping down over the hills into
town. and the next steamer carried him
back to England.
HIS OWN ENGINEER
Madeira then engineered the job nm
self. and finished it I'm two months. The
water. pure as crystal. comes down
through a three-inch pipe and emppes
into a reservoir ten feet long and I'VE
feet broad This is the town supply. one
pays a cent for as much as he can carry
away. and 1t Is an interesting sight TO
watch the st. Vincent women, dressed III
garish colOrs. parade TO the tank With a
large tub. FIJI IL at the spigot, and with
the aid OF "a neighbOr lift II TO The head
march away.
hos nj leF NJ