The herald., 1898-11-13
THE ADVENTURES OF CRITTEN-
DEN MARRIOTT
CONTENT TO SETTLE DOWN
He Concentrated in Six Years More
Exciting Experiences Than Come
to Most Men in Lifetime


the African Jungle, served on board boa
loaded with dynamite and manned by
mutinous crew, had his belongings over
hauled by Spanish officers while carrying
Cuban dispatches through their lines, ano
who has at last settled down, never to row,
again, cannot fail to be extremely interest
ing. The retired rover is Crittenden Marri
oft, the wellknown Washington correspond
ent whose magazine work and novels are
now coming into favorable notice.
"Is it possible for a man to travel about
the world with little or no money and yet
to enjoy himself?" was the question | put
to Mr.. Marriott, by way of opening the con
yersation, when | called to get his story the
other day.
Mr. Marriott laughed 'Why not?" he
said: ''Of course everybody can't do it
Some people would find it easy and consider
that they were enjoying themselves, while
others would think that they were under
going terrible hardships can't remember
when | didn't want to travel. 1t was this
desire that led me, years ago, to work hard
until / got an appointment at the Naval
academy, only to find, after two years, that
my eyesight was failing fast and l should
have to resign on that account. l didn t
give up the hope of travel, however, though
for two years my chances of seeing the world
seemed very small Finally, when l was
about 81, 1 inherited 5000, and at once deter
mined to go to California with it. OF
course, to my fervid imagination, California
meant gold mines and gold mines meant
wealth.
Il reached California at the time that the
gold discovery fakes of Lower California
were first sprung on the confiding public
Of course l went there. That was what |
was in California to do. With me were half
dozen other cheerful idiots. We hired a
team, went south, and fattered ourselves
that we were living Bret Harte characters
One day one of the party came into camp
with chunk of rich quartz that he said he
had found near an abandoned mining shaft
We at once concluded that we had struck it
rich, and started back to find the owners OF
that shaft and buy it before they learned
its value. We did buy it, paying chiefly in
promises. Then the other fellows levied
an assessment, froze out us poverty stricken
members, and then proceeded to develop
the mine. 1t did my heart good later on to
learn that the man who had found the
quartz was in the pay of the original owners
of the mine, and had salted it on us in great
shape.
This disgusted me with mining for
while, and | went to San Francisco. spend
ing almost my last cent to get there Some
time before | had written an article for an
eastern paper Safeguarding the region.
and on my return to civilizations | found a
small check in payment. This settled my
life. l determined TO he correspondent.
l got Job as reporter on the strength OF
that article, and stuck to it for a wear.
during which time | earned an average OF
Sll week. Then l got better place and
saved something. 1t was obvious that if
| wanted to be correspondent it was hiah
time that | was beginning to correspond.
l resolved to advertise myself. | deter.
mined to go somewhere, anywhere that ey-
erybody had not been. While | was hest
tating between the East Indies and inte.
rlor China, l came across an article in a
magazine entitled Golden Mashonaland.
Ten minutes before | had never heard of
Mashonaland, and did not know how to
get there nor how to get away, but that
made no difference. Ny mind was made
up. l would go to Mashonaland.
"On June l, 1892, l left San Francisco
with railway pass to New Orleans. some
engineering tools. an agreement to write I'D
anything interesting / might find for the
San Francisco Chronicle. and about $3.50
i'll money ] went to London on slow and
cheap steamer. Arrived there | set out to
get the things | wanted. | knew that my
rough travelling clothes would prejudice me
and so, although | knew | should not need
them where | was going, spent nearly $40
in fitting myself with new clothing. Then
| secured letters of introduction to officials
of the South African company on the
strength of my newspaper credentials. got
the steamship company to give me second
class ticket at third-class rates. and piy
weeks afterward | reached Beira. in Port.
uguese East Africa, with Just S35 in nv
pocket.
To-day there is railway inland from
belra, but in those days there was none
and the country was almost unknown
joining with two other men, | went bv boat
seventy miles up the river and there hired
three negroes to carry my clothes and tools
amongst which was theodolite given me
in San Francisco. had to pay these bows
70 each in advance and when had done
so | had just SO left. 1t wasn't pleasant
predicament so far from home, but il was
too late to back ont then.
I'VE tramped inland for eleven dav.. and
| soon found that could outwalk and ONT
work my negroes without half trying They
were pretty good boys, too. as they 90 down
there. Finally We reached Umtali without
any particular incident except A casual
meeting with lion. | was alone when /
net him, and | assure YOU my hair stood
straight up. However. he wasn't hungry
or seemed to scorn my lean and hungry look.
for he only gave a sniff and turned away.
and | got back to camp as quickly as /
could. The country was full of big game
including elephants and lions
"From Umtali there ran in those davs
line of government on carts which carried
mail and passengers into the interior. These
could not start nearer to the coast because
of the dreaded tsetse fly whose bite is fatal
to cattle. | showed my letters from the
duke to the managers of the line, and they
Mt once offered me a free passage on the OK
cart to Salisbury, the capital of the Mashon.
aland At the latter place ] met DR.. Jamie
son, Capt Willoughby and others, who took
part in the famous raid into the Transvaal
two years or more later
81 was now entirely out of money and
finally decided to sell my theodolite and 30
south. Instruments We're scarce and in de-
mand, and | got good price Besides. DR..
Jameson gave me pass on the post cart
and of ! went.
''Two hundred miles further south was an
,ther British post close hv the ruins Of lin
babve where Rider Hagrard has Iaid the