The Republican journal., 1899-01-19

or not. Spaniards and Americans have
been natural enemies, and no doubt they
ever will be,-in war, or in times of Off
cial peace. They are no more alike than
cat and dog, and naturally they mingle no
better.
We had rather an easy and prosperous
passage all the way from Portland to be-
You'd the Rio, but from there down to the
Plate there was long continued spell Of
severe and contrary winds-the last and
most desperate gasps and struggles of an
ending southern winter. In latitude $40
we signalled with the American ship James
Drummond from Philadelphia for San
Francisco, who wished to be reported.
She was about ten days less time out than
we were, but that was no very discourag-
ing difference considering that she was in
fine light trim and looking very able as
we'll as graceful.
As you reach we'll down into the South
Atlantic, Cape pigeons make their appear
ance and never leave you. They take the
place of our northern sea gulls, but are
prettier and far more graceful in their
movements, seldom ever futtering
wing, but just scaling along through the
hollows and over the sea tops, They are
beautifully marked in black and white, -
the tops of the wings having somewhat
the appearance of several sharply distinct
squares on a checker board. Their huge
compatroit, the albatross, with his Won
derful spread of pointed wings, is equally
as graceful, perhaps the most graceful
and easy on the wing of any large bird in
the world. AS you draw in toward the
land, down in southern seas, the water
soaked and graceless penguin hobs up Sc
renly and salutes you with a mutf1ed moan,
which sounds like the plant of a suffer
ing child from another room. He is not
sociable, like the pigeon; he perhaps real
ICES that he is the most awkward of all
feathered creatures and it is no use to court
admiration. He seems always tc be in
tently interested in his own affairs of turn
ing up his heels and swimming downward
after some clam or oyster that he has lost
ON the bottom of a moderately deep sea.
When we took River Plate pilot he
happened to be Il Spaniard After he had
begged some pork to send back to his cut
ter, and become a little acquainted, he
slowly and by instalments let outthe latest
news The United States was completely
crushed: all OF our soldiers and seamen in
tbeWest Indies had died from yellow fever,
and Europe was about to settle up things
and auction OIL the little wreckage now left
of what had once been the United States.
These eX-Spanish countries are quite
over-run with immigrants from all Latin
lands and SPECIALIZATION the mother coun-
try. When our dispute with Spain opened
we heard a great deal regarding the sym
pathy of these southern, two penny revo-
lutionary countries being with our enemy,
At first thought it might seem strange
that they should favor the country from
which they themselves once gained their
freedom through blood and suffering
Their prejudice in favor of our enemy has
triple cause the influence of the large
number of actual Spanish subjects resident
here, language and religion. They ignore
the fact that the United States stands as a
bulwark to them against the colonizing
greed of all Europe; that but for our policy,
called the Monroe Doctrine, they would
all have been carved up into vassa
provinces of European nations before now.
1t would be better for them, and for the
world, if they were owned and governed
by various strong and enlightened powers;
which, of course, does not include Spain,
their old time oppressoT. In attempting
to govern themselves they do it badly-the
faint of revolution is too strongly imbued
in the blood.
We called at Montevideo for orders, and
there l heard an entirely different story
regarding American Spanish affairs. At
dinner in a hotel | overheard good
natured Englishman Boosting of the
American soldiers and of the government
resources He declared that when the
water at Santiago was found to be bad the
soldiers were allowed nothing to drink
excepting champagne.
The river Uruguay is something like the
Delaware-quite broad, from shore to
shore, but with only narrow, winding
channel Of deep water. There are no
light houses and no guides of any kind
excepting very few buoys-all painted
black. no matter on which hand they are
to be passed. AS the river is a national
boundary the buoys placed by Argentina
are on the west side of the channel, while
the few buoys put down by Uruguay are
on the east side. Iu mentioning this | do
not mean that the knowledge can be of
any value to the navigator, the national
ity of black buoy ahead can hardly be
made out in time for him to determine
which is it's safe side, the pilots know
them, however. The tides here do not
ebb and flow ''about twice in twenty four
hours there may be a high river one
month or one season and low the next, or
j.