Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-12-28

harems of the Turks. Even late as 1880
Christian slaves weee openly sold in the
markets of Morocco and Algiers There is
no encyclopedia nor even comprehensive
history on. board the vessel. and | miss 1t
very much for it is grand chance to
refresh ones mind. From the days when
the Phoenicians in their small galleys
rowed by slaves navigatcd these waters
in search of tim from the mines in Eng
land, down to the present day, a period
of more than three thousand years has
passed and for the events of these CEN
turtles | must rely upon my memory,
which is not equal to the whole task. Last
might We had terrific storm of wind and
rain which caused the boat to rock good
bit and made some Of US seasiCk. To-day
is superb and the sea is going down rapid
".
a rainy day. The Mediterranean, in
place of giving US beautiful weather, is
giving us a succession of rains and
squalls. The shore Of Africa is still visible
on the right, and we are nearly opposite
the city of Tunis, which Will not be
visible on account of the cloudy wea ther
and the fact that most Of it Is conCeale d
by a rocky headland. This place is sup
posed to cover part of the site once oc-
cuped by the ancient city of Carthage,
which was so ierce.y and utterly de-
stcoyed by Scipio Afrcanus after the
Punic war. In addition to the rocky coasts
we viewed yesterday, there are now visi-
BILE vast hill of pure sand giving US an
idea of what we will see later on. or
what the general character of the coun-
try is beyond the Atlas Mountains. In the
Teat Sahara Desert. on our left We pass
ed the small Island OF Galiu, rocky and
precipitous. Doubt whether II is inhabi; ed
and am inclined to think that you must
look at a very comprehensive MAG to find
it charicd. To any one VINO docs lot carry
nxst, T..ft
with his face to the east and pray to
Nohammed three times daily, it would / o
dangerous to be wrecked on the Goa 1t OF
Tuuts for the fierce kable tribes have
never been fully subjected. 1t is the land
of the muezzin, harems, yelled women,
and sudden disappearance for Christian
dogs, Thanksgiving day, and We are no,
lacking in turkey to celebrate it in due
form Sometime tomorrow we will reach
Malta, where, ! am informed, We viii
stay for several days taking on our full
capacity of coal.
Our vessel Is at anchor in the harbor
of Naletta to-day, December l. which is
the seaport of Malta. This mosuing as
awoke we were approaching the island,
which, I am informed is about fifteen
miles long and from six to seven in
width. 1t is a yellow. fiat shore, almost
destitute of vegetation, ia striking con-
trast with the Island of PentelaIia. which
we passed yesterday evening and whose
revolving red light, sent its beams in ev-
cry direction. All along the harpor were
tremendous Notifications, some of them
built by the knights of st. John almost
as long ago as the crusades and held ~
them as an advance post against The Mo-
hammedans. How | itched to take SNAP
shots al them as we passed slowly within
short distance but ii was raining hard
somewhat misty. and so dark that II was
only spoling a i'm. Will take my camera
ashore when ] land.
There are two cases Of measles aboard
and We fear there will be many more.
am informed that the mail leaves here daily
for Syracuse, Sicily, and from thence
overland to England to connect with tho
Atlantic liners, so will post this and give
the results OF my experience ashore in
my next
HENRY d. SNYDER.
Major and Surgeon 43d Inf, U. S. V.