The age-herald., 1899-06-11

who go now are largely of the vagahand class. It has been a number of years since l was there, but 1 have recently heard that things are going on in about the same way. One great trouble seems to be that the second and third generations cannot live there, or if they do the men and wo- men seem to become eeroful2us and dis eased. The colohy Is fast Fetregfading. The little government is a perfec imita- ton of our own. The president and his cabinet are all negroes who have at one time or another lived in this country. The palace is a two>story brick modelled after mary of the southern brick houses of the old type, having a hall in the center and rooms on either side
 .I shall never forget a dinner that Cap. tain Goodloe and myself with several others went to in this palace. We waited long time and when dinner was not an- nounced the president sent the postmas- ter general into the kitchen to see what was the matter. We had been invited for l o'clock, but it was nearly ? when we locked arms with our former coloTed citi- zens and marched into the dining room. It was latticed about and we could see the women of the house peering at us, think ing that they themselves could not be seen. There were no women allowed at the table, though wo had the pleasure of meeting them all later The table was profusely decorated with tin cans with the original paper about them which was the fruit supposed to be inside These were con sidered very beautiful, and in fact they were very ornamental, though they would hardly do for the dinner table at the white house. Every dish reminded me of the cooking I have been accustomed to in the south. The rice was cooked so that each grain stood separate and the beans, va riety I did not know, were cooked with a piece of meat.
 "I found myself giving advice to the sec- retary of the interior as to how the gov ernment should be run, but each guest was taking a similar privilege.
 "One thing that struck me as very fun ny was the finishing in the parlor. There were five members of the presidential fam fly and for each member there was a table and a chair and on each table there was laid open a large family Bible. The colony Is very religious and very incorporate, but there Is none of the fighting there which characterize5 the negroes when they get drunk here.
 But what interested us most was our trip up the river to the coffee and sugar plantations and some. of these are very fine. We stopped at q plantation and were entertained at the home of an old darkle woman who had been sent there just be- fore the war from Kentucky. She and her husband were very intelligent. l learned that she had been a runaway and that the abolitionists had paid her way there and given her money to start with. Her mln- ners were taken doubtless from her former mistress who must have been a most gracious and charming lady, for her runa- way slave had as beautiful manners as have ever seen.
 There was nothing obsequious about her and she made a most charming hostess.
 In spite of the fact that it is tropical country all the houses in the country are modelled after the old southern planta- tion home, some even having the colonade porch as we see at Arlington. Some or them are splendid limitations. The door ways are colonial and but for the fact that we were met at the door by colored peo- pie we might have imagined ourselves on the coast of the Caroinas at times. Such houses are not being built there now, nor have been I imagine since the war. All that we saw were relics of better class of people who went there before the war"
 MT Rogers is most interesting talker and A close observer He says that he sees little hope for the colony, chiefly for the reason that when separated from the influence of the white people for any length of time they lapse back into semi barbaric State A. w. b.