The Republican journal., 1901-04-18
TRAVELLING IN CORSICA.

coprE. CORSICA, March 10, 1901.
...tin the last quarter-century sur
.;oc change has occurred in Corsica
.ss matterof highways and railroads.
.,o Years ago. whoever journeyed
rne interior took his life in his
Il together with all the cash he
J3muster and prepared to endure ex-
.rlmary hardships. Nowadays one
.t. NJ til few difficulties in traversing
,Iand from end to end. Besides
,.-aI short railway lines, it is better
.,idrd with well paved roads than
othry equally mountainous country
raope Though about as large as
,tare of Massachusetts, zone nun
,.5 AND fourteen miles long, with an
..-,st "a idth of fifty miles it has near
wa .aousand kilometres of govern
, ualWayS, known as Routes Ma
.44s and Routes Forestres. The
.arr make the circuit of the island,
KIN. coast, and connect the prin-
a..ir-- while the latter criSs-crosS
"g.I interior in all directions. Tall
.r.,. t up at regular intervals, mark
.ouetric distances of both; and
,r- .e coast-road is broad as any
m.r4m and kept in excellent repair,
a.a l'. few places along the Routes
p.o.>lr- even in the heart of the hills,
.a toul-Wheeled vehicles may not
n, MIA tolerable safety. SO much,
les, ave the detested French ac
sno.lshtd for ungrateful Corsica. Dill
,s.a- make daily trips over most of
ra,- roads; but by far the better way
-nrheigners travelling in small par
fs-i, 90 hire a private carriage. A
r.sr4ted vehicle, resembling an open
sstm equipped with oil-cloth cur
,r, tu shut out the rain, with two
rraH isidnd ponies and driver, may
.ab5aued for fifteen to twenty francs
,i,1 ar an average of three American
na.s Not only is this considerably
t-5tr than the numbering diligence,
ND. odoriferous cargo and mixed
mmIy but infinitely pleasanter and
a.s In this land of hatred and
w.uaary feuds, it would be hard to
m6 stage load of natives among
ram was not one victim of the ven
tr-,a tnd lying bullets are no respect
.r Ol IerSons, you know. In private
7gl..- besides the pleasure of choos-
r. TI own company-you can stop
r.-a E3l ike, and stay as long as you
u.s.. tUt thus learn the country to the
-. pEdntage But, as in other wild
%. -suA populated regions, you will
l.. .'sc 10 go on all such excursions
utitied with food supplies and a
at0hol lamp, or some other
Wu contrivance for making tea
rf 1ee The hotels of Corsica
.a- eaving considerable to be de-
Ue.arr hy no means as bad as many
tf We have paid higher prices,
t.} give you clean beds and a kind
j fN.me AS to the food, that is
5'0g'J'r a matter of taste. If you
4Glicted to a certain little round
g. e, that you cannot make out
thing else, you would much
-'- ay at home. Corsican cooking
sn Iah rs you would tolerate for a
-.N u New York city-but there
r. plenty of fruit, vegetables,
lad native wine or chocolate;
--T ont on fish, flesh and fowl, it
-ar yuu good to turn vegetarian for
l.r But the great trouble in the
I'rtr IS that hotels of any sort are
A- -y visits of angelS-eXceedingly
i+r ra4' Jar between. There are miles
i-- -ra-s where neither bite nor sup is
nDUrtie.. where neither love nor
-'ar' Wlil get you so much as a mug
goats milk or a handful of chest
Gs The wretched little groups of
'"'e cabins, called by courtesy vii
ages furnish nothing for the susie
-a.F If man or beast, and the people
-Ft!po poor lazy and Indifferent, or too
asVSsed in their own feuds, grievances,
'5l lnggles to live, to care rap if
N- We're starving
f"H Aiaccio to Bastia by way of
E,e q carriage trip of about one
Alrod and fifty kilometres, and occu-
Ee at .east two days. You may make
no'. quicker by rail or diligence; but
'At M5 advice and stick to your own
%09 eoapany. The journey over the
lNlHlalnS is strange alienation of
savage isolation and enchanting beau
Y iar lofty mountain masses, sending
~ Spars and off-shoots in all directions,
el. heautiful little valleys between
WIN Keep you constantly climbing,
%Ietmes to snow clad elevations,
~'H down through deep ravines of
'-leSt aspect and long, dark, narrow
s'4tS Shut in by inaccessible preci-
feeN Anon, gloomy forests stretch
d" mieS. their tall trunks in close
'-S' and interviewer foliage making
FpeJoaI twilight. The chestnut woods
W eisca are famous throughout the
''H3. you know: and the pine trees.
'.t1 9ioWing to height of one hun
@7' aud fifty feet, still furnish masts