Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1901-10-05
sneoIal Correspondence,


Special Correspondence
Ia vllleta, Malta, Aug. lo.-Can any
thing more delightful be imagined than
n summer cruise on the Mediterranean,
with congenial party In a private
YACHT Think of being altogether UNI
hampered by considerations Of time.
business or expense-no trains to make,
no malls to meet no impatient passen-
gers to put ashore-wlnding in and out
among picturesque Islands, coyes and
bays, guided only by the fancies of the
hour! Just such was our enviable cx-
perlence during one blessed week.
thanks to the American consul, who
kindly made us acquainted with some
of the English officials In Malta, whose
families are killing the time OF their
exile in most luxurious fashion.
IL Is impossible TO convey In words
n correct impression Of these charming
scenes--the shining brightness Of the
sky, the bluer sea running far into the
brown and yellow land, the tall cliffs
crOMItu Win iuiNo anu No'NhNVWNiS
the dark foliage Of kharoub trees, con-
trasting oddly with pale.grecn masses
OF prickly-pear; the soft air heavy with
spicy odors, birds OF brilliant plumage,
and everywhere the gorgerous roses
for which Malta has been famous since
earliest times. Don't you remember
Cloero's account OF Verre's fragrant
cushions, all stuffed with Maltese roses
The flora OF these Islands Is similar
&c that Of Africa, though you distln-
guish II by smell rather than by sight.
In these regions the great enemy to
trees is the wind, and nothing success
fully resists II but the kharoubs, which
seldom grow more than twelve feet
high, but of much greater diameter,
spreading out on all Sides like a huge
green dome, the twisted branches
touching the ground. Many OF these
kharoubs are centuries old and bear
enormous cro!s Of beans, which feed
the cattle. r., protect the crops and
fruit trees frcm bllghtlng winds, NAL
tese
FARMS AND GARDENS
are laid out IN small patches, each
patch surrounded by wall, from
seven to ten feet high; so that viewed
from a little distance, the Islands look
like a succession Of stone quarrles, al
most devoid Of verdure. But wonder
full bloom and frutage are hidden be-
hind those walls. SO. too, you might
travel from one end of Malta to the
other, and never see an orange tree,
yet oranges grow here In such pro-
fusion that the finest varieties sell for
% and 80 cents bushel, and are used
as commonly as Michigan farmers use
apples, There are plenty OF other
fruits-not only tropical figs, lines,
pomegrantes, but peaches, pears,
plums, aprlcots and other denizens OF
the temperate zone. The trees are kept
low by constant trimming, so that they
may be safely sheltered behind the
walls.
Coasting first around the main island,
you find the greater portion OF It's
shores faced by sheer cliffs. rising
straight up out Of the water, three or
foul hundred feet. easel Dingle, the
highest point, has an elevation OF about
thousand feet, and close under It's
now known as Citta Veochia--Itaiian
ent capital Of Malta, is on It's north
eastern edge, where several little bays
indent the land. SO narrow is the en-
trance to It's harbor that only one ves-
sci can pass In at time, between two
grim forts, whose protruding cannon
seem bidding defiance TO intruders.
Forts and batteries are on every side,
above. below browning all the hills and
covering every rock that shows itself
above the water; and all are fairly
swarming with British soldiers, their
scarlet coats making a brave showing
in the glare Of tropical sunshine. The
city, perched high on Its twin ridges,
slopes steeply down to the harbor sur
rounded by lofty walls. At the base OF
this wall, on the shoreward side. runs
a wide stone walk, at all times crowded
with pedestrians and the small donkeys
of the island, dragging their two
wheeled carts. Down below, all is
noise, hustle and confusion; but the city
proper on It's hilltop is wrapped In
dlgnlied repose.
Coco, the second island In size, has
an area OF hardly twenty square miles.
Exactly In the middle Of Its rises
cluster Of hills, whose sharp cones re-
mind one OF the pigmy volcanoes OF San
Salvador, in Central America. On top
Of the steepest cone lies Ratabo, the
capital and principal city Of the island.
Few Countries In the world are more
densely populated than this group OF
rocks In the middle Of the Mediterrane-
an, which boasts over two thousand
TO the square milel Malta
only seventeen miles long by nine
miles wide. contains twenty-six towns