Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1902-01-11
AoRro pRAYA. sanlIago IaIand

ing to efface hAaself from IN
N minds Of men, cod hardly hn'
better place than this forgot
ten archipelago, isolated in mld-ocean
opposite the desert OF Sahara, TIN
nearest land Is Cabo Yorde-a desolate
unlnh6bited promontory juttIng ou
from the coast Of Henigambla, three
hundred and seventy miles eastward
On the north tho nearest neghbors arc
the Canarleg, nearly a thousand miles
away, TO tho westward the long swells
OF the Atlanta sweep, unobstruoted
half way around the globe ana south.
ward there iB no Bit OF discovered ter
rltory between this point and Antarctic
ice-felds,
AS everybody knows, the Cape Verde
group are the soutbernmost islands Of
that mighty beginning with the
Azores and stretching lrregularly down
the western coast Of Africa which the
earliest geographers named Fortunate
Insulu, Cflappy Isles" or isles Of
the Blegt), because 1t was believed
that somewhere among them lay the
Elysan Fields, to which heroes repaired
after llfe's ntfu fever, without the dis
agreeable necessity Of dying. Modern
spirtlsts, by the way and other fol-
lowers of strange lsms and ologleg,
take heart OF grace In the thought that
Pllny ptOomy plutarch, Homer --en-
tertaiued ideas similar to their own
concerning the life 10 concluded,
with no material point Of difference ex
cept In the place Of future bliss Surely,
those ancient philosophers must have
had slight acquaintance with this pot-
ton Of the Happy Isles" or they would
never have located their paradise here!
For a penal colony whore perpetual
punishment ~ the sine qua non, the
llhas Verdes would be ideal but re-
garded In the Hight Of Home, sweet
HOme'-a more forlorn and heaven
forsaken region, with more objection.
able citizens and worse climate, would
be hard 10 find. There are fourteen OF
the Islands, and only seven Of them are
Inhabited Their combined area Is u
little more than that OF the state Of
Rhode Island and their population ~
estimated AT one hundred thousand,
"colorcd" In the proportion Of nineteen
negroes TO one white man. The climate
Ia practically the same as the Sahafan
OF nature seldom seen beyond the dark
continent Water water everywhere,
but not q drop to drink" salt water
stretching on all sides TO the horizon
but no cooling streams 10 lakes, no |
wells. sometimes absolutely no rain !
through years OF awful drought, IN
which animals perish and agriculture, |
never nOurlshlng). dies a natural |
death The people depend upon con-
densatIon and the heavy, unhealthy |
dews Of night for their supply OF cook |
ing and drinking water. and It's scarcity |
for lnyatory purposes IS the least OF !
their troubles Torrld heat prevails, |
varying scarcely five degrees from year |
20 year and neither the northeastern |
sirocco nor the southern monsoon brings
any relief, or course there IN little
vegetation; but with the strange In
consistency Of the region, you see eV-
erywhere clumpa Of gigantic baobabs,
among the largest trees In the world
flourishlng In the barren sand with n
lururiance known only In the con.
servatory-llke jungles OF Asia and
Africa Some authorities say that the
archipelago owes It's name. Ilhas Ner-
des. "Green Islands" 10 these magniH-
cant trees; and others assert that the
name comes from the sea.woed, green
aB emerald, which covers the waters
for miles around,
The group has always belonged to
portugal-at least In modern times
About quarter OF century before
Christ was born, Juba II, king Of Nu-
india, sent an expedition to explore
the Fortunatae Insulae-a most inter-
estlng account Of which has come down
to ua through Pllny, Then, after O
time the islands passed out Of notice,
and for more than thousand years
remained apparently forBotten-eXcept
Ia connection with the submerged con-
tlnent, Atlantis, as referred to by Plato,
Scion and others. IN the year 1850, the
Cape Verde group was rodiscoyered by
Antonio de Noli, n Genoese adventur-
or, In the service of Prince Henry OF !
They were unlnhnbited and
the new masters cOlonlzed them with !
negroes from the African coast which
for the darkly-shaded popu-
lation OF today In time the archlpe-
ago arose to the dignity OF the Prov
inoe OF Cape Verde, together with the
cNra of the name on the mainland OPP
posite; and to this day is one of the
'ht ighed remains of the former great
Portuguese empire, which once had It's
all around the world The
province Is ruled by governor. general,
sent down from Lisbon, who exercises
both civil aud military power He Is as
sisted by two judges; and each little |
ISLAND has also a military Commandant, |
4 few soldiers and a number OF sal
lrled officials such az police alcaldl
lnd custom house directors. The capt.
.al used TO be I'm this place Porto
Praya; but was removed half cen
Jury or so ago, 20 Mindollo on ST. Vim.
cent island Slavery remained In full
force with all the horrors OF Surinam,
pr Santo Domingo, up to 1894, when
he Portuguese government set free
he public slaves and modified by law
he condition OF those belonging TO pri-
'ate individuals At that time seven
lr eight thousand Africans were held
n involuntary seryitude' In this little
group and doubtless there would have
been many more, had not hard labor
anime and epidemcs continually re-
iucod the number The Province OF
APE Verde Is still penal colony. 10
which criminals are transported from
he mother country; and II Is said that
70 greatly Is the punishment dreaded.
many commit suicide rather than un-
lergo It. a few years residence here
means death to the foreigner anyway,
70 unhealthy is the climate, except Zoe
he Afrlcan-born, Each OF the inhab-
ed Islands has now It's schools and
hurches Roman Catholic being the
My acknowledged religion. but the
'eople are as superstitious as ignorant.
M dark rites prevail OF obea and
make worship brought from the Afri-
an jungles All the towns are poor.
lrty places, with few decent buildings
n the whole group What promises 10 \
eoome "a vast improvement has been
within the last few years.
y the establishment OF a government !
Urinary school In each village OF con.
eqrence conducted by the priests but
- yet the attendance Is very small
ot being compulsory for children OF
he lower classes, ana the Weather
itizens continuing to send theirs TO :
lisbon for education.
AS rule, the Cape Verde Islanders
re not Vicious or turbulent. but law
3 the LATEST and dirty beyond degree
'ney speak strange patois. OF cor.
upted Portuguese mingled with vari.
W African dialects, queerly like that 4
the negroes OF Jamaica and called
! Portugal lingua Creoula.