Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1902-05-15
Special correspondence.

morning We left Olympia and began
or PeIoponesus trip. There were
ten days ahead of US, days of assured
hard travel, but unknown pleasure.
We set off. four women of the Amer
lean school and two men, four mule
tears, on sorry-Iooking horses Mine
~as dingy, gray-haired sorrel whose
feet were SO secure that | gave no
thought at all to him. The saddle was
q clumsy board affair, in which I sat
snite sidewise A rope was hung
around for a stirrup, a rope was also
tied through the horses mouth for a
BIT and one end was given me to
drive with We started right up a
mountain trail, through such beautiful
country, The sun was glorious, the
dOwers in bloom in profusion and the
air refreshing We seemed very near
ii all and far away from all care and
responsibility No one knew where
tie night was to be spent, and no one
cared. We crossed the Alpheius in a
ferry standing on the muddy floor,
horses and men indiscriminatey We
sO0u learned not to think of dirt;
me.cadam and polished shoes belong
not To the interior of Greece. We rode
ave hours that first morning, stopping
once to feed the muleteers, while me
wandered in a delightful garden of
orange trees and roses. We finally
came to little village where we ate
the luncheon we had brought with us
bread, chicken, eggs, wine, olives
tnd cheese. | could not learn to
drink the wine. The Greeks put resin
IN their wine to keep it and | wouldn't
defeat their aim by drinking any of it.
Let them keep it! The town was a
decided improvement upon Campagna
towns, much more clean, and the
houses are detached and thus there is
room for air and sunshine The people
harmless Their faces have more
character and less beauty than the
Italians. We missed the friendly
greetings Of the Italian peasants and
H@ were advised to extent no greet
ings but to remember the evil eye"
I wanted to take picture Of a woman
who brought her carding and watched
rs eat but was told it would not do.
Since then, however / have taken
photographs and there have been no
antoward results. We ate and were
eyed and went on for four or five
hours more We climbed mountains
ell the time. The trail most of the
way was a river channel through
mesh of bushes We lay down upon
our horses and we're literally pulled
through, that part of our clothing
which was tougher than the bushes
coming through with us. The roads
we're steep, the muleteers whipped the
horses to make them so up and held
their tails to keep them from slipping
down. So all day we rode, seeing
real mountains, crossing bubbling
streams, hearing more birds than
have heard all winter and every
where everywhere were flowers.
About we reached the khan where
We We're to stay all night 1t was just
two little houses The muIeteers
stayed in one and we at the other
The people were kind. They served
our supper in the main upstairs room
which We reached by climbing a little
hill out Of doors and then following a
broken, ladder-like stairway to the
door In our honor a blue checked
bingham tablecloth and napkins were
used and we sat upon stools and
Il iHril ciIx
believe that was the time | drew a
knife. When the table was cleared a
couple of blankets were spread upon
the floor and behold our bed way
ready. The moon in the valley was
SO beautiful that we fingered long out
upon the balcony. No matter how
poor the house IN Greece. there seems
always to be a balcony, small of
course. but convenient; and there we
watched the hills of Already. We were
up at the next morning. The peasant
woman was kind and silent. She
poured water upon our hands as is the
custom and gave us the ever to per
form the same service for the others
She looked upon toothbrushes as the
queerest part of queer party
We were on our way again at 6. 1t
was atother beautiful day and It was
exhilarating to watch the moon go
down and the sun come up on the
iewy hills The path was straight out
to the sunrise between great noun
tains. For hours we could look back
and sec the primitive little hut where
we han spent the night. | took a pic
ture OF the great plane trees in front
OF 1t. | wish you might see, too. the
perfectly white field of daises and the
one white goal in 1.-THE cunning kids
and the stolid oxen that slept just be
low us. Such simplification OF life!
We found sleeper paths that day and
the most tangled Of any we had. We
reached the first town. Andritsena.
at half-past one. There we rested half
an hour only and then started to the
temple Of Basal. That was the
hardest ride we had endless hours of
stony precipice that went up and up
and ND, and then down and down and
down. Yes, it was marrow and dizzy
but beautiful still, and away off on the
horizon was a sunlit stretch of sea.
The temple is not we'll preserved, but
it was good to go because have a
new feeling for the religion of the
Greeks. new understanding of it
when | think of that isolated temple
among the mountains, built by CRATE
ful people because of Apollo's protec
ton of them. A mite of a boy was
our guide to the place. He was uncon
cerned at the steepness and c1ambereG
and climbed and sang all the after