St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1903-05-13
FROn PRETORIA TO LONDON. IL.
From DclaRoa Bay to Beira.

FROn PRETORIA TO LONDON. H..
From DelaRoa Bay to Beira.
EDITOR CALEDoNIAN:
After arranging our cabin, drying our
wet rugs and pillows we came on deck
to watch the receding shores, the light.
houses, the red tiled houses, the tall, white
Catholic church, the lofty COCO palms,
and soon we were steaming out of one
of South Africa's finest harbors, one with
great future, we hope, before it. There
are not many books on Delagoa Bay,
but pretty illustrated one by Rose Mon
teiro, on "Delagoa Bay and it's Natives"
was shown us in bookshop which deals
with birds, butterflies, insects, flowers
and the native races. Soon we got into
the Indian Ocean and choppy sea, and
rough wind tossed US about till even the
best sailors succumbed and we all retired
to our berths, sick and miserable. A
wretched Saturday night and a very
forlorn and desperately doleful Sunday
ensued, in which we could not face
vertical position. Early Sunday morn
ing the band played reverently and slowly
two stanzas of a wellknown psalm, and
that seemed to be the only Sunday rec
ognition. In the evening there was the
usual band concert, but it simply lulled
me to sleep, glad to rest after the tumult
OF the past "a hours. Monday morning
all were brighter, and about 10 O'Clock
we steamed into the broad and muddy
Prungwe River and after the doctor had
come on board and given passes, we
anchored, and all who wished landed at
Belra. Belra is a low, sandy Portuguese
port on the Prungwe River. This river
is navigable for 100 miles and has a
railway which crosses the river 40 miles
from port, carrying goods inland to
Natal, Salisbury, to trading stations,
lonely mission stations, to scattered
farms, mines and villages. There is on
the lett bank low growth of sedges
and on the right sea WALL hotels,
warehouses, stores, banks, Offices, kiosks,
and fruit and fish shops. A small tram
or street car with cover like child's
perambulator, is run through the town,
and individuals may have each their
own, so one sees Madame out shopping
in her little street car; Monsieur out in
his, and there are some with two seats
facing each other and a canvas top, for
the signor and his family. The hollow
bricks used make cool houses and are
very pretty and picturesque, and the
red tiled roofs and neat courtyards help
to make the little town low, lonely and
unattractive as it is, yet picturesque,
and the heavy sand seems to prove good
for drainage, so that the place is clean
and tidy in spite of the crowds of natives
OF every tribe and shade of color.
The industries of the place have greatly
fallen off of late, since the Transvaal war,
yet the hotels are fairly good, and some
are above the average and patronized by
people from inland towns. Portuguese is
the official language and is evidently the
only one used at the post office. There
were some food shops and book store
that would do credit to towns of older
growth. Beautiful bananas abounded,
and except for the fever fend and the
heat and loneliness it seemed as if it
would not be difficult place in which to
live, as vegetables, fish and meat seemed
easily procurable.
When we returned to our steamer we
watched the black Zanzibars bringing
up the cargo of peanuts and beans to be
sent to Italy to be made into oil, and
we saw the huge piles of skins to be
brought on board. At noon the natives
had huge dishes of rice with bits of meat
inside doled out, and sitting in groups
OF above 20 men we watched them take
out bit OF meat, roll nice ball around
it, with their hands, and all ate voraci.
ously and with unceasing chatter. We
soon set sail, in crowded board, with
the second and third class, crammed
with Greeks, Arabs, coolies, natives,
Portuguese and Italians, and the first
class has its menu cards made out daily
in English, French, German and Portu-
guese. We are both well, many of the
people very agreeable, some very must
cal and we hope for an interesting and
resttul voyage. Adieu. till l write from
Mozambique.
MARY T. GRAY,
March II, 1903.
FROM PRETORIA TO LONDON. III.
Southeast African Ports.
| Special Correspondence of the Ca1edon;an I