The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-05-03
HILL IN
MADEIRA.
Quaint Transportation Experiences of Howard Goulds Party-Amer-
lean Millionaire Tells of His Jaunt Over an Island Where
Paths and Mountain Trails Are the Highways.

cepting a few omnibuses and a dozen car
RACES owned and imported by wealthy
English residents, there are no wheeled We
nlcies on the island, and the UNIVERSAL ma
tive conveyance besides the hammock) il
the caro-, or sledge. invented early In tie
century by an En2iishman. Prior 10 that
time transportation was accomplished on
the backs of men and beasts.
TRAVELLING IN TRIUMPH.
Tho bullock car is mounted on runners,
shod with steel and hung with bright COL
ored curtains to protect passengers from
sun and wind. The driver starts his oxen
with an iron-tipped prod, which he labs
INTO them as he sings, while q boy runs
ahead guiding the patient beasts with
leather thongs fastened to the oxen's horns.
Approaching a town, the teamster shouts
loud and long until a triumphal entry has
been made.
A most curious feature of this mode of
travelling Is that the driver greases the
pavement with a mop or cloth attached to
a long stick, which he applies to the pave
ment when the sledge runs heavily.
The streets are wonderfully paved with
clearly packed cobblestones, in size and
shape from a cricket ball to eggs. highly
frequent passage OF the sledges, making
merry music as they glide along. The bull.
locks OF private parties wear strings Of
Of the charfoteers. often to the strains Of
guitars and mandolins of wayside oilers.
AZ Mr.. Biddle says in his picturesque mar
a VA -iduSild NE, all IneSe SOUNDS ara
in harmony with the scenes.
Besides these two modes of travelling. the
third Is confined to the mountainsfde the
VENICE moving by self-propulsion. Two
persons take places in the siedge, word Is
given and away the vehicle goes at great
speed. sliding over the and we'll
CREASED stones into 1owery wales below.
thousands of acres of terraced vineyards.
vast Vauited sea caves. the water seething,
Kissing and booming in thunderous melody.
1t It, Is a curious and inspiring sight to see
niles or tremendous surf beating against
cliffs that lose themselves in the clouds
above.
Now and then como great storms of tropi-
ca! character. but nothing Is so strange as
the African sand winds rolling In from the
Desert of Sahara in terrifying whirlpools
nigh In the heavens, sitting down hot sand
that burns holes in flowers and foliage.
A LAND OF DELIGHT.
However. the big storms are few and far
between.
Madeira Is a land Of ever-chansing de-
gh.Ma land Of perpetual summer-and the
One may think Of It as the home Of Paul
and Virginia. or where Prospero worked
his magic spells. 1t is now claimed that
Madeira was discovered by two knightly
lovers who fed from England to escape
lived and died, and a chapel was built on
their tomb. When afterward Madeira was
rediscovered. the islands P~ortusuese Gov
ernor had a beautiful daughter who was
,wooed and married by Christopher Column
One day a great storm arose. a foreign
ship was wrecked and Columbus rescued
the famishins crew, but they were too much
exhausted and died. It was the charts they
left that gave Columbus his knowledge re-
garding the unknown portions of the globe
and inspired him to discover the New
World.