The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1908-08-29
From That Section Comes the Noted Con-
nemara Marble, the Most Valuable
in the United Kingdom.
Clifden, Marconi's Wireless Telegraph Sta
tion, is the Seat of Several Inn
portant Families.

This is the extreme western point of
Ireland, and for that reason Marconi
selected it for his wireless telegraph
station in communicating with Canada
and the United States. says William
e. Curtis in letter from Clifden, Ire
land, to the Chicago Record Herald.
1t is 1920 miles in direct line Of
st. John, New Brunswick, and, as a
gentleman with whim was talking
to-day remarked, There's not a
spheck of droy land upon which
burrd could rist the sole Of it's foot
techune this blessed spot and Amer
icky." If you will take the map you
will understand the situation better.
and q geological chart Of the island
will show you that the western coast.
from Mizzen Head to Bloody Fore
land, is protected by a chain of noun
tains, bleak, rugged and abrupt. which
nature has placed as a buttress to
support the rest Of Ireland against the
fierce attack Of the Atlantic. They
have terrible storms over here, and a.
northwest gale several times a year
that is terrific. The east winds, which
we dread, bring good weather in Ire
land, but the west wind brings storms
and cold and mists that are almost
as bad as the London fog.
This is the congested district. but
it does not bear that name because the
population is overcrowded, but be-
cause there are too many people for
this inhospitable land to support. The
, inhabitants are scattered over a vast
area. The other day I was told that l
could see from one point as far as
a. radius Of twenty-five miles and
there wasn't a human habitation in
sight, nor was there any inducement
to build one because the country was
O. bleak, barren, rocky wilderness
without soil for crops or shelter for
cattle. There is the greatest degree of
poverty and suffering in Ireland, and
here the government is doing its
greatest benevolent work in trying to
place the people upon farms that are
large enough to support them and
finding them other occupations by
which they CAN earn a few additional
dollars.
A railway was built from Galway
along the edge of the ocean to Clifden
few years ago and the track hugs
the coast as closely as possible. An
hour after leaving Galway nature be-
gins to disclose her unfriendliness, the
mountains begin to loom up to a
height of 1000 and 1900 feet, the land
scape becomes stern and forbidding,
and there is no vegetation except
heather, which is now in full bloom
and adds a purple hue to the wilder
ness. Heather seems to be as brave.
as enduring and as self-reliant as the
sage brush that decorates the arid
rlains of our western states, and moth
ing seems to discourage its growth.
Alternating with the rocks are peat
beds, in which people are busy get
ting out supply Of fuel for next win.
ter and stacking it in little piles to
dry
The most prominent feature of the
landscape is a group Of mountains
called the Twelve Bens-sometimes
written the Twelve Pins. They are
go called because of their conical,
domelike peaks and the similar indi.
viduality Of each. They rise almos:
from the level of the Atlantic and for
that reason look higher than they
really are. The highest is Ben Baum.
c.3o3 feet. and the lowest is Ben
Brach, 1922 feet. Their sides are
SCARED with the wounds of terrestrial
convulsions and glacial action. and
they are composed very largely of
quartzite. which frequently furnishes
a white surface that glistens in the
sunlight and adds to the picturesque