Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1910-03-25

carefully they have cultivated every |
foot of available ground. Where they |
had grapes planted - in between
could be found vegetables growing. !
As soon as we landed, we had ride
in what is the usual mode of convey
ancea sled drawn by two oxen and
attended 10y two persons. the driver,
who is grown person, and a boy, an
oil-bag carried along, and when
steep grade has to be ascended it is
dropped on the ground so the run
ners may pass over it and become
oiled and thus slip better The bags
haye been used so much the streets
are well oiled, so much so that in
places it is quite slippery. The usual
charge for this vehicle is three shil-
lings, or 70 cents, but of course the
natives here have learned the Amer
leans are easy money, so they at
tempted to charge four shillingc, but
without success. | was fortunate
enough to obtain a picture of myself
in this very unique mode of trans
portation by having a friend press
the button.
Travellers who have seen the Ba-
hamas, Bermudas and Cuba, say Ma
deria beats them all for beauty. /
know that never have l seen its
equal. There is 4 narrow gauge cog
wheel road running up the mountain
and of course l had a ride up this,
nearly to the top, and such a beauti-
full sight. Below lay the bay with
many ships at anchor, then the
quaint town with its white buildings
and red tile roofs. The tropical veg
citation and the hillsides green with
the sugar cane. 1t was a beautiful
sight. What impressed me most of
all, was the fact that every foot of
ground was highly cultivated. 1t
was all side hill, and stone walls had
been built SO as to enable the ground
to be terraced, and as previously
mentioned, there was none OF it that
did not contribute its share towards
the support of the owner or tenant.
The views from the residences were
grand. In many instances observa-
tories had been erected on the roofs,
where excellent views of the entire
city and harbor could be obtained.
The most handsome trellises l have
ever seen surrounded the finer resi-
dences on the hillsides, and added
much to their beauty. The paving
in town consisted of innumerable
small cObble stones. Through the
entire town the streets were paved
with this material, and in marked
contrast to mary American cities,
the streets were clean. Massive
stone walls have been built alongside
the residence streets, thus forming a
barrier to the inquiring eye of the
tourist and others.
MADEIRA is the home of the famous
, MADEIRA wine, and as l had often
heard of it, naturally l was curious
to know how it tasted in its native
, land. must confess l did not fine
, it up to my expectations; still it was
r very agreeable to the taste. One
= store had bottles on the upper shell
: which they claimed was of the vint
age of 1887 and for this they asked
!, IS a quart bottle. 1t is needless t(
. say they We're covered with cobwebs
but it is my opinion this wine wa.
, intended for tourists with more dol
lars than sense. One of the party
, wanted to try the MADEIRA wine, st
: when at dinner he told the waiter al
the hotel to bring him bottle of the
, best wine and he paid three dollar:
for it, only to learn later on he NIGH
p have bought the Gerry same kind O
wine for seventy-five cents a bottle
, but this was at the hotel on the toI
of the mountain (as it is called) ant
they know how to charge. In fac
the natives here ask about twice a.
much as they expect to get. Wher
returning to the ship l thought some
of the flowers would be nice, so asked
the price from a flOwer-vender an(
was told fifty cents. The flower.
| were finally purchased tor seventeen
, cents, which happened to be all th'
, small change I had. In many othel
, cases, double and often three time.
more was asked for articles. One o
the party bought a table-scart fol
, ten dollars for which he was frs
! asked forty. The bananas anG
, grapes are excellent. We were .tOlt
that quite q while ago the grape
I suffered greatly from scale and il
, consequence there are not nearly a
, many grown now as formerly and ST
: coffee was substituted. Personally
q saw no coffee trees, nor pineapple
q plantations, though the latter is ais,
q grown on the island, but evidentl.
, farther inland.
The temperature is nearly the sam
: the year around, ranging from Ga il
. the winter to "a in the summer. De
: cember is the opening of the touris
season for those who remain here 70
any length of time.