Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1912-05-25

Azores the islands have had n pictur-
esque and varied history. Once they5
were given away by Portuguesef
king, Alfonso ". called "The African,
to his aunt, the duchess Of Burgundy.
This happened In 1866, when the duke
OF Burgundy was Philip the Bold. IA,
vorite son of John II. Of France. In
due time Philip became ruler or
Flanders and many of his Flemish
subjects went to help colonize his
duchess new island possessions. For
a time the group even bore the name
of the Flemish islands, and they still
have traces of the Flemish occupation
and colonization. Later Portugal re-
covered the Azores and they fell
with her under Spanish rule from 1880
to 1910 AS possessions of Spain they
were fair game for the English navy.
and many a battle occurred In those
waters between English and Spanish
ships, while the islands suffered from
the ravages of the British victors.
When Cabral reached the Azores In
1882 he was astonished at the mum.
Der of hawks on the islands. Their
presence was explained by the thous
ands of small birds which made the
group their permanent home or their
resting place in migration. When the
islands became settled 1t was found
necessary to offer bounty for the
destruction of birds, they were so
ravenous in their attack upon crops.
For years thousands of birds of many
varieties were killed annually by far
mers and gardeners. In some years
as many as, 100000 are said to have
been destroyed. .AIt Is hard for the
newly arrived Azorean to understand
our protective policy toward birds. To
the native Azorean bird Is a noxioua
animal
Climate and People Of the Azores.
There was a time when a good
many Americans made long visits to
the Azores for the sake of their mild
and even climate, and j. Pierpont
Morgan. as youth of. seventeen,
passed many months there. An Eng
slishman, In urging his countrymen to
make use of the group as a health
resort, instanced our example. but
Florida now serves our. purpose: even
better when we seek a mild winter
climate, and the .Adirondacls and 9th,
er high, dry, cold climates have been
found excellent for some who would
once have been advised to winter In
the AzoresJ OF the south. :. As q matter
of fact, the climate Of the, Azores is
extremely damp. 1t is hard % keep
paper on the wallis. and veneefed and
Vanished furniture suffers great dam
age Pico is the coldest of the lsl
ands. for the mountain that gives II
name and forms most Of the island
rises 900 feet above the sea. a. =.
Azoreans, with their deeply en-
Drowned outdoor complexion and ra
ther low stature, seem all OF one race
TO the casual American observer. but
many of them must be OF complex ra
cial origin. Portuguese constitute a
large majority of the quarter OF a
million inhabitants, but there are des
cendants Of the Flemish colonists. OF
Spanish colonists who went to- the
Islands when Spain. ruled the group.
negroes, Moors and % few English,
Scotch and irish Emigration has
been constant for many years past be-
cause land Is extremely scarce and
| wages are consequently low. Mean.
while there are few cheaper places to
live than the Azores. and no more
courteous people than the Azoreans.
In this country they are apt to be, con.
fused with the Cape Verde islanders.
who do all kinds of hard work on the
Massachusetts coast and whose condt
ton and mode of life have been SO lit
tie understood by their neighbors OF
| Cape Cod that a cruel local prejudice
against them exists. The Axoreana
are more. mixed race than the
Brayans, as the Cape Verde islanders
| are usually called In this country. but
! have less negro blood than the latter.
! whose home lies in the torrid zone
only few miles of the torrid French
S6ndan. asss