The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-10-06
EDITORIAL NOTES

EDITORIAL NOTES
The first attempt to colonize Cen
x-a1 America was made by Christopher
Columbus, who, while on his fourth
AID last voyage, landed on the coast
of what is now Costa Rica All years
ago, Oct 5, 1902. The natives were
at first inclined to be friendly with
the Spaniards and treated them in a
kindly manner. They soon became
1ncensed at the treachery Of the pale
faces. however, and destroyed the
small settlement which Columbus
founded. Columbus, after losing a
considerable number of his men and
che of his ships, abandoned the at
tempt and sailed away to Spain 9th
er explorers who followed in his wake
were equally unsuccessful In 1910
the Spaniards established themselves
in Panama, and in 1924 Cordoba found
ed several settlements in Nicaragua.
In 1927 the city of Guatemala was
founded, and about the same time
Honduras was brought under Spanish
rule The aborigines of Costa Rica.
held out against the invaders until
$40. when Badajoz partially subdued
them and built the city bearing his
name Salvador's native capital Gu
soatlan,s fell into the hands of the
Spaniards in 1875. Scattered over
Central America may now be found
the ruins of many once prosperous cit
les built by the Spaniards.
German ernigra ton to America,
which has played so large a part in
the Development of the continent, had
it's beginning 230 years ago today, Oc-
tober s, $685. when the first party of
pioneers from Germany landed at
Philadelphia There were thirty-three
of them, mostly relatives, and all mem
bers of a religious sect closely akin to
the English Quakers. Subjected in
the fatherland to a bitter persecution,
they determined to seek refuge in the
New world The Frankfort Land Co.
was organized and purchased from
William Penn. the governor of Penn
sylvania, q. tract OF land near Phila-
delphfa- Francis Daniel Pastorius ne
gotiated the deal led the colony to
America, laid out the town of Gel
manopolis or Germantown, and be-
came the recognized head and law
giver of the settlement
OF the greatest of the pioneer Ger
man-Amertcans, William Penn wrote
that he was sober, upright, wise and
pious-a man everywhere esteemed
and of unspotted name Pastorius
was a lawyer, well educated, and a
keen and intelligent observer, and in
100 he published a volume entitled,
"A particular Geographical Descrip-
ton of the Lately Discovered Prov
ince Of Pennsylvania, Situated on the
Frontiers of the Western World,
America"
Use. Pastorius wrote:
s-Our ship drew thirteen feet of
water. Our fare on board was poor
enough. The allowance of provision
for ten persons per week was as fol-
lows: Three pounds of butter; daily,
four cans of beer and one can of
water; every noon, two dishes of
peas; four times per week salt meat,
and three times salt fish, which we
were obliged to cook, each man for
himself, and had daily to save enough
: from dinner to serve for our suppers
also And, as these provisions were
usually very poor, and thefsh some
times tainted, we were all compelled
TO make liberal use of liquors and 9TH
err refreshments of a similar nature to
preserve the health amid such hard
rare Moreover, it is the practice of
the masters OF these vessels to impose
upon their passengers in a shameful
manner by giving them very short al
low@nce-"
From this one would gather that the
transatlantic liners of the seventeenth
century were not howery beds of ease.
The passage of the oceans was a mat
ter of two or three months. and to
spend that period in the restricted
quarters of a tiny sailing vessel on a
starvation diet, was not pleasant
experience
PaSrOr1uS SOUNDED the praises OF the
Indians who then inhabited the re-
srion round about the city on 1.-The
river Dellavarra-'' He wrote: The
eavages are in general strong and
we'll shaped. of a dark, tawny COM
pIexiou and wore no clothing what
ever when the first Europeans came
to this country Now, however, they
hang a blanket about their shoulders,
or some of them also have skirts
They cultivate among thems the
erine in keeping promises, defraud and
insult no one, are very hospitable to
strangers, ob1iging to their guests and
faithful even to death towards their
friends I thought to myself, how
those Door savages, who have never
heard Of the Savior's doctrines and
,raxims. how far superior they are
to ourselves, so-called Christians. They
are grave and reserved, speak but lit
tie and in few words, and are greatly
surprised when they hear SO much
needless and foolish talking and tale
bearing among US Christians They
are true and faithful in their matri-
'rnonial relations. abhoring licentious-
r.ess IN the extreme.
Among the thousands of subjects of
English kings and queens who have
been given the right to prefix Sir in
front of their names, there has been
just one native of Milwaukee Sir
Thomas George Sh7ughnesSy, the can
a7Ian Pacific railway magnate, was
horn IN the Wisconsin metropolis sixty
years ago today Oct. s. 1853. His pa
rents were Irish, in itself novel cir
cumstance. $ irish ancestors have
never been very prevalent in Mflwau-
kee Thomas George had only a com
Erion school education, and at fifteen
left the schoolroom to become an Of
zee boy IN the purchas department
or the Chicago, Milwaukee & ST. Paul
railway. He applied himself indus