The Red Cloud chief., 1921-12-29

Prepared by the National Geographic So
ciety. Washington, ID. CD
Two hills stretching to the sea so
ns to form a charming bay, and be-
tween them an ancient, half-Spanish,
wholly southern city Its roofs tufted
with verdure, rising n above anoth-
er on terraced slopes; Its houses with
their once gay tints all faded. basking
IN peaceful %decrepitude In n sunshine
like that of June; the town fast
asleep; the harbOr sitting up; the
walls crumbling; the iron gratings
susting; the pavements turning green;
the gables nodding like old gray heads,
tired Of listening to the same old sto-
ries-such is Macao, the Far Eastern
outpost OF the Portuguese traders Of
he Sixteenth century, the Monte Car
70 Of the Orient, and n Of Portugars
few remaining possessions In Pacific
waters.
Macao is situated on the west side
Of the Pearl river. Forty miles across
Is Hongkong; lightweight miles to the
north lies Canton, seat Of the South
China government. Macao was found
| ed in 1867. Prior to 1887 there ap.
pears to have been no documentary
| evidence Of a formal cessiOn of this
territory. the Portuguese claiming,
however. that they received 1t rs n
reward for destroying the horde of
Monaghan pirates that harricd the
southern coast Of China and the re-
mains Of the old barrier across the
narrow neck Of land separating the
peninsular town from the rest OF the
Island of Heung Chan. and one guard
ed by Chinese soldiers, gave color to
the Portuguese claim. However, all
doubts were laid to rest in 1887 when
formal cession was made by China to
the Portuguese.
Macao's Rise and Fall.
SO marvellous was the growth and
prosperity Of this Portuguese settle
ment in its youth that it excited the
envy Of the early Dutch traders who
in 1922 attempted its conquest. The
spot where the Dutch leader was
killed by a round shot from Monte
fort, which wrote fms to that at.
tempt, is now marked by a monument,
Macao continued to be a fiourishine
mart up to 1871. the British East In
dia company and the Dutch company
meanwhile obtaining n foothold there
The British free trade propaganda OF
the "FOrties" excited a demand for q
free port at Macao, to which the POr
tuguese demurred. Great Britain ther
secured the H%Ongkong concession
made that a free port in 1915, and
the decline of Macao as an entrepot
dates from that year.
Not only Is Macao the site OF the
first European claim made on Chinese
soil, but 1t has cultural ties with Eu
rope closer knit than the political re
lationshlps Of cOntroverted areas tC
the north. 1t contains the oldest ruiz
In China that is associated with Eu
rope, and the tamGrind and banyar
shade the gardens where the Por
tuguese Chauser, CamOens, composed
half OF the Lusiads, celebrating the
discoveries Of the Portuguese eXplor
ers who opened up for the West thu
secrets of the East. It is one Of the
half-dOzen Of the worlds great epics
camoens' Place Of Exile.
Luis de Camoens, the star of Lusi
tanian poetry, became enamored o.
Catharina d'Atayada, l~ady-in-hOnor t
Queen Catharina Of Portugal, which
SO enraged the king that he banishe(
the poet to Macao, about 1867, wher,
he remained for five years as admin
istrator Of the effects Of deceased per
sons-a melancholy Office for a poe
and lover. Returning In 1872, his YES
sci was wrecked, his small savings
we're lost, but the poem which ha'
been translated into every civllize,
language was saved to an appreciativ'
posterity. A monument to Camoen
marks the spot in the grotto where h
composed his noble epic.
Macao has snOozed peacefully ava,
on its island In late years while con
t%roversies have ragged around the hand
full of other foreign holdings on tn
Chinese coast. But recently the gov
eminent Of Southern China Is reporte,
to have demanded that there be
cleanup" In the city, a procedure
which II carried out would entail rec
Ognition Of the Southern China govern
ment as well as acceptance of It's RICH
to rule In what has long been consid
cred Portuguese territory.
Once In Macao the traveller may re
main to contemplate an out-of-the
way shrine of EurODean history. Blu