Evening star., 1927-10-16
aAND OF FAYAL
IS HUB OF CABLES
Volcano of Pico Looks Across
at Horta, FAIRY Town"
of Azores.

men MISS hutn Elder tried to fly
ecross the Atlantic and dropped into
The sea near the Azores she failed in
her purpose but emphasized the in.
creasing Importance of the Azores as
communication center in the Allan.
tic, says a bulletin from the National
Geographic Society.
And within the Azores group,
Fayal is the most important SO far
as contact with the outside world is
concerned. $50 Miguel is larger, and
Angra, the capital, on Terceira, Is a
better port than Horta, on F'ayal.
But Fsyal is the communication
hub of the Atlantic. with spokes
reaching out to Europe, two
Americas and Africa. On Fayal Island
there are. four cable companies-two
American. one English and one Ger
man. There are more than $50 young
news pushers.' as the dispatching
operators are called, and each group
has its own mess.
Volcano Is Near.
ARRIVING at Fayal in the daytime,
one sees ribbon of road around the
island, and the whitewashed villages
with a church for a pendent among
the ivory bits that are strung along
this 35.mile circular tour. Out near
some detached rocks near the west
end there is a lighthouse which APP
pears at first to be a minaret. From
there to Horta the town is a steep
declivity several hundred feet high.
so that the road has to sweep up to
avoid washing itself to death in the
glistening surf.
Amid smiling seas, the Azores,
from November to March, usually
wear a cloud blanket, so that the fine
cone of Picc, which sounds like orange
Pekoe but simply means peak is hid
den as an approaching ship swings to
the north. Pico has a separate island
to itself and since Pico is an active
volcano this is as it should be.
Fairy Town of HOrta."
twilight had fallen when the
writer's vessel finally came alongside
the fairy town of Horta, now made up
Of white blotches against a dark hill
side. with electric lights hiding the
details like the nuns candles during
the change of scene in The Miracle.
Horta is not really a port. since it
lacks green light to complement the
red one Oh the end of the single break
water. So passengers land in a launch
which tosses up and down in the swell
and gives the folks a thrill for their
rIoney.
"A Portuguese, with, -brimmed
fuzzy hat. V-neck white sweater and
sideburns, ran the launch. He took
a liking to us and showed us around
the town, which, like a certain flower,
had folded itself up with the setting
Of the sun.
'.Horta's chief claim 10 fame seems
10 be that Mark Twain and the cable
companies have honored it with their
attention. Mark said something about
2 tiny fort here which would have to
he taken bacl' up the volcanic slopes
in case of war. That was in the days
lEefore the Azores were the aiighting
saot for transoeeanic flights. The
fore has not grown any.
Sidewalks Are Mosaic.
'H1rta greets one with a mosaic
sidewalk in the Portuguese style and
Llany of its buildings are faced with
clistening tile, so that as one walks
down the street at night he seems to
be threading his way along some pecu-
lar bathroom in an old Mogul palace
or Chicago boarding house. The
solid-wheeled oxcarts were parked at
odd points here and there and, in the
night time. the only vehicles to be had
are automobiles.
The street as we walked down it,
and passed so many churches that
Horta seemed to be the Bokhara of the
Catholic world, was being used for
sentimental purposes, for Horta has
its nightly rehearsals of the balcony
scene from Romeo and Juliet" The
balconies are narrow and long. looking
like sample bits Of steel fence hung
up on display.
''Our side-burned mentor took us to
q movie theater fronted with salmon
tiles. We secured box in the lower
OF three horseshoes, around which the
town was arranged. If the social
strata maintained their same relative
positions at home that they do in the
theater, then the Horta palaces would
be down near the sea and the lowlier
ana more grimy members OF society up
near the lava line above the main part
of the town.
From June to September the whole
Island of Fayar Is marked out with
blue and white hydrangea hedges and
Is one Of the loveliest spots on earth,
with sometimes smoking Pico Full
yamaing' in the background.
Volcanoes Nodded Islands.
"The Azores are certainly the re-
suit of tremendous volcanic erup-
tions that have continued to change
their physical aspect ever since their
discovery in the fifteenth century
On every hand are evidences of for
mer upheaveals. from the gray lava
stones that are used in the construc-
ton of houses and the building of
roads to the underlying streaks OF
---.-.:;)T --..:;; THOl
Across the Riror RF