White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1930-12-05

1ue iron ore is lOdueu Will luouefu
equipment along the river, but the coal
is often unloaded by hand or, per.
haps to be more explicit, by head.
Women almost exclusively are en-
ployed in this dainty occupation. Every
day a continuous line is to be seen
moving up one gang-plank, with BUSH
el-basket in hand, and down another
10 the coal hills on shore, with
heaping basketful of coal balanced on
each head.
When these toilers gather, shortly
after daybreak, to begin work, there
is a great row that has to do with
preferred places in the line, there be-
ing some gang-planks slightly nearer
to the coal heaps than others.
Bilbao is eight miles up the River
Nervion from the sea. Numerous
towns, some of them devoted to ship
building, iron foundries and shelters,
line both sides of the stream between
the port and the sea. At the mouth
of the Nervion are twin cities, Las
Arenas on the right bank, and Portu-
galete on the left. People are trans
ported between the towns in unique
manner.
Flying Ferry Is Unique.
On each river edge Is great tower
of steel, something like wireless
tower, but more massive, over two
hundred feet in height. These towers
support light iron bridge one hun
bred and fifty feet above the river,
under which the largest steamers pass
and repass night and day. From this
bridge is suspended "fying ferry"
supported by network of fine wire,
which is pulled back and forth across
| the river. 1t hangs to within few
feet of the water.
One crowds onto the ferry, the
whistle blows, the bell rings, the iron
gate clangs shut, away one moves
smoothly out over the river through
the air, as it were The opposite shore
is reached in a minute, but it is a
| rather delightful little minute at that.
I Portugalete has narrow streets, and
it's balconied houses stretch pictur-
esquely up the hillside, while at the
top is an enchanting little Gothic
| church, which is always the way in
Spanish towns. They always seem
TO cluster around church or two for
protection. Indeed, in Bilbao, there
are no less than seventy-five of these
| protectors.
Las Arenas, opposite Portugalete, is
modern village of seashore villas
which has become popular as sum-
mer resort. Here the Club Maritime
has it's pleasant club house, overlook.
ing the harbor entrance.
For administrative purposes Spain
| is divided into forty-nine districts or
provinces. Regionalism is so strong
state that there are also forty-nine
national languages, forty-nine nation.
al costumes, forty-nine national dances,
and, last but by no means least, forty
nine national dishes.
This would, perhaps, be slight
eXaggeration, but the fact remains
that the inhabitants Of each district
differ noticeably in characteristics
| from all the others. A man from Bar.
celona is first Catalan and second
Spaniard. Likewise an inhabitant
of Coruna is less Spanish than Ga.
lego and a person from Bilbao places
his Basque nationality before his Span
ish adherence, and so on.
Thus, the Bilbaino holds that no
dish can equal in excellence his bac.
| alao vizcainO, and the citizen Of Vigo
turns up his nose at all foods except
his own native pote gallego, con.
coction of potato and cabbage boiled
| in water with lard and eaten with
bread and garlic. The Valencian has
| his arroz valenciano, which is really
excellent-rice cooked in oil. to which
tender bits of meat and sweet peppers
are added. The proud Castilian stick
| through thick and thin to the pucher
4 the Sevllano to his beloved gazpach.