The Southern Mercury. (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 16, No. 50, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 16, 1897 Page: 4 of 16
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THfi SOUTHERN MERCURY.
A Veritable Paradise.
Senator Morgan, one of the brainiest
and observant members of the Upper
house of the American congress, has
just returned from an observation trip
to the Hawaiian Islands, and gives a
glowing account of the wonderful and
lavish natural advantage of that gem
of the sea. To a reporter of the St.
Louis Republic, he said:
"This was my first visit to Hawaii,"
"and I only wish that every
American invalid could take the same
jouurney. The voyage on the Pacific
Is delightful. When 150 miles out from
San Francisco the ocean becomes tran-
quil, and the gentle trade winds ac-
company the traveler to his journey's
end. There he finds such a varied
scene of natural beauty that I cannot
describe it except by the words, 'a per-
fect gurden spot.' The climate is warm
equable and very healthful. The mer-
cury ranges from 58 in winter to 83 in
the hottest hours of summer. For con-
sumption and those suffering from lack
of vitality, a stay of a month in Hawaii
works like a miracle. Although warm,
the climate is not enervating; the
growth of vigor and energy produced
by It Is wonderful. Think of a cli-
mate furnishing 365 bright, cheering
days to the year. Severe storms there
are unknown. If a man wants to make
an apolr.tment for business depending
upon cloudless weather, he can do so
with absolute certainty. Supposing he
wants to set some painters at work
three months hence; he appoints the
day for beginning; the weather will be
good—it always is good, sumer or win-
ter. He can plant his crops every day
In the year. If he prefers to plant
New Year's day he can do so; or he
can put in the seeds on the Fourth of
July.
"The results from agriculture are as
marvelous as the climate. A man can
live well and keep his family in com-
fort on three-quarters of an acre. The
growth is tropical. There is abund-
ance of water, and farming is on small
lands, by Irrigation. The hills are full
of water, and the supply is endless.
One plant is raised generally in Ha-
waii, known as the tarro, and on this
alone a man can live and thrive the
year round. It can be cooked in a dot-
en different ways, and is nutritious
and palatable. A quarter of an acre
set In tarro will supply a family with
food that is wholesome and satisfying.
"Its cultivation is simple. A small
piece of land Is walled about with
rough stones and water is turned In-
side. The earth is mixed with the wat-
er until a soft mud la formed, and In
this the tarro plants are set closely to-
gether. The plants mature In about 15
months, and wheu once the tarro patch
1b planted, the supply Is perpetual. The
growth is continuous, and the plants
are cut for food as wanted. The garden
will go on producing, generation after
generation. The best of fish can be
had In abundance; and the woods are
filled with deer and wild turkeys.
Thounands of them are within reach
of the hunter. The fattest cattle to
be seen in the world are In Hawaii.
The grass Is saccharine, and the beef
Is 'delicious.
"The inhabitants are muscular, fine
fellows. They are rated as the best
sailors in the world. They are good
tempered, and a fun-loving people, and
I did not hear of a disturbance during
KiiÉÉi
the month I was in the islands. The/
native women are fond of dress, and
all of them wear 'mother hubbards.'
These dresses are in bright colors-
pink, red, blue and yellow—and the
wearers are fond of wearing head
dresses of flowers. As may be imagined,
they present a picturesque sight to the
visitor, but a more cleanly lot of peo-
ple could not be found. Physically,
the inhabitants of these islands are
the finest in the Pacific.
"There are many Americans in Ha-
waii, and the opportunities for living
comfortably cannot be surpassed in
any country In the world. I would not
hesitate to advise any industrious, de-
serving man to go there and make his
home. So great is the fertility of the
soil and so mild the climate that ex-
istence is easy and delightful. Crops
are raised with little effort, and there
is no demand for the drudgery which
the farmer finds necessary in the rigor-
ous socalled 'temperate zone.'
"To show you how plentiful the game
is there, I will tell you of a little din-
ner I attended. In company with the
American minister, I visited a gentle-
man who Is engaged in coffee raising.
His farm consists of 160 acres, and
from this small holding (though rated
a large one there), he is doing a large
business. The coffee trees are set out in
a light growth of woods, which is par-
tially cleared. Enough of the original
forest is left to afford shade to the
growing cofTee trees, and they thrive
best when so protected. At dinner our
table was supplied with the finest of
fish, beef and wild turkey. I asked
about the turkey, praising its flavor:
'Yes, it 1b wild turkey," said* the coffee
planter. 'Did you shoot them?' I
asked. 'How far do you have to go to
hunt such fine game?'
" 'I dont exactly shoot these,' he re-
plied, 'You would be a little amused at
our method of gunning for birds. We
got these in the usual way. Last night
we went out, about 10 o'clock, and sat
down In a thicket, where the turkeys
are in the habit of roosting for the
night. One of us had a pole with a
torch fixed in the end, and the other
had a long stick with a wire noose
attached. One hunter holds up the
burning torch near the limb where the
birds are, and a turkey sticks out his
head to see what Is the matter. Then
the other hunter slips the wire noose
over his head and yanks him down to
the ground. We can get a dozen any
evening, and that is where these birds
came from.'"
The senator told of thousands of
fallow deer which are wild and easily
shot near any of the villages, of the
abundance and variety of the fish,
which the natives sell for a trifle. His
story of Hawaii is one of nature's
bounty in varied forms, a climate of
endless summer and a land where man
works little and gets much in return.
The Senator says that not a reptile
has been found on the islands, with
the single exception of a harmless
scorpion, and there are no beasts of
prey in the forests.
The Senator Is enthusiastic over the
prospect of this garden spot becoming
a possesison of the American people,
and he predicts for It a glorious future
when fully developed by Yankee enter-
prise.
Tn discussing Hawaii a historical fact
should not be overlooked. This is not
* statement by Senator Morgan, but
D. H. Snyder, writing to the Texas
Stockman and Farmer, from Fuerte,
Sinaloa, Mexico, propounds what fol-
lows:
"I read with interest Hon. Barnett
Gibb's address before the Texas Swine
Breeders' association at Dallas. I see
a good deal said about the different
breeds of hogs and the low price of
cotton. I believe I have found the
remedy in this country that will stop
our people from raising all cotton,
and settle the question of different
and best breeds of hogs, which is a
cross between a sheep and a hog. Peo-
ple here pen up fifteen or twently gilts
with a buck sheep and raise them to-
gether in order to get the cross. This,
I am told, makes a more thrifty hog;
just what our cotton farmers want—
a hog that will make money without
feed or attention. This breed is called
cuino. If our people and the South
will plant just half the usual acreage
in cotton next year and raise the mor-
rano cuino I am sure they will prosper
and get 10 cent cotton. This cross
between the sheep and the hog (mor-
rano cuino) is just like a hog, only
they have wool under a thin coat of
hair. I have seen some of them."
It may be that our friend, Col.
"Dud," is shooting ofT a joke at our
other friend, Barnett Gibbs. We have
never heard of a cross between a
sheep and a hog, and hardly believe it
possible. However, they do some
queer things in Mexico. But if such
a cross be possible, and the product
thereof be a good-conditioned, healthy
animal, we should think the meat
thereoli «ought to be very good. We
hope our friend Gibbs will look Into
this matter. also that Col. "Dud"
will send us a line on the subject.—
Texas Farmer.
If the above is true, and the meat
af the "murano cuino" Is healthier and
better than pork, and can be raised
cheaper, then Texas can do even bet-
ter than that by crossing
the goat and razor-back
and fattening them on cactus.
Five cent cotton is putting the people
in a hole. If this is not a fake then
why not a cross between a gold Dem-
ocrat and a free silver Democrat make
a Populist or a social Democrat? This
is an age of new discoveries. In Mex-
ico the best saddle animals are pro-
duced by crossing a stallion with a
jennett. Why not sheep and hog cross?
Texas is finding oil all around, and It
is said that mixed with cotton seed
hulls it is a great fattener of stock.
If Texas can get a State railroad to
the Gulf, and trade with the world on
the tramp ship freight rates she can
be independent of many combines and
trusts. She will develop many new
enterprises. She is kept in swaddling
clothes by interested politicians and
corporations.
December 1<S, 1897.
a matter of record. The native Ha-
waiians are dying off rapidly. When
Captain Cook discovered these Islands,
he estimated the population at 400,-
000. In 1823, the American mission-
aries calculated the number of inhab-
itants at 142,000. A census taken in
1850 showed the number reduced to
130,000; the census of 1878 found but
48,000; and in thé last twenty years
a still further reduction is to be noted.
Various couses have been assigned for
this decrease of population.
Amammamm
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Pain.-
Curat Rhaumatiam, Neuralgia, Sciatica, Lumbal*,
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If You Are
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Park, Milton. The Southern Mercury. (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 16, No. 50, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 16, 1897, newspaper, December 16, 1897; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth185736/m1/4/: accessed June 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; .