The Sunday Oregonian., December 27, 1908, Section Six, Page 6, Image 52

6 THE SUNDAY OBEGOXIAX. TORTLAyP. DECEMBER 27, 1908.
c
TOEM. INCLUDING ATHLETIC SPORTS AMD FASHIONABLE
DINNERS.
BIG CAPE LINERS AND
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FEW people realize the enormous
extent of the steamship . travel
bout Africa. All of our great
Atlantic lintr. now have ships which
leave New York regularly for the
Mediterranean, and not a few of Jhese
call at Algeria and have branch lines
to f.gypt. There are regular railings
to Europe from every African port,
and there Is a continuous line of ves
sels stretched like a necklace of beads
about the Mack continent.
I went from New York to Morocco
on one of the big steamers of the
North German Lloyd, which in eight
days landed me at the Strait of
Gibraltar. We passed by the Azores,
almost tout bed Spain, and. In coming
Into poi t. co'ild see the heights of
Africa over the way. I crossed the
strait In a launch to Tanglers. which
Is only f. few miles distant, and then
coasted the northern shores of the
MediterraneaiS-;ea. including Algeria.
Tunisia ami Tripoli.
After leaving the Land of the Nile.
I took a ship through the Sues Canal
and then went down the fourteen hun
dred miles which comprise the length
of the Red Sea. going out through
Bab-el-.Man.lcb to Aden. In Southern
Arabia. From that port I had one of
the st amors of the Indian Ocean to
carry mo around the Great Horn of
East Afilia. end I went on other
steamers southward along the east
coast, passing through the Mozam
bique ch-nnel to Ketra. In Portuguese
East Africa. From Cape Town I jour
neyed up the we.-t coast of the con
tinent" to tin. Madeira Islands, not far
from Gibraltar, where I had started In.
and tnence went on to Southampton
and home to New York. It will thus
be seen that I have circumnavigated
the continent. I have gone over the
routes of the early I'hoenicians. who
were sent around Africa about 500 B.
C. by an Egyptian king, as described
by Herodotus, nnd have touched nearly
ail the places that Vasco de Gama and
Bartholomew Diaz discovered at about
the time that Columbus came across
the Atlantic and found our new world.
Big Steamships to the Cape.
There are now half a dozen lines
of st-mfrs plying between England
and the Cape of Good Hope. They
make the voyage In from 17 to 13
days, and tin-re are other and slower
vessels which, stopping at. the various
ports, ar a month or so on the way.
Some of the ships go down the cast
coast by nay of the Suez Canal, and
some, sail back and forth by the west
coast atone. Then, there are ships
which go to tiie Cape of Good Hope
on their way to Australia, steamers
which sail that way for India, and
other lutes which make the trip around
the. continent, starting in at one side
and coming back by the other, and
vice versa.
'liie fare from London to Cape Town
ranges from $120 to $2n0 and there are
second-class rates by which one can go
as cheaply to Cape Town as he can
travel first-class fare from New York
to Liverpool. The vessel upon which
I came from the Cape of Good Hope
to England was one of the big mal!
steamers of the I'nion Castle line. It
v a the Saxon, a vessel of ver I-'.OiiO
tons. We made the trip -in Just 17
days, ana were ianded at Southampton
at the very -limn we were told' we
would reach tnere before leaving.
The Vn ion laetie Line.
The I'nion Castle line is one of the
oldest of the African steamship com
panies. As the Lnion line, which was
founded 55 years ago. it sent the first
steam vessels reguiarly to South Af
rica. There were only two of the com
pany's ships which then exceeded 600
tons. About 20 years later this line
was united with the Castle Company,
the two being combined by Sir Donald
Currie. who is still the president of
the organization. At that time the
contract for the mails was based on
a 37 days' passage with a $500 bonus
fur every day under that, and the post
age rates were 1 shilling per letter.
Since then the rates have been reduced
to " cents, and the time to 1 1-4 days.
There are now about a score of these
mail steamers, and they all belong to
the Union Castle Company, which ha
rerhaps a dozen or so other vessels in
Its African service.
These boats carry all the gold and
diamonds that come from South Africa,
their freight of that kind alone being
annually worth at least $150,000,000.
Among the other British lines are
the Aberdeen, which sails from London
to Natal direct, rounding the Cape of
Good Hope and calling only at the
ports of Kast Africa. These are ships
of from 3000 to ofl0 tons. They go
down the west coast, stopping at the
Canary Islands, and come first into
port at Durban. From there they go
to Lourenco Marques. Beira. Mozam
bique. Zanzibar and Mombasa. The
trip to Mombasa costs $220 and to
Natal $150.
Then there is the Bucknall steam
ship line, which goes to Cape Town
hv wav of Madeira and also calls at
Natal. " Its fares to Natal are $160. and
to Cape Town $140. The ships are of
about 6000 tons each. The Natal line,
to Durban direct, has smaller vessels,
but it charges just about the same
rates, while the British India line,
which goes from London to the Suez
canal and down the east coast, costs
considerably more. Passengers on the
latter boats must transship at Aden,
and the vessels are comparatively
small. The rate to Mombasa or Zanzi
bar is $225. while to Delagoa Bay. the
port for the Transvaal, It is more than
$300.
Life en am African Steamer.
Traveling on these African steamers
Is it seems to me. much more agree
able than on th great floating hotels
which cross the Atlantic. The ship
which brought me from South Africa
was almost 600 feet long. 60 feet wide
and more than 40 feet deep. The first
class cabins were on the upper deck,
and the ventilation was such that we
were perfectly comfortable when we
crossed the equator. The ship rolled
a bit. but only a few of us were sea
sick, and the voyage was enjoyable
from one end to the other.
Leaving the Cape of Good Hope, we
did not stop until we reached Madeira,
14 days later. During this time the
passengers became well acquainted,
and all seemed anxious to have a good
time. Shortly after leaving a collec
tion, averaging -about $5 apiece, was
taken up from the first and second
class passengers, and this formed a
purse of several hundred dollars, which
was used as premiums for games and
contests, into which all the passengers
entered. It was a sort of Olympic
games held in midocean. in which both
ladles and gentlemen joined. There
was considerable rivalry between the
first and second classes, and each had
Its champions. Among the sports en
tered into by the ladies were the spoon
and egg sprints and the potato race.
In the spoon and egg race a hen egg
Is laid on the deck at a certain spot,
and the girl contestant must run and
scoop this up with spoon and carry
It, without letting it fall, back to the
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goal. The distance is 30 or 40 yards.
It requires skill to get the egg into
the spoon, and a steady hand to carry it.
In the potato race three rows of ten
raw potatoes are laid upon the deck,
the potatoes of each row being three
feet apart. There Is a bucket at the
end of each row. In this game three
girls can contest at one time. n.acn
takes a row and attempts to gather
her potatoes more quickly than the"
others. TM potatoes can be piCKea up
onlv one at a time, and all must go
Into the bucket at the end of the row.
The one who finishes first. geUing her
whom ten in her bucket is the winner.
Another sport In which both sexes
contested, was threading tne neeaie.
In tills the boy puts the tnreaa inrouK"
the eye, while his girl holds the needle.
News and Gossip About Men and Women in the Public Eye
PROMINENT NOVELIST WHO MARRIED FRITZI SCHEFF
BY CEORGE GRANTHAM BAIN.
NEW YORK. Dec. 19. (Special.) The
following are notes of personalities
whose doings are recounted in the press of
the world at large:
John Fox. Jr.. who married Ftitzi
Schff tills week, is one of the. most
successful of the younger literary men
"of the 1'nltcd States. Mr. Fox owes his
success in a part to the care with which
he works. He does not trade on his
reputation, nor turn out books as fast
as he can write thern. His novels are
published from one to three years apart.
They are usually tales of the Kentucky
mountains and he has made this terri
tory his own, as Charles F,gbert Crad
dock did the mountain district of Ten
nessee. Mr. Fox's last and best book is
'The Trail of the Lonesome Pine," in
which he traces the development of a
mountain girl into New York belle and
the degeneration of a New York man in
mountain surroundings to something like
the original state of the girl for whose
education and improvement he was pay
ing. It is very convincingly done and
yet the book has its "happy ending," so
much demanded by the readers of fiction.
Champ Clark, of Missouri, has been
elected as House leader by the Demo
crats to succeed John Sharp Williams,
without opposition. Mr. Clark was horn in
Anderson County, Ky., in 1850. He has
worked as hired man on a farm, clerk
in cour.tr' store, country newspaper edi
tor and is now a lawyer. He has been in
Congrese almost continually since 1893.
After upsetting the entire opera
world. 'Tetrazzini's suddenly - acquired
popularity Is on the decline. She Is a
stout woman with a pleasant expres
sion, having no histrionic ability and
possessed of a thrbat whose peculiar
physical formation enables her to do
certain vocal stunts which nature had
denied to her sisters. She can run the
scales lik a flute, take a high note
and hold it a very long time, while
picking up her skirts and walking
about the stage. But there is about as
much warmth in her tones as in the
notes of a. flute, and she proved to be
utterly lacking in temperament. Her
audiences have not shown the former
enthusiasm for her this season, and it
remains to oe seen whether her vogue
will hold through another season. Lon
don was reported growing colder to
her last Summer. She is under contract
here for three years.
D. J. Keefe is the labor leader who,
during tiie campaign, denied that he
was supporting Taft undi r the promise
of being appointed Immigration Com
missioner. Nevertheless he got the ap
pointment recently, and now he is be
ing generally denounced in labor cir
cles as the "Labor Judas" because he
failed to follow Gompers' lead in the
presidential campaign.
The sixth annual toy dog show has
us! closed in the Astor Gallery of the
Waldorf-Astoria. New York. Nearly
400 dogs were entered, women and chil
dren being almost the only exhibitors.
0"3 of the prominent exhibitors was
Mrs. Thomas King, with her Griffons.
Ambassador Takahira. of Japan, Is a
fortunate man. He was fortunate in
being the representative of his country
In Washington when the treaty of peace
with Russia was negotiated at Ports
mouth. He was equally fortunate in be
ing here when the recent understanding
between Japan and the United States
was reached. It illustrates the licklcness
of fortune that his predecessor should
have been displaced for advocating such
an understanding as Takahira has Just
brought about. At that time peace with
the L'nited States was not popular with j
Japan. Perhaps the visit of our fleet
to Japanese waters has had something
to do with changing public sentiment.
The Duchess of Y'estminter may be
come the Duchess oowaper while she is
still a young woman, for the Duke is
reported very ill. She was the beautiful
Miss Cornelia West. The heir to the title
is her ion, who is only years old.
The couple which threads first is suc
cessful. As to games for men, these were
legion and some most ridiculous. One
was marking the deck with what was
called the bow line stretch, and an
other was a pillow fight contest. In
the latter two men balancing them
selves astride a pole with a mattress
beneath them, fought each other with
pillows until one was knocked on the
mattress. There were about 40 con
testants for this prize, and an F.ngllsh
man won it.
Then there was the human cock
fight, in which two men with their
arms tied over their knees and fas
toned there by a stick, attempted to
crowd each other out of a ring on the
floor by means of their toes, and also
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the contest to see who could eat a
biscuit or drink a bottle of soda water
In the shortest time, and then run the
lenstli of the deck.
' For these games bo4h old and young
entered, and South African legislators and
colonels vied with tourists, gold miners
and engineers to see who wa best. There
were also cricket matches where the balls
were caught by nets put up at the sids'
of the deck, and concerts and dances
night after night
Etiquette and Fashion. . .
The man or woman who goes to South
Africa with no more bapgage than he can
carry- In his or her hat will feel much out
of place. There is more dressing on
those steamers than on the biggest ships
CHAMP1LAKK
i i i ' ' ii , 1 1 1 1 1 1 i i
which cross the Atlantic. On the way
from the Caps of Good Hope to Madeira
there was not a man in the first-class who
did not put on Tuxedo or a stec! pen coat
and a stiff boiled shirt for dinner each
night, and most of the ladies wore low
necks and short sleeves. This custom
prevails on all he steamers, and on both
sides of the continent. There is full dress
at all the danVes and concerts, and the
party In the saloon during the evening
looks more XV.. that of a AYashington
parlor than uke the rough and tumble
crowd which one always finds on the big
Atlantic liners.
As to the meals on the ships, they are
excellent. I had good board even on
the small Mediterranean coastal steamers
and on the- vessels along the east coast.
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6
EUCHE3S OT Wr5TMlNISTER
The eating on the ships from the Cape to
London is about as good as on the At
lantic, and there are four or five meals a
dav. Here, for instance, Is my schedule
for one day: At 7:30 A. M. the boy en
tered my cabin with tea and a cracker,
which I ate In bed. At 8:30 I had a good
breakfast in tVie dining saloon, at 1 a
luncheon with soup and dessert, at 4
o'clock tea in the saloon, and at 6:30
dinner. The latter meal lasted an hour
or more. and. in addition, there was a
supper late in the evening.
Steamships Which Go Round Africa.
I cannot imagine a better health trip
than a sea voyage around Africa. There
are several lines which go down one
coast and up the other. One of the best
is a German African line by which one
starts at Hamburg and can go either
east or west. Jf he chooses the western
route he calls at Las Palmas in the
Canaries and then goes on to Cape Town,
the voyage there taking 23 or 24 days.
Leaving the Cape of Good Hope the ship
next calls at Port Elizabeth, the Liverpool
of South Africa, and then goes on to Bast
Ixmdon and Durban, the capital of Natal.
The two next stoppages are in Portuguese
Kast Africa, and then come Mozambique.
Clilnde and Dar es Salaam, the capital of
German East Africa. From there the
ships go on to Zanzibar, Tanga. and
Mombasa, and thence north to Aden and
on up the Red Sea and Suez Canal to the
Mediterranean. They go from Port Said
to Naples, and thence out back through
trie Strait of Gibraltar to Hamburg. The
whole trip, including board, costs just
about SAW first class, with the steward's
fees added, and it takes about two months
to make it.
If one wishes to visit the ports of West
Africa, the Woerman line, sailing from
Hamburg, will take him along; the Gulf
of Guinea and down to the Congo, and It
has also ships to Swakopmund. in Ger
man Southwest Africa. There are some
vessels sailing regularly from Antwerp to
the Congo and others which go to Gib
raltar and around the coast of Morocco.
The trip to the Congo takes 19 days and
the steamers leave for there every three
weeks. They- land at Matadi. where one
can catch the railroad past the rapids of
the Congo to fctanleypool.
Tliera Is also a Portuguese steamer
which goes from Lisbon three times a
month for Loanda, Benguela, and the
ports of Portuguese West Africa, and
there are British steamers from Liverpool
every other Saturday for Sierra L?one.
Accra, and Lagos. The fare to Sierra
Ioii is $90. These same ships go to
Liberia, the fare there costing J130. The
rate from Antwerp to the Conj;o is $1W
and to Lagos $150.
Mediterranean Africa. ,
Mediterranean Africa Is very easily
reached from Europe. The French have
a number of lines which steam from Mar
seilles to Algiers, Oran and Tunis and
there are Italian ships which make the
Crime ports. One can go almost dally In
twenty-four hour.s from France to Al
giers, and the trip to Tunis is not much
longer. There are ships sailing weekly
from Naples to Tunisia, and there is a
line of vessels which go?s from Tunis to
Tripoli, calling at Sfax and Gabes and
thence going on by way of Tripoli to
Malta. These boats are of about one
thousand tone each and are rather dirty.
The fares are low.
At present the German lines are trying
to catch the American travel to Kgypt
and both the Hamburg-American and
has put its own steamers on the Nile and
they now compete with the mall vessels
of the Khedive and with those of Thomas
Cook & Sons, which have so long held a
monopoly of that trade.
If one would visit Morocco he had best
go direct to Gibraltar and take the small
ships from there across to Tangier, or he
can start at-Marseilles and come down
the coast of Spain on the French vessels
to Malaga and cross to Morocco that
way. The British have a Morocco line
which makes a round trip of all the ports
on the Atlantic from London in about 25
days. The cost is $126. and during the
voyage one calls at the Canary Islands
and the Madeiras, and also at seven dif--fprent
ports in Morocco. There Is a
Hamburg company which makes some
what the same route, and a French line
which goes from Marseilles to Tangier
three times every month.
On the Red Sea.
The African countries on the Red Sea
can be reached by several lines from
Svez and there are daily steamers which
will take you there by way of tiie canal.
The Khedivial steamship line, which car
rite the royal mails of Egypt, is now
sailing from Suez every Wednesday even
ing for Port Sudan and Suakim. and
every two weeks from Musxowah, llo
deidah and Aden.' One of the stops of
these boats is at Jeddah. where Mother
Eve is buried and where the pilgrimages
start for Mecca. Massowah is the port
for Italian Africa, and Port Sudan its the
terminus of the new railroad which has
just been built across the Nubian desert
from the Red Sea to Khartum.
The Italians have a line to Massowah.
and the Messagcries Maritime, the great
French line, stops at Djbouti. which is
the best port for Abyssinia. There is a
little railroad there belonging to the
French, which take one inland almost
to liarrar slid from there all travel must
be on camels or mules.
There are also regular steamers sailing
from Bombay to the port of Bast Africa,
and a nuniher of large vessels which
make regular trips to Australia via Cape
Town. The White Star line has such a
service, composed of steamers of about
liOOO tons each; the New Zealand Ship
pins Company and "Shaw & Seville"
have similar vessels. On these ships the
passage to Cape Town costs from $100 to
$150. and to Australia perhaps $a0 or $30
more. Indeed one can make an ocean trio
8round the world In that way, taking
passage from London to New Zealand,
and thence going on to England by the
Strait of Magellan.'
Washington. D. C. Dec. 19.
Newspaper Wit
A Dreadful Thought.
Everybody's Magozlne.
One day Mary, the charwoman.
reported
for service with a black eye.
"Why, Mary," said her sympathetic
mistress, "what a bad eye you have!"
"Yes'm."
"Well, there's one consolation. It might
have been worse."
"Yes'm."
"You might have had both of them
hurt."
"Yes'm. Or worse.'n that; I might not
ha" been married at all."
Appropriafe. Name.
Chicago News.
"You wish to see some rugs?" Inter
rogated the- polite , clerk. "Then allow
me to show you our celebrated 'sklddoo'
rug."
"But whv in the world do you call it a
skiddoo' rug?" asked the fair customer
In surprise.
"Because. madm. every 23 days you
have to beat It."
Long in the Public Eye.
"The newspapers rush Into print every
chance they get, don't they. Svnator?"
gushed an ardent lady admirer, address
ing a famous statesman at a White
House reception lately.
"Yes. indeed:" replied the Senator;
"and do you know. Madam." he quickly
added, without the sign of a smile, "that
the very day I was born the newspaper
of my town had It"'
Nothing hut the Truth.
Chicago News.
"This world is but a fleeting show."
remarked the man with the quotation
habit.
"Yes. that's right." rejoined the observ
ing person, "and the majority of us find
that all the good seats are occupied."
Always Opportunities.
Youth's Companion.
"I have no patience with a man who
makes the same mistake twice," ald
Amies, rather severely, In speaking of an
unfortunate friend.
"Neither have I," agreed his wife,
"when there are so many other mistakes
to make."
In 1910.
Boston Transcript.
F.Watnr Man Fiftieth story. As
far
as we g"!
Cncle Hiram (getting out) Gosh. Man
dy, that conductor forgot to collect our
fares. Come along, quick! We're a dime
in.
Xo Longer Secret.
Chicago Tribune,
"lines your husband belong to any
secret societies?" Inquired Mrs. Kaw-
rer-
"No," answered Mrs. Mldrlleblok, "I
have found out the name of every one
of them."
Assistance.
Washington Evening Star.
"What is your idea of helping
the
fa rmer?"
"Well." answered Senator Sorghum,
"the first and most important thing is to
give him some good advice about how to
vote."
Just Like Some Men.
Llpplneott's Magazine.
Howell "Rowcll thinks he Is the whole
thins." .
Powell "Yes, if he leans against a
post for a few minutes he has the idea
that the post couldn't stand without
him."
A ( oiilinuul BlufC
Washington 1 lei aid.
"Life is largely a pretense."
"Kay the rest of It."
"I used to have to pretend that I lik-d
cigarettes when I was a kid. and now
it's the same with grand opera."
Either Way.
Phiiadelphla Iniger.
Bryan listened aT thK phonograph to on"
of his own speeches.
Sounds first rate." he commented, "but
it was careless of the operator to put th
cylinder In reversed."