THE 8EMI.WFPKI V TRIPIINF NORTH PI ATTE. NEBRASKA.
AIFYirAN 1ST ANT) L , .
PROF. MILTON WHITNEY
tSg$&
tho Island of nnraocoraa i
regime, ndmlnlBtored all thut part of Mexico, main
land, and Island, which lies to tho east of Yucatan.
Tho foreign port nearest to Cozurael Is Belize, Brit
ish. Honduras, distant about 1(5 miles southwest.
Off to tho northeast, soiuo 210 miles away, lies
Cuba. From oxtremo points north to south tho
island, which Is rhomboldal in form, measures a
llttlo under CO miles, and from cast to west about 14
miles.
I Cozutucl occupies a very prominent placo In Mox
ican history. It was tho first land sighted by Her
'nnndq Cortoz when, In 1519. lie sailed westward
from Cuba on that famous voyngo which had for its
object tho quest of gold and for Its result the
conquest of an miplre Cortoz, however, was not
tho flrst Spaniard to sot foot on Cozumel's shores.
Tho. year boloro he landed it was visited by
(Jrljalva. tho discoverer of Tabasco; and Dan
croft, tho historian, mentions others who touched
there during the earlier cruises of the Castlllans
among tho Antilles.
It Is a mattor of record that from tho deck
of hln "llagnhlp" a llttlo vessel of less than 100
tons burthen Cortoz counted 14 towors on tho
north, and northwest coasts of tho Island. These
ha found, when ho landed, surmounted as many
temples, oroctod for Idolatrous worship, When
ho disembarked with half of his followers (all
told tho expedition numbered ouly C17 men),
leaving tho others on board his small Ucot to
fropol possible attack, Cortoz' llrst act was to dls
juantla those temples. Fired with religious zcnl,
Iiq pushed his way through the crowd of In
diana who had como down to tho beach to re
ceive, him, and, mounting tho stops of tho prin
cipal placo of worship, whore tho high priest and
his attendants wcro grouped, ho harangued tho
natives on tho sinfulness of their Idolatry, using
an. Indian who, had bcon captured off tho coast
oC Yucatan by Urtjalva and who had acquired a
'working knowledge of Spanish in Cuba, as an
intorprctor. After thus giving vont to blB ro
Jlgiaus forvor, and Cortoz' worst onomlos could
novor. truthfully assert that ho was not slncero
in, his faith, ho ordered his soldiers to tear down
tho altars dedicated to tho falso gods and In
their placo sot up a cross. No arguing, no rea
soning. Prompt, nggrosslvo action, without re
gard to odds, and bucIi action was Cortoz' main
characteristic nt all times when dealing with tho
natives whorovor ho went. Doubtloss much of
his. rcmarknblo success with thorn was duo to
it. Although tho Indians woro obviously docllo,
tho Invaders wcro taking big chances In thus
dosocrotlng tho oacrcd groves. Dut nothing hap
pened, Tho audacity of tho procoedlng was buo
HnWund so great that It Blmply dazed tho na
tives and loft them Incnpnblo of protest.
When Cortoz was nt Cozumol tho Island had
apparently sovoral thousand Inhabitants: but
when Stovoiis, a prominent American nrchoolo
gst and travolor, wont thoru In tho early forties
of. tho last century ho fouud not a slnglo soul.
Tho. crowds scon by tho Spaniards wero prob
ably transients, for, ns a mattor of fact, Cozumol
novor had a largo resident population. It was a
pacrod placo to the Mayas of Yucatan and Con
trol America, tholr Mecca, and n vast "numbor of
pilgrims wont periodically to worship nt Its
Hhrlnes. During tho Intorvnls botwoen pil
grimages tho priests, with tholr servants and re
tainers, woro doubtloss tho only residents.
1 When tho Spaniards became llrmly established
in Yucutan thoy forbado tho pllgrlnmgo to Cozu
mol, tholr reasons for thlB coursu being that thoy
needed tho unlctorrupto1' sorvlces of tho lndluns
us laborers. Tho church also took a hand In
prohibiting festivals on tho Island. Thoy carried
tho mind away from tho doctrlno which the mis
nlon fathers woro propagating, and although tho
Indian had without very groat dllllculty been In
iduced to accept tho cross In placo of tho graven
mago. ho would, when visiting tho familiar
tiiconos, bo sure to assoclato with thorn tho tencto
Vf ihls ojd bollof, still urong within him.
Notwithstanding that tho religious peregrina
tions ceased, Cozumol was not entirely deserted
until long aftor tho Invasion. Of courso, It la
more than likely that thoto whoso homos woro
on tho Island continued to reside thoto after tho
main body stopped' coming. For tho greater part
thoy wcro spiritual councilors and niedlclno men,
and It Is vory i robablo f iat thoy wero forblddon
to leave. It would bo decidedly to tho Interests
ofthe conquerors, both lay and clorlcal, to koop
them away from tho masses of tho pooplo. That
thero was a soUlement, aud that Spj-nlards lived
In it, is proved oy, thu ruined church an a burial
ground one sees a couplo of miles to tho north
of San Mlg'-el, tho principal town, Closo by tho
church ruins Is tho site ot an ancient village, now
traccablo only by Its stono foundations.
Whatever tho cause may havo been, It camo
about In tho courso of timo that tho island of
Cozumol wns abandoned as a placo of resldonco.
It must have remained unoccupied for soveral
generations, for when Stovens touched thero with
tho object of exploring Its ruined temples, ot
which many aro known to oxiBt, tho entlro sur
faco, with tho oxcoptton of two clearings, was
covered with a donso growth of dwarf but thick
timber. Stovens satisfied himself that this forest
covered tho wholo area.
One of tho open spaces reforred to abovo was
a clcnrlng mado by n man named Molas, a no
torious character, half political refugee, half
pirate, who had been exiled from Yucatan. Molaa
lived for many yoars In Cozumol, and doubtloss
would havo "died In his bod" tho end most de
sired by all froobootors, wo aro told had ho
novor returned to tho mainland, for hlB enemies
woro afraid to attack him In his stronghold. Ono
fatal day, howover, ho sallod his schooner across
tho channol and landed noar to whero tho Valla
doltd trail comes down to tin beach. Molas'
two sons who had voluntarily shared tholr fa
ther's oxllo accompanied him on this trip, hav
ing in vain tried to dlssuado him from making
it. Molas insisted that his sons should remain
aboard tho schooner until ho gavo tho signal
that all was clear. Tho signal novor camo. Wait
ing so long for It that thoy felt suro all was not
well, tho lads went ashoro at last to investigate.
Tho ovor-vlgllant foo had seen Molas' boat mak
ing for tho mainland. A short dlstanco from tho
bench, yet htddon by tho junglo, thoy found their
father's mutllntod body.
Tho boys returned to tho islnnd only to remove
their personal belongings and what thoy could
carry away of tho family offects, and than wont
to llvo In a romoto part ot Yucatan, ns far re
moved from Cozumol and Us sad associations
as thoy could got. Thus It camo about that tho
"lslo ot SwallowB" waB again without luman In
habitants. Tho other cloarlng mentioned was the deserted
ranch of a cortaln "Don Albino," as Stevens calls
him without revealing his surname Stovens mot
Don Albino In Vallndolld, and heard from tho
ranchman'B own lips why ho loft Cozuinel. In
Vnlladolld a cotton mill famous In tho annals
of tho town as the first to be erected In Mexico
hnd started operations, anil tho owner, an enter
prising Spaniard, was paying high prices for tho
raw matorlal and offorlng enticing premiums to
oncourago more oxtenslvo cultivation ot tho plant.
Now, Don Albino possessed no land, nor had ho
tho means whcrowlth to buy somo; nevertheless
ho yearned to prollt by tho mill ownor's bounty.
So ho conceived tho Iden of going over to Cozu
mel, which by that tlmo was rcgardod as a sort
of "No Man's Land," to ralso cotton. Ho could
easily convey tho lint across tho chnnnul In ca
noes, and although from tho const to tho mill
was a Journoy of soveral days for pack mules
thero would bo sulllclont margin In th price to
Justify tho oxponso ot transportation. Full ot
enthusiasm, Don Albino gathered around htm as
many ot tho more destltuto natives as ho could
induce by tho lavish uso of glowing promlsqs to
accompany him and sot sail tor Cozumol.
Dut tho ntotloy band soon tired of th monoto
nous llfo on tho lonoly Island. Thoy woro restloso
spirits, who had lived by what was really llttlo
short of brigandage, tilling tho land only to tho
oxtent of being sure of their stnplo food, malzo
and "frljoles' (beans). Sullon under tho crav
ings for tho comparative excitement ohralnnblo
in tholr native pueblos, thoy beforo long picked
a quarrol with tholr "patron" and, Boizlng the
only canoo, returned to Yucatan.
In the opinion of many, ono result
of the war will bo an Incroased and
stupendous demand on Amorlca for
foodstuffs, and advocates of tho "back
to tho soil" movement aro wondering
If that will not bring about tho return
of many thousnnds of men from tho
city to tho farm.
Commonly two causes aro assigned
for tho nbandoncd farm. Ono Is tho
loneliness of farm llfo and tho lack of
opportunity for wholosomo recreation.
Tho other Is that tho soil, through gen
erations of cropping, hnB become worn
out.
Goth theories aro wrong, accord
ing to Prof. Milton Whitney, chief of
tho burcnu of soils of the department
of agriculture, a man who has spent
his wholo llfo In tho study of these
problems.
"Hope and spirit of adventure nre
tho chief factors in .tho movement from
tho eastern farm," Is tho succinct way
In which Professor Whitney declares
his belief. Perhaps this war, with promises of a bettor and moro stablo
market for food, may supply tho needed Incentive
"Where aro tho abandoned farms?" ho nBked. "You do not And thom In
North Dakota or the Panhandle of Texas, romoto and far from urban centers
as thoy aro. Hut you do And them in Now York and Ohio, for example.
Hope for a golden future is what moves men to go to tho nower portions of
the continent, or to tho cities. Without hopo for such a future, you cannot
keep them in ono placo."
Professor Whitney Is ono of those government scientists who havo given
tholr lives to public service, their recompense a small salary and the satis
faction of doing helpful work. Ho Is a native of Daltlmore, and is llfty-threo
years- old.
mi mm na i m'm mmi mi
SALANDRA, WAR PREMIER
ibo iwrfT aiiiiww pi gwnwi ti i ii mm iiiimi' mi i linn 1 1 1 ii mn iki i i
Entirely alone, Don Albino could make no head
way with his project of getting rich quickly and,
taking advantago of a passing vessel, went back
to Valladolld. Tho cotton ho had succeeded In
plnnting beforo his mozos deserted him was al
lowed to grow wild, and tho island onco more
wob completely abandoned by man.
It wns not until 1S48 that Cozumol was again
Inhabited. Tho revolution which caused Yucatan
and Campecho to separate had deprived many
citizens of tho means of livelihood, and for ma
terlal as woll as political reasons It becamo
necessary for thom to seok pastures now. Tho
federal government offered to help them, provld
od they would leave tho penlpsula. But to whero
could thoy bo transplanted? Being Yucatocos,
quick to resent tho paternalism of tho govern
ment, and always suspicious of the party In
olllco's bona fides, thoy wore of a spirit difficult
to koop under restraint and moro than likely to
soon bocomo unruly again. Thoroforo to allow
them to migrate to tho central states, or oven to
tho regions bordering on tho Gulf ot Mexico, was
out of tho question; it was imperatlvo that they
bo kept apart from tho moro docllo pooplos of the
republic lest thoy Inoculate tho latter with tho
political restlossncsa that had been their own un
doing. Finally It was agreed that thoy should be
taken to Cozumol. This arrangomont was duly
consummated, and ovorythlng necessary to ennblo
tho exiles to mako a good start was furnished
gratuitously by tho government. After very
many vicissitudes tho colony thus launched
gradually scttlod Itself Into placo, becoming at
tho expiration of a docado or so firmly ostob
llshed, and Cozumol Is today tho "tlorra" or
homeland of as hardy and Independent a sot ot
Islanders half farmors, half fishermen as can
bo found anywhoro In tho Antilles.
Tho present population of Cozumol numbers
some fourteon hundred souls. Tho capital, San
Mlguolvls credited with 900 and tho village of El
Cedral 'has about 150; tho remainder aro scat
tered among tho numorous rnnches.
San Mlguol Is quite a thriving, well-formed
town. It has sovoral wldo, clean streets; a plaza,
a very presentable llttlo church, ono largo gen
oral storo and soveral small ones, an Inn. and
municipal ofllces and customhouse; It also boasts
a sort of csplanado running along tho entlro sea
front, at ono end of which 13 the llghthouso and
at tho other a landing Jotty. Although most of
tho buildings aro palm-thatched cottages, thoro
aro sovoral strongly built Btono houses and tho
main street has a two-story brick houso and a
modom bungalow.
Tho only regular communication with tho out
Bldo world is by government transport. Thoso
stoamors call twlco each month to leavo and
collect mall when on routo with troops and sup
plies to and from Vora Cruz and tho military sta
tions of Qulntnna Boo.
Health conditions In Cozumol aro oxtroMoly
good, when tho tropical cllmato of tho Island Is
taken Into account. Tho normal rate of mortality
averagos 14 per 1,000. Epidemics aro vory raro,
Indeed, practically unknown.
Tho great majority of tho Cozumol islanders
aro poor, so far as possessing a surplus of this
world's goods Is concorncd, being satisfied with
a hand-to-mouth existence
Among tho very few artlclos oxported from tho
Island aro aponges, but tho quantity Is limited
nnd tho quality not very lino. Moro than ono at
tempt hns boon mado by foreigners to fully ex
ploit tho spongo business hero, but all offortB to
mnko It profitable on a largo scale havo failed.
Thoro aro vory many ruins on tho Island
somo of which I saw und to tho extent of my
limited tlmo and ability oxamlnad tho archltec
tural beauty and general plan of which provide
irrofutablo ovldenco that tho early Inhabitants
woro intelligent and cultured to a degreo moro
than surprising.
Politics took . a peculiar turn In
elovatlng Antonio Salandra to world
wide promlnonco as tho war party
premier of Italy. A less bellicose man
and ono moro conservative by naturo
would bo difficult to llnd among con
temporary Italian statesmen.
Salandra Is almost as fair an illus
tration of tho scholar In politics a3
President Wilson. Ills Interests aro
primarily thoso of tho student. His
past activities havo been as much
academic as political. Ho Is simple,
modest and domestic in his personal
tastes. Nevertheless It Is this profes
sor of public law In the University of
Romo who is todny tho idol of tho Ital
ian populace, to whom the Idea of war
with Austria Is so dear.
Salandra was born at Trola in
Foggia on August 31, 1853. Naturally
a student ho qualified for tho degree
of bachelor of laws at tho University
of Naples when ho was twenty-two. Ho
was indefatigable In equipping him
self with a knowledgo of public law and flnnnco, so that when ho entered tho
chamber of deputies In tho sixteenth legislature his abilities were quickly
recognized.
Ho held various governmental posts and finally received tho treasury
portfolio In tho cabinet of Baron Sidney Sonnino, who is minister of foreign
affairs in tho present cablnot.
MONTANA'S ACTIVE GOVERNOR
Samuel V. Stowart, governor of
Montana, is ono of tho group of west
ern chief executives, like Spry of Utah,
who aggressively opposo tho encroach
ment of federal upon stato rights In
tho matter of conservation. Tho con
stitution of Montana explicitly seeks
to aid in tho devolopment ot tho
natural resources of tho stato by en
couraging capital to mako uso of tho
forests and streams and by safe-guarding
Interests thus created.
Governor Stewart Is a man of In
itiative and action, as was abundantly
proved In tho labor riots at Butto,
when tho I. W. W. wero dynamiting
shops and halls In tholr contests with
employers. Whllo tho congressional
delegation In Washington was fran
tically trying to Induce tho president
to send federal troops to quell tho
riots a body of soldiers was sent as
far as Missoula Governor Stowart
calmly announced that he had no uso
for federal troops, that the stato could
handlo itB own riots. Ho proved that It could, moreover, for ho ordered out
tho National Guard and went down to tho scono of tho disorders and took
chargo himself. Tho rioting was stopped and tho federal troops wero re
turned to tholr quarters.
Governor Stowart Is a lawyer, a director or two siaw uuima uu una
-. it. r T-. -i- oimirnl onmmltinn. Hln term ns eov-
been chairman of tho Democratic stato central committee
ernor is from 1913 to 1917.
LONDON'S DEFENDER
When Sir Percy Scott was appoint
ed to tho command of tho gun de
fenses of London overyono acknowl
edged that ho was up against a hard
proposition tho guarding of tho mo
tropollB ngalnst tho raids of tho Im
mense Gorman Zoppellns. But nearly
overyono over thoro had such confi
dence In Sir Percy thnt the success
of tho October raid of the kaisers
airships was really a great surprise.
Tho citizens of London held Indigna
tion meetings, and the press asked
loudly what he Intended to do and
why ho didn't do It. Sir Percy's sup
porters Insisted that all was woll and
that ho had something up his sleeve
Admiral Scott ho hoB had that
rank for somo time la u scieutlst und
a man of action. Ho Invented a num
ber of devices for insuring accuracy
ot flro by naval guns, and helped plan
tho llrst drcadnaught. As commander
of tho Terrlblo during tho Boer war ho
mounted his 4.7-lnch guns on enrnuges
that woro conceived and built within 24 hours, and got them ncros3 country
In tlmo to save Ladysmlth. On tho ovo of tho present war ho declared th
Impotoncy of tho big ship, asserting that abovo-wator llcets would bo swept
off tho seas by the submarine
